Canadian Open: World number one Iga Swiatek beats Ajla Tomljanovic in straight sets
World number one Iga Swiatek reaches the last 16 at the Canadian Open with a straight-set win over Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic.
World number one Iga Swiatek reaches the last 16 at the Canadian Open with a straight-set win over Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic.
An inspired Tommy Paul cut short the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers debut of Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday in Montreal, where the American prevailed 6-7(4), 7-6(7), 6-3 in a second-round epic.
Paul was on the brink of his third consecutive second-round exit at the Canadian ATP Masters 1000 event when he faced match point at 6/7 in the second-set tie-break, but the 25-year-old held his nerve to force a decider in his maiden ATP Head2Head meeting with the second seed. Consistent ballstriking from deep earned Paul a decisive break of serve in the third set as the World No. 34 wrapped a three-hour, 19-minute marathon win to book a third-round matchup against 13th seed Marin Cilic or Karen Khachanov.
“It’s nice to finish matches at the net,” said Paul after he came forward to convert his fifth match point. “He hit a pretty nice passing shot there at the last point and I covered the line well, volleyed it well. I think I did a lot of things well today. I played a good level of tennis, especially there in the third set, so I’m happy to get through.”
✅ Rublev
✅ Berrettini
✅ Zverev
✅ Alcaraz@TommyPaul1 digs deep for his fourth Top 🔟 win in 10 months!#OBN22 pic.twitter.com/lylPHfP7aB— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 10, 2022
Paul had also been under pressure early in the second set after Alcaraz opened up a 4-1 lead to move within two games of victory. The American responded with four games in a row to storm back into the contest, and despite ultimately requiring a tie-break to clinch the set Paul admitted he had retained belief throughout.
“I just felt like I was in his service games,” said Paul. “In the second set I felt like I could break. I didn’t expect to get two breaks back and serve for the set, [but] I felt like I was playing comfortable tennis overall. I stuck to the game plan and played well.”
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Until Paul pulled clear in the deciding set, the Montreal crowd had been treated to an absorbing matchup of fine margins that featured some dramatic all-court rallies and saw both players struggle to capitalise when in strong positions. Paul’s ability to pressure the Alcaraz delivery with concise returning ultimately proved decisive, however, as he converted four from 15 break points to reach the third round for the first time.
INSIGHTS In Attack show that Paul struck 26 per cent of his shots from attacking positions compared to 21 per cent for Alcaraz, giving the American a higher chance of prevailing in the second-round clash according to new analysis from TennisViz.
INSIGHTS In Attack
Figure 1: In Attack score from 2022 Montreal third-round matchup between Tommy Paul and Carlos Alcaraz.
The second-round clash was Alcaraz’s first hard-court outing since he defeated Casper Ruud to seal his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami in early April. In contrast, Paul kicked off his North American hard-court season with a run to the quarter-finals in Atlanta before he fell to eventual champion Nick Kyrgios in Washington last week. Wednesday’s win makes Paul just the fourth player to defeat Alcaraz after dropping the opening set in an ATP Tour match.
“I think I got him in his first match on the hard courts,” said Paul. “So hopefully when we play next time, he [also] doesn’t have too many hard-court matches [under his belt].”
Montreal 2022
Open Gallery
The USTA on Wednesday announced “The Tennis Plays for Peace Exhibition”, an event to be held on Ukraine Independence Day, 24 August, to benefit the people of Ukraine under the Tennis Plays for Peace programme.
Stars participating in the event include Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz, Matteo Berrettini, John McEnroe, Coco Gauff, Leylah Fernandez, Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula and Victoria Azarenka. They will play a series of singles and mixed doubles matches inside Louis Armstrong Stadium from 7 to 9 p.m.
Tennis Plays for Peace, which is comprised of tennis’ governing bodies and the Grand Slam events, has raised more than $1 million in humanitarian aid and the USTA expects to raise at least $2 million more during the US Open.
“The US Open is a stage that attracts millions of passionate fans, and it is incumbent upon us to help guide this passion to help those who desperately need it,” said USTA Chairman of the Board and President Mike McNulty. “This is a vitally important cause, and I’m proud of the way in which our sport has rallied together to lend a much-needed hand to our friends in Ukraine. I’m likewise proud that we are able to use the global platform of the US Open to enhance the giving effort, and I urge everyone to do all they can to help us show the people of Ukraine that we stand with them in their time of need.”
Tickets for “The Tennis Plays for Peace Exhibition”, which go on sale via TicketMaster on 10 August, are $25 and $50 with 100 per cent of the proceeds going to GlobalGiving, the international non-profit identified by Tennis Plays for Peace. All donations to GlobalGiving’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund will support humanitarian assistance in impacted communities in Ukraine and surrounding regions where Ukrainian refugees have fled.
The event will be hosted by ESPN’s Patrick McEnroe, and ESPN will make The Tennis Plays for Peace Exhibition available on ESPN+. The official domestic broadcaster of the US Open also will provide the program to the US Open’s world feed, and the event will stream on USOpen.org.
The main draw of the US Open begins on 29 August.
The seventh ATP Masters 1000 event of the season is the Western & Southern Open, which is held at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Cincinnati.
Here is everything you need to know about the hard-court tournament:
The 2022 Western & Southern Open will be held from 14-21 August. The hard-court ATP Masters 1000 tournament, established in 1889, will take place at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. The tournament director is Eric Butorac.
The Western & Southern Open will feature stars including World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The Cincinnati draw will be made Friday, 12 August at a time to be confirmed.
*Qualifying: Saturday 13 August-Sunday 14 August
*Main Draw: Sunday 14 August-Sunday 21 August
*Sunday sessions starting at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
*Monday-Friday sessions starting at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.
*Saturday sessions starting at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.
*Doubles Final: Sunday 21 August at 12 p.m.
*Singles Final: Sunday 21 August at 4:30 p.m.
The prize money for the Western & Southern Open is $6,280,880 and the Total Financial Commitment is $6,971,275.
SINGLES
Winner: $970,020/1,000 points
Finalist: $529,710/600 points
Semi-finalist: $289,655/360 points
Quarter-finalist: $157,995/180 points
Round of 16: $84,510/90 points
Round of 32: $45,315/45 points
Round of 56: $25,110/10 points
DOUBLES ($ per team)
Winner: $297,620/1,000 points
Finalist: $161,670/600 points
Semi-finalist: $88,800/360 points
Quarter-finalist: $48,990/180 points
Round of 16: $26,940/90 points
Round of 32: $14,700/0 points
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TV Schedule – Cincinnati
Hashtag: #CincyTennis
Facebook: Western & Southern Open
Twitter: @cincytennis
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Alexander Zverev won the 2021 Western & Southern Open title with a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Andrey Rublev in the championship match. Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos lifted the doubles trophy, defeating Steve Johnson and Austin Krajicek 7-6(5), 7-6(5) in the final.
Most Titles, Singles: Roger Federer (7)
Most Titles, Doubles: Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (5)
Oldest Champion: Ken Rosewall, 35, in 1970
Youngest Champion: Boris Becker, 17, in 1985
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1 John McEnroe in 1981, Andre Agassi in 1995, Pete Sampras in 1997 & 1999, Gustavo Kuerten in 2001, Roger Federer in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012, and Novak Djokovic in 2020
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 49 Tom Gorman in 1975
Last Home Champion: Andy Roddick (2006)
Most Match Wins: Roger Federer (47)
View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown
Serena Williams reads Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem ‘If’, reimagined by spoken word artist Deanna Rodger.
Coco Gauff and 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu react to Serena Williams’ imminent retirement.
Britain’s Andy Murray loses in straight sets to Taylor Fritz in the first round of the Canadian Open but Cameron Norrie beats Brandon Nakashima to progress.
Grigor Dimitrov and Andrey Rublev made an impressive debut as a doubles team on Tuesday.
The singles stars upset reigning Wimbledon titlists Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell 3-6, 6-2, 10-8 to reach the second round of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers. It will not get any easier for Dimitrov and Rublev, who will next try to upset second seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.
Two-time Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies survived a stern test from Lukasz Kubot and Stan Wawrinka. The Germans battled through a Match Tie-break 4-6, 6-1, 10-5.
In other doubles action, Rohan Bopanna and Matwe Middelkoop eliminated Karen Khachanov and Denis Shapovalov 7-6(5), 4-6, 10-6. The Indian-Dutch duo will next face the Polish team of Hubert Hurkacz and Jan Zielinski.
Montreal 2022
Open Gallery
In some ways, that more-than-month-long pause between Mallorca and Los Cabos felt like an eternity for Daniil Medvedev.
But the interruption to his usual regimens/rhythms/routines, which included sitting out Wimbledon, doesn’t seem to have done him any harm, at least when it comes to the on-court results. Last week, the reigning World No. 1 departed Mexico with trophy in hand, his first of the year, and he returns to the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers as the defending champion, healthy and eager for a repeat performance.
Of course, this summer stretch is usually when the 26-year-old summons his best tennis. It was here in 2019, after all, that he introduced himself to the tennis world at large, embarking on a remarkable stretch that would see him reach consecutive finals in Washington, Montreal, Cincinnati, Flushing Meadows, St. Petersburg and Shanghai. If there’s a Medvedevian stretch on the ATP calendar, the North American hard-court swing is most definitely it.
“I’m in great confidence right now,” said Medvedev, who missed another chunk of time earlier this year after undergoing hernia surgery. “That’s why I went to Las Cabos, because I wanted to see where I was after the clay-court and the grass seasons, which are very different. It’s good to come back on hard courts to know what your position is compared to the best players. I feel very confident and I feel good for the next tournaments.”
Following a first-round bye, Medvedev will jump right into it against a player who’s building up some confidence of his own: Nick Kyrgios, who advanced on Tuesday via a 6-4, 6-4 opening-round win over Sebastian Baez. Last month, the 27-year-old Aussie reached his first major final at Wimbledon, and last week wrapped up a title of his own in Washington. The 37th-ranked Kyrgios owns a 2-1 edge in ATP Head2Heads, though he dropped their most recent encounter earlier this year in the second round of the Australian Open, 7-6(1), 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
“I’m happy that I’m giving everyone what they want: Kyrgios v. Medvedev, second round,” said Kyrgios with a smile.
“It’s going to be hard, that’s for sure,” he continued. “I know physically and mentally I’m not as fresh as I would like. But he also came off a title last week in Los Cabos. He’s going to be feeling a little bit tired, too — I hope. But I’m going to do everything right. I’m going to get a good rest tonight, good physio, and I’m just going to give it my best shot. I’m going to go out there and have fun and try and play the best I can. It’s not a bad result if you lose to Medvedev. Most of the world does.”
Medvedev says the absence of the Big Three of Federer/Nadal/Djokovic this week won’t affect his outlook in the least.
“It doesn’t change anything for me,” he said. “When you play a tournament, you want to win it. Whoever you play in the final or the semis doesn’t matter. Of course, if you beat one of the top players in the world, the better-ranked players, those who’ve won Grand Slams, it’s always a good feeling. But the important thing is to win the tournament. It’s a thousand points. It’s a title. The trophy is the same whoever you play. It’s both things at the same time.”
World No. 4 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain — one of only two ATP Masters 1000 hard court champions this year — will make his tournament debut against American Tommy Paul. In reaching the Umag final in July, the 19-year-old became the second-youngest player this century to crack the Top 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, outpaced only by countryman Rafael Nadal. The No. 2 seed is seeking a tour-best fifth title on the year, adding to trophies from Rio, Miami, Barcelona and Madrid.
No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas reached the 2018 final in his National Bank Open debut (l. to Nadal, 6-2, 7-6(4)), notching four Top-10 wins along the way. With the conclusion of clay and grass campaigns, he is one of only two players with a chance to win tour-level titles on all three surfaces in 2022. The Greek star’s first test will come in the form of British qualifier Jack Draper, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over fellow qualifier Hugo Gaston of France.
With Denis Shapovalov, Alexis Galarneau and Vasek Pospisil having all been knocked out of the draw, World No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime remains the lone Canadian hopeful in the draw. (There hasn’t been a homegrown champion since 1958, Robert Bedard, when the event was held in Vancouver.) The Rotterdam titlist is set to face Washington finalist Yoshihito Nishioka, against whom he’s 1-2 in ATP Head2Heads.
In a season full of impressive victories, Taylor Fritz made another statement on Tuesday.
The American overpowered former World No. 1 Andy Murray 6-1, 6-3 to reach the second round of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers. Fritz will next play countryman Frances Tiafoe.
“It’s an honour to be on the court with Andy,” Fritz said in his on-court interview. “Just to get the chance to play him, he’s been around, he’s been dominating since before I came on Tour and basically the whole time I’ve been on Tour, so it’s an honour just to play him.”
Throughout his illustrious career, Murray has found ways to turn matches around, especially against big hitters. His defense has stymied the best offensive players of his generation time and time again. But not Tuesday evening under the lights in Montreal.
Fritz showed no fear and consistently went for his shots, whether from neutral positions or on the full stretch. The 10th seed was unrelenting in his offence — winning a 14-minute game to break in Murray’s first service game — and he never looked back to improve to 31-12 on the season.
“You go through different parts of the season. Part of the hard-court season you have a good rhythm, then you go play on clay, then you go back to hard and it might not be the same,” Fritz said. “I haven’t always played well this part of the year before the US Open, so it feels really good this year, it just seems different. I’m playing good tennis right now.”
This year’s BNP Paribas Open champion, who is pursuing his second ATP Masters 1000 title, earned a break at 3-3 in the second set by jumping on a short second serve. Later in the rally, Murray dumped a forehand into the net.
The former World No. 1 battled hard as he always does, earning a chance to level the second set. Fritz quickly blunted that opportunity by crushing a forehand winner.
“There are a couple things I need to dial in. I think I could serve just a little bit better,” Fritz said. “But from the ground I felt great. I was being aggressive, attacking, changing [directions] off of both sides. I think I could go deep if I dial in a few things.”
Fritz’s next opponent, Tiafoe, suffered a heartbreaking late-night loss in Washington against Nick Kyrgios. He got back on track by rallying past Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-3 after two hours and 36 minutes.
Fritz and Tiafoe have known each other since they were juniors. The former has won three of their four ATP Head2Head clashes, most recently triumphing in straight sets in the second round of this year’s Australian Open.
Did You Know?
Fritz is in ninth place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, 315 points behind eighth-placed Felix Auger-Aliassime. The American is trying to qualify for the Nitto ATP Final for the first time.
