Alex de Minaur Named the ATP World Tour’s Newcomer of the Year

Posted on November 11, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

He may be new to the ATP World Tour, but Alex de Minaur is definitely getting notices…

The 19-year-old Spanish & Uruguyan-Australian tennis playerhas been named the ATP World Tour Newcomer of the Year, sharing year-end honors with Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

de Minaur earned the honors after a stunning breakout season, climbing from No 208 to 31st in the rankings.

He’s all but guaranteed an Australian Open seeding after last year winning his way into the tournament through the wildcard playoff.

The baseliner’s effort to reach the final of the Next Gen ATP Finals decider is yet another milestone for de Minaur.

His progress this year has been so sustained, he has claimed a career-high ranking on 15 separate occasions.

As semifinalist and finalist in Brisbane and Sydney, respectively, in January, de Minaur became the first 19-year-old to reach successive ATP semifinals since Rafael Nadal in 2005. Nadal achieved the feat at Monte Carlo and Barcelona.

de Minaur and Ashleigh Barty are expected to fight out the Newcombe Medal later this month from John Millman and Jason Kubler.

Djokovic was voted by ATP peers as Comeback Player of the Year, overcoming elbow surgery to return to No 1.

Djokovic’s coach Marian Vajda is Coach of the Year after returning to the Serb’s camp as part of an incredible rebuild.

Nadal was chosen by his fellow players as recipient of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award.

Federer was voted Fans’ Favorite for the 16th successive year.

Mike Bryan and Jack Sock were voted Doubles Fans’ Favorites.

Stefanos Tsitsipas claimed Most Improved Player of the Year honors.

Oliver Marachand Mate Pavic secured the ATP world No 1 Doubles Team Award, while Spain’s Tommy Robredo earned the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award.

Alex de Minaur Advances to the Finals of the Next Gen ATP Finals

Posted on November 10, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Alex de Minaur is one win away…

The 19-year-old Spanish & Uruguyan-Australian tennis player, the youngest player at the Next Gen ATP Finals, has advanced to the finals of the tournament.

de Minaur, ranked No. 31 in the world, ousted the No. 7 seed Jaume Munar of Spain 3-4, 4-1, 4-1 3-4, 4-2 in two hours for the place in the title match, where he’ll face Stefanos Tsitsipas.

It’s his fourth win this week in Milan.

de Minaurwas the better player on the court, playing with aggression and keeping the points on his racquet, despite missing several chances to finish the match earlier.

He served at 72% and had 10 aces, saving all five break points he faced to keep the pressure on Munar, who gave his best to stay in touch with the better-ranked rival and reach the fifth set, defending 13 out of 17 break points he faced and saving the first five match points he had to play against.

de Minaur blasted fire from his forehand to hit 43 winners and 20 unforced errors, while Munar stayed on 19 winners and 24 errors, missing too many forehands and losing the edge in the shortest points where de Minaurmade the crucial difference.

Alex de Minaur Rolls Into the Next Gen ATP Finals Semifinals

Posted on November 9, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Alex de Minaur is on a roll…

The 19-year-old Spanish & Uruguyan-Australian tennis player, the youngest player at the Next Gen ATP Finals, has stormed into the semifinals undefeated after securing a straight sets win over Taylor Fritz in Milan Thursday.

de Minaur, the tournament’s No.2 seed, overcame Fritz, ranked No. 47 in the ATP rankings, 4-3(8), 4-1, 4-2 to secure his spot in the semifinals on Friday.

He’ll now face Jaume Munar after the Spaniard defeated Frances Tiafoe 4-1, 4-3(3), 4-1 to finish second in Group A.

Topping the group was Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, after he overcame Hubert Hurkacz 4-1, 4-3(3), 4-1.

Tsitsipas will face the runner up of Group B, Andrey Rublev, after the Russian defeated Liam Caruana in straight sets.

Juan Martin del Potro Qualifies for the ATP Finals

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Juan Martin del Potro has earned a spot in the last big tournament of the year…

The 30-year-old Argentine tennis player has qualified for the ATP Finals for the fifth time by beating Karen Khachanov 6-4, 7-6 (4) Wednesday at the China Open.

del Potro, who reached the US Openfinal this year, last qualified for the season-ending tournament for the top eight players in the world in 2013.

del Potro will next meet Filip Krajinovic in the quarterfinals in Beijing. Krajinovic defeated Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (5), 6-3.

He was the runner-up in 2009, losing to Nikolay Davydenkoin the finals of the ATP World Tour Finals.

Thiago Seyboth Wild Becomes First Brazilian Boys’ Champion at the US Open

Posted on September 10, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Thiago Seyboth Wild is ending his junior career with a bang…

The 18-year-old Brazilian tennis player, competing in his last junior Grand Slam, defeated Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 at the US Open to become the boys’ champion.

Seyboth Wild, already focused on his pro career, becomes the first winner from Brazil at Flushing Meadows.

Seyboth Wildwas much more effective behind his initial shot and managed to overcome a poor second set and a 2-0 deficit in the third to win the match and lift the championship trophy. Although he suffered three breaks, it wasn’t enough for Musetti to end on the winning side, struggling in his service games to face 10 break points and give his serve away five times.

Seyboth Wild is ranked inside the Top 500 on the ATP list and has been one of the best players born in 2000.

Bruno Soares & Jamie Murray Claim Cincinnati Masters Men’s Doubles Title

Posted on August 20, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

It’s turning out to be a winning month for Bruno Soares…

The 36-year-old Brazilian tennis player and his partner, Britain’s Jamie Murray, won their second doubles title of August with victory in the Cincinnati Masters final.

Soares and Murray beat Colombia’s Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 4-6 6-3 10-6 in one hour and 25 minutes.

It was their first ATP Masters 1000 title as a pair.

Soares and Murray won the Washington Open two weeks ago for their third victory this year, having defended their Acapulco title in March.

Soares and Murray have won nine titles since they joined forces in 2016, including the Australian Open and US Open.

Rafael Nadal Defeats Stefanos Tsitsipas to Claim Fourth Career Rogers Cup Title

Posted on August 13, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Make that 80 for Rafael Nadal…

The 32-year-old Spanish tennis star claimed his 80th ATP World Tour title on Sunday while ruining Stefanos Tsitsipas‘ 20th birthday.

Nadal, the top-ranked player in the tournament, beat the unseeded Greek upstart 6-2, 7-6 (4) for his fourth Rogers Cup crown and fifth victory of the year. He has 33 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles.

“If you told me this two weeks ago, I would not have believed it,” Nadal said. “It’s a great way to start the hard-court season. Winning in Toronto is so important. You don’t win Masters 1000s very often. It’s a very important victory for me and I’m very happy.”

Nadal also won the Rogers Cup in Toronto in 2008 and in Montreal in 2005 and 2013.

“I’m very happy to have this trophy with me again,” Nadal said. “It means a lot. It has been a fantastic week, a very positive one.”

Nadal later announced that he would skip a Masters tournament in Cincinnati this week to rest and get ready for the US Open.

“No other reason than personally taking care of my body and trying to keep as healthy as I feel now,” Nadal said in a statement.

Nadal’s win Sunday was notable. His previous four titles this year came on clay at the French Open, Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome.

He also beat Tsitsipas in in the Barcelona final.

“He was normal like all of us and he managed to become this beast, this monster that he is today,” Tsitsipas said. “It’s true … that’s how you feel when you play against him. I need to work much more and hopefully I can reach his level one day.”

Nadal overcame a late service break and fought off a set point at the Aviva Centre. He converted his first match point of the tiebreaker to end it.

“He never cracks,” Tsitsipas said. “He will always grab you like a bulldog, and he will always make you suffer on the court.”

Tsitsipas reached the final by becoming the youngest player to beat four straight top-10 players in an event since the ATP World Tour was established in 1990. He began the run against seventh-seeded Dominic Thiem, then knocked off No. 9 Novak Djokovic, No. 2 Alexander Zverev and No. 4 Kevin Anderson.

Tsitsipas will jump from 27th to 15th in the world on Monday.

Rafael Nadal Outlasts Alexander Zverev for His Record-Extending Eighth Italian Open Title

Posted on May 21, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Rafael Nadal is still the King of Clay…

The 31-year-old Spanish tennis star profited from a timely rain delay at a break when he was down in the final set to hold off defending champion and No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 at the Italian Open in Rome.

It was a record-extending eighth Italian Open title for Nadal, who’ll head to Roland Garros as the new world No. 1.

Nadal surrendered top spot in the ATP world rankings to Roger Federer last week after Nadal’s Madrid Open quarterfinal defeat to Dominic Thiem — the only blight on an otherwise impeccable clay-court season this year.

However, Nadal will return to the summit when the latest ATP rankings are published on Monday after he overcame world No. 3 Zverev in a thrilling finale on the Foro Italico’s Campo Centrale.

Billed as a clash between the two current top-form players on clay, Sunday’s final did not disappoint. After two hotly-contested semifinals on Saturday — Nadal saw off long-time rival Novak Djokovic while Zverev smashed a racket in anger during his victory over Marin Cilic — the championship match ebbed and flowed throughout.

Despite dropping serve in the opening game, victory looked like a foregone conclusion for 10-time French Open champion Nadal as he blistered through the first set in 33 minutes to put his young opponent on the back foot.

However, Zverev produced a phenomenal set of tennis to force the decider. The German changed tactics in the second set, becoming much more aggressive on the front foot and overwhelming Nadal with an array of powerful strokes.

The 21-year-old secured a double-break to move 5-0 ahead. After Nadal prevented the bagel, he leveled the match in style with a ferocious backhand winner down the line.

Rising star Zverev’s confidence grew further as he immediately broke Nadal at the start of the third, before the match’s turning point came in agonizing fashion.

With Zverev leading 3-1 in the final set, rain intervened and caused an hour’s delay in play. It proved pivotal, allowing Nadal precious time to regain his composure and hit back immediately after the restart.

Nadal rattled off four consecutive games — including two successive breaks of serve — to move 5-3 ahead before serving out a fifth to secure his eighth Italian crown and send out a warning to his rivals ahead of the year’s second grand slam.

Juan Martin del Potro Breaks Roger Federer’s 17-Match Win Streak to Win BNP Paribas Open Title

Posted on March 19, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Juan Martin del Potro has taken down a living legend for his first ATP Masters 1000 title…

The The 29-year-old Argentine tennis player has ended World No. 1 Roger Federer‘s 17-match win streak to claim the BNP Paribas Open title at Indian Wells.

del Potro beat Federer 6-4 6-7 (8-10) 7-6 (7-2) in a thrilling final.

Federer had been searching for a record sixth title in California, but it was del Potro who powered to his first ATP Masters 1000 title.

He’s the first player to beat Federer in 2018.

del Potro saved three match points before closing out victory in two hours 42 minutes.

del Potro has been hampered by wrist problems in recent years and has had three operations which left him struggling to use his backhand.

But he has made a strong start to 2018, winning his first ATP 500 title for five years at Acapulco earlier in March and returning to the world’s top 10.

del Potro claimed a stunning four-set win over Federer at the US Open in September last year, but Federer won their last meeting in Basel a month later.

del Potro forced the only break of the first set and made just three unforced errors to Federer’s 11 as he closed out the first set in 39 minutes.

“It’s difficult to describe with words. It’s like a dream,” Del Potro said. “After all my problems, after all my surgeries, I couldn’t believe I’m here winning a Masters 1000 and beating Roger. It’s amazing.”

Juan Martin del Potro Wins Mexico Open

Posted on March 4, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

It’s Blackjack for Juan Martin del Potro…

The 29-year-old Argentinian tennis player won the Mexico Open on Saturday night for his 21st ATP Tour title, beating Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-4 to improve to 7-0 against the 6-foot-8 South African.

del Potro was projected to switch spots with Anderson in the world ranking, with del Potro going from ninth to eighth. He beat three straight players ranked ahead of him in the hard-court event, topping No. 6 Dominic Thiem in the quarterfinals and No. 5 Alexander Zverev in the semifinals.

“It’s a very special tournament to me,” said del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion. “I beat three top-10 guys in the same tournament, which is very important for myself. I’m so glad to win my 21st title playing in Acapulco.”

Potro won for the first time since successfully defending his Stockholm title last year.

“He’s a very dangerous guy,” del Potro said about Anderson. “His serves are so strong, but I got lucky in the important moments of my return games. I broke just twice and that was the key of the match.”

Anderson tweaked his left leg on del Potro’s lob and received treatment at 1-1 in the second.

“It was a little bit uncomfortable at first,” Anderson said. “I think in the bigger picture of things it didn’t really affect things too much,” Anderson said. “I think Juan Martin played really well. He’s obviously a tough competitor and a great player. I just needed to do a little bit more today.”

He won the New York Open two weeks ago for his fourth career title.

“I can take a lot of confidence going into Indian Wells and Miami, two tournaments I really enjoy playing. I feel like I’m playing really good tennis,” Anderson said. “As always, I’ll pick myself up. I’ll try to learn as much as I can from tonight’s match.”

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