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Krawietz/Mies To Make Nitto ATP Finals Debut

  • Posted: Oct 26, 2019

Krawietz/Mies To Make Nitto ATP Finals Debut

Roland Garros champions become fourth team to qualify

Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies have qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time. They are the fourth team to clinch their spot at the season finale, to be held at The O2 in London from 10-17 November.

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Just two weeks on from winning the Heilbronn crown on the ATP Challenger Tour, Krawietz and Mies captured their first Grand Slam championship title at Roland Garros in Paris.

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The pair also clinched two ATP 250 titles at the New York Open (d. Gonzalez/Qureshi) in February and at last week’s European Open in Antwerp (d. Ram/Salisbury).

As a result of Krawietz and Mies’ qualification, Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, winners of the Australian Open in January, also secured their spot in London per the Grand Slam rule.

Only three spots remain in the Nitto ATP Finals doubles field, with Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah, Lukasz Kubot/Marcelo Melo and Raven Klaasen/Michael Venus having already qualified.

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Baby Bryan Brother: Mike Announces He's Expecting First Child

  • Posted: Oct 26, 2019

Baby Bryan Brother: Mike Announces He’s Expecting First Child

Doubles star breaks the news on Friday

The ATP Tour is experiencing baby fever this month! Mike Bryan is the latest player to share news on a growing family by announcing that he and girlfriend Nadia Murgasova are expecting their first child.

“IT’S A BOY!”, he wrote to his Instagram followers on Friday. The announcement included a photo of the couple hugging as blue balloons float around them. Jeremy Chardy, Bruno Soares and Jack Sock were among the players to congratulate him on social media. His twin brother and doubles partner, Bob Bryan, has three children.

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Other baby news this month included Marin Cilic posting a photo of himself shopping for his first child that’s due next year, while Sam Querrey shared his own baby announcement last Sunday. John Isner revealed the arrival of a baby boy with wife Madison on 20 October, while Kevin Anderson tweeted that he and wife Kelsey welcomed a baby girl on 27 September.

The Bryan brothers have not competed since the US Open, but are on track for a record 16th team appearance in the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, held from 10-17 November at The O2 in London. They are currently fifth in the ATP Doubles Race to London with 3,380 points.

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Tsitsipas Wears Down Krajinovic In Basel Thriller

  • Posted: Oct 25, 2019

Tsitsipas Wears Down Krajinovic In Basel Thriller

Third seed to face Federer on Saturday

Stefanos Tsitsipas dug deep to produce some of his best tennis on Friday at the Swiss Indoors Basel. The third-seeded Greek weathered an inspired start from Serbian Filip Krajinovic to prevail 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in their quarter-final clash.

Tsitsipas finished the night with 38 winners to just 26 unforced errors. The 21-year-old has won 10 of his past 12 matches, finishing runner-up in Beijing (l. to Thiem) and defeating Novak Djokovic en route to a semi-final showing at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

Awaiting him in the semi-finals is top seed and nine-time Basel champion Roger Federer, who advanced when fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka withdrew due to a back injury. The pair are tied 1-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry, with Tsitsipas prevailing at the Australian Open and Federer getting revenge in the Dubai final.

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Krajinovic, runner-up last week in Stockholm (l. to Shapovalov), continued his strong form indoors in the opening set. He broke Tsitsipas twice, was flawless on net points (6/6) and only gave the Greek three unforced errors. Krajinovic let out a roar after Tsitsipas sent a forehand wide to give the Serbian an early advantage after 33 minutes.

Tsitsipas adjusted his tactics in the second set, standing further behind the baseline and adding more height to his shots in a bid to prolong the rallies. The strategy worked as Krajinovic began to leak errors from his forehand. The third seed broke serve at 1-1 in the second set and held the slight advantage, rifling a forehand winner on set point to bring the match to a decider.

Both men traded service breaks to start the final set, but Krajinovic began to feel the effects of playing eight matches over the past 10 days. Tsitsipas noticed the Serbian starting to tire and pounced, earning another break at 3-3 as he rode the momentum to victory after one hour and 53 minutes.

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Swiss Indoors: Stefanos Tsitsipas to face Roger Federer in semi-final

  • Posted: Oct 25, 2019

Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Filip Krajinovic 3-6 6-4 6-4 to book a semi-final with nine-time champion Roger Federer at the Swiss Indoors.

The 21-year-old world number seven served 12 aces and beat the 46th-ranked Serbian in an hour and 53 minutes.

Fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut’s hopes of reaching next month’s ATP finals were dented by a 6-3 3-6 6-3 defeat against American Reilly Opelka.

World number 37 Opelka served 31 aces in his win in an hour and 33 minutes.

With the top eight players qualifying for the O2 Arena from 10-17 November, ninth-placed Bautista-Agut was trying to keep pace with eighth-ranked Matteo Berrettini, but the Italian reached the semi-finals of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna to increase his lead to 130 points.

Federer, who dropped only six games in wins over Peter Gojowczyk and Radu Albot, had a walkover into the last four after fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka withdrew because of a back injury.

Tsitsipas famously beat Federer in their first meeting at the Australian Open in January, but lost in straight sets when Federer won the Dubai title in March.

Opelka will face Alex de Minaur in the first semi-final in Basel on Saturday after the Australian beat Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany 6-4 7-6 (7-4).

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Nadal, Djokovic Renew Year-End No. 1 Battle In Paris

  • Posted: Oct 25, 2019

Nadal, Djokovic Renew Year-End No. 1 Battle In Paris

A Djokovic title could see the Serbian significantly close the gap

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, the top two players in the ATP Rankings, return to action at next week’s Rolex Paris Masters. It is a critical moment in the battle for the year-end No. 1 ATP Ranking, with two very different narratives potentially to be written based on results from the season’s final ATP Masters 1000 tournament of 2019.

Nadal controls his own destiny and could clinch year-end No. 1 with a title. However, if he lifts his fifth trophy in Bercy, Djokovic can claw closer to the Spaniard and put himself in prime position to sneak out the season-ending top spot at the Nitto ATP Finals.

Nadal currently has the edge with a 1,280-point lead in the ATP Race To London — which acts as a barometer for who will finish year-end No. 1 — over the Serbian. But with 1,000 points up for grabs in Paris and a maximum of 1,500 available at the Nitto ATP Finals,is very much alive.

Nadal, if he triumphs at the Rolex Paris Masters for the first time, could put the battle out of reach, guaranteeing that he will finish year-end No. 1 for the fifth time, joining Djokovic, Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors at that mark. If Nadal triumphs in Paris, an undefeated run by Djokovic at The O2 would still not be enough to see the Serb finish in top spot.

But if Djokovic captures his 34th ATP Masters 1000 title, he will put plenty of pressure on Nadal heading into the season finale in London from 10-17 November. Although Nadal, the all-time Masters 1000 title leader (35) has not lost his opener at this level since 2016 Shanghai, doing so would allow Djokovic to pull within 280 points in the Race with a trophy.

A sixth year-end No. 1 finish for Djokovic would be historic, as he’d equal Pete Sampras’ all-time record for most year-end finishes atop the ATP Rankings. He could potentially face his Shanghai conqueror Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals. Daniil Medvedev, who has lifted the past two Masters 1000 trophies, is also in his half of the draw.

This will be Nadal’s first tournament since his US Open win, and he will face tricky Frenchman Adrian Mannarino or a qualifier/special exempt in his opener. Federer is in his half of the draw. Nadal has not made the final of this event since 2007.

Regardless of how Djokovic and Nadal perform in Paris, Nadal will arrive at The O2 as the new World No. 1. Although Djokovic currently owns a 320-point lead in the ATP Rankings, Nadal will reclaim the title on 4 November when the Serbian drops 600 points from his runner-up finish in Paris last year and an additional 1,000 points from reaching the championship match of last year’s Nitto ATP Finals.

No other player is in contention for year-end No. 1.

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Gael Glides Into Vienna Semi-finals

  • Posted: Oct 25, 2019

Gael Glides Into Vienna Semi-finals

Frenchman to meet Schwartzman for final spot

Gael Monfils moved inside the Top 10 in the ATP Race To London on Friday, after his 7-5, 6-1 victory against Aljaz Bedene at the Erste Bank Open.

The fourth seed claimed 81 per cent of first-serve points (29/36) to earn his 35th tour-level victory of the season after 70 minutes. Monfils improves to 14-5 at the ATP 500 event, where he reached the championship match in 2008.

The 33-year-old overtakes David Goffin and Fabio Fognini to occupy 10th position in the Race after earning 90 points for the quarter-final victory. Monfils is just 310 points behind Matteo Berrettini, who occupies the eighth and final qualification position. Berrettini defeated Andrey Rublev to reach his eighth tour-level semi-final of the year in the first match of the day on Center Court.

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The Frenchman will meet fellow London contender Diego Schwartzman for a place in Sunday’s final. Monfils owns a 2-1 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against the Argentine, who beat Karen Khachanov in straight sets to reach the last four.

Monfils is attempting to lift his second indoor ATP Tour trophy of the year this week. The World No. 14 captured his eighth tour-level crown at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in February.

Appearing in his second quarter-final at the tournament, Bedene was aiming to reach the semi-finals in Vienna for the first time. The 30-year-old, who also advanced to the last eight in 2012, reached his first indoor ATP Tour final at the Moselle Open last month.

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Paris Draw Preview: Zverev Leads Push For Remaining London Spots

  • Posted: Oct 25, 2019

Paris Draw Preview: Zverev Leads Push For Remaining London Spots

Djokovic and Nadal hold top two seeds

With two qualifying spots remaining for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, the Rolex Paris Masters will determine who packs their bags for The O2 in London from 10-17 November. Ten players are still in contention, including German Alexander Zverev, Italian Matteo Berrettini and Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, but they’ll need to weather challenging draws at the last ATP Masters 1000 event of the season.

Zverev, seeded sixth, is in good standing to give himself a chance to defend his title in London. He’s currently in seventh place in the ATP Race to London with 2,855 points, but will need to be in top form in Paris as he starts against Croatian Borna Coric or Spaniard Fernando Verdasco. Zverev shares the same quarter of the draw as third-seeded Swiss Roger Federer and a pair of London hopefuls, No. 11 seed Fabio Fognini of Italy and No. 13 seed Gael Monfils of France. Monfils is tenth in the Race with 2,350 points.

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Tenth-seeded Berrettini has a heathy grip on eighth place in the Race with 2,660 points. The Italian arguably has the most challenging draw of any player in Paris, though. He’ll begin against home favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or in-form Russian Andrey Rublev, then could face eighth-seeded Russian and defending champion Karen Khachanov in the third round. Should he escape that treacherous section, a potential quarter-final clash awaits with second-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal.

Ninth seed Roberto Bautista Agut, currently ninth in the Race (2,530), also seeks a big week in Paris and will open against #NextGenATP Aussie Alex de Minaur or Serbian Laslo Djere. The Spaniard is in the same quarter of the draw as top seed Novak Djokovic, seventh-seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and fellow London hopeful Diego Schwartzman. The Argentine is 14th in the Race with 2,040 points.

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Belgian David Goffin is 11th in the Race with 2,325 points. The No. 13 seed will need to reach at least the semi-finals in Paris if he wants to return to The O2. His week begins against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov or #NextGenATP Aussie Ugo Humbert, with fourth-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev and fifth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem also looming in his quarter.

Swiss Stan Wawrinka, American John Isner and Khachanov must take the title in Paris in order to have a chance at qualifying for London. Isner returns to action for the first time since the birth of his second child last week.

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Djokovic, seeking his fifth title in Paris, opens against Frenchman Richard Gasquet or fellow Serbian Dusan Lajovic. The World No. 1 holds a 32-8 record at this event and has reached the championship match in four of his past five appearances.

Nadal is back in action against a qualifier or Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, then could renew his rivalry with Wawrinka in the third round. Although Nadal leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 18-3, Wawrinka’s last win over the Spaniard came four years ago in the Paris quarter-finals.

Federer looks for his first title in Paris since 2011. The Swiss plays play Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili or Moldovan Radu Albot in his opening match and shares the same half of the draw as Nadal. The pair have never faced off at this event.

Medvedev aims to continue his winning ways as he begins his campaign against a qualifier or Argentine Guido Pella. The Russian, who captured his second Masters 1000 title this month at the Rolex Shanghai Masters (d. Zverev), is on a nine-match winning streak and has reached the final of his past six ATP Tour events.

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Can You Pass The Rolex Paris Masters Quiz?

  • Posted: Oct 25, 2019

Can You Pass The Rolex Paris Masters Quiz?

Test your knowledge of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Paris

How much do you know about the Rolex Paris Masters, the ninth ATP Masters 1000 tennis tournament of the 2019 season?

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will return for the 2019 edition, where they will be joined by in-form Russian Daniil Medvedev and defending champion Karen Khachanov, but do you know which player has won the most titles here? The Rolex Paris Masters is also the final battleground in the ATP Race To London. Do you recall which American clinched his spot at the Nitto ATP Finals with his triumph in 2017? We test your knowledge in this quiz!

Need a little assistance? Check out these Paris resource pages:
Tournament Profile | All You Need To Know

Click here to stay informed all year with tennis news from the ATP Tour.


Done with the quiz? Scroll back up to the top to see how you did!

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Slow Start, Fast Finish For Schwartzman In Vienna

  • Posted: Oct 25, 2019

Slow Start, Fast Finish For Schwartzman In Vienna

Argentine to meet Monfils or Bedene in semi-finals

In a meeting of Nitto ATP Finals contenders, Diego Schwartzman defeated Karen Khachanov 7-6(6), 6-2 at the Erste Bank Open on Friday.

Competing in his 60th tour-level encounter of the year (38-22), the Argentine rallied from 0-3 down in the opener and broke serve on four occasions to record his second FedEx ATP Head2Head victory in three meetings against Khachanov. As a result of the quarter-final win, Schwartzman moves into 14th position in the ATP Race To London.

With 1,995 points, the Los Cabos champion is now 665 points behind fellow Vienna semi-finalist Matteo Berrettini in the Race. The Italian currently occupies the eighth and final qualification position for the elite eight-man event to be held at The O2 in London from 10-17 November.

Schwartzman will meet fourth seed Gael Monfils or Aljaz Bedene for a place in the championship match. The 27-year-old owns one victory from three FedEx ATP Head2Head encounters against both players.

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Khachanov overpowered Schwartzman in the early stages, dictating rallies with his forehand to establish a 3-0, double-break advantage. But Schwartzman fought back, ripping a forehand return winner to get on the scoreboard in the fourth game.

With Khachanov serving for the set at 5-4, Schwartzman levelled the set with impressive accuracy. The Argentine fired a series of low passing shots as Khachanov attempted to close the net and eventually claimed the opener in the tie-break after his opponent committed his first double fault.

Schwartzman carried the momentum into the second set, landing another backhand passing shot to break in the opening game. The fifth seed increased his advantage four games later and converted his first match point as Khachanov fired his forehand return beyond the baseline.

“It was really difficult in the beginning, I didn’t feel very well. He was playing good tennis, but I think I was doing many mistakes and many unforced errors,” said Schwartzman. “I started to change my game and then I had one break back at 3-0.

“I was just one break down and when he was serving for the set I had a little bit of luck in a few points and I did the comeback. In the second set, I think my tennis was better than his and I felt really well at the end.”

Khachanov was bidding to become the first Russian semi-finalist in Vienna since Andrei Chesnokov in 1992. The World No. 9 currently sits in 16th position in the Race and will now travel to Paris to defend his Rolex Paris Masters crown.

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Ram/Salisbury Bolster London Chances With Vienna Victory

  • Posted: Oct 25, 2019

Ram/Salisbury Bolster London Chances With Vienna Victory

Dodig/Polasek advance in Basel on Friday

Fourth seeds Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury continued their winning ways on Friday at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, edging Marcus Daniell/Philipp Oswald 6-4, 3-6, 10-6 to reach the final.

Ram/Salisbury also moved closer to making their debut appearance as a team at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, held from 10-17 November at The O2 in London. Their semi-final win pushed them into sixth place in the ATP Doubles Race To London with 3,290 points. Ram/Salisbury will pick up an additional 200 points if they can take the title in Vienna.

The American/British pair look to improve their 1-3 record in ATP Tour doubles finals this year, having prevailed in Dubai and finished runner-up in Brisbane, Queen’s Club and Antwerp. They await the winner of top seeds Lukasz Kubot/Marcelo Melo and third seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut.

At the Swiss Indoors Basel, Ivan Dodig/Filip Polasek upset second seeds Raven Klaasen/Michael Venus 7-6(8), 6-4 to move into the semi-finals. They saved set points at 5/6 and 7/8 in the first-set tie-break en route to advancing in one hour and 30 minutes.

Dodig/Polasek, who are in ninth place in the ATP Doubles Race To London, will face fourth seeds Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau on Saturday. Rojer/Tecau are in seventh place in the Race.

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