Tennis News

Nakashima Q&A: Learning From Djokovic & Dreaming Of Playing With…

#NextGenATP American Brandon Nakashima earned his first tour-level win on Monday evening in Los Cabos, where he defeated countryman J.J. Wolf to reach the second round of the Mifel Open.

We caught up with Nakashima about his music playlist, what he has learned from Novak Djokovic, what he would want to do with Roger Federer and more.

Who do you text the most?
The person I text with the most would probably be my younger brother Bryce, especially when I’m travelling a lot and not at home, just to keep in touch with him every day.

What is currently on your music playlist?
I listen to a little bit of everything. I’d probably say right now, a little bit more of the pop, maybe the top hits going on.

What other sport do you enjoy?
My favourite other sport to watch would probably be baseball, whether it’s going to the games or watching on TV. I always like to watch it during my free time.

What have you learned from spending time with Novak Djokovic, who you have trained?
The biggest thing I’ve learned from practising from Novak Djokovic would probably be just the way he goes about everything. It’s how he’s super-focused, pays attention to all the little details both on the court when he’s practising and during the matches as well.

What is the last thing you watched on Netflix?
The last thing I watched on Netflix would probably be the Formula 1 documentary [Drive To Survive]. It was such a good show and got me really into it right now.

What is your favourite account to follow on Instagram?
One of my favourite teams that I like to follow on Instagram would probably be the San Diego Padres. It’s a baseball team located in my hometown, so I always like to follow their results and their games.

What’s your most-used emoji?
The laughing and crying emoji!

Who would your dream doubles partner be?
My dream doubles partner would probably be Roger Federer, just because he’s a legend of the sport and it would be a real honour to play with him.

Which country would you like to visit and why?
Probably one of the top countries I would like to visit that I haven’t been to before is Australia. I’ve never been there before, and I’ve always heard great things about it.

What is your favourite cheat meal?
My favourite cheat meal would probably be a good In-N-Out Burger from Southern California.

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Djere, Delbonis Safely Into Gstaad Second Round

Laslo Djere experienced few problems at the Swiss Open Gstaad on Tuesday when he knocked out Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-4, 6-3 in 79 minutes. The seventh-seeded Serbian won 22 of 26 first-service points to record his 15th clay-court win of the season. He now plays Belgian Zizou Bergs in the second round.

Fifth seed Federico Delbonis lost five of his first-service point (29/34) in a trouble-free 6-3, 6-3 victory over Swiss wild card Leandro Riedi in 76 minutes. The Argentine, who has reached three ATP Tour clay-court semi-finals this year, including at last week’s Hamburg European Open (l. to Carreno Busta), next challenges Hugo Gaston.

The Frenchman recorded a 6-4, 6-2 win over Delbonis’ compatriot, Juan Manuel Cerundolo, this year’s Cordoba Open titlist (d. Ramos-Vinolas) in 79 minutes.

Elsewhere, Arthur Rinderknech, who this week competes at the ATP 250 event at a career-high No. 100 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, defeated Swiss wild card Dominic Stephan Stricker 6-4, 6-4 in 81 minutes. The Frenchman now prepares to face second-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, the 2018 runner-up (l. to Berrettini).

Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor struck 14 aces in a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(1) win over Juan Ignacio Londero of Argentina in two hours and 14 minutes to set-up a clash against sixth seed Benoit Paire of France.

Second Seeds Beaten In Doubles Opener
Dustin Brown and Tristan-Samuel Weissborn caused an upset in the doubles first round by scraping past second seeds Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar 6-4, 3-6, 10-7. Behar and Escobar are 2-3 in ATP Tour team finals this year and currently in ninth position in the FedEx ATP Doubles Team Rankings.

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Raonic Accepts Atlanta Wild Card, Kyrgios/Sock To Play Doubles

Former World No. 3 Milos Raonic has snapped up the last main draw singles wild card into a stacked field at the Truist Atlanta Open, the tournament announced on Tuesday.

The big-serving Canadian, currently No. 22 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, will be seeking his ninth career title and his first since 2016 as he makes his tournament debut at the ATP 250 event.

“Milos is the consummate professional and a great addition to our player field,” said tournament director Eddie Gonzalez. “His record speaks for itself and Atlanta tennis fans are in for a treat when Milos is on the court.”

Raonic will be joined by five-time Atlanta champion John Isner, as well as #NextGenATP Jannik Sinner and 2016 champion Nick Kyrgios in the loaded singles field. 

American Jack Sock, who also received a singles wild card, will make his return to the Atlanta doubles draw after accepting a wild card with Kyrgios. Sock lifted the Atlanta doubles trophy back in 2014, partnered with Vasek Pospisil. 

Elsewhere, Wimbledon juniors champion Samir Banerjee will get his first taste of ATP Tour action after receiving a qualifying wild card. The 17-year-old, who has committed to playing collegiate tennis for Columbia University, turned heads with his aggressive, all-court game in London. He has earned a career-high junior ranking of World No. 2.

Did You Know? 
Since 2010, an American or Australian has won every edition of the Truist Atlanta Open. John Isner has won a tournament-leading five titles, including a three-peat in 2013-15. 

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Kudla Beats Kokkinakis Late-Night In Los Cabos

Denis Kudla found a way past Australian wild card Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Mifel Open in Los Cabos, completing a 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(3) victory on Tuesday morning at 1:16am local time.

The American, who was outplayed for large parts of their second ATP Head2Head meeting, hit seven double faults and twice came within two points of losing to Kokkinakis, who struck 23 aces. But a strong performance in the deciding-set tie-break helped the 28-year-old to just his fifth match win of the year.

Kudla dug himself out of danger from 1-1, 0/40 in the second set, and saved three break points from 15/40 at 0-1 in the decider against Kokkinakis, the 2017 finalist (l. to Querrey), for victory in three hours and 11 minutes.

World No. 107 Kudla, who reached the Wimbledon third round (l. to Djokovic), will next challenge a fellow American — eighth seed Mackenzie McDonald or qualifier Ernesto Escobedo — in the second round.

Elsewhere on day one, sixth-seeded American Steve Johnson fired 15 aces to overcome Gerardo Lopez Villasenor, a Mexican wild card, 7-6(4), 6-2 in one hour and 41 minutes. Johnson awaits the winner between Japan’s Yasutaka Uchiyama and American qualifier Alexander Sarkissian.

Alex Bolt lost the first seven games of the match against seventh seed Andreas Seppi of Italy before the Australian battled back to win 0-6, 6-2, 6-3 in one hour and 36 minutes. He will next play Ecuador’s Emilio Gomez or Colombian qualifier Nicolas Mejia.

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Isner Looking For Lift-off In Los Cabos: ‘This Is A Good Chance To Prove Myself’

John Isner is feeling right at home at the Mifel Open in Los Cabos, and that’s not just because he leads a stacked field of 10 Americans at the ATP 250 event. 

The 36-year-old, who is joined by countrymen Taylor Fritz, the 2019 finalist, and 2017 champion Sam Querrey, is set to make his debut at the hard-court event in Mexico on Thursday. He will be contesting just his seventh tournament of the year, after reaching the quarter-finals in Delray Beach (l. to Korda) and Madrid (l. to Thiem).

The second seed, currently No. 39 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, was keen to keep his expectations in check as he looks to build up some momentum in his favourite part of the year: the North American summer hard-court swing.

“I think this summer is a good chance for me to prove myself, because my ranking has dropped a little bit. That’s because I haven’t played much, in my opinion,” Isner said in a pre-tournament press conference. “So I think I need to try to prove myself, that I can get back to the level that I’ve been at for the past decade, which has been a very consistent Top 20 player. I’m looking forward to getting back to that level, and I believe I can do it.

“I don’t expect too much out of myself [this week], but I know that I can play very well if I do the right things on the court.”

Isner was supposed to make his Los Cabos debut last year, when the tournament was not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the tour’s restart, he has played an abbreviated schedule and has made it a top priority to continue spending quality time with his family: wife Madison, and their two young children.

The Isner brood is set to expand, as the American announced that he and his wife are expecting another baby. The couple welcomed daughter Hunter Grace in 2018 and son John Hobbs in 2019.

“I haven’t played much since the Tour shut down last year. The Tour has looked different since we started coming back, and I have a family and a wife who is pregnant again,” he revealed. “There has been stuff at home within the past nine to 12 months that I have felt has been more important than tennis.

“But this time of year is a time that I really enjoy. I love playing on the hard courts in North America. I’m here doing that again – I’m going to play a lot this summer and I hope I can do well.”

Isner will begin his Los Cabos campaign in doubles on Tuesday, partnering with Mexico’s Hans Hach Verdugo against third seeds Divij Sharan and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi. In singles, he awaits the winner of Jason Jung and Evgeny Donskoy in the second round.

Top seed Cameron Norrie leads the field in Los Cabos, and the Brit will play the winner of Australian qualifier Matthew Ebden and Elias Ymer after receiving a bye into the second round.

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Travaglia Begins Umag Campaign With Munar Upset

Stefano Travaglia is up and running at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag after toppling sixth seed Jaume Munar 6-3, 7-6(1) at Goran Ivanisevic Stadion on Monday.

Travaglia started the season with a 7-2 record, highlighted by a quarter-final run in Antalya and runner-up finish at a Melbourne ATP 250 (l. to Sinner), but struggled to repeat those results away from Australia. The Italian looks primed for a reset in Croatia, and he improves to a 10-16 record on the season.

The Italian raced out to 4-1 lead in the opening set with a double-break, and never relinquished control of the match. Munar saved two match points at 6-5 in the second set to send them into a tie-break, but he was overpowered when Travaglia reeled off the last five points to clinch the victory in an hour and 53 minutes.

Travaglia will next face Spain’s Carlos Taberner, as the Italian seeks his third quarter-final appearance of the season. Taberner cruised past Croatian wild card Nino Serdarusic 6-2, 6-2. 

Also in action in Umag, Radu Albot claimed his first clay-court victory of the year (1-3) after rallying from a set down against Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune 1-6, 6-3, 6-2. The victory also earned the Moldovan a bit of revenge, as the 18-year-old knocked him out of the Nordea Open first round in three sets last week.

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Lopez-Huesler Battle Ends In Heartbreak In Gstaad

Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez and home favourite Marc-Andrea Huesler played a thriller on Monday at the Swiss Open Gstaad, which ended in heartbreak for the Swiss.

Huesler was serving at 5-6 in the deciding set to force what seemed to be an inevitable final-set tie-break. But in the first point of the game, the 25-year-old hurt a toe on his left foot and was unable to continue. Lopez therefore advanced to the second round 6-4, 4-6, 6-5 15/0.

The 39-year-old won his only ATP Tour clay-court title in Gstaad in 2016, and he was also a finalist here in 2006. Lopez is now 23-11 at the ATP 250, and he will next play Swede Mikael Ymer, who eliminated French lucky loser Enzo Couacaud 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 53 minutes.

This will be the first ATP Head2Head meeting between Lopez and Ymer. However, the Spanish lefty beat Ymer’s brother, Elias Ymer, in the Gstaad quarter-finals five years ago.

In other action, sixth seed Benoit Paire ousted Slovakian Jozef Kovalik 6-3, 7-6(2). The Frenchman, who made the Hamburg quarter-finals last week, hit a shot of the year contender, carving an incredible backhand drop volley with so much backspin, it bounced back to his side of the net.

Belgian 22-year-old Zizou Bergs continued his impressive year with a 7-6(3), 6-1 victory against fellow qualifier Oscar Otte of Germany. Bergs has won three ATP Challenger Tour titles this year and is at a career-high No. 212 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva and Australian Marc Polmans also advanced on the first day of main draw action, with both men defeating Swiss players. But the home favourites earned a doubles triumph when Jakub Paul and Leandro Riedi defeated Americans Evan King and Max Schnur 6-3, 6-4.

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Absolutely Outrageous! Paire's Shot Of The Year Contender In Gstaad

It might be time to call Benoit Paire King of the Drop Volley.

The Frenchman hit an outrageous shot on Monday at the Swiss Open Gstaad, carving a backhand drop volley with so much backspin that it bounced back to his side of the net before his opponent, Jozef Kovalik, could get to it.

The shot came at 1-2 40/30 in the second set, and Paire went on to defeat Kovalík 6-3, 7-6(2) in one hour and 25 minutes.

This was not the first time that Paire has hit an incredible drop volley. At the 2015 Rolex Paris Masters, Paire slid into a backhand drop volley that nearly hit his own nose before barely squeaking over to Gilles Simon’s side of the court and bouncing back into the net. Simon went on to win that match in three sets.

Paire, who is the sixth seed this week in Gstaad, will next play Tallon Griekspoor or Juan Ignacio Londero.

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Anderson Soars After Newport Title, Mover Of Week

No. 74 Kevin Anderson, +39
The South African, who is returning after a series of injuries, jumped 39 places to No. 74 in the FedEx ATP Rankings after lifting his sixth ATP Tour title on Sunday at the Hall of Fame Open in Newport (d. Brooksby). It was his first trophy since January 2019 at Pune (d. Karlovic). Read Newport Final Report & Watch Highlights 

View Latest FedEx ATP Rankings

No. 11 Pablo Carreno Busta, +2
The Spaniard captured the biggest title of his career at the Hamburg European Open (d. Krajinovic) on Sunday to move up two places to World No. 11, a position he last held in the week beginning 28 May 2018. The former World No. 10 (11 September 2017), who has now lifted six trophies from nine singles finals, also clinched the AnyTech365 Andalucia Open title (d. Munar) in April. Read Hamburg Final Report & Watch Highlights

Other Notable Top 100 Movers
No. 14 Casper Ruud, +2 (Joint Career High)
No. 34 Filip Krajinovic, +10
No. 52 Laslo Djere, +5
No. 62 Federico Coria, +15 (Career High)
No. 63 Jordan Thompson, +8
No. 90 Roberto Carballes Baena, +7
No. 99 Yannick Hanfmann, +8
No. 100 Arthur Rinderknech, +5 (Career High)

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Newport Q&A: Anderson 'Steadies The Ship' With Title Run

Kevin Anderson’s seventh career title at the Hall of Fame Open on Sunday marked a couple of significant firsts in the 35-year-old’s road back from knee surgery. The South African’s 7-6 (8), 6-4 victory over 20-year-old American Jenson Brooksby was his first ATP Tour title since Pune in January 2019 and the first in front of both wife Kelsey and daughter Keira.

The result lifted the former World No. 5 back into the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings. Anderson spoke with ATPTour.com following his triumph.

Your daughter Keira was there to see you win. How much do you appreciate those moments? Did it hit you when you looked over and saw Kelsey and Keira?
Yeah, obviously during the match I was very focused and trying to get the job done. It’s been a bit of a process for me, and the whole team. I think you need to cherish these moments and then this morning Kelsey said she was in touch with our nanny and was going to bring Keira win or lose. I said ‘Well it’d be much nicer if I can get the win and see her’. 

It’s the first time I celebrated a title both with Kelsey and our daughter so it was very memorable. She was more interested in running on the grass and posing for pictures. Hopefully this is the first of still many to come. 

You’re very open about the problems you’ve had over the years, but you’re always relentlessly positive about it. How are you able to keep that mindset?
It’s sometimes challenging behind the scenes. In the last several weeks it’s been a bit of a bumpy road and there’s been times where I’ve needed to draw on my team and my family to give me support and belief, and knowing that I’m not done. There’s still a lot I want to accomplish. 

Obviously having weeks like this where you get the title definitely gives you more confidence and it reinvigorates you. Even without the title I feel like since Wimbledon I’ve steadied the ship a little bit. 

I was confident coming into this week. There’s always going to be hiccups. I just have to come to terms that sometimes things are just out of your control.

Was there a moment around Wimbledon that something clicked for you? Was it something in your game or off-court?
I think it was actually the week before, going into Wimbledon. I’d had a few tough weeks, a couple of Challengers, lost in qualifying, I was hitting the ball well in practice, just not finding that level in matches. 

Even parts of the matches I was playing really well, just not consistent enough. I fell short of what our goal was [at Wimbledon] so that was tough but I felt it was still a step forward. Coming to Newport we came with the expectation of winning the tournament. I had to fight hard but I feel like I was able to take some good steps here.

You were Top 10, Top 5 before you got injured and said you wanted to win a Grand Slam. Is that still on the radar?
Yeah it is. I feel like my biggest goal is to win a Grand Slam and win a Masters 1000 series. I mean I’ve come close a couple of times but have come up against pretty tough opponents, but those are the guys you have to beat. 

I was knocking on the door, Top 5 in the world but in the last while my ranking has dropped and I’m a different player now. I still have a lot of belief in myself but you have to understand that it’s a different pathway. I feel like I’m much closer to that, it’s a journey to where I want to get to but one I’m very excited about.

You mentioned you are a different player. How do you adjust mentally to that, having played two Grand Slam finals, to shift your mindset?
A couple of years ago I’m coming into tournaments, Grand Slams, anything less than quarter-finals is a disappointment. A lot of the time I’m coming into tournaments with the goal of winning and I mean it’s still like that now but I think after the injuries I feel like I was missing those in-between goals – winning a couple of rounds at a Grand Slam – those smaller steps that before I wasn’t exactly looking for. 

Maybe that’s when I realised those are the steps I need to take now. I think I’ve recalibrated a bit but incredibly hopeful from where my game’s at, where my abilities are and ultimately my goal is to still win the biggest titles in our sport.

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