Alcaraz roars into round three
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz beats Aleksandar Vukic on court one to move into the third round of Wimbledon 2024.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz beats Aleksandar Vukic on court one to move into the third round of Wimbledon 2024.
Holger Rune cut a confident figure Tuesday at Wimbledon, where he cruised through the first round of The Championships. The Danish star was in control throughout his straight-sets victory against Soonwoo Kwon and looked ready to make a push at the grass-court major.
It is not long ago that the 21-year-old suffered one of his most difficult defeats. Rune was one game from defeating Alexander Zverev in the Roland Garros fourth round. Zverev found a way to win and nearly claimed the title, while Rune went home.
The 2023 Nitto ATP Finals competitor did not allow the loss to keep him down.
“I think it’s important to take the learning from it. If you just avoid it 100 per cent you’re kind of hiding the truth a little bit so I think it’s important to learn from it, but at the same time move on because you can’t stay and [not] reset for like a week,” Rune told ATPTour.com. “Then it’ll just get to you and hurt you even more and do not good for you. So I think it’s about taking the learning quickly and talking about it. Then just move on and improve.”
Watch ATP Origins: The Rise Of Holger Rune
There were plenty of positives. Rune has made clear since his early days on the ATP Tour that he wants to triumph at the highest levels of the sport and he was on the verge of defeating someone who reached the final and had opportunities to defeat Carlos Alcaraz for the Coupe des Mousquetaires.
“Definitely it was much better that tournament than the rest of the tournaments I played in the clay season. I also felt like Monaco and the French Open were the tournaments where I was putting the best level together and definitely performing like that in the French Open gave me a lot of motivation,” Rune said. “But at the same time, super disappointed because I wanted to do better.
“But it’s always good to see the guy you lose to make the final and have a chance to win. So the good thing is it’s getting better. I’m improving and [I have] just got to trust the process.”
[ATP APP]Rune reached a career-high No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings last August, but is now World No. 15. That is not something that detracts from his confidence, though.
“No, no, no, I still have the same belief and there is still hope for the tournament as I would have if I was higher seeded,” Rune said. “I have extremely high ambitions for myself and I will try to live up to them.”
In discussing his opening-round win against Kwon, Rune admitted to feeling nerves early on.
“There are always nerves when you enter an event like this. There are a few doubts, there’s everything,” Rune said. “But I had a good preparation and you’ve got to trust that 100 per cent and trust that you’ve done the work outside the scene and now it’s just perform, fight and stay in there and believe in yourself. That’s what I have to do right now.”
Rune will next play Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild, who rallied from two sets down in his opening match. The Dane will try to advance even further than he did at SW19 last year, when he battled to the quarter-finals.
“[The tournament is] very special. It’s so historical,” Rune said of Wimbledon. “I had great memories last year making the quarters and that’s pretty much it. It means a lot to be back.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini tell BBC Sport about their rivalry as they prepare to face each other in an all-Italian second-round contest at Wimbledon.
Wednesday morning rain has delayed the start of second-round action at Wimbledon, where play on uncovered courts is currently suspended until at least 11:45 a.m. local time (BST).
When the weather clears, six men’s singles matches will begin on uncovered courts at the All England Club, including eighth seed Casper Ruud’s clash against Fabio Fognini on No. 2 Court.
[ATP APP]Regardless of the weather, the action will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Centre Court and 1:00 p.m. on No. 1 Court, due to both stadiums being fitted with a retractable roof.
The No. 5 in the PIF ATP Rankings Daniil Medvedev will take on Alexandre Muller in the first match on Centre Court, where top seed Jannik Sinner later meets 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini in an all-Italian blockbuster. It will be the pair’s second Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting after Sinner’s win in straight sets in Toronto last year.
On No. 1 Court, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz faces Aleksandar Vukic in the second match of the day.
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The doubles draw at Wimbledon is studded with star players, from the top doubles tandems to singles standouts like Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas. One of the most interesting duos is three-time major finalist Casper Ruud and his longtime friend, William Blumberg.
Why is the No. 8 player in the PIF ATP Rankings teaming with an American who went to the University of North Carolina? Ruud and Blumberg’s story dates back to their days as juniors.
“He was the No. 1 junior in the world at a point I was No. 4. And really it started a lot when I went on a trip to Chengdu, China for the ITF Junior Masters,” Blumberg said. “We hung out a lot there. We went to a panda sanctuary and we joked around. And then as we got older, we stayed in touch a bit, but not very much.
“After college, we reconnected and hung out. We bond over the same things, we’re pretty similar. We both love golf, obsess over golf and play golf. He’s unbelievable at golf, and I try. So we have a lot of the same things, similar values. His girlfriend’s friends with my wife now… just a nice friendship.”
Blumberg, now 26, and Ruud, 25, were also close with Miomir Kecmanovic and the memories they created together in their teens keeps them close today. Blumberg, a three-time ATP Tour doubles titlist, has partnered both and claimed a crown with Kecmanovic in 2022 at Los Cabos.
“I left school at 14, so just like them, they were doing online school. You travel every week. So when you see each other and you have guys that are similar, you have the same values and you just reconnect,” Blumberg said. “So it’s nice, you’re all trying to achieve similar things. And so that’s obviously important as well, but it’s really nice.”
[ATP APP]Last year, Blumberg spent a week in Norway with Ruud between Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
“We talked about me visiting Norway because it’s amazing there. It’s amazing in the summer, it was my first time. And we just found a week that made sense,” Blumberg said. “I had a week where I wasn’t playing a tournament and he was like, ‘Hey, come practise’. For me, it was a great opportunity to practise with one of the best players in the world and a good friend of mine. So yeah, it was amazing. And my wife came and his girlfriend was there. And so we just had a really nice time.”
Not only does Blumberg enjoy spending time on court with his friend, but he is also able to learn from competing with one of the best players in the world.
“It’s great. I would argue that he has one of the best forehands on the planet Earth, maybe the best forehand on the planet Earth. So for me to watch that, watch his preparation, [is great],” Blumberg said. “Honestly, just having the opportunity to play with a player like him and really be at the Slams and watch all the top players, watch all the top Americans that have come up that I knew when I was young, just watch them, watch them work and watch these top guys. And for me to watch him up close is amazing.
“He’s given me a lot of great opportunities… I thank him for that, but it’s also nice just playing with a friend.”
Blumberg has also bonded with Ruud over their love of golf. But beyond sports, the 10-time college All-American pointed to his Norwegian friend’s character.
“To be honest, I’m a pretty reasonable person, we’re on different levels,” Blumberg said. “He treats everyone kindly with respect as do a lot of the guys that I grew up with. But to be that same guy at that level… it’s good. But it’s a little bit of a grander scale for him. And so for him to still be like that, if he sat down with you, he’d treat you with the same respect that anyone would and I think that tells a lot about him as a person.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Otto Virtanen had one goal when he arrived at Wimbledon ahead of last week’s qualifying event. The Finnish player wanted to qualify for the main draw and be at his grandfather’s funeral in Helsinki Saturday.
It has been a week of highs and lows full of a wide range of emotions for the 23-year-old since then. Virtanen accomplished both goals, earning his way into the main draw of The Championships for the first time before flying home for a couple of introspective days with family to honour his grandfather.
“I felt that it gave me more power and more strength to show that I had such good memories with him,” Virtanen told ATPTour.com. “He watched all my tennis matches and my online career. And I always got a message after matches, no matter if I won or lost, and always positive. So that was quite a tough moment for me once I heard some weeks ago that he passed away. But I turned it into strength.”
It would have been very easy for Virtanen to succumb to both his opponents and the pain of losing a loved one. In the first round of qualifying against Franco Agamenone, his Italian opponent earned four match points on return at 5-4 in the third set, including three in a row from 0/40.
Virtanen persevered to win the match and then was in deep trouble again in the next round against Swiss Alexander Ritschard, who led their encounter 7-6(1), 4-1 and also had four match points against the Finn. Again, Virtanen found a way through and then won his final-round qualifying match in four sets to book his place in the main draw.
“I tried to just play. I played very good and it was giving me more motivation for passing the qualies and going back to Finland for a few days, and then going back to the main draw of Wimbledon, which was a big dream for me,” Virtanen said. “For a child, it’s the biggest tournament, and especially this special place where I played some juniors and looked up to all the pros. I saw how they do the things and wished I could play there one day and here I am playing here.”
[ATP APP]As special as it was to qualify, Virtanen had to deal with the harsh reality that his grandfather had passed away. Before his final-round qualifying match, he had looked with his team at flight schedules and decided to fly back to Finland Thursday after his match. He almost missed his flight because of London traffic but was able to wake up in Helsinki Friday morning.
“That was not not the most fun time. Saw some family and then on Saturday morning, in the early morning, we had to go to another city where my grandparents lived and my grandma still lives there. The funeral was hosted there,” Virtanen said. “We went there and we had the whole family tree there. It was so great to see everybody, especially now that I’m traveling a lot and as a tennis player, you don’t see too much of your family. So it was a tough, tough moment for everybody. He was really close to me.”
Virtanen’s grandfather was a “sporty guy”, who enjoyed participating in various athletic challenges with Otto when he visited the cottage.
“I tried to visit him all the past years every time I was in Finland just to go see and check up and cheer up my grandma, because my granddad for the last year wasn’t in the best shape,” Virtanen said. “We tried to take every chance we could to see him. I was actually one of the six guys who was carrying him in the funeral to the grave, so that was quite an emotional moment. But it was good to be part of the day. I would never, never miss it.”
Family means the world to Virtanen, so it was a tough Saturday for the Finnish player. There were many emotions and less than two days after he had arrived back home, family members were wishing him luck. It was back to business in London.
“Jumping on a plane was quite empty at that point,” Virtanen said. “Then arriving to Wimbledon I got some positives, everything felt good. I knew what I was working for. I knew what I was playing for here.”
The Virtanen family has dreamt of being in Otto’s position for multiple generations. His father, Pasi Virtanen, played professional tennis and reached a career-high No. 302 in the PIF ATP Rankings in 1985. Otto’s older brother, Panu, competed at Vanderbilt University and reached World No. 591 in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings.
“I have two older sisters, so I’m the youngest. They played a little bit but nothing like my brother. He went to college and played some Futures, some Challengers and had some ATP points. My sisters stopped early and did something else,” Virtanen said. “My dad, he played and then he was coaching all his life. Still is. I think it’s nice for the whole family to see someone from the family playing there.”
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/02/21/18/virtanen-challenger-2024.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Otto Virtanen” />
Photo: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour
Otto’s father was his coach until longtime ATP Coach member Jan De Witt last year took the reins. The German has worked with Gael Monfils and Gilles Simon among other stars.
Virtanen was a top junior player, winning the prestigious Orange Bowl in 2018. Players who have also won the event range from John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg to Roger Federer and Andy Roddick. But it took until November 2022 for the Finn to crack the world’s Top 200.
“I think many guys throw in the towel because it’s very hard to come all the way from there, all the levels. And in Finland, we don’t have too many tournaments,” Virtanen said. “Playing men’s tennis for some years, and then going to Challengers, I started to feel like this is the work… everything you learn so quickly [from what] you see all the pros doing here. And suddenly, you’re playing some big tournaments.”
After Jarkko Nieminen flew the flag for Finnish tennis, Emil Ruusuvuori has taken the mantle in recent years. But Virtanen, who reached a career-high World No. 109 last year, has shown he is capable of competing on the biggest stages, too.
The World No. 147 cruised past Max Purcell in the main draw at SW19 and will now face Queen’s Club champion Tommy Paul for a place in the third round.
“When I start playing really well, I feel like I could compete with anyone. I have no fear of anyone. If I lose, it’s just experience, I don’t take it [badly]. But I’m definitely going there to win the match and nothing else,” Virtanen said. “I’m going there to win again. Same like I had a good preparation today. Everything done, super relaxed going on court. I’ll try to keep it simple and it’s a big journey and I have one match at a time. I go to win the match, I do everything to win the match and see how it goes. If it’s not enough, it’s not enough.”
Win or lose, Virtanen will carry the memory of his grandfather with him throughout.
“He always believed that I would be here so this one is for him, definitely,” Virtanen said. “He’ll always stay in my mind for all the matches, after all the matches when I still keep getting messages from my grandma. But yeah, special weekend. And now I’m pushing every match full just to get everything out of the matches. Having him up there watching me play, [it is] just a good reminder and extra motivation.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Emma Raducanu vows to “put it on the line” on Wednesday when she faces Belgium’s Elise Mertens in round two at Wimbledon.
Watch highlights as Jack Draper beats Elias Ymer in five sets on Centre Court to set up a second round tie with fellow Brit Cam Norrie at Wimbledon.
British number one Jack Draper is pleased after coming through a five-set first round match against Elias Ymer under the Centre Court roof at Wimbledon.
While all-white is all right at The All England Club, Novak Djokovic has discovered that gray is sometimes okay.
After a search for a white sleeve to protect his recovering right knee in the lead-up to The Championships proved fruitless, the seven-time tournament champion sported a gray covering during his 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win Tuesday against Vit Kopriva.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion had worked to secure permission from the Club to wear the sleeve in the days before the match and received additional confirmation moments before stepping onto Centre Court.
[ATP APP]“I did check. I actually just met chairwoman just before walking onto the court,” Djokovic said. “She gave me thumbs up, so it was okay. Of course, we did check in the days prior if we have permission. We’re trying to find a white one, trust me.
“I saw Frances Tiafoe played, he had actually a black colour sleeve. Gray, I think it’s maybe slightly better towards the white. I know it’s not ideal. I like to go all white and I like to respect the rules. But I got the permission. I said to them that I will give our best for next match the white one.”
Djokovic, who underwent surgery on June 5 to repair a torn medial meniscus suffered during Roland Garros, did not face a break point during his convincing win, which set up a second-round meeting with World No. 277 22-year-old Briton Jacob Fearnley.
The Serbian, who has claimed a record eight ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours, said that he did not experience pain during the one hour, 58-minute match with Kopriva.
“For an opening match, I couldn’t ask for a better start,” he said.
“Obviously started a little bit more cautious, I would say. I didn’t really maybe go for certain shots 100 per cent in terms of, like, the far balls at the first set.
“… I felt like as the match progressed, I moved better. Those couple points I think when I broke him in the second set, I did one slide. That was the first slide of the grass court season for me. I haven’t done it even in a practice week. So that was a great test.”
Djokovic also took time to pay tribute to his great friend and rival Andy Murray, who withdrew from the gentlemen’s singles Tuesday after failing to recover in time from recent back surgery.
“Obviously, very sad news for the tournament and for the tennis world to hear that he withdrew from the singles event here in Wimbledon. I hear that he’s going to try to play doubles.
“Just incredible resilience throughout all his career. Multiple Grand Slam winner. Legend of the game. No. 1 in the world. Going to play Challenger circuit to build his rankings on clay, his least favorite surface, says a lot about his character.
“Just huge inspiration to all the players. Doesn’t mind getting out on the court for hours every day. Incredible professional. Just his approach is something to study, no doubt.”
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