Tennis News

Zverev sinks Rune in Montreal

Alexander Zverev earned a statement win on Saturday at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers, where he defeated Holger Rune 6-3, 7-6(5) to reach the quarter-finals in Montreal.

The German was consistent in the baseline rallies and was front-footed on return, winning 52 per cent (15/29) of points on Rune’s second serve to take a 2-1 lead in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

The second seed has earned a Tour-extending 49 wins this year, highlighted by his ATP Masters 1000 crown in Rome. The No. 4 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Zverev is also into his 29th Masters 1000 quarter-final, the 10th highest since the series started in 1990.

Zverev will next play Sebastian Korda after the American received a walkover from Norway’s Casper Ruud. The 27-year-old has fond memories in Montreal, having lifted the trophy in 2017 aged 20.

Alexei Popyrin also advanced to the last eight. The Australian upset Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3.

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Alcaraz, Sinner learn Cincinnati fates

Carlos Alcaraz will make his return to hard courts against either Gael Monfils or Alexei Popyrin, as revealed by Saturday’s draw for the Cincinnati Open.

The Spaniard has not competed on the surface since he reached the quarter-finals in Miami in March but arrives in Cincinnati holding fond memories, having advanced to the final last year.

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The 21-year-old, who has won majors at Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year, is chasing his sixth ATP Masters 1000 crown in Cincinnati. Alcaraz is seeded to face Holger Rune in the third round, with the Dane starting against former Top 10 star Matteo Berrettini in a blockbuster first-round match.

Alcaraz could then meet seventh seed Casper Ruud or ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals, with fourth seed Daniil Medvedev a potential semi-final opponent. Medvedev, who triumphed in Cincinnati in 2019, begins against Jiri Lehecka or Mariano Navone.

Lorenzo Musetti, a bronze medalist at the Paris Olympics, is seeded to play Medvedev in the third round, while fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz or 10th seed Tommy Paul could await in the last eight. Hurkacz reached the semis in Cincinnati last year, while Paul is set for his fifth appearance.

Top seed Jannik Sinner will play Tallon Griekspoor or a qualifier in his opening match. The Italian, who became the first player to qualify for this year’s Nitto ATP Finals on Saturday following his third-round win in Montreal, is in the same quarter as sixth seed Andrey Rublev. Rublev starts against Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard or China’s Zhang Zhizhen. Sinner, a four-time titlist this year, is seeded to play Ugo Humbert in the third round.

Third seed Alexander Zverev is a potential semi-final for Sinner. The 2021 champ Zverev takes on Karen Khachanov or Francisco Cerundolo in his opening match. Washington champion Sebastian Korda is a potential third-round opponent, with American Ben Shelton or Grigor Dimitrov seeded to play the German in the last eight. Shelton faces countryman Reilly Opelka in the first round.

The ATP Masters 1000 hard-court event begins on Monday, with the final on Monday 19 August.

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Jannik Sinner becomes first player to qualify for 2024 Nitto ATP Finals

Jannik Sinner was handed a double reward when he advanced to the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers quarter-finals on Friday. By doing so, the Italian became the first player to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

The World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Ranking, Sinner will make his second consecutive appearance and third overall at the prestigious season finale in Turin, which this year will take place from 10-17 November. After making his event debut as an alternate in 2021, Sinner last year charged to the final in front of his home fans at Inalpi Arena, where he ultimately fell to Novak Djokovic.

FORZA JANNIK 👏

Sinner is the first to qualify for this year’s Nitto ATP Finals, and is ready to battle it out on home soil 💪🇮🇹@nittoatpfinals | #NittoATPFinals | @janniksin pic.twitter.com/0ANj8hI3aS

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 10, 2024

The 22-year-old Italian began his year by lifting his maiden major trophy at the Australian Open. He then won an indoor hard-court ATP 500 in Rotterdam, became an ATP Masters 1000 champion for the second time in Miami, and clinched his first tour-level grass title in Halle.

Alongside winning a Tour-leading four titles this season, Sinner made history on 10 June after Roland Garros, where he reached the semi-finals. He rose above Djokovic to become the first Italian No. 1 in PIF ATP Rankings history.

Now 44-4 for the season after defeating Alejandro Tabilo in Montreal, Sinner will try to continue extending his lead in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin over second-placed Carlos Alcaraz. The Italian currently owns 6,400 points, 450 clear of Alcaraz. Sinner is chasing the coveted ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honour.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

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Sinner dispatches Tabilo, reaches Montreal QFs

Jannik Sinner continued his quest towards a fifth title of the season on Saturday at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers, where he dispatched Chilean Alejandro Tabilo 6-4, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals in Montreal.

After a slow start, the World No. 1 began to motor from the mid-way point in the first set. The Italian won 92 per cent (11/12) of his first-serve points in the opener and then won eight consecutive points in the early stages of the second set to break Tabilo’s serve and take full control.

“Tricky opponent, tricky conditions,” Sinner said. “It is difficult playing against this type of player. Huge lefty, big potential. I had to be very careful, looking a lot to make the game. It felt like a good match. I know in my mind I have to play one more time [today], so there is not much time to be happy and recover. I am happy to play again later.”

With his 79-minute win, Sinner set a quarter-final meeting with Andrey Rublev. The top seed is undertaking double duty on Saturday after rain cancelled Friday’s play and will return to Court Central at 7 p.m. local time to face Rublev.

“When you are a set and a break up you want to close it in two,” Sinner said. “If I want to play the second match today, I had to win the first one. So if it took three or four hours, it takes that long. It will be a tough match against Andrey. He played great today.”

Sinner leads Rublev 5-2 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series, having defeated the fifth seed en route to the Australian Open title in January.

Sinner has fond memories in Canada, having won his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Masters 1000 event last year in Toronto. Turning 23 next week, Sinner has since soared to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings. He boasts a 44-4 season record and leads the ATP Tour in hard-court wins (24) this year.

Sinner has now advanced to at least the quarter-final stage at all five Masters 1000 events he has played this year, with his best result a title run in Miami. The 22-year-old is competing on hard court for the first time since he triumphed in Florida in March.

Sinner became the first player to qualify for the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals with his third-round win in Montreal. The Italian reached the championship match at the year-end event in 2023.

In other action, Kei Nishikori reached his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final since Rome in 2019. The Japanese star beat Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6-3, 6-4 to advance to his 23rd quarter-final at this level.

Nishikori is a 12-time tour-level titlist and rose to a career-high No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings in 2015. The 34-year-old has been plagued by injuries in recent years and prior to his first-round win against Alex Michelsen, had not earned a victory at ATP Masters 1000 level since Indian Wells in 2021. He will next meet Matteo Arnaldi after the Italian advanced when Alejandro Davidovich Fokina retired in the third set with Arnaldi leading 4-6, 7-6(5), 3-0.

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Korda continues winning run, Rublev advances in Montreal

Sebastian Korda extended his winning run to seven matches on Saturday at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, where he overcame countryman Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-6(4) to reach the third round in Montreal.

Korda is playing at a career-high No. 18 in the PIF ATP Rankings, having won his first ATP 500 crown in Washington last week. The 24-year-old saved three set points in the second set on serve at 4-5 against Fritz before he eventually prevailed in the tie-break to advance after one hour and 39 minutes.

Korda, who improved to 1-2 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Fritz, will return to court later on Saturday when he meets sixth-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud in the last 16.

Fifth seed Andrey Rublev set a potential quarter-final meeting with World No. 1 Jannik Sinner when he dispatched American Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 6-2.

Rublev struck 22 winners and committed just five unforced errors in a high-quality performance to reach the last eight at the hard-court event. With his 64-minute win, Rublev completed the set of quarter-finals at all nine ATP Masters 1000 events.

The 26-year-old is up one spot to ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, trailing eighth-placed Stefanos Tsitsipas – who is out of Montreal – by 45 points. Rublev’s best result at the Nitto ATP Finals was a semi-final showing in 2022.

In other early action, Pole Hubert Hurkacz clawed past Thanasi Kokkinakis 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) to reach the third round. Hurkacz hit 14 aces according to Infosys ATP Stats and converted on his third match point to triumph after two hours and 30 minutes. He will next meet Arthur Rinderknech after the Frenchman defeated Italian Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 6-2.

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Boulter knocked out of Canadian Open by Sabalenka

British number one Katie Boulter loses in straight sets to Aryna Sabalenka in the third round of the Canadian Open.

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