Tennis News

Fritz, Paul compete in Eastbourne; Shelton headlines Mallorca

The grass-court swing continues on the ATP Tour this week at the Rothesay International and the Mallorca Championships.

Two-time champion Taylor Fritz and American Tommy Paul compete in Eastbourne, where Francisco Cerundolo returns as the defending champion at the ATP 250. Ben Shelton leads the Mallorca field, with Ugo Humbert also in action.

ATPTour.com looks at 10 things to watch across the two events.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN EASTBOURNE

1) Fritz Aims For Hat-Trick: Top seed Fritz boasts a 9-2 record across four appearances at the ATP 250, where he lifted the trophy in 2019 and 2022, the latter coming a week before his Wimbledon quarter-final run. The American, searching for his second title of the year, has not won the same event three times in his career.

2) Defending Champion Cerundolo Leads Other Seeds: Paul, Alexander Bublik and Cerundolo look to add to their grass-court pedigree. Cerundolo last year claimed his maiden grass title when he beat Paul in the Eastbourne final. The 2023 Halle champion Bublik, who has made two additional grass finals, is making his third appearance in Eastbourne.

3) Fils Fleeing From Jeddah Contenders: #NextGenATP Arthur Fils looks to add to his substantial lead in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. The 20-year-old, aiming for a return trip to the 20-and-under Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, leads second-placed Jakub Mensik by more than 320 points. Fils arrives in Eastbourne following a quarter-final run in Halle, his career-best grass result.

4) Don’t Sleep On ‘ZZZ’: Last year’s quarter-finalist Zhang Zhizhen posted one of his biggest career wins in Halle, where he upset World No. 5 Daniil Medvedev en route to the semi-finals. Set to rise to a career high inside the Top 35 of the PIF ATP Rankings, Zhang aims to build upon his momentum.

5) Nishikori Makes Grass Return: Japanese star and former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori is set to play his first grass event since 2021 Wimbledon. The 34-year-old reached the Eastbourne semi-finals in 2011 and now 13 years later, Nishikori returns to the ATP 250 in what will be his third tournament of the year.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN MALLORCA

1) Shelton Seeks First Grass Win Of 2024: After early exits at Stuttgart and Queen’s Club, Shelton is bidding for his first grass win of the season — and the third tour-level grass win of his career — in Mallorca. The top seed picked up wins at Queen’s and Wimbledon last year but has yet to win multiple matches at an event on the lawns. He will open against Luca Nardi or Rinky Hijikata in Spain.

2) Monfils, Thiem Square Off: The popcorn match of the Mallorca first round will see sixth seed Gael Monfils take on wild card Dominic Thiem. Theim leads their ATP Head2Head 6-0, with their most recent meeting coming at the 2020 Australian Open — but they have never before met on grass. Both players are competing on the surface for the first time this season.

3) Humbert, Mannarino Make Three Seeded Frenchman: Second seed Humbert and third seed Adrian Mannarino join Monfils among the seeded French players in the ATP 250 draw. Both Humbert and Mannarino seek to atone for an opening loss at Queen’s. Prior to that, Humbert, was a semi-finalist at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, where Mannarino reached the last 16.

4) Carballes Baena Leads Spanish Charge: Five Spaniards (plus qualifiers) will compete on home soil in Mallorca, led by Robert Carballes Baena, the No. 62 man in the PIF ATP Rankings. RCB will meet countryman and wild card Pablo Carreno Busta in the first round. They are joined by Jaume Munar (vs. Sebastian Ofner), Pedro Martinez (vs. Luciano Darderi) and Roberto Bautista Agut (vs. Taro Daniel) in the singles draw.

5) Top Doubles Seeds All Countrymen: Each of the top three doubles seeds share the same flag. Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow are the top seeds, followed by Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen, then Frenchmen Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul. India’s Yuki Bhambri, who won the 2023 Mallorca doubles title with Lloyd Harris, partner’s Frenchman Albano Olivetti this year.

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Sinner reaches first grass final in Halle

After notching three consecutive three-set wins to begin his Terra Wortmann Open campaign, Jannik Sinner finished the job in straight sets on Saturday. Still, he was made to work for his 6-4, 7-6(3) semi-final victory against Zhang Zhizhen.

The result saw Sinner through to his first grass final, with his best previous result on the lawns a semi-final showing last year at Wimbledon (l. to Djokovic). He will meet 2022 Halle champion Hubert Hurkacz in Sunday’s title match.

“It means a lot. I had four very tough matches to go to the final,” Sinner said in his post-match interview. “It was a good match today. Definitely more rallies than yesterday and that’s exactly what I needed today. I’m happy and let’s see what’s coming tomorrow.”

Ticking off the milestones 🔝👏

World No.1 @janniksin also heads into a 1st grass final 6-4, 7-6(3) over Zhang@ATPHalle | #TerraWortmannOpen pic.twitter.com/0rXohGdRcG

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 22, 2024

In a match of fine margins that hung on a knife’s edge throughout, Sinner claimed his lone break point late in the opening set and saved the only break point against him to erase a set point for Zhang at 5-6 in the second. Sinner ripped a brave forehand winner to fend off that break chance, then made good on a fast start to the tie-break to escape in two sets in the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

“In important moments [I was] trying to serve well,” the Italian said. “He returned actually really well in some moments so I had to be very careful. I had to save a set point in the second set. If not I had to go again in three sets. But this is a grass court, anything can happen.”

Both Sinner and Zhang won 80 per cent of their first-serve points in a match dominated by the server. Sinner fired eight aces and Zhang hit nine, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

The 22-year-old is bidding to become the eighth man in PIF ATP Rankings history to win the title in his first event as a World No. 1, and the first to do it since Andy Murray at the 2016 Nitto ATP Finals.

Zhang was seeking his second Top 5 win of the week after he beat World No. 5 Daniil Medvedev on Wednesday for the best career win by PIF ATP Ranking. Playing in his second ATP Tour semi-final (Hamburg 2023), the 27-year-old was stopped short in his bid to become the second Chinese player to reach a tour-level final (Wu Yibing, Dallas 2023). Zhang was also attempting to become the first Chinese player to beat a reigning World No. 1.

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Predictor Picks: Why a Fritz Eastbourne hat-trick could help your team

The grass-court season continues to heat up at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne and the Mallorca Championships, both ATP 250 events. Among the stars in action across the two tournaments will be Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton and Ugo Humbert.

Before each tournament week, ATPTour.com looks at three players who might be good selections for fans in the PIF ATP Rankings Predictor.

Make Your Picks Now!

Taylor Fritz — replacing 45 points
Fritz won his first ATP Tour title in Eastbourne in 2019 and claimed another trophy at the ATP 250 in 2022. Will the American claim his third over the coming week?

The seven-time tour-level champion reached the quarter-finals last week at Queen’s Club, where he earned two wins before losing to Australian Jordan Thompson. Fritz now owns a 27-12 record this season.

The 26-year-old will play Thiago Seyboth Wild or a qualifier in his opening match. Tomas Martin Etcheverry is the first seeded opponent he could face.

Jordan Thompson — replacing 45 points
The Australian entered the cinch Championships on a five-match losing streak, but has rediscovered the form that helped him win his first ATP Tour title earlier this year in Los Cabos.

Thompson has reached two of his three tour-level finals on grass, both in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. With his run at Queen’s Club, the 30-year-old has shown his comfort on the surface and will try to maintain it in Mallorca, where he will begin his tournament against Yannick Hanfmann.

The seventh seed could meet top seed Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals and the American has won their first two Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings. However, both of those matches were tight three-setters.

Marcos Giron — replacing 20 points
It has been a memorable season for Giron, who made his second ATP Tour final earlier this year in Dallas.

The grass-court season has been especially successful for the American. The former college tennis star (UCLA) earned a victory against former World No. 1 Andy Murray in Stuttgart and triumphs against Andrey Rublev and Matteo Berrettini in Halle.

Giron is making his debut in Eastbourne, where he will try to maintain his momentum against fifth seed Francisco Cerundolo. It is a tough opener for the 30-year-old, but he has proven to not mind the challenge in recent weeks.

Bonus Ball — Taylor Fritz
Fritz, the highest-ranked player in action this week, will only be replacing 45 points, giving him an opportunity to add as many as 455 net points. Place your Bonus Ball on the American, and a title would net your team 910 points.

The Eastbourne top seed has advanced to at least the quarter-finals at six tournaments this year and historically he has enjoyed success at ATP 250 events. Fritz has won five of his seven titles at the level, to which the Rothesay International belongs.

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Hurkacz moves past Zverev to reach Halle final

Former champion Hubert Hurkacz moved to within one win of clinching his second title at the Terra Wortmann Open on Saturday when he overcame World No. 4 Alexander Zverev 7-6(2), 6-4.

The fifth-seeded Pole produced an impressive serving display in his semi-final clash against Zverev, firing 17 aces and saving all four break points he faced to earn his fifth Top 10 grass-court win.

“It needed to be really good,” Hurkacz said. “He is such a good competitor and is playing good tennis, reaching the final at the French [Roland Garros] and playing at a really high level.

“I am really confident on my serve. I am serving really good. There were some moments but I managed to believe in my game and hit some good serves and good shots, so I stayed pretty calm.”

With his one-hour, 33-minute triumph in Halle, Hurkacz improved to 1-3 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Zverev. Into his 11th tour-level final, the 27-year-old will aim to clinch his ninth ATP Tour title when he faces top seed Jannik Sinner on Sunday.

Hurkacz has often produced his best level on grass, winning the title at the ATP 500 event in 2022. The 2021 Wimbledon semi-finalist is up two spots to No. 7 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and will move to a career high on Monday.

“I really love grass,” Hurkacz said. “The surface suites my game and the atmosphere here, having the full crowd is incredible. It brings so much joy to the players.”

Germany’s Zverev advanced to the title match on home soil in Halle in 2016 and 2017 but was unable to find a way past Hurkacz, who won 81 per cent (43/56) of his first-serve points according to ATP Infosys Stats. The two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion leaves the event holding a 37-11 record on the season.

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Tsitsipas, Ruud, Shelton sign up for doubles duty at Wimbledon

Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Ben Shelton lead a strong group of singles players who have signed on to play doubles at this year’s Wimbledon.

World No. 4 Daniil Medvedev has also entered but is two spots away from making the acceptance list cut with Brazilian Marcelo Demoliner. Andy Murray and Jamie Murray are eighth on the alternate list but would stand a strong chance of receiving a wild card if the two-time Wimbledon singles champion declares himself fit to play after undergoing a back procedure Saturday.

Tsitsipas will team with his brother Petros Tsitsipas for the second straight major. At Roland Garros the brothers took out fourth seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek en route to the quarter-finals, where they were stopped by eventual champions Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic.

Ruud, No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings, will partner American William Blumberg. World No. 14 Shelton will partner Mackenzie McDonald. Other Top 20 singles players entered in doubles are Ugo Humbert (w/ Arthur Fils), Alexander Bublik (w/ Alexander Shevchenko), Sebastian Baez (w/ Dustin Brown).

Marcelo Granollers and Horacio Zeballos head the acceptance list along with Australian Open champions Matthew Ebden, a former Wimbledon doubles champion, and Rohan Bopanna.

View doubles acceptance list

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Andy Murray readies for 'back procedure' in quest to play Wimbledon

Andy Murray will undergo a back procedure Saturday as he races the clock to be fit for a likely farewell appearance at Wimbledon.

The former World No. 1 retired from his second-round match against Jordan Thompson at Queen’s on Wednesday and acknowledged that he had been struggling with an ongoing back complaint.

Murray’s management team issued a statement Friday that read: “Andy is having a procedure on his back tomorrow. We will know more after this has taken place and will update further as soon as possible.”

His brother Jamie Murray, who this week is serving as tournament director at the cinch Championships, told the BBC on Friday: “He saw a specialist yesterday evening and he’s basically trying to decide what his next move is.

“I don’t think it’s right for me to go into that personally, that’s up to him, but I think he has got a few decisions to make.

“It’s obviously incredibly disappointing for him that this was potentially going to be his last Queen’s, last Wimbledon and Olympics, and there’s a potential that that might not be able to happen.

“I think he’s got to make a few decisions, and see where he goes from there.”

Murray, 37, who is currently No. 129 in the PIF ATP Rankings, played his 1000th match in the first round of Queen’s earlier this week before retiring against Thompson on Wednesday. The 2016 Nitto ATP Finals champion is 6-12 on the year. Earlier in the year he missed almost two months after injuring his ankle in Miami.

Murray is a two-time Wimbledon champion, two-time Olympic champion, US Open champion and a 14-time ATP Masters 1000 champion. He has won 46 singles titles during his career according to Infosys ATP Stats.

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Paul ends Draper's run at Queen's – best shots

Watch the best shots as USA’s Tommy Paul brings Jack Draper’s run at Queen’s to an end with a 3-6 7-5 6-4 quarter-final win.

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Sinner survives Struff's clutch serving to snatch three-set win

In the face of a brilliant serving display from Jan-Lennard Struff, Jannik Sinner held firm Friday to advance to the Terra Wortmann Open semi-finals. Struff hit 18 aces and saved 16 of 18 break points — including all 11 in the second and third sets — but could not pull off the upset against the new No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

The Italian’s 6-2, 6-7(1), 7-6(3) result was his third consecutive three-set win in Halle, after earlier victories against Tallon Griekspoor and Fabian Marozsan. Sinner lost a tie-break in each of the three matches.

“It was a very tough match,” Sinner said. “I had chances in the second, had chances in the third, but couldn’t use them. It was 0/40 [in the first game of the third set]. I just try to accept these kind of challenges. Obviously it has been very tough, also mentally. I’m very pleased to be in the next round, I played a lot yesterday, I played a lot also today — two and a half hours on grass, it’s a long time. I’ll try to recover for tomorrow and hopefully show some good tennis.”

Playing in his first event as World No. 1, Sinner has yet to meet a seeded opponent. That trend will continue in Saturday’s semis, when he takes on Zhang Zhizhen or Christopher Eubanks.

Sinner is bidding to become the eighth man in PIF ATP Rankings history to win the title in his first event as No. 1, and the first to do it since Andy Murray at the 2016 Nitto ATP Finals.

No dive today 😅🦊@janniksin with ANOTHER sliding success in Halle@ATPHalle | #TerraWortmannOpen pic.twitter.com/Ao9wfWKeJi

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 21, 2024

Against Struff, the Italian found early success by attacking his opponent’s backhand, breaking twice in the opening set. But Struff lifted his aggression in the second, particularly on his forehand, and stepped in on Sinner’s second serve to fight back. Sinner won 67 per cent of his second-serve points in the first set followed by just 36 per cent in the second set, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Two Sinner double faults at 2-2 in the third set helped Struff create his first break point as the match clock struck two hours, but the Italian fought it off and the set moved quickly toward a tie-break. The third-set tie-break was Struff’s 10th decisive tie-break of 2024 (5-5, including his Halle opener) and Sinner’s first.

The victory improved Sinner to 3-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head against Struff, whom he beat earlier this season in Indian Wells and Monte-Carlo. The Italian is through to his second tour-level semi-final on grass (Wimbledon 2023). He is on a 34-match winning streak vs. players ranked outside Top 20 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

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Paul ends Draper's run, reaches Queen's SFs

Tommy Paul reached his second tour-level grass-court semi-final on Friday at the cinch Championships, where he snapped Jack Draper’s seven-match winning streak.

The American played aggressively throughout the two-hour, five-minute encounter in west London, attacking the Briton’s second serve at every opportunity to earn a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory. Paul hit his flat groundstrokes through the fast conditions and won 51 per cent (18/35) of points on Draper’s second delivery to improve to 2-3 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

“I played good tennis and I like the grass. I knew today was going to be a battle,” Paul said. “It is never easy against Jack, he has been playing such good tennis, so I am really happy to get through that one.”

Flying the flag 🇺🇸🔢@TommyPaul1 hits the semi-finals 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 past Draper@QueensTennis | #cinchChampionships pic.twitter.com/ljHnC1oqLy

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 21, 2024

The home favourite Draper lifted his maiden tour-level title in Stuttgart last week and then upset World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the second round at Queen’s for the biggest win of his career by PIF ATP Rankings. However, he could not battle to an eighth consecutive victory, with Paul fresher in the third set.

The fifth seed is now 25-10 on the season and will meet countryman Sebastian Korda. Paul’s previous best result on grass came in Eastbourne last year when he lost to Francisco Cerundolo in the final.

Korda, with a 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4 result against Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata, became the first American to reach consecutive Queen’s Club semi-finals since Andy Roddick advanced that stage each year from 2003-09. He is up three places this week to No. 20 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, setting himself up for a new career high.

Earlier, Lorenzo Musetti continued his impressive grass-court season by ending Billy Harris’ run. The Italian moved past the British wild card 6-3, 7-5 to reach his second consecutive semi-final on the surface.

Musetti, who advanced to the last four in Stuttgart last week, fired 20 winners and committed just six unforced errors according to ATP Infosys stats to triumph after one hour and 41 minutes in London.

Harris was competing in his first tour-level quarter-final, having upset Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard earlier this week. The 29-year-old is up 23 spots to No. 139 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

Musetti is chasing his third tour-level title and will next play Jordan Thompson after the Australian defeated fourth seed Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-3.

Thompson, who did not face a break point against Fritz to improve to 1-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series, arrived in London on a five-match losing streak. However, the 30-year-old has looked back to his best at the ATP 500, also defeating Holger Rune and record five-time champion Andy Murray.

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Murray to undergo back procedure before Wimbledon

Britain’s Andy Murray will undergo a procedure on his back after being forced to retire from his second-round match at Queen’s with injury.

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