Rotterdam Open: Cameron Norrie wins, Andy Murray plays later
Britain’s Cameron Norrie continues his decent start to the 2021 season with a dominant win over Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili in Rotterdam.
Britain’s Cameron Norrie continues his decent start to the 2021 season with a dominant win over Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili in Rotterdam.
Kei Nishikori broke a four-match losing streak on Monday with a 7-6(4), 6-1 victory over seventh seed and last year’s finalist Felix Auger-Aliassime at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.
Nishikori won the final three points of the tie-break, which ended with Auger-Aliassime slicing a backhand wide to finish the 67-minute opener. The 19-year-old Auger-Aliassime received on-court treatment after the first game of the second set, which saw Nishikori win 25 of 34 points.
Nishikori, who is currently No. 45 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, reached the 2019 semi-finals at the Rotterdam Ahoy. He is now 3-7 since returning from injury and illness in September last year.
The 31-year-old Japanese star will next challenge an Australian: Alex de Minaur or John Millman in the second round.
[WATCH LIVE 1]Earlier in the day, qualifier Cameron Norrie won the first seven games of his 6-0, 6-3 victory over Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili, who led 3-1 in the second set. The Briton will next play Swiss eighth seed and 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka or Karen Khachanov of Russia.
Former World No. 1 and 2009 titlist Andy Murray plays Dutch wild card Robin Haase in the first match of the night session, prior to Hungarian qualifier Marton Fucsovics meeting Reilly Opelka of the United States.
Stefanos Tsitsipas says that he has made a pact with his brother, Petros Tsitsipas, to play more doubles together in 2021.
“I wanted to start the new year in the most fresh and dynamic way,” said Tsitsipas, who partnered his brother at the ATP Cup and the Australian Open last month. “I want to play as much doubles as possible with my brother, Petros. It’s been a dream of mine, but I haven’t made it happen a lot.
“I want to take the opportunity to play with him in 250 and 500 events, a Grand Slam, as we did. It was my best memory of my stay in Australia. I am primarily focusing on my singles career, but I also want to help my brother and his performances. I would only do it for my brother, and no one else. I want to build a team with him, exclusively with him. I’m not planning on playing with anyone else.”
Tsitsipas, the second seed at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam, opens his singles campaign against Egor Gerasimov on Tuesday. The Tsitsipas brothers will face last week’s Singapore Tennis Open titlists Joran Vliegen and Sander Gille in the doubles.
The 22-year-old added that he still needs to work on a few things before he is able to take the next step for a place in a Grand Slam final.
“I didn’t really have a goal at the Australian Open,” said Tsitsipas. “I wanted to win the tournament like the other 127 players, but I was taking it step-by-step and going on a journey. Every match I won, I felt better than the next day. It was great playing a semi-final, but I need to unlock a few things and take the next step to reach a Grand Slam final.”
The Greek star recovered from two-sets-to-love down against Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park, but fell to Daniil Medvedev — the top seed at this week’s ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament — in the last four.
“I felt two different emotions,” said Tsitsipas, when asked to compare this year’s semi-final loss to the loss in the 2019 Australian Open semi-finals (l. to Nadal). “Having the semi-final run the first time felt quite special. It wasn’t something that I’d achieved before.
“I did make the second week of a Grand Slam the year before at Wimbledon, but I still felt a long way away from being consistent and making [it to] the semi-finals. I had experience this time, and I knew what steps I had to take to be able to reach that goal again.”
Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev won the first match of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament on Monday by beating Dusan Lajovic and Stan Wawrinka 6-1, 3-6, 10-2.
The Russians, who won the first five games of the match, will next play fourth seeds Marcelo Melo and Jean-Julien Rojer or Kevin Krawietz and Horia Tecau in the second round.
Khachanov will challenge 2015 champion and eighth seed Wawrinka in the singles first round. Wawrinka leads 2-1 in their ATP Head2Head, but Khachanov won their last match at the 2019 Rogers Cup 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-2. Fourth seed Rublev begins his campaign against American qualifier Marcos Giron, while Lajovic has been drawn to face top seed Daniil Medvedev.
Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic equals Roger Federer’s record of 310 weeks ranked as world number one.
No. 82 Alexei Popyrin, +32 (Career High)
The Australian jumped 32 places to a career-high No. 82 in the FedEx ATP Rankings after he captured his first ATP Tour title at the Singapore Tennis Open. The 21-year-old beat former World No. 3 Marin Cilic in the semi-finals and Alexander Bublik in the final.
No. 85 Federico Coria, +10 (Career High)
The Argentinean, who is the younger brother of former World No. 3 Guillermo Coria, reached his first ATP Tour semi-final at the Cordoba Open (l. to Cerundolo) and moves to a career-high No. 85.
View FedEx ATP Rankings
Other Notable Top 100 Movers
No. 14 David Goffin, +1
No. 41 Marin Cilic, +3
No. 43 Alexander Bublik, +3
No. 51 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, +5 (Career High)
No. 74 Yoshihito Nishioka, +5
No. 76 Egor Gerasimov, +7
Novak Djokovic has today equalled Roger Federer’s all-time record for most weeks at No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. The Serbian has now held the top spot for 310 weeks over five different stints.
ALL-TIME WEEKS AT NO. 1
|
No. 1 Player
|
Total Weeks
|
Longest Streak
|
|
1=) Novak Djokovic (SRB)
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310
|
122 weeks
|
|
1=) Roger Federer (SUI)
|
310
|
237 weeks
|
|
3) Pete Sampras (USA)
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286
|
102 weeks
|
|
4) Ivan Lendl (CZE)
|
270
|
157 weeks
|
|
5) Jimmy Connors (USA)
|
268
|
160 weeks
|
Djokovic first rose to No. 1 aged 24 years and 43 days on 4 July 2011, and spent a personal-best 122 consecutive weeks at the summit of the FedEx ATP Rankings between 7 July 2014 and 6 November 2016.
By lifting his ninth Australian Open crown (d. Medvedev) eight days ago, Djokovic guaranteed that he would surpass Federer’s weeks at No. 1 record on 8 March. The Serbian’s success at Melbourne Park has underpinned his record run as World No. 1.
The 34-year-old Djokovic has compiled a 387-53 win-loss record as World No. 1, including a 117-30 mark against Top 10 opponents and a 39-13 record in tour-level finals.
DJOKOVIC AT NO. 1 – Take a closer look at Djokovic’s match wins, Top 10 and finals records during his five stints at No. 1.
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Stints At No. 1
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W-L Record
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vs. Top 10
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Finals Record
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4 July 2011-8 July 2012
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63-12 (.840)
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18-9 (.667)
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4-4
|
|
5 November 2012-6 October 2013
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62-9 (.873)
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18-6 (.750)
|
5-2
|
|
7 July 2014-6 November 2016
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167-17 (.908)
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60-9 (.870)
|
21-5
|
|
5 November 2018-3 November 2019
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58-10 (.792)
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13-4 (.857)
|
5-2
|
|
3 February 2020-present*
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37-5 (.881)
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8-1 (.888)
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4-0
|
|
Totals
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387-53 (.880)
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117-30 (.796)
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39-13
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*The FedEx ATP Rankings were frozen between 23 March 2020 and 23 August 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic
Djokovic is one of 26 players in the history of the FedEx ATP Rankings to hold the top spot (since 23 August 1973). He finished 2020 as year-end No. 1 for the sixth time (also 2011-12, ’14-15 and ’18), tying the record of Pete Sampras (1993-98).
There are Cinderella stories, and then there is Juan Manuel Cerundolo.
The 19-year-old qualifier from Argentina completed a dream week at the Cordoba Open, going from having never contested an ATP Tour main draw match to lifting his maiden trophy on home soil. He sealed the victory with a statement 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 victory over fifth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the final and will rise to No. 181 in the FedEx ATP Rankings on Monday.
ATPTour.com caught up with Cerundolo after his victory to talk about his week in Cordoba and the path he has taken to his unforgettable ATP debut.
Congratulations on an incredible week. What does it mean to you to win your first ATP Tour title in your debut and do it in Argentina?
I honestly can’t believe it. It’s been an unforgettable experience, I will never forget this moment. I’m super happy and even more because it’s in Argentina, in my home with all my friends and family cheering me on. It was such a unique experience. I will never forget it.
Prior to this week, you’d never played an ATP main draw match before. At what point in the week did you start to believe you could win the title?
I honestly never thought that or imagined it. I think it happened step by step, little by little. I won my first match in qualifying, then the second. First my objective was to get through the qualies, then I wanted to win one round. Then I started to think about the match against [Miomir] Kecmanovic, then I beat him. I was just thinking match by match, I never in my life imagined that I could win the tournament. So maybe that was the key, because I never felt anxious.
From playing in the main draw with your older brother Francisco Cerundolo, to winning your first title – what moment stands out the most from this week?
Both of us playing together here was just incredible. And now I’m seeing the posts he’s been making about me [on social media] and what he thinks, it makes me so happy. He’s been a big point of reference for me, and it’s great that we can share these experiences because we can use it to help each other.
Your father Alejandro Cerundolo is a big name in Argentine tennis, your brother plays as well. How much of a role does family have in your career and what is it like to share these moments in Cordoba with them?
Family is so fundamental. Without a family to support you and help you, or friends to support and help you, it’s almost impossible to do it all alone. It’s so important, they’ve always supported me and cheered from the stands for me ever since I was small. These are the things that can’t really be explained, but I just thank them for always being present in my life and in my tennis career.
You entered this tournament at No. 335 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, and you’ll leave here ranked No. 181. How does a result like this change your career’s trajectory? Have you started to look ahead?
Honestly, I have been thinking about it a little bit. I will be able to compete in the main draws of [ATP Challenger Tour] tournaments and maybe play qualies at ATP tournaments and Grand Slams, which is what makes me the happiest.
Before this, I wasn’t even thinking of what ranking I would need or how many points, because the number wasn’t even close. I wasn’t even looking at the Top 100. Whenever I thought about my ranking [goals], I was aiming for Top 200 because I was just that far away. Now, I just have to keep playing and make the most of it.
On the court, tennis fans are getting to know your lefty forehand and counterpunching. How would you describe yourself on and off the court?
On the court I’m definitely a more defensive counter-puncher. I like to use the opponent’s pace against them, and when I can attack with the forehand I use it to dictate the points.
Off of the court, I think I’m a calm guy. I do have my attitude and my personality, I can be a little bit of a loner. My favourite things are playing Playstation and watching Netflix, I’m not the most ‘social’ guy. But it’s always great to relax with your friends and take a break from tennis, because it’s not good to always be on your own.
Who were your football or tennis idols growing up? Who are your favourite players to follow now?
I honestly love football, and even more because I play FIFA on Playstation. It’s definitely a vice for me! As far as idols, Lionel Messi and Neymar are the two current players that I like the most. And also Cristiano Ronaldo, his mentality and how much of a champion he is just drives me crazy.
This is a milestone moment in your career. How will you celebrate this victory?
All my friends are here right now, so I just want to go out for dinner with them… But on the other hand, I have to make sure I recover physically because I have to play again on Tuesday [in Buenos Aires]. So it’s celebrate, then recuperate.
There will be plenty of mouthwatering action on tap with two ATP Tour events this week, led by the first ATP 500 tournament of the year at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev headlines the field, hoping to add his name to the prestigious event’s legendary honour roll.
In South America, the second leg of the “Golden Swing” will head to Buenos Aires for the Argentina Open. Top seed Diego Schwartzman will hit the clay courts of the ‘Cathedral of Argentine Tennis’ as he continues his quest to lift his first ATP Tour trophy on home soil.
Draws: Rotterdam | Buenos Aires
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN ROTTERDAM
1) Medvedev’s Road To No. 2: After reaching his second Grand Slam final at the Australian Open, top seed Medvedev arrives in Rotterdam looking for his first individual title of the year (Russia won the ATP Cup). A maiden trophy at the ATP 500 event would just be the icing on the cake: Medvedev needs to reach the final to rise to a career-high No. 2 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. If the Russian accomplishes the feat, he will become the first player outside the Big Four — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray — to hold a top two spot since Lleyton Hewitt was World No. 2 the week of 18 July 2005.
2) Top-Shelf Talent: Four of the Top 10 and eight of the Top 20 in the FedEx ATP Rankings will compete in Rotterdam. World No. 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas, No. 7 Alexander Zverev and No. 8 Andrey Rublev round out the top four seeds.
3) Unseeded & Looming Large: The draw handed 2015 champion and Stan Wawrinka one of the toughest first-round tests in the form of unseeded Russian Karen Khachanov, the 2018 Rolex Paris Masters champion. Former World No. 1 and 2009 Rotterdam winner Andy Murray is also in the mix after receiving a wild card, and could face Rublev in the second round.
4) Goffin Coming In Hot: Sixth seed David Goffin storms into the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament with momentum after winning the Open Sud de France in Montpellier on Sunday. The Belgian had not previously won a title since Tokyo in 2017. Goffin, who reached the final of this event in 2017, will play big-hitting German Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round.
5) Double The Action: The top-ranked doubles team in the world, Colombian duo Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, leads the way in a strong doubles field that also features Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic as the No. 2 seeds. Familiar singles names join doubles heavyweights in an entertaining draw as Stefanos Tsitsipas pairs up with younger brother Petros Tsitsipas, and Russians Rublev and Khachanov compete together.
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN BUENOS AIRES
1) Native Son: Diego Schwartzman was born and still resides in Buenos Aires. He is hoping his city can inspire him to lift his first ATP Tour trophy on home soil. Schwartzman has won all three of his titles on clay, the surface where he also reached the biggest final of his career at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia last year.
2) Home Hopes: Schwartzman is joined by seven countrymen in the main draw, all looking to become first Argentine to win in Buenos Aires since David Nalbandian in 2008. Other Argentine champions include Guillermo Coria (2004), Gaston Gaudio (2005) and Juan Monaco (2007).
3) The Dream Continues: Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo enjoyed a dream week at the Cordoba Open, where he won the title on his ATP Tour debut. The #NextGenATP lefty is in the Buenos Aires draw as a special exempt. He will play fellow Argentine lefty Federico Delbonis in the first round.
4) Garin Gets Going: Chile’s Cristian Garin is the No. 2 seed and he’s looking to jumpstart his season at the Argentina Open. Garin had to miss the Australian Open due to a wrist injury, and will be contesting his second match of the year when he begins his campaign. With Schwartzman also in the draw, Buenos Aires will see both of South America’s top-ranked singles players hit the court this week.
5) Doubles In Buenos Aires: Austin Krajicek and Franko Skugor are the top seeds at this ATP 250 event. Singles star Benoit Paire and Monaco’s Romain Arneodo, who reached the Cordoba final, will try to go one step further in Buenos Aires.
The last time Andy Murray competed at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, he was firmly entrenched in the top five of the FedEx ATP Rankings and fighting for titles weekly. Now World No. 121 and continuing his comeback from 2019 hip surgery, Murray is simply happy to be battling on the court.
“I’m pumped to be back competing again. Physically I feel good, which is the most important thing,” Murray said. “Obviously the next most important thing for me is to get matches and to get back to winning again on Tour.”
Murray began his season in February at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Biella, Italy. The Scot was unable to travel to Australia in January because he tested positive for COVID-19. Luckily for Murray, it has been tougher to recover mentally than physically.
“I’d say [it was] more mental to be honest than physical. It obviously affects your tennis a little bit because it came on the end of a long training block,” Murray said. “I’d trained really hard for 10 weeks and was feeling really good and then I wasn’t allowed to do anything. I wasn’t allowed out of the house… that obviously affects the physical side, but also the mental side as well.”
After his long training block, Murray was excited to compete in Australia and test his level. The 33-year-old was confident in how he felt on the court. But not being able to prove it after putting in the hard work was a letdown.
“I’ve missed quite a lot of big tournaments in recent years with injury and stuff and then that happened and I was really, really disappointed,” Murray said. “[It’s] still something that I’m probably getting over a bit from the disappointment and the mental side of things, but physically I feel good.”
Murray will begin his Rotterdam run against a familiar foe in Dutch veteran Robin Haase, whom he leads 4-1 in their ATP Head2Head series. Their first meeting, which Haase won, came in Rotterdam 13 years ago. But Murray isn’t putting much stock in that.
“It was 12 years ago when I won here and 13 years ago since I played Robin, so that to me doesn’t have any baring nowadays on the match-up or how you will perform in the tournament or anything,” Murray said. “A lot has changed since then.”
One thing that has not changed is that Murray enjoys playing at the Rotterdam Ahoy, home of this week’s ATP 500 event.
“I like it a lot here. They’ve changed the whole setup. It’s a shame that the fans aren’t here, but I think they’ve done a great job with the centre court. They’ve made a real effort to try and create an atmosphere, which is difficult just now without the fans,” Murray said. “I think considering the circumstances they’ve done a really nice job for the players and big thanks to everyone involved.”
Murray isn’t overthinking his goals for the year and what results he wants to earn. The former World No. 1 is focussing all his energy on each match and hoping that making steady progress will pay off.
“I want to try and get matches, but I need to just focus on the first one and try and get through that,” Murray said. “I’ve played Robin a few times on Tour, we know each other pretty well. We’ve had some tough matches in big tournaments and he’s a talented guy with a big game. My focus is on that and trying to take each day as it comes just now.
“When you haven’t played loads, you go into these matches and it’s not the same as it was four, five years ago when you were playing five, six matches a week and you were used to that. I haven’t played much and need to build my confidence and get some wins back.”
