2021 ATP Cup preview: Australia
AUSTRALIA enters the 2021 ATP Cup with a wildcard courtesy of being the home nation, but they are far from making up the numbers. If anything, the team led by Top 25 player Alex de Minaur is just that – a wildcard – with the all-court Australian capable of matching it with most top players, […]
2021 ATP Cup preview: Argentina
ARGENTINA have opted for a fairly obvious four to send to the ATP Cup, with ninth ranked Diego Schwartzman helping them qualify for the tournament, but only one other singles player, as well as a doubles combination which will hopefully get them a leg up in that deciding tie if required. TEAM: Diego Schwartzman Guido […]
Qualifiers confirmed for Australian Open
ALLOWING enough time to quarantine for 14 days, the Australian Open qualifiers have been confirmed following the completion of the three-round qualification stage over in the UAE. Hosted in Dubai three weeks prior to the Australian Open first round kicking off, 16 men and 16 women earned their places in the respective 128-player draws. The […]
De Minaur wins fourth title as Bublik retires early in Antalya final
AUSTRALIAN young gun Alex de Minaur has claimed his fourth ATP Tour crown following his Antalya Open final win over Alexander Bublik. It was not in the way the 21-year-old might have hoped however, with the Kazakhstan talent having to retire just two games into the match following an ankle injury in his semi-final win. […]
Stunning Sabalenka collects third straight title in Abu Dhabi
IT rarely looked ever in doubt from the first serve through to the final point in the tournament, with Aryna Sabalenka dropping just one set on her way to her third straight title. The Belarusian fourth seed stormed through to her ninth overall WTA Tour singles title at the brand new Abu Dhabi WTA Tour […]
Sabalenka eyes off third straight title as she faces first-time finalist in Abu Dhabi
ARYNA Sabalenka has powered her way past some of the world’s best in the past three tournaments, showing a couple of months off and a change of year has not slowed down her remarkable winning streak. The Belarusian star won the final two WTA Tour tournaments of 2020, and has raced through the 2021 Abu […]
ATP Antalya & Delray Beach wraps: Italians falls as Goffin and de Minaur set up blockbuster semi
IT is getting to the pointy end of the opening ATP Tour tournaments for 2021, with the semi-finalists decided in both Antalya and Delray Beach. The higher-profile Antalya Open in Turkey saw three seeds reach the final four, two of which are Top 30 players. In the Delray Beach Open, it was less predictable with […]
Three-set thrillers see come-from-behind victories
ACTION heated up in the quarter finals of the Abu Dhabi WTA 500 event with each of the four matches going the full three sets to determine a winner. In three of those four matches, the winner dropped the first set before coming back to win, including one 6-0 first set loss. That disastrous first […]
Youth rises in third round at Abu Dhabi
IT was the future of the WTA Tour on show in the third round of the Abu Dhabi 500 tournament, with 26-year-old Elina Svitolina being the “veteran” of the quarter finals competitors. The Ukrainian was one of only two players – Maria Sakkari was the other – aged 25 years and older, with the other […]
WTA Abu Dhabi Round of 32 wrap: Gasanova shocks Pliskova in debut tournament
RUSSIAN rising star, Anastasia Gasanova has shocked third seed Czech Karolina Pliskova, claiming her first ever Top 100 victory with a 6-2 6-4 triumph in the Round of 32 at the Abu Dhabi WTA 500 event. Gasanova had no troubles knocking off the former world number one, having come through qualifying and then toppling former […]
ATP Antalya & Delray Beach wraps: Top talents advance largely unchallenged
SEVEN of the eight seeds at the Antalya Open moved through to the second round, with only two of them needing to fight it out in three sets. The only losing seed to conclude the Round of 32 in Turkey was Miomir Kecmanovic, who, after winning the first set 6-1, fell away in a disappointing […]
WTA Abu Dhabi Round of 64 wrap: Top six through without a hitch, young guns also advance
OF the 16 seeds on show in the brand new WTA Abu Dhabi 500 event, 12 reached the second round. Kicking off 2021 in style, the top six seeds advanced without dropping a set, whilst 2020 in-form players, Anett Kontaveit and Jennifer Brady were amongst the seeds to fall in the opening round of play. […]
