Tennis News

Raonic Saves 2 MPs, Hits 25 Aces To Reach Paris Semi-finals

Milos Raonic was as close as you can get to defeat on Friday at the Rolex Paris Masters, but the former World No. 3 found a way to win.

Raonic saved two match points to battle past home favourite Ugo Humbert 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7) after two hours and 19 minutes. The Canadian was unrelenting in a 30-shot rally on the Frenchman’s serve to save the first of those match points, clawing into the Paris-Bercy semi-finals for the third time.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say that that match point is the way I want to be playing too many points that I saved in that long rally. But I just tried to stick with it as much as possible, tried to find a way through and got a bit fortunate, hit a few balls close to the line,” Raonic said. “Today it turned my way, but I’ve just got to keep plugging away. Doesn’t necessarily mean it always will, but at least give it a chance for it to turn around.”

One of the best servers of his generation, Raonic lost his first three service points of the final-set tie-break, including a surprising double fault long, to fall behind 1/5. Humbert put on his track shoes to track down one attacking shot after the other on his first match point at 6/4, but Raonic ultimately put away a forehand volley. He swatted away the next match point with a booming serve down the T.

Although Humbert once again showed his heart by playing tremendous defence on the first match point he faced at 6/7, it was not enough. Raonic crushed his 25th ace of the match to advance to the last four, in which he will play Daniil Medvedev, who eased past Diego Schwartzman earlier in the day.

“The past few weeks he’s played well. I think he just needs the consistency,” Raonic said of Humbert. “He’s not an easy guy to play, by any means. I think with maturity, and he’s playing the right way, I think he can continue to move up much more.”

It was a scrappy performance throughout for Raonic, who was close to letting slip his grip on the match multiple times. After losing the second set, the 2014 finalist faced 0/40 on his serve to start the decider. But the 10th seed kept his composure against an inspired Humbert, riding his first serve to victory.

“It was looking a little dark for me at the beginning, triple break point at the beginning [of the third set],” Raonic said. “But then I created some opportunities. It kept me around. And it’s something that [has] happened maybe too many times before, that things have slipped because I haven’t taken that step forward mentally. And I just tried to do something better today.”

Humbert showed no fear competing in his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final. The lefty, who won his first two ATP Tour titles earlier this year, played attacking tennis and had a spot in the semi-finals on his racquet. But on the key points, it was Raonic who controlled the action.

The 29-year-old will try to reach his second Masters 1000 final of the year after making the championship match at the Western & Southern Open in New York. Raonic owns an 0-2 ATP Head2Head record against Medvedev.

Source link

Medvedev Sweeps Into Paris SFs, Schwartzman Made To Wait

Daniil Medvedev booked his place in the Rolex Paris Masters semi-finals on Friday and ensured Diego Schwartzman will have to wait on whether he has qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time.

Third seed Medvedev swung freely to overpower the sixth-seeded Argentine 6-3, 6-1 in 63 minutes to reach his second tour-level semi-final of the year (also US Open, l. to Thiem). He will next play Canadian No. 10 seed Milos Raonic or Ugo Humbert of France

Pablo Carreno Busta, who plays top seed Rafael Nadal later today, could deny Schwartzman the final qualification spot at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 October, by lifting the Paris trophy and also next week’s Sofia Open crown. But Carreno Busta must first improve upon an 0-6 record against fellow Spaniard Nadal.

Medvedev capitalised on early errors from Schwartzman to win 12 of 13 points for a 3-1 advantage, which came when Schwartzman hit a forehand long. The Russian’s greater power on serve did the damage and he clinched a one-sided 36-minute opener once Schwartzman struck his eighth forehand error into the net.

Schwartzman battled in the second set, but Medvedev was relentless in defence from behind the baseline and gained breaks at 2-1 and 4-1 with terrific scrambling. Medvedev finished with an ace down the T, his 17th winner, and is now 4-0 lifetime against Schwartzman, including a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory at the inaugural ATP Cup in January. The 24-year-old, who won 27 of his 28 first-service points against Schwartzman, has a 21-10 match record in 2020.

World No. 9 Schwartzman is now 25-12 on a career-best year, which includes three runner-up finishes at the Cordoba Open (l. to Garin) in February, his first ATP Masters 1000 title match at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia (l. to Djokovic) in September and the bett1HULKS Championship (l. to A. Zverev) last month.

Source link

Wawrinka Comeback Snaps Rublev Streak In Paris

No.12 seed Stan Wawrinka turned around a first-set rout to upset the in-form Andrey Rublev and grab the last spot in the Paris Rolex Masters quarter-finals. 

Rublev, the fifth seed, had posted an ATP Tour-leading 40th win of the season in the second round, and looked set to add another scalp to his world-beating count as he raced to a 6-1 lead against Wawrinka. But the three-time Grand Slam winner responded emphatically to complete the turnaround 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 after an hour and 43 minutes.

“I think of course at the beginning he was playing faster than me, was playing better than me,” Wawrinka said in his post-match press conference. “It was tough for me to really find any solution when he’s playing that well. 

“I was still believing that I could change something in my game and play a little bit better.”

The Russian player is one of the most in-form players of the season, and clinched his Nitto ATP Finals spot after lifting his fifth trophy of the season at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna. He charged through his Paris opener, dropping just three games to Radu Albot to book his clash with Wawrinka. 

Rublev carried all of that momentum into their late-night match-up in Paris, keeping the Swiss player’s serve under pressure from the start. Rublev pushed Wawrinka to deuce in three of his four service games, and was rewarded with a break each time as he charged through the set, 6-1.  

But the former World No.3 finally found his footing in the second set, and improved his first serve percentage from 69% to 78%, working his way back into the contest. He claimed his first break of the match at 4-3, and dodged two break points to take the set and send the contest into a decider.

Wawrinka continued to press as the match wound to a close, and a pair of service breaks bracketed the final set. Rublev fired a backhand into the net to end his winning streak at 11 consecutive matches, and send the former Paris semi-finalist back into the last eight. 

“I didn’t start great the match, and he took the confidence from me also,” said Wawrinka. “I think for me it was important to really focus on my serve. I start to serve better, to mix more, to get more free points, to start to push him a little bit more, put him on defense a little bit. That’s when I knew I will have some occasion to break him. I’m really happy with the victory.”

Fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev awaits in the quarter-finals after the German needed three sets and three hours to fend off an inspired challenge from veteran Adrian Mannarino, 7-6(11), 6-7(7), 6-4.

“It’s going to be a tough one, for sure,” Wawrinka said. “I lost to him in the Australian Open. Lost a few times to him already in the past. He’s a tough player for me to play, so it’s going to be interesting. I watched him a little bit tonight. He played also a long match. Hopefully I can deliver a great match tomorrow night.”

After edging through a marathon, nearly 16-minute tie-break in the opening set, Zverev arrived at match point in the second as they stayed deadlocked into another deciding tilt. This time it was the French lefty, looking for his first Masters 1000 quarter-final, who charged back to level the match. 

But Zverev responded by hitting his spots on serve to fend off a Mannarino comeback, improving his winning percentages from 70% to 89% behind his first serve and from 29% to 50% on second serve. Zverev fired his seventh ace of the match to seal his spot in the Paris quarter-finals for the second time.

Source link

Kubot/Melo Earn Critical Win In FedEx ATP Battle For London

Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo won a critical match in the FedEx ATP Battle For London on Thursday, defeating Brits Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski 6-2, 1-6, 10-6 to reach the quarter-finals of the Rolex Paris Masters. Less than a week ago, Kubot and Melo beat the same team in the Erste Bank Open final.

“It was a very tough match today. We played in a couple of days two big matches against them: in the final of Vienna and now [in Paris],” Melo said. “It was a very important step towards the [Nitto ATP] Finals for us. I think the level was pretty much the same as the final in Vienna. We knew for them it [would] almost secure their qualification for the Finals [if they won].”

Murray and Skupski began the day in seventh place in the Battle, while Kubot and Melo were in eighth. But with Kubot and Melo’s 79-minute victory, the teams swap positions.

“We’re in such a good position now at No. 7, but we still need to get more points,” Melo said. “That’s why the match was nervous for both teams.”

Murray and Skupski are also vulnerable in the eighth position. If Jurgen Melzer and Edouard Roger-Vasselin beat Rohan Bopanna and Oliver Marach on Friday, they will move into eighth place. Kubot and Melo only lost one service point in the Match Tie-break to emerge victorious, setting a clash against fifth seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut. The Frenchmen beat Marcelo Arevalo and Matwe Middelkoop 6-3, 7-6(4).

“We are glad to play very good in the Match Tie-break. Me and Kubi have a very good record in Match Tie-breaks,” Melo said. “It was great. We are happy. Now we have the French. Maybe it’ll be another nervous match, but for sure it will not be like it was today.”

In other action, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Hubert Hurkacz upset top seeds Robert Farah and Horacio Zeballos 6-3, 3-6, 10-6. 

Two teams also qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals on Thursday, leaving two spots remaining. Wesley Koolhof/Nikola Mektic and John Peers/Michael Venus guaranteed their spots at The O2.

Koolhof and Mektic secured their places by beating Taylor Fritz and Casper Ruud 6-4, 7-6(1) after recovering from 2-5 down in the second set. Peers and Venus ousted Austin Krajicek and Frank Skugor 6-4, 7-6(4) and then second seeds Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares guaranteed their qualifications by eliminating Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 6-4, 7-6(3).

Source link

One Day After Milestone, Nadal Continues Charge For Paris Title

Rafael Nadal became the fourth player in the Open Era to reach 1,000 tour-level wins on Wednesday. On Thursday, it was back to business for the Spaniard at the Rolex Paris Masters.

Nadal continued his pursuit of a maiden Paris-Bercy title with a 6-1, 7-6(3) third-round victory against Aussie Jordan Thompson. The Spaniard has reached the quarter-finals in all eight of his appearances at this tournament.

The World No. 2 saved a set point on his serve at 5-6 in the second set, winning a grueling 26-shot rally in which his final forehand, which elicited a backhand error from Thompson, clipped the baseline. Nadal surged through the ensuing tie-break to emerge victorious after one hour and 33 minutes.

Should the top seed go on to triumph at the Rolex Paris Masters, he will tie Novak Djokovic’s record of 36 ATP Masters 1000 titles. The lefty star could triumph at this level for the 15th time in the past 16 years.

This was Nadal’s first ATP Head2Head meeting against Thompson, but he wasted no time imposing his will on the match. The World No. 2 broke the Aussie’s serve early when Thompson missed a backhand volley, and Nadal later swooped into the net to carve a backhand drop volley, securing a second break and a commanding lead.

In Case You Missed It: Rafa’s 1,000th Win Tributes
Rafa’s Journey To 1,000 Wins: An Immersive Experience
The Stats Behind Nadal’s Milestone
The Challenge Of Facing Rafa

Thompson did not get discouraged. He played on top of the baseline whenever possible and clawed back Nadal’s aggressive baseline blows to force the Spaniard to finish points. At times, the Aussie even threw in serve and volleys to make sure he wasn’t consistently being pushed around.

The World No. 61’s inability to blow Nadal away proved critical. On Thompson’s set point, he earned control of the rally, and was able to go after an inside-out forehand. But Nadal never panicked and slowly worked his way into control of the point, with Thompson eventually missing a defensive backhand into the net.

Nadal then took charge of the action in the tie-break, completing his win when Thompson missed a forehand into the net. The top seed will next play countryman Pablo Carreno Busta, against whom he has never lost in six previous ATP Head2Head meetings.

The ninth seed ousted qualifier Norbert Gombos 7-5, 6-2 in 80 minutes. Carreno Busta has been one of the hottest players since the ATP Tour restarted in August, reaching his second US Open semi-final and advancing to the Roland Garros quarter-finals.

Source link

Humbert's Best Season Getting Even Better In Paris

The best season of Ugo Humbert’s career keeps getting better.

The 22-year-old Frenchman battled past former World No. 3 Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3 on Thursday to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final at the Rolex Paris Masters. Humbert hit 19 aces and saved three of the four break points he faced to advance after two hours and 24 minutes.

“My game is a bit different. I try to play more aggressive,” Humbert said. “[I’ve played] good matches against great players.”

Humbert earned his second Top 10 victory on Tuesday when he upset reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas in a final-set tie-break, and he did not let slip his momentum against Cilic. The World No. 34, who competed in last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals, was cool under pressure to reach his sixth quarter-final of the season. Humbert, who is now 5-1 in deciding sets since Roland Garros, won his first two ATP Tour titles earlier this year.

“I think mentally I’m very strong since one month and I can win matches in three sets,” Humbert said. “I think I’m better in the key moments [than I used to be].”

After Cilic forced a decider with a good effort in the second-set tie-break, he earned a break point in the first game of the third set. Humbert hit his sliding lefty serve out wide and the Croatian was unable to put the return into play. That was the last chance he got.

^{Photo Credit: Cedric Lecocq/FFT}
Humbert will be tested again in the last eight against recent Western & Southern Open finalist Milos Raonic. The big-serving Canadian eliminated American qualifier Marcos Giron 7-6(1), 6-2. 

Raonic struck 17 aces en route to his one-hour, 22-minute victory, in which he did not face a break point. The 10th seed’s best previous result at the Rolex Paris Masters came in 2014, when he reached the final (l. to Djokovic). This will be his first ATP Head2Head meeting against Humbert.

“It will be tough, because he’s confident. He serves very well. He had good results since [the] restart of the Tour,” Humbert said. “But now I just would like to recover and I will prepare [for] my match with my coach later.”

Source link

Peers/Venus Clinch Nitto ATP Finals Spot

John Peers and Michael Venus have become the sixth doubles team to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November.

Peers and Venus beat Austin Krajicek and Franko Skugor 6-4, 7-6(4) on Thursday to reach the Rolex Paris Masters quarter-finals. With Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen’s loss later in the day, Peers and Venus’ spots in London were clinched.

The Australian/New Zealand team has a 22-9 match record on the season, including three ATP Tour titles at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (d. Klaasen/Marach) in February, the Hamburg European Open (d. Dodig/Pavic) in September and the European Open in Antwerp (d. Bopanna/Middelkoop) in October.

Peers and Venus join Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares, Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies, Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos and Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic in London.

Peers won the 2016 and 2017 Nitto ATP Finals titles with Henri Kontinen, while Venus finished runner-up with Raven Klaasen at last year’s season finale.

Source link

Medvedev To Face Schwartzman In Paris Quarter-finals

Daniil Medvedev recorded his 20th match win of the season on Thursday after battling back to beat Alex De Minaur 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 51 minutes at the Rolex Paris Masters.

“It was a really difficult first set, I wasn’t playing bad, but he was also playing well. I was up a break, but didn’t keep the momentum and he came back and was a little bit on fire,” said Medvedev. “The second and third sets were the same scenario, really. I broke early in the second set and I was stronger on my serve to put a lot of pressure on him. I got more confident, knowing that I could put a bit more on my serve and started to come in.”

The third-seeded Russian will now play sixth seed Diego Schwartzman of Argentina in Friday’s quarter-finals. Schwartzman is one victory away from qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November, for the first time.

”I watched his match and Diego played really well,” said Medvedev, of Schwartzman’s 6-1, 6-1 win over Spanish qualifier Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. “I think he made five unforced errors and was returning a lot of balls in the court. He served pretty well and it will be a really tough match, because he has been on fire this year. I am looking forward to it.”

Medvedev leads Schwartzman 3-0 in their ATP Head2Head series, including a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory at the inaugural ATP Cup in January.

Medvedev broke De Minaur immediately, but couldn’t carry the momentum in the first set. De Minaur broke to love at 2-3 and as Medvedev’s errors mounted, the Australian No. 16 seed clinched the 47-minute opener with another service break in the 12th game.

De Minaur got off to the worst possible start in the second set, when he was broken in the first game. From 30/40 in the first game to 3-1, 30/0, Medvedev won 17 straight points and went on to finish the 29-minute second set with an ace.

Medvedev grew in confidence and his deep groundstrokes reaped dividends in long rallies with breaks of serve at 1-1 and 3-1. Medvedev closed out with an ace, his 27th winner.

The 21-year-old De Minaur, runner-up at the European Open in Antwerp (l. to Humbert), is now 12-9 in the 2020 season.

Source link

Koolhof/Mektic Qualify For First Time To Nitto ATP Finals

Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic have become the fifth doubles team to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November.

The Dutch/Croatian team secured their places by beating Taylor Fritz and Casper Ruud 6-4, 7-6(1) in the second round at the Rolex Paris Masters on Thursday. Sixth seeds Koolhof and Mektic recovered from 2-5 down in the second set.

They have a 20-11 record on the season, including strong performances at two Grand Slam championships. Koolhof and Mektic lost to Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares 7-5, 6-3 in the US Open final and reached the Roland Garros semi-finals (l. to Krawietz/Mies). They also finished runners up at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille (l. to Mahut/Pospisil).

First-time qualifiers Koolhof and Mektic join Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, Pavic and Soares, Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies, and Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos at the season finale in London.

Mektic qualified with Alexander Peya at the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals

Source link

Schwartzman Sweeps Into Paris Quarter-finals, One Step Away From Nitto ATP Finals Qualification

Diego Schwartzman booked his place in the Rolex Paris Masters quarter-finals on Thursday and now stands one victory away from qualifying for this month’s Nitto ATP Finals for the first time.

Sixth seed Schwartzman extended his run of form by beating Spanish qualifier Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1, 6-1 in one hour at the indoor ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

“I thought the match was going to be very tough, as we played just 10 days ago,” said Schwartzman. “I did everything well today, serving and moving well. Tomorrow will be a different match against [Daniil] Medvedev or [Alex] De Minaur as they hit very flat and are very solid, they move well and have good defence. I am trying to do everything I can to be in London [at the Nitto ATP Finals].”

The Argentine, who improves to a 25-11 match record on the season that includes three runner-up finishes at ATP Tour events, now faces third-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev or No. 16 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia.

Schwartzman, who is currently No. 9 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, could also qualify for the season finale, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November, should Pablo Carreno Busta lose his third-round match in Paris later today.

Schwartzman came through a 10-minute opening game, then Davidovich Fokina was left frustrated after he was broken to 15 in the next game, with a mis-timed backhand, and after an error-strewn sixth game. Schwartzman, who hit his backhand cleanly throughout, closed out the 34-minute opener when Davidovich Fokina made his ninth backhand error.

Davidovich Fokina’s error count increased when Schwartzman put his foot down by winning the first four games of the second set. Schwartzman also won their two previous meeting in 2020, beating Davidovich Fokina in the Australian Open second round in January and also, recently, in the bett1HULKS Championship quarter-finals in Cologne.

The 28-year-old has reached three finals in 2020, at the Cordoba Open (l. to Garin) in February, his first ATP Masters 1000 title match at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia (l. to Djokovic) in September and the bett1HULKS Championship (l. to A. Zverev) last month.

Source link