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Thiem Blasts Into Rio Final

  • Posted: Feb 26, 2017

Thiem Blasts Into Rio Final

Austrian will appear in 11th ATP World Tour title match

Dominic Thiem made quick work of Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Saturday to book his spot in the final of the Rio Open presented by Claro. The World No. 8 sealed his place in his 11th ATP World Tour title match and second at the 500 level with a comprehensive 6-1, 6-4 victory over the Spaniard.

Thiem has proven that his game translates on all surfaces and one week after competing on the indoor hard courts of Rotterdam, the Austrian has had little trouble adapting to the conditions in Rio de Janeiro. The second seed has yet to drop a set all week, racing to a 6-1 lead in Saturday’s first semi-final behind a pair of quick breaks. He was relentless from the baseline, striking winners off both wings with conviction and forcing Ramos-Vinolas into uncomfortable positions.

Thiem would secure the immediate advantage in the first game of the second set and while the Spaniard would draw level with a break back for 4-4, he reinstated the lead in the next game and served it out after one hour and 22 minutes. He fired 21 winners and benefited from 32 unforced errors in total.

“I’m really happy this week,” said Thiem. “I raised my game with every match. I’m happy to be back on clay in general, and I honestly didn’t expect the transition to go so fast. I think I’m a better player than I was last year, so we’ll see how the final will go tomorrow.”

The 23 year old will be appearing in the final of a third different tournament on the Latin American Golden Swing, having lifted the trophy in both Buenos Aires and Acapulco last year. Standing across the net will be either Pablo Carreno Busta or Norwegian teen Casper Ruud.

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Federer Faces Stacked Path In Dubai

  • Posted: Feb 26, 2017

Federer Faces Stacked Path In Dubai

Swiss will look to stay unbeaten in 2017

Roger Federer could face World No. 1 Andy Murray and countryman Stan Wawrinka if he plans on taking his eighth title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships this week in the United Arab Emirates.

The 35-year-old Swiss returns to tour-level action for the first time since winning his 18th Grand Slam crown last month at the Australian Open. Down Under, Federer knocked out three Top 10 opponents, including Wawrinka in the semi-finals.

In Dubai, a similarly difficult path awaits the all-time great, who will go for his 90th career tour-level crown. The third-seeded Federer opens against former Top 20 Frenchman Benoit Paire and could play Russian veteran Mikhail Youzhny in the second round.

Seventh seed Lucas Pouille is the highest seed Federer could face in the quarter-finals, and the top-seeded Murray might await in an enticing semi-final. The last-four battle would mark the 26th time they’ve faced off during their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry.

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Federer leads the series 14-11 and has won their past five meetings, but the two haven’t played since the 2015 Western & Southern Open semi-final.

Federer and Wawrinka went five gruelling sets during their Australian Open semi-final, and the second seed would surely appreciate the opportunity to get back at his countryman in the Dubai final. Federer leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 19-3.

Murray opens against Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri and eighth seed Gilles Muller is the highest-seeded player who could await in the quarter-finals. The Scot will be trying for his first Dubai crown. He fell in the 2012 final to Federer.

Wawrinka, the defending champion, meets Bosnian Damir Dzumhur in the first round and might face fifth seed and two-time runner-up Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals. The 31-year-old Swiss leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 11-5 and has taken their past six meetings. Fourth seed Gael Monfils could await in the semi-finals.

Read More: Djokovic Takes Acapulco Wild Card

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All French-Final Set In Marseille

  • Posted: Feb 25, 2017

All French-Final Set In Marseille

Tsonga will go for back-to-back ATP World Tour titles

It will be an all-French final on Sunday at the Open 13 Marseille. Second seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga finally broke defending champion Nick Kyrgios to take their semi-final 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-4 in two hours and 12 minutes. Later in the day, fourth seed Lucas Pouille dismissed countryman Richard Gasquet 7-5, 6-3 to reach his first final of the season.

Tsonga twice broke the 21-year-old Kyrgios and withstood 16 aces to earn the chance for a third Open 13 Marseille title, having also won the event in 2009 and 2013. Kyrgios had held all tournament and didn’t drop his serve once during his title run in Marseille a year ago, which was his maiden ATP World Tour crown.

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The 31-year-old Tsonga also saved five of eight break points to take their first-ever match-up. He is riding an eight-match winning streak and will be going for back-to-back titles. Tsonga captured the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament title in Rotterdam last week (d. Goffin).

Tsonga and Pouille have faced off only once before, with Tsonga taking the FedEx ATP Head2Head encounter during the Round of 16 at the 2016 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters.

 Watch Full Match Replays

But Pouille has won back-to-back matches this week for the first time this year and looked sharp from the start against Gasquet. The 23 year old broke Gasquet in the 12th game to take the first set, and Pouille raced to a 5-0 lead in the second set before ending the semi-final on his serve after 91 minutes.

Pouille delivered 12 aces and saved five of six break points in the semi-final. He will be going for his second ATP World Tour title after winning the Moselle Open in Metz last September, which, like the Open 13 Marseille, is played indoors. Sunday’s final will mark Pouille’s third career ATP World Tour final. He fell in the 2016 Bucharest final to Fernando Verdasco.

DOUBLES

Dutchman Robin Haase and Brit Dominic Inglot advanced to the doubles final with a 3-6, 7-6(5), 10-8 win against Kyrgios and countryman Matt Reid. Haase/Inglot will meet top seeds Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut in the final.

Read & Watch: Federer Faces Stacked Path In Dubai 

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Svitolina beats Wozniacki to win Dubai Championships

  • Posted: Feb 25, 2017

World number 13 Elina Svitolina beat Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets to win the Dubai Championships.

The Ukrainian, 22, beat 10th seed Wozniacki 6-4 6-2 to claim her sixth WTA title and her second of 2017.

Denmark’s Wozniacki won the Dubai title in 2011 and has reached the semi-finals in six of the seven years she has played at the event.

The former world number one has now lost two successive finals having been beaten by Karolina Pliskova in Doha.

“I’m super happy that I could win this title,” Svitolina told BT Sport.

“It’s always tough to play against Caroline. She’s such a fighter and never steps back. It was a great match and I’m really happy I could win.”

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Del Potro Eager For Raonic Test

  • Posted: Feb 25, 2017

Del Potro Eager For Raonic Test

Argentine defeats Querrey on Friday in Delray Beach

Seventh seed Juan Martin del Potro wanted an opportunity to test himself against the world’s best players at the Delray Beach Open. He’ll get just that when he takes the court on Saturday for a mouth-watering semi-final battle with top seed Milos Raonic that showcases two of the biggest serves and forehands in tennis.

Del Potro and Raonic are even in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry at 1-1, but haven’t played in four years. The Argentine, competing in his first ATP World Tour event of the season, said he was eager to see how his game responds against an in-form Raonic. His last match against a Top 5 player in the Emirates ATP Rankings came this past October in Basel (l. Nishikori).

“It’s going to be a big chance for me,” said del Potro. “He’s the favourite and is playing so good, but I want to see how my level is against the top players at this part of the year.”

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The Argentine earned his place in the final four by defeating fourth seed and defending champion Sam Querrey on Friday 7-5, 7-5, avenging a loss to the American in last year’s Delray Beach semi-finals. Little separated del Potro and Querrey in their latest match, but the seventh seed gained the lone break in each set at 5-5. He denied Querrey any break point chances, firing eight aces and winning 87 per cent of his first serve points.

Del Potro improves his Delray Beach record to 11-1 and FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Querrey to 3-1.

“You have to keep focused the whole time against him and stay positive. There were many times when he was serving at 0/30 and would hit three or four aces, so you can get frustrated,” said del Potro. “I did a good job of staying calm and taking my chances when I had them.”

 Watch Full Match Replays

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