Novak Djokovic beats Karen Khachanov in Dubai
Novak Djokovic produces another superb display as his comeback continues by beating Russia’s Karen Khachanov to reach the Dubai quarter-finals.
Novak Djokovic produces another superb display as his comeback continues by beating Russia’s Karen Khachanov to reach the Dubai quarter-finals.
Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic reached the semi-finals at a tour-level event for the first time this season on Wednesday, downing Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 6-4, 7-3(3) at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
The top seeds won nine tour-level crowns in 2021, but are still seeking their first trophy in 2022. They saved the one break point they faced to advance after 89 minutes. The Croatians are aiming to go one step further in Dubai this week, after enjoying a run to the final last year.
The Croatians will next play third seeds Filip Polasek and John Peers after the Poles received a walkover from Hubert Hurkacz and Jannik Sinner.
Fourth seeds Tim Puetz and Michael Venus booked their spot in the quarter-finals with a 4-6, 6-1, 10-5 win over lucky losers Jonathan Erlich and Jan-Lennard Struff.
Puetz and Venus clinched tour-level trophies in Hamburg and Paris last season. The German-New Zealand tandem will next take on Andrey Golubev and Fabrice Martin.
Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski moved into the last eight after second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury were forced to retire during the match. Koolhoof and Skupski were leading 7-6(4) when the action was stopped.
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Jannik Sinner earned his first victory over former World No. 1 Andy Murray on Wednesday at the Dubai Duty Free Championships, overcoming the Scot 7-5, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals.
The Italian survived by the skin of his teeth in the first round at the ATP 500 event Tuesday, saving three match points against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina en route to advancing.
However, the World No. 10 found the going easier against Murray, not facing a break point as he struck his flat, powerful groundstrokes with depth and accuracy to outmanoeuvre the 34-year-old, triumphing after one hour and 44 minutes.
“It is a special feeling [to share the court with Murray],” Sinner said in his on-court interview. “He is a legend. Winning three Grand Slams, many, many tournaments and he has had some unfortunate moments with surgeries. His fighting spirit is incredible.”
Stepping up when it matters most 💪@janniksin takes out 2017 Dubai champ Murray 7-5 6-2 to reach the #DDFTennis quarter-finals for a second year in-a-row pic.twitter.com/O35BZCWhsH
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 23, 2022
Sinner captured four tour-level titles in 2021 and made his debut at the Nitto ATP Finals on home soil in Turin as an alternate. The 20-year-old is aiming to win his maiden trophy of the season this week in his third tournament of the season. The fourth seed advanced to the last eight at the Australian Open and went 3-0 at ATP Cup in January.
“There were some nerves,” Sinner said. “I lost my last match against him. I tried to stay focused about my game and it worked. Thanks for the support as always. I think I played well, especially in the first set when it was tight in some moments.”
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In a dominant performance, Sinner caused Murray problems with his consistent depth. He looked to force the Scot wide with his backhand and closed the net effectively throughout, striking volleys away into the open court as he latched onto Murray’s lofty slice backhands.
After a close first set, where Sinner remained patient, the Italian quickly raced clear in the second set to level their ATP Head2Head series at 1-1. The World No. 10, who enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals in Dubai last year, will next play fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz after the Pole moved past lucky loser Alex Molcan 6-3, 6-2 in 71 minutes.
Murray lifted the trophy in Dubai in his last appearance in 2017 and was seeking his 700th tour-level career win. Murray defeated Sinner in Stockholm in November.
Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal makes a dominant return to the court with victory over Denis Kudla in the Mexican Open first round.
Stefanos Tsitsipas earned his 200th tour-level win on Tuesday at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, where he overcame Serbian Laslo Djere 7-6(7), 7-6(4) to reach the second round in Acapulco.
In a hard-fought battle, the Greek saved two set points in the first set at 5-4, 40/30 on Djere’s serve and then at 6/7 in the tie-break, before he edged a tight second set to advance after two hours and 15 minutes at the ATP 500 event.
“It was very challenging,” Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview. “There were a lot of tight moments today. It was not easy coming in and trying to adjust, but I felt much more comfortable game after game. There was a point where I was getting ahead and playing my best tennis. He put up a great fight and he wasn’t easy to crack. But those two tie-breaks I managed really well and managed to execute my game plan.”
The Greek claimed his maiden tour-level victory in October 2017, defeating Karen Khachanov in Shanghai in straight sets. Since then, the 23-year-old has captured seven tour-level titles, including the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals trophy and the 2021 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters crown.
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Tsitsipas has also risen to a career-high No. 3 in the ATP Rankings and advanced to the final at Roland Garros in 2021, falling to Novak Djokovic, who he has defeated twice so far. The World No. 4 is now 200-99 on his career.
The third seed is aiming to win his first title of the season in Acapulco, after reaching the semi-finals at the Australian Open and final at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam.
“The fans are really engaged, and they love tennis here,” Tsitsipas added. “A lot of the players are getting good support including me and it is electric out there on court. It is one of the best atmospheres at an ATP 500 I have played.”
Tsitsipas, who enjoyed a run to the championship match in Mexico last year, now leads Djere 1-0 in their ATP Head2Head series and will next face J.J. Wolf after the American qualifier saved a match point en route to a 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-2 win over Lorenzo Sonego.
Peter Gojowczyk has received a walkover into the quarter-finals following Alexander Zverev’s withdrawal. The 32-year-old will play either Cameron Norrie or John Isner in the last eight.
Britain’s US Open champion Emma Raducanu retires with a hip injury against Daria Saville in the opening round of the Guadalajara Open.
Rafael Nadal entered the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC with low expectations. Then again, he said the same ahead of the Australian Open.
In his first action since his record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title, the Acapulco fourth seed picked up where he left off with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Denis Kudla on Tuesday. Nadal was in command throughout on the Mexican hard court and showed few signs of rust after three weeks out of competition.
With the win, he matches his best start to an ATP Tour season at 11-0. Nadal also won 11 straight matches to start the 2014 season, before losing to Stan Wawrinka in the Australian Open final.
“It has been a positive start, a good victory in straight sets. That’s always very positive for the confidence,” he said post-match. “I think I played a very solid match, a good effort today. Of course there are a couple of things that I can do better, but in general terms, I played well so I can’t complain at all.”
Solid if not spectacular, Nadal displayed his typical baseline dominance as he eased into the match and the tournament, showing patience in the rallies and taking the offensive when chances came.
He dropped just four points on serve in the match and spent the bulk of it in cruise control after early breaks in both sets soothed any nerves.
Two flashes of brilliance early in set two delighted the crowd, though Kudla managed to hold on to his opening service game. A roped forehand return winner was followed by an inside-out line-clipper to conclude a classic Nadal transition from defence to attack.
But Kudla could not hold on much longer against the steady assault off the Spaniard’s racquet. After erasing the slightest of openings at 0-1, 15/30, Nadal did not drop another point on serve, winning five straight games as he moved through the gears.
Another forehand winner, his 16th of the match off that wing, sealed victory in one hour, 13 minutes.
This one goes to 1️1️ 💪@RafaelNadal zooms past Denis Kudla 6-3 6-2 in Acapulco to improve to 11-0 on the season.#AMT2022 pic.twitter.com/XaOXvI9wYv
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 23, 2022
In addition to matching his personal-best start to a season, Nadal also extends his Acapulco win streak to six matches following his title run in 2020. Now 21-2 lifetime at the event, Nadal also triumphed in 2005 and 2013, with the latter being the tournament’s last year on clay. All 21 of his wins have come in straight sets.
Nadal will next face lucky loser Stefan Kozlov, his Monday practice partner. The American had an adventure of a first-round win against Grigor Dimitrov, stopping a practice set with Nadal upon receiving late word that he had a place in the main draw.
“It would be amazing, it would be a great honour for me,” Kozlov said of a potential second-round encounter with Nadal. “I think he’s a fantastic person, and I have great respect for him. I’ll really enjoy it, definitely.”
Soon after Nadal sealed victory, Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie extended a win streak of his own to advance on Tuesday night. Fresh off his Delray Beach title, the Acapulco sixth seed made it five wins (and seven sets) on the trot with a 7-6(5), 6-2 win over Germany’s Daniel Altmaier.
Norrie twice came back from a break down in an eventful opening set, breaking at love to stop his opponent from serving out the frame at 5-4. That ended a run of three games against serve and started the World No. 12’s ascent in the match. Norrie never trailed in the tie-break and never trailed in the second set thanks to an immediate break of serve.
He’ll face John Isner next in the second round, after the American’s 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-6(3) win over wild card Fernando Verdasco on Monday.
Daniil Medvedev began his pursuit of the No. 1 ATP Ranking on Tuesday when he defeated Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-4 at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC. If the Russian wins the ATP 500, he is guaranteed to pass Novak Djokovic for the top spot on Monday regardless of the Serbian’s performance this week in Dubai.
In his first match since a heartbreaking defeat to Rafael Nadal from two sets up in the Australian Open final, Medvedev overcame a tricky foe in Paire. The top seed rallied from a break down in the second set to triumph after one hour and 42 minutes.
“It’s always not easy to come back after some rest and some time off competition,” Medvedev said. “Sometimes [it is] better, sometimes [it is] worse. I felt like my sensations were not at the top today, but I managed to fight until the end against a very tough opponent and I’m happy that I managed to win.”
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The World No. 2 now leads Paire 3-0 in their ATP Head2Head series after a performance in which he earned four service breaks and converted three of the four break points he faced. Medvedev will next play Spanish veteran Pablo Andujar or Mexican wild card Alex Hernandez, a 22-year-old ranked World No. 566. The 2020 Nitto ATP Finals champion said the chase for No. 1 is not at the top of his mind.
“If Novak would not be playing, then maybe it would be a little bit more in my mind because it would only be me that it depends what I can do,” Medvedev said.
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The 26-year-old Medvedev was not flawless in his performance against Paire, but he was more consistent, which proved critical. The World No. 49’s unpredictable play also contributed to that as the Frenchman surged in the second set between frequent net rushes and powerful backhands. His flurry would have troubled any player on Tour.
Medvedev showed frustration after he fell behind 2-4 in the second set. But once he got back on serve, Paire’s level significantly dropped and the tournament debutant broke at love to close out the match.
In other action, fifth seed Matteo Berrettini won the first set against American Tommy Paul 6-4. But after Paul took a 5-1 lead in the second set, Berrettini retired. The World No. 39 Paul will next face Serbian Dusan Lajovic.
Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka also advanced with a 2-6, 6-0, 6-4 victory against Spanish wild card Feliciano Lopez. Nishioka will next challenge 2020 Acapulco finalist Taylor Fritz.
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Medvedev is pursuing his first title of the year this week. The 13-time tour-level champion has claimed multiple trophies in each of the past four seasons.