Alejandro Davidovich Fokina Helps Lead Spain to Victory Over Brazil in United Cup Play

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has helped lead Spain to victory…

The 24-year-old Spanish tennis player and his mixed doubles partner and compatriot Sara Sorribes Tormo beat Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia and Marcelo Melo 6-4, 7-5 in the decider of the Group A tie between the two countries on the opening day of the United Cup mixed team tournament Friday.

Alejandro Davidovich FokinaSpain beat Brazil 2-1 to start the revamped $10 million tournament that features 18 countries with ties taking place in Perth and Sydney.

Davidovich Fokina put Spain up 1-0 by defeating Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-4, 6-0 in the first match of the season, dominating his opponent from the baseline and not facing a break point throughout the contest.

But Brazil hit back through world No. 11 Haddad Maia, who downed Sorribes Tormo 7-6 (1), 6-2 in a rematch of their marathon French Open fourth-round clash earlier this year.

“To come back and play with Sara, I think we had a great time on court and we enjoyed a lot,” world No. 26 Davidovich Fokina told reporters. “We didn’t care … obviously we care, but the result was like the last thing. We were enjoying out there, just to keep improving also.”

World No. 1s Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek are among the big names who will be in action in the coming days as they warm up for the opening Grand Slam of the new year, the Australian Open, which will run from January 14-28 in Melbourne.

The final is scheduled for January 7.

Tomás Barrios Vera Earns First Grand Slam Victory After Outlasting Sebastian Baez at Wimbledon

Tomás Barrios Vera has logged his first Grand Slam match at Wimbledon after qualifying into the main draw.

The 25-year-old Chilean qualifier’s major match victory came when he edged out Sebastian Baez 7-6 (7), 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2) at the All England Club to reach the second round.

Tomás Barrios VeraBarrios Vera, ranked No. 133 in the world, will face Belgian wildcard David Goffin next.

In the qualifying rounds, Barrios Vera defeated Evgeny Donskoy 6-3, 6-4; Rinky Hijikata 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2); and Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-4, 6-7 (3), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Tomas Martin Etcheverry Defeats Yoshihito Nishioka to Reach First-Ever Grand Slam Quarterfinal Round at French Open

Tomas Martin Etcheverry’s dream run at the French Open continues…

The 23-year-old Argentinian tennis player moved into the last eight at Roland Garros after defeating Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, the No 27 seed, 7-6 (8), 6-0, 6-1 in Paris on Monday evening.

Tomas Martin EtcheverryEtcheverry, ranked No 49, is the big surprise of all quarterfinalists in the field. In fact, this will be his first-ever appearance in a Grand Slam quarterfinal.

He took the best spot in the lower part of the draw opened by Daniil Medvedev’s early loss.

He’ll next play Germany’s Alexander Zverev, the No 22 seed.

“I just can’t believe it, it’s a dream come true”, said Etcheverry in his on-court interview. “It’s important to share this moment with my family and with the crowd. I will recover tonight and be ready for the next battle”

Etcheverry, who was a runner-up early this year in Santiago and Houston, has defeated three seeds on his road to the quarters.

He beat Jack Draper (6-4, 1-0 ret.), Alex De Minaur, the No 18 seed (6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-3) and Borna Coric, the No 15 seed (6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-2) before Nishioka.\

Nishioka, ranked No 33, probably paid his time spent on the court. He had to call for the physio during the third set after three five-sets battles during the previous rounds against J.J. Wolf (1-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3), Max Purcell (4-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4) and Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild (3-6, 7-6 (8), 2-6, 6-4, 6-0).

Thiago Seyboth Wild Upsets No. 2 Seed Daniil Medvedev to Advance to French Open Second Round

Thiago Seyboth Wild is celebrating the biggest win of his career…

The 23-year-old Brazilian professional tennis player, a qualifier at this year’s French Open, stunned World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday in a five-set thriller at Roland Garros.

Thiago Seyboth WildMaking his debut in Paris, Seyboth Wild showed little sign of nerves on Court Philippe Chatrier, swinging freely throughout the four-hour, 15-minute clash to upset the second seed 7-6(5), 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

“I have watched Daniil play for my entire junior career, up until today. Playing on this court against this kind of player and beating him is a dream come true,” Seyboth Wild said. “Walking on court I just wanted to get to the net as much as possible and use my forehand against his and it worked pretty well.”

The World No. 172 logged 69 winners and recovered from squandering two set points in the second-set tie-break, raising his level again in the latter stages of the first-round clash to seal his maiden main-draw major win.

Seyboth Wild, who has won two ATP Challenger Tour titles this year, was competing in his first tour-level match this season.

He’ll look to back up his dream win against Medvedev when he plays Guido Pella in the second round.

“It was pretty tough. I started cramping in the second set. I did my best and tried to play my best tennis and it worked,” Seyboth Wild said. “I am really happy with the way I played.”

Medvedev arrived in Paris off the back of winning his first clay-court title in Rome and would have been hoping for a comfortable start to his title quest at the clay-court major. Seyboth Wild had other ideas, though.

The Brazilian was locked in from the first ball, hitting through Medvedev with his baseline power. The 23-year-old played fearless tennis throughout, won 69 per cent (38/55) of net points and held his nerve in a tense deciding set, closing out victory on serve with a destructive forehand winner. Seyboth Wild raised his arms in delight following his stunning victory, soaking in the applause from the packed crowd.

Medvedev, who holds a 39-6 record on the season, was chasing his second major title. The 2021 US Open champion has won an ATP Tour-leading five trophies in 2023, including ATP Masters 1000 crowns in Miami and Rome.

The 27-year-old is first in the ATP Live Race To Turin but can now be overtaken by Carlos AlcarazNovak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas in Paris.

Carlos Alcaraz Among ESPN’s ’21 Under 21′ Tennis Players to Watch in 2021

Carlos Alcaraz is among the phenoms to watch this year…

ESPN has announced tennis’ 21 under 21 for 2021, with the 17-year-old Spanish tennis player among the sport’s rising stars making the grade.

Carlos Alcaraz

Despite the circumstances of the 2020 season, Alcaraz managed to move up 350 spots the rankings by year’s end, moving from No. 491 to No. 141, even reaching a career-high of No. 136 in October.

He started the year with back-to-back titles on the ITF Futures tour and was granted a wild card into the Rio Open in February. And the then-16-year-old made the most of his ATP Tour level debut, upsetting former World No. 17 Albert Ramos-Viñolas in 3 hours, 36 minutes in the opening round to become the first player born in 2003 to win a match and the youngest match winner since 2013. Alcaraz called the victory the high point of his season.

Following the restart of the season in August, Alcaraz went 20-4 in ATP Challenger events and won three titles at Trieste, Barcelona and Alicante, as well as playing in the final at Cordenons. He was named the ATP‘s Newcomer of the Year and is the youngest player in the top 600.

But Alcaraz, who idolizes fellow countryman Rafael Nadal, has even bigger goals for 2021. He hopes to make his first main draw appearance at a major in Australia in February and then play in all of the Grand Slams. As for his ranking? He’s hoping to make another big push in the new year.

“I want to finish the year in the top 50,” he said.

But Alcaraz isn’t the only Latinx tennis player to make the list…

Canada’s Leylah Fernandez completed her high school studies in the spring during the tour stoppage.

The 18-year-old half-Ecuadorian tennis player made her major main draw debut at the Australian Open in January — just a year removed from winning the junior title — but it was what she did in the weeks following the event that raised tennis fans’ eyebrows.

After losing in the first round in Melbourne, Fernandez scored her first win over a top-10 player (Belinda Bencic) while representing Canada in the Fed Cup (now known as the Billie Jean King Cup) in Switzerland. Later that month, she won six matches in seven days as a wild card qualifier in the Mexican Open, rolling into the final, where she ultimately lost to Heather Watson. The following week, she advanced to the quarterfinals at the Monterrey Open, defeating 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the second round.

Fernandez made a second-round appearance at the US Open and advanced to the third round of the French Open, where she took a 5-1 first-set lead over Petra Kvitova before the two-time major champion came back to win.

Fernandez thinks her 2021 will be even more successful. Her plan is to reach the top 10 by the end of the year.

Thiago Seyboth Wild wasn’t exactly the favorite entering the Chile Open last February after cracking the top 200 for the first time. But having notched one of the biggest wins of his career the week prior at the Rio Open in 3 hours, 49 minutes — the longest match ever in tournament history — over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and taking World No. 32 Borna Ćorić to three sets the next round, the then-19-year old Brazilian tennis player was flying high entering the event.

What he did over the course of the week in Santiago was even more impressive.

Seyboth Wild knocked off three seeds en route to the title, becoming the first player born in the 2000s to win an ATP event and the youngest Brazilian champion in the Open era.

He found mixed results after the restart, losing in the first round of the US Open and not making it past qualifying at the French Open. But he made a finals appearance at a Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence, which lifted him to a career-high No. 106 in the rankings.

Seyboth Wild hopes to build off what he achieved in 2020 in the new year, although he says he focused more on some of the small things during the preseason.

Here’s the complete list in alphabetical order:

Carlos Alcaraz
Age: 17
Ranking: 141
Country: Spain
Career highlights: Winner of three ATP Challenger titles and three ITF Futures titles; Won his ATP main draw debut at the 2020 Rio Open

Bianca Andreescu
Age: 20
Ranking: 7
Country: Canada
Career highlights: Champion, 2019 US Open, 2019 Indian Wells and 2019 Canadian Open

Amanda Anisimova
Age: 19
Ranking: 30
Country: USA
Career highlights: Semifinals, 2019 French Open; Champion, 2019 Copa Colsanitas

Felix Auger-Aliassime
Age: 20
Ranking: 21 (77 in doubles)
Country: Canada
Career highlights: Fourth round, 2020 US Open; Six-time ATP finalist; Doubles champion, 2020 Paris Masters 

Leylah Fernandez
Age: 18
Ranking: 88
Country: Canada
Career highlights: Third round, 2020 French Open; Finalist, 2020 Mexican Open

Hugo Gaston
Age: 20
Ranking: 162
Country: France
Career highlights: Fourth round, 2020 French Open

Coco Gauff
Age: 16
Ranking: 48 (45 in doubles)
Country: USA
Career highlights: Fourth round, 2019 Wimbledon and 2020 Australian Open; Doubles quarterfinals, 2020 Australian Open; Champion, 2019 Linz Open; Doubles champion, 2019 Washington Open and 2019 Luxembourg Open

Varvara Gracheva
Age: 20
Ranking: 94
Country: Russia
Career highlights: Third round, 2020 US Open; Seven ITF titles 

Kaja Juvan
Age: 20
Ranking: 104
Country: Slovenia
Career highlights: Second round, 2019 Wimbledon, 2020 US Open, 2020 French Open; Seven ITF titles 

Sebastian Korda
Age: 20
Ranking: 118
Country: USA
Career highlights: Fourth round, 2020 French Open; One title on ATP Challenger Tour 

Marta Kostyuk
Age: 18
Ranking: 99 (112 in doubles)
Country: Ukraine
Career highlights: Third round, 2018 Australian Open, 2020 US Open; Three ITF singles titles, two ITF doubles titles 

Ann Li
Age: 20
Ranking: 98
Country: USA
Career highlights: Third round, 2020 US Open; Three ITF titles 

Caty McNally
Age: 19
Ranking: 121 (42 in doubles)
Country: USA
Career highlights: Third round, 2020 US Open; Doubles quarterfinals, 2020 Australian Open; Doubles champion, 2019 Washington Open and 2019 Luxembourg Open 

Lorenzo Musetti
Age: 18
Ranking: 128
Country: Italy
Career highlights: Semifinals, 2020 Sardinia; Third round, 2020 Italian Open; One ATP Challenger title and two ITF Futures titles 

Brandon Nakashima
Age: 19
Ranking: 166
Country: USA
Career highlights: Second round, 2020 US Open; One ATP Challenger title and two ITF Futures titles 

Anastasia Potapova
Age: 19
Ranking: 101 (133 in doubles)
Country: Russia
Career highlights: Second round, 2019 Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon; Finalist, 2018 Moscow River Cup, 2018 Tashkent Open; Doubles champion, 2018 Moscow River Cup, 2019 Lausanne

Thiago Seyboth Wild
Age: 20
Ranking: 116
Country: Brazil
Career highlights: First round, 2020 US Open; Champion, 2020 Chile Open

Jannik Sinner
Age: 19
Ranking: 37
Country: Italy
Career highlights: Quarterfinals, 2020 French Open; Champion, 2020 Sofia Open, 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals 

Iga Swiatek
Age: 19
Ranking: 17 (75 in doubles)
Country: Poland
Career highlights: Champion, 2020 French Open 

Clara Tauson
Age: 18
Ranking: 152
Country: Denmark
Career highlights: Second round, 2020 French Open; Seven ITF titles 

Dayana Yastremska
Age: 20
Ranking: 29 (90 in doubles)
Country: Ukraine
Career highlights: Fourth round, 2019 Wimbledon; Champion, 2018 Hong Kong, 2019 Hua Hin, 2019 Strasbourg

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

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.

Thiago Seyboth Wild

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.