Tennis News

Humbert's Best Season Getting Even Better In Paris

The best season of Ugo Humbert’s career keeps getting better.

The 22-year-old Frenchman battled past former World No. 3 Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3 on Thursday to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final at the Rolex Paris Masters. Humbert hit 19 aces and saved three of the four break points he faced to advance after two hours and 24 minutes.

“My game is a bit different. I try to play more aggressive,” Humbert said. “[I’ve played] good matches against great players.”

Humbert earned his second Top 10 victory on Tuesday when he upset reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas in a final-set tie-break, and he did not let slip his momentum against Cilic. The World No. 34, who competed in last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals, was cool under pressure to reach his sixth quarter-final of the season. Humbert, who is now 5-1 in deciding sets since Roland Garros, won his first two ATP Tour titles earlier this year.

“I think mentally I’m very strong since one month and I can win matches in three sets,” Humbert said. “I think I’m better in the key moments [than I used to be].”

After Cilic forced a decider with a good effort in the second-set tie-break, he earned a break point in the first game of the third set. Humbert hit his sliding lefty serve out wide and the Croatian was unable to put the return into play. That was the last chance he got.

^{Photo Credit: Cedric Lecocq/FFT}
Humbert will be tested again in the last eight against recent Western & Southern Open finalist Milos Raonic. The big-serving Canadian eliminated American qualifier Marcos Giron 7-6(1), 6-2. 

Raonic struck 17 aces en route to his one-hour, 22-minute victory, in which he did not face a break point. The 10th seed’s best previous result at the Rolex Paris Masters came in 2014, when he reached the final (l. to Djokovic). This will be his first ATP Head2Head meeting against Humbert.

“It will be tough, because he’s confident. He serves very well. He had good results since [the] restart of the Tour,” Humbert said. “But now I just would like to recover and I will prepare [for] my match with my coach later.”

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Peers/Venus Clinch Nitto ATP Finals Spot

John Peers and Michael Venus have become the sixth doubles team to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November.

Peers and Venus beat Austin Krajicek and Franko Skugor 6-4, 7-6(4) on Thursday to reach the Rolex Paris Masters quarter-finals. With Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen’s loss later in the day, Peers and Venus’ spots in London were clinched.

The Australian/New Zealand team has a 22-9 match record on the season, including three ATP Tour titles at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (d. Klaasen/Marach) in February, the Hamburg European Open (d. Dodig/Pavic) in September and the European Open in Antwerp (d. Bopanna/Middelkoop) in October.

Peers and Venus join Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares, Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies, Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos and Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic in London.

Peers won the 2016 and 2017 Nitto ATP Finals titles with Henri Kontinen, while Venus finished runner-up with Raven Klaasen at last year’s season finale.

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Medvedev To Face Schwartzman In Paris Quarter-finals

Daniil Medvedev recorded his 20th match win of the season on Thursday after battling back to beat Alex De Minaur 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 51 minutes at the Rolex Paris Masters.

“It was a really difficult first set, I wasn’t playing bad, but he was also playing well. I was up a break, but didn’t keep the momentum and he came back and was a little bit on fire,” said Medvedev. “The second and third sets were the same scenario, really. I broke early in the second set and I was stronger on my serve to put a lot of pressure on him. I got more confident, knowing that I could put a bit more on my serve and started to come in.”

The third-seeded Russian will now play sixth seed Diego Schwartzman of Argentina in Friday’s quarter-finals. Schwartzman is one victory away from qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November, for the first time.

”I watched his match and Diego played really well,” said Medvedev, of Schwartzman’s 6-1, 6-1 win over Spanish qualifier Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. “I think he made five unforced errors and was returning a lot of balls in the court. He served pretty well and it will be a really tough match, because he has been on fire this year. I am looking forward to it.”

Medvedev leads Schwartzman 3-0 in their ATP Head2Head series, including a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory at the inaugural ATP Cup in January.

Medvedev broke De Minaur immediately, but couldn’t carry the momentum in the first set. De Minaur broke to love at 2-3 and as Medvedev’s errors mounted, the Australian No. 16 seed clinched the 47-minute opener with another service break in the 12th game.

De Minaur got off to the worst possible start in the second set, when he was broken in the first game. From 30/40 in the first game to 3-1, 30/0, Medvedev won 17 straight points and went on to finish the 29-minute second set with an ace.

Medvedev grew in confidence and his deep groundstrokes reaped dividends in long rallies with breaks of serve at 1-1 and 3-1. Medvedev closed out with an ace, his 27th winner.

The 21-year-old De Minaur, runner-up at the European Open in Antwerp (l. to Humbert), is now 12-9 in the 2020 season.

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Koolhof/Mektic Qualify For First Time To Nitto ATP Finals

Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic have become the fifth doubles team to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November.

The Dutch/Croatian team secured their places by beating Taylor Fritz and Casper Ruud 6-4, 7-6(1) in the second round at the Rolex Paris Masters on Thursday. Sixth seeds Koolhof and Mektic recovered from 2-5 down in the second set.

They have a 20-11 record on the season, including strong performances at two Grand Slam championships. Koolhof and Mektic lost to Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares 7-5, 6-3 in the US Open final and reached the Roland Garros semi-finals (l. to Krawietz/Mies). They also finished runners up at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille (l. to Mahut/Pospisil).

First-time qualifiers Koolhof and Mektic join Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, Pavic and Soares, Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies, and Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos at the season finale in London.

Mektic qualified with Alexander Peya at the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals

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Schwartzman Sweeps Into Paris Quarter-finals, One Step Away From Nitto ATP Finals Qualification

Diego Schwartzman booked his place in the Rolex Paris Masters quarter-finals on Thursday and now stands one victory away from qualifying for this month’s Nitto ATP Finals for the first time.

Sixth seed Schwartzman extended his run of form by beating Spanish qualifier Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1, 6-1 in one hour at the indoor ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

“I thought the match was going to be very tough, as we played just 10 days ago,” said Schwartzman. “I did everything well today, serving and moving well. Tomorrow will be a different match against [Daniil] Medvedev or [Alex] De Minaur as they hit very flat and are very solid, they move well and have good defence. I am trying to do everything I can to be in London [at the Nitto ATP Finals].”

The Argentine, who improves to a 25-11 match record on the season that includes three runner-up finishes at ATP Tour events, now faces third-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev or No. 16 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia.

Schwartzman, who is currently No. 9 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, could also qualify for the season finale, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November, should Pablo Carreno Busta lose his third-round match in Paris later today.

Schwartzman came through a 10-minute opening game, then Davidovich Fokina was left frustrated after he was broken to 15 in the next game, with a mis-timed backhand, and after an error-strewn sixth game. Schwartzman, who hit his backhand cleanly throughout, closed out the 34-minute opener when Davidovich Fokina made his ninth backhand error.

Davidovich Fokina’s error count increased when Schwartzman put his foot down by winning the first four games of the second set. Schwartzman also won their two previous meeting in 2020, beating Davidovich Fokina in the Australian Open second round in January and also, recently, in the bett1HULKS Championship quarter-finals in Cologne.

The 28-year-old has reached three finals in 2020, at the Cordoba Open (l. to Garin) in February, his first ATP Masters 1000 title match at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia (l. to Djokovic) in September and the bett1HULKS Championship (l. to A. Zverev) last month.

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Wawrinka Resists Paul To Set Rublev Showdown

Stan Wawrinka had to dig deep in his late-night clash against American Tommy Paul to move into the third round at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The three-time Grand Slam winner found himself having to come back from a set down in a match that lasted almost two and a half hours and clocked in just before midnight in Paris to win 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-2.

“I think I start a little bit hesitating with my game,” said Wawrinka in his post-match press conference. “[It’s the] first time I play against Tommy. He’s a great young player, and I didn’t know exactly what to expect. We never practise together.

“I was a little bit looking too much what he was doing. I think in general my fighting spirit was good. I was trying to stay as much as possible on the match, and I’m happy with the victory.” 

He added, “For me it’s that kind of match that I need right now in the last tournament of the year to build something for next year.”

Contesting the last match on Court Central after Rafael Nadal recorded a milestone 1000th career match win, Wawrinka was in trouble in the opening set as he faced Paul’s speed and athleticism for the first time. He needed an hour and 10 minutes in the second set alone as Paul chased down Wawrinka’s one-handed backhand, saving three set points to force a tie-break. 

With the second set turnaround under his belt, Wawrinka carried the momentum into the third set, where he reeled off the last five games in a row to break twice and seal the victory after two hours and 22 minutes.

Wawrinka booked himself a third-round battle against the in-form Andrey Rublev, who came into Paris on a hot streak after winning back-to-back titles at St. Petersburg Open and Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

“It’s going to be interesting match,” said Wawrinka. “Last time we play, he beat me in Cincinnati. He’s playing so well this year. He’s winning so many matches, so many tournaments. He’s full confidence. He’s one of the best players this year. 

“So it’s going to be interesting to see my level against him. It’s going to be tough match, that’s for sure.”

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Rafa's Journey To 1000 Wins

Rafa’s Journey To 1000 Wins

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Rublev Races Past Albot In Tour-Leading Paris Win

Andrey Rublev’s torrid run showed no signs of cooling off as the fifth-seeded Russian raced through his Paris Rolex Masters opener in straight sets to claim his 40th win of the year.

Rublev arrived in Paris after back-to-back wins in the last two tournaments he’s played at the St Petersburg Open and Erste Bank Open in Vienna, amassing an impressive 15 wins in a row at ATP 500 events dating back to his victory at the Hamburg European Open in September.

The fifth seed continued to impress in his second-round clash against lucky loser Radu Albot, needing under an hour to record a dominant 6-1, 6-2 victory. Rublev didn’t face a break point as he blasted 28 winners past Albot, winning 91% of points behind his first serve to book a spot in the third round.

It’s a tour-leading 40th victory of the season for the 23-year-old Russian, who booked his spot at the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time after claiming a tour-leading fifth title of the year in Vienna. Rublev now leads Novak Djokovic in both counts, with the World No.1 recording 39 wins and four titles in 2020.

Rublev awaits the winner between No. 12 seed Stan Wawrinka and Tommy Paul as he seeks a spot in the quarter-finals in Paris.

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Rafa's Key Wins Through Each 100 Wins Milestone

It was 18 seasons ago that Rafael Nadal sealed his first victory on the ATP Tour. Back then, at 15 years of age, he had just begun building a legacy that today makes him one of the only four players in the Open Era to become a ‘millennial’. The Spaniard, alongside Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer and Ivan Lendl, is now one of the few players to have produced 1,000 wins in his career.

This ATPTour.com analysis offers a breakdown of the legendary achievement: when, where and against whom the Balearic Islander produced every hundred triumphs, as well as how many matches it took him to do it.

Nadal every 100 wins

Players Winning 1,000th Match

1-100

From 29 April 2002 to 20 July 2005, Nadal needed 137 matches spread over three years and three months to pick up his first 100 victories on the ATP Tour. It was during this first venture on tour, when he was still a teenager, that he reached several milestones; his first victory in Mallorca 2002 (v. Ramón Delgado), his first win over a Top 10 player at the 2003 ATP Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo (vs. No. 7 Albert Costa), his first win at a Grand Slam at Wimbledon 2003 (vs. Mario Ancic), his first win over a No. 1 in the 2004 ATP Masters 1000 in Miami (vs. Roger Federer), and his first ATP Tour title in 2004 in Sopot, as well as his first trophies in an ATP Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo 2005 and in a Grand Slam, at the 2005 French Open.

5 memorable wins from 1-100
1 – Mallorca 2002 – vs Ramón Delgado – First ATP victory
29 – Miami 2004 – vs Roger Federer – First win vs a No. 1
40 – Sopot 2004 – vs José Acasuso – First ATP title (Sopot)
75 – Monte Carlo 2005 – vs Guillermo Coria – First ATP Masters 1000 title
93 – Roland Garros 2005 – vs Mariano Puerta – First Grand Slam title

Statistics from 1-100
Matches played: 137
Wins: 100
Losses: 37
Titles: 8

101-200

The first time he had to prove himself on tour. Once he had surprised the world with a spectacular 2005, he had to start to defend all of his incredible, precocious feats. And he did just that. Nadal won his first hard-court trophy at the ATP Masters 1000 in Canada, lifted what is still to this day the only title on indoor hard court in his cabinet at the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid and claimed the title twice at the same tournament for the first time at the ATP Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo. During this time, he increased his success rate in matches played to 84.7% (100/118).

5 memorable wins from 101-200
110 – Canada 2005 – vs Andre Agassi – First hard-court title
124 – Madrid 2005 – vs Ivan Ljubicic – Comeback from 0-2 sets
141 – Monte Carlo 2006 – vs Roger Federer – First title defence
159 – Roland Garros 2006 – vs Roger Federer – Second Roland Garros title
167 – Wimbledon 2006 – vs Marcos Baghdatis – First Wimbledon final

Statistics from 1-200
Matches played: 255
Wins: 200
Losses: 55
Titles: 18

201-300

Nadal consolidated himself as a strong candidate for taking the No. 1 spot in the FedEx ATP Rankings from Roger Federer. The Spaniard was closing in on Federer in the battle for the top, and winning in Monte Carlo and Barcelona and at Roland Garros was by now a tradition. He reached four titles at each of these venues. At Wimbledon it started to become common to see him in the latter stages of the tournament as his success grew on all surfaces, taking two five-set matches on the London grass against Robin Soderling and Mikhail Youzhny. In total he won 80.4% of the matches played until that point. Against Ivo Karlovic in the quarter-finals at Queen’s, he claimed his 300th win.

5 memorable wins from 201-300
219 – Hamburg 2007 – vs Lleyton Hewitt – Record 81 straight wins on clay
226 – Roland Garros 2007 – vs Roger Federer – Hat-trick in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Paris
232 – Wimbledon 2007 – vs Mikhail Youzhny – Two straight 5-set wins
285 – Barcelona 2008 – vs David Ferrer – One of the 4 finals in which he beat Ferrer
297 – Roland Garros 2008 – vs Roger Federer – First Grand Slam without losing a set

Statistics from 1-300
Matches played: 373
Wins: 300
Losses: 73
Titles: 27

301-400

During this period Nadal reached No. 1 in the world for the first time in his career. His assault on the peak came as he opened his account on grass, after winning at Queen’s and two weeks later starring in one of the best matches of all time in the 2008 Wimbledon final against Roger Federer to claim his first cup on the lawns of SW19. Shortly afterwards, at the Cincinnati ATP Masters 1000, he amassed enough points to topple the Swiss from the top spot having chased him for three years. At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, he put the icing on the cake with a gold medal. His 400th win came in December 2009 against Tomas Berdych in the Davis Cup Final.

5 memorable wins from 301-400
309 – Wimbledon 2008 – vs Roger Federer – Best win of his career?
317 – Cincinnati 2008 – vs Nicolás Lapentti – Becomes ATP World No. 1
323 – Beijing Olympics 2008 – vs Fernando González – Olympic gold medal
344 – Australian Open 2009 – vs Roger Federer – Champion in Australia
376 – Madrid 2009 – vs Novak Djokovic – Longest Masters 1000 match

Statistics from 1-400
Matches played: 491
Wins: 400
Losses: 91
Titles: 36

401-500

In the three previous stages Nadal needed 118 matches to reach a century of wins, but during this period from December 2009 to April 2011, he reduced this number to 114. In other words, Nadal increased his win percentage to 87.7%, figures that would lead him to string together Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open titles in the same year (2010), making him the seventh man in history to win each of the four Grand Slam titles. His 500th win came in the semi-finals in Barcelona 2011 against Ivan Dodig.

5 memorable wins from 401-500
432 – Madrid 2010 – vs Roger Federer – Tournament champion on clay and hard court
439 – Roland Garros 2010 – vs Robin Soderling – Fifth Roland Garros title
448 – Wimbledon 2010 – vs Tomas Berdych – Second Wimbledon title
460 – US Open 2010 – vs Novak Djokovic – Completes career Grand Slam
472 – Nitto ATP Finals 2010 – vs Andy Murray – First final in this tournament

Statistics from 1-500
Matches played: 605
Wins: 500
Losses: 105
Titles: 44

501-600

At Roland Garros he would break Bjorn Borg’s record of six titles with another Musketeers Trophy in 2012, beating Novak Djokovic on three consecutive occasions (Monte Carlo, Rome and Paris), after seven straight defeats against the Serb. From then on he endured one of his most difficult periods, due to an injury that forced him out of the game for the second half of 2012, but this was not enough to prevent him from producing yet more outstanding stats. On his return in February 2013 he strung together four finals on the trot, with a 17-1 record and put the cherry on the cake with the trophy at the Indian Wells ATP Masters 1000. He sealed his 600th professional win against Juan Martín del Potro in the final.

5 memorable wins from 501-600
515 – Roland Garros 2011 – vs Roger Federer – Equals Borg with six Roland Garros titles
563 – Monte Carlo 2012 – vs Novak Djokovic – Break a seven-loss streak against Novak
581 – Roland Garros 2012 – vs Novak Djokovic – Seventh Roland Garros title
590 – Sao Paulo 2013 – vs David Nalbandian – Title after a long, complicated injury
600 – Indian Wells 2013 – vs Juan Martín del Potro – 17-1 record in 2013

Statistics from 1-600
Matches played: 723
Wins: 600
Losses: 123
Titles: 53

601-700

Nadal’s most dominant spell. To earn 100 more victories, he would only need 113 matches, increasing his success rate to 88.4% from April 2013 to June 2014. He claimed three more Grand Slams, extending his dominance of Roland Garros with nine Musketeers Trophies. In the 2013 semi-final, he would come out on top of an epic battle against Djokovic that would end 9-7 in the fifth set after four hours and 37 minutes. However, one of his most memorable performances would have to wait until the US swing, where he did not lose a single match in Canada, Cincinnati or at the US Open (17-0). His 700th victory came in the first round of Wimbledon 2014 against Martin Klizan.

5 memorable wins from 601-700
625 – Roland Garros 2013 – vs Novak Djokovic – Epic win, 9-7 in the fifth
636 – Cincinnati 2013 – vs John Isner – Canada + Cincinnati double
643 – US Open 2013 – vs Novak Djokovic – Completes US swing with 17-0
648 – Beijing 2013 – vs Tomas Berdych – Back to No. 1
699 – Roland Garros 2014 – vs Novak Djokovic – Nine Roland Garros titles

Statistics from 1-700
Matches played: 836
Wins: 700
Losses: 136
Titles: 64

701-800

June 2014 until August 2016 proved to be the least prolific spell of his career. In a little under two years he ‘only’ claimed five ATP Tour titles, enduring a two-season drought in the Grand Slams (2015-16). It was also the period in which he needed the most matches (132) to reach 100 wins, since his early years on tour when he had to play five more times to make a century (137). During this period, Nadal was plagued by fitness problems and only through his ability to fight against adversity was he able to hang on to a place in the Top 10. His 800th win came at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in the quarter-finals against Thomaz Bellucci, earning himself a chance of claiming a medal, something he failed to do.

5 memorable wins from 701-800
717 – Buenos Aires 2015 – vs Juan Mónaco – First title in nine months
739 – Stuttgart 2015 – vs Viktor Troicki – First title on grass since 2010
745 – Hamburg 2015 – vs Fabio Fognini – Holds on to the Top 10
789 – Barcelona 2016 – vs Kei Nishikori – Two consecutive titles for the first time in three years
800 – Rio Olympics 2016 – vs Thomaz Bellucci – Plays for an Olympic medal again

Statistics from 1-800
Matches played: 968
Wins: 800
Losses: 168
Titles: 69

801-900

Nadal completed a spectacular recovery that enabled him to reclaim the World No. 1 spot several more times. At the 2017 Australian Open he confirmed that he was back to his best, reaching his first Grand Slam final since 2014. From then he restamped his authority on clay with a 24-1 record in 2017, allowing him to claim his 10th crowns at the ATP Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and at Roland Garros. He also, once again, made it two Grand Slams in a season by winning the US Open, something that hadn’t happened since 2013. He picked up victory No. 900 against Richard Gasquet in the third round of 2018 Roland Garros. His career win percentage was at 82.7%.

5 memorable wins from 801-900
814 – Australian Open 2017 – vs Grigor Dimitrov – First Slam final since 2014
835 – Barcelona 2017 – vs Dominic Thiem – 10 in Monte Carlo and Barcelona
849 – French Open 2017 – vs Stan Wawrinka – 10 titles and a 24-1 record on clay
862 – US Open 2017 – vs Kevin Anderson – Third title in NYC; Two Grand Slam titles in 2017
897 – Rome 2018 – vs Alexander Zverev – Comes back and recovers No. 1

Statistics from 1-900
Matches played: 1,088
Wins: 900
Losses: 188
Titles: 78

901-1,000

In the latest step of his career Nadal again needed 113 matches (as he did in 2013-14) to reach a century of wins, but if one thing set this period apart from the rest, above all it is quality. Nadal only played in higher-category tournaments and the wins almost all came in ATP Masters 1000 and Grand Slams. So much so that between May 2018 and November 2020 he picked up eight titles: Four Grand Slams, three ATP Masters 1000 and an ATP 500. In the last edition of Roland Garros, he stretched his record for the most titles won at one event to 13, as well as equalling Roger Federer on the most Grand Slams won (20) to date.

5 memorable wins from 901-1,000
909 – Wimbledon 2018 – vs Juan Martín del Potro – Epic win in 5th set
944 – Rome 2019 – vs Novak Djokovic – Breaks his streak of 9 months without a trophy
951 – Roland Garros 2019 – vs Dominic Thiem – 12th title in Paris vs. Thiem
966 – US Open 2019 – vs Daniil Medvedev – Consecutive titles in Canada + NYC, 10-0 in North America
1000 – Paris 2020 – vs Feliciano Lopez – Fourth player to reach 1000 match wins

Statistics from 1-1,000
Matches played: 1,201
Wins: 1,000
Losses: 201
Titles: 86

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Rafael Nadal wins 1,000th ATP Tour match with Paris Masters victory

Rafael Nadal becomes the fourth player to record 1,000 ATP Tour wins with victory over fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez at the Paris Masters.

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