Tennis News

Mektic/Pavic To Face Grannolers/Zeballos For Madrid Title

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic are one win away from the the Mutua Madrid Open title after defeating Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 6-4, 6-2 on Saturday.

The second seeds will take on Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in Sunday’s final after the third seeds received a walkover from Tim Puetz and Alexander Zverev. Zverev beat Dominic Thiem in the singles semi-finals and will vie for the trophy against Matteo Berrettini or Casper Ruud on Sunday. 

Mektic and Pavic, who are 32-3 so far, are going for their sixth title of 2021 and third ATP Masters 1000 crown after winning Miami and Monte-Carlo. Granollers and Zeballos are looking to capture their first title of the season after reaching the final of Acapulco in March and picking up three crowns in 2020. 

The doubles final will take place on Sunday at 3:30pm inside Manolo Santana Stadium.

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Metkic/Pavic Aiming To Continue Momentum In Rome

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic have been one of the most in-form teams of the year, and they’re looking to keep the momentum going at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The second seeds are going for their sixth title of the year – and their third ATP Masters 1000 crown – in the Italian capital. 

Mektic and Pavic have been on a tear since teaming up at the start of the season, where they began with trophies at the Antalya Open and the Murray River Open. After winning again at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, they claimed back-to-back Masters 1000 titles at the Miami Open presented by Itau and the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. They’ve amassed a 13-0 record at that level, and are currently in the Mutua Madrid Open final.

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Mektic and Pavic will start their Rome campaign against Alexander Bublik and Cristian Garin, who are playing their second tournament as a team. 

The second seeds have landed in a tricky section that also includes Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares, the Great Ocean Road Open champions. Murray and Soares are seeking their first clay win of the season, and will face Marcelo Demoliner and Daniil Medvedev in the opening round.

Top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah lead the way in Rome, looking to add a Masters 1000 crown to their 2021 trophy haul, which includes ATP 500 titles in Dubai and Barcelona. They’ll start their campaign against Italian wild cards Fabio Fognini, the 2015 Australian Open champion (w/ Bolelli), and #NextGenATP Lorenzo Musetti.

Cabal and Farah’s section includes Miami and Monte-Carlo finalists Daniel Evans and Neal Skupski, as well as Madrid semi-finalists Tim Puetz and Alexander Zverev. The Colombians could face seventh seeds Wesley Koolhof and Jean-Julien Rojer in the quarter-finals.

Last year’s champions Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos also landed in the top half of the draw, and the Spanish-Argentine tandem is looking for its first title of the year in Rome. After contesting the Madrid final against Mektic and Pavic, they will head to Italy to face Andres Molteni and Diego Schwartzman. The Argentine duo is teaming up for the first time since 2019 in Vienna. 

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Auger-Aliassime To Kick Off Sunday Action In Rome

Felix Auger-Aliassime will look to get some momentum going when he begins play at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Sunday against Filip Krajinovic.

Since adding Toni Nadal to his team, Auger-Aliassime has gone 2-3 after first-round losses in Monte-Carlo and Madrid, and a quarter-final run in Barcelona. He did pick up a win over World No. 14 Denis Shapovalov in Barcelona but is still seeking his top form. 

The World No. 20 has been dealt a tough start. Krajinovic leads their ATP Head2Head Series 2-0, and won their most recent meeting in Rome last fall in straight sets.

The highest seed in action on day one is eleventh seed Pablo Carreno Busta. He’s looking to bounce back from a first-round loss in Madrid and will take on Serbia’s Laslo Djere for the first time. 

Twelfth seed David Goffin will wrap up action on Center Court when he opens against Italian wild card Salvatore Caruso. The only other main draw match will see Reilly Opelka battle Richard Gasquet in their first meeting. 

ORDER OF PLAY – SUNDAY, MAY 09, 2021

CENTER COURT start 11:00 am

F. Krajinovic (SRB) vs F. Auger-Aliassime (CAN)

L. Djere (SRB) vs [11] P. Carreno Busta (ESP)
[WC]
S. Caruso (ITA) vs [12] D. Goffin (BEL)

GRAND STAND ARENA start 11:00 am

Qualifying match
Qualifying match
R. Gasquet (FRA) vs R. Opelka (USA)

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Thiem Takes Stock After Madrid: 'I Think I'm On The Right Track'

Third seed Dominic Thiem bowed out to Alexander Zverev in the Mutua Madrid Open semi-finals, but the Austrian is still taking his week in the Spanish capital as a win.

Thiem was competing in his first tournament since the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in March after taking time away from the Tour to ‘recharge’.

“It was a way better result than I expected,” Thiem said in his post-match press conference. “Playing-wise and physically-wise, I expected to be in a decent shape. But, of course, there are still many things to improve just to keep all intensity for all the week, day in, day out.

“Of course, some of the strokes, they need a little improvement. But I’m very optimistic that every week I’m playing now it’s going to improve. Especially for the confidence it was important to get a great result here. I’m happy that I think I’m on the right track.”

Before the tournament, Thiem opened up about needing a mental break following the euphoric high of winning his first major title at the US Open last year (d. Zverev). For Thiem, the inevitable letdown didn’t come right away; he continued to find success and went on to reach the Nitto ATP Finals championship match (l. Medvedev) to close out the season.

But after recording back-to-back early exits in Doha and Dubai, Thiem knew it was time for a break.

“I think the pandemic played a little part of it definitely because I think it’s mentally little bit more demanding to be in a bubble, to play in front of empty seats,” he explained. “But the main reason was that I won the first major [US Open], that I reached basically my lifetime goal. So, of course, it’s tough to just continue like before. 

“That was the main reason, I just had to think about it, regroup myself. That took a little bit of time.”

The time away from the courts seemed to have been just what Thiem needed. The 2017 and 2018 Madrid finalist defeated Marcos Giron, Alex de Minaur and John Isner on the way to his first semi-final of the year.

 

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“In general I’m super happy with the week,” Thiem said. “I would have never expected to be in the semi-finals, to play in the semi-finals [against] a player like [Zverev]. I cannot complain about anything.

“Of course, there are many things to improve for next week and then for the weeks after, as well. Just try to get to Rome, get some good practices in there, then hopefully play even better than here in Madrid.”

The World No. 4 will be back in action in Rome for the Internazionali BNL d’Italia before heading to Roland-Garros, where he reached back-to-back Grand Slam finals in 2017-18. 

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Madrid Open: Alexander Zverev beats Dominic Thiem to reach final

Germany’s Alexander Zverev beats world number four Dominic Thiem to reach his second Madrid Open final.

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Norrie, Davidovich Fokina Advance In Rome Qualifying

On Saturday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia the first round of the qualifying event saw 16 players inch one step closer to the main draw.

Top seed Cameron Norrie made quick work of Pablo Cuevas 6-1, 6-3. Norrie reached the final in Estoril last week, losing in a third-set tie-break to Albert Ramos-Vinolas. He’ll take on Marco Cecchinato in the final round of qualifying on Sunday.  

Two Americans advanced with Tommy Paul taking out Juan Ignacio Londero and Frances Tiafoe beating Jozef Kovalik. Corentin Moutet eased past Italian wild card Andrea Pellegrino 7-6(5), 6-2 to set up a first meeting with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Wild card Flavio Cobolli retired after going down a set and 2-0 to Davidovich Fokina. Davidovich Fokina just had a deep run in Estoril where he made it to the semi-finals and he also reached the quarter-finals in Monte-Carlo for his best appearance at an ATP Masters 1000.

Third seed Aljaz Bedene survived a scare from World No. 249 Italian wild card Gian Marco Moroni but closed it out 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. Five of the top six seeds advanced with sixth seed Tennys Sandgren losing to Roberto Carballes Baena 7-5, 6-3.

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Nadal vs Coria or Nadal vs Federer: Do You Know Your Rome Classics?

Rafael Nadal took part in two unforgettable battles to win his first two titles at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. In both Rome finals — against Guillermo Coria in 2005 and Roger Federer in 2006 — a teenaged Nadal prevailed in a fifth-set tie-break after more than five hours. 

Nadal, on his tournament debut, celebrated an epic 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6) victory over Coria in his first championship match. A year later at the Foro Italico, he successfully defended the title by defeating Federer 6-7(0), 7-6(5), 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(5) — which to this day remains the longest match of their storied rivalry. 

Nadal needed to show his trademark fighting spirit against both Coria and Federer, coming back from down in the fifth set of both matches. He said following one of his victories, “This was the best match of my career.”

Do you recall what happened in which final? Put your memory skills to the test in the Rome Classics Challenge, share your results and challenge your tennis friends!

Nadal has since won seven more titles in Rome, which changed to a best-of-three-sets final format in 2007. He will look to make it a perfect 10 next week, against a field led by five-time champion Novak Djokovic. Main draw action begins on Sunday, 9 May.

Need help with the quiz? Refresh your memory by watching match highlights. 

2005: Rafael Nadal d. Guillermo Coria, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6)

2006: Rafael Nadal defeats Roger Federer, 6-7(0), 7-6(5), 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(5)

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Djokovic Faces Possible Evans Clash In Rome

In his first ATP Masters 1000 appearance since the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, five-time champion Novak Djokovic could face the man who eliminated him from that tournament — Daniel Evans — in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia second round.

The World No. 1, who will be chasing his second straight Rome title, will face the winner of Evans’ first-round clash against Taylor Fritz at the Foro Italico. Evans has shown his best tennis at clay-court Masters 1000 events this season, with runs to the Monte-Carlo semi-finals and the third round in Madrid. Following Djokovic’s loss to the Briton in the Principality last month, the World No. 1 told reporters that Evans had ‘dismantled my game’.

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Djokovic will be competing in Rome for the first time since his run to the 2020 title. The top seed dropped just one set en route to last year’s final, where he defeated Diego Schwartzman in straight sets to capture a record-breaking 36th Masters 1000 crown.

Djokovic will aim to add to his 55-9 record in Rome, just two weeks after his marathon semi-final loss to Aslan Karatsev at the Serbia Open. The 33-year-old shares the top quarter with Monte-Carlo champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, Madrid semi-finalist Matteo Berrettini and 16th seed Grigor Dimitrov. Tsitsipas will meet the winner of an exciting first-round match between former World No. 3 Marin Cilic and in-form Kazakhstani Alexander Bublik.

One week after opening his Mutua Madrid Open campaign against #NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal could face Italy’s leading #NextGenATP star, Jannik Sinner, in his first match in Rome.

Nadal, who is chasing his 10th trophy in the Italian capital, will begin his title bid against the winner of Sinner’s first-round encounter against Ugo Humbert. Sinner will be aiming to set up a repeat of last year’s Roland Garros quarter-final against Nadal, when he pushed the eventual champion for the opening two sets of their three-set clash on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Humbert will enter his meeting against Sinner with a 1-0 ATP Head2Head advantage. The Frenchman denied the home favourite an unbeaten run to the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals crown in Milan with a four-set win during the round robin stage.

Whether he faces Sinner or Humbert, Nadal’s goal will remain the same. The second seed will be keen to rediscover his best level from the outset in Rome after his straight-sets quarter-final defeat to Alexander Zverev in Madrid. Across 16 appearances at the Foro Italico, Nadal has compiled a 63-7 tournament record.

Nadal could meet Zverev for the second straight week. The German also features in a packed fourth quarter of the draw, which also includes last year’s Rome semi-finalist Denis Shapovalov, Marbella champion Pablo Carreno Busta and former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori. In two of the standout matches of the first round, Shapovalov will open against Madrid semi-finalist Casper Ruud and Nishikori will battle 2019 Monte-Carlo champion Fabio Fognini.

Fourth seed Dominic Thiem leads the way in the second quarter. The 2017 semi-finalist, who will face Zverev in the Madrid semi-finals on Saturday, will start his sixth Rome appearance against Guido Pella or Marton Fucsovics in the second round. Seventh seed Andrey Rublev, 10th seed Roberto Bautista Agut and 14th seed Gael Monfils also feature in the second quarter. Monfils will be making his first appearance since his Australian Open first-round loss to Emil Ruusuvuori in February.

Third seed Daniil Medvedev and 2020 runner-up Schwartzman are the highest seeds in the third quarter of the draw. Medvedev will meet countryman Karatsev or Miomir Kecmanovic in his tournament opener, while Schwartzman will face Filip Krajinovic or Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round. In the same section, Miami champion Hubert Hurkacz will battle #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the first round.

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Thiem, Zverev Prepared For Second Madrid Showdown

After earning his first victory on clay against Rafael Nadal in straight sets on Friday, Alexander Zverev will face another member of the ATP Tour’s clay-court elite in the Mutua Madrid Open semi-finals: Dominic Thiem.

The World No. 6 owns a 2-8 ATP Head2Head record against the Austrian and has lost the pair’s four most recent encounters, including a heart-breaking fifth-set tie-break defeat in last year’s US Open final. Thiem also holds a 4-1 advantage on clay, but that lone defeat is key.

Three years ago, Zverev completed a dominant week in Madrid with a 6-4, 6-4 final victory against Thiem to win his third ATP Masters 1000 title. Memories of that victory, and the pair’s instant classic in the 2020 US Open final, mean Zverev will walk onto Manolo Santana Stadium on Saturday with all the belief and motivation he will need to reach a second Madrid final.

“I know that I can do it [against Dominic],” Zverev said. “Everyone remembers the US Open final that we played. I remember it certainly and it is still going to be in the back of my mind when we play tomorrow. I am looking forward to the match.”

Making his first appearance on the ATP Tour since the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in March, Thiem has made it through to his fourth straight semi-final in Madrid. The two-time Madrid runner-up, who owns a 16-4 record in the Spanish capital, entered the tournament eager to test his game. With wins against Marcos Giron, Alex de Minaur and John Isner en route to the final four, Thiem has already surpassed his pre-tournament expectations.

“I was just expecting to hopefully play one or two good matches here against top opponents. Now I’m in the semi-finals and facing Sascha tomorrow. That’s amazingly good to get at least four matches [at the] top level, but it’s also a big surprise for me. [I] definitely didn’t expect that.”

In the second semi-final, two under-the-radar runs will take centre stage at Manolo Santana Stadium as eighth seed Matteo Berrettini and Casper Ruud clash for the fourth time. Before this week, neither player had played a main draw match in Madrid; now, they are fighting for a spot into their maiden ATP Masters 1000 final.

The resurgent Berrettini has quietly built up a 15-3 record on the season, despite a lengthy injury break to recover from an abdominal strain. He claimed his fourth ATP Tour title at the Serbia Open in Belgrade, and powered into the Madrid semi-finals after defeating countryman Fabio Fognini in his opening match.

“There were days where I wasn’t really feeling into practice because I felt like there was a lot of work to be done,” Berrettini said. “Sometimes I was feeling kind of unlucky that I got injured again. It was just tough. But then I came back stronger in Belgrade. For here, I proved to myself that I’m strong inside.”

His unseeded opponent, Ruud, is also having a debut to remember in the Spanish capital. Ruud sealed his third consecutive clay-court ATP Masters 1000 semi-final appearance after saving the only break point he has faced all week against Alexander Bublik, and took down fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and Felix Auger-Aliassime along the way.

Madrid marks the Norwegian’s 11th tour-level semi-final – all 11 have come on the red dirt.

“It still feels like I’m very new to this level, making the [late] stages at this level,” Ruud said. “I think now I’ve proven also to myself that it’s just not a one-hit-wonder when I did my first [Masters 1000 semi-final] in Rome and the second one in Monte-Carlo. It felt even more like it was a new feeling. This is the third time. I feel more confident in myself. Knowing that I’ve been there twice before I think will hopefully help tomorrow.”

Ruud will take a 2-1 lead in ATP Head2Head into his matchup against Berrettini, with both wins coming on clay. The defeat that stings the most for Berrettini is the Norwegian’s victory on his home turf at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, where Ruud won 7-6 in the third to reach the semi-finals.

“We always had tough matches. Last year in Rome was [a] really tricky match,” Berrettini recalled. “Still if I think about it, it hurts. I’m really looking forward to getting my revenge, not in a bad way, but just in a way that’s in a sports way.”

ORDER OF PLAY – SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2021

MANOLO SANTANA STADIUM start 1:30pm
WTA – [3] G. Dabrowski (CAN) / D. Schuurs (NED) vs [2] B. Krejcikova (CZE) / K. Siniakova (CZE)

Not Before 4:00 pm
[5] A. Zverev (GER) vs [3] D. Thiem (AUT)

Not Before 6:30pm
WTA – [1] A. Barty (AUS) vs [5] A. Sabalenka (BLR)

Not Before 9:00pm
C. Ruud (NOR) vs [8] M. Berrettini (ITA)

ARANTXA SANCHEZ STADIUM start 2:00pm
S. Gille (BEL) / J. Vliegen (BEL) vs [2] N. Mektic (CRO) / M. Pavic (CRO)

After Suitable Rest
T. Puetz (GER) / A. Zverev (GER) vs [3] M. Granollers (ESP) / H. Zeballos (ARG)

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Andy Murray to practise with Novak Djokovic in Rome before return

Andy Murray will practise with Novak Djokovic in Rome on Sunday and hopes to return to action in 10 days’ time.

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