Tennis News

The Nakashima Train Continues To Roll In Washington

The Brandon Nakashima train keeps rolling, and the 20-year-old put that on full display Wednesday at the Citi Open in a 7-6(1), 6-0 victory against sixth seed Daniel Evans.

The #NextGenATP American has now won 10 of his past 12 tour-level matches dating back to the start of his run at the Mifel Open in Los Cabos. Before that, he had not earned a victory at this level since last year’s US Open.

Nakashima made back-to-back finals in Los Cabos and Atlanta — marking his first two championship matches on the ATP Tour — and his confidence is showing in Washington. The Californian has not lost a set through two matches at the ATP 500, and he converted four of his five break points against Evans.

“It definitely feels great right now. Having all this confidence from playing all these matches, going deep in tournaments has been good for me,” Nakashima said. “I’m sure every player would want to have this feeling right now of playing well and winning all these matches. I’m just trying to embrace it as much as possible.”

Evans is a gritty competitor, who reached a career-high No. 25 in the FedEx ATP Rankings in June. The 31-year-old trailed by a break late in the first set and saved a set point en route to a tie-break. But in the critical moments, Nakashima hit back-to-back screaming passing shots to seize control. The former University of Virginia player then took the opener and never looked back.

“I think he’s got obviously a very big future. He seems very calm and levelheaded, which is a good thing. He played good today. He put me away pretty convincingly in the end,” said Evans, who missed the Tokyo Olympics due to COVID-19. “He’s going to be a good player.”

Nakashima will next play countryman Denis Kudla, who is from the area. The World No. 103 upset 10th seed Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-2 behind five service breaks.

Did You Know?
Nakashima celebrated his 20th birthday Tuesday with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Australian Alexei Popyrin.

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Cincinnati Marks Beginning Of 'Return To Normal' For FedEx ATP Rankings Logic

For the first time since the ATP Tour resumed from its pandemic suspension in August 2020, FedEx ATP Rankings points will be added and dropped per traditional methodology beginning 23 August (the rankings after the 2021 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati).

A player’s current Western & Southern Open ATP Ranking points will drop 23 August, 2021 and be replaced with points earned by the player at this year’s Western & Southern Open (played 15-22 August). Those new points will stay on a player’s breakdown for 52 weeks, dropping 22 August, 2022. As well, players who currently have Western & Southern Open points in their breakdown and do not compete in this year’s event will also have their existing Cincinnati ranking points drop on 23 August.

Points earned at all events after Cincinnati will be treated in the same manner.

In contrast, results from tournaments held up to and including the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Toronto (9-15 August), remain subject to the pandemic-related ‘Best Of’ logic (outlined in detail below).

As of 15 August, 2022, all pandemic-related adjustments will cease and the traditional 52-week rolling ranking methodology will be fully restored.

“Best Of” Logic
The FedEx ATP Rankings are in a “Best Of” system that extends through and including the week of 9 August, 2021. The “Best Of” ranking system adds events as per normal, except for when a player has two scores from the same tour-level event. In this situation, the player will only count the better of his two results in his rankings breakdown.

Events that occurred between 4 March, 2019 and 12 August, 2019 were extended for a further 52 weeks, or until the event is played in 2022 (max 156 weeks) and weighted at 50 per cent for the final 52 weeks. As exceptions, 2019 events in Rome, at Roland Garros, Kitzbühel and Hamburg are not extended an additional 52 weeks as the 2020 editions were played. Because of this, the 2020 scores from these events are to be extended for an additional 52 weeks, or until the event is played in 2022, and weighted at 50 per cent.

Visit FedEx ATP Rankings FAQ page

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The Nomadic Life With… Alexander Bublik

Alexander Bublik is one of the most entertaining players on the ATP Tour, from his shotmaking ability to his underarm serves. Although fans might remember the Kazakhstani’s trickery most, he has more aces than anyone so far with 576 entering this week’s Citi Open.

“It’s a cool stat. Leading in aces after almost eight months is great,” Bublik said. “It means I can serve. It means I can hit dingers.”

Before the ninth seed begins his run in Washington, ATPTour.com caught up with Bublik about what his life is like on Tour, his favourite vacation spots, and why he tries to focus on anything but tennis once off the court.

What are two essential non-tennis items you always pack for trips?
It’s my wedding ring and my watch. I buy and sell. I bought my first [watch] in 2017. Since then I’ve had many. I’m a big watch enthusiast. I love watches, I love buying them and selling them. I love all these kinds of things. At the moment I have maybe four or five watches, but I’ve had many more. 

Do you enjoy travelling the world or consider it just something that needs to be done to be a pro tennis player? If you do enjoy it, what do you enjoy about travelling?
I don’t like travelling at all to be honest with you. I’m not a big fan of packing, flying and changing time zones, but I treat it like a part of work. I don’t like it. I was happy to stay home for six months. I was very happy, it was really good for me. I would stay another six months at home if that would be necessary. For me travelling is just a part of my job to make a living.

How do you try to overcome jetlag and acclimate to the local time zone?
It’s not tough for me. I do well for the time zones, but I just don’t like travelling. I would be happy to travel from my home to the Alps and back with the car, five or six hours. I’m not a guy who would go to the Maldives, a 15-hour-trip to lay under the sun for 15 days.

In that case, where is your favourite vacation destination?
The French Alps, Swiss Alps, ski resorts. Something that is not mainstream and you don’t see hundreds of tennis players and athletes there. Something that is a bit interesting to walk around, see nature.

I go to the mountains, I enjoy nature. Of course there is a great hotel, but [I like] walking around. I can’t ski or snowboard unfortunately, but I love nature. It’s great to recharge, put away your phone. I think for me the best places are these cold resorts with skiing or in the Swiss Alps.

Watch Bublik Tour The Newport Grounds:

What is your favourite tournament city to visit and why?
The ATP hosts the tournaments in very good locations, so usually it’s always in good cities. There are some cities I don’t like [because of] the weather or conditions or other things, but overall 95 per cent of tournaments held by the ATP are held in great spots. We have great hotels [too].

As a tennis player, maintaining your body is of the utmost importance, so how do you take care of it during long trips?
Sleep well, and a couple of glasses of wine never hurt. I try not to stick to the tennis player thing, always taking care of yourself, taking care of your body, taking care of your tennis. When you travel, you should try to be a normal person and do whatever a normal person would do on a 14-hour flight.

Are there any routines or activities you do to create a sense of ‘home on the road’ to feel more comfortable?
I travel with my wife, my coach — who is my good friend — and a fitness trainer and we try not to talk about tennis. We try not to think about tennis at all when we are outside the tennis courts. Just live a normal life.

I don’t treat myself as a tennis player when I am outside. I probably should in order to perform better as they say. But for me, the most important thing is to feel happy and feel comfortable on the Tour. I try to put aside the tennis life when I am away from the tennis courts.

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Kyrgios Accepts Toronto Wild Card

Australian Nick Kyrgios has accepted a wild card into the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, Tennis Canada announced Wednesday.

This will be the seventh time the 26-year-old has competed in Canada’s ATP Masters 1000 event, where he owns a 5-6 record.

“I’m really pleased to be playing in Toronto this year,” Kyrgios said in a statement. “I’ve always enjoyed my time in Canada and have great memories of playing there. Hopefully I can play well and put on a good show for my Canadian fans.”

At Wimbledon, Kyrgios played his first tournament outside Australia since February 2020 in Acapulco. The World No. 77 has since played in Atlanta and Washington. He is 7-5 on the season.

The National Bank Open Presented by Rogers will be held from 9-15 August in Toronto. The tournament alternates between Toronto and Montreal.

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Andy Murray gets wildcard for Cincinnati Masters

Andy Murray is given a wildcard to compete in the Cincinnati Masters later this month.

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Felix Dodges Seppi Challenge In Washington

Second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime held his ground against a stern opening test on Tuesday against Andeas Seppi, rallying from a set down to start his Citi Open campaign with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory. 

The 19-year-old Canadian was tested across nearly two hours by Seppi, the player who stunned him in the opening round at Roland Garros earlier in the season. Auger-Aliassime earned his revenge with 25 winners, including nine aces, and five service breaks from 12 opportunities.

Auger-Aliassime, who arrived in Washington, D.C. at a new career-high World No. 15 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, improved to 24-15 on the season with the victory. Coached by Frederic Fontang and Toni Nadal, Auger-Aliassime will be looking for his third tour-level final of the season after reaching the championship match in Stuttgart and Melbourne. 

He needed a couple of games to gain his footing in Washington, D.C. against Seppi. By the time the 19-year-old found his best tennis, Auger-Aliassime was already down a double break and 5-1 in the opening set against the Italian veteran. Auger-Aliassime raised his level after saving two set points in the opening set, starting the second with a 3-0 lead. 

The Canadian improved his first-serve points won from 65 per cent (11/17) in the first set to 85 per cent in the second set and 89 per cent in the third set. That kept the Italian on the back foot, and Auger-Aliassime earned unforced errors regularly as he continued to apply the pressure in the later stages of the match. 

He awaits an American in the third round, with 16th seed Frances Tiafoe and #NextGenATP Jenson Brooksby set to hit the court later tonight.

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