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Alcaraz Could Meet Rune In Wimbledon QFs, Djokovic Learns Path

  • Posted: Jun 30, 2023

Alcaraz Could Meet Rune In Wimbledon QFs, Djokovic Learns Path

Tsitsipas plays Thiem in popcorn first-round clash

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz will begin his Wimbledon campaign against Jeremy Chardy and could meet fellow 20-year-old Holger Rune in a blockbuster quarter-final clash.

The Spaniard Alcaraz defeated Alex de Minaur to lift his first grass-court trophy at the Cinch Championships last week and could play the Australian again in the fourth round. Alexander Zverev is also in the top quarter and is seeded to me De Minaur in the third round.

Former finalist Matteo Berrettini is also in that section. The Italian starts against countryman Lorenzo Sonego.

Second seed Novak Djokovic will start his quest for a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon crown against Pedro Cachin and could face Andrey Rublev, Nick Kyrgios or Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals.

Australian Kyrgios, who reached the title match last year, opens against wild card David Goffin, while Rublev plays Max Purcell.

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In the top half, Stefanos Tsitsipas will renew his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Dominic Thiem in a popcorn first-round match, with the winner facing two-time champion Andy Murray or British wild card Ryan Peniston. American Ben Shelton, who is making his debut, is seeded to meet Tsitsipas in the third round.

Daniil Medvedev opens against British wild card Arthur Fery, who studies at Stanford University. Medvedev has won five tour-level titles this season but has struggled to find his top level on the lawns in London, with his best result a run to the fourth round in 2021.

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Stuttgart champion Frances Tiafoe is also in the top half and is seeded to meet Rune in the fourth round. The American, currently at a career-high No. 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, reached the last 16 in 2022.

British No. 1 Cameron Norrie achieved his best Grand Slam result at Wimbledon last year when he reached the semi-finals. The 12th seed starts against Czech qualifier Tomas Machac and might play Queen’s Club semi-finalist Sebastian Korda in the third round.

Italian Jannik Sinner led Djokovic by two sets to love in the quarter-finals last year before losing. The eighth seed opens against Juan Manuel Cerundolo and is seeded to meet Taylor Fritz in the fourth round.

Fourth seed Casper Ruud, who is in the same half as Djokovic, opens against French qualifier Laurent Lokoli. The Norwegian could play Sinner in the quarter-finals.

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Dodig/Krajicek On 13-Match Winning Streak, Reach Eastbourne Final

  • Posted: Jun 29, 2023

Dodig/Krajicek On 13-Match Winning Streak, Reach Eastbourne Final

Harris in Mallorca singles semi-final, doubles final with Bhambri

Top seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek extended their winning streak to 13 consecutive matches Thursday after they advanced to the final at the Rothesay International.

Dodig and Krajicek, who triumphed at Roland Garros and last week at The Queen’s Club, ousted Australians Matthew Ebden and John-Patrick Smith 7-5, 4-6, 10-7 in the Eastbourne semi-finals. They will next meet fourth seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in Friday’s final after the Croatians cruised past second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 6-2, 6-2.

Mektic and Pavic will be aiming for their third title of the season while Dodig and Krajicek look to extend their run by collecting a fifth trophy in 2023.

Top Seeds Fall In Mallorca
After booking a ticket into the Mallorca Championships singles semi-finals, Lloyd Harris returned to court with partner Yuki Bhambri to upset top seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-4, 7-6(2) and reach the ATP 250 doubles final. Bhambri and Harris fended off 10 of 12 break points faced to advance.

In quarter-final action, Robin Haase and Philipp Oswald downed Argentines Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 7-5, 6-4 after one hour, 29 minutes. The Dutch-Austrian team will next face Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow for a spot in the championship match.

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Arnaldi Qualifies For Wimbledon Debut

  • Posted: Jun 29, 2023

Arnaldi Qualifies For Wimbledon Debut

Top 10 qualifying seeds Albot, Machac, Stricker also through

After qualifying at Roland Garros and picking up a win in his major main-draw debut, Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi has once again come through the qualifying draw at Wimbledon. On Thursday, the 22-year-old secured his first appearance at the All England Lawn Tennis Club with a 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 victory against Frederico Ferreira Silva.

As the top seed in qualifying, Arnaldi lost the opening set of his campaign against Shang Juncheng, but then won seven sets in a row. 

The Italian competed in the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan last season and finished 2022 at No. 134 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. He since reached a career-high of World No. 72 after winning his fourth ATP Challenger Tour title earlier this month in Heilbronn, Germany.

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Three other Top 10 qualifying seeds also booked their places in the main draw with Thursday wins. Fifth seed Radu Albot was a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(6) winner against Felipe Meligeni Alves, sixth seed Tomas Machac advanced past Lucas Pouille via a second-set retirement, and 10th seed Dominic Stricker beat Mattia Bellucci 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. Stricker also competed at the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2022, reaching the semi-finals.

No other seeded players were among the 16 to advance to the Wimbledon main draw.

Four five-setters were contested on Thursday, with Wimbledon switching to the familiar best-of-five format for the final round of qualifying. A seeded player was upset in all four such matches.

Third seed Fabian Marozsan, who made headlines with an upset of Carlos Alcaraz in Rome last month, was beaten by Maximilian Marterer, with the German claiming a 7-5, 6-4, 6-7(5), 5-7, 7-5 result. Belgium’s Kimmer Coppejans upset fourth seed Taro Daniel 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2; France’s Laurent Lokoli outlasted 13th seed Michael Mmoh 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-3, 2-6, 6-2; and Chile’s Tomas Barrios Vera downed 21st seed Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-4, 6-7(3), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Sho Shimabukuro, Oscar Otte, Dennis Novak, Gijs Brouwer, Enzo Couacaud, Hamad Medjedovic, Harold Mayot and Shintaro Mochizuki also qualified for the main draw with Thursday wins.

The advancing players will find out their opening main-draw opponents during Friday’s draw, which is set for 10 a.m. local time.

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