Tennis News

Fognini, De Minaur Advance In Antalya

Fabio Fognini joined fellow Italian Matteo Berrettini on Friday by beginning 2021 with a win at the Antalya Open.

Third seed Fognini came through a 6-4, 7-6(4) first-round victory over Czech qualifier Michael Vrbensky in one hour and 39 minutes. Fognini, who broke serve in the third game of each set, saw Vrbensky respond in a competitive second set. The Czech won the first three points of the tie-break.

The 33-year-old will now challenge France’s Jeremy Chardy, who defeated Radu Albot of Moldova 6-3, 6-4 in 80 minutes. Fognini is bidding to capture his first ATP Tour title this week since April 2019 when he clinched the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters crown (d. Lajovic).

Fourth seed Alex de Minaur required just 61 minutes to overcome Malek Jaziri of Tunisia mid-afternoon. The 21-year-old Australian, who compiled a 13-11 record last season, broke serve five times. De Minaur now faces Bulgarian qualifier Adrian Andreev, who recorded his first ATP Tour match win over Turkish wild card Marsel Ilhan 6-4, 6-3 in 76 minutes.

Read & Watch: De Minaur’s End-Range Shot Tips

Elsewhere, France’s Tristan Lamasine recovered from 3-5 down in the first set and saved one set point at 4-5 in a 7-6(6), 6-2 victory over Egor Gerasimov of Belarus. Lamasine now prepares to meet eighth-seeded Kazakhstani Alexander Bublik in the second round.

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Berrettini Blasts Into Antalya Second Round

World No. 10 Matteo Berrettini blasted his way into the Antalya Open second round on Friday by beating Turkish wild card Ergi Kirkin 6-0, 6-4 in just 56 minutes. The top-seeded Italian struck eight aces and won 24 of 26 first-service points.

“I thought it was important to play in the first week of the season, ahead of the Australian swing,” Berrettini told ATPTour.com. “I have been working hard and for the first time in two years haven’t been affected by an injury [coming into a new season]. I thought I played well today and I’m looking to build my confidence in Antalya, where I have played four times before when I was starting my career.”

The 24-year-old Berrettini, who is hoping to win his fourth ATP Tour title this week, now faces Bulgarian qualifier Dimitar Kuzmanov, who led 6-1, 3-2 when Laslo Djere of Serbia retired due to an eye inflammation.

Fifth seed Jan-Lennard Struff, competing at a career-high No. 29 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, saved five of seven break points in a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Russian qualifier Pavel Kotov in 87 minutes. The German now plays France’s Hugo Grenier, who recorded his first ATP Tour match win by beating qualifier Alex Molcan of the Slovak Republic 7-5, 6-4 in 90 minutes. Molcan led 3-1 in the first set.

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Australian Open qualifying: Britain's Francesca Jones on proving doubters wrong

Francesca Jones was told a congenital condition meant she could never be a professional tennis player – but she is proving the doubters wrong.

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#NextGenATP Korda Contains Kwon In Delray Beach Debut

#NextGenATP American Sebastian Korda set up an all-American second-round clash against fifth-seeded Tommy Paul at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com after fighting past Soonwoo Kwon 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday.

Korda, who is currently No. 119 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, made a winning start to the season after closing 2020 on a milestone, lifting his first ATP Challenger Tour trophy in Eckental at the end of the year.

“Not only my dad [Petr Korda] but my whole team, we put in a lot of work during the break and I’m super happy with how everything is going right now,” Korda said in his on-court interview.

“Whenever I get a chance to play a big tournament like here, it’s always a privilege and  I always have a smile on my face. I kind of enjoy it a little bit more because I know how tough it is to get here.”

The American started out on a tear against Kwon, keeping his opponent under pressure as he reeled off back-to-back breaks of serve to take a 4-0 lead. But once the South Korea player finally got on the scoreboard, he seemed to relax and swing more freely against Korda.

Kwon stormed back as he won the next three games and was a point away from levelling the score at 4-4. But Korda stayed cool to save break point and instead served out the set after taking a 5-3 lead.

Kwon kept up the punishing pace against Korda in a tightly contested second set, which saw the first eight games go to the server. But the South Korean player blinked first, and Korda pounced on his brief dip in form to claim a crucial break at 4-4. He needed three match points before grinding through in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.

“I think in the end I just stayed pretty positive, even though I was up a double break and he got it back to 4-3 and had a couple of break points,” Paul said. “But I played a great match and I’m super happy to be through.”

Korda’s victory set up an all-American clash against Delray Beach resident Paul, the fifth seed. Paul needed just over an hour to defeat Ji Sung Nam in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4 and make a winning start to the new season.

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Paul Leads Opening Day Winners In Delray Beach

Fifth-seeded Tommy Paul needed just over an hour to defeat Ji Sung Nam in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4 and make a winning start to the new season on Thursday at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com.

Paul, a resident of Delray Beach, is one of 13 Americans in the draw and currently sits at a career-high No. 52 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. He’s looking to continue with the momentum that last year saw him reach the semi-finals in Adelaide as well as record his biggest win to date over No. 7 Alexander Zverev in Acapulco.

The American fired five aces and converted four of the six break points on offer to see off Nam, who was making his Delray Beach debut.

Paul awaits the winner in the match between countryman Sebastian Korda and Soonwoo Kwon for a spot in the quarter-finals.

Also in action in South Florida, Thiago Monteiro took down Thomaz Bellucci in an all-Brazilian clash to book a showdown with the second-seeded John Isner. Monteiro, ranked No. 84, only dropped serve once during their hour and 40-minute clash to win 6-3, 7-5.

Joining Paul and Monteiro in the second round is Gianluca Mager of Italy, who won his first match at Delray Beach after a tight three-set battle against wildcard Ryan Harrison. Mager won 77% of points behind his first serve, and fired nine aces en route to a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory.

More to follow…

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Bautista Agut Trains With Nadal In Mallorca Ahead Of ATP Cup

With the new ATP Tour season officially kicking off on Thursday, some players are still looking to squeeze in some last-minute preparation ahead of their own tournament debuts. Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut is the latest player to hit the courts in Mallorca at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar to continue his pre-season with the top-ranked Spaniard.

The current World No. 13 travelled to Mallorca with his coach Pepe Vendrell to train alongside 20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, both players focusing on their first tournament of the year. The pair are set to represent Spain in the ATP Cup, where they will be the No. 1 and No. 2 players for the nation that finished last year’s edition as runners-up after losing to Novak Djokovic’s Serbia.

In 2020, Nadal and Bautista Agut were also part of the Spanish outfit at the inaugural ATP Cup. While the Mallorcan led his country, as is customary, the Castellon native made a name for himself in the competition by winning all six singles matches he played and ending the event unbeaten.

This time around, the ATP Cup takes place at Melbourne Park from 1 to 5 February with 12 countries battling it out for the prestigious title. Spain, with Nadal, Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreño Busta and Marcel Granollers, are one of the favourites for the event.

Bautista Agut, who will stay at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar until next Sunday, completed his first training session with Nadal on Thursday on one of the facility’s indoor courts under the watchful eyes of Nadal’s coach Carlos Moya and Vendrell.

The No. 13 in the FedEx ATP Ranking is visiting the Nadal’s academy for the first time, following preseason visits from players such as Felix Auger-Aliassime and Lorenzo Sonego.

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#NextGenATP Korda On Training With Agassi: ‘He Sees The Game Way Different’

Sebastian Korda closed out the 2020 season with a major milestone when he picked up his first ATP Challenger Tour title. Now back in action, the 20-year-old American is hoping that having champion expertise on his side will keep him on the rise in the new year.

Korda, who is kicking off the 2021 season on Thursday at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com against Soonwoo Kwon, spent two weeks in December training in Las Vegas under the watchful eye of former World No. 1 Andre Agassi.

“During the pandemic, I was practising just in the courts next door to our house, and I was getting kind of mentally tired,” Korda told ATPTour.com. “So my dad had a great idea to maybe reach out to him. They used to play doubles together; I think Andre’s only doubles title was with my dad.”

Coached by another Grand Slam champion in dad Petr Korda, Sebastian spent those two weeks learning and absorbing Agassi’s tennis philosophy.

“He sees the game way different than most people, that’s for sure,” Korda said. “He reads opponents, just kind of getting the feeling for how matches are playing. Some of the stuff he thinks about, you would never think about during a match or before a match.”

 

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Korda is hoping the extra mental edge will prove key as he begins the 2021 season, currently knocking on the door of the Top 100 in the FedEx ATP Rankings at World No. 119. The American made a memorable debut at Roland Garros, where he reached the fourth round after battling past the qualifying rounds and upsetting John Isner and Andreas Sepppi along the way.

His standout Grand Slam performance was rewarded with Korda’s “ultimate match” in the fourth round as he faced eventual champion Rafael Nadal, his childhood idol, on Court Philippe Chatrier.

“When the draw came out after I qualified, I saw there were two qualifier spots right next to him, and I was like ‘Oh, give it to me,’” Korda recalled with a grin. “But I landed in the section above him, so I knew I would have to work for it a little bit now. So for it to come true was an awesome week for me.”

“I remember when we were warming up, they were announcing how many titles he has. I was kind of smiling a bit during that,” he admitted. “But once we started playing, I was fully focused.”

On the eve of his 2021 debut, Korda admitted that he’s already looking beyond making a strong start in Delray Beach, as the 20-year-old set has his sights on making a debut in Milan for the Next Gen ATP Finals.

“It would be huge for me to get there,” he said. “Basically the Top 8 best Next Gen players of the year get to play there, so if you’re playing there you’ve had a great year and you’re doing the right thing. So that’s definitely a big goal of mine this year.”

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WTA Abu Dhabi: Heather Watson beats Jodie Burrage as Britons return to tour

Heather Watson fights back to beat Jodie Burrage as the British pair return to WTA action in Abu Dhabi.

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Dayana Yastremska 'in shock' after being given provisional ban for failed doping test

World number 29 Dayana Yastremska says she is in “shock” after she is given a provisional ban for failing a doping test.

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No Hard Feelings! Goffin Beats Doubles Partner Herbert, Saves 5 M.P.

David Goffin got his 2021 ATP Tour campaign off to a memorable start on Thursday at the Antalya Open. The Belgian not only beat his doubles partner this week, Pierre-Hugues Herbert, but did so by saving five match points.

Goffin completed a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 victory, having saved five match points at 4-5 in the second set. He won nine straight games en route to improving to 6-0 against Herbert in their ATP Head2Head series. Goffin now challenges German qualifier Matthias Bachinger or Nicola Kuhn of Spain.

“It’s always great to start the new year with a tough win, saving match points,” Goffin told ATPTour.com. “It was definitely tricky to play Pierre. I’m happy with the way I played, especially after the beginning. I stayed in the match and believed until the end.”

Italian Andrea Arnaboldi served for the match against sixth seed Nikoloz Basilashvili at 5-4 in the second set, only to see the Georgian begin his comeback. The former World No. 16 completed a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 win over two hours and two minutes.

Basilashvili now faces local wild card Altug Celikbilek, who recorded his first ATP Tour match win since June 2019 after a hard-fought 7-6(7), 7-5 win over Kacper Zuk of Poland in one hour and 49 minutes. Celikbilek saved four set points in the first set at 2-5, 3-5 and then at 6/7 in the tie-break.

Eighth-seeded Kazakhstani Alexander Bublik produced a strong service performance to get his 2021 campaign off to a winning start with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Salvatore Caruso of Italy in 68 minutes. He awaits the winner of France’s Tristan Lamasine and Egor Gerasimov of Belarus.

Elsewhere, Italy’s Stefano Travaglia got the better of seventh-seeded Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 1-6, 6-4, 6-0 and now plays Finn Emil Ruusuvuori, who was a 6-3, 7-6(4) winner over Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic.

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