Tennis News

Nitto ATP Finals 2021 Presented In Turin

The Nitto ATP Finals, the prestigious season finale of the ATP Tour set to be staged in Turin from 2021-2025, was today presented at a stakeholder engagement event in the Piedmont capital, hosted by Intesa Sanpaolo.

The event, broadcast live with tournament partners, key regional and national government representatives and media in attendance, showcased the long-term vision and positioning of the Nitto ATP Finals as it moves to its new home in Turin, following 12 successful years in London.

Presentations by Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman, Angelo Binaghi, President of the Italian Tennis Federation, and Chiara Appendino, Mayor of Turin, alongside other key stakeholders, explored Turin’s successful bid to host the tournament — which saw the city triumph among 40 applicants — and the city’s ambitions to build on the legacy and growth of the ATP’s showpiece event, whilst promoting the region.

All roads on the ATP Tour this season lead to Turin and the FedEx ATP Race To Turin has officially begun, with only the best eight ATP singles players and doubles teams set to qualify. With players travelling to Australia to begin their 2021 campaigns, Daniil Medvedev, the Nitto ATP Finals defending champion, and Matteo Berrettini, Italian No. 1, sent their support via video message.

In addition to providing an overview of broadcast, marketing, ticketing and corporate hospitality operations, organisers thanked the tournament’s portfolio of globally renowned commercial and media partners for their support, including Nitto, who recently extended their commitment as Title Partner of the Nitto ATP Finals until 2025.

Gaudenzi said: “The Nitto ATP Finals has been an incredible story of growth and innovation, taking place in iconic cities around the world over the past 50 years. Now, we look forward to raising the bar together in Turin, an impressive city with the ambition and vision to build on that legacy and create something inspirational for our fans. We would like to thank all event partners for their invaluable commitment to the Nitto ATP Finals, and also to our players, who will be instrumental in writing future chapters of our most special event.”

Binaghi said: “Our management team has become accustomed to setting ourselves ambitious goals, as highlighted by the success and growth of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome over the past 20 years. Now, we have climbed Everest. The Nitto ATP Finals is the most important indoor tennis tournament in the world. Throughout the bidding process we were supported by the Government, the Region, the Municipality and the largest financial institution in our country and together, we have reached the top.”

Appendino said: “Thanks to a great team effort, we are here today, speaking about Turin as the centre of the tennis world. Turin won the bid against some of the best cities in the world, and now we look forward with confidence to delivering an outstanding event over the next five years. We are working together to create an event that engages city of Turin all year round, with great attention paid to each local territory.”

The 2021 Nitto ATP Finals will be held from 14-21 November. Tickets are currently available at NittoATPFinals.com and via Ticketone.

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Korda's Next Move After Delray Beach Run: 'I'm Going To Go Work Hard'

Sebastian Korda’s dream week at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com fell short of the perfect ending Wednesday when he lost in the championship match against Hubert Hurkacz, but the disappointment won’t keep the #NextGenATP American down.

“I always handle things pretty well. In 2019 I lost in the final of the last tournament of the year in a Challenger with a couple of match points against J.J. Wolf and if I had won that match, I would have gotten into the Australian Open Qualifying,” Korda said. “It’s always a step in the right direction and I always take the positives out of things and I’ll have no problem dealing with this. For me it’s only a big plus. I’m going to go back, I’m going to go work hard and just trust my tennis and keep doing the things that I’m doing.”

That mindset helped the 20-year-old stay focussed throughout an impressive showing in Delray Beach, where he reached his first ATP Tour final. Before the tournament, Korda only owned three tour-level wins, all of which came at Roland Garros last year.

The World No. 119 isn’t leaving the ATP 250 with the champion’s trophy, but next Monday he will move to the fringe of the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings. Reaching that milestone will be one of the American’s biggest goals when he begins competing again, but Korda is focussed on improving daily, not just shooting for certain numbers.

“For sure to break the Top 100 and be a consistent player at these bigger tournaments would be a super big thing for me to get used to this atmosphere and these players,” Korda said. “It would be super cool, but everything is a process and for me, I’m still 20 years old, so this year is still all about learning and working hard.”

^{Photo Credit: Andrew Patron/BigShots}
After a few days at home in Florida, Korda plans to train in the Czech Republic ahead of ATP Challenger Tour events in France. But the short time at home will give the 6’5” righty a chance to reflect on a special week in Delray Beach. Korda’s parents, former World No. 2 Petr Korda and former WTA player Regina Kordova, were in the stands at the ATP 250 throughout the week, as was his sister Jessica Korda, a professional golfer. Sebi’s other sister, Nelly Korda, who is also a professional golfer, made it to Delray Beach for the title match.

“I always went to my sisters’ golf tournaments and it was always me and my parents on the outside. It’s super cool to see my whole family sitting in a box,” Korda said. “I’ve dreamed about playing Grand Slams and seeing my family up there supporting me ever since I was a little kid. Envisioning these things has always been super special and to see it’s coming true now, all the hard work and all the time that I’ve put into doing what I love, it’s finally paying off and hopefully I can keep going on the same path that I’m going on right now.”

Many young players would be devastated after losing their first ATP Tour final. But Korda was smiling and even laughing at times during his post-match press conference. Now he’ll get ready for the three-hour drive to Florida’s western coast, where the Korda family lives. Instead of thinking about his loss against Hurkacz, Korda will spend the ride alongside Nelly, reminiscing on one of the best tournaments of his young career.

“It hasn’t fully sunk in, how well I played this week and the great matches that I played,” Korda said. “I played some really good, top players this week and only good things are going to come from this.”

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Hurkacz Fends Off Korda To Take Delray Beach Title

Fourth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz sealed his Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com debut by lifting his first trophy of the year after defeating #NextGenATP American Sebastian Korda in the final on Wednesday.

Hurkacz, No. 35 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, came into South Florida going for his second ATP Tour title and his first since the 2019 Winston-Salem Open. The Pole didn’t drop a set all week, and needed just 68 minutes to claim the victory 6-3, 6-3 over 20-year-old Korda.

“The way [Korda] is playing, it will be amazing what he can achieve in the future,” Hurkacz acknowledged. “It’s too bad that he wasn’t 100 per cent fit today, but his game is there. I’m sure he’ll be holding many trophies in the future.”

Korda scored victories over No. 95 Soonwoo Kwon, No. 52 Tommy Paul, No. 25 John Isner and No. 74 Cameron Norrie to reach his first ATP Tour final. He powered to an early lead against Hurkacz, dealing damage with his backhand to claim a break of serve in the first game of the match.

But the American, who previously dropped his first eight finals as a pro before last year’s ATP Challenger Tour breakthrough in Eckental, couldn’t maintain the level as Hurkacz capitalised on an error-prone stretch to make his way back. From 1-3 down, Hurkacz came back to win five games in a row to take the opening set.

Hurkacz stayed comfortably in control in the second set as Korda’s struggles continued. The Pole broke twice more, claiming the match with a lob winner to become the first Polish champion to reign at Delray Beach.

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Behar/Escobar Claim Delray Beach Doubles Title In Style

Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar have started the year on the right foot after taking home their first ATP Tour title at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com.

Playing in their first tour-level championship match on Wednesday, Behar and Escobar edged past brothers Christian Harrison and Ryan Harrison to win 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 10-4.

“This doesn’t happen every day. We want it to happen a lot of times, but today we’re going to have fun and enjoy it,” Behar said after the match. “And then focus on Australia that we have to travel to early.”

Behar, of Uruguay, and Gonzalo Escobar, of Ecuador, turned heads last year on the ATP Challenger Tour when they lifted five trophies. They continued to stand out in Delray Beach – thanks in part to Behar’s colorful wardrobe – as they took down the top seeded team Jean-Julien Rojer and Marcelo Arevalo in the opening round.

They had to be focussed from the start against the Harrison brothers during the one hour and 43 minutes on court. They stayed locked on serve across the first two closely contested sets, despite creating 13 chances between both teams. After coming back in the second to make it one set apiece, the South Americans surged ahead in the Match Tie-Break toto become the first South American doubles champions at Delray Beach.

“We’ve been in this position many times, not in ATP but in the Challengers,” Escobar said. “I think we’ve worked to be able to deal with it [well] and just try to play every point. And it worked. I think it all comes down to the everyday work, even if it looks like it’s not going to change anything.

“But I think that this week, something clicked, something seemed easier for us. And at the end, we got this title and it’s going to give us a little bit more confidence. I think it’s going to be a great year.”

The victory also makes Escobar the first Ecuadorian doubles champion on the ATP Tour since Nicolas Lapentti in 1999 Adelaide (w/Gustavo Kuerten).

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Cameron Norrie beaten in semi-final at Delray Beach Open

Briton Cameron Norrie’s bid to reach a second ATP final comes to an end with defeat by Sebastian Korda at the Delray Beach Open.

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Antalya Champion De Minaur Looks Ahead After 'Dark Times' In 2020

Alex de Minaur has hit the ground running in 2021 by posting solid performances at the Antalya Open for his fourth ATP Tour title.

“I feel I’ve improved everything,” admitted the Australian on Wednesday, after his final victory over Alexander Bublik. “I’ve worked on the body and mind to take it to the top guys, which is my goal. Being able to push them and getting stronger is my goal. I don’t want to have a good result every now and then. I want good results every week. I may lose to the top guys, because they are too good, but I don’t want to have any bad losses.”

The 21-year-old will fly to Australia from Dubai on Thursday after securing his first tour-level title since 29 September 2019 at the Zhuhai Championships (d. Mannarino).

“It’s now more about fine tuning,” he said, looking ahead to the Australian summer swing. “All of the tweaking and preparation came in the pre-season. I will look back on this week and see what I can improve on, so to play my best tennis at the ATP Cup and the Australian Open.”

De Minaur reached his first Grand Slam championship quarter-final at the US Open (l. to Thiem) last year, but admitted 2020 was a difficult year for him.

“2020 was a tough year. I got my best result at a Slam, but it was still a dark time and mentally I did not feel great,” said De Minaur. “I put in a few matches together, and had my best result [in New York], so it was something to be proud of. But 2020, as a whole, I had a lot of expectations and it’s fed the hunger to make 2021 better.

“I knew I’d put in a great pre-season, I felt good and ready to compete. I gave myself the best possible chance to go deep in this tournament. I have got matches at the start of the year. I am very happy with my level. I got some quality wins and now I’m looking forward to returning to Australia, where I hope to have a good Aussie summer in front of a home crowd.”

De Minaur, who represented Australia in last year’s inaugural ATP Cup, now has a 4-4 record in ATP Tour finals.

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Alcaraz, 17, Qualifies For Australian Open

Carlos Alcaraz will take his place in the Australian Open main draw next month after successfully qualifying on Wednesday in Doha.

The 17-year-old Spaniard got off to strong starts in both sets to beat second-seeded Bolivian Hugo Dellien 6-2, 6-3. Alcaraz won 73 per cent of his first-service points to become the first player born in 2003 to qualify for a Grand Slam championship.

The #NextGenATP Spaniard is the youngest player inside the Top 200 of the FedEx ATP Rankings and has built upon an impressive finish to the 2020 season. Across his final six ATP Challenger Tour events in 2020, Alcaraz compiled a 20-3 record and won three trophies from four finals.

Sergiy Stakhovsky, 35, also came through the qualifying competition, which has been held this year in Doha due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ukrainian worked his way past Dane Sweeny of Australia 2-6, 6-3, 6-1, converting four of 13 break points for a place in the main draw for the first time since 2016.

Serbia’s Viktor Troicki, 34, also clinched his main draw spot after a 6-4, 6-2 victory over No. 11 seed Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, but 36-year-old Dustin Brown lost out to American Maxime Cressy, who qualifies for the Australian Open for the first time, after hitting 14 aces in a 7-6(5), 6-4 win.

Former World No. 17 Bernard Tomic became the only Australian man to qualify for the main draw after he edged past his compatriot, John-Patrick Smith, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(7). The 28-year-old, who has qualified for the first time, reached the fourth round of the main draw in 2012, 2015 and 2016.

Sweden’s Elias Ymer will compete in the main draw for the first time since 2018 after he knocked out Taro Daniel of Japan 6-1, 6-2 in the final qualifying round. Portugal’s Frederico Ferreira Silva will make his Grand Slam championship debut after he beat top seed Gregoire Barrere of France 6-3, 6-4.

Belgium’s Kimmer Coppejans swept past seventh seed Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-2, 6-0 and American Michael Mmoh defeated Arthur Rinderknech of France 6-3, 7-6(3). France’s Quentin Halys got the better of Robin Haase of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-4.

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Australian Open: Francesca Jones qualifies for first Grand Slam tournament

Francesca Jones qualifies for a Grand Slam for the first time with an easy victory over Lu Jiajing in Australian Open qualifying.

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De Minaur Clinches Antalya Crown

Alex de Minaur captured the fourth ATP Tour singles title of his career on Wednesday at the Antalya Open. The fourth-seeded Australian was leading eight seed Alexander Bublik 2-0 in the first set, when the Kazakhstani retired after seven minutes of the final.

“I knew I’d put in a great pre-season, I felt good and ready to compete,” said De Minaur. “I gave myself the best possible chance to go deep in this tournament.

“I have got matches at the start of the year. I am very happy with my level. I got some quality wins and now I’m looking forward to returning to Australia, where I hope to have a good Aussie summer in front of a home crowd.”

Bublik attempted to play after extensive physio, but had twisted his right ankle on Tuesday in his semi-final victory over Jeremy Chardy of France.

The World No. 49 told ATPTour.com, “I twisted my ankle yesterday and finished with an adrenaline rush for the best win of my life. I was so lucky to win. I tried to play. I was in the physio room for three hours yesterday and I tried to get ready for the match today. It’s hard for me in my third ATP Tour final, and I’ve never gotten the win.”

De Minaur, 21, adds to the three ATP Tour hard-court titles he won in 2019 at the Sydney International (d. Seppi), the Truist Atlanta Open (d. Fritz) and at the Zhuhai Championships (d. Mannarino). It was his first final since October 2020 at the European Open in Antwerp (l. to Humbert).

This week, De Minaur beat Malek Jaziri of Tunisia in the first round, Bulgarian qualifier Adrian Andreev in the second round, sixth seed Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia in the quarter-finals and second-seeded Belgian David Goffin in the semi-finals at the Limak Arcadia Sport Resort in Antalya.

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