Tennis News

Up Close & Personal With Novak Djokovic In Belgrade

From basketball star to actor, Novak Djokovic is playing plenty of roles beyond the tennis court at this week’s Serbia Open.

The World No. 1 is having a blast at the ATP 250 being held in his hometown of Belgrade where his brother, Djordje Djokovic, is the tournament director. Novak has been spotted multiple times on the basketball court at the Novak Tennis Center, where he has showed a crisp jumpshot and touch around the rim.

Djokovic’s other brother, Marko Djokovic, wanted to test his hand as a videographer, and Novak was a willing subject. The 18-time Grand Slam winner did some exercises just for his brother.

Watch Djokovic’s Behind The Scenes Clips:

Two-time Belgrade champion Djokovic has been all-business on the court. Djokovic defeated Soonwoo Kwon 6-1, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals, in which the top seed will play countryman Miomir Kecmanovic.

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Cameron Norrie: Brit into Barcelona Open quarter-finals after David Goffin retirement

Britain’s Cameron Norrie reaches the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open after Belgian eighth seed David Goffin retired injured.

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Nadal Survives Three-Setter To Top Nishikori

Rafael Nadal overcame a challenge from Kei Nishikori at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, winning 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 in two hours and 19 minutes on Thursday. The Spaniard heads into the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 where he’ll face unseeded Cameron Norrie.

The World No. 3 started by breaking the Japanese 31-year-old in the opening game to set the tone, blitzing through the first set in just 30 minutes. His pressure was relentless with Nishikori taking little risks, managing just three winners. The 11-time Barcelona champion entered the matchup with a dominant 11-2 record in their ATP Head2Head Series but hadn’t played against Nishikori in nearly two years.

“I think I played much better than yesterday; that’s a very important thing for me,” Nadal said on court. “The level of positive energy [was] higher, so [I’m] very satisfied.”

Nishikori finally got on the scoreboard for 1-1 in the second set. With that hurdle behind him, he started teeing off on his forehand and made it three games in a row for 3-1, taking full control of the momentum. A former World No. 4, Nishikori is a two-time winner in Barcelona (2014 and 2015).

He would earn a double-break and seal the set, marking the first time in history that Nadal has played a deciding set in back-to-back matches in Barcelona (he beat Ilya Ivashka 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 on Wednesday).

Out-defending Nadal wasn’t going to work so Nishikori moved more inside the court, taking charge instead of hanging too far back. He began changing direction better and pushed Nadal out of his comfort zone, making efficient use of his backhand down the line and closing with his forehand.

But Nadal would not be shaken up for too long and Nishikori couldn’t convert on his opportunities. In the third set, Nadal survived a 0/40 first game scare by reeling off five points in a row. He’d save more break points (5/5 total in the set) and get rewarded for his clutch play with his own break for 3-1, followed by another at 5-2 to capture the win. The Spaniard improves to 63-4 in Barcelona.

Norrie had an unusual day in the office: He was leading 6-0, 3-5 against David Goffin before the Belgian retired with a right leg injury. The Brit has faced Nadal just once, losing in the fourth round of this year’s Australian Open in straight sets.

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Zverev Leads Field In Munich; All You Need To Know

After missing out on hosting last year’s tournament due to COVID-19, the BMW Open is back in Munich, Germany for its 53rd edition. Germany’s highest-ranked player, World No. 6 Alexander Zverev, leads the field, followed by Top 30 stars Jannik Sinner, Casper Ruud, Dusan Lajovic and Aslan Karatsev.

Zverev won the ATP 250 title in 2017 and 2018, and he’ll be seeking his second ATP Tour title of 2021, having won in Acapulco in March. Two more Germans join the 23-year-old in the main draw, Dominik Koepfer and Jan-Lennard Struff. 

#NextGenATP star Sinner recently cracked the Top 20 for the first time on the heels of his semi-final breakthrough run at the Miami Open presented by Itau. 

Note: The 2021 BMW Open will be held behind closed doors due to COVID-19 precautions.

Established: 1968

Tournament Dates: 26 April-2 May 2021

Tournament Director: Patrik Kuehnen

Draw Ceremony: Saturday 24 April, 11:30am

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Schedule
* Qualifying: 24-25 April, 11:00am
* Main draw: Monday 26 April – Sunday 2 May 
* Start times: Monday – Sunday 11:00am
* Doubles final: Sunday 2 May, 11:00am
* Singles final: Sunday 2 May, 1:30pm

How To Watch
Watch Live On Tennis TV
TV Schedule

Venue: MTTC Iphitos
Surface: Clay 

Prize Money: €419,470 (Total Financial Commitment: €481,270)

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Honour Roll
Most Titles, Singles: Philipp Kohlschreiber (3)
Oldest Champion: Tommy Haas, 35, in 2013
Youngest Champion: Guillermo Perez-Roldan, 17, in 1987
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 2 Guillermo Vilas in 1975, 1978; No. 2 Michael Stich in 1994
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 111 Martin Klizan in 2014
Most Match Wins: Philipp Kohlschreiber (35)

2019 Finals
Singles: Cristian Garin (CHI) d Matteo Berrettini (ITA) 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(1)   Read & Watch
Doubles: Frederik Nielsen (NOR) / Tim Puetz (GER) d Marcelo Demoliner (BRZ) / Divij Sharan 6-4, 6-2  Read More 

Social
Hashtag: #bmwopen

Facebook: @bmwopen
Twitter: @bmwopen2021
Instagram: @bmw_open

Did You Know?
A German has won the BMW Open seven times in the last 15 years, and Germany holds the record for nation with the most titles (9).

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Rublev Below His Best, But Survives In Barcelona

Andrey Rublev worked his way into the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell quarter-finals on Thursday, but was far from his best in a 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-4 victory over Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas in two hours and 27 minutes.

The third-seeded Russian found a way to record an ATP Tour-best 26th match win of the season, striking 24 of his 35 winners off his forehand wing and clinching 12 of 14 points at the net.

Rublev, who picked up the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament title in Rotterdam (d. Fucsovics) last month, will next challenge fifth-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut or No. 11 seed Jannik Sinner of Italy on Friday.

Rublev opened up a 4-1 lead in the first set, but let Ramos-Vinolas back in. Groundstroke errors cost the World No. 7 in the second-set tie-break and while he led 4-2 in the decider, Ramos-Vinolas recovered once again. Ramos-Vinolas, this season’s Cordoba Open finalist (l. to J. Cerundolo), could not convert four break points at 4-5 and paid the price as Rublev finished off with a forehand winner.

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Felix, Sinner Highlight Lyon Field

#NextGenATP stars Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jannik Sinner will join the likes of Diego Schwartzman and Matteo Berrettini at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon, which begins on 16 May. Auger-Aliassime reached the final at the tournament’s most recent edition in 2019 (l. to Benoit Paire).

David Goffin, Gael Monfils, Karen Khachanov and Aslan Karatsev have also entered the ATP 250 clay-court event that is typically held the week before Roland Garros, the clay-court Grand Slam. Frenchmen joining Monfils as home favourites in the field are Jeremy Chardy, Richard Gasquet and Ugo Humbert.

World No. 9 Schwartzman is the highest-ranked player entered, and he will attempt to add to his Argentina Open title, which he won in March. The  Argentine will make his Lyon debut and is seeking his fifth ATP Tour title.

Sinner, who captured his second ATP Tour title at the Great Ocean Road Open in February and reached his first ATP Masters 1000 final at the Miami Open presented by Itau, broke into the Top 20 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time this week.

An in-form Daniel Evans will also play. The 30-year-old Briton reached his first Masters 1000 semi-final in Monte-Carlo, complete with an upset of World No. 1 Novak Djokovic. 

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Cabal/Farah Book Evans/Skupski Rematch In Barcelona

Top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah stormed past Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut 6-2,6-4 on Wednesday to book a spot into the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell quarter-finals. 

The defending Barcelona champions made a strong start in both sets against Herbert and Mahut, rallying to a 4-0 lead in the first set and starting the second with an early break. The Colombians never dropped serve, saving all six break points faced en route to victory. 

Cabal and Farah will face the unseeded Daniel Evans and Neal Skupski for the second time in as many weeks. The Brits stunned Cabal and Farah in a roller coaster 7-6(0), 2-6, 10-4 victory on their way to the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters final last week. 

Also in action at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona 1899, Ivan Dodig and Jamie Murray cruised past Spanish wild cards Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez 6-3, 6-1. Dodig and Murray needed just 61 minutes and combined for four aces to take down the 2018 champions.

Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin triumphed in a marathon all-French battle against qualifiers Adrian Mannarino and Benoit Paire. Mannarino and Paire saved match point in the second set to bring up a Match Tie-break, but their countrymen edged past them 7-6(1), 6-7(4), 10-8.

Brkic/Cacic Battle Through In Belgrade
At the Novak Tennis Centre in Belgrade, Tomislav Brkic and Nikola Cacic took down fourth seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Matwe Middelkoop 6-4, 7-6(5) to make a winning start to their Serbia Open campaign.

The Argentina Open champions had to save three set points late in the tight second set as Arevalo and Middelkoop fought to take them into a Match Tie-break, creating chances on both the Bosnian-Serbian duo’s serves. But Brkic and Cacic, who combined to save nine of the 11 break points they faced, held firm to win in straight sets after an hour and 33 minutes.

They will next face Simone Bolelli and Maximo Gonzalez in the quarter-finals. The Italian-Argentine team fought past Serbian wild cards Miomir Kecmanovic and Dusan Lajovic 6-4, 6-4 to advance.

Elsewhere at the Novak Tennis Centre, Croatian wild cards and twin brothers Ivan Sabanov and Matej Sabanov took down Aljaz Bedene and Divij Sharan 6-1, 6-3 to become the first team to reach the semi-finals. Australians John Millman and John-Patrick Smith also advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Marcelo Demoliner and Santiago Gonzalez.

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Felix On Budding #NextGenATP Rivalries: 'We’re Pushing Each Other'

Felix Auger-Aliassime won a three-setter against fellow #NextGenATP star Lorenzo Musetti on Wednesday at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. It was a different type of match for the Canadian, though: Twenty-year-old Auger-Aliassime was the oldest player on the court.

During his rise on the ATP Tour, Felix has always been the young gun. But now the likes of 19-year-old Musetti, 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals champion Jannik Sinner and 17-year-old Carlos Alcaraz — all of whom are younger — are pushing the World No. 20 and his colleagues to find an even higher level.

“I think I’m in the middle of that group where I have some really good players now a little bit older than me, some younger than me,” Auger-Aliassime said. “But of course I think we motivate each other, we’re pushing each other, not directly, but in a way. I think there’s very high competition and that is what tennis is about.”

The 10th seed was impressed by Musetti, who has played well in recent weeks. The Italian made his first ATP 500 semi-final in Acapulco and advanced to the third round in Miami.

“I feel like I was in his place not so long ago, just two years ago. He’s a great player, he’s already [in the] Top 100. He’s had some great victories last year and also this year in Acapulco,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I’ve been seeing him quite a lot and it was actually the first time I’ve played someone younger than me, so time goes fast.

“It was good for me to compete with a guy like this, who I’m going to play many more times in the future. But I think he has a great game, a great touch and great tennis IQ. I think he will for sure be good in the future.”

Auger-Aliassime is fully focussed on playing seventh seed Denis Shapovalov on Thursday in Barcelona. But in the long term, his top priority is to raise his level.

“I want to improve and that’s the way I’m going to win more matches. I’m going to be able to put myself in a position to win titles,” Auger-Aliassime said. “Of course, I think like every year [my goal] now [is] to win a title, or more than one would be amazing for me.

“I have to keep improving, there’s no other way, because I can want to win all I want. If I’m not playing at a high level, then I don’t deserve it yet in a way. I need to improve and that’s my main goal and my main focus this year.”

The Canadian hopes to crack the Top 10 in the FedEx ATP Rankings and qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin this year. But he knows there is a lot that goes into achieving those feats.

“It would be a great achievement for me. But I have to see how I can do it,” Auger-Aliassime said. “The main focus, again, is to keep working well, to improve and to fight every match.”

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Trouble For Djokovic & Nadal? Novak Says 'I'm Not Too Concerned'

At the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who have won a combined 13 titles at the tournament, were both upset early. In his Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell opener on Wednesday, Nadal lost a set against World No. 111 Ilya Ivashka.

Is there trouble brewing for two of tennis’ all-time greats? Djokovic isn’t concerned.

“We probably made a lot of people think that we can play perfect tennis every single week for the rest of our lives, but that’s not possible,” Djokovic said, cracking a laugh. “I don’t think there is anything strange, it’s just a bad week, [if] our opponents have a very good day, they win a tennis match. It’s as simple as that.”

If anything, the Serbian has been impressed by some of the young stars rising up the FedEx ATP Rankings. That is giving the Big Three of Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer even more motivation to push themselves.

“I think Rafa, myself, Roger have been very successful and dominant in the past 15 years or more and you have a new generation of tennis players coming up and we have to adapt ourselves,” Djokovic admitted. “We have to understand how to improve, how to get better, how to adjust our game to this new group of players that are challenging us for the top spots of the world and for the biggest trophies in the world.”

Djokovic bounced back from his third-round loss in Monte-Carlo with an impressive straight-sets victory on Wednesday against Soonwoo Kwon to reach the Serbia Open quarter-finals in his hometown of Belgrade. Although Nadal had a tougher time with Ivashka, Djokovic was quick to compliment his great rival.

“I’m not too concerned, especially when it comes to Rafa on clay. I don’t think one or two matches or two weeks is going to change the way he plays on clay or for the upcoming tournaments,” Djokovic said. “But obviously it’s interesting for our sport to see us maybe losing to some new players, making things a little more interesting for tennis fans. Obviously we don’t want to lose, I think we both want to keep that level of performance and quality of tennis really high for as long as we possibly can.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas is one of the young players who has installed himself near the top of the sport. Last week, the Greek claimed his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Monte-Carlo.

After his victory in the Principality, Tsitsipas credited breathing exercises as part of the reason for his success. Djokovic uses various forms of meditation, too.

“It has been one of the focal points of my everyday life, not just preparation for the tennis matches and practices. I have incorporated those aspects into my daily routines because they make me feel good,” Djokovic said. “As professional athletes in a very dynamic sport, we’re constantly active and we have to have high doses of energy on the court and a really high level of focus for those couple of hours or even more.

“So I think with today’s technology and everything that is happening and all the distractions that we have and the amount of information, we probably don’t pay too much attention and importance to mindfulness and to just relax and sit back and breathe and try to recharge and rejuvenate.”

Djokovic will continue his pursuit of a third Belgrade title against countryman Miomir Kecmanovic on Friday.

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Berrettini Blasts Through In Belgrade

Matteo Berrettini earned his first win since the Australian Open on Wednesday, defeating fellow Italian Marco Cecchinato 6-4, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals of the Serbia Open in Belgrade.

The second seed has struggled with an abdominal injury, which forced him to withdraw in Melbourne ahead of his fourth-round match. This is just his second tournament since, and last week he lost his Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters opener against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

“First of all I’m happy to be back on the court,” Berrettini said. “It was tough for me. I never had this kind of injury, so I didn’t really know how it would get better, get worse. It was tough. Also mentally, it’s not easy to go and serve full [on] when you know that something happened there.

“But I’m happy now. I’m happy with my performance and also for my physical conditioning. I think it’s good. In this moment, with my team, we said that I have to play as many matches as possible, so that is what we are trying to do.”

But Berrettini’s performance against the 2018 Roland Garros semi-finalist was a step towards his best form. The World No. 10 broke Cecchinato’s serve three times and saved all three break points he faced to advance after one hour and 21 minutes.

Berrettini did not overplay against the gritty World No. 93. Instead, he played with heavy topspin deep in the court to push Cecchinato back, and that paid dividends in the key rallies.

Before his injury, Berrettini got off to a strong start to his 2021 season. The Italian earned three Top 15 wins to lead his country to the final of the ATP Cup.

“Confidence is something that goes away, it comes back. For sure I know that is my level. I know that I can play that kind of tennis,” Berrettini said. “I work hard to be there, to be in good shape. It obviously was a shame. I was sad about my injury, but I know that I can play and I can play well on clay, on grass, on hard.

“It’s just about time. I need time to be back, to be back at my best shape. But I think today was a big step in that direction.”

The Italian will next play home favourite fifth seed Filip Krajinovic, who beat countryman Nikola Milojevic 6-1, 6-1. Berrettini beat Krajinovic in their only previous ATP Head2Head meeting in the Budapest final in 2019.

“It’s going to be very tough. He’s Top 10, he’s a huge champion,” Krajinovic said. “He’s very tough to play against. I played him once in the final of an ATP [Tour event] and he beat me, so I know how to play. It’s going to be very tricky, very tough, but I will give my best playing on my court. We’ll see how it goes.”

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