Tennis News

Scouting Report: Monfils Headlines Adelaide Field; Kyrgios Returns In Sydney

The action continues on the ATP Tour in Australia this week, with future and established stars aiming to make their mark at two ATP 250 events in Adelaide and Sydney.

Frenchman Gael Monfils will try to maintain his strong form when he leads the field at the Adelaide International 2, while Aslan Karatsev and Nick Kyrgios feature at the Sydney Tennis Classic.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch from both tournaments.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN ADELAIDE
1) Monfils Aiming For Back-To-Back Titles: Monfils started his 2022 season in style by overcoming Karen Khachanov to capture his 11th ATP Tour title at Adelaide International 1. The Frenchman did not drop a set en route to the trophy and will be aiming to triumph once again in Adelaide this week. The top seed will face a qualifier in his first match and could face Khachanov in a re-match if both advance to the semi-finals. 

2) Isner Second Seed: John Isner will be aiming to clinch his 17th ATP Tour title at the ATP 250 event this week, after last triumphing in Atlanta in August. The American earned his first victory of the season against Canada’s Brayden Schnur at ATP Cup last week and will face either wild card Thanasi Kokkinakis or Frenchman Benoit Paire in his opening match.

3) Home favourite Kokkinakis Building Momentum: Australian Kokkinakis thrilled his home fans at the Adelaide International 1 last week, capturing victories over John Millman, Frances Tiafoe and Mikael Ymer as he reached his first ATP Tour semi-final since August 2017 in Los Cabos.

The 25-year-old will be aiming for another deep run this week, starting against Paire in the first round.

4) Harris Aiming For Strong Start: Lloyd Harris enjoyed a strong 2021 season, reaching a career-high No. 31 in the ATP Rankings, advancing to the final in Dubai and enjoying a run to the quarter-finals at the US Open.

The South African begins his 2022 campaign in Adelaide targeting more success as he aims to break the Top 20 this year. The fifth seed plays Nur-Sultan champion Soonwoo Kwon in the first round, with Karen Khachanov a potential quarter-finalist.

Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images

5) Botic vs. Fucscovics Headlines First-Round Clashes: Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp threw himself into the spotlight at the US Open in September when as a qualifier he upset Casper Ruud and Diego Schwartzman en route to the quarter-finals. The 26-year-old then backed up his New York run by reaching the semi-finals in St. Petersburg and the last eight in Stockholm.

The World No. 57 faces a tricky opening test in Adelaide as he takes on eighth-seeded Hungarian Marton Fucsovics. The 29-year-old advanced to the final in Rotterdam and reached the last eight at Wimbledon in 2021.

Other eye-catching first-round matches include Tiafoe against Tommy Paul and #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti against Benjamin Bonzi.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN SYDNEY
1) Kyrgios In Action: Kyrgios will compete for the first time since he played for Team World at the Laver Cup in September when he takes to court at the ATP 250 event in Sydney.

The Australian is currently No. 93 in the ATP Rankings, but is confident in his ability as he targets a strong start to the season.

“If I’m ranked 1000 or 10 in the world everyone knows what I’m capable of on Tour,” Kyrgios said Saturday. “I’m not a player that hasn’t proven himself… I talk a lot, but I also have beaten a lot of players and I have won a lot of tournaments.”

The 26-year-old wild card will face seventh-seeded Italian Fabio Fognini in a popcorn first-round clash in Sydney.

2) Karatsev Leads The Field: Karatsev was voted Most Improved Player of the Year in the 2021 ATP Awards after rising from No. 112 in the ATP Rankings at the start of the season to a career-high No. 15 in November.

The Russian will compete in his first tournament of the year this week back in the country where his success started a year ago with a shock run to the semi-finals at the Australian Open. The top seed will play either Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic or a qualifier in his opening match in Sydney.

3) Evans In Form: Daniel Evans stood up and delivered for Great Britain at ATP Cup last week, earning singles wins against Jan-Lennard Struff, Denis Shapovalov and John Isner, while also teaming with Jamie Murray to capture two doubles victories at the 16-team event.

The third seed will be aiming to continue his perfect start to the season in Sydney when he faces either Pedro Martinez or Alexei Popyrin in the second round. Evans has fond memories of Australia, having lifted his maiden tour-level title at the Murray River Open in Melbourne last year.

4) Murray Receives Wild Card: Andy Murray suffered a disappointing first-round defeat against Facundo Bagnis at the Melbourne Summer Set last week, but will be keen to bounce back when he plays a qualifier in the first round in Sydney.

The Scot, who has reached five Australian Open finals and won two titles in Brisbane (2012, 2013), advanced to quarter-finals in Metz and Sofia last season. If Murray can reach the second round at the ATP 250 event, he will face a tough test against second seed Nikoloz Basilashvili.

5) Cressy’s Hot Streak: American Maxime Cressy enjoyed a dream run to the final at the Melbourne Summer Set Open last week, defeating Top 30 stars Reilly Opelka and John Isner, before falling to Rafael Nadal in his first tour-level final. The 24-year-old, who plays an exciting brand of serve-and-volley tennis, will look to continue his momentum in Sydney, starting against France’s Adrian Mannarino. 

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Ashleigh Barty beats Elena Rybakina to win Adelaide title

World number one Ashleigh Barty continues her impressive form before the Australian Open with a straight-set win against Elena Rybakina in the Adelaide International final.

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Bopanna & Ramanathan Win Adelaide Doubles Title On Team Debut

Indian duo Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan completed a stunning tournament debut as a team Sunday by upsetting top seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo 7-6(6), 6-1 in the Adelaide 1 International final.

Bopanna and Ramanathan had played just one Davis Cup doubles match together before this week.

World No. 43 Bopanna claimed his 19th tour-level title but first since Doha 2020 (w/ Koolhof). Ramanathan, No. 144 in the ATP Rankings, captured his first tour-level crown.

Later today, at the Melbourne Summer Set, top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski will play Aleksandr Nedovyesov and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi for the title.

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Preview: Canada, Spain Set For Thrilling ATP Cup Final

The ATP Cup final may well come down to fine margins on Sunday, with the four singles players on show — Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov, and Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut and Pablo Carreno Busta — all inside the Top 20 of the ATP Rankings. It will be a case of Canada’s shot-makers against Spanish consistency as the third edition reaches a thrilling conclusion on Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney.

Canada started off the week with four straight losses, but such is the ability of long-time friends Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov to knit together, not to mention a little help from Great Britain in winning a Match Tie-break in the deciding doubles match against the United States on Thursday, that the team avoided elimination and grew from strength to strength.

“We all know how close we were from being eliminated,” said Auger-Aliassime. “Thank you to Team Great Britain. They made us stay alive and we played a good one against Germany… [Today] we really brought the best energy we could in the doubles [against Russia]. We lifted ourselves, especially in the tie-break [and] I’m really happy we’re through.”

Shapovalov also feels his bond with Auger-Aliassime is strong, saying, “I think [that] Felix and [I] do a really good job of lifting each other up… I think it’s awesome to kind of have that chemistry with Felix. I think it’s definitely taken us a long way.”

Of course, Auger-Aliassime has taken his captaincy responsibilities seriously and, having recorded the biggest win of his career over Germany’s Alexander Zverev on Thursday, the Canadian will fancy his chances against Bautista Agut in the No. 1 singles match, which will be their fourth ATP Head2Head meeting.

“He’s always a tough opponent,” said Auger-Aliassime. “He’s been so consistent throughout his career. His level rarely drops, so I’m going to have to be ready to give my best effort. It’s going to be tough physically, mentally. Of course, it’s always better to have won against a player before. So I come [in] with that little extra belief and confidence that I beat him twice the last two times.”

Auger-Aliassime leads 2-1 overall, but Bautista Agut won their last clash 7-6(3), 6-3 in the 2019 Davis Cup final and is notoriously strong at the start of each season. Bautista has compiled a 41-8 record in January matches since 2016. The Spaniard won an ATP Tour crown in his first events of 2016-2019, went 6-0 at the 2020 ATP Cup and is unbeaten in four singles matches this week. So something has to give on Sunday.

“I think Pablo and I, if we play well, are focused and we feel well on the court, we can win our matches,” said Bautista Agut, after helping Spain reach its second ATP Cup final (also 2020) with victory over Poland on Friday. “That’s been our philosophy all week. I think the conditions are good for my game. I like to practice very hard in the off-season and I’m very motivated at the beginning of the season.”

Former World No. 10 Carreno Busta is also four matches unbeaten in singles at the 2022 ATP Cup. The 30-year-old will begin the No. 2 singles match against Shapovalov with confidence, holding a 4-1 advantage against the Canadian. Carreno Busta has won their past three matches, including a 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4), 0-6, 6-3 victory in the 2020 US Open quarter-finals.

Shapovalov, with singles wins this week over Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff and Roman Safiullin of Russia, isn’t fazed by the challenge. “I’m really happy with where we are at the moment,” said Shapovalov. “Everyone on the team has made such a great effort to come this far, and I just hope tomorrow we can go one more step further.”

ATP CUP FINAL SCHEDULE – SUNDAY, 9 JANUARY 2022

KEN ROSEWALL ARENA start 5:30 pm
P. Carreno Busta (ESP) vs D. Shapovalov (CAN)

Not Before 7:00 pm
R. Bautista Agut (ESP) vs F. Auger-Aliassime (CAN)
A. Davidovich Fokina (ESP) / P. Martinez (ESP) vs F. Auger-Aliassime (CAN) / D. Shapovalov (CAN)

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Rafael Nadal says reaching Melbourne Summer Set final is 'important comeback'

Rafael Nadal says reaching the Melbourne Summer Set final is an “important comeback” in his first competitive tournament since August.

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Naomi Osaka withdraws injured from Australian Open warm-up tournament

Japan’s Naomi Osaka withdraws injured from the semi-final of an Australian Open warm-up tournament but the defending champion says she still intends to play in the Grand Slam.

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Djokovic court case: Could he argue his way to the Open?

How did Djokovic breach Australia’s laws and could he argue his way into the Australian Open?

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Monfils Sets Up Khachanov Clash In Adelaide Final

Gael Monfils reached his first ATP Tour final on Australian soil by beating homegrown Thanasi Kokkinakis 7-5, 6-0 in 80 minutes at the Adelaide International 1. From 5-5 in the first set, Monfils won eight straight games, before a tense 10-minute finale, for a chance to capture his 11th crown on Sunday.

Monfils, who hit seven aces and lost just five of his first-service points, will now challenge Karen Khachanov for the first time. Khachanov advanced to a title match at an ATP Tour event for the first time since November 2018 at the Rolex Paris Masters (d. Djokovic).

““The last two years I didn’t win tournaments, so for me to make it to another final, it’s very important,” said former World No. 8 Khachanov. “Obviously, I will fight like a dog tomorrow, and let’s see what happens.”

The second-seeded Russian broke a two-match losing streak in his third ATP Head2Head meeting against third-seeded Croatian Cilic with a 7-6(3), 6-3 victory over one hour and 54 minutes. Cilic beat Khachanov en route to the St. Petersburg Open title last year.

Adelaide Doubles Final Set
Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo drew on their big-match experience to defeat third seeds Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar 6-3, 6-7(6), 10-2 for a place in the Adelaide doubles final. The Croatian/Brazilian team, winners of six doubles trophies, will face Indians Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan, who were 6-2, 6-4 victors over fourth seeds Tomislav Brkic and Santiago Gonzalez.

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Kyrgios To Meet Fognini In Sydney; Karatsev, Murray In Action

Nick Kyrgios has been drawn to face fellow shot-maker Fabio Fognini in the first round of the Sydney Tennis Classic, which features Aslan Karatsev and former World No. 1 Andy Murray.

Kyrgios, who has not played an ATP Tour event since the Laver Cup in September 2021, beat Fognini 6-3, 6-3 in March 2018 at the Miami Open presented by Itau. The Australian wild card or seventh seed Fognini could meet fourth-seeded Reilly Opelka in the quarter-finals.

Murray, who also features in the bottom half of the draw on his Sydney debut, is set to face a qualifier in his first match, with a second-round clash against second seed Nikoloz Basilashvili on the horizon. Murray beat Basilashvili 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in the Wimbledon first round last year. Third-seeded Briton Daniel Evans, in the top half, plays Alexei Popyrin or Pedro Martinez in the second round.

View Sydney Singles & Doubles Draws

Top seed Karatsev, who began his journey up the ATP Rankings as Russia’s secret weapon at the 2021 ATP Cup and went onto reach the Australian Open semi-finals (l. to Djokovic), will play Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic or a qualifier in the second round.

Lorenzo Sonego, Dusan Lajovic and David Goffin also feature at the ATP 250 tournament at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre. In a loaded doubles field, top-seeded Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, and second-seeded Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah headline.

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Felix & Shapovalov Send Canada To First ATP Cup Final

Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov sent Canada to its first ATP Cup final on Saturday when they defeated Daniil Medvedev and Roman Safiullin 4-6, 7-5, 10-7 to complete their country’s 2-1 win against Russia. Two-time finalist Spain awaits in Sunday’s championship tie.

The Canadians lost their first four matches of the competition, putting their hopes of qualifying for the knockout rounds in deep trouble. If the United States had beaten Great Britain in the Match Tie-break of their deciding doubles on Thursday, Canada would have been eliminated before playing their third match.

But Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov have taken full advantage of their opportunities in Sydney. Their excitement for the moment showed after Shapovalov poached to hit a winning short backhand volley on match point. The longtime friends leapt into each other’s arms to celebrate.

“Felix did an amazing job. I had a little bit of a slow start, had trouble returning, but we did a good job to fight,” Shapovalov said. “Felix played unbelievable in the game to break and then in the [Match] Tie-break as well, just making them play so much. It was awesome. We kept fighting. We have great team chemistry, team spirit, so it helped us a lot.”

Despite some scratchy baseline mistakes in his singles match, which carried into the doubles, Auger-Aliassime carved a stunning backhand drop volley at 6/5 in the Match Tie-Break. The World No. 11 double-faulted on his first match point at 9/6 and missed his first serve at 9/7, but they battled through after one hour and 38 minutes.

Shapovalov got the tie off to a good start for Canada when he clawed past Safiullin in a two-hour, 39-minute thriller at No. 2 singles. Medvedev then levelled the tie with a comprehensive victory against Auger-Aliassime at No. 1 singles.

“I had to try and stay positive. Of course it was tough, especially [because] that second set went the way it went in singles,” Auger-Aliassime said. “Denis helped me and the team to push myself. We had a tough start in the doubles, so to be able to come back in this way, it’s really a team effort.

“That’s what the ATP Cup is about. You can still win after being 1-all and losing a tough singles. It’s really about the team effort and we’re happy to be through. We’re really thrilled for the whole team.”

Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov are 1-1 on the week as a team, including a deciding doubles victory against doubles standouts Jamie Murray and Joe Salisbury in group play.

Medvedev and Safiullin had been 3-0 in doubles this week. Russia went 3-0 as a team in Group B action, but fell just a few points short of returning to the final

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