Tennis News

London Push: Kubot/Melo Win Third Vienna Team Title

Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo earned a critical win in the FedEx ATP Battle For London on Sunday, defeating Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski 7-6(5), 7-5 to win the Erste Bank Open title.

“It was a very tight match. We knew it would be. They are such a great team,” Melo said. “I think we managed to play as we have been playing since the beginning of the tournament and it was very good. I think the match was decided point-by-point, a couple no-Ads here and there. But I think experiencing all this good energy from Vienna made us get another title.”

Kubot and Melo began the week in 11th place in the Battle, but their triumph put them into eighth as they try to earn one of the four remaining qualifying places at the season finale, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November.

The third seeds were broken in their first service game of the match and they failed to serve for the championship at 5-3 in the second set, but they ultimately prevailed after one hour and 55 minutes. In addition to the important 500 points they earned, Kubot and Melo depart Austria with €40,500 to split.

“[This is a] very special place for us. It was another very good week here,” Kubot said. “We are very happy to end it that way and we are looking forward to going to the Masters [1000] in Paris. We are happy with the result we have done and we’ll keep going.”

Murray and Skupski, who began the week in ninth place in the Battle, were trying to win their first ATP Tour title together. Skupski won the 2018 Vienna title alongside Joe Salisbury. The Brits earned 300 points, helping them move into seventh place in the Battle. They will share €32,190 in prize money.

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Millman Earns Maiden Title In Nur-Sultan

Throughout his career, John Millman has experienced many great moments on a tennis court. But the Australian made a major career breakthrough at the Astana Open in Nur-Sultan on Sunday.

The 31-year-old overcame Adrian Mannarino 7-5, 6-1 to capture his maiden ATP Tour title in his third tour-level championship match. Millman played his best tennis in critical moments, as he saved all six break points he faced and broke serve on three occasions.

“It is incredible. I am so happy and relieved,” said Millman. “I just feel very satisfied. It is just a pure moment of satisfaction… That was my third final, third time lucky I guess. These things aren’t easy to win and to do so at a place where I felt so comfortable all week, in terms of the hospitality, makes it really special. To win the inaugural Astana Open is special. I am so happy. It has been a big team effort and I am pumped.”

Millman extended his unbeaten ATP Head2Head record against Mannarino to 3-0 after one hour and 48 minutes to become the fifth first-time champion on the ATP Tour in 2020. The fourth seed joins Ugo Humbert, Casper Ruud, Thiago Seyboth Wild and Miomir Kecmanovic on the list.

Millman also became the fifth player in 2020 to win an ATP Tour crown after saving match point(s) en route to the trophy. In his quarter-final against Tommy Paul, the World No. 45 saved two match points at 3-5 in the third set and rallied from 0/5 down in a final-set tie-break to beat the American 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(5).

2020 Champions To Save Match Point

Mannarino was appearing in his 10th ATP Tour championship match (1-9). The Frenchman advanced to the final in Nur-Sultan with straight-sets wins against Yuichi Sugita, Mackenzie McDonald and Emil Ruusuvuori.

“If I knew before coming here that I would play the final, I would be happy with that result,” said Mannarino. “I am pretty disappointed with how I managed the final, especially with my emotions, but overall this is still a good week. Congratulations to John who really played tough today, he was fighting so well and he deserved the title.”

Millman was put under pressure late in the first set, but he attacked Mannarino’s backhand and served well to save five break points. The Australian used his forehand to earn his first break point at 6-5 and ripped a backhand winner down the line to take his opportunity.

From 1-1 in the second set, Millman claimed five straight games to charge to the title. The Brisbane native continued to play aggressively with his backhand and attacked his opponent’s backhand to extract a series of errors.

“I thought Adrian was playing great in that first set… Whenever you play Adrian Mannarino, it is always going to be a physical match,” said Millman. “He makes you work for every point and he is so stingy with his errors. You have to be so low and moving really well because his ball is not really getting up. He is a really good indoor hard court player.

”I had to fight off those early break points and I really managed to win that first set against the momentum of the match. After that, I saw the finish line was in sight. That was really pivotal, to fight off those break points and take that one opportunity at the end of the first set. With that, I managed to carry the momentum throughout the match.”

Millman earned 250 FedEx ATP Rankings points and $13,410. Mannarino collected 150 points and $11,210.

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Gille/Vliegen Lift First Trophy Of 2020 In Nur-Sultan

Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen captured their first title of the season at the Astana Open on Sunday with a 7-5, 6-3 victory against Max Purcell and Luke Saville.

The top seeds landed 11 aces and saved both break points they faced to claim the trophy after 78 minutes. Gille and Vliegen, who were appearing in their first final in 13 months, improved to 15-14 this season.

“It has been a short year with some ups and downs, but I think we can be very happy about our level,” said Vliegen. “We switched sides just before the restart, so we knew it was going to take some time and [the change] would not be giving us titles right away.

“We are very happy with the level we showed this week here in Kazakhstan, playing with a lot of confidence. I think we did a lot of things right, so we are very happy.”

The Belgians did not drop a set en route to the trophy. Prior to their final triumph, Gille and Vliegen also earned straight-sets wins against Mackenzie McDonald and Tommy Paul in the first round and Marcelo Arevalo and Tomislav Brkic in the semi-finals.

Gille and Vliegen improved to 4-1 in tour-level championship matches. The pair reached its first four ATP Tour finals last year and won titles in Båstad, Gstaad and Zhuhai.

“I am very proud [of our finals record]. It was something that I was thinking about before the match,” said Gille. “I think last year we just did really well and then to have three titles in the bag already made me a lot less stressed today… I had a really nice feeling before the match and then you start it feeling good, feeling loose. To end the match winning again, getting the fourth [trophy], is just a great feeling.”

Purcell and Saville were attempting to lift their first ATP Tour trophy as a team. The Australians reached their first tour-level final as a pair at the Australian Open in February (l. to Ram/Salisbury). Purcell and Saville are bidding to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals — to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November — for the first time.

Gille and Vliegen earn 250 FedEx ATP Doubles Ranking points and share $6,080 in prize money. Purcell and Saville earn 150 points and split $5,040.

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Kubot/Melo Continue Surge For London

Entering the week Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, who have qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals as a team in three consecutive years, appeared in danger of missing a spot at the season finale, to be held in London from 15-22 November. But the Polish-Brazilian pair, which was in 11th place in the FedEx ATP Battle For London, is surging at the perfect time.

Kubot and Melo beat two-time Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 on Saturday to reach the final of the Erste Bank Open. If the 2015 and 2016 Vienna champions add a third team title at the Austrian ATP 500, they will jump into one of the last four qualifying spot heading into the Rolex Paris Masters.

Kubot and Melo will face Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski for the title. The only previous ATP Head2Head meetings between the teams came at last year’s Winston-Salem Open, where Kubot and Melo triumphed 6-2, 6-3. The 500 FedEx ATP Doubles Ranking points that go to the winner could prove critical, as both teams are battling for a spot at The O2. By reaching the final, Murray and Skupski are into seventh place as they pursue their first Nitto ATP Finals qualifications as a tandem.

Kubot and Melo trailed Krawietz and Mies 5/7 in the Match Tie-break, but they won five of the final six points to advance after one hour and 27 minutes. The third seeds saved nine of the 10 break points they faced.

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Vienna Open: Dan Evans loses to Lorenzo Sonego in semi-finals

Britain’s Dan Evans loses to Italian lucky loser Lorenzo Sonego in the semi-finals of the Vienna Open.

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Sonego Backs Up Djokovic Win, Earns Shot At Vienna Title

Lorenzo Sonego earned what he called, “the best victory of my life” on Friday against Novak Djokovic. His confidence showed on Saturday, when the World No. 42 played impressive tennis to reach the Erste Bank Open final.

The Italian, competing in his first ATP 500 semi-final in Vienna, defeated British No. 1 Daniel Evans 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 21 minutes to set a final clash against red-hot Russian Andrey Rublev.

“I’m really happy,” Sonego said in his on-court interview. “After yesterday it was not easy playing against Evans because he has a good talent. He has a good backhand and it was not easy. But today I won and I am so happy.”

The 25-year-old lost in the final round of qualifying against Aljaz Bedene six days ago, but he entered the draw as a lucky loser when Diego Schwartzman withdrew. Sonego is the first lucky loser to reach the Vienna final since home favourite Andreas Haider-Maurer in 2010.

“It’s amazing. I started this tournament [by losing] in the qualies. It’s not easy after losing my [qualifying] match to win four matches and now I got to the final,” Sonego said. “I don’t have any expectations. I go with confidence and I [will] try to do my best tomorrow.”

Sonego had never previously played Evans, but he managed to outsmart one of the best tacticians on the ATP Tour. The Briton has eight Top 20 victories this season, many of which he has earned by getting players out of their comfort zone with his intelligent use of angles and spins. 

But Sonego set the tone with big hitting early to prevent Evans from finding his own rhythm, and the Italian consistently used his forehand drop shot throughout the match to keep his 30-year-old opponent off balance. Entering this event, Sonego had lost 10 consecutive tour-level matches on hard courts.

“This week I’ve improved my tennis for sure. I improved my return, my serve,” Sonego said. “I worked so hard and now I have the confidence to win this match and the experience. I needed to [get] some experience.”

Evans attempted to shake things up as the match wore on, even throwing in serve-and-volley attempts and charging the net early in points. But Sonego had an answer for everything Evans threw at him, winning 78 per cent of his service points and breaking serve three times to triumph.

Sonego will meet Rublev for the first time in their ATP Head2Head series on Sunday. Rublev is pursuing his fifth ATP Tour title of the season, while Sonego is trying to lift the second tour-level trophy of his career.

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Red-Hot Rublev's Roll Continues Into Vienna Final

The Andrey Rublev train is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

The red-hot Russian was leading Kevin Anderson 6-4, 4-1 on Saturday when the two-time Grand Slam finalist retired due to a right leg injury. Rublev advanced to the Erste Bank Open final and he has now won 18 of his past 19 matches. The World No. 8 will play for an ATP Tour-leading fifth title of the season in Vienna.

“I don’t know why it’s going so well. I have such an amazing team, such amazing friends around me that always support me and probably that’s why I’m playing so good,” Rublev said in his on-court interview. “I came here thinking that I have nothing to lose. I already did a really great season, so I came here to enjoy, to do my best, to fight for every point, every match, and now here I am in the final. I want to keep thinking in the same way and we’ll see what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

The fifth seed, who eliminated defending champion Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals, has not dropped a set this week, nor has he lost any of his 28 service games. Rublev has won two ATP 500 titles since the ATP Tour restarted in August and he will play Daniel Evans or Lorenzo Sonego for a third.

“I was not even thinking about it,” Rublev said. “I’m serving really well this week, so we’ll see. You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

Anderson struggled with his second serve early, hitting double faults on his first three second-serve points. The South African, who upset Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals, competed well from the baseline to hang with Rublev. But on the Russian’s third set point in the first set, Anderson hit his fifth double fault to give the Russian the set.

After one game in the second set, Anderson took an injury timeout to have his upper right leg examined. Immediately following that he got broken, missing a forehand approach shot into the net. At 4-1, Anderson decided he could not continue. This was his first ATP Tour semi-final since winning January 2019 when he triumphed in Pune.

Two spots remain in the singles field at the Nitto ATP Finals, and Rublev is next in line to qualify. The Russian is pushing for his first berth into the season finale, which will take place from 15-22 November at The O2 in London.

Did You Know?
Rublev has not lost a final this season (4-0). He began the season with two ATP Tour titles.

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Another Day, Another Comeback For Millman

After saving two match points against Tommy Paul on Friday, John Millman produced another comeback victory to reach his third ATP Tour final at the Astana Open in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

The fourth seed hit 16 winners and found success in extended rallies to defeat Frances Tiafoe 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and reach an ATP Tour championship match for the third straight year. Millman is attempting to capture his first tour-level trophy after runner up finishes in Budapest in 2018 and Tokyo last year.

“I definitely didn’t want to play three sets. I was pretty tired after yesterday’s match. It was tough out there today with really physical tennis,” said Millman in an on-court interview. “Frances is a top player. He is obviously so dangerous.”

Millman, who owns a 15-11 record in 2020, gained revenge for his loss to Tiafoe at last month’s US Open. The Australian won 79 per cent of second-serve return points (11/14) in the decider, where he rallied from a 0-3 deficit to record his third win in four ATP Head2Head clashes against Tiafoe.

”It is so hard to make finals in ATP events,” said Millman. “It has been a really unexpected surprise, but in every tournament you go out there to hopefully try and win it. I am glad I am in a position to [do that].”

Tiafoe was attempting to reach his first ATP Tour championship since the 2018 Millennium Estoril Open. The American earned wins against Corentin Moutet, second seed Miomir Kecmanovic and Egor Gerasimov and leaves Nur-Sultan with a 12-11 record this season.

Millman will face Adrian Mannarino for the trophy. The Frenchman saved four of five break points to beat Emil Ruusuvuori 7-5, 6-2 and reach his 10th ATP Tour championship match.

Mannarino is yet to drop a set this week in Nur-Sultan. The third seed dropped just seven games en route to the semi-finals with wins against Yuichi Sugita and Mackenzie McDonald.

Millman owns a 2-0 ATP Head2Head advantage against Mannarino. The Brisbane native recovered from a set down to beat Mannarino in Tokyo last year and at this year’s Western & Southern Open.

”Adrian Mannarino is an established Top 100 player… He is very comfortable on these courts,” said Millman. “He is a lefty [who is] so tough to break down… I am really glad that I can be in a position to play for the title.”

After reaching 3-3 in the first set, Tiafoe claimed three straight games to earn a one-set lead. The American broke serve in back-to-back return games, as he played with aggression on his forehand and capitalised on Millman forehand errors.

Millman broke late in the second set to force a decider. The 31-year-old battled from the back of the court in extended rallies and drove backhand winners up the line to win consecutive games from 4-4.

From 0-3 down in the third set, the World No. 45 dictated rallies with his forehand and dragged Tiafoe out of position to serve for the match at 5-4. Millman converted his first match point when Tiafoe fired a crosscourt backhand into the tramline.

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Nadal Learns Path To Paris Trophy

Just more than three weeks after capturing his 13th Roland Garros crown, Rafael Nadal returns to Paris as one of seven Top 10 players seeking their first title at the Rolex Paris Masters.

Nadal will attempt to tie Novak Djokovic’s record haul of 36 ATP Masters 1000 titles with a championship run in the French capital. The Spaniard, who owns a 19-5 record at the final Masters 1000 event of the year, will open his campaign against Filip Krajinovic or Feliciano Lopez in the second round.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion will attempt to claim his 1000th tour-level victory in his opening match of the tournament (999-201). If he reaches that milestone, he could face 15th seed Borna Coric in the third round for the fifth time in their ATP Head2Head series (tied at 2-2).

One court, two champions?@RafaelNadal @stanwawrinka #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/Cb0G6VF98G

— ROLEX PARIS MASTERS (@RolexPMasters) October 30, 2020

Nadal shares the top quarter of the draw with countryman Pablo Carreno Busta and eighth seed David Goffin. Carreno Busta, the recent US Open semi-finalist, will meet French wild card Hugo Gaston in the first round. Earlier this month, Gaston forced two-time Roland Garros runner-up Dominic Thiem to five sets on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Fourth seed Alexander Zverev headlines the second quarter of the draw. The German, who won back-to-back titles in Cologne this month, will meet Miomir Kecmanovic or Nur-Sultan finalist John Millman in the second round.

Zverev is joined in a packed section of the draw by fifth seed Andrey Rublev. The in-form Russian is attempting to secure one of the two remaining qualification positions at the Nitto ATP Finals, which will be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November.

In the bottom half of the draw, second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will begin his title bid against Antwerp champion Ugo Humbert or Casper Ruud. Making his third straight appearance at the Masters 1000 event, last year’s quarter-finalist is joined in the fourth quarter by seventh seed Matteo Berrettini and 2014 runner-up Milos Raonic.

Third seed Daniil Medvedev will look to build on his quarter-final run in Vienna next week. The Russian could meet the man who beat him in Vienna in his first match: Kevin Anderson. Anderson will begin the tournament against a qualifier or a lucky loser in the first round.

Sixth seed Diego Schwartzman also appears in the third quarter of the draw. The Roland Garros semi-finalist will face home favourite Richard Gasquet or Taylor Fritz in the second round. If Schwartzman makes it through that match, he could face 2018 champion Karen Khachanov in the third round.

Other notable first-round matches include Stan Wawrinka and Daniel Evans’ second meeting in four weeks. At the St. Petersburg Open, Wawrinka saved three match points to extend his unbeaten ATP Head2Head record against the Brit to 4-0. Evans is in good form, set to compete in the Vienna semi-finals on Saturday.

Felix Auger-Aliassime and Marin Cilic will also meet in the first round. Auger-Aliassime will be making his tournament debut, while Cilic will be appearing at the Accor Arena for the 12th time. The former World No. 3 achieved his best result in 2016, when he reached the semi-finals.

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Purcell/Saville Claim Spot In Nur-Sultan Final

Nitto ATP Finals contenders Max Purcell and Luke Saville rallied from a set down to reach their second final of the year at the Astana Open in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

The Aussies overcame Ben McLachlan and Franko Skugor 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 to advance in 75 minutes. Purcell and Saville dropped just three points behind their first serves in the second set (16/19) and returned with skill in the Match Tie-break to improve to 13-9 at tour-level this season.

The Australian Open finalists are bidding to clinch one of the remaining four qualification spots for the Nitto ATP Finals, which will be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November. Purcell and Saville started the week in ninth position in the FedEx ATP Battle For London.

The second seeds will face Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen for the trophy. The top seeds reached their first championship match of 2020 with a 7-6(4), 7-6(3) victory against Marcelo Arevalo and Tomislav Brkic.

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