Lyon 2017
Lyon 2017
May212017
The content of this article took place at Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon
Re-live nine great hot shots from the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Mutua Madrid Open and Internazionali BNL d’Italia, and help crown the Golden Hot Shot from the 2017 clay-court ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments.
Watch the clips and cast your vote before the poll closes at 6pm CEST/noon EDT on Friday, 26 May. Here are the candidates:
Monte-Carlo
Nadal Lands Winner From Impossible Angle
Simon Stymies Djokovic
Djokovic Slides To Winner
Madrid
Cuevas Hits Sensational No Look Winner
Kyrgios Wows Fans With Doubles Winner
Goffin Strikes Stunning Backhand Hot Shot
Rome
Del Potro Goes Nuclear With This Forehand
Sock Leaps Into Forehand
Thiem Blasts Backhand Hot Shot
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Coric, Paire lose in first round
Nikoloz Basilashvili and Jordan Thompson both scored hard-fought wins over seeded opponents on Sunday in first-round action at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon.
Basiliashvili upset seventh seed and #NextGenATP star Borna Coric 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, while Thompson ousted eighth seed and home favourite Benoit Paire 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 6-4 at the ATP World Tour 250 clay-court tournament.
In remaining qualifying action, Kyle Edmund, Hyeon Chung, Nicolas Kicker and Gastao Elias all secured main draw spots.
1. Zverev Shows The Future Is Now
Alexander Zverev has long been touted as a future star of the ATP World Tour, but the German proved he’s ready to shine now by taking the Internazionali BNL d’Italia title over Novak Djokovic. The 20 year old is the youngest Masters 1000 title winner in a decade and will hit a career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 10 on Monday.
Not only is Zverev almost a guaranteed lock to qualify for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan from 7-11 November, but he moves to fourth in the Emirates ATP Race to London as he looks to make his first ATP Finals appearance. Already showing the composure and maturity of a seasoned veteran, Zverev seems poised to remain at the top of the game for many years to come.
2. Djokovic Continues Steady Return To Form
Djokovic put the whispers about his level of tennis to rest by powering to the Rome final without dropping a set. His quarter-final win over Juan Martin del Potro and semi-final victory against Dominic Thiem showed the dominance that fans have grown accustomed to in recent years, with Djokovic firing winners at will while hitting minimal unforced errors.
With Andre Agassi slated to work with Djokovic during Roland Garros, the nuggets of wisdom that the always astute Agassi imparts will only benefit the Serbian as he looks to defend his title in Paris.
3. Thiem Confirms Top Contender Status
Dominic Thiem accomplished the seemingly impossible task of defeating Rafael Nadal en route to a semi-final finish in Rome, gaining revenge on the Spaniard for losses to him in the Barcelona and Madrid finals. Although Thiem ran out of his steam 24 hours later against Djokovic, he has established himself as one of the top players on this surface.
Thiem’s supreme fitness – Rome is his 13th tournament of 2017 – means that he’ll be fully recovered from his backlog of matches after a brief rest period. It will take an impressive performance from one of the world’s best players to halt him at Roland Garros.
4. Rafa Won’t Coast To Victory At Roland Garros
Plenty of fans had already penciled Nadal in for a 10th title at Roland Garros, but his quarter-final loss to Dominic Thiem at Roland Garros showed he’s not invincible on red clay. The comparatively bad day at the office, which ended his unbeaten 17-match win streak on red dirt this season, was understandable given the volume of matches Nadal has played over the past month. Although he still remains an on-paper favourite to prevail in Paris, his peers in the locker room will take inspiration from knowing he can be defeated with a truly inspired day of tennis.
5. Herbert/Mahut Rekindle Magic
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut ended a 10-month title drought by winning a hard-fought final over Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers. The popular French duo did it the hard way, saving match points in their opening-round and quarter-final victories, and prevailing in a Match Tie-break for the semi-finals and final.
With three different teams winning the clay-court Masters 1000 events this season, it’s anyone’s guess who will prevail at Roland Garros.
German wins first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title over Djokovic
Alexander Zverev was competing in his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final on Sunday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, but he handled the occasion like it was a familiar feeling. The 16th seed captured the biggest title of his career with a brilliant display of tennis to defeat second seed Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3.
Zverev was given the winner’s trophy by Rod Laver in the on-court trophy presentation. The 20 year old becomes the youngest winner in Rome since a 19-year-old Rafael Nadal prevailed in 2006 and the youngest Masters 1000 winner since a 19-year-old Djokovic won Miami in 2007.
He is also the first player born in the 1990s to win a Masters 1000 title. Zverev also created a moment for German tennis history by becoming the first German to win a Masters 1000 title since Tommy Haas (Stuttgart-indoor) in 2001 and only the fourth overall, joining Boris Becker and Michael Stich in the rarified air.
The milestone title will push the #NextGenATP star inside the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time when the new standings are released on Monday, He will move up to No. 10, up from his previous career-high of No. 17. He also extends his lead in the Emirates ATP Race to Milan, which determines who will qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan from 7-11 November. Zverev has accumulated 2,130 race points, more than triple that of all his peers in contention.
Djokovic, appearing in his fourth consecutive Rome final, drops to 4-4 on the final Sunday at this event and 31-13 in Masters 1000 finals. He was seeking his first Masters 1000 title since last July at the Rogers Cup (d. Nishikori) and first ATP World Tour title since his opening event of the season in Doha (d. Murray).
Zverev picks up 1,000 Emirates ATP Rankings points and a hefty cheque for €820,035. Djokovic earns 600 Emirates ATP Rankings points and a cheque for €402,080.
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Showing no fear in their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting, Zverev struck an aggressive forehand return to break Djokovic in the opening game of the match. The most impressive aspect of Zverev’s game in the match was his serve. Landing 71 per cent of his first serves in the match, he dropped only nine points (36/45) and didn’t allow Djokovic any break point chances. The young German remained composed while serving out the set at 5-4, firing two aces en route to taking the early advantage.
Djokovic’s backhand, which set up numerous free points in his semi-final win over Dominic Thiem, continued to be neutralised by Zverev in the second set. The Serbian hit only two winners off that wing in the match.
A forehand error from Djokovic gave Zverev an early break to lead 2-1 in the second set. Zverev continued to rain down heavy serves and hold comfortably, putting pressure on Djokovic to produce something extra from the baseline.
The second seed hit a double fault to set up match point and the German raised his arms in triumph after Djokovic sent a backhand long to end the match in one hour and 21 minutes. Djokovic finished the day with 11 winners and 27 unforced errors, while Zverev hit 16 winners and 14 unforced errors.
World number two Novak Djokovic said Andre Agassi will be his new coach after the Serb lost in the Italian Open final to Alexander Zverev.
The 12-time Grand Slam winner parted company with his entire coaching team earlier in May.
Former world number one Agassi will be with Djokovic in Paris for the French Open, which starts on 28 May.
The news was confirmed after German Zverev, 20, stunned Djokovic 6-4 6-3 to win in Rome.
In the women’s event, Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina triumphed with a 4-6 7-5 6-1 win over Romania’s Simona Halep.
Djokovic had said the “shock therapy” of splitting with his backroom team, including Marian Vajda – who has been with him through almost all of his career – would help achieve better results.
Boris Becker, a six-time Grand Slam winner, left in December after three years as the 29-year-old’s main coach.
Now he has brought in American Agassi, who retired in 2006 after a career which yielded eight Grand Slam titles wins.
“I spoke to Andre the last couple weeks on the phone, and we decided to get together in Paris. So he’s going to be there,” said Djokovic.
“We’ll see what the future brings. We are both excited to work together and see where it takes us.
“We don’t have any long-term commitment. It’s just us trying to get to know each other in Paris a little bit.”
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller
Agassi has no top-level coaching experience, but Djokovic could not have made a more exciting choice. The 47-year-old remains hugely popular; a charismatic, and sometimes enigmatic, true great of the game.
Having benefitted from the counsel of Boris Becker (Djokovic won six Grand Slam titles in their three years together), he is now hoping to build a relationship with Agassi, who like Djokovic, knows how it feels to win each of the Grand Slams.
If there is to be a more permanent arrangement it is likely to revolve almost exclusively around the Grand Slams. Agassi and wife Steffi Graf have two teenage children, he is heavily involved in his charitable foundation and has indicated in the past that he does not want to be away from his Las Vegas home for too long.
At 20 years and one month, Zverev is the youngest Masters event champion since Djokovic himself won the 2007 Miami Open.
Fearless Zverev, currently ranked 17 in the world but now set to move into the top 10, dominated from the start.
He did not face a break point and broke the 12-time major winner in the first game and twice in the second set.
Djokovic received a code violation for an audible obscenity in the seventh game of the second set, and later double-faulted to hand Zverev match point.
A long backhand by the Serb, who will celebrate his 30th birthday on Monday, subsequently ensured victory to his highly-rated opponent.
Djokovic’s semi-final win over Dominic Thiem had hinted he was close to recovering his best form after a poor year, culminating in the departure of his entire coaching staff earlier this month.
But Zverev was composed throughout and won in one hour and 21 minutes.
“It’s such an honour being on the court against one of the best ever players,” said Zverev after his victory.
“If I have half the career Novak has had, I will be just fine.”
Referring to the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year, which begins on 28 May, he added: “I’m sure he will be one of the favourites in Paris.”
Djokovic will need to raise his game having hit 27 unforced errors to his opponent’s 14, but hinted at a big future for the German.
“You are definitely on a great path. You played fantastic and deserve it,” he said.
Svitolina fought back from losing the first set to win her fourth title of the year.
The 22-year-old is currently ranked 11th in the world, but will return to the top 10 when the rankings are updated on Monday.
Halep, 25, who won the Madrid Open last week, rolled her ankle when leading 5-2 in the first set, but managed to take it 6-4.
The world number four had her ankle strapped in the second set, which Svitolina took 7-5.
The third set was a one-sided affair as Svitolina won 6-1 in 30 minutes.
Svitolina, who also called for a trainer in the second set, adds her Rome title to victories in Istanbul, Dubai and Taipei City.
Novak Djokovic can finally get his year and his charge for a return to No.1 off the ground when he plays in the Rome final…
Laura Robson will move back into the world’s top 200 after beating fellow Briton Katie Boulter 6-3 6-4 to win the ITF 60k Kurume tournament in Japan.
The 23-year-old will rise to 169th from 218th in Monday’s updated rankings.
Her career has been blighted by three years of wrist problems and she has not played in the main draw of a WTA event since August’s US Open.
Robson, who was ranked as high as 27th in 2013, has dropped down to a level below the WTA to regain form.
For 120 years, sport has been a staple component of life in Bordeaux, France, at the Villa Primrose Club. Several disciplines from fencing, handball, to golf and hockey have kept this community vibrant and active.
However, it is tennis that is the true sporting passion at the historic institution, which hosts the BNP Paribas Primrose, a prestigious clay-court event on the ATP Challenger Tour. “The club was created in 1897 by families linked to the wine trade, harbour business and the banking world,” said tournament director Jean-Baptiste Perlant. “The founders, avid tennis fans, engrained an entrepreneurial spirit, we can say competition is in the club’s genetic make up.”
A decade after its opening, the first Primrosiens Cup in 1907 enabled players from other clubs to participate, as the finest French competitors soon knew where to fine tune their game.
“Home grown players such as Jean Samazeuilh (1921) and Francois Blanchy (1923) progressed to the elite level to become French Open champions,” added Perlant. “During the 1920s the club consolidated itself as a regional leader and one of the top French clubs.”
The trio of Jauffret brothers; Jean-Paul, Pierre and Francois, kept the Villa Primrose prominent after the Second World War, before the club built up a strong connection with the ATP Grand Prix (today known as the ATP World Tour), hosting a tournament from 1979-1989. A host of renowned players such as Yannick Noah (1979), Ivan Lendl (1989) and Guy Forget (1990,1991) etched their names onto the champions’ board, while names such as Mats Wilander , Sergi Bruguera and Goran Ivanisevic have all slid into action on the Primrose red dirt.
An ATP Challenger Tour event was introduced at the club in 2008, with fans catching a glimpse of national favourites Richard Gasquet (2010), Gael Monfils (2013) and Julien Benneteau (2014) gracing the courts as champions. Celebrating its 10th edition this week, the €106,000 event has become a favourite among players and fans and is highly regarded as one of the elite events on the ATP Challenger Tour. It most recently witnessed #NextGenATP star Thanasi Kokkinakis’ maiden Challenger crown in 2015.
“The tournament is always really appreciated by the players due to the fact that it takes place just before the French Open and is played in near identical conditions, with the same red clay, the same match ball,” said Perlant. “The prize money has increased to $125,000 and the gamble has paid off, with many faces coming from abroad, bright new hopes and future stars are all present.”
The members of Villa Primrose are extremely proud of their historic club, and rightly so, with the Challenger event enabling the legacy to keep on growing in the flowing landscape of the famed wine-growing region. “The tournament continues to evolve and is embedded in the Bordeaux landscape,” stated Perlant. “Modernity, with respect for tradition, Primrose remains Primrose!”