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Qualifier Safiullin Stuns Tsitsipas in Marseille

  • Posted: Feb 18, 2022

Qualifier Safiullin Stuns Tsitsipas in Marseille

Russian World No. 163 defeats top seed to reach SFs

Roman Safiullin is producing the magic this week in Marseille.

The World No. 163 claimed the best victory of his career on Friday as he upset two-time champion Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the Open 13 Provence.

The Russian had come through tough three-setters against Alexei Popyrin and Tomas Machac to reach his first ATP Tour quarter-final, but he showed no signs of fatigue or nerves as he outplayed the top seed from the start.

It was an uncharacteristically sloppy performance from Tsitsipas, but he was regularly forced into errors by the ball-striking and variety of the World No. 163’s game.

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The Russian showed he meant business early, bringing a high level to the opening set as he broke for 3-2 and remained composed to serve it out, converting his first set point with a clean backhand winner.

An extraordinary opening to the second set saw Tsitsipas save five break points in the opening game, as the Russian refused to let his opponent settle on serve. Although the Greek did manage to hold, Safiullin had another five opportunities in the next Tsitsipas service game, and he stayed aggressive to finally complete the break.

Qualifier Safiullin was strong on serve to ensure that early break was enough to seal the set and the match, running out a deserved winner in one hour, 35 minutes. The Russian lost just four points behind his first serve in the match, with Tsitsipas creating just one break opportunity.

Safiullin, who won two singles matches for Team Russia at January’s ATP Cup, will now face either Rotterdam champion Felix Auger-Aliassime or fifth seed Ilya Ivashka in the semi-finals.

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Bautista Agut Edges Khachanov In Doha Thriller

  • Posted: Feb 18, 2022

Bautista Agut Edges Khachanov In Doha Thriller

Reigning champion Basilashvili advances

Roberto Bautista Agut demonstrated his fighting qualities on Friday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, edging Karen Khachanov 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a thriller under the lights in Doha.

The Spaniard produced a highly-intense and aggressive performance, overcoming the Russian in two hours and 26 minutes to reach the final at the ATP 250 event for the second consecutive year.

“The atmosphere was unbelievable,” Bautista Agut said in his on-court interview. “I want to give a lot of credit to Karen, he was playing unbelievably. I had to fight really hard to turn the score around. It was a really tough match.”

The second seed found his range as the match went on with the key turning point coming in the third game of the second set, when Bautista Agut fended off seven break points in a mammoth game to hold. From there, the World No. 16 put his foot down and raised his level deep in the third set, breaking at 5-5 with a powerful smash, before holding to seal his win.

The 33-year-old, who overcame Andy Murray and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for the loss of just three games in his opening two matches, now leads Khachanov 6-2 in their ATP Head2Head series.

“He was playing very fast,” Bautista Agut added. “He was playing very solidly, he was defending very well and he hit many unbelievable passing shots. I had to play incredibly well tonight. I enjoyed tonight so much.”

Bautista Agut has strong pedigree in Doha, having lifted the title in 2019 and reached the final last season. The Spaniard will be aiming to capture his first tour-level crown since he triumphed in Doha three years ago when he faces Nikoloz Basilashivili in a repeat of last years championship match on Saturday.

Khachanov was aiming to reach his second tour-level final of the season, after advancing to the final at the Adelaide International 1 in January.

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Earlier, Basilashvili continued his love affair with the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, soaring into the final for the second consecutive year with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.

The Georgian lifted the trophy in Doha last season, defeating Roger Federer en route. Basilashvili will have the opportunity to triumph again when he takes to court on Saturday after he broke Rinderknech three times to end the World No. 61’s run and advance.

“I am feeling great,” Basilashvili said. “I really like playing in Doha. I see the ball really well here and physically I feel much better than previous matches. The final will be a tough match.”

Basilashvili, who arrived at the ATP 250 event on a six-match losing streak in 2022, is aiming to win his sixth tour-level title this week.

Rinderknech was bidding to reach his second final of the year, having enjoyed a run to the championship match at the Adelaide International 2 in January.

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Rublev Into Marseille SFs, Bonzi’s Dream Run Continues

  • Posted: Feb 18, 2022

Rublev Into Marseille SFs, Bonzi’s Dream Run Continues

Russian sees off home favourite Pouille after scare

Andrey Rublev pulled off another final-set recovery in Marseille to see off Lucas Pouille and reach the semi-finals of the Open 13 Provence on Friday.

Having recovered from a break down in the third set against Richard Gasquet in the second round on Wednesday, Rublev repeated the trick in the quarter-finals to break French hearts again as he withstood an inspired performance from wild card Pouille and come through 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 in one hour and 41 minutes.

The Russian was pleased to come through another bruising encounter in Marseille. “It’s tough to play against such great players like Richard or Lucas,” said Rublev after the match. “Especially when they play at home, it’s even tougher. That’s why it’s not easy to beat them and why we played three sets, but I’m happy that I won another match and I’m in the semi-finals.”

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The Russian looked in control early on as he took the opening set, Pouille appearing to be feeling the after-effects of his marathon second-round victory over Radu Albot on Thursday night.

The former Top 10 Frenchman, who has struggled with injuries in recent years, was seeking his first tour-level semi-final since 2019. He produced an excellent second set to level the match as he broke the World No. 7 twice while resisting significant pressure on his own serve.

Pouille broke for a 2-0 lead in the deciding set as the crowd grew excited at the prospect of an upset, but the Russian found an extra gear from that point. The Russian ultimately converted four of 11 break point opportunities in the match as he powered to his second ATP Tour semi-final of the season and extended his ATP Head2Head lead over Pouille to 3-0.

“Lucas won so many titles, he beat top players,” said Rublev. “Especially indoors, with his serve, it’s really tough to play against him when he serves and has a huge forehand. He broke me in the second set and I went a bit down mentally, and if I wanted to win I needed to raise my level. In the third set I started to get back mentally and raised my level and I think that was the key.”

Rublev’s next opponent will be ninth seed Benjamin Bonzi, after the Frenchman upset World No. 15 Aslan Karatsev 6-1, 6-3 to reach his first ATP Tour semi-final earlier on Friday.

After capturing six ATP Challenger Tour titles in 2021 and adding a seventh to his career total in Cherbourg just two weeks ago, Bonzi gave a further signal that his transition to the top level is on track with an accomplished performance as his Russian opponent struggled to find any kind of consistency.

In the first ATP Head2Head meeting between the pair, the Frenchman was quick out the blocks, breaking Karatsev twice and sealing the first set in style with an ace out wide.

Bonzi’s serving remained strong throughout. The World No. 69 lost just three points behind his first delivery in the match and, although Sydney champion Karatsev did find a better level as the match wore on, it proved too little, too late as the Frenchman sealed victory in one hour, 17 minutes.

The win was Bonzi’s first over a Top 20 player and he is yet to drop a set in Marseille going into Saturday’s semi-final with Rublev.

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The Tour – Food Court: Why Hydration Is Key To Brooksby's Diet

  • Posted: Feb 18, 2022

The Tour – Food Court: Why Hydration Is Key To Brooksby’s Diet

Learn more about how the 21-year-old views his diet

Jenson Brooksby is one of the brightest young stars on the ATP Tour. The American, who began 2021 outside the Top 300 of the ATP Rankings, is at a career-high World No. 45 following his run to the Dallas Open final.

ATPTour.com caught up with the 21-year-old to learn about his cooking skills, how he approaches his diet during tournaments and training weeks, the importance of hydration, his favourite “cheat” foods and more.

How often do you cook?
I’m getting into it more lately when I’m home. I shoot for four nights a week to have some food at home. It’s definitely healthier in the long run and it’s a good skill to have, so I’ve been trying to get into it more the past year.

How did you learn?
It’s mostly self-learning, also some from my parents — what foods to have, what’s pretty simple to cook, good meals, simple stuff you could get from a store. I’d say for the past two months I’ve been having more food for myself at night.

What’s the Jenson Brooksby special?
I don’t think I’m there yet to have a specific special! Mostly I’ll make ground beef and brussels sprouts and some veggies or chicken. Usually there are different types of meat with veggies, sometimes salad.

Watch: A Day In The Life Of Jenson Brooksby

As a professional athlete your diet is especially important. How strict are you with your diet?
Strict in some areas, definitely. I trust my team — my PT [physiotherapist], my fitness [coach] and their knowledge with it. Definitely a big focus is electrolytes and hydration. It’s something I’m still working to improve on, how many electrolytes [I need], how much water to have, that type of thing. Also with proteins, carbs and fats.

It’s not like any food is really limited, although I don’t have anything [that is] processed. But it’s more about when to have carbs, when the most important time to eat is, so it’s really been that type of stuff this past year.

What made you get into that mindset?
Wanting to have more discipline with myself and just working harder to try to reach the top one day. If you want to do that, then all these areas you have to have good habits instilled in you, which is my goal. Hopefully two, three years down the road, whether it’s the fitness, the PT, the food or the tennis, that it’s all just really engrained by that time.

For those out there who sometimes struggle getting on track with their nutrition or diets, what tip do you have for them?
It’s not easy. I just think you have to always have your goals in the back of your mind. What are you pushing for? Why are you putting in those investments and that work to do these things? I definitely have more steps to go, but I’m happy with the progress I’ve made in the past year.

A few years ago, around college, before college, sometimes I was lazier in these areas. Those are habits from all the years in my junior career that I needed to break. It takes time, but I think always having in your mind why you’re doing it and keeping positive towards it is big.

How often do you allow yourself a cheat meal?
There’s no specific amount of time, really. Occasionally, definitely, as long as it’s at the right time. Maybe after a tournament, when you have a little break. It’s nothing really exact, usually. You just have a feel for when you can have a little more. Even then, I’m the type of person where it’s tough for me to even have a little bit because then I want so much more. I’m sure there are a lot of people like that. I have to be careful. Nothing exact, just depends when I feel it.

What’s your go-to cheat meal?
I need to think about that for a second! It could be a bit of chocolate or maybe even a pizza, something like that. I guess a pancake could be another one, for example. For me I would consider that kind of a “cheat”, too.

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Is there something you’ll just never eat and if so, why?
I would say hot dogs, honestly. That’s probably a common one. I never really liked them. I tried when I was younger and just never got into them.

On the day of a match, what’s your typical diet?
There’s no exact meal every time, but I always try to have more carbs in the morning, some quick energy. Always for dinner at the end of the day will be more protein-based and some carbs. For the match, and it has to be leading up to the match, too, but hydration is key. You need to drink a lot of water. What I’m going to shoot for in the future is maybe a gallon of water or more, and then along with the electrolytes. You really have to stay on that.

An example for breakfast could be toast with peanut butter and some eggs, some fruit and maybe a little meat as well, or yogurt with granola. There are always different match times. If it’s at a weird time where you’d want to wait on having lunch for example, then you just have a bar or some extra stuff to get some more energy. Even during the match have some nuts or something more energy-based and then proteins.

With the hydration, is it something where you have to be especially on top of it because by the time you realise you’re behind on it, it’s too late?
With how physical all my trainings are, I’m learning I can’t afford to not be on top of these things at all times. There could be different factors, but even if one thing is off, it can just lower your energy and make for a less productive practice, which you never want to have at all. I’ve seen how important it is.

You mentioned after a tournament might be when you “cheat”. How different do you eat during a tournament compared to a training week?
Whether it’s training weeks or tournaments, it’s still always pretty focussed. I try to treat it the same because even when you’re home training, the hours are usually a little higher. To have that physicality, whether it’s in the gym or on court, you still need to do all those things right… really whether it’s the hydration or type of eating, it’s really similar all the weeks.

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Koolhof/Skuspki Clinch Doha Crown

  • Posted: Feb 18, 2022

Koolhof/Skuspki Clinch Doha Crown

Third seeds are now 16-2 on the season

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski capped off another dominant week in style Friday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.

The third seeds defeated Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov 7-6(4), 6-1 to capture the title in Doha.

The Dutch-British pair dropped just one set en route to the championship match and played with confidence throughout against Bopanna and Shapovalov. They combined strong serving with deep returns to dictate and triumph after 78 minutes.

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With their victory, Koolhof and Skupski are now 16-2 on the year, having clinched three tour-level titles since they first teamed at the start of the season. They lifted trophies on Australian soil at the Melbourne Summer Set and the Adelaide International 2 in January.

Individually, Koolhof has now won 10 tour-level crowns, while Skupski has earned eight titles at this level.

Bopanna and Shapovalov were seeking their first trophy together, after also reaching the final in Stuttgart in 2019.

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Alcaraz Saves Ball Kids From Rain Storm In Rio

  • Posted: Feb 18, 2022

Alcaraz Saves Ball Kids From Rain Storm In Rio

Alcaraz will resume his match against Delbonis on Friday

When the rain came pouring down at the Rio Open presented by Claro on Thursday evening, #NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz was on hand to save the day for the stranded ball kids.

Moments after play was suspended due to heavy rain during Alcaraz’s match against Federico Delbonis in Rio de Janeiro, the 18-year-old quickly rushed under cover to avoid a soaking.

Without hesitation, Alcaraz then ensured the ball kids remained dry as well, ushering them under the umbrella as they gratefully joined him by the side of the court, cracking smiles.

Following the suspension of play, Alcaraz will return to court on Friday at the ATP 500 event, leading Delbonis 5-4, 30/15. If the World No. 29 can advance, he may face Matteo Berrettini in the quarter-finals later on Friday. The top-seeded Italian faces Brazilian Thiago Monteiro in the second round.

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Countdown To Turin 2022 Begins As Nitto ATP Finals Tickets Go On Sale

  • Posted: Feb 18, 2022

Countdown To Turin 2022 Begins As Nitto ATP Finals Tickets Go On Sale

The eight-day event will next be held from 13 to 20 November 2022

Tickets for the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals to be held from 13 to 20 November at the Pala Alpitour Arena in Turin will go on general public sale from 18 February, at 16.00 CET. Tickets will be on sale on the official website.

It will be the 53rd edition of the Nitto ATP Finals, the second in Italy. The Nitto ATP Finals is the year-end climax to the men’s professional tennis season, featuring only the world’s best eight qualified singles players and doubles teams as they battle it out for the last title of the season.

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Serena & Venus In The House In Delray Beach

  • Posted: Feb 18, 2022

Serena & Venus In The House In Delray Beach

Serena Williams and Venus Williams added serious star power to the Delray Beach crowd on Thursday. With the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com site near their Florida residences, the sisters took advantage of the opportunity to catch some ATP Tour action.

Venus arrived in the afternoon to watch compatriot Reilly Opelka’s win over Jack Sock, and Serena joined her during the evening session for Grigor Dimitrov’s victory over Mitchell Krueger. Opelka’s match started at 2:30 p.m. local time, while Dimitrov finished near 11:30 p.m., making it a nine-hour day of tennis for seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus.

Dimitrov, seeded third in Delray Beach, was playing in his first match since the Australian Open. (Read Thursday’s full Delray Beach report.) He thanked the sisters following a special win in the presence of tennis royalty.

“They’re amazing. They’re some of my closest friends, no doubt about that,” he said post-match. “Their support means so much to me, especially in moments like that. They’re sort of nearby and it’s just very nice that we can share a moment like that.”

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Dimitrov Returns With Delray Beach Win In Tough Conditions

  • Posted: Feb 18, 2022

Dimitrov Returns With Delray Beach Win In Tough Conditions

Opelka, Mannarino, Millman also advance

Back on the court for the first time since a second-round Australian Open loss, Grigor Dimitrov got back in the win column late Thursday night in Delray. The third seed and tournament wild card was a 7-6(4), 6-3 winner over American qualifier Mitchell Krueger at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com.

Venus Williams and Serena Williams were in attendance for the Bulgarian’s evening match on Thursday, with Venus arriving in the afternoon to watch Reilly Opelka’s win over Jack Sock.

Doing his best to put on a show in windy and wet conditions, Dimitrov saved a pair of break points in both the ninth and 11th games of the opening set. He summoned just enough shotmaking at the crucial moments, including a flicked backhand pass to escape trouble at 5-all, deuce, as he secured the opening set.

“It’s always very tough [in your opening match], especially playing the last match on,” Dimitrov said following the victory. “I’ve been here for a week already and I was eager to get out there and play. Today was just a match I had to get through. Very tough conditions: rain, wind, cold, hot. It is what it is, and you’ve got to deal with it.”

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Drawing confidence from a well-played tie-break, the Bulgarian created break points in his first three return games of the second set, converting in the latter two. He failed to consolidate the initial break, but used a love hold to back up the second.

Firmly in the ascendancy, Dimitrov showed his full range as he broke in the match’s final game. He won points from the baseline and net, and another with a classy pickup as he booked his quarter-final berth.

The former World No. 3 will face John Millman on Friday, after the Aussie beat Marcos Giron, 6-3, 7-6(8), earlier in the day.

Dimitrov closed the Thursday evening session after Adrian Mannarino opened it with a 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 win over Brandon Nakashima. The match was decided by just a few crucial points as the Frenchman produced some magic on a pair of break points, most notably with an on-the-run forehand pass to break for 6-5 in the third.

The seventh seed served the match out to love to book a quarter-final matchup with second seed Reilly Opelka. It’s Mannarino’s ninth appearance in Delray, with his best result coming in a semi-final run in 2015.

Opelka, the newly crowned Dallas Open champion, broke away late in a 6-7(6), 7-6(4), 6-1 win over Jack Sock. He earned a crucial mini-break with a backhand down-the-line winner in the second tie-break and never looked back.

“I knew I needed to be tough in the breaker and I couldn’t just play balls in the court because he was going to go for it,” Opelka said, noting he sensed his compatriot tiring late in the second set. “I really was happy that I was still able to be aggressive… I think I did the right thing, played chess out there, and I got the mini-break when I needed it.”

The World No. 20, who lives near the Delray site, saved the only break point he faced, midway through the opening set.

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