Tag Archives: Stockholm Open

Juan Martin del Potro Wins Stockholm Open for Second Straight Year

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The drought has ended for Juan Martin del Potro…

The 29-year-old Argentinean tennis star has won the Stockholm Open for the second consecutive year — his first ATP title since his success at the Swedish tournament last year.

Juan Martin del Potro

del Potro produced a ruthless performance to beat top seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-2 at The Royal Tennis Hall and help his case in making the ATP Finals in London.

del Potro broke Dimitrov three times over the course of an impressive display — saving all four of the break points Dimitrov created to keep his own serve unbroken throughout.

In the wake of clinching his 20th career ATP title, fourth seed del Potro said: “I played the best match of the week against Grigor today. Unlucky for that, sorry Grigor.

“It’s amazing to come back and hold this big trophy and hopefully I can come next year as well.

“I love to be in Stockholm. I like the city a lot. I like the Swedish people and you treated me very, very good this week and I would like to thank everyone.”

Juan Martin del Potro Defeats Fernando Verdasco to Reach Stockholm Open Final

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Juan Martin del Potro is one win away from a repeat…

The 29-year-old Argentinian tennis player outlasted Fernando Verdasco at the Stockholm Open on Saturday in a tussle between two of the biggest forehands in tennis, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(1).

Juan Martin del Potro

del Potro, the reigning champion, will now face top-seeded Grigor Dimitrov in the finals.

“It was a great match. We both played great tennis and I think the crowd enjoyed our game,” del Potro said. “I’m glad to be in the final once again.”

del Potro is into his first final of the season, and his first overall since lifting the trophy in Sweden last year. The right-hander will attempt to win his 20th title on Sunday.

The match will be of the utmost importance for del Potro in the ATP Race To London, as he has made a late-season charge to put himself within striking distance of qualifying for the ATP Finals.

del Potro is now into 15th in the Race with 2,035 points, and can ascend to 14th with a victory. If he beats the 2013 champion, del Potro will be within 480 points of No. 9 Pablo Carreno Busta, who has 2,605 points and currently holds the final qualifying spot with No. 7 Stan Wawrinka out for the season due to injury.

It was not easy for del Potro to give himself that opportunity to make a move in the Race, as the veteran left-hander Verdasco pushed the Argentine the distance.

Verdasco earned an immediate break of serve in the third set to gain a 2-0 advantage with his forehand keeping his opponent on the back foot, but del Potro roared right back with a break of his own, using his own timely forehands. The ‘Tower of Tandil’ then saved a break point at 3-4, which would have allowed Verdasco to serve for the match. Once the pair got to the tie-break, it was all del Potro.

“I was focused during the third set and in the tie-break I broke a few times at the beginning and that allowed me to play with more confidence in my game on my serve,” del Potro said. “I played a good match today.”

del Potro will not have it easy on Sunday as he attempts to defend his title against an in-form Dimitrov. With his 6-3, 7-6(2) semi-final victory over sixth seed Fabio Fognini, the Bulgarian moved up to No. 5 in the Race, and put himself in position to win a career-best fourth title of the season (Brisbane, Sofia, Cincinnati).

del Potro leads in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 5-2, but Dimitrov has won the past two matches, both straight-set victories this year in Beijing and Cincinnati.

“I would love to defend my title but Grigor is playing so good. He already beat me in Beijing and Cincinnati as well and he’s playing such good tennis on this surface,” del Potro said. “Hopefully I can be ready to put up a good fight.”

del Potro Defeats Jack Sock at the Stockholm Open to End Long ATP Title Drought

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It’s the end of a long drought for Juan Martin del Potro…

The 28-year-old Argentine tennis player won the Stockholm Open on Sunday to end a 33-month title drought, beating sixth-seeded Jack Sock 7-5, 6-1.

Juan Martin del Potro

del Potro, who has struggled with wrist problems in recent years, won his 19th ATP tour title — and his first since winning in Sydney in 2014.

The Argentine, who did not drop a set during the tournament, broke his American opponent’s serve four times in the final and never faced a break point.

“I’ve been trying to fix my problems for the past two years and I didn’t expect to win a title at this moment in my career,” the 28-year-old del Potro said. “I am so happy to get the trophy here. It’s motivation for looking forward to the future.”

Both players held serve until 5-5 of the opening set, when del Potro raised his game to emerge with a one-set lead.

Sock seemed tired in the second set, holding serve only once and winning just two points when returning serve.

“His serve is massive and very tough to read, which put more pressure on my serve,” Sock said. “I’ve had a long week here and it might have caught up with me a bit.”

Midway through the match Sock requested medical treatement for pain in his arm.

del Potro, beaten by Andy Murray for the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Games, reached his second final of the year after beating 2013 champion Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinals.

del Potro Defeats Grigor Dimitrov to Reach Stockholm Open Final

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Juan Martin del Potro is ready to claim his first title of the year…

The 28-year-old Argentine tennis player, who won the men’s singles silver medal at the 2016 Rio Games, has reached his second final of the year by defeating Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 7-5 at the Stockholm Open on Saturday.

Juan Martin del Potro

del Potro, a wild card entry at the tournament, lost his serve for the first time all week, but compensated with four breaks against second-seeded Dimitrov on the center court in the Swedish capital.

In the other semifinal, sixth-seeded Jack Sock of the United States beat fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-4 in 2 hours, 49 minutes.

Sock, after his first meeting with Zverev, was back in the final for a second straight year.

Sock will go after his second career ATP title, and del Potro his 19th.

Ferrer Reached Title Match at Stockholm Open

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Spain’s Stockholm Open slump is officially over, thanks to David Ferrer.

The 31-year-old Spanish tennis star defeated fifth-seeded Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 on Saturday to reach the Stockholm Open final.

David Ferrer

With the win, Ferrer becomes the first Spaniard in 37 years to reach the tournament’s title match.

He will face seventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, who defeated wild card Benoit Paire of France 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, in Sunday’s title match.

Ferrer, the tournament’s top seed, will be going for his third title of the year and his first since February.