Andy Murray did not have a match Thursday at the Infosys Hall of Fame Open. The former World No. 1 enjoyed a nice surprise in Newport, though. After finishing his practice, the Scot met Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.

“I admire your grit,” Cousins told Murray as they shook hands.

The star quarterback later told ATPTour.com: “That’s the word that comes to mind when I think of him: his grit, toughness, the ability to come back from injury. Tennis is already mentally [difficult] as a singles player, you’re on your own. Matches can get long, you need to dig deep. It can be mentally and emotionally heartbreaking.

“The way he’s handled not only his career, but individual matches, it is inspiring to watch and kind of helps me with what I’m doing.” 

Cousins is known for throwing a football, earning three appearances in the Pro Bowl. But since he was young, he has been a fan of tennis. On Thursday, he played on a practice court at the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

“I love the sport. I was looking for a way to train in the offseason and not just do boring training, but do something fun. Thought about pickup basketball, but was concerned about the risk of injury, so ended up doing tennis and just fell in love with it,” Cousins said. “Didn’t realise just how much it would carry over to playing quarterback. Can’t get enough of it. That’s why I’m here in Newport today.”

^{Photo Credit: Ben Solomon/International Tennis Hall of Fame}
Growing up, Cousins enjoyed watching Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Michael Chang and Todd Martin compete. Someone even told him that Sampras would throw a football during his warmup to imitate a service motion, which further intrigued the quarterback, who increasingly followed the spot.

“As I got older and really got away from tennis to focus on football, that was when Federer, Nadal and Djokovic made their rise,” Cousins said. “Now as I’m getting into it, those guys are getting a little older and so it’s been fun to see some of the younger names start to make a run.” 

Cousins tries to learn from the likes of the ‘Big Three’ and apply those lessons to his own craft.

“I think the longevity, the body work. Tennis is a grind on their bodies physically. The travel and just watching how they take care of themselves, I think there’s something there with trying to play as long as you can,” Cousins said. “I think they’re setting a good example with the work they’re putting in to take care of their bodies.”

^{James Duckworth chats with Kirk Cousins in Newport. Photo Credit: ATP}
The Viking had fun meeting some of the ATP Tour stars, chatting with Murray as well as John Isner and James Duckworth. It was a special moment for Duckworth, who is a big National Football League fan.

“It was super cool. I was in the gym warming up and came down, [someone] asked, ‘Do you want to meet Kirk Cousins?’ I was like, ‘Of course!’” Duckworth said. “Super nice guy. Watched him heaps, great player. It was just a really cool experience to meet another incredible athlete.”

John Isner extended his win streak at the Infosys Hall of Fame Open to 10 matches on Thursday with a thrilling 7-6(2), 6-7(6), 7-6(5) quarter-final victory against fifth-seeded Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi. The four-time Newport champion set up an all-American semi-final showdown with Maxime Cressy in a rematch of their Australian Open first-round matchup, in which Cressy battled back from two sets down to advance.

Bonzi saved three match points from 3-6 in the second-set tie-break, then erased another four from 1-6 in the third-set tie-break, including one on a miraculous backhand pass at 4-6. But Isner snatched the win after a strong return on his eighth match point.

“I got off to a good start in the [final] tie-break and I needed every single bit of it, obviously,” Isner said post-match. “Eventually I was able to win. That was a crazy match, for sure.

“From 6-1 up to 6-5 after losing two serves, after that passing shot, I was thinking that this probably is not my day, truthfully. Because he played very well at 6-3 in the second-set tie-break as well. It was too good from him. I was able to hit a good return somehow, because I was all discombobulated at 6-5.”

The quarter-final scoreline suggests a typical Isner match of few break chances, but that was not the case in a see-saw opening set. As both men struggled to make first serves, with neither surpassing the 60 per cent mark, four breaks of serve preceded the first tie-break.

Order was restored on serve in the final two sets, with no break points on offer. While Isner had the easier holds in set two, Bonzi had the better of the decider until the tie-break. The two-hour, 47-minute contest also included a brief rain delay with Isner leading 4/2 in the second-set tie-break.

With the victory, the American improved to 25-5 in Newport, where he won the title in 2011, 2012, 2017 and 2019. He is through to his sixth semi-final on the Rhode Island lawns. With another victory he would enter the Top 20 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings; Isner has not been inside the Top 20 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings since February 2020.

The second seed will face a fellow big server when he takes on Cressy in the semi-finals. The fourth seed has not dropped serve in two Newport matches and saved all three break points he faced in a 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4 win against countryman and 2018 Newport champion Steve Johnson.

“He’s coming into his own for sure right now,” Isner said of Cressy, who upset Felix Auger-Aliassime at Wimbledon after reaching the Eastbourne final last month. “He’s having a great year and he does a lot of very good things on the court. He serves and volleys incredibly well. He probably has, in my mind, one of the best volleys on Tour and he plays aggressively on big points. I think our match will be very close.

“I’m looking forward to it. He’s a nice kid and it’ll be a fun matchup.”

Cressy, up to No. 38 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, is set tor reach a new career high Monday in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, breaking into the Top 40 for the first time.

Maxime Cressy remains perfect on serve through two matches at the Infosys Hall of Fame Open. After not facing a break point in his opening win against Mitchell Krueger, the fourth seed saved three break points on Thursday against Steve Johnson in the quarter-finals.

In a 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4 victory, Cressy turned the match around with a key three-game stretch that spanned the final two sets. After capitalising on his first break chances late in the second, he saved a break point in serving out the set. Cressy broke again to start the decider and did not face a break point in the final set.

“It was actually a very tough first set, a lot of nerves. Playing on the centre court is incredible,” Cressy said in his on-court interview. “[Johnson] is a terrific player. He was extremely focussed and sharp on the serve in the first set. I had to stay focussed on my serve, what I can control, and I was really able to do it successfully, especially starting in the second set.”

Cressy handled a nervy moment as he served out the match after two straight double faults turned two match points at 40/15 into deuce. But he stayed aggressive on the next two points, getting to the net behind a pair of second serves to advance to his third semi-final of the 2022 season.

“There’s never better practice than matches,” Cressy said of handling the pressure against the 2018 Newport champion. “I guess my secret would be to play a lot of tournaments and lot of matches. I’m getting used to playing these tough moments, but it was extremely stressful for me today.”

Cressy, who reached finals in Melbourne and Eastbourne this season, moves up to No. 38 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings by reaching the semi-finals. He is currently at a career-high of No. 41 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, one year after entering Newport as the World No. 151 last season, when he reached the quarter-finals.

Following that matchup, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jason Kubler returned to the stadium court to finish their second-round matchup, which was suspended due to poor light Wednesday night with Kubler poised to serve at 5-6 in the deciding set.

Jason Kubler advances to his first tour-level quarter-final. Photo Credit: Kate Whitney Lucey/International Tennis Hall of Fame

After saving a match point on serve, Kubler came from 1/3 down in the tie-break to clinch a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) victory, earning the win in his first match against a Top 10 opponent. 

“I was pretty nervous, to be honest,” the 29-year-old said post-match. “Luckily the last couple months I’ve been doing so much work on my serve. I was thinking about all the stuff I’ve done the last couple of months and that’s what gave me a bit of confidence.

“Just very fortunate to be in this position. Today could have gone either way… Fortunate that it went my way today, but I’m just happy that I stuck in and tried my best for the whole time.”

Auger-Aliassime’s match point came with Kubler served to stay alive at 5-6, 30/40. In the 5-5 game on Wednesday night, the Canadian saved a break point to deny Kubler a chance to serve out the match.

While the delay made for a stressful wait, the Aussie had a similar experience at Wimbledon when he faced an overnight delay before serving out his second-round victory against Denis Novak. He went on to reach the fourth round at SW19, his best major result.

“It’s definitely motivating, the last few months, the work we’ve been putting in with the team” he said of his recent success, which also includes an ATP Challenger Tour title in Little Rock. “It’s giving me a lot of confidence that we’re on the right track. Regardless of how this morning went, I was still very happy with how the match went. Just confident that the process we’re taking is heading in the right direction.”

Winning breeds confidence. Just ask Dominic Thiem.

The Austrian backed up his first tour-level win in 14 months with an impressive 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4 victory against Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut to reach the quarter-finals at the Nordea Open on Thursday.

Thiem, who defeated Emil Ruusuvuori on debut in Bastad earlier this week, played with great intensity and power throughout his two-hour and 41-minute clash against the fourth seed to earn another crucial win.

“It is great to play here,” Thiem said in his on-court interview. “It is an amazing atmosphere and I am so happy that I won today so I can have at least another match tomorrow. It was really good.

“The win against Emil gave me confidence that I can compete against the best players in the world and today against Roberto. He is always such a tough opponent. I was expecting and hoping it would be a close match. Then when I won the first set in the tie-break I said ‘Hey, I can win today.’ I had the belief until the end of the match and the third set was really good.”

The 28-year-old missed the second half of last year due to a wrist injury and arrived at the ATP 250 clay-court event in Bastad holding a 0-7 record in 2022. However, he has shown signs of promise on the clay in Sweden to reach his first tour-level quarter-final since Madrid in May 2021.

Thiem will next play Argentine Sebastian Baez or Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina as he looks to continue his run.

“It is a process. I beat Ruusuvuori and today I beat Bautista Agut. Two really top opponents, so if I can beat them I am definitely back,” Thiem added. “I am into the quarters of a really strong tournament, so I am happy. It is a process, but I am going the right way.”

In a tight match, Thiem rallied from a break down in the first set and then played with more freedom in the third set, opening his shoulders to hit through the court and improve to 2-4 in his ATP Head2Head series against the fourth seed Bautista Agut.

Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini continued their strong season as a team Thursday at the Nordea Open, downing Pablo Carreno Busta and Joao Sousa 6-4, 6-1 to reach their fifth tour-level semi-final of the year.

In a dominant performance, the Italians broke five times and won 76 per cent (25/33) of their first-serve points to advance after 65 minutes. The second seeds, who enjoyed a run to the championship match together in Bastad in 2018, will next play Nikola Cacic and Aleksandr Nedovyesov.

Bolelli and Fognini are aiming to capture their second tour-level crown of the season this week, having lifted the trophy in Rio de Janeiro in February.

Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez showed their fighting qualities, edging Andres Molteni and Hugo Nys 7-5, 5-7, 10-8 in one hour and 59 minutes. The fourth seeds, who captured titles in Marrakech and Mallorca in 2022, will next meet Francisco Cerundolo and Tomas Martin Etcheverry at the ATP 250 clay-court event.

The Argentines saved all eight break points they faced to eliminate Fabrice Martin and Franko Skugor 6-4, 6-2 and reach their first semi-final of the season as a pair in 77 minutes.

Andrey Rublev didn’t have things all his own way Thursday, but he stepped up when needed to claw past Federico Coria 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(2) and reach the quarter-finals at the Nordea Open.

The second seed, who is making his debut in Bastad, was made to work hard against the resilient Coria in windy conditions. In a topsy-turvy clash, Rublev recovered from squandering a 5-3 lead in the third set as he raised his intensity in the tie-break, hitting through the Argentine to advance after two hours and 36 minutes in their first ATP Head2Head meeting.

“The conditions were extremely tough to play in. To show a great level,” Rublev said in his on-court interview. “In the end, I am happy that I won. Federico played really well today, especially in the third set when he raised the level. It was really tough to play against, but I am really happy to win.”

The 24-year-old will next face Laslo Djere after the Serbian defeated Swiss qualifier Marc-Andrea Huesler 7-5, 6-2 to advance to his third tour-level quarter-final of the season.

Rublev is aiming to capture his fourth tour-level title of the season this week at the clay-court event, having lifted trophies in Marseille, Dubai and Belgrade. Following his win over last year’s finalist Coria, the World No. 8 now holds a 9-0 record at ATP 250 tournaments in 2022.

John Isner made a winning return to the Infosys Hall of Fame Open Wednesday. Playing in Newport for the first time since he won consecutive titles in 2018 and 2109, the American extended his win streak to nine matches on the Rhode Island grass with a 6-3, 7-6(6) victory against Peter Gojowczyk.

“I’m very happy. The first match here is always pretty tricky and I haven’t played here in a quite a few years,” the four-time champion said in his on-court interview. “It’s been a while since I’ve been on this court but I’m very happy to be back on this court. I’ve won a lot of matches here and I’ve always had a lot of crowd support.

“It never ever gets old, even though I myself am old,” he joked. “At 37 who knows how many more tournaments I’ll be playing, how many more Newports I’ll be playing. So I really do cherish these moments.”

The second-seeded Isner cruised to the opening set behind an early break, saving one break point of his own along the way as his serve blazed through the hot summer air. But after Germany’s Gojowczyk survived a six-deuce service game for 2-1 in the second set, both players raced through clean service games to set up a tie-break.

A single mini-break decided the tie-break when the World No. 91 German double faulted at 6-6. Isner made no mistake on serve, sealing the match with his 22nd ace of the match to advance to the quarter-finals.

After breaking the all-time record for career aces at Wimbledon, Isner now sits even further ahead of the pack with 13,772 aces.

The victory levels Isner’s ATP Head2Head record to 1-1 against Gojowczyk, who won the pair’s 2018 Delray Beach meeting in three tie-break sets. He will next face fifth seed Benjamin Bonzi in the quarter-finals after the Frenchman’s 6-4, 7-6(5) win over Christopher Eubanks earlier on Wednesday.

Top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime’s matchup against Australia’s Jason Kubler might have gone down as the match of the day — had it finished.

The match was suspended due to poor light with the Canadian leading 6-4, 3-6, 6-5 and Kubler preparing to serve to force a tie-break. In the last game before the suspension, Auger-Aliassime saved a break point with a daring forehand winner before battling through deuce to edge in front.

A single break decided each of the opening sets, but both men protected their serves in a third set that featured several lengthy rallies as the conditions cooled.

The match will be completed on Thursday, with eighth seed James Duckworth awaiting the winner in the quarter-finals. The Aussie was a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 winner against France’s Quentin Halys in the second round.