Tennis News

Ruud Leads The Way In Mallorca

Norway’s Casper Ruud moved past Gilles Simon 6-4, 7-6(4) on Monday to reach the second-round at the Mallorca Championships, and record his first grass-court victory of the season.

The fifth seed, No. 14 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, broke the Frenchman’s serve twice and won 80 per cent (40/50) of his first-service points to advance at the new ATP 250 grass-court event in Spain. The 22-year-old will play Tennys Sandgren next after the American overcame Spaniard Jaume Munar 7-6(3), 7-5.

World No. 29 Karen Khachanov fought past French qualifier Lucas Pouille 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-4 in two hours and 17 minutes. The Russian hit 13 aces and won 42 per cent (18/43) of points on Pouille’s second serve to set up a clash with Feliciano Lopez in the second round. 

Lopez, who has won four of his seven ATP Tour titles on grass, defeated fellow Spaniard Nicola Kuhn 6-1, 7-6(4). The World No. 90 won 84 per cent (32/38) of his first-service points and broke Kuhn three times. The 39-year-old will be aiming to record his 500th career win against Khachanov. 

Frenchman Corentin Moutet also advanced as he beat Lloyd Harris 6-4, 6-2 in 88 minutes. The World No. 85 did not face a break point against the South African and will meet top-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev in the second round.

Italian Stefano Travaglia defeated Guido Pella 7-5, 7-6(4), and Slovakian qualifier Lukas Klein overcame World No. 41 Dusan Lajovic 6-4, 7-6(2). Former World No. 35 Jiri Vesely beat Salvatore Caruso 7-6(2), 6-2 to also move through on Monday. 

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Rain Cancels Play At Eastbourne On Monday

First-round matches at the Viking International Eastbourne have been cancelled on Monday due to rain. Play was scheduled to get underway at 11:00 a.m. local time on centre court with a clash between former World No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Egor Gerasimov, which will now take place on Tuesday.  

Seventh-seeded Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who won the title at the Estoril Open (d. Norrie) in May, was set to face Emil Ruusuvuori on Court One in his second grass-court match of the season.

SCHEDULE – TUESDAY, 22 JUNE 2021

CENTRE COURT start 10:30 am
ATP – J. Tsonga (FRA) vs E. Gerasimov (BLR)

Not Before 11:30 AM
WTA – [Q] C. Giorgi (ITA) vs [5] K. Pliskova (CZE)
WTA – [WC] H. Watson (GBR) vs [4] I. Swiatek (POL)

Not Before 2:00 pm
ATP – F. Tiafoe (USA) vs [WC] L. Broady (GBR)

Not Before 3:30 PM
WTA – [1] A. Sabalenka (BLR) vs [Q] B. Pera (USA)
WTA – [DA SR] B. Mattek-Sands (USA) / S. Mirza (IND) vs G. Dabrowski (CAN) / V. Zvonareva (RUS)

COURT 1 start 10:30 am
WTA – P. Badosa (ESP) vs [2] E. Svitolina (UKR)

Not Before 11:30 am
ATP – J. Millman (AUS) vs [WC] J. Clarke (GBR)
ATP – [6] A. Davidovich Fokina (ESP) vs [Q] M. Ymer (SWE)

Not Before 2:00 PM
WTA – [7] E. Mertens (BEL) vs C. Gauff (USA)
WTA – P. Martic (CRO) vs [6] B. Bencic (SUI)
WTA – [WC] H. Dart (GBR) / H. Watson (GBR) vs C. Gauff (USA) / J. Ostapenko (LAT)

COURT 2 start 10:30 am
WTA – [WC] H. Dart (GBR) vs E. Rybakina (KAZ)
WTA – [8] A. Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) vs [WC] J. Ostapenko (LAT)
ATP – E. Ruusuvuori (FIN) vs [7] A. Ramos-Vinolas (ESP)
ATP – [WC] J. Ward (GBR) vs V. Pospisil (CAN)
ATP – [4] F. Martin (FRA) / E. Roger-Vasselin (FRA) vs L. Bambridge (GBR) / J. Murray (GBR)
ATP – K. Skupski (GBR) / N. Skupski (GBR) vs H. Nys (MON) / J. O’Mara (GBR)

COURT 6 start 10:30 am
ATP – [LL] A. Gray (GBR) vs [Q] I. Ivashka (BLR)
ATP – [LL] M. Purcell (AUS) vs [Q] J. Duckworth (AUS)
ATP – M. Fucsovics (HUN) vs A. Bedene (SLO)
after rest – ATP – M. Purcell (AUS) / L. Saville (AUS) vs [WC] L. Glasspool (GBR) / H. Heliovaara (FIN)
ATP – [1] N. Mektic (CRO) / M. Pavic (CRO) vs A. Behar (URU) / G. Escobar (ECU)
ATP – F. Nielsen (DEN) / F. Skugor (CRO) vs [3] R. Ram (USA) / J. Salisbury (GBR)

COURT 12 start 10:30 am
ATP – [LL] N. Gombos (SVK) vs A. Popyrin (AUS)
ATP – [Q] M. Kukushkin (KAZ) vs [8] A. Bublik (KAZ)
ATP – [LL] A. Seppi (ITA) vs Y. Nishioka (JPN)
ATP – R. Bopanna (IND) / D. Sharan (IND) vs [WC] A. Gray (GBR) / L. Johnson (GBR)
ATP – A. Bublik (KAZ) / N. Monroe (USA) vs J. Peers (AUS) / J. Smith (AUS)
ATP – R. Klaasen (RSA) / B. McLachlan (JPN) vs [2] J. Cabal (COL) / R. Farah (COL) 

Australian pair James Duckworth, who came through qualifying, and Max Purcell were also scheduled to be in action in what would have been the first ATP Head2Head meeting between them.

On Tuesday, eighth seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will play Mikael Ymer, while Andreas Seppi is due to face World. No 57 Yoshihito Nishioka. Australian John Millman and British wild card Jay Clarke will also meet.

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Humbert Returns To Top 30, Mover Of Week

No. 25 Ugo Humbert, +6 (Career-High)
The Frenchman jumps six places to a career-high No. 25 in the FedEx ATP Rankings after a run to his third ATP Tour trophy in Halle. En route to the NOVENTI OPEN trophy, Humbert overcame Sam Querrey, No. 6-ranked Alexander Zverev, two #NextGenATP stars in Sebastian Korda and Felix Auger-Aliassime before a 6-3, 7-6(4) win over World No. 7 Andrey Rublev in the final. Read Match Report & Watch Halle Final Highlights

View Latest FedEx ATP Rankings 

No. 34 Cameron Norrie, +7 (Career-High)
The Briton, who was at No. 74 in the FedEx ATP Rankings at the start of the 2021 season, is now up to a career-high World No. 34. With a career-best 29 match wins so far (29-13 overall), Norrie has reached three ATP Tour finals in the past few months — the Millennium Estoril Open (l. to Ramos-Vinolas), the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon (l. to Tsitsipas) and also the cinch Championships in London, falling to World No. 9 Matteo Berrettini in three sets on Sunday. Read Match Report & Watch Queen’s Club Final Highlights

Other Notable Top 100 Movers
No. 18 Alex de Minaur, +4 (Joint Career-High)
No. 56 Frances Tiafoe, +9
No. 63 Dominik Koepfer, +10
No. 65 Marcos Giron, +10 (Career-High)
No. 76 Jordan Thompson, +5
No. 85 Corentin Moutet, +9
No. 89 Federico Coria, +14

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Medvedev: 'I Like Grass; I Just Need To Get Some Confidence'

Daniil Medvedev fielded plenty of questions about his feelings on clay this season. But despite losing in the first round of the NOVENTI OPEN last week to start his grass-court season, the Russian has left no doubt ahead of the Mallorca Championships that on this surface, he is more confident.

“I like to play on grass, I just need to get some confidence in my game on the surface, because we didn’t play [on it] for two years. Two years ago, I was not the same player as I am right now,” Medvedev said. “It is tough for me to say where I see myself, but I know I can play very good on this surface. I just need to find the right balance.”

The World No. 2 has earned big wins on grass, most notably upsetting Stan Wawrinka at Wimbledon in 2017. But the grass-court season is the shortest of all surfaces, making it even more important for players to adapt quickly.

“In Halle, I had three days of practice, which was definitely not enough to feel good,” Medvedev said. “I lost my first round against a great player, so it [was] not easy, [and] that is why I decided to come to Mallorca to try and get some more matches.”

According to the reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion, who recently made the Roland Garros quarter-finals, there are also other factors in adjusting to grass.

“When I started playing on grass, I played in Challengers and even in [ATP] Tour tournaments on the outside courts, not on the central courts, and I can tell that the central courts are quite slow,” Medvedev said. “Especially the match I played with Gilles Simon at Queen’s [Club], we had rallies of 40 shots every second point. That is what makes it a little bit tougher.

“When I practise on practice courts, I feel like I am playing so good as the ball is so fast. Then I come onto the centre court to play the match, and the ball just stops after the bounce, and you have to adapt your game, so it can be tough. But I know I can play really well on grass.”

Medvedev is the top seed this week, but there are plenty of tough opponents in Mallorca, including second seed Dominic Thiem. Medvedev will play Lloyd Harris or Corentin Moutet in the second round.

“It is a really strong field here,” Medvedev said. “Everyone said to Novak Djokovic, ‘Why are you going to Belgrade [the week before Roland Garros]?’ But he gained a lot of confidence there. I don’t think he played his best tennis there, but then he came and destroyed everyone at Roland Garros, so I think sometimes it can be good just to prepare ahead of a Grand Slam and win some matches.”

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Scouting Report: Daniil & Novak Playing In Mallorca, Gael Leads Eastbourne Field

The grass-court season continues this week with two ATP 250 events: the Mallorca Championships and the Viking International Eastbourne.

Two top five stars headline the draw in Mallorca, with Daniil Medvedev and Dominic Thiem attempting to make their mark on grass. Fan favourite Gael Monfils will chase the trophy in Eastbourne. ATPTour.com looks at what you should watch at these two events.

View Draws: Mallorca | Eastbourne

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN MALLORCA
1) Medvedev Leads The Way: The top seed in Mallorca is World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, who is pursuing his first grass-court ATP Tour title on grass. The Russian star has enjoyed success on the surface before, defeating Stan Wawrinka in the first round at Wimbledon in 2017. Medvedev lost in the first round last week in Halle against Jan-Lennard Struff, and he will try to get back on track against South African Lloyd Harris or Frenchman Corentin Moutet in the second round in Spain.

2) Thiem Makes 2021 Grass Debut: The last time Dominic Thiem competed, he was upset in the first round at Roland Garros by Pablo Andujar. The Austrian will attempt to put that behind him this week in Mallorca, where he is the second seed. Thiem will open his tournament against Adrian Mannarino, who beat Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6(3), 6-3 in the first round on Sunday. The World No. 5 has a 14-14 tour-level record on grass, with his best result on the surface coming in 2016 when he won the title in Stuttgart, where he earned a victory against Roger Federer.

3) Djokovic Doubles: World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will be competing in Mallorca, but just in the doubles draw alongside home favourite Carlos-Gomez Herrera. This will be the Serbian’s first doubles action since the ATP Cup at the start of the season. They will begin their event against reigning Buenos Aires champions Tomislav Brkic and Nikola Cacic. The top seeds in the doubles draw are Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.

4) Ugo In-Form: Nobody arrives in Mallorca in better grass-court form than Frenchman Ugo Humbert, who won the biggest title of his career on Sunday in Halle. En route to the ATP 500 title, the lefty earned Top 10 triumphs against Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev. The seventh seed will begin his Mallorca campaign against Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, and he could potentially play American Sam Querrey, whom he defeated in a tight three-setter in Halle, in the second round.

5) RBA Rounds Out Wild Cards: Medvedev and Thiem received two of the main draw wild cards at this ATP 250, and home favourite Roberto Bautista Agut got the third.The Spaniard, who will open against Guido Pella or Stefano Travaglia, has proven to be a grass-court stalwart. Although he lost in the first round in Halle last week, Bautista Agut advanced to his first Grand Slam semi-final two years ago at Wimbledon.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN EASTBOURNE
1) Monfils Top Seed: Will Monfils win his first ATP Tour title on grass this week in Eastbourne? The Frenchman is the top seed at the ATP 250, where he reached the final in 2017. The 34-year-old lost in the first round in Halle last week against Harris, but he will try to bring his best tennis to the lawns against one of two Aussies: qualifier James Duckworth or lucky loser Max Purcell, who made the 2020 Australian Open doubles final alongside Luke Saville. Monfils has a 40-28 tour-level record on grass.

2) De Minaur Rising: Aussie Alex de Minaur is rounding into form, and he will try to continue that trend this week at the Viking International Eastbourne. The 22-year-old, who advanced to the semi-finals at last week’s cinch Championships in London, is the second seed in Eastbourne, where he lost in the first round of the main draw after qualifying in 2018. De Minaur will begin his tournament against American Frances Tiafoe or wild card Liam Broady.

3) Super Sonego: Berrettini, Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti have gotten a lot of the attention for the Italian success on the ATP Tour in 2021. Lorenzo Sonego belongs firmly in that conversation. The Turin-native advanced to the Rome semi-finals earlier this year for his first trip to the last four at an ATP Masters 1000 event. He has also done well on grass, winning his first tour-level title on the surface two years ago in Antalya. The third seed will play wild card Jay Clarke or Aussie John Millman in the second round.

4) British Hopes: The three wild cards in the main draw went to British players: Broady, Clarke and veteran James Ward. This will be Ward’s 10th main draw appearance in this tournament. Cameron Norrie, the Briton who is enjoying a career-best season, is the ninth seed. He is fresh off one of the best tournaments in his career, having made the final at The Queen’s Club. Another home favourite, Alastair Gray, moved into the draw as a lucky loser after losing against Duckworth in the final round of qualifying.

5) Mektic/Pavic Going For No. 7: The top seeds in the doubles draw, Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, will try to lift their seventh ATP Tour trophy of the season together this week. They will face a tough opening test against Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar, this year’s Delray Beach and Marbella champions. Other teams to watch in Eastbourne include Colombian stars Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah and third seeds Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury.

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Mannarino & Thompson Advance in Mallorca

Frenchman Adrian Mannarino moved past Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6(3), 6-3 on Sunday to reach the second round at the Mallorca Championships.

The World No. 42 saved all four break points that he faced and won 61 per cent (14/23) of his second-service points to advance at the new ATP 250 grass-court event in Spain.

Struff had beaten Russian Daniil Medvedev at the NOVENTI OPEN in Halle last week on home soil, but could not overcome Mannarino. The 32-year-old will play second-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem in the second round.

Elsewhere, Jordan Thompson saved a match point as he fought back to overcome Spaniard Pablo Andujar 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 in two hours and 26 minutes.

The Australian, who is currently No. 81 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, hit 14 aces and saved a match point at 4-5 in the second set, and he will next face either Dusan Lajovic or qualifier, Lukas Klein in the second round.

Tennys Sandgren led Spaniard Jaume Munar 7-6(3), 2-1 before play was suspended for the evening because the court was slippery due to the humidity of the grass. The American, who was playing his first match of the season on grass, hit seven aces and saved the one break point he faced to claim the opening set.

Lucas Pouille, Roberto Carballes Baena, and Nicola Kuhn all came through qualifying alongside Klein to reach the main draw.

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Birmingham Classic: Ons Jabeur beats Daria Kasatkina to win first title

Tunisian second seed Ons Jabeur beats Russia’s Daria Kasatkina to win her first singles title at the Birmingham Classic.

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Herbert/Mahut Win Third Queen’s Club Title

Fourth seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut defeated Reilly Opelka and John Peers 6-4, 7-5 to claim the doubles title at the cinch Championships in London on Sunday.

Last week’s Roland Garros champions won 77 per cent (30/39) of their first-service points and broke three times as they wrapped up victory in 78 minutes. They are now 25-7 on the season.

“Mahut is the older one of the team, so he was taking care at the end, serving aces when we were down two break points,” Herbert said. “We only got three hours of practice time on the grass before the first match, but we missed the grass last season, so being back here playing on the grass is joyful.”

Mahut added: “It was something special to win [Roland Garros] in our hometown with our family last week. It is good to come here now on grass, and we didn’t expect anything, but we are now here with the trophy. It has been an amazing three weeks.”

Opelka and Peers had previously beaten singles finalist Cameron Norrie and Alex de Minaur 7-6(3), 6-3 on Sunday after rain ended play early on Saturday night at The Queen’s Club. However, after an even start in the final, the American-Australian team were broken in the seventh game, with Herbert and Mahut closing out the set on serve.

The French pair continued to dictate in the second set and broke Peers’ serve to move 2-1 ahead. They then won 86 per cent (18/21) of their first-service points in the second set, and dominated around the net to establish control. While Herbert failed to serve out the contest, the French team broke again and served out the match to win their second title of the year.

Peers won the Gonet Geneva Open title with Michael Venus, but teamed up with Opelka for this first time this week in London. The pair took out top seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in the quarter-finals, but could not produce a repeat performance against Herbert and Mahut.

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Eastbourne 2021: How to watch live on BBC TV, plus Wimbledon qualifying details

Follow live coverage of Eastbourne on BBC TV and online, plus the Wimbledon qualifiers on the BBC Sport website and app.

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Queen's: Cameron Norrie loses final to Matteo Berrettini

Cameron Norrie’s hopes of winning his first ATP Tour title are ended as he loses to top seed Matteo Berrettini at Queen’s Club.

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