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Thiem Withdraws From Indian Wells & Miami

  • Posted: Mar 07, 2022

Thiem Withdraws From Indian Wells & Miami

Austrian is targeting a return to action on clay

Dominic Thiem announced Monday that he has withdrawn from this month’s BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open presented by Itau.

The Austrian has not competed at a tour-level event since June when he suffered a right wrist injury at the Mallorca Championships.

“I [have] had really good practice weeks,” Thiem said on a video on Instagram. “The wrist is perfectly fine and the hand is getting better and better, but I have still decided to pull out of Indian Wells and Miami to start on the clay courts. It is still the surface I feel the most comfortable [on], so I think it is the perfect time to start there.

“I would have loved to play in the [United] States and I am really sorry for my fans. Last time I played in Indian Wells I won the tournament so I love to play in the States and I can’t wait to be back soon.”

The former World No. 3 lifted the trophy in Indian Wells in 2019, while his best result in Miami was a run to the quarter-finals in 2015. The 28-year-old is aiming to return to action in April.

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Kokkinakis Completes Comeback, Fires Australia Into Davis Cup Finals

  • Posted: Mar 05, 2022

Kokkinakis Completes Comeback, Fires Australia Into Davis Cup Finals

Spain & Netherlands advance

Thanasi Kokkinakis completed the Australian comeback on Saturday in Sydney, overcoming Hungarian Zsombor Piros 6-4, 6-4 to fire the former champion into the Davis Cup Finals.

With the tie resuming at 1-1 on day two of the Davis Cup qualifiers, Hungary moved ahead after Fabian Marozsan and Mate Valkusz downed John Peers and Luke Saville 6-4, 6-4. However, World No. 30 Alex de Minaur levelled the clash with a 7-6(4), 6-4 victory over Marton Fucsovics, setting the stage for Adelaide International 2 titlist Kokkinakis to seal Australia’s 3-2 win.

Bautista Agut Shines For Spain
Roberto Bautista Agut continued his strong start to the season, dispatching Marius Copil 6-2, 6-3 to seal qualification for Spain.

The 2019 champion headed into day two of its qualification tie against Romania with a commanding 2-0 lead thanks to victories from the 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz and Doha champion Bautista Agut. However, Romania kept itself alive when Copil and Horia Tecau downed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Pedro Martinez 7-6(2), 6-4 in the doubles.

But Bautista Agut ended the Romanian comeback, securing a 3-1 victory for Spain as he improved to 14-4 on the year.

Netherlands Cruise Past Canada
Playing on home soil at the Sportcampus Zuiderpark, doubles pair Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop ensured the Netherlands advanced into the Davis Cup Finals in emphatic fashion.

With the Netherlands leading Canada 2-0 heading into the final day of qualifying, Koolhof and Middelkoop added the all-important final point in style, defeating Peter Polansky and Brayden Schnur 7-5, 6-3.

Kwon Guides South Korea Through
Soonwoo Kwon stepped up and delivered in Seoul, securing qualification for South Korea with a 7-5, 7-5 triumph over Austrian Dennis Novak.

With the tie poised at 1-1, Jisung Nam and Minkyu Song defeated Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler 6-4, 6-3, before World No. 65 Kwon moved South Korea into an unassailable 3-1 lead. Talisman Kwon also defeated Jurij Rodionov on Friday.

Herbert/Mahut Finish The Job For France
Experienced duo Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut built on the impressive work undertaken by Arthur Rinderknech and Adrian Mannarino to book France’s spot in the Davis Cup Finals.

Heading into the action at the Palais des Sports on Saturday, France led 2-0. In a dominant performance, Herbert and Mahut dispatched Gonzalo Escobar and Diego Hidalgo 6-1, 7-6(3) to ensure qualification was quickly secured. Hebert and Mahut have won 21 tour-level titles together, including five Grand Slam trophies and two Nitto ATP Finals crowns.

Per Daviscup.com, the group stage of the 2022 Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals will take place across four cities on 14-18 September. The knock-out stage of the 2022 Davis Cup Finals will take place in one venue on 23-27 November.

The Finals will feature 16 teams. The 12 winners in the Davis Cup by Rakuten Qualifiers on 4-5 March will join Croatia (2021 runner up) and the two wild cards, Great Britain and Serbia.

Russian Tennis Federation had qualified automatically for the 2022 Finals (as 2021 champions), but following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the RTF has been suspended from all international tennis competition until further notice. Their replacement will be announced in due course.

The 16 teams will compete in four round-robin groups of four teams. The top two teams in each group will advance to the quarter-finals.

The Davis Cup champions will be crowned after the completion of the knock-out stage.

Follow the latest scores and results on the Davis Cup website.

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Kyrgios Awarded Indian Wells, Miami Wild Cards, Along With Murray

  • Posted: Mar 04, 2022

Kyrgios Awarded Indian Wells, Miami Wild Cards, Along With Murray

Two-time champion Murray also wild carded for both ATP Masters 1000 events

Six-time ATP Tour titlist Nick Kyrgios is off to the Sunshine Swing. The Australian has received wild cards for the upcoming BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the Miami Open presented by Itau, both tournaments have announced.

Kyrgios’ appearance in Indian Wells will be his his first since winning the Australian Open doubles title with Thanasi Kokkinakis. His best performance at the tournament, which will be played from 10-20 March, is a quarter-final run in 2017 that included straight-sets wins over Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic.

Fans in Florida will hope for more Miami magic from Kyrgios at Hard Rock Stadium, which hosts its own Masters 1000 event from 23 March to 3 April. The Australian’s 2017 semi-final clash with Roger Federer, played at the tournament’s former home in Key Biscayne, was voted ATP Match of the Year. A trio of tie-breaks was necessary to separate the pair in an all-time classic, Federer eventually prevailing 7-6(9), 6-7(9), 7-6(5) after more than three hours to clinch a first win over the Australian.

Former World No. 1 Andy Murray has also been awarded a wild card for the Miami event. The Brit, who was confirmed as a wild card in Indian Wells earlier this week, is a familiar face in Miami having trained frequently in the city throughout his career. He is a two-time champion at the tournament, having triumphed in 2009 (d. Djokovic) and 2013 (d. Ferrer).

Murray reached the final of the Sydney Tennis Classic in January but has exited his past four tournaments in the second round and will seek to go deep in both tournaments as he hunts a return to the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings.

Americans Jack Sock and Sam Querrey have also received wild cards for Indian Wells. Former World No. 8 Sock has pedigree in the California desert, reaching the semi-finals in 2017 and also picking up doubles titles in 2015 (w/Vasek Pospisil) and 2018 (w/John Isner).

Querrey also has a good record of picking up trophies in California, with three of his 10 ATP Tour titles coming at the ATP 250 event in Los Angeles. His run to the quarter-finals in 2018 remains his best showing at Indian Wells, and the 34-year-old will hope for a strong run as he seeks to get back into the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings.

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