Watch the best shots from Naomi Osaka’s dominating first round victory over China’s Zheng Saisai as she advances to the second round of the women’s singles competition in her home country of Japan.
Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie did not drop a set all week en route to his first ATP Tour title at the Mifel Open on Saturday.
The 25-year-old is enjoying a career-best season this year, having now notched 35 tour-level wins this year. The lefty was competing in his fourth ATP Tour final of the season in Los Cabos, after enjoying runs to the championship match in Estoril, Lyon, and London.
ATPTour.com caught up with the World No. 30 after his maiden title in Los Cabos.
What does it mean to you to win your first ATP Tour title?
I feel very happy. I couldn’t be more proud of myself, proud of my team and how I handled the week. I am happy how I improved every match. I used my experience a little bit today and I think it showed in the match… I think it’s a huge bonus. It was always a goal of mine to get my first title. Obviously I’d lost three finals this year, so it was very nice to get over the line today. I’m going to enjoy it tonight and then [go] straight back to work.
This was your fourth final of the year and fifth overall. What did you learn from those first chances that helped you win tonight?
I think I was always the underdog in the other finals this year. I played Albert [Ramos-Vinolas] in the first one then Stefanos Tsitispas in the next and [Matteo] Berrettini in the other one. They were all tough matches, and I was close to getting over the line with Albert and I think I relaxed a little bit there. I learned there to keep the foot on the other guy’s neck and keep pressing and taking it to the other guy. I managed to really step it up today in the second set and kept Brandon Nakashima penned to the corners. Also, to be a bit calmer in some of the bigger moments.
When we asked you before the start of the season who will make a big breakthrough in 2021, you picked yourself. What did you know then that we didn’t?
I think I am doing the fundamentals very well, serve and return. Also, playing the big points well. Just focusing in on big games and executing my game when I need to. Finding a first serve or finding a good passing shot or the one being aggressive. Physically, I am feeling great. I am moving well and trusting my body, especially out in the corners. I think I have kept my momentum going really well.
How special is your relationship with your coach, Facundo? What did you first think of him when you first met him at TCU and how important has he become to you both on and off the court?
Facundo is a great guy. I played on the team with him for one year and asked him to coach me in my first year turning pro in 2017. I think he is a good balance of being a friend and a professional. He is very passionate about tennis, and he is always willing to learn and do more, going above and beyond. I think he really gets the best out of me. It is nice to have someone who knows you well off the court. I can tell him anything, how I am feeling before the match, and I think it is important you can have someone you can speak openly with about how you are feeling. Facundo has been a very good role model for me.
Could you take a moment to acknowledge some of the key figures in your life and tennis playing career who have helped you to reach this milestone?
Big thanks to my parents back in New Zealand. They have sacrificed a lot. I remember my mum driving me to tennis early in the mornings for 6:15 a.m. practice and she had everything prepared. Then moving to London when I was 16-years-old, James Trotman really helped me throughout my time there. He still helps me and overlooks my tennis with Facundo and the rest of my team. TCU tennis, Devin Bowen and David Roditi set me up well. I made a lot of mistakes in college, so it was nice to learn there and have those role models. Then all my friends and family that have made a positive impact on me. Also, my team right now, and big thanks to my girlfriend for putting up with everything.
How much do you remember from playing tennis in the driveway as a kid and how surreal is it that you’re now here as an ATP Tour champion?
I would never have thought I would have got here, but here we are and I could not be more pleased. It was very special for me to get on the Tour and do this for a living.
What do you consider to be your biggest passion outside of tennis and can you tell us a little bit about that interest?
Watching sport. NFL, football, a little bit of basketball, cricket as well, and watching tennis. So, all sports, and with Covid, I have had a lot of time to follow everything and have been involved in a lot of fantasy leagues.
A “refreshed” Naomi Osaka says it was “nerve-wracking” to compete in the Olympics in her home country of Japan after her first-round win.
Fourth seed Alexander Zverev got his Tokyo Olympics campaign underway on Sunday with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Chinese Taipei’s Yen-Hsun Lu.
The German, who was making his Olympic debut, hit nine aces and won 85 per cent (22/26) of his first-service points to advance to the second round in 61 minutes. Zverev will next face Daniel Elahi Galan, after the Colombian defeated Mohamed Safwat 7-5, 6-1.
View Order Of Play View 2020 Tokyo Olympics Results
Seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz also advanced as he defeated Australian Luke Saville 6-2, 6-4 in 60 minutes. The Pole, who lifted the Miami Open presented by Itau trophy in April, will meet Great Britain’s Liam Broady in the second round after the lefty battled past Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-2.
The ROC’s Karen Khachanov rallied back to beat Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 to book his spot in the second round. Khachanov broke the World No. 55 four times to set up a meeting with Australia’s James Duckworth.
Two-time Olympic singles gold medallist (2012 and 2016) Andy Murray was forced to withdraw ahead of his opening match against #NextGenATP Felix Auger-Aliassime due to a right quad injury. Australian Max Purcell has replaced the Brit in the draw.
Andy Murray withdraws from the men’s singles at the Tokyo Olympics with a minor thigh strain.
World number one Ashleigh Barty is stunned by Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain in the first round of women’s Olympics singles in Tokyo.
Britain’s Cameron Norrie claims his first ATP singles title with a 6-2 6-2 victory over Brandon Nakashima in the final of the Los Cabos Open in Mexico.
Mexican Hans Hach Verdugo and American John Isner were already neighbours, who live three doors apart in Dallas, Texas. Now, the good friends can say they won an ATP Tour doubles title together.
Hach Verdugo and Isner made a perfect team debut at the Mifel Open, where they defeated American Hunter Reese and Dutchman Sem Verbeek 5-7, 6-2, 10-4 on Saturday to lift the trophy.
“It’s fun to play with somebody who you know. Sometimes us doubles guys, we switch different partners,” Hach Verdugo said. “But when you play with somebody who you know, somebody who is easygoing, it’s just very fun and enjoyable and I think that’s when you play your best.”
[WATCH LIVE 1]The wild cards won Match Tie-breaks in two of their four matches, and in the championship match they saved four of the five break points they faced to triumph after one hour and 26 minutes.
“I think the partnership worked very well because we’re very good friends. Both of us on court are very easygoing. Neither one of us put pressure on each other and on top of that, I think our games complement each other very well,” Isner said. “Of course my serve is pretty good and Hans has fantastic returns, and especially today. He was the best player on the court of all four players and I was lucky to have him on my team, so it worked out.”
Hach Verdugo is the second Mexican to triumph in Los Cabos, joining Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela, who lifted the trophy with Marcelo Arevalo in 2018. This was Isner’s sixth ATP Tour doubles trophy, with his most recent victory coming at the 2018 BNP Paribas Open alongside Jack Sock.
Reese and Verbeek were both competing in their first tour-level final. This was their second ATP Tour event as a pair.
#NextGenATP star Carlos Alcaraz turned to his team and roared after hitting a final backhand winner on Saturday evening in Umag. The 18-year-old will not soon forget that moment, when he clinched a berth in his first tour-level final.
Alcaraz clawed past top seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-2, 7-6(3) to advance to the championship match at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag and become the youngest ATP Tour finalist since 18-year-old Kei Nishikori won the Delray Beach title in 2008.
“I have a lot of emotions right now,” Alcaraz said. “It is my first ATP final, so I am enjoying everything here in Umag. I am really happy right now.”
The teen first broke onto the scene last February as a 16-year-old ranked outside of the Top 400 in Rio de Janeiro, where he defeated Ramos-Vinolas in a three-hour, 37-minute marathon. Alcaraz showed his growth in Croatia, where he overpowered his countryman for much of the match before battling through the second-set tie-break to triumph after exactly two hours.
Ramos-Vinolas, who triumphed earlier this year in Estoril, was trying to reach his 11th ATP Tour final, and he fought hard to recover a break deficit on three occasions in the second set, including when Alcaraz served for the match at 6-2, 7-5.
The teen, seeded seventh this week, said on Friday that he learned from losing his first tour-level semi-final earlier this year in Marbella. And Alcaraz proved it against Ramos-Vinolas, staying composed despite his missed opportunities. The World No. 73 went for his shots in the biggest moments, and was rewarded with a trip to the final.
Alcaraz will play an experienced opponent on Sunday in former World No. 7 Richard Gasquet.
“I know Gasquet is a really good tennis player. He’s played a lot of finals and won a lot of tournaments. This one is my first ATP final,” Alcaraz said. “I think he has a lot of experience. I have to handle the nerves and everything [well].”
[WATCH LIVE 1]The fourth seed battled past German qualifier Daniel Altmaier 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-3 after three hours and 11 minutes to reach the championship match. This will be Gasquet’s first tour-level final since Bastad in 2018.
Gasquet, a 35-year-old, is the second-oldest finalist in tournament history, only trailing Paolo Lorenzi, who was 35 in 2017. The Frenchman is a 15-time ATP Tour titlist and this will be his 32nd tour-level final. Gasquet had lost five consecutive semi-finals before this match, but he relied on all his experience to battle through this marathon against a motivated Altmaier.
The veteran saved seven of his 10 break points, but he was only able to convert three of his 17 opportunities. In the deciding set, Gasquet won 43 per cent of his return points to triumph.
#NextGenATP American Brandon Nakashima hit his 12th ace of the evening on Friday to close out a 7-5, 6-4 victory against countryman John Isner, eliciting cheers from the Los Cabos crowd. The 19-year-old, who with that shot advanced to his first ATP Tour final at the Mifel Open, did not roar to celebrate the biggest victory of his young career. Instead, he quietly pumped his fist.
Nakashima lets his game speak for itself.
“Growing up, I’ve always been more of the calm, relaxed person, whether it was on the tennis court or off the tennis court. It’s just the way my personality is and how I go about things in life,” Nakashima said. “But there are definitely times when you’re a professional tennis player when things aren’t going your way and you get a little bit frustrated sometimes or not as relaxed or comfortable out there on the court. You’ve just got to remember all the hard work that you’ve put in and being able to push through those moments to create those more pleasant moments.”
When you watch Nakashima play, you will immediately notice his easy power and the way he is able to control the action. What you will not see often is much emotion — positive or negative — and the American is fine with that.
“For me, I think being calm out there and trying to be even-keeled is one of my best assets,” Nakashima said. “I think it definitely helps me winning all these matches.”
Photo Credit: Abierto Los Cabos
Although Nakashima is at the start of his career, the teen takes pride in setting a good example and motivating his younger fans.
“It’s really an honour for me to have all those kids look up to me and cheering me on,” Nakashima said. “I definitely really appreciate all of them and for all of those who want to become professionals, you just have to work hard and have fun while you do it.
“If you’re not enjoying it, I think it’s not going to be fun. It’s not going to be worth it at all. Just try to enjoy it as much as possible and of course you have to put in the hard work as well.”
Nakashima began the week with three tour-level wins, but he has earned four victories en route to this ATP 250 final in Mexico. The Californian is the youngest American to make an ATP Tour final outside of the United States since 19-year-old Andy Roddick advanced to the Toronto championship match in 2001.
“It feels great. It’s definitely a big accomplishment for me,” Nakashima said. “Of course all the Americans, we like to play in the [United States]. But it’s nice to see that I’m playing well outside the [United States]. Luckily it’s actually not too far from my home here. I’ve definitely been enjoying it a lot.”
Nakashima was promised a main draw wild card by tournament organisers two months ago, but he did not end up needing it. It has been a tremendous week for the 19-year-old in Mexico.
“I was always looking forward to Los Cabos,” Nakashima said. “I’m really enjoying my time here so far and it’s obviously a really nice place. Nice facility, nice courts, so it’s just really exciting to be here.”
Now, the American will have a chance to earn his biggest win yet. Only top seed Cameron Norrie — who Nakashima defeated in Delray Beach last year — stands between the teen and a maiden tour-level trophy.
“I’m definitely really excited and definitely really looking forward to playing my first ATP final,” Nakashima said. “Growing up, there was a lot of hard work put in on the tennis court and definitely a lot of people who sacrificed a lot for me. I’m really thankful for all them and it’s nice to see all the hard work paying off.”
