Tennis News

Erlich/Inglot Defeat Top Seeds Kontinen/McLachlan in Sofia

Israel’s Jonathan Erlich and Great Britain’s Dominic Inglot upset top seeds Henri Kontinen and Ben McLachlan 4-6, 7-6(4), 10-6 on Wednesday to reach the second round of the Sofia Open.

Erlich and Inglot were effective on serve, winning 74 per cent of their first-serve points to advance after one hour and 41 minutes.

Second seeds Tomislav Brkic and Nikola Cacic, this year’s Buenos Aires champions, avoided another upset by reaching the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-7(2), 10-7 victory against Kazakhstan’s Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov.

Brkic and Cacic saved eight of the nine break points they faced and broke twice to move on in Bulgaria. Australians Luke Saville and John-Patrick Smith, the fourth-seeds, also advanced following a 7-6(4), 7-6(2) win over Sweden’s Andre Goransson and Monaco’s Hugo Nys.

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Djokovic Withdraws From Indian Wells

Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the BNP Paribas Open, the tournament announced Wednesday. 

“I am sorry I wont get to see my fans in Indian Wells and play in the desert, my favourite place to go,” Djokovic said in a statement. “I hope to see you next year!”

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from #BNPPO21. pic.twitter.com/qU6HV10pKa

— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) September 29, 2021

The Serbian is a five-time BNP Paribas Open champion. He last lifted the trophy at the ATP Masters 1000 event — where he has tallied a 50-9 record — in 2016.

“We are disappointed that Novak will not be able to join us at the BNP Paribas Open this fall,” Tournament Director Tommy Haas said. “We hope to see him back in Tennis Paradise next March to contend for a record-setting sixth title in the desert.”

The 34-year-old most recently competed at the US Open, where he fell short in the final against Daniil Medvedev. Djokovic, who won the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year, was trying to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to complete the Grand Slam by winning all four majors in a season

The 85-time tour-level titlist has already earned his spot at this year’s Nitto ATP Finals, and he is trying to become the first player to finish year-end No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings seven times.

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Tennis United: Dimitrov & Bencic Dish On Travel Routines & Favourite Destinations

If you walk into Grigor Dimitrov’s hotel room, you will find his tennis racquets, PlayStation, and plenty of the items you might expect.

But you will also likely spot roses.

“I love to have flowers in the [hotel] room a lot. For some reason I love flowers, I don’t know why. There’s a little secret: I love flowers,” Dimitrov said. “I just love red roses, for example. It brings some sort of a romance to the room. You know how much time we spend in the room… it’s nice to feel nice and cosy.”

Former World No. 3 Dimitrov and WTA star Belinda Bencic spoke about life on Tour and travel in episode five of Tennis United: Crosscourt. They discussed what goes on behind the scenes when players are not on the court.

“Traveling week-in and week-out is not always easy, Bencic added. “For me personally I have to say it’s the hardest part of everything. I love to be at the different places. But for me, the traveling, for me that’s the hardest part especially week to week,” she said. “It’s not even the long flights. It’s the packing, unpacking.”

The ATP and WTA are teaming again in 2021 for Tennis United: CrossCourt, a continuation of the award-winning digital content series originally released during the 2020 suspended season. The reimagined project marks the first major co-branded initiative to debut since the two Tours integrated marketing operations earlier this year.

Tennis United: CrossCourt goes behind the scenes of life on Tour through a series of intimate one-on-one conversations between ATP and WTA stars. Spanning eight short-format episodes, players explore a range of largely untouched subjects from within and beyond sport, offering fans a raw perspective on the experiences, pressures and privileges that make up life in professional tennis.

The complete episode list:
• Episode 1: Relationships (Gael Monfils & Elina Svitolina)
• Episode 2: Coaching (Felix Auger-Aliassime & Jennifer Brady)
• Episode 3: Doubles (Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Jamie Murray)
• Episode 4: Parenthood (Fabio Fognini & Elena Vesnina)

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Ivashka Downs Andujar in Sofia Opener

Ilya Ivashka continued his career-best season on the ATP Tour with a straight-sets victory over Pablo Andujar in the first round of the Sofia Open, winning 6-4, 6-3.

Ivashka, who levelled his ATP Head2Head against Andujar at 1-1, dictated proceedings. He broke the Spaniard’s serve four times and served eight aces to advance to the second round.

“I think it was a good match for me,” Ivashka said following the win. “I played very clean, I was serving really good.”

Watch Wednesday Sofia Highlights:

The Belarusian will take on second seed Gael Monfils in his next match. Ivashka has already defeated the entertaining Frenchman this year, winning in three sets at the Tokyo Olympics.

“He’s a great opponent, he has a lot of experience and I hope it’s going to be a great match,” Ivashka said. “He’s a great guy and it’s always nice to play against him.”

The 27-year-old now holds a 29-14 record in 2021, which includes 12 victories in his past 14 matches. Ivashka lifted his first ATP Tour title last month in Winston-Salem, and currently sits at a career-high No. 45 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

In other action, James Duckworth defeated Emil Ruusuvuori in a three-set battle, winning 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Duckworth broke the Ruusuvuori serve in the penultimate game of the match before holding serve to reach the second round, where he will meet Benoit Paire.

The Australian moved to a career-high World No. 56 following his run to his first ATP Tour final in Nur-Sultan last week. Duckworth did not drop a set in his opening four matches before losing to Soonwoo Kwon in the final.

In other action, Gianluca Mager became the first player to advance to the quarter-finals with a 7-6(3), 6-3 win against Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic. Another Serbian, fifth-seeded Filip Krajinovic eased past Belarusian wild card Alexander Lazorov 6-0, 6-3 in his first round match.

Illya Marchenko also moved on to the second round, defeating fellow qualifier Andreas Seppi 6-4, 6-2 and improving his ATP Head2Head against the Italian to 3-1.

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Andy Murray overcomes lucky loser Denis Kudla in the San Diego Open first round

Andy Murray wins his first match in the San Diego Open after a late replacement saw him face lucky loser Denis Kudla.

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Krajicek/Mies Deny Evans/Fognini In San Diego

Austin Krajicek and Andreas Mies have advanced to the quarter-finals of the San Diego Open following their first-round doubles victory over Daniel Evans and Fabio Fognini on Tuesday.

In their first match together, the US-German pairing prevailed 6-1, 3-6, 10-7 to set a last-eight showdown with second seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares or Marcelo Arevalo and Federico Delbonis. Mies – a two-time Roland Garros doubles champion alongside Kevin Krawietz – underwent knee surgery earlier this year and only returned to action in Toronto.

The duo won 68 per cent of first-serve points and 32 per cent on second serves. They broke the British-Italian tandem four times.

Brandon Nakashima and Sem Verbeek made good on their main draw doubles wild card, rebounding to defeat Grigor Dimitrov and Jean-Julien Rojer 4-6, 6-3, 10-7. The US-Dutch duo will meet top seed Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski for a place in the semi-finals.

At the Sofia Open, third seeds Oliver Marach and Philipp Oswald reached the quarter-finals with a narrow victory over Rohan Bopanna and Aisam Ul-Haq Qureshi. The Austrians notched a 6-2, 6-7(1), 10-7 win to set a clash with Brazilians Marcelo Demoliner and Rafael Matos.

Roman Jebacy and Matwe Middelkoop booked their quarter-final berth at the expense of Bulgarian wild cards Adrian Andreev and Alexandar Lazarov. The Czech-Dutch pair advanced 6-2, 6-4 in just under an hour. They await top seeds Henri Kontinen and Ben McLachlan or Jonathan Erlich and Dominic Inglot.

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Murray Sends Off Kudla in San Diego Opener

Andy Murray has opened his bid for his first consecutive tour-level quarter-finals of 2021 with victory over American lucky loser Denis Kudla at the San Diego Open on Tuesday.

Murray’s 6-3, 6-2 win set up a clash with second seed Casper Ruud for a quarter-final berth. The former No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings was due to face former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori for the 12^th time before the Japanese player withdrew due to a lower back injury hours before the match.

“I’d practised with Denis a few times but I don’t think we’d ever played a match before so it’s not easy,” Murray said in his on-court interview. “[I tried] to ask around a few of the players to get a few tips on what his strengths are, his weaknesses, but it’s not easy for him.

“He was on his way to LA in the car when he found out. It’s not like he’s hanging around here so obviously, a great effort for him to come back and play.”

The 34-year-old continued to build on his recent run of form, having defeated Ugo Humbert and Vasek Pospisil to reach his first tour-level quarter-final in two years at the Moselle Open last week. He fell in Metz to eventual champion Hubert Hurkacz for the second time in six weeks.

Murray improved to 9-8 for the season with his win over Kudla, the No.94 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. He claimed 63 per cent of first-serve points and converted three of his four break points.

“I think first and foremost it’s great to be on the court healthy and competing week after week for the first time since 2017. It’s been a long time,” Murray said. “I’m starting to feel better with each match. The ranking is not the No. 1 priority, but I’ve had some tough draws in the last few months.

“Obviously if your ranking gets high enough you can start to get seeded in events and you avoid that. I want to try and win to push my ranking up to give myself a better chance of having a deep run in some of the major tournaments again.”

The British wild card – currently at World No. 109 – played a fine return game to land his first break for 5-3 and took the set at the 32-minute mark. It was vintage Murray when he rolled a backhand lob winner to bring up break point in the opening game of the second but Kudla saved it with an ace on his way to the hold.

Murray did not have to wait long to take control of the second set however, as he broke for 3-2 and put the foot down to secure a love break for a 5-2 lead. Victory came at the 70-minute mark on his ninth ace.

Sixth seed Diego Schwartzman followed Murray into the second round, following his 6-2, 6-3 victory over Italian qualifier Federico Gaio. The Argentine won 74 per cent of first-serve points and claimed 64 per cent of return points on Gaio’s second serve. Schwartzman will next meet Lloyd Harris for a place in the quarter-finals after the South African rebounded to beat American qualifier Christopher Eubanks 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

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Dimitrov Sets Felix Clash In San Diego

Grigor Dimitrov has scraped into the second round of the San Diego Open after a confidence-boosting three-set victory over Hungarian Marton Fucsovics on Tuesday.

The former No. 3 in the FedEx ATP Rankings eked out a 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 win in two hours and nine minutes to set a showdown with third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime. He had lost both prior ATP Head2Head meetings against Fucsovics, including a five-set defeat in the second round of last year’s US Open, and had won just 15 of his 29 matches in an injury-marred season.

“I just stayed in the match. I had to change a few things. I had a good strategy but I was not executing it well enough,” Dimitrov said in his on-court interview.

“It was my first match in about three-and-a-half weeks so I’m a little bit rusty, but it feels good to win. It’s so good to have a lot of crowd and a lot of Bulgarian flags, just positive overall.”

Neither player faced a break point in the third set until the final game of the match when two double faults from Fucsovics proved untimely, the second of which handed Dimitrov a match point. The Bulgarian prevailed on his second opportunity to hand the World No. 41 his fourth straight defeat. Dimitrov won 77 per cent of first-serve points and 57 per cent on second serves.

“I’m feeling good back on court. The body holds up pretty well so this is the most important thing,” Dimitrov said. “Enjoy every moment you get out here. It’s been a year with lots of ups and downs but at the same time I’m hungry to play again and excited to be on the court. The results are coming with it I guess.”

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Korda Catapults Past Paul In San Diego

It is easy to forget that one year ago, Sebastian Korda was still outside the Top 200 in the FedEx ATP Ranking. Now the #NextGenATP American is at a career-high World No. 42, and based on his performance Tuesday at the San Diego Open, he is still on the way up.

Korda battled past countryman Tommy Paul 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 after two hours and 11 minutes to reach the second round as he pursues his second ATP Tour title.

“I’m just having fun. A year ago I was ranked 220 in the world. Now I’m 42 in the world,” Korda said in his on-court interview. “It’s been a big jump for me and [I am] just having fun.”

Paul used his athleticism to hit some sensational passing shots and jaw-dropping returns to turn around the second set. But Korda, who saved seven of the eight break points he faced, was the more consistent player, which allowed him to surge ahead in the third set after he broke with a missile-like backhand passing shot.

“It was tough. Tommy started playing a lot better. In the first set I was playing really well and dictating really well and then he was coming up clutch in some big moments,” Korda said. “I just played better in the third set.”

Korda, who joined fellow #NextGenATP American Brandon Nakashima in the second round, will next play ninth seed Lorenzo Sonego, who beat Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 6-4.

Korda and Sonego have split their first two ATP Head2Head matches, both of which came earlier this year. The Italian triumphed in Montpellier on an indoor hard court before the American returned the favour by beating Sonego in Parma en route to his maiden tour-level trophy.

Did You Know?
Korda is one of four players who have booked their spot at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, which will be held from 9-13 November. The other players who have qualified are Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

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The Nomadic Life With… Aslan Karatsev

Aslan Karatsev has been one of the breakthrough stars of 2021, having made the Australian Open semi-finals as a qualifier and claimed his first ATP Tour title in Dubai.

Karatsev, who is competing this week at the San Diego Open, is making a push to earn a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. ATPTour.com caught up with the 28-year-old to discuss his life on Tour, why he is not a fan of flying, his craziest travel story and more.

What are two essential non-tennis items you always pack for trips?
I’ll go with a laptop and big headphones to listen to music.

Do you enjoy travelling the world or consider it just something that needs to be done to be a pro tennis player? If you do enjoy it, what do you enjoy about travelling?
I don’t like flying, so it’s not like I enjoy flying. The takeoff and landing are not fun. Now it’s getting better and better with time. But from the beginning, when I was 20, 21, I had some issues with airplanes. I’d get a bit scared.

Did something happen on one of your early flights or you just never liked flying?
I don’t remember [when or where]. Something happened where we couldn’t land. There was a lot of circling around the airport. Also the turbulence. Some people are saying it doesn’t affect the airplane, but still when you’re jumping in the airplane [it bothers you].

How do you deal with that these days? Do you have a routine to calm yourself down a little bit?
I don’t think about it that much. I have to fly, so I just take a ticket and I fly. I try not to think about it and that’s it.

What is your favourite city you have been to for a tournament and why?
Melbourne. It’s really nice. In general it’s a really nice city. I like the people, I like the city, the restaurants. Everything is nice.

Where is your favourite vacation destination?
I had one vacation. It was so boring, I don’t know if I would go again. Normally I just go to my hometown [in Russia] and rest there. I like more activities, so I don’t like when you lay down on the beach. Snowboarding, skiing, these sorts of activities I like. I don’t do it a lot, but when I can, when I have the offseason, I snowboard. I started when I was 18.

What is your craziest travel story?
I was playing a junior tournament in Yucatan in Mexico. I was in Rostov, so I was flying two hours to Moscow, then waiting 12 hours in the airport. And then 12 hours to New York, waiting eight hours in the airport. Six hours to Mexico City, waiting 17 hours in the airport and then flying three more hours to Yucatan. This was the longest trip I’ve ever had.

^{Photo Credit: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour}
How do you try to overcome jetlag and acclimate to the local time zone?
When I go to Asia, it’s harder for me than when I go to the United States. Normally the flight to Melbourne you arrive in the morning, so you don’t have to go to the room and sleep. I did it once and it was a mistake. Now I just put the luggage and I just go on a walk for six, seven hours. I just don’t stay in the room, otherwise you fall asleep.

I just walk around every city. I like to walk around, with music sometimes. The next year in Melbourne I just walked six, seven hours sitting, drinking coffee, and then I walked more.

Are you someone who gets to the airport with lots of time to spare or do you cut it fine?
One hour or 45 minutes before I arrive. I don’t want to sit there.

Have you ever missed a flight?
Yes. I messed it up with p.m and a.m. flying to Australia. Not this year, but many, many years ago.

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