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Dimitrov stays alive in Turin race, Popyrin upsets Medvedev in Paris

  • Posted: Oct 30, 2024

Grigor Dimitrov kept alive his hopes of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals with a thrilling comeback win on Wednesday at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The eighth seed dug deep to outlast Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-7(9), 6-3, 7-5 to advance to the third round at the indoor ATP Masters 1000. Dimtrov saved all three break points faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, in a gruelling two-hour, 45-minute victory.

Dimitrov is currently 10th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, trailing ninth-placed Alex de Minaur by 305 points. The 33-year-old could move inside the qualification spots with a run to the championship match in Paris. 

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“It’s tough conditions, at the end of the year it’s very tricky,” said Dimitrov, who improved to 12-0 in opening rounds in Paris. “Everyone wants to empty their tank completely.

“He played an amazing first set. I’m far from the game I really want to play, but I’m adjusting. To win matches in that manner is way better for me than playing a clean match. I’m really happy with the fight. Of course, I really want to win every single match, but if I’m able to [show] that fight, I’m in a good place.

“I would give a lot to be in [Turin]. I’m in a place where I am still a contender, I’m still fighting against the best players in the world, and still beating the younger guys. This gives me confidence and makes me happy.”

Dimitrov would leapfrog Novak Djokovic (sixth), Casper Ruud (seventh) and Andrey Rublev (eighth), who are all unable to amass further points this week, if he were to lift the trophy.

Earlier, Alexei Popyrin’s standout year on the ATP Tour continued in emphatic fashion. The Australian stood firm to outlast fourth seed Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(4) and book his spot in the third round.

In a high-octane battle, Popyrin let slip a 4-1 lead in the deciding set, but dialed back in to secure his third career-win over a Top 5 opponent. The 25-year-old also claimed his first Lexus ATP Head2Head win against Medvedev (1-3).

“I’ve heard about the atmosphere here, I hadn’t played in it before,” Popyrin said of the Bercy crowd. “They’re not lying, it’s a crazy atmosphere, the crowd is amazing.

“Last asters of the year, I really wanted to do well. I really wanted to go deep, and this is a great step for me.”

Medvedev, who suffered his third consecutive opening-round loss in Paris, is still bidding to win his first title of 2024.

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Dimitrov's damaging forehand tops the charts

  • Posted: Oct 30, 2024

Grigor Dimitrov’s forehand is a cannon.

An ATP Infosys Beyond The Numbers analysis of TDI data of groundstroke speed, spin, and net clearance of the current Top 10 at ATP events over the past three years identifies that nobody blasts his forehand bigger than the 33-year-old Bulgarian.

Dimitrov’s career-high PIF ATP Ranking was No. 3 back in 2017. He started 2022 at No. 28 and has climbed back to No. 9, and ripping forehands has definitely helped pave the way back to the upper echelon of our sport.

The data set is also broken down by surface into the following four categories.
• Indoor hard
• Outdoor hard
• Clay
• Grass

The Top 10 average for forehand speed is 75 mph. Dimitrov is the only player in the data set to reach the 80 mph threshold on any surface. Below are the three players who reached the top two speeds.

Average Forehand Speed
1. 80 mph = Dimitrov (outdoor hard)
2. 80 mph = Dimitrov (clay)
3. 79 mph = Dimitrov (indoor hard)
4. 79 mph = Fritz (indoor hard)
5. 79 mph = Rublev (indoor hard)

Dimitrov won the Brisbane International Presented By Evie to start 2024, defeating World No. 8 Holger Rune, 7-6(5), 6-4 in the final. Dimitrov’s average forehand speed was a cracking 81 mph against Rune and elevated to 82 mph in his second-round victory over Daniel Altmaier.

Interestingly, Hubert Hurkacz occupied three of the slowest four forehand speeds, with 69 mph on grass being the slowest in the data set. It’s important to note that faster does not always represent better. A variety of speed, spin, depth, and direction help make all forehands a dangerous weapon.

Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev lead the pack with backhand speed, occupying the five fastest backhands in the Top 10. The Top 10 average is 68 mph. Sinner and Zverev blew well past that speed milestone.

Average Backhand Speed
1. 75 mph = Sinner (clay)
2. 73 mph = Sinner (outdoor hard)
3. 73 mph = Sinner (indoor hard)
4. 73 mph = Zverev (clay)
5. 72 mph = Zverev (indoor hard)

Sinner and Zverev have met once on clay in the past three seasons, with Zverev winning 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(5) in the 2022 Rolex Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals. Sinner’s average backhand speed was a blistering 76 mph, while Zverev’s was 75 mph. There was no holding back from either player off the backhand wing.

Hurkacz on grass, at 59 mph, registered the slowest average backhand speed in the Top 10.

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When it comes to hitting the heaviest ball with the most spin, just two players occupied the leading six spots with forehand spin: Casper Ruud and Carlos Alcaraz.

Average Forehand Spin
1. 3291 rpm = Ruud (clay)
2. 3207 rpm = Ruud (outdoor hard)
3. 3177 rpm = Alcaraz (outdoor hard)
4. 3141 rpm = Ruud (outdoor hard)
5. 3056 rpm = Alcaraz (clay)
6. 3055 rpm = Alcaraz (indoor hard)

These two players last met in the 2023 Beijing ATP 500 quarter-finals, where Alcaraz won 6-4, 6-2. The Spaniard crushed his forehand, averaging a jaw-dropping 3316 rpm, with Ruud also breaking the 3000 rpm threshold at 3175 pm. Both players enjoy hitting massive amounts of forehand spin to get the ball to kick high and heavy above their opponent’s groundstroke strike zone.

The Top 10 forehand spin average was 2708 rpm. Once again, Hurkacz on grass, at 2085 pm, was at the bottom of the table with the least amount of forehand spin.

Dimitrov possesses the only one-handed backhand in the Top 10, and it’s somewhat surprising to see him elevate to the top of the player list when it comes to hitting the heaviest backhand. In fact, the leading seven spots are all occupied by Dimitrov and Ruud.

Average Backhand Spin
1. 2681 rpm = Dimitrov (clay)
2. 2651 rpm = Ruud (clay)
3. 2606 rpm = Ruud (outdoor hard
4. 2580 rpm = Dimitrov (indoor hard)
5. 2576 rpm = Dimitrov (outdoor hard)
6. 2572 rpm = Ruud (indoor hard)
7. 2399 rpm = Dimitrov (grass)

These two players have only met once in the past three years, with Dimitrov winning 6-3, 7-5 in the 2022 Monte Carlo round of 16. Ruud averaged a massive 2877 backhand rpm, while Dimitrov was at 2647 rpm. Height plus depth plus this amount of spin makes it almost impossible for opponents to successfully step into the ball to attack.

Speed and spin also produce a height above the net metric, and it’s no surprise to see the leading two forehand spots occupied by Ruud on clay (0.89 metres) and Alcaraz on clay at (0.87 metres). On the backhand wing, Ruud occupied the leading three spots, with those being on clay (1.12 metres), outdoor hard (1.04 metres), and indoor hard (0.92 metres).

The Top 10 are incredibly adept at blending speed, spin, and height to produce a groundstroke that feels ideal to execute and makes their opponents very uncomfortable on the other side of the net.

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Ruud, Rublev fall in Paris, as De Minaur, Tsitsipas, Dimitrov see Turin path

  • Posted: Oct 30, 2024

Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev’s second-round exits at the Rolex Paris Masters on Tuesday could have major implications on the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.

In a back-and-forth battle with Jordan Thompson, Ruud fell to a 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4 defeat, while Francisco Cerundolo defeated sixth seed Rublev 7-6(6), 7-6(5) to record his 100th tour-level win.

[ATP APP]

Ruud is currently seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin with 3,855 points. Eighth-placed Rublev trails the Norwegian by 135 points to close out the qualification spots.

However, both players are unable to secure further points at this week’s indoor ATP Masters 1000. Meanwhile, fellow Turin hopefuls Alex de Minaur (ninth), Grigor Dimitrov (10th), and Stefanos Tsitsipas (12th) are all still alive and could climb further.

De Minaur would surpass Rublev if he were to make the quarter-finals. If De Minaur and Tsitsipas met in the semi-finals in Paris, and Tsitsipas went on to win the title, then both players would leapfrog Rublev and Ruud.

If De Minaur were to lift the trophy, he would jump to sixth, and even fifth if Taylor Fritz fell to an early defeat. Either Dimitrov or Tsitsipas triumphing in Paris would catapult them into sixth place in the Live Race, which concludes next week at the Belgrade Open and Moselle Open in Metz.

In the last match on Tuesday, Ruud forced a deciding set, but it was Thompson who stood firm to move 4-3 ahead in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

“I think my ball is a little bit flatter, it doesn’t give him as much time to wind up on both groundstrokes,” said Thompson, who defeated Ruud in the Los Cabos final to claim his maiden ATP Tour title in February. “But he is playing good on hard courts too, I’ve just managed to get the better of him a couple of times.

“Today I found it a lot harder, he was hitting it a lot deeper and firmer, but thankfully I managed to pull through.”

Earlier, Cerundolo rallied from a break deficit in both sets to upset Rublev and record his 100th tour-level win. The Argentine was ruthless in attack, winning 86 per cent (7/8) of net points, according to Infosys ATP Stats.  

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Alcaraz neutralises Jarry, advances to Paris R3

  • Posted: Oct 29, 2024

Carlos Alcaraz kickstarted his campaign at the Rolex Paris Masters on Tuesday by serving up some revenge. 

The second seed finished with a flourish to move past Nicolas Jarry 7-5, 6-1, improving to 13-2 in opening rounds in 2024. Alcaraz, who fell to the Chilean in the Buenos Aires semi-final in February, showcased his class on return to convert 80 per cent (4/5) of break points, according to Infosys ATP Stats. 

“I think I played really good tennis [in the first set], but at the end it was complicated,” said Alcaraz, who improved to 16-4 at ATP Masters 1000 events this season. “I’m just really happy to get through the opening set, it was really important for me to come into the second with more confidence. I [need] time to get used to the speed of the court.

“It’s been two years since I have won a match here in Paris-Bercy, so everytime that I keep going is a gift for me.”

As he continues his quest to win five or more ATP Tour titles for a third consecutive season, Alcaraz will face home hope Ugo Humbert or qualifier Marcos Giron for a spot in the quarter-finals. 

Alcaraz wasted little time in taking the lead, rattling off five consecutive points from 0/40 to break Jarry’s serve in the second game. The 21-year-old was pulled back when serving out the set at 5-4, but dialed back in to seal the opener. 

Jarry applied pressure on return throughout the second set, during which he carved out four break opportunities, according to Infosys ATP Stats. However, Alcaraz showed resilience to stand firm and surge to a one-hour, 30-minute victory, improving to 3-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. 

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PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah Update: Landaluce, Wong, Gaubas battle for qualification

  • Posted: Oct 29, 2024

Spaniard Martin Landaluce made his mark in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah nine days ago when he leaped to eighth after he won his second ATP Challenger Tour title of the season in Italy.

The 18-year-old is on 348 points and now occupies the final qualification spot with six weeks to go until the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF. With the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah heating up and Landaluce not competing this week, the chasing pack will look to make their moves in the coming days at their respective Challenger Tour events.

PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah

Player  Points 
1) Arthur Fils 2330
2) Alex Michelsen 1195
3) Jakub Mensik 1136
4) Shang Juncheng 1115
5) Luca Van Assche 478
6) Learner Tien 433
7) Joao Fonseca 379
8) Martin Landaluce 348
9) Coleman Wong 328
10) Vilius Gaubas 292
11) Henrique Rocha 286
12) Nishesh Basavareddy 280
[ATP APP]

Ninth-placed Coleman Wong (328 points), who became the first Hong Kong player since 1972 to win an ATP Tour match in September, earned a first-round victory at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Seoul on Tuesday and will eye a deep run to close the gap on Landaluce.

Lithuanian’s Vilius Gaubas (292 points) is 10th and is competing in Guayaquil. Gaubas, who has won a Challenger Tour crown in 2024, has not played since early October. Portugal’s Henrique Rocha (286 points) is 11th and also plays in Guayaquil, while 12th-placed American Nishesh Basavareddy (280) is in action on home soil in Charlottesville.

The 19-year-old Basavareddy is aiming to make his debut in Jeddah and has put himself in qualification contention after winning nine of his past 11 matches.

Above the dotted qualification line, fifth-placed Luca Van Assche (478 points) and sixth-placed Learner Tien (433 points) will aim to further cement their Jeddah hopes at Challenger Tour events in Bratislava and Charlottesville, respectively.

The Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF will be held from 18-22 December at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.

Read More
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My Influences: Gaubas opens up on ‘amazing’ Alcaraz experience
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My Influences: Quinn on ‘grounded’ Sinner & Paul’s mentorship

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