Tag Archives: ATP

Marcos Giron Upsets No. 8 Seed Felix Auger-Aliassime at Japan Open to Reach First ATP 500 Semifinal

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Marcos Giron continues his impressive run in Japan…

The 30-year-old Spanish American professional tennis player pulled off an upset against eighth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, defeating the Canadian tennis player 6-1, 6-4 triumph o advance to the semifinals of the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships.

Marcos GironGiron, currently ranked No. 79 in the world, is a qualifier for the tournament.

Giron rode a lightning-fast start in both sets to an 81-minute win against Auger-Aliassime, who had shown signs of a return to form by reaching his first tour-level quarterfinal since May.

Yet he could not match Giron’s consistency in blustery conditions inside Ariake Coliseum. He led 4-0 in the first set and 3-0 in the second, ultimately converting five of eight break points he earned to charge into his maiden ATP 500 semifinal.

“I’m really happy with today’s performance,” said Giron, who held his nerve after losing four of five games in the middle of the second set. “Felix is obviously a phenomenal player, been Top 10 in the world, won a lot of titles. He’s beaten me down pretty good the last few times we played, so coming in today I knew I had to play well and I had to play aggressive.

“It is windy, but I started off really well. In the second set I went up a break and it cooled off, got even windier, and it got a little tricky. He raised his level, but we are professional tennis players, we do this for a living, and we’ve got to be ready for anything that comes our way.”

Giron has previously upset Norwegian Casper Ruud, the second seed, 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday to move into the quarterfinals.

He’ll next face fellow American Ben Shelton in the semifinals on Saturday.

Sebastian Baez Defeats Jiri Lehecka to Claim Winston-Salem Open Title

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Sebastian Baez’s winning streak continues…

The 22-year-old Argentine tennis player produced a squeaky clean performance Saturday to win the Winston-Salem Open and extend his winning streak to 10 matches after also claiming the ATP 250 event in Kitzbühel three weeks ago.

Sebastian Baez Baez, the tournament’s sixth seed, needed just one hour, 34 minutes to defeat fifth seed Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-3 and capture his first tour-level title on hard courts and third trophy of the season.

He’s now the first Argentine to win three titles in a season since Juan Martin del Potro (4) in 2013.

Despite a marathon three-hour, 19-minute semifinal against Borna Coric on Friday night, Baez showed no signs of fatigue as he stayed patient in baseline rallies and struck the ball cleanly. Lehecka, who was competing in his first tour-level final, advanced to the title match after receiving a walkover from third seed Sebastian Korda, who suffered an ankle injury in the quarterfinals.

A pivotal moment came when Baez saved four break points when serving at 5-4 to close a 54-minute opening set. Baez stayed focussed despite trailing by a break early in both sets and won four consecutive games from 0-2 in the second.

Sebastian Baez “[My coach told me] to keep going, try and stay focused on good things,” Baez said. “It was just a bad start, but happy with the result and all of this week.”

Lehecka tried to move forward in the latter stages of the match to apply pressure on the World No. 42, but lacked the consistency needed to down a watertight Baez, who thrilled the crowd with several passing shots to improve to 2-0 in his ATPHead2Head series with the Czech.

Following his triumph, Baez will move to No. 32 in the ATP Rankings on Monday, just two spots shy of tying his career-high. He’ll next aim to maintain his form at the US Open, where he opens against 25th seed Coric.

“It’s nice to have that confidence, but now I have to think about my recovery after this week, and then after I will think about the US Open,” Baez said. “I have a few days to recover and to focus again on a new tournament.”

Alex de Minaur Defeats Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to Reach His First ATP Masters 1000 Final

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Alex de Minaur has advanced to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 final…

In red-hot form, the 24-year-old Uruguayan & Spanish Australian professional tennis player wasted little time booking his spot in the Canadian Open championship match with a 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Saturday in Toronto.

Alex de Minaur,de Minaur stayed largely solid to ease to victory against his under-par opponent in just 78 minutes, breaking in all but one of the Spaniard’s eight service games to reach his fourth ATP Tour final of the season.

“It was a very tough day. Very tricky conditions out here,” said de Minaur. “Very windy, and not easy to play tennis, so from the first point I just told myself to stay positive. I was going to try and win every point, try to be solid and not expect perfect tennis. I think that made the difference today.”

Now 16-5 since the beginning of the grass-court season in June, de Minaur will meet seventh seed Jannik Sinner on Sunday at Sobeys Stadium as he chases the biggest title of his career.

His run in Toronto, where he took out Top 10 opponents Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev prior to Davidovich Fokina, has lifted him five spots to 10th in the ATP Live Race To Turin.

Davidovich Fokina’s low-energy performance on Saturday suggested he may have been feeling the effects of his previous exertions this week in Toronto, where he upset seeded players Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud.

de Minaur was clinical in capitalizing on his opponent’s struggles, cruising to become the first Australian to reach the Canadian Open final since Patrick Rafter in 2001.

Even when Davidovich Fokina found some rhythm on return, he was unable to regain control as he offered up 38 unforced errors to de Minaur’s nine overall. The Australian claimed the only hold of the second set in the second game before the windy conditions contributed to seven straight breaks of serve to finish the match.

“[I‘m proud of] bringing out the level that I knew I always could and being able to back it up day after day,” said de Minaur, who had not been past the last 16 of a Masters 1000 prior to this week. “That’s been one of the goals of mine, to stay consistent and keep bringing this level, and give myself chances to play in the deep ends of tournaments. To play against the best in the world and go toe to toe with them.

“I gave myself the chance this week, I’ve taken that opportunity, and tomorrow I get to play another final.”

de Minaur has now risen six spots to No. 12 in the ATP Live Rankings as a result of his run in Toronto, three clear of his career-high No. 15. He is set up nicely for a bid to crack the Top 10 for the first time across the rest of the North American hard-court swing.

“For a couple of years now I’ve been chasing that goal, and probably put a lot of stress on myself to try to achieve that,” said De Minaur. “I’m always going to get the absolute most out of myself. I’m not content where I am, so I’m just going to keep on pushing.”

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina Rallies to Beat Casper Ruud at the Canadian Open

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Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has pulled off a major upset… 

The 24-year-old Spanish professional tennis player earned his fifth Top 10 win on Thursday when he claimed a hard-fought 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(4) victory against World No. 5 Casper Ruud at the Canadian Open.

Alejandro Davidovich FokinaAfter Davidovich Fokina clinched the first set, play was suspended for one hour and 34 minutes due to rain. Ruud came out firing on the resumption and was two points away from victory, leading 5-3, 30/0 in the third set before the Spaniard came roaring back to clinch a thrilling victory after three hours and three minutes in Toronto.

Davidovich Fokina hit 58 winners and played aggressively in the late stages of the deciding set, advancing to his fourth ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal.

“I kept very focused on every point,” Davidovich Fokina said. “He had the serve to close out the match, but I was focused on every point to be there and not give up. It was very tough. We played long rallies, with a lot of pressure. When I broke for 4-5, it was a show of power to finish the match.”

With his first Top 10 win on a hard court, Davidovich Fokina improved to 2-1 in his ATP Head2Head series against Ruud, whose best result this year was a run to the final at Roland Garros.

The World No. 37 will meet Mackenzie McDonald in the quarterfinals.

Alex de Minaur Outlasts Taylor Fritz at Canadian Open to Reach First-Ever ATP Masters 1000 Quarterfinals

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Alex de Minaur is celebrating an impressive comeback.

The 24-year-old Uruguayan & Spanish Australian professional tennis player completed a stunning first-set comeback at the Canadian Open en route to a 7-6(7), 4-6, 6-1 victory against American Taylor Fritz.

Alex de MinaurWith his win, de Minaur has reached the quarterfinals at an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time in his young career.

de Minaur trailed 1-5 in the first set against Fritz, who squandered two set points on serve. The Australian eventually sealed the opener on his sixth set point and took advantage of some loose hitting from Fritz in the third set to advance after two hours and 28 minutes.

Fritz is ninth in the ATP Live Race To Turin and was hoping to boost his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals with a deep run in Toronto. However, he struggled to find consistency against de Minaur, committing 55 unforced errors.

”It feels great to finally break that barrier,” de Minaur said when asked about reaching the last eight at a Masters 1000 event for the first time.

“It’s just a never-say-die attitude. It doesn’t matter what the score is. I’m always going to fight till the end. Being able to compete and stay positive got me into the match. I knew even if I lost that set I’d be in the match and playing a lot better.”

Earlier this year the 24-year-old captured the biggest title of his career at the ATP 500 in Acapulco. He has now won six of his past seven matches, after advancing to the title match in Los Cabos last week (l. to Stefanos Tsitsipas).

He will next fight Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals.

Pedro Cachin Outlasts Albert Ramos-Vinolas to Claim First-Ever ATP Tour Title at Swiss Open

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Pedro Cachin is celebrating his first ATP Tour title.

The 28-year-old Argentine professional tennis player came from behind to beat Spanish veteran Albert Ramos-Vinolas 3-6, 6-0, 7-5 to win the Swiss Open, his first tour-level title.

Pedro CachinCachin celebrated his big win with courtside hugs with his girlfriend and kisses with their pet dog.

“Thank you [to] my girlfriend, sister and my dog, of course,” Cachin said in his trophy acceptance speech. “They are coming from Barcelona [Saturday] night, so it was a long drive but it was an unbelievable drive.”

After having his service broken to lose the first set, Cachin reeled off eight straight games during which the 35-year-old Ramos-Vinolas sought treatment for his bandaged left foot.

Cachin let slip a 4-3 lead with a service break up in the deciding set but broke again to lead 6-5 because of wayward forehands from Ramos-Vinolas.

The 90th-ranked Argentine clinched the title at sun-bathed Gstaad in the Swiss Alps with a double-handed backhand for a cross-court winner.

Cachin celebrated by falling to the ground and lying on his back as the first tears flowed. He rose with red dust caked on his white T-shirt.

The victory will lift Cachin toward a career-best ranking of No. 54, which he also reached last year. His career was slowed by neck and ankle injuries, and he entered the top 100 for the first time one year ago.

A clay-court specialist, Cachin has six career titles on the second-tier Challenger tour, and his debut win at ATP level also was secured on his favored surface.

Cachin’s previous match before coming to Gstaad was on the grass of Wimbledon‘s Centre Court, where Novak Djokovic beat him in straight sets in the first round.

Ramos-Vinolas broke Cachin’s serve twice in the first set that the left-hander clinched with a strong service return to his opponent’s feet advancing to the net.

Ramos-Vinolas’ record in tour finals dropped to 4-8. All of the 79th-ranked Spaniard’s titles were won on clay, including at Gstaad in 2019.

Carlos Alcaraz Remains No. 1 in ATP Rankings with Wimbledon Victory

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Carlos Alcaraz is still No. 1…

The 20-year-old Spanish tennis player retained the No. 1 slot in the ATP rankings Monday by virtue of his victory over No. 2 Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.

Carlos Alcaraz,Alcaraz’s 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 defeat of Djokovic on Sunday marked the third time in the past four major tournaments that the men’s title match determined who would be at No. 1.

At last September’s US Open, Alcaraz became the first teenager to lead the ATP by beating Casper Ruud in the final. At January’s Australian Open, it was Djokovic — who has spent more weeks atop the rankings than anyone in tennis history — who assured himself of being at No. 1 by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Alcaraz and Djokovic, 36, from Serbia, have been trading the highest spot this season. Alcaraz now enters his 29th week there.

“He’s proven that he’s the best player in the world, no doubt,” said Djokovic, who had won four consecutive titles at Wimbledon and was seeking a 24th Grand Slam trophy overall.

Daniel Elahi Galán Reaches Round of 16 for First Time at a Major Following Third Round Win at Wimbledon

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Daniel Elahi Galán has made it to the Round of 16 at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career…

The 27-year-old Colombian professional tennis player defeated Mikael Ymer 6-2, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-1 at Wimbledon on Friday to reach the fourth round, his first at this major and in his career.

Daniel Elahi Galán,Galan’s previous best performances at a Grand Slam were a third round loss at the 2020 French Open and third round loss at the 2022 US Open.

As a result Galan has moved to a new career high in the top 55 in the ATP world rankings.

Galan will next face No. 8 seed Jannik Sinner at the All England Club on Sunday.

Francisco Cerundolo Defeats Tommy Paul to Claim Eastbourne International Men’s Title

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Francisco Cerundolo is celebrating his first ATP Tour title on grass…

The 24-year-old Argentine professional tennis player defeated Tommy Paul 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 on Saturday to win the Eastbourne International men’s final.

Francisco CerundoloIt was the second match of the day for both players, although Paul had to spend considerably more energy in his first.

Cerundolo, the fourth-seed, only had to play one game to finish off his semifinal against American Mackenzie MacDonald, which was suspended when rain stopped play on Friday.

Cerundolo led 2-6, 7-5, 5-2 when the match was halted and quickly wrapped up the final set 6-2 when it resumed.

Francisco CerundoloThe second-seeded Paul then beat France’s Gregoire Barrere 6-4, 6-3 in the other semifinal before returning to the court for the title match.

Cerundolo earned his second career ATP tour title, having been two games away from losing against MacDonald when trailing 4-1 in the second set on Friday.

“I don’t know how I managed to turn it back,” Cerundolo said. “And today, I played a really good four points in the morning and today I think I played an amazing final. It was super tough, super windy.”

Paul was also looking for a second career title but his run to the final means he will equal his career-high ranking of No. 15 entering Wimbledon next week.

Carlos Alcaraz Earns No. 1 Seed at Wimbledon

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Carlos Alcaraz is heading into the All England Club as the top seed…

The 20-year-old Spanish tennis player, not four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic was seeded No. 1 for Wimbledon on Wednesday, as expected, because the All England Club adhered to the ATP and WTA rankings.

Carlos AlcarazAlcaraz overtook Djokovic atop the men’s standings on Monday. Djokovic hasn’t played since collecting his men’s record 23rd Grand Slam title at the French Open on June 11 and slid to No. 2, while Alcaraz rose one spot after winning a grass-court tuneup tournament at Queen’s Club on Sunday.

Djokovic has won the championship at Wimbledon each of the past four times it was held — and seven times overall — but he did not benefit from a ranking boost in 2022 because the ATP and WTA withheld all points to protest the All England Club’s decision to ban players from Russia and Belarus because of the invasion of Ukraine.

Those athletes are allowed to compete this year, and Russian player Daniil Medvedev is seeded No. 3 in the men’s field.

The draw to set up the singles brackets will be Friday. The tournament begins Monday.

Casper Ruud is No. 4 of the 32 men’s seeds, followed by Stefanos Tsitsipas, Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner, Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe. Nick Kyrgios, the runner-up to Djokovic at Wimbledon a year ago, is seeded 31st.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray is ranked 39th and is not seeded.

Swiatek has been ranked No. 1 since April 2022 and owns four Grand Slam titles, most recently at the French Open. She has never been past the fourth round at Wimbledon.

In the women’s field, Iga Swiatek is the No. 1 seed, while Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka.

Elena Rybakina, the 2022 women’s champion at the All England Club, is No. 3 among the women’s 32 seeds, followed by Jessica Pegula, Caroline Garcia, Ons Jabeur, Coco Gauff, Maria Sakkari, two-time champion Petra Kvitova and Barbora Krejcikova.

From 2002 to 2019, the All England Club based its seedings for the men’s draw on a formula that took into account results on grass at Wimbledon and elsewhere. But after that, the tournament opted to simply follow the rankings to determine all seeds.