Denis Shapovalov continues to excel in Asia. The seventh seed has followed up his run to the Seoul final with two dominant wins in Tokyo to advance to the quarter-finals at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships.

On Thursday, he breezed past Japanese qualifier Rio Noguchi 6-3, 6-1 to reach his sixth quarter-final of the season and end the 23-year-old Noguchi’s debut tournament on the ATP Tour.

“I’m definitely happy to be in the quarters here,” Shapovalov said post-match. “I always feel like I bring out some good tennis late in the year, and I’m very happy that’s the case again. Hopefully I can keep rolling with it.”

The Canadian did not face a break point against Noguchi, taking full advantage of the quick conditions under the closed roof in the Ariake Colosseum.

“The fast court plays well into my game,” he added. “I think I’ve been serving great on this court… we’ll try to take advantage this week.”

Shapovalov will seek to maintain his strong form as he bids for his first ATP Head2Head win in his third try against Borna Coric. The ninth-seeded Coric also advanced to the quarter-finals on Thursday with a 7-5, 6-2 victory against San Diego champion Brandon Nakashima.

“He’s a tricky player for sure,” Shapovalov said of Coric. “I’ve struggled with him in the past. He’s been playing some great tennis this season. It’s going to be a tough match.”

After spending a week quarantining in Seoul, Taylor Fritz arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday just in time to win his opening match — a three-setter against James Duckworth. The American repeated the feat on Thursday, edging Tokyo native Hiroki Moriya 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.

Following his first-round victory, Fritz said that his main concern was his fitness after falling ill with COVID-19 and being in lockdown. But the third seed once again rose to the occasion in the final set to reach his eighth quarter-final of the season.

While he gave a good report on his health following the second-round victory, Fritz said his biggest issue is a lack of practice time as he adapts to the fast conditions in the Ariake Colosseum.

“Physically, I feel good,” he said post-match. “It’s more just not having been able to practise and play… It’s tough for me to feel good about going for my shots and being aggressive. So I guess it’s good I’m getting a lot of time on the court.”

Thursday’s match clocked in at just under two hours, finishing just before 11 p.m., while his Wednesday win lasted one hour and 45 minutes.

The energetic Tokyo crowd played a big role in the late-night match, urging Moriya on as he took the match to his opponent in set two. After losing six straight games to concede the opening set, the home favourite did not face a break point in the second.

“I felt like he really upped his level in the second and he played a lot better,” Fritz said. “Things got very close.”

Fritz regained control in the third and broke late in the set, but failed to serve out the match at 5-4. Undeterred, he secured his fifth break of the match to clinch victory. After finishing with 14 aces, Fritz is counting on his serve to propel him in his quarter-final showdown with Nick Kyrgios.

“It’s going to be a big emphasis on the serve,” he said, previewing the matchup. “I’m going to need to serve well, like I did yesterday in my first match. It’s going to be close.”

Kyrgios defeated Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 earlier in the day.

The marquee matchup between Kyrgios and Fritz is scheduled to kick off Friday’s evening session, with a start time of not before 6 p.m. The pair, who played three doubles events together in the 2019 season, will meet for just the second time on the singles court. Fritz won their previous ATP Head2Head meeting 6-3, 6-2 in Cincinnati in August.

Novak Djokovic’s unstoppable form on indoor hard courts showed no sign of abating Thursday at the Astana Open, where the fourth seed delivered a confident all-around display to cruise past Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-1 at the ATP 500 event in Kazakhstan.

The Serbian required just 71 minutes to claim victory in his maiden ATP Head2Head clash against the World No. 34 Van de Zandschulp, striking the ball just as cleanly as he had in his impressive first-round dismissal of Cristian Garin on Wednesday. Having arrived in Kazakhstan off the back of clinching his 89th tour-level crown in Tel Aviv, the win extended Djokovic’s winning streak to six.

Djokovic has now reached the quarter-final stage in eight of the nine tournaments he has played in 2022. The 35-year-old will meet Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals in Astana after the US Open semi-finalist earlier prevailed 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 against ninth seed Marin Cilic.

More to follow…

When the potential tournament mascot duos are this cute, it’s not easy to choose a winner. It’s like being asked to pick your favourite child. Perhaps that’s why the Nitto ATP Finals is turning to fans to help select which mascot duo will represent this year’s tournament (13-20 November).

Inspired by the symbols and colours of the event, and the features of the sport, Lob & Drop embody human characteristics and are the physical representation of the event. Together they cover every aspect of the game, from a cunning return shot (Lob) to a surprise and stylish one (Drop).

Turet and Plinaare are two bulls who love every different aspect of the tournament. Their colours bring together the event and the Turin city flag. They are inspired by the city’s traditional water fountain, called toret, which locals and tourists recognise on the city streets..

Turet loves to interact with people from around the world. Plin always likes to try new things, from food to activities in the Fan Village.

Please cast your vote for your favourite duo on Twitter. Voting ends Saturday 8 October 9am CEST.

He’s one of the very best players in the world, but Stefanos Tsitsipas felt like a kid at the recent Laver Cup in London. With Roger Federer playing the last match of his career in doubles alongside Rafael Nadal, the 24-year Greek nervously approached the 20-time Grand Slam singles champion for a slice of history.

“It would mean the world to me if I could have one of your racquets,” Tsitsipas said to Federer. “I’ve been following you since I was three years old. If I could have a racquet to frame and put in my house, to share that with you is extremely special to me. I hope you don’t mind giving me that piece of your identity.”

Federer graciously offered up one of the 340-gram Wilson Pro Staff RF97s from his bag.

“Obviously, he agreed,” Tsitsipas said this week at the Astana Open. “Look, Roger was an idol of mine growing up. It would have been wrong not to get something from his last match. He was very nice, and I sleep with it from time to time.”

He might have been joking — but it was impossible to know for sure. Tsitsipas is hoping that brush with greatness as a member of Team Europe will carry him towards the finish line of the 2022 season. He was the fourth player to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, following Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud.

On Wednesday, he advanced to the quarter-finals in Kazakhstan, winning two tight tie-breaks against 19-year-old Italian qualifier Luca Nardi. After his 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3) victory, Tsitsipas warmly congratulated Nardi, who had won his first tour-level match in the first round against qualifier Alexander Shevchenko.

That gives the Greek star 51 victories in 2022, one behind ATP Tour leader and World No. 1 Alcaraz. Tsitsipas can equal that total with a victory in Friday’s quarter-final against seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz.

Before the event began, Tsitsipas was asked if shared similarities with Hurkacz, the easy-going Polish player.

“I am pretty loud on social media, though,” Tsitsipas said, referring to his prolific posts on Instagram (1.7 million followers) and Twitter. “I’m pretty quiet in real life, but I like to share some opinions here and there. I would say we’re on the quiet side, I would say he keeps everything to himself, extremely talented.”

It’s been a terrific year for Tsitsipas, a first-round winner in Astana against Mikhail Kukushkin. He reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open, losing to Daniil Medvedev. Then he won the ATP Masters 1000 title in Monte Carlo and reached two other Masters 1000 finals, in Rome (l. to Djokovic) and Cincinnati (l. to Coric). He also won on the grass in Mallorca, the ninth title of his young career.

For Tsitsipas, those Laver Cup emotions carried over well beyond Federer’s final match.

“I was crying that night,” Tsitsipas said. “The most surprising thing was how emotional I was the morning after. You would think everything would be let out. But I was in full tears in my breakfast in the morning.

“You see all the beautiful moments go by — I think that’s what you take the most when you share Roger’s amazing retirement. I don’t think you could do it any better with his teammates. I wish one day my retirement can be like that.”

On a rainy Thursday in Tokyo, Nick Kyrgios weathered another sort of storm under the closed roof in the Ariake Colosseum. After a shaky start to his second-round match, the Aussie locked in to secure a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory against Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships.

Kyrgios grew frustrated as he played a loose opening service game in falling behind 0-3, and he could not create a break chance in the set. But after saving a break point in the opening game of set two, Kyrgios did not face another as he expertly turned the match around to advance to the quarter-finals.

“Losing the first set, there was never really a doubt in my mind that I was going to win the match,” Kyrgios said, noting his 37 match wins on the season. “I just had to get back to doing what I do well — that’s playing quick and aggressive tennis.

“I’ve got really good confidence in my game right now, so I don’t really doubt myself even when I’m down a set. I think playing Grand Slams and going far in Grand Slams has given me that confidence that even if I lose a set I’m still able to maintain and increase my level in the match.”

The fifth seed finished with 22 aces and won 84 per cent (36/43) of his first-serve points.

“I’ve been serving well all year,” he said. “I know if I’m serving the way I can serve, I shouldn’t be getting broken.”

Kyrgios was pleased with his “really high level” in the final two sets, and will seek to continue that form in the quarter-finals against third seed Taylor Fritz.

“Fritz is obviously an incredible player. He’s had a great year,” Kyrgios said. “He plays very aggressive, has a great serve and is very dangerous off both wings.”

While some of us can’t quite remember what we had for breakfast yesterday — raise your hand if this sounds like you — professional tennis players have the ability to never forget.

Take Daniil Medvedev, for example. After arriving at the Astana Open earlier this week, he recalled his first experience in the Kazakh capital with surprising clarity.

“I played a Challenger event here six years ago,” said Medvedev. “Yeah, I remember all the matches. I lost to Denis Istomin 7-6, 7-6 [in the quarter-finals]. I was disappointed of course.”

And now, Medvedev has seen that modest 2016 ATP Challenger Tour event grow into an ATP 500 tournament featuring six of the world’s Top 10 players.

“I remember it was really well organized and I thought maybe they will one day have an ATP event,” Medvedev said. “And now we are here. It is an ATP 500 and the draw is insane. I’m really happy for the team working around this tournament for them to have such a success.

“Kazakhstan for some time has really started to invest into tennis, promote tennis. And as a player, I can only say thank you.”

Like the tournament, which was staged as an ATP 250 in 2020 and 2021, Medvedev has evolved. He’s No. 4 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and a Grand Slam champion, going back to last year’s US Open. And, he says, cooler and calmer than he used to be.

“[I was] definitely much crazier on the court,” he said of his 20-year-old self. “A lot of people don’t believe that. I wanted to win, I wanted to climb the rankings at that point. In life I was pretty easy-going, like I feel I am still.

“I would like to think that it [fame and fortune] didn’t influence me at all, but there are going to be some people around me, if you ask them, they might say, `Maybe he changed a little.’ I try to be real to myself which sometimes can maybe be not easy for other people. In life there always going to be some people who like what you do and some that don’t.”

One year ago, Medvedev continued to establish himself as one of the top players in his profession. He reached the Australian Open final, losing to Novak Djokovic. After winning titles in Marseille and Mallorca, the 26-year-old was fabulous down the stretch. He won the ATP Masters 1000 in Toronto, reached the semi-finals in Cincinnati and won the US Open — defeating Novak Djokovic in straight sets. The loss to Andrey Rublev in Cincinnati was his only one in a span of 16 matches. He would eventually advance to the finals of the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin before falling to Alexander Zverev.

The 2022 season has been uneven. While Medvedev again reached the major final in Melbourne, he lost in five sets to Rafael Nadal. His only title came in early August in Los Cabos, the 14th of his career. His title defence in New York ended when Nick Kyrgios beat him in the Round of 16.

Medvedev looked sharp in his opening match in Astana, besting Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 6-1. He’ll play Emil Ruusuvuori, a 6-0, 6-2 winner against last week’s Sofia champion Marc-Andrea Huesler on Thursday. If the seeds hold, Djokovic could be waiting in the semi-finals. The Serbian star has won six of their 10 previous matches, most recently, a three-set victory in the ATP Masters 1000 last fall in Paris.

“Not much to say,” Medvedev said, laughing. “Novak is a No. 4 seed. The final eight, the seeded guys, you have to win two matches against strong guys. Yeah, the draw is super strong. And that’s great.”

Frances Tiafoe won his 13th consecutive tie-break to clinch victory on Thursday in Tokyo, advancing to the quarter-finals for the first time at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships.

In a 6-1, 7-6(7) win against Bernabe Zapata Miralles, Tiafoe closed out a high-level second set on his fifth match point. He is through to his sixth ATP Tour quarter-final of the season.

“I think handling those big moments, tie-breaks and stuff like that, [the key is] focussing on what you can focus on and just playing to win, playing aggressive,” Tiafoe said, also acknowledging the role of luck in his streak. “I have a lot of shots in the book, so I’m trying to make the match on my terms and have that belief.”

The fourth-seeded American has not lost a tie-break since Cincinnati, winning eight in his run to the US Open semi-finals and another two at the Laver Cup, including a trophy-clinching Match Tie-break for Team World.

Against Zapata Miralles, Tiafoe raced to a 4-0 lead in the opening set after saving two break points in his first service game. But the Spaniard raised his level in set two, creating two chances for what could have been a double-break lead at 4-1. Instead, the American got back on serve to set up an eventful close to the pair’s first ATP Head2Head meeting.

Tiafoe could not convert on two match points with Zapata Miralles serving at 4-5, then saved a break point on his own serve at 5-5.

A thrilling tie-break included a sumptuous drop volley from Tiafoe and a stunning on-the-run pass from Zapata Miralles as the competitors traded heavy blows in the Ariake Colosseum. With big serves at key moments, Tiafoe never gave his opponent a set point as he closed out the victory.

The American finished the match with 12 aces and a 78 per cent (28/36) win rate on first serve. He saved five of six break points in the one-hour, 32-minute contest.

Tiafoe is now two wins away from matching the run of his coach, South Africa’s Wayne Ferreira, to the 1999 Tokyo final.

“Wayne’s been pushing me to just keep believing in myself and believing in my game,” said Tiafoe, who was not aware of his coach’s success in Japan. “When I’m at my best, I can play with anyone. He’s been really pushing that message for me.”

Tiafoe, who beat Japan’s Yasutaka Uchiyama in the opening round, will next face either eighth seed Daniel Evans or Miomir Kecmanovic.

Did You Know?
The last American to win the Tokyo men’s singles title was three-time champion Pete Sampras in 1996. 

Photo Credit: Hiroshi Sato