Raducanu faces seed with Murray drawn against Machac
Britain’s Emma Raducanu is drawn against Russian 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round of Wimbledon.
Britain’s Emma Raducanu is drawn against Russian 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round of Wimbledon.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray talks through his tennis journey.
Tennis’ world governing body is exploring a concept that could radically change the design of tennis balls and the materials used to make them.
Andy Murray has accepted a wild card to play doubles alongside brother Jamie Murray at Wimbledon.
The former World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings and two-time Wimbledon singles champion remains hopeful of also playing singles following a back procedure.
[ATP APP]The 37-year-old said on Wednesday: “I feel that I deserve the opportunity to give it until the very last moment to make that decision. It’s complicated and it’s made more complicated because I want to play at Wimbledon one more time.”
Last week Murray’s back forced him to withdraw midway through the first set of his second-round match against Australian Jordan Thompson at Queen’s.
The Wimbledon singles draw is on Friday, with matches starting on Monday. Murray holds a 61-13 tournament singles record.
Murray has played doubles at The Championships just twice, according to Infosys ATP Stats. In 2005 he and David Sherwood lost in the first round. In 2019 he fell in the second round with Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
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Briton’s Billy Harris and Paul Jubb reach their first ATP Tour semi-finals with brilliant wins at Eastbourne and the Majorca Open.
Northern Ireland tennis player and coach Michael Blease believes that NI will “definitely” have players at Wimbledon in the near future.
Taylor Fritz continued his quest for an Eastbourne hat-trick Thursday at the Rothesay International, where the top seed ousted #NextGenATP Shang Juncheng 7-6(5), 7-6(5) to reach the semi-finals.
A two-time champion at the grass ATP 250 (2019, 2022), Fritz dropped just four points on serve (50/54) and saved all four break points he faced to advance after one hour, 46 minutes. Despite failing to convert his five break chances, the American held his nerve in two tie-breaks by relying on his first-strike tennis.
“With the wind and everything, that was a very miserable match to play, honestly,” Fritz said in relief. “I definitely feel well here. It’s tough to take too much from today. You’re never really going to feel great hitting the ball as windy as it was. But if I can serve as well as I did today, even in this wind, I’m pretty happy about that.”
Fritz in the final 4️⃣@Taylor_Fritz97 continues his dominant record in Eastbourne with a 7-6(5) 7-6(5) victory over Shang!@the_LTA | #RothesayInternational pic.twitter.com/S2zaORN6Ax
— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 27, 2024
Into his fourth semi-final of the season, Fritz is aiming to be the tournament’s first three-time champion. The World No. 13 in the PIF ATP Rankings is yet to be broken this week.
The 26-year-old will face Aleksandar Vukic in the semi-finals after the Aussie’s 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) win against Yoshihito Nishioka. Fritz holds a 1-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Vukic, who the seven-time tour-level titlist defeated in the Atlanta final last year. A lucky loser, Vukic will be competing in his his first ATP Tour semi-final since that Atlanta final run. He has matched his personal-best from last season with 11 tour-level wins this year.
British wild card Billy Harris, fresh off his run to his first ATP Tour quarter-final at The Queen’s Club, has gone one better in Eastbourne by reaching the semis. The 29-year-old improved to 3-3 against Top 50 opponents with a 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-2 victory against Flavio Cobolli.
Harris claimed the only two breaks of the match in the final set and saved all three break points against him, according to Infosys ATP Stats. He is just the fifth British semi-finalist in Eastbourne tournament history, joining Greg Rusedski (six times), Tim Henman (1997), Kyle Edmund (2019) and Jack Draper (2022).
He will meet Max Purcell on Friday after the Aussie’s 6-3, 7-6(4) quarter-final victory against Miomir Kecmanovic. The qualifier is through to his second tour-level semi-final (Eastbourne 2021).
Skupski/Venus ride hot-streak to Eastbourne final
Fourth seeds Neal Skupski and Michael Venus extended their winning streak to seven after rallying past Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic 6-7(5), 6-2, 10-8 to reach the Eastbourne final. The British-Kiwi duo last week won the ATP 500 event at Queen’s.
Skupski and Venus will face third seeds Matthew Ebden and John Peers in Friday’s title match. The Aussies also needed a Match Tie-break, overcoming Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten 6-7(11), 7-6(4), 10-5.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]World No. 1 Jannik Sinner is set to enter a Grand Slam tournament for the first time as the top seed following the release of the Wimbledon seeds Thursday. The Italian will head the top half of the draw, with seven-time champion Novak Djokovic anchoring the bottom half.
Sinner and Djokovic continued their preparations for the grass-court major, practising together on Centre Court. Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and fifth seed Daniil Medvedev also hit together on the world’s most famous court.
The 22-year-old Sinner, who rose to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings after Roland Garros, is seeking his second major title and first Wimbledon crown this coming fortnight. Second seed Djokovic, making his 19th appearance at the grass-court Slam, aims to tie Roger Federer for the most Wimbledon titles (8) and become the oldest champion (37). Third seed Alcaraz, who won Roland Garros, begins his quest for a fourth major trophy.
Eyes will flock to see where the Spaniard lands in the draw, which will be made Friday, 28 June at 10 a.m. local time. Will Alcaraz be placed in the top half, on a path to meet Sinner? Or will the 21-year-old land in the bottom half with Djokovic? Alcaraz beat the Serbian in a classic five-set final last year, snapping Djokovic’s 34-match Wimbledon winning streak.
[ATP APP]
Wimbledon seeds:
1. Jannik Sinner
2. Novak Djokovic
3. Carlos Alcaraz
4. Alexander Zverev
5. Daniil Medvedev
6. Andrey Rublev
7. Hubert Hurkacz
8. Casper Ruud
9. Alex de Minaur
10. Grigor Dimitrov
11. Stefanos Tsitsipas
12. Tommy Paul
13. Taylor Fritz
14. Ben Shelton
15. Holger Rune
16. Ugo Humbert
17. Felix Auger-Aliassime
18. Sebastian Baez
19. Nicolas Jarry
20. Sebastian Korda
21. Karen Khachanov
22. Adrian Mannarino
23. Alexander Bublik
24. Alejandro Tabilo
25. Lorenzo Musetti
26. Francisco Cerundolo
27. Tallon Griekspoor
28. Jack Draper
29. Frances Tiafoe
30. Tomas Martin Etcheverry
31. Mariano Navone
32. Zhang Zhizhen
Watch the best shots from Emma Raducanu and Daria Kasatkina’s quarter-final match at Eastbourne, as the Britain was eliminated by the world number 16 in straight sets.
Former World No. 10 Lucas Pouille was one of four Frenchmen who qualified for Wimbledon on Thursday.
The 30-year-old moved past #NextGenATP star Luca Van Assche 7-6(4), 7-5, 6-2 to reach the main draw. Pouille advanced to the third round at Wimbledon in 2019.
Hugo Gaston, Quentin Halys and Maxime Janvier also triumphed on the lawns in Roehampton to ensure it was a successful day for France. Gaston overcame Mikhail Kukushkin 6-2, 1-6, 7-5, 6-1, while Halys beat Beibit Zhukayev 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Janvier clawed past countryman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-7(10), 7-5, 7-6(4), 7-6(5).
Former quarter-finalist Cristian Garin defeated Timofey Skatov 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 to reach the main draw for the sixth time. Australian Alex Bolt, who was competing as an alternate, saved one match point en route to a 6-7(2), 2-6, 7-6(9), 7-5, 6-4 win against Leandro Riedi.
[ATP APP]Former No. 31 in the PIF ATP Rankings Lloyd Harris won an ATP Challenger Tour title in Surbiton earlier this month. The South African overcame Hugo Grenier 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(5) to reach the main draw at Wimbledon.
Belgian Zizou Bergs, who advanced to the third round at Roland Garros this year, beat Denis Yevseyev 6-1, 6-2, 6-2, while 21-year-old Estonian Mark Lajal downed Australian James Duckworth 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to qualify for a major for the first time.
Italian Mattia Bellucci beat former World No. 7 David Goffin 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 and Czech Vit Kopriva eliminated two-time semi-finalist Richard Gasquet 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. Swede Elias Ymer overcame Japan’s Sho Shimabukuro 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-1, while Spaniard Alejandro Moro Canas advanced after Damir Dzumhur retired at 7-6(6), 6-4, 1-0.
Moldovan Radu Albot triumphed 6-4, 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-3 against Daniel Elahi Galan, who reached the fourth round last season. Finland’s Otto Virtanen beat Argentine Roman Andres Burruchaga 6-1, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(4) to qualify for Wimbledon for the first time. Brazil’s Felipe Meligeni Alves defeated American Maxime Cressy 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4.
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