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Murray To Face Marchenko For Biella Challenger Crown

  • Posted: Feb 14, 2021

A trophy will be on the line when Andy Murray battles Illya Marchenko on Sunday in Biella, Italy. On Saturday, Murray earned the most comprehensive victory of his stay in Biella, as the former World No. 1 surged into the final of the ATP Challenger Tour event with a 6-0, 7-5 win over Mathias Bourgue. The top seed at the Biella Challenger Indoor 1 fired five aces and saved four of five break points faced to reach the championship match.

Murray, who needed one hour and 33 minutes to dismiss his French opponent, extended his streak of sets won to eight in a row. As he seeks to build confidence and momentum to start his 2021 campaign, it has been a successful opening week for the Scot.

After dropping his opening set of the tournament, Murray has navigated through tricky terrain en route to the final. On Thursday, he overcame an eclectic Gian Marco Moroni in the second round, before outlasting sixth seed Blaz Rola 6-4, 7-6(9) in Friday’s quarter-finals. It was against Rola that he needed five match points to cross the finish line, while saving four set points in the second-set tie-break.

ATP Challenger Tour 

When Murray and Marchenko meet for the title, it will mark the Dunblane native’s first final appearance in nearly 18 months. In 2019, following his long-awaited return from hip surgery, he lifted the trophy at the European Open, an ATP 250 event in Antwerp.

On the ATP Challenger Tour, he is bidding for his first piece of silverware since 2005. At the time, an 18-year-old Murray was first embarking on his professional journey. He would claim back-to-back crowns on American soil, in Aptos, California and Binghamton, New York.

Now, as Murray descends on the Challenger circuit with a different objective, a trophy will taste just as sweet. In search of match play as he pushes towards a return to the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, he will also play the Challenger 125 event in Biella next week.

AO
Murray and Marchenko’s first meeting at the 2011 Australian Open

Marchenko, meanwhile, toppled second seed Federico Gaio 7-5, 6-1 in Saturday’s other semi-final. The former World No. 49 has also conceded just one set en route to the final. Nearly two years removed from his most recent title, the Ukrainian previously triumphed at the Challenger tournament in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan in 2019.

It will be the third encounter between Murray and Marchenko, following a pair of Australian Open victories for the 33-year-old Scot. He previously prevailed 7-5, 7-6(5), 6-2 in the second round in Melbourne in 2011, before scoring a 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 victory in the first round in 2017.

In fact, Murray will have faced three straight familiar opponents when he battles Marchenko on Sunday. His quarter-final win over Rola was a rematch of their Wimbledon encounter from 2014. And his semi-final victory over Bourgue was their first meeting since the Frenchman pushed Murray to five sets at Roland Garros in 2017.

You can watch a free live stream of the Biella championship at 4:30pm CET/10:30am ET.

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Nadal Reveals ‘Important Victory’ In Melbourne

  • Posted: Feb 13, 2021

Rafael Nadal earned his 68th win at the Australian Open on Saturday, as he beat Cameron Norrie 7-5, 6-2, 7-5 to reach the Round of 16 at Melbourne Park for the 14th time. The Spaniard’s three-set win confirmed his spot in the second week at the opening major championship of the year, but it was not the greatest victory that he achieved during the sixth day of the tournament.

For the first time in more than two weeks, Nadal noticed an improvement to the stiffness in his back that forced him to skip playing duties at last week’s ATP Cup.

“The back [had not been] getting better each day. [It was] getting better today,” said Nadal. “Today is better. [It is the] first day I [have] felt an improvement, and that’s the most important thing for me today, more than any other thing.”

Following his first-round victory against Laslo Djere, the 2009 champion shared that he had been forced to change his service motion to relieve pressure on his back. Two rounds later, Nadal was able to return to his usual technique.

During his third-round victory against Norrie, Nadal landed seven aces and won 74 per cent of his service points (61/82). Nadal faced just one break point throughout the two-hour, 14-minute encounter.

“I was not serving my normal serve for the past 15 days. Today is the first day that I started to serve again [with] my normal serve,” said Nadal. “Yesterday, I didn’t practise. Today, [I was] just warming up with the normal movement. I didn’t serve bad, but I can do better. I’m looking forward to doing it better. [It] has been an important victory for me. The biggest victory is the back is better for the first day. That’s the most important thing.”

Nadal’s win against Norrie confirmed a 17th ATP Head2Head clash against Fabio Fognini. The Italian, who played a key role in Italy’s run to the ATP Cup final last week (l. to Russia), defeated Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the Round of 16 in Melbourne for the fourth time.

Nadal will be wary of the challenge that lies ahead. Fognini is one of only four men (Djokovic, Thiem, Gaudio) to own three or more clay victories against the Spaniard and he is the only man to defeat Nadal from two sets down at a Grand Slam (2015 US Open).

“He’s one of the most talented players on Tour with a lot of amazing things,” said Nadal. “When he’s playing well, he’s one of the most dangerous opponents on Tour without a doubt. He had an amazing victory against a great opponent [in De Minaur], so [it] will be a very tough match. I hope to be ready for it.”

If Nadal can claim a 13th win in 17 ATP Head2Head matches against the Italian, he will move three wins away from Grand Slam history. Nadal is aiming to lift a record 21st Grand Slam crown and become the first player in the Open Era (since 1968) to win each of the four major championships on multiple occasions. With the condition of his back improving, Nadal has ended his first week in Melbourne with an important victory.

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Flying Colours: Nadal Aces First-Week Test In Melbourne

  • Posted: Feb 13, 2021

Rafael Nadal arrived at the Australian Open without any match practice in 2021, after skipping playing duties at the ATP Cup due to stiffness in his back. But that hasn’t stopped the Spaniard from making a strong start to his bid for a record 21st Grand Slam crown.

The 2009 champion completed a dream first week at Melbourne Park on Saturday, as he defeated Cameron Norrie 7-5, 6-2, 7-5 to claim his third straight-sets victory in as many rounds. Nadal won 79 per cent of second-serve return points (22/28) to move past the Brit in two hours and 14 minutes and advance to the Round of 16 in Melbourne for the 14th time.

Nadal was handed his biggest test of the week by Norrie on Rod Laver Arena, but he rose to the challenge to recover from a break down in the first set and clinch his 68th win at the opening major championship of the year (68-14). The 34-year-old is four wins away from lifting a record 21st Grand Slam title and becoming the first man in the Open Era (since 1968) to win each of the four major titles on multiple occasions.

Norrie maintained consistent depth on his groundstrokes and attacked Nadal’s backhand to claim the first break of the night on Rod Laver Arena. However, Nadal’s response was emphatic. The Spaniard earned eight of the next nine points, as he flattened his groundstrokes and dominated the centre of the court to force his opponent into uncomfortable positions. Nadal continued to move Norrie across the baseline as the set progressed and he dropped just one point from 5-5 to clinch the opener.

Nadal reduced his unforced error count in the second and third sets and found his rhythm to wear Norrie down from the back of the court. As he did in the first set, Nadal broke at 6-5 in the third set to earn his place in the second week in Melbourne.

Norrie equalled his best Grand Slam run by reaching the third round this week. The 25-year-old, who also reached the third round at last year’s US Open, beat Murray River Open champion Daniel Evans and Roman Safiullin in four sets to book his first ATP Head2Head encounter against Nadal.

Nadal will face Fabio Fognini for a place in the quarter-finals. Fognini needed just under two hours to defeat Australian No. 1 Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 on Margaret Court Arena.

Fabio Fognini will face Rafael Nadal for a place in the Australian Open quarter-finals.

Fognini’s win came just two days after he was forced to save match point in an epic fifth-set Match Tie-break against countryman Salvatore Caruso. With his straight-sets win against De Minaur, Fognini equals Andreas Seppi’s record for most Round of 16 appearances at Melbourne Park by an Italian man (4).

Fognini has made an impressive start to his 2021 campaign, after finishing 2020 with one win from five matches following arthroscopic surgery on both his ankles last May. The 33-year-old was an integral part of Italy’s run to last week’s ATP Cup final (l. to Russia).

Fognini has made Italian history with his win over De Minaur. The Sanremo-born star and his ATP Cup teammate, Matteo Berrettini, are only the second Italian duo in the Open Era to reach the Round of 16 in Melbourne. Fognini also achieved the feat alongside Seppi in 2018.

Nadal will enter his 17th ATP Head2Head match against Fognini with a 12-4 record. Fognini will attempt to earn his second Grand Slam win against Nadal, following his memorable comeback from two sets down against the 13-time Roland Garros champion at the 2015 US Open.

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Third Time Proves The Charm For Kokkinakis/Kyrgios

  • Posted: Feb 13, 2021

Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios may have fallen in dramatic five-set singles clashes earlier this week at the Australian Open, but the Aussies safely made it through their opening doubles match on Saturday.

The wild cards lost just four points behind their first serves (25/29) to move past Lloyd Harris and Julian Knowle 6-2, 6-4 in 61 minutes. It was Kokkinakis and Kyrgios’ first team win at the Australian Open, following first-round losses at Melbourne Park in 2013 and 2015.

“We know how to play doubles together,” said Kyrgios. “We had some success in juniors, and it’s just basically been about having the chance to play. Obviously it’s nice [that Thanasi is] getting his body right and things [are] linking up… It’s good that we got a win today. I think it was good just to get our bodies moving as well, especially me after last night. Anything is possible if we get a bit of momentum. We’ll see what happens.”

Kokkinakis and Kyrgios will meet fourth seeds Wesley Koolhof and Lukasz Kubot for a place in the third round.

Alexander Bublik and Andrey Golubev stunned top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round. The Kazakhstani pair claimed 73 per cent of second-serve return points (11/15) to advance in 71 minutes.

Defending champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury needed three sets to win their second-round match. The fifth seeds converted four of their five break points to defeat Tomislav Brkic and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

Marcelo Melo and Horia Tecau landed 23 winners and did not face a break point en route to a 6-1, 7-6(2) win against Radu Albot and Daniel Evans. The seventh seeds will meet Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek for a place in the quarter-finals. Dodig and Polasek won 91 per cent of their first-serve points (31/34) to beat Luke Bambridge and Dominic Inglot 6-4, 7-5.

John Millman and Thiago Monteiro also overcame British opposition to reach the third round. The Australian-Brazilian tandem recovered from a set down to beat Ken Skupski and Neal Skupski 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. Millman and Tiafoe will meet second seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in the third round.

Nicholas Monroe and Frances Tiafoe recovered from 2-6, 1-4 down and saved two match points to defeat Vasek Pospisil and Denis Shapovalov 2-6, 7-6(9), 6-2 on Court 7. The Americans will face Marcus Daniell and Philipp Oswald in their next match. Daniell and Oswald overcame Dominik Koepfer and Tennys Sandgren 7-6(4), 6-7(3), 6-2 in two hours and six minutes.

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