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Thiem Boosts London Chances, Mover Of The Week

  • Posted: Sep 24, 2018

Thiem Boosts London Chances, Mover Of The Week

ATPWorldTour.com looks at the top Movers of the Week in the ATP Race To London, as of Monday, 24 September 2018

No. 7 Dominic Thiem, +1
Dominic Thiem improved his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 11-18 November, after capturing his first hard-court title in over two and a half years at the St. Petersburg Open. Read More & Watch Highlights

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Thiem dropped only one set en route to his first indoor tour-level trophy, defeating Jan-Lennard Struff, Daniil Medvedev, Roberto Bautista Agut and Martin Klizan en route to the title. This year’s Roland Garros runner-up, who leads the ATP World Tour with 48 victories this season (48-15), has picked up three trophies in 2018, having previously triumphed on clay in Buenos Aires and Lyon.

Thiem is attempting to qualify for the third straight year and join Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer at the season finale.

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No. 28 Gilles Simon, +11
After two seasons on the ATP World Tour without a title run in 2016 and 2017, Gilles Simon captured his second crown of the season at the Moselle Open. The Frenchman, who lifted the Tata Open Maharashtra title in the opening week of the season, conceded just one set all week as he clinched his third title in Metz. The 33-year-old has now won multiple tour-level trophies in a season for the first time since 2011 and owns 28 victories from 46 matches on the ATP World Tour this year. Read More

No. 40 Martin Klizan, +10
Despite falling short of becoming the first man since the ATP World Tour began in 1990 to win his first seven title matches, Martin Klizan enjoyed a stellar week at the St. Petersburg Open. The Generali Open titlist defeated second seed Fabio Fognini, #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov and former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka in consecutive matches before falling to Thiem in the championship match.

No. 59 Stan Wawrinka, +12
The 16-time tour-level titlist reached his second semi-final of the season in St. Petersburg as he continues to rediscover his best form, following a six-month absence, due to knee injury, in 2017. The Swiss won three consecutive matches in straight sets to reach the final four, where he was edged by Klizan in three sets.

Other Notable Top 100 Movers This Week
No. 30 Gael Monfils, +4
No. 54 Malek Jaziri, +4
No. 72 Mikhail Kukushkin, +4
No. 77 Laslo Djere, +6
No. 86 Federico Delbonis, +11
No. 95 Filip Krajinovic, +4
No. 99 Jordan Thompson, +8

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Mmoh Notches Third Challenger Crown In Columbus

  • Posted: Sep 24, 2018

Mmoh Notches Third Challenger Crown In Columbus

Revisit the week that was on the ATP Challenger Tour as we applaud the achievements of those on the rise and look ahead to who’s in action in the week to come

A LOOK BACK
Columbus Challenger (Columbus, Ohio, USA): Three years, three titles. Michael Mmoh secured his third ATP Challenger Tour crown on Sunday, triumphing on the indoor hard courts of Columbus. The #NextGenATP American was a dominant force on the campus of Ohio State University, reeling off 10 sets in a row to lift the trophy.

Mmoh ousted top seed Jordan Thompson 6-3, 7-6(4) in one hour and 46 minutes to take the title. He has now emerged victorious in three consecutive seasons, having reigned in Knoxville in 2016 and in Lexington in 2017. The 20-year-old rises 16 spots to a career-high No. 108 in the ATP Rankings and is up to 11th place in the ATP Race To Milan.

The youth movement is thriving on the Challenger circuit, with Mmoh becoming the 17th different #NextGenATP winner this year. He joins Taylor Fritz, Reilly Opelka and Ulises Blanch as American titlists aged 21 & under.

OEC Open (Kaohsiung, Taiwan): Gael Monfils became the fifth player to triumph on both the ATP World Tour and ATP Challenger Tour this year, winning the title in Kaohsiung on Sunday. Learn more about the Frenchman’s victory…

You May Also Like: Allez! Monfils Overcomes #NextGenATP Test For Kaohsiung Crown

Sibiu Open (Sibiu, Romania): How about this for a story. Dragos Dima had won just two matches on the ATP Challenger Tour since making his debut in 2014. But this week, he put everything together in clinching his maiden title on home soil in Sibiu. He scored significant upsets of second seed Dennis Novak and seventh seed Pedro Martinez, before routing Dutch qualifier Jelle Sels 6-3, 6-2 in the championship match.

Dima entered the week at No. 394 in the ATP Rankings and would rise a total of 115 spots to a career-high of No. 279. He is the first Romanian to triumph on the circuit in two years.

Dima

Thindown Challenger (Biella, Italy): Second seed Federico Delbonis streaked to his 10th Challenger crown, prevailing on the clay of Biella. He defeated home hope Stefano Napolitano 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday, completing a strong finish to the tournament which saw him not drop a set in his last four matches.

Delbonis is back inside the Top 100, moving up to No. 91 in the ATP Rankings. He joins Guido Andreozzi (3), Juan Ignacio Londero (2), Carlos Berlocq (1), Marco Trungelliti (1) and Facundo Bagnis (1) as Argentine winners this year.

A LOOK AHEAD
There are two tournaments on tap this week: the prestigious Open d’Orleans in Orleans, France, and the $100,000 event in Tiburon, California, USA.

In Orleans, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will appear in his second tournament in his comeback from a knee injury. He missed the last seven months of the season, before returning at the Moselle Open last week. The top seed in Orleans, it will be Tsonga’s first Challenger appearance since 2007. Two former champions – Norbert Gombos (2017) and Sergiy Stakhovsky (2014) – are in the field.

In Tiburon, the three-week Northern California swing kicks off with the 10th edition of the Wells Fargo Tiburon Challenger. Mmoh, seeded fifth, looks to go back-to-back, while Marcel Granollers is the top seed. Mmoh will face Darian King in a rematch of the 2016 final, which was won by the Barbadan.

ATP Challenger Tour 

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Federer and Zverev win singles as Europe retain Laver Cup

  • Posted: Sep 24, 2018

Germany’s Alexander Zverev beat South African Kevin Anderson 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 10-7 as Team Europe completed victory over Team World on the final day of the Laver Cup exhibition event in Chicago.

Roger Federer also beat John Isner 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (10-8) 10-7 as Europe retained the trophy 13-8.

Earlier Federer and Zverev had lost their doubles rubber to Isner and fellow American Jack Sock.

Europe led 7-5 overnight, with three points for a win on the final day.

That meant Isner and Sock’s opening 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 11-9 win in Sunday’s doubles edged Team World in front 8-7 before Swiss great Federer, the world number two, and Zverev, world ranked five, swung things decisively in Europe’s favour.

Zverev’s victory, from a set down to Wimbledon finalist Anderson, spared Novak Djokovic a final singles rubber against Australia’s Nick Kyrgios, the Serbian US open champion having lost his first two matches of the competition on Friday and Saturday.

“I’m just happy to get the win and we defended the title,” the 21-year-old Zverev said after the event.

“I mean, Roger [Federer] is not a good coach, but we will leave that,” he joked.

“No, he helped me a lot, he gave me some tactical advice and it worked because I won the second set and then the match tie-break.

“It was such a close match all around, not only this one but all weekend – a few points here and there and it could have been different.”

The European team was led by Swedish tennis legend Bjorn Borg, who said: “It’s been an unbelievable week. I’m very proud of my team – we knew it was going to be very difficult to beat Team World.”

Team Europe won the inaugural tournament in Prague last year. Next year’s competition will take place in Geneva from 20-22 September.

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Scouting Report: 20 Things To Watch In Shenzhen & Chengdu

  • Posted: Sep 23, 2018

Scouting Report: 20 Things To Watch In Shenzhen & Chengdu

An executive summary of what every fan should know about the coming week on the ATP World Tour

For the first time in 2018, the ATP World Tour travels to China, with two exciting ATP World Tour 250-level events taking place this week.

Andy Murray, the inaugural titlist in 2014, and defending champion David Goffin return to the Shenzhen Open for the tournament’s fifth edition. A trio of #NextGenATP stars — Stefanos Tsitsipas, Denis Shapovalov and Alex de Minaur — are also in the field.

A new champion will be crowned at the Chengdu Open, where the field features seven players who have captured tour-level titles this season. Italian Fabio Fognini, who has already triumphed three times this campaign, is the top seed. Defending titlist Denis Istomin and 2016 champion Karen Khachanov are not in the draw.

View Draws: Shenzhen | Chengdu

10 THINGS TO WATCH IN SHENZHEN
1) Comeback Continues:
 Shenzhen marks the sixth event and his first-round encounter will be the 10th match of Murray’s comeback from right hip surgery, which he underwent in January. The former World No. 1 is 5-4 since his return in June, but has shown signs of his top level with victories over former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka and British No. 1 Kyle Edmund.

2) Murray Memories: Murray was also a wild card at the 2014 Shenzhen Open, winning his first title of the season in spectacular fashion. The Brit saved five championship points to defeat Tommy Robredo. Four weeks later, Murray saved five match points to edge Robredo in the Valencia final.

3) David’s Defence: Much like Murray in 2014, Goffin followed his title run at the 2017 Shenzhen Open by qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals. At the year-end championships, the Belgian beat both No. 1 Rafael Nadal and No. 2 Roger Federer before falling in a three-set final to Grigor Dimitrov. He will try to win his fifth tour-level championship this week.

4) Borna Identity: Borna Coric of Croatia was 18 years old when he entered the Top 40 of the ATP Rankings. Yet, he has come of age in 2018, arriving in Shenzhen with a 31-15 record and a Top 20 ranking. The 21-year-old was victorious in Halle.

5) Next is Now: Three #NextGenATP stars are seeded in Shenzhen, led by Greek No. 2 seed Tsitsipas. The 20-year-old broke into the Top 15 in August following a fourth-round run at Wimbledon and four wins against Top 10 opponents en route to the Toronto final. Tsitsipas is the first Greek player to ever be ranked that high, reach the Round of 16 at a Grand Slam and play for an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 championship.

6) Winning Feeling: Like Tsitsipas and Coric, No. 6 seed Shapovalov has earned 30 wins in a season for the first time. Though the 19-year-old is still seeking his first final at tour-level, he became both the youngest quarter-finalist and semi-finalist in Madrid tournament history in May.

7) Youth is Served: Fellow 19-year-old De Minaur has reached two finals this year, including in Washington, D.C., where four players under the age of 22 comprised the semi-finals for the first time on tour since Buenos Aires in 1995. No. 7 seed De Minaur also advanced to the final in his hometown of Sydney.

8) Chinese Hopes: Joining Murray as wild cards in Shenzhen are Chinese players Wu Di and Zhang Zhizhen. Wu is the last player from China to win a match on the ATP World Tour (2017 Shanghai). Zhang is the last player from China to reach an ATP World Tour quarter-final (2017 Shenzhen).

9) Success In China: Former World No. 1 doubles player Max Mirnyi returns to China alongside Philipp Oswald. Mirnyi won the first of his 52 ATP World Tour doubles titles, last of his 16 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 doubles titles, and one of his two Nitto ATP Finals doubles titles at events in Shanghai.

10) First-Time Duo, Top Seeds: The top seeds in the doubles draw, Ben McLachlan and Joe Salisbury, are competing together for the first time. McLachlan has captured one ATP World Tour title (2017 Tokyo), while Salisbury seeks his maiden triumph.

10 THINGS TO WATCH IN CHENGDU
1) Fabulous Fabio:
Top seed Fognini returned to a career-high No. 13 in the ATP Rankings on 10 September. The Italian seeks his fourth ATP World Tour 250-level title of 2018 following victories in Sao Paulo, Bastad and Los Cabos. His three trophies this season are the most won by an Italian since 1977.

2) Georgia Pride: Nikoloz Basilashvili won the Hamburg title in July to become the first champion from Georgia in ATP World Tour history, also becoming the highest-ranked player ever from his country. He peaked at No. 31 on 10 September after becoming the first Georgian to reach the US Open fourth round.

3) One of a Kind: Former World No. 6 Gael Monfils started the season with his seventh ATP World Tour title at Doha. Just 19-15 in tour-level matches since then, Monfils arrives in Chengdu after playing an ATP Challenger Tour event for the first time in five years and second time in a decade. Monfils lifted the title in Kaohsiung, Taiwan as a wild card and the No. 1 seed.

4) Champs in Chengdu: Also playing in Chengdu are Estoril champion Joao Sousa, Eastbourne titlist Mischa Zverev and Gstaad winner Matteo Berrettini.

5) Matteo On A Roll: It was a dream week for Berrettini in the Swiss Alps, where he did not drop a set en route to his first quarter-final, semi-final, final and title. Berrettini also won the Gstaad doubles title with countryman Daniele Bracciali, and triumphed in St. Petersburg last week with Fognini.

6) Asian Sensation: Still seeking the first tour-level final of his career is Hyeon Chung of South Korea. Chung has reached the quarter-finals or semi-finals at nine events this season, highlighted by a victory over six-time champion Novak Djokovic en route to the Australian Open semi-finals. Chung won the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in 2017.

7) One Year Later: Yibing Wu of China made his ATP World Tour debut at the 2017 Chengdu Open after sweeping the US Open boys’ singles and Shanghai Challenger titles. Still only 18 years old, Wu returns to Chengdu after breaking into the Top 300 of the ATP Rankings on 10 September.

8) Same Story: World No. 1 junior Chun Hsin Tseng will make his ATP World Tour debut this week. The 17-year-old from Chinese Taipei went 21-2 at the junior Grand Slams with titles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Tseng was the Australian Open runner-up and a US Open semi-finalist.

9) Croatia United: Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic had not played together all season before falling in a fifth-set tie-break during the Davis Cup semi-finals on 15 September. Despite that loss, Croatia advanced to November’s final against France. Dodig and Pavic will team up again in Chengdu.

10) Adrian’s Pursuit: Adrian Mannarino has reached five ATP World Tour finals in his career, and has climbed as high as No. 22 in the ATP Rankings. The fourth-seeded Frenchman is pursuing his maiden title this week.

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Allez! Monfils Overcomes #NextGenATP Test For Kaohsiung Crown

  • Posted: Sep 23, 2018

Allez! Monfils Overcomes #NextGenATP Test For Kaohsiung Crown

Frenchman defeats Korea’s Soon-woo Kwon for title

It had been five years since Gael Monfils last competed on the ATP Challenger Tour. But, seeking more match play and confidence after sustaining a wrist injury at the US Open, the Frenchman added the OEC Open in Kaohsiung to his calendar.

The decision paid dividends for Monfils, as the top seed surged to the title at the $150,000 event on Taiwanese soil. Now 6-0 in Challenger finals, the 32-year-old defeated #NextGenATP qualifier Soonwoo Kwon 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 in Sunday’s championship.

“A win is a win and I came here to win a lot of matches, so I am very happy,” Monfils told the assembled media following the final. “It is never easy to win a Challenger. It has given me confidence, to play five guys who were really tough. I’m just very happy.

“It was my first time in Taiwan and I had a blast. The fans came out from the first day and were here all week. This is a Challenger, but it’s very well organised. The stadium and management are great.”

Monfils becomes the fifth player to capture titles on both the ATP World Tour and ATP Challenger Tour this year. In the opening week of the season, he reigned at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, notching his seventh tour-level crown.

ATP World Tour & ATP Challenger Tour Winners In 2018

Player ATP World Tour title ATP Challenger Tour title
Gael Monfils Doha Kaohsiung, TPE
Pablo Andujar Marrakech Alicante, ESP
Marco Cecchinato Budapest & Umag Santiago, CHI
Martin Klizan Kitzbuhel Indian Wells, USA
Matteo Berrettini Gstaad Bergamo, ITA

It was not always routine, but Monfils found his form in navigating to the Kaohsiung title. He rallied from a set down to defeat another #NextGenATP qualifier, Akira Santillan, in the first round, before ousting Go Soeda, Ernests Gulbis and Duckhee Lee without conceding a break.

On Sunday, he was put to the test against 20-year-old Kwon, who was bidding for his maiden Challenger crown. After the Korean secured three straight breaks in the second set, Monfils rediscovered his rhythm in the decider, racing to a 3-0 lead and eventually claiming his second championship point. 

“Kwon played amazing today,” Monfils added. “He’s a youngster with a lot of hope and desire, so it was a very tough match and I had to pull out my best game to beat him today. But it’s not an easy turnaround. Tomorrow I am flying to Chengdu and already it’s another tournament.”

Monfils is projected to rise to No. 38 in the ATP Rankings and is poised to carry the momentum to the upcoming Asian swing on the ATP World Tour. He will face yet another #NextGenATP qualifier in his opener at the Chengdu Open – South Africa’s Lloyd Harris. The Frenchman is also slated to appear at the China Open in Beijing and Rolex Shanghai Masters. 

ATP Challenger Tour 

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