Tennis News

Verdasco Ousts Murray In Cologne

Fernando Verdasco lost 13 of his first 14 clashes against Andy Murray. But on Tuesday evening in Cologne, the Spaniard earned his third consecutive victory against the former World No. 1.

The seven-time ATP Tour titlist overpowered Murray 6-4, 6-4 to reach the second round of the bett1HULKS Indoors. The 36-year-old will meet top seed and recent US Open finalist Alexander Zverev in the second round.

“This is a very important victory for me for many reasons,” Verdasco said on court after his win. “Playing against a player like Andy, we have been playing together for all our careers. We’ve had really tough battles over the years. It’s always a challenge and a motivation to play against someone like him. I’m very happy for that.”

This is Verdasco’s first win since the Australian Open, where he reached the third round (l. to A. Zverev). The World No. 62 used his big forehand to control play on the slow Cologne hard court, pushing Murray back and forcing him to defend.

Murray battled hard, earning two break points as Verdasco served for the first set and four break points as the lefty served for the match. The former World No. 7 was too solid on the evening, and he will now have a chance to earn his third ATP Head2Head victory against Zverev (Zverev leads their series 3-2).

“I will try my best. I will enjoy it and hopefully I will be able to play good and make a good performance,” Verdasco said. “It’s going to be a good match.”

^{Photo Credit: bett1HULKS Indoors}
Eighth seed Marin Cilic had to work hard in the first round of the bett1HULKS Indoors on Tuesday, battling past American lucky loser Marcos Giron 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 after two hours and 30 minutes.

The former World No. 3 hit nine aces, but he faced 18 break points. Cilic saved 15 of those chances in his Cologne triumph.

“He’s a very tough competitor. I’d never played him and he played really well today,” Cilic said on court after his win. “I had to really fight hard, especially in the third set. This surface is a bit slower than usual, so you have to work for every point and he’s a great runner at the back of the court. It was definitely a tough, tough match.” 

Cilic will next play 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals competitor Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who ousted #NextGenATP Finn Emil Ruusuvuori, a qualifier, 7-5, 6-4.

Former World No. 6 Gilles Simon cruised past Marton Fucsovics, who made the fourth round at Roland Garros, 6-0, 6-3. The Frenchman triumphed after 75 minutes in a match that didn’t feature any aces or double faults. Simon will next challenge second seed Roberto Bautista Agut.

Qualifiers who emerged victorious Tuesday were Lloyd Harris, who played impressively to eliminate 2018 Antwerp titlist Kyle Edmund 7-5, 7-6(1), and Henri Laaksonen, who defeated wild card Daniel Altmaier 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5).

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Kyle Edmund loses to Lloyd Harris in Cologne first round

Britain’s Kyle Edmund loses in the first round of the Bett1 Hulks Indoors event against South Africa’s Lloyd Harris in Germany.

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St. Petersburg: Rublev Rolls In First Match As A Top 10 Player

Andrey Rublev’s time inside the Top 10 of the FedEx ATP Rankings is off to a good start.

Rublev defeated big-serving Canadian Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday to advance to the second round of the St. Petersburg Open and take a 2-1 lead in their ATP Head2Head series.

Pospisil is dangerous on hard courts, especially indoors. The World No. 79 made the fourth round of the US Open and the final at Marseille earlier this year, but he only won 52 per cent of his service points against the home favourite. Rublev earned four service breaks and won 87 per cent of his first-serve points to move on after one hour and 19 minutes.

On Monday, Rublev reached a career-high World No. 10 following his quarter-final run at Roland Garros. The third seed has won three ATP Tour titles this year and with his triumphs in Doha and Adelaide, he became the first player to lift tour-level trophies in the first two weeks of a season since Dominik Hrbaty in 2004.

Rublev will next play Frenchman Ugo Humbert or Russian qualifier Pavel Kotov for a spot in the quarter-finals. 

Elsewhere in his quarter, Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic held off Kazakhstani Mikhail Kukushkin  6-3, 7-6 (7). Kecmanovic recovered from 3/6 down in the second-set tie-break, saving three set points to earn a battle against Cameron Norrie in the second round. The Brit ousted eighth seed Taylor Fritz 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 on Monday.

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Sonego, Andujar Made To Work In Sardinia; Cecchinato Saves 1 M.P.

Lorenzo Sonego regrouped after a second-set comeback from fellow Italian Giulio Zeppieri on Tuesday for a place in the Forte Village Sardegna Open second round. Fifth seed Sonego, who won 82 per cent of his first-service points, earned a 6-2, 7-6(4) victory over the 18-year-old wild card in one hour and 40 minutes.

Last week, Sonego reached the Roland Garros fourth round (l. to Schwartzman), having beaten Taylor Fritz 7-6(5), 6-3, 7-6(17) — the longest tie-break in the Grand Slam championship’s history. The 25-year-old, who is competing in Sardinia at a career-high No. 42 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, will now challenge Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic.

Elsewhere, Marco Cecchinato lived to fight another day, saving one match point at 6/7 in the second-set tie-break of a 5-7, 7-6(7), 6-2 win over Italian compatriot Gianluca Mager in two hours and 33 minutes. Cecchinato will now meet American Tommy Paul.

Earlier in the day, sixth-seeded Spaniard Pablo Andujar saved two set points in the first set and recovered from 1-3 down in the second set to overcome qualifier Jozef Kovalik of Slovakia 7-5, 7-5 in two hours and three minutes. Andujar saved two set points when Kovalik served at 5-4, 40/30 and Ad-In in the first set.

The 35-year-old Andujar, a winner of four ATP Tour titles from nine clay-court finals, will next face Federico Delbonis, who was solid on serve to edge past Andreas Seppi of Italy 7-5, 7-6(6) in one hour and 57 minutes. Delbonis and Seppi met only last week at the Internazionali di Tennis Emilia Romagna in Parma, with the Argentine winning 6-1, 7-6(6).

Roberto Carballes Baena, who beat Denis Shapovalov 8-6 in the fifth set of their Roland Garros second-round match two weeks ago, came through a match of 10 service breaks mid-afternoon, 7-5, 6-4, over Argentine qualifier Federico Coria in just under two hours. The Spaniard now prepares to meet top seed Fabio Fognini.

View Sardinia Draws

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Raonic Blasts 21 Aces In St. Petersburg Win

Sixth seed and 2015 champion Milos Raonic struck 21 aces on Tuesday and saved five set points at 4-5 in the first set en route to a 7-6(5), 6-1 victory over American qualifier J.J. Wolf in the first round of the St. Petersburg Open.

The Canadian needed one hour and 40 minutes to earn his 15th match win of the season. Less than two months ago, the former World No. 3 showed impressive form to reach the Western & Southern Open final (l. to Djokovic). He will next play Alexander Bublik, who hit 25 aces in his own first-round victory Monday.

Raonic is competing in St. Petersburg for the first time since 2016. He is now 5-1 at the tournament and four of his triumphs have come in straight sets.

[WATCH LIVE 1]

The highest seed in Raonic’s quarter is fourth seed Karen Khachanov, who eased past Aussie James Duckworth 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 17 minutes. The Russian is seeking his second ATP Tour title on home soil after lifting the Moscow trophy two years ago.

Khachanov, who only lost serve once in his win, will play Russian wild card Aslan Karatsev, who is 15-1 on the ATP Challenger Tour since tennis restarted in August. 

Borna Coric, who finished runner-up to Daniil Medvedev in last year’s St. Petersburg Open final, was rock solid on serve Tuesday when he defeated Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-3, 7-6(2) in one hour and 36 minutes. The seventh-seeded Croatian struck 12 aces and lost only nine of his service points (45/54). Coric will now play Russian wild card Roman Safiullin or lucky loser Emilio Gomez of Ecuador.

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Opelka Is Three Times Above Average In This Serving Area

Players on the ATP Tour average around half an ace per service game on hard courts. Solid numbers.

Reilly Opelka grabs that average by the scruff of the neck and triples it to lead the Tour in untouchable serves.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of ace leaders on hard courts identifies that the 22-year-old American has averaged a head-turning 1.5 aces per service game so far in his emerging career. No player has posted such lofty ace totals since statistics were first recorded in 1991. The data set includes players who have played a minimum of 500 service games on hard courts in their career.

Opelka’s numbers at the Western & Southern Open in New York in August were slightly higher in his first three matches than his daunting average. Opelka retired in the quarter-finals against Stefanos Tsitsipas at 5-6 in the opening set with a right knee injury. Through his first three matches, the 6’11” American was averaging 1.6 aces per service game.

Reilly Opelka: Western & Southern Open Rounds 1-3

There are only 13 players since 1991 that have averaged greater than one ace per service game on hard courts. It’s interesting that this leaderboard is dominated by five Australians.

The ATP Tour average for aces per service game is 0.52. Of the Big Three, only Roger Federer (0.63) has averaged more than half an ace per game.

Big Three’s Hard Court Aces Per Service Game

Opelka has played eight matches in his career where he has astonishingly averaged at least two aces per service game in the match. He won six of those eight encounters.

Opelka Averaging 2+ Aces Per Service Game

Prior to the return of the ATP Tour, former World No. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov picked Opelka to win the Western & Southern Open. The American is currently ranked No. 36 in the FedEx ATP Rankings and charging fast. His days of flying under the radar are over. This week he competes at the St. Petersburg Open.

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Zverev Brothers Eliminated In Cologne Doubles

Alexander Zverev and Mischa Zverev have won two ATP Tour doubles titles together and reached five more finals. But third seeds Raven Klaasen and Oliver Marach eliminated the Germans 2-6, 6-4, 10-6 in the first round of the bett1HULKS Indoors on Tuesday.

Klaasen and Marach saved 11 of the 14 break points they faced, including all eight in the second set, to triumph after one hour and 23 minutes. The South African-Austrian duo was 1-5 after the ATP Tour’s restart before their victory in Cologne. Ironically, their one previous win since August came against Alexander Zverev (w/Tim Puetz) at the Western & Southern Open.

Klaasen and Marach will next play Spaniards Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Fernando Verdasco or Germans Daniel Masur and Rudolf Molleker.

Also advancing in Cologne were Dominic Inglot and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, who beat Nicholas Monroe and Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-4. In the other doubles match of the day at the ATP 250, Tomislav Brkic and Marin Cilic ousted Hubert Hurkacz and Steve Johnson 6-0, 6-1.

Melzer/Roger-Vasselin Advance In St. Petersburg
Second seeds Jurgen Melzer and Edouard Roger-Vasselin reached the second round of the St. Petersburg Open with a 6-2, 7-6(3) win against qualifiers Evgeny Donskoy and Roman Safiullin. They will next play Russian wild cards Daniil Golubev and Evgenii Tiurnev.

Marcelo Demoliner and Matwe Middelkoop ousted third seeds Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 7-6(1), 7-6(7). Taylor Fritz and Cameron Norrie, who played one another in singles on Monday (Norrie advanced), beat Luke Bambridge and Daniel Evans 3-6, 6-3, 10-5.

^{Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Jurgen Melzer break serve four times to reach the second round in St. Petersburg. Photo Credit: St. Petersburg Open}
Sonego/Vavassori Save 10 Match Points In Sardinia
It’s not every day a team saves 10 match points on the ATP Tour. Italians Lorenzo Sonego and Andrea Vavassori did just that at the Forte Village Sardegna Open on Tuesday, battling past countrymen Fabio Fognini and Lorenzo Musetti 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 15-13.

Fognini and Musetti had seven match points before the second-set tie-break, but could not convert. They earned three more chances in the Match Tie-break, but ultimately fell short after two hours and 11 minutes.

Third seeds Marcus Daniell and Philipp Oswald, finalists at the ASB Classic in January, opened their Sardinia campaign with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Spaniards Albert Ramos-Vinolas and David Vega Hernandez. They won 60 per cent of their return points in a 53-minute victory, setting up a second-round clash against Artem Sitak and Igor Zelenay.

In other action, American singles stars Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe ousted Andre Goransson and Jiri Vesely 7-6(7), 1-6, 11-9. On Monday, Paul rallied from a 0-5 third-set deficit in singles against Andrej Martin. Marcelo Arevalo and Jonny O’Mara also advanced with a 4-6, 7-5, 10-4 triumph against wild cards Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov.

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Tiafoe Takes Rain-Delayed Title In Parma: "It Was A Business Trip"

For many players, returning to the ATP Challenger Tour requires a particular mindset. Whether it’s a former Top 10 stalwart on the comeback trail from injury or a former Top 50 star looking to rediscover his form, it all comes down to focus and discipline.

Frances Tiafoe knows that very well. The 22-year-old adopted that precise mentality as he descended on the circuit this month. On Monday, Tiafoe capped his Challenger return with a title at the Internazionali di Tennis Emilia Romagna in Parma, Italy. He defeated Salvatore Caruso 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the championship.

In search of more matches and confidence, the American was all business in Parma. He would exact revenge on surging teen Lorenzo Musetti in the second round, before securing back-to-back Top 100 wins over Federico Delbonis and Caruso in the semis and final, respectively. And Tiafoe wasn’t fazed as the championship match was postponed to Monday, after persistent rain resulted in a Sunday washout.

“It was a business trip. I came here for one thing and one thing only,” said Tiafoe after the match. “I was able to do that, so I’m very happy. Hopefully I can build on this and win a lot of matches and get my ranking back up. Again, I’m happy and satisfied, but in the coming weeks I want to do the same. I’m going to enjoy this one and get ready for Sardinia.”

Tiafoe, who rose to a career-high No. 29 in the FedEx ATP Rankings just a year ago, had fallen as low as No. 84 in early 2020. But with new coach Wayne Ferreira in his corner, the Maryland native is pushing the reset button in his quest to rediscover his Top 30 form. Three weeks ago, Tiafoe competed at the Challenger event in Forli, Italy, where he succumbed to Musetti in the second round. It was a different story in Parma.

As Tiafoe says, it was purely ‘a business trip’. The business at hand? Win five matches, boost his ranking and leave with the trophy. See goal, achieve goal. Nothing more, nothing less.

That mentality was critical to him navigating through the draw and crossing the finish line. When you’ve battled for nearly three years on the Challenger circuit, grinding to finally crack the Top 100 and break onto the ATP Tour, returning to that level is never easy. With fierce competition at every turn and all players just as hungry to climb the FedEx ATP Rankings, it requires a certain focus and determination. That’s exactly how Tiafoe approached his Parma campaign.

“First, I’d like to get back in the Top 50 and close to the Top 30. That’s where I was,” Tiafoe added. “Then, in 2021 climb even higher. The guys were playing well against me this week, but I wanted to continue winning these matches and staying consistent.

“Everything was great in Parma. The staff treated me with the utmost respect. Everyone is super nice and they put on a great tournament. They try very hard and put the players first. The food was amazing and the chef even came out to the final. It was great to see him here.”

Let’s. Go. Foe. ??

Those title vibes @FTiafoe pic.twitter.com/t1c2io8obW

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) October 12, 2020

Tiafoe’s victory in Parma was his first title since 2018, when he claimed his maiden ATP Tour trophy in Delray Beach. It was also his first clay-court crown in three years, when he went back-to-back on the green clay of the Sarasota Challenger and red dirt of Aix-en-Provence.

Up to No. 61 in the FedEx ATP Rankings on Monday, Tiafoe is closing in on that Top 50 threshold he marked as a year-end goal for 2020. He will next compete at the ATP 250 event in Sardinia this week, opening against Corentin Moutet.

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Tiafoe Takes Rain-Delayed Title In Parma: "It Was A Business Trip"

For many players, returning to the ATP Challenger Tour requires a particular mindset. Whether it’s a former Top 10 stalwart on the comeback trail from injury or a former Top 50 star looking to rediscover his form, it all comes down to focus and discipline.

Frances Tiafoe knows that very well. The 22-year-old adopted that precise mentality as he descended on the circuit this month. On Monday, Tiafoe capped his Challenger return with a title at the Internazionali di Tennis Emilia Romagna in Parma, Italy. He defeated Salvatore Caruso 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the championship.

In search of more matches and confidence, the American was all business in Parma. He would exact revenge on surging teen Lorenzo Musetti in the second round, before securing back-to-back Top 100 wins over Federico Delbonis and Caruso in the semis and final, respectively. And Tiafoe wasn’t fazed as the championship match was postponed to Monday, after persistent rain resulted in a Sunday washout.

“It was a business trip. I came here for one thing and one thing only,” said Tiafoe after the match. “I was able to do that, so I’m very happy. Hopefully I can build on this and win a lot of matches and get my ranking back up. Again, I’m happy and satisfied, but in the coming weeks I want to do the same. I’m going to enjoy this one and get ready for Sardinia.”

Tiafoe, who rose to a career-high No. 29 in the FedEx ATP Rankings just a year ago, had fallen as low as No. 84 in early 2020. But with new coach Wayne Ferreira in his corner, the Maryland native is pushing the reset button in his quest to rediscover his Top 30 form. Three weeks ago, Tiafoe competed at the Challenger event in Forli, Italy, where he succumbed to Musetti in the second round. It was a different story in Parma.

As Tiafoe says, it was purely ‘a business trip’. The business at hand? Win five matches, boost his ranking and leave with the trophy. See goal, achieve goal. Nothing more, nothing less.

That mentality was critical to him navigating through the draw and crossing the finish line. When you’ve battled for nearly three years on the Challenger circuit, grinding to finally crack the Top 100 and break onto the ATP Tour, returning to that level is never easy. With fierce competition at every turn and all players just as hungry to climb the FedEx ATP Rankings, it requires a certain focus and determination. That’s exactly how Tiafoe approached his Parma campaign.

“First, I’d like to get back in the Top 50 and close to the Top 30. That’s where I was,” Tiafoe added. “Then, in 2021 climb even higher. The guys were playing well against me this week, but I wanted to continue winning these matches and staying consistent.

“Everything was great in Parma. The staff treated me with the utmost respect. Everyone is super nice and they put on a great tournament. They try very hard and put the players first. The food was amazing and the chef even came out to the final. It was great to see him here.”

Let’s. Go. Foe. ??

Those title vibes @FTiafoe pic.twitter.com/t1c2io8obW

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) October 12, 2020

Tiafoe’s victory in Parma was his first title since 2018, when he claimed his maiden ATP Tour trophy in Delray Beach. It was also his first clay-court crown in three years, when he went back-to-back on the green clay of the Sarasota Challenger and red dirt of Aix-en-Provence.

Up to No. 61 in the FedEx ATP Rankings on Monday, Tiafoe is closing in on that Top 50 threshold he marked as a year-end goal for 2020. He will next compete at the ATP 250 event in Sardinia this week, opening against Corentin Moutet.

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Khachanov/Rublev Save Match Point, Stun Top Seeds In St Petersburg

Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev pulled off a thrilling upset at the St. Petersburg Open in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The home favourites saved one match point to beat top seeds Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski 6-7(6), 6-3, 13-11, advancing to the second round.

Khachanov and Rublev hit 11 aces as a team and saved all three break points they faced to triumph after one hour and 37 minutes. The Russians faced match point at 8/9 in the Match Tie-break, but they held their nerve to oust the Brits, who began the week seventh in the FedEx ATP Doubles Team Rankings.

This is not the first time the singles stars have earned a big win on the doubles court. As a team, Khachanov and Rublev have reached ATP Masters 1000 finals at the 2018 Miami Open presented by Itau and the 2019 Rolex Paris Masters. They will next play Alexander Bublik and Reilly Opelka, who beat Nikola Cacic and Miomir Kecmanovic 2-6, 7-6(5), 10-8.

Peers/Venus Advance In Sardinia
In the only doubles match Monday at the Forte Village Sardegna Open, second seeds John Peers and Michael Venus eliminated wild cards Marco Cecchinato and Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-4. Peers and Venus will play Jonny O’Mara and Marcelo Arevalo or Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov in the second round.

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