Murray to retire after Paris Olympics
Two-time gold medallist Andy Murray will retire after the Olympics in Paris.
Two-time gold medallist Andy Murray will retire after the Olympics in Paris.
Marcos Giron claimed his first ATP Tour title on Sunday at the Infosys Hall of Fame Open, where he saved a championship point to defeat #NextGenATP Alex Michelsen in the final.
The 30-year-old American spoke to ATPTour.com about his journey to his first title, those who have helped him along the way, his relationship with Andre Agassi and more.
What are the emotions that you felt when you won championship point?
It’s really special. For me this has been years of hard work, years of dedication and years of support from family, friends and coaches. And so I couldn’t have done this without them. My childhood coach from when I was six or seven, Scott Christie, who believed in me from the beginning. My coach from when I was 16 to 22, I called him Frenchie, but [his name is] Amir Marandy. Max Tabatruong, who’s traveled with me for quite some time on Tour. Nick Meister, who traveled with me a little bit a few years ago, and then he’s joined me again on the grass. It’s been really special.
And my family, all the support throughout the years, whether I’ve wanted to play or not, they’ve always been supportive. And so I think for me winning it is really special, because I feel like it’s everybody’s doing, and not just mine. But it’s cool, it’s pretty fun to go and win the last point of the tournament.
Nothing beats that first title feeling 🥰@TennisHalloFame | #InfosysHallOfFameOpen pic.twitter.com/DHtUS3iWdE
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 21, 2024
Your mom used to toss you balls at the park when you were a little kid. What are your memories of that?
I can’t say I would have thought that I would be doing this for a living [laughs]. But it’s pretty funny. It’s pretty funny how life goes. I was talking with one of my friends earlier this week about how you can go down crazy rabbit holes of all the different possibilities that have gone on through the world, different relationships that kind of came to be out of different interactions. It’s all kind of led to this, which is really cool. It’s really special to win of course. I’m 30 years old, turning 31 next week. Would I have liked to have won it maybe seven years ago? Probably. But I wouldn’t change it. It’s to my personality.
When I was 12 years old playing tennis, I never dreamed that I was going to be a Top 10 player in the world or a Top 50 player in the world or Top 100 player in the world. I never had that dream. But every level I’ve gotten to — 12s, 14s, 16s, 18s, college, I’ve always after leaving a court or when I’m on court, I’m like, ‘Hey, I have the game, I can actually beat the other guy’. And so I feel like it’s been a massive progression.
Even when I got to school, my freshman year in college, I finished the year about 70. As I finished my third year, I won NCAAs. It’s taken me some time, but I feel like my game keeps improving. I keep on moving up in the rankings overall, and so it’s cool. It’s my first time winning a title. Hopefully it’s not my last time either. I’m going to be at a career high in the 30s and I want to keep moving forward. This sport is tough. If you don’t keep improving, you move down.
Almost 10 years ago, you had two hip surgeries. How crazy is it to think about that now you’re here?
What’s actually kind of fitting is that when I won NCAAs in 2014, I got ITA Player of the Year and I accepted my award here in Newport, Rhode Island. I had never played the tournament until this year, 2024, which is kind of wild. So it’s weird. It’s weird to think about that. First time playing the tournament, first time winning a Tour event.
And most American guys have played it by now.
Most times I’ve been too tired after the whole European swing. And so it’s amazing, better late than never!
After you went through the hip struggles, and you were a volunteer assistant at UCLA, and you pushed through that, and at 30 now you’re playing the best you ever have, how much did you have to persevere to get through those tough moments and make it here?
It’s crazy. There were a couple times that I didn’t want to continue.
When I had the hip surgery, I was actually optimistic. But then after finishing the hip surgery and coming back, it still took me a bit of time to to improve, to kind of get through challenges. It took me four years after that to actually really break into the Top 100, and so it took a while…
It’s crazy, but I feel like that’s always a testament to who I am. I’m a hard worker and I persevere. I see things glass half full overall and I’m a pretty optimistic guy and I’m a high energy guy. I typically don’t feel sorry for myself and I never like to feel sorry for myself. The only thing that you can really do is try and solve, find a solution and try and keep getting better. I think it’s just really a testament to who I am as a person as well.
I don’t think too many people knew about the Andre Agassi connection before this week. What are your memories of watching him growing up and this week, what was it like having him in the crowd for a match?
It’s been such an amazing relationship for me, really. Growing up when I was young, I remember that my early first memories of tennis were really him and Pete Sampras playing in the 2002 US Open final. That was my first memory of watching tennis. And so it was amazing. And then my coach when I was younger said that you’re going to serve like Pete and you’re going to play from the baseline like Andre.
Time went on and he was an absolute idol of mine. He was absolutely one of my favourite players growing up. He’s 5’10”, 5’11”, about the same size. Good off both wings, kind of hits pretty flat. So if there’s somebody that I look up to and also kind of play similar to almost, it’s him. You cannot compare careers by any means and so it’s kind of a funny thing.
It was so crazy, fate, kind of random events that made it. I was practising with a junior, almost at the very end of Covid and Andre was there. And so we met there briefly. Again, this title is also so much thanks to him. He helped my game so much. He saw my game, he made me see my game in a whole new light and made me a way better player. More aggressive, but also overall, just seeing so many different ways to actually [see] the layers of the game, and how to really influence a match and the different ways there are to be the one controlling what’s happening, and so he really changed my trajectory for sure.
If we didn’t meet four years ago, I don’t know if I’ve won a title or not. And so I would credit a lot to him as well with the help he’s done to my game and his vision and the time and effort. But again, he’s a super busy guy. He’s got so much going on. And honestly, we’ve been in touch quite a bit. I was always looking at it like, if he could be there, that would be amazing. But also realistically, who knows when that’s actually going to work with the schedules. I’m traveling all the time. He has so many things, his foundation.
He messaged me day of [the match he watched in Newport] saying, ‘Hey dude, any chance you have an extra seat in the box today?’ I couldn’t believe it. I was so hyped and I came out absolutely juiced and so it’s amazing. First tournament he’s sitting there at the match and I won the tournament, so it’s pretty cool. It’s pretty special. And it’s so special for me to have that relationship.
You used to play video games a lot, but not as much lately. What are your hobbies these days?
It kind of depends on where I’m at. When I’m back home, I always go to the beach. I play Spikeball, beach tennis, go [to the beach]. It depends, sometimes I like to go for some fun drives. I like to play board games with friends and family. I love to go hiking when possible.
I grew up skiing. I can’t really do that much anymore, even though I’ve got some legs to do it [laughs]! I don’t want to to pop the ACL! I don’t know, I just like being in nature and just being around people and having fun.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]David Goffin won a battle of former Top 10 stars on Monday at the Atlanta Open, where he clawed past Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 to reach the second round.
“It was not easy, especially the first match of the U.S. summer. That kind of surface can be different if the sun comes out or not, with the humidity, with the heat,” Goffin said. “It’s not easy to find a good rhythm in the first match [of the swing], but I’m really happy that I managed to win that one. It’s great for my confidence, especially on the first tournament and first time I’m coming here in Atlanta.”
That first round win feeling 💪🔥@David__Goffin takes the victory over Shapovalov 6-4 3-6 6-1 @ATLOpenTennis | #AtlantaOpen pic.twitter.com/Ljqc3NCkVt
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 22, 2024
The former No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings qualified for Wimbledon before losing a heartbreaker in the first round of the main draw. Tomas Machac eliminated the Belgian in a final-set tie-break.
Goffin bounced back against Shapovalov, against whom he now owns a 2-1 Lexus ATP Head2Head advantage. The 33-year-old is the first Belgian to win a match in Atlanta since Ruben Bemelmans in 2012.
“I was quite focused in my match with the set and a break up in the second. And then he started to make me play a little bit, [was] a little bit more solid, and then he came back with some great shots,” Goffin said. “But I knew if I just stayed consistent, stayed calm to manage my service games at the beginning of the third set, that was the key. As soon as I broke him at the beginning of the third I felt that he was a little bit more nervous and started to make more mistakes. I tried to stay focused until the end and that’s what I did. I’m happy.”
[ATP APP]Earlier in the day, fifth seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina also made a successful debut in Atlanta.
The Spaniard, who accepted a wild card into the ATP 250 event, ousted Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 6-2, 7-6(4). Davidovich Fokina won 83 per cent of his first-serve points and saved all five break points he faced according to Infosys ATP Stats.
Another Monday winner was Japanese lefty Yoshihito Nishioka, who defeated American qualifier Zachary Svajda 7-6(4), 6-3.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Czech teen Jakub Mensik continued his push towards a place at December’s Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF with a convincing win over Alexei Popyrin at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag Monday.
Mensik, who reached the Doha final in February, improved to 13-10 on the season with a 6-3, 6-2 win over the Australian (13-13), who recently pushed Novak Djokovic to four sets at Wimbledon.
[ATP APP]In the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, 18-year-old Mensik saved all four break points he faced according to Infosys ATP Stats.
Mensik, who is now 8-4 in first-round matches in his career, next faces the winner of fifth-seeded Italian Luciano Darderi and home hope Duje Ajdukovic, who last week pushed Rafael Nadal to three sets in the Bastad semi-finals.
In another good result for the ATP’s emerging stars Monday, 22-year-old Italian Flavio Cobolli upset sixth-seeded Argentine Mariano Navone 6-2, 6-3. The win lifted Cobolli to a career-high No. 46 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.
Brazilian Thiago Monteiro defeated seventh-seeded Czech Tomas Machac 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to set a meeting with Hungarian Fabian Marozsan.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
Olympic silver medallist Marketa Vondrousova withdraws from the Paris 2024 Games due to a hand injury.
Two months after claiming his second ATP Challenger Tour crown and becoming the youngest Chinese player to earn multiple titles at that level, Buyunchaokete is back in the winners’ circle.
The 22-year-old on Sunday was crowned champion at the Les Championnats Banque Nationale de Granby, where he prevailed against Frenchman Terence Atmane 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-4 in the final. Despite relinquishing three match points in the second set, Buyunchaokete quickly rebounded to lift the trophy after two hours, 36 minutes.
‘Bu’, up to a career-high World No. 147 in the PIF ATP Rankings, is among a trio of Chinese players to capture three ATP Challenger Tour titles (Wu Yibing, Zhang Zhizhen), having won in Wuxi two months ago and in Seoul in 2023. He is now the holder of a 27-10 Challenger-level season record after recovering from last week’s heartbreaking defeat in the Winnipeg semi-finals. ‘Bu’ held a match point before falling to eventual champion Benjamin Bonzi.
In other Challenger action, August Holmgren became the fourth Danish champion in the past 20 years at that level. The 26-year-old rallied from a set down in both his semi-final and final match, clawing past top seed Antoine Escoffier 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to seal his maiden Challenger title at the Open de Tenis Ciudad de Pozoblanco.
“I’m so grateful that I could play well this entire week. I’ve had a good past few weeks and I’m just keeping the momentum going,” Holmgren said.
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/22/14/28/holmgren-pozoblancoch-2024.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”August Holmgren wins the Pozoblanco Challenger.” />
August Holmgren wins his first ATP Challenger Tour crown in Pozoblanco, Spain. Credit: Open de Tenis Ciudad de Pozoblanco
A 2022 graduate of the University of San Diego who fell to Ben Shelton in that year’s NCAA singles championship match, Holmgren is up to a career-high No. 245 in the PIF ATP Rankings. The Espergaerde native arrived at the Pozoblanco Challenger following a title run at the ITF M25 in Nottingham. Holmgren is the first Danish Challenger titlist since Holger Rune in 2022.
Dimitar Kuzmanov captured his second ATP Challenger Tour title and first since 2021 with a dominant run at the President’s Cup in Astana, Kazakhstan. The 30-year-old dropped one set across five matches, downing Georgia’s Saba Purtseladze 6-4, 6-3 in the final. Kuzmanov is the oldest Bulgarian champion in Challenger history (since 1978).
“It feels amazing. I’m really, really happy, I cannot hide it,” Kuzmanov said. “It’s been a long wait. I’ve lost my last couple finals. I was really nervous. It didn’t happen in the last couple finals, but today I was really nervous. Coming back from an injury this year, a difficult period for me. Also a lot of physical struggles during the whole week with my whole body, so I was really glad to win.”
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/22/14/29/kuzmanov-astanach-2024.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Dimitar Kuzmanov wins the Astana Challenger.” />
Dimitar Kuzmanov wins the Challenger 50 event in Astana, Kazakhstan. Credit: President’s Cup
Chilean Tomas Barrios Vera went one step further than last week’s runner-up finish at the Trieste Challenger, securing his fourth title at that level by winning the Van Mossel KIA Dutch Open in Amersfoort. The 26-year-old, who cracked the Top 100 for the first time in January, defeated Alexey Zakharov 6-2, 6-1 in the final.
[ATP APP]
Did You Know?
Arthur Fils and Nuno Borges added their names to the list of players who have won a title on the ATP Challenger Tour and ATP Tour this season. Fils, who triumphed at the ATP 500 in Hamburg on Sunday, was crowned champion at the ATP Challenger 175 event in Bordeaux in May. Bastad champion Borges successfully defended his 175 crown in Phoenix in March. Luciano Darderi, Alejandro Tabilo and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard have also earned titles at both levels in 2024.
Doubles delight 💫
Congratulations, champs! #ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/FRoBdtMw6w
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) July 21, 2024
Laslo Djere continued his history of strong showings in Kitzbühel on Monday, when the Serbian moved past qualifier Vit Kopriva to kick-start his 2024 campaign at the Generali Open.
The eighth seed prevailed 7-6(6), 6-3 in the first-round clash at the clay-court ATP 250. Djere is a two-time semi-finalist in Kitzbühel, and he improved his record in the Austrian Alpine town to 8-4 by converting three of four break points he earned against Kopriva, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
“I like the conditions here,” said Djere in his post-match interview. “The balls are a bit faster due to the altitude, and I generally like faster conditions. It just really suits my game well.”
[ATP APP]Djere will take on Thiago Seyboth Wild, a 6-2, 7-6(6) winner against #NextGenATP home favourite Joel Schwaerzler, in the second round. The Serbian defeated Seyboth Wild in the second round in Kitzbühel last year and holds a 3-0 lead overall in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with the Brazilian.
Yannick Hanfmann, Nicolas Moreno De Alboran and Sumit Nagal also registered first-round wins on Monday in Austria. The 2020 finalist Hanfmann defeated Jaume Munar 6-3, 6-4 and wild card Moreno De Alboran beat Andrea Collarini 6-4, 6-4. Nagal let slip six match points before finally overcoming Lukas Klein 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(3).
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
A four-tournament week on the ATP Tour featured #NextGenATP Arthur Fils winning the biggest title of his career in Hamburg, Matteo Berrettini lifting his second clay ATP 250 trophy of the year, and Marcos Giron and Nuno Borges clinching their maiden tour-level crowns.
ATPTour.com looks at the movers in the PIF ATP Rankings as of Monday, 22 July.
[ATP APP] No. 20 Arthur Fils, +8 (Career High)
French #NextGenATP star Fils has jumped into the Top 20 for the first time after charging to his maiden ATP 500 crown at the Hamburg Open. A year after reaching the semi-finals at the ATP 500, the 20-year-old went two better by defeating Sebastian Baez and 2023 champion Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals and final, respectively. Fils is the third man this century to win the Hamburg title before the age of 21, after Roger Federer and Lorenzo Musetti.
No. 38 Marcos Giron, +8 (Career High)
Playing the best tennis of his career at the age of 30, Marcos Giron clinched his first tour-level title after coming back from the brink in the Infosys Hall of Fame Open championship match. The American saved championship point against his countryman Alex Michelsen to clinch the trophy in Newport, and has risen eight spots to a career-high No. 38 as a result.
No. 42 Nuno Borges, +9 (Career High)
Nuno Borges dropped just one set across five matches to earn his first tour-level crown at the Nordea Open in Bastad. Tennis royalty stood between the 27-year-old and the trophy in the final, but Borges eased past Rafael Nadal to become just the second ATP Tour singles champion from Portugal. After his title run, he has risen nine spots to a career-high No. 42 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
No. 50 Matteo Berrettini, +32
The former World No. 6 Berrettini continued his journey back up the PIF ATP Rankings by notching his second clay ATP 250 title of the year at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad. Outside the Top 150 as recently as March, Berrettini is now 16-5 for the year after defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Quentin Halys en route to the trophy in the Swiss Alps.
No. 125 Quentin Halys, +67
The big-serving Halys arrived in Gstaad as the World No. 192 but has rocketed up the PIF ATP Rankings after an inspired run to his maiden tour-level title match. The 27-year-old, a former Top 100 player, dropped just two sets across two qualifying and four main-draw matches to reach the championship match, where Berrettini proved too strong. A highlight of the Frenchman’s week was an incredible point-winning forehand while seated on the clay against Gustavo Heide.
Other Notable Top 100 Movers
No. 8 Casper Ruud, +1
No. 16 Holger Rune, +1
No. 18 Sebastian Baez, +1 (Joint Career High)
No. 31 Zhang Zhizhen, +3 (Career High)
No. 45 Pedro Martinez, +4
No. 60 Aleksandar Vukic, +5
No. 70 Fabio Fognini, +10
No. 79 Thiago Monteiro, +6
No. 82 Aleksandar Kovacevic, +9 (Career High)
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
When Marcos Giron defeated Alex Michelsen on Sunday in the Infosys Hall of Fame Open final, more than just this edition of the tournament came to an end. After launching in 1976, this was the last edition of the tournament as a tour-level event.
The Infosys Hall of Fame Open will remain on the calendar as an ATP Challenger Tour event, to be played alongside a WTA tournament of the same level in an exciting new setup. But nevertheless, this was the end of an era for the only professional tournament played on grass outside of Europe.
Two of the final three champions at the tournament were first-time ATP Tour titlists. In 2022, the serve-and-volleying standout Maxime Cressy rushed his way into the forecourt and lifted the trophy.
“Newport was extremely unique and meaningful to me because of the atmosphere that it was bringing near the ocean and the energy was just electric. It was such an amazing crowd, it was very respectful and a very entertaining crowd. They’re very passionate about the sport and bring a lot of value into the beauty of our sport,” Cressy said. “It was extremely meaningful to win this tournament especially because it was the first ATP tournament that I envisioned winning. It was the first one I competed in and heard so many incredible things about this tournament and how unique it is. I really enjoyed myself there and looking forward to coming back hopefully next year for the Challenger event.”
The most famous grass-court event in the world is Wimbledon, and for nearly five decades players who enjoy the surface have been able to extend their stay on it for an extra week in Newport, where the first U.S. National Lawn Tennis Championship was played in 1881.
This year’s doubles winners, Sem Verbeek and Andre Goransson reflected on what it was like to compete at the historic venue, on the courts of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
“It’s the surface first of all. We’re both big grass fans. To have more grass after Wimbledon is always fun for us,” Verbeek said. “It feels very natural, the grass. It’s meant a lot to me as well because it was my first ever ATP that I played here. And then to win it is obviously a very special sendoff for me. Thankfully, they’re bringing professional tennis back, though. So it’s not like this venue, the Hall of Fame will be empty for next year. But we’re glad to be the last champions of the 250 here. That’s cool.”
[ATP APP]Goransson, who competed in Newport in the past two years, cracked a smile when thinking about the tournament’s grass courts.
“The grassiest grass,” Goransson said. “I would say it’s the most traditional grass in the sense that I think it bounces the lowest. It’s the fastest. There are great grass courts in the U.K. and all that but it’s kind of gotten away from maybe the grass that was in the ‘80s and back then. I think this is the most traditional grass that can be really frustrating and really amazing at the same time. So that’s what I mean by the grassiest grass.”
But Newport has been more than just a tennis tournament. It has been an experience for the players and their families.
The player hotel was just a five-minute walk from the venue. When you made that walk, it was common to run into players and coaches, who often stopped to say hello to locals who had attended the tennis that day.
Less than a 10-minute walk from the hotel was the harbour, where players and their teams spent beautiful evenings at dinner watching the sunset as sailboats returned to dock. Steve Johnson, the 2018 champion, spoke to the meaning of the event for the players.
“Newport is a very unique tournament. It has all the great feels of what a big tournament is supposed to be because of the Hall of Fame, because of the history and everything that goes with the tournament and for us Americans, it’s extremely special,” Johnson said. “It’s the last grass event of the year, a lot of us enjoy our time there. The city is phenomenal. It’s a great way to kick off the U.S. summer and everyone involved from the tournament directors, the staff, volunteers, it’s just a first-class organisation and a first-class event.”
The championship weekend also doubled as Induction Weekend, when legends of the sport were enshrined in the sport’s history books forever. Two of this year’s three International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees, Vijay Amritraj and Leander Paes, lifted both the singles and doubles trophies. Paes’ only singles triumph came in Rhode Island. Other champions include Greg Rusedski, Mark Philippoussis and Lleyton Hewitt.
Newport has also served as a launching pad for players’ careers. One year ago, Michelsen had never won a tour-level match, and as an 18-year-old he reached the final. This edition he also made the championship match.
“This tournament really started my career because I didn’t know if I wasn’t going to go to college or turn pro and once I got to the finals here last year, it kind of solidified me going pro. Being back here and playing this well again on that court over there is one of the best feelings ever,” Michelsen said. “The city is really nice. The courts really suit my game and the food is great here too, that helps.”
Giron is the rare American who did not play in Newport until age 30. He made the most of his appearance this year by capturing the crown.
“It’s a great town that people actually did come here. I know Stevie [Johnson], Sam [Querrey], they’d bring their family and they were competing, but it was also in a way a little bit of a vacation week,” Giron said. “In a way it was very relaxing for them, and so I knew that it was going to be nice. But honestly, I didn’t have any expectations. And sometimes it’s better to have no expectations.
“It’s too bad that it’s not going to be a tour-level event anymore. But I’m really excited and honoured that I’m able to make it to the finals of the last event, the last tour event here in the Hall of Fame.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Ralph Fiennes, Jeremy Renner and Guy Pearce star in this gritty war thriller