Tennis News

Humbert Saves 4 M.P. In Antwerp Comeback For Final Spot

France’s Ugo Humbert lived dangerously on Saturday when he saved four match points to beat Daniel Evans for a place in the European Open final.

Humbert, who saw a 3-0 lead evaporate in the second set, was forced to recover from 3/6 and 6/7 down in the tie-break by producing superb firepower en route to a 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-4 victory over Evans in three hours and 14 minutes.

“The start of the match wasn’t easy as he didn’t give me much pace and suddenly he accelerated,” said Humbert. “I need to find a solution and came to the net more. I was four match points down, but I was mentally strong and I took my opportunities. I remained aggressive and when I won the second set, I knew I’d regained the momentum. I’m very pleased to have reached the second ATP Tour final of my career.”

Humbert, who captured his first ATP Tour title at the ASB Classic (d. Paire) in January, will now prepare to face eighth-seeded Australian Alex de Minaur, who beat fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in three sets later in the day. Humbert has never met De Minaur.

After three straight service breaks, Evans wrestled away control in the first set, which ended after 63 minutes when Humbert hit a backhand into the net. Once Evans bounced back from 0-3 down in the second set, the 30-year-old played with great poise and looked on course for his 18th victory of the season.

But Humbert stepped up his forehand aggression to save four match points in the tie-break, and at 7/7 ripped a forehand winner down the line that took the wind out of Evans’ sails. Humbert broke in the first game of the decider and held on, in spite of mounting pressure — particularly at 5-4, for his 20th match win of 2020. Humbert converted his third match point with an aggressive forehand that Evans could not return cleanly.

The 22-year-old Humbert is the fourth Frenchman to reach the Antwerp final after 2016 champion Richard Gasquet, 2017 titlist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and 2018 runner-up Gael Monfils.

Evans, who is now 16-12 on the season, had been attempting to advance to his third ATP Tour final (0-2) and his first since the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com (l. to Albot). The 30-year-old Briton saved one match point against Karen Khachanov on Friday in the Antwerp quarter-finals.

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Peers/Venus Reach Third Final Of 2020

John Peers and Michael Venus made it through to their third ATP Tour final of 2020 on Saturday, as they defeated Pablo Andujar and Sander Arends 6-3, 6-4.

The pair saved six of seven break points throughout the 64-minute encounter to continue their fine run of recent form. Since arriving at last month’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Peers and Venus have reached the semi-finals or better in four of their five tournament appearances.

Peers and Venus are yet to drop a set in Antwerp. Prior to their win against Andujar and Arends, the Dubai and Hamburg titlists earned straight-sets wins against Luke Bambridge and Jackson Withrow in the first round and Simone Bolelli and Maximo Gonzalez in the quarter-finals.

Peers and Venus will attempt to extend their unbeaten record in ATP Tour championship matches to 3-0 on Sunday. The second seeds will meet home favourites Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen or Rohan Bopanna and Matwe Middelkoop for the title.

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Thiem, Djokovic Handed Tricky Draws In Loaded Vienna Field

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who is making his first appearance in the Erste Bank Open field for 13 years, and defending champion Dominic Thiem lead the ATP 500 tournament this week, which includes 18 players in the Top 30 of the FedEx ATP Rankings.

Djokovic, who beat Stan Wawrinka for the 2007 crown, will have his work cut out if he is to capture his fifth tour-level trophy this year. The Serbian star is in the same half of the Vienna draw as Stefanos Tsitsipas, who the Serbian beat in the Roland Garros semi-finals, and Nitto ATP Finals contenders Diego Schwartzman and Denis Shapovalov.

Djokovic opens his campaign against compatriot Filip Krajinovic, a semi-finalist at the Open 13 Provence and the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament (l. to Monfils both times). Schwartzman, who lost to Djokovic in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final and reached the Roland Garros semi-finals (l. to Nadal) is a potential quarter-final opponent in Vienna.

The 33-year-old Djokovic has a 37-2 match record on the season and will be playing his first match since losing to Nadal in the Roland Garros final on 11 October.

View Vienna Singles Draw

Thiem, who beat Schwartzman in last year’s final to become the first Austrian champion since Jurgen Melzer in 2010, has been given a tricky opener against Kei Nishikori, who leads their ATP Head2Head series 3-2. The Japanese star has a 2-4 record since the resumption of the ATP Tour in August, which saw his return to competitive tennis after a 12-month absence because of a right elbow injury.

Second seed Thiem, winner of his first Grand Slam championship title at last month’s US Open (d. Zverev), could meet Stan Wawrinka in the second round. World No. 3 Thiem could then face fifth seed Andrey Rublev or wild card Jannik Sinner, who is through to his second ATP Tour semi-final at the bett1HULKS Championship in Cologne.

Rublev, who has a 34-7 match record in 2020, begins against a qualifier and could potentially face Casper Ruud or Sinner in the second round. Djokovic and Rublev will each be going for an ATP Tour-best fifth title of the season. The 22-year-old Rublev, who is up to a career-high No. 8 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, has won a pair of ATP 500 titles — Hamburg European Open (d. Tsitsipas) and St. Petersburg Open (d. Coric) — in the past month.

Third seed Tsitsipas, playing at his first tournament since Roland Garros, will need to battle past Jan-Lennard Struff to earn a second-round meeting against Karen Khachanov or Grigor Dimitrov.

Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev will make his Erste Bank Open debut against Alex de Minaur and could meet Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round. Seventh seed Gael Monfils, who opens against in-form Pablo Carreno Busta, and 2018 champion Kevin Anderson also feature in Medvedev’s quarter of the draw.

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Bublik Looks To Make It Third Time Lucky In Nur-Sultan; All You Need To Know

Alexander Bublik leads home hopes at the Astana Open, as Kazakhstan welcomes the ATP Tour to its capital city of Nur-Sultan. The 23-year-old Bublik will be looking to claim his first tour-level title after reaching two ATP 250 finals in 2019 (Newport, Chengdu). He earned his biggest career win this past month at Roland Garros when he upset World No. 9 Gael Monfils in the first round.  

Bublik will be joined in the draw by 32-year-old countryman Mikhail Kukushkin, who claimed his lone ATP Tour title in 2010 at St. Petersburg. Kukushkin has reached three more finals, most recently in 2019 in Marseille (l. to Tsitsipas). 

A pair of Frenchmen, Benoit Paire and Adrian Mannarino, will be the top players in action in Nur-Sultan. Paire is a winner of three ATP Tour titles, all on clay, while Mannarino won the grass-court title in ‘s-Hertogenbosch last year. 

The Nur-Sultan field is also set to feature Kitzbuhel champion Miomir Kecmanovic; former World No. 7 Fernando Verdasco; Australians John Millman and Jordan Thompson; as well as Americans Tennys Sandgren, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul. 

Here’s all you need to know about the Nur-Sultan tennis tournament: what is the schedule, where to watch and more. 

Established: 2020

Tournament Dates: 26 October – 1 November 2020

Tournament Director: Attila Sebastien Richter 

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Schedule
* Qualifying: Sunday – Monday
* Main Draw: Monday – Thursday at 12:00pm, Friday at 1:00pm, Saturday – Sunday at 2:00pm 

How To Watch
Watch Live On Tennis TV 
TV Schedule

Venue: National Tennis Center
Surface: Indoor Hard

Prize Money: $273,345 (Total Financial Commitment: $337,000)   

View Who Is Playing, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Social
Hashtag: #ATP250Kazakhstan #ATP250AstanaOpen
Facebook: @kaztennis
Instagram: @ktf.kz
Twitter: @AstanaOpen

Welcome to Kazakhstan dear guests ???#ATP250Kazakhstan #ATP250AstanaOpen #Tenniskz@FerVerdasco @AndreyGolubev1 @atptour @TennisTV @ATPMediaInfo pic.twitter.com/j23aGJ9cos

— Astana Open (@AstanaOpen) October 23, 2020

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Djokovic, Thiem Lead Six Top 10 Players In Vienna; All You Need To Know

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and defending champion Dominic Thiem lead a strong Erste Bank Open field that features six Top 10 players, including Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Diego Schwartzman. 

Djokovic will be making his first Vienna appearance since his 2007 triumph (d. Wawrinka), while Thiem will be playing at this indoor ATP 500 tournament for a 10th time. Last year, Thiem defeated Schwartzman in the final to become the first Austrian champion since Jurgen Melzer in 2010.

Djokovic and Rublev will each be going for an ATP Tour-best fifth title of the season. The 22-year-old Rublev, who is up to a career-high No. 8 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, has won a pair of ATP 500 titles — Hamburg European Open (d. Tsitsipas) and St. Petersburg Open (d. Coric) — in the past month. 

Gael Monfils, Denis Shapovalov, Karen Khachanov, Stan Wawrinka, Grigor Dimitrov, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Kei Nishikori and 2018 champion Kevin Anderson are also among the player vying for the Vienna title. 

Here’s all you need to know about the Vienna tennis tournament: what is the schedule, where to watch, who has won and more.  

Established: 1974

Tournament Dates: 26 October – 1 November 2020

Tournament Director: Herwig Straka

Draw Ceremony: Saturday, 24 October, 12:00pm 

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Schedule (View On Official Website)
* Qualifying: Saturday from 11:00am, Sunday from 1:00pm
* Main draw: Monday – Saturday at 1:00pm (Wednesday at 12:00pm)
* Doubles final: Sunday, 1 November at 11:45am
* Singles final: Sunday, 1 November at 2:00pm

How To Watch
Watch Live On Tennis TV 
TV Schedule

Venue: Wiener Stadthalle
Surface: Indoor Hard

Prize Money: €1,409,510 (Total Financial Commitment: €1,550,950)   

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Honour Roll (Open Era)
Most Titles, Singles: Brian Gottfried (4)
Most Titles, Doubles: Bob Hewitt, Anders Jarryd, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Lukasz Kubot, Frew McMillan (3)
Last Home Champion: Dominic Thiem in 2019
Oldest Champion: Tommy Haas, 35, in 2013
Youngest Champion: Horst Skoff, 20, in 1988
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1 Pete Sampras in 1998
Lowest-Ranked Champion (since 1978): No. 175 Anders Jarryd in 1990
Most Match Wins: Brian Gottfried (31)

2019 Finals
Singles: [1] Dominic Thiem (AUT) d [5] Diego Schwartzman (ARG) 36 64 63   Read & Watch
Doubles: [4] Rajeev Ram (USA) / Joe Salisbury (GBR) d [1] Lukasz Kubot (POL) / Marcelo Melo (BRA) 64 67(5) 10-53  Read More

Social
Hashtag: #ErsteBankOpen
Facebook: @erstebankopen
Instagram: @erstebankopen
Twitter: @erstebankopen

Did You Know… With Thiem’s triumph in 2019, three different Austrians have now won the Vienna title. Horst Skoff became the first Austrian to triumph here, with victory over Thomas Muster in the 1988 final. Jurgen Melzer joined Skoff on the honour roll with back-to-back singles titles in 2009-10. Former World No. 1 Muster never won the Vienna title, though he reached the final three times. 

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Changeover Tunes: Rock 'N' Rolling In Cologne

The organisers of the bett1HULKS Indoors and the bett1HULKS Championship in Cologne were brainstorming how they could make their tournament experiences special in the lead-up to the events. They saw Jimmy Fallon’s in-house band ‘The Roots’ and thought there was room for something similar at their ATP 250s.

That led to one of the most unique entertainment experiences on the ATP Tour.

A band called ‘The Swag’ has performed live music during changeovers, jamming out to keep fans watching from around the world — and even the players — entertained during the 90 seconds splitting intense competition.

“We think this kind of perspective creates a new atmosphere for all — spectators and players. We bring two events together to one big picture of sports and entertainment,” said Ernesto Galarza Bello, an event and marketing consultant for e|motion group, which operates the tournaments. “The players love it. We got good vibes only as [their] reactions.”

What do you think about our ‘The Swag’ band on court?? We just love them!! ??#bett1hulks @atptour | @TennisTV | @bett1de pic.twitter.com/sFYxeIK3cH

— bett1_HULKS (@bett1hulks) October 16, 2020

Noise or entertainment during changeovers is common, but having a live band has impressed the players. Alexander Zverev won last week’s bett1HULKS Indoors and is into the semi-finals of the bett1HULKS Championships, so he has spent plenty of time listening to and enjoying the music.

“I think the band is quite good. I’m actually looking into some musical connections I have to help them out a little bit, because I’ve actually enjoyed them,” Zverev said. “I think they’re very good. I think the singers are very good. They have a mix of everything.”

‘The Swag’ is a seven-member band from Berlin comprised of musicians who play alongside other artists when they are not performing together. The MC is Rapturous Apollo Helio, King Solomon is the male vocalist, Sera Kalo is the female singer, Philipp Roidinger is on the keyboard, Stefan Fuhr plays the bass, Jan ‘Stix‘ Pfennig mans the drums and Sugarbear plays the guitar.

“They have a very good female voice, they have a very soft male voice and they have a great guy that can rap, what band can’t have that?” Zverev said. “I enjoyed it a lot so I’m actually trying to help them out a little bit.”

Momentum is crucial in tennis and sometimes halting another player’s momentum can make the difference between winning and losing a match. Felix Auger-Aliassime, last week’s finalist in Cologne, said having the band has helped his mindset during tough moments.

“I’m not a big listener to music before matches, it kind of sticks in my head,” Auger-Aliassime said. “But I like what you guys are doing on the side. It keeps me happy when things aren’t going so well during a match.”

In addition, the ATP 250s started the bett1 Sing & Dance Contest, a talent challenge that has taken place on certain days 30 minutes before the start of the matches. Different talents have taken the stage with ‘The Swag’ as players have warmed up on court.

If you’re watching action in Cologne from home this weekend, don’t turn your attention when the players take their seats for the changeover. Balls might not be struck during that time, but the right musical chords will be.

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Felix Books Schwartzman Clash In Cologne

Felix Auger-Aliassime improved his strong 2020 indoor record on Friday, as he beat Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-4 to reach the bett1HULKS Championship semi-finals.

The #NextGenATP Canadian landed 11 aces en route to a Tour-leading 14th victory on indoor hard courts this year after one hour and 32 minutes. Auger-Aliassime is through to his fourth semi-final from five events this year on the surface.

After trading breaks in the opening four games, Auger-Aliassime attacked with his forehand and proved the more consistent player from baseline to win five straight games from 3-3 and take control of the match. The 6’4” right-hander served with confidence in the second set as he dropped just three points behind his first serve (15/18) to claim his first victory in three ATP Head2Head encounters against the Japanese.

”The start was difficult for both of us, just to find a rhythm,” said Auger-Aliassime in an on-court interview. “I felt from the middle of the first set that things were starting to be better and better.

“I feel like since the last time I played him at Roland Garros, I have adjusted a few things well. It is actually the first time I have beaten him, so I think it is a good win for me… To be able to find solutions against a player that I have had difficulty beating in the past is really gratifying.”

The 20-year-old is attempting to reach his second final in as many weeks in Cologne. During last week’s bett1HULKS Indoors, which was played at the same venue, Auger-Aliassime reached his sixth ATP Tour championship match (l. to Zverev).

”I have always loved coming to Germany since I was a kid. I have always played well here. I made the final in Stuttgart last year,” said Auger-Aliassime. “I always get along well with everybody and I am always welcomed. It is a pleasure to be playing another match here and hopefully I will be able to play all the matches, a full two weeks in Cologne.”

Auger-Aliassime will face second seed Diego Schwartzman for the first time with a place in the championship match on the line. The Argentine saved match point and recovered from 2-6, 2-5 down to defeat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-1 in the quarter-finals.

Auger-Aliassime survived his own scare in his opening match of the tournament. His first-round opponent Egor Gerasimov served for the match at 6-5 in the second set before the World No. 22 recovered to earn a final-set tie-break victory.

“[Diego is] a player that moves well around the court… He is going to make me work for it,” said Auger-Aliassime. “He is going to make me finish every point, so it is going to be interesting but I believe in my chances.”

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Bopanna/Middelkoop Claim Spot In Antwerp Semi-finals

Rohan Bopanna and Matwe Middelkoop completed the European Open semi-final line-up on Friday with a 6-3, 4-6, 10-4 triumph against Alex de Minaur and Matt Reid.

Bopanna and Middelkoop, who beat fourth seeds Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski in the first round, converted three of six break points to reach the semi-finals in 70 minutes. The Indian-Dutch tandem is making its team debut this week.

Bopanna and Middelkoop are both chasing their second ATP Tour crowns of the year. Bopanna began the year with success at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open (w/Koolhof), while Middelkoop completed a title run at the Cordoba Open (w/Demoliner).

The unseeded pair will face home favourites Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen for a place in the final. The Belgians, who are yet to drop a set in Antwerp, beat Daniel Evans and Cameron Norrie 7-5, 6-3 in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

Klaasen/McLachlan Reach Cologne Doubles Final
Raven Klaasen and Ben McLachlan dented the chances of Nitto ATP Finals contenders Max Purcell and Luke Saville on Friday with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over 74 minutes for a place in the bett1HULKS Championship final. Klaasen has a 16-20 record in tour-level finals, while McLachlan is 5-5 in title matches.

Purcell and Saville, this year’s Australian Open finalists, are currently No. 9 in the FedEx ATP Doubles Team Rankings and are chasing a spot at The O2 season finale from 15-22 November. They are 75 points behind eighth-placed Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski (1,500 points).

Marcus Daniell and Philipp Oswald extended their winning streak to six matches by beating top seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo 6-2, 4-6, 10-3 in the quarter-finals over 87 minutes. They will next challenge Nitto ATP Finals qualifiers and two-time Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies on Saturday.

Daniell and Philipp captured their first ATP Tour team title at last week’s Forte Village Sardegna Open (d. Cabal/Farah). They also reached the ASB Classic final in Auckland (l. to Bambridge/McLachlan) in January.

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Electing To Receive: Is The Risk Worth The Reward?

You just won the toss. Should you choose to serve or receive?

The answer to that question is directly connected to your immediate goal at the beginning of the match. Is it more important for you to take care of your own serve in the early stages, or are you focused on being the first to break? It is widely recognised that the serve is the most dominant shot in our sport, so why would players defer first use of it?

An Infosys ATP Insights deep dive into 127 main draw matches at Roland Garros this year uncovered that the player who won the toss chose to receive an overwhelming 62 per cent (79), and serve 38 per cent (48) of the time. The tournament champion, Rafael Nadal, and finalist, Novak Djokovic, both won the toss three times out of seven matches and chose to serve on each occasion.

It’s also interesting to note that Djokovic won the toss in the final and elected to serve. Semi-finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas won the toss four out of six times and elected to serve every time, while the other semi-finalist, Diego Schwartzman, won the toss twice out of six times and chose to receive both times.

This analysis is only focused on the first four games of the opening set to uncover hidden trends early in the match that may be influenced by winning the coin toss. The data set was also divided into three outcomes from the first four games for whomever won the toss.

1. AHEAD – Was the coin-toss winner ahead after four games? (Game score = 3-1 or 4-0)
2. EVEN – Was the game score tied at 2-2?
3. BEHIND – Was the coin-toss winner trailing after four games? (Game score 1-3 or 0-4).

Winning The Toss & Receiving
The obvious reason for winning the toss and not electing to serve first is to gain an immediate break of serve while your opponent is not yet firing on all cylinders. It turns out that is exactly what happened. There were more breaks of serve in the first game of the match when the coin-toss winner chose to receive than any other game, at 30.4 per cent (24/79). All other return scenarios broke serve in the 27 per cent range.

So, if being the first to break serve and forge ahead early in the match is key to your strategy, the match metrics fully support winning the toss and electing to receive. The most likely outcome is that the game score will be even after four games at 2-2, but the percentages also state you will be ahead more than you will be behind (32% to 30%).

Outcome After Four Games – Winning The Toss & Receiving / Serving

Part 2: Winning The Toss & Serving
Winning the toss and serving makes sense for a lot of players as they want to start the match strongly with a hold and then continue to serve from ahead for the rest of the set. When a player won the toss and elected to serve, he held 77.1 per cent (37/48) of the time in his opening service game, which was the highest of the four possible serve scenarios.

You are more likely to be even in the game score at 2-2 when you elect to serve than when you receive. What’s interesting is that players who won the toss and served were less likely to be behind after four games. When choosing to serve first, players were trailing 1-3 or 0-4 only 25% of the time. When electing to return first, that number jumped up to 30 per cent. Overall, being ahead was almost identical, only separated by one percentage point (32% to 31%).

The analysis uncovers the risk versus reward for winning the toss and electing to serve or receive. If you choose to receive, the chances are comparatively higher you will break first, but you also take on more risk that you will be trailing after four games. When you choose to serve, you are less likely to be trailing after four games which avoids potential scoreboard damage to kick off the match.

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Schwartzman On Comeback Win: ‘Tennis Is Crazy’

Diego Schwartzman recorded a memorable comeback victory to earn his spot in the bett1HULKS Championship semi-finals in Cologne on Friday.

The World No. 9 trailed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 2-6, 2-5, but battled back to claim a 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-1 victory in two hours and nine minutes. Davidovich Fokina served for the match on three occasions and held match point at 5-2, but was unable to convert his opportunity as he fired wide with a crosscourt backhand.

“Tennis sometimes is crazy,” said Schwartzman in an on-court interview. “Maybe today I got lucky to be here answering questions. But that is why I am here as well with this ranking, because I am always trying to find a way to win the matches. Today was not the exception to the rule.

“I was trying really hard, but obviously he is a great player and the first two sets I was just on court trying to do something but there was no chance. He was playing perfect and the first two sets he deserved to win, for sure.”

The win could prove crucial in Schwartzman’s bid to clinch one of the two remaining Nitto ATP Finals qualification spots. The second seed began the week in the ninth and final qualification position in the FedEx ATP Battle For London, 105 points ahead of 10th-placed Matteo Berrettini. The Italian will drop 200 points from his total on 9 November due to his round robin win at the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals.

Schwartzman will attempt to reach his third ATP Tour championship match of the year when he faces Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semi-finals. Auger-Aliassime overcame Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-4 to earn a Tour-leading 14th indoor victory of 2020.

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