Carballes Baena topples Shapovalov in five to clinch third round spot
ROBERTO Carballes Baena has won an epic battle over top 10 player and ninth seed, Denis Shapovalov to book his spot in the third round at Roland Garros. The Spanish world number 101 backed up his shellacking of Steve Johnson in the first round – dropping just two games – to overcome Shapovalov in a […]
Medvedev headlines massive exits in Roland Garros first round
IT might only be the second day, but it was carnage at Roland Garros with four top 20 seeds bombing out, including two top eight seeds in a huge day of upsets. The biggest of the lot was fourth seed Daniil Medvedev, who faltered in his first match for the second consecutive tournament, losing to […]
Quarter finalists locked in as Tsitsipas the sole seed in bottom half
IN a day that was far from predictable with a couple of upsets knocking top 20 players out of the Hamburg European Open, Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas provided some normality to the draw with a straight sets win over Uruguayan qualifier Pablo Cuevas. Tsitsipas won 7-5 6-4 to advance through to the quarter finals, one […]
Lucky loser Bublik making the most of his second chance
KAZAHKSTAN’S Alexander Bublik would be thankful that Rome Masters finalist, Diego Schwartzman opted to pull out of the Hamburg European Open. The world number 56 suffered defeat in qualifying and looked to miss the final lead-up tournament to Roland Garros. That was until the seventh seeded Argentinian decided rest was more of a priority after […]
Former Hamburg champion Simon out as qualifiers reign supreme
JUST four matches took place on the opening day of the 2020 Hamburg European Open, with former winner Gilles Simon bombing out in straight sets and three of the four qualifiers advancing to the Round of 16. Simon had lost in the qualifying stages to Pablo Cuevas, but earned a reprisal, only to lose to […]
2020 Hamburg European Open preview: Basilashvili eyes off third straight title
BACK-to-back Hamburg European Open winner, Nikoloz Basilashvili will start as an underdog in the ATP 250 tournament with a tough first round match up against fourth seed, Roberto Bautista Agut. The unseeded Georgian is one of only three past winners in the 32-player draw, with Fabio Fognini (2013) and Gilles Simon (2011) the others making […]
Opinion: The US Open draw and who has the toughest run
AFTER publishing our 2020 US Open men’s preview yesterday, we go more in depth to take a look at the draw and what might eventuate at Flushing Meadows over the next two weeks, as we analyse who has the easier draws and who has the tougher encounters. World number one Novak Djokovic is the raging […]
Young gun focus: Brandon Nakashima
A QUALITY young American talent, Brandon Nakashima is a solid prospect having stepped up to the ATP Tour in 2020, and while he is still ranked at 220 in the world, at 18-years-old he has plenty of skill, determination and development that will surely see him go far. With laser focus and intensity coming in […]
The Rise and Fall of American men’s tennis: Where to from here?
FOR the first time since the 1970s when the Open era commenced, the United States have gone through a decade without a representative holding the number one ranked position. Long considered a tennis super power, the United States have had Jimmy Connors of the 70s, John McEnroe through the 80s, Jim Courier, Pete Sampras and […]
2020 Libema Open fantasy tennis: Seeds mostly go to plan, with a couple of upsets on opening day
THERE were no major shocks in the ATP Libema Open, whilst six of the eight WTA seeds reached the second round in the WTA fantasy tennis tournament in s’Hertogenbosch. Of the day’s winners, the top three women dominated proceedings, whilst the highest seeded men largely had greater degree of difficulty to win. In the ATP […]
