Marcos Giron Defeats Adrian Mannarino to Reach Dallas Open Final

Marcos Giron is one win away from his first ATP Tour title…

The 30-year-old Colombian American tennis player, unseeded in the tournament, beat No. 4 seed Adrian Mannarino of France, 6-1, 6-3, in the semifinals at the Dallas Open.

Marcos GironGiron took a 4-0 lead in the first set a day after going up 5-0 in a straight-set win over Tiafoe, who was the highest-ranked player in the tournament at No. 14.

The first break of the second set came when Giron made a lunging save with a forehand, then ran down Mannarino’s volley for a backhand crosscourt passing shot and a 5-3 lead.

Giron, who hasn’t lost a service game in four matches in the tournament, had little trouble closing out the match on his serve.

With three victories over seeded opponents, Giron has a chance to surpass his career-best ranking of 49th from 2022.

Giron reached the semifinals in Dallas two years ago, losing a three-setter to Jenson Brooksby while having match points. The final two sets went to tiebreakers.

 

“That stuck with me, and that’s hard,” Giron said. “I have experience. I know what it’s like to lose. I know what it’s like to win. Having a big win yesterday was awesome, and I’m really, really happy to be able to come back today.”

Giron, who beat top-seeded American Frances Tiafoe in the quarterfinals, is making his second trip to a final. He previously appeared in the finals of the 2022 San Diego Open, where he lost to Brandon Nakashima.

He’ll face second-seeded Tommy Paul in Sunday’s final.

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

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 Beats Taylor Fritz to Reach Miami Open Semifinals

Carlos Alcaraz is one step closer to reaching the Miami Open finals…

The 19-year-old Spanish tennis player, the World No. 1 and top-ranked man at this year’s tournament, defeated Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-2 at Hard Rock Stadium to blast into the semifinals.

Carlos AlcarazBefore a packed crowd that included John McEnroe and was split in support, Alcaraz broke Fritz’s serve in the first game. He used that one break to squeak out the first set and finished the match in tidy 1 hour, 18 minutes. Alcaraz faced just two break points and turned away both chances as he improved his match record to 18-1 in 2023.

“I took the opportunity of every break point I had,” Alcaraz said. “I was solid and aggressive at the same time.”

This was the first meeting between the two and an opportunity for Fritz to assess how close he is to a breakthrough. The match was postponed Wednesday night, only delaying the inevitable.

“Obviously playing the best player in the world, you can’t just drop your serve to start both sets,” Fritz said. “He doesn’t give you much for free. … All the important points in the match, he won.”

Alcaraz proved too tough in Miami against two Americans who reside in South Florida. Fritz moved recently to Miami and Tommy Paul has lived in the Delray Beach/Boca Raton area for years.

The reigning US Open champion and defending Miami Open champion will play Jannik Sinner in Friday’s semifinals, a rematch of their semifinal at Indian Wells, where Alcaraz went on to win the title.

Alex de Minaur Defeats Tommy Paul to Win Mexican Open

It’s Lucky No. 7 for Alex de Minaur.

The 24-year-old Uruguayan & Spanish Australian professional tennis player rallied to win the biggest title of his career, beating Tommy Paul 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 on Saturday night in the final of the Mexican Open.

Alex de Minaurde Minaur won his seventh career title and first at the ATP 500 level.

He won his previous six titles at ATP 250 events, most recently last year at Atlanta.

de Minaur will move to No. 18 in the rankings.

His career-best ranking is No. 15 in 2021.

Paul had reached the final by beating fifth-ranked Taylor Fritz on Friday in a match that lasted 3 hours, 25 minutes. He has one career title, at Stockholm in 2021.

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

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.

Alex de Minaur, 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-AliassimeTaylor FritzTommy 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.