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Zverev & Lacko to meet in Eastbourne final

  • Posted: Jun 29, 2018

Lukas Lacko, the world number 94, will face Germany’s Mischa Zverev in the Nature Valley International final at Eastbourne on Saturday.

Slovakia’s Lacko, who beat Briton Cameron Norrie on Wednesday, easily came past French Open semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato of Italy 6-3 6-4.

Lacko did not face a break point during the 60-minute match and hit nine aces past his 31st-ranked opponent.

World number 67 Zverev overcame Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin 7-6 (11-9) 6-4.

Elsewhere, world number one Rafael Nadal fell to a narrow defeat by France’s Lucas Pouille at an exhibition match at Hurlingham.

The Spaniard, who has won two Wimbledon titles, lost 7-6 (10-8) 7-5 to 20th-ranked Pouille in his first grass-court match of the year.

  • Wozniacki to face Sabalenka in Eastbourne final
  • Wimbledon 2018 on BBC TV, radio & online
  • Federer v Nadal – inside story of ‘greatest match ever played’
  • Live scores, schedule and results

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Gonzalez/Demoliner Clinch Maiden Team Triumph In Antalya

  • Posted: Jun 29, 2018

Gonzalez/Demoliner Clinch Maiden Team Triumph In Antalya

The title is Gonzalez’s 12th at tour-level and Demoliner’s first

Marcelo Demoliner and Santiago Gonzalez failed to convert two championship points in the second set of the Turkish Airlines Open Antalya final. But the Brazilian-Mexican duo recovered from the disappointment to beat Dutchmen Sander Arends and Matwe Middelkoop 7-5, 6-7(6), 10-8 to lift the trophy on Friday.

Demoliner and Gonzalez, who were 2-4 as a pair before the week, claim their maiden title as a team. It’s an especially notable victory for Demoliner, as the 29-year-old fell in his first six tour-level finals.

“It’s a very special moment. It was a great match, a tough one,” Demoliner said. “We had one match point in the second set [on which] I missed a very easy smash. I was a little bit nervous. I’m very happy for my first title. Also playing with this guy, he’s a great guy. It’s very nice to play with him. He brings a great energy on the court with me. So I’m very happy to get the title.”

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Demoliner/Gonzalez could have lost the plot in the Match Tie-break, but three mini-breaks carried the team to victory.

“We stayed strong. We are very happy to win our first team title,” said Gonzalez, who now owns 12 tour-level trophies.. “Especially for Demo, this is his first ATP title, so I’m very happy for him.”

The unseeded duo earns 250 ATP Doubles Rankings points and a share of €23,090. The third-seeded Dutchmen, Arends and Middelkoop, fell just short of their maiden team victory. But they add 150 points and a split of €12,140 for their efforts. Arends was attempting to clinch his first tour-level title in his second final. The 26-year-old reached the Bastad final last year with Middelkoop, who is a six-time ATP World Tour champion.

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Both teams played well with their serves under pressure throughout the match. Demoliner/Gonzalez saved seven of eight break points, while Arends/Middelkoop held off seven of nine opportunities. 

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Zverev Moves Closer To First Title

  • Posted: Jun 29, 2018

Zverev Moves Closer To First Title

German will meet Lacko, also pursuing his maiden crown

Mischa Zverev has won 124 tour-level matches in his career. And after beating Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin 7-6(9), 6-4 in one hour, 59 minutes at the Nature Valley International on Friday, the 30-year-old will have a third chance to lift his maiden ATP World Tour title.

“It was close. It was very tight, especially the tie-break in the first set. It was a lot of back and forth and I think I was very fortunate to win that set,” Zverev said. “It was a very close game, a few points here and there, but luckily I was able to come through.”

The left-handed German won 73 per cent of first-serve points, constantly attacking the net and staving off the World No. 90’s strong returns to reach his third tour-level final. Zverev, who finished runner-up in Metz in 2010 and in Geneva last year, is into his first championship match on grass, on which he holds a 27-25 record according to the FedEx ATP Performance Zone.

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“I like grass,” Zverev said. “It’s great here, especially the courts here are unbelievable. I’m enjoying myself in Eastbourne.”

He will enjoy it even more if he is able to lift his maiden trophy on Saturday. But Lukas Lacko, the 2012 Zagreb finalist who is also competing for his first title, stands in his way. The Slovakian advanced to his first ATP World Tour final for close to six-and-a-half years with a 6-3, 6-4 victory against fourth-seeded Italian Marco Cecchinato, fresh off his semi-final appearance at Roland Garros.

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Lacko, who has grown in confidence since he recorded the biggest win of his career over World No. 11 Diego Schwartzman in the second round, lost just seven of his service points and struck nine aces for victory in 59 minutes at Devonshire Park. Now 7-7 in tour-level matches this season, he has also captured his 12th ATP Challenger Tour crown in Glasgow (d. Vanni). Cecchinato, the Gazprom Hungarian Open titlist (d. Millman), had not won a professional grass-court match prior to this week. He drops to 15-11 in 2018.

Lacko, who currently is World No. 94, is now projected to reach at least No. 73 on Monday, his highest position in the ATP Rankings since November 2013. He can climb even further with a win against Zverev, who won their only previous FedEx ATP Head2Head series meeting on grass in Halle last year.

“I hope it’s going to be a good match,” Zverev said. “This year, everything’s different. We’re meeting in the final, not the first round, and we’ll see what’s going to happen.” 

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Mischa Zverev has won three ATP World Tour doubles titles, triumphing twice in 2008 and earning a third trophy last year in Montpellier with his brother, Alexander Zverev.

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Wozniacki to face Sabalenka in Eastbourne final – highlights & report

  • Posted: Jun 29, 2018
2018 Nature Valley International on the BBC
Venue: Devonshire Park, Eastbourne Dates: 24-30 June
Coverage: Watch the women’s final live on BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, Connected TVs, the BBC Sport website and app.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki saved a match point to beat Angelique Kerber and reach the final at Eastbourne for the second year in a row.

The Dane, ranked second in the world, came back to win 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 against the German fourth seed.

Kerber hit 42 winners to Wozniacki’s 39 but the two-time Grand Slam winner could not overcome Wozniacki’s defence.

Wozniacki will face Aryna Sabalenka in the final, following her 6-3 1-6 6-3 win over Agnieszka Radwanska.

Wozniacki lost 6-4 6-4 to Czech Karolina Pliskova – who went out to Sabalenka this year – in the 2017 final.

The Dane, who won her maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January, grew frustrated in the opening set as she racked up the unforced errors.

At 5-2 down she had a heated on-court conversation with her dad and coach, Piotr, before Kerber served out the first set.

Wozniacki appeared more focused in the second set, racing to a 4-2 lead, before Kerber converted her second break point to force the match back on serve.

The German, a former world number one, had a match point on her service game but Wozniacki forced a tie-break and ultimately a third set.

Wozniacki broke after a regulation first four games and held her nerve as Kerber twice held to love to serve out the match.

  • Wimbledon 2018 on BBC TV, radio & online
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  • Live scores, schedule and resultss

Sabalenka muscles past Radwanska

Sabalenka, ranked 45th in the world, recovered from an error-strewn second set to outmuscle former world number two Radwanska in a match that saw 14 breaks of serve.

“I tried to put the ball in and not go crazy for every shot. I think that was the key,” said Sabalenka, who will be seeking her first WTA Tour title in Saturday’s final.

There were six breaks of serve in the opening six games before Sabalenka took a 4-3 lead over the 2008 champion.

Returning strongly on the Radwanska serve, the Belarusian eventually took the first set in 44 minutes.

A lob winner allowed Sabalenka to break to begin the second set, but the Pole hit back straight away as her opponent’s heavy hitting failed to pay off.

Having not won a game on her own serve in the first set, Radwanska reeled off six consecutive games to force a deciding third set.

Radwanska moved into a 3-2 lead thanks to some clever net play, but Sabalenka found her forehand again to force the match back on serve.

And, despite two double faults in the next game, Sabalenka held serve before securing the vital break to see off the Pole.

Elsewhere, Britain’s Katie Boulter lost to Kirsten Flipkens in the final of the Fuzion 100 Southsea Trophy.

Boulter went down 6-4 5-7 6-3 to the Belgian, who leaves the event having won both the doubles and singles titles.

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Bambridge/O'Mara Complete Dream Week In Eastbourne

  • Posted: Jun 29, 2018

Bambridge/O’Mara Complete Dream Week In Eastbourne

Team making ATP World Tour debut seal title

Wild cards Jonny O’Mara and Luke Bambridge held their nerve to win an all-British final on Friday for their first ATP World Tour doubles title at the Nature Valley International. Three weeks on form beating Ken Skupski and Neal Skupski at the Surbiton Trophy, for their first ATP Challenger Tour trophy, Bambridge and O’Mara won again 7-5, 6-4 in 71 minutes.

“It’s been unbelievable,” said Bambridge. “We started playing together two months ago at a tournament in Mexico. We reached the final there, then continued the good form going into Surbiton. So we were feeling quietly confident going into the grass-court swing. To win eight matches in two tournaments is beyond what I ever dreamed of.”

Bambridge and O’Mara recovered from 2-5 down in the first set of the Eastbourne final, saving four set points from 0/40 at 3-5. They then broke in the seventh game of the second set. It was the first all-British tour-level doubles final since 2012, when Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins beat Jamie Delgado and Ken Skupski at Devonshire Park on the south coast of England.

Bambridge and O’Mara, who beat top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in the quarter-finals, were competing in their first ATP World Tour tournament this week. The Skupskis drop to 11-5 on the year, which includes their first tour-level title at the Open Sud de France (d. McLachlan/Nys).

The victors earned 250 ATP Doubles Rankings points and share €35,830 in prize money, while the Skupskis head to London with 150 points and €18,830.

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Watch the 2018 Wimbledon draw

  • Posted: Jun 29, 2018

The draws for the 2018 Wimbledon Championships have been made and the two-time champion Andy Murray will play Benoit Paire of France providing he’s fit.

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Dzumhur Beats Vesely For Antalya Final Spot

  • Posted: Jun 29, 2018

Dzumhur Beats Vesely For Antalya Final Spot

Awaits the winner of Mannarino and Monfils

Damir Dzumhur advanced to his fourth ATP World Tour final (2-1) on Friday with victory at the Turkish Airlines Open Antalya.

The second seed from Bosnia and Herzegovina saved two set points in the second set to beat the Czech Republic’s Jiri Vesely 6-3, 7-6(1) in 80 minutes. It was his fourth straight win — at ATP World Tour and ATP Challenger Tour levels — over Vesely.

Dzumhur will next face a Frenchman in top seed Adrian Mannarino or fourth seed Gael Monfils. Dzumhur trails Mannarino 0-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, while he has not met Monfils.

“It’s the first time I have played two tournaments on grass prior to Wimbledon,” said Dzumhur. “So I have never given myself the chance to play well on grass. I did feel like I could play well, but I needed matches. I came here with some confidence and I feel my game is quite good for this surface. I played better and better from the second round on.”

The 26-year-old Dzumhur saved two set points at 4-5, 15/40 in the second set, prior to winning the first four points of the tie-break. Vesely volleyed into the net on match point, off a Dzumhur forehand down the line.

Dzumhur, who is two spots off his career-high of No. 28 in the ATP Rankings (first attained on 11 June this year), won two titles in 2017 at the St. Petersburg Open (d. Fognini) and the VTB Kremlin Cup (d. Berankis). The 26-year-old from Bosnia and Herzegovina also finished runner-up at the Winston-Salem Open (l. to Bautista Agut).

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Wimbledon 2018: Andy Murray to play Benoit Paire in first round if fit to play

  • Posted: Jun 29, 2018
Wimbledon 2018
Venue: All England Club Dates: 2-15 July Starts: 11:30 BST
Coverage: Live across BBC TV, BBC Radio and the BBC Sport website with further coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app, plus live radio commentary and text updates.

Two-time champion Andy Murray will play Frenchman Benoit Paire in the first round at Wimbledon next week if he decides he is fit enough to compete.

Murray, 31, has still not confirmed he will play in the Championships, which start on Monday, following long-term injury.

British number one Kyle Edmund opens against Australia’s Alex Bolt.

In the women’s singles, Johanna Konta – who reached the semi-finals in 2017 – plays Natalia Vikhlyantseva.

Seven-time champion Serena Williams, who has been seeded 25th following her return from maternity leave, plays Arantxa Rus while 2017 Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza will face Britain’s Naomi Broady.

Defending men’s champion Roger Federer – who will play in his 20th Wimbledon Championship – faces Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic, while world number one Rafael Nadal will take on Dudi Sela of Israel.

Meanwhile, three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka, now ranked 225th in the world after knee surgeries, meets sixth seed and current ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov.

  • View the full Wimbledon 2018 draw
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Murray set to play on Tuesday

Murray is in the bottom half of the draw, meaning he will play on Tuesday – the same day as England’s football World Cup last-16 tie against Colombia.

The Scot beat Paire in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals of Wimbledon last year – his most recent Grand Slam appearance.

Paire, ranked 48th in the world, came within a point of beating Federer at the Halle Open last week.

If Murray does play and beats Paire, he would play either Canadian 26th seed Denis Shapovalov or another Frenchman, Jeremy Chardy, in the second round.

He could play Argentine fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro in the third round, while 17-time Slam champion Nadal is also in the same half of the draw.

But is Murray fit enough?

Murray has yet to confirm whether he will play at Wimbledon, having said following his loss to compatriot Edmund at Eastbourne that he would only play if he knew he could compete.

He missed Wimbledon in 2007 with a wrist injury but has played every year since, and has reached at least the quarter-final each time.

His last competitive match in 2017 came at Wimbledon – where he was the defending champion – and ended in a five-set defeat by American Sam Querrey in the last eight.

Murray had hip surgery in January and made his return at Queen’s, losing in three sets to 19th-ranked Australian Nick Kyrgios.

The Scot registered his first victory a week later, beating Wawrinka at Eastbourne, before losing in the second round to Edmund.

Analysis

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller

Paire is a powerful, potentially dangerous, but definitely unpredictable opponent: and coincidentally the man Murray beat in last year’s fourth round before his hip became unmanageable.

The new British number one Edmund could play the three-time champion Novak Djokovic in the third round, and last year’s semi-finalist Konta also looks to have some challenging early round matches. If she survives the first week, she could face the world number one and French Open champion Simona Halep in the fourth round.

Williams’ seeding offers her protection in the first two rounds. Her first opponent Rus has not won a match at Wimbledon for six years, but in the third round, in only her fourth tournament since giving birth, the seven-time champion could play the fifth seed Elina Svitolina .

Seeded Serena makes her grass-court return

Williams, who has not played on grass since winning Wimbledon in 2016, was given a seeding despite being outside the top 32 in the rankings.

The 36-year-old American is continuing her return to action after giving birth to her first child in September.

Williams has played only three tournaments in the past 12 months and is ranked 183rd in the world.

If the 23-time Grand Slam champion beats Dutch world number 107 Rus she will then face another player ranked outside the top 100 in either Czech Tereza Smitkova or Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova.

Williams could face Ukrainian fifth seed Elina Svitolina in the third round.

Slovakia’s world number 32 Dominika Cibulkova, who was not seeded as a result of the Williams decision and complained it was “unfair”, faces France’s Alize Cornet – the winner possibly playing Konta in round two.

Can Konta match last year’s run?

Konta, 27, memorably reached the semi-finals at the All England Club last year, losing to eventual runner-up Venus Williams, helping the Briton climb to a career-high fourth in the rankings.

However, she has failed to match that level of performance since and has dropped to 22nd.

She starts at the All England Club this year with a first match against 21-year-old Russian Vikhlyantseva, who is ranked 106th in the world.

Konta is projected to play world number one Simona Halep, whom she beat in the quarter-finals last year, in the fourth round.

What about the other Britons?

There are a number of eye-catching draws for the other Britons in the main draws.

In the men’s, British number two Cameron Norrie faces Aljaz Bedene, who represented Britain before switching back to his birth country Slovenia last year, while wildcard Liam Broady meets Canadian 13th seed Milos Raonic, who was beaten by Murray in the 2016 final.

In the women’s, debutants Katy Dunne and Gabriella Taylor both face players who have appeared in Grand Slam finals.

Dunne, 23, plays 2016 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and, if she beats the Latvian sixth seed, could meet compatriot Heather Watson in the second round.

Taylor, 20, plays Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard, who was beaten in the 2014 final but had to come through qualifying this year.

Liam Broady v Milos Raonic

Cameron Norrie v Aljaz Bedene

Jay Clarke v Ernests Gulbis

Heather Watson v Kirsten Flipkens

Katy Dunne v Jelena Ostapenko

Katie Boulter v Cepede Royg

Gabriella Taylor v Eugenie Bouchard

Harriet Dart v Karolina Pliskova

Katie Swan v Irina-Camelia Begu

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