Tennis News

Mannarino Saves 1 MP, Upsets Rublev In Moscow

In a repeat of the 2019 VTB Kremlin Cup final, Frenchman Adrian Mannarino avenged his defeat to reigning champion Andrey Rublev, saving one match point, edging past the Russian 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals in Moscow.

In a strong performance, Mannarino, who fired nine aces, rallied from a set down and saved one match point on serve at 5-6 30/40 as Rublev hit a backhand up the line and into the net. The 33-year-old then raised his level in the third set, not facing a break point on serve to upset Rubelv after two hours and 30 minutes.

With his victory over World No. 6 Rublev, it is the seventh time Mannarino has defeated a Top 10 player in his career. The 33-year-old has now levelled his ATP Head2Head series with the Russian at 1-1.

Mannarino, who lost to Rublev in straight sets in the 2019 final, has an impressive record at the ATP 250 event, having also reached the championship match in 2018 and the semi-finals in 2017. It is the third tour-level quater-final of the season for Mannarino, after he advanced to last eight in Singapore and semi-finals in Mallorca.

The World No. 51 will next face Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis after the 31-year-old defeated World No. 68 Federico Coria 6-2, 6-1 in 70 minutes.

Rublev captured his eighth tour-level trophy in Rotterdam and advanced to ATP Masters 1000 finals in Monte-Carlo and Cincinnati. The 24-year-old is fifth (4,165 points) in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin and is aiming to qualify for the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 14-21 November.

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Harris Marches On In Antwerp

Seventh seed Lloyd Harris produced a dominant performance on Thursday at the European Open as he overcame German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-2, 6-3 to reach his fifth tour-level quarter-final of the season.

The 24-year-old, who also advanced to the last eight in Antwerp in 2020, was strong on serve, firing 11 aces and winning 83 per cent (24/29) of points behind his first delivery to advance after 72 minutes.

“I came out pretty solid and didn’t make many mistakes,” Harris said in his on-court interview. “He gave me a few looks at second serves, which helped a bit and I was able to capitalise and build momentum. I just tried to focus on my service games and I knew I was going to create some opportunities.”

With his victory, Harris has improved to 1-4 in his record against German players and will next face Hungarian Marton Fucsovics in the last eight.

“I am happy to get over the finish line,” Harris added. “Confidence is everything in our sport, so playing with some confidence is a huge advantage. Hopefully I keep rolling with this confidence.”

The South African has earned a career-best 29 tour-level wins this year. The World No. 32 reached the final in Dubai and advanced to the quarter-finals in Halle, Washington and at the US Open.

His next opponent, Fucsovics, rallied past fourth-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-1 after two hours and 22 minutes.

The Hungarian began the week having lost seven of his previous eight matches. But he has found good form to reach his first quarter-final since Wimbledon.

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Eight Years After Last Tour-Level Match, Malisse Wins With Harris In Antwerp

Belgian Xavier Malisse was coaching South African Lloyd Harris in Indian Wells when they came up with an interesting idea. They had been hitting together a lot in recent weeks, so why not play doubles together?

Their wish was granted with a wild card from the European Open. And on Wednesday, they beat Monaco’s Romain Arneodo and Australian Matt Reid 6-4, 7-6(4) to reach the quarter-finals in Antwerp. It was Malisse’s first tour-level match since the 2013 US Open, more than eight years ago.

“It was fun. That’s the whole reason we participated,” Malisse told ATPTour.com. “Honestly it felt nice to be back, it’s nice to play and also alongside Lloyd after a good summer together and good travelling. It felt really good. I was actually pretty happy with how it went.”

The 41-year-old, who cracked the Top 25 in singles and doubles, said this will be their only event. But he was happy to “be back out there and compete one more time”. They play Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo on Thursday after the top seeds beat Dutchmen David Pel and Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 7-6(4).

“[My] serve is a lot slower, so placement becomes more important, but I felt okay,” Malisse said, cracking a laugh. “Most of all we had fun. I didn’t expect to win, but it’s nice to get a win.”

Belgian stars Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen, the fourth seeds, were upset. Argentine Federico Delbonis and Spaniard David Vega Hernandez beat the home favorites 5-7, 6-4, 11-9. Austrians Oliver Marach and Philipp Oswald also advanced with a 4-6, 6-4, 10-6 victory against Israeli Jonathan Erlich and Swede Andre Goransson.

Top Seeds Eliminated In Moscow
Indian Rohan Bopanna and Pakistan’s Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi eliminated top seeds Raven Klaasen and Ben McLachlan 6-2, 6-4 on Wednesday to reach the VTB Kremlin Cup quarter-finals.

Bopanna and Qureshi have won five ATP Tour titles together, with their most recent triumph coming in Dubai in 2014.

Second seeds Andrey Golubev and Hugo Nys also lost in Moscow. Mexican Santiago Gonzalez and Argentine Andres Molteni beat them 7-5, 6-7(6), 10-7.

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Cilic Continues Pursuit Of Third Moscow Title

Two-time Moscow champion Marin Cilic looks eager for a third title in the Russian capital.

Cilic defeated in-form American Tommy Paul 7-5, 6-3 on Wednesday to reach the VTB Kremlin Cup quarter-finals. After losing his first set of the tournament against Damir Dzumhur in a tie-break, the Croatian has won four consecutive sets.

The former World No. 3 had to work hard against Paul, who advanced to the fourth round in Indian Wells. But Cilic was steadier in the crucial moments to advance after one hour and 43 minutes.

The 33-year-old broke his opponent’s serve four times and won 74 per cent of his second-serve return points to move to 13-2 at the ATP 250. Cilic earned the deciding break in the second set when Paul missed a backhand long, and he never looked back.

Australian John Millman also moved on with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 victory in two hours and 28 minutes. 

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Brilliant Brooksby Bounces Botic In Antwerp

US Open quarter-finalist Botic van de Zandschulp has been playing the best tennis of his career in recent months, but he was unable to solve the Jenson Brooksby puzzle on Wednesday in Antwerp.

Brooksby played vexing tennis to cruise past the Dutchman 6-2, 6-0 and move into the quarter-finals of the European Open. The #NextGenATP American will next play third seed Cristian Garin or Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

“It’s never as easy as the score looks sometimes, but I thought I started out [well], I just felt strong today,” Brooksby said in his on-court interview. “I just didn’t let up my focus at all and I think that showed.”

The qualifier, who has not been extended past 6-4 in a set in his four qualifying and main draw matches at the ATP 250, methodically dissected van de Zandschulp’s game. He broke his opponent’s serve five times and saved the only break point he faced to advance after 63 minutes.

“I’m just trying to take it one day at a time,” Brooksby said. “[I want to] enjoy the last few tournaments the rest of the season and then just have a fun offseason getting ready for a big next year, hopefully.”

Brooksby made few mistakes in the match, and even when van de Zandschulp hit impressive shots that would have ended the point against many players, the American found a way to redirect the ball into an uncomfortable position.

The #NextGenATP star is fifth in the ATP Race To Milan, making him next in line to qualify for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals. 

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Cameron Norrie 'couldn't be happier' after Indian Wells title win

Cameron Norrie tells BBC Breakfast that he “couldn’t be happier” after becoming the first Briton to win the Indian Wells title.

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Murray Shares Rare Exchange After Tiafoe Epic

Andy Murray won’t forget his match-winning drop shot in a hurry after three hours and 45 minutes of battle at the European Open on Tuesday. The Scot eked out a narrow 7-6(2), 6-7(7), 7-6(8) victory against 23-year-old Frances Tiafoe in Antwerp.

But beyond the final point won – which set a second-round clash with second seed Diego Schwartzman – it was not the nature of victory that stuck with the former World No. 1. It was more about a lengthy debrief he shared with his opponent in the immediate aftermath.

“There’s obviously so much that goes into a match like that. The margins were so fine,” Murray said. “I served particularly well at the end, which helped, and when he missed his first serve on that match point.

“I was able to capitalise on that and then in terms of what I’ll remember, I just spent probably 30 minutes in the locker room afterwards just chatting to Frances really.”

Murray recalled only twice from 897 previous tour-level matches in his career having spoken to his opponent after the match in the locker room – both times in victory. The first time was after the opening round of the 2008 US Open and the only other time came after the second round at Wimbledon in 2010.

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“I think maybe once I’ve had that conversation… twice, but very short after matches in the locker room,” he said. “Once was with Melzer at the US Open after I beat him in five sets and we chatted a bit about the match, and then once after playing Jarkko Nieminen because we were waiting to speak to the Queen after we played. We were sort of standing next to each other, so we had a chat about the match.”

“[I had] a long chat with Frances afterwards so I’ll probably remember that and then the embrace at the end. I guess so much went into it that I don’t remember loads of points in the match, but obviously the end was special. I’ve never played a match like that on the tour really… In the locker room we had a much more in-depth chat about tennis, not so much the match… That was kind of rare I would say.”

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Khachanov/Rublev Oust Third Seeds in Moscow

Russian Andrey Rublev reached the BNP Paribas Open doubles final last week alongside countryman Aslan Karatsev. Rublev had no problem with a different partner on Tuesday in Moscow.

The singles World No. 6 and another Russian, Karen Khachanov, eliminated third-seeded Australians Luke Saville and John-Patrick Smith 6-2, 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals of the VTB Kremlin Cup.

“I’ve played with Karen so many times and we’ve gotten used to each other. Plus we’ve known each other since we were kids, so we know each other perfectly,” Rublev told ATPTour.com. “With Aslan, it’s different. In my opinion, I think Aslan plays doubles the best of all of us, the way he thinks, the way he returns, plays with the volleys.

“He knows more how to play more like a doubles player compared to all of us [Russians], and I think he’s a great player who can play really, really good in doubles.”

“I think Andrey is not a bad doubles player because everybody from us [Russians] wins matches with him,” Khachanov interjected, cracking a laugh.

Khachanov and Rublev have made two ATP Masters 1000 finals together, and will try to claim their first ATP Tour trophy as a team this week.

Second Seeds Advance In Antwerp
Second seeds Nicolas Mahut and Fabrice Martin moved into the quarter-finals of the European Open on Tuesday with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph against home favourites Ruben Bemelmans and Kimmer Coppejans.

Frenchmen Mahut and Martin are competing together for the second time this season after making the quarter-finals in Winston-Salem two months ago.

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Andy Murray beats Frances Tiafoe at European Open in Antwerp

Andy Murray shows all of his quality and fight to edge past Frances Tiafoe in a thrilling European Open first-round match.

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Murray Saves 2 MPs, Battles Past Tiafoe In 3-Hour, 45-Minute Classic

Andy Murray may have a metal hip, but it was tough to tell based on his effort Tuesday at the European Open.

Murray battled past Frances Tiafoe 7-6(2), 6-7(7), 7-6(8) in a three-hour, 45-minute marathon to reach the second round in Antwerp. It was the longest best-of-three-set match of 2021, breaking the mark set by Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Barcelona final (3:38).

“I think that’s the first time in my career I’ve played a 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 [match]. I don’t think I’ve ever played a match like that,” Murray said in his on-court interview. “I think it’s the longest three-set match I’ve played by quite a distance. I’m tired right now, obviously it was an unbelievable battle.”

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The former World No. 1 clinched the victory on his second match point. He hit a backhand drop shot that Tiafoe was unable to retrieve. The 23-year-old’s sprint took him to the Scot’s side of the net, where the pair shared a warm embrace.

“Nowadays obviously my body is old now. I’ve played a lot of matches on the Tour. I don’t mind playing long matches, but that was taking it to another level,” Murray said. “Brilliant match, amazing atmosphere, thanks to everyone who came and supported. It’s just so nice to be back and playing in front of crowds again.”

Murray has now won his opening match in five consecutive tournaments at all levels. He had to scratch and claw throughout against Tiafoe, who was the better player for a good portion of the match.

The American served for the opening set twice, needed six set points to win the second set, led by a break in the decider and held two match points in the final-set tie-break. But Tiafoe failed to put a return in play on those two match points, and Murray took full advantage.

“He kept coming up with brilliant serves and great shots when I was getting chances,” Murray said.

Tiafoe was the more aggressive player and he frequented the net to finish points against the 46-time tour-level titlist, who raised his level in the important moments. Murray over the years has proven himself one of the best players on the ATP Tour in cat-and-mouse points, but the American showed no fear of entering those patterns, either.

But Murray struck 21 aces to stay in contact with his opponent and saved seven of the 10 break points he faces to set a second-round clash against second seed Diego Schwartzman for a place in the Antwerp quarter-finals.

Murray memorably won the European Open in 2019 following his most recent hip surgery. In that edition, he defeated former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka in the final.

In the final match of the evening in Antwerp, seventh seed Lloyd Harris beat home favourite Zizou Bergs, a wild card, 7-6(4), 6-3.

The South African will face big-hitting Jan-Lennard Struff for a place in the quarter-finals. The German beat Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

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