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Nadal To Miss US Open, Rest Of 2021 Season

  • Posted: Aug 20, 2021

Rafael Nadal will miss the US Open and the rest of the 2021 season, the Spaniard announced on Instagram Friday due to a foot injury.

“I am very sorry to announce that I will not be able to keep playing tennis during the 2021 season. But as you know I have been suffering too much with my foot for the past year,” Nadal said. “I have missed a lot of important events for me like the US Open now, like Wimbledon, like the Olympics and many other events that are so important and emotional for me.”

 

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Following a semi-final loss at Roland Garros against Novak Djokovic, Nadal did not play until the Citi Open in Washington due to the injury. The legendary lefty made the Round of 16 there before travelling to Toronto for the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers. But Nadal withdrew from the ATP Masters 1000 event.

“After coming back from Toronto, I took a couple of days to think about it. I needed to talk with my family, with my team and with my doctors especially to understand what is going on. But the foot is not the proper way today,” Nadal said. “During the past year I was not practising and preparing myself the way that I need to to be competitive at the standards that I want to be, so we had to take that decision. But I am confident that I will recover 100 per cent and I will be able to fight again for the most important things.

“The injury is nothing new. It is the same injury that I have had since 2005. In that moment, the doctors were very negative about my future career, but I was able to have a career that I never dreamed about. So I am confident that I will recover again the foot and if the foot is better, I am confident that my tennis and my mentality will be there again soon.”

Nadal finishes his season with a 24-5 record and two titles, in Barcelona and Rome. The 35-year-old thanked his fans for all their support, and promised that he will do everything in his power to work his way back: “The only thing you can be sure of is I am going to fight every single day to make that happen.”

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QF Preview: Can Clay Star Ruud Make Hard-Court Statement In Cincinnati?

  • Posted: Aug 20, 2021

Casper Ruud is known for his clay-court prowess, but the Norwegian can make a hard-court statement on Friday in the Western & Southern Open quarter-finals.

The eighth seed will play Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Alexander Zverev for a spot in the last four in Cincinnati. Neither man had previously won a match at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre, but one will move to within two victories of the trophy.

It is an important match for Ruud in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin. Entering the week, the 22-year-old was in eighth place as he pursues a maiden appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals in November. The 360 points that would come with a semi-final berth would give him breathing room ahead Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, who lost Thursday, and draw him closer to seventh-placed Rafael Nadal.

Ruud has now made at least the quarter-finals at four consecutive ATP Masters 1000 events he has played, including two in a row on hard courts. But the winner of four titles this season — all of which have come on clay — will face a stiff test against Zverev, who has not lost a set this week.

The German began his run with an 0-6 record at the Western & Southern Open. But Zverev has found his rhythm on the quick, high-bouncing courts in Cincinnati, taking advantage of his booming serve to put pressure on his opponents throughout the tournament.

“I hope the story has passed me and I can win many more here,” Zverev said in his on-court interview after dispatching Argentine lefty Guido Pella on Thursday. “Obviously I’ve had tough times here, but I’m happy to be here and I feel like I’m playing well. I’m feeling well and that’s the most important thing.”

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Zverev, the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals champion, began the week in sixth place in the Race. He has won eight consecutive matches and his confidence is showing in his aggressive play. The winner will play the winner of second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and #NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime for a spot in the championship match.

From their junior days until early in their ATP Head2Head rivalry, Auger-Aliassime had Tsitsipas’ number. But the Greek star has won four consecutive matches against Felix to take a 4-2 lead in their series.

“[Felix] knows my game better than any opponent out there. We have been playing [each other] since the age of 12,” Tsitsipas said after a three-set victory against Auger-Aliassime in Acapulco this year. “I wasn’t the one winning in the beginning, but it is great that I have developed into the player that I am and he has done an unbelievable improvement. [It is] always a challenge facing him. We do have a history and I really hope that we build a rivalry that is going to be much remembered in ATP Tour history.”

Daniil Medvedev
Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour
On the other half of the draw, top seed Daniil Medvedev will try to continue his impressive play against Pablo Carreno Busta in what promises to be a baseline battle.

Medvedev is confident after lifting his fourth Masters 1000 trophy last week in Toronto, but Carreno Busta is no stranger to hard-court success. The Spaniard is a two-time US Open semi-finalist who showed good form in taking out Miami champion Hubert Hurkacz in two tie-breaks on Thursday.

World No. 2 Medvedev will have revenge on his mind, as Carreno Busta just defeated Medvedev in straight sets in the Olympic quarter-finals and went on to win the bronze medal. The Russian leads their ATP Head2Head series 3-2, including a triumph in this year’s Mallorca semi-finals.

The winner will face Russian Andrey Rublev or resurgent Frenchman Benoit Paire. It will be an interesting clash of styles in their first tour-level meeting, as Rublev blasts the ball without hesitation, while Paire uses various spins, feel and is unafraid of coming to net to finish points.

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Felix Upsets Berrettini, Resets For Tsitsipas Clash

  • Posted: Aug 20, 2021

Felix Auger-Aliassime continues to expunge the disappointment of his opening-round exit on home soil in Toronto last week by charging deeper into the draw at the Western & Southern Open. On Thursday night the Canadian defeated close friend and World No. 8 Matteo Berrettini 6-4, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 tennis tournament.

“Today I played a great match. At some points he didn’t play his best level but on the court you have to deal with different situations and I was able to find my way through,” Auger-Aliassime said.

The World No. 17 on Friday will play second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas as he attempts to reach his second semi-final at this level (Miami 2019).

Playing his first event since missing the Tokyo Olympics with a thigh injury, Berrettini looked below peak fitness and had additional strapping applied to his generously taped left leg after the seventh game of the first set. The Wimbledon finalist’s plight was not helped by him labouring on average for two and a half minutes longer on his service games in the first than his opponent and by him offering up eight break point opportunities.

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After breaking Berrettini for the second time to clinch the first set, Auger-Aliassime broke the Italian’s opening service game and from there chartered a smooth course towards his first win in three ATP Head2Head meetings and his sixth win over a Top 10 player.

The 21-year-old is 16th in the FedEx ATP Race to Turin and needs to produce big results at the remaining Masters 1000s and US Open to climb into contention for one of seven remaining spots at the Nitto ATP Finals. Coming into this week, he had a modest 4-8 record at the Masters 1000 level dating back to the Tour resumption in August last year.

But he improved to 28-17 on the year Thursday night and has designs on pushing beyond his career-high FedEx ATP Ranking of No. 15 on Monday by continuing his charge at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre.

Auger-Aliassime now turns his focus to his seventh ATP Head2Head meeting with Tsitsipas, who has won the past four battles to lead the rivalry 4-2. “He’s a great rival and tomorrow will be another great battle. From here on it will be top, top players.”

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Tsitsipas' 'Game Changer' Hold Lifts Him To QFs

  • Posted: Aug 20, 2021

Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced to his fifth ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final of the season Thursday night with a fighting win over Italian Lorenzo Sonego at the Western & Southern Open. The Greek notched a Tour-leading 47th match win of the season with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 victory to set a Friday quarter-final with Matteo Berrettini or Felix Auger-Aliassime.

“He was going for every single shot and his footwork was close to unbelievable,” Tsitsipas said. “He can do damage against high-ranked players. Things got really difficult in a few moments but I stayed there and waited for the opportunity to present itself.”

Tsitsipas had not won a match at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre before this week, although he did reach last year’s semi-finals when the tournament was played in New York due to the pandemic.

Sonego stunned the second seed with an explosive opening set in which he hit 15 winners to three unforced errors and by winning 87 per cent of first-serve points.

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In the first game of the second set, Tsitsipas dug himself out of a 0/40 hole for just the fifth time of the year and broke Sonego in the next game to steal the momentum. The former Nitto ATP Finals champion took a more aggressive posture inside the baseline and won 11 of 13 net approaches.

The Greek also broke the 26-year-old World No. 27 in the first game of the third set and never relinquished his stranglehold on the match as Sonego didn’t get a sniff at a break point in the decider.

“That was a game changer,” Tsitsipas said of the hold in the first game of the second set. “After finding my game from that part of the match onwards, things started working pretty well for me. The psychology kind of changed and I was having that fighting spirit and not letting go was very crucial.”

Both players had clean stats sheets, with Tsitsipas boasting 24 winners to 15 unforced errors and Sonego 35 winners to 20 unforced errors. But the Greek’s edge in winning 31 of 51 points of five-to-nine-shot duration proved decisive.

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Fast & Fabulous, Zverev Loving Cinci Conditions

  • Posted: Aug 19, 2021

Olympic gold medallist Alexander Zverev extended his winning streak to eight matches and raced into the quarter-finals of the Western & Southern Open with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Argentine Guido Pella Thursday.

The World No. 5 dropped just four points on his first serve and did not face a break point in the one-hour, 13-minute victory. The German said that he is relishing the fast conditions in Cincinnati.

“It’s the fastest court I have played on the whole year. In the first match I was struggling a little with rhythm and timing, but it does suit me with my serve and the power I have, when I decide to use it. Today I felt good out there,” Zverev told Tennis Channel.

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“For me it’s more about how high the ball bounces, not the speed of the court. That’s maybe why I struggle on grass courts maybe than other surfaces. I’m a tall guy and I need the height to hit through the court. That’s why I’ve won three Masters Series on clay and made the semis of the French Open this year. I’ve also had success on hard courts.”

The 2020 US Open finalist, who is seeking his fifth Masters 1000 title, had not won a match in six prior appearances at the event. This year’s Masters 1000 champion in Madrid will next face World No. 11 Casper Ruud, who has now made the quarter-finals or better in his past four outings at this level.

Casper Ruud

A semi-finalist this year in Monte-Carlo and Madrid, the Norwegian continues to press his hard-court credentials – and his claim to a maiden berth at the Nitto ATP Finals – by beating Diego Schwartzman 6-4, 6-3 to reach his second Masters 1000 quarter-final in as many weeks. Before his run to the last eight in Toronto last week, Ruud had never won a hard-court match at the Masters 1000 level.

Rightly known for his clay-court prowess, which reaped three consecutive titles after Wimbledon, Ruud is quietly building his street cred on hard courts. The 22-year-old, who claimed his 100th career match win in the second round this week, reached the fourth round of the Australian Open and the quarter-finals of Acapulco before missing the Miami Open through injury.

Against Schwartzman, Ruud did not face a break point and dropped just three points on his first serve. Ruud is eighth in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin, and will pull further away from ninth-placed Hubert Hurkacz, who fell today in the third round to Olympic bronze medallist Pablo Carreno Busta 7-6(6), 7-6(3)

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Rublev Beats Monfils To Reach Cincinnati QFs

  • Posted: Aug 19, 2021

World No. 7 Andrey Rublev continued his love affair with the Lindner Family Tennis Centre Thursday when he claimed a dramatic 7-6(2), 7-6(5) win over Gael Monfils to charge into the quarter-finals of the Western & Southern Open.

“It was super tough. It was really humid,” Rublev said. “Gael was running super fast and it’s impossible to play short rallies with him. If you try to shoot every ball you will miss most of them and the match will be over in half an hour. So you need to take your time, stay in the rally and wait for the right moment.”

Rublev was No. 70 in the FedEx ATP Rankings when he last played in Cincinnati and came through qualifying to topple Stan Wawrinka and Roger Federer to reach the semi-finals. Last year, he fell in the first round when the tournament was played in New York due to the pandemic. Returning to Ohio this year as one of the world’s leading players and positioned fifth in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin, Rublev is looking to ride his good vibes at the traditional venue to claim his first Masters 1000 title.

Rublev won all 23 first-serve points in the first set as neither player earned a break point. But it was a different story in the second set, which began with four straight breaks and featured six breaks overall heading into the tie-break.

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The second set also had additional drama. Troubled by his left knee, Monfils sat down at 0-1 and then was visited by ATP physio Paul Ness at 1-all. He also threw up into a courtside garbage can. After a six-minute delay, Monfils and Rublev exchanged words but the encounter ended with a friendly handshake before play resumed.

Monfils played ultra-aggressively in the second, working into position to serve for the set at 5-3 and to hold a set point on Rublev’s serve at 5-4. But at 5/5 in the tie-break Rublev nailed a down-the-line backhand winner after an athletic point to set up match point, which he cashed in when Monfils double faulted.

Rublev advances to play Frenchman Benoit Paire, who broke John Isner three times in the final set en route to a 7-6(1), 6-7(2), 6-1 victory that takes him to his first Masters 1000 quarter-final since his semi-final run in Rome in 2013.

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