Tennis News

Draw Preview: Djokovic, Karatsev On Belgrade Collision Course

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will play on home soil for the first time in a decade when he hits the court at his eponymous tennis centre to begin his 2021 Serbia Open campaign.

Djokovic leads the pack as seven other Serbians contest the main draw in Belgrade. Most of them, including fourth seed Dusan Lajovic and fifth seed Filip Krajinovic, landed on the opposite side of the draw. But Djokovic could get a first-time meeting with eighth-seeded countryman Miomir Kecmanovic in the quarter-finals.

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The top seed will start against Soonwoo Kwon or a qualifier at the Novak Tennis Centre as he seeks his third title at the ATP 250 event in Belgrade, and his 83th career trophy. Djokovic lifted two trophies during the tournament’s previous four-year run, triumphing in 2009 and 2011. 

Also in Djokovic’s half of the draw is third seed Aslan Karatsev, and the pair could meet for the second time this season should they reach the semi-finals. Karatsev was the breakthrough story at the start of the year after his dream run from qualifying to his first Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open. Djokovic sent him crashing back to earth in the last four, cruising to a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory on his way to his record-extending ninth Melbourne crown.

But Karatsev will have to get through a tricky opening match first. He awaits the winner between Aljaz Bedene and #NextGenATP American Sebastian Korda, who reached the quarter-finals in Miami and final in Delray Beach before the clay season.

Italian Matteo Berrettini anchors the bottom half of the Belgrade draw as the second seed. He will start against either Serbian wild card Viktor Troicki, a former World No. 12, or countryman Marco Cecchinato. Berrettini is contesting his second tournament back from a rib injury, which caused him to withdraw from the Australian Open at the start of the season.

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Draw Preview: Nadal Faces Test For 12th Title In Loaded Barcelona Draw

Rafael Nadal faces a tricky path at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell if he is to lift a record-extending 12th trophy. Nine players in the Top 20 of the FedEx ATP Rankings feature at the ATP 500 clay-court tournament.

Nadal has avoided his Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters conqueror, Russia’s Andrey Rublev, who features in the bottom half of the 48-player draw alongside Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas. But the Spanish superstar may need to overcome the likes of David Goffin, Karen Khachanov, Diego Schwartzman, Daniel Evans, Fabio Fognini or Pablo Carreno Busta to reach the final.

The 34-year-old Nadal, who has a 61-4 match record in Barcelona since making his tournament debut in 2003, will begin his quest against France’s Adrian Mannarino or a qualifier. Nadal lifted the Barcelona trophy in 2005-09, 2011-13 and 2016-18.

View Barcelona Singles Draw | Watch Uncovered: Behind The Scenes At Barcelona 2019

Second seed Tsitsipas, who beat Evans in Monte-Carlo on Saturday for a place in his third ATP Masters 1000 final, may meet Rublev in the Barcelona semi-finals. The pair will meet for the seventh time in their ATP Head2Head series on Saturday in the Monte-Carlo final.

Tsitsipas, who lost to Nadal in Barcelona in his first ATP Tour final three years ago, will begin his quest against Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro or Jaume Munar of Spain. Rublev, who knocked out Nadal 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in the Monte-Carlo semi-finals on Friday, and has an ATP Tour-best 24-4 match record in 2021, is set to face France’s Benoit Paire or a qualifier in his first match. Rublev could meet No. 15 seed Casper Ruud, the player he beat in the Monte-Carlo semi-finals in the third round.

Italian wild Lorenzo Musetti, the youngest player in the Top 100, faces veteran Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in the first round. The winner will advance to a second-round clash against No. 10 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who is being coached by Toni Nadal. The loaded section also features seventh seed Denis Shapovalov, who will first meeting France’s Jeremy Chardy or this season’s Qatar ExxonMobil Open titlist Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia.

Jannik Sinner, who is close to breaking into the Top 20 of the FedEx ATP Rankings after a strong start to the year that includes capturing the Great Ocean Road Open title (d. Travaglia), also features in the bottom half of the draw and may meet fifth-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round.

The 17-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, who recently reached the AnyTech365 Andalucia Open semi-finals (l. to Munar), plays American Frances Tiafoe in the top half of the draw with fourth seed Schwartzman a second-round opponent.

Elsewhere, Kei Nishikori, the 2014 and 2015 Barcelona champion, who is continuing his comeback from injuries, faces Guido Pella in the first round. He could be a potential third-round opponent for Nadal.

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Rublev Reaches First Masters 1000 Final, Plays Tsitsipas In Monte-Carlo

Andrey Rublev booked a place in a first ATP Masters 1000 final on Saturday after he stopped Casper Ruud of Norway 6-3, 7-5 at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

There was no let down for the sixth-seeded Russian, a day on from his victory over 11-time former champion Rafael Nadal. Rublev improved to an ATP Tour-best 24-4 match record on the season by hitting 21 winners past Ruud for victory in 80 minutes at the Monte-Carlo Country Club.

“It is an amazing feeling. It is my first [ATP Masters 1000] final, so I am really happy,” Rublev said in his post-match interview. “We will see what is going to happen [in the final]. I will try to do my best.”

The 23-year-old will now look to record his second straight win over fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday’s final. Rublev beat the 22-year-old Greek 6-3, 7-6(2) last month en route to the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament title in Rotterdam. Their ATP Head2Head series is tied at 3-3, with two clay-court meetings (1-1) in 2020 at Roland Garros and the Hamburg European Open.

Earlier in the day, Tsitsipas swept past Briton Daniel Evans, who had knocked out World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the Monte-Carlo third round. Tsitsipas won 6-2, 6-1 in 69 minutes for a spot in his third ATP Masters 1000 title match (also 2018 Toronto and 2019 Madrid).

Rublev was broken to love in the third game, but won 16 of the next 22 points to take a 5-2 lead in the first set and later completed the 32-minute opener with his ninth winner, a forehand down the line. The Russian continued to neutralise Ruud’s forehand with his own groundstroke game and earned a third service break at the start of the second set.

But Ruud, who beat 2019 champion Fabio Fognini on Friday, kept fighting by getting Rublev on the move behind the baseline. The Norwegian capitalised on a drop in intensity from the Russian to win four straight games for a 4-2 advantage. It triggered a reaction from Rublev, who broke in the seventh game and regained his first-service rhythm.

Rublev regained his composure after a 10-minute lapse and struck a backhand winner down the line to break Ruud for a 6-5 lead. Minutes later, the Russian sealed his place in a 11th ATP Tour final (8-2 record).

“Casper is a really amazing player, especially on clay,” Rublev said. “Since the beginning he put a really high intensity [on the court] and was really tough. I knew that I needed to raise my level if I wanted to fight against him, because if I [did] not raise the level I [would] lose for sure.

“He started [by going] up with the break and I felt like I needed to raise my level, raise my speed [and] hit harder. Otherwise, I had no chance. I started to do it and then I started to play better and he started to miss a bit more. I think that was the key.”

World No. 8 Rublev helped Russia capture the ATP Cup in February, prior to a quarter-final exit at the Australian Open (l. to Medvedev). Last year, he won six five trophies, including three ATP 500 events.

Ruud, 22, beat World No. 9 Diego Schwartzman and saved two match points against Pablo Carreno Busta prior to his victory over Fognini. He is now 10-4 on the 2021 season after his second Masters 1000 semi-final appearance (2020 Rome). Rublev is now 4-0 against Ruud in their ATP Head2Head series.

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Monte Carlo Masters: Dan Evans loses to Stefanos Tsitsipas in semi-finals

British number one Dan Evans sees his run at the Monte Carlo Masters end in the semi-finals against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas.

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Tsitsipas Charges Into Monte-Carlo Final

Almost two years after his most recent ATP Masters 1000 final appearance at the 2019 Mutua Madrid Open, Stefanos Tsitsipas raced past Daniel Evans 6-2, 6-1 at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on Saturday to move one win away from his maiden trophy at the level.

The two-time Masters 1000 finalist broke Evan’s serve on five occasions to improve to 21-5 this season. Tsitsipas is through to his second final of the year, following his runner-up finish in Acapulco last month (l. to Zverev).

“I am indeed pleased with the performance,” Tsitsipas said in his post-match interview. “I found ways to play at my best. It was really difficult to maintain my level of consistency and I am really happy I managed to deal with all the different moments during the match. I had a lot of opportunities to hit the forehand, and think how I wanted to construct the point.”

– Graphic courtesy Hawk-Eye Innovations/ATP Media
– Take a deep dive into this match with Match Insights powered by Infosys NIA

Tsitsipas is yet to drop a set at the Monte-Carlo Country Club this week. The 22-year-old, who has reached the quarter-finals or better at six consecutive events, defeated Aslan Karatsev, Cristian Garin and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to book his third ATP Head2Head encounter against Evans (3-0).

The Greek will meet sixth seed Andrey Rublev in Sunday’s final. The 2019 Nitto ATP Finals champion is tied at 3-3 in his ATP Head2Head series against Rublev (1-1 on clay). They will meet for the second time in as many months after the Russian defeated Tsitsipas en route to the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament title in Rotterdam. Rublev took down Casper Ruud 6-3, 7-5 to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 final in Monte-Carlo.

“I’m feeling good. I’m feeling energised. I still have plenty of gas and energy left in me,” Tsitsipas said. “I was able to have all of my matches done in two sets, so that is a big plus. I am happy to be able to play that way, just take it match by match, approach each individual match with the same intensity and energy… I’m really focused for tomorrow.”

Tsitsipas will meet sixth seed Andrey Rublev in Sunday’s final. The Russian backed up his quarter-final win against 11-time champion Rafael Nadal with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Norway’s Casper Ruud. Tsitsipas and Rublev are tied at 3-3 in their ATP Head2Head series (1-1 on clay).

In the first set, Tsitsipas found success by directing his groundstrokes into Evans’ backhand corner. The World No. 5 used the strategy to force Evans behind the baseline, and he punished short balls with powerful forehand winners into the open space.

Tsitsipas came to the net on 17 occasions throughout the match and his movement up the court proved crucial in the second set. The five-time ATP Tour titlist attacked Evans’ backhand and charged the net, before carving a backhand volley to break for 3-1. Tsitsipas raced to the finish line from that point to reach his 14th tour-level final (5-8).

Evans entered the tournament seeking his first tour-level win on clay since the 2017 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. The Brit, who had never previously won a Masters 1000 match on clay (0-5), beat 2019 runner-up Dusan Lajovic, Miami champion Hubert Hurkacz, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Montpellier titlist David Goffin en route to his first Masters 1000 semi-final.

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Italian Girls' Rooftop Moment Nominated for Laureus Award

The two young Italian girls who went viral for hitting across rooftops have been nominated for the Laureus Sporting Moment of the Year. The tennis moment is one of six contenders for the most inspiring in sport.

Last April, 13-year-old Vittoria and 11-year-old Carola rallied on roofs in Finale Ligura, Italy during the peak of the COVID-19 lockdown. The clip enraptured audiences around the globe. 

“During quarantine we decided to try to have a [rally] between a rooftop and another,” Vittoria said. 

“But we didn’t think this video would go viral,” added Carola. 

In July, Roger Federer surprised the two friends by crashing one of their interviews. The trio played roof tennis, snapped a lot of selfies and enjoyed pasta for lunch.

The Laureus Sporting Moment Award started in 2016 to honor the most inspirational and unique moment of the year. Past winners include the FC Barcelona Under 12 team (2017) for consoling their opponents after winning the World Challenge Cup, the Brazilian Chapecoense (2018) for returning to football after a plane crash, and Chinese double amputee Xia Boyu (2019) for reaching the summit of Mount Everest.

Voting is open until May 6 when the winner will be revealed at the Laureus Awards Show (virtually) in Seville, Spain. 

Four tennis players are up for Laureus awards this year, including Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Naomi Osaka and Iga Swiatek. 

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Another Day, Another Comeback For Evans/Skupski

Daniel Evans and Neal Skupski stayed on track to reach their second straight ATP Masters 1000 final on Friday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

The Brits, who reached the Miami Open presented by Itau final earlier this month, were two points from defeat at 5/5 in the second-set tie-break, but they kept their composure to complete a 1-6, 7-6(5), 10-4 victory against Raven Klaasen and Ben McLachlan.

It is not the first time this week that Evans and Skupski have escaped danger. The pair has come through Match Tie-breaks in all three of their matches this week, saved three match points in their second-round win against Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek on Thursday.

Evans and Skupski will meet top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah for a spot in the final. The Colombians closed Friday play with a 7-6(5), 7-5 win against Fabio Fognini and Diego Schwartzman on Court des Princes.

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic advanced to their seventh semi-final of the year with a 6-3, 6-1 win against Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut. Mektic and Pavic saved all four break points they faced against the 2016 champions to move two wins away from their fifth title of the season.

The Croatian pair owns a 27-3 record in 2021, highlighted by its run to the Miami crown earlier this month. Mektic and Pavic will attempt to reach their sixth final of the year (4-1) when they face Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the semi-finals.

Granollers and Zeballos charged past Cristian Garin and Guido Pella 6-3, 6-1 to reach the final four in the Principality. The fourth seeds did not face break point en route to their 54-minute win, which has kept alive their bid for a third ATP Masters 1000 team title. Granollers and Zeballos won the 2019 National Bank Open Presented by Rogers and last year’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

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Saturday Preview: Tsitsipas To Play Evans for Spot in Final

A first-time Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters champion is guaranteed this weekend. After ousting Rafael Nadal, Andrey Rublev will take on unseeded Casper Ruud in the semi-finals on Saturday, following Daniel Evans versus Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Rublev beat Nadal, an 11-time Monte-Carlo champion, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 for his first win over the Spaniard.

He’ll have to recalibrate for his match with Ruud. The World No. 8 leads their ATP Head2Head Series 3-0, with their most recent meeting coming at the Australian Open this year when Ruud retired while down two sets to none.

The 22-year-old Norwegian has enjoyed a stellar week with back-to-back three-set wins over Pablo Carreno Busta and Fabio Fognini. He has stayed level-headed through all of the ups and downs, and has capitalised on his chances by going for his shots on big points, particularly off his forehand side when he can step in and take charge. 

Clay suits Ruud very well: All 10 of his Masters 1000 wins have come on clay as have 51 of his 72 tour-level wins (71 per cent).

“It’s a tough match for both of them,” said Nadal. “Casper is a great player. Especially on this surface, he’s one of the best players in the world. [It] will be a tough battle tomorrow.”

Both Rublev and Ruud are seeking their first Masters 1000 final appearance, with Rublev just reaching the semi-finals at the Miami Open presented by Itau and Ruud making a run to the Rome semi-finals last year.

“I just have to prepare like it’s the toughest challenge of my career so far,” Ruud said. “I’m sure it will be. But I’ve gained good confidence from this week. I’ve beaten good players the last matches. I have to try to find a way to believe that I can win.”

Fourth seed Tsitsipas will face surprise semi-finalist Evans in the first singles clash on Court Rainier III. Tsitsipas has been in fine form all week long, and is the only semi-finalist who has yet to drop a set as he seeks his first Masters 1000 trophy. The Greek will take a 2-0 ATP Head2Head lead into his match against Evans, but his opponent will be far from the player Tsitsipas cruised past at Dubai and Hamburg last year. 

The 30-year-old Brit has been the breakthrough story of the tournament in Monte-Carlo, where he began his campaign with a win over 2019 finalist Dusan Lajovic and scored his first Top 20 win of the year over newly minted Masters 1000 champion Hubert Hurkacz. It was already Evans’ best result of the season – but he wasn’t done yet. 

The World No. 33 stunned the tennis world with an emphatic straight-sets win over World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the third round. He continued to confound his opponents with his variety and movement, qualities that 11th seed David Goffin highlighted after his own quarter-final defeat. Tsitsipas will be Evans’ fifth former Masters 1000 finalist opponent in a row. 

“He has a lot of talent. He’s able to change tactics when he needs to. He’s very smart, very precise,” Goffin said. “When he feels down, he moves forward, makes shorter rallies. He can feel when you need to make the opponent play or when you need to make the points shorter.”

What makes the results even more outstanding is the fact that coming into the tournament, Evans owned only four main draw clay-court singles wins in his career. Clay is not the Brit’s favourite surface, but he’s been able to find his footing in Monte-Carlo.

“It was only him who didn’t believe he was able to play well on clay,” Goffin said. “Now he’s more mature, has a more stable game, and he’s able to fight and believe he can win. He was the only one not believing it.”

Also in action, the Monte-Carlo doubles semi-finals will take centre stage as the opening and closing matches on Court Rainier III. Fourth seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos will take on second seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, who lifted the trophy a few weeks ago in Miami. Last on court, top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah will face Evans and Neal Skupski.

Watch Live | View TV Schedule 

SCHEDULE – SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2021

COURT RAINIER III start 11:30 am
[4] M. Granollers (ESP) / H. Zeballos (ARG) vs [2] N. Mektic (CRO) / M. Pavic (CRO)

Not Before 1:30 pm
D. Evans (GBR) vs [4] S. Tsitsipas (GRE)
[6] A. Rublev (RUS) or [3] R. Nadal (ESP) vs C. Ruud (NOR) 
[1] J. Cabal (COL) / R. Farah (COL) vs D. Evans (GBR) / N. Skupski (GBR)

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Monte Carlo Masters: Dan Evans beats David Goffin to reach semi-finals

British number one Dan Evans comes from a set down to beat David Goffin and reach the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters.

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Monte Carlo Masters: Highlights as Dan Evans beats David Goffin to reach semi-finals

Watch the highlights as British number one Dan Evans beats Belgium’s David Goffin 5-7 6-3 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters.

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