GB's Kartal claims maiden WTA title in Tunisia
Great Britain’s Sonay Kartal claims her maiden WTA title with victory over Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova in the final of the Jasmin Open.
Great Britain’s Sonay Kartal claims her maiden WTA title with victory over Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova in the final of the Jasmin Open.
With the pressure on, Denis Shapovalov delivered for Canada on Sunday to fire the former champion to the Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga. Needing one point from its winner-takes-all tie against Great Britain, Shapovalov moved past Daniel Evans 6-0, 7-5 to give Canada a 1-0 lead in its Group D tie.
Argentina advanced from Group D in Manchester on Saturday, with its 3-0 victory against Finland leaving Great Britain needing to defeat Canada by the same scoreline to join Guillermo Coria’s side.
However, Evans struggled to impose himself on Shapovalov, who fired 25 winners and saved both break points he faced to earn the crucial point for his nation.
Felix Auger-Aliassime then put the icing on the already-qualified cake when he overcame US Open semi-finalist Jack Draper 7-6(8), 7-5 in two hours and seven minutes. Auger-Aliassime, who avenged his Cincinnati defeat to British lefty Draper, has impressed on the hard courts in Manchester this week, not dropping a set in all three matches.
Canada joins Italy, Australia, Spain, United States, Germany and Argentina in the Final 8. The last spot will be filled by Brazil or Netherlands and will be decided on Sunday.
[ATP APP]In Group C, United States and Germany had already sealed the top two spots and qualification for the Final 8 in Malaga when Chile faced Slovakia on Sunday in Zhuhai.
Nicolas Jarry’s return helped Chile claim a 2-1 victory over Slovakia in the concluding match, partnering Tomas Barrios Vera to take a marathon doubles win over Norbert Gombos and Lukas Klein 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-6(5).
The Chileans squandered three match points in the second set before saving one in reply en-route to the third-set tie-break, in which they won.
The result, twinned with Cristian Garin’s opening victory over Gombos, means that Chile sealed third place in the group ahead of Slovakia, improving their chances of claiming a seeded spot in the 2025 Qualifiers draw.
In Group B, Australia faced Spain in Valencia, where both countries had already qualified for the Final 8. Pablo Carreno Busta overcame Jordan Thompson 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(3) in the opening match to give Spain a 1-0 lead before Montreal champion Alexei Popyrin defeated Pedro Martinez 6-4, 6-4 to level for Australia.
In the deciding doubles rubber Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martinez beat Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Purcell recently won the US Open title with countryman Thompson.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]When you are searching for your first win of the season, a visit from Frances Tiafoe could be just what you need.
NFL team Washington Commanders lost it’s opening match of the new campaign last week but were given a boost ahead of their second match against New York Giants when Tiafoe surprised the team on Saturday during their pre-match meeting.
Amazing energy in the room after bringing Frances (@FTiafoe) as a surprise to the @Commanders team meeting today! pic.twitter.com/vtjiIhr4fy
— Mark Ein (@Markein) September 14, 2024
The team were watching a motivating video of Tiafoe enjoying success at the US Open when the two-time Flushing Meadows semi-finalist made an appearance. The 26-year-old received a raucous reception from the players before he spoke to the team.
[ATP APP]Tiafoe, who is from Hyattsville, Maryland, is an avid supporter of the Commanders and regularly supports the team from afar when travelling on the ATP Tour. He will be hoping his words of encouragement will help guide the Commanders to their first win of the season on Sunday night.
On court, the No. 14 player in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin is aiming to finish the year well in an aim to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Great Britain’s Jack Draper smashes his racquet after losing the opening set against Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime during their Davis Cup match in Manchester.
A familiar face was in the stands to watch Italy’s Davis Cup Group Stage Finals tie against Netherlands on Sunday.
Recently crowned US Open champion Jannik Sinner was present in Bologna to cheer on his countrymen as they played their final group stage tie.
The defending champions became the first team to qualify from Group A for the Final 8 in Malaga after Brazil clinched its tie against Belgium on Saturday. Despite the absence of the No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Italy won both of its ties against Belgium and Brazil, thanks to two singles victories from Matteo Berrettini.
[ATP APP]Sinner’s last match was his 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 victory in the US Open final against American Taylor Fritz. The Italian picked up his second major after winning his maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January.
These two 🫶🇮🇹 @MattBerrettini and @janniksin celebrate together after Berrettini’s win 🥹#DavisCup https://t.co/hU7f8WBFqv pic.twitter.com/FiIfTe6gXH
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) September 15, 2024
Sinner steered Italy to its second Davis Cup title last year, with the 23-year-old saving three match points en route to victory against Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. He later teamed with Lorenzo Sonego to win the decisive doubles match and send Italy through to the final against Australia.
After Matteo Arnaldi overcame Alexei Popyrin to put Italy 1-0 up in the final, Sinner defeated Australia’s Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-0 to seal Italy’s second Davis Cup title following its maiden victory in 1976.
This year, Sinner has posted a 55-5 record, clinching a Tour-leading six titles.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Novak Djokovic and Hamad Medjedovic sealed Serbia’s Davis Cup World Group 1 tie against Greece with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory in the doubles rubber against Aristotelis Thanos and Petros Tsitsipas on Sunday in Belgrade.
The Serbians served 13 aces and won 75 per cent (42/56) of their first-serve points en route to closing out the match in two hours and 10 minutes.
The former champion led 2-0 at the start of Day 2 play following singles wins from Djokovic and Miomir Kecmanovic on Saturday. They entered Sunday’s action in Serbia requiring just one win to advance.
[ATP APP]Serbia now progresses to the 2025 Davis Cup Qualifiers for a chance to return to the Davis Cup Group Stage Finals. The country won the Davis Cup in 2010, defeating France 3-2 in the final.
Medjedovic made just his second Davis Cup appearance after his three-set victory against Norway’s Viktor Durasovic last year. The 21-year-old won the NextGen ATP Finals presented by PIF title last year and made a final at an ATP Challenger Tour event last week.
Former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings Djokovic is looking to regain his form in the upcoming months ahead of the Nitto ATP Finals. The record seven-time champion is currently ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Great Britain miss out on the Davis Cup knockout stages after Dan Evans falls to a heavy defeat by Canada’s Denis Shapovalov.
Boris Becker enjoyed a weekend of celebration in Italy, where he married fiancée Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro in a heart-warming ceremony on Saturday.
The 56-year-old German began dating political risk manager Lilian in 2022. The pair arrived on a boat to a pre-wedding dinner in Genoa on Friday before they tied the knot the following day with around 150 guests in attendance.
[ATP APP]In a three-day long wedding party, ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi attended the ceremony to celebrate the marriage between the former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings and Lilian.
Other guests in Genoa included former Dutch footballer Ruud Gullit, German actor and model Boris Kodjoe and Noah and Elias Becker, Boris’ sons from his first marriage.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Novak Djokovic eased to a 6-0, 6-1 victory Saturday over Ioannis Xilas to give Serbia a 2-0 lead over Greece in their Davis Cup tie against Greece.
The 37-year-old, who won the Davis Cup with Serbia in 2010, converted five of his seven break points to wrap up the match in just 45 minutes.
[ATP APP]The No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings is trying to help Serbia win their World Group I tie to advance to the Davis Cup Qualifiers next year. Earlier in the tie, Miomir Kecmanovic gave Serbia a 1-0 lead with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Aristotelis Thanos.
Djokovic is playing his first match since his four-set loss to Alexei Popyrin in the third round at the US Open. He is aiming to rediscover his form in the final two months of the season as he chases a spot at November’s Nitto ATP Finals. The seven-time champion at the prestigious season finale is currently ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
Brandon Nakashima continued his 2024 resurgence in style on Saturday in Zhuhai.
The 23-year-old completed a perfect week of singles action for the USA in the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage with a 6-4, 6-2 triumph against Maximilian Marterer. With his 86-minute win, Nakashima helped his country earn a 2-1 victory against Marterer’s Germany, simultaneously ensuring the USA a first-place finish in Group C and a seeding at November’s knockout stage.
Job done ✅
United States defeat Germany 2-1 to top group C in commanding fashion!#DavisCup pic.twitter.com/3kk4na2cOk
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) September 14, 2024
“Each person on this team brings great value,” said Nakashima, who dropped just one set across his three wins this week. “We all like to bring out the best in each other and to really enjoy every second out there on the court and off the court as well. I’m really happy with everyone’s performance this week and to all the staff and all the players, I really appreciate all their hard work.
“I think we have a good chance against any team there [in Malaga]. There’s a bunch of talented Americans playing really well right now. Whoever is going to be on the team will give us a great shot against any other team out there, so it’s definitely an exciting time for American tennis and I’m really looking forward to it.”
After a difficult 2023, the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion Nakashima began this year as the World No. 134. He has rediscovered his form in recent months, however, and was competing for USA this week at a career-high No. 40 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
Reilly Opelka set USA on its way on Saturday in China with a 6-7(4), 7-6(9), 6-3 triumph against Henri Squire in the opening singles rubber. The 32-time Davis Cup champion was unable to make it a hat-trick of 3-0 wins in Group C, however, after Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz downed Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram 6-1, 7-6(4) in the doubles rubber.
“We knew we were going to the next stage in Malaga, but we used [the chance to achieve] a better seeding as our motivation to try and win today,” said Opelka.
Despite defeat on Saturday, Germany will join USA in the Davis Cup Final 8 thanks to victories earlier this week against Slovakia and Chile. The knockout stage of the 2024 edition of the teams’ event will take place in Malaga, Spain from 19-24 November.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]