Best shots as Raducanu shines in Eastbourne debut
Watch the best shots as Emma Raducanu eases past Sloane Stephens in straight sets to mark her Eastbourne debut with a win.
Watch the best shots as Emma Raducanu eases past Sloane Stephens in straight sets to mark her Eastbourne debut with a win.
Jakub Mensik made tournament history Tuesday at the Mallorca Championships, knocking off defending champion Christopher Eubanks to become the youngest match-winner at the ATP 250. The 18-year-old earned a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 result for his first grass-court win.
Mensik joins 19-year-old Alex Michelsen, who is into the quarter-finals, as the only teen winners in the event’s main draw.
“For me it’s a good result,” he said in his on-court interview. “Obviously after difficult weeks, suffering with the injury, I’m happy to compete again. Back on grass with a ‘W’, I’m happy and I will be pushing more for the next round.”
[ATP APP]Mensik missed Roland Garros through injury but is now finding form on the grass behind his powerful serve. He hit 12 aces and won 84 per cent (38/45) of his first-serve points in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Eubanks, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
Eubanks was bidding to become the first player to successfully defend the Mallorca title.
Former college stars Adam Walton and Paul Jubb also earned wins early in Tuesday’s action. Walton, the 2021 NCAA doubles champion with the Tennessee Volunteers, beat Yannick Hanfmann 7-5, 6-2. Jubb, the 2019 NCAA singles champion with South Carolina, scored a 6-1, 6-2 result against Maximilian Marterer. The qualifiers will square off for a place in the quarter-finals.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Kenyan tennis player Angella Okutoyi has launched an appeal to organisers in a bid to feature at the Paris Olympic Games.
Emil Ruusuvuori continues to thrive in the role of spoiler on British soil. The Finn extended his perfect record against British players in Great Britain to 6-0 Tuesday at the Rothesay International with a 7-6(9), 6-3 win against Cameron Norrie in the Eastbourne opening round.
The 25-year-old snapped a five-match grass-court losing streak (including matches on the ATP Challenger Tour) by improving to 10-3 against Brits at all levels and 2-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head against Norrie.
“Cam is one of the toughest players out there,” the Finn said post-match. “But playing a Brit here is good. I got on centre court and just tried to enjoy it. I played a very good level today in tough moments, so it was very good.”
[ATP APP]Ruusuvuori saved all seven break points against him, according to Infosys ATP Stats, including two as he served out the match. He also saved two set points in an extended opening-set tie-break before snatching the lone break of the match in the sixth game of set two. The Finn lost just two points on second serve (16/18), winning those points at an 89 per cent clip in the 95-minute match.
He will next meet China’s Shang Juncheng, who beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(4) on Monday.
Thiago Seyboth Wild also advanced early on Tuesday with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Aussie John McCabe. The Brazilian saved five of six break points in the victory to set up a second-round showdown with top seed Taylor Fritz.
This Hustle from @gileshussey 🚀😮💨@the_LTA | #RothesayInternational pic.twitter.com/Hj6AkmKuuG
— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 25, 2024
Great Britain’s Giles Hussey earned a win on home soil in his tour-level debut, upsetting sixth seed Mariano Navone 6-4, 6-2. The 27-year-old lucky loser picked up his second victory against an opponent inside the Top 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings this week; he beat World No. 98 Arthur Cazaux in the first round of qualifying before losing to Shang.
Hussey will next meet Flavio Cobolli, a 6-4, 7-5 winner against Arthur Rinderknech. Lorenzo Sonego (d. Henry Searle), Miomir Kecmanovic (d. Zhang Zhizhen) and Yoshihito Nishioka (d. Liam Broady) also advanced in straight sets Tuesday.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Cameron Norrie’s disappointing season continues with a first-round defeat by Emil Ruusuvuori at Eastbourne.
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Jay Clarke denies former world number eight Diego Schwartzman one final trip to Wimbledon by beating him in straight sets in the first round of qualifying.
Emma Raducanu has “rekindled” her love for tennis in recent weeks as she prepares to take on Sloane Stephens at Eastbourne.
Gael Monfils rode an outstanding day on serve to snap a six-match losing streak against Dominic Thiem at the Mallorca Championships presented by Waterdrop.
Monfils came into the match with an 0-6 Lexus ATP Head2Head record against the Austrian, but fired 13 aces, won 90 per cent of first-serve points and did not face a break point en route to a 6-3, 7-6(3) win.
[ATP APP]The 37-year-old Frenchman advances to play Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena, who defeated countryman Pablo Carreno Busta in a third-set tie-break on Sunday. Improving to 14-13 on the year, Monfils seeks to reach his first quarter-final since making the Doha semi-finals in February.
“Today was a good match, I served good,” Monfils said.
Thiem, who has announced that the 2024 season will be his last, was acknowledged by the tournament during a brief post-match ceremony. “I have been here many times before the tournament and twice for the tournament and it has been great,” Thiem said. “I’m really looking forward to coming back to this nice club to watch the tournament in the future.”
Earlier, Italian veteran Fabio Fognini saved three of four break points faced to defeat Dutch lucky loser Gijs Brouwer 7-6(4), 7-6(5).
Australian Rinky Hijikata, who comes into the week just five places below his career-high PIF ATP Ranking of 70 after last week reaching the Queen’s quarter-finals, defeated Luca Nardi 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 after seeing the Italian save 14 of 18 break points faced.
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Novak Djokovic says he will only play at this year’s Wimbledon if he can “fight for the title”.