Tennis News

Sinner Moves Past Korda In Washington

In a battle of two #NextGenATP stars, it was Jannik Sinner who came out on top on Thursday at the Citi Open in Washington. The fifth-seeded Italian overcame American Sebastian Korda 7-6(3), 7-6(3) to reach the quarter-finals.

“Obviously it was a tough match, because we never practised together. We never played [a singles] match, so it was kind of new for both of us,” Sinner said. “[We have a] very similar game style, so… [I was] trying to stick to my game plan, trying to serve well in the important moments, trying to have a good balance on court.”

The 19-year-old snapped a four-match losing streak in his opening-round victory against Emil Ruusuvuori and backed it up against Korda, who Sinner will partner in the doubles quarter-finals later on Thursday as they team for the first time this week. The Italian served well and batted from 2-5 down in the second set to advance in one hour and 56 minutes.

Sinner is currently first in the ATP Race To Milan, two spots ahead of Korda in third. The Italian was victorious at the Great Ocean Road Open in Melbourne earlier this year and became just the fourth teenager to reach the final at the Miami Open presented by Itau in March.

The World No. 24 is making his debut at the ATP 500 hard-court event and will next face Steve Johnson after the American beat Ricardas Berankis 6-2, 6-1.

Both Sinner and Korda struck the ball with great depth in the first set as they looked to dictate from the baseline. After Sinner broke to lead 5-4, he was unable to serve the set out, as Korda found good angles on return to move the 19-year-old around. However, the Italian regained focus and raised his level to come through the tie-break to move ahead.

After receiving treatment at the end of the first set, Korda began to have more joy on return in the second set. He stepped inside the baseline to attack Sinner’s serve with his variety of shot, racing 5-2 ahead. However, with the match looking set for a decider, Sinner began to disrupt Korda’s rhythm to gain both breaks back and level at 5-5. Sinner then played aggressively in the tie-break to seal his victory.

“Everyone thinks it’s easy, but it’s not that easy to close it out,” Sinner said. “There is a little bit of pressure. When I made the break, for me it was important to [make] him serve out [at] 5-4.”

Korda won his first ATP Tour title at the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma in May and broke into the top 50 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time following this triumph. The American was also making his debut in Washington.

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NHL Star Lars Eller Presents Rafael Nadal With Washington Capitals Jersey

Rafael Nadal scored in more ways than one Wednesday evening.

After the legendary Spaniard battled past American Jack Sock in a final-set tie-break in the second round of the Citi Open, the top seed received a special gift. NHL star Lars Eller, who won the Stanley Cup in 2018 with the Washington Capitals, presented Nadal with a customised “Nadal” Capitals jersey.

When ? meets ? @Capitals center @lellerofficial presented @RafaelNadal with his own custom jersey ?#CitiOpen pic.twitter.com/f204c37LhA

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 5, 2021

“It’s a sport I very much enjoy playing in my free time and also watching,” Eller said. “Especially having Nadal and this level of talent here, it’s a blessing to the city if you’re a tennis fan. We’ve got a Capitals jersey for him that I’m happy to hand over to him.”

Eller scored the game-winning goal in the Capitals’ Stanley Cup-clinching victory against the Las Vegas Golden Knights in 2018.

Nadal, who is making his debut in Washington, will play South African Lloyd Harris in the third round on Thursday evening. The Spaniard is chasing his third ATP Tour title of the season after lifting the trophy in Barcelona and Rome.

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Federer Withdraws From Toronto & Cincinnati Due To Injury

Former World No. 1 Roger Federer has withdrawn from the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Toronto and the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati due to a knee injury, the ATP Masters 1000 tournaments announced Thursday.

The 39-year-old underwent two right knee surgeries in 2020 after the Australian Open before returning to the Tour in Doha this March. Federer has competed in five tournaments this year, recently missing the Tokyo Olympics due to injury.

When he announced his withdrawal from the Olympics, Federer tweeted: “During the grass-court season, I unfortunately experienced a setback with my knee.”

The World No. 9’s best result this season was a run to the Wimbledon quarter-finals. The 28-time Masters 1000 champion also competed at Roland Garros, where he reached the fourth round before withdrawing. Federer has enjoyed success in Canada, winning two titles in Toronto, and is a record-holding seven-time champion in Cincinnati.

It was also announced Thursday that Tokyo Olympics singles gold medallist Alexander Zverev will not compete in Toronto.

“I regret to inform you that, unfortunately, I have to withdraw from the National Bank Open in Toronto,” Zverev said in a statement. “Due to the intense past couple of weeks and my incredible experience at the Olympics, I need to recover so that I can hopefully be at my best for the remainder of the U.S. summer swing. It was a difficult decision for me as I have had great memories from Canada and I can’t wait to be back next year!”

Italian Matteo Berrettini, Canadian Milos Raonic and Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta have also withdrawn from Toronto.

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Kyrgios/Tiafoe Begin Washington Campaign

Wild cards Nick Kyrgios and Frances Tiafoe opened their Citi Open doubles campaign with a hard-fought win over third seeds Rohan Bopanna and Ivan Dodig 7-5, 1-6, 11-9 on Wednesday in Toronto.

The Australian-American tandem, who are teaming for the first time this year, won 75 per cent (36/48) of their first-service points to set up a meeting with #NextGenATP stars Sebastian Korda and Jannik Sinner.

Neal Skupski and Michael Venus also advanced to the quarter-finals as the second seeds overcame French-Australian pair Fabrice Martin and Max Purcell 7-5, 6-3 in 67 minutes. The British-New Zealand duo next face Cameron Norrie and Luke Saville.

Alex de Minuar and John Millman sprung a surprise as the Australians upset top seeds John Peers and Filip Polasek 7-6(4), 5-7, 10-7. De Minuar and Millman will next play Marcus Daniell and Marcelo Melo after the Brazilian-New Zealand team took down Marcelo Arevalo and Matwe Middelkoop 7-6(8), 6-2.

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Nadal: It Is ‘About Winning These Kind of Matches’

Following a gruelling three-hour, five-minute encounter to hold off a free-swinging Jack Sock, Rafael Nadal admits it is all about maximising recovery time in his first ATP Tour tournament back from a foot injury. The top seed saw off the former World No. 8 before an electric packed Stadium Court at the Citi Open, his first match since he fell to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in a physically brutal showdown in the Roland Garros semi-finals.

It was that four-set defeat to the World No. 1 in Paris that ultimately led to the Spaniard’s withdrawal from the entire grass-court swing to recuperate the troublesome left foot. Still, in his Washington debut before 7500 fans, there was enough in his play to suggest he had taken a gutsy first step back to regaining form.

“You need matches like this to be fitter after a month without competing. But that’s part of the process, and I know the process,” Nadal said. “I went through all this stuff many times on my career. So it’s something I am not worried about.

“So is about winning these kind of matches. That helps you to be better. Then, if I’m able to improve with my foot, I think the rest of the things [are] going to come step by step.”

Sock knew all too well the struggles of injury, having worked his way back through ATP Challenger Tour events in the first half of 2021 just to return to the Top 200 in the FedEx ATP Rankings on Monday. He had his chances to secure a first ATP Head2Head victory in six meetings with the Spaniard but failed to capitalise on a 3-1 third-set lead.

As impressed as Nadal was at the former World No. 8’s level, he offered a sage warning based on his own experiences in recent seasons. The younger brigade was hungry.

“[It] is true that he went through a couple of important injuries, something that is always difficult,” Nadal said. “And it is true that today, a lot of young guys [are] there. It’s not easy to fight with all of them. They are younger, they are good. They are ready to play as many weeks as they need.

“Well, I think I saw him playing better than what he did the last couple of years, without a doubt. I’m happy for him. I wish him all the very best.”

Nadal meets 14^th-seeded South African Lloyd Harris next for a place in the quarterfinals. Despite having admitted to some pain in the left foot during the match, he was prepared to forge ahead.

“I have been resting enough. Maybe [it] is not about resting, but is the moment to just keep going,” Nadal said. “[It] is the moment to not practise much because I played a three-hour match, so I need to be ready for tomorrow.

“[I will] have a short warm-up tomorrow, try to be ready for the match. I’m going to have a tough opponent in front. Let’s see. Tomorrow’s another day, another opportunity to play in front of this amazing crowd. I want to enjoy the experience again.”

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Nadal Sinks Sock In Washington Thriller

Rafael Nadal survived a Jack Sock onslaught on Wednesday night as he overcame a stern three-set test in the opening match of his Citi Open debut. The top seed saw off the resurgent former World No. 8 before a packed Stadium Court crowd, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(1).

In a battle between two of the heaviest top-spun forehands, Nadal was forced to work overtime to dig himself back from a break down in the third set as he prevailed after three hours and five minutes. Nadal had not played since a gruelling Roland Garros semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic in June and not on hard court since he fell to Stefanos Tsitsipas in five sets in the Australian Open quarter-finals in February.

Between 2015 and 2017, Nadal and Sock had squared off five times and while the American had taken sets in three of those encounters – including the fourth round at Roland Garros 2015 – this match ultimately went the way of all their previous ATP Head2Head encounters. Victory set a showdown with South African Lloyd Harris for a place in the quarter-finals.

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Sinner Sails Through In Washington Debut

Fifth seed Jannik Sinner is up and running at the Citi Open, snapping a four-match losing streak as he defeated Emil Ruusuvuori 6-2, 6-4 in his tournament debut on Wednesday. 

The 19-year-old Italian shook off an opening-round defeat last week at the Truist Atlanta Open (l. to O’Connell), and bounced back by winning the doubles title with Reilly Opelka. The extra hard-court matches paid off in Washington, D.C., where he fired winners off both wings including three aces en route to victory in an hour and 18 minutes.

“It was not easy. We’ve had some great battles already, this time was the third [time I faced him],” Sinner said in an on-court interview. “He’s a very, very good player and a young guy. I’m happy about my performance today. 

“I was trying to play my game. I think we both have similar styles, we both play quite flat. I was trying to change direction [of the ball] earlier than him, and that worked well for me today.” 

Sinner did not face a break point against Ruusuvuori, who reached the semi-finals last week in Atlanta. The Italian was strong behind his first serve, winning 85 per cent (17/20) of those points. Sinner improved to 2-0 in his ATP Head2Head against Ruusuvuori, and 2-1 overall. 

Sinner booked a third-round clash with fellow #NextGenATP Sebastian Korda, after the 12th-seeded American defeated Vasek Pospisil 7-5, 6-4 on Tuesday. 

Fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov also suffered an upset on Wednesday as Ilya Ivashka scored a 6-2, 7-6(4) victory to reach the third round. Dimitrov was contesting his first match since Wimbledon, and the rust showed in his 40 unforced errors to 24 winners as Ivashka broke serve three times from nine opportunities. The Belarusian awaits the winner of 13th seed Benoit Paire and Mackenzie McDonald.

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