Tennis News

Hurkacz Battles Into Paris Semi-finals For Nitto ATP Finals Berth

Hubert Hurkacz booked a place in the Rolex Paris Masters semi-finals on Friday and also became the final singles qualifier for the Nitto ATP Finals later this month.

The seventh-seeded Pole’s greater experience and a strong service performance in the decider helped him to beat first-time ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finalist James Duckworth 6-2, 6-7(4), 7-5 victory in two hours and 13 minutes.

Hurkacz, a winner of the Miami Open presented by Itau title and two other ATP Tour crowns this year, will now prepare to face World No. 1 and five-time former champion Novak Djokovic in south-west Paris on Saturday.

Later next week, the 24-year-old will join Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Matteo Berrettini and Casper Ruud at the season finale, which will take place at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 14-21 November.

“It’s obviously a dream come true to be at the Finals,” Hurkacz told the Tennis Channel. “I played at the Next Gen Finals so I thought to myself maybe one day I would get to the main one. I’m just super happy.

“I’m getting so much support, especially from other athletes… I’m privileged to be in this position and I hope I am making Poland a little proud. Interest [in tennis] is growing in Poland also with Iga [Swiatek], who is in the WTA Finals, so it’s amazing to have both players at the high level. Hopefully we will have a lot more guys and girls join the top soon.”

Hurkacz applied pressure right from the start, but it wasn’t until Duckworth made a backhand slice error to be broken at 2-2 that the Pole really settled. Duckworth paid the price for just two first serves into court at 2-4 and Hurkacz coolly closed out the 31-minute opener in the next game.

Out of nowhere, World No. 55 Duckworth took a 4-2 advantage in the second set when his opponent pushed a forehand wide, but his lead was short-lived. Hurkacz broke back immediately, and was left to watch Duckworth’s great hands and aggressive tennis in the tie-break. Duckworth took a 4/0 lead, but Hurkacz responded with three straight points. The Australian didn’t waver and although he lost a 37-stroke rally at 6/3, he closed out the second set with a backhand winner.

Hurkacz didn’t blink and won 23 of his first 24 service points in the decider, before Duckworth returned to his aggressive best at 5-5. Duckworth held firm from the baseline after saving one break point at 0-1 and later saved two match points at 5-5, 15/40, but Hurkacz completed victory with a lob winner. He follows in the footsteps of 1976 runner-up Wojtek Fibak as a Nitto ATP Finals qualifier from Poland.

“James was playing some really good tennis,” said Hurkacz. “He was very solid throughout the whole match, especially [in the] second and third sets. He was serving well and it was not easy to play against him. Obviously, in the back of my mind, I [knew] that basically I had to win today. So that was putting a little bit more pressure [to] push me to compete as hard as I could.”

Duckworth, who was seeking his first Top 10 win (0-10 lifetime), is now 22-19 on the season, which includes a run to the Astana Open final in Nur-Sultan (l. to Kwon).

“I’ll definitely take a lot of positives from this week,” said Duckworth. “Since playing [in] Miami, I feel like I have been playing some good tennis and improving. There’s still a few areas I need to get better at to get higher up the [FedEx ATP] Rankings.”

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Friday Preview: Djokovic Plays Fritz; Medvedev, Zverev In Paris QF Action

The Rolex Paris Masters hits the business end on Friday with five-time former champion Novak Djokovic, 2020 titlist Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev in quarter-final action. Casper Ruud plays in the safe knowledge that he has already qualified for the the Nitto ATP Finals, while Hubert Hurkacz will be aiming to join the Norwegian in Turin later this month as a fellow first-time qualifier.

Back at the start of Djokovic’s standout season, Taylor Fritz had the World No. 1 on the ropes having won the third and fourth sets of their Australian Open third-round clash. Of course, Djokovic came within one victory of completing the first Grand Slam since 1969, going 27-1 in major play. Today, second on Court Central, the pair meet for the third time this year (also Internazionali BNL d’Italia), with Fritz in good form on the back of three Top 10 wins — Matteo Berrettini and Alexander Zverev in Indian Wells and Andrey Rublev in Paris — in recent weeks. The American has won 11 of his past 13 matches, while five-time titlist Djokovic seeks his seventh semi-final on the indoor courts of south-west Paris.

Medvedev will attempt to overcome home favourite and qualifier Hugo Gaston, who will compete next week at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan. The second-seeded Russian has compiled a 17-1 indoor record over the past 12 months, but should he lose on Friday then Djokovic will become 2021 year-end No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings for a record seventh time. In five matches this week, including qualifying, World No. 103 Gaston has beaten Kevin Anderson, Lorenzo Musetti, Arthur Rinderknech, Pablo Carreno Busta and Carlos Alcaraz to become the youngest quarter-finalist in Paris since No. 121-ranked Michael Llodra in 2012.

In the final singles match of day five, sixth seed Ruud, who secured his spot at the Nitto ATP Finals on Thursday, challenges fourth-seeded German Zverev, who has won seven of his past 10 matches against Top 10 opponents. Zverev got the better of Ruud 6-1, 6-3 at the Western & Southern Open in August. Seventh-seeded Pole Hurkacz begins proceedings, knowing that if he beats first-time ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finalist James Duckworth of Australia, he’ll clinch the final berth at the season finale, to be held at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 14-21 November.

Watch Thursday Highlights From Paris

VIEW SCHEDULE – FRIDAY, 5 NOVEMBER 2021

COURT CENTRAL start 2:00 pm
J. Duckworth (AUS) vs [7] H. Hurkacz (POL)
[1] N. Djokovic (SRB) vs T. Fritz (USA)

Not Before 7:30 pm
[Q] H. Gaston (FRA) vs [2] D. Medvedev (RUS)
[6] C. Ruud (NOR) vs [4] A. Zverev (GER)

COURT 1 start 2:00 pm
[PR] F. Martin (FRA) / A. Mies (GER) vs T. Puetz (GER) / M. Venus (NZL)
[5] J. Cabal (COL) / R. Farah (COL) vs J. Murray (GBR) / B. Soares (BRA)
S. Gille (BEL) / J. Vliegen (BEL) vs [6] J. Peers (AUS) / F. Polasek (SVK)

Not Before 5:00 pm
[3] P. Herbert (FRA) / N. Mahut (FRA) vs [WC] B. Bonzi (FRA) / A. Rinderknech (FRA)

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Gaston Rounds Out Milan Field

Hugo Gaston rounds out the field at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held at the Allianz Cloud in Milan from 9-13 November.

The 19-year-old lefty broke onto the scene by reaching the fourth round at Roland Garros in 2020, and he maintained his momentum this year. The French lefty is soaring higher than ever, having reached a career-high No. 103 in the FedEx ATP Rankings on 1 November 2021.

This week, Gaston has become the lowest-ranked quarter-finalist at the Rolex Paris Masters since No. 121-ranked Michael Llodra in 2012. 

Read the full story at NextGenATPFinals.com

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Gaston's Fairytale Comeback Sinks Alcaraz

French qualifier Hugo Gaston wrote another chapter of his fairytale run to the Rolex Paris Masters quarter-finals Thursday night with a jaw-dropping comeback win over fellow #NextGenATP star Carlos Alcaraz.

Fuelled by a raucous Paris crowd, the World No. 103 rallied from 0-5 in the second set to win 20 of the last 21 points of the match to stun the 18-year-old Spaniard 6-4, 7-5.

It was the latest and most remarkable turnaround in a dramatic week that began with Gaston saving two match points in the first round of qualifying against former Wimbledon and US Open finalist Kevin Anderson. He then came from a set and a break down to beat another #NextGenATP teen Lorenzo Musetti to qualify for the main draw.

He dropped the first set to Arthur Rinderknech in the first round, came from a set and a break down to beat Pablo Carreno Busta in the second round and then twice came from a break down in the first set against Alcaraz before uncorking tonight’s second-set escape, during which he won 17 consecutive points. 

The latest turnaround from 0-5 came as a shock to the 21-year-old lefty, who benefitted from what Jim Courier coined “a festival of errors” from Alcaraz.

“I was drifting off at that point, and he started to have a letdown, as well,” Gaston said. “He made a lot of mistakes, because I managed to have fast balls, slow balls, to have high balls. He started to lose his groove, and I stayed focused. This is why I managed to overturn the match in my favour.

HOW ?@HugoGaston7 #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/G4uTGiKRJ3

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 4, 2021

“[The atmosphere] was incredible. Honestly, I have been playing tennis for this. It was actually incredible. It was really wonderful to live this match with them. I actually won because they supported me from beginning to the end even when I had a letdown during the first or the second set, they were always cheering me. It’s incredible to have such a great public.”

Gaston advances to play second seed and defending champion Daniil Medvedev.

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Medvedev Closing On Paris Repeat

Daniil Medvedev played inspired tennis in front of energetic Parisian fans to snuff out a stern test from Sebastian Korda 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 en route to the Rolex Paris Masters quarter-finals on Friday night.

Medvedev conjured up a dipping forehand pass laced with spin worthy of a sorcerer that found its way under the American’s racquet to claim the decisive break at 3-2 in the final set. Pandemic-weary fans responded with a Mexican Wave during the changeover and then sustained applause when the players emerged from their seats, earning a smile from Medvedev, hearty laughs from Korda and even a generous smile from umpire Aurelie Tourte.

“I had adrenaline going [from another hot shot earlier in the game] and that’s how it’s possible to make these shots. It was a little bit of luck, a little bit of skill and a little bit of magic,” Medvedev said.

But Medvedev was also focussed on the serious business of continuing his title defense and not handing Novak Djokovic an early path to the year-end No. 1 FedEx ATP Ranking. Defeat to Korda would have guaranteed Djokovic a record-breaking seventh year-end No. 1 finish. If Medvedev wins the Paris title, his faint hopes of finishing No. 1 himself will carry over to the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

Medvedev’s victory was anchored in his low unforced error count of 17, fewer than half the 40 Korda made. He earned 14 break point chances, converting five, while dropping serve twice himself.

“It was a tough first set where I felt that I had the margin but I didn’t manage to break him [from 0/40 at 3-2] and he turned it around against me,” Medvedev said. “But I was really happy that I stayed calm and kept my level and that was enough to win today.”

Medvedev next faces the winner of #NextGenATP stars Carlos Alcaraz and Hugo Gaston.

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Ruud Makes Norwegian History, Qualifies For Nitto ATP Finals

Casper Ruud will make his debut at the Nitto ATP Finals after clinching his spot on Thursday at the Rolex Paris Masters The 22-year-old is the first Norwegian to earn a spot in the season finale, to be played at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 14-21 November.

“It’s been an unbelievable year that will have the perfect end to the season,” said Ruud. “It’s been a stressful couple of weeks and months, because it’s been such a tight [FedEx ATP] Race [To Turin]. It’s been fun at the same time [and] so exciting to watch as a tennis fan.”

The Oslo native has enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2021, winning five of his six ATP Tour titles. The only other player who has lifted five tour-level trophies this year is Alexander Zverev, another Turin qualifier.

Read the full story at NittoATPFinals.com

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Krawietz/Tecau, Murray/Soares Qualify For Nitto ATP Finals

Two doubles teams — Kevin Krawietz and Horia Tecau, and Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares — have qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals following Thursday’s play at the Rolex Paris Masters.

While Filip Polasek and Ivan Dodig have already secured their berths, meaning eight teams have now qualified, Polasek remains in contention with John Peers in Paris this week. If Polasek and Peers also finish in the Top 8 of the FedEx ATP Doubles Rankings, then Polasek will need to decide whether he partners Polasek or Peers at the Pala Alpitour in Turin later this month.

Read more at NittoATPFinals.com

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Zverev Wins Epic In Paris, Downs Dimitrov To Reach QFs

Alexander Zverev was made to work hard for his seventh consecutive win on Thursday at the Rolex Paris Masters. The fourth seed recovered from squandering two match points in the second set, downing Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(4), 6-7(3), 6-3 to continue his pursuit of a third ATP Masters 1000 title of the season.

In a tight match against Dimitrov, Zverev saved eight of the nine break points he faced, but had to be patient on return against the 30-year-old, who gave the German very few chances.

After squandering two match points on Dimitrov’s serve at 6-5, 15/40, the fourth seed eventually advanced after two hours and 46 minutes to improve to 3-1 in his ATPHead2Head series against the Bulgarian.

“[It was an] incredible match,” Zverev said. “Grigor is playing very high-level tennis and I had to leave everything out there. I think it was a very high-level match and it could have gone both ways, especially the third set. I am happy with how things went in the end.”

The German, who clinched his fifth tour-level crown of the year in Vienna last week, is currently playing some of the best tennis of his career, triumphing in 27 of his past 29 matches.

Zverev reached the final in Paris a year ago and will be aiming to go one step further this week, with Casper Ruud or Marcos Giron awaiting next in the quarter-finals. Earlier this season, the World No. 4 lifted Masters 1000 trophies in Madrid and Cincinnati and also clinched the Tokyo Olympics singles gold medal.

In a lively first set, Zverev quickly found his rhythm from the baseline as he fired his powerful groundstrokes through the court, stepping inside the baseline to move Dimitrov around. After failing to serve the set out at 5-4, Zverev recovered to claim the tie-break..

Zverev continued to hold firm in the second set, as both players looked to gain the first strike in the rallies. The fourth seed zoned in on return in the 12th game, but failed to convert two match points at 6-5, 15/40. Fuelled by belief and support from the French crowd, Dimitrov then quickly raced ahead in the tie-break to level. But he could not keep Zverev at bay in the decider, with the German securing victory on his third match point, one hour after his second.

Dimitrov has been in strong form recently, having reached his first Masters 1000 semi-final of the season in Indian Wells last month, before he battled past Richard Gasquet and Karen Khachanov in three sets this week in Paris.

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Mahut/Herbert Reach Paris QFs

Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert moved into the quarter-finals at the Rolex Paris Masters on Thursday, downing Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar 7-6(6), 6-4.

The Frenchmen won the title as a team in 2019 and set the wheels in motion for a similar run this week, winning 85 per cent (35/41) of their first-serve points against Behar and Escobar to advance after 83 minutes.

The third seeds will next face Benjamin Bonzi and Arthur Rinderknech after the French pair upset eighth seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo 6-4, 6-7(5), 12-10 in one hour and 44 minutes.

Top seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic were aiming to win their 10th tour-level crown together as a team this season in Paris, but lost to Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen, with the Belgians notching an impressive 6-3, 7-6(6) victory in 89 minutes.

In a day of surprises, Tim Puetz and Michael Venus shocked second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 7-6(12), 7-6(8) to advance after one hour and 57 minutes. The German-New Zealand team will next play Fabrice Martin and Andreas Mies after the unseeded pair moved past Kevin Krawietz and Horia Tecau 6-3, 6-3.

There were no such issues for fifth seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, with the Colombians moving past Daniel Evans and Neal Skupski 7-6(6), 7-5 in one hour and 48 minutes.

Cabal and Farah will next meet Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares. The British-Brazilian tandem produced a dominant performance to cruise past Roberto Bautista Agut and Alexander Bublik 6-1, 6-3.

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Paris Masters: Cameron Norrie loses to Taylor Fritz as ATP finals bid takes a blow

British men’s number one Cameron Norrie sees his hopes of qualifying for the ATP finals take a blow after a straight-set loss to American Taylor Fritz in Paris.

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