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Dutchmen Battle To First Team Title

  • Posted: Jan 06, 2018

Dutchmen Battle To First Team Title

New full-time partners recover a break in both sets en route to the victory

Gilles Simon entered the Tata Open Maharashtra doubles final looking to complete the tournament sweep after winning his first ATP World Tour singles title since 2015 earlier Saturday. A victory with Pierre-Hugues Herbert would have made Simon the first player to win both events at India’s ATP World Tour 250 tournament since Xavier Malisse in 2007.

But Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop spoiled the French party, winning their first title as a team in a back-and-forth thriller, 7-6(5), 7-6(5).

“To play the final there with three unbelievable athletes, it’s an honour to play there,” Middelkoop said. “I will never forget this for the rest of my life. This is my fifth title and I will come back here next year because you have to experience this. They’re celebrating tennis and this is what I like. Great crowd.”

It was Middelkoop’s fifth doubles title with three different partners, and Haase’s third doubles title, also with three different partners. Haase, who is the top Dutch singles player in the ATP Rankings at No. 42, had not won a doubles title since 2014 Gstaad (w/ Andre Begemann).

You May Also Like: Allez! Simon Returns To Title Town

“The score was actually how the match was. Sometimes you can have a close match, but you feel you are better,” Haase said. “Today we didn’t feel so much better, that’s for sure.”

In fact, the Frenchmen were up a break in both sets, and served for the second set immediately after breaking for a 5-3 lead. However, after fending off one break point at 30/40— earning a set point, but also facing a second break point — they were unable to hold their lead.

And after the Dutchmen — who will be playing together full-time in 2018 after partnering for the first time at the tour level in Flushing Meadows, where they advanced to the quarter-finals — gained a 5/1 lead in the ensuing tie-break, they closed the match out on their second match point.

“Just to play those points, and we even talked to the other guys already a little bit,” Haase said. “We all enjoyed the match. Every point was great, almost.”

Haase and Middelkoop earned 250 ATP Rankings points and a share of $27,170, while Herbert and Simon captured 150 points each as well as a split of $14,280.

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Dimitrov Not Discouraged By Kyrgios Loss

  • Posted: Jan 06, 2018

Dimitrov Not Discouraged By Kyrgios Loss

The 26-year-old Bulgarian heads into Melbourne feeling good about his game, body

Despite losing in the semi-finals of the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp to a red-hot Nick Kyrgios, Grigor Dimitrov can hold his head high knowing he’s started 2018 with the same momentum that he finished a career year in 2017. 

Last season’s Nitto ATP Finals titlist and defending Brisbane champion gritted through two tough three-set matches before falling to Nick Kyrgios in a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 decision. Saving match points in his season-opening clash with John Millman, Dimitrov navigated Kyle Edmund in the quarter-finals in yet another two-and-a-half hour thriller. Against Kyrgios, however, the Bulgarian was unable to come up with the answer to his opponent’s cannonball serve and unpredictable patterns of play. 

“I’m glad at least I could play some matches and get to those clutch moments,” said Dimitrov. “Obviously, it was great to go through those three-setters, saving a match point in the first round.

“I’m building off those kind of matches. Obviously, today has been — it was again a tough match. I think I played well the first set… after that, there was not much else I could have done, I thought,” the 26-year-old added. “He was just serving unbelievable, just hitting his spots. Like, I even thought at some point was a little bit, like, carelessly hitting the ball, and they were getting in. 

“It was just good shots from him.”

Although Dimitrov was able to secure an early break thanks to a combination of his opponent’s wavering focus and his own tenacious defense, Kyrgios amped up the pressure on his serve and on return, hitting 19 aces in the one hour, 33-minute encounter. The prolific shotmaker is into his first ATP World Tour final on home soil.

For the first time in their now 2-1 FedEx ATP Head2Head series, Dimitrov was flummoxed by the Australian’s capricious style. 

“I mean, there were a lot of balls that were pretty casual, but what can I do? There’s no point for me to get frustrated or pissed whatsoever. You just have to accept it,” said Dimitrov.

“And we know how he is. He can switch from playing unbelievable to just missing, you know, the easiest shots and all that … sometimes when there’s no way out, you try to change up the game and break the rhythm of a player. And today just everything, whatever I thought he tried, it was just great.”

Dimitrov heads to Melbourne next, where he reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open last year, following his Brisbane triumph. It was his second Grand Slam semi-final – before falling to Rafael Nadal in one of the best Grand Slam matches of 2017.

“I’m a little bit tired, but it’s good,” said Dimitrov on how he feels following Brisbane, leading into Melbourne. “It’s great to get, as I said, those matches early on. Try to play a few three-setters to see how the body feels after two-and-a-half hours. 

“[But] the body feels great. As I said, a little bit tired, but I think after couple of days off and getting bit of treatment, things will get back on track.”

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Switzerland beat Germany to win Hopman Cup

  • Posted: Jan 06, 2018
2018 Australian Open
Dates: 15-28 January Venue: Melbourne Park
Coverage: Watch highlights on BBC Two, the BBC Sport website and app. Live commentary on the best matches on BBC Radio 5 live, 5 live sports extra and online.

Switzerland’s Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic beat Germany’s Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber to win the Hopman Cup for the first time since 2001.

Federer went a set down to Zverev in the opener, but the 19-time Grand Slam champion recovered to win 6-7 (4-7) 6-0 6-2 and give Switzerland a 1-0 lead.

Kerber then beat Bencic 6-4 6-1 to level the tie, before the Swiss team took the doubles match 4-3 (5-3) 4-2.

“I am so thrilled, so happy – Belinda you played amazing,” said Federer.

Bencic added: “This is a dream come true for me and I couldn’t wish for a better partner. I’ll never forget this week, it’s absolutely incredible.

“I so enjoyed being back. It’s a great preparation for the Australian Open.”

Federer was joined by Martina Hingis when Switzerland last won the trophy in Perth 17 years ago, while the last German triumph came in 1995.

“It’s amazing,” he added. “My week with Martina Hingis at the time is a little like what it must be like for Belinda. I didn’t know then what my career was going to be like.”

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Brisbane International: Elina Svitolina beats Aliaksandra Sasnovich to title

  • Posted: Jan 06, 2018

Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina won the first WTA title of the year, beating surprise finalist Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2 6-1 at the Brisbane International.

The third seed and world number six looked full of confident against the world number 88 from Belarus who had come through qualifying.

Svitolina, who had beaten second seed Karolina Pliskova in the semi-final, was in complete control throughout.

It gives the 23-year-old her 10th WTA career title.

Meanwhile, top seed Caroline Wozniacki won two matches in just over four hours to set up a final against second seed Julia Gorges at the Auckland Classic.

The schedule had been affected by rain, forcing organisers to play the quarter-finals and both semi-finals on Saturday and move the final to Sunday.

Denmark’s Wozniacki got the better of 19-year-old American wildcard Sofia Kenin 4-6 6-2 6-4, before defeating US qualifier Sachia Vickery 6-4 6-4.

Vickery had earlier upset third seed Agnieskza Radwanska.

Gorges, who had lost to American Sloane Stephens in the 2016 Auckland final, was far more comfortable in both of her matches.

She beat Slovenia’s Polona Hercog 6-4 6-4 in the quarter-finals before moving into the final with a 6-1 6-4 win over Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei.

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Kyrgios Ace Barrage Sinks Dimitrov

  • Posted: Jan 06, 2018

Kyrgios Ace Barrage Sinks Dimitrov

Aussie rebounds after dropping first set for third straight match

Nick Kyrgios thundered 19 aces past Grigor Dimitrov Saturday night to charge into the final of the Brisbane International. The 22-year-old Australian rallied from a set down for the third consecutive match to beat the World No. 3 and top seed 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to set a showdown with American Ryan Harrison.

Earlier in the day Harrison was within two points of defeat in the second-set tie-break against 18-year-old Australian Alex De Minaur before holding his nerve to win 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4.

Kyrgios leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Harrison 2-0.

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Kyrgios Ace Barrage Leads To Career First

  • Posted: Jan 06, 2018

Kyrgios Ace Barrage Leads To Career First

Aussie comes through against Dimitrov for the first time

Maybe slow starts are a positive omen for Aussie Nick Kyrgios. For the third consecutive match, the third seed fell behind a set on Saturday evening at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp.

But for the third consecutive match, Kyrgios found a way to come back, this time against defending champion Grigor Dimitrov to pick up his first win against the Bulgarian and advance to Sunday’s final, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

The final will be Kyrgios’ first on home soil and his seventh overall (3-3). Kyrgios is also the first Aussie to reach the Brisbane final since former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in 2014 (d. Federer).

Kyrgios will face American Ryan Harrison, who beat Kyrgios’ countryman Alex de Minaur 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 to reach his third ATP World Tour title match (2017 Memphis, 2017 Atlanta).

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Kyrgios leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-0, and Harrison has yet to take a set off the Aussie. “I know that he’s a dangerous opponent. He can serve very, very well and he’s obviously won a lot of matches here,” Kyrgios said on court.

The 22-year-old Canberra native trailed Dimitrov in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 0-2, including a loss in last year’s Western & Southern Open final in Cincinnati, and the Bulgarian was riding a seven-match win streak heading into the Brisbane semi-final. Dimitrov started on a roll as well, breaking Kyrgios once and not facing a break point in the first set to gain the lead.

But Kyrgios swung more freely in the second set and mixed up his play against Dimitrov. The third-seeded Kyrgios exchanged rapid-fire points with Dimitrov and came out the victor more often than not. He also gave Dimitrov different return looks, and the strategy seemed to throw the World No. 3 off as Kyrgios broke twice in the second set to even the match in 29 minutes.

“I knew that I had to do something a little bit differently today. I couldn’t give him too much rhythm,” Kyrgios said.

The third set followed a similar strategy. Kyrgios dominated on serve – he finished with 19 aces and won 82 per cent of his first-serve points – and broke in the seventh game before serving out the match.

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Harrison Halts Aussie's Dream Week

  • Posted: Jan 06, 2018

Harrison Halts Aussie’s Dream Week

American will face either Dimitrov or Kyrgios in Brisbane final

All week in Brisbane, defending champion Grigor Dimitrov and a pair of Aussie semi-finalists – 18-year-old Alex de Minaur and Nick Kyrgios – had stolen the attention during the opening week of the ATP World Tour season.

But quietly, Ryan Harrison of the U.S. had gone about his work, leading the tournament in aces and battling through a pair of early three-set contests. Now the American will go for his second ATP World Tour title in the past 11 months.

Harrison ended the fairytale run of #NextGenATP de Minaur on Saturday afternoon, coming back from a 3/5 deficit in the second-set tie-break to advance 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3. Harrison will play in his third ATP World Tour final, all of which have come since February 2017, when the American won the Memphis Open (d. Basilashvili) for his maiden title. Last July, Harrison fell to countryman John Isner in the BB&T Atlanta Open final.

The 25-year-old will face either top seed and Brisbane doubles partner Grigor Dimitrov or the third-seeded Kyrgios in Sunday’s final. “I’m excited to be in the final. They’re both great players. I’m going to have to play really good tennis to have a shot there,” Harrison said on court.

And to think, Harrison had never won even a set in Brisbane before this week. The right-hander had gone 0-4 during his prior appearances. But a new attitude might be to thank for his early success. Harrison, who, like de Minaur, was a highly-touted teenager on the ATP World Tour, said he’s simply looking to compete in 2018 and forget about expectations.

“Coming into this year I want to leave it all on the court every time I play. I feel like if I do that I’ll be improving. I didn’t have a whole lot of pressure on myself. I was just trying to play as hard as I could and I’m in the final,” Harrison said.

De Minaur, before facing Harrison, hadn’t lost a set this week in Brisbane. The 18-year-old had captured the hearts of thousands of Aussie fans this week by beating two Top 50 players – No. 44 Steve Johnson and No. 24 Milos Raonic, along with #NextGenATP counterpart Michael Mmoh – and was the clear fan favourite to reach his maiden ATP World Tour final.

“The No. 1 thing I wanted to do was take the crowd of it. Miserable fail,” Harrison said before laughing.

Proactive play – aggressive second-serve returning and attacking the net often – had de Minaur two points away from reaching the title match. At 5/4 in the second-set tie-break, de Minaur had the contest on his racquet. But Harrison won the first point to get 5/5, and de Minaur double faulted before smacking a forehand long on set point.

The Aussie then started flat in the decider, and Harrison seized the opportunity, breaking twice to lead 5-1. He was broken while trying to serve out the match at 5-2, but Harrison recovered and held to love to reach the title match.

“The thing that I love about his game is how aggressive he is… He’s got a really bright future. It was a pleasure to play him,” Harrison said. “I was just trying to tell myself to compete as hard as I could, focus as much as I could on my side of the court. And then hope that he was going to give me a dip in level. I don’t know if he dipped in level but I think things only just worked out for me.”

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Is That A Bird? Is That A Plane? No, It's Dimitrov!

  • Posted: Jan 06, 2018

Is That A Bird? Is That A Plane? No, It’s Dimitrov!

When his opponent fell to the ground, the Bulgarian rushed to help

Typically when Grigor Dimitrov sprints to and hurdles over the net, he’s doing it for fun – do not try it at home, kids – not because he’s scared for his opponent who has suddenly collapsed to the court. But the Bulgarian was in the latter position on Friday evening during his quarter-final match against Kyle Edmund at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp.

The two were tied 4-4 in the third and final set when Edmund let out a shriek and fell to the ground, grasping his right ankle. Instinctively, Dimitrov raced to the net and hurdled over it, as if he had done it before, or a few times in the past.

Leaning over his opponent, he consoled Edmund, grabbing his arm and seeing if he was OK. A few seconds later, Dimitrov was helping Edmund off the court and walking him to his chair, Edmund’s arm wrapped around Dimitrov’s shoulders as the crowd applauded the sportsmanship.

“It was just such an instinct for me that I didn’t think, ‘Okay, I’m just going to go around the net, or I’m going to go that post or this post’. It was just like such a natural instinct for me to go and jump over,” said Dimitrov, who also trains on track hurdles, which are of similar height to the net.

Dimitrov

“It’s tough, obviously, what happened. Little unfortunate, that’s for sure. But, I mean, I would have reacted like this whoever I was playing against. So this is just my instinct, my reaction, to do that right away. I hope he gets better.”

An ATP World Tour trainer re-wrapped Edmund’s ankle, and play continued during the quarter-final, which Dimitrov won 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-4 after taking the final two games. In the semi-finals, the Bulgarian will face Aussie Nick Kyrgios for the third time in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

You May Also Like: Brisbane Showdown: Dimitrov vs. Kyrgios

Edmund appreciated his opponent’s quick actions. “It’s good to have someone like that. But he’s always been like that, Grigor. He’s been a good guy on and off the court,” Edmund said.

The Brit thought the majority of ATP World Tour players would have done the same for their opponents as well.

“It’s good that someone is concerned about you, but as tennis players you generally are… Most people would have done that, but it’s nice to see him get up and help me to the chair,” Edmund said.

Dimitrov

Edmund was also optimistic that he would be feeling fully healed in time for his next tournament, the Sydney International, which starts on Sunday.

“The ankle got extended a bit too much and that was it really,” he said. “But I’ve obviously done it twice before. This is my third time. So from the past, the next morning it’s a bit tender but then, after a day or two, it settles down. Basically, it’s just a rolled ankle. That’s what it is.”

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Tennis betting: 13 players sanctioned in 2017 after Tennis Integrity Unit investigations

  • Posted: Jan 05, 2018

Thirteen players were sanctioned in 2017 after investigations by the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU).

Five were banned over match-fixing claims, while other cases involved low-ranked players betting on tennis.

The number of match alerts for suspicious betting patterns fell last year to 241, from 292 in 2016.

The alerts do not necessarily indicate wrongdoing but are seen as an indication that corrupt activity may have occurred.

Nine players and officials were banned in 2016. No officials were banned last year.

“There is no doubt that most players and officials conduct themselves in an exemplary fashion, but the small minority who choose to break the rules are a continuing concern,” TIU director Nigel Willerton said in its annual report.

  • Read the full report

The TIU said a wider interim report on corruption in tennis is due in early 2018.

It follows a report by the BBC and BuzzFeed News two years ago which claimed 16 players ranked in the world’s top 50 had been repeatedly flagged to the unit over suspicions they have thrown matches in the past decade.

Since then the budget for the TIU, set up in 2008 and funded by the sport’s governing bodies and the four Grand Slams, has been increased with $3.71m (£2,75m) being set aside for 2018.

The number of full-time staff has risen to 17 from just a handful three years ago, while a training and education unit will be established this year to help educate young players against the risks of corruption.

Player sanctions in 2017

(Career-high ranking in brackets)

Match-fixing

Alexandru-Daniel Carpen, Romanian (1,088, singles) – Lifetime ban

Konstantinos Mikos, Greek (933, singles) – Lifetime ban

Junn Mitsuhashi, Japanese (295, singles) – Lifetime ban, $50,000 fine

Nikita Kryvonos, American (389, singles) – 10-year ban, $20,000 fine

Nick Lindahl, Australian (187, singles) – Seven-year ban, $35,000 fine

Betting

Calum Puttergill, Australian (1,148, singles) – Six-month ban, $10,000 fine

Mihaita Damian, Romanian (1,439, doubles) – 12-month ban, $5,000 fine

Marius Frosa, Romanian (1,920, singles) – Eight-month ban (four months suspended), $1,000 fine

Samuel Ribeiro Navarette, Spanish (723, singles) – Eight-month ban (four months suspended), $1,000 fine

Other

Brandon Walkin, Australian (980, singles) – Passed a corrupt proposal to third party: six-month ban, suspended for six months

Piotr Gadomski, Polish (338, singles) – Breached original suspension by attending professional tennis event: 18-month suspension added to existing seven-year ban (suspended pending no further breaches)

Isaac Frost, Australian (458, singles) – Provisional suspension pending TIU investigation

Oliver Anderson, Australian (639, singles) – Provisional suspension pending TIU investigation

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