Tennis News

Martinez Manages Monteiro Marathon In Cordoba

Pedro Martinez was two points from defeat on Monday in Argentina, but the Spaniard found a way to win.

The eighth seed battled past Brazilian Thiago Monteiro 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) in two hours and 57 minutes to reach the second round at the Cordoba Open. Monteiro served for the match at 5-3 in the third set, but never held a match point.

At 30/15 in that game, the Brazilian was in a good position to close out a victory. But Martinez guessed right at net for a volley on that point before staving off a forehand barrage from Monteiro on the next point and eventually breaking back to get on serve.

Martinez will next play German Yannick Hanfmann or Argentine wild card Juan Ignacio Londero. The Spaniard reached his first ATP Tour final last year on clay in Kitzbühel.

The second main draw match of the day also went to a final-set tie-break. Peruvian qualifier Juan Pablo Varillas outlasted home favourite Facundo Bagnis 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(5) after three hours and 17 minutes.

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Martin/Tsonga Make Strong Start In Montpellier Doubles

Fabrice Martin and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga made a good start to their first tournament together on Monday in Montpellier. The Frenchmen defeated countrymen Albano Olivetti and Lucas Pouille 6-3, 6-4 to reach the second round of the Open Sud de France.

Tsonga has won four ATP Tour doubles titles — all with Frenchmen — including the 2009 Rolex Shanghai Masters crown with Julien Benneteau. Martin is a full-time doubles player who has lifted seven tour-level doubles trophies.

In other Montpellier action, Czech Roman Jebavy and Slovakian Alex Molcan defeated French wild card Robin Bertrand and Antoine Hoang 6-2, 6-2.

Argentines Enjoy Success In Cordoba
Two all-Argentine teams, both wild cards, earned straight-set victories on Monday at the Cordoba Open to advance to the second round.

Juan Pablo Ficovich and Facundo Mena eliminated Chileans Tomas Barrios Vera and Cristian Garin 6-4, 7-5 and Pedro Cachin and Tomas Martin Etcheverry ousted countrymen Federico Coria and Federico Delbonis 6-3, 6-4. 

Top Seeds Advance In Pune
Top seeds Luke Saville and John-Patrick Smith ousted Italian Stefano Travaglia and Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-1, 6-4 to move into the second round of the Tata Open Maharashtra in Pune. Saville recently represented Australia at the ATP Cup, where he won two of his three matches alongside John Peers.

Frenchmen Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul also advanced in Pune when they upset third seeds Szymon Walkow and Jan Zielinski of Poland 6-3, 7-6(5).

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Defending Champ Goffin Battles From Brink In Montpellier

David Goffin’s Open Sud de France title defence was in jeopardy on Monday in Montpellier, but the Belgian battled into the second round.

Eighth seed Goffin rallied past Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 in one hour and 53 minutes to improve to 9-3 at the ATP 250. He will play Frenchman Adrian Mannarino or Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round.

“The match was a very tough one, especially at the beginning when I was a little bit tight. My groundstrokes were a little bit too slow, a little bit too short,” Goffin said. “It’s never easy when Benjamin is playing like that. He had time to hit some big groundstrokes, big first serves and he’s very aggressive, so it’s never easy. But during the match I stayed positive even though I was one set and one break down.”

Bonzi led 6-2, 3-0, but was unable to prevent the 2021 champion’s comeback. Goffin earned five service breaks in the match.

“I tried to stay focussed, to stay as long as possible on the court to try to get some confidence, to work on certain things: to be more aggressive, [hit] a better quality of ball,” Goffin said. “At the end it was better and better, so I’m really happy the way I played at the end of the second and in the third.

“It’s a good win for me, very important for my confidence. I’m happy to [try to] defend my title and be in the second round.”

Sixth seed Alexander Bublik also moved into the second round with a 7-6(4), 7-6(5) victory against Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.

The Kazakhstani’s only previous appearance in Montpellier came two years ago, when he lost against Goffin in the Round of 16. Next up for the 2021 ATP Tour aces leader (840) will be French qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert or German Peter Gojowczyk.

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Juan Martin del Potro: Former US Open champion to make comeback at Argentina Open

Juan Martin del Potro will make his comeback at next month’s Argentina Open, having last played competitively in 2019.

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Five Fun Facts From Nadal's Australian Open Title

Rafael Nadal defeated World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final for his second title at the season’s first major.

ATPTour.com looks at five fun facts from the Spaniard’s victory Down Under.

It Was Nadal’s Record-Breaking 21st Major Title
Nadal broke a tie with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer for the most men’s singles major titles in history. Djokovic and Federer are tied in second place with two. This is the first time Nadal has had more Grand Slam titles than Federer.

The Spaniard won his first major trophy at Roland Garros in 2005. He has captured 13 Roland Garros crowns, four US Open titles and two victories each at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

Rafa Completed His Second Career Grand Slam
Nadal is just the fourth man in history to win all four major titles multiple times. The lefty joined Roy Emerson, Rod Laver and Djokovic in the elite group. Only Nadal and Djokovic have accomplished the feat in the Open Era.

Separately, Nadal became only one of three men aged 35 or older who have won the Australian Open, joining Federer and Rosewall.

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It Was His First Two-Set Comeback In More Than 14 Years
When the 35-year-old fell two sets behind Medvedev, a comeback seemed a daunting challenge. Nadal had not rallied from two sets down in more than 14 years. 

Before Sunday, the Spaniard had only done that three times. His most recent two-set comeback was at Wimbledon in 2007 against Mikhail Youzhny. He also did it at Wimbledon in 2006 against Robert Kendrick and in the 2005 Mutua Madrid Open final against Ivan Ljubicic.

^{Photo Credit: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images}
Nadal Has Won Multiple Titles For 18 Consecutive Years
Rafa moved to 10-0 on the 2022 season on Sunday with triumphs at the Melbourne Summer Set and the Australian Open. With those two trophies, he has earned at least two tour-level crowns in 18 consecutive seasons.

Overall, Nadal has lifted 90 tour-level titles in his storied career. The only men who have claimed more in the Open Era are Jimmy Connors (109), Federer (103) and Ivan Lendl (94).

He Has Won Two Five-Setters Against Medvedev In Major Finals
This was not the first time Nadal has clawed past Medvedev in a major final. In the 2019 US Open championship match, the lefty let slip a two-set advantage before steadying himself in the fifth set to capture the crown.

Nadal leads Medvedev 4-1 in their ATP Head2Head series, with all five of their clashes coming on the biggest stages in the sport. Two were in major finals, two at the Nitto ATP Finals, and their first meeting was in the final at the 2019 ATP Masters 1000 event in Canada.

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Del Potro Accepts Wild Cards Into Buenos Aires & Rio de Janeiro

Juan Martin del Potro has accepted a wild card into next week’s Argentina Open in Buenos Aires and the Rio Open presented by Claro in Rio de Janeiro the week of 14 February, the tournaments announced on Monday.

The ‘Tower of Tandil’, who has climbed as high as No. 3 in the ATP Rankings, has not competed since the 2019 cinch Championships in London at the Queen’s Club. The Argentine has undergone four right knee surgeries since then.

The 33-year-old Del Potro, currently World No. 757, has not played in the Argentina Open, an ATP 250, since 2006 when he was 17. That year, he lost against former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Del Potro is set to make his debut at the Rio Open presented by Claro, an ATP 500 event. In 2016, the Argentine won the men’s singles silver medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Both the Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro tournaments are held on clay.

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Bhambri Earns Dream Win In Pune

Indian Yuki Bhambri earned his first tour-level win in almost four years on Monday, clawing past Jozef Kovalik 6-7(10), 6-2, 7-5 at the Tata Open Maharashtra in Pune.

The former World No. 83, whose last victory at this level came against Mirza Basic in Miami in 2018, has only played two tour-level singles matches since 2019 due to a right knee injury.

In a hard-fought clash on home soil, the 29-year-old recovered from squandering three set points in an intense first-set tie-break to prevail after three hours and seven minutes.

“It was really long and really tough but I am happy to get through,” Bhambri said. “It is a privilege to play at home and it is an important win as well playing at my home tournament. Each match is tough at tour-level so I am just taking it one match at a time.”

Bhambri is making his second appearance at the ATP 250 event and will look to continue his run against either countryman Ramkumar Ramanathan or Italy’s Stefano Travaglia in the second round.

Radu Albot continued his journey back towards the Top 100 with a 6-2, 7-6(3) first-round win over Italian Federico Gaio in one hour and 50 minutes.

The World No. 108 has struggled with injuries since reaching a career-high No. 39 in 2019. However, he arrived in Pune in form after he equalled his best Grand-Slam performance by advancing to the third round at the Australian Open earlier this month.

The Moldovan broke three times to set up a meeting against either fifth-seeded German Daniel Altmaier or Indian wild card Prajnesh Gunneswaran.

In other action, Quentin Halys lost just two points on his first serve as he upset seventh seed Ricardas Berankis 6-1, 6-2 after 74 minutes.

The Frenchman fired six aces and saved both break points he faced to clinch his first tour-level win since 2018. Berankis is a former semi-finalist in Pune, having reached the last four in 2020. Halys will next play Briton qualifier Jay Clarke or Pole Kamil Majchrzak.

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Dominic Thiem Withdraws From Cordoba

Austrian star Dominic Thiem has withdrawn from the Cordoba Open due to a hand injury.

“In the last days, I suffered a minor injury between my knuckles, a little strain of my ligaments. The positive thing is the wrist is perfectly fine, but I’m suffering pain in my hand and also lacking practice, so I have to pull out,” Thiem said. “I’m very sad, but I’m going to come back once I’m 100 per cent fit, and thank you so much for the great and warm welcome I had here in Cordoba.”

The former World No. 3 has not competed since suffering a tear in his right wrist at the Mallorca Championships last June. He arrived in Cordoba, where he trained before deciding to withdraw from the ATP 250 clay-court event.

Thiem, who was the second seed, was scheduled to play Argentine wild card Tomas Martin Etcheverry or Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry in the second round. He will be replaced in the draw by a lucky loser.

Thiem is a 17-time tour-level champion, who lifted his first ATP Masters 1000 trophy at the 2019 BNP Paribas Open and his maiden Grand Slam trophy at the 2020 US Open. He is currently No. 37 in the ATP Rankings.

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Berrettini Rises To Career-High, Mover Of Week

No. 6 Matteo Berrettini, +2 (Career High)
The 25-year-old has climbed one spot to a career-high No. 6 in the ATP Rankings after he reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open for the first time. The Italian earned victories over Top 20 pair Gael Monfils and Pablo Carreno Busta, while he also survived an attacking bombardment from #NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the third round. Read Australian Open Final Report & Watch Highlights

View Latest ATP Rankings

No. 12 Denis Shapovalov, +2
The Canadian has risen two places after he continued his strong start to the season in Melbourne. The 22-year-old, who helped guide Canada to the ATP Cup title at the start of January, shocked World No. 3 Alexander Zverev en route to the quarter-finals at the first major of the year.

No. 16 Gael Monfils, +4
The Frenchman rolled back the years at the Australian Open as he reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the first time since 2016. It means the 35-year-old move has moved four places to No. 16 in the ATP Rankings. The 11-time tour-level titlist did not drop a set before he lost to Berrettini in five sets.

No. 29 Carlos Alcaraz, +2 (Career High)
The 18-year-old has soared into the Top 30 of the ATP Rankings for the first time after he advanced to the third round at the Australian Open. The reigning Intesa Next Gen ATP Finals champion defeated Alejandro Tabilo and Dusan Lajovic in his second appearance at Melbourne Park.

No. 33 Alex de Minaur, +9
The Australian had an enjoyable fortnight on home soil, reaching the fourth round at his home Slam for the first time. The 22-year-old, who was making his fifth appearance in Melbourne, earned an impressive victory over #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the first round, before eventually losing to 20-year-old Jannik Sinner in the fourth round.

Other Notable Top 100 Movers
No. 17 Pablo Carreno Busta, +4
No. 20 Taylor Fritz, +2 (Career High)
No. 22 Daniel Evans, +2 (Joint Career High)
No. 24 Reilly Opelka, +5
No. 25 Grigor Dimitrov, +3
No. 50 Botic van de Zandschulp, +7 (Career High)
No. 58 Adrian Mannarino +11
No. 59 Maxime Cressy, +11 (Career High)
No. 63 Miomir Kecmanovic, +14
No. 73 Pablo Andujar, +10
No. 77 Sebastian Baez, +11 (Career High)
No. 82 Ricardas Berankis, +11
No. 84 Oscar Otte, +12 (Career High)
No. 89 Corentin Moutet, +11
No. 95 Kamil Majchrzak, +12

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Brain Game: How Nadal Powered Up For Record-Breaking Australian Open Title

The points were going long. Ironically, the match was slipping fast.

Rafael Nadal orchestrated a stunning comeback in the Australian Open final to defeat Daniil Medvedev 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. The match lasted five hours and 24 minutes and finished at 1:11 a.m. Monday morning. Figuring out the winning game plan finally materialised for the Spaniard in the dead of the night.

The length of the rally ended up being the canary in the coal mine for Nadal as you examine his performance throughout the match and the tournament. The average rally of his first six matches en route to the final was a routine 4.05 shots per point. His quarter-final victory over Denis Shapovalov was a brisk 3.11 shots per point, while his victory against Adrian Mannarino in the previous round averaged a crisp 3.55 shots per point. Rafa was clearly reaping the benefits of an attacking game style as he marched through the Melbourne draw on courts that felt liked the ball was “skidding” more than “sitting” after the bounce.

Then Medvedev turned up on the other side of the net and all the attacking went out the window.

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The Russian grounded Nadal’s aggressive game style to a screeching halt in the opening set, with the average rally length skyrocketing to 6.27 shots per point. The longest rally length to the final for Nadal was in the first round, in which he defeated Marcos Giron, averaging 4.75 shots per point.

The first set of the final seemed like the players were hitting in slow motion. Cat and mouse replaced shock and awe for the Spaniard. The slower, longer rallies stalled Nadal’s offence as he coughed up 23 errors to just 10 for Medvedev in the opening stanza. Slower speed. Different height. Reacting rather than playing on the front foot.

Set one was a grind. Set two was even more so, as the average rally length ballooned to 6.83 shots per point. Slice backhands were replacing the typical run-around forehands in the Deuce court for Nadal. A hefty 28 points were played in rallies of nine shots or more in the second set, with Medvedev winning the tie-break 7/5. They were happy to trade blows with a 40-shot rally early in the second set. Extended rallies felt like the new norm.

The deepest hole Nadal found himself in was serving at 0/40 at 2-3 in the third set. He was a heartbeat away from certain peril. Once he doggedly held serve, he started playing with more aggression and looked to force the issue more than wait for Medvedev to hand him an error.

And then the rally length came down, the power went up, and an unlikely victory was born from refusing to call it a day.

Average Rally Length By Set
– Set 1 = 6.27 shots
– Set 2 = 6.83 shots
– Set 3 = 5.56 shots
– Set 4 = 5.03 shots
– Set 5 = 4.31 shots

The more Nadal sunk his teeth into the match, the more the average rally length came back to his wheelhouse, not Medvedev’s.

In the deciding fifth set, there were fewer long rallies of at least nine shots compared to any other set.

Rallies Of 9+ Shots By Set
– Set 1 = 15
– Set 2 = 28
– Set 3 = 15
– Set 4 = 12
– Set 5 = 11

One of the greatest tennis strategies of all time is to simply hang around. When things are not going your way, just hang around. Don’t go away. Things change. Seasons change. Night can turn to day. Twenty can turn to 21 if you just hang around long enough to figure out the problem at hand.

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