Tennis News

From Challenger Champion To Director: Galovic Transitions To New Role In Verona

On Saturday, Holger Rune became the last man standing in Verona, Italy. The Danish teen continued his ruthless run of form on the ATP Challenger Tour, clinching a second straight title in dominant fashion. Rune did not drop a set all week at the inaugural Internazionali di Tennis Verona, culminating in a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Nino Serdarusic in the final.

It was a fitting conclusion to an impressive ATP Challenger debut in Verona, as the tournament kicked off a new era on the circuit. And with former pro Viktor Galovic at the helm, it was a success from start to finish. With renowned local chefs and live concerts throughout the week, as well as dramatic light shows marking the night sessions, fans were given world-class entertainment and players were treated like rock stars. After traveling the tour for nearly a decade, this is exactly how Galovic envisioned the ideal tournament.

It has become one of the novelties of life on the ATP Challenger Tour. More and more former players have made the transition to a different role, stepping into the office as tournament director. From Top 10 stalwarts Arnaud Clement (Aix-en-Provence) and Andres Gomez (Guayaquil), to the likes of Luis Horna (Lima), Rik De Voest (Vancouver) and Nicolas Escude (Brest), past champions are giving back. Each of these players’ careers were launched on the Challenger circuit. Now, they are returning to their roots.

This week, Galovic is the latest to enter the fray. The Croatian, who is based in Italy, has embarked on a new career as tournament director in his hometown of Verona. It marks the return of the ATP Challenger Tour to the Italian city for the first time since 1990.

Galovic, a mainstay inside the Top 200 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for many years, lifted his lone Challenger trophy in nearby Recanati, Italy, in 2017. He would also make five appearances on the ATP Tour, most notably reaching the quarter-finals on the clay of the Swiss Open Gstaad in 2018, where he upset World No. 38 Robin Haase.

After a 10-year career, Galovic announced his retirement from professional tennis in July. Persistent back and hip injuries may have forced him to hang up his racquet, but the 30-year-old is not leaving the tennis scene. He recently launched ‘VK Events’, with plans to organize many ATP Challenger tournaments throughout Italy in the coming years.

It all starts with this week’s inaugural Internazionali di Tennis Verona. Held at the Associazione Tennis Verona, the tournament site was founded in 1929 and previously hosted a Challenger tournament from 1988-90. Now, the historic club welcomes players and fans for a new era of tennis in northern Italy.

Galovic spoke to ATPTour.com during his first week in his new role…

First of all, Viktor, congrats on this new endeavor. How did this come about?
I was playing good for the past few years and enjoying my time on tour, but I got stuck with a back injury and had four hernias. I had to do surgery on my hip too. I’m almost 31 now and don’t want to have to go through another surgery, so that’s it. I played my last tournament in Todi (in July). But now I’m staying in tennis, but in a different way. I think I’m going to enjoy this more than practising and sweating all day.

The tournament actually started as a joke. Me and my friend were saying that’s it is crazy that a club like this in Verona does not have a Challenger. For fun we said, ‘let’s contact the ATP and do it’. That’s how it started.

I actually had this idea earlier in the year. We started at the end of April and didn’t have much time to organize everything. But we managed to do one of the best Challengers in Europe I think.

Now that the first edition is complete, what are your impressions? How did it go?
I’m the tournament director, but I’m also the organizer of the tournament. With my colleagues, we organized everything from the beginning. Just four of us created this from nothing. We did an amazing job in just a few months.

The courts are completely new and we have a great hotel and great food. Having a team that knows what the players need is important. We brought in Elena Marchesini [co-founder of MEF Tennis Events] to do the player desk. Also, in the first few days, we had to train the guys that were cleaning the courts, the ball boys and some of the staff, but as soon as they knew what to do, it went smoothly.

Being a former player gives you a unique perspective. How has that helped you in this role?
Being a former player helps a lot. I know everything the players need. I was the one complaining sometimes at some Challengers. We did everything for these players. For example, we could have taken a hotel that was less expensive but we wanted to go with the Crowne Plaza and make it more comfortable. With the staff here in the restaurant, all the food is good. If it wasn’t, I would have hired someone to make it good. We did almost everything for the players.

For the fans, we put the lights on the centre court, so people from the streets can see them and walk in. We didn’t expect to have so many people on site. On Tuesday, we were already completely full. People have to be vaccinated or have a negative test. We had 200 people sitting and 200 more standing. It’s holidays in Verona now, so everyone is free to watch the tennis. It’s been 31 years since Verona last had a Challenger and we wanted to have no payment to come watch.

You mentioned the importance of making everything perfect for the players, but how have you also improved the fan experience?
The main goal was to make this feel like the ATP 250 tournament in Umag. We decided it’s going to be an event, with great food and music and tennis. It’s a tennis tournament, but also a big event. The centre court has flashing lights and after the matches we have parties in the club. Even before the night matches we have an ‘aperativo’ (a light pre-dinner drink) hour. If you come with your wife and she’s not as interested in the tennis, she can still enjoy it and stay for the concerts after the matches are finished. It’s similar to Umag and to Braunschweig on the Challenger Tour. Here, we have something like this going on every night.

What’s been the biggest challenge to make this happen?
Just working with so many people and so many groups to make things happen for the tournament. Organizing everything and contacting everyone. That is the main complicated thing. I’m sure it’s like this with many tournaments. That’s the biggest challenge in organizing a tournament.

You just started a new event management company, VK Events. Is it just tennis tournaments or do you have plans to expand into other areas?

For now it’s just tennis and next year we have plans for three Challengers. Again, the main thing for us is to create an event. An entertainment experience. Not just going to see a tournament and that’s it. Next year, we will try to go to Lido di Venezia. It’s going to be in Venice, so you have to come by ferry. And the other one we’re looking to do is in Murano. We also want to do something that no one has done in Verona, and that is to bring an ATP 250 here. We still don’t know how or when, but the main goal is to have a centre court in the arena here. That’s the goal.

Now that your playing career is over, how rewarding is it to be able to give back to the Challenger Tour and help it grow as a director?
It’s very rewarding. It was the best period of my life. I was struggling a lot at the beginning of my career, but to get to the Challenger Tour and have these experiences with a coach and a physio was everything. It was already rewarding in the past and now to be able to organize one of these tournaments, it is even more special.

Finally, what are your fondest memories of competing on tour? What will you remember most from your playing days?

I don’t have so many memories that pop out from winning matches. But the main thing that I really liked is that it taught me about dealing with pressure and about people getting involved to organize something. It taught me a lot in that way, because tennis is stressful. Traveling in planes two times a week is already stressful and then you have the on-court stress. Tennis is all about solving problems. That helped me a lot to solve the problems right now in organizing a Challenger.

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Final Preview: Can Rublev Bust Zverev Streak?

History is relentless – and, ultimately, undefeated – but as Andrey Rublev discovered Saturday afternoon in Mason, Ohio, sometimes it can be re-written by those bold enough to challenge what has passed before.

Coming into his Western & Southern Open semi-final with fellow Russian Daniil Medvedev, the 23-year-old had lost each of the four ATP-level matches between them – and all 10 sets. When the No.1 seed took the first set rather easily, it looked like more of the same.

But Rublev rallied famously and, perhaps helped by a jarring Medvedev collision with a television camera, dramatically altered the narrative with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory.

He’ll face Alexander Zverev – himself a dramatic 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4) winner over Stefanos Tsitsipas – in a delectable Sunday final (4:30 p.m., ET). The gold medallist at the Tokyo Olympics was down a double break at 1-4 in the third set and, despite suffering severe gastric distress, managed a remarkable comeback to extend his winning streak to 10 matches.

Your 2021 #CincyTennis final
?? @AndreyRublev97 v. @AlexZverev ??

Who claims Cincinnati? ? pic.twitter.com/pzJCoJkygA

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 22, 2021

What would it mean to Rublev to win his first Masters 1000 event?

“Of course it will be special, and especially this place that I have such great memories that many things happen here that help me also and change a bit myself,” Rublev said in his post-match press conference. “But we’ll see. I’m not thinking this way.

“This week was already, is amazing for me. It’s one more amazing memory in my head. I’m going to do my best tomorrow, and that’s all I can say.”

Rublev will have yet another opportunity to re-write his personal history.

The No.3-seeded Zverev, like Medvedev coming into the semi-finals, leads the ATP Head2Head 4-0 (and 9-0 in sets), with the most recent victory coming in the fourth round of the Australian Open, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

“Yeah, he’s playing the tennis of his life, I think beating Daniil, who is in incredible form right now,” Zverev said of Rublev. “It’s going to be of course a tough one, but also a fun one. I have known Andrey since we were 11 years old.

“We have been pretty much best friends for a long period of time. It’s great to see how long of a way we came and that we are kind of playing the biggest matches and competing for the biggest titles together.”

Medvedev was attempting to accomplish the rare Canada/Cincinnati double and playing his 13th match in less than one month. He reached the quarter-finals at the Tokyo Olympics, losing to Pablo Carreno Busta, and then won the title in Toronto.

In the third game of the second set, however, Medvedev ran into a television camera while chasing a sharply angled ball from Rublev. It was a violent crash; the heavy camera actually came off its mooring. Medvedev required a medical timeout and never recaptured the momentum of the first set.

“I think it’s, how you say, tough situation,” Rublev said. “When you run far away, you can hit some, or referee sometimes or chair that stay next to you. Here happens that Daniil, he hit camera. Of course in these moments it’s really dangerous because something can happen.”

Against Zverev, Rublev will have to channel the poise and precision he showed in the eighth game of the second set. With Medvedev serving at 3-4, Rublev prevailed in a 22-point game that required 15 minutes. It was the kind of game the patient, counter-punching Medvedev usually won in their previous encounters.

“In that moment, I feel that was like the turning point for both of us, because was so humid and so hot,” Rublev said. “That game we play so many great rallies, long rallies. I could feel that Daniil was a bit already tired, because sometimes he was doing mistakes that normally he was not doing.”

Zverev, who defeated Novak Djokovic in the Olympic semi-finals and Karen Khachanov in final, lost to Tsitsipas in the semi-finals at Roland Garros. He came back from that 1-4 deficit in the third set with some superb serving. There were three aces and four unreturnable offerings at 5-all and in the tie-break Zverev unleashed back-to-back serves at 131 and 133 miles per hour to position himself for the victory.

The four young Cincinnati semi-finalists seem to be in the best position to challenge No. 1 Novak Djokovic’s bid to score a Grand Slam and break the three-way tie with Federer and Nadal for most major titles.

Medvedev, at 25, is the oldest of the group, followed by Zverev (24), Rublev and Tsitsipas, who are both 23. This was the first time in nine years the top four seeds all reached the final four of a Masters 1000. That happened in Shanghai, China and, for the record, those players were Roger Federer, Djokovic, Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych.

With Federer, Djokovic and Nadal all missing in action Saturday – the 40-year-old Federer and Nadal (35) say they are done for the year – this is, going forward, what elite men’s tennis might look like.

Consider the list of ATP leaders in match wins for 2021: Tsitsipas (48), Rublev (41), Medvedev (40), Casper Ruud (39) and Djokovic (38). Zverev and Cameron Norrie are next with 37.

“It was a very dramatic match against one of the best players in the world this year,” Zverev said. “I think Stef has been playing incredible tennis and is on an incredible level. I think it was very entertaining for all the people, but it was also entertaining to play it itself, because I went through a lot of emotions.

“I mean, first, I was winning, I was playing incredible tennis. Then I had some physical issues. Then I had to come back. I had to dig deep. To come back, to win that match, is a great feeling.”

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Zverev Back From Brink To Beat Tsitsipas

Alexander Zverev produced a stunning comeback against Stefanos Tsitsipas Saturday night to extend his winning streak to 10 matches and charge into the final of the Western & Southern Open. Feeling unwell and down a double break at 1-4 in the third set, the German clawed back to claim an improbable 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4) win.

In a rollercoaster performance, the Tokyo Olympics champion played exceptional tennis in the first set, dropped his level significantly in the second set before finding his gritty final act.

Having been deserted by his serve throughout the middle of the match, Zverev thundered three aces to take a 6-5 lead in the decider and then commanded the tie-break by going five for five on first serves, sealing the victory with a second mini-break.

“After the first break [to get to 2-4] I thought I had a chance and I felt he wasn’t serving bombs and that I was in the rallies,” Zverev said on court after the win. “It was a little bit of the mentality that I had against Novak at the Olympics.”

“It’s a great rivalry, there is a lot of fire and emotion there,” Zverev said later on Tennis Channel. “And before the US Open we didn’t want to give each other anything, which is what the match showed. It was a great battle and the last matches we have played have been like that.”

Must watch tennis ?#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/yIqSotXwcj

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 22, 2021

Little separated the players in early proceedings until Zverev produced a sizzling down-the-line backhand pass as part of a four-point run against the Greek’s serve to claim the only break of the set. Coming into Cincinnati, Tsitsipas in 2021 had won 96 per cent of games when serving at 40/15, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Zverev dictated early, keeping the Greek pinned deep behind the baseline with his dominant serve and heavy groundstrokes, which made it difficult for the 23-year-old to play on his terms and change the match narrative.

Annoyed that Tsitsipas took an eight-minute bathroom break after the first set, Zverev channeled his frustration into an opening-game break of serve to take further control of the match.

But as Zverev’s first-serve percentage dropped to just above 50 percent for the set and he offered up a string of forehand errors, Tsitsipas found a path forward and into the court to apply pressure as he claimed consecutive breaks to go ahead 5-2. At one point he won 16 of 22 points.

In a complete reversal of how the match began, Tsitsipas dictated play and had Zverev on the run in the decider, claiming two breaks. But Zverev won a gruelling rally with a stunning backhand winner to claw back his first break for 2-4, before disappearing up the tunnel with his towel. Tsitsipas served for the match at 5-4 but couldn’t close out the match as Zverev showed great resilience despite battling what appeared to be a stomach upset.

“I didn’t feel well,” Zverev admitted. “In the middle of the second set I felt low energy and my stomach wasn’t great. I broke him at 4-2 in the third and went outside the court and did my thing. I started to feel better, the doctor came out and gave me a little medicine and my stomach started to calm down a little. The energy came back but I think that was also adrenaline.”

Zverev had not won a match at the tournament in six prior appearances.

Tsitsipas, who also reached the semi-finals last week in Toronto, now heads to the US Open with a Tour-leading 48 match wins on the season. He is second in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin and in strong contention to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals.

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Granollers/Zeballos Reach Cincinnati Final

Second seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos overcame Fabio Fognini of Italy and Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador 6-3, 6-4 Saturday at the Western & Southern Open to reach their second ATP Masters 1000 final of the season.

The Spanish-Argentine tandem, which captured their third Masters 1000 title in Madrid in May, did not face a break point, winning 82 per cent (27/33) of their first-service points to advance in 69 minutes.

Granollers and Zeballos have yet to drop a set in Cincinnati and will compete in their fourth tour-level final of the season on Sunday, having also reached the championship match at Wimbledon last month and in Acapulco in March.

They will meet Steve Johnson and Austin Krajicek after the Americans battled past third seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 7-6(5), 6-7(8), 10-3 in two hours and one minute.

In a high-quality Match Tie-break, Johnson raised his level to lift the unseeded pair into the final as they team for the first time this season. Johnson and Krajicek last competed in 2020 at the Western & Southern Open, when it was held in New York, reaching the semi-finals.

Johnson and Krajicek hit four aces and saved the one break point they faced to ensure they did not fall at the same stage this year. Earlier this season Krajicek advanced to the final in Newport (w/Pospisil), while Johnson enjoyed a run to the championship match in Atlanta (w/Thompson) earlier this month.

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Rublev Battles For Maiden Medvedev Victory, Reaches Cincinnati Final

Russia’s Andrey Rublev recorded his first victory over countryman Daniil Medvedev in his fifth attempt Saturday at the Western & Southern Open to reach his second ATP Masters 1000 final.

“It’s like you pass university and they give you a diploma,” a delighted Rublev said on court after the match.

The fourth seed, who fell to Medvedev and the Australian Open in February, had not defeated the 12-time tour-level titlist in their previous four encounters, nor at any time earlier in his career. However, Rublev rallied in Ohio hitting powerful forehands to defeat Medvedev 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in two hours and 22 minutes and improve to 1-4 in their ATP Head2Head Series.

”Even when I was 2-6 down, the score should not have been like this because the points were so tight,” Rublev said in his on-court interview. “The match was so intense, so many long rallies, super tough, super physical, super mental. A lot like a chess match.

“Medvedev is one of those players who won’t give you a chance to attack, but if I have enough power and chose the right moment, I have to be the one to make him run. In the end, I was trying to find the perfect moment to start being more aggressive to open the angles.

“It gives me more confidence that I can compete against him. There are still so many things to improve.”

Not your every day occurrence, as Daniil Medvedev collides with a camera in Cincinnati#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/BSK51FyyiI

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 21, 2021

The 23-year-old reached his maiden Masters 1000 final in Monte-Carlo in April and will face third seed Alexander Zverev or Roland Garros finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday’s championship match as he bids to claim his first title at this level.

Rublev has fond memories in Cincinnati, having defeated Roger Federer en route to the quarter-finals in 2019. This year, the eight-time tour-level titlist helped guide Russia to the ATP Cup title alongside Medvedev in February and lifted the Rotterdam trophy in March.

In a lively start, Medvedev gained an early break as he sat deep behind the baseline and hit with consistent depth. The 25-year-old covered the court well to frustrate Rublev, who committed 18 unforced errors in the first set as Medvedev moved ahead.

After colliding with a cameraman at 1-1 in the second set, Medvedev recovered as both hammered their groundstrokes to manoeuvre each other around the court in a high-quality encounter. In an epic eighth game, Rublev raised his level, converting his fifth break point as he managed to hit through his countryman, before holding serve to claim his first-ever set against Medvedev and force a decider.

Both players were strong on serve in the third set until the seventh game, when three errors from Medvedev handed Rublev a crucial break of serve. The World No. 7, who won 73 per cent (44/60) of his first-service points, then held his nerve to secure his victory.

Medvedev overcame big-serving American Reilly Opelka in Toronto last week to capture his fourth Masters 1000 title. The top seed, who clinched the Cincinnati trophy in 2019, had won 11 out of his past 12 matches in Ohio.

The Australian Open finalist, who has also lifted titles in Mallorca and Montpellier this season, was aiming to become just the seventh male player in the Open Era to complete the Toronto-Cincinnati double.

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Ashleigh Barty into Cincinnati Open final with win over Angelique Kerber

World number one Ashleigh Barty reaches her sixth final of 2021 at the Cincinnati Open with a straights set win over Angelique Kerber.

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ATP Announces Safeguarding Review

The ATP has announced a comprehensive review of safeguarding policies, in line with a commitment to ensure all adults and minors involved in professional tennis are safe and protected from abuse. The review has been led by the commissioning of an independent report, currently being compiled by a team of expert consultants.

To date, ATP has typically deferred to legal authorities in cases of abuse before determining if further internal action is warranted under the ATP Code of Conduct. The report is expected to set out a number of recommendations to elevate safeguarding across the organisation and identify opportunities for more proactive involvement. Following its completion, ATP will evaluate its recommendations and possible next steps across a range of safeguarding matters, including those pertaining to domestic violence.

Massimo Calvelli, ATP CEO, said: “Abuse has a profound and lasting impact on millions of victims each year. We believe everyone in tennis should feel protected, fairly represented, and supported in raising concerns. When abusive conduct or allegations are related to any member of the tennis family it can also impact the public’s trust in our sport. We recognise that we have a responsibility to be doing more.

“This represents new ground for us, and the seriousness and complexity of these issues will require us to proceed with care. We have to be sure that any policies are practical and enforceable across our sport, which operates in more than 30 different legal jurisdictions and where players compete as independent contractors. Collaboration with the WTA, ITF and the four Grand Slams will also be important in order to serve the wider tennis community.”

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Ashleigh Barty beats Barbora Krejcikova to reach Cincinnati semi-finals

World number one Ashleigh Barty eases through to the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Open with victory over Barbora Krejcikova.

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SF Preview: Will Rublev Have His Day Against Friend Medvedev?

After Andrey Rublev fell to 0-4 against Daniil Medvedev at tour-level earlier this year at the Australian Open, he remained optimistic.

“We’re going to play I hope for many, many years, so at least once I think I will have a chance,” Rublev said, cracking a laugh. “Every time I play him — at the US Open I had chances, I had set points. Here I had break points. And then one day it’s going to be my day.”

Will Saturday be his day when he meets the World No. 2 in the Western & Southern Open semi-finals? Rublev will try to upset his close friend and countryman, with whom he led Russia to ATP Cup glory this year, for a spot in his second ATP Masters 1000 final. But it will be a tough task, and it was no surprise that when Rublev was asked about the matchup, his reaction was priceless: “My good friend Daniil again.”

Medvedev is playing his best tennis of the season, and is fresh off a 6-1, 6-1 masterpiece against seventh seed Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarter-finals. The top seed has won 18 of his past 20 matches, including a run to the Toronto trophy last week, which marked his fourth Masters 1000 title. He is attempting to become just the seventh male player in the Open Era to claim the Toronto-Cincinnati double.

“The higher your confidence is, the more there is a chance that you won’t have these weak spots, and that’s where you are tough to beat,” Medvedev said. “That’s how I’m feeling right now. But what is tough in tennis is you need to continue doing it day after day. 

Both men have enjoyed great success in Cincinnati. Two years ago, Rublev defeated Stan Wawrinka and Roger Federer in back-to-back matches to make the quarter-finals. At that stage, he lost against Medvedev, who broke through at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre to lift his first Masters 1000 trophy.

Medvedev will have the mental edge, knowing he has won all 10 tour-level sets he has played against Rublev. The Monaco resident has proven he has the solution to nullify his countryman’s powerful game.

2021 MATCH WINS LEADERS

Rublev typically crushes ball after ball until he blasts a winner or his opponent is no longer able to defend his attacks. But not only has Medvedev repelled his friend’s offence, he has shown the ability to take advantage of the few moments when Rublev has taken his foot off the gas, stepping into the court himself to take charge.

“You need to be focused 100 percent every point, because as soon as you relax or something, then he will use this opportunity. That’s why it’s important always, even if I’m not attacking, because maybe he [will] take advantage and he [will] start to attack,” Rublev said earlier this year. “For him it’s also not easy. I’m not the only one who’s suffering. He’s also suffering, because in the end for him it’s tough to be always the one who needs to attack and then suddenly again to defend.”

Medvedev views their clashes similarly, knowing that the difference in points is often small opportunities within each rally.

“When I play him, I know I cannot lose focus. I need to be there all the points because one small opportunity that he gives me where he doesn’t hit full power, I try to use it, I try to take it,” Medvedev said. “Of course I try to hit shots that he will not be able to attack, to [play] aggressively, because that’s his game. That’s normal against any player, you try to get him out of the comfort zone. Sometimes you succeed, sometimes not. But that’s what I’m going to try to do tomorrow.”

2021 MASTERS 1000 WINS LEADERS

In the second semi-final, second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will attempt to maintain his ATP Head2Head dominance of Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Alexander Zverev, whom he leads 6-2.

Both men have been in great form. Tsitsipas is second in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin, and a title in Cincinnati would move him to within 1,195 points of first-place Novak Djokovic. The Greek also made the semi-finals last week in Toronto, where he lost a tough three-setter against American Reilly Opelka.

Zverev began the week without a win on his Western & Southern Open resume. But he has won nine consecutive matches, and is one of two players to reach the last four without dropping a set (also Medvedev).

Not only has the German been winning, but he has been doing so convincingly. Zverev has only lost one set during his winning streak, and just two of the 18 sets he has won during this stretch have gone past 6-4.

“The matches are not going to get easier. I think Stef is somebody who is in incredible form right now and he’s looking forward to playing this match as well because we’re right in front of the US Open,” Zverev said in his on-court interview after defeating Norwegian Casper Ruud on Friday. “We should be playing our best tennis, and I think it’s going to be entertaining for all of us.”

Tsitsipas is never one to shy away from a test. The last time these two played was in the semi-finals at Roland Garros. The Greek lost the third and fourth sets before steadying himself to reach his first Grand Slam final.

Like Zverev, he had never won a match in Cincinnati before this week. But the 23-year-old is as confident as anyone, leading the ATP Tour with 48 wins this season. He now has his sights set on a fourth Masters 1000 final.

“I think it is important to accept the challenge, to embrace it and to want to pursue further success,” Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview after battling past Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals. “The sport that I chose to play, I’m out there playing it for the difficult moments and for the easy ones and I want to bring the best out of my game when things aren’t easy.”

Did You Know?
The top four seeds are in the Western & Southern Open semi-finals for the first time since 2009, when Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic made it that far.

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Zverev Delivers Ruud Shock To Casper

Alexander Zverev delivered a reality check to Casper Ruud and his growing hard-court confidence with an overwhelming 6-1, 6-3 victory in the Western & Southern Open quarter-finals Friday night.

The Tokyo Olympics champion had too much firepower on serve and from the baseline, crushing 18 winners to seven and dominating points of five shots or less 32-17.

Zverev, who had not won a match in six previous appearances at this ATP Masters 1000 tournament, advanced to a blockbuster semi-final showdown with Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Greek dominates their ATP Head2Head 6-2 and defeated the German in a five-set thriller in this year’s Roland Garros semi-finals.

Zverev, who has now reached the quarter-finals or better of eight of the nine Masters 1000 events (except Indian Wells), extended his winning streak to nine matches dating back to the Olympics.

Zverev was fast out of the blocks against Ruud, claiming two breaks to race to a 4-0 lead and wrapping up the set soon after for the loss of just 11 points. The Norwegian conjured a break out of nowhere in the first game of the second set. But Zverev, who has adjusted nicely to the lively courts at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre, broke back for 3-all and closed out the match soon after.

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