Britain guaranteed men's doubles finalist
There is guaranteed to be a British player in the Wimbledon men’s doubles final after wins for Neal Skupski and Henry Patten with their respective partners.
There is guaranteed to be a British player in the Wimbledon men’s doubles final after wins for Neal Skupski and Henry Patten with their respective partners.
Four players remain in the Wimbledon women’s singles draw, but can anyone stop overwhelming favourite Elena Rybakina?
Watch highlights as Lorenzo Musetti beats Taylor Fritz in five sets on Court One and will meet Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals at Wimbledon.
Watch the best shots from day 10 of Wimbledon featuring Heather Watson, Taylor Fritz and Lorenzo Musetti.
“Despite being 21 years old, he listens and tries to learn.”
These are the words of Juan Carlos Ferrero on Carlos Alcaraz as the three-time major champion prepares for his clash with Daniil Medvedev in his second straight Wimbledon semi-final and his sixth in a major. Ferrero, who has coached the No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings for a number of years, is in no doubt about what those numbers mean and he is asking for prudence as Alcaraz bids to defend his Wimbledon title.
“They are very significant stats, but you have to take it day by day, this isn’t a given,” warned Ferrero. “Then we have to go to the US Open and do everything again to try and reach these kinds of rounds. The most important thing is that he has a very, very high natural level and really in five-set matches his opponents have to play very well to beat him if he’s at a normal level.
“He’s feeling very good. He’s grown into it against tough players. [Frances] Tiafoe and [Tommy] Paul are difficult. He feels good and he’s managed to solve the problems that he’s faced, but now we’re very focused on the match with Medvedev, not thinking about the title.
‘We can’t think much beyond Friday because that would be a mistake. Medvedev has earned the respect of all the players. So we’re approaching it with the utmost concern.”
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/10/17/37/alcaraz-ferrero-wimbledon-2024.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Carlos Alcaraz practises at Wimbledon while coach Juan Carlos Ferrero looks on.” />
Carlos Alcaraz practises at Wimbledon while coach Juan Carlos Ferrero looks on. Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Alcaraz leads Medvedev 4-2 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, having beaten the 2021 US Open champion last year in the same round of Wimbledon, where they will meet on Friday. However, “Daniil beat us later in the semis at the US Open,” remembers Ferrero. “That says a lot about him. He is unaffected by defeats, they help him improve. I’m sure he’ll try something different from last year on Friday. Of course, previous matches have an influence, but every match is different…
“I think you have to learn a lot from the matches you lose because they hurt a little more and you have to pay more attention. Although you can’t forget this when you win either, the things you did badly or need to improve on. I always remind him of that.”
The fact that Alcaraz has reached six semi-finals in the last seven majors is a clear sign of how important the events are to the Murcia native, who won the 2022 US Open, last year’s Wimbledon and Roland Garros a month ago.
[ATP APP]“The motivation comes with playing in a Grand Slam,” said Ferrero. “They are the tournaments that motivate you the most, they’re the ones you want to win. It’s clear that being away from home for a time… you have to know how to handle that monotony. Freshness is very important for Carlos because of his type of physique, because he’s very explosive.”
With one eye on that freshness, Alcaraz practised on Wednesday on the courts of Aorangi Park, but he’ll be playing golf in the afternoon and resting on Thursday before returning to the courts on Friday for his semi-final clash.
“Nothing is a given, [Spanish motorcycle racer] Marc Márquez is a perfect example. What happened to him… he was winning everything, he got an injury and now he hasn’t won for over 1,000 days,” Ferrero said. “He’s battling to come back now, a guy who is an absolute one-off. Problems can happen, you [can’t] be too confident, you have to keep working. I think people have got used to him being up there, perhaps what he’s doing is even underappreciated.”
Editor’s Note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]The Italian title charge is alive and kicking at Wimbledon.
Lorenzo Musetti delivered arguably the Grand Slam performance of his career so far on Wednesday to outlast Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 3-6. 6-1 at the grass-court major. In doing so, the 22-year-old became just the fourth Italian men’s singles semi-finalist in event history.
Even after World No. 1 Jannik Sinner fell to Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday, Musetti gave an immediate reminder of the strength-in-depth of Italian tennis with a classy and composed display in his maiden major quarter-final. The 25th seed deployed his slice backhand to great effect to outfox an elite grass-court opponent and set a last-four meeting with Novak Djokovic.
“I don’t think I’ve realised yet what I have done,” Musetti said in his on-court interview. “I was talking with my team about how to play on the big stage… It was the first time I’ve had the opportunity to walk out on this amazing stadium and it’s been an honour for me.
“At the start of the match Taylor was really leading the game, especially with his serve and I couldn’t return well. In the second set I had a big reaction after breaking at the start and that changed my mind, my attitude. That probably made the difference and hopefully on Friday I will have the same one.”
MUSETTI MAGIC 🪄@Lorenzo1Musetti takes down Fritz in 5 sets 3-6 7-6(5) 6-2 3-6 6-1 to reach the semi-finals!<a href=”https://twitter.com/Wimbledon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Wimbledon | #wimbledon pic.twitter.com/sxjkWGAbvP
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 10, 2024
The two-time ATP Tour titlist Musetti composed himself superbly in the deciding set after Fritz had snatched the fourth via a break in the eighth game. The Italian raced to a double-break lead with some of his best tennis of the match before sealing a three-hour, 27-minute quarter-final triumph.
The foundation to Musetti’s triumph in his debut appearance on the All England Club’s No. 1 Court was his serve. The No. 25 in the PIF ATP Rankings won 76 per cent (63/83) of points behind his first delivery, and that stability allowed him to express himself freely in return games. Musetti converted six of 13 break points he earned against one of the biggest servers on the ATP Tour.
The penultimate point of the match was a good example of the way Musetti found his magic touch in the final set. He produced a well-disguised drop shot which Fritz chased courageously. The American caught his leg in the court as he tried to slide and the crowd held its breath, but fortunately he was soon up to face match point.
There was nothing the three-time Eastbourne champion Fritz could do to rescue the match situation, however. Musetti served out for a famous victory to join his countrymen Nicola Pietrangeli (1960), Matteo Berrettini (2021) and Sinner (2023) as a Wimbledon semi-finalist.
[ATP APP]With Jasmine Paolini into the semi-finals of the ladies’ singles, it marks just the second time in history that an Italian man and woman have reached the last four at the same Grand Slam event. The first occasion was just five weeks ago at Roland Garros, when Sinner and Paolini reached the semi-finals on the Paris clay.
The seven-time champion Djokovic earlier advanced to the last four after Alex de Minaur withdrew prior to the pair’s quarter-final clash due to a hip injury. Two of Musetti and Djokovic’s previous Lexus ATP Head2Head clashes have come on the Grand Slam stage, and both went to five sets, with Djokovic prevailing at Roland Garros in 2021 and 2024.
Looking ahead to another Grand Slam clash with Djokovic, Musetti said, “He’s a legend everywhere, but especially here at Wimbledon. I expect a big fight. It’s one of the toughest challenges. But I’m an ambitious guy and I like to be challenged.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
After coaching for two years in Miami, Federico Agustin Gomez gave up feeding balls to chase his professional tennis dream.
One glitch? The Argentine was not training regularly and any time with a racquet in hand was spent in a continental grip, feeding and coaching for 11 hours a day.
A 2019 graduate of the University of Louisville, Gomez was figuring out his post-college life in south Florida. A summer internship required Gomez in the office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and robbed him of any time to polish his game. Recognising he was not able to fully commit to training, Gomez decided to pursue coaching. Then the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 was just another roadblock in his hopes of playing beyond the collegiate level.
“I was like, ‘Okay, what am I doing? The Tour is not going anywhere, everything is stopped, so I’m just going to stop here and start teaching,’” Gomez told ATPTour.com.
[ATP APP]Trying to make ends meet in his new role, Gomez was missing the thrill of competition. Then, in September 2021, Gomez’s friend, Pedro Caniza, approached him and offered financial help to kickstart his career.
“I was doing okay, like I was working, I was happy. I had a place to stay. I had a car. Everything was good. But that something else was missing,” Gomez said.
“[Pedro] saw me playing matches and he was the one like, ‘Hey, what are you doing? You can teach after! There’s no need for you to be teaching right now. Why don’t you give yourself another chance.’ He was a big part of the reason why I am here today.”
It is easy to see why Gomez said, ‘I didn’t expect to win,’ after triumphing at last month’s ATP Challenger Tour event in Milan. Seven days after his first-round qualifying match on the Italian clay, Gomez had his hands around the trophy. He raised his arms in the air and cracked a smile so wide it felt palpable through a computer screen. It has been a difficult, but rewarding path for Gomez to reach this point.
“I was just teaching and trying to make a living out of [coaching],” Gomez said. “I was trying to stay healthy just doing fitness. But tennis, no, not at all. I don’t think I hit a two-handed backhand in two years. I was just doing fitness in the morning or late afternoon. I didn’t really have the time and also I was kind of disconnected from the entire Tour mentality.”
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/10/03/24/gomez-milanch-2024-trophy.jpg” style=”width:100%” alt=”Federico Agustin Gomez is crowned champion at the Milan Challenger.” />
Federico Agustin Gomez is crowned champion at the Aspria Tennis Cup. Credit: Francesco Peluso
Gomez’s journey to a career-high No. 224 in the PIF ATP Rankings is maybe different than what he would have imagined at age 17, when he earned his first ATP point.
“I thought I had it all. I thought I was on top of the world, that I could do whatever I wanted,” Gomez said. “But nothing else changed. I decided to go to Europe to try and make out a living. Things didn’t go as planned. There were some issues in Europe with visas and stuff, I wasn’t getting the opportunity to stay there.”
Upon returning to Argentina, Gomez told his parents, Marcelo and Patricia, that he was going to attend college in the United States. The Buenos Aires native narrowly beat application deadlines, arriving at ASA College Miami and three days later competing in a dual meet. After a year and a half at the junior college level, Gomez transferred to the University of Louisville, where he studied sport administration.
The 27-year-old is the oldest first-time winner on the ATP Challenger Tour this season. The week of his title run was also his first week working with his new coach Cesar Chiappari, who was in tears after Gomez secured the title. ‘Fede’ later shared a memorable phone call with his parents.
“It was funny because they couldn’t watch the first match because it was super early for them. I was first on for qualies that Sunday and they didn’t watch it. I won, so my mom tried to keep things the same way,” Gomez said. “They didn’t watch any more matches. They just followed the scores and stuff.
“When I called and they were driving, we had a little conversation. They were screaming and so happy for me. I really enjoyed seeing their faces. All of the hard work they’ve put in over the years to help me reach my goals… It’s a big step moving forward.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]World No. 1 Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the Nordea Open due to exhaustion.
The 22-year-old Italian felt unwell during his quarter-final loss to Daniil Medvedev at Wimbledon on Tuesday and has now withdrawn from the ATP 250 clay-court event in Bastad.
Sinner holds a 42-4 record on the year and is currently first in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.
Former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings Rafael Nadal, defending champion Andrey Rublev and former titlist Casper Ruud are all set to compete in Bastad, with the Swedish event held from 15-21 July.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Watch the best shots as Barbora Krejcikova reaches her first Wimbledon singles semi-final after beating Jelena Ostapenko on Court One.
Retirement is treating Roger Federer well, with the Swiss legend announcing himself as a ‘Swiftie’ after attending Taylor Swift’s concert on Tuesday night in Zurich.
The former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings became the latest star to watch ‘The Eras Tour’ live at Stadion Letzigrund. Federer posted a selfie with Swift on Instagram at the event, where he was wearing several friendship bracelets.
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Last week Federer attended Wimbledon, where it has been a Cruel Summer of weather in west London. With a Blank Space in his diary, Federer then headed to Zurich to watch Swift perform.
In June, WTA star Iga Swiatek’s Wildest Dreams came true when she received a handwritten note from Swift after watching the pop star in Liverpool.