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Murray to play first singles match since career-saving operation

  • Posted: Aug 09, 2019

Andy Murray will make a return to singles action at the Cincinnati Masters next week – seven months after fearing he might have to retire.

Britain’s former world number one has been playing doubles since June as he regains fitness after hip surgery.

Murray, 32, broke down in tears at the Australian Open in January, believing the resurfacing operation he had later that month could end his career.

Now the Scot is pain-free and feels the time is right to return to singles.

Murray’s last singles match was a five-set loss to Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round in Melbourne.

Before the match the three-time Grand Slam champion said he planned to retire after this year’s Wimbledon and feared the Australian Open could be the final tournament of his career.

But he returned to the doubles court in June after a career-saving operation with renowned hip surgeon Sarah Muirhead-Allwood, whose previous patients have included the Queen Mother.

Murray said the resurfacing of his hip, where the femur head is smoothed down and covered with a metal cap, was “life-changing” and took away the pain which dogged him for a number of years.

He has played five doubles tournaments since his return to competitive action, winning Queen’s alongside Spain’s Feliciano Lopez in a dream comeback.

Joining Murray in a star-studded draw at the Masters 1,000 event in Cincinnati are Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Serbia’s world number one Djokovic and Swiss great Federer return to action for the first time since their historic Wimbledon final, while Nadal will be back in action for the second week running after starting his North American hard-court campaign at this week’s Rogers Cup.

Analysis

Jonathan Jurejko, BBC Sport

At Wimbledon, Murray began to get fed up of answering questions about when he would return to the singles court – insisting he did not know himself when his new metal hip would be ready to cope with the added workload.

Patience has been Murray’s mantra since his competitive return in the doubles, refusing to commit to a singles event – and therefore not putting himself under the pressure of a timeframe – until he felt completely comfortable.

Hitting the weights in the gym to build up his strength was the focus post-Wimbledon before he headed over to the North American hard courts with a dual purpose: improve match sharpness by playing doubles in Washington and Montreal, and upping the workload on the singles court in public practice sessions.

Those solo outings, he says with a smile, did not leave him “completely embarrassed” as they might have done earlier in his comeback bid.

So, after further practices in Cincinnati with fellow Britons Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans this week, he is confident a return now will not be a mistake as he looks to prolong a glittering career which he felt might have already been over.

The next question is: will he play singles at the US Open? Murray has consistently said he would not want his first tournament back to be over five sets in New York. Playing over three in Cincinnati appears to leave the door ajar for a potential follow-up appearance at Flushing Meadows.

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Nadal claims record win to move into Montreal quarter-finals

  • Posted: Aug 09, 2019

Rafael Nadal moved one step closer to defending his Rogers Cup title with a straight-set victory over Argentina’s Guido Pella in Montreal.

The Spanish top seed, an 18-time Grand Slam champion, won 6-3 6-4 in windy conditions to set up a quarter-final meeting with Italian Fabio Fognini.

Victory was Nadal’s 379th ATP Masters 1000 win, giving him the all-time lead having tied with Roger Federer.

Nadal, 33, has already won a record 34 Masters 1000 titles.

“It was a tough day in terms of wind but we are used to playing like this and when we play on outdoor courts, that’s part of the game. Of course it is better to play without this kind of wind,” Nadal said.

“At the same time, it is beautiful to play under tough conditions because then the player who has different options to play has better chances to survive these kind of days.”

Seventh seed Fognini, 32, beat France’s Adrian Mannarino 6-2 7-5 and his last-eight tie against Nadal will be their 16th meeting, with the Spaniard having won 11.

“He’s having a great season, one of the best of his career, if not the best,” Nadal said. “I need to be playing well.”

Meanwhile, second seed Dominic Thiem will play Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals after beating Marin Cilic 7-6 (9-7) 6-4.

Germany’s Alexander Zverev, who won the Rogers Cup in 2017, beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 7-5 5-7 7-6 (7-5) and will take on Russian Karen Khachanov next after he dispatched Canadian youngster Felix Auger-Aliassime in three sets.

In the other quarter-final, Gael Monfils will play Roberto Bautista Agut after they defeated Hubert Hurkacz and Richard Gasquet respectively in straight sets.

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Preview & Schedule: Nadal & Fognini Renew Their Rivalry In Montreal

  • Posted: Aug 09, 2019

Preview & Schedule: Nadal & Fognini Renew Their Rivalry In Montreal

Thiem takes on Medvedev in Friday action

The last time that Rafael Nadal and Fabio Fognini faced off against each other, the Italian scored one of the biggest upsets of this season at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. Nadal will look for revenge in Montreal when they meet again on Friday in the Coupe Rogers quarter-finals.

“He’s having a great season, one of the best of his career, if not the best. He’s playing at very high standards,” said Nadal. “We are in the quarter-finals of an [ATP] Masters 1000. All opponents are tough. For me, tomorrow is an opportunity to go on court against one of the best players and try to play a good match. Let’s see if I am able to.”

Top seed and defending champion Nadal leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 11-4 and has won six of their past eight matches. But when seventh seed Fognini defeats the Spaniard, he makes it count. In their only previous meeting in North America at the 2005 US Open, Fognini came back from two sets down to prevail in a five-set, third-round thriller that remains Nadal’s earliest exit in New York in the past 14 years.

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Fognini’s banner season includes his first Masters 1000 title in Monte-Carlo (d. Lajovic) and, at age 32, becoming the oldest player since 1973 to crack the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings for the first time. The Italian is through to the quarter-finals in Canada for the first time in 10 trips and has done so without dropping a set, but will need to be at his best if he hopes to pull off another upset against the World No. 2.

Nadal has remained consistently consistent this year, reaching at least the semi-finals in eight of the nine events he played before Montreal. But one of the few things Nadal hasn’t done before is successfully defend a hard-court title. He’s shown signs of rust in his first tournament since Wimbledon, but always finds a way to raise his level at the business end of big events.

Second-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem takes on eighth-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev for a place in Saturday’s semi-finals. Thiem leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 2-0, including a comprehensive win this April in the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell final. Thiem is no longer a stranger to hard-court success after winning his maiden Masters 1000 crown this year at the BNP Paribas Open (d. Federer), but Medvedev is also in top form after finishing runner-up last week at the Citi Open (l. to Kyrgios).

“He’s having a great season,” said Thiem. “First time in the Top 10 [of the ATP Rankings]. I think he’s one of the guys with the most wins, playing unbelievable, solid tennis every week. It’s going to be a very tough match.”

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Third-seeded German Alexander Zverev looks to continue his love affair with Montreal when he takes on sixth-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov. The 2017 champion (d. Federer) leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Khachanov 2-1, but Khachanov won their most recent clash at last year’s Rolex Paris Masters. Zverev seeks his first win over a Top 10 player this year, while Khachanov aims for his first semi-final of the season.

The night session concludes with a battle of veterans when No. 10 seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain squares off with No. 16 seed Gael Monfils of France. Monfils leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 3-1, but the Spaniard won their latest meeting two years ago in Montreal. Bautista Agut is in the form of his life, having reached his maiden Grand Slam semi-final last month at Wimbledon, and will put himself in contention to crack the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings on Monday if he can defeat the Frenchman.

ORDER OF PLAY – FRIDAY, 9 August 2019

Court Central start 12:00 noon
[8] Daniil Medvedev vs [2] Dominic Thiem
NB 2:00 pm
[3] Alexander Zverev vs [6] Karen Khachanov
NB 6:30 pm
[1] Rafael Nadal vs [7] Fabio Fognini
[16] Gael Monfils vs [10] Roberto Bautista Agut

Banque Nationale start 12:00 noon
Rajeev Ram / Joe Salisbury vs Jeremy Chardy / Fabrice Martin
[7] Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan vs Robin Haase / Wesley Koolhof
Rohan Bopanna / Denis Shapovalov vs Benoit Paire / Stan Wawrinka

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Felix On Montreal: 'Pressure Was Enormous'

  • Posted: Aug 09, 2019

Felix On Montreal: ‘Pressure Was Enormous’

19-year-old talks about playing at his home ATP Masters 1000 event

Felix Auger-Aliassime could hardly have dreamed up a better atmosphere for his 19th birthday. The teenager was playing on Court Central at his hometown ATP Masters 1000 tournament, the Coupe Rogers in Montreal, with fans shouting, “Let’s go, Fe-lix!”

“I never heard a stadium yell like this, sound like this, an atmosphere like this. It was incredible. At the changeover at 6-all, I could see the people there. I was raising my fist, and I felt energy coming up my legs. It was the first time I ever felt that. It was incredible,” he said.

The #NextGenATP Canadian led by a set and a break against World No. 8 Karen Khachanov and had the finish line within sight, which was the problem. The 19-year-old peered ahead just a little bit and never recovered as Khachanov came back to advance 6-7(7), 7-5, 6-3 and make the quarter-finals.

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When there’s a lot on the line, when you see the finish line, the nerves get to you. That’s part of my journey,” said Auger-Aliassime, who was trying to reach his second Masters 1000 quarter-final (Miami 2019). “It just means that I still have things to improve to win these types of matches and to deal better with these types of moments.”

Both players struggled with the wind and their nerves, but it was the 23-year-old Khachanov who found a way to settle down. Auger-Aliassime particularly struggled with his serve, hitting 12 double faults to 10 aces.

For sure I’m facing difficulties on my second serve. I have to face it. It’s like you. You face difficulties in your work. I face difficulties in mine. What do you do? You go back to work, and you try to do better next time,” Auger-Aliassime said.

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The teenager had never before faced an environment or a tournament like the Coupe Rogers in Montreal. He played in the Canadian Masters 1000 event in 2016 in Toronto, losing in the first round of qualifying, and last year in Toronto, falling in the second round.

It’s good that I broke the ice, so to speak. But now it’s over. I can say the pressure was enormous. I can’t hide that. Everybody talks about it. It’s a big tournament for me. At the end I want to play well, I don’t want to be disappointed. There’s a lot of pressure,” Auger-Aliassime said.

But I learned a lot this week. I learned how to know myself better. I think it’s good for the rest of the season and for the following years. I had a good week here.

It went beyond any expectations I had. What I received was incredible. I’m young but I never felt that before. I really want to thank everybody. It was very touching. It was incredible. I’ll remember that for all my life.”

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Nadal Passes Federer On Masters 1000 Wins Leaderboard

  • Posted: Aug 09, 2019

Nadal Passes Federer On Masters 1000 Wins Leaderboard

Spaniard improves to 4-0 against Argentina’s Pella

For a guy who doesn’t like to play in the wind, Rafael Nadal sure made a good impersonation of someone who prefers a gust here and there during his record-breaking performance on Thursday.

The World No. 2 steamrolled ahead in Montreal, beating Guido Pella 6-3, 6-4 to win his 379th ATP Masters 1000 match, breaking a tie with Roger Federer for the all-time lead.

Nadal, the all-time ATP Masters 1000 titles leader (34), was on top of the Argentine from the start, breaking in the second game and nailing 1-2 punches Pella couldn’t handle.

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When the rallies did extend, Nadal had those mostly under control as well, delivering a crowd-pleasing skyhook overhead midway through a rally in the opening set. The Spaniard faltered in the sixth game of the second set, suffering his lone break of serve, but broke back immediately to regain the advantage.

The top seed improved to 36-8 at the Canadian Masters 1000 event and will next meet Italy’s Fabio Fognini, who beat Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 7-5. Nadal leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Fognini 11-4, although Fognini beat him in straight sets earlier this year at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

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The Spaniard is playing in only his second tournament since winning his 12th Roland Garros title in June, but he’s yet to drop a set this week through two matches, beating Brit Daniel Evans in his opener. Nadal commented on playing in windy conditions while defending his Paris title two months ago.

When it’s too windy in academy, I go to the indoors… Of course being from an island, we have wind, yes. But if you ask me if I prefer to play with wind or without, I prefer to play without,” Nadal said. “Another thing is normally I adapt myself well to windy conditions.”

He has been adapting to any conditions and any tournament of late, reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals last month (l. to Federer). Nadal is trying to defend a hard-court title for the first time in his career and become the first player this season to win two Masters 1000 titles (Rome).

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Bob Bryan Earns 1100 Doubles Wins

  • Posted: Aug 09, 2019

Bob Bryan Earns 1100 Doubles Wins

Bryan brothers prevail on Thursday in Montreal

Bob Bryan added another milestone moment to his legendary career on Thursday at the Coupe Rogers. Teaming with Mike Bryan, he joined his brother as the only players to win 1100 tour-level doubles matches by reaching the quarter-finals in Montreal over Austin Krajicek and Michael Venus 7-5, 7-6(6).

Bob is second on the all-time doubles match win list and one of only six players to pick up 750 tour-level doubles victories. Since turning pro in 1998, he’s won 118 ATP Tour doubles titles with Mike, including 16 Grand Slam men’s doubles titles and seven mixed doubles titles.

DOUBLES MATCH WINS LEADERS (Since 1973)

Player
Career Doubles Match Record
1) Mike Bryan (USA)
1,141-368
2) Bob Bryan (USA)
1,100-345
3) Daniel Nestor (CAN)
1,062-448
4) Todd Woodbridge (AUS)
782-260
5) Max Mirnyi (BLR)
780-445
6) Leander Paes (IND)
766-450

The sixth-seeded Bryan brothers won 81 per cent of their first-serve points against Krajicek/Venus en route to prevailing in one hour and 33 minutes. Next up for the five-time champions in Canada are Robin Haase and Wesley Koolhof.

Benoit Paire and Stan Wawrinka rallied from 2/5 in the Match Tie-break to take out Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies 6-3, 3-6, 10-8. Awaiting them in the last eight are Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov, who defeated Kyle Edmund and Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4.

Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury needed eight match points to complete their 6-3, 7-6(6) upset over fifth-seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau. Ram/Salisbury will now face Roland Garros finalists Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin for a place in the semi-finals.

The lone quarter-final of the day saw Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos defeat Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-4. Granollers/Zeballos await the winner between Ram/Salisbury and Chardy/Martin.

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Rogers Cup: Simona Halep eases into last eight in Toronto

  • Posted: Aug 09, 2019

Wimbledon champion Simona Halep eased into the quarter-finals of the Rogers Cup in Toronto with a straight-set victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Romanian fourth seed Halep, who won her second Grand Slam at SW19 last month, won 6-2 6-1 in one hour seven minutes.

Meanwhile, Czech third seed Karolina Pliskova beat Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit 6-3 7-5 to set up a last-eight meeting with Canada’s Bianca Andreescu.

Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and American Sofia Kenin also progressed.

American 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams faces Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova later, while world number one Naomi Osaka takes on Poland’s Iga Swiatek.

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Despite Service Yips, Zverev Reaches Montreal QFs

  • Posted: Aug 09, 2019

Despite Service Yips, Zverev Reaches Montreal QFs

2017 champion to play Khachanov on Friday

Two weeks ago, Nikoloz Basilashvili saved two match points to oust Alexander Zverev in a third-set tie-break on the clay courts of Hamburg. On Friday, the third-seeded German turned the tables on the hard courts of Montreal, surviving 14 double faults and Basilashvili’s aggressive baseline play to prevail 7-5, 5-7, 7-6(5) at the Coupe Rogers.

Zverev fell to the ground in jubilation after picking up the win in two hours and 45 minutes, signifying how much the moment meant in what has been a challenging year for the 2017 champion (d. Federer). He arrived on Court Banque Nationale with a 29-15 record in 2019 and a title in Geneva (d. Jarry), but only one Top 20 win to his name this season, compared to eight at this time last year.

The magnitude of the occasion was not lost on Zverev and perhaps contributed to uncharacteristic difficulties on serve. The German hit three double faults when attempting to serve out the opening set at 5-4 and eight more throughout the second set. But while Zverev’s serve didn’t do him any favours, he was rock solid from the baseline. He saved 13 of 18 break points and came out on top in most of the grueling baseline rallies.

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Zverev overcame a wild double fault early in the third-set tie-break to take a 4/2 lead, but gave away the mini-break advantage with a second serve that nearly clipped the baseline. At 5/4, Basilashvili missed just wide on a forehand to even the score. Two points later, a forehand sent long by the Georgian wrapped up their epic encounter and gave Zverev a 2-1 lead in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry.

Awaiting Zverev in the quarter-finals is sixth-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov, who crashed #NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime’s 19th birthday party with a three-set win earlier in the day. Khachanov joins Daniil Medvedev in the last eight, marking the first time that two Russians have reached the quarter-finals in Canada since 2000 (Kafelnikov and Safin).

Zverev leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 2-1, but Khachanov won their most recent clash last year at the Rolex Paris Masters.

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Khachanov Spoils Felix's Birthday Party In Montreal

  • Posted: Aug 08, 2019

Khachanov Spoils Felix’s Birthday Party In Montreal

Russian to face Zverev for place in SF

Karen Khachanov played the spoiler on Thursday, beating home favourite and birthday boy Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7(7), 7-5, 6-3 to make his fourth ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final at the Coupe Rogers in Montreal.

The World No. 8 was broken while serving for the second set at 5-3 but regrouped to break Auger-Aliassime in a set that featured six breaks of serve. There were 12 in total for the match.

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The raucous crowd was trying to will the 19-year-old Auger-Aliassime to his second Masters 1000 quarter-final (Miami 2019), chanting “Let’s go, Felix!” throughout the match.

But Khachanov, at age 23, four years Auger-Aliassime’s senior, was the more composed of the two in the decider, commanding play from the baseline and benefitting from some nervy play on Auger-Aliassime’s side.

“Honestly, it was a roller coaster today. Not many matches have been played like that,” Khachanov said. “Today was tough conditions, really windy. I think both of us were struggling to take our serves, which are pretty powerful normally. I just had to win playing a little bit ugly.”

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The Canadian had a late opening as Khachanov served at 0/30, 5-3, but the Russian again settled his nerves, ending the match with four straight points. The 19-year-old Auger-Aliassime committed 12 double faults, compared to 10 aces, for the match.

I have to stay proud of what I’ve done. For sure I’m frustrated because it was a big occasion. There was a lot of expectations, pressure, you name it. I think I handled that well,” Auger-Aliassime said. “But to be playing good and to lead in a match, to have a chance to win… It’s tough to see it slip away, but there’s a reason for that. It just means that I still have things to improve to win these types of matches and to deal better with these types of moments.”

Khachanov made his first Grand Slam quarter-final at Roland Garros in June and is through to his first Masters 1000 quarter-final since March at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells (l. to Nadal). But the 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier has taken a liking to Canada in past years, making the semi-finals in Toronto last year, before losing to eventual champion Rafael Nadal.

The Russian won’t have to face Nadal until the final, but third seed Alexander Zverev will have plenty to say about Khachanov reaching the semi-finals. The 2017 champion beat Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 7-5, 5-7, 7-6(5) to make his second Masters 1000 quarter-final of the season (Madrid).

“Once you’re in the quarter-finals,” Khachanov said, “you just have to step up and believe more in yourself and take opportunities if you have them.”

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Thiem Survives Cilic In Montreal To Extend Winning Streak

  • Posted: Aug 08, 2019

Thiem Survives Cilic In Montreal To Extend Winning Streak

Austrian saves all nine break points

It wasn’t easy but fleet of foot, caressed groundstroke winners at close quarters and match sharpness proved to be the difference for Dominic Thiem on Thursday when he negotiated a tough test against Marin Cilic at the Coupe Rogers.

Thiem stared down all nine break points he faced — four at 3-3 in the first set and five in the second set at 0-1 (three) and 5-4 (two) — to win 7-6(7), 6-4 over one hour and 53 minutes for a place in the third round.

Clever changes of pace and aggressive ball-striking from Cilic kept Thiem on his toes, but in the first set tie-break featuring two momentum shifts, it was the Austrian’s consistency that was decisive.

Having recovered from 15/40 in his first service game of the second set, Thiem pounced with terrific length on his groundstroke returns and broke for a 2-1 advantage with a fine cross-court forehand winner in the service that left Cilic flat-footed at the net. Later, at 5-4, he weathered another storm from 15/40 and closed out his 31st win of 2019 on his fourth match point.

Second seed Thiem, who had gone 0-5 in previous appearances at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Canada, is building up a head of steam ahead of his quarter-final against eighth-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev, who knocked out Cristian Garin of Chile 6-3, 6-3 in 70 minutes. Both Thiem and Medvedev are bidding to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 10-17 November. Thiem leads 2-0 in their FedEx ATPHead2Head series.

The 25-year-old Thiem is now six matches unbeaten, which includes his 14th ATP Tour title last week at the Generali Open in Kitzbuhel (d. Ramos-Vinolas). In March, soon after beginning his partnership with coach Nicolas Massu, Thiem captured his first Masters 1000 crown at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells (d. Federer).

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Cilic, the No. 14 seed, who has recently begun working with former World No. 6 Wayne Ferreira, continues to rebuild his confidence after a right injury earlier in the season and is 15-12 overall this year.

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