Tennis News

Wawrinka's Kryptonite? Stan Says Not So Fast!

Stan Wawrinka has long struggled against Mikhail Kukushkin, and that was the case once again on Wednesday. But this time, the former World No. 3 found a way to win at the Murray River Open.

The top seed rallied past the Kazakhstani 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 after one hour and 56 minutes to reach the Round of 16 at the ATP 250. Wawrinka now leads the pair’s ATP Head2Head series 3-2.

“It felt okay. I’m happy to get the win and I’m ready to start a new tournament, a new year, especially after a few months out,” Wawrinka said. “But really happy to get the win.”

The righties had not met since 2014 Basel, where Kukushkin triumphed in straight sets. But the World No. 90’s game again proved a menace for the Swiss. Kukushkin plays with far less spin compared to the rest of the ATP Tour, and he has a deadly two-handed backhand down the line that tails away from opponents. 

Wawrinka never panicked, though, and he saved four of the five break points he faced. The 35-year-old hit 14 aces and won 81 per cent of his first-serve points in his first match of the season. 

“I was not playing my best tennis at the beginning,” Wawrinka said. “I was pushing the ball a bit too much, but I started to play a bit better, I felt the ball a bit better, so I tried to be a bit more aggressive.”

The World No. 18 will next play Australian Alex Bolt, who battled past American Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 6-7(7), 7-5 after two hours and 29 minutes. 

Bolt wrote a My Point essay for ATPTour.com about when he quit tennis, dabbled in construction work and his out-of-the-box journey back into the sport. He has long performed well in Australia, reaching the third round of the Australian Open in 2019 and the second round last year. Another Aussie earned a big win, as James Duckworth ousted seventh seed Ugo Humbert 7-6(6), 6-4.

Eighth seed Daniel Evans progressed in straight sets, beating Portugal’s Pedro Sousa 6-3, 7-5. The Brit will next play American Marcos Giron, who upset 10th seed Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-4

Evans had the best season of his career in 2020, climbing to a career-high No. 28 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. The 30-year-old is pursuing his first ATP Tour title this week.

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#NextGenATP Star Sinner Off To Fast Start In 2021

#NextGenATP star Jannik Sinner finished his 2020 season with a bang, and he picked up where he left off in his first match of 2021 on Wednesday.

The 19-year-old Italian beat Australian Aleksandar Vukic 6-2, 6-4 in 67 minutes to reach the Round of 16 at the Great Ocean Road Open in Melbourne. It was his first match since claiming his maiden ATP Tour title at last November’s Sofia Open in Bulgaria. 

Sinner did not face a break point against the home favourite, winning an impressive 75 per cent of his second-serve points. The fourth seed will next play 13th seed Aljaz Bedene, who eliminated wild card Dane Sweeny 6-0, 6-4, for a spot in the quarter-finals.

The 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals champion is at a career-high No. 36 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, and he is the youngest player in the Top 100. He will have a chance to earn revenge against Bedene, who beat him in Umag two years ago.

Third seed Hubert Hurkacz continued his hot start to the season with a 6-4, 6-3 victory against Mikael Torpegaard of Denmark.

The Polish No. 1, who started 2021 with a title at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com, won 31 of his 32 first-serve points to triumph in 68 minutes. The third seed will next play Pablo Cuevas or Robin Haase.

In other action, Italian Salvatore Caruso upset ninth seed Tennys Sandgren 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-1. The World No. 76 saved eight of the 10 break points he faced.

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Struff Topples Raonic, Puts Germany Ahead & Canada In Danger

Germany’s No. 2 singles player Jan-Lennard Struff claimed a major victory for his country after taking down former World No. 3 Milos Raonic 7-6(4), 7-6(2) on Wednesday to start his ATP Cup campaign.

Struff’s victory puts Team Germany in a comfortable position as they begin their Group A campaign, but it also means that alarm bells are ringing for Team Canada. After falling against defending champion Serbia on Monday, the Canadian side is on the brink of elimination from the ATP Cup. Denis Shapovalov must defeat Alexander Zverev in the No. 1 singles to keep his country alive and force a deciding doubles rubber.

Should Germany win, they will face defending champion Serbia, led by World No.1 Novak Djokovic, in a ‘win-and-you’re-in’ battle for Group A on Thursday.

Struff, No. 37 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, kept pace with the big serving Canadian throughout a tense opening set without any break points on offer. Raonic was impenetrable in the first set, and didn’t lose more than one point in any of his service games. But Struff stayed patient, and was rewarded in the tie-break. He managed to get a racquet on his first return, and outlasted Raonic to earn the mini-break. Raonic couldn’t dig himself back as Struff escaped with the first set.

The German handed Raonic his first break of serve at the ATP Cup to take a 2-0 lead in the second set, but the Canadian responded in kind to level the score 2-2. Raonic survived three double faults in the same game and saved five break points in a lengthy battle for 4-4. But Struff once again found his best tennis in the tie-break, winning the first five points in a row before closing out the victory after two hours on court.

“I knew that playing against Milos [would be] very tough. He is serving so [well], he’s won so many tournaments and he’s such a good champion,” Struff said on court. “In our three meetings, I beat him once before. So I knew I would have to play a good match, and I’m very pleased with the way I played. I played very good tie-breaks in both sets.”

More to follow…

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Fognini Overcomes Paire In Wild Match To Give Italy 1-0 Lead

Fabio Fognini won just five games in his ATP Cup opener Tuesday, but he rebounded Wednesday to beat Benoit Paire 6-1, 7-6(2) and give Italy a 1-0 lead against France.

It was a wild match of runs inside John Cain Arena. Although Fognini nearly let slip a seemingly insurmountable 6-1, 3-0 advantage, he battled through in straight sets after one hour and 19 minutes. Matteo Berrettini, Italy’s No. 1 singles player, can now clinch the tie and a spot in the semi-finals for his country with a win against Gael Monfils.

Fognini took advantage of Paire’s erratic play — including four double faults in one game — to cruise through the first set in just more than 20 minutes. The Frenchman became increasingly frustrated with his second serve, hitting five double faults from seven second serves in the opener.

But despite trailing 0-3 in the second set, Paire battled hard to find a way back into the match.

“You have to try to focus on the things that you can use,” French captain Richard Ruckelshausen told Paire at that 0-3 changeover. “Come on, stay with it.”

Paire’s two-handed backhand, which is one of the best in the game, began firing, and he used his drop shot to great effect. Fognini’s level did not drop dramatically, but the Italian became aggravated as his lead slipped away. Paire won five consecutive games to serve for the second set at 5-4, but Fognini clawed his way back into the set with a crucial forehand passing shot winner.

Fognini was simply the more solid player, and that paid dividends as he closed out the match in the tie-break. The former World No. 9 saved seven of the nine break points he faced and took full advantage of Paire’s 10 double faults.

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Federer To Make ATP Tour Return In Doha

Roger Federer will make his long-awaited return to the ATP Tour in March when he is set to compete at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha.

The Swiss superstar, who has undergone two right knee operations in the past 12 months, last played on 30 January 2020 when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-finals.

Speaking to Swiss broadcaster SRF, Federer said, “I thought for a long time when and where I should come back. Australia was still a bit too early because of my knee… I want to celebrate big victories once again. And for that I am ready to go the long, hard way.”

The Qatar ExxonMobil Open, where Federer has won three titles in 2005-06 and 2011, begins on 8 March. The ATP 250 tournament is traditionally held in January each year.

The 39-year-old Federer has won 1,242 matches and 103 tour-level titles during his legendary career. Only Jimmy Connors (1,274 match wins and 109 titles) has won more matches and titles in the Open Era (since April 1968).

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Monroe/Tiafoe Down Kyrgios/Reid At Murray River Open

Nicholas Monroe and Frances Tiafoe made a strong start to their Murray River Open campaign on Tuesday, as they overcame home favourites Nick Kyrgios and Matt Reid 7-5, 6-4.

The American pair, which reached the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com quarter-finals last month, saved all three break points it faced to advance in 63 minutes. Monroe and Tiafoe will face fourth seeds Marcelo Melo and Horia Tecau in the second round. Melo and Tecau, who first faced each other on the ATP Challenger Tour in April 2007, will be making their team debut this week.

Mackenzie McDonald and Tommy Paul translated singles success onto the doubles court at the with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Andres Molteni and Hugo Nys. The Americans both won their first-round singles matches on Monday, and they showed confidence in their doubles victory, saving eight of the nine break points they faced.

Tomislav Brkic and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi beat Marco Cecchinato and Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 6-2. The unseeded duo will face top seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic for a place in the quarter-finals.

In other doubles action, Australia’s James Duckworth and Marc Polmans broke serve on three occasions to defeat Rohan Bopanna and Frederik Nielsen 6-4, 6-3. Divij Sharan and Igor Zelenay also advanced, ousting Guillermo Duran and Albert Ramos-Vinolas 4-6, 6-3, 10-8.

Khachanov/Kecmanovic Claim Win At Great Ocean Road Open
Karen Khachanov and Miomir Kecmanovic played a tour-level doubles event together for the first time on Tuesday, and they clicked into high gear at the Great Ocean Road Open.

The singles stars battled past Romain Arneodo and Salvatore Caruso 2-6, 6-4, 10-3 after one hour and 18 minutes. They dominated on serve in the Match Tie-break, winning all six of their service points to triumph.

Roberto Carballes Baena and Pablo Cuevas were also victorious, defeating Ji Sung Nam and Min-Kyu Song 3-6, 6-3, 10-4. Carballes Baena’s countrymen, Pablo Andujar and Pedro Martinez, also booked their place in the second round. The Spaniards broke Laslo Djere and Stefano Travaglia on five occasions to record a 7-5, 6-3 win in 72 minutes.

There were also wins for two all-Australian partnerships. Matthew Ebden and John-Patrick Smith beat countrymen Christopher O’Connell and Aleksandar Vukic 7-6(5), 6-4. Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson were leading Nikoloz Basilashvili and Andre Begemann 6-4, 5-4 when their opponents retired from the match.

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Billie Jean King Cup: Great Britain v Mexico to be played at National Tennis Centre

Great Britain’s tie against Mexico in the Billie Jean King Cup will be played at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton in April.

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Five Things That Matter On ATP Cup Day 2

After the first day of the ATP Cup produced thrilling battles, upset wins and decisive doubles clashes, many tennis fans will be wondering what Day 2 of the ATP Cup has in store? While predictions should be left to the ATP Cup Bracket Challenge, we do know that fans can look forward to a showdown between two of the sport’s brightest young talents — Alexander Zverev and Denis Shapovalov — the latest chapter in the ATP Head2Head rivalry of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alex de Minaur and the 2021 debuts of Kei Nishikori and Gael Monfils.

Here are the five things that matter most ahead of Day 2 at the ATP Cup.

Fresh or Tested?
Four of the eight teams in action — Russia, Italy, Australia, and Canada — played on Day 1. The remaining four nations — Japan, France, Greece, and Germany — will be making their 2021 debuts. Will the fresh teams have an edge or will they still be shaking off that off-season rust? An argument can be made either way. The teams playing their second ties will have a better feel for the court speed and conditions, but how will they adjust to playing matches in back-to-back days so early in the season?

Fanatical Support
The Australia versus Greece tie could inspire the most spirited crowds we’ve heard since the 2020 Australian Open. The Aussie Fanatics support their local boys more vocally than perhaps any other fans in the world. But Melbourne has a huge Greek population as well. Over the years, Greek and Greek Cypriot players, like Marcos Baghdatis, have attracted massive support at tournaments Down Under. The fans have had many months to rest their vocal chords, so it’ll be interesting to see and hear which team receives more support.

Nishikori Comeback
Kei Nishikori faces a tough task in his return to the ATP Tour. The 31-year-old will face reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion and World No. 4 Daniil Medvedev in the Japan versus Russia tie. Nishikori, who reached a career-high No. 4 in the FedEx ATP Rankings in 2015, played just four events in 2020 after returning from elbow surgery. The Japanese star owns a 2-2 ATP Head2Head record against the Russian star, which includes a final victory in Brisbane in 2019. Nishikori will need to find his best level quickly, following Medvedev’s 7-5, 6-3 win against World No. 9 Diego Schwartzman on Tuesday.

More 2021 Debuts
French and German players will also make their 2021 debuts as France plays Italy and Germany faces Canada. Gael Monfils will meet Matteo Berrettini in a repeat of their epic 2019 US Open quarter-final. The Frenchman, who lost that meeting in a final-set tie-break, will aim to gain his revenge with another strong start to an ATP Tour season. Last year, the French No. 1 won 16 of his opening 19 matches and two ATP Tour crowns. Berrettini has already shown he is in fine form in Australia. The 2019 Nitto ATP Finals qualifier defeated World No. 3 Dominic Thiem in straight sets and earned a decisive doubles victory for Italy (w/Fognini) on Tuesday.

And what will the new year bring for Alexander Zverev? His first test against World No. 12 Denis Shapovalov will be a tough one. The 13-time ATP Tour titlist owns a 3-2 ATP Head2Head record against the 21-year-old, but one of those two losses came at this event last year. The German ended 2020 in fine form and he will be eager to carry that momentum into 2021 with a first ATP Cup win (0-3).

Doubles Vision
At the ATP Cup, doubles takes centre stage. On Day 1, two of the four ties were decided by doubles results. In decisive doubles encounters, team captains often have difficult decisions to make. Do they stick with their established doubles team or bring their singles stars into the mix? At last year’s event, Australia captain Lleyton Hewitt’s decision to field singles stars Alex de Minaur and Nick Kyrgios in the quarter-finals against Great Britain paid off, when the duo saved four match points to beat doubles stars Jamie Murray and Joe Salisbury and reach the semi-finals.

Two-time Roland Garros champions Andreas Mies and Kevin Krawietz will represent Germany and France’s roster features doubles veterans Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. But not every team can rely on established doubles partnerships. At that point, team captains will have some crucial decisions to make.

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ATP Cup: Rafael Nadal pulls out of opener with back problem as Novak Djokovic wins

Rafael Nadal pulls out of Spain’s opening ATP Cup tie with a lower back problem less than a week before the Australian Open.

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Kyrgios Wins On ATP Tour Return At Murray River Open

Nick Kyrios worked hard on his ATP Tour return Tuesday at the Murray River Open. The Australian breathed a huge sigh of relief after overcoming the incredible fight of France’s Alexander Muller in a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) victory over one hour and 52 minutes in Melbourne.

Kyrgios, who hadn’t played a tournament since the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in February last year, struck 22 aces among 34 winners.

“When I lost the first set I never really panicked,” said Kyrgios, who will next challenge fellow Australian Harry Bourchier in the second round. “I was actually just still finding my feet honestly. I actually thought I was serving reasonably well. I wasn’t serving anywhere near my best. I wasn’t playing anywhere near my best. But I thought my attitude was okay. I kept that pretty calm.

“I’m actually happy the way I dealt with it and I just drew from experience. I was nice to myself. I was like, ‘Look, you lost a set, your first set back and you’re playing a guy who has nothing to lose really’. He came out swinging. I actually think that he would have beaten a fair few guys in the draw today. All around, [I] just believed, really.”

Muller capitalised on Kyrgios hitting a double fault at 3-4 in the 23-minute opener. But Kyrgios raised his game in the second set, rushing Muller into errors. While Kygrios called for on-court treatment of a left knee injury, the 25-year-old held firm in the deciding set tie-break, when he saw Muller recover from a 1/4 deficit. The match ended when Muller hit a backhand into the net.

Two others Australians, James Duckworth and Alexei Popyrin, also reached the second round of the ATP 250 tournament in Melbourne. Duckworth won 26 of 30 first-service points in a 6-3, 6-4 win over Czech Tomas Machac and now faces seventh-seeded Frenchman Ugo Humbert.

Popyrin saved six match points in his 6-7(8), 7-6(2), 7-6(7) victory over Borna Gojo of Croatia. Popyrin failed to convert one set point at 6/7 in the first set tie-break, saved four match points on serve at 4-5 in the second set and another two at 5/6 and 6/7 in the deciding set tie-break. The 21-year-old now faces American No. 15 seed Tommy Paul.

“I think when the first three came along, it was three in a row… on my serve,” said Popyrin. “I was just taking it one point at a time, trying to get my first serve in, trying to hit a big first serve and get a good opportunity to finish the point as quick as possible, because I knew when I would get in a rally I didn’t feel quite as comfortable today. I think the conditions were also quite hard. It was quite windy so rally, so it was important to get those first serves in and all the match points, and that’s what I did.”

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