Tennis News

O’Mara/Skupski Capture Sofia Title

Jonny O’Mara and Ken Skupski captured their maiden tour-level doubles title as a team on Sunday, overcoming third seeds Oliver Marach and Philipp Oswald 6-3, 6-4 in the Sofia Open final.

The British tandem were teaming for the first time this week since they reached the quarter-finals in Sofia last year. They produced a strong performance against Marach and Oswald, breaking three times and hitting five aces to secure their victory after 77 minutes.

It is the second title O’Mara and Skupski have won at all levels, after triumphing at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Mouilleron Le Captif in 2018.

O’Mara, 26, has now won three tour-level doubles trophies, while Skupski has captured seven titles at this level. The 38-year-old clinched the Acapulco crown in March with brother Neal Skupski, who is competing in the San Diego Open final with Joe Salisbury on Sunday.

Austrians Marach and Oswald saved two match points in their semi-final victory and were aiming to win their second ATP Tour title as a team, after lifting the trophy in Gstaad in 2017.

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Aryna Sabalenka: Positive Covid test rules world number two out of Indian Wells

World number two Aryna Sabalenka is ruled out of the Indian Wells Masters after testing positive for Covid-19.

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Casper Conquers Grigor In San Diego Thriller

Norway’s Casper Ruud is on the cusp of his first tour-level hard-court title after a rollercoaster three-set win over Grigor Dimitrov at the San Diego Open Saturday night.

In a classic shotmaking battle that will be remembered as one of the best ATP 250 matches of the season, Ruud needed three breaks of serve in the final set to pull out a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win. In the tight third set Ruud’s punishing forehand and edge in confidence – well-deserved after four titles and now 46 match wins on the year – proved decisive.

In Sunday’s final the World No. 10 will face left-handed Briton Cameron Norrie, who also is enjoying his breakout year on Tour and, like Ruud, is in contention to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin 14-21 November.

“Playing Grigor you have to play well from all corners of the court and run well as he can hit winners from everywhere,” Ruud said. “He’s one of the toughest guys to play on Tour as he has all the shots in the bag. I tried to hang in there and I won the couple of important points that in the end gave me the win.

“It was high level from the first point to the last. I’m happy to be in my first hard-court final.”

2021 Match Wins Leaders

Neither player was entirely comfortable on serve throughout the match, which featured 11 breaks of serve, including four consecutive breaks at the start of the third set. Afte twice rallying from a break down, Dimitrov blinked in the 3-all game in the decider when, after leading 30/0, he dropped serve.

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San Diego Open: Cameron Norrie reaches final after beating Andrey Rublev

British number two Cameron Norrie beats world number five Andrey Rublev of Russia to reach the San Diego Open final

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Norrie Downs Rublev To Reach San Diego Final

Cameron Norrie continued his breakthrough 2021 campaign Saturday as he clinched his third career Top 10 win with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Andrey Rublev to reach the final of the San Diego Open.

“It’s nice to get some revenge. He beat me easily last time, so it’s good to see I’ve improved a little bit,” said Norrie, who scavenged just three games against Rublev in their only prior meeting in St. Petersburg last year.

Norrie will aim to lift his second tour-level title Sunday, with his first coming in Acapulco earlier this year. Norrie, who now holds a 41-19 record in 2021, had lost five of his past six matches prior to this week.

The 26-year-old began the week 15th in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin, and will keep alive his outside chance of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals should be push on to claim the title Sunday against the winner of second seed Casper Ruud and former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov.

After losing the opening set in 35 minutes it was Norrie who was the more solid, neutralising Rublev’s power and forcing errors, which led to frustration on the Russian’s side of the net.

“All credit to Andrey, he came out firing,” said Norrie in his on-court interview. “He played some big tennis at the beginning and I managed to weather the storm at the start of the second.

“It’s such a big win for me. It’s definitely a match that I’m going to remember for a long time.”

It was the Brit’s second win over a Top 5 opponent, following his victory over then-World No. 4 Dominic Thiem earlier this year in Lyon.

Norrie was again impressive behind his serve, winning 73 per cent of first-serve points and firing eight aces. The World No. 26 also saved eight of the nine break points he faced to reach his fifth tour-level final of the year.

“I’m just trying to enjoy today and then I’ll try to rest up and get ready for [the final against Ruud or Dimitrov],” Norrie said. “I’ve been watching both of them this week and they’ve been playing some of their top level. I’m looking forward to that one tomorrow.”

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Salisbury/Skupski Advance To San Diego Final

Top seeds Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski continued their exceptional record as a team Saturday at the San Diego Open as they defeated Jordan Thompson and Jackson Withrow 6-4, 7-6(3) to reach the final.

Salisbury and Skupski improve to 9-1 after the straight-sets victory, with the British tandem searching for a second title. The last time the two played alongside each other was in Vienna in 2018, when they lifted the trophy.

“That’s a pretty good statistic. I knew we had a good win together three years ago, we haven’t played together since then,” Salisbury said. “It’s great to be back on court together, we know each other well and play well together.

“We’re happy we’ve come through some tough matches this week and hopefully we go one more in the final.”

The pair was effective on serve, winning 80 per cent (33/41) of first-serve points and 64 per cent (14/22) of second-serve points in the 93-minute encounter at Barnes Stadium. They will meet either third seeds John Peers and Filip Polasek or Marcelo Arevalo and Federico Delbonis in Sunday’s final.

“We’re feeling fresh, feeling good. So we’re ready to get straight back at it tomorrow,” said Skupski. “The fans that came out to support doubles is an amazing thing for us, it makes us play better. It’s a great atmosphere and hopefully the crowds will come out tomorrow.”

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Sinner Sets Monfils Clash, Reaches Sofia Final

#NextGenATP Italian Jannik Sinner continued his bid to reach the Nitto ATP Finals on Saturday as he downed fifth seed Filip Krajinovic 6-3, 7-5 at the Sofia Open to reach his fourth tour-level final of the season.

Sinner, who is the defending champion in Bulgaria, was strong on serve, winning 86 per cent (24/28) of points behind his first delivery to advance after one hour and 43 minutes in their first ATP Head2Head meeting.

”It was a very tough match against him,” Sinner said. “We practise at times together, so we know each other’s games a little bit. There was a chance to go to a tie-break, which I luckily avoided. I am happy to be in the final here again.”

The top seed has enjoyed a strong season, winning tour-level titles in Melbourne and Washington, while also advancing to his first ATP Masters 1000 final in Miami. Sinner will rise to 10th in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin on Monday as he aims to qualify for the season finale, to be held at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 14-21 November.

”I just tried to stay positive with my mindset,” Sinner said. “I played a good first set and when he broke me I tried to stay there. The second set I was trying to stay positive as I felt the ball better than the other days and I think the level today was higher. It gives me a little bit of confidence ahead of the final.”

The 20-year-old has yet to drop a set this week and will face second seed Gael Monfils in the championship match after the Frenchman cruised past American Marcos Giron 7-5, 6-0. Sinner leads Monfils 2-1 in their ATP Head2Head Series, recently beating the World No. 20 in five sets at the US Open.

”We [Monfils and I] always have tough matches,” Sinner added. “It is the fourth time we will play. We had a tough one at the US Open in the fifth. He is a great player, everyone knows that. He is moving really well, which helps a lot. It is not going to be easy, but I can be happy to be in the final and I will enjoy it.”

In an entertaining match, both players played aggressively as they looked to control the tempo. After breaks were exchanged during the first set, Sinner moved ahead when Krajinovic hit a backhand into the net. The Serbian regained momentum in the second set, but could not convert from 5-2 ahead as Sinner won five games in a row to advance.

Krajinovic was aiming to capture his first tour-level title this week, having enjoyed a run to the championship match in Hamburg in July.

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Monfils Cruises Into Sofia Final

Second seed Gael Monfils is an ATP Tour finalist once again after he overcame American Marcos Giron 7-5, 6-0 on Saturday at the Sofia Open.

The Frenchman struck his groundstrokes with great power as he found his range as the match went on. The World No. 20 rallied from 2-4 down in the first set, winning 11 of the next 12 games to advance after 65 minutes.

“It was a great match,” Monfils said in his on-court interview. “At the beginning, Marcos was playing very solid. I could not find the exit door and at the end I found it. I am very happy as I was very solid. It was a very physical match with lots of long rallies. I am very happy to get through.”

With his victory, Monfils has now reached a tour-level final for 17 straight years. His last championship match came in Rotterdam in February 2020, when he defeated #NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime for his 10th tour-level crown.

The 35-year-old, who enjoyed a run to the semi-finals on home soil in Metz last week, will face either #NextGenATP Italian Jannik Sinner or fifth-seeded Serbian Filip Krajinovic in the final.

In a lively first set, Giron started well as he hit with consistent depth which forced Monfils to drop the ball short. However, from 4-2 ahead, Monfils began to pin Giron behind the baseline as he used a greater variety of shots to dictate.

The World No. 20 reeled off five of the last six games in the opener to lead, before he continued to close the net in the second set as he raced clear against a disheartened Giron to secure his victory.

“I felt in his rhythm he was crushing the ball, so I wanted to change the speed a little and come to the net a little bit and step in,” Monfils added. “Just mix it up a little bit and I think that was key for me.”

Giron was competing in his first tour-level semi-final, having upset seeded Australian pair Alex de Minaur and John Millman en route to the last four.

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Marach/Oswald Save 2 MPs, Reach Sofia Final

Third seeds Oliver Marach and Philipp Oswald saved two match points on Saturday at the Sofia Open as they battled past Santiago Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 2-6, 7-5, 10-6 to reach their first tour-level final as a team this season.

The Austrians saved two match points at 4-5 30/40 and 40/40 in the second set as they broke serve, before they raised their level in the Match Tie-break to advance after one hour and 31 minutes.

Marach and Oswald are teaming for the sixth time this season, having reached the last four in Winston-Salem and the quarter-finals in Metz. They won their only ATP Tour trophy as a team in Gstaad in 2017.

They will face British tandem Jonny O’Mara and Ken Skupski in the final after the unseeded pair cruised past Matwe Middelkoop and Roman Jebavy 6-3, 6-1.

They won 96 per cent (25/26) of their first-serve points and did not face a break point as they advanced after 50 minutes. It is the first time O’Mara and Skupski have joined forces since they reached the quarter-finals in Sofia last year.

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Quietly, Casper Earning Hard-Court Respect

Casper Ruud continues to build his street cred on hard courts ahead of an increasingly likely debut at the Nitto ATP Finals, dismissing Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-1, 6-4 Friday to reach his first semi-final on the surface at the San Diego Open.

Although his journey to become Norway’s first Top 10 singles player has been underpinned by four clay-court titles this year, Ruud is aware that he needs to up his game on hard courts if he is to qualify for – and make an impression at – the prestigious season finale, to be held for the first time this year in Turin, Italy, from 14-21 November.

“This is my first semi-final on hard court after reaching the quarters in Toronto and Cincinnati, so it’s another important step in my young career,” Ruud said. “It gives me confidence for tomorrow and the belief that I can beat good players on this surface.”

The Oslo native has made significant gains on hard courts in recent months, reaching ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finals on the surface in Toronto and Cincinnati and taking out Reilly Opelka at last week’s Laver Cup.

Prior this season, Ruud was a modest 16-27 on hard courts but this year he is an impressive 16-5, which includes a run to the Australian Open fourth round. He began the week ninth in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin, in strong contention to claim one of five remaining places at the Nitto ATP Finals.

“It was closer than it may have seemed, but the key moments and important points went my way today,” said Ruud, who is looking to add a tour-high fifth title of the season. “The three times I broke him they were close games and at 4-3 in the second I got into a little bit of trouble on my serve but I was able to serve out a close game.”

Ruud next faces Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who improved to 17-14 on the year after a 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 win over Australian Open semi-finalist Aslan Karatsev.

Dimitrov is chasing his first title since winning the Nitto ATP Finals in 2017, when he ended the year a career-high No. 3. Since then he has reached just one final (Rotterdam 2018). He had not reached a semi-final since Antwerp last October.

“Casper is a great player who has been having a great year,” Dimitrov said, looking ahead to Saturday’s semi-final. “He’ll be a very tough opponent but I’ll just be focusing on my side of the net. I’ll do everything possible to stop him.”

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