Alcaraz seals win against Tiafoe with marvellous drop shot
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz beats Frances Tiafoe 5-7 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 in a thrilling match on Centre Court at Wimbledon.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz beats Frances Tiafoe 5-7 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 in a thrilling match on Centre Court at Wimbledon.
Serena Williams says playing mixed doubles with Andy Murray was “one of the highlights” of her career.
A tall, thin teenager by the name of Alexander Zverev stepped onto home soil at the 2014 Braunschweig Challenger. Crushing hefty first serves and blistering the ball with his two-handed backhand, the German earned a career-igniting victory in front of a packed crowd.
The 17-year-old with wavy, blonde hair lifted his first ATP Challenger Tour title that July afternoon, 10 years ago Friday.
Then-ranked No. 665 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Zverev had just one ATP Challenger Tour main-draw win under his belt entering Braunschweig. Tennis fans were becoming more familiar with Zverev that year, when in January the teen won the Australian Open boys’ singles title.
A wild card competing 200 kilometres from his hometown Hamburg, Zverev went on a dream run on the red clay of Braunschweig. A decade later, Zverev’s first title at that level is still etched in a piece of Challenger history. Zverev is the third-youngest Challenger champion since 2010. Only Felix Auger-Aliassime has claimed a title at a younger age in that time period.
Youngest ATP Challenger Tour champions since 2010
| Age | Player | Title |
| 16 years, 10 months | Felix Auger-Aliassime | 2017 Lyon |
| 17 years, 1 month | Felix Auger-Aliassime | 2017 Sevilla |
| 17 years, 2 months | Alexander Zverev | 2014 Braunschweig |
| 17 years, 3 months | Carlos Alcaraz | 2020 Trieste |
Zverev defeated three Top 100 players en route to the Challenger 125 crown, including a final victory against Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu. It was a launching pad for the home hope who has since ascended as high as World No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
The two-time major finalist made quick progress on the ATP Challenger Tour and enjoyed early success on the ATP Tour. Two weeks after winning in Braunschweig, Zverev earned his maiden tour-level match win in Hamburg. He did not stop there. The wild card reached the semi-finals, falling to David Ferrer.
Zverev cracked the Top 100 for the first time in May 2015 following a title run at the Heilbronn Challenger. The German played just one more event at that level.
Now with 22 tour-level titles in his trophy cabinet, which includes two Nitto ATP Finals and the 2021 Tokyo Olympics gold medal, Zverev has earned more than $43 million in prize money in his standout career that featured one of its first shining moments 10 years ago.
This is what the ATP Challenger Tour prides itself in, serving as a building block for young players testing their game against the world’s best. And you never know when the player in front of your eyes is headed from outside the Top 500 to a single-digit ranking next to his name.
Did You Know?
The Braunschweig Challenger is celebrating its 30th anniversary next week. Past winners include Gaston Gaudio, current ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi, Tomas Berdych, Jan-Lennard Struff and Zverev.
Watch Great Britain’s Emma Radacanu and Sonay Kartal playing each other in a match in 2014.
Rain has suspended the start of play on Friday at Wimbledon.
The action on the outside courts will not start before 12:00 p.m. with light rain falling in west London. Daniil Medvedev is scheduled to take on Jan-Lennard Struff on No. 2 Court, where Tommy Paul will open proceedings against Alexander Bublik when the play starts.
American Ben Shelton is scheduled to face Canadian Denis Shapovalov in a lefty battle on No. 3 court following the conclusion of a WTA match between Daria Kasatkina and Paula Badosa.
[ATP APP]Play will begin as planned at 1:30 p.m. on Centre Court and 1 p.m. on No. 1 Court, with both stadiums fitted with a retractable roof.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz opens proceedings on Centre Court against Frances Tiafoe, with No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Jannik Sinner taking on Miomir Kecmanovic in the final match of the day. Grigor Dimitrov faces Gael Monfils on No. 1 Court. Frenchman Monfils leads the Bulgarian 4-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Brandon Nakashima cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 lead in his second-round Wimbledon match on Wednesday against a dangerous grass-court player in Jordan Thompson. The 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion hit 24 winners to just five unforced errors through two sets in as flawless of a performance as you will see this fortnight.
But then the thoughts began. One year ago against the same opponent, Nakashima won the first two sets 6-2, 6-2 and lost the match in five sets.
“Obviously those thoughts kind of came into my mind, up two sets again and playing really well. But the player I am this year compared to last year, I feel like it’s a completely different player,” Nakashima told ATPTour.com. “Whether it’s game-wise, serving and returning, obviously having more confidence playing a lot more matches on the grass definitely helped. But I just try to stay focused and not let those thoughts translate into my game.”
This year, the 2022 San Diego champion finished the job, ousting Thompson in a tidy one hour and 37 minutes to reach the third round. Nakashima has won more main draw matches this week than at his past six Grand Slam tournaments combined.
“I think more than anything, it was just confidence. Last year at the Slams, I lost first round in all four of them. I was playing well, just wasn’t able to get past that first round,” Nakashima said. “Most of them were five-set matches and it was tough to go through those moments. But you kind of have to experience those to have these moments where you play better and you can gain more confidence to win these matches.”
It is easy to look at Nakashima’s 2023 and see that he plummeted from a career-high No. 43 to outside the Top 150 in six months. But the numbers do not tell the whole story.
“Last year was definitely a lot of firsts for me, gaining more experience as an established player inside the Top 100. Maybe at the start of the year, I was a little bit injured, and wasn’t playing as many matches as I would have hoped,” Nakashima said. “So, definitely, the confidence was a little bit low. As a player, those tough moments are tough to get out of at some points. But I’m happy with the way we’re progressing this year and bouncing back from last year.”
Although the American did not blame it for his tough stretch, Nakashima struggled with a left knee injury early in the year that kept him out for nearly two months. He played just eight matches in the first four months of the season and was never able to get back up to speed.
The 22-year-old has taken pride in how he has responded to that adversity. By reaching the third round at Wimbledon, he is back up to No. 53 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. He reached an ATP Tour semi-final in Stuttgart, the third round in Barcelona — there he upset Andrey Rublev — and tallied a 26-8 record on the ATP Challenger Tour this year.
“For talented young players, it’s nice rising and getting to the top and getting the ranking high. But your next few years, if you have more expectations, that’s where it kind of shows your personality, shows your character a little bit more trying to deal with those expectations,” Nakashima said. “Even after the year that I had last year, people can think, ‘Oh, it was just a one-year thing that he did well, and he’s always going to be an average player’. But just the way I dealt with that adversity and brought myself back to where I want to be, I think a lot of people should think about [that].
“It’s not easy as a young player, especially after the great year that I had a couple years ago… I was training hard every day last year, similar to how I was this year, and I’m just happy the results are paying off.”
Last October, Nakashima began working with a new coach: Davide Sanguinetti, the Italian who won two ATP Tour titles and cracked the world’s Top 50.
“We’ve been working a lot. I’m working a lot on his mind more than his shots,” Sanguinetti said. “I’m working a little bit on the shots. But he has such good groundstrokes and everything. Good serve. We’re working a lot on his forehand and right now it looks like it is working, so I’m happy right now. We are on the right path because we want to be Top 20 at the end of this year. But even if it’s tough — I’m not saying it’s easy — let’s see. Maybe if we get some luck in some tournament, who knows?”
[ATP APP]According to Sanguinetti, his favourite thing about Nakashima is both good and bad.
“He’s really calm all the time,” Sanguinetti said. “And sometimes I would like him [to be] a little bit [of a] firecracker, like [to] explode, but he doesn’t. But also when he’s focused, he’s a machine.”
The former World No. 42 raved about his charge’s dedication and work ethic.
“He always listens, he always tries to do what you ask him to do, which for a coach is great,” Sanguinetti said. “He is always looking for something. He’s like a sponge. He’s trying to get from me all the secrets, even if he doesn’t ask. But he’s always trying to listen to everything that I try to tell him.”
Nakashima will hope that continues to pay off as he tries to work his way through the Wimbledon draw. He will try to reach the fourth round at the grass-court major for the second time on Friday when he plays 16th seed Ugo Humbert.
“It feels great, especially after the year I had last year and having some troubles at the Grand Slams last year, to be having some good matches here and to be advancing to the third round,” Nakashima said. “It’s a good feeling.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Tommy Paul might already be flying high, but the American has no intention of slowing his ascent any time soon.
The 25-year-old two weeks ago won the biggest title of his career at the cinch Championships, a tournament that has been won by legends of the sport from Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe to Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. But the Wimbledon 12th seed, who will face 23rd seed Alexander Bublik on Friday in the third round, knows there is still progress to be made.
“Tennis is a weird sport. I’m on a winning streak right now, but I meet with my coach after the match, and we’re going to talk about the things I did wrong,” Paul told ATPTour.com. “You always look back at matches and think of what you could have done better. So it’s not like I’m going home every day and being like, ‘I had a perfect day’.”
It helps that Paul has a team around him, led by veteran coach Brad Stine, determined to continue pushing forward. Stine notably led Jim Courier to some of his greatest heights. But he spent multiple stints with the former World No. 1. Stine began coaching Paul in 2020 and feels their relationship has not gotten stale.
“We’re always trying to get better and work on things,” Paul said. “I am happy with how I have been playing, and I’ve been getting a question about Queen’s a lot. But it’s a whole new week. I’m coming into the first round like everybody else here at Wimbledon. I have a challenge every round… I’ve just got to take every match one at a time.”
It would be easy for Paul, the No. 13 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, to be content with his recent success. He became the American No. 1 for a week and lifted one of the most historic trophies in tennis. But immediately he made clear that he still has goals to pursue, including cracking the Top 10 for the first time.
“I think that’s what keeps people interested in sport. You look at Novak being at No. 1 forever. He was the best player in the world and he was still working on things,” Paul said. “He still wanted to get better and I think that’s the coolest part about any sport. You’re never satisfied. I’m definitely not satisfied. There’s still a lot of work to do.”
[ATP APP]Paul is one of the quickest players on the ATP Tour. In recent years, Stine has worked on developing Paul’s attacking game, specifically with his transition to the net and his abilities once there. That has paid dividends in making him a consistent Top 20 player.
According to Paul, this year they have been honing in on his footwork. Fitness coach Franco Herrero has been leading the charge in that area.
“We have a great team around me. And the way that my coach will talk to my fitness trainer, and they’ll kind of write up a plan, create a plan on what my coach wants me to work on in terms of footwork, and we’ll go in the gym and we’ll do it a million times until it’s right,” Paul said. “Footwork has been a big thing for me. Obviously, over the past couple of years, I feel like I’ve gotten stronger and been able to last longer in matches, but the footwork is at the end of the day what allows you to have a higher quality of shot throughout the entire match.”
At the start of the season, Stine said of his player: “Tommy is dedicated to wanting to be a great tennis player. He doesn’t want to just be average. Obviously anybody that makes Top 100 and plays at the top echelon of the game is not average anyway.
“But within the game itself, we look at your ranking and the rounds that you’ve achieved in tournaments, and those kinds of things and established [what is] an average type of career. Tommy’s not satisfied with that. He wants to be better than that and that’s pushed him.”
One of the most endearing qualities about Paul for fans is that what you see is what you get. As competitive as he is, the American is also laid back as they come on the circuit.
Paul loves tennis, but he enjoys other sports too, and is a big fan of Philadelphia teams. Jason Kelce, the brother of Travis Kelce, NFL star and partner of Taylor Swift, was a longtime standout offensive lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles before retiring at the end of last season. On his team losing Kielce, Paul said: “It’s a tough tough guy to replace. But I’m excited about the Eagles season, big time. I like who they drafted, I like the way that they drafted, just got to finish the season this time.”
The Philadelphia 76ers have been busy this offseason, set to sign star Paul George.
“I love Paul George,” Paul said, cupping his hands to amplify his voice into the phone recording this interview. “Love him! And they just resigned [Tyrese] Maxey. Yeah, I love that. That pumps me up.”
As much as Paul enjoys tennis, he also has interests off the court that keep him busy. It is not all tennis all day.
“I’m a sports guy. I love watching all sports, really, especially American sports,” Paul said. “It’s nice to have another interest. It sometimes gets a lot to talk about just tennis, tennis, tennis, as much as I love the sport. But yeah, I definitely follow a lot of sports and it’s a nice distraction at times.”
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