Demon dares to dream as Ruud, Rublev gets rolled
AUSSIE Alex de Minaur‘s hopes of a maiden ATP Finals birth are within his own control after Russian Andrey Rublev suffered a spectacular second round defeat at the Paris Masters overnight. While Rublev went down to Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo in two tiebreakers, de Minaur overcame Cerundolo’s compatriot Mariano Navone, 7-5 6-1. Coming into the ATP […]
Tsitsipas survives first round Paris test
DESPITE being on the ropes early, Greek talent Stefanos Tsitsipas was able to recover and see off Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena in just under two hours at the 2024 Paris Masters. The first round match saw the 10th seed – who has had a mediocre 5-4 record since the Laver Cup – have to fight […]
No Thiem for sentimentality as Darderi dashes “last dance”
THERE has been no shortage of tennis legends retiring in 2024, and Austrian star Dominic Thiem joined fellow Grand Slam winners Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray on the sidelines after his career came to an end in his home nation overnight. Coming into the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, the Austrian – who had more […]
Around the Tour: Upstaged in Antwerp; upsets galore
THERE was no shortage of upsets across multiple ATP and WTA Tour events overnight, but the major results came in Antwerp where three of the lower ranked players took out the top three seeds. In what was a dismantling day, number one seed Alex de Minaur, number two seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and number three seed […]
Around the Tour: Ito crafts third straight upset
ADMITTING she has not got “any power” and she is “skinny”, Japanese qualifier Aoi Ito has made a name for herself in Osaka. The 188th ranked Japanese hope knows where her strengths and weaknesses lie, and focuses on what she can do, rather than she cannot, leading her to a quarter finals appearance in the […]
Around the Tour: Mirra magic as Kenin curbed
IN THE wake of the respective WTA and ATP Tour 1000 events in Wuhan and Shanghai that were won by tournament top seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner respectively, a lot of the lower ranked players headed to tournaments across the globe. In today’s Around the Tour, we take a look at the sole 500 […]
Sinner “toughs” it out to earn third round win
WORLD number one Jannik Sinner shook off early resistance from Argentinian Tomas Etcheverry to book his place in the Shanghai Masters ATP 1000 fourth round. The Italian lost the first set in a tiebreaker before getting up in three set, 6-7 6-4 6-2 in two hours and 39 minutes. It was just the second time […]
Shelton storms into Shanghai second round
AMERICAN talent Ben Shelton continued his impressive form in a hectic calendar to advance through to the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 third round. The 21-year-old left hander proved too good for former Top 10 player Denis Shapovalov, defeating the fellow North American, 6-3 7-5. In a match that lasted 77 minutes, Shelton did not face […]
World on verge of Laver Cup three-peat
TEAM World surged ahead on day two of the 2024 Laver Cup with a couple of singles upsets to take an 8-4 lead over Team Europe heading into the final day of the event. Despite Team Europe boasting some of the ATP Tour’s biggest names – five of their six players are Top 10 compared […]
All square after day one at Laver Cup
PROCEEDINGS are level after one day of action at the Laver Cup in Berlin, with the three singles and one doubles match taking place split between Team Europe and Team World. Despite the former stacked with five Top 10 players, Team World showed it is happy to embrace the underdog status and keep punching above […]