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Stars Of Tomorrow: Taylor Fritz

  • Posted: Mar 01, 2016

Stars Of Tomorrow: Taylor Fritz

The Next Generation teen talks exclusively to ATPWorldTour.com about his rapid rise to the Top 100

“After the match, I sat in the same spot in the locker room for three hours. I didn’t stretch, I didn’t do anything. I just sat there for three hours thinking about what just happened. I spent so long thinking about that moment and training for it and it was gone in 60 minutes.”

Walk into the men’s locker room at the US Open and the first thing you will notice is the cacophony of smells. The hairs on the tip of your nostrils salute a mixture of sweat, soaps and salves as the door shuts behind you.

But the most pungent aromas of all are the intangible ones. Anxiety, ecstasy, anticipation and opportunity waft through the air, as players seek to live out their dreams and find glory on one of the biggest stages in sport.

On the first day of qualifying last year, another vivid fragrance was present as Taylor Fritz sat alone in the corner: A cocktail of disappointment and desire permeated the air around the American teen. A perpetual stream of players circulated through the locker room as he sat, motionless and numb, replaying over and over what had just transpired on Court 6. The hours passed. A static expression remained affixed to his face.

Sixty minutes. No more. No less. A lot can happen in exactly one hour. For Fritz, it felt like five minutes. A routine 6-3, 6-3 defeat to Luca Vanni in the first Grand Slam qualifying match of his young career had left the California native reeling. Years of hard work came down to this. And it was over in an instant.

“That loss made me think, ‘Wow, what am I doing?’” Fritz told ATPWorldTour.com in an exclusive interview. “It’s how I played that match that was so disappointing. It was horrendous. I couldn’t hit a ball. I was getting tired after a couple shots. I think I was nervous, but I didn’t feel nervous. I was playing like I was nervous. That’s definitely not something I’m known for now, being nervous and tight. It was so unlike me and to do it of all times in US Open qualifying. I thought I worked so hard to get there. It made me work that much harder.”

Every champion has a turning point in their careers: a sobering moment that provides a fresh perspective on how to take the next step towards greatness. Sixty minutes can breeze by in a blink. For Fritz, it was quick and painful. But those battle scars that seem indelible at first are nothing more than a reminder that it’s not how far you fall, rather how high you bounce that counts.

Fritz would go on to win the US Open boys’ title two weeks later, defeating close friend and countryman Tommy Paul in an all-American final. It was a fitting end to a stellar junior career, but just the beginning.

Taylor’s Titanic Rise
The transformation from teen to machine was already underway in New York. Where many would acquiesce to feelings of frustration and dismay, Fritz is wired differently. With 10 days between his qualifying defeat and the start of the junior tournament, he put in the hard yards, ratcheting up the intensity with 7 a.m. practices. Fritz immediately went home to California after lifting the boys’ trophy and re-dedicated himself at the USTA’s facility in Carson.

“I really started enjoying working hard. That meant going to the court and working so hard that I want to quit tennis, and then doing it again the next day. That’s my philosophy. You work so hard that you want to quit tennis. You get to the point where you are so dead and tired and you say it’s not worth it. Then you come back and do it again the next day and do it again and again and again.”

Fritz would begin a historic rise to the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, joining elite company at every turn. An 11-match winning streak on the ATP Challenger Tour would kick-start his professional career, claiming back-to-back titles in Sacramento and Fairfield. He became just the second player aged 17 and under to win consecutive Challenger crowns, catapulting 462 spots to World No. 232.

Youngest Americans To Crack The Top 100

Player

Age of Top 100 Debut

Year

Michael Chang

16 yrs, 3 mos.

1988

Aaron Krickstein

16 yrs, 5 mos. 1984

Andre Agassi

16 yrs, 5 mos. 1986
Billy Martin 16 yrs, 7 mos. 1973
Pete Sampras 17 yrs, 3 mos. 1988
Jimmy Brown 17 yrs, 8 mos. 1983
Jim Courier 17 yrs, 11 mos. 1988
Jimmy Arias 18 yrs, 3 mos. 1982
Donald Young 18 yrs, 3 mos. 2007
Taylor Fritz 18 yrs, 4 mos. 2016
John McEnroe 18 yrs, 4 mos. 1977
Andy Roddick 18 yrs, 7 mos. 2001

While Fritz’s sudden success caught the attention of many, it was the manner in which he won matches that was most striking. The Rancho Santa Fe native made an impact with his back against the wall, gaining a reputation for performing in clutch situations. He turned away a combined 47 of 51 break points faced en route to lifting the two ATP Challenger Tour trophies, including 15 of 16 against fellow American teen Jared Donaldson in the Sacramento final. As Fritz stresses, such a potent weapon gives him great confidence in knowing no deficit is insurmountable. It’s an innate trait.

“I surprised myself at first, but now it’s become something I’m known for,” Fritz admitted. “It’s an incredible thing to be known for, being clutch in those situations. It’s a huge honour to be thought of in that way.

“Having that ability to come up clutch in those pressure moments and competing well in those big situations is not something you can model after someone. It’s not something you can teach or learn. It’s something you either have or you don’t. I know a lot of people who were incredible practice players. The second they got to the match they just couldn’t perform in those situations. For me, the reason I play tennis is to compete like that. Someone might be nervous in those situations, but I’m excited for those opportunities. Those moments when there’s a big break point, I enjoy that.”

It should come as no surprise that Fritz’s idol is another steely server, Pete Sampras. Like ‘Pistol Pete’, Fritz prides himself on not just the power behind his delivery, but also the placement, disguise and execution.

“He’s the best American player ever. It makes sense that I really admire him a lot with his serve and athleticism. One moment stands out when I was younger. Honestly, I can’t remember what tournament it was or who he was playing. It was just his confidence he had in himself. He was up a break and didn’t care about his opponent’s serve. He let his opponent have those games, because he knew 100 per cent that he was going to serve it out with that one break. Some people are really nervous and pressing for a double break. He was so confident and there was no pressure at all. That’s something I saw and it impressed me a lot.”

Fritz left Sacramento and Fairfield soaring in confidence and in the Emirates ATP Rankings. A quarter-final finish in Monterrey, Mexico would put him on the precipice of the Top 200, but it was a chance encounter with Sampras that sent his trajectory skyward. The former World No. 1, who was competing at the concurrent ATP Champions Tour event, gave the teen the experience of a lifetime: a practice session on his 18th birthday. Fritz was in awe, but it was Sampras who doled out the superlatives.

“He’s got a great game,” Sampras told ATPWorldTour.com. “He hits the ball big, has a monster forehand. I haven’t seen him play that much, but he’s got a few big weapons. He’s a big kid. I was just talking to him a little bit about what it takes, that it’s hard work and sacrifice. He’s on his way and he’s got the right attitude, willing to learn and listen. He’s got a great future.”

As the Challenger season moved to its finale on the indoor hard courts of Charlottesville, Knoxville and Champaign, it would be another defeat that further shaped Fritz’s future. The American who accumulates the most Emirates ATP Rankings in two of the three events is awarded the USTA’s main draw wild card into the Australian Open. Fritz came up just short of the prize, but he points to that loss as initiating a chain reaction that launched him to the Top 100.

Fritz entered his 2016 campaign with a third ATP Challenger Tour title, in Happy Valley, and opened Australian Open qualifying with a pair of victories over Hiroki Moriya and Michael Berrer. Trailing 0-4 in the third set of his final round clash against Mischa Zverev, Fritz showed his true mettle, reeling off six straight games to seal the victory and qualify for his first Grand Slam championship.

Fritz’s mother, Kathy, a former Top 10 player on the WTA Tour, never had a doubt he’d pull through.

“Taylor feels like he’s going to win no matter what. He’s very confident in himself and is just a real fighter on the court. I always told him that great players hate to lose more than they like to win. I think that’s true with him. He likes to win but he really hates to lose.”

Taylor says it was an experience that shaped his season.

“That’s just me, 100 per cent who I am. I’ve always had the heart to compete and fight no matter what. I’m going to fight to the very end. I’m never going to give my best effort and lose a match. If it has anything to do with losing, I’m not going to just throw in the towel. I was thinking that a lot people would throw in the towel and he’s probably hoping I’m going to throw in the towel. He’s probably hoping at 4-0 that I’m going to let him have this one. That’s what I’d be thinking if I was up 4-0. Once I got that first break back, then I felt the pressure was on him.

“When people ask me about losing out on the U.S.T.A’s wild card play-off for the Australian Open, I’m glad I lost out on it. Also the experience I had against Berrer, it was windy and rainy at 10 at night, on the last court at the Australian Open. I know it doesn’t sound very pleasant but those are experiences I wouldn’t trade anything for.”

Mother Knows Best
Some things are guaranteed in life. Park in an illegal spot, you pay a fine. Devour an entire pizza, you’ll be paying the gym a visit the next day. Become the youngest American to reach an ATP World Tour final (in Memphis) in 27 years, and you’ll have a lot of media commitments.

“It’s crazy what winning four matches does. I’ve probably heard the same question about the group of young Americans 30-40 times. About the group and how we drive each other and the pressure it puts on us. I’ve heard that one so many times. I’ve done about six full interviews on the phone now since Memphis and I was doing a couple a day there.”

It is this respect for the entire process both between the lines and outside them that comes from Taylor’s Mum. After a lengthy career on the women’s Virginia Slims circuit in the 1970s, Kathy May Fritz had much to impart on her son.

“One thing I told him in Memphis, after he beat Steve Johnson in the second round, was that it was a great win but don’t let your guard down. You have another match tomorrow. You can celebrate for a little bit, but you have to re-focus. That’s one thing I found after a great win. It was hard for me to re-focus and come back and do it again the next day. He was able to do that. At this point it’s great that he’s not satisfied. After a great win he wants to get as good as he can possibly get and I really admire that.”

Also a quarter-finalist at three Grand Slams, including the 1978 US Open, Kathy reflected on Taylor as a child. Despite being a precocious, active boy, he didn’t take to tennis immediately.

“When he was first handed a racquet, he didn’t like it, but he always had unbelievable hand-eye coordination. When he was two years old, he’d go out and hit a golf ball and it was incredible. Everything he did was with a ball. He’d have unreal hand-eye coordination. Back then, kids always did what their friends wanted to do, so my husband invited over local boys for a tennis clinic. That’s how he got interested in it.

“He made the goal to be World No. 1 from a young age. He’s always set goals for himself, even throughout the juniors. He’s met every one of them. When he sets his mind to something, he’s always been able to achieve it.”

A sports fanatic, Fritz spent much of his childhood moving between playing basketball, tennis and lacrosse. At the start of his sophomore year of high school, he made the commitment to tennis, but it wasn’t smooth sailing at first. The dedication to working hard and pushing himself to be the best was absent. He revealed that taking the leap wasn’t an easy process. At age 15, Fritz was invited to the U.S.T.A. training facility in Boca Raton, Florida, for a month-long training camp with top players in his age group. The right-hander concedes he was the worst of the bunch. In desperate need of a push in the right direction, he identifies it as the moment everything changed.

“To just go to this camp I had to quit the high school basketball team I was playing on. I wanted to see how I compared to all these guys. I knew they were all better than before going, so I thought it was great practice for me to get a lot better. It was tough. I couldn’t compete with them, I couldn’t move on the clay courts. I wasn’t good enough. I was missing everything. It just put everything into perspective of where I was at. I wasn’t near as good as those guys. Then I started moving up and I got to the top group of guys and just stayed with them.

“My idea of tennis was an hour of practice a day and zero work in the gym. That was the time where I had to make the decision. All these guys beating up on me is going to be the end or I’m going to accept it and come back stronger. I decided to stick with it and here I am three years later and I’ve improved so much and come so far.”

Looking To The Future
While Fritz now works with David Nainkin, former personal coach of Wayne Ferreira, on a full-time basis, he looks back on his time with Christian Groh as being the most beneficial in cultivating his game from its infancy. It was his time with Groh that helped build the necessary foundation to grow his career.

“For about two years, I’d be with Christian three or four times a week. He played a big part in getting me to work hard and helping me to catch up with the other guys. Practice with Christian meant I’m going to work hard and this was a time when I didn’t enjoy it. I was still learning then about what it really took. Working with Christian taught me that.”

With a run to the final at the ATP World Tour event in Memphis last month, in just his third tour-level tournament, Fritz became the youngest American to reach a title match since then 17-year-old Michael Chang won the Wembley (London) crown in 1989. Add Sampras, Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi and you have the list of every American aged 18 and under to reach an ATP World Tour final in the past 30 years. Elite company to say the least.

“I keep thinking that before he turned pro in September he was ranked around No. 900,” Kathy added. “He hadn’t played many pro tournaments and after that it was a whole new level. It’s incredible.”

Following a quarter-final finish in Acapulco, Fritz already achieved the goal he set for himself just two months ago: cracking the Top 100. That was his target for the entire season. With just 35 Emirates ATP Rankings points to defend between now and September, it’s time to set the bar even higher.

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Athlisis Tennis Club & Σ.Β.Α.Ε. – 1o Φιλανθρωπικό Τουρνουά Διπλών

  • Posted: Mar 01, 2016

athlisis tc- SVAE

Το Athlisis Tennis Club και ο Σύλλογος Βετεράνων Αντισφαιριστών Ελλάδος συνδιοργανώνουν το 1ο Φιλανθρωπικό Τουρνουά Διπλών Βετεράνων Ανδρών, Γυναικών και Μικτό το τριήμερο 11-13 Μαρτίου 2016.
Oι συνδρομές των συμμετεχόντων και οι χορηγίες των υποστηρικτών θα διατεθούν για την υποστήριξη της Ασπασίας Μπόγρη , η οποία βρίσκεται στο κέντρο αποθεραπείας και αποκατάστασης Animus.

athlisis t.c.

Το Athlisis Tennis Club βρίσκεται στο δρόμο Άργους-Ναυπλίου στη θέση Δαλαμανάρα.

Για περισσότερες πληροφορίες πατήστε στο χάρτη (όταν ανοίξει κλικ στο display map)

 

Η Εθνική ομάδα στο Tallinn για το Davis Cup

  • Posted: Mar 01, 2016

Στο Tallinn της Εσθονίας βρίσκεται η Εθνική ομάδα τένις  για τους αγώνες της 3ης κατηγορίας της Ευρωπαϊκής ζώνης στο Davis Cup που θα γίνουν απο Τετάρτη 2 μέχρι Σαββατο 5 Μαρτίου 2016.

Davis Cup

Οι αθλητές Γιάννης Στεργίου, Γιώργος Γιωτόπουλος, Χρήστος Αντωνόπουλος και Βασίλης Ηλιόπουλος με αρχηγό τον Γιώργο Καλοβελώνη, θα αγωνιστούν στο Group ΙΙΙ, στο οποίο ανήκουν 15 χώρες :  Αλβανία, Ανδόρρα, Αρμενία, Ελλάδα, Εσθονία, Ιρλανδία, Ισλανδία, Κόσοβο, Κύπρος, Λιχτενστάιν, Μάλτα, Μαυροβούνιο, Μολδαβία,  Σαν Μαρίνο και Σκόπια.

Δύο απο τις παραπάνω χώρες θα περάσουν στο Group II της Ευρω-Αφρικανικής Ζώνης.

 

 

When Breaking Back Can Be A Back Breaker

  • Posted: Mar 01, 2016

When Breaking Back Can Be A Back Breaker

Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers looks at which players bounce back best after having their serve broken.

When is a break of serve in tennis not really a break? When you get broken straight back.

Protecting your serve is a high priority in our sport, but the inevitable is going to happen – everyone is going to lose their serve at some stage. The best players in the world don’t let the disappointment of getting broken get them down for long. The perfect antidote is to break straight back, effectively cancelling out the advantage the opponent briefly held.

The ability to break straight back after getting broken also speaks to the mental strength and fortitude of the player as much as the technical prowess and specific technique of returning serve.

Leaderboard

From January 2015 up to the 2016 Australian Open, nobody in the world was better at breaking immediately back after being broken than the World No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Novak Djokovic. In the 2015 season, the super Serb won 34 per cent of his return games to be No. 1 in this specific category. But he was even better after getting broken.

Djokovic won a commanding 38 per cent of his return games immediately after getting broken to lead a handful of players that break more often than their season average right after feeling the despair of losing serve. Spaniards David Ferrer and Rafael Nadal were next in line as the most successful players to break straight back after being broken in 2015, with Ferrer at 36 per cent and Nadal at 34 per cent.

 Player 2015 Return Games Won  Breaking Straight Back
After Being Broken 
 Novak Djokovic  34%  38%
 David Ferrer  34%  36%
 Rafael Nadal  31%  34%
 Andy Murray  31%  31%
 Roger Federer  27%  30%
 Kei Nishikori  27%  29%
 Stan Wawrinka  21%  26%
 Tomas Berdych  26%  25%
 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga  20%  19%
 Richard Gasquet  22%  17%
 Kevin Anderson  16%  12%
 Ivo Karlovic  10%  8%
 Milos Raonic  12%  6%

Personal Best

Another way to dissect these key Infosys metrics is to analyse how well each player did against their own personal average. Stan Wawrinka had the most improvement, breaking back immediately 26 percent of the time as opposed to his regular rate of breaking 21 per cent of the time.

 Player  Percentage change
 Stan Wawrinka  +5
 Novak Djokovic  +4
 Roger Federer  +3
 Rafael Nadal  +3
 David Ferrer  +2
 Kei Nishikori  +2
 Andy Murray  0
 Tomas Berdych  -1
 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga  -1
 Ivo Karlovic  -2
 Kevin Anderson  -4
 Richard Gasquet  -5
 Milos Raonic  -6

Djokovic was up 4 per cent on his personal average, while Roger Federer and Nadal were up 3 per cent. The only other Top 10 players to improve their performance breaking back immediately after dropping serve were Ferrer and Kei Nishikori – both with a 2 per cent improvement.

It’s often hard to put a finger on the difference between good and great in our sport, but these key Infosys ATP Beyond the Numbers metrics do just about as good a job as anything at uncovering just that. Breaking immediately back clearly showcases a player’s mettle to not let adversity get the better of them. It’s a mental trick as much as anything else, cancelling out advantages, and stopping an opponent’s sudden momentum in its tracks.

Big Servers

The metrics also uncovered that big servers, such as Ivo Karlovic, Kevin Anderson and Milos Raonic, have more difficultly in this key category than we perceived they would. Raonic had a substantial 6 per cent drop from his 2015 season average, while Anderson was down 4 per cent, and Karlovic down 2 per cent.

The advantage of the big server is the ability to hold a lot more than normal, but it also seems that it is tougher for this specific style of player to immediately break back. An old tennis saying is that a break is not a break until it’s consolidated with a hold, and it seems that some players can tap into this fable a lot better than others. 

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Watson beats Doi in Monterrey

  • Posted: Mar 01, 2016

British number two Heather Watson is through to the second round of the Monterrey Open in Mexico thanks to a three-set win over Japan’s Misaki Doi.

Watson, 23, who has fallen to 84th in the world after a poor start to the year, came through 6-4 6-7 (0-7) 6-3 against the world number 54.

The 23-year-old, who lost in the first round of the Australian Open, had been 2-0 down in the deciding set.

But she broke Doi twice to advance after two hours and 47 minutes.

Watson faces either Hungarian eighth seed Timea Babos or Polona Hercog of Slovenia in round two.

British number one Johanna Konta is seeded fourth for the tournament and faces Colombia’s Mariana Duque-Marino in the opening round.

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Cuevas Triumphs In Sao Paulo 2016 Final Highlights

  • Posted: Feb 29, 2016

Cuevas Triumphs In Sao Paulo 2016 Final Highlights

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Federer Attends 2016 Oscars In Hollywood

  • Posted: Feb 29, 2016

Federer Attends 2016 Oscars In Hollywood

Federer mixes with Hollywood elite at 2016 Oscars

Roger Federer stepped out onto the red carpet at the 88th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on Sunday.

The Swiss later spent time at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, which was attended by Leonardo DiCaprio, winner of the best actor Oscar, for his performance in The Revenant, Anne Hathaway, Amy Adams, Eddie Redmayne, fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger and former World No. 1 John McEnroe.

On Saturday night, Federer had attended Harvey Weinstein’s star-studded pre-Oscars party at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Federer returned to the practice court last week, having undergone arthroscopic surgery on his knee on 3 February in Switzerland. He has entered the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, starting on 10 April.

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Thompson Triumphs In Cherbourg For Maiden Title

  • Posted: Feb 29, 2016

Thompson Triumphs In Cherbourg For Maiden Title

Revisit the week that was on the ATP Challenger Tour as we applaud the achievements of those on the rise and look ahead to who’s in action in the week to come

A LOOK BACK
Challenger La Manche (Cherbourg, France): Sixth seed Jordan Thompson rallied from an early deficit to claim his first ATP Challenger Tour title on Sunday. The 21 year old needed one hour and 42 minutes to complete the 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 comeback over Adam Pavlasek, firing nine aces. It was the first final in Cherbourg to not feature a Frenchman since 2003, when Argentina’s Sergio Roitman defeated Rafael Nadal.

The second Australian to lift a Challenger trophy in 2016, joining 19-year-old Blake Mott, Thompson broke through after three previous defeats in finals. The Sydney native will rise to a career-high World No. 123 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships (Kyoto, Japan): For the sixth time in the 20-year history of the Kyoto Challenger, a home grown champion emerged. Top seed Yuichi Sugita rallied from a set down to deny China’s Zhang Ze 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in Sunday’s final, notching a second Kyoto title and sixth overall on the ATP Challenger Tour. Also the champion in 2010 (d. Ebden), Sugita will crack the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time, rising to a career-high World No. 99.

What The Players Said
Thompson: “It feels great to have won my first Challenger title. I’m really pumped. The Top 100 is my goal for sure!”

WHAT’S AHEAD
The lone event on this week’s schedule is the sixth edition of the prestigious event in Quimper, France. A Frenchman has taken home the trophy the past two years, with Pierre-Hugues Herbert winning in 2014 and Benoit Paire prevailing in 2015. This week, Herbert is seeded fifth with Paul-Henri Mathieu leading the pack. A potential blockbuster all-Russian teen clash between Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev looms in the second round.

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Peralta/Zeballos Come Out On Top

  • Posted: Feb 29, 2016

Peralta/Zeballos Come Out On Top

Chilean-Argentine duo prevails in Sao Paulo final

Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos made the most of their first ATP World Tour final appearance as a team by winning the Brasil Open 4-6, 6-1, 10-5 over Pablo Carreno Busta and David Marrero on Sunday. The established partnership already had four ATP Challenger titles to its name, but was only taking part in its second tour-level event (2016 Quito), improving to 5-1. Peralta was contesting his first tour-level final, while Zeballos had two doubles titles, having won in Buenos Aires in 2010 and in Munich a year later.

“In the first set, I did not play that well, to be honest,” Peralta said. “But in second, I did, making some good returns and putting pressure on them. That was the key today.

“I want to thank my partner Horacio for a great week. We hope to come back next year.” 

“We were a little bit nervous in the first set, but we just focused on our game in the second set and we ended up playing very good tennis,” Zeballos said. “We like the conditions. It’s also nice to play close to home. The people treat us very well here in Sao Paulo. It’s always nice to play in South America.”

The Spaniards Carreno Busta and Marrero were playing in their second final in two weeks, having upset top seeds Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares en route to the Rio Open final (l. to Cabal/Farah). Carreno Busta was still warm from playing in the Sao Paulo singles final (l. to Cuevas) earlier in the day. 

Carreno Busta/Marrero saved all seven break points faced in the first set and earned an early lead by going one-for-nine on break point opportunities. Peralta/Zeballos fired back by breaking their opponents twice in the second set, then winning all four second-serve points in the Match Tie-break to secure the title. They received 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and $23,600, while the finalists shared 150 points and $12,400.

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Cuevas Rules In Brazil

  • Posted: Feb 29, 2016

Cuevas Rules In Brazil

Defending champion beats Carreno Busta

Pablo Cuevas successfully defended his Brasil Open title with a 7-6(4), 6-3 victory over Pablo Carreno Busta in the final on Sunday. The 30 year old earned his fifth tour-level title and second in as many weeks after winning the Rio Open seven days ago. He is now 5-1 in ATP World Tour final appearances, all on clay courts.

The Uruguayan only dropped serve once and converted three break point chances (3/5) during the 85-minute encounter. His second Sao Paulo title match was a breeze compared to last year’s final, when he broke back down 4-5 in the final set and saw off Luca Vanni 7-6 in the deciding tie-break.

Cuevas is on a nine-match winning streak and improved to 11-1 on clay in 2016. He received 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points and $77,600. Carreno Busta, a first-time finalist at tour-level, earned 150 points and $40,870.

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