'I couldn't feel my arms and legs' – Murray on pro-am nerves
Andy Murray endured a bout of nerves when he played in the BMW PGA Championship pro-am with fellow Scot Bob MacIntyre on Wednesday.
Andy Murray endured a bout of nerves when he played in the BMW PGA Championship pro-am with fellow Scot Bob MacIntyre on Wednesday.
Marin Cilic secured his first win on the ATP Tour since January 2023 on Wednesday, finishing with a flourish to complete a 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 comeback over Zachary Svajda in the first round of the inaugural Hangzhou Open.
The former No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings has been hampered by injuries over the course of the past two seasons, eventually undergoing a second knee surgery in May this year. After a spell on the sidelines, Cilic returned to action on the ATP Challenger Tour last month and has worked his way back to record an impressive triumph over Svajda.
“It means a lot,” Cilic said of his return to winning ways. “It means a lot for me, for my team who have been with me through this extremely long, boring and difficult period. Two surgeries, lots of recovery, rehab and training. [I’m] just extremely happy that I am healthy, enjoying myself on the court, and physically back to 100 per cent.”
A winning return 🔙 for @cilic_marin 🙌@HangzhouOpen | #HangzhouOpen pic.twitter.com/CtN17wrNzj
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 18, 2024
The 35-year-old, who clinched his maiden Grand Slam at the 2014 US Open, won 92 per cent of first-serve points in the deciding set according to Infosys ATP Stats to cruise to victory and book his spot in round two, where he will face Maximilian Marterer or Yoshihito Nishioka for a place in the quarter-finals.
Earlier in the day, seventh seed Fabian Marozsan secured an emphatic 6-0, 6-2 win over Luca Nardi to advance in one hour, 10 minutes. The Hungarian has established himself as a persistent threat on hard courts this season and is off to a strong start in Hangzhou with a statement win, overpowering Nardi with a comfortable triumph.
[ATP APP]The Italian Nardi produced a stellar run to defeat Novak Djokovic en route to the fourth round of the ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells in March but has since been unable to record a win over a Top 50 opponent.
Just like Cilic, veteran Mikhail Kukushkin also rolled back the years with a dominant display to defeat fifth seed Luciano Darderi 6-3, 6-4. The 36-year-old, who currently sits at No. 112 in the PIF ATP Rankings, used his craft and guile to record his first tour-level win since October 2023.
The former World No. 39 will now attempt to notch his 175th tour-level win when he faces either Alexander Shevchenko or Marco Trungelliti in the second round.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]A host of tennis greats is gathering in Berlin.
Roger Federer on Tuesday headed to the city’s Uber Arena to help welcome his fellow former No. 1s in the PIF ATP Rankings and Laver Cup captains Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe to the German capital.
“The king!” exclaimed Team Europe captain Borg upon seeing Swiss great Federer, who is a co-founder of the Laver Cup and featured in a victorious Team Europe lineup at three editions of the teams’ event.
“No, you are the king!” replied Federer to Swedish legend Borg, who will captain Team Europe for the seventh and final time in Berlin.
Roger Federer arrives at the Uber Arena ahead of Laver Cup Berlin 2024. pic.twitter.com/f5TAfPlYDl
— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) September 17, 2024
Also set for his final outing as a captain this year is McEnroe, who had just finished hitting with his brother and Team World Vice-captain Patrick McEnroe on the iconic black Laver Cup court when Federer appeared.
“Good surprise, they said nobody was hitting!” said Federer to the McEnroe brothers.
First held in 2017, the Laver Cup pits a lineup of six European ATP Tour stars against six counterparts from the rest of the world. Team Europe has won four of the past six editions of the event and boasts a strong lineup this year that includes World No. 2 and home favourite Alexander Zverev and No. 3-ranked debutant Carlos Alcaraz.
Team World, which triumphed in the past two editions of the Laver Cup in London and Vancouver, respectively, will this year be spearheaded by a trio of Americans in Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard survived a scare on Wednesday, when he rallied from a set down to defeat Chinese wild card Fajing Sun 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-4 and advance to the second round of the Chengdu Open.
The Frenchman, who has experienced an eye-catching breakthrough year, dug deep to outlast the No. 359 in the PIF ATP Rankings in a gripping contest that lasted two hours, 28 minutes. The win was just Mpetshi Perricard’s second hard-court triumph on the ATP Tour this season but will be a welcome one as he quashed a four-match drought to advance in China.
The 21-year-old enjoyed a dazzling run to the fourth round of Wimbledon earlier this year, becoming just the seventh man in history to hit more than 50 aces in a match (51). Seeking a second title of the season, the Lyon champion will next play Yannick Hanfmann or Shintaro Mochizuki.
34 aces 🎯
Mpetshi Perricard closes the day with a 6-7 7-5 6-4 win over sun to advance into the second round!@ChengduOpen | #ChengduOpen pic.twitter.com/3o4EaNdgLD
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 18, 2024
Taro Daniel bounced back from his gut-wrenching five-set defeat in the US Open first round to Tristan Schoolkate to secure his first Top 50 win since January, upsetting sixth seed Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 7-5 to progress to the second round.
In winning his first tour-level match since the Mutua Madrid Open in April, the Japanese star snapped an 11-match losing streak. Sonego, the No. 50 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, has been unable to capitalise on the form that drove him to his fourth ATP title at the Winston-Salem Open last month, falling to back-to-back first-round defeats in his past two tournaments.
In the first match on centre court, Lukas Klein muscled his way past Adam Walton 7-6(3), 6-4 in a battle that was largely dominated by the serving prowess on display from both men. Klein, however, slammed down 12 aces to seal victory as he became the first Slovak to record a match win in Chengdu.
Walton’s difficult end to the season continued as the Australian fell to his seventh straight defeat at all levels since reaching the last 16 at the Atlanta Open in July.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Andy Murray has wasted little time in getting his competitive juices flowing again following his retirement from tennis last month. The Scot swapped his racquet for golf clubs on Wednesday in England, where he competed in the celebrity Pro-Am event ahead of the DP World Tour tournament in Wentworth.
The former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings retired following the Paris Olympics last month and has since spent time improving his golf game. The Scot will put his newfound skills to the test at the celebrity warm-up event in Surrey, where he will team with countryman and professional golfer Robert MacIntyre in the exhibition event.
Ahead of his round, Murray caught up with four-time major champion Rory McIlroy, with the pair in high spirits as they shared a laugh.
Andy Murray 🤝 Rory McIlroy #BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/TVeOBqMgPm
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 18, 2024
Murray will feature in the Pro-Am alongside a host of other celebrity names, including former Real Madrid star Gareth Bale and English cricketers James Anderson and Ollie Pope.
MacIntyre forms part of a strong field for the BMW PGA Championship, which commences Thursday. Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Matt Fitzpatrick and Justin Rose are all set to be in action.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Great Britain’s Heather Watson is knocked out of the Korea Open following a straight-set defeat by Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the second round in Seoul.
American teen Learner Tien and Briton Jacob Fearnley are two of the most dominant players on the ATP Challenger Tour right now.
The #NextGenATP Tien added his name to elite company in American tennis history Sunday when he won his second Challenger title at the Las Vegas Tennis Open. Fearnley, 23, lifted his third trophy in just his fourth appearance at that level this year.
Tien, seeded third, overcame Tristan Boyer 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 in the Las Vegas Challenger final, during which Tien won 65 per cent of his second-serve return points, compared to Boyer’s 37 per cent.
“I put a lot more importance on return points. I know how much pressure winning a couple points in someone’s service games can make them feel,” Tien told commentator Bryan Fenley.
By triumphing on the Las Vegas hard courts, Tien became the fifth-youngest American to win multiple Challenger titles, only behind Taylor Fritz, Andy Roddick, Frances Tiafoe, and Sam Querrey.
Youngest Americans To Win A Second Challenger Title
| Player | Age | Second Challenger Title |
| Taylor Fritz | 17 years, 11 months | 2015 Fairfield |
| Andy Roddick | 18 years, two months | 2000 Burbank |
| Frances Tiafoe | 18 years, eight months | 2016 Stockton |
| Sam Querrey | 18 years, nine months, two days | 2006 Winnetka |
| Learner Tien | 18 years, nine months, 13 days | 2024 Las Vegas |
“I’m happy I was able to get through this week,” Tien said. “Tougher conditions here with the altitude and wind. Some moments I wasn’t playing as well as I wanted to, but I’m happy I was able to problem solve and make it through the week.”
In May, Tien was No. 432 in the PIF ATP Rankings, but the 18-year-old has since propelled to a career-high No. 151. The teenager claimed his maiden Challenger title in Bloomfield Hills in June amidst his 28-match winning streak — including four ITF World Tennis Tour titles — across all levels.
Tien is seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. He is aiming for his maiden trip to the 20-and-under Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, which runs from 18-22 December.
The Briton Fearnley beat three of the Top 4 seeds at the Open Blot Rennes, including fourth seed and home favourite Quentin Halys in the final, which Fearnley won 0-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 after saving 12 of the 15 break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
Fearnley completed his standout five-year collegiate career at Texas Christian University this year and has since made a rapid rise on the ATP Challenger Tour, boasting an 18-1 season record at that level. Up to a career-high No. 129 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Fearnley won his first major main-draw match at Wimbledon, where he then pushed Novak Djokovic to four sets in the second round.
Trophy time in Rennes 🏆#ATPChallenger | @jakefearnley01 | @OpenBlotRennes pic.twitter.com/27GrrhAYL5
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 15, 2024
In other Challenger action, Vit Kopriva went one step further than last year’s runner-up finish at the Invest In Szczecin Open to claim his fourth title. The Czech avenged last year’s final loss against Federico Coria in dramatic fashion, fending off five match points in the semi-finals to survive the Argentine. Kopriva raced past Andrea Pellegrino 7-5, 6-2 in the final.
“The whole week was very special. Very tough for me coming back after last year’s final,” Kopriva said. “I’m really happy for the whole week. Today’s final was up and down. It was windy. We both struggled a little bit at the beginning, losing service games. The first set was the deciding one and luckily I made it.”
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/09/17/17/15/kopriva-szczecinch-2024.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Vit Kopriva wins the Szczecin Challenger.” />
Vit Kopriva wins the Challenger 125 event in Szczecin, Poland. Credit: Invest In Szczecin Open
Guy Den Ouden did not drop a set all week at the IZIDA Cup in Dobrich, Bulgaria, where the 22-year-old beat Jelle Sels 6-2, 6-3 in the final. Following the Dutchman’s maiden Challenger title, Den Ouden is up to a career-high No. 277 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
Christopher O’Connell won his sixth Challenger title and first of this season at the Guangzhou Huangpu International Tennis Open. The 30-year-old Australian, who has won a trophy on Asian hard courts each of the past three seasons, downed Sho Shimabukuro 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(5) in the championship match. O’Connell was competing in his first tournament since reaching the third round of the US Open and falling to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/09/17/17/00/oconnell-guangzhouch-2024.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Christopher O’Connell in action at the Guangzhou Challenger.” />
Christopher O’Connell in action at the Guangzhou Challenger. Credit: Guangzhou Huangpu International Tennis Open
Briton’s Emma Raducanu earns a hard-fought win in a “tough” match against Peyton Stearns in the first round of the Korea Open.
Returning to the London apartment he was sharing with coach Craig Boynton after finally closing out his epic 11-hour Wimbledon victory over Nicolas Mahut in 2010, John Isner was feeling good about life.
“I actually felt okay physically, not knowing I was going to feel awful the next day,” Isner recounted to ATPTour.com this week. “So I told CB, ‘I feel like a million dollars’.”
“Yeah, in quarters,” Boynton quipped back, knowing full well that the 70-68 fifth-set victory would take a toll.
“And he was right. I did feel like a million dollars in quarters the next day, just awful,” Isner laughed. “He is so witty; he is one of the wittiest guys I know. He always has a quick quip to come back at you with. Ask anyone, the guy is hilarious.”
Boynton, one of the most respected voices in the game who is also known for his Santa Claus beard and congenial personality, is the subject of ATPTour.com’s ATP Coach Spotlight this month.
Boynton’s life has been intertwined with tennis since his collegiate days at Clemson University. After a brief professional playing career, Boynton found his true
calling in coaching — a path he’s been on for more than 30 years — while working with some of the biggest names in the sport.
Boynton has built a decorated career, mentoring players such as Jim Courier, Mardy Fish, and Isner.
Most recently, the American coach spent five-and-a-half years working with Hubert Hurkacz before the two amicably parted ways a few weeks ago.
“It’s been a labour of love — if that, not even a labour. It’s just been a lot of joy, getting to know these great people and helping these great players,” Boynton reflected of his coaching journey.
Boynton’s first real coaching break came in 1993, when he started working with Courier.
“With Jim, I was the traveling coach, and he brought a whole different level to the Tour,” Boynton said of working with the former World No. 1.
Boynton was particularly impressed by the American’s fitness and drive.
“I can remember Jim saying at the time: ‘Anybody can win a five-set match,’” Boynton said. “I’m the only one that can win the same five-set match tomorrow. I was able to see that firsthand, and he was an amazing competitor, an amazing worker.”
After a few years coaching Courier, Boynton moved to Tampa Bay, Florida, in 2007 to head the tennis programme at Saddlebrook Tennis Academy.
At Saddlebrook, Boynton crossed paths with Isner, a 22-year-old American just beginning to make a name for himself. By March 2009, Isner sought out help from Boynton, who eagerly accepted.
“I had the luxury of knowing John for about two years before we started working together,” Boynton said. “I was able to watch him, see his game develop. I knew him, and we got along well. It was really fun watching him impose his presence and come into his own in 2009 and 2010.”
Isner was well outside the Top 100 when the two began.
By the end of the year, he had surged more than 100 spots in the PIF ATP Rankings and made his first Round of 16 appearance at the US Open.
“He can adapt with the player for sure,” Isner said of Boynton’s coaching. “He was so instrumental in my success, getting me from outside the Top 100 to the Top 20, where I never left for a long time. I started working with CB and made my jump to the top tier of the game.”
Boynton’s jovial attitude and holistic coaching approach, which balances who the player is both on and off the court, was beneficial for Isner.
“For me in particular, he would know when to push me and when to scale back,” said Isner, who in his post-career activities co-hosts the Nothing Major podcast with Steve Johnson, Sam Querrey and Jack Sock. “He knew me, he listened to me. His work ethic is incredible, and he loves being on the court and always makes practice fun.”
Under Boynton’s three-year tenure, Isner reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final, made an ATP Masters 1000 final, and cracked the Top 10 for the first time in his career.
After his time with Isner, Boynton took on a role as a USTA Player Development coach, working with players like Donald Young and Sock.
Then, in 2019, Boynton began coaching Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz.
When the two began working together, Hurkacz was just inside the Top 100. Under Boynton’s guidance, he reached his first Grand Slam semi-final, won two ATP Masters 1000 titles, and in August of this year, hit a career-high World No. 6.
“Hubi and I had five and a half great years. It was a wonderful ride,” Boynton said. “I understand these professional relationships will come to an end, but I’m proud of how close I still am with the players I’ve coached.
“I think one thing I’ll take away from my time with Hubi is how meaningful it was to work with a European player for five and a half years as an American coach. That doesn’t happen often, and I’m proud of both the relationship we built and the success we had together.”
Hurkacz shared the same sentiment as his former coach.
“One-of-a-kind ride! Grateful for all we have achieved as a team! Thank you, CB,” Hurkacz wrote on his Instagram story with a candid photo of the two sharing smiles on the court.
Boynton continues to love coaching and takes pride in knowing he’s making a positive impact on his players both on and off the court.
While he doesn’t envision himself stepping away from coaching, he’s looking forward to spending more time with family and travelling to the places he hasn’t already covered as part of his coaching journey.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
Jiri Lehecka has parted with coach Tomas Berdych after 18 months. The 22-year-old Czech announced the news on social media on Monday.
Lehecka started with countryman Berdych at Monte-Carlo last year, with the former No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings helping guide Lehecka to his maiden tour-level title in Adelaide in January.
As of today, by mutual agreement, I have ended my cooperation with Tomas Berdych, with whom I have been working since the Monte-Carlo 2023 tournament. Our paths are not diverging, though. We will continue to work with Tomáš within the Davis Cup team.
— Jiří Lehečka (@jirilehecka) September 16, 2024
“As of today, by mutual agreement, I have ended my cooperation with Tomas Berdych, with whom I have been working since the Monte-Carlo 2023 tournament,” Lehecka wrote in Czech on social media. “Our paths are not diverging, though. We will continue to work with Tomas within the Davis Cup team. I wish him much success and many victories in his new role as the Davis Cup team captain.
“My team otherwise remains the same, with coach Michal Navratil, fitness coach Radek Stepanek, and physiotherapist Carlos Manuel Baptista Carvalho. The general manager of the team is Roman Vik and the agent is Pierre Christen.”
[ATP APP]Berdych was announced on Sunday as the new Davis Cup captain for Czechia.
Lehecka was sidelined from April until August this year due to a stress fracture in his vertebra but returned to reach the third round in Cincinnati and at the US Open.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]