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Tsitsipas Wins Five-Set Epic, Overcomes Murray At US Open

  • Posted: Aug 31, 2021

Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was made to battle Monday as he rallied past former World No. 1 Andy Murray 2-6, 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the second round at the US Open as he began his quest for his first major title.

The Greek, who has now notched a tour-leading 49 victories this year, saved two set points at 4/6 in the second-set tie-break to avoid going down two sets to love, before advancing in four hours and 48 minutes.

”It is not easy,” Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview. “I had to make lots of sacrifices to come back. I think the atmosphere was great today, with a lot of positive tennis. The New York crowd is known to be one of the best crowds in the world. The fact we are able to compete out here with an electric crowd today is something we have been waiting for.”

Tsitsipas, currently No. 3 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, has enjoyed a strong North American hard-court swing, reaching the semi-finals in Toronto and Cincinnati this month.

Earlier this year, the 23-year-old reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open and the championship match at Roland Garros. However, the seven-time tour-level titlist has never advanced past the third round in three previous main draw appearances in New York.

The Monte-Carlo champion, who was facing Murray for the first time on Monday, will next face Adrian Mannarino in the second round after the Frenchman defeated countryman Pierre-Hugues Herbert 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.

“I hope I am able to keep my game at the same level [against Mannarino] as I managed today,” Tsitsipas added. “Hopefully I will be back here on this court.”

In a high-quality first set, Murray looked to hit the ball down the line on his backhand as he dictated play with his aggressive groundstrokes to keep the Athens native pinned behind the baseline. He gained a double break to lead 4-1 and moved ahead when Tsitsipas cut a backhand return into the bottom of the net.

The second set was a tight affair as Murray continued to play aggressively. The Scot moved forward effectively, winning 73 per cent (8/11) of points at the net, while Tsitsipas aimed to dominate on his forehand. With both fending off two break points in the set, they entered a tie-break. Murray then produced a superb lob to move 5/3 ahead, but was unable to convert two set points from 6/4 as Tsitsipas levelled.

Despite the setback, Murray quickly regained momentum in the third set as he raced to a 3-0 lead. The Scot saved all four break points he faced and hit 13 winners to move to within one set of victory. Tsitsipas raised this level in the fourth set though as he forced Murray to drop the ball short with his depth and heavy topspin as they moved to a decider.

The Greek then broke in the first game of the fifth set to establish control before he saved a break point at 2-1 with a forehand winner. Tsitsipas, who hit 19 aces in the match, then held serve for a final time to seal victory.

Murray, who lifted his first major trophy at the US Open in 2012, was competing in his seventh tour-level event of the season, having recorded first-round victories in Cincinnati and Winston-Salem this month. It is the first time in 15 appearances that the World No. 112 has fallen in the opening round in New York.

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Rublev Masters Karlovic’s Serve At US Open

  • Posted: Aug 30, 2021

Fifth seed Andrey Rublev produced a strong returning performance Monday to conquer 6’ 11” Croatian qualifier Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-3 and reach the second round at the US Open.

The Russian has struggled against big servers in the past, holding a 0-3 record against 6’ 10” American John Isner. However, in Rublev’s first meeting with Karlovic, he was able to neutralise the 42-year-old’s main threat as he broke twice to advance in one hour and 36 minutes.

The 23-year-old, who fired 27 winners past Karlovic, has fond memories of New York. In 2017, a 19-year-old Rublev became the youngest US Open quarter-finalist since Andy Roddick in 2001. The eight-time tour-level titlist also advanced to the last eight at Flushing Meadows last year.

Rublev arrived at the US Open in form after earning his first victory over countryman Daniil Medvedev en route to his second ATP Masters 1000 final in Cincinnati earlier this month. Rublev will look to continue his momentum against Australian James Duckworth or Spaniard Pedro Martinez in the second round.

Rublev made a fast start against Karlovic, breaking immediately when the Croatian found the net with a volley. The Russian won 50 per cent of points on Karlovic’s second serve and fired 10 winners to lead. With no break points on offer in the second set, Rublev was patient as they moved to a tie-break. He was then able to find the feet of Karlovic twice on return to take further control, before cruising through the third set to seal his victory.

At 42, Karlovic became the oldest player to qualify at the US Open in the Open Era. Before coming through three matches in qualifying, the former World No. 14 had not won consecutive matches at any level since reaching the final of an ATP Challenger Tour event in Houston in November 2019.

With victory, the Croatian would have become the oldest player to defeat a Top 10 opponent at a major since the start of the FedEx ATP Rankings in 1973.

Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime reached the fourth round at the US Open last season and set the wheels in motion for another run this year with a hard-fought 7-6(0), 3-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(8) first-round victory over qualifier Evgeny Donskoy.

The 21-year-old, who lost against eventual champion Dominic Thiem at Flushing Meadows in 2020, raised his level to break at 4-5 in the third set. He saved a set point at 7/8 in the fourth set tie-break, before advancing after four hours.

Earlier this month, Auger-Aliassime bounced back from a disappointing second-round defeat on home soil in Toronto by reaching his second Masters 1000 quarter-final in Cincinnati, overcoming World No. 8 Matteo Berrettini en route to the last eight.

The 12th seed, who advanced to his maiden major quarter-final at Wimbledon in July and reached his eighth tour-level final in Stuttgart in June, will next face qualifier Bernabe Zapata Miralles after the Spaniard beat countryman Feliciano Lopez 5-7, 7-6(6), 6-4, 3-6, 3-6.

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Ivashka Rises To Career-High, Mover Of Week

  • Posted: Aug 30, 2021

No. 53 Ilya Ivashka, +10 (Career High)
The Belarusian rises 10 places to a career-high No. 53 in the FedEx ATP Rankings after he captured his first ATP Tour title on Saturday at the Winston-Salem Open (d. Mikael Ymer). The 27-year-old Ivashka was ranked World No. 116 on 22 March. Read Winston-Salem Final Report & Watch Highlights

 

No. 66 Emil Ruusuvuori, +10 (Career High)
The Finn advanced to his third ATP Tour semi-final in Winston-Salem, beating three seeds on the way – Alexander Bublik, Benoit Paire and Richard Gasquet. The 22-year-old Ruusuvuori is up to a career-high No. 66 after a 10-spot jump.

View Latest FedEx ATP Rankings

Other Notable Top 100 Movers
No. 72 Mikael Ymer, +18
No. 79 Richard Gasquet, +3

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Stan Smith On Djokovic's Pursuit Of History: 'He's A Heavy Favourite'

  • Posted: Aug 30, 2021

The last man who completed a Grand Slam was Rod Laver in 1969. Stan Smith, whom Laver defeated twice at majors that year, is eager to see if Novak Djokovic can replicate the Aussie’s feat at the US Open.

“It’s hard. It’s going to be hard for Djokovic. He’s a heavy favourite, he’s committed to do it. He’s not saying, ‘Well, maybe…’,” Smith told ATPTour.com. “He’s really committed to do it. Unless he gets hurt, he’s the heavy favourite.”

Stan Smith
Photo Credit: Kris Connor/Getty Images for International Tennis Hall of Fame
The American legend, who is the president of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, is surprised that no man has replicated the feat since. Djokovic can become the first man or woman to win a Grand Slam since Stefanie Graf in 1988.

“Nadal and Federer are certainly capable and they’ve won three [in a year],” Smith said. “I am surprised that one of those guys hasn’t been in that position.”

Djokovic, however, is now seven victories away from his fourth major trophy of 2021. The Serbian star will be confident on the New York hard courts, where he has emerged victorious three times.

“Hard courts might be Djokovic’s favourite surface, and so someone is going to have to play really well,” Smith said. “Having said that, he played a terrible couple of sets at the French, where he just played the first two sets in the final really badly, but came back and played great.

“I don’t know what it was, but he was really bad for him and I thought he was done. The fact that he came back there and played great tennis, it just shows he’s got the confidence that if things go bad, he’s not going to panic. A lot of people do [panic].”

Novak Djokovic
Photo Credit: Pete Staples/USTA
Smith was referring to the Roland Garros final, in which Djokovic had to rally from two sets down to defeat Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Hall of Famer saw the World No. 1 up close at Wimbledon, where he defeated Matteo Berrettini for the trophy.

“When I saw him after the match at Wimbledon, the only thing I said to him is, ‘You’re really volleying a lot.’ He was volleying pretty well because if there was any chink in his armour, he’s missed a lot of backhand volleys that have been relatively routine,” Smith said. “But he served and volleyed a lot against Denis Shapovalov in [the semi-finals] and against Berrettini he didn’t miss many volleys either.

“It was a good indication that he’s gotten a little more confident coming to the net and he’s figured it out that that is the right play against certain players and therefore it makes him more of a complete player.”

What makes Djokovic’s game so special? According to the 1971 US Open champion, the Serbian is not just solid all-around, but his backhand is “unbelievable”.

“When I see him miss a backhand, I’m sort of surprised because he’s usually in great balance and in that match he’d maybe be out of balance one out of 15 times,” Smith said. “The rest of the time he is on balance and when he’s on balance, he doesn’t miss too much. If he misses, he doesn’t miss by much.”

Will that be enough for Djokovic to make history in New York? The World No. 1 begins his pursuit of history Tuesday against #NextGenATP Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune.

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Tsitsipas Faces Former Champ Murray In US Open Day 1 Blockbuster

  • Posted: Aug 30, 2021

Arthur Ashe Stadium is a fitting stage for a first-time showdown between World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas and three-time major champion Andy Murray. Among a string of generational clashes, the pair headlines Day 1 of the 2021 US Open, which also features second seed Daniil Medvedev and eighth seed Casper Ruud against French veterans Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, respectively.

The last time Tsitsipas squared off against a Grand Slam champion at a major he came up agonisingly short, having led Novak Djokovic two sets to love at Roland Garros in June. That defeat lingered as the Greek fell to Frances Tiafoe in the first round at Wimbledon a fortnight later, but has since rediscovered his form on North American hard courts, with back-to-back ATP Masters 1000 semi-finals in Toronto and Cincinnati.

“He’s someone that has been putting a lot of work to get back and has been playing very good tennis to be standing where he’s at right now. I think I’m going to go for it, try my chances against him,” Tsitsipas said of Murray. “He’s someone that won’t give up. I’ll have to bring some good tennis from my side.”

Murray, having contested only seven tour-level singles events this year on his road back from hip surgery, tested Hubert Hurkacz and Tiafoe in respective second-round meetings in Cincinnati and Winston-Salem leading in. Nine years since his first major triumph in New York, the 34-year-old World No. 112 would love nothing more than to ride the crowd to a huge upset on Day 1.

“The positive thing in the past few months is that I haven’t been held back really from what I can do on the practice court,” Murray said. “It is the matches where you need to ultimately go out there and perform. That’s what’s been frustrating the past few weeks.”

Second seed Daniil Medvedev opens his campaign on Monday against former No. 7 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, Gasquet, in the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Two years ago, the Russian surged back from two sets down and pushed Rafael Nadal to a fifth set in his maiden Grand Slam final at Flushing Meadows.

While he ultimately came up short, Medvedev reaffirmed his hard-court credentials when he ploughed through 15 straight sets to reach the semi-finals last year. Eventual champion Dominic Thiem ended his run there, however he reached a second major final at this year’s Australian Open (l. to Djokovic). Medvedev found form leading into this year’s US Open with his fourth ATP Masters 1000 title in Toronto and a semi-final appearance in Cincinnati.

“Now I have two finals, [I] need to win, to make a better result at a Slam,” Medvedev said. “I was playing well in both Toronto and Cincinnati, quite similar conditions, hot, humid. I just want to continue [at] this level. When I play well, I know that I can cause trouble to my opponents. That’s the most important.”

The first player seeded in the Top 2 outside Djokovic, Roger Federer, Nadal or Murray in New York, Medvedev has split two ATP Head2Head meetings with Gasquet. Each prevailed on home soil – Gasquet in Montepllier in 2018 and Medvedev in St Petersburg last year – and both with a bagel set to boot.

Since he reached his 32nd tour-level final in Umag last month on clay, the 35-year-old Gasquet – a semi-finalist in New York eight years ago – qualified in Cincinnati (l. to Murray) and reached the quarter-finals in Winston-Salem last week, a run which included a win over third seed Daniel Evans.

In the popcorn first-round match of Day 1, 18th seed Roberto Bautista Agut squares off against arguably the most dangerous floater in the draw, Nick Kyrgios. In the ultimate contrast of styles and on-court dispositions, the ever-consistent Spaniard and the mercurial Australian split two previous ATP Head2Head encounters, with Bautista Agut having claimed their most recent clash at last year’s ATP Cup in Melbourne.

FULL ORDER OF PLAY: DAY 1, US OPEN 2021

Bautista Agut, who twice reached the fourth round in New York, saved three match points to beat Diego Schwartzman for a quarter-final showing in Toronto earlier this month, while Kyrgios managed a 1-3 record on hard courts leading in, with his lone win against former World No. 5 Kevin Anderson in Atlanta.

Having completed a hat-trick of clay-court titles with victory in Kitzbüel, eighth seed Ruud notched back-to-back ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finals on hard courts in Toronto and Cincinnati leading in. The Norwegian meets 36-year-old former World No. 5 Tsonga for the first time, in what will be the Frenchman’s first event since a first-round exit at Wimbledon (l. to Ymer).

Croatian Ivo Karlovic ensured his 17th main draw appearance in New York when he won through three rounds of qualifying. The 42-year-old takes on fifth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev, who fell in his second ATP Masters 1000 final of the season earlier this month (l. to Zverev) in Cincinnati.

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Fashion Court: Dimitrov 'Goes With The Flow'

  • Posted: Aug 30, 2021

Grigor Dimitrov is widely considered by his peers as one of the most fashionable guys on the ATP Tour.

Ahead of the US Open — and New York Fashion Week (8-12 September) — ATPTour.com spoke to the Bulgarian about his fashion inspirations, the cities on Tour with the best shopping, one thing he would never wear and more.

Off court, who is your fashion inspiration?
I think throughout the years, I’ve always felt like I’ve changed my style a little bit. I always try to wear something that doesn’t necessarily match me or doesn’t necessarily go with my personality. I go with whatever the flow is.

One of my favourite designers throughout the years has been Rick Owens. [He makes] very simple, very Bohemian-style, very-loose outfits. I’ve always drawn inspiration from him in a sense because in Europe, we have different weather. Winter is a little bit long at times and [you have] the fall, so you need to wear a little bit more layers. Through the years, I’ve gotten a lot of inspiration and ideas from him to layer things up. I don’t necessarily do it just like him, but I like that sort of vibe.

But lately, honestly, it’s been whatever I feel like wearing. We can’t go to the restaurants that much or anything, so it’s been very basic, very simple… We have an amazing guy Jerry Lorenzo who has a brand Fear of God, and I think they’re getting into it amazingly well. They have a lot of Earth colours and things that you can match with bright colours. I love the simplicity of it, I love the sporty look, but it is sophisticated at the same time. I think it’s really nice to wear something that also shows your character a little bit.

 

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During normal times, what is the go-to Grigor outfit?
Honestly, it depends where I go and who I go with. It varies a little bit. That’s a good question. I’ve always been a fan of sneakers, so I’ll start from the bottom and go with a very plain sneaker, depending on the colours I wear. I’ll go with jeans and a simple oversized t-shirt.

It also depends where I’m going and how I like things to be done. But lately, since I live in Monaco and it’s a little bit more sophisticated out there, I’ve been wearing a little bit more Bruno Cucinelli, very different summer-y vibes, clothes that are very nice with loose pants and a very nice colour-coordinated shirt with buttons and short sleeves. I love hats as well, so I’ve also been wearing some of them. Very mixed and matched, actually.

What kind of hats?
I have a couple of friends who do hats. They do very cool hats with different elements on them, whether they are feathers, some quotes or things that I really like, numbers. I always go with whatever I feel like at that particular moment and I try to take it out of me and put it into some sort of inspiration that I have.

 

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On Tour, what is the best city to go shopping for clothes in?
I’ve done great damage in London. It’s always been a place where I know that even if I don’t look for something, I know I’ll find something. Los Angeles has always been my weak spot. I have a bunch of places there where even if I don’t want to buy anything, even if I just want to go and have a look, you’re always going to buy something. That’s just how it is. The limit there is completely different.

I would say London and Los Angeles for sure. New York has been a very interesting one for me as well. I know my go-to spots so to speak, but I always try to keep it more casual and not extravagant. It’s more different [in New York] and I think that contemporary look is very important for me. It’s not really to go on one side and the other side. It’s creating your own path.

What’s one thing you would never wear and why?
I’d probably never wear slippers with socks. It’s a trend. I’ve seen it so many times, I just don’t think I would want to wear it. I see it and I’m like, ‘Okay, cool.’ I just don’t get it enough, I don’t think. I think it’s kind of funny. That’s probably why I like that contemporary look more and when I see something I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m never going to do that.’ I probably won’t do it.

Is it almost like a basketball-player look?
Yeah, yeah. Nothing against them at all. On them and on athletes in general it looks fine, whatever. You [wear] your socks, you want to rest your feet. But I’m not sure I’ll wear this to a major event.

Grigor Dimitrov is happy to be different with his fashion choices.
Grigor Dimitrov enjoyed wearing a “fun” tracksuit at the 2020 Australian Open. Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
What’s the worst fashion mistake you’ve made?
Once I had a shoot many years ago, I still have some pictures. I’m not going to say for who, what and where, but I had one of the most horrendous outfits I’ve ever had to be taken pictures with. I think that was very disturbing.

At the time I didn’t think to that extent and I thought I’d get it over with and I’m just going to do what I have to do. But I would never wear this again. There were so many different colours and nothing was matching with the other and I had all of a sudden a blue blazer with yellow pants and a green tie. I painted a picture for you. Here and there to do this once, it’s fine. But not for a shoot.

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Cabal/Farah Aiming To Stop Mektic/Pavic At US Open

  • Posted: Aug 29, 2021

In a stacked US Open draw, the world’s leading doubles teams are out to stop top seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic from capturing their 10th tour-level title of the season.

Leading the charge in New York will be the 2019 US Open champions Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah. The fifth seeds, who reached the semi-finals in Cincinnati earlier this month, are aiming to clinch their third major crown, having also triumphed at Wimbledon in 2019. Cabal and Farah will begin their US Open campaign against Polish team Hubert Hurkacz and Szymon Walkow.

View Doubles Draw

The favourites for the title at the Flushing Meadows are Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic. The pair has won nine tour-level trophies this season in their first year together, including three ATP Masters 1000 crowns, Wimbledon and an Olympic gold medal. They will face American wild cards Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow in the first round.

Spanish-Argentine tandem Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos arrive in form. The second seeds won their fourth Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati after advancing to the Wimbledon final in July. Granollers and Zeballos, who start against Argentine duo Facundo Bagnis and Federico Delbonis, have fond memories at the US Open, where they enjoyed a run to the championship match in 2019.

Frenchmen Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert have a strong pedigree at majors, triumphing once at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open and twice at Roland Garros. The third seeds, who won the title in New York in 2015, will be aiming to capture their third tour-level trophy of the season in the next fortnight.

Fourth seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury advanced to the last four at the US Open last year and enter with momentum. The American-British tandem clinched their maiden Masters 1000 title as a team in Toronto in August and will be targeting a second major trophy in the next fortnight, after winning the Australian Open in 2020.

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