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Jarry To Face Fognini For Maiden Crown In Sao Paulo

  • Posted: Mar 03, 2018

Jarry To Face Fognini For Maiden Crown In Sao Paulo

Chilean reaches first ATP World Tour final

For nearly a decade, the South American nation of Chile has been waiting for a superstar to follow in the footsteps of legends Marcelo Rios and Fernando Gonzalez. That is, someone to carry the mantle in the country with a strong tennis-rich culture.

Enter Nicolas Jarry. The Santiago native became the first Chilean to reach an ATP World Tour final since former World No. 5 Gonzalez lifted the trophy on home soil in Vina del Mar in 2009. Jarry defeated Horacio Zeballos 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday to advance to the title match at the Brasil Open, where he awaits Italy’s Fabio Fognini.

Jarry has been the comeback kid all week in Sao Paulo, rallying from a set down in three straight matches to reach the final. He battled back to register upset wins over Guido Pella and top seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas, before topping Zeballos. The 22-year-old needed two hours and seven minutes to advance to the championship match, firing 20 aces, while not facing a break point.

“It was another amazing day,” said Jarry. “When I lost the first set, I was thinking if I could come back again once more. I had more confidence as the match went on and moved better to break him. Once I did it, it was just a matter of serving well and going point-by-point. The things went my way.”

The grandson of former Top 20 star Jaime Fillol, Jarry has tennis in his blood. Following a breakthrough ATP Challenger Tour campaign in 2017 that saw him win three titles and break into the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings, he has stormed onto the scene on the ATP World Tour this year. A quarter-final in Quito was followed by a semi-final run last week in Rio de Janeiro and now a final in Sao Paulo. He is projected to rise to a career-high of No. 61 on Monday.

“It’s been a heck of a ride. I have to keep going and try to improve on and off the court and play as hard as I can. If the things go my way, then that’s good. I’m very happy and it’s my first ATP final. I hope to have many more.”

On Sunday, Jarry will face Fognini for the first time. The Italian veteran has not dropped a set all week, blasting into his 15th ATP World Tour final with a 6-4, 6-2 win over three-time defending champion Pablo Cuevas. Fognini dethroned the Uruguayan in one hour and 11 minutes, saving all three break points faced.

“Today was my best match this week by far,” said Fognini, who has opened the season with a 13-4 record. “I’m really happy about my game and how I feel on court. I’m in the final now and will try to win the title. I’m feeling really good and while it’s only the beginning of the year, I’m happy and confident with my team. I have a special feeling in Brazil and hopefully they will continue to support me in the final.”

Fognini, who scored his fourth FedEx ATP Head2Head victory in six meetings against Cuevas, remains in search of his sixth ATP World Tour title. He has lifted trophies in each of the past two seasons, most recently prevailing on the clay of Gstaad in July. The 30-year-old is bidding for his second title in South America, having triumphed in Vina del Mar in 2014.

“I was going to lose here at some point,” said Cuevas. “He is a difficult opponent. Fabio played really well, solid and defended really well from the back. I made a lot of errors, maybe because of yesterday’s match, that it was too long. The court was a little bit more slow today. I made several errors and I didn’t feel comfortable at any moment during the match.”

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Biggest Title Yet! Bautista Agut Wins Dubai

  • Posted: Mar 03, 2018

Biggest Title Yet! Bautista Agut Wins Dubai

Spaniard earns first ATP World Tour 500 title

Roberto Bautista Agut arrived in Dubai on a three-match tour-level losing streak, his first of that length since 2016. But after a tremendous week of tennis in which he dropped just one set, the Spaniard leaves with his second title of the season.

Bautista Agut, the third seed, defeated second seed Lucas Pouille to triumph at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Saturday evening and deny the Frenchman his first appearance in the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings, which the 24-year-old would have earned with a victory.

The World No. 23 captures his eighth ATP World Tour title, and his first at the ATP World Tour 500 level. It is the second time Bautista Agut has beaten a Top 20 player in the ATP Rankings in a final, with the other result coming earlier this year in Auckland against Juan Martin del Potro. Bautista Agut claims $565,530 and 500 ATP Rankings points, which will propel him to World No. 16 on Monday.

Pouille, who won the Open Sud de France in February and also reached the final at last week’s Open 13 Provence (l. to Khachanov), claims $277,255 and 300 points. And while he will not break into the Top 10, the top-ranked Frenchman will climb to a career-best No. 12 in the ATP Rankings. 

More to come…

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Del Potro Races Into Acapulco Final

  • Posted: Mar 03, 2018

Del Potro Races Into Acapulco Final

Argentine will meet Anderson for the title on Saturday

Juan Martin del Potro notched his 10th win of the season to reach his second ATP World Tour final of 2018 at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, defeating second seed Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-2.

The World No. 9 produced an impressive performance throughout the one-hour, 31-minute clash, breaking the German on three occasions to move one win away from his 21st ATP World Tour crown. Del Potro has now beaten Top 10 players Zverev and Dominic Thiem, plus four-time champion David Ferrer, in consecutive matches.

The ‘Tower of Tandil’ will face inaugural New York Open champion Kevin Anderson in Saturday’s final. The South African reached his third final of the season after a three-set win over American Jared Donaldson. Del Potro holds a 6-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head series record over Anderson, winning 12 of their previous 14 sets.

You May Also Like: Anderson Battles Into Third Final Of 2018

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Despite eight aces from Zverev in the first set, it was Del Potro who secured the only break of the opener, in emphatic fashion, to establish control. The ASB Classic finalist (l. to Bautista Agut), broke to love in the third game of the match to take a 2-1 lead, and confidently held each of his next four service games to earn a one-set advantage.

With the freedom of leading the score line, Del Potro found more success on his return in the second set. The 29-year-old found more success on Zverev’s first serve and, again, broke in the third game, before a further break four games later created the opportunity to serve for a place in the championship match. Del Potro raced to a 40-0 lead, before moving into his 31st tour-level final, on his second match point, courtesy of his sixth ace of the match.

Did You Know?
The last time Juan Martin del Potro won back-to-back matches over Top 10 opposition was at the 2017 US Open. Del Potro beat Dominic Thiem and Roger Federer to reach the semi-finals, before falling to eventual champion Rafael Nadal. Nadal advanced to the championship match where he met Del Potro’s final opponent in Acapulco; Kevin Anderson.

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Anderson Battles Into Third Final Of 2018

  • Posted: Mar 03, 2018

Anderson Battles Into Third Final Of 2018

South African seeks second ATP World Tour title in as many tournaments

It took Kevin Anderson more than two years to capture his fourth ATP World title. But after defeating 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier Jared Donaldson 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC on Friday evening, the 2014 Acapulco finalist is now just one victory away from winning his second trophy in a row.

“It just feels great to win tonight’s match,” Anderson said. “When you’re out there, you’re not really thinking about finals and what happened before. In the heat of the battle, I thought it was a really tough match.”

After triumphing at the New York Open two weeks ago in his most recent event, Anderson will get a crack at his fifth trophy on Saturday. The South African, who is now at a career-high No. 8 in the ATP Rankings, will play second seed Alexander Zverev or sixth seed Juan Martin del Potro in his third final of the season (1-1, l. in Pune, w. New York).

Anderson fell to as low as World No. 80 last January after a variety of injuries and health issues set the right-hander back. But since then, he has made five tour-level finals (Washington D.C., US Open, Pune, New York, Acapulco), in a run that includes a runner-up finish at last year’s US Open.

The semi-final appeared completely in his hands at the beginning of the second set, as Anderson’s massive serving and court positioning kept Donaldson from clawing his way into neutral rallies. The fifth seed held five break points in the first game of the second set to grab a commanding lead, but failed to convert. The fifth seed was still controlling play, though, and lost just four points in his first three service games of the set.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Donaldson began to find greater length on his returns, keeping Anderson back, which then allowed the 21-year-old to play more aggressively. The American used that slight opening to not only earn his first break point of the match at 4-3, but go on to break twice in a row to claim the second set.

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But Anderson, who is now 11-2 on the season, had too much experience in the moment, breaking to open the decider and gain a lead he would not relinquish. Anderson struck 18 aces in the victory, and hit a wicked inside-out forehand winner to clinch the battle.

“I really felt I did well just fighting as hard as I could,” Anderson said. “The match point felt great to really go after it and execute the way I wanted to. So, right now I’m just really pleased to be through to the finals here. I have a shot at playing for a title.”

It was a strong week for Donaldson despite the loss, as the 21-year-old American reached his first tour-level semi-final. Donaldson is projected to climb to a career-high No. 48 in the ATP Rankings on Monday.

Anderson will face a tough test regardless of who is across the net on Saturday. The fifth seed is a combined 0-10 against his possible opponents in the Acapulco final. He has lost his past five sets against Zverev to trail the German 0-5 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. The 31-year-old has also dropped his past six sets against Del Potro, and has fallen short in all six of their FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings.

“It’s another opportunity for me,” Anderson said. “I’m looking forward to it. I feel like I’m playing great tennis. [It’s] just about recovering and resting up right now and being as prepared as possible for tomorrow.”

Blockbuster Doubles Final SetSoares Murray

Defending champions Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares have won three tour-level titles in each of the past two seasons. On Saturday in Acapulco, they’ll have a chance to earn their first trophy of 2018 after defeating last week’s finalists in Rio de Janeiro, Nikola Metic and Alexander Peya, 7-5, 6-3. The pair seeks its seventh tour-level title together.

They won’t have it easy in the final, coming up against the duo that has triumphed more than any other pair in history — Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, who have captured 114 tour-level titles together. The fourth seeds ousted their compatriots, Americans Ryan Harrison and Jack Sock, 7-5, 1-6, 10/8. The twin brothers won the Acapulco trophy in 2002 and 2004.

Bryan/Bryan lead the FedEx ATP Head2Head series between the two teams 2-1, with two of the three meetings (1-1) coming at the Nitto ATP Finals (2016, 2017).

Did You Know?
Anderson won his third ATP World Tour title at 2015 Winston-Salem, but needed more than two years to capture his fourth, which came at the inaugural New York Open in February (d. Querrey).

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