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Mektic/Pavic First Team To Qualify For 2021 Nitto ATP Finals

  • Posted: Jul 06, 2021

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic have become the first doubles team to qualify for the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals, to be held from 14-21 November at the Pala Alpitour in Turin.

The Croatians booked their spots at the season finale on Tuesday with a 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-4 quarter-final victory over Marcelo Melo and Lukasz Kubot at The Championships, Wimbledon.

Mektic and Pavic have been red hot in 2021, in their first season as a team, winning seven titles and compiling a 46-5 match record.

They have lifted trophies this year at three ATP Masters 1000s — the Miami Open presented by Itau and the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (d. Evans/Skupski both times), plus the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome (d. Ram/Salisbury). Mektic and Pavic also won one ATP 500 title at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam (d. Krawietz/Tecau) and three at ATP 250 events — the Antalya Open (d. Dodig/Polasek), Murray River Open in Melbourne (d. Chardy/Martin), Viking International Eastbourne (d. Ram/Salisbury).

Mektic and Pavic also finished as runners up at the Mutua Madrid Open (l. to Granollers/Zeballos) and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (l. to Cabal/Farah).

Individually, Mektic has competed at the Nitto ATP Finals in 2018 (w/Peya) and last year the 32-year-old clinched the trophy with Wesley Koolhof at The O2 in London (d. Melzer/Roger-Vasselin). Pavic, 28, has qualified on three previous occasions, featuring in the round-robin stages in 2017-18 (w/Marach) and 2020 (w/Soares).

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Hurkacz Completes Comeback To End Medvedev's Shot At No. 1

  • Posted: Jul 06, 2021

Hubert Hurkacz completed a comeback on Tuesday afternoon in a rain-interrupted clash against Daniil Medvedev for a place in the quarter-finals at The Championships, Wimbledon.

Resuming at 4-3 in the fourth set, after rain stopped play on Monday evening, the Polish 14th seed continued his ploy of attacking the net and reaped dividends in a 2-6, 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over three hours and two minutes.

“Playing on this unbelievable court, probably the best in the world, with an amazing crowd is really special,” said Hurkacz, in an on-court interview. “Daniil is an unbelievable player. We battled so hard on No. 2 Court. So to win is incredible… I knew I needed to get off to a strong start today and I think I did a pretty good job.”

Having gone 1-6 coming into the grass-court major, following his first ATP Masters 1000 crown at the Miami Open presented by Itau (d. Sinner) on 4 April, Hurkacz has played his way into form at the All England Club. He is the fifth Polish man to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals and will now aim to emulate Jerzy Janowicz, who advanced to the last four in 2013.

The 24-year-old will next challenge sixth-seeded Swiss and eight-time former champion Roger Federer on Wednesday. Federer beat Hurkacz 6-4, 6-4 in their only previous meeting at the 2019 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. “Roger, what he does, the titles he has won, is a real inspiration,” said Hurkacz. “I will be hoping to get a little bit of support tomorrow.”

Unable to join fellow Russian Karen Khachanov in the Wimbledon semi-finals, Medvedev is now 2-8 lifetime in fifth sets. The 25-year-old had had a shot at rising to No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings with a deep run at Wimbledon.

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The match had been suspended due to rain on No. 2 Court at 6:30pm local time Monday. It was switched to No. 1 Court, under a closed roof, due to further bad weather on Tuesday in London.

Hurkacz broke for a 5-3 lead in the fourth set after he struck a smash winner and later hit his eighth ace to wrap up the 40-minute set. While Medvedev had won 84 per cent of his first-service points, double faults started to break into his game.

At 1-1 in the decider, Hurkacz seized his opportunity once more when Medvedev scooped a forehand long. The 31-minute set ended when Medvedev hit a low forehand volley into the net.

“[I] played really bad today,” said Medvedev. “He definitely played really well. I played probably [my] worst two sets since Rome. I will just continue working… Today my best was really low, but I did my best.”

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From The Court To The Crowd: An Extra-Special Day For Berettini & Tomljanovic

  • Posted: Jul 06, 2021

Manic Monday was special for Matteo Berrettini, and not just because he reached his first Wimbledon quarter-final. The Italian was later able to watch from the player’s box on No. 1 Court as his girlfriend, WTA star Ajla Tomljanovic, advanced to the last eight of a major for the first time.

“The fact that she’s also in the quarter-finals is just crazy. It’s not easy for a couple like us to make these results,” Berrettini told ATPTour.com. “I’m so proud of her the way she’s handling everything. Today obviously wasn’t the best way to end the match. But she was there, the atmosphere before the injury was great. I think she deserves it and I’m really happy for her. Now it’s time to think about the quarter-finals.

“She’s going to play tomorrow, I’m going to play on Wednesday. But so far, it’s been the best Grand Slam that we’ve played together.”

Tomljanovic will next face fellow Aussie Ashleigh Barty, the top seed, in an attempt to reach her maiden major semi-final. This is Berrettini’s second consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final and his third overall. In 2019, he reached the semi-finals at the US Open. So far this fortnight, the Italian has lost just one set.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling for myself. I never reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon,” Berrettini said. “Being able to do it like this, it obviously gives me a lot of confidence to go forward in the tournament.”

 

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It has been a memorable tournament for Berrettini and Tomljanovic as a couple, but it does not end there. The Italian will next play good friend Felix Auger-Aliassime for a spot in the semi-finals at the All England Club. Felix’s girlfriend is Tomljanovic’s cousin, and the quartet forms a small family on tour. According to the Aussie, they are all enjoying this moment.

“After we won, all three of us passed each other in the hallway. I was so happy for him because how he goes about the sport is unbelievable. He wants it so much. He loves everything about it. To see him do well, it makes me so happy,” Tomljanovic said of Auger-Aliassime. “I gave him a fist pump, like, ‘Yay, Felix.’ I think they actually also hugged. I’m happy one of them will be through on Wednesday.

“If he had lost today, that would have sucked more. Of course, I’d rather see them in the final, but I think it’s unbelievable that one of them will be in the semis.”

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