French Open 2020: Bianca Andreescu withdraws to prepare for busy 2021
The 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu withdraws from the French Open in order to continue her recovery from injury.
The 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu withdraws from the French Open in order to continue her recovery from injury.
#NextGenATP star Felix Auger-Aliassime made a successful Hamburg European Open debut on Tuesday, defeating Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-2, 7-6(2) in one hour and 48 minutes.
The 20-year-old Canadian saved all four break points he faced in the pair’s first ATP Head2Head meeting. Auger-Aliassime lost his opener at last week’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia against in-form Serbian Filip Krajinovic. But he remains confident after reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time at the US Open.
“I’m feeling good. I’ve played some good tennis in the past weeks in the United States. Now I feel good physically and mentally,” Auger-Aliassime said on Monday. “I’m ready for the upcoming challenges. It’s going to be a tough week. [ATP] 500 tournaments are always strong ones and especially this week, so we’ll see who the best man is this week. I’m looking forward to playing some good tennis.”
[WATCH LIVE 1]Auger-Aliassime is especially excited to compete in front of fans for the first time since the ATP Tour resumed last month. While there were no spectators allowed at his match against Sonego, there will be a limited crowd for his second-round battle against Kazakh lucky loser Alexander Bublik, who defeated Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the first round. The new-look Rothenbaum Tennis Stadium is accommodating up to 2,300 fans per day with strict safety measures in place.
“It feels so good. Honestly the feeling is just great,” Auger-Aliassime said. “To be here, it’s a smaller draw. There’s not a full capacity of fans, but still we’re able to hear the applause and have them watch us live and it’s such a special thing as a tennis player. But I think artists and musicians can say the same thing. There’s nothing that replaces the live applause.”
Things aren’t only good on the court for the Canadian. On Monday, Auger-Aliassime and second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas took separate vehicles on a car tour around Hamburg’s harbour.
“It’s great. We haven’t had the chance in the latest weeks to get out much, which is normal in these circumstances in the world we live in now,” Auger-Aliassime said. “But at the same time I always enjoy whenever I get to travel as a tennis player and go from different cities week-after-week… now we’ve been able to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Hamburg port and the city. I’m glad.”
Auger-Aliassime is thankful for the efforts of the tournament organisers to make this event possible, and he will try to take full advantage by pursuing his first ATP Tour title.
“I think the people in the past weeks have put in some hard work to make sure the tournament is up and running with safe measures,” Auger-Aliassime said. “Us players, we’re grateful that we have opportunities to play again, to play world-class tournaments.”
Britain’s Harriet Dart beats Romanian fifth seed Mihaela Buzarnescu in the first round of French Open qualifying.
In a meeting of former Roland Garros semi-finalists, Marco Cecchinato booked his place in the second qualifying round with a 6-3, 7-5 victory against Ernests Gulbis on Tuesday.
The fifth seed struck 20 winners to move past 2014 semi-finalist Gulbis in one hour and 43 minutes. Just two years ago, Cecchinato beat Pablo Carreno Busta and David Goffin in back-to-back matches to book a quarter-final meeting against Novak Djokovic at the clay-court Grand Slam championship. Appearing in his maiden Grand Slam quarter-final, the Italian stunned Djokovic in a three-hour, 26-minute battle to reach the semi-finals in Paris.
Cecchinato will next face Constant Lestienne of France. The 28-year-old raced through his opening match in 61 minutes, beating Andrew Harris 6-1, 6-1.
South Korea’s Hyeon Chung rallied from a 1/4 deficit in a first-set tie-break to defeat wild card Baptiste Crepatte 7-6(7), 6-4. The 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals champion will face Renzo Olivo of Argentina for a place in the final qualifying round. Olivo won 12 of 15 net points to eliminate 20th seed Federico Gaio 6-4, 6-4.
Eighth seed Taro Daniel also advanced on Tuesday with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Mathias Bourgue. The Japanese will face Andrey Kuznetsov, who overcame Blaz Kavcic 4-6, 7-6(8), 6-3, in his next match.
Frederico Ferreira Silva charged past Viktor Troicki 6-0, 6-2 on Court 11. The 25-year-old Portuguese broke serve on six occasions to book a meeting with Joao Menezes. The Brazilian moved past Mohamed Safwat 7-6(2), 6-1.
Leonardo Mayer landed 29 winners to defeat Peter Polansky 7-5, 6-0. The Argentine, a two-time winner at the Hamburg European Open, will play Carlos Taberner of Spain in his next match. Taberner, who won his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title in Iasi last week, beat Stefano Napolitano 6-4, 7-5.
Just one week after becoming a father for the first time, Roberto Bautista Agut claimed a memorable victory in his opening match at the Hamburg European Open on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old eliminated two-time defending champion Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-3 to record his 15th win in 20 matches this year. Bautista Agut is through to the second round in Hamburg for the third time. The Spaniard also reached the second round in the German port city in 2013 and 2015.
Bautista Agut became a father on 15 September, when his wife gave birth to their son — Roberto — in Valencia. After the match, he received a message of support from Alex Corretja. The former World No. 2 joked that Bautista Agut would now be tired from sleepless nights rather than his on-court efforts.
“It was very tiring last week,” said Bautista Agut. “Alex knows well. I think he has three or four kids. I am very proud of my family and very happy to have a new baby in our lives and it was a really nice experience to live with my wife. We are really proud of the kid.”
Bautista Agut improves to 3-1 in his ATP Head2Head series against Basilashvili, who had won his past 10 matches at the ATP 500. The fourth seed will face Dominik Koepfer for a spot in the quarter-finals. The Rome quarter-finalist needed almost two and a half hours to overcome Yoshihito Nishioka 7-6(0), 4-6, 6-1.
Kitzbühel runner up Yannick Hanfmann continued his strong run of form to defeat third seed Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-3. The German wild card served well throughout the 74-minute clash, winning 91 per cent of first-serve points (32/35) to confirm a second-round meeting against Cristian Garin.
The Chilean charged past Kei Nishikori 6-0, 6-3 to earn only his second victory in five matches since the resumption of the ATP Tour. Garin is bidding to lift his third clay trophy of the year this week. The World No. 22 earned titles on the surface at the Cordoba Open and the Rio Open presented by Claro in February.
The ATP and WTA have been recognised by Leaders Sports Awards for Tennis United, a digital series designed to provide a voice to professional tennis players and deliver exclusive content to fans from their favourite players around the world.
Tennis United, along with World Cup at Home (FIFA and WePlay), Arsenal Together (Arsenal), Join the Movement (Sport England) and Open for the Ages (Two Circles and R&A), have all received honours by Leaders Sports Awards for best ‘Content Creation,’ which is defined by “a compelling piece of content – bitesize or long-form – that made people laugh, cry or think, engaging and entertaining the audience throughout.”
“Tennis United has been a true collaborative effort between ATP and WTA, to connect with fans in an innovative way and give our players a platform to address important societal issues,” said Massimo Calvelli, ATP CEO. “Receiving this prestigious industry award attests to the many great things tennis can achieve by working together.”
“We are honored to receive and share this prestigious award with the ATP,” said Micky Lawler, WTA President. “Given the unprecedented times we have all been living in, working even closer with the ATP has proven to make each of our products even stronger. This award signifies the hard work and dedication collectively from both Tours, including players and staff, to provide an impactful content series for fans.”
Tennis United was created during the suspension of the ATP and WTA Tours due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the first show airing on 10 April 2020, Tennis United marked the first time the two tours joined forces to collaborate on a series of content.
Hosted by Grand Slam doubles champions, Vasek Pospisil (ATP) and Bethanie Mattek-Sands (WTA), the show stood out for addressing important issues including mental health, equality and inclusivity, and social responsibility as well as featuring light-hearted moments through social media challenges, discussions and interviews.
Among the 18 episodes that have aired, Novak Djokovic, Naomi Osaka, Andy Murray, Garbiñe Muguruza, Stefanos Tsitsipas, as well as tennis legends Martina Navratilova and Stefan Edberg have all been featured, along with many others. In addition, fans had the opportunity to witness ATP and WTA players interact with each other and with stars from other sports and cultures; the show featured guests from the worlds of international soccer, the NBA, the NHL and music.
Click here to read more about the Leaders Sports Award and here for access to all episodes of Tennis United.
In addition, Tennis United will be featured during LeadersWeek.direct/ the week of 5 October.
What makes the ‘Ultimate Doubles Player’?
Over the past 10 weeks, the world’s best doubles players have analysed that question. Juan Sebastian Cabal, Robert Farah, Raven Klaasen, Robert Lindstedt, Marcelo Melo, Jurgen Melzer, Jamie Murray, Filip Polasek, Rajeev Ram, Joe Salisbury, Ken Skupski, Neal Skupski and Bruno Soares have dived into the various shots and skills that make great doubles players special.
They discussed everything from volleys and returns to the players with the biggest ‘X-Factor’. Which opponents are toughest to face? What actually makes a great doubles player?
These stars answered everything you might want to know about doubles. Click on the links below for each week’s story and full video.
What Makes A Great Doubles Player?
Who Are The World’s Toughest Doubles Opponents?
Murray’s ‘Funky, But Extremely Effective’ Forehand Volley
Which Doubles Player Has The World’s Best Backhand Volley?
Tecau Bulldozes His Way To The Best Doubles Serve
Kubot’s Return: ‘He’s Going To Put Your Partner In The Hospital’
Holding The Ball & Testing The Mind: Soares Leads Consistent Returners
‘He’s So Tough To Lob!’ Why Height Means Little For Klaasen’s Overhead
Paes’ Feel: ‘He Has The Best Touch I’ve Ever Seen’
Why Melo ‘Could Be The World’s Best Doubles Partner’
Felix Auger-Aliassime and Stefanos Tsitsipas are both in Hamburg for the first time this week at the Hamburg European Open. While maintaining safety measures, including social distancing, they made the most of their time in the city on Monday.
The young stars took separate vehicles for a car tour around Hamburg’s harbour, stopping at the Elbe riverbank, which overlooks the Elbphilharmonie (Elbe Philharmonic Hall), a concert hall and Hamburg landmark (officially inaugurated in 2017) in the HafenCity quarter of the city.
“I always enjoy whenever I get to travel as a tennis player and go to different cities week after week,” said Auger-Aliassime, who plays Lorenzo Sonego on Tuesday. “Now we’ve been able today to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Hamburg port in the city, so it’s nice. I’m glad.”
[WATCH LIVE 1]Tsitsipas was excited for the opportunity to see the city before opening his run at the ATP 500 event against Daniel Evans on Wednesday.
“I appreciate very much that we have the opportunity to be here. It’s great to be outdoors and to explore Hamburg a little bit more,” Tsitsipas said. “I wouldn’t otherwise get the opportunity, so I’m really grateful for that. I’m enjoying it so far. I think the harbour looks great.”
Twenty eight drop shots in 21 games.
Novak Djokovic defeated Diego Schwartzman 7-5, 6-3 in the final of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Sunday in Rome, coming from two breaks down in the first set and a break down in the second set to secure a record-breaking 36th ATP Masters 1000 crown.
The drop shots came thick and fast from the racquet of the World No. 1, beginning on the second point of the match when he hit a backhand drop shot up the line with heavy backspin for a clean winner. It was a premeditated strike that sent an immediate message to Schwartzman. If the Argentine was going to set up shop further back than two metres behind the baseline to exchange side-to-side groundstrokes, he was going to have to do a lot of running forward to the net as well.
The drop shot barrage extended all the way to match point when Djokovic hit an identical backhand drop shot, with Schwartzman running this one down, but missing it wide to end the final. At any moment, especially from backhand groundstrokes, you knew Djokovic wanted to lean onto the ball and show a driving backhand, but then switch his grip in the backswing behind his body and carve out another drop shot to pull Schwartzman out of his deep trench. Twenty-six of the 28 drop shots from both players came off the backhand side.
The only problem for Djokovic was winning them.
Overall, Djokovic hit 20 drop shots in the match and only won seven. Winning just 35 per cent (7/20) of any tennis strategy is typically considered a disaster, but there were still benefits for the Serbian other than moving a point ahead on the scoreboard. Schwartzman’s game plan was to play exceptionally deep in the court and not miss. After the first set, Hawk-Eye graphics created an imaginary line deeper than two metres behind the baseline and highlighted that Schwartzman hit 50 per cent of his groundstrokes from this very deep location. The benefit for Schwartzman with this strategy was that Djokovic’s ball would slow down considerably at contact and be less venomous. The downside was Schwartzman’s considerable distance from the front of the court.
Schwartzman’s Rally Hit Point vs. Djokovic
Djokovic’s Rally Hit Point vs. Schwartzman
Djokovic only hit five drop shots for a clean winner. Five more went straight in the net. Nineteen of the 20 drop shots were struck off his backhand wing and 14 of the 19 were struck straight down the line. If Djokovic was going to lose the point, he made sure his opponent would pay the physical price running side to side as well as chasing down a menacing short ball.
Djokovic won with his first drop shot, but then lost his next four. Both players combined to hit four drop shots in the 4-4 game in the opening set, with Djokovic winning three of the points. Two games later at 5-5, Djokovic hit three drop shots, winning one. Djokovic was so obsessed with drop shots that he actually hit two in one point on the first point of the second set. The second one went wide.
Schwartzman, by comparison, was far more efficient with his drop shots, winning six of eight, including four of four in the second set. Drop shots are typically a secondary tactic in a match that rarely reach double digits in total. It’s interesting to note that between the two players the drop shot still had a losing record in this match, winning just 46 per cent (13/28) of the time. Djokovic lost six straight attempts in four games from 5-5 in the first set to 0-1 in the second set.
Winning the point is one outcome of hitting a drop shot. Building up lactic acid in your opponent’s legs and pulling them out of their comfort zone for the next point doesn’t exist on a stats page. But if they did, Djokovic would rightly point to these side benefits as to why he won the match.
– Hawkeye graphics courtesy ATP Media
Ivo Karlovic advanced to the second qualifying round at Roland Garros on Monday, beating Noah Rubin 7-6(1), 6-4 in one hour and 47 minutes.
The 41-year-old, seeded 19th in the qualifying draw, struck 44 winners and saved four of five break points to overcome the American. Karlovic is bidding to make his 15th appearance in the main draw in Paris. The Croat achieved his best results at the clay-court Grand Slam championship in 2014 and 2016, when he reached the third round.
At last year’s event, Karlovic defeated Feliciano Lopez in four sets to become the oldest player to win a main draw match at the tournament since 44-year-old Torben Ulrich in 1973. Karlovic will face Benjamin Bonzi in his next match. The Frenchman rallied from a set down to beat Zdenek Kolar 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Three of the top four seeds fell in Day 1 action in Paris. Emilio Gomez of Ecuador took just 79 minutes to eliminate top seed Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-3, 6-2. Gomez did not face a break point throughout his match against the #NextGenATP Brazilian, who captured his maiden ATP Tour trophy in Santiago in March.
Competing in the qualifying draw for the sixth straight year, Elias Ymer beat third seed Christopher O’Connell 7-5, 6-4 to reach the second round. Ymer broke serve on four occasions to end O’Connell’s maiden appearance at the event. At the US Open, O’Connell claimed his first Grand Slam victory to book a second-round clash against eventual semi-finalist Daniil Medvedev. Ymer will next face Sebastian Ofner, who beat Alexey Vatutin 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.
Lukas Rosol came from a set down to move past fourth seed Pedro Sousa 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4. The 35-year-old Czech will meet Michael Mmoh for a spot in the final qualifying round. Mmoh won 82 per cent of first-serve points (31/38) to defeat Alex Bolt 6-4, 6-3.
Second seed Pedro Martinez avoided another shock on Day 1. The Spaniard outlasted Daniel Masur of Germany 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. Martinez faces Robin Haase in the second round. The 33-year-old moved past Joao Domingues 6-1, 7-5.
Appearing in the qualifying draw for the first time since 2013, former World No. 8 Jack Sock beat Denmark’s Mikael Torpegaard 6-2, 6-4. The 2017 Rolex Paris Masters champion will meet Facundo Bagnis in the second round. The 24th seed raced past Jay Clarke of Great Britain 6-1, 6-4.
Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic caused another shock on Day 1, saving two match points to defeat Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3. Alcaraz led 6-4, 5-2 and held two match points when serving for the match at 5-3 in the second set, but the Australian rallied to secure a memorable win in two hours and 15 minutes.
Alcaraz entered the tournament in fine form, having reached back-to-back ATP Challenger Tour finals on clay in Trieste (d. Bonadio) and Cordenons (l. to Zapata Miralles) in recent weeks. Vukic will next meet Prajnesh Gunneswaran, who beat Cem Ilkel 6-3, 6-1.
