Tennis News

Djokovic's Goal In Belgrade: Reach 'Perfectly Tuned'

Novak Djokovic is one week away from beginning his chase for a second Roland Garros title. But first, the World No. 1 is focussing on improving as much as possible this week at the Belgrade Open in Serbia.

“I’ve been setting up everything to peak in Paris and here it’s about matchplay and it’s about working on certain specific details in my game that hopefully I’ll be able to tweak them and to make them perfectly tuned in Paris,” Djokovic said. “That’s definitely where I want to shine and it’s a Grand Slam. It’s a two-week long event, it’s clay, it’s very demanding in every aspect. But I’m happy with the way I’ve been feeling on the court and playing, so hopefully I can go all the way there.”

This is the first time that Djokovic will play a tournament the week before the clay-court major. The Serbian is adjusting his routines accordingly.

“I’m doing more specific fitness that is related to more matchplay. It’s not any more long hours lifting weights and stuff like this. We have obviously a programme that we are respecting and accomplishing on the court with tennis training and also fitness training,” Djokovic said. “Obviously now it’s more of a fine-tuning, more [focussing on the] details, [doing] more of certain exercises that activate certain muscles and movements that are necessary for me to have that feeling of being dynamic and being fast and being strong on the court.”

Djokovic competed at the Novak Tennis Center just one month ago in the Serbia Open, in which he lost in the semi-finals against Aslan Karatsev. Another Belgrade ATP 250 was added for this year when Roland Garros was moved back one week.

“It is always very special to play in Serbia. It’s quite unusual to have two tournaments so close to each other. I played the Serbia Open a month ago here and now we have another tournament and this tournament came up as a surprise to all of us,” Djokovic said. “I think the success of a nation in tennis depends a lot on the amount of tournaments that are played in that country.”

The home favourite loves playing in Serbia, where he lifted ATP Tour trophies in 2009 and 2011. Since he is able to stay at home, the top seed is also enjoying time with his family.

“I’m really glad that I am also able to play at home twice and spend more time with the family,” Djokovic said.

The last time fans saw Djokovic in action, he pushed Rafael Nadal in a tough three-setter in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final. The Serbian will play Egor Gerasimov or Mats Moraing in his opener in Belgrade.

“I was pleased with the way I played in Rome, also in the final after five hours spent on the court on Saturday. I came out and played almost three hours with Rafa on Sunday and I felt I could go on physically for a few more hours,” Djokovic said. “That was something that really satisfied me, knowing that I’m fit and ready to battle in best of five, which is coming up in Paris, where I really want to try to play my best tennis.”

Source link

Paul, Cobolli Get Wins In Parma

On Sunday at the Emila-Romagna Open Tommy Paul took out Italian Stefano Travaglia 7-5, 6-4 to reach the second round.

Paul has proven to be a big threat on clay, pushing Dominic Thiem to four sets at Roland Garros in 2019 and challenging Casper Ruud in five sets in 2020. He awaits the winner of Steve Johnson and Jiri Vesely.

In the only other main-draw match, Italian wild card Flavio Cobolli won a dramatic marathon over Marcos Giron 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4) in two hours and 34 minutes.

Cobolli, a 19-year-old ranked No. 446, was making his ATP Tour debut, having only played in the qualifying events of Rome in 2020 and 2021. He will take on fourth seed Jan-Lennard Struff in the second round.

The qualifying event concluded with wild card Raul Brancaccio, Pedro Martinez, Mikael Ymer and Daniel Altmaier securing places in the main draw.

Source link

Chardy, Krstin Move On In Belgrade

Main draw action kicked off at the Belgrade Open on Sunday with three winners moving into the second round.

Jeremy Chardy beat American Tennys Sandgren 6-4, 6-2. Chardy is looking to gain some clay-court momentum after starting the season with two semi-final runs and reaching the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 in Dubai.

Serbian Pedja Krstin made good use of his wild card by defeating Soonwon Kwon 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. The win marks the 26-year-old’s first tour-level victory in four main-draw appearances.

His compatriot, 17-year-old Marko Topo, started strong in his ATP Tour debut, but Federico Coria ultimately triumphed 4-6, 6-2, 6-0.

The qualifying draw was completed with Roberto Carballes Baena, Alex Molcan, Andrej Martin and Christopher O’Connell advancing to the main draw.

ORDER OF PLAY – MONDAY, MAY 24, 2021

CENTER COURT start 12:00 noon

[Q] A. Molcan (SVK) vs [WC] H. Medjedovic (SRB)

P. Cuevas (URU) vs [7] M. Kecmanovic (SRB)

Not Before 4:00 pm

R. Berankis (LTU) vs [5] D. Lajovic (SRB)

L. Pouille (FRA) vs F. Verdasco (ESP)

R. Albot (MDA) vs T. Monteiro (BRA)

COURT 1 start 12:00 noon

[LL] M. Moraing (GER) vs E. Gerasimov (BLR)

[8] F. Delbonis (ARG) vs [LL] L. Klein (SVK)

[Q] C. O’Connell (AUS) vs [Q] A. Martin (SVK)

[SE] A. Rinderknech (FRA) vs [Q] R. Carballes Baena (ESP)

COURT 2 start 12:00 noon

A. Goransson (SWE) / R. Matos (BRA) vs D. Sharan (IND) / J. Smith (AUS)

J. Erlich (ISR) / A. Vasilevski (BLR) vs A. Molteni (ARG) / F. Nielsen (DEN)

Not Before 6:00 pm

[3] A. Behar (URU) / G. Escobar (ECU) vs [PR] S. Arends (NED) / L. Martinez (VEN)

Source link

Tsitsipas Reveals ‘What I’m Fighting For’

Stefanos Tsitsipas leaves Lyon with his seventh ATP Tour title and a huge dose of confidence. The Word No. 5 beat Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-3 in Sunday’s final, breaking the Brit three times and needing just 69 minutes to seal the deal.

“It’s a great result,” Tsitsipas said in press. “I love it here. It was a good week for me, played good tennis, played at the top of my game in some of the matches. For sure I can move to the French Open with a little bit more confidence and get to play more matches.”

The Greek has won two titles in 2021 and leads the ATP Tour with most wins at 33. He has also increased his first-place lead in the FedEx ATP Tour Race To Turin to 440 points. He has 3,360 points while Novak Djokovic is in second place with 2,920.

“That’s what I’m fighting for; that’s where most of my attention is right now,” Tsitsipas said. “It’s a priority and I’m trying to gain as many points in the Race To Turin this year. It’s going well so far. I’ve been playing good tennis. I’ve been consistent and that has helped me be where I am right now.

“I have a goal of achieving 7,000 or 8,000 points this year. I think it’s a good goal and with this consistency, I see no reason not to get there.”

Norrie was playing in his third ATP Tour final and second of 2021. He struggled to challenge the Greek after having a great week with straight-set wins over Dominic Thiem and Karen Khachanov.

“I think I also have a little more experience in the finals so that helped for sure,” Tsitsipas, who is 5-0 in ATP 250 finals, said. “And I made my shots and played unpredictable in moments where he was expecting something else.”

He’ll next head to Paris to prepare for Roland Garros, where he’ll be the fifth seed. 

“I’ve been feeling my game well; I’ve been using my patterns really well,” Tsitsipas said. “I’ve been pressing a lot with my serve. Just consistent on court, consistent with my power and the way that I attack and way I [take] risks. I think it would be considered my best [preparation] so far pre-Grand Slam and now all the attention is on next week. I love playing in Paris. I find it mesmerising.”

Source link

Lyon Open: Stefanos Tsitsipas beats Cameron Norrie in final

Britain’s Cameron Norrie again falls short of a maiden ATP title, losing in the Lyon Open final to Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Source link

Nys/Puetz Win Lyon Crown Over Herbert/Mahut

Hugo Nys and Tim Puetz won the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon over top seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, 6-4, 5-7, 10-8 on Sunday. Nys and Puetz capatalised on their first match point in the Match Tie-break, extending their winning streak to eight.

“I’m happy because it’s our second title in a row,” Nys said. “It is always nice to play in France in front of this crowd. It is the end of a very, very good week against the best team of the past decade so of course very, very happy.”

It is Nys and Puetz’s second ATP Tour title of the year after winning Estoril in April. They also earned an ATP Challenger Tour crown together in Biella. The fourth seeds had teamed up briefly in 2012 and 2018, but this is their first consistent playing stretch.

“We had a really good week,” Puetz said. “We beat good teams, we played good tennis the whole week. It came down to a couple points here and there. It could have gone either way and we were lucky to come out on top.”

The Lyon title is Nys’ third tour-level title and Puetz’s fourth, and it’s the first time they have won more than one ATP Tour trophy with the same partner. 

Herbert and Mahut, who have won all four Grand Slams together, were seeking their 18th title. Though very successful over the years, the French tandem were playing in their first final of the year and first final together since the Nitto ATP Finals in 2018.

Source link

Tsitsipas Beats Norrie For Lyon Crown

Second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas produced an impressive performance on Sunday to defeat Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-3 in the final of the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon and win his second ATP Tour title of the year.

The 22-year-old, who won his first ATP Masters 1000 event at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters in April, has now claimed a Tour-leading 33 wins this year, four ahead of Andrey Rublev (29). Tsitsipas has now won seven ATP Tour titles in his career with his victory over Norrie. He extended his lead in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin while also cementing his position as one of the favourites for Roland Garros.

“I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament. I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron who has been showing great tennis this week,” Tsitsipas said on court. “He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. It was not an easy match today, I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focussed towards my goal.”

With the 250 FedEx ATP Ranking points Tsitsipas earned this week, he increased his first-place lead in the Race to 440 points. The Greek now has 3,360 points, extending his advantage over second-placed Novak Djokovic (2,920).

In a lively start, both players fended off break points in their opening service games as Tsitsipas looked to move up the court and dictate the play with his heavy forehand while Norrie aimed to hug the baseline and target the Greek’s backhand. In a high-quality first set, Tsitsipas made the breakthrough in the eighth game to move 5-3 ahead with Norrie missing an overhead long. Having made 69 per cent of his first serves in the opening set, Tsitsipas was able to close it out with one of the seven aces he hit in the match.

Tsitsipas continued to apply pressure on Norrie at the start of the second set, moving well and hitting with great depth. Although Norrie managed to temporarily fend off the danger and hold onto his serve, Tsitsipas started to force errors out of the World No. 49 and broke to lead 4-3. The Greek broke Norrie’s serve a final time to seal the win after an hour and nine minutes with his focus now turning to Roland Garros.

“It is about getting there as early possible, starting to practise and getting in shape for the big Parisian Grand Slam, which I adore and love and hopefully something good can come from it,” Tsitsipas said.

The Greek has now won all five of his ATP 250 finals in which he has played in and is yet to drop a set (10-0) in those matches.

This was Norrie’s third ATP Tour final after falling just short in a final-set tie-break earlier this month in the Estoril championship match against Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Straight-sets victories over Dominic Thiem and Karen Khachanov earlier this week in Lyon moved him to 23 tour-level victories on 2021. He earned 150 FedEx ATP Ranking points for his efforts.  

Source link

Andy Murray: Scot 'needs chance to compete' says brother Jamie

Andy Murray “just needs the chance to compete” says brother Jamie as the Scot continues to struggle with injury.

Source link

Carlos Conquers Oeiras: Alcaraz Claims Historic Fourth Challenger Crown

For Carlos Alcaraz, a memorable month of May has become unforgettable. The 18-year-old Spaniard dominated at the ATP Challenger Tour stop in Oeiras, Portugal, claiming the biggest title of his young career.

Alcaraz lifted the Oeiras Open 125 trophy on Sunday, defeating Facundo Bagnis 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 38 minutes. Just two weeks after battling idol Rafael Nadal at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid, he would return to the Challenger level full of confidence.

Alcaraz joined elite company with his victory in Oeiras, becoming one of just seven players to win four Challenger titles at the age of 18 & under. That list includes Richard Gasquet (7), Tomas Berdych (5), Felix Auger-Aliassime (4), Hyeon Chung (4), Mario Ancic (4) and Guillermo Coria (4).

“I’m incredibly happy to win here,” said Alcaraz, who is projected to break into the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings on Monday. “To be able to get this title is something special. It’s the biggest moment of my career. I played at a high level all week, at a great tournament and against very good players. I think it’s a great preparation for Roland Garros [qualifying]. I’m just really happy.”

Since he first crashed onto the scene one year ago, Alcaraz has made his mark as a mental giant. With poise and composure far beyond his years, the 18-year-old would exhibit exceptional fortitude en route to the title in Oeiras.

On Wednesday, the Murcia native was forced to battle back from a set and a break down to defeat fellow #NextGenATP star Brandon Nakashima. Then, in Thursday’s quarter-finals, he outlasted home hope Gastao Elias after trailing 1-4 in the opening set. On Friday, Alcaraz withstood a stern test from former World No. 64 Taro Daniel, bouncing back after conceding two straight breaks when serving for the match in the second set. And on Saturday, he sprinted to the finish line with an efficient straight-set win over Bagnis.

“I felt very comfortable on the court. Facundo is a great player. I had the break in the second set and felt a little nervous with my serve. He broke back but I got it done in the end. It was the small details, these opportunities, that I took advantage of.”

Alcaraz is not only projected to crack the Top 100 on Monday, but will also move up two spots to sixth place in the ATP Race To Milan. The surging teen is seeking to make his debut at the Next Gen ATP Finals in November.

The Spaniard picked up where he left off on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2020, when he set the circuit ablaze behind a trio of titles and a tour-leading 83.3 win percentage. The Spaniard, who won 20 of 24 Challenger matches last year, has already proceeded to launch a seamless transition to the ATP Tour in 2021. A first Tour-level semi-final on home soil in Marbella came just one month ago and was soon followed by a successful ATP Masters 1000 debut in Madrid (d. Mannarino).

Photo: Sara Falcao | @sarahawkkk on Instagram

Now, as Alcaraz sets his sights on full-time ATP Tour status going forward, one of the greatest performers in ATP Challenger history had one last statement to make on the circuit.

“I will forever remember this week, this tournament, this club, this city, this moment,” said Alcaraz. “Winning a title is always special and to reach the Top 100 here in Portugal is very nice. I will next go to Roland Garros and try to qualify for my first Grand Slam. I need to keep improving with every match and now I want to gain more experience playing five sets. This will be important starting in Roland Garros.”

Source link

With Revamped Serve, Ruud Sends A Message After Geneva Victory

Maybe Roger Federer should put on an ATP Tour serve clinic? 

After Swiss teen Dominic Stephan Stricker cited the former World No. 1’s advice as the reason behind a tweak in his serve earlier in the week, Gonet Geneva Open champion Casper Ruud revealed that he too looked to the Federer service motion for some inspiration of his own.

Ruud served up some head-turning numbers on serve in his 7-6(6), 6-4 victory against Denis Shapovalov in Saturday’s final. He controlled the match by winning 79 per cent of points behind his first serve (26/33) and 81 per cent of second serve points (22/27). 

It was a marked improvement for the Norwegian player, who explained that the difference was only a matter of inches – moving the toss forward by a few centimetres, turning his head a certain way at the point of contact – and a matter of following Federer’s example.

“It’s a little bit like the movement that Roger [Federer] does when he rotates with his head and it almost looks like he can see the ball at impact,” Ruud explained in his post-match press conference. “That gave me some inspiration looking at the way he’s serving. He’s not the tallest guy, but he always had a big serve.”

“I think it’s been [a] positive [change] that is helping the arm and body feel better, and also I’m serving better,” he added. “I’m placing the ball better and I have better pace on the ball. I think it was a great change and a great improvement. And it was an easy change. Sometimes changes can be tougher, but this time it was only to move the toss further in front and try to look at the ball at impact.”

Ruud’s revamped serve has been firing throughout the clay-court season, where he previously reached three semi-finals, including two at the ATP Masters 1000 level: Monte-Carlo (l. Rublev), Munich (l.Basilashvili) and Madrid (l. Berrettini). He only dropped one set en route to the trophy in Geneva, his second ATP Tour title, and did not face a break point during the championship match. 

With the victory in Geneva, Ruud is set for a return to the Top 20 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. He also guarantees himself a major boon heading into Paris in two weeks: a Top 16 seeding at Roland Garros, his highest Grand Slam seeding yet. 

“I feel great that I’ve been playing well lately. In the past few tournaments I’ve been reaching the later stages,” Ruud said. “It’s a good confidence-booster for Roland Garros, but it’s a new tournament and new conditions and best-of-five sets. 

“I hope I can do well, and hopefully the form I’ve been showing recently can affect the other players and they will think that it will be a tough challenge if they play me. That’s also the goal. The way when people play Rafa [Nadal] on clay, they will already think before the match that it will be very tough. I’m very far from this level, but at least maybe some players can think a little bit like this.”

Ruud will hope to keep sending a message with his clay-court prowess as he heads to Roland Garros. The Norwegian is already trying to put his result in Geneva out of his mind in an attempt to stay focussed – but will allow himself just one day of rest before getting back to work. 

“I think it will be important to keep the intensity and focus up,” he said. “In one way, [I will] try to pretend this never happened, in the sense that you work hard every day in the coming days to Paris, like I would do if I didn’t play here.

“Every match in a Grand Slam is tough so you have to be ready for anyone, but at least the seeding is good for me this year and I hope I can do some damage. I hope I can be in the second week of Roland Garros. That’s my goal.”

Source link