Tennis News

Karatsev Saves 23 Break Points To Stun Djokovic In Belgrade Epic

Third seed Aslan Karatsev clinched the biggest victory of his career against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, triumphing in a three-hour and 25-minute lung-buster on Saturday to reach the championship match at the Serbia Open.

Taking on the top seed at his namesake Novak Tennis Centre in Belgrade, Karatsev stayed calm in the decisive moments to save 23 of the 28 break points he faced against Djokovic, one of the best returners in the game. Karatsev stuck to his aggressive strategy to survive a second-set comeback and record a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 stunner.

“It was a long, tough match [against a] tough opponent,” Karatsev said in his post-match press conference. “You have to put [in] like 200 per cent to beat this guy, it’s like playing against a wall. And he also made some good shots. He doesn’t give you any free points. He always makes you play and you have to be always there because once you miss a couple of shots, he just takes it very quickly. That’s how I lost the second set.”

Top 5 Longest ATP Tour Matches Of 2021

Karatsev improved to 1-1 in his ATP Head2Head against Djokovic, avenging his straight-sets defeat in the 2021 Australian Open semi-finals. The Russian awaits the winner of second seed Matteo Berrettini and Japanese lucky loser Taro Daniel. Karatsev owns a 1-0 lead against Daniel, and has never faced the Italian.

“I stepped on the court to win. I was believing [in myself], and I said to myself that I would play every ball no matter what,” Karatsev said. “I tried to keep this strategy that we spoke about with the coach. You have to fight for every ball, that was the key to success.”

Djokovic powered his way to 2-0 leads in the first two sets against the reigning Dubai champion Karatsev, who burst onto the scene at the Australian Open with a breakthrough semi-final fun from qualifying. But in both sets, Karatsev didn’t allow Djokovic to settle into the lead, breaking back quickly and pressing the Serbian from the baseline with punishing rallies.

After Karatsev claimed the opening set, he looked to be closing in on a straight-sets win as he took a 4-2 lead in the second. But the World No. 1 responded emphatically, raising his level and rallying the limited spectators in Belgrade as he reeled off the next four games in a row. He was nearly untouchable in the final game, blasting passing shots off both wings to battle back from 15/40 and claim the break.

But in a 73-minute deciding set that came down the wire, it was Djokovic who blinked first. Karatsev took time away from his opponent by going to net regularly and closing out points with smart forehand drive volleys. He also honed in on the Djokovic second serve, winning 52 per cent of points (23/44) behind the Serbian’s second delivery. Karatsev earned the lone break at 4-3, denying Djokovic 10 break points in the final set en route to the final.

“This is definitely [the biggest win of my career], it’s the World No. 1,” Karatsev said. “I’m really happy, I put everything on the court. The match was long. I’m really happy with my performance today.”

With his fifth tour-level clay-court victory, Karatsev snapped Djokovic’s 11-match winning streak on home soil (30-4 overall) dating back to Davis Cup in 2011. Djokovic, who added a record-extending ninth Australian Open trophy to his haul earlier in the season, was looking for his 83rd ATP Tour title. 

Source link

Sabanov Brothers Complete ‘Dream’ Week With Belgrade Crown

Wild cards Ivan Sabanov and Matej Sabanov clinched their first ATP Tour title without dropping a set after defeating Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar 6-3, 7-6(5) in the Serbia Open final.

Coming into the event, the 28-year-old twin brothers had only won one tour-level doubles match, reaching the quarter-finals in Montpellier last year. But they made good on their wild card opportunity to complete a dream week in Belgrade.

“It’s definitely been a dream-come-true week for us, it’s been amazing,” Ivan said in their post-match press conference. “Since the first match, we beat the third seeds and we realised we have a really good level. We kept playing good, and then everything was like a dream for us. I still don’t even think we realise that we won the tournament. We could not predict something like this.”

Coached by older brother Aleksandar Sabanov, the Sabanovs began their Belgrade campaign with an upset over third seeds Raven Klaasen and Ben McLachlan. The pair live in Belgrade and have previously trained at the Novak Tennis Centre, and that familiarity showed as they powered their way to the final, notching a victory over Matteo Berrettini and Andrea Vavassori along the way.

Up against the Marbella champions Behar and Escobar in the final, the brothers had to fight through a tough second set after taking the lead. The Ecuadorian-Uruguayan duo saved match point at 6-5 to reach a tie-break, where they opened up a 5/2 lead. But the Sabanovs bounced back, reeling off the next five points to seal the victory in one hour and 31 minutes.

Neither brother has any sort of tennis sponsorship. Matej plays with Laslo Djere’s old racquet, while Ivan uses Filip Krajinovic’s. Both men wore gifted Fila gear throughout the week – so the victory and 250 FedEx ATP Rankings points will be a financial boon as much as a boost in confidence.

“It’s difficult to get the [sponsorships] in countries like Serbia and Croatia, but this won’t stop us from doing our thing and becoming good players,” Ivan said. “And this tournament won’t change us, we’ll still be the same people and work hard for our dream. This is just a small step for our dream.”

Krawietz/Tecau Save M.P. To Reach Barcelona Final
Kevin Krawietz and Horia Tecau saved a match point to make it through to their second final of the season on Saturday at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.

The Rotterdam finalists recovered from a slow start and claimed three straight points from match point down at 9/8 in the Match Tie-break to defeat third seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 1-6, 6-3, 11-9. Krawietz and Tecau won 75 per cent of their first-serve points (30/40) to overcome the Australian Open finalists in 77 minutes.

Krawietz and Tecau will meet top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in the championship match. The Colombians have not dropped a set en route to the final.

Source link

Barcelona Open: Rafael Nadal beats Pablo Carreno Busta to reach 12th final

Rafael Nadal beats fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3 6-2 to reach his 12th Barcelona Open final.

Source link

Nadal Books Tsitsipas Final Clash In Barcelona

Rafael Nadal made it through to his 12th Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell final on Saturday with a 6-3, 6-2 win against countryman Pablo Carreno Busta.

The 11-time champion landed 13 forehand winners and claimed four service breaks to extend his unbeaten ATP Head2Head record against Carreno Busta to 8-0. Nadal made quick starts to both sets and reached his 69th clay final after 89 minutes (60-8).

“I am very happy to be back in a final here at an historic event, a home event [and] an important one for me,” said Nadal. “I think I did things well today, better than the other days. I have been improving every single day a little bit more.”

Nadal is chasing his 12th title at the ATP 500 event. The 60-time clay-court titlist is the only player to lift 12 or more tour-level trophies at the same tournament, having claimed 13 titles at Roland Garros.

Nadal owns a combined 23-1 record in Barcelona semi-final and final matches. The Spaniard’s only loss in Barcelona after reaching the final four came in 2019, when he fell to eventual champion Dominic Thiem.

The top seed will meet Stefanos Tsitsipas for the trophy in a repeat of the 2018 Barcelona final. On that occasion, Nadal defeated the first-time ATP Tour finalist 6-2, 6-1.

The 34-year-old will be seeking revenge for his loss to the Greek in this year’s Australian Open quarter-finals, when Tsitsipas became only the second player to defeat Nadal from two sets down at a Grand Slam. Nadal owns a 6-2 ATP Head2Head advantage against the reigning Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters champion.

“Tomorrow will be a very tough one. [Stefanos] is playing probably better than ever,” said Nadal. “Not one set lost in Monte-Carlo and here, so it will be the toughest opponent possible. I hope to be ready. It is going to be a tough one, but I need to be ready to increase my level and let’s see.”

Nadal attacked Carreno Busta’s backhand and dictated rallies with his forehand to charge into a 5-1 lead in the first set. The 20-time Grand Slam champion dropped serve when he tried to serve out the set at 5-1 and was forced to save three break points on his second attempt as Carreno Busta raised his level.

After clinching the opener, Nadal made another impressive start to the second set. The Mallorcan showcased his impressive court coverage skills and used his forehand to overpower his opponent. Nadal reached his 12th Barcelona final (11-0) when Carreno Busta struck a backhand return into the tramline.

Carreno Busta was attempting to reach his second final of the European clay swing. The 29-year-old captured his fifth ATP Tour crown earlier this month at the AnyTech365 Andalucia Open in Marbella.

Source link

Tsitsipas Continues Hot Streak, Returns To Barcelona Final

Three years ago, Stefanos Tsitsipas made a major breakthrough at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell by reaching his maiden ATP Tour final at the ATP 500 event. The World No. 5 returned to the championship match on Saturday with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph against Jannik Sinner.

The reigning Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters champion saved all four break points he faced to improve his unbeaten record on clay this year to 9-0 and 17-0 in sets. Tsitsipas has now won 10 of his 12 matches at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona 1899.

“It was very close. It was a close match,” said Tsitsipas. “He had a lot of break point opportunities on my serve. It could have been different, but I stayed tough and I converted those break points [I had]. That was crucial and very important.”

After taking a 2-1 lead in his ATP Head2Head series against Sinner, Tsitsipas has now matched Andrey Rublev’s tour-leading total of 26 victories this season. Tsitsipas and Rublev are eight wins clear of their nearest ATP Tour rivals, with Sinner in third position on the 2021 wins list. As a result of his run to the final, Tsitsipas is also guaranteed to remain in first place in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin on Monday.

2021 ATP Tour Wins Leaderboard

Tsitsipas awaits the winner of the all-Spanish semi-final between 11-time champion Rafael Nadal and Pablo Carreno Busta. Tsitsipas owns a 2-6 ATP Head2Head record against Nadal, which includes his final loss to the Mallorcan in the 2018 Barcelona final. Tsitsipas holds an unbeaten 2-0 advantage against Carreno Busta.

“It feels great to be back [in the final]. I will try to redeem myself from last time… I am looking forward to whoever I have to play,” said Tsitsipas. “A final is always a very important phase in a tournament.”

In a tight opening set, both players were unable to convert early break points. Tsitsipas made the only breakthrough of the set at 4-3, when he attacked Sinner’s forehand to extract multiple errors and break serve. Sinner struck eight of his 11 unforced errors in the first set on his forehand side.

Tsitsipas targeted Sinner’s backhand corner to save two break points early in the second set, and he stuck by that tactic in the following game to move clear. The Greek, who was assisted by Sinner’s low first-serve percentage (52 per cent), pinned the Italian into his backhand corner and drove forehands into the open space to move towards victory. Tsitsipas broke his opponent for the third time in the final game to reach his third final of the season (1-1).

Sinner was also aiming to advance to his third final of 2021. The #NextGenATP Italian opened the year with a title run at the Great Ocean Road Open in Melbourne and advanced to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 final earlier this month at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

Source link

Nadal Message Leaves Neymar’s Son Starstruck

World No. 3 Rafael Nadal might have spent some extra time on the practice court at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell recently, but he still found time for a great gesture for one of his youngest fans.

Former FC Barcelona player Neymar posted an adorable Instagram Story featuring his son, Davi Lucca, receiving any Nadal fan’s ultimate dream: a personalised video message from the Spanish legend himself.

Turns out, the nine-year-old was one of the limited number of fans in attendance at Pista Rafa Nadal, alongside other FC Barcelona figures including club president Joan Laporta and players like Pedri Gonzalez, Riqui Puig and Francisco Trincao. But as a result of strict health and safety protocols, Davi Lucca was unable to meet the 11-time champion in person. 

“Davi Lucca, how are you?” Nadal said in the video as the youngster’s face quickly turned to shock. “I heard that you came to watch one of my matches recently. I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to greet you, but with the virus around it was impossible. Hopefully when this is all over, you can come back and we can meet properly some day. Sending a big kiss.”

The son of the Brazil and PSG star has rubbed elbows with sports megastars like Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique, but it was Nadal’s video message that left him speechless. 

“You’re kidding. Mum, you’re lying to me,” he exclaimed, before literally jumping with joy. “Mum I’m so happy! He spoke to me… Nadal!”

Top seed Nadal will be back to compete at his namesake Centre Court on Saturday, when he faces sixth seed Pablo Carreno Busta for a spot in the Barcelona championship match. 

Source link

Sabanov Twins Advance To Belgrade Final

At the Serbia Open, wild cards Ivan Sabanov and Matej Sabanov are one win away from the ATP 250 title. The twins ended Matteo Berrettini and Andrea Vavassori’s run 7-6(9), 6-3 in the semi-finals on Friday. 

The Croatians saved two set points in the tie-break before running away with the match to book a place in their first ATP Tour final. They’re tied at No. 169 in the FedEx ATP rankings, and had a 1-3 ATP Tour record going into this week in Belgrade.

In the other semi-finals, Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar topped Nikola Cacic and Tomislav Brkic 6-3, 6-4. Behar and Escobar are seeking their third title of 2021, having won in Delray Beach and Marbella. The Serbia Open doubles champions will be decided on Saturday at 3 pm, followed by the singles semi-finals.

Top Seeds Advance in Barcelona
The top-seeded team of Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal secured a place in the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell final with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin.

Farah and Cabal have yet to drop a set. They’ll get a day off while the second semi-final is played on Saturday between Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury and Kevin Krawietz/Horia Tecau.

Source link

Nadal, Straight To The Practice Court In Barcelona: ‘I’m Trying To Improve Daily’

After closing out a confidence-boosting win over Cameron Norrie in two sets, 11-time champion Rafael Nadal had just two words for his team at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell: “Pista 2!”

Nadal wrapped up his first straight-sets victory of the week in an hour and 35 minutes, and then went directly from his namesake Centre Court to the practice courts of the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899 to continue the hard work.

“I went to the practice court to loosen up the arms,” Nadal explained in his post-match press conference. “The match was a little bit shorter today. I’m in the process of trying to improve and working hard daily to try to find the level that I want as soon as possible…

“I just wanted to pinpoint a few things after the match to work on. It’s not the first time or the fifth time that I do this, I’ve [gone straight to the practice court] many times in the past. It’s nothing new, I’m just trying to find the things that can help me be a little bit better tomorrow.”

1️⃣ Training
2️⃣ Beats Norrie
3️⃣ Back to training

? THIS IS @RafaelNadal pic.twitter.com/iAT0n0lPKx

— Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell (@bcnopenbs) April 23, 2021

Coming into his quarter-final clash against Norrie, Nadal’s level had raised some alarm bells among Spanish tennis fans as he dropped a set in each of his previous matches in Barcelona. He was taken the distance against Ilya Ivashka and two-time Barcelona champion Kei Nishikori – a rare occurrence on the Spaniard’s happiest hunting ground. 

Nadal has lifted the Trofeo de Godo 11 times, and had not previously dropped more than one set en route to any of his record Barcelona titles. In fact, he won the title without losing a set on nine occasions.

He was under pressure on Friday again, as Norrie broke his serve late in the second set to bring them to 4-4, threatening to force another three-setter. But this time, Nadal responded emphatically with a break back to love to seal his 13th semi-final berth in Barcelona.

It is also Nadal’s first semi-final of the year, after reaching the quarter-finals at each of his previous events at the Australian Open (l. Tsitsipas) and Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (l. Rublev).

“I’m in [the] semi-finals, that’s the thing today. I’ve been able to [advance] to that round for the first time this year, so that’s a positive news for me,” Nadal said. “I’m happy with the way I was able to improve every single day. Now is the moment to keep improving if I want to have chances against a tough opponent.

“I take every day as a positive thing, and today was a straight-sets win. For moments I played at a high level, and for moments I think I can do better. But it’s a process, and I accept the challenge and I accept the process.”

Nadal will next face sixth-seeded countryman Pablo Carreno Busta, who lifted the trophy in Marbella earlier in the month, for a spot in the championship match.

Source link

Rafael Nadal beats Cameron Norrie to reach Barcelona Open semi-finals

Rafael Nadal eases past Britain’s Cameron Norrie in straight sets in the last eight of the Barcelona Open.

Source link

Nadal Speeds Past Norrie Into Barcelona Semi-Finals

Top seed Rafael Nadal powered past fellow lefty Cameron Norrie in straight sets on Friday to return to the semi-finals at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.

Coming into his quarter-final clash, the 11-time champion had already lost two sets this week after being taken the distance against Ilya Ivashka and two-time Barcelona champion Kei Nishikori. It was cause for alarm for some Spanish tennis fans, as Nadal had not previously dropped more than one set en route to any of his record Barcelona titles, nine of which he claimed without losing a set.

But Nadal made sure to not concede another, coming out swinging against Norrie and dictating with his forehand to record a 6-1, 6-4 victory on Pista Rafa Nadal.

With the victory, Nadal improved to 2-0 in his ATP Head2Head against Norrie, making it 18 consecutive victories over left-handed players since 2017 in Montreal (l. Shapovalov). Nadal’s overall record against fellow lefties now sits at 108-15.

Into his 13th semi-final in Barcelona, Nadal awaits the winner of Buenos Aires champion Diego Schwartzman, the fourth seed, and sixth-seeded Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, who lifted the trophy in Marbella earlier in the month. 

Source link