Tennis News

Bedene Bounces Back, Gains Sinner Revenge In Montpellier

Aljaz Bedene rallied from a set down to upset fifth seed Jannik Sinner 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(3) on Wednesday at the Open Sud de France.

The 31-year-old was overpowered in the early stages of the match, but he moved up the court and took the initiative in baseline rallies to turn the match in his favour. Bedene landed 14 aces throughout the match and closed the net well in the final-set tie-break to advance in two hours and 39 minutes.

“In the first set, [Sinner] was the better player… Afterwards, I became more aggressive and was making less mistakes. I think that decided it,” said Bedene, in an on-court interview. “On the important points, I was there. I didn’t lose my focus.”

Bedene is the first player outside the Top 10 to defeat Sinner indoors in a year. Sinner entered the encounter on a 10-match indoor winning streak against players outside the Top 10, which dated back to his quarter-final loss to Pablo Carreno Busta at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in February 2020.

Bedene gains revenge for his third-round loss to Sinner at the Great Ocean Road Open earlier this month. The World No. 60, who owns a 2-1 ATP Head2Head record against Sinner, will face Egor Gerasimov in the second round. Gerasimov booked his spot in the second round with a 7-6(8), 6-1 victory against Andy Murray on Tuesday.

Lorenzo Sonego reached his first quarter-final of the year with a 6-3, 6-2 win against #NextGenATP American Sebastian Korda. The seventh seed converted three of his five break points to move past the Delray Beach runner-up in 74 minutes. Sonego will face second seed David Goffin or French wild card Benjamin Bonzi for a place in the semi-finals.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina outlasted fellow Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-2 to set up a second-round clash with fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz. The 21-year-old created 15 break points and took six of his opportunities to claim victory in two hours and 31 minutes.

French qualifier Gregoire Barrere won 65 per cent of his second-serve return points (20/31) to defeat Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-4. Last year’s quarter-finalist will face top seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round.

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Bambridge/Inglot Advance To Singapore Quarter-finals

Luke Bambridge and Dominic Inglot started their Singapore Tennis Open campaign on Wednesday with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Yannick Hanfmann and John Millman.

The third seeds saved all five break points they faced to overcome Hanfmann and Millman in 65 minutes. Bambridge and Inglot are chasing their first team title this week in their fourth event as a pair.

The British duo made its team debut at last month’s Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com. Bambridge and Inglot will face wild cards Jamie Cerretani and Adil Shamasdin for a spot in the semi-finals.

Fourth seeds Matthew Ebden and John-Patrick Smith broke serve on three occasions to defeat Christopher Eubanks and Thai-Son Kwiatkowski 6-2, 6-2. Ebden and Smith will face another all-American team in the quarter-finals: Robert Galloway and Alex Lawson.

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Cilic Makes Successful Start To Singapore Title Bid

Marin Cilic began his quest for a ninth indoor ATP Tour title on Wednesday with a 7-5, 6-4 victory against Taro Daniel at the Singapore Tennis Open.

The former World No. 3 claimed 82 per cent of his first-serve points (27/33) and saved three of the four break points he faced to overcome the Japanese in one hour and 40 minutes. Cilic is aiming to capture his 19th tour-level crown this week and move one title away from the exclusive ’20 Club’. Roger Federer (103), Rafael Nadal (86), Novak Djokovic (82), Andy Murray (46) and Juan Martin del Potro (22) are the only active players to win 20 or more tour-level events.

“It is the beginning of the season and my third match of the year, so I am still feeling a little bit rusty… Overall, it was a solid match,” said Cilic. “[It is] something I definitely needed for the start of the tournament.”

Cilic will face eighth seed Soonwoo Kwon of South Korea in the quarter-finals. The 23-year-old improved to 2-0 in his ATP Head2Head series against Thai-Son Kwiatkowski with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback win.

Fourth seed Alexander Bublik needed just 53 minutes to book his place in the quarter-finals. The Kazakhstani landed 10 aces en route to a 6-2, 6-2 victory against Turkish qualifier Altug Celikbilek.

Bublik will meet fifth seed Yoshihito Nishioka for a spot in the semi-finals. Nishioka won 62 per cent of second-serve return points (18/29) to move past Maxime Cressy 6-4, 6-2.

Roberto Marcora and Matthew Ebden sealed their places in the second round on Wednesday. Marcora defeated Ernests Gulbis 7-5, 6-4 to book a clash with top seed Adrian Mannarino, while Ebden beat Yuki Bhambri 6-3, 7-6(3) to confirm a meeting with second seed John Millman.

In the final match of the day, Alexei Popyrin overcame #NextGenATP Bulgarian Adrian Andreev 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 to reach his second ATP Tour quarter-final. The Aussie will meet the winner of Millman and Ebden’s second-round encounter in the quarter-finals.

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Brothers Lead Banner Day For Argentines In Cordoba

It was a banner day for Argentines at the Cordoba Open, with six of eight home players moving into the second round on Tuesday.

For wild card Francisco Cerundolo and qualifier Juan Manuel Cerundolo, the joy was doubled after they became the first Argentine brothers to feature in the same ATP Tour main draw since Alejandro and Carlos Gattiker at 1981 Quito. They took it one step further on Tuesday, sealing both of their first tour-level victories to move into the second round.

19-year-old Juan Manuel was in action after qualifying for his first career ATP Tour tournament. He played far above his No. 335 ranking to take down #NextGenATP Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild in a tight 7-5, 7-6(3) battle.

“It’s amazing to play in the same tournament, because he can tell me many things about [playing at] this level which is a bit higher than my ranking,” Juan Manuel told ATPTour.com afterward. “It’s exciting to have your brother to train with and advise me and look forward to. I’m so happy for that.”

Later in the day, older brother Francisco recovered strongly after dropping a tight first set to Italy’s Gianluca Mager, who sits just inside the Top 100 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. Francisco, No. 135 in the world, roared back to claim the victory 6-7(3), 6-1, 6-4 after two hours and three minutes.

“It’s absolutely amazing, me and my brother both winning on the ATP [Tour] is really amazing, to be honest,” said the 22-year-old after joining his brother in the second round. “It’s a dream for our family. Winning our first match, on the same day, at the same tournament – it’s unbelievable.”

Eighth-seed Federico Delbonis was the top Argentine in action, and he edged past Pedro Sousa 6-4, 6-4 on Cancha Central. Delbonis fired 22 winners past Sousa as he claimed victory in an hour and 26 minutes. He will face countryman Facundo Bagnis next after Bagnis defeated wild card Nicolas Kicker 6-1, 6-4. Tomas Martin Etcheverry defeated Andrej Martin 6-3, 7-6(4), while Federico Coria toppled sixth seed Dominik Koepfer 6-1, 6-4 to join them in the next round.

Meanwhile, fifth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas put an early end to 2019 winner Juan Ignacio Londero’s Cordoba campaign with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory. Seventh seed Thiago Monteiro of Brazil defeated countryman Joao Menezes 6-3, 6-3.

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Andy Murray loses in Open Sud de France first round to Egor Gerasimov

Britain’s Andy Murray loses in straight sets to Egor Gerasimov in his first ATP Tour match for four months at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier.

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Humbert/Tsonga Claim Maiden Win In Montpellier

Ugo Humbert and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga claimed their first team victory on Tuesday when they moved past Andrey Golubev and Hugo Nys 6-3, 6-4 at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier.

In just their second appearance as a team, the unseeded pair saved five of six break points on Court Patrice Dominguez to advance in 69 minutes. Humbert and Tsonga fell in the first round on their team debut at the 2018 Moselle Open in Metz.

Just 24 hours after Tsonga made his long-awaited return to the ATP Tour in a 6-4, 6-2 loss to #NextGenATP American Sebastian Korda, the 2019 singles champion now has his sights set on joining an exclusive club in Montpellier. If Tsonga can lift the doubles trophy, he will become only the second player to win both the singles and doubles titles at the ATP 250.

Alexander Zverev is the only player to feature on both the singles and doubles honour rolls in Montpellier, following his sweep of both events in 2017. Tsonga is competing in his first tournament since the 2020 Australian Open this week due to a back injury. Humbert and Tsonga will face top seeds Henri Kontinen and Edouard Roger-Vasselin or Hubert Hurkacz and Szymon Walkow in the quarter-finals.

Marcelo Arevalo and Matwe Middelkoop began their title bid with a 6-4, 7-5 victory against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Bernabe Zapata Miralles of Spain. The second seeds broke serve on four occasions to reach their third quarter-final in as many events this year.

Sander Arends and Andrea Vavassori also advanced on Tuesday with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Dusan Lajovic and Marc Lopez. The Dutch-Italian partnership won 86 per cent of its first-serve points (31/36) to claim victory in 68 minutes.

Top Seeds Win Singapore Opener
Top seeds Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen advanced to the second round of the Singapore Tennis Open on Tuesday with a 7-6(3), 6-3 triumph against Americans Evan King and Hunter Reese. The second seeds were ousted, however, as Luis David Martinez and David Vega Hernandez upset Rohan Bopanna and Ben McLachlan 6-4, 6-2.

In other doubles action in Singapore, wild cards Jamie Cerretani and Adil Shamasdin ousted Alexander Bublik and Marc Polmans 6-1, 7-5, and Americans Robert Galloway and Alex Lawson eliminated Taro Daniel and Jason Jung 7-5, 6-3.

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Gerasimov Halts Murray Comeback In Montpellier Opener

World No. 83 Egor Gerasimov defeated the resurgent Andy Murray 7-6(8), 6-1 on Tuesday to reach the second round of the Open Sud de France.

The big-serving Belarusian was the fitter player across both sets, outlasting Murray in a gruelling 71-minute opening set before cruising in the second en route to a one-hour, 44-minute victory. 

“I just tried to be focussed on the match and not think about mistakes,” Gerasimov said in his on-court interview. “I just wanted to try my best today because I was playing with a great champion. It was a big experience and I’m happy.”

Murray was contesting his first ATP Tour match since October of last year. The No. 121 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings, the Brit came to Montpellier looking to continue his return to form after undergoing right hip surgery following the 2019 Australian Open. Later that year, Murray won an ATP Tour title at the European Open in Antwerp, which like the Open Sud de France is an indoor hard-court event.

Making his Montpellier debut with a wild card, Murray ran up against an in-form Gerasimov in the first round. Neither player was able to create distance between them during the tough opening set. Gerasimov was the player with more chances, taking the first lead in the set at 4-3 and then again in the tie-break. But Murray showed flashes of his vintage form as he brought them back level each time, fighting through lengthy exchanges to extend his stay in the match.

Murray held off two set points in the tie-break and earned one of his own with a powerful delivery at 6/6.  But he couldn’t maintain that level as Gerasimov later claimed the set on his fourth opportunity. 

“I just tried to make good shots, that’s it,” Gerasimov said. “I wasn’t thinking about winning the tie-break or losing the tie-break. I was thinking about the court, about the game.”

As Murray’s familiar grumbles grew in volume, Gerasimov kept his cool and raced through the second set. The Brit seemed to run out of energy as Gerasimov kept him on the run, winning the first five games in a row. Murray saved two match points, but Gerasimov sealed his third with his 12th ace.

Gerasimov advanced to the second round, and will face the winner between fifth seed Jannik Sinner and Aljaz Bedene.

Germany’s Peter Gojowczyk pulled off an upset in his first tour-level meeting with eighth-seeded Jan-Lennard Struff, No. 37 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. Gojowczyk, ranked No. 144, broke his countryman’s serve four times across two sets to close out a 6-3, 6-4 victory in an hour and 15 minutes.

Hopes for another home champion in Montpellier took a hit as two French players bowed out on Tuesday. Austria’s Dennis Novak weathered a mid-match dip to see off Gilles Simon 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-3 after a marathon two-and-a-half hours. He earned a second-round clash with No. 3 seed Dusan Lajovic in his next match.

French wild card Benjamin Bonzi carried positive momentum after strong ATP Challenger Tour results into his clash with former champion and countryman Lucas Pouille. Pouille was contesting his first tour-level match since the 2019 Rolex Shanghai Masters after battling an elbow injury, and couldn’t bounce back after dropping a tight opening set against the in-form Bonzi, who prevailed 7-6(6), 6-2. Bonzi will face Jiri Vesely next after the Czech player cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 victory against Mikael Ymer in just 50 minutes.

Dutch player Tallon Griekspoor is also through after defeating American Marcos Giron in three sets, 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3. The Haarlem native served up 10 aces to seal his victory after two hours and eight minutes, setting up a second-round clash with sixth seed Ugo Humbert.

Did You Know?
Murray played his first tournament of the year at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Biella, Italy, earlier this month. The former World No. 1 reached the final.

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Aussie Victories In Melbourne Summer ‘Make Some Noise’ For Food Bank Australia

Last year, Old El Paso and Nick Kyrgios with his Foundation teamed up to create a viral tortilla trick shot #MessFreeChallenge that swept the tennis world around Roland Garros. The initiative resulted in more than 100,000 Mexican meal-kit donations for food banks around the globe thanks to the participation of ATP and WTA stars. But they weren’t done yet in their mission to help fight hunger and continue being a force for good.

Old El Paso and Kyrgios collaborated once again at the start of the season to keep on giving in Melbourne, supporting and uniting Australian players with a new initiative #MakeSomeNoiseForAustralia. Every time any Aussie player hit the court during the unprecedented three-week summer of tennis in Melbourne Park across ATP and WTA events and culminating with the Australian Open, Old El Paso and the NK Foundation jointly donated 100 meal kits to help feed vulnerable families through Foodbank Australia, the largest food relief charity in the country. And every time an Aussie won a match, meal kit donations tripled to 300.

“With my friends at Old El Paso and my NK Foundation, we’re uniting to get behind all the Aussie players to make some noise this summer,” Kyrgios posted on social media in a video featuring countrymen Alex de Minaur, Lleyton Hewitt and Matthew Ebden, as well as Aussie WTA players Sam Stosur and Daria Gavrilova with doubles player John Peers also supporting the cause ahead of his opening match. Each share of the #MakeSomeNoiseForAustralia video on Instagram by fans also garnered one additional meal kit donation thus ‘extending the noise’ on social media outside Melbourne Park.

With the summer events now wrapped in Melbourne, Old El Paso announced on Tuesday that #MakeSomeNoiseForAustralia hit a major milestone, with 25,000 meal kits donations being raised to date.

 

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The Aussie players have made a strong showing across all the tournaments in Melbourne Park, especially at the Australian Open. Ebden led the pack, teaming up with Stosur to make his second Grand Slam final appearance in the mixed doubles competition, and partnering another fellow Aussie, John-Patrick Smith, to reach the quarter-finals in men’s doubles (and semi-finals at the Murray River Open the week prior). Kyrgios and De Minaur also reached the third round in singles and Peers the third round in doubles with a strong contribution on the women’s side by Ashleigh Barty, who won the Yarra Valley Classic and made a run to the Australian Open quarter-finals.

Said a thrilled Kyrgios of the initiative, “As tennis players playing at home, we draw off the energy of our crowds and it was a slightly different experience this year for most of us. It’s been a solid effort by all our Aussies in Melbourne and I am so glad we came together again with Old El Paso and my Foundation to give back and support families in need across Australia. I was amazed with how our Mess Free Challenge took off within the tennis community last year and the support it got. So we wanted to continue having a positive impact on the world with Old El Paso and we saw the #MakeSomeNoiseforAustralia idea as a great way to do this.”

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Clutch Albot Advances In Singapore

Radu Albot produced his best tennis in crucial moments on Tuesday to defeat John-Patrick Smith 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 at the Singapore Tennis Open.

The Moldovan saved nine of the 11 break points he faced and converted five of his six break opportunities to overcome the Aussie qualifier in 89 minutes. Albot has won three of his past four matches, following his run to the Australian Open third round earlier this month.

The sixth seed will continue his bid for a second ATP Tour trophy against Yannick Hanfmann in the second round. The German saved all three break points he faced to beat James Duckworth 6-2, 6-4.

In the opening match of the day on Centre Court, Yasutaka Uchiyama fired nine aces en route to a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win against Marc Polmans. The 28-year-old Japanese will battle eighth seed Soonwoo Kwon or American qualifier Thai-Son Kwiatkowski for a place in the quarter-finals.

“I am happy to win the match as this is my first win of the season,” said Uchiyama. “I think I need to recover well for the next round… I have to be ready 100 per cent for the next match.”

Altug Celikbilek also advanced on Tuesday, following his 6-0, 6-4 victory against junior World No. 2 Shintaro Mochizuki of Japan. The Turkish qualifier will meet fourth seed Alexander Bublik in the second round.

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Johanna Konta loses on return to action after Australian Open retirement

Britain’s Johanna Konta loses to American Shelby Rogers in her first match since her Australian Open retirement.

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