Tennis News

Zverev Surges Into Cologne Final

Alexander Zverev is now just one win from claiming his third ATP Tour title on home soil.

The top seed defeated 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals competitor Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-5, 7-6(3) to reach the final of the bett1HULKS Indoors in Cologne. Zverev has now won nine of his past 10 matches on hard courts and he will play third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime on Sunday for the crown.

“I want to go one step further. It’s nice to be playing in Germany as well,” Zverev said. “It’s going to be a difficult final no matter who I play. I’m looking forward to it.”

The World No. 7 is into his second final since the ATP Tour restarted in August. Zverev, who is 23, made his first Grand Slam championship match at the US Open, where he became the youngest major finalist since Novak Djokovic at the 2010 US Open.

In the fourth round at Flushing Meadows, the German only lost five games against Davidovich Fokina. His three-set victory took just one hour and 34 minutes. But Zverev had to work much harder in their second ATP Head2Head encounter, breaking serve twice and hitting 10 aces in a one-hour, 57-minute triumph.

“He played much better tennis and I think he’s somebody who is going to go up the [FedEx ATP] Rankings very quickly,” Zverev said. “For me he’s a great guy as well. He’s very talented, extremely good with the hands. I think he’s somebody who’s going to find his way up and it’s going to be interesting to see what the future weeks [hold for him] this year and next year as well.” 

On the slower indoor Cologne court, Zverev remained steady throughout most of the match, as did his 21-year-old Spanish opponent. Davidovich Fokina was not able to hit through Zverev, but he tracked down many balls and mixed in his drop shot well. One slip in the final game of the first set was enough to give the top seed the advantage.

Zverev appeared in complete control at 7-5, 4-1, but Davidovich Fokina continued battling hard from the baseline. The German missed an aggressive cross-court forehand wide to relinquish his break advantage, allowing the Spaniard back in the match. But after giving up an opening mini-break in the tie-break, Zverev raised his level to close out the match.

This will be Zverev’s fifth final in Germany, where he is 2-2 in championship matches. The Hamburg-native is a two-time Munich titlist and a two-time Halle finalist.

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Federer, Nadal Or Djokovic? Raonic On 'The Greatest' Debate

When Rafael Nadal tied Roger Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slam titles last Sunday by triumphing at Roland Garros, fans and analysts once again began debating who the best player in history is. After reaching the St. Petersburg Open semi-finals on Friday, former World No. 3 Milos Raonic said there is no simple answer.

“I think it’s hard to debate it now because there are a lot of open-ended things,” Raonic said. “You have Rafa who’s going to be around to play more tennis. We have Roger who’s going to be coming back next year to play more tennis. You have Novak who’s maybe got age on his side and has been definitely the healthiest of them, especially over the past few years.

“It’s not only about Grand Slams. Weeks at No. 1 matter, head-to-head results against each other, those matter. How many times you win each Grand Slam, that matters, how many Masters series you win, there’s a lot. There is always going to be an argument about who is the greatest of all-time.”

As Raonic said, there is no clear-cut metric. Federer and Nadal are tied for the most majors (20), Federer has the most tour-level titles of the trio (103) and if Djokovic maintains World No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings through 8 March 2021, he will eclipse Federer for the most weeks at top spot.

If nothing else, it’s exciting to watch three legends competing at the same time, pushing each other to even greater heights.

“I think we are very lucky to be able to have that argument all in the same generation where you can compare these guys rather than comparing some players from now to players from 20 years ago or to players from 40 years ago,” Raonic said. “It’s really a pleasure to have the guys in front of you all at the same time so that you can have this comparison.”

Raonic has earned three wins against Federer (3-11) and two victories against Nadal (2-8). He is still pursuing his first triumph against Djokovic (0-11). But more than anything else, the Canadian is impressed by what the ‘Big Three’ has accomplished, with Nadal’s 13th Coupe des Mousquetaires being the latest achievement on a long list.

“It’s incredible what Rafa has done, to win the tournament 13 times in 16 years,” Raonic said. “Before these three guys started, the Grand Slam record was 14. He has a good chance to have 14 at one event, so who would have thought that was possible?”

Raonic plays Borna Coric on Saturday for a spot in the St. Petersburg final.

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Djere To Face Cecchinato In Sardinia Final

Laslo Djere advanced to his second ATP Tour championship match on Saturday at the Forte Village Sardegna Open.

The 25-year-old was leading Lorenzo Musetti 2-6, 6-2, 4-1 when the #NextGenATP Italian was forced to retire with a right elbow injury. Last year’s Rio Open presented by Claro champion will meet Marco Cecchinato in the final on Sunday. The 28-year-old charged through to the championship match with a 6-1, 6-0 win against lucky loser Danilo Petrovic.

Djere will be seeking his first victory against Cecchinato when he meets the Italian on Sunday. In the pair’s only previous ATP Head2Head encounter, Cecchinato claimed a straight-sets win en route to his second of three ATP Tour titles at the 2018 Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag.

Musetti made a fast start to his first ATP Tour semi-final, ripping a cross-court forehand return winner to break serve in the opening game. The Italian showed great court coverage throughout the first set, forcing Djere to increase his aggression, which extracted multiple errors.

“I knew that he was playing really well, had a lot of confidence and had some great results in the past few weeks, but I didn’t expect the high level that he played in the first set,” said Djere. “It surprised me a bit and I didn’t have the answer.”

Djere responded well in the second set, racing out to a 4-0 lead. The Serbian dropped just two points behind his first serve in the second set (11/13) and dictated baseline play with powerful groundstrokes to force a decider.

“I managed to stay focussed and fought back in the second set, which I am really happy about,” said Djere. “My level was higher in the second set, [as was] my intensity. I changed tactics a little bit and I was more focussed on my serve.”

Serving at 1-2 in the third set, Musetti pulled out of his service motion as he began to feel pain in his right elbow. Djere rushed Musetti into errors to break and held serve for a 4-1 lead, before the Italian took a medical timeout. After dropping the opening point of his service game upon the resumption of play, Musetti walked to the net to touch racquets with Djere, ending the match.

Musetti was attempting to become the youngest Italian in the Open Era to reach an ATP Tour final. The 18-year-old entered last month’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia with no Top 100 wins at No. 249 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. Musetti now owns seven Top 100 victories, an ATP Challenger Tour trophy (Forli) and his first tour-level semi-final. Musetti rose to a career-high No. 138 on 28 September.

“There was one month of tournaments at ATP level with a lot of Top 100 players,” said Musetti. “I think I did an amazing job and now I will take a rest and see what is happening with the elbow… I am going to rest a bit because I am a little bit tired after playing a lot of matches in a row.”

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Portuguese Pride: Lisbon Makes Challenger Return

This week, professional tennis is back in Lisbon. Same city, same world-class tournament, but a different scene has greeted players in the Portuguese capital.

In May, it was feared that the ATP Challenger Tour would be without its two elite events in Portgual in 2020. As the circuit was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lisboa Belem Open and Braga Open were scratched from the calendar. And with the cancellation of the nation’s iconic Millennium Estoril Open on the ATP Tour, the springtime celebration of tennis was in jeopardy.

But, as they say, it’s better late than never. Five months later, the Club Internacional de Foot-Ball (CIF) hosts the fourth edition of the Lisboa Belem Open. This time, the weather is a bit cooler and windier and the clay-court conditions are slightly faster, but the players wouldn’t have it any other way.

Portuguese No. 2 Pedro Sousa calls this very club his second home. Born and raised in Lisbon, Sousa has trained here since he was a child. In fact, his father Manuel de Sousa is the director of the tennis school. On Saturday, the 32-year-old will face Alessandro Giannessi for a spot in the final. Seeded second this week, Sousa is the last home hope remaining in his hometown tournament. He and Giannessi have split their four previous encounters, with Sousa prevailing in the final in Francavilla, Italy, in 2017, as well as in the first round of qualifying at Wimbledon later that year.

“We have known each other for a long time and have played in Futures, in a Challenger final and in a Grand Slam tournament,” said Sousa. “We had dinner together on Monday and just last week, in Barcelona, it was a rainy day and while we were having coffee we started to argue about something.

“I told him that I won here and there, he went to see the head-to-head and said he is ahead. But I replied that I won the most important ones, the final [in Francavilla] and Wimbledon [in the 2017 qualifying]. He agreed and told me that if he had won that final he would have gotten into the main draw in Roland Garros and Wimbledon and that because of that I cost him 70 or 80 thousand euros,” Sousa added, smiling.

It is sure to be a big occasion for both players. The Lisbon native is hoping to reach a second Challenger final in three weeks, after finishing runner-up in Split, Croatia. Giannessi, meanwhile, is more than a year removed from his last appearance in a title match.

“If I’m in the semis, of course I can win the title. But Pedro is a good friend of mine and he’s doing great,” said Giannessi. “This tournament is very good for a Challenger event. It has a very good organization and it feels like a big event. Everything is very nice, from the transportation to the food. I’m also friends with many Portuguese guys and I know it’s a good moment for tennis in Portugal to have this tournament.”

Giannessi also shared his thoughts on the recent surge of successful Italian players. From World No. 9 Matteo Berrettini to World No. 16 Fabio Fognini and #NextGenATP stars Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti, he believes that Italy’s best days are ahead.

“The young guys are here. In Italy, they have done a good job in organizing many Challenger events, which are important for players to have opportunities to compete at a high level when they are young. It’s very good for us to have the chance to compete in our country often and improve our game. It’s a great moment for Italian tennis.”

Giannessi is the 13th different player from Italy to reach a semi-final on the ATP Challenger Tour this year. His countryman, Federico Gaio, is also among the last four in Lisbon.

In Saturday’s second semi-final, Gaio will face top seed Jaume Munar. It will be their first meeting. The former World No. 52 Munar is seeking his first final appearance of the year, while Gaio opened his 2020 campaign with a title on the hard courts of Bangkok.

“Lisbon is very nice and I really like it here,” said Gaio. “The conditions are windy, but it’s fine. It’s a great tournament.”

Nuno Borges (credit: Beatriz Ruivo)

The Lisboa Belem Open is named for the Belém Tower, an iconic structure in Portugal that’s also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Widely regarded as Lisbon’s most famous landmark, it was constructed in the mid-1500s as a fortress to guard the entrance to the city’s harbor. Now, it stands tall as a symbol of Portugal’s presence on the ATP Challenger Tour.

While Sousa was sprinting through the draw, his countryman Nuno Borges also stole the headlines early in the week. The unseeded wild card defeated third seed Damir Dzumhur for the biggest win of his career. A former standout at Mississippi State University – and runner-up at the 2019 NCAA singles championship – the 23-year-old was making just the second Challenger appearance of his young career.

“The more tournaments I play, the more wins I get, so I feel that I belong at this level. I know I can compete here more often. It is part of the process. First I have to go through the Futures to get my ranking where I need it to be, but I know I belong at the Challenger level.”

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Felix Marches Into Cologne Semi-finals

Felix Auger-Aliassime charged past Radu Albot 6-3, 6-0 on Friday to advance to his fourth ATP Tour semi-final of 2020 at the bett1HULKS Indoors in Cologne.

After dropping serve in the opening game of the match, the #NextGenATP Canadian won 12 of the next 14 games to race to his 20th ATP Tour win of the season (20-14) in 71 minutes. Auger-Aliassime has enjoyed a strong run of results at indoor hard-court events this year, with final appearances at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam and the Open 13 Provence in Marseille.

“Today I had a tougher start than yesterday,” said Auger-Aliassime, in an on-court interview. “I didn’t start well as I had a blister on my foot, but afterwards everything was good in my game.

“I needed to get into the match. I played better and better, putting pressure on him with my serve. I was going for my shots, even if I was missing a bit at the start. I kept dictating, returned well and got lucky hitting the lines a few times. I saw some openings at the end.”

Auger-Aliassime, who converted five of six break points against Albot, will next face second seed Roberto Bautista Agut. The 20-year-old lost his only previous match against the Spaniard at the 2019 Davis Cup Finals.

“Playing [Roberto] will obviously be a great match, a great battle and [an opportunity for] me to try and get revenge for a heart-breaking loss last year in Davis Cup.”

Bautista Agut booked his place in the semi-finals with a 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-0 win against Hubert Hurkacz. The World No. 13 matched Auger-Aliassime’s mark of 20 wins this year after two hours and 29 minutes, saving 11 of 13 break points en route to victory.

“It was really tough today. He was going for his shots. I had a lot of chances to win the second set, but unfortunately I had to go to the third,” said Bautista Agut.

“I wanted to start with a lot of intensity, [being] very aggressive and I think I did very well at the beginning of the third set and I won the match.”

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Cabal/Farah Claim Sardinia Final Spot

Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah moved one win away from their first title of 2020 on Friday, beating Simone Bolelli and Maximo Gonzalez 6-2, 6-4 at the Forte Village Sardegna Open.

The Colombians converted five of eight break points to reach their second final of the year in 74 minutes. Cabal and Farah advanced to their only previous championship match of the season in Acapulco, where they failed to convert two championship points against Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo.

The Roland Garros semi-finalists will attempt to capture their first trophy since the 2019 US Open when they meet Marcus Daniell and Philipp Oswald in the final. The third seeds booked their spot in the championship match on Thursday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory against John Peers and Michael Venus.

Herbert/Mahut Through To Cologne Final
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut reached their second final of 2020 at the bett1HULKS Indoors in Cologne. The second seeds saved all three break points they faced to beat Dominic Inglot and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi 6-4, 6-7(1), 10-7 in one hour and 47 minutes.

Herbert and Mahut will meet top seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo or third seeds Raven Klaasen and Oliver Marach in the championship match. The Frenchmen have already lifted an indoor hard-court trophy this year, having triumphed at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in February.

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Zverev Learns Lessons From Harris Victory

Alexander Zverev booked his place in the bett1HULKS Indoors semi-finals on Friday, beating Lloyd Harris 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 in Cologne.

Zverev led by a set and a break at 6-4, 1-0, but dropped two of his next four service games to find himself in a deciding set. The World No. 7 charged towards victory in the third set as Harris began to struggle with an injury to his upper left leg and closed the match by outmanoeuvring his opponent at the net.

“I have got to do a better job of keeping my focus until the end of a match. I relaxed a little bit and then he picked up his game,” said Zverev in an on-court interview.

“Playing on the ATP Tour, you only play great players. Once you lose your focus, it doesn’t matter what your ranking is, it doesn’t matter how many titles you won, you have still got to play until the end otherwise it can go the other way very quickly.”

Zverev is through to his third semi-final of the year. The German has achieved his best results at Grand Slam events this season, finishing as a runner-up at the US Open and reaching the Australian Open semi-finals.

Harris was contesting his fifth match in Cologne after battling through qualifying with consecutive three-set wins. The South African was attempting to reach his second tour-level semi-final of the year after advancing to his maiden ATP Tour final at the Adelaide International in January (l. to Rublev).

“[Harris] went through qualifying, so he had a lot of matches under his belt already,” said Zverev. “He is playing with a lot of confidence. He is playing well. He is somebody that I think will go up the Rankings quite easily if he continues playing the way he is playing.

”He improved his game a lot. The first time I saw him was against Mischa [Zverev] in Halle last year and I think he improved a lot since then. The end of this year and next year will be very important for him.”

Chasing his third trophy on home soil, the two-time Munich champion will meet Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for a spot in the championship match. The #NextGenATP Spaniard battled past Dennis Novak 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 to reach his second ATP Tour semi-final. In the pair’s only previous ATP Head2Head encounter, Zverev claimed a straight-sets victory at last month’s US Open.

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Coric To Face Raonic In St. Petersburg Semi-finals

After a slow start, Borna Coric raised his game to beat Reilly Opelka 7-6(3), 6-3 and return to the St. Petersburg Open semi-finals on Friday.

Last year’s runner-up trailed 2-5 in the first set and saved three set points at 3-5 by moving up the court with aggression, before turning the tables on his opponent. Coric converted both break points he created and withstood 16 aces to reach his second semi-final this season.

“In the first set, I didn’t start very good,” said Coric in an on-court interview. “I was very nervous coming into the match. I didn’t know what to expect… I was not playing good and then I obviously found my rhythm and started to play much better. I started to read his serve a little bit as well and on my serve, I was very solid.”

Coric will aim to improve his 6-2 record at the ATP 500 when he faces 2015 champion Milos Raonic for a place in the final. The Croatian lost his only previous match against the Canadian at the 2017 Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com.

“Against Milos, one of the best servers on the Tour, it is not going to be an easy match,” said Coric.

After a dominant first set, the Western & Southern Open runner-up served 15 aces and won 23 of 25 first-serve points in a competitive second set to defeat home favourite Karen Khachanov 6-1, 7-6(1) in 86 minutes. Through his opening three matches, Raonic has held all 29 of his service games and saved all 10 break points he has faced.

“It was a great match for me,” said Raonic in an on-court interview. “From the beginning, I knew it was going to be tough. I knew I was going to have to bring my best tennis and I did from the start of the match. I think that really helped me a lot and I am just happy with my level overall.”

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Johnna Konta pulls out of WTA event in Czech Republic over Covid worries

British number one Johanna Konta pulls out of next week’s Ostrava Open because she does not feel comfortable travelling with Covid-19 cases on the rise.

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Rublev To Meet Fellow Nitto ATP Finals Contender Shapovalov In St. Petersburg SFs

Andrey Rublev and fellow Nitto ATP Finals contender Denis Shapovalov will meet in the St. Petersburg Open semi-finals on Saturday.

Third seed Rublev moved into the final automatic qualification spot for next month’s Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November, after he beat Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie 6-2, 6-1 in just 63 minutes.

The 22-year-old Russian rises to No. 9 on 3,109 points, 34 points ahead of 10th-placed Matteo Berrettini (3,075), in the battle to clinch one of the two remaining singles spots at the season finale.

Rublev trails Shapovalov 1-2 in the ATP Head2Head series, with his lone win coming in five short sets at the 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan. 

“Andrey is one of the best players on the planet right now,” said Shapovalov. “He was playing very well at the past couple of tournaments [he played]. I suppose tomorrow’s match will be very tough. Sometimes our game style looks the same, we both play aggressively and we like to hit winners, so it’s going to be tough but interesting.”

The global COVID-19 pandemic has not halted Rublev’s momentum this season. He has a 32-7 match record in 2020 — 15-3 with two titles (the Qatar ExxonMobil Open and Adelaide International) prior to the five-month suspension, and 17-4 with one title (the Hamburg European Open) since the ATP Tour resumed on 22 August.

Shapovalov now sits just 30 points behind No. 11 Gael Monfils (2,860 points) in the FedEx ATP Rankings after he battled past fifth seed and 2016 St. Petersburg Open finalist Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland 6-4, 7-5 in one hour and 41 minutes.

Shapovalov won 84 per cent of his first-service points, but won just seven of his 25 second-serve points. The 21-year-old Canadian is now 17-11 on the season, which includes a run to the Internazionali BNL d’Italia semi-finals in Rome (l. to Schwartzman).

Looking ahead to playing Rublev, Shapovalov, who has Russian heritage, admitted to fans, “Please, take pity on me!”

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