Tennis News

Cilic Secures Tie For Croatia

Marin Cilic stepped up Thursday at the Davis Cup Finals, overcoming Alex de Minaur to give Croatia a 2-0 lead against Australia in Group D at the Pala Alpitour in Turin.

The World No. 30, who helped guide Croatia to the Davis Cup title in 2018, fired 29 winners and rallied from a break down in the third set to secure victory after two hours and 10 minutes.

“It is such a great occasion to be back on the court playing for Croatia,” Cilic said. “We have not had a match in the past 20 months. It was a pleasure to play against team Australia, they were fighting strong. Every match is important.”

Earlier, Borna Gojo earned just his second Top 100 win when he downed Alexei Popyrin 7-6(5), 7-5 to give Croatia a 1-0 lead.

The 23-year-old fired eight aces and saved all five break points he faced against the World No. 61 to secure victory in one hour and 52 minutes.

“It feels amazing,” Gojo said. “We have unbelievable support here, I would like to thank everyone who came from Croatia. It is a big win for me, but I am here as part of team Croatia and we need three points.

“He was probably the better player in the first set, but I knew if I focused on my serve and stayed close, I would have a chance eventually. We had a close one in Australia at the beginning of the year, so I knew I could compete with him.”

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic will play De Minaur and John Peers in doubles in the final match on Thursday.

See all Davis Cup results

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Ymer Brothers Guide Sweden To Victory

Mikael Ymer followed in his brother’s footsteps on Thursday at the Davis Cup Finals, defeating Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 6-4 to give Sweden a 2-0 lead against Canada in Group B in Madrid.

Elias Ymer gave Sweden winning start when he overcame Canadian Steven Diez 6-4, 6-2 in 88 minutes. The 25-year-old was dominant throughout, winning 82 per cent (23/28) of his first-serve points and breaking five times to secure victory.

“I felt I played well,” Ymer said. “I really like Madrid. The court and the city are amazing. I am really happy I gave Sweden a good start and now I can support my brother next. You don’t see this often, two brothers playing No. 1 and No. 2 for their country. It is a very special occasion.”

The World No. 171’s younger brother then produced a strong performance to defeat Pospisil in the second match of the tie, saving the one break point he faced to secure victory after one hour and 31 minutes.

Andre Goransson and Robert Lindstedt moved Sweden into a final 3-0 lead when they defeated Pospisil and Brayden Schnur 7-6(5), 6-4 in the doubles.

See all Davis Cup results

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Herbert/Mahut Win Tie For France

Nitto ATP Finals champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut completed the French comeback Thursday at the Davis Cup Finals, defeating Tomas Machac and Jiri Lehecka 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to secure a 2-1 victory against Czech Republic in Group C.

The pair saved four of five break points and hit five aces in Innsbruck, Austria, to win the tie for France after two hours and five minutes.

“It was difficult because the Czech team played very well, and we arrived late from Turin,” Mahut said. “I thought we had a slow start, but the second set and third set we played well.”

“We got used to the conditions,” Herbert added. “We needed the whole staff to get the energy up and we tried to be really positive and we managed to turn the match around.”

Machac had given Czech Republic an early advantage when he sprung a surprise, defeating Richard Gasquet 7-6(3), 6-2 on his Davis Cup Finals debut.

The World No. 143 rallied back from a break down in the first set and committed just seven unforced errors to secure victory after one hour and 36 minutes in their first Head2Head meeting.

“It feels really good,” Machac said. “I am so happy I played today and won today for the Czech Republic. It was a really tough match from the beginning, mentally especially. I am really happy. In the tie-break I played really well without any mistakes. That was the crucial moment.”

Adrian Mannarino then drew France level, downing Jiri Vesely 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-2. The 33-year-old won 77 per cent (51/66) of his first-serve points and caused Vesely problems with his consistent depth on return to secure victory after two hours and 38 minutes.

“I was trying my best to keep fighting,” Mannarino said. “I served very well in the key moments, which helps. I got used to the speed of his serve. He was serving very fast and at the beginning it was tough. On his second serve at the end, I was putting a lot of pressure on it.”

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Stefanos Tsitsipas focused on 'healthier and happier future' after right elbow surgery

World number four Stefanos Tsitsipas says he is “focused on a healthier and happier future” after having surgery on his right elbow.

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ATP Releases Calendar For Opening Half Of 2022 Season

The ATP has announced the calendar for the first half of the 2022 ATP Tour season, kicking off in January with the third edition of the ATP Cup in Sydney, Australia, through to the end of The Championships, Wimbledon in July.

See Standings For ATP Cup

The new season launches with the ATP Cup, staged in partnership with Tennis Australia. The 2022 edition will feature a 16-team field and be hosted across two venues in Sydney – Ken Rosewall Arena and the Qudos Bank Arena – both at Sydney Olympic Park. As part of a reconfigured opening section of the season, Week 1 will also feature two ATP 250 events running in parallel to the ATP Cup, at the Adelaide International and Melbourne Park. Week 2 will feature two ATP 250s, including a second event at the Adelaide International and the Sydney Tennis Classic, a new one-off event, alongside Australian Open qualifying in Melbourne.

Elsewhere, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, traditionally held in Week 1, will be played in Week 7 in 2022, immediately followed by the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. As previously announced, the ASB Classic in Auckland (ATP 250) will not be held in 2022 due to complications related to COVID-19.

All other events through Wimbledon are scheduled to occur in their customary week in the calendar, with details of the remaining section of the calendar to be communicated in due course.

Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman, said: “We’re delighted to announce the calendar and give our fans visibility for the first half of the 2022 ATP Tour season. Tennis has had to adapt to fluid circumstances since the start of the pandemic and, while we continue to navigate its challenges, today’s announcement is a positive milestone in our continued return. We cannot wait to kick off another exciting season and welcome back to the calendar those events that were unfortunately unable to stage last year. I would like to credit the hard work of our players and tournaments that has allowed us to reach this point.”

View the 2022 calendar here.

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Davis Cup Finals 2021: Great Britain aiming to reach Madrid final

Great Britain go into this week’s Davis Cup Finals with each team member having enjoyed the “best year of their careers”, says doubles player Joe Salisbury.

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Australian Open: Novak Djokovic 'will not want to miss' shot at record 21st Grand Slam win

Novak Djokovic will not want to miss the chance to win a record 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, says tournament director Craig Tiley.

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Davis Cup Finals set to move to Abu Dhabi

The Davis Cup Finals are poised to move to Abu Dhabi in a five-year deal, which is set to be rubber-stamped at a board meeting next week.

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Davis Cup Finals: Draws, Dates, History & All You Need To Know

Novak Djokovic will lead the charge for Serbia, while World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev headlines a strong Russian team at the 2021 Davis Cup Finals, to be held from 25 November – 5 December in Madrid, Spain, Innsbruck, Austria and Turin, Italy.

Despite Rafael Nadal’s absence due to injury, reigning champions Spain still has a strong team, with Pablo Carreno Busta and Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion Carlos Alcaraz competing. Alcaraz will be making his Davis Cup debut after enjoying a breakthrough year.

The 20-year-old Jannik Sinner will make his debut for Italy, while Cameron Norrie will spearhead Great Britain’s push following his standout 2021 season.

Here’s what you need to know about the Davis Cup Finals: what is the schedule, where to watch, which countries are playing and more.

Established: 1900

Tournament Director: Fernando Verdasco

When and where is the Davis Cup Finals?

The 2021 Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals will be held from Thursday, 25 November, to Sunday, 5 December, in Madrid, Innsbruck and Turin. Each venue will host the matches for two of the six groups as well as at least one quarter-final. Madrid will host two quarter-finals, both semi-finals and the final.

Who is playing at the 2021 Davis Cup Finals?

The Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals features 18 teams, including 12 qualifiers, the previous edition’s four semi-finalists and two wild cards. The teams are divided into one of six groups where they compete in a round-robin format.

Madrid Arena, Madrid, Spain:
Group A: Spain, Russia Tennis Federation, Ecuador
Group B: Canada, Kazakhstan, Sweden

Olympia-Halle, Innsbruck, Austria:
Group C: France, Great Britain, Czech Republic
Group F: Serbia, Germany, Austria

Pala Alpitour, Turin, Italy:
Group D: Croatia, Australia, Hungary
Group E: United States, Italy, Colombia

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How does the 2021 Davis Cup Finals work?

Format Of Ties: All ties will consist of two singles and one doubles. Both singles and doubles are best-of-three sets with ad scoring. The first match will be contested by the second-ranked players on each team and the second match will be contested by the first-ranked players on each team. The doubles match will follow the singles match.

Points: The teams with the highest number of points in their group once all matches have been played will qualify for the quarter-finals, alongside the best two runners-up. The tournament will then go into knockout rounds until one team is crowned champion.

Who won The 2019 Davis Cup?

Spain d Canada 2-0
Spain defeated Canada in the final, with Roberto Bautista Agut downing Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(3), 6-3, before Rafael Nadal clinched the tie, overcoming Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 7-6(7). Read More. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Davis Cup Finals were not held. 

What is the match schedule? How can I watch?

Order Of Play | TV Schedule

Thursday, 25 November: 4pm, one tie in Group B, Group C, Group D
Friday, 26 November: 4pm, one tie in Group A, Group E, Group F
Saturday, 27 November: 10am, one tie in Group B, Group C, Group D. N.B. 4:00pm, one tie in Group A, Group E, Group F
Sunday, 28 November: 10am, one tie in Group B, Group C, Group D. N.B. 4:00pm, one tie in Group A, Group E, Group F
Monday, 29 November: 4:00pm, quarter-final, winner Group D vs winner Group E
Tuesday, 30 November: 4:00pm, quarter-final, winner Group C vs winner Group F
Wednesday, 1 December: 4:00pm, quarter-final, winner Group B vs second best 1 or 2
Thursday, 2 December: 4:00pm, quarter-final, winner Group A vs second best 1 or 2
Friday, 3 December: 4:00pm, semi-final
Saturday, 4 December: 1:00pm, semi-final
Sunday, 5 December: 4:00pm, final

Who holds the Davis Cup record for most titles, most wins and more?

Most Titles: United States (32)
Most Match Wins: Nicola Pietrangeli (78)
Last Home Champion: Spain in 2019

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Who's Your Favourite Player & Team? Vote Now In 2021 ATP Awards

Awards season is officially underway! Cast your vote and show your support for your favourite singles player and doubles team in the 2021 ATP Awards. 

Voting for the Fans’ Favourite Awards closes at 11:59pm GMT on Tuesday, 7 December. 

** If you have already cast your vote, you have the option to change your selection through the dropdown menu during the voting period, but your last submission will be the only one recorded. If you try to vote for the same player again, the Vote button will not work.

Note: Fans’ Favourite candidates are active players in the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings and Top 25 teams in the FedEx ATP Doubles Team Rankings as of 15 November 2021. The Top 100 includes players with protected ATP Rankings who have played at least one tour-level match in 2020. Candidates with protected rankings are noted in the list with (PR). 

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