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Felix Books Place In Wimbledon Last 16

  • Posted: Jul 03, 2021

Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time after Nick Kyrgios was forced to retire after the second set of their match on No. 1 Court. The score was level at 2-6, 6-1.

Auger-Aliassime, who reached his eighth tour-level singles final at Stuttgart (l. to Cilic) and the semifinals at Halle (l. to Humbert) before arriving at SW19, has been one of the in-form players throughout the grass-court swing. He improves to 23-13 on the season.

“I’m sorry for Nick, he was playing so well in the first set,” Auger-Aliassime said in an on-court interview. “It’s really unfortunate, in front of a packed crowd. We both love playing here and there were some big expectations for this match. We were hoping to put on a good show and entertain the crowd, so it’s unfortunate that he had to retire. I hope it’s nothing too serious and that we’ll see him back during the US swing.”

The 20-year-old Canadian joined countryman Denis Shapovalov in the round of 16 here, marking the first time that multiple Canadian men have reached this stage at Wimbledon in the Open Era.

It was a bittersweet result for 16th seed Auger-Aliassime, who dropped the opening set to an on-song Kyrgios, currently No. 60 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. Auger-Aliassime was broken three times in the first set as big-hitting Kyrgios mixed up the rhythm from the baseline.

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But one weapon that was missing from Kyrgios’ arsenal was his signature big serve as the Aussie seemed to struggle towards the end of the first set, requiring a medical time out. Kyrgios carried on in the second set, but won only 42 per cent (5/12) of points behind his first delivery. Auger-Aliassime pounced on the letdown, breaking twice and reeling off the last five games to take the second set. 

Kyrgios was unable to continue, retiring from the match citing an abdominal injury and sending Auger-Aliassime into the fourth round for the first time.

 

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“I haven’t played this level of tennis in a long time, and obviously playing someone as good as Felix I would want my main weapon, my serve, to be firing,” Kyrgios said in his own on-court interview. “I just felt my ab, I definitely did something to it at the end of the first set. But that’s the way it goes… He’s a hell of a player and he’s going to do great things in this sport.”

Auger-Aliassime will next face the winner of 31st seed Taylor Fritz and fourth seed Alexander Zverev in the fourth round.

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Play Resumes At Wimbledon After Rain Delay

  • Posted: Jul 03, 2021

Play on the outside courts at Wimbledon has resumed on Saturday at 1:10 p.m local time after an interruption of one hour and 41 minutes due to rain.

Third round singles matches began as scheduled at 11:00 a.m. local time on No. 2 Court and the outside courts before being suspended at 11:30 a.m. local time. Seventh-seeded Italian Matteo Berrettini is in action against Alijaz Bedene on Court No. 3, while 14th seed Hubert Hurkacz takes on Alexander Bublik on Court 12.

The Viking International Eastbourne finalist Lorenzo Sonego was 4-2 ahead against James Duckworth on Court 17 when rain halted play. Later today, Alexander Zverev will face American Taylor Fritz on No. 2 Court following the conclusion of a WTA match.

Play will commence on Centre Court at 1:30 p.m. local time and began at 1:00 p.m. on No. 1 Court. Eight-time champion Roger Federer and second seed Daniil Medvedev are among those in action.

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Murray: 'I Feel Like I Can Do Better'

  • Posted: Jul 03, 2021

Andy Murray was disappointed after winning just eight games against 10th seed Denis Shapovalov on Friday evening in the third round at Wimbledon. The former World No. 1 has battled so hard to find good form after undergoing hip resurfacing surgery in 2019, but he is still far from the level that took him to two titles on Centre Court.

“There is a part of me that feels a bit like I have put in so much work the past three months and ultimately didn’t play how I would want and expect. It’s like, ‘Is it worth it?’” Murray wondered. “Is all of that training and everything that you’re doing in the gym — unless you’re able to practise and improve your game and get matches and continue, get a run of tournaments — is it worth all of the work that you’re doing?”

It was a despondent moment after a difficult loss against one of the most dynamic young players on the ATP Tour. It is tough for the 34-year-old to accept his current level, knowing what it feels like to be in full flight, especially on Centre Court, where he has created moments of magic that will be discussed for generations. He knows the buttons to push, but at the moment the remote is not responding.

However, there were a lot of positives for the Scot this week at the All England Club, where he won two tough matches in his first singles appearance since 2017. Murray made clear after his first-round win against Nikoloz Basilashvili that he is still pushing forward.

“I keep getting asked is this going to be my last Wimbledon, last match. I don’t know why I keep getting asked about it,” Murray said. “No, I’m going to keep playing. I want to play… I can still play at the highest level. He’s ranked 28th in the world and I haven’t hardly played any matches and I beat him.”

Andy Murray steadies in the fourth set to advance to the Wimbledon second round.
Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Murray admitted that one of his big issues was a lack of consistency caused by a shortage of matches. This was just his fifth singles tournament of the season, and he did not win more than one match at any of the three previous tour-level events he played.

“I feel like I can do better tennis-wise. I feel like I can play better and close matches out better,” Murray said. “But to do that, I need time on the match court and I need more time on the practice court, and I’ve had neither in the past few months.”

There were plenty of bright spots. Most notably, Murray’s trademark fighting spirit was in full effect. Despite letting slip a 5-0 lead in the third set against Basilashvili, he fought back. The same was true when he fell two-sets-to-one down against Oscar Otte in the second round.

“This week has been really good in some ways, but it’s been frustrating too. I played two long matches, and it’s really significantly more than anything I have done in the past six months,” Murray said. “So if my game is not quite spot-on physically, I’m not perfect, or physically really fresh, it’s going to be hard for me. It’s extremely frustrating, because I feel like I put a lot of work into getting to this point, and then obviously to lose like that is tough.

“Being as good as he is. I don’t want to take anything away from his performance. He played really, really well. But if I’m going to put that much effort in, I want to be performing better than what I did here, even though there were some great moments.”

Importantly, Murray has come through three best-of-five-set matches healthy. For the past few years, that has been the three-time major winner’s biggest nemesis. The former World No. 1 believes that while his movement might not be as good as it once was, he is still capable of high-level tennis.

“I need matches and I need a run of them and time on the practice court if I want to improve my game, which clearly I need to. I’m not suggesting my game is in the best place,” Murray said. “I’m going to have to spend a lot of time on the practice court working on stuff.”

The Centre Court crowd tried to urge the two-time Wimbledon champion back into the match against Shapovalov. Murray greatly enjoyed the support and said he has missed it. But he still departs disappointed.

“I’m not expecting and saying I would beat Denis Shapovalov. He’s a brilliant player,” Murray admitted. “But I feel like I can do a lot better than what I did this evening.”

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Preview: Bring The Popcorn For Kyrgios, Felix Clash

  • Posted: Jul 03, 2021

Bring the popcorn, and No. 1 Court will bring the fireworks.

Big hitting Aussie Nick Kyrgios will take on 16th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in a mouth-watering third-round battle, before second seed Daniil Medvedev hits the court against former finalist Marin Cilic in back-to-back matches on Saturday at Wimbledon. Eight-time champion Roger Federer will also be in action on Day 6 as he takes on 29th seed Cameron Norrie on Centre Court. 

Kyrgios is contesting his first tour-level event since the Australian Open in February, but you would not be able to tell by the way he’s been playing this week at Wimbledon. The big-hitting Aussie has played his way into form with three victories – two in singles and one in mixed doubles with former WTA No. 1 Venus Williams – but perhaps most importantly, he seems to be having the time of his life on court in the process. 

“I’ve got every reason and every right to be happy,” Kyrgios said after his mixed doubles win. “I’ve worked hard the past couple of weeks, and it wasn’t easy for me to get back on the court the past couple months. I don’t have a coach, I don’t really have a trainer. I had to push myself to go out there. I had to find motivation myself. I’m just enjoying it.”

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He will face a big test in the third round as he takes on 16th seed Auger-Aliassime, who is seeking a place in the fourth round at SW19 for the first time. The 20-year-old Canadian has been red-hot through the grass-court swing, with a final in Stuttgart (l. to Cilic) and semi-final in Halle under his belt. 

The pair’s only previous ATP Head2Head meeting took place on the lawns of The Queen’s Club in 2019, and it went down to the wire with Auger-Aliassime prevailing 7-5 in the third set after two tie-breaks. With both players hitting their stride at the same time this week, fans will hope for more of the same on No. 1 Court.  

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After Auger-Aliassime and Kyrgios, second seed Medvedev will hit the court as he bids to reach the second week at Wimbledon for the first time. He has stated his case emphatically after only dropping one set against Jan-Lennard Struff and sweeping past Carlos Alcaraz having won 95 per cent of points behind his first serve. 

Medvedev will hope to keep those figures going as he faces big-serving Cilic, who lifted his 19th tour-level trophy in Stuttgart (d. Auger-Aliassime). The Russian will be high on confidence too, after claiming his first grass-court title in Mallorca last week.

“Marin is a great champion, definitely. It’s not an easy draw. He was in the final here in Wimbledon and he almost beat Roger, [it] was close. Tough draw, tough opponent. Huge respect to him,” Medvedev said.

Medvedev’s countrymen Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev have already booked their spots in the fourth round. If he joins them, it will mark the second time this year that three Russian men have reached the fourth round at a major. Before Medvedev, Rublev and Aslan Karatsev’s run at the Australian Open, it had only ever happened once in the Open Era: at the 2007 Australian Open (Igor Andreev, Nikolay Davydenko and Mikhail Youzhny). 

 

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Before the tournament began, sixth seed Federer told press that his biggest goal was to reach at least the second week at Wimbledon. Now, only Great Britain’s Norrie stands between him and the fourth round. Well, Norrie and most of the fans on Centre Court, that is.

“I never really walk out and expect everybody to be for me, to be honest. I’m a little bit the same. Sometimes I like the underdog,” Federer said with his usual equanimity. “You want to see a close match, too. When you see another guy hit great shots, I hope they applaud the guy. You want the atmosphere to be there.

“Not everybody in particular has to be for me. At the end of the day, you have to focus on your game. If the crowd gets into it, it’s good, even if it’s maybe for him. Let’s see what happens.”

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Federer has looked better and better with every set played at the All England Club this fortnight. He survived an early scare in the first round, and he found another gear to cruise past Richard Gasquet in straight sets in the second. Norrie, who arrived at the All England Club at a career-high No. 34 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, will be battle-tested and hungry after reaching three ATP Tour finals this year at Estoril, Lyon and Queen’s Club.

Elsewhere at the All England Club, fourth seed Alexander Zverev will take on 31st seed Taylor Fritz on No. 2 Court. The American had surgery less than a month ago after a knee injury at Roland Garros. But he has shown he is back to full match fitness after battling wins over Brandon Nakashima and Steve Johnson, the latter of which went to five sets.

Click Here For the Full Day 6 Order Of Play.

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Like Father Like Son, Korda Wins On Centre Court Debut

  • Posted: Jul 02, 2021

Sebastian Korda had not played in the main draw of The Championships at Wimbledon prior to this week, let along on Centre Court, but the #NextGenATP American competed with great maturity and composure on Friday for a place in the fourth round.

Korda revelled in the atmosphere, silencing the majority of the British support, to record a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over home hope Daniel Evans, the 21st seed, in two hours and 24 minutes.

“I just stayed calm in the biggest moments as much as I could,” said Korda. “I tried to stay relaxed and keep playing attacking tennis, that’s what I do. I’m really proud of myself for that today.”

“[It’s] a big achievement. A year ago, I was 220 in the world and I’m here in the fourth round at Wimbledon. It’s incredible. I have my family to thank, my coaches and everybody around me.”

Twenty-six years ago, his father, Petr Korda, had made his Centre Court debut by defeating fifth-seeded American Michael Chang 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the 1995 second round.

On Monday, when Korda celebrates his 21st birthday, the American will hope to overcome Russian 25th seed Karen Khachanov for a place in the Wimbledon quarter-finals. Should the World No. 50 triumph, he will match his father’s best performance at the All England Club, which came with a run to the 1998 last eight (l. to Henman).

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In a quick-fire first set, which lasted 25 minutes, Korda broke for a 5-3 lead after two consecutive forehand errors from Evans. Korda hit his 12th winner — a high forehand volley — to complete a strong performance, having won 20 of 26 service points.

Errors cost Korda at 2-3 in the second set, triggering a surge in confidence from Evans, who lost seven service points in the 34-minute passage of play. On three occasions, Korda came within a point of a 5-2 lead in the third set only to lose serve. However, a forehand error from Evans in the eighth game gifted Korda a chance to serve for the set.

While Evans took a 4-2 lead in the fourth set, the World No. 26 soon handed the break back to Korda. Once Evans hit a double fault at 4-4, 30/30, Korda didn’t look back and his opponent was left to shout from his chair, “Practise your serve, you’ve got to practise your serve”.  Korda finished the match with a smash winner, raising his arms in celebration.

Earlier this season, Korda, who is now 21-9 on the season, captured his first ATP Tour title in April at the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma (d. Cecchinato). He also finished as runner-up at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com (l. to Hurkacz).

Last weekend, Korda’s sister, Nelly, captured her first Grand Slam golf tournament at the Women’s PGA Championships in Atlanta. “My dad won a Grand Slam [the 1998 Australian Open],” said Korda. “My sister just won her first major and is the No. 1 golfer in the world, so it’s super inspiring. It’s crazy.”

Having come into the Grand Slam championship in third position in the ATP Race To Milan, Korda has further boosted his chance of a place at the Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held from 9-13 November. 

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