Banks one of three Britons to progress in Wimbledon qualifying
Britain’s Amarni Banks fought back to beat former world number 10 Kristina Mladenovic and reach the second round of Wimbledon qualifying.
Britain’s Amarni Banks fought back to beat former world number 10 Kristina Mladenovic and reach the second round of Wimbledon qualifying.
Emma Raducanu continues her Wimbledon preparations with an assured victory over Sloane Stephens at Eastbourne.
Watch the best shots as British number one Katie Boulter beats Croatia’s Petra Martic in straight sets in the first round at Eastbourne.
Watch the best shots as Emma Raducanu eases past Sloane Stephens in straight sets to mark her Eastbourne debut with a win.
Jakub Mensik made tournament history Tuesday at the Mallorca Championships, knocking off defending champion Christopher Eubanks to become the youngest match-winner at the ATP 250. The 18-year-old earned a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 result for his first grass-court win.
Mensik joins 19-year-old Alex Michelsen, who is into the quarter-finals, as the only teen winners in the event’s main draw.
“For me it’s a good result,” he said in his on-court interview. “Obviously after difficult weeks, suffering with the injury, I’m happy to compete again. Back on grass with a ‘W’, I’m happy and I will be pushing more for the next round.”
[ATP APP]Mensik missed Roland Garros through injury but is now finding form on the grass behind his powerful serve. He hit 12 aces and won 84 per cent (38/45) of his first-serve points in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Eubanks, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
Eubanks was bidding to become the first player to successfully defend the Mallorca title.
Former college stars Adam Walton and Paul Jubb also earned wins early in Tuesday’s action. Walton, the 2021 NCAA doubles champion with the Tennessee Volunteers, beat Yannick Hanfmann 7-5, 6-2. Jubb, the 2019 NCAA singles champion with South Carolina, scored a 6-1, 6-2 result against Maximilian Marterer. The qualifiers will square off for a place in the quarter-finals.
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Emil Ruusuvuori continues to thrive in the role of spoiler on British soil. The Finn extended his perfect record against British players in Great Britain to 6-0 Tuesday at the Rothesay International with a 7-6(9), 6-3 win against Cameron Norrie in the Eastbourne opening round.
The 25-year-old snapped a five-match grass-court losing streak (including matches on the ATP Challenger Tour) by improving to 10-3 against Brits at all levels and 2-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head against Norrie.
“Cam is one of the toughest players out there,” the Finn said post-match. “But playing a Brit here is good. I got on centre court and just tried to enjoy it. I played a very good level today in tough moments, so it was very good.”
[ATP APP]Ruusuvuori saved all seven break points against him, according to Infosys ATP Stats, including two as he served out the match. He also saved two set points in an extended opening-set tie-break before snatching the lone break of the match in the sixth game of set two. The Finn lost just two points on second serve (16/18), winning those points at an 89 per cent clip in the 95-minute match.
He will next meet China’s Shang Juncheng, who beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(4) on Monday.
Thiago Seyboth Wild also advanced early on Tuesday with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Aussie John McCabe. The Brazilian saved five of six break points in the victory to set up a second-round showdown with top seed Taylor Fritz.
This Hustle from @gileshussey 🚀😮💨@the_LTA | #RothesayInternational pic.twitter.com/Hj6AkmKuuG
— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 25, 2024
Great Britain’s Giles Hussey earned a win on home soil in his tour-level debut, upsetting sixth seed Mariano Navone 6-4, 6-2. The 27-year-old lucky loser picked up his second victory against an opponent inside the Top 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings this week; he beat World No. 98 Arthur Cazaux in the first round of qualifying before losing to Shang.
Hussey will next meet Flavio Cobolli, a 6-4, 7-5 winner against Arthur Rinderknech. Lorenzo Sonego (d. Henry Searle), Miomir Kecmanovic (d. Zhang Zhizhen) and Yoshihito Nishioka (d. Liam Broady) also advanced in straight sets Tuesday.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Cameron Norrie’s disappointing season continues with a first-round defeat by Emil Ruusuvuori at Eastbourne.
British number ones Katie Boulter and Jack Draper are both seeded at Wimbledon for the first time – this is how they got there.
Jay Clarke denies former world number eight Diego Schwartzman one final trip to Wimbledon by beating him in straight sets in the first round of qualifying.