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Djokovic, Medvedev Nominated For Laureus Awards

  • Posted: Feb 02, 2022

Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev were among six tennis stars to be nominated for the 2022 Laureus World Sports Awards on Wednesday. Ashleigh Barty, Emma Raducanu, Diede de Groot and Shingo Kunieda were also among those shortlisted by the organisation for various honours.

Djokovic is one of six nominees for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award, alongside Tom Brady, Max Verstappen, Robert Lewandowski, Eliud Kipchoge and Caeleb Dressel. The Serb is a four-time winner of the Sportsman of the Year Award (2012, ’15, ’16, ’19), and has won the honour each time he has been nominated.

Ranked World No. 1 for the entirety of the 2021 season, Djokovic won five titles on the year, including at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon. He also reached the US Open final and the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals as he eclipsed Roger Federer’s record of 310 cumulative weeks as World No. 1.

In his first Laureus nomination, Medvedev was shortlisted for the Breakthrough of the Year Award. He is joined by Raducanu, Pedri, Neeraj Chopra, Yulimar Rojas and Ariarne Titmus. The Russian won his maiden Grand Slam title at the 2021 US Open and finished the season with a firm grip on the World No. 2 ranking, his career-high position. He won four titles on the year, including at the ATP Masters 1000 Canada in Toronto.

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Vukic Sets Musetti Showdown In Pune

  • Posted: Feb 01, 2022

Australian Aleksandar Vukic rallied past Frenchman Hugo Grenier 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(4) on Tuesday at the Tata Open Maharashtra to set a second-round showdown against second seed Lorenzo Musetti. The World No. 140 is looking forward to the opportunity.

“He’s one of the youngsters who are really trying to crack through,” Vukic said. “It will be a great match, but I’m feeling good and it will be a good match either way.”

It took a big effort for the 25-year-old, who reached the second round at the Australian Open, to earn his spot in the second round in Pune. Vukic needed two hour and 21 minutes to advance.

“[It was] very, very physical. I thought I played a pretty sloppy first set, but then started to find some form,” Vukic said. “Dug out a few games, got up 3-1 in the third and credit to him, he kept fighting and he broke me back then. Honestly could have gone either way, but always that first match is so tough, so very happy with it.”

[WATCH LIVE 1]

In other action, sixth seed Emil Ruusuvuori clawed through a tight second set to defeat Belarusian Egor Gerasimov 6-0, 7-6(11). The Finnish star will next face Czech Vit Kopriva, who eliminated Turkey’s Cem Ilkel 6-4, 6-1.

Portuguese veteran Joao Sousa, the former World No. 28, battled past Indian wild card Arjun Kadhe 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-2 in two hours and 26 minutes.

“It was a tough match today against a local player. I knew I was perhaps a little bit better on my level, but it was definitely a tough match after being a set down and a very close second set,” Sousa said. “In the end I was able to hit some good shot to get my level a little bit higher.”

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Martinez Manages Monteiro Marathon In Cordoba

  • Posted: Feb 01, 2022

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.

[WATCH LIVE 1]

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

  • Posted: Feb 01, 2022

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

  • Posted: Feb 01, 2022

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.”

[WATCH LIVE 1]

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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Five Fun Facts From Nadal's Australian Open Title

  • Posted: Jan 31, 2022

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.

More From 2022 AO Final
Nadal Makes History In Five-Set Classic Against Medvedev
How Rafa Became The Greatest Grand Slam Champion Of All
Nadal Adds To ‘Big Titles’ Count
Relive The Final In Pictures

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.

Rafael Nadal
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

  • Posted: Jan 31, 2022

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

  • Posted: Jan 31, 2022

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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