Vesely breaks five-year drought with Tata Open title
BREAKING back into the top 100 for the first time since May last year, and at his highest ranking of 72nd since April 16, 2018, Czech Jiri Vesely was a surprise winner of the Tata Open. At 26-years-old, Vesely seems like a veteran having turned pro in 2009 at the age of 16, but the 198cm towering server has shown he still has plenty to give, winning his first ATP Tour title since 2015 where he won his maiden title at Auckland.
Five years on, Vesely has broken through for a second title in Pune, defeating Belarusian, Egor Gerasimov 7-6 5-7 6-3 in two hours and 11 minutes to win the 2020 Tata Open. His serving was simply unbreakable when he got his first serve in, producing a whopping 26 aces and winning 88 per cent of his first serve points. He still won 55 per cent of his second serve points, but considering his lower efficiency of 63 per cent, it gave his opponent a sniff upon return. Gerasimov did end up breaking twice, both in the second set to level the match at a set apiece. The Czech also broke his opponent in the second set, but also in the decider, then holding serve to ensure he could grasp the title.
A little known fact about the rarity of Vesely’s achievement is the fact he is only the eighth player to save match points in two matches during a tournament to come back and take out the title. The Czech faced match points in both his quarter final (Ilya Ivashka) and semi-final (Ricardas Berankis), only to save them, take out the match and progress to win the overall title. Among those on the list include Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at Marseille back in 2013, Dominic Thiem at Rio de Janeiro in 2016, and most recently, Bernard Tomic at Chengdu two years ago.
By winning, Vesely moved up 35 places in the ATP Tour rankings, while Gerasimov sits just one ahead of him now in 71st, having leapt up 19 spots from 90th in the world. Gerasimov is not scheduled to play anywhere over the next week, while Vesely will take a step down to go compete in the ATP Challenger 125K event at Bengalaru – in order to extend his stay in India – an event he will start favourite for given he is the highest ranked player there. Vesely has a bye in the first round, with a potential matchup against world number 136, Zhang Zhizhen in the third round of the 64-player tournament.
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 […]
Popyrin powers to Paris pearler
AUSTRALIAN Alexei Popyrin has produced one of the best wins of his career, defeating fourth seed and US Open winner Daniil Medvedev in an incredible three-set match. Popyrin needed two and a half hours in Paris overnight to book his place in the ATP 1000 Masters Round of 16, winning 6-4 2-6 7-6. The deciding […]
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 […]
Frenchman aces past Shelton to win
BECOMING the lowest ranked player to win the Swiss Indoors event since it joined the official ATP Tour, Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard is now an ATP 500 champion. The towering young talent aced his way to victory against equally impressive server Ben Shelton, providing an ominous sign of things to come in a 6-4 7-6 […]
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 […]
Felix eyes Basel three-peat by Baez beating
BASEL has always been a source of success for Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, and now the eighth seed is into the Swiss Indoors ATP 500 event second round in 2024. Auger-Aliassime is a back-to-back winner at the indoor hardcourt event having won the past two years and is now just four wins away from completing a […]
