Thiem Eyes First Title On Home Soil In Kitzbuhel 2016
Thiem Eyes First Title On Home Soil In Kitzbuhel 2016
Jul172016
Watch Kyle Edmund’s best shots as his straight-sets victory over Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic sends Great Britain into the Davis Cup semi-finals.
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WATCH MORE: Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot win to lead Serbia 2-1
Ramos-Vinolas triumphs in his second final
Albert Ramos-Vinolas played largely nerve-free tennis on Sunday to capture his first ATP World Tour singles title at the SkiStar Swedish Open over fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.
Third seed Ramos-Vinolas became the fourth first-time ATP World Tour titlist of the year by beating fifth seed Verdasco 6-3, 6-4 in 86 minutes. Verdasco, who had a three-match winning streak against Ramos-Vinolas, also finished runner-up in the 2013 Bastad final (l. to Berlocq).
Ramos-Vinolas earned €82,450 in prize money and 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points after the fourth all-Spanish Bastad final in the Open Era – also 1975 (Orantes d. Higueras), 2007 and 2012 (David Ferrer d. Nicolas Almagro). Former World No. 1 Bjorn Borg, the 1974 and 1978-79 Bastad champion, presented Ramos-Vinolas with the trophy.
Ramos-Vinolas got off to a strong start in his second final (2012 Casablanca), taking a 4-1 lead courtesy of service breaks in the third and fifth games. But the confidence of the World No. 35 was momentarily checked when he was broken to 15 by Verdasco in the sixth game. However, he broke for a third time to seal the 36-minute opener.
Ramos-Vinolas saved three break points in two service games of the second set prior to breaking Verdasco for a 5-3 lead. Ramos-Vinolas came within two points of winning, but blinked and gave Verdasco the opportunity to break to 30. But one game later, he joined Nick Kyrgios (Marseille), Diego Schwartzman (Istanbul) and Steve Johnson (Nottingham) as a first-time titlist in 2016. He improved to a 24-19 record on the season (18-12 on clay).
Verdasco, 32, had been attempting to lift his eighth tour-level crown and his second of 2016, following on from the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy (d. Pouille) in April. He leaves with €43,430 and 150 points.
Kyle Edmund took Great Britain into the Davis Cup semi-finals with victory over Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic in Belgrade.
Edmund, who also won Friday’s opening singles match, won 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-5) to give Britain an unassailable 3-1 lead.
Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot won Saturday’s doubles match before Edmund sealed the win in two hours 34 minutes against the Serb world number 81.
Britain will now play Argentina at home in September as they aim to defend the title they won in Belgium last year.
Edmund, 21, was making just his second Davis Cup appearance and playing as Britain’s top ranked singles player as Andy Murray chose to sit out the tie after he won Wimbledon.
The win was the first time Britain have won a World Group Davis Cup match without their number one ranked player.
Facing the highest ranked player in Serbia’s squad, Edmund produced one of the best performances of his career hitting 27 forehand winners and 39 in total on a slow clay court due to rain in the Serbian capital.
Edmund, the world number 67, served for the match at 5-4 but Lajovic broke back before the Yorkshireman rallied to take the match on a tie-break.
“You want to win for your country. When you know what is at stake – I’m so pleased that I’ve won,” Edmund said.
“When you’re out there you are in the moment and trying to win every point. Lajovic missed the backhand down the line – when you see that you feel so happy.
“When you play away, and the home player gains momentum the crowd bite into that. The crowd got louder and louder. It was tough getting broken.”
Team captain Leon Smith, who has now won 14 of his 16 Davis Cup matches, said: “I have seen Kyle develop a lot.
“We saw what he did to David Goffin (taking the Belgian to five sets in the 2015 Davis Cup final) and this year he has been getting better and better. His backhand is now rock solid, the serve and the forehand is an unbelievable shot.
“He will take a lot from being able to win two five-set matches under this pressure.
“Hats off to Kyle. To get your first Davis Cup win is something, to get two in one weekend is something very special indeed.”
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BBC Sport continues the countdown to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games with the moment Great Britain’s Andy Murray beat Roger Federer of Switzerland to claim the men’s singles tennis title at London 2012.
Watch full coverage of the 2016 Olympic Games across the BBC this summer.
ATPWorldTour.com reviews Saturday’s play in Davis Cup World Group quarter-final ties
CZECH REPUBLIC 1, FRANCE 2
Venue: Werk Arena, Trinec, CZE (hard – indoor)
Wimbledon champions and World No. 1 duo Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut gave France a 2-1 lead in Trinec as they edged Lukas Rosol and Radek Stepanek 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in just over three hours. The 25-year-old Herbert was making his Davis Cup debut, one week after he and Mahut captured their second Grand Slam championship title at the All England Club.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will have the chance to clinch the tie for France when he faces Jiri Vesely on Sunday in the first of the reverse singles. Nine-time champion France is bidding to win the Davis Cup crown for the first time since 2001. Two years ago, they were beaten by Switzerland in the final.
SERBIA 1, GREAT BRITAIN 2
Venue: Tasmajdan Stadium, Belgrade, SRB (clay – outdoor)
After rain brought a premature end to Friday’s proceedings, with Great Britain leading 1-0 after Kyle Edmund’s win over Janko Tipsarevic, the defending champion ended Saturday with a 2-1 advantage over Serbia in Belgrade.
Dusan Lajovic levelled for the host, beating James Ward 6-1, 6-3, 6-2, but Great Britain hit back in the doubles rubber. Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot united for a 6-1, 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4 victory over Filip Krajinovic and Nenad Zimonjic. It was Inglot’s first Davis Cup victory for Great Britain, who won the ITF men’s team trophy last year for the first time since 1936.
#NextGen star Edmund will have the opportunity to seal victory for the Brits when he faces Lajovic on Sunday.
ITALY 1, ARGENTINA 2
Venue: Circolo Tennis Baratoff, Pesaro, ITA (clay – outdoor)
After Fabio Fognini produced a near flawless display to beat Juan Monaco 6-1, 6-1, 7-5 and bring Italy level at 1-1 earlier in the day, it was Argentina that ended the day in charge after Guido Pella and Juan Martin del Potro battled to a 6-1, 7-6(4), 3-6, 3-6, 6-4 victory in the doubles over Fognini and Paolo Lorenzi.
“It was very difficult to deal with the noise at times,” said del Potro, who was representing Argentina for the first time since the 2012 semi-finals against Czech Republic. “At the beginning we played very well but then our opponents went up a level.”
U.S.A. 2, CROATIA 1
Venue: Tualatin Hills Tennis Center, Portland, USA (hard – outdoor)
Going into Saturday, the U.S. looked to have the quarter-final contest nearly clinched. They had a 2-0 lead and Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, the winningest doubles team in U.S. Davis Cup history, set to face Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig. But Cilic/Dodig pulled off the upset 6-2, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 to keep Croatia’s hopes alive in the U.S.
The Bryans are now 24-5 in Davis Cup doubles matches. The U.S. still may hold a historical advantage, though. The country is 38-2 when leading 2-1 after Saturday in World Group format, which was introduced in 1981.
Aussies improve to 2-2 as a team in ATP World Tour doubles finals
Aussies Sam Groth and Chris Guccione won their second ATP World Tour team title on Saturday, beating Brit Jonathan Marray and Canadian Adil Shamasdin 6-4, 6-3 to capture the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships doubles title in Newport.
Groth and Guccione, 6’4” and 6’7”, respectively, hit 11 aces and erased the only break point faced against Marray/Shamasdin, who were playing in their first ATP World Tour final as a team. The Aussies also lost only eight points on their serve (40/48). Their previous team title came at Bogota in 2014 (d. Barrientos/Cabal).
“It was a great serving week and today thankfully we mixed it with a couple good returns,” Groth said.
The win marked Groth’s first Newport doubles title but Guccione’s third, and all have come with different partners. The left-hander won the title in 2010 with Carsten Ball and in 2014 with Lleyton Hewitt.
“Obviously I like it here,” Guccione said. “It’s a great place, great town and a well-run tournament so hopefully I can continue my good run.”
The champions earn 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings Points and will split $27,840. Marray/Shamasdin will receive 150 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings point and split $14,630.
American experiences unique tour
Sam Querrey enjoyed a guided tour of the White House ahead of the Citi Open, which kicks off on Monday in Washington, D.C. It was the American’s first visit to the home and workplace of President Barack Obama and his family.
Querrey was able to retrace the steps of a White House staffer on a typical workday, starting off at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, then making his way across the street to the White House’s mythical West Wing.
“The highlight was definitely seeing the Oval Office,” Querrey said. “I didn’t think we would get a chance to look at that, so it was cool to take a peek and see where the president works. It was a Saturday so it was pretty quiet, but it was great to see the grounds.”
The American gained a rare glimpse at the priceless artifacts adorning the White House and even took home a sweet treat – a box of blue and white presidential M&Ms.
The 28 year old is No. 29 in the Emirates ATP Rankings entering Washington, coming off a quarter-final run at Wimbledon (l. to Raonic), where he scored a famous upset of World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the third round. His best showing in Washington was a semi-final finish in 2012 (l. to Dolgopolov).
Main draw play at the Citi Open, an ATP World Tour 500 event, kicks off 18 July.
