Tennis News

Final Preview: Zverev To Play Berrettini For Madrid Title

Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini will face off in the final of the Mutua Madrid Open on Sunday with Zverev seeking his fourth ATP Masters 1000 title and Berretini looking to win his first.

While Berrettini has been in five ATP Tour finals, winning four of them, this will be his biggest final. 

“When you’re about to play, you’re just thinking that you’re playing a final,” Berrettini said. “Obviously, I was in the semis [at the] US Open. Everything is different, but it’s just a great feeling. Especially, after the struggle after my injury, I think I worked really hard. I’m maybe even more happy.”

ATP Masters 1000 Title Leaders (Active Players)

Zverev, who won the Madrid title in 2018, has yet to drop a set this week. The 23-year-old last won a clay-court title in Geneva in 2019, and if he wins on Sunday, it will mark his second title of 2021 after taking home the Acapulco title in March.

“He’s playing really good,” Berrettini said of Zverev. “He’s solid; he moves well for his height. He serves well. He beat Rafa and Dominic, probably the best players on clay. It’s going to be a challenging match, but I’m in the finals. I guess the best two guys are going to play each other.”

“He’s been playing exceptionally well this week,” Zverev said of Berrettini. “I saw the end of last night where he won 11 games in a row. He was almost unplayable. He was hitting the ball so hard, serving extremely well. It’s going to be difficult.”

This week, the German has scored wins over Kei Nishikori, Daniel Evans, Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem. Friday marked his first win over Nadal on clay and third in a row against the World No. 2. In Saturday’s semi-final, Zverev eased past Thiem 6-3, 6-4, breaking serve three times to end a four-match losing streak against the Austrian.

“It’’s been two great matches for me,” Zverev said of his wins over Nadal and Thiem. “I think today [it] was a little bit of a weirder match because of the wind and the conditions. But all in all, it’s been good. The job is not done yet. I hope I can do well tomorrow.”

Zverev enters Sunday’s final with a 14-2 record in the Spanish capital and a 2-1 ATP Head2Head Series record against Berrettini. All of their bouts have been at the ATP Masters 1000 level and they haven’t played each other since Zverev won their semi-final in Shanghai two years ago.

“I remember that it was tough to return,” Berrettini said. “I remember he was serving really well. The times that we played each other in Rome, obviously they were different conditions, I remember in Shanghai I think the roof was closed, the court was very fast. I guess he just served better than me and I got broken twice. That was it.”

On Friday, playing in his second ATP Masters 1000 semi-final, Berrettini stormed back for a 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 win over Cristian Garin.

In Saturday’s semi-final, the Italian took out Casper Ruud, 6-4, 6-4 by converting on 2/3 break point chances and facing zero break points of his own. It was the first time Ruud was broken all week.

“I didn’t expect this performance,” Berrettini said. “The key I think today was putting pressure on his serve, first serve and second serve. I was always trying to get the momentum and attacking even his first serve. I know that he likes to have time and run around the forehand. It worked out pretty well.”

The World No. 10 is on an eight-match win streak after capturing the ATP 250 in Belgrade. Though Sunday will be his first ATP Masters 1000 final, he has appeared in five finals, winning four of them. 

ORDER OF PLAY – SUNDAY, MAY 09, 2021

MANOLO SANTANA STADIUM start 3:30 pm
[3] M. Granollers (ESP) / H. Zeballos (ARG) vs [2] N. Mektic (CRO) / M. Pavic (CRO)

Not Before 6:30 pm

[5] A. Zverev (GER) vs [8] M. Berrettini (ITA)

Source link

Madrid Open: Aryna Sabalenka shocks Ashleigh Barty to take title

Fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka shocks world number one Ashleigh Barty in three sets to claim the Madrid Open title

Source link

Mektic/Pavic To Face Grannolers/Zeballos For Madrid Title

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic are one win away from the the Mutua Madrid Open title after defeating Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 6-4, 6-2 on Saturday.

The second seeds will take on Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in Sunday’s final after the third seeds received a walkover from Tim Puetz and Alexander Zverev. Zverev beat Dominic Thiem in the singles semi-finals and will vie for the trophy against Matteo Berrettini or Casper Ruud on Sunday. 

Mektic and Pavic, who are 32-3 so far, are going for their sixth title of 2021 and third ATP Masters 1000 crown after winning Miami and Monte-Carlo. Granollers and Zeballos are looking to capture their first title of the season after reaching the final of Acapulco in March and picking up three crowns in 2020. 

The doubles final will take place on Sunday at 3:30pm inside Manolo Santana Stadium.

Source link

Metkic/Pavic Aiming To Continue Momentum In Rome

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic have been one of the most in-form teams of the year, and they’re looking to keep the momentum going at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The second seeds are going for their sixth title of the year – and their third ATP Masters 1000 crown – in the Italian capital. 

Mektic and Pavic have been on a tear since teaming up at the start of the season, where they began with trophies at the Antalya Open and the Murray River Open. After winning again at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, they claimed back-to-back Masters 1000 titles at the Miami Open presented by Itau and the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. They’ve amassed a 13-0 record at that level, and are currently in the Mutua Madrid Open final.

View Full Doubles Draw

Mektic and Pavic will start their Rome campaign against Alexander Bublik and Cristian Garin, who are playing their second tournament as a team. 

The second seeds have landed in a tricky section that also includes Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares, the Great Ocean Road Open champions. Murray and Soares are seeking their first clay win of the season, and will face Marcelo Demoliner and Daniil Medvedev in the opening round.

Top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah lead the way in Rome, looking to add a Masters 1000 crown to their 2021 trophy haul, which includes ATP 500 titles in Dubai and Barcelona. They’ll start their campaign against Italian wild cards Fabio Fognini, the 2015 Australian Open champion (w/ Bolelli), and #NextGenATP Lorenzo Musetti.

Cabal and Farah’s section includes Miami and Monte-Carlo finalists Daniel Evans and Neal Skupski, as well as Madrid semi-finalists Tim Puetz and Alexander Zverev. The Colombians could face seventh seeds Wesley Koolhof and Jean-Julien Rojer in the quarter-finals.

Last year’s champions Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos also landed in the top half of the draw, and the Spanish-Argentine tandem is looking for its first title of the year in Rome. After contesting the Madrid final against Mektic and Pavic, they will head to Italy to face Andres Molteni and Diego Schwartzman. The Argentine duo is teaming up for the first time since 2019 in Vienna. 

Source link

Auger-Aliassime To Kick Off Sunday Action In Rome

Felix Auger-Aliassime will look to get some momentum going when he begins play at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Sunday against Filip Krajinovic.

Since adding Toni Nadal to his team, Auger-Aliassime has gone 2-3 after first-round losses in Monte-Carlo and Madrid, and a quarter-final run in Barcelona. He did pick up a win over World No. 14 Denis Shapovalov in Barcelona but is still seeking his top form. 

The World No. 20 has been dealt a tough start. Krajinovic leads their ATP Head2Head Series 2-0, and won their most recent meeting in Rome last fall in straight sets.

The highest seed in action on day one is eleventh seed Pablo Carreno Busta. He’s looking to bounce back from a first-round loss in Madrid and will take on Serbia’s Laslo Djere for the first time. 

Twelfth seed David Goffin will wrap up action on Center Court when he opens against Italian wild card Salvatore Caruso. The only other main draw match will see Reilly Opelka battle Richard Gasquet in their first meeting. 

ORDER OF PLAY – SUNDAY, MAY 09, 2021

CENTER COURT start 11:00 am

F. Krajinovic (SRB) vs F. Auger-Aliassime (CAN)

L. Djere (SRB) vs [11] P. Carreno Busta (ESP)
[WC]
S. Caruso (ITA) vs [12] D. Goffin (BEL)

GRAND STAND ARENA start 11:00 am

Qualifying match
Qualifying match
R. Gasquet (FRA) vs R. Opelka (USA)

Source link

Thiem Takes Stock After Madrid: 'I Think I'm On The Right Track'

Third seed Dominic Thiem bowed out to Alexander Zverev in the Mutua Madrid Open semi-finals, but the Austrian is still taking his week in the Spanish capital as a win.

Thiem was competing in his first tournament since the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in March after taking time away from the Tour to ‘recharge’.

“It was a way better result than I expected,” Thiem said in his post-match press conference. “Playing-wise and physically-wise, I expected to be in a decent shape. But, of course, there are still many things to improve just to keep all intensity for all the week, day in, day out.

“Of course, some of the strokes, they need a little improvement. But I’m very optimistic that every week I’m playing now it’s going to improve. Especially for the confidence it was important to get a great result here. I’m happy that I think I’m on the right track.”

Before the tournament, Thiem opened up about needing a mental break following the euphoric high of winning his first major title at the US Open last year (d. Zverev). For Thiem, the inevitable letdown didn’t come right away; he continued to find success and went on to reach the Nitto ATP Finals championship match (l. Medvedev) to close out the season.

But after recording back-to-back early exits in Doha and Dubai, Thiem knew it was time for a break.

“I think the pandemic played a little part of it definitely because I think it’s mentally little bit more demanding to be in a bubble, to play in front of empty seats,” he explained. “But the main reason was that I won the first major [US Open], that I reached basically my lifetime goal. So, of course, it’s tough to just continue like before. 

“That was the main reason, I just had to think about it, regroup myself. That took a little bit of time.”

The time away from the courts seemed to have been just what Thiem needed. The 2017 and 2018 Madrid finalist defeated Marcos Giron, Alex de Minaur and John Isner on the way to his first semi-final of the year.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Dominic Thiem (@domithiem)

“In general I’m super happy with the week,” Thiem said. “I would have never expected to be in the semi-finals, to play in the semi-finals [against] a player like [Zverev]. I cannot complain about anything.

“Of course, there are many things to improve for next week and then for the weeks after, as well. Just try to get to Rome, get some good practices in there, then hopefully play even better than here in Madrid.”

The World No. 4 will be back in action in Rome for the Internazionali BNL d’Italia before heading to Roland-Garros, where he reached back-to-back Grand Slam finals in 2017-18. 

Source link

Madrid Open: Alexander Zverev beats Dominic Thiem to reach final

Germany’s Alexander Zverev beats world number four Dominic Thiem to reach his second Madrid Open final.

Source link

Norrie, Davidovich Fokina Advance In Rome Qualifying

On Saturday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia the first round of the qualifying event saw 16 players inch one step closer to the main draw.

Top seed Cameron Norrie made quick work of Pablo Cuevas 6-1, 6-3. Norrie reached the final in Estoril last week, losing in a third-set tie-break to Albert Ramos-Vinolas. He’ll take on Marco Cecchinato in the final round of qualifying on Sunday.  

Two Americans advanced with Tommy Paul taking out Juan Ignacio Londero and Frances Tiafoe beating Jozef Kovalik. Corentin Moutet eased past Italian wild card Andrea Pellegrino 7-6(5), 6-2 to set up a first meeting with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Wild card Flavio Cobolli retired after going down a set and 2-0 to Davidovich Fokina. Davidovich Fokina just had a deep run in Estoril where he made it to the semi-finals and he also reached the quarter-finals in Monte-Carlo for his best appearance at an ATP Masters 1000.

Third seed Aljaz Bedene survived a scare from World No. 249 Italian wild card Gian Marco Moroni but closed it out 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. Five of the top six seeds advanced with sixth seed Tennys Sandgren losing to Roberto Carballes Baena 7-5, 6-3.

Source link

Nadal vs Coria or Nadal vs Federer: Do You Know Your Rome Classics?

Rafael Nadal took part in two unforgettable battles to win his first two titles at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. In both Rome finals — against Guillermo Coria in 2005 and Roger Federer in 2006 — a teenaged Nadal prevailed in a fifth-set tie-break after more than five hours. 

Nadal, on his tournament debut, celebrated an epic 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6) victory over Coria in his first championship match. A year later at the Foro Italico, he successfully defended the title by defeating Federer 6-7(0), 7-6(5), 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(5) — which to this day remains the longest match of their storied rivalry. 

Nadal needed to show his trademark fighting spirit against both Coria and Federer, coming back from down in the fifth set of both matches. He said following one of his victories, “This was the best match of my career.”

Do you recall what happened in which final? Put your memory skills to the test in the Rome Classics Challenge, share your results and challenge your tennis friends!

Nadal has since won seven more titles in Rome, which changed to a best-of-three-sets final format in 2007. He will look to make it a perfect 10 next week, against a field led by five-time champion Novak Djokovic. Main draw action begins on Sunday, 9 May.

Need help with the quiz? Refresh your memory by watching match highlights. 

2005: Rafael Nadal d. Guillermo Coria, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6)

2006: Rafael Nadal defeats Roger Federer, 6-7(0), 7-6(5), 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(5)

Source link

Djokovic Faces Possible Evans Clash In Rome

In his first ATP Masters 1000 appearance since the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, five-time champion Novak Djokovic could face the man who eliminated him from that tournament — Daniel Evans — in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia second round.

The World No. 1, who will be chasing his second straight Rome title, will face the winner of Evans’ first-round clash against Taylor Fritz at the Foro Italico. Evans has shown his best tennis at clay-court Masters 1000 events this season, with runs to the Monte-Carlo semi-finals and the third round in Madrid. Following Djokovic’s loss to the Briton in the Principality last month, the World No. 1 told reporters that Evans had ‘dismantled my game’.

View Rome Draw

Djokovic will be competing in Rome for the first time since his run to the 2020 title. The top seed dropped just one set en route to last year’s final, where he defeated Diego Schwartzman in straight sets to capture a record-breaking 36th Masters 1000 crown.

Djokovic will aim to add to his 55-9 record in Rome, just two weeks after his marathon semi-final loss to Aslan Karatsev at the Serbia Open. The 33-year-old shares the top quarter with Monte-Carlo champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, Madrid semi-finalist Matteo Berrettini and 16th seed Grigor Dimitrov. Tsitsipas will meet the winner of an exciting first-round match between former World No. 3 Marin Cilic and in-form Kazakhstani Alexander Bublik.

One week after opening his Mutua Madrid Open campaign against #NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal could face Italy’s leading #NextGenATP star, Jannik Sinner, in his first match in Rome.

Nadal, who is chasing his 10th trophy in the Italian capital, will begin his title bid against the winner of Sinner’s first-round encounter against Ugo Humbert. Sinner will be aiming to set up a repeat of last year’s Roland Garros quarter-final against Nadal, when he pushed the eventual champion for the opening two sets of their three-set clash on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Humbert will enter his meeting against Sinner with a 1-0 ATP Head2Head advantage. The Frenchman denied the home favourite an unbeaten run to the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals crown in Milan with a four-set win during the round robin stage.

Whether he faces Sinner or Humbert, Nadal’s goal will remain the same. The second seed will be keen to rediscover his best level from the outset in Rome after his straight-sets quarter-final defeat to Alexander Zverev in Madrid. Across 16 appearances at the Foro Italico, Nadal has compiled a 63-7 tournament record.

Nadal could meet Zverev for the second straight week. The German also features in a packed fourth quarter of the draw, which also includes last year’s Rome semi-finalist Denis Shapovalov, Marbella champion Pablo Carreno Busta and former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori. In two of the standout matches of the first round, Shapovalov will open against Madrid semi-finalist Casper Ruud and Nishikori will battle 2019 Monte-Carlo champion Fabio Fognini.

Fourth seed Dominic Thiem leads the way in the second quarter. The 2017 semi-finalist, who will face Zverev in the Madrid semi-finals on Saturday, will start his sixth Rome appearance against Guido Pella or Marton Fucsovics in the second round. Seventh seed Andrey Rublev, 10th seed Roberto Bautista Agut and 14th seed Gael Monfils also feature in the second quarter. Monfils will be making his first appearance since his Australian Open first-round loss to Emil Ruusuvuori in February.

Third seed Daniil Medvedev and 2020 runner-up Schwartzman are the highest seeds in the third quarter of the draw. Medvedev will meet countryman Karatsev or Miomir Kecmanovic in his tournament opener, while Schwartzman will face Filip Krajinovic or Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round. In the same section, Miami champion Hubert Hurkacz will battle #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the first round.

Source link