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Kubler, Sock, 2012 Nadal Conqueror Rosol Among Wimbledon Qualifiers

  • Posted: Jun 23, 2022

Kubler, Sock, 2012 Nadal Conqueror Rosol Among Wimbledon Qualifiers

Three players need five sets to advance

Australian Jason Kubler and Czech Lukas Rosol, who stunned Rafael Nadal at The Championships a decade ago, led 16 qualifiers through to the main draw at Wimbledon on Thursday.

Kubler, the second seed in qualifying, cruised past Swede Elias Ymer 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in two hours and six minutes to confirm his place in the main draw. The No. 98 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings needed a deciding set in his first two matches at Roehampton, but he earned five service breaks to triumph. It is the second time he has qualified for the grass-court major, having done so in 2018.

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Ten years ago, Rosol shocked Nadal in the second round at Wimbledon, marking one of the most memorable upsets of the decade in tennis. However, entering this week, the 36-year-old had not advanced to the main draw here since 2017. The Czech changed that on Thursday with a 7-6(5), 7-6(4), 6-4 win against Argentine Renzo Olivo. 

Former Top 10 star Jack Sock also moved on with a 7-5, 7-5, 6-4 victory against Frenchman Hugo Grenier. The American reached the third round in 2016.

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The final around of qualifying featured best-of-five action compared to best-of-three for the first two rounds, and there were three five-setters. Switzerland’s Marc-Andrea Huesler outlasted Chinese Taipei’s Jason Jung 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-2, Austrian Dennis Novak battled past American Stefan Kozlov 7-5, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 6-3, and American Christian Harrison rallied past German Daniel Masur 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1.

The other qualifiers were Frenchman Enzo Couacaud, Switzlerland’s Alexander Ritschard, German Nicola Kuhn, Australian Max Purcell, German Maximilian Marterer, Moldovan Radu Albot, Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin, Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles, Slovakian Lukas Klein and Italian Andrea Vavassori.

The Wimbledon draw will take place Friday.

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Bautista Agut Flips The Script Against Medvedev In Mallorca

  • Posted: Jun 23, 2022

Bautista Agut Flips The Script Against Medvedev In Mallorca

Spaniard earns fourth win against a World No. 1

Just last week, Daniil Medvedev cruised past Roberto Bautista Agut on grass in straight sets at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle. On Thursday, the Spaniard flipped the script.

Bautista Agut eased past the World No. 1 6-3, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals of the Mallorca Championships. It was the fourth time the veteran has defeated the No. 1 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings (4-8), with his three previous victories coming against Novak Djokovic.

“I had to play very good to beat Daniil. He’s the No. 1, the last champion here in Mallorca. He just beat me a few days ago. I played a really compete match,” Bautista Agut said in his on-court interview. “I was more convinced with my game today, hitting strong, very solid. I think I did a really good match.”

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It was not the first time the 34-year-old has troubled Medvedev. In fact, Bautista Agut won their three previous meetings outside of Halle with the loss of just one set.

Medvedev consistently frustrates opponents with his solid play, flat strokes and big first serve that puts them under pressure throughout the match. But it was the top seed who was visibly frustrated Thursday, making uncharacteristic errors as he tried to crack the Bautista Agut code. 

Normally, Medvedev is comfortable staying in extended rallies with anyone on Tour. But against Bautista Agut, he was trying to change the rhythm with drop shots and other plays, while the Spaniard remained in his comfort zone. The fifth seed faced just one break point — which he saved — in his 71-minute triumph.

“You need to be very confident that you can make it. Last week I was a bit far,” Bautista Agut said. “Today, I was with a lot of confidence. I knew that if I would play a good match, I would get my chances, and I got it.”

This year’s Doha champion will next play Switzerland’s Antoine Bellier or Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor as he pursues his second title of the season. Bautista Agut won his first ATP Tour trophy in 2014 on the grass of ‘s-Hertogenbosch and reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2019.

 

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Cressy Sinks Norrie To Reach Eastbourne SFs

  • Posted: Jun 23, 2022

Cressy Sinks Norrie To Reach Eastbourne SFs

American Fritz moves past Bublik

Maxime Cressy reached his second tour-level semi-final of the season Thursday, upsetting top seed Cameron Norrie 7-5, 7-5 at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne.

The American overcame Reilly Opelka and Daniel Evans in his first two matches and produced another strong display on the grass at the ATP 250 event. The 25-year-old fired 10 aces and won 80 per cent (35/44) of his first-serve points to advance after one hour and 39 minutes in his first ATP Head2Head meeting with Norrie.

“The court conditions were amazing,” Cressy said during his on-court interview. “Thank you to the crowd for making the match so special and bringing an incredible environment. It is a big win for me.”

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Cressy, who is making his debut in Eastbourne, will face #NextGenATP Briton Jack Draper or British wild card Ryan Peniston in the last four. Earlier this season, the World No. 60 reached the championship match at the Melbourne Summer Set, losing to Rafael Nadal.

”It has been a tough past three months, but I have stayed resilient and I knew my time would come,” Cressy added. “My confidence is back and I am proud of myself and so happy.”

The 2019 champion Taylor Fritz continued his strong record in Eastbourne with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Alexander Bublik in 67 minutes.

The third-seeded American has now won his past seven matches at the ATP 250 event and will next play Australian Alex de Minaur or countryman Tommy Paul.

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Murray/Soares To Meet Top Seeds Mektic/Pavic In Eastbourne SFs

  • Posted: Jun 23, 2022

Murray/Soares To Meet Top Seeds Mektic/Pavic In Eastbourne SFs

Ebden/Oswald save four match points in Mallorca Match Tie-break

To get to the title match at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne, Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares will have to go through both finalists from last week’s Cinch Championships at The Queen’s Club in London.

The British-Brazilian duo is halfway there after a 6-4, 7-5 win against London finalists Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara on Wednesday. They can now look froward to a Thursday semi-final showdown against top seeds and London champions Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic. The Croatians defeated Maxime Cressy and Ugo Humbert 7-6(9), 6-1 to reach the last four.

The second Eastbourne semi-final will see fourth seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek take on Matwe Middelkoop and Luke Saville after both teams also advanced on Wednesday.

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Marathon Match Tie-break in Mallorca
Matthew Ebden and Philipp Oswald saved four match points to edge Spaniards Pablo Carreno Busta and Jamie Munar 6-3, 2-6, 18-16 in Mallorca. A pair of one-sided sets preceded a neck-and-neck Match Tie-break in which neither team led by more than one point until the Aussie-Austrian duo claimed its fifth match point.

They will next face Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar in the semi-finals, after the Uruguayan-Ecuadorian team defeated Germans Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies, 7-5(3), 7-6(11). 

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