Fritz: Breaking new ground to earn Turin return
Fritz: Breaking new ground to earn Turin return
Fritz: Breaking new ground to earn Turin return
On a day of doubles upsets at the Rolex Paris Masters, top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos and second seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic both fell in the second round.
In early action on Thursday, Frenchmen Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul moved past Arevalo and Pavic 7-6(5), 7-6(3) to reach the quarter-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 event.
Competing on home soil, Doumbia and Reboul saved the one break point they faced and won 87 per cent (45/42) of their first-serve points according to Infosys ATP Stats to advance in front of a jubilant crowd after one hour and 43 minutes.
The Frenchmen are chasing their fourth tour-level title of the season and will next play Lloyd Glasspool and Adam Pavlasek after the British-Czech team downed fifth seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 6-4, 6-4.
[ATP APP]Neal Skupski and Michael Venus then shocked Granollers and Zeballos 6-4, 7-6(6). Skupski and Venus arrived in Paris off the back of a final run in Vienna and will take on Ariel Behar and Robert Galloway in the last eight. Behar and Galloway defeated Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski 4-6, 7-6(2), 10-5.
Despite their early exits, Granollers and Zeballos and Arevalo and Pavic will next head to Turin to compete at the Nitto ATP Finals. The doubles field for the prestigious year-end event (held from 10-17 November) was set on Monday.
In other action, eighth seeds Harri Helivoaara and Henry Patten beat Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig 6-3, 6-7(5), 10-8. The Finn-British team, who won Wimbledon this year, will play Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson in the quarters after the Australians defeated Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-7(6), 7-6(5), 10-8.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Coleman Wong made history earlier this season when he became the first player from Hong Kong since 1972 to win an ATP main draw match. The 20-year-old advanced to the second round at the ATP 250 in Hangzhou, gaining precious points in his quest to compete at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.
Currently ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, Wong will aim to finish the season strong and follow in the footsteps of previous champions who have competed at the 20-and-under event.
As part of our Next Gen Influences series, Wong caught up with ATPTour.com to talk about his first meeting with Carlos Alcaraz, his admiration for Jannik Sinner and his Jeddah goals.
[ATP APP]Which former Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion did you enjoy watching most when growing up?
I enjoyed watching Carlos Alcaraz the most. I like watching Alcaraz play because of his game and his footwork. That [is how] I want to be in the future.
Who out of the former champions is your biggest idol and do you remember your first encounter with them?
I think it would be Carlos because I remember playing him at the junior Davis Cup when we were young. It was the first ever clay match of my life and I was facing Carlos, [who won]. It was quite an experience.
Which former Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion do you most identify with?
I identify most with Jannik Sinner because of his timing his footwork and decision making.
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Who have been your biggest other influences in your life?
I would say my sister and my cousin have been big influences. They always try to help me with things and they always be there for me no matter what.
What have you learned this past year on Tour?
I learned that everyone on Tour has their specialties and I’m really proud to be one of the players on Tour.
What sort of attributes do you look for when bringing people into your team?
I would obviously look for people who can help me. I think it is most important that we get along well because we need to travel a lot of weeks together in a year.
Most of the current Top 20 in the PIF ATP Rankings played at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF. How inspiring is that to see?
I really hope that I can make it to Next Gen Finals because it’s my goal and seeing most of the players that played Next Gen Finals before make it to the Top 20 or Top 10 means a lot to me. I really want to be one of them.
Arthur Fils and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard transferred some of their recent singles form to the doubles court on Wednesday at the Rolex Paris Masters.
The wild card duo downed Jamie Murray and John Peers 7-5, 7-6(6) in a tight first-round clash at the indoor ATP Masters 1000 event. Fils, who has won 10 of his past 12 singles matches, and last week’s Basel champion Mpetshi Perricard hit 11 aces, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to victory in their ATP Tour team debut.
The 79-minute win was Fils’ second victory of the day in Paris, where he earlier claimed a singles triumph against Jan-Lennard Struff. Mpetshi Perricard fell in the singles to Karen Khachanov, but picked himself up to claim just the second tour-level doubles match win of his career. Awaiting Fils and Mpetshi Perricard in the second round will be sixth seeds Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic.
[ATP APP]Also on Wednesday, Neal Skupski and Michael Venus bounced back from the disappointment of Vienna championship-match defeat with a 6-1, 6-0 victory against Jean-Julien Rojer and Joe Salisbury. Their next assignment in Paris is an encounter with the second-placed pair in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.
Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin were also first-round winners in the French capital. The Mexican-French duo overcame Argentines Francisco Cerundolo and Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-2, 5-7, 10-5. Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin now lead the two teams’ Lexus ATP Head2Head series 2-0.
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British number one Jack Draper continues his superb form by beating fifth seed Taylor Fritz at the Paris Masters.
With his Wednesday win at the Rolex Paris Masters, Alexander Zverev became the fourth player to reach the last 16 at all nine ATP Masters 1000s in one season in series history. The third seed hit the milestone with a 7-6(2), 6-3 victory against Tallon Griekspoor in his opening match, his fifth consecutive Lexus ATP Head2Head win against the Dutchman and his fourth this season.
Zverev, who won his sixth ATP Masters 1000 title in Rome this May, is now 19-1 in opening matches on the year. The German fought off a break point in each of his first two service games against Griekspoor, and later fought off a set point on serve at 4-5, but hit his stride from there to pull away. Beginning with that set-point save, he won 16 straight points on serve to close out the opening set and start fast in the second.
Players to reach R16 at all 9 Masters 1000s
| Alexander Zverev | 2024 |
| Rafael Nadal | 2017 |
| Tomas Berdych | 2013 |
| Tomas Berdych | 2011 |
| Novak Djokovic | 2009 |
| Rafael Nadal | 2009 |
Zverev capitalised on his lone break point of the match to move ahead 4-2 in the second — an advantage that he coolly saw home behind his 86 per cent first-serve win rate. Both players won more than 80 per cent of their first-serve points in the match, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
The German will next meet #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils for a place in the quarter-finals. The 20-year-old beat Marin Cilic and Jan-Lennard Struff to pick up his first main-draw wins at the Rolex Paris Masters. Zverev and Fils have split two previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings this season, with Zverev winning on the grass of Halle and Fils taking a final matchup on the Hamburg clay. Both matches went three sets.
Alex de Minaur beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 7-6(5) Wednesday to bolster his bid to qualify for his Nitto ATP Finals debut. Hoping to become the first Australian to play in the Nitto ATP Finals since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004, the 25-year-old is now one win away from passing Andrey Rublev for the all-important eighth place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin — though Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas are also within striking distance behind De Minaur. Rublev was knocked out of Paris by Francisco Cerundolo on Tuesday, 7-6(6), 7-6(5).
De Minaur is through to the last 16 in Paris for the fifth time in six appearances, with his best result a quarter-final showing in 2023.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Arthur Fils is tapping into the currents in front of his home crowd at the Rolex Paris Masters.
The 20-year-old did not blink in a 6-3, 6-4 win over Jan-Lennard Struff on Wednesday to book his spot in the last-16 at an ATP Masters 1000 for the first time. Fils was clinical under pressure throughout the match, saving all break points faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
“I have practiced a lot to reach this level,” said Fils, who improved to 9-1 vs. Top 50 players since September. “I spend a lot of time on court, in the fitness room. We work so hard to manage to get a high level of play throughout a match. From a physical point of view, I need to have a high level, as well.
“It pays off. Even if it’s the last tournament of the year. I’m tired, but this is where I feel best and I have to carry on like this.”
Arthur the Great 💪@ArthurFils1 passes the Struff with flying colours to reach the Round of 16 at a Masters 1000 event for the first time! #RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/wJ1stUquTJ
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 30, 2024
Buoyed by the crowd, Fils dismantled the German’s serve in the second game before surging to a commanding 3-0 lead. The Frenchman came under fire on his serve throughout the first set, but mustered some gutsy tennis to remain in control. In the second set, Fils pulled clear to seal victory in one hour, 33 minutes.
The #NextGenATP star, who is first in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, became the youngest Frenchman to win a main-draw match in Paris on Tuesday since Richard Gasquet in 2006.
Fils, who is up to a career-high of No. 19 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, has no intention in letting slip his momentum.
Fils will continue his bid for a maiden ATP Masters 1000 title against either third seed Alexander Zverev or Tallon Griekspoor.
[ATP APP]Following Fils’ triumph on Court Central, Karen Khachanov rallied to defeat another home hope in Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, prevailing 6-7(12), 6-1, 6-4 to secure his ticket for the third round. After losing a thrilling first-set tie-break, the 28-year-old dialed in to secure a one-hour, 54-minute victory.
“It’s a pity I didn’t win the tie-break, but at the same time, that pushed me through,” said Khachanov, who improved to 9-1 in the past three weeks. “I said ‘if I keep playing like this, I will have chances’, and I got them.
“I played great, I didn’t lose my serve all match, and I think that’s what made the difference.”
Khachanov, who leads the Tour in indoor wins in 2024 (12-2), had his work cut out against the explosive Frenchman, who was fresh off the back of his maiden ATP 500 crown in Basel. However, Khachanov made no mistake of snapping Mpetshi Perricard’s six-match winning streak with a clinical performance.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Millions of children (and some parents!) across the globe will head ‘trick-or-treating’ on Thursday evening to celebrate Halloween. Hopefully they will have more luck than Matteo Berrettini did when the ATP Tour star was out hunting for candy as a child in his hometown of Rome.
“I lived in [an area] where it was safe for kids to go around and just bother people,” the Italian recalled to ATPTour.com. “One funny story. We had a bag full of candy and stuff, and we rang at a door. A lady opened it, and we said, ‘Trick or treat?’ She didn’t say anything, she just took something from our bag and closed the door. I don’t think she understood, it wasn’t us giving to her, but we were shocked.”
Berrettini remembers dressing up once as a ninja, and another time as a vampire in his bid to secure sweet treats from his neighbours. For the Italian’s ATP Tour rival Grigor Dimitrov, there was only ever one costume at the front of his mind.
“I grew up in the States. I think we were in California. I dressed as Batman, I’ve always liked Batman,” said the Bulgarian. “I grew up in a very small town, only 2,000 people, so we had trick-or-treat and we could almost have literally gone to every door. I remember it well, it was a lot of fun.”
It’s spooky SZN, so you just know we had to get involved… 👻 pic.twitter.com/JubO6PAmP5
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 28, 2024
Alexander Zverev says he also never lacked for enthusiasm in donning a Halloween costume as a kid in his home city of Hamburg. The No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings is now a little hazy on the details, however.
“We did celebrate Halloween. We went around the houses and got candy, dressed up, but I can’t remember my favourite costume,” said Zverev. “I’m old already, it was 20 years ago. I actually really dressed up though, put paint on my face and everything. I just don’t remember what it was.”
So which other ATP Tour stars have fond memories of ‘spooky season’? Not Flavio Cobolli or Alex de Minaur, it seems…
“I hate Halloween, because I’m afraid. I don’t like horror, so I don’t like Halloween,” said Cobolli, who despite his fears does count a ghost among his diverse selection of tattoos. “I [particularly] don’t like skeletons.”
De Minaur joked: “I had no childhood. I literally had no childhood. I never celebrated Halloween as a child. In fact, probably the most I’ve enjoyed Halloween has been leaving candy outside the house for actual kids now who are trick-or-treating.”
[ATP APP]At just 19 years old, Jakub Mensik does not have to look to far back to remember his childhood. If it’s a Halloween costume memory he is searching for, however, he will have to create one in the future.
“In Czechia it’s not that big a tradition, but of course it’s a really great atmosphere,” said the #NextGenATP star. “[It signifies] that winter is coming. It’s really great to have some spooky stories. I never dressed up, but I will in the future maybe.”
The ‘home’ of Halloween is arguably the United States. While Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe both used to set out with the sole intention of satisfying their respective sweet teeth, trick-or-treating was not the only aspect of their standard American Halloween.
“We used to do a lot of trick-or-treating and definitely take advantage of the houses that left the candy out in front of the door,” said Paul. “I remember the first time we could go without our parents was fun. It used to get a little later, and you probably did something you weren’t supposed to do, but nothing really crazy.
“I was Spider-Man a couple of times. I visited college on my college recruiting visit in North Carolina and it was Halloween. I think I dressed up as a football player or something, but that was definitely one of the better Halloweens for me.”
Photo Credit: Kate Brinksman/ATP Tour
Tiafoe reminisced: “Halloween was crazy man. I used to go to some of my homeboy’s houses and dress crazy. I dressed as a tennis player a lot. I dressed as the guys I looked up to, NBA guys or something like that. I got scared s**tless a couple of times by kids with chainsaws and stuff, joking around, coming out of nowhere or out of bushes.
“In my neighbourhood it was fun doing that kind of stuff. I had a terrible sweet tooth, so I was running around trick-or-treating for hours. That was like the best day ever for me. I can’t do that anymore, doing this tennis stuff, but I miss that.”
Tiafoe may no longer have to go around dodging chainsaws now he is on the ATP Tour, but that does not mean the world’s top tennis stars don’t suffer the odd fright of a different kind, as Berrettini can testify.
“Probably the scariest thing on Tour is when you figure out you didn’t sign for a tournament,” said the Italian. “Then you’re like, ‘Arghhh, I forgot’, and you have to call your coach and say you didn’t sign in. [Calling my coach in that situation] is probably the most fear I feel.”
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Football icon Diego Forlan was living a teenage dream in 1993 when he had the opportunity of a lifetime to play doubles with Argentine legend Diego Maradona. It was in the early stages of Forlan’s youth career, long before he became a superstar in his home country Uruguay and beyond.
More than 30 years later, that day remains a cherished memory for Forlan. He remembers that friendly match happened on Court No. 10 at the Carrasco Lawn Tennis Club in Montevideo. It is only fitting that the man who wore number 10 for Uruguay throughout his career will now compete at that same club during the Uruguay Open, an ATP Challenger Tour 100 event, which runs from 11-17 November.
“Imagine for me, to have the opportunity to be around [Maradona] and then the opportunity to play football and tennis — it was unbelievable,” Forlan recalled to a group of reporters. “We played football and we played doubles in tennis. We had a really good relationship. He was very competitive. It was a nice game.”
[ATP APP]At the Uruguay Open, the 45-year-old Forlan will be playing doubles with an Argentine. Sound familiar? This time it will be Federico Coria, World No. 104 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
Forlan and Coria have met just once, but this entertaining doubles pairing, which has captured the attention of football and tennis fans, is in part thanks to Uruguayan tennis player Ignacio Carou.
“[Ignacio] was joking many times with me to play some futures,” Forlan said. “This year, I said to him, ‘No, I was on holidays, I don’t want to play’. Then a couple months after, he sent me a picture of Federico Coria and said, ‘I have your partner for the Challenger in Uruguay’. I think it was a joke and then he said, ‘He wants to play with you, I’m not joking!’”
Forlan enjoyed a standout football career for clubs such as Manchester United, Villarreal and Atletico Madrid. He represented Uruguay three times in the World Cup and in 2010, Forlan won the Golden Ball, which is awarded to the World Cup’s best player.
Right-footed in football, but a lefty in tennis, Forlan used to play with a one-handed backhand, but now he sports a double hander. In the past 15 months, he has competed in five ITF Masters Tour events. Competing in the 45-plus division, Forlan’s best result came in his most recent outing in August, when he reached the final in Asuncion, Paraguay.
The two-time winner of the European Golden Shoe has long been a tennis enthusiast. Forlan’s ideal routine includes two hours of on-court training in the morning and later in the afternoon, he returns to the club, putting what he has practiced into action against friends. Forlan receives coaching from Uruguay’s former Davis Cup captain Enrique Perez-Cassarino.
Diego Forlan at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Credit: Lars Baron/Getty Images
Forlan recalls playing tennis at a Manchester United preseason event in 2003 held at the Nike headquarters in Portland, Oregon. On the other side of the net? His former teammate Ruud van Nistelrooy, who this week was named interim manager for Manchester United — news which Forlan learned of while driving home from serving a basket of balls.
“We played a tie-break,” Forlan said of his 2003 hit with van Nistelrooy. “It was only me serving, so there were some double faults, giving some points to him. But I managed to win.”
Forlan also closely follows professional tennis results. Last week, he watched not only the ATP 500 events in Vienna and Basel, but also, Forlan live streamed the ATP Challenger Tour event in Curitiba, Brazil.
What started as a childhood passion has evolved into a full-fledged obsession.
“I used to watch Boris Becker a lot. I really enjoyed watching Ivan Lendl as well, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras,” Forlan said.
“I remember when Goran Ivanisevic won against Patrick Rafter at Wimbledon [in 2001]. He [received a wild card] for that tournament — didn’t have that chance to play because of his ranking. And he won the tournament. It was unbelievable. I remember the final because I was watching that match.”
Forlan’s wild-card outing will not be on the sacred lawns of Wimbledon like Ivanisevic’s was, but it will still be a memorable experience. Forlan will compete just steps away from the sentimental pitch where he first began playing football at the grassroots level.
“If you asked me when I was playing football if I was going to play a professional tournament in ATP, I wouldn’t have imagined that,” Forlan said. “Playing with the professionals for just one match, I will be enjoying it. Having the opportunity to — I don’t know if I’m the first one, but to be a professional football player to be a professional [tennis] player, just for one match… For me, it’s a privilege.
“I know it’s going to be really, really difficult to play against those guys. But I don’t have anything to lose. It’s a privilege for me to have this opportunity from [tournament director] Diego Perez.”
Did You Know?
Fans can watch all ATP Challenger Tour action for free on Challenger TV, with live streams and full match replays.
Andrey Rublev is set to make his debut at the Moselle Open in Metz next week. The No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings has taken a late entry to the indoor ATP 250, which takes place from 3-9 November.
We are delighted to announce the participation of @AndreyRublev97
at the @moselleopen
🎉🦁 pic.twitter.com/ftf9QPg7lH—
Moselle Open (@MoselleOpen) October
30, 2024
After falling to Francisco Cerundolo in his opener at the Rolex Paris Masters, Rublev is unable to amass further points this week in his bid to qualify for the eight-man Nitto ATP Finals (10-17 November).
The 27-year-old is currently eighth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, with 3,720 points, but could slip out of the cut this week. Alex de Minaur (ninth), Grigor Dimitrov (10th) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (12th) are all still alive in Paris and all could leapfrog Rublev in various scenarios.
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