Tennis News

Michelsen, Tien fly #NextGenATP flag in Winston-Salem

#NextGenATP Alex Michelsen led a teenage American charge Wednesday at the Winston-Salem Open, where the 19-year-old raced past Belgian Zizou Bergs 6-1, 6-2.

Competing this week at a career-high No. 52 in the PIF ATP Rankings, the 11th seed is into his sixth quarter-final of the season. Michelsen fended off the three break points he faced, all of which came in the opening set, and dropped just three points behind his first serve in the second set to advance.

“It was a good match. I played very well, didn’t get broken, which for me is always a plus,” said Michelsen, who next faces Christopher Eubanks. “I’m returning well right now, so hopefully I can give [Chris] some trouble tomorrow.

“I’ve been playing well the last couple weeks. The last match I lost was to Jannik [Sinner], so I feel like I’m playing pretty well right now.”

The California native, who celebrates his 20th birthday Sunday, is second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. He is aiming for a return trip to the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, which runs from 18-22 December. Last year Michelsen did not advance beyond the round-robin stage. 

Michelsen’s close friend Learner Tien continued his dream debut week on the ATP Tour by become the youngest American tour-level quarter-finalist since Brandon Nakashima in 2020 (Delray Beach). The 18-year-old cruised past Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-4, 6-3.

Tien advanced through qualifying and has since built upon his momentum. He earned his maiden tour-level win in the opening round and now awaits Pablo Carreno Busta or Aleksandar Vukic in the last eight. 

As a result of his success, Tien has climbed two places to eighth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. The lefty is a two-time titlist at the USTA Boys’ 18s National Championships (2022, 2023).

Tien is set to crack the Top 200 of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time Monday. He has enjoyed great success on the North American hard courts this summer, claiming his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title in July in addition to four ITF M15 trophies. 

Eubanks saved two match points to oust 17th seed Roman Safiullin 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(8). The 28-year-old trailed 5/6 and 7/8 in the deciding-set tie-break, but held his nerve to stay alive. Eubanks fired 16 aces and fended off nine of the 11 break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

The American avenged last week’s loss to Safiullin, who beat Eubanks in the quarters of the ATP Challenger Tour title in Cary, North Carolina, 100 miles east of Winston-Salem. Safiullin went on to win the title. Eubanks will next look to improve upon his 1-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Michelsen. Last year in Mallorca, Eubanks defeated Michelsen in a first-round three setter before eventually lifting the trophy at the grass ATP 250.

Australian Rinky Hijikata also saved two match points to reach the quarter-finals. Hijikata overcame last year’s semi-finalist Borna Coric 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 after tallying four straight games from 3-5 in the decider. Coric twice had match point on his serve at 5-3.

Former World No. 7 David Goffin advanced with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Arthur Rinderknech while 15th seed Pavel Kotov ended the run of American lucky loser Zachary Svajda 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

60th tour-level QF 🪩@David__Goffin gets the better of Rinderknech 6-3 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals in @WSOpen #WSOpen pic.twitter.com/PWrM8aIxtN

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 21, 2024

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Birthday boy Fonseca advances to US Open qualifying final round

#NextGenATP Joao Fonseca celebrated his 18th birthday Wednesday in style. The Brazilian advanced to the final round of qualifying at the US Open, where he dropped just three points behind his first serve en route to a 6-4, 6-2 victory against Frenchman Calvin Hemery.

Last year’s US Open boys’ singles champion’s birthday gift was the constant chants from the Court 8 crowd, “Jo-ao Fon-seca!”, “Jo-ao Fon-seca!”

Now one win away from competing in his maiden major main draw, Fonseca will face American Eliot Spizzirri in the third round. Spizzirri in May finished No. 1 in the ITA final singles rankings for the second consecutive year. The University of Texas graduate beat Belgian Joris De Loore 7-5, 7-6(5) to advance.

Fonseca, sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, won his first ATP Challenger Tour title this month in Lexington, Kentucky. He is aiming for his maiden trip to the 20-and-under Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, which runs from 18-22 December. 

Fellow #NextGenATP star Vilius Gaubas also advanced to the final round of qualifying. The Lithuanian defeated French veteran Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-4. After the match, there was an on-court presentation to honour Gasquet in his farewell US Open.

Gaubas, who is half the age of 38-year-old Gasquet, won 73 per cent of his first-serve points. This week is the first time that Gaubas has competed in Grand Slam qualifying. He earned his first ATP Challenger Tour title earlier this month in Cordenons, Italy and currently sits seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race to Jeddah.

Gaubas will next meet another player who is competing in his final US Open — Diego Schwartzman, former No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Schwartzman won 7-5, 6-4 in an all-Argentine battle against Thiago Agustin Tirante.

The 32-year-old Schwartzman announced earlier this year that he will retire after the Argentina Open in 2025. He is aiming for his 11th consecutive US Open main draw appearance. Schwartzman’s best results at Flushing Meadows came in 2017 and 2019, when he reached the quarter-finals.

#NextGenATP hopes Coleman Wong and Luca Van Assche suffered tight three-set defeats. Yu Hsiou Hsu survived Wong 1-6, 6-2, 7-6(8). Radu Albot overcame a second-set slump to down Van Assche 6-2, 0-6, 6-4.

Aslan Karatsev advanced with a convincing 6-3, 6-0 victory over Marc Polmans while Lucas Pouille ousted fellow Frenchman Harold Mayot 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(12).

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

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Kartal & Miyazaki one win from US Open main draw

Britons Sonay Kartal and Lily Miyazaki reach the final round of US Open qualifying, but Heather Watson and Paul Jubb are beaten.

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Gasquet on farewell US Open: 'I will keep these memories for my life'

Richard Gasquet bade farewell to more than two decades worth of US Open memories on Wednesday. The Frenchman, who reached the semi-finals in 2013, was celebrated with an on-court presentation following his second-round qualifying loss to #NextGenATP Vilius Gaubas.

During the ceremony, US Open tournament director Stacey Allaster presented the former World No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings with a symbol of thanks and Gasquet addressed the crowd. The 38-year-old was aiming to reach his 20th consecutive US Open main draw.

“I will keep these memories for my life,” Gasquet said. “It’s a little bit sad for me to finish this year [like this], but I’m really happy with how I’ve played here in New York… to be here with the crowd, to feel this emotion, these feelings. You play tennis to feel these kind of feelings. It’s electric, it’s incredible for me to play in New York.”

Gasquet is continuing to work hard on Tour, with no official retirement date set. The 16-time tour-level titlist earned his 600th match win last year in Stuttgart. This season in Madrid, Gasquet competed in his 1,000th match.

“I’m so lucky,” Gasquet added. “I played on the best court here with a lot of crowds. It was the most incredible atmosphere you can face on a tennis court, playing with 20,000 people on a centre court. I played [Roger] Federer, [Novak] Djokovic, [Rafael] Nadal, the best players on this court, and I’m proud with the way I played here in New York.”

The 2002 boys’ singles champion at Flushing Meadows, Gasquet made his US Open main-draw debut as a 19-year-old in 2005, when he reached the fourth round. He posted a 30-18 career main-draw record at the season’s fourth major.

“I hope to come back with you, in the crowd, next year,” Gasquet concluded.

Did You Know?
Argentine Diego Schwartzman is also competing in his farewell US Open. The 32-year-old, who advanced to the final round of qualifying, announced earlier this year that he will retire after the Argentina Open in 2025. The two-time quarter-finalist is aiming for his 11th consecutive US Open main-draw appearance.

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Sinner 'worn down physically and mentally' by investigation

Jannik Sinner has been worn down by the investigation into his positive tests for a banned substance, says his coach Darren Cahill.

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Krajinovic reflects on retirement: 'It was not easy to say goodbye'

Filip Krajinovic called the situation he was in Monday evening “strange”. The former No. 26 player in the PIF ATP Rankings was emotional during his first-round qualifying match against Jurij Rodionov at the US Open to the point that he struggled to play.

Rodionov won 6-4, 6-2 in a straightforward 71 minutes. His Serbian opponent was not emotional because he was losing, but because the 32-year-old knew it was the end of his tennis journey. The defeat marked the final match of Krajinovic’s standout career.

“I was struggling for the past year and a half, thinking what to do. I was not happy with my form. I was not happy with my body, and I didn’t play the level I wanted. I dropped a lot. I decided to finish after the US Open,” Krajinovic told ATPTour.com. “I was really, really sad [Monday]. I couldn’t really even play. I was crying on the court because the whole life you’re playing and you’re competing, so it was not easy to say goodbye, but at the same time, I’m happy that now I’m free.”

Krajinovic set high standards for himself. It was one of the reasons he cracked the world’s Top 30, reached five ATP Tour finals and defeated four Top 10 opponents. But in the past couple of years he has not been able to maintain the level he has been used to for much of his career.

The Serbian struggled with a wrist injury, broke a finger and dealt with “a couple of little things”. As that happened, he realised that physically he was not quite as quick, which made a difference on court. With that came a slide in the PIF ATP Rankings.

“When you drop to play small tournaments, motivation is not the same. I just didn’t feel right, I didn’t feel well, and I was not hungry enough,” Krajinovic said. “If you’re not 100 per cent into it, there’s no chance you can go back where I wanted to be. So I felt like I was not enjoying it and I saw like this that I was not going to be where I wanted to be, which is Top 50 for sure.”

After Roland Garros this year, Krajinovic decided he would play for a couple of more months and retire after the US Open. Despite the loss, it was a special moment on Court 4. Many of Krajinovic’s closest friends, including Dusan Lajovic, Miomir Kecmanovic, Nikola Cacic and Serbian Davis Cup captain Viktor Troicki stayed late into the night to support him.

“Those are my biggest and best friends. I really love them,” Krajinovic said. “They stayed all day there to watch me and say goodbye. It was really nice.”

They all took to social media to congratulate their friend on his accomplishments, which were plentiful.

The moment that stands out to him the most is his run to the final of the 2017 Rolex Paris Masters, his lone championship match at an ATP Masters 1000 event. World No. 77 at the time, Krajinovic qualified, then defeated Top 15 players Sam Querrey and John Isner to earn the right to play for the trophy.

But that was far from his only moment in the spotlight. Krajinovic had the game to challenge anyone on Tour on his day. The Serbian claimed his two Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and defeated the likes of Daniil Medvedev and Tomas Berdych.

In 2020, he earned one of the most impressive victories of his career at the venue where he ultimately retired: the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. That year, the Cincinnati ATP Masters 1000 tournament was held in New York because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Krajinovic throttled Dominic Thiem 6-2, 6-1. Two weeks later, the Austrian won the US Open.

“I am very proud. I’m very proud of my career,” Krajinovic said. “The only thing where I’m a little bit sad is I didn’t win an ATP Krajinovic reflects on retirement: 'It was not easy to say goodbye'. I had five finals, five tough finals. That’s the only thing I wanted to have, but didn’t happen for some reason. But everything else I would sign [for] because I think I played the way I wanted. I had very good results and my highest was 26, which I really appreciate. I left the court happy, because I think that I did well.”

For now, Krajinovic would like to take some time for himself back in Serbia to rest and evaluate what will be next. But the 32-year-old expects to remain in tennis after dedicating his life to the sport for so many years.

When Krajinovic was 14 years old, he left Serbia for Florida to train at the IMG Academy and chase his dream of becoming a professional tennis player. Practice partners included Kei Nishikori, Max Mirnyi and Radek Stepanek, who had the level he one day hoped to reach.

Nearly two decades later, at the end of a standout career on the ATP Tour, he is preparing to fly to Bradenton once more to visit the place where his journey began.

“It was not easy. I came to the States when I was 14, alone, without anybody. I went to that Academy [and] I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know how to speak English, so that was my biggest problem when I went there,” Krajinovic said. “It was hard, but at the same time it was very, very good, because I knew that was my opportunity to improve and to practise with those guys. It was unbelievable.”

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ATP Tour delivers record sponsorship revenues & growth in 2024

The ATP Tour has announced record sponsorship revenues for the 2024 season, headlined by the signing of nine new global partners and multiple partnership renewals. The Tour’s unprecedented commercial success reflects its focus on strategic growth under OneVision.

Fast-growing partnerships portfolio
New global partners signed since 2023 include PIF, Lexus, Yokohama, Haier, Waterdrop, LONGi Solar, Sense Arena, OFX and most recently Fitline. During this same period the ATP Tour renewed longtime partnerships with Infosys, Lacoste and Dunlop, along with Asti Docg. These partners join an array of leading global brands including the ATP Tour’s Premier Partner, Emirates, along with Nitto, Rolex, Nilox and Sense Arena. The ATP and WTA also entered a joint licensing partnership with game maker Nacon for the TIEBREAK tennis game. This season’s commercial success has seen the ATP Tour grow its sponsorship revenues by 50% vs. 2023, with an 89% increase projected by 2026.

“We are thrilled that leading brands are increasingly seeking to align with the ATP Tour, our globally recognised athletes and world-class tournaments,” said Massimo Calvelli, ATP CEO. “Our partners are committed to enhancing the promotion of the sport, attracting new fans and supporting our members and communities through ATP Serves. They have also bought into our OneVision strategic plan. This has laid the foundation for growth through more premium events, rights aggregation, and a game-changing profit-sharing agreement creating a true partnership between players and tournaments.”

OneVision: a key growth engine
The ATP’s OneVision strategic plan has been the central driver of commercial success, creating new sponsorship inventory through the expansion of several ATP Masters 1000 tournaments from eight to 12-day events. It has attracted direct support from brands, most notably PIF, which signed a major multi-year partnership in 2024 supporting the ATP in growing the game globally for players and fans. In total, ATP has doubled its annual sponsorship distributions to tournaments since 2021.

OneVision is also unlocking new investment at the tournament level, with multi-million dollar infrastructure upgrades and sell-out partnership portfolios underpinned by long-term category protection. Learn more about OneVision here.

Sustainability focus
ATP Tour partners have made significant investments into supporting the ATP Serves sustainability roadmap. Initiatives co-launched in the past 18 months include the ATP Carbon Tracker developed in collaboration with Infosys, the Nitto ATP Finals Torino Green project, and LONGi PLAN GET. Through their event portfolios, Lexus has driven the electrification of car fleets and Waterdrop has spearheaded the reduction of single-use plastics on Tour. Further collaborations aimed at accelerating progress towards ATP’s climate targets are planned for 2025. Explore our ATP Serves Sustainability Report.

Digital at the forefront
This season has seen record digital and social growth across official ATP Tour social media channels. Followers grew seven per cent to 9.7 million in the 12 months to June 2024, with video views up 159% and reach increasing 48% to 2.9 billion over the same period. Partners have benefitted from comprehensive digital, social and branded content exposure, in addition to on-site activations at tournaments in marquee cities across the globe. Branded content collaborations with players – a vertical introduced by ATP in 2023 – has created significant value for brand partners and new revenue streams for players.

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#NextGenATP Tien continues dream ATP debut, ousts Marozsan in Winston-Salem

#NextGenATP American Learner Tien had never competed in an ATP Tour main draw entering the week. Now the 18-year-old is into the third round of the Winston-Salem Open.

The teen stunned ninth seed Fabian Maroszan 6-2, 6-7(1), 7-6(2) in two hours and nine minutes to advance at the ATP 250 event. The lefty rallied from a break down in the deciding set, took a 5-3 lead and then surged to victory in the tie-break despite failing to serve out the match.

Tien has played the past two main draws of the US Open and will compete in the season’s final major again next week. But for now, he is focused on the task at hand in North Carolina.

This year’s Bloomfield Hills ATP Challenger Tour champion converted six of his 14 break points according to Infosys ATP Stats to earn his fourth win of the tournament including qualifying. He will next play Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild, who ousted eighth seed Nuno Borges 7-6(2), 6-2.

Tien is ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. He could soar as high as fifth if he wins the title this week in Winston-Salem.

The Californian’s friend and fellow #NextGenATP star, Alex Michelsen, also advanced with a 7-6(3), 6-4 triumph against Marton Fucsovics.

Michelsen is pursuing his first ATP Tour title this week. The 19-year-old reached a final last month in Newport and last week pushed World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in a tight two-setter.

The third-placed player in the Live Race To Jeddah, Shang Juncheng, earned a 7-5, 6-3 victory over seventh seed Mariano Navone. The 19-year-old from China then withdrew due to a lower back injury after his triumph, so 10th seed Lorenzo Sonego, who eliminated Dominic Stricker 6-4, 6-1, advanced to the quarter-finals.

American wild card Christopher Eubanks eased into the third round with a 6-1, 6-4 win against 14th seed Hugo Gaston. Last year’s Mallorca champion won 88 per cent of his first-serve points in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with the Frenchman.

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Film study pays off, Coric avenges last year's Winston-Salem loss to Baez

One year on from Borna Coric’s marathon semi-final loss to Sebastian Baez at the Winston-Salem Open, the Croatian avenged that defeat Tuesday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory against the top seed and defending champion. 

“I learned from that match, I was watching that match last night,” Coric said of last year’s loss at the ATP 250. “I was prepared for the match and also it was much better for me that we played today while it was sunny. Last year we played in the evening, which was actually much, much slower.”

The 27-year-old dropped just four points behind his first serve and held the advantage in lengthy baseline rallies to improve to 1-2 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Baez. Just days after their three-hour 19-minute Winston-Salem meeting in 2023, Baez again defeated Coric in the US Open first round.  

Into the Round of 16, the three-time tour-level titlist will next face 16th seed Rinky Hijikata.

Earlier, American lucky loser Zachary Svajda earned the highest-ranked win of his career when he upset World No. 29 Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 6-4. The 21-year-old Svajda is up to No. 101 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings as he aims for his Top 100 debut.

David Goffin defeated fifth-seeded Italian Luciano Darderi 6-2, 6-4 while 10th seed Lorenzo Sonego beat Dominic Stricker 6-4, 6-1.

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GB's Harris and Miyazaki win in US Open qualifiers

Britain’s Billy Harris and Lily Miyazaki win to reach the second round of qualifying at the US Open.

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