Monfils Scrambles For Hot Shot Winner Montreal 2017
Monfils Scrambles For Hot Shot Winner Montreal 2017
Aug082017
Juan Martin del Potro needed two breaks of serve, and that’s exactly what he made happen against John Isner at the Coupe Rogers in Montreal on Monday. The Argentine broke at 5-5 in both sets and overcame 24 aces from the 14th-seeded American to advance 7-5, 7-5 at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Canada.
Del Potro, a 2009 finalist in Montreal (l. to Murray), improves to 11-0 in opening-round matches this season. He never faced a break point and converted just enough of them against Isner (2/7). The Argentine was glad to be back in Montreal after missing the 2015 edition.
“It’s amazing for me. I missed this tournament a lot. I couldn’t play the last editions because of my wrist. But now I’m in good shape. I have the chance to play after many years, and I started by winning a good match against Isner,” he said.
Del Potro had to stay patient against the big-serving American all match, but especially at 5-5 in the second set, when Isner erased two break points before del Potro smashed a forehand that Isner couldn’t handle, ending the eight-minute game.
The Argentine is coming off a third-round showing (l. to Nishikori) last week at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. Isner hadn’t dropped a set since 6 July when he lost to Israel’s Dudi Sela in the second round of Wimbledon.
The American had strung together 16 consecutive sets and eight match wins in a row during back-to-back title runs at the Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open in Newport and the BB&T Atlanta Open. The titles were the 11th and 12th of his career.
“He has a great serve. His movements from the baseline are getting better. It’s, of course, a tough first round for both of us. It could be a quarter-final, could be a semi-final of any tournament,” del Potro said. “But we play today, and I got lucky to win tonight. Hopefully I can get another draw in the next tournament because nobody wants to play against John in the first round.”
Del Potro, who recorded his 16th match win of the season, will next meet #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov or Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva.
In other action, Canadian Peter Polansky will face Roger Federer in the second round after beating compatriot Vasek Pospisil 7-5, 6-2. Polansky faced Federer three years ago at the Masters 1000 tournament in Canada and lost 6-2, 6-0.
Asked what he remembers from that match, Polansky, No. 116 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, smiled at the memory. “I remember it went really, really quick,” he said. “I wish I was out there longer last time. Nonetheless, I remember I actually did play a pretty decent match against him. I looked at some of the highlights after the match, and there were a lot of good points. I just lost every single one of them.”
Spaniard David Ferrer battled Brit Kyle Edmund for two hours and 26 minutes before coming out on top, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3. The 35 year old, a 2014 quarter-finalist, will next face 15th seed Jack Sock of the U.S. or French qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
Argentine Diego Schwartzman setup a second-round meeting with third seed Dominic Thiem after beating #NextGenATP American Reilly Opelka 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-4. Opelka hit 21 aces but Schwartzman won 87 per cent of his first-serve points and broke the 6’11” American three times to advance.
Britain’s Heather Watson was forced to retire with a shoulder injury in the first round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Canada.
Watson, 25, was trailing Japan’s Naomi Osaka 6-1 4-1 when the world number 71 signalled she was unable to continue.
Meanwhile, British number two Kyle Edmund also lost his first round match to world number 33 David Ferrer in Montreal.
The 22-year-old went down 6-7 6-4 6-3 to his Spanish opponent.
Britain’s world number one Andy Murray has withdrawn from the Rogers Cup as he has yet to recover from the hip injury which hampered his Wimbledon campaign.
Murray remains a doubt for the US Open, which begins on 28 August.
Aussie Nick Kyrgios picked up his first win in more than two months on Monday, starting his Coupe Rogers in Montreal with a 6-1, 6-2 victory against Serbian Viktor Troicki.
The 16th seed has struggled with hip and right shoulder injuries since 30 May, when he beat Philipp Kohlschreiber in the first round at Roland Garros. He retired from his past three opening matches at the Aegon Championships in London, Wimbledon and the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. last week.
But the 22 year old left little to doubt against Troicki in their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting. He won 88 per cent of his first-serve points (21/24) and never faced a break point in the 50-minute rout.
“I’ve been struggling the last couple months with a bunch of things,” Kyrgios said. “I just have to keep doing the right things. I’m getting a lot of treatment, trying to do my rehab every day. I’m doing everything I can.”
The right-hander also feasted on the Serbian’s second serve, winning almost 70 per cent (16/24) of his second-serve return points. Kyrgios will next meet either Italian Paolo Lorenzi or #NextGenATP American Frances Tiafoe.
“Tiafoe is a great player. He’s a young guy, has a huge future ahead of him. He’s got a great game. I’m really good friends with him as well. It would be awesome to play him… Obviously Lorenzi is a veteran, knows how to win tennis matches, competes for every point, is a great competitor. He doesn’t give up in anything. So it’s going to be a tough match either way. I’m just happy to get the win today.”
#NextGenATP American Jared Donaldson hit 10 aces in an upset win against 13th seed Lucas Pouille, 7-6(5), 7-6(8). The Frenchman saved four match points in the second set, including one at 4-5, 30/40 and three more in the second-set tie-break, 4/6, 5/6, 6/7. But the 20-year-old Donaldson came through on his fifth match point when Pouille double faulted.
“I think I played really well. My serve was great, so that really helped me to play first-strike tennis. Both tie-breaks were really competitive. The first one I came back on him a little bit, and the second one was just nip and tuck. Everything was so close,” Donaldson said. “I’m just happy I was able to get through it in two sets. I feel like I focused really well.”
Read More: Donaldson: Full-Time ATP Player, Part-Time Landlord
Donaldson reached the third round at the Citi Open last week and is looking to continue his recent success in Canada. Last year, the right-hander qualified and made the third round of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Toronto before falling to home favourite Milos Raonic.
“I think I’m playing really well… It’s just about me getting more experience at this level, keep improving fitness off the court. On the court as well, making sure that I’m still serving well, I’m still playing aggressive, I have good movement. So I feel if I do that I’m going to keep improving and keep getting good results like today,” Donaldson said.
The World No. 66 is currently in seventh place in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan, which will determine seven of the eight players who compete at the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, to be held 7-11 November. The eighth player will be determined by wild card.
See Who’s Pushing Donaldson In The Emirates ATP Race To Milan
“I feel like there’s a lot of great [#NextGenATP] players playing right now. I’m just honoured to be one of them,” he said. “It’d be nice to make it and compete with those great guys. They all play so well, and I feel lucky to be a part of it and hopefully I can qualify for it.”
For Pouille, it’s his second consecutive opening loss. The Frenchman fell to #NextGenATP American Tommy Paul last week at the Citi Open. Donaldson will meet either compatriot Donald Young or Frenchman Benoit Paire in the second round of the Masters 1000 tournament.
Italy’s former world number five Sara Errani has been banned for two months after failing a drugs test – because her mother’s cancer drug accidentally contaminated a family meal.
The 30-year-old, who reached the French Open final in 2012, tested positive for banned drug letrozole.
Errani’s mother had been using the drug as part of her breast cancer treatment.
But she had dropped some pills on a kitchen worktop where tortellini and broth were later prepared.
A tribunal panel accepted the player probably ingested the substance through accidental food contamination.
But it was ruled Errani, now ranked 98, could have done more to protect herself, leading to the two-month sanction.
Letrozole increases lean body mass and was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) over concerns it was being abused by bodybuilders.
An independent tribunal, appointed by the International Tennis Federation, said there was no evidence it would enhance the performance of an elite tennis player.
It is the most high-profile drugs case in women’s tennis since that of Maria Sharapova, who beat Errani in the 2012 French final.
The Russian returned to the tour earlier this year after she was banned for 15 months on appeal following a positive test for meldonium.
Errani’s mother and father told the tribunal hearing in July that after the positive finding, they carried out an experiment which found the drug dissolved in a broth, plus a meat mixture for tortellini, without being detectable.
“Together with my family we have tried to understand how this contamination could have happened because I am 100% certain I haven’t taken a pill by mistake,” said Errani in a statement.
“The only viable option has been that an accidental food contamination occurred at some stage in the house.”
She accepted a charge of violating anti-doping rules in April. The ban is effective from 3 August.
Errani said she was “very frustrated” and “extremely disappointed” by the sanction but was “at peace with my conscience and aware I haven’t done anything wrong”.
In 2012, she stopped working with Luis Garcia del Moral, one of the doctors at the centre of cyclist Lance Armstrong’s doping scandal.
“I’m not interested in keeping working with a person that is involved in these things,” said Errani at the time.
ATPWorldTour.com looks at the top Movers of the Week in the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, as of Monday, 7 August 2017
No. 20 Sam Querrey, +4
The American’s second tournament victory on Mexican soil this season saw him break back into the Top 20 in the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time since July 2013 (at No. 20). His three-set defeat of Thanasi Kokkinakis to claim the title in Los Cabos marked only the second season of his career, after 2010, in which he had won more than one title for the year. Querrey has now claimed eight of his past nine matches, losing only to Marin Cilic in the Wimbledon semi-finals. Read & Watch Highlights
No. 32 Kevin Anderson, +13
The big-serving South African finished his week in Washington, D.C. with 70 aces after he reached his first final in two years (2015 Winston-Salem). Despite going down to Alexander Zverev in straight sets, Anderson closed in on a return to the Top 30 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. It was his best result of the season after a semi-final run in Estoril and quarter-final finish in Geneva. And it is was sizeable rankings jump for the 31 year old, who fell as low as World No. 80 in January amid battles with hip and leg injuries throughout the past two seasons. Read & Watch Highlights.
View Latest Emirates ATP Rankings
No. 37 Philipp Kohlschreiber, +10
An eighth ATP World Tour title for the in-form Philipp Kohlschreiber lofted the German back into the Top 40 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on Sunday. The 33 year old was coming off a semi-final run in Hamburg the week prior before he denied Portugal’s Joao Sousa in the Generali Open final in Kitzbühel. It was his second title in the city he calls home in the past three years. It marked his first title since Munich in 2016 and improved his lifetime record in ATP World Tour finals to 8-9. Read & Watch Highlights
No. 51 Joao Sousa, +11
In his Kitzbühel debut, the 28 year old Sousa reached his second ATP World Tour final of the season before he went down to Kohlschreiber in straight sets. The Portuguese player, a former No. 28 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, is on the cusp of a return to the Top 50 following his run on the clay in Austria, which included victories over local #NextGenATP player Sebastian Ofner and defending champion Paolo Lorenzi. Sousa finished runner-up to Jack Sock in the Auckland final in January.
No. 70 Yen-Hsun Lu, +19
The Chinese Taipei player collected his second ATP Challenger Tour title in Chengdu on Sunday to surge back into the Top 70 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. His win over Russian Evgeny Donskoy in the final bagged him a second Challenger-level title of the season, having won on home soil, and a record 28th ATP Challenger Tour title. Lu has not dropped a set in his past six ATP Challenger Tour finals. Read ATP Challenger Spotlight
No. 73 Damir Dzumhur +14
The top-ranked Bosnian reached his second ATP World Tour semi-final and first since 2015, in Los Cabos, to stand just seven spots shy of his career-best Emirates ATP Ranking. Dzumhur took eventual champion Querrey to three sets, having triumphed over last year’s runner-up, Feliciano Lopez, in the quarter-finals. It was Dzumhur’s fifth career win over a Top 30 player in the Emirates ATP Rankings.
Germany’s Alexander Zverev won his fourth ATP title of the season with victory over South African Kevin Anderson in the final of the Citi Open.
The 20-year-old world number eight won 6-4 6-4 in 69 minutes in Washington.
Zverev is the youngest player to win four titles in a season since Juan Martin del Potro in 2008.
Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova beat Germany’s Julia Goerges 3-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-0 in the women’s final to secure her third WTA singles title.
Elsewhere, Madison Keys beat fellow American Coco Vandeweghe 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 to win the Stanford Bank of the West Classic in California.
The US Open, the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year, begins on Monday, 28 August.