Tennis News

Dodig/Polasek Through To Madrid Quarter-finals

Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek opened their Mutua Madrid Open title bid on Thursday with 6-4, 6-7(2), 10-7 victory against Kevin Krawietz and Horia Tecau.

The fourth seeds won 70 per cent of their first-serve points (23/33) and did not face a break point throughout the one-hour, 52-minute match. Dodig and Polasek will face Munich finalists Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen for a place in the semi-finals.

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic also needed a Match Tie-break to defeat Max Purcell and Luke Saville 4-6, 6-3, 10-4 and extend their unbeaten record at ATP Masters 1000 events this year to 10-0. The reigning Miami and Monte-Carlo champions, who are chasing their sixth team title of the year, own a 30-3 record in 2021.

Mektic and Pavic will next face seventh seeds Wesley Koolhof and Lukasz Kubot in the quarter-finals. This will be the first time Koolhof and Mektic have shared the court since they ended their partnership with a title run at last year’s Nitto ATP Finals.

Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut also advanced on Thursday with a 7-6(5), 7-6(5) win against Raven Klaasen and Ben McLachlan. The Frenchmen will next face third seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.

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Nadal Seeks Double Digits In Rome; All You Need to Know

Rafael Nadal will attempt to win 10 or more titles at a single tour-level event for the fourth time in his career at next week’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.

The nine-time champion, who has already reached double digits at Roland Garros (13), the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell (12) and the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (11), will return to Rome with his sights set on a 10th title run at the Foro Italico. Nadal owns a record 63 victories at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament and will be seeking his first trophy in Rome since 2019, when he defeated Novak Djokovic in a three-set championship match.

Djokovic headlines this year’s draw as not only the World No. 1, but also the defending champion. The Serbian captured his fifth Rome title and a record 36th Masters 1000 crown last year with a straight-sets final victory against Diego Schwartzman.

Djokovic and Nadal lead a packed field in the Italian capital, which also includes World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev, two-time Roland Garros runner-up Dominic Thiem and reigning Monte-Carlo champion Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Here’s all you need to know about the Rome tennis tournament: when is the draw, what is the schedule, where to watch, who has won and more.

Established: 1968

Tournament Dates: 9-16 May 2021

Tournament Director: Sergio Palmieri

Draw Ceremony: Saturday 8 May. 11.30am CEST

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Schedule
* Qualifying: 8-9 May, 10:00am
* Main draw: Sunday 9 May – Sunday 16 May 
* Start times: Sunday – Sunday 11:00am and 7:30pm
* Doubles final: Sunday, 16 May, 3pm, CEST
* Singles final: Sunday 16 May

How To Watch
Watch Live On Tennis TV
TV Schedule

Venue: Foro Italico
Surface: Clay 

Prize Money: €2,082,960 (Total Financial Commitment: €2,563,710)

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Honour Roll
Most Titles, Singles: Rafael Nadal (9)
Oldest Champion: Novak Djokovic, 33, in 2020
Youngest Champion: Bjorn Borg, 17, in 1974
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1 Ivan Lendl in 1986, 1988; No. 1 Jim Courier in 1992; No. 1 Pete Sampras in 1994; No. 1 Rafael Nadal in 2009; No. 1 Novak Djokovic in 2015, 2020
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 47 Felix Mantilla in 2003
Most Match Wins: Rafael Nadal (63)

2020 Finals
Singles: [1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) d [8] Diego Schwartzman (ARG) 7-5, 6-3 Read & Watch
Doubles: [4] Marcel Granollers (ESP) / Horacio Zeballos (ARG) d Jeremy Chardy (FRA) / Fabrice Martin (FRA) 6-4, 5-7, 10-8 Read More 

Social
Hashtag: #IBI21

Facebook: @InternazionaliBNLdItalia 
Twitter: @InteBNLdItalia
Instagram: @InternazionaliBNLdItalia

Did You Know?
The Foro Italico is also home to the Stadio Olimpico, which hosted the athletics events, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies, at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. The stadium is the current home of Serie A football teams A.S. Roma and S.S. Lazio.

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Isner Upsets Rublev In Madrid

John Isner knocked out sixth seed Andrey Rublev 7-6(4), 3-6, 7-6(4) at the Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday. The World No. 39 moves into his second quarter-final appearance of the season and faces Dominic Thiem for a place in the semi-finals.

“I’m very happy,” Isner said. “I wasn’t the better player out there today; I did win the match. My serve kept me in it. There’s a reason he’s won so many matches this year.”

Until Madrid, Rublev had advanced to the quarter-finals or better in all seven of his tour-level appearances and entered his second meeting with Isner with a 27-6 match record in 2021. Isner had won their only previous ATP Head2Head meeting in Miami six years ago.

The upset marks Isner’s first Top 10 win since beating Alexander Zverev at the Laver Cup in 2019, and his first Top 10 win at an ATP Masters 1000 event since winning the Miami crown in 2018.

“It’s perfect serving conditions out here, especially on this court,” the 36-year-old said. “It’s got a nice sound, kind of like an indoor court. I can’t ask for anything better. “

Isner hit 28 aces inside Arantxa Sanchez Stadium, bringing his total for the week across three matches to 88. It’s the 61st time the American has won a deciding tie-break (61-49), and it’s his second in a row after beating Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(6) on Wednesday.

Against Rublev, Isner racked up 21 winners in the first set to Rublev’s 11 as neither player saw a break point opportunity. Isner took early control of the tie-break for 4/0 and closed it out 7/4.

Rublev would pick up his level in the second set to extend the rallies and he capitalised on his first break point for 2-1 as well as another break point at 5-3. Rublev converted on 100 per cent of his chances in the set while Isner managed just five winners. When the third set ultimately went to a deciding tie-break, Isner jumped on the first lead for 5/3 and it would be enough to seal the victory.

Thiem leads the ATP Head2Head Series 2-1 against Isner but they haven’t faced off since 2017. Thiem topped Alex de Minaur earlier on Thursday 7-6(7), 6-4.

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Nadal On Ronaldo: 'He Was One Of My Favourite Football Players'

Rafael Nadal has big fans around the world. But one attendee inside Manolo Santana Stadium on Thursday at the Mutua Madrid Open during his win against Alexei Popyrin was more familiar than others for the Spaniard: football legend Ronaldo.

“I always admire the top athletes,” Nadal said. “I am a big fan of sport. When I was a kid, Ronaldo was playing in Barcelona with my uncle. So yeah, [he was] one of my favourite football players of all time, one of the best players that I saw play.”

One of Nadal’s uncles, Toni Nadal, is well-known in the tennis world for his work as Rafa’s coach. “Uncle Toni” is now mentoring Felix Auger-Aliassime. But another of the five-time Madrid champion’s uncles, Miguel Angel Nadal, played football with Ronaldo for FC Barcelona from 1996-97. Another member of that team, Luis Figo, was also in attendance at the Caja Magica on Thursday.

Nadal is a big fan of Real Madrid, which was knocked out of the Champions League on Wednesday by Chelsea.

“I saw the match. Like a spectator, I have to say I’m very proud of my team. Of course, I don’t like to lose,” Nadal said. “With all the difficulties that we had during the whole season with, I don’t know, 60 injuries, it’s difficult to be where we were until yesterday, fighting for the two most important competitions we [are playing in]: semi-finals in the Champions League, and still fighting for La Liga.

“For me 100 per cent Zidane is one of my favourite [managers], without a doubt. Great person, great values for Real Madrid. I think the season is doing great after all the bad luck with injuries that we had. [It is] difficult to ask for more. If I will be the one to decide, of course I don’t have any doubt that Zidane is the right guy to prepare probably the next team.”

Since he was a kid, Nadal has always found interests outside of tennis. While the Spaniard has become known for his legendary intensity and fight on the court, he has enjoyed other things, too, including football.

“I was not the kind of guy or person that I was just focussed on tennis, tennis, tennis every single day. I was practising very hard, yes. I was focussed when I was on court, 100 per cent. But outside of the court I enjoyed all my life,” Nadal said. “I was able to do the things that my friends did, just I was not able to go party every Friday and Saturday. I was [okay going to a] party one Saturday every few weeks, but I had a lot of parties in my life, too. I went to the beach. I played football. I went to the cinema a lot of times. I spent time having dinners with the family, with everyone.

“I don’t think I missed anything, honestly. The only thing that I can say, if they did 100 or 1,000 times, I did probably 100, that’s all.”

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Madrid Open: Ashleigh Barty beats Paula Badosa to reach final

World number one Ashleigh Barty wins her 16th consecutive match on red clay after beating Spain’s Paula Badosa to reach the Madrid Open final.

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Thiem Returns To Madrid Quarter-finals

Dominic Thiem advanced to his fourth Mutua Madrid Open quarter-final on Thursday with a 7-6(7), 6-4 win against Alex de Minaur.

The Austrian saved a set point at 6/7 in the first-set tie-break and saved four of the five break points he faced in the second set to earn his 15th victory at La Caja Magica (15-4). Thiem, a two-time runner-up in Madrid, has reached the quarter-finals or better at each edition of the tournament since 2017.

“There were many long rallies, [which is] exactly what I need right now,” Thiem said in his post-match interview. “I am very, very happy again with my performance… It was nice. I love the conditions, the court and the tournament.”

After recovering from a break down in the opening set, Thiem fired a pinpoint backhand passing shot down the line to save set point in the first-set tie-break. The 27-year-old earned two service breaks in the second set to record his third straight-sets win in four matches against De Minaur. Thiem, who is making his first appearance since the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in March, is yet to drop a set this week.

“I feel way better than expected. In some points and some rallies, I still feel the lack of matches,” Thiem said. “I am a little bit more out of breath, I am a little bit too tight in some shots and some strokes.

“Everything has to be a little more relaxed again to be in the match mode. I lost a little bit of intensity after winning that close first set. I have to get back in a rhythm, but the more matches I play against these top guys, the quicker I will get back in the match rhythm I need.”

De Minaur was aiming to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final. The 22-year-old, who moved past Jaume Munar and Lloyd Harris en route to the third round, owns an 11-9 record this season.

Thiem will face Monte-Carlo runner-up Andrey Rublev or John Isner for a place in the semi-finals. The Austrian trails Rublev 2-3 in their ATP Head2Head rivalry and owns a 2-1 record against Isner.

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Bublik Earns First Madrid Quarter-final Spot

Alexander Bublik became the first man to reach this year’s Mutua Madrid Open quarter-finals on Thursday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory against Aslan Karatsev.

The World No. 44 saved seven of the eight break points he faced to overcome the Belgrade runner-up after 74 minutes. Bublik is through to his second ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final of the season, following his run to the last eight at last month’s Miami Open presented by Itau.

Bublik has joined Karatsev on 19 wins this season. Alongside Jannik Sinner, the pair is currently tied in third position on the 2021 ATP Tour wins leaderboard.

2021 ATP Tour Wins Leaderboard

Karatsev was aiming to reach his first Masters 1000 quarter-final and become the third player to reach 20 wins this year. The Russian defeated Ugo Humbert and seventh seed Diego Schwartzman en route to the third round.

Bublik awaits the winner of Monte-Carlo champion Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud’s third-round clash in the quarter-finals. The 23-year-old owns a 0-2 ATP Head2Head record against Tsitsipas and lost his only previous encounter against Ruud in three sets at the 2019 St. Petersburg Open.

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Preview: Can Rolling Ruud Stop Surging Tsitsipas In Madrid?

Casper Ruud is at a career-high No. 22 in the FedEx ATP Rankings and he has proven a menace for the rest of the Tour on clay. But will the Norwegian have enough to surprise fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas on Thursday at the Mutua Madrid Open?

Ruud is unseeded at the Caja Magica, but he hasn’t played like it in dismissing Felix Auger-Aliassime and Yoshihito Nishioka. The 22-year-old, who is one of seven players remaining making their tournament debut, is one win from making a third consecutive clay-court ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final. Last year, Ruud made the semi-finals in Rome and just weeks ago he made the last four in Monte-Carlo.

But Tsitsipas will be a tough challenge. The Greek recently claimed his first Masters 1000 title in Monte-Carlo and he earned a championship point in Barcelona against Rafael Nadal before the Spaniard battled back to lift the trophy. Tsitsipas is 10-1 on clay this season and he will try to improve that record against Ruud in their first ATP Head2Head clash (Tsitsipas won a final-set tie-break against Ruud in a Futures final in 2016).

“For sure he’s a clay-court specialist. I haven’t played him in a long time. We played in the juniors together,” Tsitsipas said. “He’s someone who knows the surface really well. Most of his good results have come on clay, so a difficult task early in a Masters 1000, but again I’m going to try and go out on the court, show my game, show what I’m capable of, put out my best power.”

Tsitsipas is tied for the ATP Tour-lead in wins with Andrey Rublev at 27 each, and the Russian will also try to make the Madrid quarter-finals on Thursday. Rublev will confront a tall task — literally and figuratively — against American John Isner, who is competing on clay for the first time this season.

Isner won their only clash in Miami six years ago when Rublev was 17. The 6’10” righty hit 32 aces on Wednesday en route to a final-set tie-break victory against Roberto Bautista Agut. That marked the most aces hit by anyone on the ATP Tour in a best-of-three match in 2021.

Rublev has made at least the quarter-finals in his eight previous tournaments this year, and he will be confident after reaching his maiden Masters 1000 final in Monte-Carlo.

A day after snuffing out Carlos Alcaraz’s candles on his 18th birthday, Rafael Nadal will attempt to maintain his good form against Aussie Alexei Popyrin, who ousted Jannik Sinner in the second round. This will be their first ATP Head2Head meeting.

“He has a huge serve, great forehand, young… Another tough opponent. But here we are in Masters 1000, so we can’t expect another thing,” Nadal said. “I hope to be ready to play well. That’s what I am going to need every single day if I want to have chances to keep playing. Tomorrow is another tough battle. I hope to be ready.”

Second seed Daniil Medvedev beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for his first victory in Madrid, and he will try to double his win count at the Caja Magica against 16th seed Cristian Garin. The Chilean’s best career triumph came two years ago in Munich against World No. 3 Alexander Zverev, and beating another World No. 3 in Medvedev would level their series at 1-1.

Zverev will also try to level an ATP Head2Head at 1-1 when he takes on British No. 1 Daniel Evans. The tricky all-court player is at a career-high World No. 26, and he recently made his first Masters 1000 semi-final in Monte-Carlo. The German, however, is confident in Madrid, where he lifted the trophy in 2018.

In other action, third seed Dominic Thiem will try to continue finding his form in his first tournament since Dubai when he plays Aussie Alex de Minaur (Thiem leads 3-0). Red-hot Russian Aslan Karatsev continues his incredible season against tricky Kazakhstani Alexander Bublik, and Matteo Berrettini will attempt to extend his five-match winning streak when he plays Argentine Federico Delbonis.

ORDER OF PLAY – THURSDAY, MAY 06, 2021

MANOLO SANTANA STADIUM start 11:00 am
ATP – [3] D. Thiem (AUT) vs A. de Minaur (AUS)
Not Before 3:00 pm
ATP – [1] R. Nadal (ESP) vs [Q] A. Popyrin (AUS)
Not Before 7:00 pm
ATP – D. Evans (GBR) vs [5] A. Zverev (GER)

ARANTXA SANCHEZ STADIUM start 11:00 am
ATP – A. Karatsev (RUS) vs A. Bublik (KAZ)
ATP – [16] C. Garin (CHI) vs [2] D. Medvedev (RUS)
Not Before 2:00 pm
ATP – J. Isner (USA) vs [6] A. Rublev (RUS)
Not Before 4:00 pm
ATP – C. Ruud (NOR) vs [4] S. Tsitsipas (GRE)
ATP – [8] M. Berrettini (ITA) vs [Q] F. Delbonis (ARG)

STADIUM 3 start 1:00 pm
ATP – K. Krawietz (GER) / H. Tecau (ROU) vs [4] I. Dodig (CRO) / F. Polasek (SVK)
After Suitable Rest – ATP – A. Bublik (KAZ) / C. Garin (CHI) vs S. Gille (BEL) / J. Vliegen (BEL)

COURT 4 start 11:00 am
ATP – M. Purcell (AUS) / L. Saville (AUS) vs [2] N. Mektic (CRO) / M. Pavic (CRO)
ATP – [Alt] R. Klaasen (RSA) / B. McLachlan (JPN) vs [6] P. Herbert (FRA) / N. Mahut (FRA)

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Medvedev's Secret Soft Spot: McDonald's!

Three years ago, Daniil Medvedev was outside the Top 50 of the FedEx ATP Rankings. At the time, the Russian wasn’t focussed on winning big tournaments like ATP Masters 1000 events like he is this week at the Mutua Madrid Open. Instead, he was more worried about fixing his diet and post-match routines.

Fewer croissants, more porridge was his motto at the time. But on Wednesday after defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Medvedev admitted that while fixing those things greatly helped his career, he still has a soft spot for a certain fast food restaurant.

“Many times when I lose a match or when I finish a tournament, I take McDonald’s. I like McDonald’s because it’s really good in Russia,” Medvedev said. “It’s much less good in USA and Europe. I don’t know for which reasons [that is], so I many times regret taking it, but that’s kind of a child’s dream. Many times if I lose a match, like when you are [down], I don’t know, you take ice cream, I take McDonald’s.”

Medvedev certainly does not chow down on fast food during tournaments. That discipline is part of what has helped propel the World No. 3 to the top of the sport. The Russian does not regret making that choice.

“I was always saying, until I was 21 if I’m not mistaken, I was not really paying too much attention to small details,” Medvedev admitted. “I could enjoy life because I just thought that it wouldn’t affect my tennis. Now I can say that when I sacrificed my life to tennis when I was 21, I said, ‘Okay, I’m going to go to bed early, I’m going to eat well.’ If I had a day off, I’m not going to walk for 10 kilometres to the beach. I’m going to rest and prepare for practice the next day. That’s when the results came, so I [do not] regret it.”

On other off-court topics, a reporter asked Medvedev if he is superstitious, to which the 25-year-old said, “I feel like I’m not very superstitious. Just a little bit.” The third seed believes that many players’ superstitions simply come from routine.

“We need a good rhythm to play good, and to have a good rhythm you need to have a routine. The routine may be considered as a superstition,” Medvedev said. “For example, is it superstitious that I usually practise, of course if it’s not a first match at 11:00, three hours [and] 30 [minutes] before? No, it’s just to eat two hours [and] 30 [minutes] before [my match].

“But somebody [who] is more superstitious, [if] he’s going to win his first ATP title eating three hours [and] 30 [minutes] before, he’s going to say, ‘Okay, all my life I’m going to eat 3:30 before the match. We are all superstitious, some more, some less.”

Medvedev, whose victory against Davidovich Fokina was his first in Madrid, will next play 16th seed Cristian Garin for a spot in the quarter-finals.

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Bopanna/Shapovalov Stun Top Seeds Cabal/Farah

Unseeded Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov closed out a day of upsets at the Mutua Madrid Open with the biggest one of all after taking down top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in straight sets on Wednesday.

The Indian doubles veteran and the 22-year-old Canadian have been a regular partnership on the doubles tour since 2019. They paired up for the first time since Roland Garros in 2020 in Madrid, where they are now into the quarter-finals.

One break of serve in each set made the difference for Bopanna and Shapovalov, who closed out the 6-3, 6-4 victory in an hour and 13 minutes. The pair didn’t drop serve once against the two-time Grand Slam winning Colombians, and they created eight chances en route to the win.

In the quarter-finals, Bopanna and Shapovalov will face Tim Puetz and Alexander Zverev after the Germans pulled off a surprise of their own in the second-round. Puetz and Zverev took down former Madrid champions Marcelo Melo (2017, w/ Kubot ) and Jean-Julien Rojer (2016 and 2019, w/ Tecau) 6-4, 6-4.

Also in action, third seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos dodged the upset bug as they took down Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-2 in the second round. Marcelo Demoliner and Daniil Medvedev saved match point in the second set against Wesley Koolhof and Lukasz Kubot, but the seventh seeds were victorious in a Match Tie-break, 7-5, 6-7(4), 10-3.

Sixth seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut defeated countrymen Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin 6-3, 6-3 to reach the second round. Fifth seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury weren’t so lucky against Alexander Bublik and Cristian Garin. The Kazakh-Chilean duo edged past Ram and Salisbury 7-6(5), 7-5.

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