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Iconic Brandenburg Gate sets the scene for Laver Cup official photo

  • Posted: Sep 18, 2024

ATP Tour stars from the past and present stood before an iconic landmark on Wednesday evening in Berlin for the official pre-event photograph of the 2024 Laver Cup.

Captains and players partaking in this year’s edition of the teams event headed to the German capital’s Brandenburg Gate for a spectacular sunset shot. Former No. 1s in the PIF ATP Rankings Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe are this year captaining Team Europe and Team World, respectively, for the seventh and final time, and they will have some of the current day’s finest talent to choose from across 20-22 September at Uber Arena.

Borg’s Team Europe lineup includes home favourite Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, Grigor Dimitrov, and Stefanos Tsitsipas, with Flavio Cobolli and Jan-Lennard Struff in Berlin as alternates. The Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion Alcaraz is looking forward to making his bow in an event that pits six of the best European stars against six players from the rest of the world.

“I think it’s a unique event,” Alcaraz told media after the photoshoot. “I’m supporting my opponents from the rest of the year, so it’s going to be a little bit weird for me but I think it’s going to be fun. The format is unique as well, so I’m super excited to start the event and see how it’s going to be on Friday and at the weekend. Really happy to be here at the Laver Cup.”

The World No. 7 Taylor Fritz is the highest-ranked star on Team World. The American will hope to back up his run to his maiden Grand Slam final at the US Open with a strong showing in Berlin.

“I’m super excited I’m here,” said Fritz. “I’ve heard really good things about Berlin and so far I’m really enjoying it. It’s one of those places, that if Laver Cup wasn’t here, I might never have gotten the chance to come.”

For McEnroe, the fact that this will be his last as captain of Team World only serves as extra motivation. The American hopes to steer his roster, which includes Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton, Alejandro Tabilo, Francisco Cerundolo and Thanasi Kokkinakis, to a third consecutive Laver Cup triumph.

“My idol as a kid was Rod Laver, and Roger Federer was the most beautiful player, one of the best people I’ve ever met. He came up with this idea, and to be able to do this with my best rival and great friend Bjorn Borg [is great],” McEnroe told ATPTour.com. “It’s pretty tough and when you lose, it sucks, but it’s still a great experience to be part of this. Hopefully, since we finally won the past two, we can go out with a bang.”

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Wu's comeback & Hangzhou homecoming

  • Posted: Sep 18, 2024

Wu Yibing was around 14 years old when he noticed a strange swelling on his left foot. The on-and-off pain was the result of a slight fracture that did not require immediate surgery, but doctors advised that it would likely need treatment in the future.

After nearly a decade of waiting, Wu opted for surgery late last year. It was a tough moment for the Chinese star who was in the form of his life. A fierce competitor with a fierce forehand, Wu triumphed at the Dallas Open to become China’s lone ATP Tour titlist in February 2023. He later hit a career-high No. 54 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

But shortly after the US Open, Wu was forced to put an early end to his dream year.

“I felt like it bothered me a lot last year after the grass season. Maybe the surface change and also the shoes, I didn’t feel really used to,” Wu told ATPTour.com at the Hangzhou Open, where he is competing in front of his home fans this week. “So I started to feel it more after grass and that’s why I decided to do the surgery after the US Open.”

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Since undergoing surgery, Wu has competed in just one ATP Tour event (Houston this year). Then he missed an additional four-and-a-half months. Wu did not compete from March 2019 until January 2022 due to several injuries, including issues with his elbow, which required surgery, his lower back, shoulder and wrist.

“I think the tougher parts of life always teach you something. I think we can all take these parts as motivation,” Wu said. “Mentally I will be even tougher because of the things I’ve [been] through. It’s not easy for everybody.”

Wu’s latest comeback featured a positive start. He immediately won his fifth ATP Challenger Tour title in August in Jinan, China. It was just his second outing of the year.

“That was very special. I feel like the work I put in before starting to play again was all worth it,” Wu said. “A lot of practice, a lot of effort outside the tournaments. A lot of work in the gym. Hopefully everything can come together, [I can] be healthy and play good tennis again.”

<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/08/24/12/51/yibing-jinanch-2024.jpg?w=100%25&hash=86502B8304761A06BCF6BC7CCA65E83C” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Wu Yibing triumphs at the 2024 Jinan Open.” />
Wu Yibing triumphs at the ATP Challenger Tour 50 event in Jinan. Credit: Jinan Open
For many Chinese fans, this year’s Asian hard-court swing marks the first time they can watch Wu in person since his rapid rise in 2023.

Competing this week in his birth city Hangzhou, Wu is making his first ATP Tour appearance on Chinese soil since 2018. It is a grand homecoming for the World No. 566.

“I actually drove by the West Lake a few days ago and the facility was right there. It brings me back. A lot of good memories,” Wu said. “As a young kid, four or five years old, playing with regular racquets, which were cleaning the floor!”

Nine months into the season, the wild card Wu will aim for his first tour-level win of the year when he faces #NextGenATP Coleman Wong in the first round.

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Alcaraz, Cobolli show off football skills to Bundesliga coaches in Berlin

  • Posted: Sep 18, 2024

Carlos Alcaraz and Flavio Cobolli may be in Berlin this week primarily to play tennis, but that didn’t stop the ATP Tour stars from testing their football skills with some local experts on Wednesday afternoon.

Ahead of the 2024 Laver Cup in the German capital, Team Europe’s Alcaraz and Cobolli challenged members of Bundesliga team FC Union Berlin to a game of football and tennis at Uber Arena. Both tennis stars are big football fans: Alcaraz supports Spanish giant Real Madrid, while Italy’s Cobolli is a huge fan of AS Roma.

Alcaraz and Cobolli also visited Berlin’s renowned East Side Gallery in its historic Friedrichshain district, where they swapped football jerseys and Team Europe jackets with their footballing counterparts. The representatives from FC Union Berlin included Head Coach Bo Svensson and co-trainers Babak Keyhanfar and Tijan Njie.

The No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion Alcaraz is the only Laver Cup debutant on Team Europe’s six-man roster at this year’s edition of the teams’ event. Cobolli is in Berlin as an alternate for captain Bjorn Borg’s team, which will take on the Team World roster captained by John McEnroe.

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Cilic, Marozsan record wins on Day 1 in Hangzhou

  • Posted: Sep 18, 2024

Marin Cilic secured his first win on the ATP Tour since January 2023 on Wednesday, finishing with a flourish to complete a 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 comeback over Zachary Svajda in the first round of the inaugural Hangzhou Open.

The former No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings has been hampered by injuries over the course of the past two seasons, eventually undergoing a second knee surgery in May this year. After a spell on the sidelines, Cilic returned to action on the ATP Challenger Tour last month and has worked his way back to record an impressive triumph over Svajda.

“It means a lot,” Cilic said of his return to winning ways. “It means a lot for me, for my team who have been with me through this extremely long, boring and difficult period. Two surgeries, lots of recovery, rehab and training. [I’m] just extremely happy that I am healthy, enjoying myself on the court, and physically back to 100 per cent.”

The 35-year-old, who clinched his maiden Grand Slam at the 2014 US Open, won 92 per cent of first-serve points in the deciding set according to Infosys ATP Stats to cruise to victory and book his spot in round two, where he will face Maximilian Marterer or Yoshihito Nishioka for a place in the quarter-finals.

Earlier in the day, seventh seed Fabian Marozsan secured an emphatic 6-0, 6-2 win over Luca Nardi to advance in one hour, 10 minutes. The Hungarian has established himself as a persistent threat on hard courts this season and is off to a strong start in Hangzhou with a statement win, overpowering Nardi with a comfortable triumph.

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The Italian Nardi produced a stellar run to defeat Novak Djokovic en route to the fourth round of the ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells in March but has since been unable to record a win over a Top 50 opponent.

Just like Cilic, veteran Mikhail Kukushkin also rolled back the years with a dominant display to defeat fifth seed Luciano Darderi 6-3, 6-4. The 36-year-old, who currently sits at No. 112 in the PIF ATP Rankings, used his craft and guile to record his first tour-level win since October 2023.

The former World No. 39 will now attempt to notch his 175th tour-level win when he faces either Alexander Shevchenko or Marco Trungelliti in the second round. 

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‘No, you’re the king!’ Federer greets Captains Borg, McEnroe ahead of Laver Cup

  • Posted: Sep 18, 2024

A host of tennis greats is gathering in Berlin.

Roger Federer on Tuesday headed to the city’s Uber Arena to help welcome his fellow former No. 1s in the PIF ATP Rankings and Laver Cup captains Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe to the German capital.

“The king!” exclaimed Team Europe captain Borg upon seeing Swiss great Federer, who is a co-founder of the Laver Cup and featured in a victorious Team Europe lineup at three editions of the teams’ event.

“No, you are the king!” replied Federer to Swedish legend Borg, who will captain Team Europe for the seventh and final time in Berlin.

Also set for his final outing as a captain this year is McEnroe, who had just finished hitting with his brother and Team World Vice-captain Patrick McEnroe on the iconic black Laver Cup court when Federer appeared.

“Good surprise, they said nobody was hitting!” said Federer to the McEnroe brothers.

First held in 2017, the Laver Cup pits a lineup of six European ATP Tour stars against six counterparts from the rest of the world. Team Europe has won four of the past six editions of the event and boasts a strong lineup this year that includes World No. 2 and home favourite Alexander Zverev and No. 3-ranked debutant Carlos Alcaraz.

Team World, which triumphed in the past two editions of the Laver Cup in London and Vancouver, respectively, will this year be spearheaded by a trio of Americans in Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton.

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Mpetshi Perricard, Daniel make winning starts in Chengdu

  • Posted: Sep 18, 2024

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard survived a scare on Wednesday, when he rallied from a set down to defeat Chinese wild card Fajing Sun 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-4 and advance to the second round of the Chengdu Open.

The Frenchman, who has experienced an eye-catching breakthrough year, dug deep to outlast the No. 359 in the PIF ATP Rankings in a gripping contest that lasted two hours, 28 minutes. The win was just Mpetshi Perricard’s second hard-court triumph on the ATP Tour this season but will be a welcome one as he quashed a four-match drought to advance in China.

The 21-year-old enjoyed a dazzling run to the fourth round of Wimbledon earlier this year, becoming just the seventh man in history to hit more than 50 aces in a match (51). Seeking a second title of the season, the Lyon champion will next play Yannick Hanfmann or Shintaro Mochizuki. 

Taro Daniel bounced back from his gut-wrenching five-set defeat in the US Open first round to Tristan Schoolkate to secure his first Top 50 win since January, upsetting sixth seed Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 7-5 to progress to the second round.

In winning his first tour-level match since the Mutua Madrid Open in April, the Japanese star snapped an 11-match losing streak. Sonego, the No. 50 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, has been unable to capitalise on the form that drove him to his fourth ATP title at the Winston-Salem Open last month, falling to back-to-back first-round defeats in his past two tournaments.

In the first match on centre court, Lukas Klein muscled his way past Adam Walton 7-6(3), 6-4 in a battle that was largely dominated by the serving prowess on display from both men. Klein, however, slammed down 12 aces to seal victory as he became the first Slovak to record a match win in Chengdu.

Walton’s difficult end to the season continued as the Australian fell to his seventh straight defeat at all levels since reaching the last 16 at the Atlanta Open in July.

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Murray swaps racquet for golf clubs, stars at Celebrity Pro-Am in Wentworth

  • Posted: Sep 18, 2024

Andy Murray has wasted little time in getting his competitive juices flowing again following his retirement from tennis last month. The Scot swapped his racquet for golf clubs on Wednesday in England, where he competed in the celebrity Pro-Am event ahead of the DP World Tour tournament in Wentworth.

The former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings retired following the Paris Olympics last month and has since spent time improving his golf game. The Scot will put his newfound skills to the test at the celebrity warm-up event in Surrey, where he will team with countryman and professional golfer Robert MacIntyre in the exhibition event.

Ahead of his round, Murray caught up with four-time major champion Rory McIlroy, with the pair in high spirits as they shared a laugh.

Murray will feature in the Pro-Am alongside a host of other celebrity names, including former Real Madrid star Gareth Bale and English cricketers James Anderson and Ollie Pope.

MacIntyre forms part of a strong field for the BMW PGA Championship, which commences Thursday. Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Matt Fitzpatrick and Justin Rose are all set to be in action.

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