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Fritz Battles Past Norrie To Force Critical Deciding Doubles

  • Posted: Jan 06, 2022

Taylor Fritz has forced a critical deciding doubles match in the ATP Cup tie between the United States and Great Britain on Thursday with a gritty 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-1 victory against Briton Cameron Norrie. Fritz and John Isner will play Daniel Evans and Jamie Murray in the doubles.

The country that claims the doubles will maintain its hopes of winning Group C and advancing to the semi-finals in Sydney, while the losing side will be eliminated. If the United States and Canada triumph Thursday, the United States will go through. If Great Britain and Germany emerge victorious, Great Britain will win the group and advance.

Fritz now leads the pair’s ATP Head2Head series 5-4 after an impressive bounceback in the third set. The American has spoken this week about how he has crafted his forehand into more of a weapon, and it paid dividends in the decider.

“Cam and I have played so many times, it’s actually pretty ridiculous. Every single time it’s just an absolute battle,” Fritz said. “I know that he can go into these modes where he will just not miss a ball and he kind of did that in the second and I was getting pretty frustrated with the shots he was coming up with.

“I had to just let it go in the third set, reset and try to serve a little better so he didn’t get so many chances to hit those unreal shots and I upped my level a lot in the third and played really well.”

Fritz broke immediately in the third set by attacking Norrie’s backhand. He did not face a break point in the third to close out his win after one hour and 58 minutes.

Daniel Evans
Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour
In the No. 2 singles, Evans completed a sweep of his three Group C singles matches by toppling Isner 6-4, 7-6(3).

Evans has been dominant at No. 2 singles throughout the week, winning all six sets in his matches. The 31-year-old withstood Isner’s 16 aces, won 87 per cent of his service points and did not face a break point in his one-hour, 35-minute victory.

“You’ve got to be ready to not touch the ball a few times. I think in the second set I didn’t win many points on his serve, so it was difficult, but you know you’re going to get a few chances if you get the ball back and that’s the nature of that match. It’s great to come through and set the tone, not just for my match, but for the tie. We needed this one, so it was important.”

Evans broke early in the first set to storm ahead and he controlled baseline rallies throughout by attacking the American’s backhand with depth and preventing Isner from crushing too many forehands. The Briton earned an immediate mini-break on the first point of the second-set tie-break by hitting a dipping backhand passing shot that Isner was unable to handle. After the 36-year-old hit a final forehand return into the net, Evans lifted his arms in celebration.

“It was really important to concentrate early, focus,” Evans said. “We don’t really play this early that often, so I got up extra early this morning and really made a conscious effort to come out of the blocks.”

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Medvedev Sends Russia-Italy Tie To Deciding Doubles

  • Posted: Jan 06, 2022

Russia’s winner-takes-all group B clash with Italy will come down to the deciding doubles rubber, with a place in the ATP Cup semi-finals awaiting the winner after the teams split the two singles rubbers Thursday on Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney.

Jannik Sinner survived a feisty challenge from Russia’s new ‘secret weapon’ Roman Safiullin in the No. 2 singles to give Italy an early lead with a 7-6(6) 6-3 victory. But Daniil Medvedev then repelled a spirited comeback from Matteo Berrettini 6-2 6-7(5) 6-4 in the No. 1 singles to level the tie at 1-1.

All four singles players have returned to the doubles court for the decider.

“The first set I was in control and it’s tricky because you think that things will continue to go your way but that’s not the case when you’re up against a Top 10 player,” Medvedev said. “I made some bad decisions in the second set so I tried to learn from that in the third. I served well throughout the match and that helped me.”

Taking up his customary position near the back wall to return serve, Medvedev negated Berrettini’s biggest weapon, breaking twice in the first set and limiting the Italian to winning just 59 per cent of first-serve points. It was a very different look on serve for Berrettini, who against Alex de Minaur was serving with the Australian standing with his toes on the baseline.

Medvedev, who led the Tour with 63 match wins last year, dropped just six games when he beat Berrettini in last year’s ATP Cup final in Melbourne. But Berrettini would not go away easily today, flipping the script in the second set when he put 80 per cent of first serves into play (including 13 in a row).

The World No. 7 won 27 of 28 first-serve points in the second set to deny Medvedev a chance to work his way into service games. The decisive moment in the tie-break came on Medvedev’s serve at 5/6, when the Russian chose to follow a neutral ball into the net behind a backhand slice. He popped up a backhand volley, which Berrettini stepped inside to deliver a clean winner to the backhand court.

Would Medvedev change up his return position in the third set to give Berrettini a different look on serve? No sir! The man dubbed ‘Deep Court Daniil’ stuck to his plan on return and broke in the third game. He then went into lockdown mode off the ground, making few unforced errors as he carved out an entertaining victory to take his ATP Cup singles record to 10-2 during the three years of the event.

Earlier in the No. 2 singles, Sinner fought off three set points in the first set and five break points against the World No. 167 in his first three service games of the second set before the World No. 10’s edge in big-match experience – and ability to save 10 of the 11 break points he faced in the match – carried him to a victory.

“I love to play for Italy and am very early happy to be up 1-0 and now we’ll see how Matteo can do against the No. 2 player in the world,” Sinner said. “It will be a tough challenge for him.

“Every match is tough to win at this level. [Roman] played incredible. I had to play my best tennis in the important moments. I got a little lucky in the first set but that is part of the game.”

Safiullin showed remarkable composure playing in the biggest match of his life. He rallied from being broken in the first game of the match to quickly draw back level at 2-all. Matching Sinner blow for blow in searching baseline exchanges, the 24-year-old earned a set point on Sinner’s serve at 6-5 and two more in the tie-break.

But perhaps the moment did catch up with him when he double faulted on 6/5 in the tie-break and then netted a routine high forehand volley on the next point before Sinner closed out the set with an ace.

In addition to fighting off five break points in his first three services games of the second set, Sinner again turned back a break chance in the final game of the match.

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Five Things That Matter On ATP Cup Day 6

  • Posted: Jan 05, 2022

The final two semi-final spots are on the line on Thursday at ATP Cup on Ken Rosewall Arena and Qudos Bank Arena. A Top-10 clash between Daniil Medvedev and Matteo Berrettini headlines the winner-takes-all Russia v Italy tie, with both also looking to make an impact on the doubles court. Meanwhile any of the four teams can still qualify from Group C…

Here are the five things that matter most ahead of Day 6 at the ATP Cup.

‘Beauty’ Of The Group Stage Format
The standings are tighter-than-tight in Group C going into the final round of matches. Any of the four teams can still qualify for the semi-finals in what is set to be a dramatic day on Qudos Bank Arena.

Team Great Britain captain Liam Broady thinks the format, in which head-to-head match results between two teams take precedence over matches and sets won, is perfect for creating final-day drama. “I think the beauty of the groups is the way they’re scored,” said Broady before Great Britain’s final match with the USA, “There is everything to play for on the last day.”

Matches, sets, and even games won can nonetheless have an impact when it comes to the final standings. Felix Auger-Aliassime, whose Canada team needs to beat Germany to give themselves a chance, acknowledged that every match was still crucial. “It was a shame that we went down 3-0 against the US,” said Auger-Aliassime. “We would be in a better position if we’d got one point.”

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Team GB Looks To Evo
Dan Evans has been in scintillating form this week in Sydney, yet Great Britain’s No. 2 singles player is solely focused on how his team qualifies for the semi-finals in Group C.

“I played well, but it’s not about me right now,” said Evans following the 2-1 loss to Team Canada. “We didn’t get it done as a team. We have to dust ourselves down and get going again. We can still go through. That’s the important thing right now.”

The World No. 25 backed up his opening 6-1, 6-2 singles win over Team Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Canada’s Denis Shapovalov on Tuesday. Britain was beaten 6-4, 6-1 in the deciding doubles, however, meaning it needs a victory against Team USA to have a chance of going through.

Evans and the American tasked with stopping him, World No. 24 John Isner, have an ATP Head2Head series record of 1-1, while the No. 1 singles match is also intriguingly poised – Indian Wells titlist Cameron Norrie and World No. 23 Taylor Fritz share an ATP Head2Head record of 4-4. With several strong doubles pairing options also available for both teams, Evans and Isner will be key in acquiring early momentum on Qudos Bank Arena.

Zverev Hopes Struff Can ‘Make My Job Easy’ Again
World No. 3 Alexander Zverev will look to the performance of his countryman Jan-Lennard Struff to set the tone for Germany against Team Canada.

Prior to Tuesday, Struff held a 0-4 ATP Head2Head record against his American opponent John Isner, but set Team Germany on its way to victory with a 7-6(7), 4-6, 7-5 win. Zverev later acknowledged the impact of winning the first point of the tie. “I think we needed that win. We needed to get on the board,” said Zverev. “It made my job easy, as well. If you’re up 1-0, it’s obviously much nicer to play.”

“For me personally it was very important”, added Struff. “But more important was the win for Germany.” He faces World No. 14 Denis Shapovalov, who he leads 5-2 in ATP Head2Head meetings, in the No. 2 singles match.

Zverev is then aiming to finish Group C with a 100 per cent singles record when he takes on World No. 11 Auger-Aliassime. The German holds a 4-1 ATP Head2Head lead over the young Team Canada captain. Both teams could qualify for the semi-finals with a win.

Hosts Seek Final Flourish
Team Australia’s 3-0 defeat to Russia on Tuesday may have ended their chances of qualifying from Group B, but the opportunity to play in front of a home crowd is not one to be taken lightly.

As No. 2 singles player James Duckworth told ATPTour.com this week, a night session match on Ken Rosewall Arena is motivation enough. “Demon [Alex de Minaur] and I have grown up here in Sydney, so it will be cool to have friends and family out to support,” Duckworth said. “Playing for the green and gold is always a special occasion.”

Duckworth recently broke into the Top 50 for the first time in his career and will be looking to sign off his debut ATP Cup campaign with a strong showing in his first ever tour-level meeting with World No. 58 Arthur Rinderknech. France’s Ugo Humbert, who sensationally beat Medvedev in his opening singles match in Sydney, will hope to improve on his 1-0 ATP Head2Head lead against De Minaur.

Doubles To The Fore For Medvedev, Berrettini
Adjusting from singles to doubles court is never easy, but Medvedev is confident in his abilities.

The World No. 2 singles star played just five doubles matches in 2021 but says he can already feel improvement after partnering Roman Safiullin in wins over France and Australia. “I don’t play a lot, so of course it’s not easy for me because it’s different tactics, different shots you need to make,” said Medvedev after the Australian win. “I’m learning every day and these two matches showed some great strengths I can have in doubles.”

On Thursday he will partner Safiullin again for defending champion Team Russia, in its crunch Group B match with Italy.

The Italian doubles pairing will also be one to watch. Berrettini admitted he had only first practiced doubles with Jannik Sinner the day before they played together against France on Tuesday, but never thought it would be a problem. “I think it takes time to play the best way possible, but we are good tennis players, so we don’t need a lot of time,” Berrettini said. “Today I think we showed that.”

Russia will hope for more heroics in the singles from their ‘new secret weapon’ Safiullin against World No. 10 Sinner. Medvedev and Berrettini (2-0 in ATP Head2Head) will then play for the first time since the 2021 ATP Cup final, when the Russian ran out a 6-4, 6-2 winner to seal the trophy for his team.

SCHEDULE – THURSDAY, 6 JANUARY 2022

KEN ROSEWALL ARENA start 10:00 am
Group B – Russia v Italy, Day Session
R. Safiullin (RUS) vs J. Sinner (ITA)
D. Medvedev (RUS) vs M. Berrettini (ITA)
Subject to change – D. Medvedev (RUS) / R. Safiullin (RUS) vs M. Berrettini (ITA) / J. Sinner (ITA)

5:30 pm
Group B – France v Australia, Night Session
A. Rinderknech (FRA) vs [WC] J. Duckworth (AUS)

Not Before 7:00 pm
U. Humbert (FRA) vs [WC] A. de Minaur (AUS)
Subject to change – F. Martin (FRA) / E. Roger-Vasselin (FRA) vs [WC] J. Peers (AUS) / L. Saville (AUS)

QUDOS BANK ARENA start 10:00 am
Group C – Great Britain v United States, Day Session
D. Evans (GBR) vs J. Isner (USA)
C. Norrie (GBR) vs T. Fritz (USA)
Subject to change – J. Murray (GBR) / J. Salisbury (GBR) vs T. Fritz (USA) / J. Isner (USA)

5:30 pm
Group C – Germany v Canada, Night Session
J. Struff (GER) vs D. Shapovalov (CAN)

Not Before 7:00 pm
A. Zverev (GER) vs F. Auger-Aliassime (CAN)
Subject to change – K. Krawietz (GER) / T. Puetz (GER) vs F. Auger-Aliassime (CAN) / D. Shapovalov (CAN)

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Munar Beats Anderson In Melbourne; Berankis To Face Nadal

  • Posted: Jan 05, 2022

Jaume Munar beat former World No. 3 Kevin Anderson for the first time in their third ATP Head2Head meeting on Wednesday at the Melbourne Summer Set. Munar won 6-4, 6-4 in hour and 50 minutes, and next plays Swiss lucky loser Henri Laaksonen.

Slovakia’s Alex Molcan, the Belgrade Open finalist (l. to Djokovic) last season, wore down Italian qualifier Andreas Seppi 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3 in two hours and 31 minutes for a second-round meeting against fourth-seeded Belgian David Goffin.

Alexei Popyrin, who earned a career-best 22 match wins in 2021, began his year with a 7-6(5), 6-3 win over Stefano Travaglia of Italy in one hour and 44 minutes. The Australian next challenges Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands.

Elsewhere, Lithuanian qualifier Ricardas Berankis knocked out Marcos Giron of the United States 7-5, 6-4 in 90 minutes for a clash against top-seeded Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal at Melbourne Park.

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