Donaldson Qualifies For Next Gen ATP Finals 2017
Donaldson Qualifies For Next Gen ATP Finals 2017
Oct262017
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British number two Kyle Edmund booked his spot in the last eight of the Erste Bank Open but only after he was given a stiff test by qualifier Dennis Novak.
The world number 63 was taken to three tie-breaks by the Austrian, ranked 284 in the world, eventually winning 7-6 (7-2) 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-3).
Edmund, 22, was broken in the first set but recovered and won the tie-break.
Novak levelled but a poor drop-shot in the deciding set tie-break gave Edmund a mini-break en route to victory.
Edmund will next face German world number 51 Jan-Lennard Struff, who recorded a 6-7 (7-5) 6-2 7-6 (7-1) win over Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
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World number one doubles player Martina Hingis has announced she will retire from tennis after the WTA Finals.
The Swiss, 37, originally retired as a 22-year old in 2003 and then again in 2007 after a brief comeback.
Returning in 2013, she won this year’s Wimbledon and US Open mixed doubles with Britain’s Jamie Murray, part of a total of 10 Grand Slam doubles crowns.
“It’s the right time for me. It’s better to stop at the peak and say I had a very good time,” Hingis said.
“The successes I’ve had over the past three years have been great and it’s going to be hard to beat. And my priorities change, too, of course.”
Hingis gained international recognition as a 16-year-old, becoming world number one and winning the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in 1997.
She went on to win a further two further Grand Slam singles titles, both of which were in Australia.
Retiring in 2003, Hingis said that a return to competition was “unforeseeable” and that she had “no plans to ever return.”
However, Hingis made a comeback on the singles circuit in 2006 before retiring for a second time a year later.
After being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Hingis returned to the doubles circuit in 2013.
She has since brought her tally of career Grand Slam titles to 25.
Hingis and her doubles partner Chan Yung-jan play in the last eight of the WTA Finals in Singapore on Thursday.
Venus Williams beat Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza in straight sets to reach the last four at the WTA Finals, ending the Spaniard’s hopes of finishing the year as world number one.
The American, 37, won 7-5 6-4 in Singapore to secure second place in the White Group behind Karolina Pliskova.
Czech Pliskova had already qualified, but ended the round-robin stage with a 6-3 6-1 loss to Jelena Ostapenko.
Williams will play Caroline Wozniacki or Caroline Garcia in the semis.
Denmark’s Wozniacki has guaranteed a semi-final place with two wins, and will win the White Group with victory over French eighth seed Garcia on Friday.
World number one Simona Halep of Romania then takes on Ukraine’s fourth seed Elina Svitolina, with both women still able to reach the semi-finals heading into the final group matches.
Muguruza proved too strong in the Wimbledon final in July. but three months later it was Williams who prevailed in straight sets.
Both players struggled to hold serve in a see-saw opening set which was eventually won by Williams.
Leading 6-5, the American took advantage of a loose game from Muguruza in which the Spaniard drove a forehand long with the court wide open.
Before the second set, Muguruza’s coach Sam Sumyk urged her to commit more to her shots, instructing the Wimbledon champion to “miss on your terms”.
The words seemed to have an effect on Muguruza, who stepped inside the baseline to break in the opening game of the second set.
Muguruza could not sustain her advantage, however, and was pegged back instantly.
Williams took advantage of further errors from Muguruza to seal the match and reach the fifth WTA Finals semi-final of her career.
“I played an amazing opponent who has had an amazing year so I was so happy to win the last point,” Williams said.
| White Group | Matches W-L | Sets W-L | Games W-L |
| Karolina Pliskova (Cze) Q | 2-1 | 4-2 | 28-20 |
| Venus Williams (US) Q | 2-1 | 4-3 | 37-38 |
| Garbine Muguruza (Spa) | 1-2 | 2-4 | 25-32 |
| Jelena Ostapenko (Lat) | 1-2 | 3-4 | 36-36 |
Earlier on Thursday, French Open champion Ostapenko convincingly overcame Pliskova, who produced an error-strewn display.
Ostapenko said: “It was my last match here today. I really tried to enjoy every moment. I think I was playing quite relaxed, and I just showed my best today.”
Pliskova hope to regain the form she showed in her opening two matches when she takes on the runner-up from Red Group in Saturday’s semi-finals.
| Red Group | Matches W-L | Sets W-L | Games W-L |
| Caroline Wozniacki (Den) Q | 2-0 | 4-0 | 24-4 |
| Simona Halep (Rom) | 1-1 | 2-2 | 14-18 |
| Caroline Garcia (Fra) | 1-1 | 2-3 | 25-27 |
| Elena Svitolina (Ukr) | 0-2 | 1-4 | 17-31 |
It hasn’t been all about tennis for players this week. ATPWorldTour.com provides a recap of the highlights.
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Swiss Indoors Basel – Basel, Switzerland
Benoit Paire took some time off ahead of his second-round clash against Roger Federer at the Swiss Indoors Basel. The Frenchman visited the “Läckerli House” in Basel’s old town and prepared the famous cookie specialty. The Basler Läckerli is a traditional hard, spice biscuit made of honey, hazelnuts, almonds, candied peel and Kirsch. After a nice walk through the old town, Paire arrived at the shop and helped bake some Läckerli.
“This is a very nice experience. The biscuits are very tasty and it was fun to prepare them. It’s not easy, almost more difficult than playing Roger Federer. I will offer some of my biscuits to him on court tomorrow,” Paire said with a big smile.
“I know a lot of Swiss specialities, but this is the first time I tasted the Basler Läckerli,” the Geneva resident added. “Last night I had some Raclette, a dish I like a lot.”
Marin Cilic and Marco Chiudinelli participated in the Champions of Tomorrow clinic with junior players from all over Switzerland Sunday morning. The 20 junior players enjoyed the clinic with the two stars. Defending champion Cilic even gave them some advice in German.
Erste Bank Open 500 – Vienna, Austria
Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem, Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev took to the streets of Vienna on Saturday for some improvised street tennis in front of the famous landmark St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Zverev and Thiem also assisted with the draw ceremony.
“This city is amazing. I think it is an old fashioned, European city like we have in my home country, in Germany,” Zverev said. “It is such a beautiful place… I think we all enjoyed it.”
Vienna ?? @ErsteBankOpen pic.twitter.com/ORDNmzu0DX
— Karen Khachanov (@karenkhachanov) October 21, 2017
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Kevin Anderson, Sam Querrey, David Ferrer, Pablo Cuevas, Jamie Murray, Bruno Soares, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan took a cooking class in Vienna on Monday evening at “Plachuttas Gasthaus zur Oper”. After learning how to prepare Wiener Schnitzel last year, it was all about the Kaiserschmarrn (shredded pancake), a traditional Austrian dessert, this time around. After completing their own desserts the players were treated to a three course meal, which of course included the traditional Wiener Schnitzel.
“I usually don’t make a lot of food, but it was a blast. Last year, we made a Schnitzel, and this year we learned to make another dish, so I can make two dishes now,” Mike Bryan said. “I would say Jo was the strongest. He says he cooks a lot at home for his wife and baby. I was lagging behind. I was probably the worst…Bruno got the certificate for best forehand. He was the best whipper, but there was a lot of talent.”
Andrey Rublev celebrated his 20th birthday on Friday in Vienna, and was presented with a Next Gen cake and cake pops by Erste Bank Open 500 Tournament Director, Herwig Straka.
Best of ATP Stars 2017
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