Tennis News

Shapovalov, Felix & Schwartzman To Compete In 2021 Laver Cup

Canadian stars Denis Shapovalov and #NextGenATP Felix Auger-Aliassime will represent John McEnroe’s Team World in the fourth edition of the Laver Cup, which will be held from 24-26 September at TD Garden in Boston.

It will be the third time Shapovalov has represented Team World (2017, 2019), while 20-year-old Auger-Aliassime will be making his debut at the event which was launched in 2017. The pair recently recorded their best-ever Grand Slam results at Wimbledon, with Shapovalov advancing to the semi-finals and Auger-Aliassime enjoying a run to the quarter-finals.

The World No. 13 Diego Schwartzman will join forces with the Canadians as he will also compete in Boston. The 28-year-old, who won the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires (d. Cerundolo) on home soil this year, will be making his second appearance for Team World following his participation in 2018 (Chicago).

On his selection, World No. 10 Shapovalov said: “I’m so excited to be back with Team World for another Laver Cup. I have great memories from both Prague and Geneva a couple of years ago. It was a lot of fun being on the team with guys that I’m normally facing across the net and of course having McEnroe as our team leader – it’s such an honour.”

“I feel so privileged to be representing Team World for the Laver Cup this year,” Auger-Aliassime said. “To be able to play in front of a full house at somewhere like TD Garden will be just incredible. I’m also so excited to have a legend like John McEnroe in my corner – I’m sure I will learn a lot!”

Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem, and Matteo Berrettini have already confirmed they will compete for Team Europe. The tournament pits six players from Team Europe against six from Team World, with four matches played each day (three singles and a doubles). Team World trail 0-3 as they seek a maiden title this year in America.

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Rinderknech Upsets Bautista Agut In Gstaad

Arthur Rinderknech’s impressive season continued on Wednesday at the Swiss Open Gstaad as he defeated World No. 16 Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 6-4 to claim his best-ever win.

The Frenchman, currently at a career-high No. 100 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, has now claimed a personal-best nine wins at tour-level this season. He had never won a match at this level before this year.

Rinderknech was impressive throughout, striking the ball powerfully from the baseline to dictate. He hit eight aces and won 79 per cent (30/38) of his first-service points against the second seed to advance in one hour and 34 minutes. It is his second Top 20 win of his career, having beaten then World No. 17 #NextGenATP Jannik Sinner in Lyon in May.

The 25-year-old will next face Laslo Djere in his fourth quarter-final of the season having enjoyed runs to the last eight in Bastad, Marseille, and Lyon this year.

His next opponent, seventh seed Djere, reached his sixth tour-level quarter-final of the season as he moved past qualifier Zizou Bergs 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in two hours and five minutes. The Serbian, who broke Bergs seven times at the ATP 250 event, has now recorded 16 clay-court wins this year. His best result was a run to the final at the Sardegna Open (l. to Sonego) in Cagliari.

Also in action, Hugo Gaston survived a scare to upset fifth seed Federico Delbonis 6-0, 6-7(2), 7-6(3) and advance to his first ATP Tour quarter-final. The Frenchman was pegged back from 5-2 in the second set, losing three straight games, before he rallied in the decider to claim victory in two hours and 20 minutes.

Gaston, currently No. 155 in the FexEx ATP Rankings, enjoyed a breakthrough run to the fourth round at Roland Garros (l. Thiem) last October. He has now claimed 16 clay-court wins at all levels this season, having reached ATP Challenger Tour finals at the Concord Iasi Open and the Roma Garden Open I.

He will next face fourth-seeded Chilean Cristian Garin after he eased past Marc Polmans 6-3, 6-0 in his opening match. The 25-year-old, who lifted the Chile Dove Men+Care Open title on home soil (d. Bagnis) in Santiago in March, won 86 per cent (19/22) of his first-service points to advance in 54 minutes.

”I am very happy and I like the conditions here,” Garin said. “I think it is very similar to Santiago, where I won this year. I feel I have a good feeling about playing in high altitudes so I am really happy.”

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Hach Verdugo/Isner Moves Into Los Cabos Quarter-finals

Hans Hach Verdugo and John Isner fought hard for a place in the Mifel Open quarter-finals on Tuesday. The Venezuelan/American team knocked out third seeds Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Divij Sharan 7-6(3), 7-5, having saved two set points at 4-5, 30/40 in the second set.

Hunter Reese and Sem Verbeek also caused an upset after they recovered from 4/6 down in the Match Tie-break to defeat top-seeded Britons Luke Bambridge and Ken Skupski 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 10-8.

They now face Treat Huey and Steve Johnson, who came back from a 3/6 deficit in the Match Tie-break to knock out Frenchmen Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 11-9.

Americans Taylor Fritz and Nicholas Monroe won six of the first seven points in the Match Tie-break before a tense finale in a 1-6, 6-4, 10-8 win over N.Sriram Balaji and Luca Margaroli.

Italians Pass Opening Test In Umag
Italians Marco Cecchinato and Stefano Travaglia knocked out third seeds Rafael Matos and Andrei Vasilevski 7-5, 6-4, while Czechs Roman Jebavy and Jiri Vesely beat Spaniards Carlos Taberner and Bernabe Zapata Miralles 7-5, 6-3.

Second Seeds Beaten In Gstaad Opener
Dustin Brown and Tristan-Samuel Weissborn caused an upset at the Swiss Open Gstaad by scraping past second seeds Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar 6-4, 3-6, 10-7. Behar and Escobar are 2-3 in ATP Tour team finals this year and currently in ninth position in the FedEx ATP Doubles Team Rankings.

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Thompson Topples 42 Y.O. Karlovic In Los Cabos

It’s never easy to face all-time aces leader Ivo Karlovic, but Jordan Thompson is becoming successful at it. The Australian won his third consecutive match against Karlovic on Tuesday evening, defeating the 2016 Los Cabos champion 6-4, 7-5 to reach the second round of the Mifel Open. Thompson now leads their ATP Head2Head series 3-1.

The fifth seed withstood 11 Karlovic aces and converted three of his four break points to triumph after one hour and 34 minutes. The Croatian gave full credit to Thompson.

“Usually, he was returning really well and he was doing everything right. I had my opportunities early in the beginning of the match and I didn’t use them. My concentration went down at the end of that first set and the beginning of the second,” Karlovic said. “I was able to get back, but again at the end of the second set, I really didn’t use my opportunities. That was it. All in all, it was a really good match.”

Karlovic, who is now 42, is at No. 200 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. The former World No. 14 admitted after the match that there is a chance he might retire later this year. However, the eight-time ATP Tour titlist left open the possibility of changing his mind should he find success in the coming weeks.

“My ranking dropped a lot and how it looks like now, after the US Open, I think I’m going to retire,” Karlovic said. “But there is still a chance that until then I’ll do well or that at the US Open I’ll do really well and then I will reconsider.”

The other seeded player in action, eighth seed Mackenzie McDonald, fell short in Mexico. American qualifier Ernesto Escobedo ousted his countryman 6-3, 6-4 in 80 minutes. Escobedo will next play Denis Kudla.

In the last match of the evening, Ecuador’s Emilio Gomez eliminated Colombian qualifier Nicolas Mejia 6-4, 6-1. Other players who advanced were Ukrainian Illya Marchenko, Japan’s Yasutaka Uchiyama and Swede Elias Ymer.

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#NextGenATP Alcaraz Overcomes Pouille In Umag Debut

Seventh seed Carlos Alcaraz rallied from a set down for just the second time in his ATP Tour career to take down Lucas Pouille on Tuesday and make a winning start at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag.

In his first outing as a seeded player at a tour-level event, the #NextGenATP Spaniard was overpowered in the first set by Pouille, a former Top 10 player currently No. 103 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. But the 18-year-old raised his level and came back in the second and third sets to win 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

“I don’t feel different being a seed, because I still come to these tournaments with the goal of growing and playing these kinds of matches,” Alcaraz said. “In the end, it’s the matches that count and give you experience and that you learn from. I come to these tournaments to learn from the really great players.”

Alcaraz, who sits one spot away from his career-high World No. 72 ranking, won 70 per cent (35/50) of his first-serve points and broke the Frenchman three times en route to victory. He improved to 7-5 on clay courts on the season, as he looks to build on his run to the Marbella semi-finals in April. 

He will next face Andrej Martin, who needed two hours and 36 minutes to fight back after dropping the first set to lucky loser Renzo Olivo. Martin saved 14 of the 20 break points he faced as he clinched a 1-6, 6-2, 7-6(1) victory.

Also in action, Marco Cecchinato took down fifth seed Aljaz Bedene 6-1, 6-4 to improve to 2-3 in their ATP Head2Head. Cecchinato, a finalist in Parma in May, is now 14-12 on clay in 2021 and will next face Damir Dzhumur, who scored a 6-4, 6-3 win over qualifier Filip Horansky.

Local wild card Duje Ajdukovic gave Croatian fans plenty to cheer for after defeating Argentine qualifier Andrea Collarini 6-3, 6-2 to claim his first-ever tour-level main draw win. The 20-year-old booked a second-round clash with top seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas as a reward.

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Now Top 10 In The Race, Ruud Ready For Gstaad Debut

Could Casper Ruud make a push to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held in Turin from 14-21 November? The Norwegian star will continue to stake his claim this week at the Swiss Open Gstaad, where he is making his tournament debut.

The 22-year-old moved into 10th place in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin thanks to his triumph at last week’s Nordea Open in Bastad. Ruud trails ninth-placed Aslan Karatsev by just 15 points, and the Russian cannot add to his total this week since he is competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

FedEx ATP Race To Turin Standings (19 July)

Ruud, however, arrived in Switzerland with momentum and an opportunity to add to his total. The Next Gen ATP Finals alumnus did not lose a set last week in Bastad, and did not drop more than four games in a set.

“It was an incredible week, maybe the best week of my life,” Ruud said after winning the title.

The Norwegian is the third seed this week at the Swiss ATP 250, where he will play Austrian Dennis Novak in the second round. The top seed is Denis Shapovalov and Roberto Bautista Agut, the 2018 Gstaad finalist, is the second seed.

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Thiem Is Back On Court… But Lefty!

Dominic Thiem is back on court after suffering a right wrist injury last month. Well, sort of.

The Austrian posted on Instagram on Tuesday that he is “finally back on court”. However, the World No. 6 is not back to full tennis activites. Thiem hit lefty forehands, one-handed lefty backhands, lefty volleys and completed a series of footwork drills. He did not use his right hand.

 

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A post shared by Dominic Thiem (@domithiem)

The two-time Nitto ATP Finals runner-up suffered a detachment of the posterior sheath of the ulnar side of his right wrist during his match against Adrian Mannarino at the Mallorca Championships on 22 June. A statement from his team two days later said he would wear a splint for five weeks, and he was still wearing one in his new video.

Thiem owns a 9-9 record on the season, with his best result coming at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he advanced to the semi-finals. The 17-time tour-level champion made the biggest breakthrough of his career last year at the US Open, where he lifted his first Grand Slam trophy.

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Del Potro 'Increasing The Intensity'

Juan Martin del Potro is ramping up his training as he continues to recover from his fourth right knee surgery, which he underwent in March.

The Argentine has not competed since the 2019 cinch Championships, which were played just more than two years ago. The 32-year-old captioned his video: “New training sessions, increasing the intensity.”

 

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A post shared by Juan Martin del Potro (@delpotrojuan)

Del Potro is one of the biggest fan favourites on the ATP Tour. The 22-time tour-level titlist has climbed as high as No. 3 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, but he has struggled with injuries in recent years.

Currently World No. 746, the 32-year-old wrote in June that, “It’s frustrating and painful not to achieve the goals, but it would hurt much more not to try. That is why I am here once again.”

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Nakashima Q&A: Learning From Djokovic & Dreaming Of Playing With…

#NextGenATP American Brandon Nakashima earned his first tour-level win on Monday evening in Los Cabos, where he defeated countryman J.J. Wolf to reach the second round of the Mifel Open.

We caught up with Nakashima about his music playlist, what he has learned from Novak Djokovic, what he would want to do with Roger Federer and more.

Who do you text the most?
The person I text with the most would probably be my younger brother Bryce, especially when I’m travelling a lot and not at home, just to keep in touch with him every day.

What is currently on your music playlist?
I listen to a little bit of everything. I’d probably say right now, a little bit more of the pop, maybe the top hits going on.

What other sport do you enjoy?
My favourite other sport to watch would probably be baseball, whether it’s going to the games or watching on TV. I always like to watch it during my free time.

What have you learned from spending time with Novak Djokovic, who you have trained?
The biggest thing I’ve learned from practising from Novak Djokovic would probably be just the way he goes about everything. It’s how he’s super-focused, pays attention to all the little details both on the court when he’s practising and during the matches as well.

What is the last thing you watched on Netflix?
The last thing I watched on Netflix would probably be the Formula 1 documentary [Drive To Survive]. It was such a good show and got me really into it right now.

What is your favourite account to follow on Instagram?
One of my favourite teams that I like to follow on Instagram would probably be the San Diego Padres. It’s a baseball team located in my hometown, so I always like to follow their results and their games.

What’s your most-used emoji?
The laughing and crying emoji!

Who would your dream doubles partner be?
My dream doubles partner would probably be Roger Federer, just because he’s a legend of the sport and it would be a real honour to play with him.

Which country would you like to visit and why?
Probably one of the top countries I would like to visit that I haven’t been to before is Australia. I’ve never been there before, and I’ve always heard great things about it.

What is your favourite cheat meal?
My favourite cheat meal would probably be a good In-N-Out Burger from Southern California.

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Djere, Delbonis Safely Into Gstaad Second Round

Laslo Djere experienced few problems at the Swiss Open Gstaad on Tuesday when he knocked out Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-4, 6-3 in 79 minutes. The seventh-seeded Serbian won 22 of 26 first-service points to record his 15th clay-court win of the season. He now plays Belgian Zizou Bergs in the second round.

Fifth seed Federico Delbonis lost five of his first-service point (29/34) in a trouble-free 6-3, 6-3 victory over Swiss wild card Leandro Riedi in 76 minutes. The Argentine, who has reached three ATP Tour clay-court semi-finals this year, including at last week’s Hamburg European Open (l. to Carreno Busta), next challenges Hugo Gaston.

The Frenchman recorded a 6-4, 6-2 win over Delbonis’ compatriot, Juan Manuel Cerundolo, this year’s Cordoba Open titlist (d. Ramos-Vinolas) in 79 minutes.

Elsewhere, Arthur Rinderknech, who this week competes at the ATP 250 event at a career-high No. 100 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, defeated Swiss wild card Dominic Stephan Stricker 6-4, 6-4 in 81 minutes. The Frenchman now prepares to face second-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, the 2018 runner-up (l. to Berrettini).

Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor struck 14 aces in a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(1) win over Juan Ignacio Londero of Argentina in two hours and 14 minutes to set-up a clash against sixth seed Benoit Paire of France.

Second Seeds Beaten In Doubles Opener
Dustin Brown and Tristan-Samuel Weissborn caused an upset in the doubles first round by scraping past second seeds Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar 6-4, 3-6, 10-7. Behar and Escobar are 2-3 in ATP Tour team finals this year and currently in ninth position in the FedEx ATP Doubles Team Rankings.

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