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Two-time champ Nishikori topples Thompson in Tokyo, faces Rune next

  • Posted: Sep 28, 2024

Kei Nishikori’s bid for a hat-trick of titles at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships is building momentum.

The home favourite on Saturday breezed past Jordan Thompson 6-2, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals at his home ATP 500 for the sixth time in 11 main-draw appearances. Nishikori broke his opponent’s serve five times in a commanding 83-minute performance inside Ariake Coliseum, where he previously lifted the trophy in 2012 and 2014.

“I think I played a little bit too good,” joked Nishikori after the match. “I surprised myself, maybe my team is also a little bit surprised. I played really well. Very solid, very focused. This is how I wanted to play. Play aggressive with not many mistakes. It was almost perfect today.”

Nishikori was razor sharp on return throughout his second-round victory, particularly when facing second serves. The Japanese star won 67 per cent (14/21) of points against Thompson’s second delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to reaching his first ATP 500 quarter-final since Washington 2021.

With his seventh tour-level victory of his injury-disrupted 2024, the former No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings Nishikori improved to 3-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against the Australian.

“For sure this was the best match so far this year,” said Nishikori. “Jordan is not an easy player to play against. He is very solid and has a good serve. Not easy to play against, but I really handled it well today.”

Awaiting Nishikori in the last eight will be sixth seed Holger Rune, who ended the hopes of another Japanese star, Yoshihito Nishioka. Rune eased to a 6-2, 6-4 triumph in just 67 minutes to reach the quarter-finals on his Tokyo debut.

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#NextGenATP Michelsen advances to Tokyo QFs

  • Posted: Sep 28, 2024

Will #NextGenATP star Alex Michelsen add a maiden title to his breakthrough season on the ATP Tour?

The 20-year-old advanced past Christopher O’Connell 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the quarter-finals at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo.

The qualifier, who rallied to upset fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the opening round, struck 23 winners to dismantle O’Connell in one hour and 19 minutes. The No. 49 player in the PIF ATP Rankings also saved all three break points he faced to progress to his second ATP 500 quarter-final of the season (Washington).

“The quality of these matches was good, getting my rhythm here. I feel like I’ve been attacking really well, coming to the net a lot, especially today,” Michelsen said in his post-match interview, “I felt like I served really well and won a lot of points on that and that’s what I’ve been working on, so I’m super happy with that.

“I’m only going to play a couple more tournaments this year. I’m feeling really good to be honest, [I’m] going to finish the year strong.”

Michelsen’s success this season has been underlined by reaching the final in both Newport and Winston-Salem, placing him second in the PIF ATP Live Race to Jeddah. The American will next face Tomas Machac, who rallied to overcome fifth seed Tommy Paul 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) in the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head encounter.

The Czech clawed back from 0-3 down in the deciding set to close out the match in two hours, 35 minutes. He hit 33 winners, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to surge to a sixth ATP Tour quarter-final of the season.

“You never know, but in these conditions against this kind of player, it’s tough to believe when you’re losing in the first set and in the beginning of the second set,” Machac said after the match. “I just started to play much better in the second set than the first set, it was unbelievable from my side.

“I just tried to fight for every ball and I just tried to hope for victory.”

Paul, who was the highest ranked player left in the draw, suffered a blow to his Nitto ATP Finals qualification hopes. The American currently sits 11th in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin, 520 points shy of eighth place.

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What is the Beijing tennis schedule?

  • Posted: Sep 27, 2024

It will be a jam-packed Saturday at the China Open in Beijing, where No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings Jannik Sinner headlines the order of play.

The Italian faces lucky loser Roman Safiullin in their third Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. Sinner leads their series 2-0.

Other ATP stars to watch include third seed Daniil Medvedev, who takes on Adrian Mannarino. Rising Italian Flavio Cobolli plays Pavel Kotov.

[ATP APP]

ORDER OF PLAY – SATURDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2024

CAPITAL GROUP DIAMOND start 11 a.m.
WTA – [3] Jasmine Paolini (ITA) vs Clara Tauson (DEN)
WTA – [1] Aryna Sabalenka vs [Q] Mananchaya Sawangkaew (THA)
ATP – [1] Jannik Sinner (ITA) vs [LL] Roman Safiullin

Not Before 7 p.m.
WTA – [LL] Kamilla Rakhimova vs [5] Qinwen Zheng (CHN)

Not Before 8:30 p.m.
ATP – Adrian Mannarino (FRA) vs [3] Daniil Medvedev

LOTUS start 11 a.m.
ATP – Flavio Cobolli (ITA) vs [Q] Pavel Kotov
ATP – Jiri Lehecka (CZE) vs [Q] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP)

Not Before 2:30 PM
WTA – [30] Yue Yuan (CHN) vs Karolina Muchova (CZE)
WTA – [18] Madison Keys (USA) vs [Q] Sara Sorribes Tormo (ESP)
WTA – Viktorija Golubic (SUI) vs [16] Donna Vekic (CRO)

MOON start 11 a.m.
WTA – [11] Liudmila Samsonova vs Cristina Bucsa (ESP)
WTA – [WC] Sijia Wei (CHN) vs [13] Beatriz Haddad Maia (BRA)

Not Before 2:30 p.m.
WTA – Ashlyn Krueger (USA) vs [29] Lulu Sun (NZL)
WTA – [17] Mirra Andreeva vs Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU)

BRAD DREWETT start 11 a.m.
WTA – Elisabetta Cocciaretto (ITA) vs [24] Elise Mertens (BEL)
WTA – Jacqueline Cristian (ROU) vs [7] Barbora Krejcikova (CZE)
WTA – [25] Dayana Yastremska (UKR) vs Nadia Podoroska (ARG)
WTA – Lyudmyla Kichenok (UKR) / Marta Kostyuk (UKR) vs [2] Katerina Siniakova (CZE) / Taylor Townsend (USA)

COURT 3 start 11 a.m.
WTA – [9] Daria Kasatkina vs [LL] Jana Fett (CRO)
WTA – Camila Osorio (COL) vs [34] Amanda Anisimova (USA)

After Suitable Rest
WTA – [OSE] Elisabetta Cocciaretto (ITA) / Liudmila Samsonova vs [OSE] Anastasia Potapova / Yulia Putintseva (KAZ)
WTA – Ulrikke Eikeri (NOR) / Fang-Hsien Wu (TPE) vs [7] Hao-Ching Chan (TPE) / Veronika Kudermetova

COURT 5 start 11 a.m.
ATP – Rafael Matos (BRA) / Marcelo Melo (BRA) vs [Q] Jamie Murray (GBR) / John Peers (AUS)
ATP – Francisco Cerundolo (ARG) / Nicolas Jarry (CHI) vs [2] Rohan Bopanna (IND) / Ivan Dodig (CRO)
after suitable rest – ATP – [4] Neal Skupski (GBR) / Michael Venus (NZL) vs Flavio Cobolli (ITA) / Lorenzo Musetti (ITA)
ATP – Austin Krajicek (USA) / Rajeev Ram (USA) vs Wesley Koolhof (NED) / Nikola Mektic (CRO)

COURT 4 start 11 a.m.
WTA – Moyuka Uchijima (JPN) vs [31] Magda Linette (POL)

Not Before 1 p.m.
WTA – Hanyu Guo (CHN) / Xinyu Jiang (CHN) vs Leylah Fernandez (CAN) / Aldila Sutjiadi (INA)
WTA – Asia Muhammad (USA) / Jessica Pegula (USA) vs Tereza Mihalikova (SVK) / Olivia Nicholls (GBR)
WTA MATCH

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What is the Tokyo tennis schedule?

  • Posted: Sep 27, 2024

The action at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships continues on Saturday with second-round singles match and exciting doubles matchups.

Among the stars who will be in action include former No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings and home hero Kei Nishikori, who takes on in-form Australian Jordan Thompson, and sixth seed Holger Rune, who plays Japanese lefty Yoshihito Nishioka.

Ben Shelton will return to court in doubles alongside Thompson against Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool.

[ATP APP]

ORDER OF PLAY – SATURDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER 2024

COLOSSEUM – start 11 a.m.
[5] Tommy Paul (USA) vs Tomas Machac (CZE)
[Q] Christopher O’Connell (AUS) vs [Q] Alex Michelsen (USA)
Jordan Thompson (AUS) vs [WC] Kei Nishikori (JPN)

Not Before 6:00 PM
[WC] Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) vs [6] Holger Rune (DEN)

Followed By
After suitable rest – Ben Shelton (USA) / Jordan Thompson (AUS) vs Julian Cash (GBR) / Lloyd Glasspool (GBR)

KINOSHITA GROUP ARENA – start 11 a.m.
[3] Sadio Doumbia (FRA) / Fabien Reboul (FRA) vs Sander Gille (BEL) / Joran Vliegen (BEL)
Rinky Hijikata (AUS) / Alexei Popyrin (AUS) vs [2] Hugo Nys (MON) / Jan Zielinski (POL) 03
[1] Nathaniel Lammons (USA) / Jackson Withrow (USA) vs Ariel Behar (URU) / Robert Galloway (USA)

Followed By
After suitable rest – [3] Sadio Doumbia (FRA) / Fabien Reboul (FRA) or Sander Gille (BEL) / Joran Vliegen (BEL) vs Jack Draper (GBR) / Tomas Machac (CZE)

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

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Could Medvedev be a ball kid?

  • Posted: Sep 27, 2024

Is Daniil Medvedev too tall to be a ball kid?

The 28-year-old has long proven his prowess as a tennis player, but he tried his hand at a new role on court at the China Open.

Known as one of the most entertaining players on the ATP Tour with his light-hearted demeanour, the No. 5 player in the PIF ATP Rankings had some fun practising drills with ball kids in Beijing.

Holding his arm above his head, he admitted he was too tall for the job. The six-foot-five Medvedev joked with a smile: “I would not like to receive a ball [from] me.”

Medvedev usually knows his way pretty well around the court. Preparing to roll a ball on the floor, he said, “I tried it one time and I don’t think it’s easy”.

The third seed defeated Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4 to reach the second round on Friday. A finalist at the ATP 500 tournament one year ago, he will face Adrian Mannarino in the second round. He trails in the Frenchman 3-4 in the Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

“I will need to be at my best. It’s going to be also against Adrian a lot of long rallies I think,” Medvedev said after his win against Monfils. “It’s going to be interesting for people to watch. Going to be very physical.”

Currently fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, Medvedev is trying to earn his first title of the season.

“It’s been up and down. Some good moments, some a bit worse. But it’s all experience. I like generally life on Tour. I like playing. So whatever happens has happened for the best,” Medvedev said. “Still some tournaments to go. So I think in a way if I manage to play these tournaments well, I could say the season was a success.”

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Alcaraz: ‘I’m really happy with the level’

  • Posted: Sep 27, 2024

Carlos Alcaraz is feeling well after reaching the second round of the China Open with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in his opening Beijing match Friday.

“I’m really happy with the level that I played today,” Alcaraz said. “It wasn’t an easy match. Difficult to get the rhythm from the baseline.”

Alcaraz secured breaks in the opening games of both sets and won the match without dropping sets. But the second seed was tested by the big-serving, big-hitting Frenchman. Mpetshi Perricard held three break points when Alcaraz tried to close out the first set. Even though he saved them and eventually got out of trouble, the Spaniard admitted it was a tough matchup for him.

“I think I did what I had to do: put some returns in, put some pressure on his service game, play good points when I had the chance from the baseline,” Alcaraz said.

“I was able to return a lot of serves, but just had one break point. Coming from love-40, I know that every return game for me is really tough. For me, saving three break points and being able to close the first set, it was really important for me.”

Playing in the capital city of China for a second consecutive year, Alcaraz was full of praise for the tournament after his win.

“This tournament, for me it’s really good. We have a lot of facilities. The gym is pretty good, the locker rooms, the areas, the player lounge. Everything is pretty good for the players,” he shared.

“The fans, the people here are so kind. They are always trying, finding the ways to help us, make feel us as comfortable as they can.”

The Spaniard will now play Tallon Griekspoor in the second round. He has won all three meetings in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head Series.

Before the tournament, Alcaraz became the third singles player to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. The season finale will be played at Inalpi Arena from 10-17 November.

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Defending singles champion Shelton pulls double duty in Tokyo

  • Posted: Sep 27, 2024

Ben Shelton can’t stop winning at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships. 

Shelton moved to 7-0 in singles on Friday in Tokyo where he overcame Mariano Navone 6-4, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals, before advancing to the same stage in doubles alongside Jordan Thompson.

The eighth seed converted three of the five break points he earned against Navone as he continued his bid to be the first player to defend the Tokyo title since Pete Sampras in 1993-94.

“I thought Mariano [Navone] was playing really well today and made things difficult,” Shelton said in his post-match interview after clinching his 35th win of the season. “It was a great match, a different feel compared to my first round, I feel like I’m really coming into form here.

“I thought I did a great job adjusting today, the ball was bouncing much lower and although this is my seventh singles match in Tokyo, it was the first time I played with the roof closed. There’s always going to be new challenges and weather issues. We’re lucky we have a roof here and we’re not sitting around waiting for the weather to clear up.”

The 21-year-old Shelton saved three of four break points against him, according to Infosys ATP Stats, as he closed out the match in 86 minutes. The No. 17 in the PIF ATP Rankings next faces #NextGen ATP talent Arthur Fils.

The Frenchman progressed after Matteo Berrettini retired due to injury when leading the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash 7-6(5). The 20-year-old Fils upset top seed Taylor Fritz earlier in the week to extend his lead at the top of the PIF ATP Live Race to Jeddah.

Shelton later teamed with US Open doubles champion and fellow Top 30 singles star Thompson, to seal a second success Friday. The pair defeated Japanese wild card duo Yoshihito Nishioka and Kaito Uesugi 7-6(3), 6-2 to make the quarter-finals.

 

Shelton and Thompson converted four of their six break points to set up a quarter-final clash with British pair Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool.

#NextGen ATP talent Alex Michelsen and Alejandro Tabilo also progressed in the doubles draw, battling past Luciano Darderi and Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-7(5), 10-7. They will next face Rinky Hijikata and Alexei Popyrin or Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski.

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