2021 Murray River Open ATP preview: Deep draw provides even competition
UNLIKE its opposing ATP 250 event, the 2021 Murray River Open has some good depth to its ranks, with 14 players inside the Top 50 and many of the qualifying direct acceptances are far from easy beats as well. It looks like a difficult draw to predict who will win, but top seed Stan Wawrinka […]
ATP Antalya & Delray Beach wraps: Polarising days at two men’s tournaments
ANOTHER big day at the Antalya Open saw mostly a clean sweep from the top players, bar an excellent win from Frenchman Jeremy Chardy who downed third seed Fabio Fognini in the lone three-setter of the day. Three tiebreak sets told the tale of the almost-three hour 7-6 6-7 7-6 matchup, with Chardy reigning supreme in the tight […]
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 […]
2021 ATP Antalya and Delray Beach previews: Top 30 talents hit the hard courts in New Year
AFTER a long 2020, the 2021 ATP Tour is underway, with the main draw matches to take place today in Antalya, Turkey and Delray Beach, United States. Both hard court events are ATP 250 ones to give players a taste of the action before heading Down Under for an extended period in Australia where multiple […]
Davis Cup future side: USA
IT has seemed a world away since Spain lifted the 2019 Davis Cup. While the 2020 edition was ultimately cancelled and had to be postponed until 2021, it gives tennis fans extra time to work out what teams might look like when it recommences. Draft Central will take a look at various nations over the […]
Hopman Cup hypothetical teams: Australia & USA
ONE of the most unique tennis tournaments which features both ATP Tour and WTA Tour players is the Hopman Cup. Given the world circumstance and the fact it was already skipped on the eve of last year, it looks to be either delayed later in 2021, or perhaps at the turn of the New Year […]
Is Kazakhstan an underrated tennis nation?
WHEN many think of strong up-and-coming tennis nations, countries such as the United States, Australia, Italy and Russia come to mind, but when it comes to quality over quantity and over both the ATP and WTA Tours, it is hard to discount Kazakhstan as an underrated nation. The country that is best known for the […]
Thompson upsets Coric as Schwartzman edges closer to ATP Finals
JORDAN Thompson caused the upset of the day against 15th seed Croatian Borna Coric, coming from behind to win in two hours and 14 minutes. The unseeded Australian won 2-6 6-4 6-2 to break up a day of largely predictable results. Ranked 61st in the world, the Sydney local weathered 14 aces off Coric’s racquet […]
Millman on verge of history following another comeback win
JOHN Millman is through to this third ATP Tour final after fighting back from a set down and a third set deficit to win three sets against American hitter, Frances Tiafoe at the Astana Open in Nur-Saltan. Just a day after having to save a couple of match points and being 5-0 down in a […]
Millman grinds out remarkable win to advance through to Astana semis
JOHN MIllman has won in a very John Millman way, coming back from the brink of defeat to defeat seventh seed Tommy Paul in three epic sets to book his spot in the Astana Open semi-finals. Losing the first set in a tiebreaker, Millman needed two hours and 51 minutes to defeat seventh seed Paul, […]