Tennis News

Spizzirri’s special surprise: A message from Matthew McConaughey

Thursday was one of the most special days of Eliot Spizzirri’s life. The 22-year-old American defeated #NextGenATP star Joao Fonseca in a three-set thriller to qualify for the US Open main draw for the first time.

After the match, Spizzirri was cooling down in the gym by himself and going through his post-match stretching routine when he received a pleasant surprise. Actor Matthew McConaughey had posted a message congratulating him on his success.

“Longhorn @espizz11 onto the @usopen main draw. #hookem” McConaughey wrote.

Longhorn @espizz11 onto the @usopen main draw. #hookem

— Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) August 22, 2024

The celebrity earned a film degree from the University of Texas, where Spizzirri was a standout on the university’s tennis team.

“I just opened up Twitter, and I saw that, and I just started smiling,” Spizzirri told ATPTour.com. “It’s crazy to think about. He’s obviously one of my favourite actors, but also just a huge staple for UT, and a guy that everyone looks up to, obviously being the Minister of Culture and doing a lot for Texas sports. To see him tweet about me is super special.”

McConaughey is not only an alumnus of UT, but a professor at the school and has dubbed himself “Minister of Culture”. He consistently supports members of the school’s community, and Spizzirri is just the latest example.

“It’s crazy to fathom that he’s checking in on qualifying at the US Open,” Spizzirri said. “But I just can’t appreciate it enough, and it just shows how tightly knit the Texas community is. So yeah, I was ecstatic when I saw it.”

The American, who grew up training at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, said his favourite movie featuring the actor is The Wolf of Wall Street. Spizzirri will hope to have as much success at Flushing Meadows as the movie did in theatres. He plays #NextGenATP American Alex Michelsen in the first round.

It is safe to say McConaughey will be watching. As he would say, “Alright, alright, alright!”

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Michelsen’s Winston-Salem QF win a good omen?

When Christopher Eubanks captured his maiden ATP Tour title in Mallorca last year, the American needed to escape an opening round three-setter against Alex Michelsen before eventually lifting the trophy. The 19-year-old Michelsen avenged that loss Thursday at the Winston-Salem Open with a narrow 7-5, 6-7(6), 7-6(5) win as he continues his own quest for his first tour-level crown.

Will Michelsen’s tight victory in North Carolina also prove the springboard to his first ATP Tour title?

Celebrating his 20th birthday on Sunday, Michelsen was two points from victory at 6/6 in the second-set tie-break, but was forced to a decider. Producing clean hitting and several acute angle passing shots by the 6’7″ Eubanks, the teen held his nerve to advance after two hours, 29 minutes.

“I thought we both played pretty well, it was a high-quality match,” Michelsen said. “When he was coming up with no-look volley winners, it wasn’t that fun for me, but I’m sure it was fun for everybody else. It was a battle.

“I was just going to keep going after my shots and I’m glad it paid off. In the second-set tie-break, I missed a couple shots that were a little bit regrettable. In the third-set breaker, I felt like I didn’t miss too many shots.”

Michelsen has appeared in two tour-level finals, both of which came in Newport (2024, 2023). The California native is hoping to go one step further this week as he continues his quest for a Top 50 breakthrough. Michelsen is competing this week at a career-high No. 52 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Up next for the 11th seed, second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, is close friend Learner Tien or 2016 champion Pablo Carreno Busta. Michelsen is aiming for a return trip to the 20-and-under Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, which runs from 18-22 December. Last year he did not advance beyond the round-robin stage.

In the top half of the draw, David Goffin and 10th seed Lorenzo Sonego will meet in the semi-finals after they each earned a straight-sets win. The Belgian Goffin cruised past Rinky Hijikata 6-1, 6-3 to reach his first semi-final since 2022 Marrakech, where the 33-year-old won his most recent trophy of six tour-level titles.

Sonego produced a heavy-hitting performance to oust Pavel Kotov 6-3, 7-5. The first Italian semi-finalist in Winston-Salem tournament history, the 29-year-old created 16 break chances, converting three of them, according to Infosys ATP Stats. Friday will be Sonego’s first tour-level semi-final of 2024.

Goffin leads Sonego 1-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. Their previous meeting came in 2021 at the ATP 250 in Montpellier, an event that Goffin went on to win.

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Djokovic to play US Open R1 Monday, Sinner & Alcaraz compete Tuesday

Four-time champion Novak Djokovic will begin his US Open on Monday, while World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and 2022 titlist Carlos Alcaraz will begin their tournament on Tuesday.

The full Monday order of play is still to be made, but Djokovic and the bottom half will compete on Day 1, followed by players in the top half of the draw on Day 2.

In the bottom half of the draw Monday, Djokovic will face a qualifier, fourth seed Alexander Zverev will play Emil Ruusuvuori, sixth seed Andrey Rublev will take on Thiago Seyboth Wild and Casper Ruud will try to advance past a qualifier.

In the top half of the draw Tuesday, Sinner will play Mackenzie McDonald for the fourth time in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series (Sinner leads 3-0), Alcaraz will face a qualifier, former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev will play Dusan Lajovic and seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz will open against a qualifier.

[ATP APP]

All matches in the bottom half of the women’s singles draw will be played Monday and the top half will compete Tuesday.

No men’s doubles or women’s doubles will be played until Wednesday.

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Spizzirri recovers from missed match points, qualifies for US Open main draw

Home hope Eliot Spizzirri advanced to his first major main draw Thursday when he survived #NextGenATP star Joao Fonseca 7-6(8), 6-7(5), 6-4 in the final round of US Open qualifying. The American squandered four match points in the second set, but quickly rebounded and held his nerve in a thrilling back-and-forth battle.

Spizzirri won 75 per cent of his first-serve points as he defeated the Brazilian in two hours and 36 minutes.

The American let slip a 0/40 lead on Fonseca’s serve at 5-4 in the second set and again held a match point later that game after Fonseca brought it to deuce.

Spizzirri, a native of nearby Greenwich, Connecticut, let out a sigh of relief and a loud roar after converting his sixth match point to close out the match in the decider.

The 22-year-old finished as No. 1 in the ITA final singles ranking in May for the second consecutive year. In 2023, the University of Texas graduate reached the third round of US Open qualifying.

Joining Spizzirri in the main draw will be Diego Schwartzman, who advanced to his 11th consecutive US Open main draw after his victory over #NextGenATP star Vilius Gaubas 6-4, 6-4. The 32-year-old Argentine converted six of his 10 break point opportunities en route to defeating the Lithuanian, 13 years his junior.

The former No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings is set to make his final Flushing Meadows appearance after announcing earlier this year that he will retire following the 2025 Argentina Open. Schwartzman reached the quarter-finals in New York in 2017 and 2019, falling to Pablo Carreno Busta and Rafael Nadal respectively.

Another tour-veteran, Radu Albot, secured victory by overcoming Shintaro Mochizuki 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 to make his 10th main-draw appearance at Flushing Meadows. Albot will face Novak Djokovic in the opening round. Canadian Gabriel Diallo battled past Frenchman Valentin Royer 7-6(3), 6-4.

Hamad Medjedovic, reigning champion at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, outlasted 19-year-old American Nishesh Basavareddy 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1

Jan Choinski saved three match points to escape American Maxime Cressy 6-0, 6-7(5), 7-6(10). Australian Li Tu tallied four consecutive games from 3-5 in the final set to survive Jesper de Jong 3-6, 6-1, 7-5. Tu faces Carlos Alcaraz in the first round.

Timofey Skatov, Hugo Grenier, Mitchell Krueger, Mattia Bellucci, Buyunchaokete, Quentin Halys, Maks Kasnikowski, Kyrian Jacquet and Otto Virtanen also qualified.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

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Raducanu faces Kenin in US Open first round

Emma Raducanu will face fellow Grand Slam winner Sofia Kenin in the Briton’s first US Open appearance for two years.

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Sinner, Alcaraz on US Open SF collision course

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are on a semi-final collision course at the US Open, it was revealed on Thursday afternoon when the draw was released.

Sinner and Alcaraz played in one of the most memorable matches in recent memory in the 2022 US Open quarter-finals, when they battled late into the night for more than five hours before the Spaniard prevailed. Alcaraz went on to lift the trophy and become World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

If they meet this year, it will be in the last four. Top seed Sinner will begin his tournament against American Mackenzie McDonald, against whom he owns a 3-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head record. They most recently met in last year’s Rolex Paris Masters, where the Italian prevailed in three sets.

Second seed Novak Djokovic and third seed Alcaraz will both begin their tournament against a qualifier.

Sinner could need to beat former World No. 1 and 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals and Alcaraz in semi-finals just to reach the final at the season’s final major. Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion, headlines the bottom half of the draw.

The Italian’s top quarter of the draw is loaded with dangerous opponents. Beyond fifth seed Medvedev, who will face Serbian Dusan Lajovic in the first round, other players in the quarter include 2019 Nitto ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, Paris Olympics fourth-place finisher Felix Auger-Aliassime, #NextGenATP standouts Arthur Fils and Jakub Mensik, 2016 champion Stan Wawrinka and surging Italian Flavio Cobolli, the 31st seed.

The first seeded opponent Sinner could face is 26th seed Nicolas Jarry, the big-hitting Chilean, who won their only previous meeting in 2019 in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

Alcaraz, the 2022 champion who has won the past two majors (Roland Garros and Wimbledon), also faces a tricky path. If he advances past a qualifier in the first round, he will take on former World No. 10 Denis Shapovalov or big-hitting Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp. 

Jack Draper, the 25th seed, looms as a potential third-round opponent for Alcaraz. The Briton upset the Spaniard earlier this year at Queen’s Club.

Djokovic has not played since capturing the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, so he will try to find his form immediately at Flushing Meadows against a qualifier. The four-time US Open champion will then play countryman Laslo Djere or German Jan-Lennard Struff in the second round. Last year, Djere took a two-set lead against Djokovic in the third round of this tournament before falling in five sets.

First-round matches to watch include Wimbledon semi-finalist Lorenzo Musetti against big-serving Reilly Opelka and last year’s US Open semi-finalist Ben Shelton against 2020 champion Dominic Thiem, who is retiring later this year.

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Breakwell out to inspire on courts of Roland Garros

Wheelchair tennis player Abbie Breakwell achieves her “impossible dream” of reaching the Paralympic Games in Paris.

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ATP & WTA celebrate the launch of TIEBREAK: Official tennis video game

The ATP and WTA, in collaboration with NACON and Big Ant Studios, are thrilled to announce the official release of TIEBREAK: The Official Game of the ATP and WTA. Available now on multiple platforms, TIEBREAK offers tennis fans an unparalleled gaming experience, featuring over 120 of the world’s greatest players and 90 official tournaments.

TIEBREAK brings the world of professional tennis to life with realistic gameplay based on real-world analytics. Players can compete in various game modes, including Career mode, where they can set out to conquer the PIF ATP and WTA Rankings at tournaments including ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 events, the Nitto ATP Finals and the WTA Finals Riyadh.

TIEBREAK features more than 120 current and former stars, playable with their distinctive styles, including Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Coco Gauff, Rafael Nadal, Jasmine Paolini, Aryna Sabalenka, Maria Sharapova, Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek and many more. Additionally, the unique Novak Djokovic Slam Challenge mode lets fans relive some of the most memorable moments from the legendary player’s career.

View Trailer:

Daniele Sanò, Chief Business Officer, ATP, said: “TIEBREAK offers tennis and gaming fans a thrilling way to experience the ATP Tour and Hologic WTA Tour. This collaboration also marks an important milestone in our shared storytelling – and mission to create compelling unified experiences for our global community. We’re proud to continue that journey of digital innovation together, with this captivating game now in the hands of our fans.”

Marina Storti, Chief Executive of WTA Ventures, said: “We are delighted to be collaborating with the ATP and NACON to bring fans an exciting new way to experience the thrills of top-class tennis. TIEBREAK will allow gamers to step into the shoes of their favorite tennis players, past and present, and take on the challenge of rising up the PIF WTA and ATP rankings. This is a great example of how the WTA and ATP are working together to find new ways to engage fans, build the profile of our talented players and grow the popularity of the sport.”

TIEBREAK is available now in both standard and deluxe Ace Edition formats on PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC (Steam). The Nintendo Switch™ version will be available at a later date.

For more information, please visit https://nacon.me/Tiebreak.

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Hurkacz & Jabeur ring Nasdaq Closing Bell before US Open Opening Bell

In tennis, the closing bell is when the chair umpire calls, “Game, set and match”. Hubert Hurkacz and Ons Jabeur participated in a different version of it Wednesday in Manhattan.

The ATP and WTA star visited the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square to ring the Closing Bell alongside USTA Chairman of the Board and President Dr. Brian Hainline and USTA CEO Lew Sherr.

“It was so cool. Didn’t know what to expect coming here. That was just so much fun,” Hurkacz told ATPTour.com. “Obviously Nasdaq is so big. To take part in such an event that is really well known around the world is special. To see your face in Times Square is a little bit surreal.”

<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/08/22/03/49/hurkacz-nasdaq-2024-times-square.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Hubert Hurkacz ” />

Hurkacz and Jabeur spoke to Nasdaq representatives, conducted social media interviews and did a dress rehearsal for the Closing Bell before the real thing. As they performed the task at 4 p.m. local time, people from around the world watched on television and streams.

“It was super fun being here today to ring the closing bell at Nasdaq,” Jabeur said. “It was a fun experience, I’d never done that before. There is always fun stuff to do [for] the first time. It was very nice to start the week in New York here.”

Hurkacz, the No. 7 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, is excited for the season’s final major. In a city where he first played as a junior a decade ago, the Pole is still seeing new things like he did Wednesday. After ringing the Closing Bell, Hurkacz and Jabeur ventured out into Times Square to watch as their effort was displayed on a giant billboard for everyone to see.

“Seeing Times Square for the first time, it makes such a huge impression,” Hurkacz said. “It’s difficult to describe in words. Then seeing a little bit of your face out there is really cool.

“Just the experience right there in the centre of Manhattan, closing the bell for the day is kind of a surreal experience. It’s really incredible as a tennis player what things you can experience that you never imagined before in your life that you would do.”

Hurkacz is generally interested in investment and some of his close friends who have experience help him with it. The Pole explained that it is important to think about the future, even though he is fully focused on his professional tennis career.

“I hope I’m playing for over 10 more years. If I’m healthy, that’s what I’m doing. At the end of the day, for a tennis player, I think it’s difficult if one day you either decide to end your career or are about to finish the career, or maybe the body isn’t as fit as before and it’s difficult to end,” Hurkacz said. “To transition just like that to a completely different life, then it’s difficult.

“But if you’re planning your future, if you have set goals, if you have investment plans or maybe you have some business ideas, or you have friends that help you out, then you can navigate easier your post-career and also enjoy a different side of life. As a tennis player, you are really 100 per cent committed to becoming a better player every single day.”

The eight-time ATP Tour titlist will hope for a deep run at Flushing Meadows after quarter-final appearances in Montreal and Cincinnati following surgery for a torn meniscus he suffered at Wimbledon.

<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/08/22/03/53/hurkacz-jabeur-nasdaq-2024-closing-bell.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Hubert Hurkacz and Ons Jabeur visit the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square to ring the Closing Bell.” />

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Alcaraz & Agassi vs. Djokovic & McEnroe lights up Stars of the Open, Del Potro returns!

Past US Open champions and fans’ favourites treated an Arthur Ashe crowd to superstar matchups and hilarious mic’d-up interactions during Wednesday evening’s Stars of the Open at Flushing Meadows.

If bright smiles could have secured a victory, Carlos Alcaraz and Andre Agassi could have easily stated their case, but it was the pair of four-time US Open singles champions, Novak Djokovic and John McEnroe, who defeated the Spaniard-American duo 10-8 at the Fan Week exhibition. Italians Matteo Berrettini and Jasmine Paolini began the night by defeating Sebastian Korda and Iga Swiatek 11-9.

This point literally had everything 😮 pic.twitter.com/sNe10aTTTR

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 22, 2024

Juan Martin del Potro, former World No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings, made a grand return to Arthur Ashe Stadium. The 2009 titlist, who earlier practised with Djokovic, partnered fellow Argentine Gabriela Sabatini to an 11-9 win against Andy Roddick and Caroline Wozniacki.

Home favourites Sloane Stephens and Frances Tiafoe closed the night with a 10-6 victory against actor Boris Kodjoe and Taylor Townsend.

<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/08/22/02/07/del-potro-sabatini-us-open-2024.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Juan Martin del Potro and Gabriela Sabatini.” />^{All photos: Sarah Stier/Getty Images}

<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/08/22/02/05/mcenroe-djokovic-us-open-2024.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”John McEnroe and Novak Djokovic.” />

<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/08/22/02/32/stephens-tiafoe-us-open-2024.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Sloane Stephens and Frances Tiafoe.” />

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