Swiatek shakes off rust & Gauff wins at WTA Finals
Iga Swiatek begins her bid to regain the world number one ranking with a comeback win over Barbora Krejcikova at the WTA Finals, while Coco Gauff also enjoys success against Jessica Pegula.
Iga Swiatek begins her bid to regain the world number one ranking with a comeback win over Barbora Krejcikova at the WTA Finals, while Coco Gauff also enjoys success against Jessica Pegula.
As Paddington returns to the big screen, catch up with his previous acclaimed adventure
Alexander Zverev is just one set away from lifting his seventh ATP Masters 1000 title. The German leads Ugo Humbert 6-2 in the championship match at the Rolex Paris Masters.
The No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Live Rankings was dialled in from the outset, dismantling Humbert’s serve in the third game to silence the raucous French crowd. From there, Zverev pulled clear with imperious serving and did not drop a point behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
[ATP APP]If Zverev can go on to seal victory, he will move ahead of Jannik Sinner and record a Tour-leading 66th win of 2024. The 27-year-old holds a 22-13 record in finals.
To claim the seventh and biggest ATP Tour title of his career, Humbert will have to rally from a set deficit. The 26-year-old, who is 6-1 in finals, aims to become the first Frenchman to triumph in Paris since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga did so in 2008.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic are finishing with a flourish in their final season together. The sixth seeds rallied on Sunday to take home their fifth ATP Tour title of 2024 at the Rolex Paris Masters.
Koolhof and Mektic came alive in their first Match Tie-break of the week to defeat Lloyd Glasspool and Adam Pavlasek 3-6, 6-3, 10-5 in the championship match. With their Tour-leading fifth triumph of the season, the Dutch/Croatian duo rose to third in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.
“It’s very special. To win three Masters in a year is an unbelievable achievement from both of us,” said Koolhof, who is retiring at the end of the season. “We hit a rough patch in the middle of the season but, before Shanghai, we knew what was at stake to make Turin.”
Title No. 5⃣ in 2024 🙌@wesleykoolhof & @NMektic claim the trophy in Paris!#RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/FIPEISeEiu
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 3, 2024
Having won the Nitto ATP Finals together in 2020, Koolhof and Mektic will return to Turin with their sights set on more glory at the season-ending finale.
“There’s still a lot to play for in Turin and at the Davis Cup,” added Koolhof, who will represent the Netherlands against Spain in the quarter-finals at the Davis Cup. “It will be special against Spain and against Rafa [Nadal]. He will be the main guy there, but I am going to try and throw a bit of sand into the Spanish engine.”
Koolhof and Mektic had not dropped a set all week but found themselves trailing in Sunday’s final against Glasspool and Pavlasek, who were playing in their first event as a team. However, they ignited some of their most clutch tennis in the second set, during which they saved each of the two break points they faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
Their experience and quality then came to the fore in a near-flawless Match Tie-break to seal their third ATP Masters 1000 title of the season.
“We have such a good friendship, energy and understanding,” added Mektic. “On and off the court, we really enjoy it, and I think that’s crucial.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]British number one Katie Boulter is comfortably beaten in straight sets by top seed Diana Shnaider in the final of the Hong Kong Open.
The grind never stops for Alexander Zverev.
After securing a comprehensive semi-final victory over former champion Holger Rune at the Rolex Paris Masters Saturday, Zverev headed to the practice court, looking for incremental improvement that he hopes will allow him to challenge the duopoly at the top of the men’s game.
“For me, it’s about improving a few things. I feel like Jannik [Sinner] and Carlos [Alcaraz] are doing a few things better than me at the moment. I want to improve,” said Zverev.
“I want to improve not for tomorrow, not for today, or because of the matches I played here. I want to generally improve for next year as well.”
With his win over Rune, Zverev notched his 65th win of the year and tied Sinner for the most wins on Tour this season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. He also overtook Alcaraz and climbed to the No. 2 spot in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. The German believes they are still at a higher level and that he needs to work hard to catch up.
“It’s nice to be back at the highest position that I have been so far. Of course, I want to get higher. But for me, Jannik has [had] the best year this season, and Carlos had the second-best year. He won two Grand Slams,” he shared.
“I know that I’m ahead of him in the rankings, but he won Wimbledon and Roland Garros. Those are two massive titles. So, they are still the two best players in the world, in my opinion, at the moment.”
[ATP APP]The 27-year-old, who is set to compete at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held from 10-17 November in Turin, is strategising to keep up with his two biggest rivals, and is focusing on increasing his intensity to match the level of aggression that they bring to their respective games.
“I think when they get an easy ball, when they’re in an attacking position, 90 per cent of the time the point is over, whether it’s a winner or an unforced error. That’s how hard they hit the ball, that’s how aggressive they are. I think in that aspect I can improve. That’s what I’m trying to do,” he said.
“Jannik has improved a lot this year. There are some things Carlos has improved. I think Novak, over the past 15, [or] 20 years, has improved every single year. If you ask him whether he’s a better tennis player last year, let’s say 2023 or 2022 even, or 10 years ago when he was younger, I think he would say that he’s a better tennis player now.”
After suffering a serious ankle injury at the 2022 Roland Garros and continuing to recover from it in 2023, the 27-year-old is pleased to return to his best level. Fresh off his maiden Grand Slam final at the 2020 US Open, Zverev had won six tour-level titles in 2021, including the Nitto ATP Finals, and was midway through one of the best Roland Garros semi-finals of the Open Era with Nadal with tragedy struck.
“There was a period where it was moving towards the direction of a little bit of a change, and then 2022 I felt like I was going [in] a very good direction at Roland Garros. I was going [to] hopefully to achieve my dream of winning Roland Garros. I was No. 2 in the world. I was very close to becoming World No. 1, as well. It was going in that direction, and then there was a two-year stop to that process. [For] two years I was not competitive for Grand Slams, not competitive for World No. 1 and those things,” he said.
“So I’m happy to be back where I am. “There was never a guarantee that I would be back at this level. For sure for me, it’s a great satisfaction to be back, but again, I want to improve and I want to go even higher.”
The German, chasing his seventh Masters 1000 title, will play Frenchman Ugo Humbert in his 12th Masters final in Paris on Sunday.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Ugo Humbert is an ATP Masters 1000 finalist. The French star moved past Karen Khachanov 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-3 on home soil at the Rolex Paris Masters on Saturday to advance to his maiden final at Masters 1000 level.
The 26-year-old played explosive tennis in front of an electric crowd in Paris and capitalised on Khachanov’s physical limitations in the closing stages of the third set to become the fifth Frenchman to reach the title match at the indoor hard event.
“It is amazing to do it in Paris at my favourite tournament. It is a dream,” Humbert said. “It was a little bit difficult compared to the previous matches. I felt a little more pressure and after the loss of the first set I tried to enjoy the moment and be with the crowd. I did very well and I am super proud.”
There’s no place like home 🫶🏡@HumbertUgo is through to his FIRST-EVER Masters 1000 final! #RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/vKGJDD1Rn8
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 2, 2024
Humbert crushed the ball off both wings and soaked in the roars from the crowd to earn his 13th consecutive win on indoor hard courts in France. The 15th seed won the title in Metz last year and then triumphed indoors in Marseille in February.
Chasing his seventh tour-level title, Humbert will meet Alexander Zverev in the championship match on Sunday. Earlier this week, Humbert upset Carlos Alcaraz. The Frenchman, who hit 35 winners against Khachanov, is up four places to No. 14 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and will rise to a career-high No. 11 on Monday if he wins the title.
Khachanov was competitive until 3-2 in the third set, when he received a medical timeout for a leg injury. The No. 21 player in the PIF ATP Rankings lost serve in the seventh game of the third set and was unable to move in the final two games of the two-hour, 48-minute match.
[ATP APP]Humbert is the first Frenchman to reach the final in Paris since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga lost to Roger Federer in the 2011 title match. The last Frenchman to win the crown was Tsonga in 2008.
Humbert will aim to take his standout 6-1 record in finals into Sunday’s meeting with Zverev. The lefty, who lost his first ATP Tour final in Tokyo last month to Arthur Fils, is level at 1-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Zverev. Earlier this year Humbert lifted trophies in Dubai and Marseille, while Zverev clinched the crown at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome.
Khachanov is a former champion in Paris, having won the biggest title of his career in the French capital in 2018. The 28-year-old earned an impressive straight-sets win against Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals but ran out of steam against Humbert.
Khachanov finishes his year holding a 37-22 record, lifting trophies in Doha and Almaty.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Aryna Sabalenka continues her dominance over Zheng Qinwen with victory in the first match of the season-ending WTA Finals.
World number three Alexander Zverev produces a superb performance to outclass former champion Holger Rune 6-3 7-6 (7-4) and reach the Paris Masters final.
Alexander Zverev reached his first hard-court final of the season on Saturday at the Rolex Paris Masters, where he overcame former champion Holger Rune to end the Dane’s faint Nitto ATP Finals hopes.
The German recovered from failing to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set, resisting a late fightback from Rune to eventually earn a 6-3, 7-6(4) victory after one hour and 47 minutes.
With his 65th win of the season, Zverev drew level with Jannik Sinner for the most victories on Tour in 2024, while he has climbed one spot to No. 2 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, passing Carlos Alcaraz.
[ATP APP]Zverev is a former finalist in Paris, having lost in the title match in 2020 to Daniil Medvedev. The 27-year-old is chasing his seventh ATP Masters 1000 crown and first hard-court trophy above ATP 250 level since he won the Nitto ATP Finals in 2021.
Zverev, who will compete at the prestigious year-end event in Turin, to be held from 10-17 November, will meet French star Ugo Humbert or former champion Karen Khachanov in the Paris final on Sunday.
Zverev led Rune 5-3 in the second set and looked set for a comfortable victory on Court Central, having dominated for large periods. However, Rune held serve and then broke Zverev’s serve for the first time in the match when trailing 4-5. The Dane then held in a mammoth 12-minute game but Zverev refused to fade. The German, who won 84 per cent (37/44) of his first-serve points in the match according to Infosys ATP Stats, forced a tie-break and upped his aggression and intensity in the closing stages to advance.
Rune won his maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown in Paris two years ago when he beat Novak Djokovic in the title match. The Dane needed to lift the trophy in the French capital once again to keep alive his hopes of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals.
Zverev, who has advanced to 12 ATP Masters 1000 finals, leads Rune 3-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series, having defeated the 21-year-old at Roland Garros and in Montreal earlier this season.
More to follow…
[NEWSLETTER FORM]