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Carreno Busta Beats Rune In Metz

  • Posted: Sep 24, 2021

Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta produced an impressive performance on Friday at the Moselle Open, overcoming #NextGenATP Dane Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in a high-quality match to reach the semi-finals in Metz.

The second seed, who defeated Mikael Ymer in his opening match, hit with great consistency and depth against Rune, winning 77 per cent (43/56) of his first-serve points to advance in two hours and 11 minutes.

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“He is playing really well, he is going to improve a lot in the next months,” Carreno Busta said in his on-court interview. “I am happy as it was a very important victory for me. When you play this kind of player you have all the pressure to win and at the end it was a really good battle.”

The 30-year-old is making his third appearance in Metz and has enjoyed a strong season. The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist lifted the trophy on home soil in Marbella, before capturing his first ATP 500 title on clay in Hamburg.

#NextGenATP star Rune was aiming to reach his first ATP Tour semi-final, having upset fifth seed Lorenzo Sonego en route to the last eight. The 18-year-old qualifier will look to finish the season strongly as he aims to qualify for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.

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Third seed Gael Monfils awaits Carreno Busta in the semi-finals after the Frenchman cruised past Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 6-3 to improve to 2-0 in their ATPHead2Head Series.

“At the beginning I was more comfortable but then in the second set he started to be more and more aggressive with the returns and I wasn’t as comfortable then,” Carreno Busta added. “It will be a tough match [against Monfils]. I will be younger in the next match! I will try to do my best, Gael is an incredible player.”

It is the first time Monfils, who lifted the title in Metz in 2009, has reached the last four at a tour-level event since February 2020 when he enjoyed a run to the semi-finals in Dubai. The 35-year-old fired 11 aces and broke four times to advance in 68 minutes.

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Hurkacz Halts Murray In Metz

  • Posted: Sep 24, 2021

Top seed Hubert Hurkacz continued his push to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals on Friday by overcoming Andy Murray 7-6(4), 6-3 at the Moselle Open. The Polish star moves into his fourth tour-level semi-final of the season.

In a hard-fought first set against the Brit, Hurkacz fended off all three break points he faced and then took his chance in the tie-break to lead. The Pole then raced clear in the second set to advance after one hour and 50 minutes.

“Andy is an unbelievable competitor, he has achieved so much throughout his career,” Hurkacz said. “He is coming back from a tough injury and playing at a very high level, so he is amazing and you can be inspired by his results.”

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Hurkacz has enjoyed a strong season, capturing the title in Delray Beach, before winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami. The top seed is currently ninth in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin as he aims to qualify for the season finale, which will be held at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 14-21 November.

The 24-year-old now holds a 2-0 lead against Murray in their ATPHead2Head Series, having also defeated the former World No. 1 in Cincinnati last month. Hurkacz will next face Peter Gojowczyk after the German moved past American Marcos Giron 3-6, 6-1, 6-3.

“I really like it here, I enjoy the atmosphere,” Hurkacz added. “I think the surface suits me and I am happy to be in the semi-finals. His [Peter Gojowczyk] recent results are really good, he has improved a lot so it will be an interesting match.”

Murray defeated sixth seed Ugo Humbert and Canadian Vasek Pospisil en route to his first tour-level quarter-final of the season.

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Federer Arrives In Boston For Laver Cup

  • Posted: Sep 24, 2021

Roger Federer has arrived in Boston at the Laver Cup to offer his support to Team Europe as they aim to record a fourth-consecutive victory against Team World.

The 40-year-old competed in the first three editions of the competition, but will watch from the sidelines at the TD Garden as he continues to recover from injury after undergoing knee surgery last month.

On the importance of the competition, Federer told CNBC on Squawk Box: “To me, legacy is really important, that we remember it in tennis because we have a really rich history. Rod Laver was a hero to a lot of us, especially Bjorn Borg and to John [McEnroe]. To me, he is a big legend who was able to win the Grand Slam two times and he was also the one who went from amateur sport to professional.

“That is where the idea came in with Tony [Godsick] and myself once on a ride in Shanghai. That we could do something for the legacy of the game and incorporate all the young ones coming through and learn from the best like John and Bjorn, having rivals become teammates. The first three editions have been wonderful.”

The Laver Cup field includes six Top 10 players – Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Matteo Berrettini and Casper Ruud – on Team Europe. Denis Shapovalov, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Diego Schwartzman, Reilly Opelka, John Isner and Nick Kyrgios will compete for Team World.

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Ivashka Powers Into Nur-Sultan SFs

  • Posted: Sep 24, 2021

Ilya Ivashka’s strong form continued on Friday at the Astana Open as he battled back to overcome Emil Ruusuvuori 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 to reach his third tour-level semi-final of the season.

The 27-year-old captured his first tour-level title in Winston-Salem last month and has now won 11 of his past 12 matches. After a tight first two sets against Ruusuvuori, Ivashka raised his level in the crucial moments in the decider, saving all four break points he faced, before advancing after two hours and 52 minutes.

“It was a really really hard match,” Ivashka said. “It was brutal, almost three hours. The whole match was a mental fight and I am really happy I have come through it. In the third set, the score was 6-1, but it was really hard.”

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Ivashka, currently at a career-high No. 52 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, now leads Ruusuvuori 3-0 in their ATPHead2Head Series, having also defeated the 22-year-old en route to the last four in Munich in April and in his run to the title in Winston-Salem.

“The beginning of the third set was super long with many tough games,” Ivashka added. “Until I got the double break at 3-1, I felt like it could go either way. The guys who came today were supporting hard. It is always nice when we have more people cheering for the players.”

The Belarusian will next face James Duckworth after the Australian backed up his victory over fourth seed Filip Krajinovic by overcoming fifth-seeded countryman John Millman 6-4, 6-4 in Nur-Sultan.

“It was really tricky,” Duckworth said. “John is a good player and we are really good mates. We practise at the same site. It is always difficult playing someone so close to you, but you have to put that aside and focus pretty hard and I was able to play a pretty good match.”

Duckworth, who was competing in his first tour-level quarter-final of the season, hit nine aces and won 78 per cent (29/37) of his first-serve points to defeat the defending champion in one hour and 31 minutes.

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Kyrgios: 'This Is Our Best Shot'

  • Posted: Sep 23, 2021

Nick Kyrgios has made it no secret how important the Laver Cup is to him. The Australian loves the team atmosphere and playing for more than himself.

The 26-year-old has competed in the first three editions of the event, playing Roger Federer on each occasion. But will Kyrgios be able to lead Team World to its first win against Team Europe?

“I think this is our time. I think with the Big Three from Europe obviously sitting with injury, all that, I think this is our best shot,” Kyrgios said. “I think we’re the more well-known team. I think the crowd will be right behind us, and I think from the get-go the energy will be right there.”

Kyrgios always brings the energy whether he is on court or cheering from the bench. The six-time ATP Tour titlist wears his heart on his sleeve, especially at this event.

“I don’t usually cry much when I lose matches, and I went through a couple tough, tough losses here against Roger in Prague, and Jack [Sock] had to kind of come up to me and comfort me in that moment,” Kyrgios said. “It definitely brings out an array of emotions that you don’t feel, I don’t feel when I’m playing any other event.”

Team World
Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for Laver Cup
Team World Captain John McEnroe is excited for his team to have another shot at Team Europe. Does the former World No. 1 think it will be fourth time lucky for his group?

“I sure hope so. It’s been so close every year. We could taste it. I know that all of us are hungry and eager,” McEnroe said. “We’ve got a good mix. We’ve got people that can take the racquet out of their hands, and that’s the plan. Also, we’ve got some people that haven’t been here before, and I think that combination gives us good energy.”

McEnroe was referencing the power and shotmaking abilities of his players. Two examples of that come in the form of big-serving Americans John Isner and Reilly Opelka, who identify themselves as “servebots”.

“There [are] not many secrets to our games. It definitely starts with our serve, trying to create scoreboard pressure, which is a very real thing, especially against players of Europe’s calibre,” Isner said. “I think our plan is to try to keep these matches close, make them about a few points here and there, and hopefully we can try to win those points.

“We’re servebots, that’s what we do. As I said, try to hold serve as much as possible. We probably don’t want to be rallying with these guys too much. They are all Top 10 in the world for a reason. But as Captain McEnroe said, we have a lot of power and weapons on our side, and we just have to utilise those and hope that it’s good enough.”

Kyrgios is a big fan of the Boston Celtics, the legendary NBA team that plays at TD Garden, the venue for this year’s Laver Cup. Although the Australian greatly enjoys competing in such an environment, he is focussed on the job at hand.

“I’m confident in everyone on this table. I’m sitting with some of the best players in the world, and they know what to do. They have won many, many matches,” Kyrgios said. “Just go out there and enjoy it. You don’t know how long you’re going to be at this level and how many times you’re going to play Laver Cup. I’m just going to embrace it again and these guys will enjoy it.”

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Borg On Team Europe: 'This Is The Future Of Tennis'

  • Posted: Sep 23, 2021

Team Europe Captain Bjorn Borg is excited for the fourth edition of the Laver Cup. It doesn’t hurt that his team consists of six of the Top 10 players in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

“I’m very happy to have my team here. This is the future of tennis,” Borg said. “For us to be together, and with the team spirit, we are ready to play this weekend. The first day, we have six good players here. Doesn’t really matter which one is playing. It’s going to be a tough competition.”

The Swedish legend, who is joined by Vice Captain Thomas Enqvist, knows that despite his loaded roster, defeating Team World will not be easy. In 2019, the Laver Cup came down to the final match, in which Alexander Zverev beat Milos Raonic.

“Every win is very important. That’s why we are here. We are going to try to defend our title,” Borg said. “Every match has been very close since Prague. I think we have not been lucky, but we have been handling the situation very well, and that’s what we’re going to do this time too. But for sure, it’s going to be very, very difficult.”

Zverev has competed in the past three editions of the Laver Cup, tallying a 5-1 singles record. The German, who won the Tokyo Olympics gold medal and the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, is ready for a good atmosphere at TD Garden.

“The crowd is going to be against us maybe a little bit. But we are who we are. We are six Top 10 players sitting here. A lot of us are in incredible form right now. We do know that we are the favourites,” Zverev said. “I think everybody is looking forward to it. Everybody is looking forward to the challenge, and we’ll see how it goes.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas acknowledged that the American crowd will likely be behind Team World. But the Greek said his team’s only focus will be on producing the best possible tennis.

“That’s our ultimate goal and plan,” Tsitsipas said. “Of course, the crowd is not in our favour. This is something that we are expecting. We’re going to fight against it and try and prove ourselves with our game. At the end of the day, our tennis is what counts the most.”

Team Europe veterans are making their new teammates feel at home at the Laver Cup, as the players got excited when Andrey Rublev, who is at a career-high World No. 5, was asked a question during Thursday’s press conference.

In past editions of this event, fans have enjoyed seeing the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal coaching their teammates on the bench during matches. Who does Rublev expect help from?

“All of them know how to play tennis, what is inside, how we feel, how each player is going to feel,” Rublev said. “All of us can give advice if someone sees something from outside the court. Plus we have Bjorn and Thomas, such legends, and they know everything better than us, and so I think in this case everyone is amazing.”

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