Roger Federer and Stefanos Tsitsipas Among Winners At End of ATP Season

Posted by Admin on October 28, 2018
Posted in: Antwerp, ATP, Basel, Moscow, Stockholm, Vienna. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Roger Federer and Stefanos Tsitsipas Among Winners At End of ATP Season
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

It’s been an exciting couple of weeks on European indoor hard courts as the ATP season winds down. Here is your look at recent results.

ATP Antwerp

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Kyle Edmund came back from a set down and needed two tiebreaks to defeat veteran Gael Monfils in the Antwerp 250 final. Edmund got a walkover against Ilya Ivashka in the quarters but needed straight set wins against Albert Ramos and Richard Gasquet to make the final. It’s Edmund’s first title of 2018.

Monfils, who has suffered through a poor season, defeated Ruben Bemelmans, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (in 3 sets), Vasek Pospisil, and Diego Schwartzman to reach the final.

Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin teamed up to defeat Demoliner/Gonzalez in the doubles final.

ATP Moscow

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Home hero Karen Khachanov won his second ATP title of the season, defeating Adrian Mannarino in a 6-2 6-2 drubbing. Lukas Rosol, Mirza Basic, and Daniil Medvedev also lost to Khachanov, with Medvedev dropping the semifinal match in three sets.

Mannarino blitzed past Evgeny Karlovisky, Marco Cecchinato, Egor Gerasimov, and Andreas Seppi to reach the final, continuing his credible run of results after hitting age 30.

Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram combined to win the doubles title defeating Mirnyi/Oswald.

ATP Stockholm

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Young gun Stefanos Tsitsipas continued his rise on the ATP tour, defeating Ernests Gulbis 6-4 6-4, after previously scoring wins against John Millman, Philipp Kohlschreiber, and Fabio Fognini. The win is the maiden ATP title for Tsitsipas.

Gulbis making the final is a blast from the past, now 30, he reached his first ATP final since 2014. He came through qualifying then defeated Mikael Ymer, Denis Shapovalov, Jack Sock, and John Isner showing he can still be a factor at the ATP level.

Brits Luke Bambridge and Jonny O’Mara combined to win the doubles title defeating Koolhof/Daniell

ATP Basel

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7-6 6-4 was the scoreline as Roger Federer won ATP title #99, this one in his home country of Switzerland against Marius Copil after previously dropping sets against Filip Krajinovic and Gilles Simon. Federer was hot and cold this week as he also scored wins against J.L. Struff, and Daniil Medvedev. In the end though he once again lifted the trophy in Basel and now has a shot to take title 100 before the year’s end.

Copil reached his second career ATP final, as he’s had a breakthrough 2018.  Copil qualified then defeated Ryan Harrison, Marin Cilic, Taylor Fritz, and Alexander Zverev to reach the final. The wins against Cilic and Zverev both of elite quality, as we should see Copil burst into the ATP top 50 next season.

Dominic Inglot and Franko Skugor defeated the Zverev brothers in the doubles final.

ATP Vienna

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Tour veteran Kevin Anderson won his second ATP title of 2018, defeating Kei Nishikori in straight sets after previously defeating Nikoloz Basilashvili, Borna Coric, and Fernando Verdasco to reach the final, Jurgen Melzer surrendered a walkover in round 2. Nishikori continued his solid season with wins against Frances Tiafoe, Karen Khachanov, Dominic Thiem, and Mikhail Kukushkin. The win against Thiem was a big one as Thiem was playing in his home tournament in Vienna.

Joe Salisbury and Ken Skupski defeated Mike Bryan and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the doubles final.

 

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Semifinal Saturday Set At Las Vegas Tennis Open

Posted by Admin on October 27, 2018
Posted in: ATP, ATP Challenger, Las Vegas. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Blaz Rola

 

LAS VEGAS (Oct. 26, 2018) – The semifinals at the Las Vegas Tennis Open will have a distinctly international flavor Saturday as two Australians, a Norwegian and Slovenia player each won their third consecutive matches in the ATP $50,000 Men’s Challenger on Friday at the Fertitta Tennis Complex at UNLV.

Each of the four players didn’t drop a set on a warm Friday in near-perfect conditions. The No. 3 seeded Casper Ruud from Oslo, Norway will face unseeded Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia in the second semifinal while Blaz Rola of Slovenia takes on J.P. Smith of Australia in the first semifinal set for 10:30 a.m.

The 19-year-old Ruud is the only seeded player remaining as beat unseeded Kamil Majchrzak, 7-5, 7-5. “I’ve been getting a lot of free points on my serve because of the altitude the balls are bouncing,” said Ruud, playing in his final tournament of the year.

He will take on former 29-year-old Australian J.P. Smith. From 2007 through 2011, Smith was a four-time All-American at the University of Tennessee and made it to the college No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles during his career. On Friday Smith beat former Michigan star Jason Jung, 7-6 (3), 6-3.

“I’m excited to be in the semifinals,” said Smith, who like all the players have had to adjust to the noise of the planes taking off directly overhead from nearby McCarron Airport. “I was here in Las Vegas once when I was 21, but haven’t been back. It’s just such a great city.”

Kokkinakis dropped just five games against Darian King of Barbados, 6-1, 6-4. “My serve wasn’t really where I wanted it to be at the start of the match but it came around,” said Kokkanakis, just one of a handful of players who has beaten all-time great Roger Federer this year.

Qualifier Mathias Bourgue’s Las Vegas run ended in a 6-4, 7-6 (1) loss to former two-time NCAA champion in singles and doubles Blaz Rola.

“Deciding to play college tennis was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life,” said the left-handed Rola, who played at Ohio State. “Those years living in Columbus taught me so much and I’m so glad I decided to go there. If I had to do it all over again, I would for sure.”

Leading the tiebreaker 6-1, Rola unleashed a powerful forehand return at the center of the baseline at Bourgue’s feet. Bourgue stuck his racket out and the ball flew long ending the match. “I got a crucial point at 2-1 in the breaker and just rolled from there,” he said. “There’s not much more to say about it.”

Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Roberto Maytin of Venezuela will take on the final remaining Americans left in the tournament Robert Galloway and Nathan Pasha in the doubles final to be contested on Sunday.

On Semifinal Saturday, the USTA Foundation will hold a Net Generation Tennis Clinic in partnership with the impact barter startup have|need (haveneed.org). The Andre Agassi Foundation for Education and area National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) chapters will receive new tennis racquets as part of the clinic.

For a complete schedule and more information, visit the tournament website at: www.lasvegastennisopen.com.

—S. Pratt

American Invasion Led by John Isner @IntrumSthlmOpen 2018

Posted by Admin on October 14, 2018
Posted in: ATP, Steen Kirby, Stockholm. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

American Invasion Led by John Isner at ATP Stockholm 2018
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The third European indoor 250 tournament this week is in Stockholm where a host of Americans including John Isner and Jack Sock are set to feature.

Top Half:

Top seed John Isner will take on his countryman Bradley Klahn or Marius Copil in round 2, Isner will also be favored against Lucas Pouille in the quarterfinals. Pouille should defeat Tennys Sandgren and a qualifier to reach the quarters.

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I’ll back home hero Elias Ymer to make a run, Ymer opens with a struggling Max Marterer, and then he should be favored against the terribly out of sorts Jack Sock, who has had one of the worst ATP seasons ever. Denis Shapovalov should go on a tear, a qualifier, and Mikael Ymer/qualifier will be the first two opponents for Shapovalov, then Shapovalov will be favored against Ymer.

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Bottom Half:

Fabio Fognini is in good form, and presuming he’s fit he should ease past Taro Daniel/Lukas Lacko, and then Taylor Fritz in the quarters after Fritz defeats Hyeon Chung and countryman Denis Kudla or Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

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Stefanos Tsitipas will be favored in a tough section, John Millman/Peter Gojowczyk are first up, Fernando Verdasco will be favored against Matt Ebden, with Alex De Minaur favored against Phillipp Kohlschreiber. I have Verdasco over ADM, then Tsitsipas over Verdasco.

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Predictions

Semis
Shapovalov d. Isner
Tsitsipas d. Fognini

The young guns Shapovalov and Tsitsipas are set to make the final this week with Canada’s young gun Shapovalov lifting the trophy at week’s end.

Final
Shapovalov d. Tsitsipas

Kyle Edmund The Top Seed @eurotennisopen 2018

Posted by Admin on October 14, 2018
Posted in: Antwerp, ATP, Steen Kirby. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Kyle Edmund The Top Seed at ATP Antwerp 2018
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The ATP 250 in Antwerp is a great opportunity for players to pick up points late in the season as the ATP Tour returns to Europe for its final indoor swing.

Top Half:

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Kyle Edmund looks to be in good shape to continue his run of form and defeat a qualifier or Albert Ramos to reach the quarterfinals. I have Edmund facing Robin Haase in the quarterfinals after Haase defeats a qualifier and Yuki Bhambri/Roberto Carballes Baena. Edmund will be favored into the semifinals.

Richard Gasquet should also have a good tournament, Gasquet opens with Jaume Munar or Jiri Vesely, he’ll be a heavy favorite in that match, with J.L. Struff up in the quarters after Struff defeats Jozef Kovalik, and Frances Tiafoe or Feliciano Lopez. Gasquet over Struff is my pick.

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Bottom Half:

The bottom half of the draw is interesting, I’ll back Gilles Simon to make a run with Simon defeating a qualifier, Nicolas Jarry/MacKenzie McDonald, and Diego Schwartzman. The #2 seed Schwartzman faces Cam Norrie or a qualifier first up.

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Milos Raonic should be set to have a strong tournament as well. Raonic will be favored against Leonardo Mayer or countryman Vasek Pospisil, with struggling French veterans Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga likely to face off in round 2. Tsonga opens with Guido Pella, while Monfils takes on local player Ruben Bemelmans. I’ll take Raonic over Tsonga in the quarters.

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Predictions

Semis
Edmund d. Gasquet
Raonic d, Simon

I’ll back Edmund and Raonic to find form this tournament, with Raonic’s serve helping him indoors to grab a win.

Final
Raonic d. Edmund

2018 @tennisrussia features Home Heroes Daniil Medevev, Karen Khachanov, and Andrey Rublev

Posted by Admin on October 14, 2018
Posted in: ATP, Moscow, Steen Kirby. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

2018 ATP Moscow features Home Heroes Daniil Medevev, Karen Khachanov, and Andrey Rublev
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The 2018 Kremlin Cup ATP 250 primarily features a strong contingent of home Russian players vying for late season ATP success.

Top Half:

Top seed Marco Cecchinato isn’t near his best on hard courts but he did find a bit of form in recent weeks, enough to make him a favorite against either Adrian Mannarino or Evgeny Karlovskiy. Mannarino is in awful form. Benoit Paire looks set to have a good week, his first opponent Mischa Zverev is in a form slump, Egor Gerasimov/Damir Dzumhur aren’t the most difficult round 2 opponents, and Cecchinato in the quarters is a very winnable match.

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Filip Krajinovic could find form and put together a good tournament, but I have Mikhail Kukushkin pulling an upset, defeating the Serbian after defeating Evgeny Donskoy in round 1. Pierre-Hugues Herbert is in tremendous form as well, PHH opens with Alexander Bublik, Martin Klizan/Andreas Seppi will follow. I’ll back Kukushkin against Herbert as I feel the Frenchman will run out of gas by the quarterfinals.

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Bottom Half:

Tokyo champion Daniil Medvedev has the inside track to reach the quarters with a win against Dusan Lajovic or Filip Horansky. Jeremy Chardy has a tough match against Denis Istomin first up, and then he’ll face the in-form Aljaz Bedene (or Laslo Djere) in round 2. I’ll take Medvedev over Chardy or Bedene in the quarters.

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Andrey Rublev will be hoping that home cooking will help him find form. The young Russian has struggled for large parts of this season, but he gets an out of sorts Nick Kyrgios round 1, and then Malek Jaziri/Mirza Basic await in round 2. I’ll take Jaziri over Rublev, with Karen Khachanov reaching the semifinals with a win against Lukas Rosol/Matteo Berrettini before defeating Jaziri in the quarters.

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Predictions

Semis
Kukushkin d. Paire
Medvedev d. Khachanov

This is Medvedev’s tournament to lose, and I’ll back Kukushkin as my dark horse this week.

Final
Medvedev d. Kukushkin

Novak Djokovic, Medvedev, and Basilashvili Close out Asian Swing With ATP Titles

Posted by Admin on October 14, 2018
Posted in: ATP, Beijing, Shanghai, Steen Kirby, Tokyo. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Novak Djokovic, Medvedev, and Basilashvili Close out Asian Swing With ATP Titles
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

ATP Shanghai

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Novak Djokovic continued his momentum from the US Open, winning ATP Shanghai without dropping a set to claim his second ATP Masters title of the season. Djokovic eased past Borna Coric 6-3 6-4 in the final after dispatching Jeremy Chardy, Marco Cecchinato, Kevin Anderson, and Alexander Zverev with ease. Djokovic didn’t face a weak field, but he wasn’t bothered through five matches. Djokovic has now won 18 straight tour level matches as he’s won three tournaments in a row.

Coric reached his second final for 2018 and his first ever Masters final, after dropping a set against Stan Wawrinka, he defeated Bradley Klahn, an exhausted Juan Martin Del Potro, Matt Ebden, and Roger Federer to reach the final. The win against Federer one of the most notable of his rapidly rising career.

Kubot/Melo won their second consecutive doubles final, this time against Murray/Soares in straight sets.

ATP Tokyo

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Qualifier Daniil Medvedev took the ATP 500 title in Tokyo, it’s the third title for the young Russian in 2018 and this time he upset home hero Kei Nishikori 6-2 6-4 in the final. Medvedev dropped a set in qualifying but in the main draw he couldn’t be touched. He defeated Diego Schwartzman, Martin Klizan, Milos Raonic, and Denis Shapovalov to reach the final without dropping a set, crushing Canadian hopes in consecutive matches.

Nishikori didn’t drop a set prior to the final, Yuichi Sugita, Benoit Paire, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Richard Gasquet all lost to him in routine fashion. It’s Nishikori’s second ATP final loss in 2018 as he is still without a title this season.

Mclachlan/Struff defeated Klaasen/Venus in the doubles final.

ATP Beijing

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Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili won his second ATP title of 2018 6-4 6-4 against Juan Martin Del Potro in the ATP Beijing 500 final. Basilashvili has had a career year as he came back from a set down against Jack Sock to win in three sets, then defeated Fernando Verdasco, Malek Jaziri, and Kyle Edmund in straight sets.

The favored Del Potro reached his 6th tour level fina lof the season, getting a walkover in the semis against Fabio Fognini after previously defeating Albert Ramos, Karen Khachanov, and Filip Krajinovic without dropping a set.

Kubot/Melo defeated Marach/Pavic in the doubles final.

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic In The Running for 2018 ATP Shanghai Title @SH_rolexmasters

Posted by Admin on October 6, 2018
Posted in: ATP, Shanghai, Steen Kirby. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the Running for 2018 ATP Shanghai Title
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The second to last ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the year, the Shanghai Rolex Masters, kicks off this week with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the top seeds. Here is your look at China’s marquee ATP World Tour tournament.

Top Half:

Roger Federer will look to bounce back from a disappointing US Open defeat. He’ll open against China’s own Ze Zhang or current Tokyo finalist Daniil Medvedev. Andrey Rublev won his first match since the Summer in Beijing but he’ll still be an underdog against Roberto Bautista Agut. I’ll back Milos Raonic to reach the third round, defeating a qualifier and RBA/Rublev. Federer should be a slight favorite against Raonic.

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Sam Querrey should luck out a bit with his draw, Diego Schwartzman is seeded but not in great form, a qualifier/Robin Haase also shouldn’t be a difficult challenge. Kei Nishikori should be fatigued from reaching the Tokyo final, but he’ll get past Yibing Wu/Zhe Li. I’ll back Querrey to upset a tired Nishikori.

Juan Martin Del Potro is in the Beijing final, and given the fatigue factor I’ll back Richard Gasquet to beat Leonardo Mayer and Del Potro to reach round 3. Stan Wawrinka looks set to meet him at this stage. Wawrinka is coming back into form, he opens with a struggling Borna Coric, and then will get Nick Kyrgios or a qualifier. Kyrgios is also struggling right now, Gasquet has an edge against Wawrinka.

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Dominic Thiem will take on Matthew Ebden and Frances Tiafoe, he’ll be favored into the third round with Matthew Ebden/Frances Tiafoe up in round 2, and then Marton Fucsovics favored to beat Damir Dzumhur and Jack Sock/Peter Gojowczyk before falling to Thiem in round 3.

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Bottom Half:

Marin Cilic or Kyle Edmund will emerge into the quarterfinal from their section, Edmund is in good form and should be favored against Filip Krajinovic and Adrian Mannarino/Andreas Seppi, both of whom are in poor form. Cilic was surprised early in his last tournament, but Nicolas Jarry/Mischa Zverev are very beatable right now. Cilic over Edmund is my pick.

Alexander Zverev isn’t playing near his best right now and I have Denis Shapovalov upsetting him after Shapovalov edges current Beijing finalist Nikoloz Basilashvili. I’ll back Alex De Minaur to make a run, defeating a qualifier and Pablo Carreno Busta/qualfier before falling to Shapovalov.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas faces Gael Monfils in round 1, Karen Khachanov or Steve Johnson will follow, Kevin Anderson is favored to win the section with wins over Albert Ramos/qualifier and Tsitsipas in round 3.

In the bottom section Novak Djokovic will be favored all the way through as Jeremy Chardy/Max Marterer, and Gilles Simon don’t present a huge challenge. It’s Simon’s section to lose through the first two rounds as Marco Cecchinato and Hyeon Chung/qualifier are not in the best of form. Djokovic over Simon is the pick.

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Predictions

Quarters
Federer d. Querrey
Thiem d. Gasquet
Shapovalov d. Cilic
Djokovic d. Anderson

Federer and Djokovic should roll into the final with Djokovic having an edge. Look for Shapovalov and Thiem to spring some upsets as they also post solid results.

Semis
Federer d. Thiem
Djokovic d. Shapovalov

Final
Djokovic d. Federer