Britain’s Andy Murray wins his first match in almost a year with a straight sets victory over three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka in the Nature Valley International at Eastbourne.
If former World No. 1 Andy Murray is rusty after missing 11 months due to a hip injury, he is not showing it. One week after pushing talented Aussie Nick Kyrgios to a final-set tie-break in his return match at the Fever-Tree Championships, the Scot made a statement at the Nature Valley International.
Murray defeated former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka 6-1, 6-3 on Monday to set a second-round matchup against British No. 1 Kyle Edmund.
“Very happy to get the win. I thought the first set I played well, second set was a little bit patchy at times, a bit nervous towards the end,” Murray said. “Obviously when you’ve not played for the best part of a year, closing out the match against someone like Stan, who I’ve had lots of great matches with — tough, tough guy to play against — was tough. But delighted to get the win.”
The 31-year-old’s 2017 season came to an end after losing in the Wimbledon quarter-finals. And after deciding against a comeback at the start of the year in Australia, Murray underwent hip surgery. The Scot got off to a quick return on the grass, despite the tough draw against a former Top 5 foe like Wawrinka, breaking the Swiss star four times to triumph.
“I looked at someone like a [Juan Martin] del Potro, who has come back from multiple injuries and some of the draws you get are really difficult,” Murray said. “You have to just try to accept it, try and deal with it as best as you can and hopefully start winning some of those matches soon. I didn’t know if that was going to come today, but I was okay with it. It’s good to get a competitive match against a top player. “
The World No. 156’s movement looked sharp in his second match back. Especially in the first set, Murray did a good job retrieving many aggressive shots by Wawrinka deep in the court, keeping the Swiss from hammering away at short balls and putting pressure on him to go for more, leading to unforced errors.
But when Wawrinka began to find more of a rhythm in the second set, Murray had no issues being more aggressive. While up a break at 4-3, Murray saved the only four break points he faced in the match, all by taking initiative in the rallies.
Wawrinka is also on the comeback trail, having missed the end of last season after Wimbledon due to a knee injury. This was the 16-time tour-level champion’s ninth tournament of the season.
Murray has won both of his previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against Edmund. But those matches were two years ago. The 23-year-old has since climbed into the Top 20 of the ATP Rankings. Nevertheless, he’s impressed with what he has seen from Murray.
“I think [at] Queen’s he played really pretty well for his first match, for sure,” Edmund said on Monday. “He’s looking good, like, pretty normal to me.”
Murray has been impressed with his compatriot, too.
“Kyle’s been fantastic. Not just this year, but the end of last year as well. He’s a great player, he’s improving all the time,” Murray said. “I’m expecting a tough one. I’ll try and play my best.”
In other action in the bottom half of the draw, American Jared Donaldson edged #NextGenATP countryman Taylor Fritz 6-7(8), 6-3, 7-6(3) to set a meeting with third seed Denis Shapovalov.
The 21-year-old landed 11 aces and won 81 per cent of first-serve points to book his place in the second round. Donaldson is bidding to reach his second tour-level quarter final this season after a semi-final run at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in February.
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Did You Know?
Andy Murray is making just his second appearance at the Nature Valley International. The former World No. 1 reached the quarter-finals on his debut in 2006 at Nottingham, losing in three sets to Italy’s Andreas Seppi.
Less than a year ago, Borna Coric advanced to the semi-finals of the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals. And while due to his age, the 21-year-old is no longer considered a #NextGenATP player, the Croatian made waves in the tennis world on Sunday when he defeated nine-time champion Roger Federer to triumph at the Gerry Weber Open.
Another 2017 Milan qualifier, #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov, was not surprised.
“They are all human. They have all been beaten before. Obviously they are legends at this game, at this sport, to be where they are at at their age,” Shapovalov said. “But at the end of the day, it’s a sport and they can lose, anyone can lose on a given day. Borna’s had a really good year, has played some unbelievable tennis.
“It wasn’t that big of a shocker to me that he beat Roger. Obviously it’s always tough to beat a guy at that level, but like I said, Borna has been playing unbelievable tennis this year, so I’m happy for him.”
If anything, Coric’s win motivates Shapovalov, as does all of the success current #NextGenATP players have. #NextGenATP Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, for example, has beaten five players inside the Top 20 of the ATP Rankings in 2018, helping him climb nearly 60 spots since the beginning of the year to a career-best No. 35.
“It motivates the rest of us to keep working harder, try to do what Borna did last week, try to improve, try to get good results,” said Shapovalov, who is the No. 3 seed at the Nature Valley International. “I feel like that’s kind of been the trend nowadays. One guy has some success and then you see another guy coming up and it’s just kind of motivating each other to do better, and I feel like it’s going to keep going like this.”
In a way, it’s a glimpse into the future for the #NextGenATP stars. Four #NextGenATP players are currently inside the Top 35 of the ATP Rankings.
“Even though they are so dominant at the sport, it’s something that we have the potential to do,” Shapovalov said. “It’s honestly pretty cool to have a group of young guys like this with such talent and such a high level coming up together.”
Shapovalov, the 2016 Wimbledon Boys’ Singles champion, will now look to make his own mark on the grass in Eastbourne. After reaching the semi-finals in Madrid and Delray Beach, the World No. 26 seeks his first ATP World Tour title. And while he holds just a 1-4 tour-level record on the surface, he feels it suits his game well.
“I feel like I have a pretty aggressive game style, big-serving. I like to come to the net, so that kind of suits the grass,” Shapovalov said. “I feel like potentially in a couple of years it’s going to be a really good surface for me.”
The 19-year-old left-hander will begin his campaign against another 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier, Jared Donaldson. And while it was Coric who shone brightly last week, he hopes that now, it is his turn.
“I feel like my game is really coming along,” Shapovalov said. “I feel pretty ready for this week. Hopefully I can do some damage at this tournament. That would be great.”
David Ferrer snapped a three-match losing streak to reach the second round at the Nature Valley International, beating qualifier Matteo Berrettini 7-5, 6-3 on Monday.
The former World No. 3, who suffered opening-round losses in each of his three ATP World Tour appearances on European clay in May, converted each of his five break point chances and won 75 per cent of second-serve return points to advance after 86 minutes. Ferrer is bidding to reach his second tour-level quarter-final of the season, after a semi-final run at the ASB Classic in January.
The 31-year-old will meet Mikhail Kukushkin or #NextGenATP Australian Alex de Minaur for a place in the last eight. Ferrer leads Kukushkin 7-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series and is yet to meet 19-year-old De Minaur.
John Millman levelled his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Gilles Muller at 2-2 after a 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2 victory over the World No. 60.
Millman, who fell to Novak Djokovic in the Fever-Tree Championships first round last week, won 41 of 48 first-serve points and saved the only break point he faced en route to victory. Muller drops to 1-3 on grass this season after winning 11 of 13 matches on the surface in 2017.
In a meeting of former champions, 2015 titlist Denis Istomin overcame 2011 winner Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(4). Istomin, who improves to 17-7 in Eastbourne, notched his 10th match win of the season after two hours and 28 minutes. The World No. 91 will next face fourth seed Marco Cecchinato after reducing his FedEx ATP Head2Head series deficit against Seppi to 4-7.
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Only three men have ever won back-to-back titles at this ATP World Tour 250 grass-court event. Richard Gasquet was the first to retain his title (2005-2006), before Ivo Karlovic (2007-2008) and Feliciano Lopez (2013-2014) also achieved the feat.
Defending champion Yuichi Sugita notched his sixth consecutive win at the Turkish Airlines Open Antalya, defeating Argentina’s Guido Pella 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 on Monday.
The Japanese No. 2, who lifted his maiden ATP World Tour title at the event in 2017, saved nine of ten break points and withstood 13 aces to advance after two hours and two minutes. Sugita, who defeated Dominic Thiem at the Gerry Weber Open last week, improves to 4-2 on grass this season.
“It is a big pressure [to be defending champion]. I want to defend the points and the title, but after [losing] the second set I just wanted to enjoy the tournament because I have good memories here… I am really happy to win today,” said Sugita.
The 29-year-old will face Pierre-Hugues Herbert for a place in the quarter-finals. The Frenchman defeated Federico Delbonis 7-6(5), 6-4 in one hour and 47 minutes.
Dusan Lajovic needed an hour to book his spot in the second round, defeating Filip Horansky 6-3, 6-3. The eighth seed won 75 per cent of service points and converted three of eight break points. Lajovic will face Nikoloz Basilashvili for a quarter-final spot.
Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis set a meeting with 2017 runner up and top seed Adrian Mannarino after a 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-3 victory over Evgeny Donskoy. Berankis saved all five break points he faced and converted each of his three break opportunities to secure a clinical one-hour, 52-minute win.
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Yuichi Sugita won the inaugural Turkish Airlines Open Antalya in 2017. The World No. 45 defeated David Ferrer in the second round before a straight-sets win over Adrian Mannarino in the championship match.
| Wimbledon 2018 on the BBC |
|---|
| Venue: All England Club, Wimbledon Dates: 2-15 July |
| Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button, Connected TVs and the BBC Sport website and app; Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live and 5 live sports extra. |
Britain’s Dan Evans won his first-round match at the Wimbledon qualifying event, beating Ilya Ivashka.
Evans, 28, overcame the 24-year-old from Belarus 6-4 6-4 in Roehampton in one hour and 32 minutes.
“I played well and it was a tough match against one of the better guys in the draw,” said Evans, who needs two more wins to qualify for the main draw.
Evans, who has served a 12-month ban for taking cocaine, was not awarded a Wimbledon wildcard last week.
The All England Club’s decision was said to have been taken on a matter of “principle”.
Evans had already come through a Wimbledon pre-qualifying event where he played three matches across two days, including two in one day.
Birmingham-born Evans got early breaks in both sets against Ivashka on court 11 and he confidently held serve to clinch the match.
“I missed tennis a lot and it’s just good to be out again. It’s great to be back on court,” he added.
Evans will face Matthias Bachinger in his second qualifying match following the German’s 6-3 4-6 8-6 win over Australian Marc Polmans.
Should he ultimately qualify for the main draw at Wimbledon Evans will have already played six matches to get there.
Evans’ best performance at Wimbledon came in 2016, where he reached the third round and was beaten by Roger Federer.
ATPWorldTour.com looks at the top Movers of the Week in the ATP Rankings, as of Monday, 25 June 2018
The close nature at the top of the ATP Rankings in 2018 is such that Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have traded the No. 1 position on six occasions in the first six months of the season. The all-time record for most changes in the top spot is 10 in 1983. Today, Nadal is back at the summit of men’s professional tennis.
No. 1 Rafael Nadal, +1
The 32-year-old Spaniard returns to No. 1 after Federer lost in the final of the Gerry Weber Open. In the week beginning 18 June, Federer, with 8,920 points (to Nadal’s 8,770), had been attempting to defend 500 ATP Rankings – as a result of winning his ninth Halle title in 2017 – but he earned 300 points. Nadal now leads Federer by just 50 points (8,770 to 8,720 points) in this week’s standings and will hold onto the top spot until at least 16 July.
Nadal, the winner of four clay-court trophies this year, began the year in the top spot, and today starts the 178th week of his career at No. 1. He has now held No. 1 for a total of 18 weeks, over four stints in 2018. Federer gained No. 1 for six weeks from 19 February, one week from 14 May and last week.
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No. 17 Novak Djokovic, +5
The Serbian, who spent the last of his 223 weeks at No. 1 in the week of 6 November 2016, is on the rise once more, up to No. 17 — a five-spot promotion — after he reached the Fever-Tree Championships final. The 31-year-old was unable to convert one championship point against Marin Cilic and lift the 69th tour-level trophy of his career on Sunday in his first final since 1 July 2017 at the Nature Valley International. Djokovic, who missed six months of last season due to a right elbow injury, did become only the 10th player in the Open Era (since April 1968) to record 800 match wins on Friday with victory over Adrian Mannarino in the quarter-finals at The Queen’s Club.
No. 21 (Career High) Borna Coric, +13
The 21-year-old Croatian beat Alexander Zverev en route to a 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-2 final victory over Federer at the Gerry Weber Open. It guaranteed Coric a 13-spot rise to a career-high No. 21. It is his biggest single jump since moving from No. 49 to No. 36 on 19 March 2018, after he reached his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final at the BNP Paribas Open (l. to Federer 5-7, 6-4, 6-4). Coric won his first ATP World Tour trophy in April 2017 at the Grand Prix Hassan II (d. Kohlschreiber).
No. 46 Jeremy Chardy, +15
The 31-year-old appears in the Mover of the Week story for the third straight week after another fine week on grass courts. On the back of a sixth ATP Challenger Tour trophy at the Surbiton Trophy (d. de Minaur) and a run to the Libema Open title match (l. to Gasquet), the Frenchman moved into the Fever-Tree Championships semi-finals (l. to Djokovic) last week. Chardy, who was a career-high No. 25 on 28 January 2013, has today moved up 15 positions to No. 46, his highest ranking since 8 August 2016 (No. 39). Just three weeks ago, he was at No. 86.
Other Notable Top 100 Movers This Week
No. 51 (Career High) Matthew Ebden, +9
No. 52 (Career High) Frances Tiafoe, +10
No. 76 Nikoloz Basilashvili, +9
No. 83 Denis Kudla, +26
A LOOK BACK
Fuzion 100 Ilkley Trophy (Ilkley, UK): Sergiy Stakhovsky had one foot out of the tournament in the first round. Staring down four match points in his opening affair against Liam Broady in Ilkley, the Ukrainian stormed back to stay alive. And he did not drop a set from there.
Stakhovsky would go on to oust top seed Jordan Thompson and #NextGenATP star Michael Mmoh, before defeating Oscar Otte 6-4, 6-4, in Sunday’s final. With the title, he earns a wild card into the main draw of Wimbledon, as has long been tradition for Ilkley champions.
It was Stakhovsky’s 11th professional crown – four at the ATP World Tour level and seven on the ATP Challenger Tour – and second on grass. He previously lifted the trophy at the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2010.
Internationaux de Tennis de Blois (Blois, France): The script was nearly complete. Felix Auger-Aliassime was one victory from securing a historic fourth Challenger crown, moving the Canadian teen into solo second place among players aged 17 & under. But Scott Griekspoor had other plans.
The Dutchman entered the week in Blois with just one Challenger match win in the past two years, and he would leave with his maiden title. Griekspoor stunned fifth seed Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 53 minutes on Sunday, saving seven of eight break points faced. The 27-year-old had never defeated a Top 200 opponent entering the tournament and he would reel off four straight such wins to lift the trophy. He rises 66 spots to a career-high No. 216 in the ATP Rankings.
?? Scott Griekspoor had just one match win at the #ATPChallenger level in the past two years, entering the week in Blois.
Now, he’s a champion… pic.twitter.com/2wa6YbpT1u
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) June 24, 2018
Internazionali Tennis Citta L’Aquila (L’Aquila, Italy): The inaugural tournament in L’Aquila, located in central Italy, saw sixth seed Facundo Bagnis capture the title on Sunday. The Argentine celebrated his 12th ATP Challenger Tour crown and first since 2016, upsetting home favourite Paolo Lorenzi 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. It was his third three-set victory of the week.
Poprad Tatry Challenger (Poprad Tatry, Slovakia): Fourth seed Jozef Kovalik streaked to the title in Poprad Tatry on Saturday. The Slovak dropped a combined seven games in a semi-final win over Zdenek Kolar and final triumph over Arthur de Greef, securing his third ATP Challenger Tour title and first in more than two years. Kovalik, age 25, rises 33 spots to No. 117 in the ATP Rankings, as he continues his charge towards a Top 100 debut.
Jozef Kovalik is the champion at @PopradTatry, claiming his third #ATPChallenger ? and first since 2016. pic.twitter.com/6p4wt4WsDd
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) June 23, 2018
Fergana Challenger (Fergana, Uzbekistan): Top seed Nikola Milojevic notched his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title on the hard courts of Fergana. After three previous runner-up finishes, including one in the Uzbek city last year, Milojevic earned his moment in the spotlight with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Enrique Lopez Perez on Sunday. The 23-year-old Serbian rises 20 spots to No. 164 in the ATP Rankings.
A LOOK AHEAD
With the majority of today’s ATP Challenger Tour stars competing in Wimbledon qualifying, there is only one event on the calendar. Surging teens Felix Auger-Aliassime and Nicola Kuhn join top seed Laslo Djere at the Aspria Tennis Cup in Milan. Auger-Aliassime and Kuhn will hope this won’t be their only trip to Milan this year, with the Italian city hosting the Next Gen ATP Finals in November.
