Tag Archives: Internazionali BNL d’Italia

Cristian Garin Upsets Casper Ruud to Reach Fourth Round at Indian Wells

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Cristian Garin has pulled off a major upset at Indian Wells…

The 26-year-old Chilean professional tennis player, the former World No. 17 who came through two qualifying matches to book a spot in the main draw at the ATP Masters 1000 event, sealed a 6-4, 7-6 (2) victory against third seed Casper Ruud to reach the fourth round for the first time at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Cristian Garin“With a full stadium, and to play like this today against Casper, who is one of the players that I really admire on Tour, I am so, so happy to keep playing like that,” said Garin. “Aggressive, going to the net, I think that’s the way that I like to play and the only way that I [can] beat these kinds of players. I’m just so happy and I want to keep improving and keep enjoying this tournament.”

Garin qualified without losing a set and then dropped just 10 games across his opening two main-draw matches, and he showed few nerves when presented with his toughest test yet in California. He outhit the World No. 4 Ruud by 39 winners to 17 to notch his third win against a Top 10 opponent, his first since 2021, and his first on a hard court.

After clinching the first set by breaking Ruud’s serve in the fifth game, Garin’s composure was tested as he looked to close out the match. Ruud narrowly avoided going down a double break in the second set by recovering 30/40 to hold for 2-3, and the Norwegian went on to force a tie-break as he threatened a comeback on Stadium 1.

Garin expertly ended Ruud’s hopes of victory, however. He reeled off four points in a row to clinch the tiebreak as he heaped pressure on the Norwegian’s groundstrokes with frequent forays to the net. During his one-hour, 58-minute victory, Garin won 78 per cent (18/23) of points at the net.

“I like to play aggressive and move a lot to the net, and I think Casper is a really good player when you give time to him,” said Garin after extending his ATP Head2Head series lead against Ruud to 3-1. “So I try to go aggressive, go to the net, and play like that… I’ve known Casper for a very long time, so it’s very special to keep playing like this in this tournament, so I want to keep going.”

Garin will look to keep his run going in Indian Wells when he next takes on 23rd seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who defeated 13th seed Karen Khachanov 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 later on Sunday.

Should the Chilean triumph, he would advance to his fourth ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal after also reaching that stage at the 2019 Rolex Paris Masters, the 2021 Mutua Madrid Open, and the 2022 Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina Defeats Federico Delbonis at French Open to Reach First-Ever Grand Slam Quarterfinals

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Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal…

The 22-year-old Spanish tennis player battled past Federico Delbonis 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 56 minutes on Sunday at the French Open.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

Davidovich Fokina, who overcame Casper Ruud in a mammoth five-set battle in the third round, hit 42 winners and broke Delbonis seven times on Court Suzanne-Lenglen to set up a clash with sixth seed Alexander Zverev.

Davidovich Fokina improved to 19-10 on the season with the victory over 30-year-old Delbonis.

He previously reached the fourth round at the US Open in September (l. Zverev) and advanced to the semifinals on clay at the Estoril Open (l. Ramos-Vinolas) in May to reach a career-high No. 45 in the ATP rankings.

In a lively start where both players broke serve, Davidovich Fokina moved ahead, reeling off four straight games to lead 5-3 as errors started to fly from the Argentine’s racquet.

The Spaniard, who had spent ten hours and 14 minutes on court ahead of this fourth round match, won 46 per cent of points on Delbonis’ first serve, dominating from the baseline as he showed no signs of fatigue to win the opener.

The Spaniard then raced into a 5-1 lead in the second as he won 93 per cent of points (14/15) on his first serve. Although the youngster displayed some nerves, with Delbonis closing back to 5-4, the Argentine could not convert two break opportunities to level at 5-5. Davidovich Fokina capitalized on his third set point with a forehand winner to move further clear.

Lefthander Delbonis hit his heavy forehand into the Spaniard’s backhand with more success throughout the third set though, and battled back from a break down to gain a foothold in the contest. However, Davidovich Fokina made 82 per cent of his first serves in the fourth and used the drop shot to great effect against his tiring opponent, making the crucial breakthrough at 3-3. He then fended off four break points to serve out the contest to extend his stay in France.

Delbonis lost just eight games in his third-round encounter with Fabio Fognini to move to 19 clay-court wins for the season. However, the 30-year-old, who reached the quarterfinals at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia as a qualifier (l. Opelka), struggled to deal with the Spaniard’s power on Sunday.

Diego Schwartzman to Face Novak Djokovic in First Group Stage Match at Maiden ATP Finals

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Diego Schwartzman is preparing for the big dance…

The 28-year-old Argentine professional tennis player, who clinched the final spot at the prestigious season-ending ATP Finals, will play ATP Tour World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in his first group stage match.

Diego Schwartzman

Schwartzman, competing in his first-ever ATP Finals, will be the first Argentine player to compete at the tournament since Juan Martin del Potro in 2013.

Schwartzman is the eighth singles player from Argentina to feature in the 50-year history of the tournament, following in the footsteps of 1974 titlist Guillermo Vilas (1974-77, ’79-82), Jose-Luis Clerc (1980-83), Guillermo Coria (2003-05), 2005 champion David Nalbandian (2003, ’05-06), Gaston Gaudio (2004-05), Mariano Puerta (2005) and 2009 runner-up del Potro (2008-09, ’12-13).

Schwartzman joins fellow debutant Andrey Rublev of Russia, alongside former qualifiers  Djokovic of Serbia, Spain’s Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem of Austria, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece and Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the 2020 singles field.

There will be four players aged 24 and under at the ATP Finals for the second straight year. The last time this happened in back-to-back years was in 2008-09.

Schwartzman broke into the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings for the first time at No. 8 on 12 October after a run to his first Grand Slam championship semi-final at Roland Garros (l. to Nadal). A few weeks earlier, the Buenos Aires resident beat  Nadal en route to his first ATP Masters 1000 final at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome (l. to Djokovic).

As the first Argentine in the Top 10 since del Potro in May 2019, Schwartzman also finished runner-up at two ATP 250 events in a reduced 2020 season — at the Cordoba Open (l. to Garin) in February and at the bett1HULKS Championship runner-up in Cologne (l. to Zverev) in October.

At 5’7”, Schwartzman is the shortest player in the Top 10 since 5’6″ Harold Solomon, whose last week in the Top 10 began on 27 July 1981.

Suárez Navarro Makes History While Reaching the Internazionali BNL d’Italia Semifinals

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It could turn out to be a special year for Carla Suárez Navarro…

The 26-year-old Spanish tennis player continued her impressive start to the season by defeating No.4 seed Petra Kvitova, 6-3, 6-2, in the quarterfinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

Carla Suárez Navarro

By outplaying Kvitova, Suárez Navarro became the first player to reach 30 wins in 2015.

“I think that I played really solid. But sometimes I was aggressive, which is important against Petra because she hits the ball so well,” Suárez Navarro said. “I was focused on my game and fighting for each point.”

The measured approach paid immediate dividends, as Kvitova coughed up a succession of early errors to surrender her serve in the opening game. Suárez Navarro held onto the advantage to take the first set before taking complete control with a run of four straight games to start the second.

Kvitova staged a late rally, reducing her arrears to 4-2. But there was to be no denying the Spaniard, who saved the best for last, wrapping up her victory with a deft stop volley and a trademark backhand pass down the line.

Suárez Navarro’s recent run has catapulted her into the Top 10, a success story she attributes to a change in mentality, rather than any technical tinkering.

“I’m playing much more aggressive now. I am also feeling much more confident and just enjoying every match I play,” she added.

In the semifinals she will face No.2 seed Simona Halep, a player she has not beaten in nearly two years.

“It will be tough because she’s playing amazingly,” Suárez Navarro said. “Always when we play we have long rallies, long matches. But you never know. I need to be 100% and it will be tough, for sure.”