2024 Davis Cup Finals preview
EIGHT nations will vie for glory in the 2024 Davis Cup Finals that kicks off overnight in Malaga. Headlined by reigning champions Italy with world number one Jannik Sinner named for his nation, the only element that tops it is the fact that 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal will bid farewell to tennis at […]
Homecourt Humbert upsets Alcaraz
A RAUCOUS home crowd got Frenchman Ugo Humbert over the line against world number two Carlos Alcaraz to reach the quarter finals of the Paris ATP 1000 Masters. Humbert produced some lights out tennis, motivated by the fans driving him to a 6-1 3-6 7-5 epic victory. He looked to be doing it easy against […]
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 […]
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 […]
Around The Tour: All-Russian final set for Ningbo
THOUGH the Japan Open in Osaka got washed out, there was still plenty of semi-finals action taking place across both the WTA and ATP Tours overnight. The WTA 500 final contestants in Ningbo were determined, with an all-Russian duo scheduled for the decider in fifth seed Daria Kasatkina and unseeded teenager Mirra Andreeva winning their […]
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 […]
Holger Rune’s Nishikori’s homecoming
DANISH rising talent Holger Rune has ended the run of local hope and former Top 5 player Kei Nishikori with a come-from-behind three-set win at the Japan Open Tennis Championships. The world number 14 who is still searching for his first title in 2024 and five overall, won 3-6 6-2 7-5 in two hours and […]
