Dart beats Bouzkova in three-set thriller
Watch highlights as Great Britain’s Harriet Dart beats Marie Bouskova in an epic three-set thriller in the first round of Eastbourne.
Watch highlights as Great Britain’s Harriet Dart beats Marie Bouskova in an epic three-set thriller in the first round of Eastbourne.
Two-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist David Goffin made a winning start in qualifying on Monday when he defeated Australian Marc Polmans 6-3, 6-1.
The Belgian, who won an ATP Challenger Tour title on grass in Ilkley last week, reached the last eight at SW19 in 2019 and 2022. Goffin will next play Yasutaka Uchiyama after the Japanese World No. 203 beat 2022 ‘s-Hertogenbosch champion Tim van Rijthoven 6-7(6), 7-6(3), 6-1.
Richard Gasquet reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2007 and 2015. The former No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings is up and running in qualifying after he defeated Briton Oliver Crawford 6-2, 7-6(8). The 38-year-old Frenchman holds a 31-17 main draw record at SW19.
[ATP APP]Daniel Elahi Galan advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon last year. The Colombian defeated Spani’s Roca Batalla Oriol 6-3, 6-4. Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who reached the second round at the ATP 500 event at Queen’s last week, beat countryman Ugo Blanchet 6-2, 7-5.
#NextGenATP Croatian Dino Prizmic qualified for the Australian Open in January. He moved closer to matching that feat at Wimbledon, where he downed Clement Tabur 6-3, 6-4. The 36-year-old Mikhail Kukushkin also advanced, defeating Ukraine’s Vitaliy Sachko 6-3, 6-3. Kukushkin reached the fourth round at The Championships in 2019.
Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles downed Dane Sweeny 7-5, 6-1, Australian Alex Bolt overcame Argentine Nicolas Kicker 6-1, 6-4 and Moldovan Radu Albot clawed past Italian Francesco Maestrelli 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-2. Albot reached the third round at Wimbledon in 2018.
More to follow…
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo is red hot on the red clay.
The 22-year-old claimed his second consecutive ATP Challenger Tour title Saturday when he won the Challenger Bolivia 2 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, a week after he won in Lima.
Cerundolo defeated Ecuadorian Alvaro Guillen Meza 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the final after saving five of the 10 break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and battled past physical struggles to lift his ninth ATP Challenger Tour trophy.
“It was a tough final against a strong opponent, made even more challenging by the wind and a blister,” said the top-seeded lefty, who is on a 10-match winning streak at the Challenger level. “Despite that, I went out to compete in the third set, and the victory came.”
[ATP APP]This is not the first time Cerundolo has captured back-to-back titles on the ATP Challenger Tour. In January 2023, he opened the season by winning a pair of trophies in Tigre, Argentina.
In other ATP Challenger Tour action, David Goffin was crowned champion at the Lexus Ilkley Trophy, where the Belgian captured his first grass-court title. The former No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings dropped just one set en route to the title, racing past Frenchman Harold Mayot 6-4, 6-2 in the final.
“It was a really good week. Five solid grass matches and the level was there. It gives me a lot of confidence for [Wimbledon],” Goffin said. “It means a lot because I haven’t won a trophy for some time and I managed to put it all together this week.”
A nine-time ATP Challenger Tour champion, Goffin has previously enjoyed final runs at the ATP Tour grass events in ‘s-Hertogenbosch (2015) and Halle (2019). The 33-year-old is the second Belgian to win the Ilkley Challenger in three years. Zizou Bergs triumphed at the 125 event in 2022.
There’s a new grass court champion in town 👑
Former World No.7 David Goffin secures the first grass court title of his career, defeating Mayot 6-4, 6-2 in the Ilkley final #ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/7kYkyRFPM8
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) June 22, 2024
Dutchman Jesper de Jong won the Emilia-Romagna Tennis Cup in Sassuolo, Italy, where he defeated Daniel Altmaier 7-6(5), 6-1 in the final. Following his title run, the 24-year-old De Jong is at a career-high No. 119 in the PIF ATP Rankings. De Jong rallied from a set down in the quarter-finals and semis to keep his title hopes alive, eventually claiming his third ATP Challenger Tour crown.
“It was a tiring week, but at the same time a fantastic one,” De Jong said. “My goal is to be in the Top 100 by the end of the year and this victory gives me a great push to move up in the rankings and be confident ahead of Wimbledon qualifying.”
Maks Kasnikowski is also at a career-high ranking, World No. 184, after winning the Enea Poznan Open. Cheered on by his home crowd, the 20-year-old Pole rallied past Argentine Camilo Ugo Carabelli 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the final to lift his second ATP Challenger Tour trophy of the year. Kasnikowski won the season-opening Oeiras Challenger.
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/06/24/11/55/kasnikowski-poznanch-2024.jpg” style=”width:100%” alt=”Maks Kasnikowski celebrates winning the Poznan Challenger.” />
Maks Kasnikowski celebrates winning the Poznan Challenger. Credit: Karolina Kiraga-Rychter/Enea Poznan Open
In the 29-year history of the Enea Poznan Open, Kasnikowski is the third Polish champion, joining Jerzy Janowicz (2012) and Hubert Hurkacz (2018). Kasnikowki is one of three players with ATP Challenger Tour titles on both clay and hard in 2024, alongside Sumit Nagal and Stefano Napolitano.
Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis did not drop a set all week at the Internationaux de Tennis de Blois in France to claim his 15th ATP Challenger Tour title. The 34-year-old, who ousted home hope Calvin Hemery 7-6(4), 7-5 in the final, is one of three active players with 15 ATP Challenger Tour titles (Facundo Bagnis, 17, and Mikhail Kukukshin, 15). Due to substantial rain all week in Blois, Berankis was forced to play all five of his matches indoors.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]The grass-court swing continued on the ATP Tour at the cinch Championships and the Terra Wortmann Open, where Tommy Paul and Jannik Sinner lifted trophies, respectively. ATPTour.com looks at the movers in the PIF ATP Rankings as of Monday, 24 June.
[ATP APP]No. 12 Tommy Paul, +1 (Joint Career High)
The 27-year-old has become the American No. 1 for the first time after he captured his third tour-level title in London. Paul, who beat Lorenzo Musetti in the final, dropped just one set en route to the crown. With his run, he surpassed Taylor Fritz as the American No. 1.
“It’s an honour to become the No. 1 American, but we both have big goals and we want to be in the Top 10 [of the] rankings,” Paul said when asked about rising to No. 1 and Fritz. “That’s where both of us want to be.”
No. 7 Hubert Hurkacz, +2 (Career High)
The Pole has climbed to a career-high No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings after advancing to the final at the ATP 500 event in Halle. Hurkacz downed Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals for his fifth Top 10 win on grass, but was unable to overcome World No. 1 Sinner in the title match.
No. 33 Zhang Zhizhen, +9 (Career High)
The Chinese star has jumped nine spots after advancing to his first tour-level semi-final of the season in Halle. Zhang overcame Top 5 star Daniil Medvedev in the second round in Germany.
No. 75 Rinky Hijikata, +23
The 23-year-old has soared 23 places following his best result of the season at the Queen’s Club. The Australian came through qualifying to reach the quarter-finals at the ATP 500. Earlier this year, Hijikata reached the last eight at ATP 250 events in Brisbane and Delray Beach.
No. 82 David Goffin, +27
The Belgian is back in the Top 100 after his success on the ATP Challenger Tour. The 33-year-old defeated Frenchman Harold Mayot to win the title on grass in Ilkley.
Other Notable Top 100 Movers
No. 2 Novak Djokovic, +1
No. 20 Sebastian Korda, +3 (Career High)
No. 25 Lorenzo Musetti, +5
No. 39 Jordan Thompson, +4
No. 46 Marcos Giron, +7
No. 59 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, +8 (Career High)
No. 60 Matteo Berrettini, +5
No. 78 James Duckworth, +10
No. 100 Camilo Ugo Carabelli, +14
The BBC has comprehensive live coverage of Wimbledon across TV, iPlayer, radio, Sounds, online and the mobile app from 1-14 July.
Andy Murray has not made a decision on whether he will be fit enough to make a planned Wimbledon farewell next week.
Are you more of a Carlos Alcaraz or an Emma Raducanu? Maybe you’re just like Andy Murray? Take our quiz and find your match!
Less than a year had passed since Dominic Thiem claimed his first major title at the 2020 US Open, when in June 2021 he hurt his wrist at the Mallorca Championships presented by Waterdrop and was forced to withdraw during the first set of his opening-round match against Adrian Mannarino.
Three seasons on, the Austrian is back at the venue where he picked up the injury. That moment led to a slump from which he would never return to the form that helped him reach No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Now, at 30 years of age, Thiem is enjoying the Spanish grass courts at one of the last events of his career. He has said he will retire following Vienna later this year.
“I’ve had an amazing career, I’ve always put a lot of passion into it and I’ve given my all, but now that I’ve announced my retirement, I’m very happy, because it’s relieved a lot of stress,” admitted Thiem before his opener against Gael Monfils in Mallorca.
“I can’t wait to play my last tournaments, but also to do everything that comes afterwards. I’m trying to enjoy my last months as much as possible.”
Thiem forms part of a group of accomplished players on Tour who are close to saying goodbye to professional tennis.
“It’s a very emotional year, I’d say, because Diego [Schwartzman] and I have announced our retirement, Rafa [Nadal] and Andy [Murray] are coming to the end and it’s very emotional,” said Thiem, the current No. 134 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
[ATP APP]However, despite the ever-nearing end for those players, the Austrian also had a few words for the most nostalgic of fans. “Even so, there are some players from the old generation who are still playing incredible tennis and we have an incredible new generation.”
This new generation, of course, includes two of the youngest talents on the ATP Tour, who are no longer just promising prospects, but fighting head-to-head at the pinnacle of world tennis.
“Now there are two guys who have been No. 1, Sinner and Alcaraz, who are incredible and play great tennis,” Thiem said. “I love watching them and probably all the fans like watching them, so tennis is in very good hands.”
There is no doubt that Thiem has done everything in his power to avoid an early retirement. However, as much as he battled since his fateful injury, the results have not come. Since his return, he has suffered more defeats than victories (39-44). Regardless of the results, he always tried to take inspiration from some of his peers on Tour.
“Luckily, I had my first big injury three years ago. I’d been lucky with my body before that,” he explained. “Rafa [Nadal], Juan Martín del Potro, [they] had injuries when they were very young, so it’s very inspiring to see how they came back so many times. They’ve been a great inspiration and I’ve also tried to give everything.”
Despite his efforts, the time finally came to bring his professional career to an end, leaving a great legacy in his wake.
“I think the most important thing is that I hope a lot of children, particularly in Austria — because I’m from Austria, and that’s probably where I’m best-known, in my own country — start to play tennis because of me. That would be the most important legacy,” Thiem stated.
“I also hope that people remember me as a good person on Tour, that people have enjoyed my game, that’s also important. I hope it’s a good legacy.”
Given the number of messages he has received since announcing his retirement, Thiem can surely be happy he has fulfilled his objectives.
“I’ve had so many messages. Too many to thank each person, but I’m very, very happy about all of them,” Thiem said. “There have also been people I don’t know so well and they’ve still sent messages, they’ve even asked other players for my number to send me really amazing messages. Of course, every time I’ve received something like that from a player, it’s made me happy.”
Thiem is leaving with a smile on his face, with the peace of mind that he has always given his all on court, that he tried everything possible to be able to compete on the ATP Tour and, of course, in the knowledge that he is leaving the Tour in good hands.
Editor’s note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Alex Michelsen made history on Sunday in Mallorca.
The #NextGenATP American earned his first grass-court win of the season at the Mallorca Championships presented by Waterdrop, where he defeated Nuno Borges 6-3, 7-6(4). By doing so, the 19-year-old became the youngest player to win a main draw match at the event.
“That’s pretty cool,” Michelsen said. “I had no idea that that was going to be a statistic, so I’m super happy with that and super happy with the win today.”
[ATP APP]One year ago, Michelsen entered the Mallorca main draw as a lucky loser and nearly defeated Christopher Eubanks, who won the match 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-5. Eubanks went on to win the tournament.
“The island, there are not many places that you go on Tour that are better than this,” said Michelsen, who will next play third seed Adrian Mannarino. “The tournament is very well run, one of the best clubs I’ve ever been to. The courts suit my game. I almost beat Eubanks last year and he won the tournament, so just really enjoy being here and hopefully I can come here for many years.”
The 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF competitor has enjoyed success on grass before, reaching his first ATP Tour final last year on the surface in Newport.
In other action, home favourite Roberto Bautista Agut ousted Japan’s Taro Daniel 6-1, 6-0 in 53 minutes. The 36-year-old converted all five of his break points and won 60 per cent of his return points according to Infosys ATP Stats.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Watch highlights as Neal Skupski and Michael Venus win the men’s doubles final at Queen’s.