Korda wins Washington Open 32 years after father
Sebastian Korda wins the Washington Open to emulate his father’s victory in 1992.
Sebastian Korda wins the Washington Open to emulate his father’s victory in 1992.
While Novak Djokovic battled Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday in Paris for the Olympic singles gold medal, the rest of the ATP Tour’s stars were in Montreal, preparing for the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers. Dozens watched the match in the players’ lounge, including No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings Jannik Sinner and his team.
After the match, the world’s best players were in awe of Djokovic’s accomplishment. The Serbian defeated Alcaraz to complete his set of ‘Big Titles’. He has won all four Grand Slam tournaments, all nine ATP Masters 1000 events, the Nitto ATP Finals and now the Olympic singles gold medal.
Holger Rune thought the match was “incredible”.
“I think if there’s one person that deserves it so much, it’s Novak. He’s completed tennis in a way,” Rune told ATPTour.com. “He’s taking tennis to another level. He’s just the greatest. I take massive inspiration from him and I think he’s a very nice guy as well.
“Novak is 37 now and winning the gold medal, I think it shows a little bit on the level he is producing. I think it’s completely incredible. Hopefully we’ll still see him a few more years on the Tour so we can compete against him.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas explained that he could tell how much Djokovic wanted the final crowning jewel in his collection.
“He visualised getting a gold medal,” Tsitsipas said. “I’m sure he’s someone that has been putting a lot of effort into making that happen. It is probably one of the things that he was missing as World No. 1 and a multiple Grand Slam champion, the gold medal. It was something that was not part of his collection.”
En route to the gold medal, Djokovic defeated Tsitsipas in a tight two-setter in which the Greek had a big opportunity to claim the second set and force a decider.
“I felt like I was playing good at the Olympics myself and I had a massive lead against him in the second set. And I honestly did feel like I had some good chances in that particular match,” Tsitsipas said. “It was disappointing to see myself lose up there being a double break up in that match. But at least I can say I put my best effort and I lost to the champion, the gold medalist of the Olympic Games. I did try my best. Having played good tennis at Roland Garros, at least getting any kind of medal at the Olympics would have been a dream of mine.”
[ATP APP]Pablo Carreno Busta, a close friend of Alcaraz’s who also has long trained at Juan Carlos Ferrero’s eponymous academy, watched the first set of the gold-medal match before his practice session.
“I think that they played unbelievable tennis,” Carreno Busta said. “It’s true that Carlos probably at the beginning was a little bit nervous, but that’s normal. For Novak also, it probably was his last chance to [win] the gold medal. I think it was a big spectacle for tennis. Carlos and Novak are probably the best in this moment and we enjoy watching them.”
Finally did it. 🥇@DjokerNole | #Paris2024 | #Olympics | #tennis pic.twitter.com/VWvh09kiob
— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 4, 2024
The last player to defeat Djokovic at the Olympic Games was Carreno Busta, in the Tokyo bronze-medal match.
“Probably I played one of my best tournaments of my career. I remember that when I lost in semi-finals against Karen Khachanov, I thought, ‘Well, if I lost against Karen and now I have to play against Novak, how many chances will I have to win the bronze medal?’” Carreno Busta recalled. “But then after that I I remember that when I started the match I just thought of doing my best and we’ll see what happens. If Novak plays at his 100 per cent, it’s true that it’s very, very difficult for me to beat him but I know also Novak lost the day before in the semi-finals in singles, also in semi-finals in mixed doubles. So for him it was probably very, very tough mentally, and I think that I took advantage of this.”
One of the players on Tour who has known Djokovic the longest is Gael Monfils. Their first Lexus ATP Head2Head match was in 2005 and the Serbian leads their series 19-0. Even so, the Frenchman was thrilled to see Djokovic triumph in Paris.
“He completed so much before. Novak is a legend in our sport,” Monfils said. “He is just completely special. He is completely different, completely special and for him I think it’s the biggest accomplishment possible so I’m just super happy for him.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Playing in his eighth tour-level singles final, Sebastian Korda won his second title at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in a 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 triumph filled with significance.
In becoming the first American man to win the Washington crown since Andy Roddick in 2007, the home favourite also matched his father, Petr Korda, who won the D.C. title in 1992. The Kordas are the first father-son duo to win the same title on the ATP Tour.
Looking forward, the triumph set Korda up to rise to a career-high PIF ATP Ranking of No. 18 on Monday.
Show time 🎬@SebiKorda and Cobolli are delivering in DC!@mubadalacitidc | #MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/1lnYkQ7HbE
— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 5, 2024
After a two-hour delay due to rain and a three-set women’s final, Korda dominated much of the match against first-time finalist Cobolli. But the Italian came up with one of the shots of the day on his first break point to snatch the opening set with a screaming forehand winner.
From 1-2 in the second, Korda won 11 straight games to run away with the ATP 500 title. Playing within himself, he leaned on his experience to see off a spirited effort from the 22-year-old Cobolli, who competed in the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in November.
Now 2-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head, Korda now has one “road” win in Rome in addition to this victory in front of his home fans in Washington.
Both men have saved match points on their way to the title match: Korda saved two against Thanasi Kokkinakis in the third round, while Cobolli fought off five against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round.
Like Korda, Cobolli will also leave Washington with a career-high PIF ATP Ranking. The Italian is set to move up 15 places to World No. 33 on Monday.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]ATP Tour stars traded racquets for sticks on Saturday ahead of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in the annual ATP Masters 1000 Canada ball hockey game.
Nuno Borges, Luciano Darderi, Alexis Galarneau, Marcos Giron, Miomir Kecmanovic and Vasek Pospisil played a team of PWHL stars and a ball hockey pro in a thrilling game. The hockey standouts eventually won in a nail-biting shootout.
“It’s amazing. It was very humbling. It’s fun to play though,” Giron said. “We always play tennis, but I think all of us tennis players grew up playing other sports and it’s always fun to give it a shot in another thing. But the hockey stick does not quite feel like an extension of the arm like a tennis racquet does.”
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/08/04/22/23/giron-montreal-2024-hockey.jpg?w=100%25&hash=5BCED422841C4B4E651C4D132F473824″ style=”width:100%;” alt=”Marcos Giron plays ball hockey Saturday in Montreal.” />
Marcos Giron shoots on net during Saturday’s game.
Borges had never previously played hockey, but had a great time trying to learn the sport.
“The fact that we struggled so much, at least me, I wanted to keep playing to improve because I couldn’t hit the ball. It was really hard,” Borges said. “You’d think we’d have a little advantage just knowing how to handle a racquet as an extension, but the stick is totally different. It was fun trying out a new sport with all the different gear, the gloves. It’s cool experimenting with stuff. I had a lot of fun.”
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/08/04/22/24/galarneau-montreal-2024-hockey.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Alexis Galarneau plays ball hockey Saturday in Montreal.” />
Alexis Galarneau enjoys competing in the ball hockey game.
The tennis players enjoyed plenty of laughs throughout. Darderi, who is No. 34 in the PIF ATP Rankings, had never played either. Yet by the end of the game he had grown comfortable enough to make a highlight-reel assist by passing the ball above the net to a teammate, who put it past the goalie.
Tennis racquets back in hand, the tournament’s main draw will begin Tuesday.
Joao Fonseca etched his name in the record books Sunday when the 17-year-old became the youngest Brazilian to win an ATP Challenger Tour title.
The #NextGenATP star, who strengthened his claim on sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, did not drop a set en route to his Lexington Challenger triumph. Competing in his second final at that level, Fonseca showed no signs of nerves as he defeated Australian Li Tu 6-1, 6-4 to clinch the trophy. The teenager fell on his back in relief after securing the milestone victory.
“I’m really happy to win my first title. It means a lot to me,” Fonseca told commentator Bryan Fenley. “One year after of my first big title, which was the US Open juniors. I’m really, really happy. It was not easy. Really hard work back home. I really want to thank my coaches, my parents, they’ve supported me my whole life, not only incentivising me to play tennis, but also with being a good kid with maturity. It’s really nice.”
The Lexington Challenger has featured a trio of 17-year-old champions since 2019, including Jannik Sinner, current World No. 1, who won the hard-court event five years ago Sunday. China’s Shang Juncheng triumphed in 2022. Coincidentally, Fonseca is just one day younger than Sinner was when the Italian won in Lexington.
[ATP APP]The 2023 US Open boys’ singles champion, who reached the quarter-finals at this year’s tour-level events in Rio de Janeiro and Bucharest, is set to climb 48 spots to World No. 166 in Monday’s PIF ATP Rankings, marking his Top 200 debut. Fonseca is aiming for his maiden trip to the 20-and-under Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, which runs from 18-22 December in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“I try not to think so much about ranking, just try to improve week after week, day by day,” Fonseca said. “I just try to improve my game and to win matches. I try to develop not only as a player, but also a person.”
Fonseca is the seventh-youngest player from South America to claim a Challenger title and second-youngest from the continent to win a hard-court tournament at that level. Only Juan Martin del Potro was one month younger when he won a hard-court Challenger.
Youngest South American-born Players to win a Challenger title (since 1978)
| Player | Age | Title |
| Juan Martin del Potro | 17 years, 1 month, 13 days | 2005 Montevideo |
| Horacio De La Pena | 17 years, 1 month, 17 days | 1983 Thessaloniki |
| Juan Martin del Potro | 17 years, 6 months | 2006 Aguascalientes |
| Gabriel Silberstein | 17 years, 9 months | 1993 Ribeirao |
| Mauricio Hadad | 17 years, 10 months | 1989 Bogota |
| Juan Martin del Potro | 17 years, 10 months | 2006 Segovia |
| Joao Fonseca | 17 years, 11 months | 2024 Lexington |
In other ATP Challenger Tour action, August Holmgren captured his second title in three weeks by triumphing at the Porto Open in Portugal, where the Dane defeated sixth-seeded Spaniard Alejandro Moro Canas 7-6(3), 7-6(6) in the final.
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/08/04/19/05/holmgren-portoch-2024.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”August Holmgren celebrates winning the Porto Challenger.” />
August Holmgren celebrates winning the Porto Challenger. Credit: Lourenco A Rodrigues
A 2022 graduate of the University of San Diego who fell to Ben Shelton in that year’s NCAA singles championship match, Holmgren saved a match point in Saturday’s semi-finals against third seed Mikhail Kukushkin.
Following his title run, the 26-year-old is up to No. 167 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, one spot behind Fonseca, setting the Dane up for a new career-high Monday. Two weeks ago, Holmgren won the Pozoblanco Challenger, his first title at that level.
Belgian Raphael Collignon won his maiden Challenger title at the Platzmann Open in Luedenscheid, Germany. The 22-year-old rallied past top seed Botic van de Zandschulp 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the final.
Hugo Dellien collected his 12th Challenger title and second in the past month with a dominant run at the Svijany Open 2024 in Liberec, Czech Republic. The 31-year-old Bolivian dropped one set all week, overcoming Dane Elmer Moller 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 in the final.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Liberec locked down 🔒@hugo_dellien secures his second title of the year, overcoming Moller 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 #ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/L4EhBL5iAj
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) August 4, 2024
Watch as Serbia’s Novak Djokovic reacts to winning his first Olympic gold medal at his fifth Games after beating Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2) at Paris 2024.
Novak Djokovic beats Carlos Alcaraz in thrilling fashion to clinch a long-awaited Olympic title and complete the career ‘Golden Slam’.
Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow have jumped into Nitto ATP Finals qualifying contention after claiming their second title in as many weeks in the final of the Mubadala Citi DC Open Sunday.
After winning in Atlanta last week, the pair defeated Brazilian duo Marcelo Melo and Rafael Matos 7-5, 6-3 in the final in Washington. They became the first all-American champions at the ATP 500 since Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in 2015.
“Lucky for us it was a little hot and we could kind of bring the heat today,” Lammons said during the trophy ceremony. “Thanks to my partner Jackson. We got some good momentum going the last couple of weeks. We love playing here in the States.”
[ATP APP]The Americans put on a strong display of serving, winning 87 per cent of their first-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats. They dropped just 10 points on serve and defended both break points against them en route to taking an eighth ATP Tour title as a pair.
After the home triumph, Withrow thanked the Washington fans for their support: “You guys have been amazing all week for us,” he told the stadium crowd. “We feel the energy, we feel like you guys love doubles.”
Rising four places to ninth in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings, the Americans head to the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Montreal, where they will face Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Alejandro Tabilo in the opening round.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]The long wait is over for Novak Djokovic.
After nearly two decades of consistently winning the biggest titles and breaking some of the most difficult records that tennis has to offer, the Serbian on Sunday finally added an Olympic gold medal to his sizeable collection of honours. Djokovic, who has long spoken of winning Olympic gold for his country as one of his most sought-after goals, was visibly emotional after overcoming Carlos Alcaraz in a gripping encounter in Paris.
“I’m overwhelmed with everything that I’m feeling right now,” said Djokovic in post-match comments to NBC. “Millions of different emotions of course: positive, too proud, too happy. The possibility to fight for a gold and to win a gold for the first time in my career for my country is arguably the biggest success I ever had.
“Of course, I want everything there is to win in my individual career, but winning Davis Cup and particularly the golden medal at an Olympic Games for Serbia at the age of thirty-seven is unprecedented. Just starting my celebration, I can’t wait for what’s coming up in the next forty-eight hours.”
37 years old.
Olympic #GOLD medalist.#Paris2024 | #tennis pic.twitter.com/TefOG3XT2N
— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 4, 2024
Long acknowledged as one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen, Djokovic added an Olympic gold medal to his record 24 major singles titles by overcoming Alcaraz in a pair of tie-breaks. The Serbian is the fifth player to complete the Career Golden Slam by winning all four Grand Slam events and Olympic gold in singles, after Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams.
“Yes, [my] puzzle, it is [complete],” acknowledged Djokovic, who has spent more weeks as No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings than any other player (428). “I’m telling myself always that I am enough, because I can be very self-critical. It’s probably one of the biggest internal battles that I keep on fighting with myself, that I don’t feel like I’ve done enough. That I haven’t been enough in my life, on the court and off the court, so it’s a big lesson for me.
“I’m super grateful for the blessing to win a historic gold medal for my country, to complete the Golden Slam, to complete all the records.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
There was no golden ending for Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Yet despite his disappointment at his defeat to Novak Djokovic in the gold-medal match on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the Olympic flame inside the Spaniard remains well and truly alight.
“I always want to win, that’s for sure, but taking the silver medal, I have to be really proud,” said Alcaraz in post-match comments made to NBC. “I’m building a really great career and I hope it’s going to keep going.
“Honestly, I’m pretty proud to be in this position, I’m pretty proud to bring a medal to Spain. I’m pretty sure that my moment will come, and I will bring the gold medal to Spain one day. So I’m going to wait for that moment and I’m going to work for that moment, but right now I have to enjoy lifting the silver medal, it’s pretty amazing as well.”
Your #Paris2024 Men’s Singles Olympic Medalists 🤩
🥇 @DjokerNole 🇷🇸
🥈 @carlosalcaraz 🇪🇸
🥉 @Lorenzo1Musetti 🇮🇹#Olympics | #tennis pic.twitter.com/4qY4HY5nt2— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 4, 2024
Alcaraz has good reason to feel confident about the future. Sunday’s loss was a rare low moment in what has otherwise been a largely stellar year for the Spaniard. He lifted his third and fourth major titles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, respectively, while he also lifted his fifth ATP Masters 1000 crown in Indian Wells in March.
The No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings also knows how close he was to Djokovic in Sunday’s high-level encounter. Alcaraz forced the Serbian to fend off eight break points en route to victory, and he will leave Paris satisfied he gave his all in pursuit of Olympic glory.
‘It is painful to lose the way that I lost this match. I had my opportunities… I couldn’t take them,” said Alcaraz. “Novak is playing great, he really settled in his position, in the difficult moments he increased his level, he played unbelievable. I’m really disappointed but honestly, I’m going to leave the court with my head really high. I gave everything that I had fighting for Spain, it was everything to me so I’m proud the way that I played today.”
The next few months also promise plenty for Alcaraz, who is currently 38-7 for the season and second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. He is next set to compete at the Cincinnati Open later this month, when he will resume his pursuit of rival and current Live Race leader Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz is bidding to finish the season as ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF for the second time.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]