Tennis News

Taberner Steamrolls Into Roland Garros Main Draw

With a decisive 6-1, 6-0 win over Joao Menezes, Carlos Taberner moved into the main draw of Roland Garros on Thursday. Taberner has lost just six games across three matches to qualify, spending a total of three hours and 16 minutes on court. 

The 23-year-old Spaniard beat Martin Klizan 6-1, 6-2 and Thomas Fabbiano 6-2, 6-0 before taking out Brazil’s Menezes. The World No. 137 has appeared in the main draw of a Grand Slam once before, at Roland Garros in 2018. Earlier this year, he picked up his second ATP Challenger Tour title in Antalya. 

Bjorn Fratangelo became one of eight men to qualify on Thursday when he topped Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic 6-2, 7-6(3). 

Paris is a special place for the 27-year-old American. He won the junior event in 2011 and five years later, after reaching the second round, he cracked the Top 100 in the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time. Aside from Delray Beach and Miami, Fratangelo has played on the ITF and ATP Challenger Tour for most of the season, winning the title in Cleveland (d. Brooksby) and reaching the final in Tallahassee (l. to Brooksby). 

Fifth seed Taro Daniel booked his place in the main draw with a 7-6(7), 6-1 win over France’s Quentin Halys. Japan’s Daniel has reached the second round in Paris on two occasions (2016 and 2017). 

Germany’s Maximilian Marterer dismissed Brazil’s Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves 6-2, 6-1. Marterer made a run to the fourth round of Roland Garros in 2018 (l. to Nadal). Oscar Otte, a 27-year-old from Germany, had little trouble ousting No. 12 seed Hugo Dellien 6-2, 6-0. At Roland Garros in 2019, Otte reached the second round for his best major performance (l. to Federer). 

The final day of qualifying is Friday with Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz facing Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo, American Jenson Brooksby taking on France’s Evan Furness and both Cerundolo brothers in action: Juan Manuel Cerundolo faces Switzerland’s Henri Laaksonen and Francisco Cerundolo plays Italy’s Alessandro Giannessi.

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Cincinnati, Winston-Salem To Welcome Fans At Full Capacity

Two North American ATP Tour tournaments will welcome the colour and excitement of full crowds this summer following guidance from local and state health officials.

Both the Western & Southern Open (14-22 Aug.), an ATP Masters 1000, and the Winston-Salem Open (21-28 Aug.), the ATP 250 played the week before the US Open, have announced plans to allow full-capacity crowds. The development is in contrast to last year when due to COVID-19 the Winston-Salem Open was cancelled and the Western & Southern Open was played behind closed doors at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York in the week before the US Open.

“In keeping with the guidance from local government officials, we are eager to welcome fans back to the Western & Southern Open,” said Tournament Chief Operating Officer Katie Haas. “The fans bring so much energy and excitement to our event, and we dearly missed them last year. We look forward to returning to Cincinnati and welcoming our fans at this year’s tournament.”

Returning to its traditional home at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, the Western & Southern Open will open all ticket sales, including full series, mini-plans, single session and hospitality packages, next Thursday, 3 June at 10 a.m.

New in 2021, the event will move to a fully digital ticket operation which will allow for quick entry to the venue as well as easy transfer of tickets to family, friends and clients. In addition, the entire venue will be cashless, with on-site transactions to be made with credit or debit cards. Reverse ATMs, which allow cash to be loaded onto a gift card, will be available at the venue.

Western & Southern Open ticket information can be found at https://www.wsopen.com/tickets/buy-tickets/.

After postponing its 10th anniversary during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Winston-Salem Open at Wake Forest University will return to the Piedmont Triad 21-28 August. The tournament will operate at full capacity, given that North Carolina’s government has lifted mass gathering restrictions. Tickets, including individual session tickets, packages, box seats, and group sales, will go on sale later this summer.

“We’re so excited to announce the 2021 Winston-Salem Open. It was disappointing for everyone to have to step aside last year, but we knew it was the right thing to do for tennis. We know, though, our fans have a long history of being incredibly loyal and supportive of the tournament, and we can’t wait for play to begin on August 21,” Winston-Salem Open Tournament Director Jeff Ryan said.

For ticket information, please visit http://winstonsalemopen.com/.

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Nadal Statue Revealed At Roland Garros

Roland Garros revealed a statue of 13-time champion Rafael Nadal on Thursday before the start of the season’s second Grand Slam championship.

Nadal was there for the unveiling with French Tennis Federation President Gilles Moretton, Tournament Director Guy Forget and Jordi Diez Fernandez, the statue’s sculptor. The piece of art is located next to the general public entrance and the Jardin des Mousquetaires.

A group effort to achieve greatness ?

Rafael Nadal, Jordi Díez Fernandez, Gilles Moretton & Guy Forget ?#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/LoloGKrnDZ

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 27, 2021

Diez Fernandez built the statue, which is made of steel, to stand three metres tall, nearly five metres wide and two metres deep. Nadal is pictured hitting his signature lefty forehand, which has helped him to a 100-2 record at the clay-court major.

The third seed will begin his pursuit of a 14th Coupe des Mousquetaires against Aussie Alexei Popyrin. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and eighth seed Roger Federer are also on Nadal’s half of the draw.

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Korda Sets All-American Parma SF Against Paul

Sebastian Korda set an all-American semi-final against Tommy Paul after taking down eighth seed Yoshihito Nishioka on Thursday at the Emilia-Romagna Open.

The #NextGenATP American dropped serve only once en route to a 6-3, 6-3 victory. After defeating Andreas Seppi and top seed Lorenzo Sonego in the opening rounds, Korda has now booked his spot into his first tour-level clay-court semi-final in Parma. 

“I played a great match. I know he has been playing really good tennis, he reached the semi-final in Lyon [last week],” Korda said in an on-court interview. “But it’s my first semi-final on clay and I’m super happy.”

Korda stayed aggressive throughout the match, and took control of the rallies with his big serve. He created nine break opportunities across both sets, converting on four occasions. In the first set, he took a 3-0 lead with an early break and never looked back. 

But Nishioka, who defeated #NextGenATP Lorenzo Musetti on his way to the quarter-finals, struck back in the second set after once again dropping his first service game. He levelled the score at 1-1, but it would be his only look at break points during the match. Korda lost only two points on his serve in the next seven games, and reeled off the last four games to seal the victory after an hour and 21 minutes. 

Korda will meet Paul in the semi-finals after the sixth seed took down Jan-Lennard Struff 6-2, 6-4. It will be the pair’s second tour-level meeting after Korda came back from a set down to win their Delray Beach battle in January on his way to the final (l. Hurkacz).

“I’m really good friends with Tommy,” Korda said. “We practise together a lot. It’s going to be a really fun match. He’s been playing great, so hopefully it will be a fun one.”

Elsewhere in Parma, Jaume Munar and Italian wild card Marco Cecchinato will meet for a spot in the final after cruising through their own quarter-final battles. 

Munar, who reached a final in Marbella (l. Carreno Busta) last month, only dropped two games against fifth seed Richard Gasquet en route to a 6-1, 6-1 win. Munar didn’t face a break point, and won 96 per cent of points behind his first serve (22/23) and 100 per cent of his second serves (6/6).

Wild card Cecchinato served up seven aces in his 6-3, 6-1 victory over lucky loser Norbert Gombos. He will be seeking his fourth tour-level title in Parma, and will try to improve his 0-1 ATP Head2Head record against Munar. 

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French Open 2021 draw: Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic & Roger Federer in same half of draw

Defending champion Rafael Nadal could meet Novak Djokovic in the French Open semi-finals after the pair land in the same half of the men’s draw.

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French Open: Harriet Dart loses in final round of qualifying for Roland Garros

Britain’s Harriet Dart misses out on a main-draw spot at the French Open with a defeat in the final round of qualifying.

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Novak Djokovic: Boris Becker, Goran Ivanisevic & Nikola Pilic on making of a champion

Novak Djokovic has “two sides” and can be a “24-hour stress” to coach – Boris Becker, Goran Ivanisevic and Nikola Pilic on what makes him a champion.

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French Open: Naomi Osaka says she will not take questions at tournament

Naomi Osaka will not take questions during the French Open due to the impact it can have on the mental health of players.

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Carballes Baena Wins Belgrade Marathon Against Monfils

Spanish qualifier Roberto Carballes Baena claimed the second Top 20 victory of his career with a dramatic 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(4) win over Gael Monfils in a late-night marathon on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals of the Belgrade Open. 

“It was a very tough match and a very physical match,” Carballes Baena said in an on-court interview. “Gael is a top player and he is so good. He is not playing his best tennis, but for me it is a great win.”  

Carballes Baena, who won the ATP Challenger Series event at this same venue last month (d. Dzumhur), came out on fire against World No. 15 Monfils. He led 4-0 in the opening set and by a break in the second but the Frenchman, who was looking for his second match win of the season (1-3), never stopped fighting. 

The Spaniard was in trouble – and on the brink of defeat – in a rollercoaster third set, as he trailed by a break and then 1/4 in the deciding tie-break. Carballes Baena stayed patient and took his chances, reeling off six points in a row to turn around the tie-break and claim victory after a two-hour and 35-minute battle.

Carballes Baena booked a quarter-final clash against eighth seed Federico Delbonis as he seeks his second tour-level title. The Spaniard will be looking to improve his ATP Head2Head record against Delbonis, who has won all four of their encounters, including most recently in Marbella earlier in the season. 

“Tomorrow is going to be a very tough match. I played four or five times against Delbonis, and I lost all of the times. I think it will be very tough, but right now I want to enjoy this victory and tomorrow I will prepare [for] the match.”

Fifth seed Dusan Lajovic claimed the only straight-sets win of the day to move past Jeremy Chardy and book a spot into the quarter-finals. The Serbian won 72 per cent of points (28/39) behind his first serve, and kept the pressure on the Frenchman by creating 18 break opportunities. Lajovic converted on four occasions en route to a 6-3, 6-4 win.

Lajovic will next face qualifier Andrej Martin, who similarly faced 18 break points in his battle with third seed Nikoloz Basilashvili. Martin saved 10 of those points, and in turn broke serve nine times to claim a 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(4) win over the Munich champion after two hours and 29 minutes. 

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Sabanov Brothers Move Closer To Belgrade Double

One month ago, Ivan Sabanov and Matej Sabanov won their first ATP Tour title in Belgrade. Now the twins are two victories from claiming their second trophy at the same facility.

The Croatian wild cards beat Federico Delbonis and Artem Sitak 6-2, 6-1 on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals of the Belgrade Open. The Sabanov brothers have not lost a set in five of their six matches at the Novak Tennis Center.

They will next play Jonathan Erlich and Andrei Vasilevski, who advanced on Tuesday. On the other half of the draw, Britons Luke Bambridge and Dominic Inglot eliminated fourth seeds Marcelo Demoliner and Santiago Gonzalez 6-4, 6-4. They will face Swede Andre Goransson and Brazilian Rafael Matos for a spot in the championship match.

Top Seeds Advance In Parma
Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen advanced to the quarter-finals of the Emilia-Romagna Open on Wednesday with a 7-6(5), 6-4 triumph against Francesco Passaro and Stefanos Travaglia of Italy. The top seeds are pursuing their sixth ATP Tour title as a team and their second crown of the season (Singapore).

Also moving on in the Parma doubles draw were 2020 Australian Open finalists Max Purcell and Luke Saville, who beat home favourites Marco Cecchinato and Andreas Seppi 7-6(5), 6-4.

In other action, two of the top three seeds were upset. Oliver Marach and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi ousted second seeds Raven Klaasen and Ben McLachlan 6-3, 6-4, and Simone Bolelli and Maximo Gonzalez beat third seeds Marcus Daniell and Philipp Oswald 6-2, 6-4.

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