Young guns fire in Basel
A QUARTET of future stars battled it out in the Swiss Indoors ATP 500 semi-finals overnight, giving fans a glimpse into what to expect over the next decade. In the end, 2024’s big improver in huge serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, and American cult hero Ben Shelton booked their places in the Basel decider. Mpetshi […]
Demon dashes closer to Turin in Vienna
A LOSS to Andrey Rublev compounding earlier defeats to Tommy Paul and Grigor Dimitrov has given Aussie Alex de Minaur an opportunity to snatch the last spot in the ATP Finals race. The Australian advanced through to the Erste Bank Open semi-finals overnight with a 6-7 6-3 6-4 win over young Czech Jakub Mensik. The […]
Machac marches into Vienna quarters
DEFYING the odds against the ATP Tour’s best indoor player in 2024, Czech Tomas Machac upset world number nine Grigor Dimitrov‘s chances of reaching the ATP Finals. Machac won the pair’s maiden encounter, winning 6-7 6-4 6-3 under the roof at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna. The match itself lasted two hours and 31 […]
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 […]
Katie Boults into Tokyo second round
BRITISH ninth seed Katie Boulter wasted no time in dismissing Australian qualifier Priscilla Hon to race into the Round of 16 at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo overnight. The sole seed in action, and only match that did not contain a local Japanese hope, Boulter needed just 77 minutes to get past Hon 6-1 […]
Zverev zooms past future star in Vienna
WORLD number three Alexander Zverev has made light of former junior boys world number one Joel Schwaerzler in the opening round at Vienna after the top seed dismissed the teenager in straight sets, 6-2 6-2. Zverev – who enters the tournament as favourite without Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz there, only needed 67 minutes to […]
ATP Tour winners: RBA winds back the clock
SPANISH veteran Roberto Bautista Agut has snapped a two-year drought to claim the European Open ATP Tour title, defeating talented Czech Jiri Lehecka in straight sets. Bautista Agut collected the 12th title of his career, winding back the clock with a performance for the ages in Antwerp, winning 7-5 6-1. The 36-year-old became the second […]
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 […]
