Novak Djokovic completes French Open preparation with Belgrade Open win
World number one Novak Djokovic completes his French Open preparation with victory in the Belgrade Open final.
World number one Novak Djokovic completes his French Open preparation with victory in the Belgrade Open final.
#NextGenATP Sebastian Korda capped off a great week at the Emilia-Romagna Open with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over home favourite Marco Cecchinato on Saturday to win his first ATP Tour trophy.
With the victory, Korda became the first American since Sam Querrey in 2010 Belgrade (d. Isner) to lift a trophy on European clay.
The son of former World No. 2 Petr Korda, Sebastian’s win also makes the Kordas the third father-son duo to win tour-level singles titles in the Open Era. They join Ramanathan Krishnan and Ramesh Krishnan, and Phil Dent and Taylor Dent on the short list.
“This is something that I’ve dreamed of,” Korda said in his post-match press conference. “I really thought I was going to get it done in Delray Beach [earlier this year], and I was a little heartbroken.
“But I stayed positive, even with such a bad first part of the clay-court season. I took a couple of days off, recharged my batteries, and had a really good practice week in Prague with my dad and my coach. I came back hungrier, and I’m playing some really good tennis now.”
The 20-year-old quickly found his footing on the surface with wins over Andreas Seppi, top seed Lorenzo Sonego, eighth seed Yoshihito Nishioka and countryman Tommy Paul without dropping a set.
Contesting the second ATP Tour final of his career – and his first on clay courts – Korda showed no signs of nerves against Cecchinato. He faced only one break point in the match, coming late in the second set as the Italian rallied his home crowd, but he responded with confident first serves to see off the challenge.
“Today I played a really tough opponent and the crowd wasn’t easy,” Korda said. “They kept cheering him on, but I’m really proud of myself and how I handled it.”
Korda won 82 per cent of points behind his first serve (31/38) across one hour and 15 minutes against the Italian. He converted three of the six break opportunities he created, including the decisive break at 5-4 on Cecchinato’s serve to clinch the title.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic captured the 83rd title of his career on Saturday with victory on home soil at the Belgrade Open.
The Serbian superstar lost his serve three times in the first set before changing his game to defeat Slovakian qualifier and first-time ATP Tour finalist Alex Molcan 6-4, 6-3 in 88 minutes at the Novak Tennis Center.
Open Era (Since April 1968) Singles Title Leaders
| Player | Titles |
| Jimmy Connors | 109 |
| Roger Federer | 103 |
| Ivan Lendl | 94 |
| Rafael Nadal | 88 |
| Novak Djokovic | 83 |
Djokovic, who captured a record ninth Australian Open crown in February, has now won three titles in Belgrade, including two at the Serbian Open in 2009 and 2011. The 34-year-old improves to a 20-3 record on the season and will next travel to Paris, where he will play American Tennys Sandgren in the Roland Garros first round.
Molcan, currently No. 255 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, won six of the first seven points and broke Djokovic’s serve, forcing the home favourite to fight. In a 45-minute opening set of cat-and-mouse, featuring seven breaks of serve, Djokovic was forced to change his game, but it was his greater weight of strokes and experience that counted.
After a frenetic start, the second set went with serve until the sixth game, when Djokovic stepped up to break for a 4-2 lead after Molcan hit a backhand wide. But Molcan responded immediately with a backhand winner, only to drop his serve for a sixth time in the match after hitting a backhand volley wide.
When Rafael Nadal gives you praise, it would be hard not to smile. Even the mention of his name can bring about a grin. This was the case for WTA stars Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek on Friday who were overwhelmed when the Spanish superstar was mentioned.
The 17-year-old Gauff has had a remarkable rise since winning the 2018 Roland Garros junior title. This has has understandably led to recognition from those within the sport, with 13-time champion Nadal the latest to compliment the American, deeming her “great with aptitude”. This news brought a beaming smile to the teenager’s face who is in awe of the Spaniard.
“Oh, that’s pretty cool to hear, to be honest,” said Gauff. “It feels pretty good. Obviously, [he is] somebody [that] I look up to, and walking around I still get starstruck by him, like it’s Rafa Nadal. So, it’s pretty cool that he said that about me.”
?This is me and Rafa just casually showing his quads…
Just kidding. You’re so kind @RafaelNadal, thank you for taking the time before the match.
?Oto ja, Rafa i jego udo…
A poważnie, dziękuję życzliwość, klasę i czas poświęcony przed meczem na zrobienie sobie tego zdjęcia. pic.twitter.com/smqsDV0qQt— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) May 17, 2021
Nadal’s success and reputation is so great that leading stars in their own right still struggle to muster up the nerve to even say “Hello” when they cross paths with the 34-year-old. This has been the experience for Swiatek, the 2020 Roland Garros champion and World No. 9, who grinned and admitted she had not yet had the confidence to approach Nadal and discuss the sport.
“Maybe we’re going to have a chance to do that later, but we just had like a quick small talk last year, and yesterday he said ‘Hi’ to me,” Swiatek smirked. “For now, I’m too overwhelmed to even say ‘Hi’. I’m a big fan of his, and if I’m going to have a chance to ask him some stuff and also learn from him, it would be great, but we are both busy, so I know it’s going to be hard to schedule that.”
Champions Chat ??@iga_swiatek x @RafaelNadal #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/LjahCih4sU
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 29, 2021
But as luck would have it, Swiatek and Nadal met on the practice court Saturday, exchanging a fist bump and even hitting some balls.
During Roland Garros, Nadal and Swiatek will celebrate their birthdays, while in Rome, they saved match points on their way to the title. They also both won their first Grand Slam trophy aged 19. When asked about these connections with her idol, Swiatek confessed that she has thought about these parallels, but it unsure of what to make of them.
“I thought about it, but I also think it’s kind of weird,” Swiatek said. “I don’t know what to say, because it’s also some kind of superstition when you look at that stuff and try to compare each other. But, yeah, I know it’s weird.”
Il lui a dit bonjour jeudi et elle était trop impressionnée pour lui répondre. Aujourd’hui Iga Swiatek tape la balle avec Rafael Nadal à l’entraînement. #RolandGarros #RG2021 pic.twitter.com/r7leDbSVma
— Tiffany Henne (@TiffanyHenne) May 29, 2021
Meanwhile for Gauff, Nadal is insistent that she does not need advice from him. The American, who will be looking to reach the third round in Paris for the first time in her career, is not so sure though.
Gauff said: “I know [that] he says I don’t need advice, but anything from Rafa would be great (smiling).”
Simone Bolelli and Maximo Gonzalez clinched their second ATP Tour team title on Saturday with victory in the Emilia-Romagna Open final.
The Italian-Argentine team broke serve three times to beat Austria’s Oliver Marach and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan 6-3, 6-3 in 81 minutes. They did not drop a set in their four matches this week at the President Tennis Club in Parma (8-0).
“I am very happy as this is our second title this year,” Bolelli told ATPTour.com. “I was born in Bologna, so this is my area and I know a lot of people here. Every time I play here, I feel like at home, so this is a special victory for me and it’s great people that were able to watch the match. Every match we’ve played better and better.”
Gonzalez told ATPTour.com, “We had a great week last week in Geneva, this week and we hope to continue this form and celebrate [with the title] in two weeks’ in Paris.”
Bolelli and Gonzalez are now 2-1 in tour-level finals this year, which includes the Chile Dove Men+Care Open title (d. Delbonis/Munar). They also reached last week’s Gonet Geneva Open final (l. to Peers/Venus) and are 15-5 on the season.
Individually, Bolelli, 35, is 7-10 in tour-level finals, while 37-year-old Gonzalez is 10-4 lifetime in title matches.
Marach and Qureshi were winners of the 2011 Bangkok title and runners up at 2015 Gstaad.
British number one Dan Evans dismisses the suggestion from world number four Dominic Thiem that he is benefiting from the quarantine rules at tournaments.
Roger Federer is about to play his first Grand Slam in 16 months – how much do you know about the Swiss great’s record at the majors?
#NextGenATP American Sebastian Korda booked a spot into his second ATP Tour final with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over countryman Tommy Paul on Friday at the Emilia-Romagna Open.
Korda, who leads the Americans on the ATP Tour with 15 wins this season, will face Italian wild card Marco Cecchinato in his career first clay-court final. He will be aiming to become the first American since Sam Querrey in 2010 Belgrade (d. Isner) to lift a trophy on European clay.
“It’s going to be tough [playing an Italian in Italy], but it’s probably going to be super fun,” said the 20-year-old in an on-court interview. “[It will be] another new experience. My first ATP clay-court final. I’m super excited, and whatever happens tomorrow I will give it my all. Hopefully we can play a good match.”
Korda has not dropped a set all week in Parma, and came out firing against his countryman and Davis Cup teammate. His deep returning kept Paul under pressure, and Korda created five break opportunities in the sixth seed’s first three service games. He finally broke through on his sixth opportunity at 4-3 to close out the opening set.
The #NextGenATP American faced nine break points during the match, and saved eight. Paul broke to level the score in the second set at 1-1, but his opponent didn’t give him any other chances. Korda reeled off the last four games in a row from 2-3 to reestablish his lead, and seal his spot in the final.
It will be Korda’s first meeting with wild card Cecchinato, who needed two hours and 40 minutes to overcome a stern test against Marbella finalist Jaume Munar. Cecchinato saved five of the nine break points he faced to take down the Spaniard 7-6(2), 1-6, 6-1.
[WATCH LIVE 1]“It was a tough match. [There were] so many rallies. Every point [was] tough, every point [had] tension,” Cecchinato said. “After the first set I was down in the second set 6-1, but I was really happy because I started well in the third set.
“The result is not ‘true’ because [the third set score] shows 6-1 but every point [was] tough. I’m very happy for this match.”
Cecchinato is into his first final of the year, and the fifth of his career (3-1) in Parma. He will be aiming to become the fourth different Italian champion on the ATP Tour this season, joining Matteo Berrettini (Belgrade 1), Jannik Sinner (Melbourne 1) and Lorenzo Sonego (Cagliari).
#NextGenATP American Jenson Brooksby was on the verge of defeat Friday evening at Roland Garros. Frenchman Evan Furness led their final-round qualifying match 7-6(5), 5-4 and had three match points on his serve at 40/0 to earn a spot in the main draw. But Brooksby staged a furious comeback to triumph 6-7(5), 7-6(2), 6-4 after three hours and 22 minutes and make the main draw in Paris for the first time.
“I was upset in the moment for sure, but I always fight until the last point,” Brooksby said. “Obviously that was a tough situation to be in, you don’t want to be there in general, but I kept fighting. I just tried to play my game even in those points and see what would happen and it paid off, thankfully.”
Brooksby has won three ATP Challenger Tour titles this season, and his 90.4 winning percentage through the year’s first four months is second-highest in Challenger history. All that success helped the 20-year-old against Furness.
“Definitely having won a lot of matches lately helped me get through today and believe I could come back from any deficit or whatever was going on out there,” Brooksby said. “[That] definitely played a big part in my belief today.”
When Brooksby lifted his third Challenger trophy of the season last month in Tallahassee, he did so on green clay. Before that tournament, he had not played on that surface in about two years. Roland Garros was an even bigger challenge — Brooksby had never competed on red clay.
“I think it’s just a testament to our mindset that we have,” Brooksby said. “We don’t worry about surface and things like that. I just focus on what’s in my control, which is how I’m playing [and] the intentions I have going out on the court. It’s definitely paid off. I believe that I can have a good week and I have so far.”
When Brooksby spoke to the media, he did not know that he will face 2021 breakthrough star Aslan Karatsev in the first round. But the American did not seem put off by the news.
“He’s had a very strong year for sure so far,” Brookbsy said. “I’ll be pumped and ready to go going into that one. It’s a good opportunity in the main draw. I’ll rest up today and then just prepare for the next match.”
The last time Brooksby advanced through Grand Slam qualifying, at the 2019 US Open, he beat Tomas Berdych in the main draw. The American knows that while getting this far is exciting, he has to refocus on the first round.
“[There is] no time to celebrate. [I’m] still in the tournament, there’s another match coming up,” Brooksby said. “I didn’t play my best today, and I’m just happy to have another opportunity. We’re going to go over, look at what I can improve for the next one and hopefully play better next time.”
After Roger Federer lost his opening match at the Gonet Geneva Open last week against Pablo Andujar, the Swiss admitted it is likely he will not win Roland Garros.
“I’m just realistic that I know I will not win the French and whoever thought I would or could win it is wrong,” Federer said. “Of course crazier things might have happened, but I’m not so sure in the past 50 years at the French Open somebody just rocked up at 40 years old being out for a year and a half and [went] on to just win.”
However, the Swiss has enjoyed plenty of success on the Parisian clay throughout his career. And if the 39-year-old is able to play his way into form as he continues his comeback from two arthroscopic right knee surgeries, he will still be a dangerous opponent.
Movements of a Maestro ?#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/XT6FNUZDrR
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 28, 2021
Federer has advanced to at least the quarter-finals here in 11 of his past 12 appearances, and in 2014 he lost in the fourth round. The 103-time tour-level titlist completed his Career Grand Slam at Roland Garros in 2009 and made the championship match on four more occasions.
Although Federer’s best surfaces have been grass and hard courts, the 20-time Grand Slam champion has been one of the best players on clay on the ATP Tour.
Federer is third on the all-time list for the most match wins at Roland Garros with 70, only trailing 13-time winner Rafael Nadal (100) and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic (74). The 39-year-old also has the third-most clay-court titles among active players with 11, trailing only Nadal (62) and Djokovic, who can win his 16th on the surface Saturday in Belgrade.
That is not just a function of how long Federer has played, either. He has won 75.9 per cent of his clay-court matches, which is also good for third among active players behind Nadal (91.6%) and Djokovic (79.7%).
There was more good news for Federer when qualifiers were placed in the Roland Garros draw on Friday evening. The eighth seed learned he will play a familiar foe in Denis Istomin, against whom he has a 7-0 ATP Head2Head record. Federer will hope to play his best and get off to a good start at his first Grand Slam since the 2020 Australian Open.
“I feel like in practice I’ve been playing better,” Federer said in Geneva. “But then again as we know, matches are a different animal.”
Pleasure to have you back, @rogerfederer ?#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/Fz7La44Wfa
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 27, 2021