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

Posted on August 12, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

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.

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.”

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

Posted on August 10, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

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.

With 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.

Francisco Cerundolo Defeats Taylor Fritz to Reach Fourth Round at French Open

Posted on June 3, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Francisco Cerundolo is having a moment…

After entering the French Open without a main-draw win at the event, the 24-year-old Argentine professional tennis player has secured his best Grand Slam result by reaching the fourth round in Paris.

Cerundolo, the No. 23 seed, defeated ninth seed Taylor Fritz 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday evening to continue his run, improving to 6-7 against Top 10 opponents with the victory.

Cerundolo was without a win in four Grand Slam main-draw appearances prior to 2023, but reached the third round at the Australian Open before his success at Roland Garros.

His Paris campaign will continue with a showdown against sixth seed Holger Rune on Monday.

Cerundolo, who has moved up three places from his current career-high to No. 20 this week in the ATP Live Rankings, frustrated Fritz with his big forehand to earn the victory on Court Suzanne-Lenglen after two hours and 50 minutes.

After surrendering an early break advantage in a dramatic fourth set, Cerundolo saved a set point on serve at 4-5 with a majestic topspin lob and ultimately won the final three games of the match behind his baseline brilliance.

The back-and-forth match saw a combined 10 breaks of serve, with Cerundolo converting on six of 21 break chances and Fritz claiming four of his 15 break points. Fritz, whose defeat means that five of the Top 10 seeds are out after three rounds at Roland Garros, fired nine aces to Cerundolo’s one. But the American was second-best in many of the neutral rallies as Cerundolo moved him from side to side with power and width.

Cerundolo, a quarterfinalist at the ATP Masters 1000s in Miami and Rome this season, was one of three Argentines in action on Saturday. While Rune breezed past Genaro Alberto Olivieri, Tomas Martin Etcheverry upset 15th seed Borna Coric 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-2 earlier in the day. With the victory, the 23-year-old Etcheverry — who reached his first two ATP Tour finals this season in Santiago and Houston — extended his best major run.

Etcheverry owned just one Grand Slam main-draw win prior to Roland Garros, his victory coming earlier this season at the Australian Open.

Next up for the unseeded Argentine is a fourth-round meeting with 27th seed Yoshihito Nishioka, a 3-6, 7-6(8), 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 winner against Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild on Saturday.

Nicolas Jarry Defeats Alexander Zverev to Reach Geneva Open Final

Posted on May 26, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Nicolas Jarry is one win away from his second ATP Tour title of the year…

The 27-year-old Chilean professional tennis player defeated third-seeded Alexander Zverev 7-6 (3), 6-3 at the Geneva Open on Friday in a rematch of their 2019 final of the Swiss tournament.

Jarry sealed the win with a delicate, low backhand volley at the net, one day after ousting top-seeded Casper Ruud, the two-time defending champion.

Zverev and Ruud combined to win the past three editions of the French Open warmup event and neither had lost at the lakeside park venue until running into the tall 54th-ranked Chilean.

Jarry, who chasing his second title this year after also winning on clay at his hometown Santiago event in March, will face Grigor Dimitrov, who advanced to his first final on the ATP Tour in more than five years by beating Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (2).

Alex de Minaur Earns First Win Over Rafael Nadal in United Cup Play

Posted on January 2, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Alex de Minaur has finally claimed a win against a tennis legend…

For the first time in his career, the 23-year-old Uruguayan & Spanish Australian professional tennis player defeated Rafael Nadal at the United Cup mixed team tournament Monday, as concerns about the world No. 2’s early-season form grew ahead of his Australian Open title defense.

It was de Minaur’s first win against Nadal in four attempts.

Nadal showed glimpses of brilliance during his opening loss to Cameron Norrie following his return to action after an injury-plagued 2022 season, and he looked set to respond against de Minaur, only to fall again as de Minaur won 3-6, 6-1, 7-5.

Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, has now won only one of his past seven matches on the ATP tour — a dead rubber round-robin stage victory over Casper Ruud at the ATP Finals. His other losses have come against Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe.

Nadal will next be in action at the season’s first Grand Slam at Melbourne Park starting January 16, giving him time to iron out flaws.

Spain and Australia not being in contention for the next stage of the inaugural $15 million prize money event had dulled the edge of their meeting slightly, and de Minaur’s quest for his first win over Nadal looked set to continue as he fell behind.

However, he rallied from a set and a break down to secure the biggest victory of his career as Nadal surrendered his serve in the 11th game and de Minaur closed out the victory to spark emotional scenes and delight the raucous Sydney fans.

Carlos Alcaraz Becomes Youngest Year-End No. 1 in ATP History

Posted on December 7, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Alcaraz has another a place in tennis history once again…

The 19-year-old Spanish professional tennis player is the youngest year-end No. 1 in the history of the ATP computerized rankings.

He also joins fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal as the first players from the same country to claim the top two spots at the close of a season since Americans Pete Sampras and Michael Chang in 1996.

The final men’s tennis rankings for 2022 were published Monday, and Alcaraz’s rise from No. 32 at the end of 2021 is the largest single-season jump to No. 1.

Alcaraz, who turned 19 in May, has remained atop the rankings since he won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open in September by beating Casper Ruud in the final.

That made Alcaraz the first male teen at No. 1 since the ATP computerized rankings began in 1973.

He’s the first man in 20 years other than Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray — since Andy Roddick in 2003 — to finish at No. 1.

Alcaraz ended his season early after tearing an abdominal muscle while competing at the Paris Masters a month ago.

The 36-year-old Nadal, meanwhile, is the oldest man to finish a year ranked first or second. He also extended his own record by placing in the top 10 at the end of a year for the 18th consecutive season. The recently retired Federer is the only other man with that many top-10 finishes over the course of a career.

Nadal won the Australian Open and French Open to raise his men’s-record Grand Slam total to 22 trophies, one ahead of Djokovic and two ahead of Federer.

Ruud finishes at No. 3, followed by No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas, No. 5 Djokovic, No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime, No. 7 Daniil Medvedev, No. 8 Andrey Rublev, No. 9 Taylor Fritz and No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz.

Djokovic couldn’t play at the Australian Open or US Open because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19 and didn’t earn any rankings boost for his title at Wimbledon because the WTA and ATP stripped that tournament of any points over the All England Club‘s ban on players from Russia and Belarus.

Bernabe Zapata Miralles Defeats John Isner to Reach Fourth Round at French Open

Posted on May 28, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Bernabe Zapata Miralles is continuing to make waves (and beat his personal best) at Roland Garros…

The 25-year-old Spanish tennis player, a qualifier at this year’s tournament, defeated USA’s John Isner, the No 23 seed, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 [5], 6-3 to move into the Round of 16 at the French Open.

Zapata Miralles’ fourth round showing is now his best at a Grand Slam tournament to date. His previous best was the second round at the 2021 US Open.

Zapata Miralles, ranked No. 131 in the world, will next play Germany’s Alexander Zverev, the No 3 seed.

Zapata Mirallas defeated Israel’s Dudi Sela (6-3, 6-0), Portugal’s Gastao Elias (6-1, 6-1), Italy’s Luca Nardi (3-6, 6-4, 6-1), American wildcard Michael Mmoh (7-6 [7], 6-3, 7-5) and USA’s Taylor Fritz, the No 13 seed (3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3) to get to this point.

Earlier in the tournament, Isner, ranked No 26, edged out France’s Quentin Halys (7-6 [3], 4-6, 7-6 [1], 7-6 [6]) and French wildcard Gregoire Barrere (6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 [5]).

Rafael Nadal Outlasts Carlos Alcaraz to Improve to 20-0 in 2022

Posted on March 20, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Rafael Nadal remains undefeated…

The 35-year-old Spanish tennis star outlasted Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 on Saturday night to reach the BNP Paribas Open final and improve to 20-0 this year.

The 21-time major champion threw his head back, smiled and raised both arms in triumph after escaping an aggressive Alcaraz.

The 18-year-old never appeared rattled playing his vaunted countryman, who had the crowd, a 17-year advantage in age and loads of experience in his favor.

“He has all the ingredients to become an amazing champion,” Nadal said. “I don’t have many doubts that he will be great. He is already, by the way.”

Nadal’s perfect record is the third-best start to a season since 1990. He’s won titles at Melbourne, the Australian Open and Acapulco.

Nadal staved off three break points on his serve in the fifth game of the third set and then broke Alcaraz with a forehand volley winner to go up 5-3. Nadal served out the match with a love game, punctuating the 3-hour, 12-minute struggle with a 95 mph ace.

“Rafa has thousand lives,” Alcaraz said. “If he’s down, he’s able to play at a great level in the tough moments.”

Alcaraz hit 39 winners to 20 for Nadal. The teen saved 15 of the 20 break points he faced through the first two sets, but couldn’t stop the net-rushing Nadal who broke him to go up 4-3.

That’s when Nadal called for a trainer, who appeared to give the soon-to-be 36-year-old star an adjustment. Nadal said he was feeling pain in his left chest.

Ranked 19th in the world, Alcaraz outdueled Nadal in a second set that featured five service breaks, including four in a row.

Tied 4-all, Alcaraz broke Nadal in a game that lasted 19 minutes, 42 seconds. Nadal’s errant forehand gave Alcaraz the advantage on the seventh break point of the game. The teenager tossed up a topspin lob near the baseline that Nadal could not catch up to and Alcaraz led 5-4. He served out the set, 6-4.

“If you are playing with Rafa, you have to be calm, you have to think well in the tough moments,” Alcaraz said. “That’s what I learned in this match.”

Alcaraz got Nadal’s attention from the start, breaking him in the first game of the match. The teen survived a six-deuce game on his serve to go up 2-0. Alcaraz was gutsy throughout, charging the net on break points and often coming up with winners.

“I feel like I’m part of that level. I am part of these kind of players,” Alcaraz said. “I think I’m going to play against Rafa or the best players this year a lot.”

As the match went on, the wind grew so strong it blew the players’ white towels nearly onto the court and rattled Nadal’s perfectly aligned drink bottles that he set facing the court. Ball kids chased items that weren’t anchored down. Nadal said his eyes hurt because of sand stirred up by the wind.

Nadal will meet Taylor Fritz in the final Sunday. Seeded 20th, Fritz is the first American man to make the final since John Isner in 2012 and he’ll try to be the first to win the title since Andre Agassi in 2001.

Fritz ended No. 7 seed Andrey Rublev‘s 13-match winning streak with a 7-5, 6-4 victory in the other semifinal. The Russian had won 13 consecutive matches since February 14, including back-to-back titles at Marseille and Dubai.

Marcos Giron Outlasts Taylor Fritz to Reach ATP Dallas Open Semifinals

Posted on February 11, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Marcos Giron has taken down the favorite…

The 28-year-old Latino tennis player upset No. 1 seed Taylor Fritz — his practice partner — 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3) on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the ATP Dallas Open.

Giron, the tournament’s seventh seed, battled back after losing the second set and falling behind 4-2 in the third set.

“When I was down a break in the third, we got a change of balls, and I was able to kind of take advantage of that,” Giron said. “Once I was able to sneak out a break, my level improved.”

By defeating the 19th-ranked player in the world, No. 70 Giron scored his fifth career win in 18 chances against top 20 players to reach his second ATP semifinal.

Fritz was playing in his first tournament as the top seed.

“I’ve practiced with Fritz so much,” Giron said. “We’re both based in L.A. and we both train in Carson so we know each other’s game well.”

Giron had the only service break in the first set against Fritz. Giron almost gave back a 5-4 lead by falling behind 30-40 but rallied to hold serve and win the set.

Fritz’s serving dominated the second set, winning three games without a point for Giron.

The third set looked similar as Fritz took a 4-2 lead. Giron broke Fritz to tie the match. Each player had a break and then held serve to send the match into the tiebreak. Then they both reached match point, but neither could win the point.

Giron never trailed in the tiebreak, and he scored the final three points to win when Fritz hit long. Fritz had won the only previous ATP match between the two.

In Saturday’s semifinals, Giron will meet No. 4 Jenson Brooksby, who dispatched Australian Jordan Thompson 6-3, 6-0.

Rafael Nadal Defeats Taylor Fritz to Win Mexican Open

Posted on March 1, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Rafael Nadal has won his first title of the year…

The 33-year-old Spanish tennis star raced to victory in the Mexican Open on Saturday night, dispatching Taylor Fritz in straight sets in Acapulco.

Nadal dropped his racquet, launched his arms in elation and looked up into the night after a 6-3, 6-2 triumph on a hard court against the overmatched 22-year-old American.

Nadal finished 63% in first serves and went 3-of-7 on break points. It was his third career title at the Mexican Open, having also won in 2005 and 2013. Overall, it was his 85th career championship, and the first of this season.

“I couldn’t be happier,” Nadal said. “I played a great event from the beginning to the end. Acapulco was the first big title that I won in my career, so to be able to stay here after 15 years is amazing. I can’t thank enough the people who make me feel at home every single time.”

Fritz managed 10 aces in the loss, and had no double faults, yet couldn’t keep up with Nadal’s combination of efficiency and power.

“He’s one of the best players to ever play the game, and he showed me why that is tonight,” Fritz said. “This is one of my favorite tournaments to come to every year. I’m just glad that I could have a good week at one of my favorite events. I felt a lot of love all week.”

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