Tennis News

ATP Launches Ultimate Prize Draw In Aid Of Cancer Research UK

The ATP, in collaboration with ATP players, has launched an Ultimate Prize Draw in aid of Cancer Research UK, the official charity partner of the Nitto ATP Finals.

The initiative gives tennis fans the chance to win exclusive signed memorabilia, a once-in-a-lifetime Nitto ATP Finals experience in 2021 in Turin, and a private serving masterclass with John Isner, passionate supporter of cancer charities. Priced at £10 per entry, all proceeds will go towards supporting the critical work of Cancer Research UK, which has seen fundraising heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Details of the available prize packages:

A: “Take the Nitto ATP Finals Home” – The Ultimate London Memento
• The official ATP Tour net used on Centre Court at The O2
• Signed “Coin Toss” coin from the final Nitto ATP Finals match at The O2
• Personalised Video Message from this year’s champion
• Signed Official Photos from previous editions of the Nitto ATP Finals

B: “Thank You London” – The Ultimate Memorabilia Package
• 2020 Nitto ATP Finals Official Photo, signed by all eight singles players
• Signed apparel from this year’s qualified players
• Signed racquet of the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals champion

C: “Welcome to Turin” – The Ultimate VIP Experience
• Two tickets to the semi-finals and finals of the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals in Turin
• Two-night hotel stay at the Official Tournament Hotel
• VIP hospitality and Behind the Scenes Tour
• Meet-and-Greet with the singles champion

D: “Acing Cancer” – The Ultimate Serving Masterclass
• 1-1 ZOOM serving masterclass with John Isner, former Nitto ATP Finals competitor and winner of 15 ATP Tour titles
• Review personal footage and receive individualised tips and advice from and one of the greatest servers in the history of tennis. According to the Infosys ATP Stats Leaderboard, Isner currently sits atop the all-time Serve Leaders list
• Open Q&A session, providing insight into a champion’s mindset and training routines

Four lucky winners will be selected on 12 November and invited to join an exclusive ZOOM call with the official host of the Nitto ATP Finals and an ATP player, to draw their respective prizes.

“The events of this year have shown how important it is to rally together,” said Massimo Calvelli, ATP CEO. “Cancer Research UK, like many charities, has had its fundraising heavily impacted by the pandemic. I’m thrilled we can support our charity partner in continuing their vital work, by leveraging our platform, showcase-event and biggest stars in a creative way.”

“We are thrilled that ATP will be running a prize draw in aid of Cancer Research UK (CRUK). 2020 has been an especially tough year for CRUK given the pandemic, therefore it is more important than ever that we work with our partners, like ATP, to ensure we raise vital funds for our life-saving work,” said Eve Mitchell, Head of Partnerships CRUK.

For more information and to enter the prize draw please click here.

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Humbert Outlasts Tsitsipas In Paris Thriller

Ugo Humbert added another highlight to his breakthrough 2020 ATP Tour season on Tuesday, as he earned one of the biggest victories of his career at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The talented left-hander struck 46 winners to defeat second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(4), 6-7(6), 7-6(3) in three hours and 16 minutes. It is Humbert’s second Top 10 win, following his straight-sets victory against World No. 5 Daniil Medvedev at the Hamburg European Open in September.

“I’m super happy, super proud of myself,” said Humbert. “I was mentally very strong to win this match against Tsitsipas, one of the best players in the world.”

Humbert appeared to be on the cusp of victory in the second-set tie-break, as he played with aggression to rush his opponent into multiple errors. But Tsitsipas served well and attacked with his backhand to save three consecutive match points from 3/6 down and force a decider. World No. 34 Humbert returned with depth and struck forehand winners up the line to extend his winning streak to seven matches.

“It was very, very hard at the end of the second set because I was a little bit stressed and tight to finish the match,” said Humbert. “I tried to play one by one [and] gave what I can.

“I was very relaxed [in the third set]. I tried to serve well. It’s very nice to win this kind of match like this.”

Humbert is making his first appearance since his second ATP Tour title run at last month’s European Open in Antwerp. The Frenchman, who also won the ASB Classic in January, owns a 23-11 record in 2020.

This is the second straight match that Humbert has won in a final-set tie-break. The 6’2” left-hander earned a 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(1) win against Casper Ruud in the first round.

Tsitsipas will now prepare to make his second straight appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals. The Greek claimed the trophy on his tournament debut last year with back-to-back wins against Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem. The elite eight-man event will be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November.

“He was just creating a lot of opportunities from his forehand side and doing a lot of damage from there,” said Tsitsipas. “His serve was very consistent. Despite having opportunities where he would serve second serves [and] I could come in [and] be more aggressive, it didn’t seem as easy as I had it planned in my head.”

After a slow start, Humbert attacked with his forehand to recover the early break he had conceded. The Frenchman grew in confidence as the set progressed and attacked Tsitsipas’ forehand to extract multiple errors in the first-set tie-break.

Humbert continued to find success on his forehand in the second set, but failed to convert three match points in the tie-break as Tsitsipas levelled the match. But Humbert recovered quickly, as he ripped a forehand winner down the line to break serve in the first game of the decider. Despite dropping serve at 3-2, Humbert played with aggression on his return and landed a forehand winner up the line to book a third-round meeting against Marin Cilic.

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The Last Time… With Alex De Minaur

“The Last Time” that rising Australian player Alex de Minaur hit the indoor hard-courts in Europe, he sped through the draw to his seventh career ATP final at the European Open. “The Last Time” he tried to string a tennis racquet? That was much longer ago, and was a much less a successful attempt. 

The 21-year-old Aussie claimed three titles last year to hit a career-high ranking of World No.18, and he’s eyeing a fourth trophy at the Rolex Paris Masters. 

Currently in the second round in Paris, De Minaur caught up with ATPTour.com after his opening victory to reveal the last time he… 

Missed a flight?
I can confirm that I’ve never missed a flight. So I’m pretty good with that. I’m going to have to throw Marc Polmans under the bus there. He forgets things… I think he’s the one.

Lost something important?
I lost the keys to my house. And that was… that was on a night that I came back home probably a bit too late. I may or may not have had to sleep outside. 

Paid money to rent a court?
That’s… that’s a long time. I honestly cannot remember. I reckon I probably never have had to, because I’ve always been training, you know?

Being famous helped me?
Maybe on the flight back from Australia. I got an extra bag at check in. You know, she felt bad for me for having to withdraw from my home Slam and everything so she gave me, like, a pity extra bag.

Strung a racquet?
I’ve only strung my racquets twice. And it took, my first time two hours and the second time an hour and a half. And I skipped a couple of strings, so I can confirm that I’ve never done it again. 

Cooked for myself or others?
Quarantine, actually. I live by myself so I took it upon myself to try it out and see how it went. And, yeah, it wasn’t horrible! My go-to dish? I would probably go either chili con carne or just some chicken fajitas. 

Met a childhood idol?
I’ve been fortunate to meet a lot of childhood idols and people I’ve looked up to, especially in the tennis world as Australia has such a rich history. I’ve been lucky enough to get my Davis Cup jacket from Rod Laver, I’ve been fortunate enough to have dinner with Muscles [Ken Rosewall], I’ve had Tony Roche as a Davis Cup coach. I’ve been very fortunate.

Shared a hotel room with another player?
I reckon it’s probably juniors. Juniors, I would say. Blake Ellis is the last person I probably shared a room with. 

Asked someone famous for a selfie?
Probably Hugh Jackman, about maybe a year ago. We were lucky enough to get invited to see The Greatest Showman here in Paris, and we managed to see him backstage and get a nice selfie with him.

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Carreno Busta Continues Bid For London Spot In Paris

Pablo Carreno Busta kept his hopes of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals alive on Tuesday, as fellow London contender David Goffin’s bid was ended in the Rolex Paris Masters second round.

The Spaniard, who must win the tournament to extend his London qualification bid, won 87 per cent of first-serve points (26/30) to defeat Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6(3), 6-2. Qualifier Norbert Gombos brought Goffin’s London qualification attempt to an end with a 6-4, 7-6(6) triumph.

Carreno Busta improved to 19-11 this season with his fourth win in six ATP Head2Head matches against Struff. The World No. 15 has shown impressive form since the resumption of the ATP Tour in August, with a semi-final run at the US Open and a quarter-final finish at Roland Garros.

”My confidence was very high today,” said Carreno Busta. “I was serving really good, but I think the key was the first and the second balls after [the] return and after [the] serve. I think that I played very aggressive on these balls and I made a lot of winners from everywhere. I’m happy for the victory, because Jan-Lennard on this surface is a really tough guy.”

Carreno Busta will meet Gombos for a place in the quarter-finals. The World No. 105 defeated Carreno Busta in the pair’s only previous ATP Head2Head contest at the Open Sud de France in February.

Gombos saved three set points in the second-set tie-break to earn the biggest win of his career against Goffin after one hour and 36 minutes. The Slovakian, who is through to the third round at a an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time, saved four break points at 2-2 in the first set and began to dictate with aggressive groundstrokes.

The 39-minute opener, which ended with three straight service breaks, finished when Goffin hit a forehand long.The Belgian regrouped and came within one point of a 5-2 advantage in the second set, but Gombos rallied to win 10 of the next 13 points to put pressure back on the shoulders of the World No. 14. Goffin held firm and in the tie-break held three set points at 6/3, but three consecutive groundstroke errors put Gombos in the ascendancy.

The 30-year-old wrapped up his seventh tour-level win of the year when Goffin over-hit a forehand — his 46th unforced error. Goffin, who is currently No. 14 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, drops to a 12-11 match record in 2020.

Miomir Kecmanovic ended John Millman’s winning streak with a 6-4, 6-2 win on Court 1. The Serbian broke the Nur-Sultan champion’s serve on four occasions to book a second-round clash against fourth seed Alexander Zverev.

Vienna runner-up Lorenzo Sonego added to his recent run of form with a 6-1, 6-4 victory against Alexander Bublik. The Italian will face 16th seed Alex de Minaur in the second round.

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Raonic Solid On Serve In Paris

Milos Raonic produced a clinical serving performance on Tuesday to book his place in the Rolex Paris Masters second round.

The 2014 runner-up dropped just six points on serve (37/43) to move past Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-2 in 63 minutes. Raonic, who owns a 12-5 record at the ATP Masters 1000, broke serve on three occasions to extend his unbeaten ATP Head2Head record against Bedene to 5-0.

This is the second time in three weeks that Raonic has defeated Bedene in a first-round match. At last month’s European Open in Antwerp, Raonic overcame the Slovenian 6-3, 7-6(4) en route to the quarter-finals.

Raonic will face home favourite Pierre-Hugues Herbert for a spot in the third round. The Frenchman recovered from a set down to beat Tennys Sandgren 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(4).

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Wawrinka Hits 35 Winners To Reach Paris Second Round

Stan Wawrinka raised his game at the right times on Tuesday to book his place in the Rolex Paris Masters second round. The Swiss No. 12 seed recorded his 13th match win of the year with a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory over Briton Daniel Evans in one hour and 33 minutes.

“I’m really happy with my level today, I was serving and moving well,” said 2015 semi-finalist Wawrinka, who awaits France’s Gilles Simon, the 2012 semi-finalist, or Tommy Paul of the United States.

Evans was left to rue missing out on two break points at 1-1 in the first set, with Wawrinka serving at 15/40. Having held serve, Wawrinka put his foot down and broke for a 3-1 advantage with a backhand volley winner. In a competitive second set, Wawrinka won four straight points from 2/2 in the tie-break and closed out with an unreturned serve.

Wawrinka, who struck 35 winners, is now 5-0 lifetime against Evans in their ATP Head2Head series. They met last month in the St. Petersburg Open first round, with Wawrinka saving three match points in a 3-6, 7-6(3), 7-5 win.

Later in the day, France’s Richard Gasquet broke a four-match losing streak to overcome Taylor Fritz of the United States 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 in one hour and 36 minutes for his 15th victory of the reduced 2020 season. Gasquet will next play sixth-seeded Argentine and Nitto ATP Finals contender Diego Schwartzman.

“I am home and I like to play here in Bercy, even if there is no crowd,” said Gasquet, in a post-match interview. “I am very happy with the way I played. It is very difficult to play without the support of a crowd.”

Gasquet completed the 25-minute opener with an ace, before Fritz worked his way back into the match, breaking for a 5-3 advantage in the second set when Gasquet made a forehand error. Fritz, who completed the second set with an ace, could not convert three break points early in the decider and paid the prize at 1-2, when he was broken to love.

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Paris Masters: Dan Evans beaten by Stan Wawrinka in first round

British number one Dan Evans falls to a straight-set defeat by Stan Wawrinka in the first round of the Paris Masters.

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When Points Go Long, It’s Advantage Nadal & Federer

A rally begins, and it gets longer, and longer, and longer.

What you are seeing is not so much dominance building by one player over the other, but rather the exact opposite – a leveling out of each player’s fortunes as the length of the rally rises.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of extended rallies of 9+ shots from the year-end Top 10 in the 2019 season uncovers that this elite group combined to win just 52.5 per cent of total points in this specific rally length. The data set is from ATP Masters 1000 events in 2019 on Hawk-Eye courts.

The Top 10 leader was Rafael Nadal, who won a commanding 58 per cent of extended rallies in the 9+ rally length. The Spaniard was the only Top 10 player to cross the 55 per cent threshold.

What’s interesting is that Roger Federer, typically known for wanting to finish points quickly, came in second place, winning 54.5 per cent of points in extended rallies of nine shots or more. Few would have guessed that the Swiss placed higher up this list than his arch-rival, Novak Djokovic, who came in sixth place, winning 53.7 per cent (538/1002) of extended rallies.

The three players who all won in the 54 per cent range were Roberto Bautista Agut (54.4%), Gael Monfils (54.1%) and Matteo Berrettini (54.0%).

Daniil Medvedev had a breakthrough season in 2019, winning ATP Masters 1000 events in Cincinnati and Shanghai, but still only managed to win just 52.7 per cent of rallies of 9 shots or more. The three players in the data set who were below the Top 10 average were Dominic Thiem (51.5%), Alexander Zverev (49.7%) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (45.6%).

Reaching the elite status of being a Top 10 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings is based on developing a variety of strengths in your game. Creating a slight edge in longer rallies is just one of them.

2019 Top 10: Points Won In 9+ Rallies At ATP Masters 1000 On Hawk-Eye Courts

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Carreno Busta Halts #NextGenATP Gaston's Dreams Of Another Big Paris Run

#NextGenATP Frenchman Hugo Gaston captured the world’s attention at Roland Garros, where he used his creativity to surge to the fourth round and pushed third seed Dominic Thiem to five sets. On Monday, Pablo Carreno Busta stopped Gaston before the lefty could gain momentum for another dream run in Paris.

The ninth seed defeated the home favourite 6-3, 6-2 in 69 minutes to reach the second round of the Rolex Paris Masters.

“I think I played good. I’m happy with the performance,” Carreno Busta said. “At the beginning of the match he started very aggressively and probably surprised me a little bit.
But after the first two games I think that I dominated the game again and I served good, I returned good. I played aggressively, so I was happy with the victory and with my game.”

Carreno Busta immediately lost his serve as Gaston showed some of the touch that helped him so often on the terre battue. The 20-year-old wild card showed his confidence with an early serve and volley, crisply carving a volley out of the recent US Open semi-finalist’s reach. 

But the drop shot that served Gaston so well at Roland Garros wasn’t as successful against the ninth seed. Once Carreno Busta got back on serve, his game proved too solid for the Frenchman. The World No. 15 earned 13 break points, converting four of those chances in his victory. He will next play big-hitting German Jan-Lennard Struff, who eliminated Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-2.

“Of course today I’m sad. Playing against Pablo, he’s a very good player,” Gaston said. “It was a tough match for me, and congrats to him.
But of course to come back to Paris for me, it’s good. It’s nice.”

In the last match of the day, 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals competitor Alejandro Davidovich Fokina upset 11th seed Karen Khachanov 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 in one hour and 48 minutes.

“I’m playing very well [from] the baseline. I think I’m very solid there,” Davidovich Fokina said. “When I move fast, I think I am [playing] my game very good.”

Khachanov has great memories at Paris-Bercy, where he won his first ATP Masters 1000 title in 2018. But the Spaniard frustrated him throughout the match with his all-court game, preventing the Russian from comfortably dictating play.

Davidovich Fokina, who saved five of the seven break points he faced, will play French wild card Benjamin Bonzi, who defeated Argentine lucky loser Federico Coria 6-2, 6-1.

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Cilic Denies Felix Comeback Win In Paris

After a dominant opening set, Marin Cilic was made to work hard for a 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 victory against Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Rolex Paris Masters on Monday.

The 2016 semi-finalist struck 37 winners and saved seven of nine break points to advance in two hours and 27 minutes. Cilic improved to 2-0 against the #NextGenATP Canadian, following his straight-sets win at last year’s Citi Open in Washington, D.C.

Cilic took advantage of a slow start from his opponent to cruise through the first set. The Croat returned with depth to rush his opponent and made no forehand unforced errors to claim the first set in 31 minutes.

The second set was decided by a marathon eighth game. After trading breaks, Auger-Aliassime used his forehand to break through Cilic’s defence in a 21-minute return game.

“These kind of games can turn the match around, so I had to definitely dig deep. He won that [marathon] game and won the set, so I just had to recalibrate and come back,” said Cilic.

But Cilic made the crucial breakthrough in the deciding set, as Auger-Aliassime attempted to shorten points on serve by rushing the net. The former World No. 3 served with power and closed the match with a forehand winner to record his 15th victory at the ATP Masters 1000 event (15-11).

“I started the match by winning the first six games and I was just zoning in on every single ball,” said Cilic. “It was a great start. Obviously, I was expecting that Felix was going to raise his game and he started to play better. It was a really tight second set, even though it went 6-3 to him… It wasn’t easy. I just felt I served great in the third set, which definitely helped.”

Auger-Aliassime was attempting to continue his strong run of indoor results in 2020. The 20-year-old leads the ATP Tour with 14 indoor wins this season (14-7) and has reached three championship matches at indoor events this year.

Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion, will meet French wild card Corentin Moutet in the second round. The 21-year-old earned his 10th victory of 2020 with a 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-3 win against Salvatore Caruso. Cilic claimed a straight-sets win in his only previous ATP Head2Head clash against Moutet at this year’s Australian Open.

“Corentin [is] a great player,” said Cilic. “He’s one of the best fighters on the Tour and plays difficult tennis… It’s important [for me] to just keep this kind of a level, which I would definitely be happy with.”

In a meeting of former #NextGenATP talents, Ugo Humbert battled past Casper Ruud to earn his first main-draw win at the Masters 1000 event. The Antwerp champion extended his winning streak to six matches with a 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(1) victory against the Norwegian.

“It is my first win here in Bercy and I am really happy because it was really tough,” said Humbert. “[Casper] is an excellent player and it was physically hard today. I am very happy to win.”

Humbert, who won 84 per cent of his first-serve points (42/50), improved to 2-1 in his ATP Head2Head series against Ruud. Each of the pair’s three clashes this season have required a final set. The 22-year-old Humbert will face Stefanos Tsitsipas for the first time in the second round.

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