Tennis News

Ramos-Vinolas Captures Estoril Crown

Albert Ramos-Vinolas’ impressive clay-court form in 2021 was rewarded on Sunday when the Spaniard collected his third ATP Tour title at the Millennium Estoril Open.

The 33-year-old rallied from a set and a break down and won 51 per cent of his second-serve return points (19/37) to defeat fellow left-hander Cameron Norrie 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3). Ramos-Vinolas triumphed in two hour and 44 minutes, and he is now 16-5 on clay this year. The Spaniard owns seven more clay-court victories than any other player on the ATP Tour this season.

2021 ATP Tour Clay-Court Wins Leaderboard

Ramos-Vinolas has won all three of his ATP Head2Head encounters against Norrie. The World No. 46 also beat Norrie on clay in the first round of the 2018 Davis Cup and at the 2019 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.

After trailing by a set and a break, Ramos-Vinolas attacked with his forehand to recover the break in a marathon game at 2-1 in the second set and he capitalised on multiple Norrie errors to force the match to a decider. A final-set tie-break was needed to decide the outcome of the match and Ramos-Vinolas trusted his powerful forehand in key moments to dictate rallies, extract errors and clinch victory.

Norrie was aiming to capture his maiden ATP Tour title. The World No. 50, who won the Estoril doubles crown in 2018 (w/Edmund), defeated second seed Cristian Garin and sixth seed Marin Cilic en route to his second tour-level championship match (0-2).

Did You Know?
Norrie and Ramos-Vinolas’ clash was the second ATP Tour final of the season between left-handed players. At the Cordoba Open in February, #NextGenATP Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo defeated Ramos-Vinolas in another three-set championship match.

Source link

De Minaur Battles From The Brink: 'I'm Very Proud How I Hung In There'

Alex de Minaur made an impressive comeback on Sunday at the Mutua Madrid Open, rallying for a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory against Jaume Munar to reach the second round.

The Australian No. 1 arrived in Madrid having lost five of his past six matches. But even though Munar led 6-4, 4-2, De Minaur continued to battle and eventually prevailed after two hours and 23 minutes.

“This is one of those wins that really helps your morale, helps build a lot of confidence,” De Minaur told Tennis Channel. “It was about an hour and a half of me not being too comfortable out there, not playing my best tennis knowing I could bring a higher level, but just not executing. I’m just very proud how I hung in there. I just kept going, kept trying to stay positive and eventually kept putting myself in a position to break.

“It finally went my way and I was able to play some much better tennis and tennis that I wanted to play. [I am] very happy.”

Munar, a wild card, got to within two service holds of a victory without dropping his serve. But De Minaur ultimately broke the Spaniard four times on Stadium 3 to set a second-round clash against 13th seed Grigor Dimitrov or South African Lloyd Harris.

“I’m glad that today I told myself that whatever happened, I was going to stay positive the whole way. Even if it didn’t go my way, at least I wasn’t going to lose that match because of my attitude,” De Minaur said. “It worked out today.”

De Minaur now leads Munar 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series. In their only previous tour-level clash, the Aussie triumphed in five sets at the 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.

Source link

Khachanov/Rublev Roll Past Fognini/Schwartzman In Madrid

Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev overcame a tricky first-round test against Fabio Fognini and Diego Schwartzman 7-6(5), 6-2 to make a winning start at the Mutua Madrid Open on Sunday.

The Russian duo recovered from a 0-2 deficit in the first set against Fognini and Schwartzman, who recently reached the quarter-finals at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. Khachanov and Rublev broke back and took them into a tightly-contested tie-break, where just one mini-break for 2/0 made the difference for the Russians.

Khachanov and Rublev took charge in the second set, creating four break opportunities and converting twice to close out the victory in an hour and 18 minutes. They booked a second-round clash against third seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.

Also in action, Marcelo Demoliner and Daniil Medvedev reprised their occasional partnership to take down Daniel Evans and Neal Skupski 6-3, 7-6(4) in an hour and 22 minutes. Demoliner and Medvedev saved six of the seven break points they faced en route to victory against the Brits, who arrived in Madrid after reaching back-to-back ATP Masters 1000 finals in Miami and Monte-Carlo (l. Mektic/Pavic).

Demoliner and Medvedev await the winner between seventh seeds Wesley Koolhof and Lukasz Kubot and wild cards Petros Tsitsipas and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round.

Source link

Felix: 'I Feel Super Privileged & Lucky To Have Toni Nadal'

In an extract from Eurosport’s Players’ Voice series, Felix Auger-Aliassime discusses working with Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal’s uncle. The #NextGenATP Canadian reveals how their relationship came together, how much respect he has for “Uncle Toni” and more.

I feel super privileged and lucky to have Toni in my team. Throughout my whole childhood I remember him by the side of his nephew, Rafa. He’s been around for a long time and has won everything the sport has to give as a coach so it’s extremely motivating to have him by my side. I think he’s a person I can learn a lot from, both as a person and as a coach.

Growing up, I remember seeing a lot of him on TV when I was watching Rafa’s matches and he just struck me as this very devoted and passionate coach. Of course he was his uncle, but ultimately he’s a coach that was willing to go above and beyond for his player – he seemed to have this vision for Rafa’s career and gave him everything he needed.

The first time we both met was actually at Monte-Carlo two years ago. Each year there’s a players’ party and I was rehearsing for my part, which was a piano performance. He came into the room, saw me and stopped to say that he’d seen me play in Indian Wells and that he liked my attitude and my game.

His words kind of stayed with me and it got me thinking about how great it would be to have somebody like him on my team; somebody who had a different, fresh view to potentially see things that we may be missing.

So at the end of last year when I was back home in Canada, we approached him to see if it could be a possibility. He agreed to talk to us and suggested a trial at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, so we headed out there for two weeks and everything just seemed to work really well. After that, I started my season and we kept in touch before announcing the partnership not long after.

From the feedback I’ve had, I think everyone thinks it’s only a good thing; my coach Frederic, the rest of the team, my family, and other coaches and players on the tour. Will it give me an advantage? We will see, but I think in the end, what happens on the court is most important and I still have to do the work – it’s not like having Toni automatically improves my performances or my ranking right away.

It’s very early days, but so far we’ve been talking a lot about where we see my career heading, which is essentially to reach the highest levels and win the biggest tournaments.

Read Auger-Aliassime’s Full Eurosport Players’ Voice Column

Source link

Shapovalov Superb In Madrid Opener

Denis Shapovalov arrived in Spain on a two-match losing streak, but the dynamic lefty was near his best on Sunday, defeating 2019 Monte-Carlo finalist Dusan Lajovic 6-1, 6-3 to reach the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open.

“Just definitely felt a lot better today. I felt very good on the court,” Shapovalov said. “I’m just happy to get the first win.”

The Canadian was nearly flawless on serve, winning 90 per cent of his first-serve points and saving all three break points he faced. Shapovalov won a higher rate of second-serve points (63%) than Lajovic did first-serve points (50%).

The 11th seed broke the Serbian’s serve in his first return game and he ran away with the momentum from there.

Shapovalov’s Second Serve Location & Speed

^{Graphic courtesy of Hawk-Eye Innovations/ATP Media}
Shapovalov was the aggressor at the Caja Magica, going after his shots to the tune of 21 winners to just five for Lajovic. But the 22-year-old did not overplay, and he was able to advance after 63 minutes.

“Not much can change in the span of a couple of days, but Madrid is a place where I have had a lot of success, from back in juniors, making semis here in the Masters [1000 event] and finals of Davis Cup,” Shapovalov said. “It’s just a place where it kind of feels like home to me and I just feel so comfortable.” 

Shapovalov will next play unpredictable Kazakhstani Alexander Bublik, who battled past Hungarian Marton Fucsovics 7-6(5), 6-3. Fucsovics served for the first set and led the tie-break 5/2, but was unable to take advantage of that lead, and Bublik hit eight aces in the match.

The Kazakhstani defeated Shapovalov in three sets in their only previous ATP Head2Head clash last year in Marseille. This year’s Singapore runner-up and Miami quarter-finalist is making his Madrid debut.

In other action, American Tommy Paul ousted home favourite Pedro Martinez 6-4, 7-5 after one hour and 34 minutes. The World No. 58 will next challenge sixth seed Andrey Rublev. The Russian has won their two previous meetings.

Source link

Nys/Puetz Collect First ATP Tour Team Title In Estoril

Hugo Nys and Tim Puetz clinched their maiden ATP Tour team title on Sunday at the Millennium Estoril Open.

The Monegasque-German pair survived its second straight Match Tie-break in Estoril to defeat Luke Bambridge and Dominic Inglot 7-5, 3-6, 10-3 after 89 minutes. Nys and Puetz were competing together for just the second time at an ATP Tour event, following their run to last month’s AnyTech365 Andalucia Open semi-finals in Marbella.

“We are very, very happy… We have known each other for a very long time and we have just recently decided to play more tournaments together,” Puetz said. “It has been a really good start. We won a Challenger at the beginning of the year, made the semi-finals in Marbella and now won here.

“We just want to keep improving… This is a really great week and it is a very [good] tournament. We have beaten four very good teams… I am definitely very happy and I am sure Hugo feels the same.”

Nys and Puetz, who won the Biella 2 title on the ATP Challenger Tour in February, were both chasing their first ATP Tour trophies since 2019. Nys won his maiden tour-level crown two years ago at the Mifel Open in Los Cabos (w/Arneodo). Puetz, a three-time ATP Tour titlist, captured his first trophy since the 2019 BMW Open in Munich (w/Nielsen).

“We played four big teams and this one in the final was a big team as well,” Nys said. “They were serving pretty well… We managed to stay calm during the whole match, even though we [were] a set and a break up and lost the second set. In bad moments, we were very strong. We had a good attitude and that is what made the difference in the end.”

Bambridge and Inglot did not drop a set en route to their first ATP Tour final as a team. The Brits have compiled an 8-7 team record since making their debut as a pair at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com in January.

Source link

Koolhof/Krawietz Capture Munich Doubles Crown

Wesley Koolhof and Kevin Krawietz captured their first ATP Tour team title on Sunday at the BMW Open in Munich.

The top-seeded Dutch-German team got off to a strong start in the Match Tie-break en route to a 4-6, 6-4, 10-5 victory over third-seeded Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen in 87 minutes. The final was interrupted for 35 minutes by rain at 1-1 in the second set.

Koolhof, 32, captured the seventh ATP Tour title of his career, while 29-year-old Krawietz, who normally partners fellow German Andreas Mies, earned his fifth doubles crown.

Gille and Vliegen, who lost one set en route to the ATP 250 tournament final, picked up the Singapore Tennis Open trophy (d. Ebden/Smith) in February. They are now 5-2 in ATP Tour team finals.

Source link

Munar & More Hit The Books: ATP Players Pursuing Higher Education

Jaume Munar had a busy start to April, and not just because he reached back-to-back finals in Spain.

On the court, the 23-year-old impressed on home soil at the Marbella ATP Challenger Tour and ATP 250 events. But off court, Munar was busy taking on an even bigger challenge: hitting the books and going back to school.

Munar is one of an ever-growing number of players pursuing higher education during their playing careers. Through partnerships with top global institutions including the University of Palermo, Indiana University East and Coursera, the Tour offers members a variety of remote educational opportunities in English and Spanish.

“During the pandemic, I had a lot of time. I spent hours and hours reading and watching movies, watching TV, and at one point I stopped and said, ‘Why don’t I use this time to do something really useful?’” Munar told ATPTour.com. “That’s when I looked at the ATP benefits that we have as players, and one of them was Coursera.”

Coursera, a massive open online course provider featuring world-class universities and companies including Yale, the University of Michigan, Google and IBM, gave Munar an opportunity to dip his toes back into education by studying topics he was interested in. The Spaniard wasn’t the only one who used the Tour’s downtime for studying: in 2020, more than 100 current and former players enrolled in Coursera courses.

Among them was New Zealand’s Marcus Daniell, who told ATPTour.com that he founded his charity platform High Impact Athletes in November 2020 after completing one particularly inspiring course.

“I’d actually used Coursera in the past for a few things and knew it was very accessible,” Daniell said. “The Effective Altruism class I took definitely reinvigorated my passion for giving back, and was the kick in the bum I needed to get something like HIA started.”

Read More
How Cerundolo Won His First Challenger & Aced Three Exams… In The Same Week
Ram Graduates Indiana University East
ATP Partners With Coursera To Help Members Learn New Skills

For Munar, the experience inspired him to go on to finish his undergraduate degree in Economics, which he first began after finishing high school. The 23-year-old started at the University of Palermo, one of the top-ranked universities in Latin America, with a full-time course load in April.

“When I have the brain focussed on the studies, on the class, on the lesson I have, it’s something that really helps me to get out of tennis and take a break from this,” Munar said. “We are at the tennis club all day. The whole day, [we are] just watching the little yellow ball.

“It’s always beautiful to learn something that’s not just the same thing, and to open your mind to something new. I think it’s beautiful for everyone.”

Through the partnership, the University of Palermo offers scholarships towards a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and short courses in Spanish to ATP members. All of the learning is done online, which allows players to complete a subsidised and globally-recognised education alongside their full-time work and travel schedules in tennis.

Since the partnership’s inception in July 2020, eight current players, including Munar and Francisco Cerundolo, have enrolled in degree programmes. Bruno Echagaray is a former player who has also done so.

Rajeev Ram is one of the players who has completed an online degree at Indiana University East, which offers ATP members scholarships, flexibility and their own academic advisor to assist with all parts of their experience. In addition to these partnerships, the Tour supports and assists players in finding educational opportunities that can better prepare them for life after tennis.

Recently, a cohort of seven players including Pablo Andujar and Matthew Ebden joined Harvard Crossover into Business, a semester-long program in which professional athletes are matched with Harvard Business School Master of Business Administration student mentors. The programme helps better prepare athletes for business activities during and after their sports careers through discussions and analysis of case studies, which empowers them to make better business decisions.

“I’m very happy because what we did were real cases and I think the fact that we were talking about it and debating a lot with our mentors, it helped me a lot and gave me new ideas,” Andujar said. “To have these kinds of people [explain] how to manage these cases is something very important and something that is difficult to have. For sure this experience will help me achieve other things in the future… I am really thankful.”

Pursuing higher education while competing at the highest level of tennis can seem like a hectic juggling act at first. But for players like Munar, who dedicates an hour and a half to his studies every day, finding the right balance has been a rewarding experience.

“We have to [get used to it]. If you want to study during your tennis career, of course you have to do these kinds of things,” Munar said. “But it’s something beautiful, at least in my opinion, because I have the chance to do so through the ATP and the University of Palermo. It’s beautiful for me to combine these two and not just be focussed on one thing.

“Life is long, but it’s not so long that you can afford to let time pass you by. I like to use every second I have, and I think with these opportunities that the ATP brings us, we can do that.”

Source link

18-Year-Old Cazaux Ousts Korda In Madrid Qualifying, Musetti Advances

Arthur Cazaux, an 18-year-old who climbed as high as World No. 4 in the juniors, made an impressive start to his Mutua Madrid Open qualifying effort on Saturday. The Frenchman upset 20-year-old American Sebastian Korda 7-6(3), 6-4 to reach the final round of qualifying.

Cazaux is the No. 603 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings and he has never played a tour-level match. But the teen impressed inside Stadium 3, breaking Korda’s serve three times to set a clash against Singapore champion Alexei Popyrin after one hour and 37 minutes. 

This was Cazaux’s fourth match in tour-level qualifying, and he had never previously won a set. Last year he fell against Aslan Karatsev in Roland Garros qualifying and he lost to Marton Fucsovics in the first round of Rolex Paris Masters qualifying.

In other action, #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti moved past Moldovan Radu Albot 6-3, 6-4. The 19-year-old will next challenge Spaniard Carlos Taberner, who defeated Jordan Thompson 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-2, for a spot in the main draw.

It was a tough day for seeded players in qualifying, as five of the top six seeds lost. Argentine Juan Ignacio Londero ousted top seed Laslo Djere 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 and Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert eased past two-time Australian Open quarter-finalist Tennys Sandgren 6-3, 6-2. Fifth seed Frances Tiafoe also went down, as 2018 Roland Garros semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato beat the American 7-6(4), 6-2.

The highest seed remaining in qualifying is second seed Yoshihito Nishioka, who battled past Uruguayan veteran Pablo Cuevas 6-4, 6-4. The Japanese lefty will play American Marcos Giron to move into the main draw.

Source link

Scouting Report: Nadal Leads The Way In Madrid, Tsitsipas Chasing Glory

The world’s best players are set to compete this week at the Mutua Madrid Open. Leading the way is five-time champion Rafael Nadal, who brings confidence following his triumph in Barcelona.

Nadal will be joined by World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev, two-time Madrid finalist Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas among many tough challengers. 

If Madrid has a first-time ATP Masters 1000 champion, this will be just the second time that the first three tournaments of the season at this level were won by a first-time Masters 1000 titlist. Hubert Hurkacz was victorious in Miami and Tsitsipas lifted the trophy in Monte-Carlo. The other time this happened was 1990, the first year of the series. Before play begins, ATPTour.com looks at 10 things to watch in Madrid.

1) Nadal At Home: The home favourite arrives at the Caja Magica as the favourite, and he will hope to triumph in Madrid for the sixth time. Nadal, who owns a 52-12 record at this event, has fallen short of the quarter-finals here just once since 2004 (in 2012).

The lefty, who has made the championship match in Madrid three times in addition to his five trophy runs, could play a fellow Spaniard in his opener if #NextGenATP star Carlos Alcaraz battles past French lefty Adrian Mannarino. Nadal has won his two previous ATP Head2Head meetings against Mannarino in straight sets.

2) Tsitsipas Surging: This is only Tsitsipas’ third appearance at this tournament, but he has already enjoyed success here. The Greek made the championship match in 2019 with wins against Alexander Zverev and Nadal along the way, and only Novak Djokovic was able to stop him.

Tsitsipas is as confident as ever, fresh off winning his first Masters 1000 title at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. The Greek maintained his great form in Barcelona, where he held a championship point against Nadal before ultimately falling short. The fourth seed will begin his Madrid run against Munich finalist Nikoloz Basilashvili or Benoit Paire.

3) Can Medvedev Make Magic In Madrid? World No. 3 Medvedev will try to begin his clay-court season on a high at the Caja Magica, where he has lost his two previous matches. This is his third appearance at the tournament. The second seed, who most recently competed in the Miami Open presented by Itau — where he lost in the quarter-finals against Roberto Bautista Agut — will have to be locked in from the first match against Estoril semi-finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or a qualifier.

4) Rublev Rolling: Andrey Rublev gets ready to make his Madrid debut with a train of momentum behind him. Few players have enjoyed as much success in 2021 as Rublev, who is tied with Tsitsipas for the most wins on the ATP Tour this season with 26. Rublev, who made his first Masters 1000 final in Monte-Carlo, will try to get off to a good start against Tommy Paul or wild card Pedro Martinez.

5) Thiem’s Return: Thiem is set to play for the first time since Dubai, where he lost his opener against Lloyd Harris. The Austrian star has long succeeded on clay, reaching two Roland Garros finals. Thiem, a two-time Madrid runner-up, has a 13-4 record here, where he has made at least the semi-finals in his past three appearances. The 27-year-old will begin his run against a qualifier and 13th seed Grigor Dimitrov is the first seeded opponent he could face. 

6) #NextGenATP In Action: Some of the biggest #NextGenATP stars will be in action in Madrid, and two of them are seeded. Miami finalist Jannik Sinner is the 14th seed and he will begin the event against Argentine lefty Guido Pella, with Nadal a potential third-round opponent. Also in their section is home favourite Alcaraz, who could face Nadal in the second round. Felix Auger-Aliassime is the 15th seed, and he will play Monte-Carlo and Munich semi-finalist Casper Ruud in the first round.

7) Spanish Contingent: Before qualifying finishes, there are already nine Spaniards in the main draw, with Nadal leading the way. Two other seeded players are competing at home at the Caja Magica: ninth seed Roberto Bautista Agut and 10th seed Pablo Carreno Busta. The tournament’s four wild cards went to Spaniards: Alcaraz, Martinez, Jaume Munar and Fernando Verdasco. Verdasco is making his 18th appearance in this event. When he debuted in Madrid, Alcaraz was five months old.

8) Zverev Going For Two: Alexander Zverev won his third Masters 1000 title at the 2018 Mutua Madrid Open, and he will try to lift his fourth trophy at this level this week. The German, who is 10-2 in Madrid, is making his fourth appearance at the Caja Magica. He most recently lost against Tsitsipas in the 2019 quarter-finals. Zverev, who opens against Karen Khachanov or Kei Nishikori, has never failed to make the last eight here.

9) Will Mektic/Pavic Stay Hot? Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic have been on fire during their team debut season, winning five titles, including the first two Masters 1000 events of the year. Although they are the second seeds, they will be the team to beat in Madrid. Mektic triumphed here in 2018 alongside Alexander Peya. Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah are the top seeds, Marcelo Granollers and Horacio Zeballos are seeded third and Australian Open champions Ivan Dodig/Filip Polasek are seeded fourth. One first-round match to watch pits Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares against Marcelo Melo and Jean-Julien Rojer.

10) Medvedev, Tsitsipas & Zverev Playing Doubles: There will also be plenty of singles stars in action in the doubles draw, highlighted by Medvedev (w/Marcelo Demoliner), Tsitsipas (w/brother Petros Tsitsipas), Zverev (w/Tim Puetz) and Denis Shapovalov (w/Rohan Bopanna). Reigning Rolex Paris Masters champions Auger-Aliassime and Hurkacz will try for another Masters 1000 trophy and countrymen Khachanov and Rublev will try to wreak havoc in the draw.

Source link