Tennis News

Karatsev's Australian Stunner One Of Biggest Slam Upsets Of 2021

Rounding off our review of the 2021 season, ATPTour.com looks back at the biggest Grand Slam upsets of the season, starting today with three of the top five upsets. We’ll review the top two tomorrow.

5) Roland Garros, First Round, Pablo Andujar d. Dominic Thiem 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
A defeat of Roger Federer in Geneva on clay only two weeks before Roland Garros did not harm Pablo Andujar’s self-belief, even if it was the Swiss star’s first match back from knee surgery.

But while the Spaniard arrived in Paris with a career-best win under his belt, the draw had not been kind. He was scheduled in the first round to face fourth seed and two-time finalist Dominic Thiem, a player whom he had not beaten in three prior ATP Head2Head meetings.

Thiem was the reigning US Open champion but had battled with injuries earlier in the season before his return to clay in May, typically his most successful surface. However, there were worrying signs leading up to the tournament where he had reached the final in 2018 and 2019 and the quarter-finals last year.

Thiem lost three of his seven matches on clay leading in, including a second-round departure in Rome and a first-round defeat in Lyon. Still, there was nothing to suggest he was about to hit a wall against the World No. 68 after he took the opening two sets in just under two hours.

The 35-year-old Andujar had not won a match at Roland Garros since he reached the third round in 2015, but he began to exploit a mounting error count from his opponent as he took the third set on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Thiem had never fallen at the first hurdle in seven previous Roland Garros appearances, and his opponent had never come back to win a match after dropping the opening two sets. After breaks were traded at the start of the deciding set, it was Andujar who carried the momentum from a decisive break at 2-2 to a 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory after four hours and 29 minutes.

“It is very special to win here at Roland Garros,” Andujar said. “[It was] such an emotional win for me, being two-sets-to-love down against an amazing player.”

It was just the second time Thiem had lost from two sets up, following his fourth-round defeat to Juan Martin del Potro at the 2017 US Open. He finished the day with 61 unforced errors and was at a loss to explain his capitulation.

“Losing after being two sets to zero up, it’s very strange to me, and I have to think about what’s wrong at the moment,” Thiem said. “…I’ve never had losses like that, especially here at Roland Garros.”

4) US Open, Second Round, Botic van de Zandschulp d. Casper Ruud 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4

^{Photo Credit: Al Bello/Getty Images}
Playing from behind requires a certain mindset, a selective amnesia when things don’t begin well. At this year’s US Open, Botic van de Zandschulp didn’t just survive a series of self-dug deep holes, he thrived.

The 25-year-old Netherlands athlete, who had qualified at the three previous Grand Slam events, did it again in New York. The three matches had a curious symmetry; playing against Tomas Barrios Vera, Ben Shelton and Enzo Couacaud, van de Zandschulp lost the first set, only to win the next two. In his first-round main-draw match, van de Zandschulp dug deeper, dropping the first two sets against Carlos Taberner before rallying famously for the victory.

This was all well and good – none of the players were ranked among the ATP’s Top 100 – but second-round opponent Casper Ruud was No. 11 in the FedEx ATP Rankings and in the midst of a sensational stretch that included three consecutive titles on clay in July. The 22-year-old from Norway won in Bastad, Gstaad and Kitzbühel – and then reached the quarter-finals on the hard courts of Toronto and Cincinnati – and was suddenly in play for a berth at the year-end Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.

True to recent form, van de Zandschulp began poorly, double faulting on a pair of break points to give Ruud the first set. Of course, now he had the Norwegian right where he wanted him – and proceeded to win the second set.

“I had the feeling I was leading while it was still one set all and we were on serve for a long time in the second set,” van de Zandschulp said afterwards. “This [season] is the first time for me to play best of five. It’s an unbelievable feeling.”

Across the final three sets, the Dutchman didn’t give him anything – prevailing on each of the 10 break points he faced – riding a dramatically improved service game. He was particularly deft at net, following well-timed, aggressive shots forward and converting 22-for-29. There were an even 50 winners, a plus-15 margin to unforced errors. Surprisingly, fatigue was not a factor, despite the fact van de Zandschulp had been on the US Open courts for nearly 10 hours before encountering Ruud.

“I think I can go further in the tournament if I play like today,” he said after the match.

That approach worked nicely in a win over fellow qualifier Facundo Bagnis in the third round, naturally, after losing the first set. Van de Zandschulp had now won an incredible 16 major matches in 2021, including qualifying.

The Dutchman went on to upset No. 14-ranked Diego Schwartzman in the fourth round in a five-set thriller before falling to Medvedev in the quarter-finals. It was van de Zandschulp’s eighth match of the tournament and those points moved his career-high FedEx ATP Ranking of No. 117 up to a dizzying No. 62. He would finish the season at No. 57.

The good news? He probably won’t have to qualify for Grand Slam events in 2022.

3) Australian Open, Third Round,  Aslan Karatsev d. Felix Auger-Aliassime 3-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4

^{Photo Credit: Matt King/Getty Images}
When Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev swept all before them to guide Russia to the ATP Cup title in February, few could have predicted one half of the team’s doubles envoy was about to embark on an extraordinary run in singles at the ensuing Australian Open. World No. 114 Aslan Karatsev had fallen in all three doubles ties contested but Medvedev hailed him Russia’s “secret weapon”.

Competing all week alongside his Top 10 countrymen had clearly rubbed off. Karatsev made an immediate impact in his maiden Grand Slam main-draw appearance, surging into the third round, where he notched his first Top 10 victory over eighth seed Diego Schwartzman.

Russia’s secret weapon was not so secret anymore. Karatsev was outside the Top 250 in the FedEx ATP Rankings in March last year, but since the resumption of the ATP Tour from a Covid-19 pandemic hiatus, the 27-year-old won 18 of his final 20 ATP Challenger Tour matches in 2020.

In the fourth round of this year’s Australian Open, the qualifier was tasked with taking on 20th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, after the #NextGen ATP Canadian upset his countryman Denis Shapovalov in the third round. The 20-year-old struck form leading in as he reached his seventh tour-level final at the Murray River Open (l. to Evans).

Auger-Aliassime looked in complete control as he took the opening two sets in just 70 minutes before the Russian began to find his range. After he was broken three straight times to concede the second set, Karatsev was never broken again as he swung the contest in his favour with clean, heavy ball-striking off both wings.

His 3-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 victory made him the first qualifier to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals since Goran Ivanisevic in 1989 and the first to reach the last eight in their Grand Slam debut since Alex Radulescu at Wimbledon in 1996.

“It was really tough in the beginning to play with him,” Karatsev said on court. “He’s a really good player and he’s playing really fast. It took me two sets to find a way how to play… I’m feeling good. Of course, a bit tired. But what could I do? I put everything in this match. I’m happy.”

Auger-Aliassime was left to rue a missed opportunity to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final. Neither player had gone five sets before, but despite the defeat the Canadian felt he learned plenty.

“It’s the first time I played five sets, first time this happens to me, maybe not the last one,” he said. “We’ll see, but I’ll just try to learn from that and be better next time.”

Read More From Our Best Of 2021 Series

Source link

Alcaraz's Ranking Surge Among Best Stats Of 2021

Yesterday, we began to look at the best stats of 2021, including match records by surface and performance under pressure. Today, we will examine the season’s biggest movers, first-time winners and fast facts.

Top Movers For Year-End Top 50 Finishers

^*Career-High
Carlos Alcaraz did not just break onto the scene in 2021 — the Spaniard proved he will be a force to be reckoned with on the ATP Tour for years to come. The teen claimed victories against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matteo Berrettini, Jannik Sinner, Andy Murray and other stars this season. Those wins helped him climb from World No. 141 to his current spot, a career-high World No. 32 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. Alcaraz completed his dream year by triumphing at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.

Top Movers For Year-End Top 100 Finishers

^*Career-High
Jenson Brooksby was named Newcomer of the Year in the 2021 ATP Awards after a breakthrough campaign in which he showed he is one of the toughest competitors on the ATP Tour. The American soared 251 spots in the FedEx ATP Rankings to move to the fringe of the Top 50. The Californian advanced to his maiden tour-level final in Newport, reached the semi-finals in Washington and won a set against Novak Djokovic at the US Open. Mackenzie McDonald, the Comeback Player of the Year in the 2021 ATP Awards, surged 138 spots.

2021 Fast Facts
– Four players cracked the Top 10 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time in 2021: Casper Ruud, Hubert Hurkacz, Jannik Sinner and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

– Three players who won ATP Tour titles this season saved at least one match point en route to the trophy. Rafael Nadal did it twice. Jannik Sinner saved a match point in his Melbourne-1 semi-final against Karen Khachanov, Nikoloz Basilashvili saved a match point against Roger Federer in the Doha quarter-finals, Nadal saved a match point against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Barcelona final and he saved two match points in the third round in Rome against Denis Shapovalov.

– Year-end No. 1 team Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic lifted nine tour-level trophies in their first season as a duo. No other player claimed more than four tour-level doubles trophies in 2021.

– There were nine all tie-break matches this year, including two at ATP Masters 1000 events. In Miami, Ilya Ivashka beat Soonwoo Kwon 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 7-6(3) in the first round and in Madrid, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina battled past Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 7-6(4) in the first round.

– One qualifier claimed an ATP Tour trophy in 2021. Juan Manuel Cerundolo, then World No. 335, triumphed in Cordoba as a qualifier on his Tour debut. Cerundolo became the first player to emerge victorious on his ATP Tour debut in 17 years.

2020 First-Time Winners (10)

There were 10 first-time ATP Tour champions in 2021, ranging from #NextGenATP stars to veterans who finally made their breakthrough. Daniel Evans was 30 when he lifted the trophy in Melbourne. Three players who competed in Milan — Alcaraz, Cerundolo and Sebastian Korda, also became first-time tour-level winners. So did Cameron Norrie, the Los Cabos champion who later earned a Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells. Aslan Karatsev, who reached the Australian Open semi-finals as a qualifier, earned glory for the first time in Dubai.

Titles Won Without Losing A Set

Fourteen of this year’s titlists triumphed without losing a set. Three players who competed in Turin — Hubert Hurkacz (Delray Beach, Metz), Casper Ruud (Bastad, Gstaad) and Jannik Sinner (Sofia, Antwerp), accomplished the feat twice.

Infosys ATP Stats – 2021 Leaders

Break points saved and converted proved key in 2021 for two Nitto ATP Finals competitors. Italian Matteo Berrettini led the ATP Tour by saving 73 per cent of the break points he faced, which helped him earn a spot in Turin in front of his home crowd. Daniil Medvedev was the best at converting his break points, doing so nearly 47 per cent of the time this year.

Rapid Fire
Most Aces in Best-of-3 Match: 36, John Isner (d. Wolf, Atlanta R1) and Sam Querrey (l. to Gojowczyk, Atlanta R1)

Most Aces in Best-of-5 Match: 49, Kevin Anderson (d. Vesely, US Open R1)

Longest Winning Streak: 22, Novak Djokovic

Youngest Final: Casper Ruud (22) def. Hugo Gaston (20) in Gstaad

Oldest Final: Rafael Nadal (34) def. Novak Djokovic (33) in Rome

Read More From Our Best Of 2021 Series

– Research contributed by Greg Sharko

Source link

Evans' Stunner Against Djokovic Tops ATP Tour Upsets Of 2021

Continuing our review of the 2021 season, today ATPTour.com looks at the top two upsets at ATP Tour events this year. On Friday and Saturday, we’ll look at the biggest upsets at majors in 2021.

2) Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Third Round, Lorenzo Sonego d. Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6(5)
Defeating Dominic Thiem is a difficult challenge at the best of times. Beating the Austrian on clay though is even harder, given his strong record on the surface, on which the 28-year-old has won seven tour-level titles and reached two Roland Garros finals.

Arriving at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome, Thiem was in a confident mood, having enjoyed a run to the semi-finals in Madrid the week before. After moving past Marton Fucsovics in his opening match, the then-World No. 4 was the heavy favourite to overcome Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego, who entered the match with a 1-6 record against Top 10 opponents.

However, Sonego and Thiem played out a classic in front of a lively Italian crowd at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

Despite the magnitude of the occasion, with Sonego aiming to reach the quarter-finals at his home Masters 1000 event for the first time, the 26-year-old flew out of the blocks. He took the game to Thiem with his heavy topspin groundstrokes to clinch the opening set.

Inevitably, 2020 US Open titlist Thiem roared back to win the second set as he produced stunning shotmaking, using his one-handed backhand up the line to dominate the match at times.

While many would have expected Thiem to then race away in the decider, Sonego had other ideas and showed an abundance of flair and grit to see off the Austrian in a third-set tie-break and claim his biggest win of the season, 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6(5).

“It’s amazing, an unbelievably emotional moment for me because I’m in Rome, in my Italy with fans for two sets,” Sonego said in his on-court interview. “I’m so happy for this victory, for this match. Thiem is with Nadal the best player on clay.”

Entering the week, Sonego held just a 2-4 record in Rome. However, he would go on to reach the semi-finals in 2021, upsetting another Top 10 star, Andrey Rublev, in the quarter-finals before losing to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

1) Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, Third Round, Daniel Evans d. Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5
Djokovic arrived at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters undefeated in 2021 (9-0). The Serbian had won both his matches at the ATP Cup and triumphed at the Australian Open for the ninth time.

The World No. 1 is a two-time champion in Monte-Carlo and was aiming to add his 37th ATP Masters 1000 crown to his record-breaking haul. The Serbian cruised past Jannik Sinner in straight sets in his opening match to set his first ATP Head2Head meeting against Daniel Evans in the third round.

Entering the week, Evans had not won a tour-level match on clay in nearly four years. The World No. 33 earned victories against Dusan Lajovic and Hubert Hurkacz in the first two rounds, but the prospect of upsetting Djokovic seemed a tall order.

Evans, who won his first tour-level title at the Murray River Open in February, began brightly against the Serbian, with Djokovic competing in just his second match since the Australian Open two months earlier. The Briton won 12 of the first 17 points as he raced to a 3-0 lead, causing the 20-time major champion problems with his backhand slice in the windy conditions.

Although the 34-year-old improved on return and pegged Evans back to 4-4, the 30-year-old dug deep to clinch the 57-minute opener, letting out a roar after Djokovic committed his 23rd unforced error of the first set.

Evans remained focused on his game plan, hitting 69 per cent of his backhand slices into Djokovic’s backhand third of the court, and another 15 per cent down the middle, with a majority of those shots aimed at the Serbian’s backhand, keeping the top seed from dictating points.

Evans was the more solid and consistent of the two as he broke to lead 6-5 in the second set, before holding serve to secure the biggest win of his career, 6-4, 7-5. It was the first time Evans had reached a Masters 1000 quarter-final, and he ended Djokovic’s perfect start to 2021 in the process.

“You can never be confident coming into such a big match like that against Novak,” Evans said. “It is clearly a big win and I am delighted that I got through, especially being a break down and [having had] little difficulties in the first set. It was really pleasing and I am delighted.

“The biggest thing is, you have got to believe you can win. I can walk on saying it, but you have really got to believe it… It will be one to savour for maybe after the tournament, to tell the kids and grandkids that you beat the World No. 1. It is a nice one.”

Evans then downed David Goffin to reach the semi-finals, before Stefanos Tsitsipas stopped him advancing any further.

Read more of the Best Of 2021

Source link

Murray Awarded Australian Open Wild Card

Australian Open tournament organisers announced Thursday that they have awarded former World No. 1 Andy Murray a main draw wild card. The Scot will compete at the event for the 14th time.

“I’m really excited to be back playing at the Australian Open and grateful to Craig and the team for the opportunity,” Murray said in a statement. “I’ve had some great times in Australia playing in front of the amazing crowds and I can’t wait to step back out on court at Melbourne Park.”

Five-time finalist @andy_murray is awarded a main draw wildcard.

“Andy is renowned for his fighting spirit, passion and love of the game and I’m delighted to welcome him back to Melbourne in January.” – @CraigTiley

We can’t wait to see you at #AO2022, Andy ??#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/pJpBy4qXQT

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) December 23, 2021

The 34-year-old owns a 48-13 record at the season’s first major, where he has reached the final five times. The Scot last competed at Melbourne Park in 2019, when he lost against Roberto Bautista Agut in a five-set first-round thriller.

Murray, who was a finalist for Comeback Player of the Year in the 2021 ATP Awards, underwent hip surgery following his 2019 Australian Open appearance. The 46-time tour-level titlist is currently No. 134 in the FedEx ATP Rankings

“Andy is renowned for his fighting spirit, passion and love of the game,” Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley said. “I’m delighted to welcome him back to Melbourne in January.”

Source link

Andy Murray given Australian Open wildcard

Andy Murray is given a wildcard for the main draw of the Australian Open in January.

Source link

Emma Raducanu: Fairytale of New York: – 5 Live special relives US Open triumph

Three months on from her US Open triumph, those close to Emma Raducanu recall her ‘Fairytale in New York’ in a BBC Radio 5 Live documentary to be aired on Thursday.

Source link

Medvedev's Career-Best & Ruud On A Roll: Stats Of 2021

The ATP Tour season saw stars including World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev continue to shine, while others like Casper Ruud and Jannik Sinner broke through. 

In the first of a two-part story, ATPTour.com looks at the stats to remember from 2021.

ATP Tour Match Wins Leaders

Medvedev earned a career-high 63 tour-level wins in 2021 to lead all players on the ATP Tour. The Russian’s previous best was 59 in 2019. Although Djokovic finished fourth on the list with 55 victories, he had the highest winning percentage by a healthy margin at 88.7 per cent. Medvedev was closest at 82.9 per cent.

2021 Hard Court Leaders

Jannik Sinner began the year with 30 tour-level wins, and he exceeded that mark in 2021 on hard courts alone. The Italian, who broke into the Top 10 for the first time in November, won four of his five ATP Tour titles in 2021. All of them came on hard courts, in Melbourne (ATP 250), Washington, Sofia and Antwerp.

2021 Clay Court Leaders

It is no surprise to see Casper Ruud atop the 2021 clay-court wins list. The Norwegian has long been a standout on that surface, and this year he claimed 28 victories on clay. Stefanos Tsitsipas also surged on the dirt this year with 23 wins. Before the season, the Greek star had won less than 70 per cent of his clay-court matches, but this year he won more than 82 per cent of them (23-5). He claimed his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and advanced to his maiden major final at Roland Garros.

2021 Indoors Leaders

Two of Medvedev’s three indoor losses in 2021 (18-3) came against two of the top three players in the world. The Russian lost against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the Rolex Paris Masters final and World No. 3 Alexander Zverev in the championship match at the Nitto ATP Finals. He also earned an indoor title in Marseille, where he dropped just one set.

Tie-Break Wins

Australian Alexei Popyrin had only won 17 tour-level tie-breaks entering the year, but he showed his prowess under pressure by triumphing in 23 of them this season. Popyrin went 5-0 in tie-breaks at the Singapore Tennis Open, where he lifted his first ATP Tour trophy. He also climbed to a career-best World No. 59 in the FedEx ATP Rankings in November.

Top 10 Wins

Not only did Djokovic have the best winning percentage of anyone on Tour in 2021, but he also was most efficient against the very best. The Serbian won 77.8 per cent of his matches against Top 10 opponents (14-4). Nobody had more Top 10 victories than Djokovic this year. Only five players had an even or winning record against the elite group (at least five matches vs. Top 10): Djokovic, Medvedev (10-5), Zverev (12-8), Aslan Karatsev (5-4) and Rafael Nadal (4-4).

ATP Masters 1000 Wins

Zverev was the only player who earned multiple Masters 1000 crowns this year. The German was victorious at the Mutua Madrid Open and the Western & Southern Open. Tsitsipas led the Tour with 20 Masters 1000 match wins.

Decisive Set Wins

A big part of Ruud’s breakthrough season came in his performance during deciding sets. After losing his first match of the season against Jiri Vesely in a deciding set, the Norwegian went 15-2 for the rest of 2021. His two other defeats came at majors, falling in fifth sets against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at Roland Garros and against Jordan Thompson at Wimbledon.

Read More From Our Best Of 2021 Series

– Research contributed by Greg Sharko

Source link

Ruusuvuori, Brooksby Wins Among Biggest ATP Tour Upsets Of 2021

Continuing our review of the 2021 season, today ATPTour.com looks at three of the top five upsets of the year at ATP Tour events. We’ll review the top two tomorrow. On Friday and Saturday, we’ll look at the biggest upsets at majors in 2021.

5) Miami Open presented by Itau, Second Round, Emil Ruusuvuori d. Alexander Zverev 1-6, 6-3, 6-1
As tournament debuts go, they don’t get much better than Emil Ruusuvuori’s at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

The Finn had edged past #NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in his first-round match to set up a clash against the in-form Alexander Zverev, who had just won the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC title.

Prior to the match, World No. 83 Ruusuvuori had earned just one Top 10 victory in his career, with that coming against Dominic Thiem in Davis Cup play in 2019. The task of facing then-World No. 7 Alexander Zverev looked to be a daunting one, and it proved that way in the opening stages.

Zverev made a fast start, racing ahead to clinch the opener as his powerful ball striking forced Ruusuvuori into errors. However, with the pressure off, the 22-year-old remained calm and changed up tactics to impose himself on the match.

In the second set, Ruusuvuori varied his game plan and took the ball early, increasingly moving forward to finish points at the net when given the opportunity. Ruusuvuori broke Zverev four times in the set to level, before he maintained this tactic in the decider to shock the 19-time tour-level titlist after two hours and five minutes for his biggest career win.

“I don’t even know myself [how I turned this match around],” Ruusuvuori said in his on-court interview. “I wasn’t feeling very comfortable in the first set and I was making a lot of unforced errors. But slowly in the second I was starting to feel a bit better…

“Of course, it’s one of the biggest wins in my career, so it feels good.”

It was the first time Ruusuvuori reached the third round at a tour-level event this season and just the second time he had made the third round at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament. The 22-year-old would go on to overcome Swede Mikael Ymer in the third round, before falling to Jannik Sinner.

4) MercedesCup, Second Round, Dominik Stricker d. Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(5), 7-6(5)
Dominic Stricker began the season No. 1,168 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. Following his triumph at an ATP Challenger Tour event and a run to the quarter-finals at the Gonet Geneva Open on his tour-level debut, the 18-year-old was up to No. 335 when the MercedesCup rolled around in June.

Stricker had received a wild card for the grass-court ATP 250 event and made the most of it with a tight victory against Radu Albot in the first round. The reward for the Swiss youngster was a second-round match against Miami champion Hubert Hurkacz, who would go on to to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon and play at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin in 2021.

For Stricker, this was where his journey was supposed to end, with Hurkacz the second seed and the World No. 20. However, the 18-year-old clearly didn’t read the script as he produced the best performance of his season to shock the Pole.

Stricker was strong on serve, hitting eight aces and winning 81 per cent (46/57) of his first-serve points to frustrate Hurkacz, with both sets going to tie-breaks.

The more experienced Hurkacz was unable to find a way through as Stricker raised his level in both tie-breaks to upset the 24-year-old and reach the quarter-finals in emphatic style.

3) Citi Open, Third Round, Jenson Brooksby d. Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-4
Jenson Brooksby was voted the Newcomer of the Year in the 2021 ATP Awards last week, and it was down to his stunning performances this season such as his victory against Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Citi Open.

The 21-year-old was making his ATP 500 tournament debut in Washington and was looking to build on his run to his first tour-level final in Newport the previous month. But he knew the challenge would be difficult, with a strong field packed with Top 20 stars.

While Brooksby’s run to the final in Newport was impressive, the American did not beat anyone inside the Top 50 of the FedEx ATP Rankings and was playing on slick grass, a surface that suits his unorthodox game.

The challenge facing the World No. 130 in Washington was seemingly far greater, with Auger-Aliassime No. 15 and in strong form, having recently reached his first major quarter-final at Wimbledon.

However, it was hard to tell who was the rookie was and who was the eight-time tour-level finalist. Brooksby produced a fearless display in front of a lively home crowd to shock the Canadian and earn the biggest win of his career.

The wild card had already scored impressive victories over former World No. 5 Kevin Anderson and countryman Frances Tiafoe en route to the third round, but he upped his level again, causing Auger-Aliassime problems with his variety and solid baseline tennis.

The American made few unforced errors, and by altering the pace of rallies with his deadly drop shot and surprise direction changes, Brooksby prevented the powerful Canadian from controlling play to claim victory after 85 minutes.

“I have definitely gotten mentally tougher this year, and it’s only kept improving. I just really love, truly love playing on these stages,” Brooksby said. “No opponent will faze me. I can compete with anyone. This was definitely a very good match today for me.

“I stayed really focussed throughout. I didn’t really have any lapses in my strategy or mentally. I’m happy with that match.”

Brooksby would go on to defeat John Millman in the quarter-finals, before he lost to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the last four. The American’s victory against Auger-Aliassime fuelled him with further belief as he went on to reach the fourth round at the US Open in September.

Read more of the Best Of 2021

Source link

Australian Open: Novak Djokovic participation in Melbourne still uncertain

Australian Open organisers are still unsure if defending men’s champion Novak Djokovic will play at next month’s Grand Slam.

Source link

Christensen On Rune's Rise, His Match vs. Djokovic & More

Holger Rune had a breakout season on the ATP Tour. As a 17-year-old in March, he qualified in Santiago and became the youngest tour-level quarter-finalist since 17-year-old Borna Coric in Umag in 2014. The Danish teen maintained his climb, ascending from outside the Top 450 in the FedEx ATP Rankings to the fringe of the Top 100.

Rune competed in the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan. The 18-year-old has been coached since he was young by Lars Christensen, who spoke to ATPTour.com about his charge’s rise, personality, facing Novak Djokovic and more.

You’ve been working with Holger since he was young. How did your relationship come about?
I was head coach in a club in Denmark. I was in charge of everything, coaching all the kids. He came when he was six-and-a-half because his big sister was playing tennis. She was playing quite well and I think he started in the summer season. 

In the winter season, I started coaching all the small kids as well. I noticed him very fast. He progressed so fast and was totally dedicated to becoming a good tennis player, so that’s how I got his eyes on him in the first place.

What stuck out to you about him?
He is very emotional, very competitive as well and very, very fast. He was totally dedicated to tennis. In the beginning, he was playing a bit of soccer as well and he was doing all kinds of leisure things. But very [quickly], he just wanted to be a tennis player. One week he was Rafa with the headband and all the gear. He wanted to be like Rafa. The next week he would be Federer and he was totally dedicated to it. He really loved playing tennis. 

There is usually a bump in the road. Did he have one and if so, what was it? 
My main focus in the beginning, like all the kids that I coach, is to give them sound technique. He was so eager to learn and he practised so much at home. In Denmark, he was two, three years ahead of his time. When he was eight he would beat the guys who were 11 or 12 years old and he would do that with good technique and understanding of the game because he was watching so much tennis. 

When we started competing internationally, under 12, he was just not physically good enough at that time. He was technically better than most players. If he played half court, he would win every time, but on a full court, he was not moving well enough. I decided we needed to develop his physique and agility much more. 

He really hated that because he was lazy [as a kid], so we had some tough times at that moment, making him understand and work hard in practice and do things without the racquet, coordination drills and stuff like that. When he came through it, he started beating the guys at under-12 events and became the best player in his age group. Everything paid off in the end.  

^{Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour}
Can you recall examples of sending him to go for a run or something like that? 
There were a lot of times he was screaming like crazy and crying because he was refusing to do what I wanted him to do. His mother would be on the side forcing him to do the drills I wanted him to do. But we are best friends. 

How nice is it on a personal level to watch him grow up from being a boy with a dream to being on centre stage? 
It is an amazing journey. It has not always been easy. When the relationship is so close, it is hard to be professional and not personal. That separation between the personal and professional relationship can be hard to separate. I have to be really hard on him sometimes, but then I have to treat him like my son. 

How much has he matured as a person? 
It has been a tough transition from the juniors to the seniors. He is really working hard to get that dimension and maturity of his personality and his game — to stay in there when it gets tough. We are really working hard on that. 

For me, that is one of the major issues that should be developed in the next year or two if he really wants to succeed. For me, he has the game and everything to succeed, but he needs to grow in his mentality. All these matches at this level, it is about building blocks and we are climbing up slowly. We had some goals and we managed to achieve our goals all the way through, so I am sure we are doing the right thing. He wants it so much. 

Before he played Novak Djokovic at the US Open and won a set in that match, he said he wanted to go and beat him. How nice is it that he has that belief in himself? 
He has always been like that. When he was 10, he was 100 per cent sure he could beat the senior guys in Denmark and that was not possible. But in his mind, it was possible and that is such a strong view for a player to have, because if you don’t believe 100 per cent in yourself, it is not going to happen. 

I am more realistic. I knew playing Djokovic at the US Open in his first Slam [would be tough]. If he played some good tennis and showed his potential, I would have been really happy. That is what he did and that was fantastic. But for him, it was winning or losing and that is fuel for a player and that is very good. I don’t want to take that away from him. 

But my job is setting realistic goals, trying to tell him everything is possible and in my opinion, there is one step at a time. Taking one set against Djokovic is something, but going the distance with Djokovic is another story. 

Source link