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Raonic sets record for most aces in best-of-three ATP match

  • Posted: Jun 17, 2024

Milos Raonic on Monday set the record for most aces hit in a best-of-three-set ATP Tour match (since 1991) when he struck 47 in his 6-7(6), 6-3, 7-6(9) victory against Cameron Norrie at the cinch Championships.

The Canadian, who saved two match points in his victory, broke the record previously held by Ivo Karlovic, who hit 45 aces in the 2015 Halle quarter-finals against Tomas Berdych. According to Infosys ATP Stats Raonic won 86 per cent of his first-serve points and held all 17 service games he played.

“With the scoreline and having to save match points, I probably needed every single one of those,” Raonic said. “But my serve has always been the most important shot to me. This small record, it’s something special, something meaningful.

“I’m glad that behind that also stands a win because maybe I’d feel differently or maybe a bit more sour if I was to get that many free points and lose the match. So overall, a very positive thing and a fun stat to be proud of.”

 

Players To Hit 40 Aces In Best-Of-Three-Set ATP Tour Match (since 1991)

 Player  Tournament  Opponent  Aces
 Milos Raonic  2024 Queen’s Club  Norrie  47
 Ivo Karlovic  2015 Halle, 2014 Zagreb  Berdych, Brands  45, 44
 Mark Philippoussis   1995 Kuala Lumpur  B. Black  44
 Nick Kyrgios  2019 Brisbane  R. Harrison  44
 John Isner  2023 Dallas, 2016 Queen’s Club  Wu, Muller  44, 43
 Mardy Fish  2007 Lyon  O. Rochus  43
 Reilly Opelka  2019 New York (x2)  Isner, Schnur  43, 43

Entering the day, only seven men had hit at least 40 aces in a best-of-three-set ATP Tour match (since 1991). Karlovic, John Isner and Reilly Opelka did it twice, while Mardy Fish, Goran Ivanisevic, Nick Kyrgios and Mark Philippoussis accomplished the feat once each.

Raonic’s previous best in a best-of-three Tour clash came in 2011 in Memphis, where he hit 38 aces in the second round against Radek Stepanek. He made the final that week.

“It definitely makes a big difference. It’s a big part of my game,” Raonic said of his serve. “If I didn’t have my serve, my career would be very different, so I’m very thankful for that. And I’m trying to make everything else around it a little bit better too.”

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The former No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings will next play fourth seed Taylor Fritz or Taro Daniel.

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Medvedev saves set point, claws past Borges in Halle

  • Posted: Jun 17, 2024

Daniil Medvedev made a successful start to his chase for his first title of the year Monday in Halle.

Despite facing a set point at 5-6 in the opening set, the third seed defeated Portugal’s Nuno Borges 7-6(4), 6-4 to reach the second round of the Terra Wortmann Open. Medvedev claimed his first grass-court win of 2024 in one hour and 31 minutes.

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Borges, who was trying to claim the first Top 10 win of his career (now 0-8), had an opening at the end of the first set. The favourite Medvedev hit a double fault well long to give the Portuguese No. 1 a set point. But the 28-year-old then hit a big first serve out wide to escape trouble.

According to Infosys ATP Stats, the No. 5 player in the PIF ATP Rankings only won five more points than his opponent in the match (74-69), but he saved five of the six break points he faced, which proved critical.

A finalist this year at the Australian Open and BNP Paribas Open, Medvedev is now 22-1 against players outside the Top 20 this season. He will next play Chinese No. 1 Zhang Zhizhen, who battled past Sebastian Ofner 7-6(8), 6-7(3), 6-4.

It will be the first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting between Medvedev and Zhang (no previous tour-level matches), but they played once eight years ago in Nice ATP 250 qualifying. Medvedev won the match in a final-set tie-break.

Wild card Dominik Koepfer of Germany led eighth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 4-3, when the Canadian retired due to a left hip injury.

In other action, Fabian Marozsan ousted Roman Safiullin 7-5, 4-6, 6-1. He could next play World No. 1 Jannik Sinner should the Italian defeat Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.

Another Italian, Lorenzo Sonego, squeaked past Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 7-6(6), 7-6(5) behind a good first-serve performance, winning 85 per cent of those points. Sonego will take on second seed Alexander Zverev or qualifier Oscar Otte next.

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Former champ Dimitrov makes rapid start at Queen's Club

  • Posted: Jun 17, 2024

Grigor Dimitrov earned a statement win on Monday at the Cinch Championships, where he dispatched World No. 21 Adrian Mannarino 6-1, 6-2 in just 63 minutes at the grass-court ATP 500.

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Mannarino has won two tour-level titles on grass and has reached the fourth round at Wimbledon twice. The Frenchman was unable to cope with Dimitrov’s high level in London, though, with the No. 10 player in the PIF ATP Rankings striking 28 winners and committing five unforced errors, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Dimitrov has fond memories at The Queen’s Club, having won the title in 2014. The third seed will next meet Sebastian Korda or Karen Khachanov.

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'Double Trouble!': De Minaur & Boulter win titles on same day

  • Posted: Jun 16, 2024

In March, Alex de Minaur won the Acapulco title before bolting to San Diego to see his girlfriend, Katie Boulter, win a WTA trophy the next day in San Diego. On Sunday, the tennis power couple one-upped themselves by claiming two crowns on the same day.

First, top seed De Minaur won his second grass-court tour-level title in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, beating Sebastian Korda 6-2, 6-4 in the final. A few hours later, Boulter followed suit by beating Karolina Pliskova 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the Nottingham trophy match. The third seed pulled double duty on Sunday, wrapping up a three-set semi-final win against fellow Briton Emma Raducanu earlier in the day.

“How did that happen again … You are a joke!” De Minaur wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

De Minaur’s victory moved him up to No. 7 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, setting him up for a career high, while Boulter will remain just outside the WTA’s Top 30 thanks to her successful title defence. Both players will be in action in Great Britain next week, with De Minaur at The Queen’s Club and Boulter in Birmingham.

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