Tennis News

Tsitsipas brothers save 3 MPs to win Gstaad doubles opener

Petros Tsitsipas and Stefanos Tsitsipas survived three match points to pull off an opening-round doubles upset on Tuesday at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad. The Greek brothers edged fourth seeds Nicolas Barrientos and Luke Johnson 4-6, 6-4, 14-12, capping off the victory by winning the final three points of the Match Tie-break.

The pair won two of three break points and dominated on first serve with a 72 percent win rate, according to Infosys ATP Stats. After being broken three times in the opening set, they saved all four break points against them in set two.

One of the match point saves came on return at 11/12 in the Match Tie-break, sparking that run of three points to close out the win.

Seeds advance in Hamburg
Both main-draw doubles matches at the Hamburg Open were won by seeded teams on Tuesday. Third-seeded Frenchmen Fabien Reboul and Edouard Roger-Vasselin beat Dustin Brown and Daniel Masur 6-4, 6-3 to open their campaign at the ATP 250 breaking four times on seven chances.

Their quarterfinal opponents will be Lloyd Glasspool and Jean-Julien Rojer, who earned a 6-4, 7-6(5) victory against singles stars Francisco Cerundolo and Pedro Martinez. The seventh seeds saved nine of 11 break points against them while converting on an efficient three out of four break chances.

Cash/Galloway make winning start in Newport

Second seeds Julian Cash and Robert Galloway made a strong start at the Infosys Hall of Fame Open in Newport, earning a 6-3, 6-4 win against Frenchmen Adrian Mannarino and Harold Mayot. This season’s Delray Beach and Mallorca champions hit seven aces and dropped serve just once in the victory.

<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/16/19/13/cash-galloway-newport-2024-tuesday.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Julian Cash, Robert Galloway” />
Julian Cash and Robert Galloway. Photo credit: ITHF/Kyle Prudhomme

Aussies Luke Saville and Aleksandar Vukic earned an upset at the ATP 250, knocking off the eighth-seeded Indian pairing of Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli and Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha 6-1, 6-4.

French success in Bastad
Two all-French teams advanced on Tuesday at the Nordea Open in Bastad. Alexandre Muller and #NextGenATP star Luca Van Assche earned a 6-3, 6-4 win against Karol Drzewiecki and Sumit Nagal, while Manuel Guinard and Gregoire Jacq beat fourth-seeded Brazilians Fernando Romboli and Marcelo Zormann 6-3, 6-4.

France’s Theo Arribage, teaming with Roman Safiullin, also advanced at the ATP 250 courtesy of a 6-3, 6-2 win against Mariano Navone and Cameron Norrie.

Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud, who upset second seeds Guido Andreozzi and Miguel Reyes-Varela on Monday, will be back in doubles action on Wednesdsay when they face Arribage and Safiullin in the quarter-finals.

What to know about the 2024 ATP Doubles Trial implemented this week in Hamburg, Gstaad and Newport

• Singles versus doubles team matches in the first round whenever possible by increasing the number of doubles seeded teams to 8 (up from 4)
• 21 seconds between all points
• 60-second changeovers with a time call after 40 seconds. Points should start at the 60-second mark at the latest
• Free crowd movement
• Doubles-only court (when possible)

Source link

Q2 In Review: Alcaraz wins two majors, Sinner reaches No. 1

Between a change of surface and a change atop the PIF ATP Rankings, the second quarter of the ATP Tour season was filled with exciting action.

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner were the two standout players while three ATP Masters 1000 events featured as many different titlists: Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev. ATPTour.com looks back on the champions of the second quarter, when the game’s leading players continued their bid to earn enough PIF ATP Rankings points to qualify for November’s Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

Carlos Alcaraz: Roland Garros, Wimbledon
Dealing with an arm injury across April and May, the Spaniard recovered to perform at his best level during the second quarter’s pair of majors. Alcaraz captured his first Roland Garros title and second Wimbledon crown. He needed a marathon effort in the closing stages of the clay-court major, winning his semi-final and final match in five sets.

Alcaraz then became just the sixth man in the Open Era to complete the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double, joining Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, whom the World No. 3 has defeated in back-to-back Wimbledon finals. “In an interview when I was 11 or 12 years old I said my dream was to win Wimbledon, so I am replaying my dream,” Alcaraz said after triumphing at the All England Club.

Jannik Sinner: Rise to World No. 1 & Halle crown
The 22-year-old star became the first Italian and 29th player to reach World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Sinner, who boasts a 42-4 season record, rose to the top spot after a semi-final run at Roland Garros and the Australian Open champion showed no signs of slowing down.

Sinner’s relentless pursuit of excellence continued as he won his maiden grass-court title in Halle, but it was not easy. The top seed needed a deciding set to claw past his first three opponents, only giving Sinner more time to adapt to the surface. A 14-time tour-level titlist, Sinner became the eighth player in PIF ATP Rankings history (since 1973) to claim a trophy in his first tournament as World No. 1. 

Andrey Rublev: Madrid
“I would say this is the most proud title of my career,” Rublev said after winning the Mutua Madrid Open, his second ATP Masters 1000 title. Despite entering the tournament on a four-match skid, the 26-year-old showed grit and determination to win in the Spanish capital, where he upset two-time reigning champion Alcaraz in the quarters and ousted Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final.

Rublev later revealed he struggled with a tonsillitis abscess, yet still managed to produce one of the best performances of his career. “I was almost dead every day. I was not sleeping at night. The last three, four days I didn’t sleep,” he said after the final. “One day I woke up with my throat [twice as big] as it should be. The throat is in super pain. It’s tough to swallow because it’s painful,” Rublev told ATP Media.

Alexander Zverev: Rome
The German’s triumph at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia marked his biggest title since his catastrophic ankle injury in the Roland Garros semi-finals in 2022. “This one is special in its own way because it proves to me that I can win these kinds of tournaments again,” said Zverev, who
defeated 21st seed Nicolas Jarry in the final. The 27-year-old produced a first-serve masterclass and relied on his baseline firepower to capture his sixth ATP Masters 1000 title and second in Rome (2017).

Hat-tricks for Tsitsipas, Ruud, Fritz
Stefanos Tsitsipas produces his best tennis in the Principality, where he has won three of the past four Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. The Greek overcame Sinner in a dramatic semi-final, the Italian’s second loss of the season, before ousting Casper Ruud in the final, during which Tsitsipas saved all eight break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“This is an unbelievable win for me. Capturing that win today was nerve-wracking. I really wanted this trinity,” Tsitsipas said.

Casper Ruud won his biggest career title at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, avenging his previous week’s Monte-Carlo final loss to Tsitsipas in the championship match.

Joining Tsitsipas as players to win three titles at a single tournament, the Norwegian Ruud triumphed at the Gonet Geneva Open for the third time in four years and Taylor Fritz was unbroken at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne, where the American previously won in 2019 and 2022.

Other Q2 Champions…
Alex de Minaur, No. 6 in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, Tommy Paul and Alejandro Tabilo claimed their second titles of 2024. The Australian continued his push for maiden Nitto ATP Finals qualification with a title run in ‘s-Hertogenbosch while Paul won his first ATP 500 title at the cinch Championships. Alejandro Tabilo triumphed at the Mallorca Championships presented by Waterdrop.

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard announced himself to the big stage with a dream run at his home tournament, the Open Parc in Lyon. The 6’8” Frenchman, competing in just his third tour-level event, saved a championship point against Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Jack Draper won his maiden tour-level title at the BOSS Open in Stuttgart.

Ben Shelton lifted his first clay-court crown at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship, where he became the youngest Houston champion since 19-year-old Andy Roddick in 2002. Matteo Berrettini returned to the winners’ circle for the first time since 2022 with a title run at the Grand Prix Hassan II. Hubert Hurkacz (Estoril), Jan-Lennard Struff (Munich) and Marton Fucsovics (Bucharest) also collected clay-court titles.

Source link

Nadal marks singles return with win against Borg

Rafael Nadal’s first singles match since losing in the first round of the French Open in May ends with a 6-3 6-4 win against Leo Borg in Sweden.

Source link

Fils fires up, rallies past Munar in Hamburg opener

Arthur Fils took his time to find his best level on Tuesday at the Hamburg Open. It was worth the wait.

The #NextGenATP Frenchman overcame Jaume Munar 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 after delivering a classy third-set performance. Fils, who reached his first ATP 500 semi-final in Hamburg a year ago, struck a series of scintillating winners off both wings in the closing stages of his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with Munar.

“The first set was very tough. I think that I was playing quite good, but the level he was playing was unbelievable, actually,” said Fils, who will play 2023 finalist Laslo Djere next. “I tried my best to stay composed, to stay focused in the second set, because maybe if I got an early break his level could drop.

“I think I did a great job in the second set and put my foot on the accelerator. I played my best level in the third set.”

“It doesn’t get better” 🤩

Fils completes a compelling 5-7 6-3 6-1 comeback over Munar@hamburgopenatp | #HamburgOpenATP500 pic.twitter.com/mHaxpVPBPQ

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 16, 2024

Fils converted five of 10 break points he earned, according to Infosys ATP Stats, in his two-hour, 11-minute win. The 20-year-old endured a tough first few months of 2024 and won just seven matches across nine tournaments in February, March and April, but he is now 20-17 for the year after backing up his fourth-round run at Wimbledon with Monday’s Hamburg win.

“I think that I just worked very hard,” said Fils, when asked how he had turned his year around. “In the first part of the season I was working hard. Of course, the results were not there, but I think that if you trust the process, if you still play the best that you can and every day give the best effort that you can, at the end it pays off.”

With his victory against Munar, Fils also extended his lead in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. He is in a strong position to reach the season-ending Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, where he reached the championship match in 2023.

Luciano Darderi was also an early winner in Hamburg on Tuesday. The Italian defeated lucky loser Nick Hardt 6-1, 2-6, 6-0 to set a second-round clash with Alexander Shevchenko.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

Source link

Nearly 2 years on, Opelka makes successful return in Newport

Reilly Opelka last played a tour-level match nearly two years ago, in August 2022, in Washington. The American picked up where he left off on Monday in Newport.

Wild card Opelka defeated Frenchman Constant Lestienne 6-1, 2-6, 7-6(2) in two hours and five minutes to reach the second round of the Infosys Hall of Fame Open.

“It was super nice. It took me a while to find certain things. My return was there in the beginning, which was weird, and my serve wasn’t. Then the return went away and the serve came back and it kind of ended right where I left off,” said Opelka, whose only match during the past 23 months came at an ATP Challenger Tour event last October. “It was nice to be back. It felt like longer than two years. So yeah, it was just nice to find my level again. I’m still just getting my sea legs and trying to figure everything out. But yeah, it’s great to be back.”

First match of the year ✅ ⁰First win of the year ✅⁰⁰Reilly Opelka takes the win over Lestienne 6-1 2-6 7-6(2)⁰⁰@TennisHalloFame | #InfosysHallOfFameOpen pic.twitter.com/rCjMKuWqtK

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 15, 2024

Opelka underwent surgery on his hip and later his wrist, which kept him out for this prolonged period. In 2022 he had reached his career-high PIF ATP Ranking of No. 17.

“It is what it is. It’s part of sports. Luckily, I feel like I’m just kind of picking right back up from where I left in D.C.,” Opelka said. “From where I was a couple months ago, this is a great step for me. I wasn’t sure if I’d be playing this year or not. But I feel really good for now about my body, knock on wood. It seems to change every week, but it’s definitely heading in the right direction.”

According to Infosys ATP Stats the 26-year-old won 89 per cent of his first-serve points and hit 16 aces against Lestienne. He will next play defending champion and top seed Adrian Mannarino, against whom he owns a 3-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head series lead.

“Obviously there are going to be some setbacks, I assume, with my body. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow. I haven’t played this much tennis in two years,” Opelka said. “But Adrian is tough, defending champion, really good on grass, tricky opponent. I haven’t seen a guy like him at his level in a while. I haven’t played a lefty in a long time, so it’ll be fun. It’ll be interesting. A great test for me and a good opportunity to get another look at a top guy.”

Maxime Cressy, the 2022 Newport champion, survived a stern test from Radu Albot 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4) despite hitting 23 double faults.

“It’s very special being back here. [I won] my first ATP title here,” said Cressy, who will next play 2023 finalist and third seed Alex Michelsen. “It’s the best memory of my career by far and looking forward to the next rounds.”

In other action, sixth seed Aleksandar Vukic eased past Coleman Wong 6-1, 6-2 and Aleksandar Kovacevic ousted Harold Mayot 7-6(1), 6-4.\

The final match of the evening between Benoit Paire and Zachary Svajda was suspended due to darkness with the match level at one set all.

Source link

Nadal says Alcaraz 'is going to be one of the best in history'

Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz won his fourth major title on Sunday at Wimbledon and one day later, countryman Rafael Nadal gave the 21-year-old a ringing endorsement.

“My impression is we are talking about a player that is going to be one of the best [in] history. That’s my feeling,” Nadal said after partnering Casper Ruud to a first-round doubles victory at the Nordea Open in Bastad. “[He is] a player with huge potential. Life can change quick, that’s the truth. You never know what can happen in the future. But today if we have to predict what’s going on in his career, we predict amazing things.”

This is not the first time Nadal, a 22-time major champion, has praised Alcaraz. The Spaniards are set to compete together in doubles at the upcoming Paris Olympics.

Ruudal 😜

Can you come up with a better team name? ⬇️@NordeaOpen | #NordeaOpen | @CasperRuud98 | @RafaelNadal pic.twitter.com/7iL6FK9evJ

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 15, 2024

But on Monday in Sweden Nadal dove deeper into why he believes so strongly in the two-time Wimbledon champion, who swept this year’s Roland Garros-Wimbledon double.

“His level of tennis is super high,” Nadal said. “If he is able to stay away from injuries, of course Sinner is there. But I see him with Sinner over the rest today without a doubt. I don’t see a lot of players that can stop him on Tour and I think the best thing that he has today is in every tournament that he plays, doesn’t matter the surface, he is going to be the favourite.”

Nadal explained that in his generation, he was normally the favourite on clay, while early in his career grass was the domain of Roger Federer and hard was split between Federer and Novak Djokovic, according to the lefty.

“But no one player was the favourite before every tournament and today I feel that he has that that aura, that feeling,” Nadal said of Alcaraz. “That’s a big advantage because I think he feels that [if] he’s playing at his level [that it] is difficult that somebody’s going to beat him.”

The 38-year-old this week is competing in the Bastad event for the first time since 2005, when he lifted the trophy as a 19-year-old. Since then, he has authored one of the best careers in the history of the sport.

Nadal will begin his singles tournament on Tuesday against fellow wild card Leo Borg, the son of another former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Bjorn Borg. It will be their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

“When you are 19 or 18 or 17, when I came here for the first time, I remember coming here and just playing with the friends, with Juan Monaco, with Carlos Moya, with Zabaleta, playing Playstation, going for dinner, a little bit of a party later. Different things,” said Nadal, who two decades later owns 1,075 tour-level wins according to Infosys ATP Stats. “When you are 38, life changes a little bit and you put more attention on how beautiful is the place, I even didn’t remember how beautiful the place is when I came here now.

“I can tell you that when you are a little bit older, you get more interested in things. You are more interested in going around a little bit, to walk around next to the sea, to know a little bit more about the village. Last time that I was here, I was just 19, so [it is a] different world, I can tell you.”

Source link

Norrie beats Kovalik in Swedish Open first round

Britain’s Cameron Norrie beats Jozef Kovalik 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 in the first round of the Swedish Open.

Source link

Varillas hands Thiem heartbreaking farewell to Gstaad

Peruvian qualifier Juan Pablo Varillas handed Dominic Thiem a heartbreaking final appearance at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad after denying the 2020 US Open champion in a third-set tie-break Monday.

A two-time quarter-finalist at the clay-court ATP 250, Varillas came into the tournament with just one tour-level match win on the season. Making his final appearance in the picturesque Swiss town, Thiem rallied from a set down to lead 4-2 in the third but was ultimately denied in a deciding-set tie-break as Varillas powered home to a 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(4) win.

Playing his final season, the former World No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings was looking for just his third match win on the season and first since Estoril in late April.

Varillas next faces a first-time Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Italian veteran Fabio Fognini, who defeated French qualifier Titouan Droguet 6-4, 6-3.

German Jan-Lennard Struff fired 11 aces and won 86 per cent of first-serve points according to Infosys ATP Stats in a 7-6(6), 7-6(4) win over Spanish veteran Albert Ramos-Vinaolas in a match that featured just two breaks of serve.

Source link

Cobolli keeps cool to down Altmaier in Hamburg

Flavio Cobolli overcame second-set disappointment to notch a first-round win Monday at the Hamburg Open.

The Italian defeated home hope Daniel Altmaier 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3 on his debut at the ATP 500. Cobolli let slip a match point at 6/5 in the second-set tie-break, but held his nerve in the decider to set a second-round meeting with eighth seed Zhang Zhizhen or Thiago Seyboth Wild.

“I’m so happy for the win. I think it’s never easy to play with Daniel, in his country,” said Cobolli after prevailing in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Altmaier. “I don’t think I played a really good match, but it is never easy to come back [to clay] after a month on grass courts. It is a pleasure to play here in Hamburg, on my favourite surface, so I’m really happy for this win and ready for the next round.”

C😲BOLLI 🇮🇹@cobollifla edges Altmaier 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3 with tennis like this!@hamburgopenatp | #HamburgOpenATP500 pic.twitter.com/HNMzOCKhiJ

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 15, 2024

Cobolli is now 6-1 in opening rounds at tour-level clay events this year, with his only first-round defeat coming against Rafael Nadal in Barcelona. The 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF competitor is 20-17 for the year overall.

Despite Altmaier’s defeat, there was a victory for the home fans to cheer on Monday in Hamburg. Maximilian Marterer overcame Soonwoo Kwon 6-4, 6-7(6), 7-5 for his second tour-level win of the season. The 29-year-old lefty next plays fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo, who claimed five service breaks in a 7-5, 6-4 win over fellow Argentine Francisco Comesana, who recently reached the Wimbledon third round.

Laslo Djere fell just short of lifting the Hamburg trophy in 2023, when he reached the championship match before losing to Alexander Zverev. The Serbian began this year’s campaign strongly by defeating Zizou Bergs 6-3, 7-6(4).

The 29-year-old Djere converted two of three break points he earned, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to set a second-round encounter with fifth seed Arthur Fils or Jaume Munar.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

Source link

De Minaur hits career high, Mover of Week

Carlos Alcaraz clinched his second major title of the season on Sunday by defeating Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon. The Spaniard remains the World No. 3, but his fellow Top 10 star Alex de Minaur is among those who have made a big jump after also impressing at the grass-court major.

ATPTour.com looks at the movers in the PIF ATP Rankings as of Monday, 15 July.

No. 6 Alex de Minaur, +3 (Career High)
De Minaur continued his stellar 2024 season by reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time. The 25-year-old defeated James Duckworth, Jaume Munar and Arthur Fils to improve to 36-12 for the year. He was forced to withdraw prior to his last-eight clash with Novak Djokovic due to a hip injury, but the Australian has nonetheless risen three spots to a career-high No. 6.

No. 16 Lorenzo Musetti, +9
The 22-year-old Musetti enjoyed a dream run to his maiden major semi-final at Wimbledon. The Italian star battled through two five-set matches during his run, including in his quarter-final triumph against Taylor Fritz. Although Djokovic proved too strong in the last four, Musetti has moved up nine spots to No. 16, one shy of his career high.

No. 28 Arthur Fils, +6 (Career High)
Fils boosted his lead in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah by moving past Dominic Stricker, Hubert Hurkacz and Roman Safiullin before falling to De Minaur at the All England Club. It was the 20-year-old’s maiden fourth-round appearance at a Grand Slam, and he has risen six spots to a career-high No. 28 in the PIF ATP Rankings as a result.

No. 44 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, +14 (Career High)
Fils’ good friend and countryman Mpetshi Perricard added another strong run to his breakout year by also reaching the Wimbledon fourth round. The Lyon champion overcame Sebastian Korda with the help of 51 aces for his first main-draw win at a major, before also beating Yoshihito Nishioka and Emil Ruusuvuori. The 21-year-old is now a Top 50 player for the first time.

No. 75 Roberto Bautista Agut, +37
The 11-time ATP Tour champion Bautista Agut has continued his rise back up the PIF ATP Rankings thanks to a fourth-round run at SW19. The highlight of the 36-year-old’s run was a five-set triumph against another former Top 10 player, Fabio Fognini, in the third round.

PIF ATP DOUBLES RANKINGS

No. 1 (Tied) Marcel Granollers & Horacio Zeballos, +1
They may have fallen short of their maiden major title, but Granollers and Zeballos are back on top of the world after reaching the semi-finals on the London grass. The Spaniard and Argentine have risen together above Matthew Ebden to become the joint-No. 1s in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings. Granollers and Zeballos also jointly held top spot for three weeks across May and June.

Other Notable Top 100 Singles Movers
No. 11 Taylor Fritz, +1
No. 15 Ugo Humbert, +1
No. 26 Jack Draper, +2 (Career High)
No. 34 Zhang Zhizhen, +4
No. 37 Jan-Lennard Struff, +4
No. 43 Alexei Popyrin, +4
No. 34 Zhang Zhizhen, +4
No. 53 Brandon Nakashima, +12
No. 54 Roberto Carballes Baena, +10
No. 66 Arthur Rinderknech, +10
No. 70 Emil Ruusuvuori, +17
No. 80 Fabio Fognini, +14
No. 100 Francisco Comesana, +22

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

Source link