Thiem’s new high and Nishikori return: Tennis talking points

Dominic Thiem is climbing up the rankings while Kei Nishikori is set to return to action for the first time in 2020.

AFP Sport looks at this week’s tennis talking points:


Thiem moves past Federer

— He may still be waiting to join the ‘Big Three’ as a Grand Slam winner, but at least Dominic Thiem now has the consolation of breaking the stranglehold on the rankings enjoyed by Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

On Monday, Australian Open runner-up Thiem reached a career high of three in the world, knocking Federer down a spot.

The 26-year-old Austrian didn’t play last week but he went past Federer when the Swiss star was unable to defend his points gained by winning the Dubai title last year.

Federer, 38, has undergone knee surgery and is not expected back on tour until the grass court season.

Djokovic, Nadal step up title chase

— Djokovic won his fifth Dubai title while Nadal swept to a third victory in Acapulco although both men still have some way to go to reach the all-time record.

Djokovic now stands on 79 career trophies and Nadal has 85.

Ivan Lendl won 94 while Federer has 103, six behind Jimmy Connors’ leading 109 titles.


Empty feeling on Nishikori return

— Former world number four Kei Nishikori makes his return to the sport for the first time since the US Open last year when he leads Japan in the Davis Cup qualifier at home to Ecuador this weekend.

However, due to fears over the coronavirus, the Friday-Saturday tie in Miki will be played behind closed doors.

Nishikori has been sidelined after undergoing elbow surgery.

Sabalenka dedicates win to later father

— Aryna Sabalenka won her sixth career title in Qatar by beating Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-3 and dedicated victory to her father Sergey who died in November.

“I just lost my dad in the pre-season and he was my biggest motivation, and I’m doing it for him,” said the 21-year-old from Belarus.

Clijsters steps up second comeback

— Four-time major winner Kim Clijsters steps up her second comeback by playing on a wildcard at Monterrey this week.

The 36-year-old played her first match in over seven years in Dubai last month where she was defeated by Garbine Muguruza.



Still unranked, Clijsters has been drawn to face second seed Johanna Konta in the first round in Mexico.

“I feel like with the tennis that I’ve been playing, I’m improving,” she told wtatennis.com.

“I still have a good level in me. I’m still at the stage where I feel like I need match rhythm.”

Latest rankings:


ATP

1. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 10,220 points, 2. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 9,850, 3. Dominic Thiem (AUT) 7,045 (+1), 4. Roger Federer (SUI) 6,630 (-1), 5. Daniil Medvedev (RUS) 5,890, 6. Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) 4,745, 7, Alexander Zverev (GER) 3,630, 8. Matteo Berrettini (ITA) 2,860, 9. Gael Monfils (FRA) 2,860, 10. David Goffin (BEL) 2,555

WTA

1. Ashleigh Barty (AUS) 8,717 points, 2. Simona Halep (ROU) 6,076, 3. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 5,205, 4. Bianca Andreescu (CAN) 4,555, 5. Sofia Kenin (USA) 4,365, 6. Kiki Bertens (NED) 4,335, 7. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 4,301, 8. Belinda Bencic (SUI) 4,010 (+1), 9. Serena Williams (USA) 3,915 (-1), 10. Naomi Osaka (JPN) 3,625

source: sports.inquirer.net

Deaf South Korean tennis player notches landmark win

Lee Duck-hee became the first deaf player to win an ATP match on Monday, making a statement with a straight-sets win over Henri Laaksonen in Winston-Salem.

“People made fun of me for my disability. They told me I shouldn’t be playing,” the 21-year-old South Korean said after shrugging off a lengthy rain delay to post a 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 victory.

“It was definitely difficult, but my friends and family helped me get through,” Lee said. “I wanted to show everyone that I could do this.

“My message for people who are hearing impaired is to not be discouraged. If you try hard, you can do anything.”

Lee, ranked 212 in the world, turned pro at 15 and achieved his best ATP singles ranking of 130th in the world in 2017, toiling mainly on the developmental Challenger circuit.

He admits that his disability can make life on court frustrating: he can’t hear line calls or the umpire’s call of the score and relies on gestures to sort out any confusion.


At Lee’s post-match press conference on Monday, his fiancee pitched in to help out a Korean translator.

It was the end of a long day for Lee, who was two points from victory when thunderstorms swept through the area.

When he and Switzerland’s Laaksonen returned some five hours later Lee quickly polished off a win he admitted he hadn’t been expecting.

“I thought that I was just going to do my best and try to stay focused, but I came out a winner,” said Lee, who had reached his first Challenger final almost three years in Little Rock in June.

Lee next faces third-seeded Hubert Hurkacz, the world number 40 from Poland, in the second round.


“I’m going to go to the match with the same attitude,” Lee said. “I’m going to do my best and see what happens.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Resurgent Federer advances to Montreal final

Swiss superstar Roger Federer turned in a precision performance Saturday at the ATP Montreal tennis, using thundering serves and clever backhands to defeat unseeded Robin Haase for a spot in the final.


The 36-year-old Federer blasted nine aces and lost just nine points on his serve as he extended his match win streak to 16 — his longest win streak in five years.

He raised his game to another level when it mattered most, beating Netherlands Robin Haase 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) in just 75 minutes.

“I’m very excited to be back in the finals,” Federer said. “A bit surprising, to be quite honest, because I hadn’t practiced much.”

Federer has taken more time off this year than usual. He skipped the clay-court season from April to mid-June.

“I came from vacation, did some fitness, saw how I was feeling and said, ‘You know what, I practiced so much the last year, let’s go play some matches.’

“It’s a big bonus right now and I hope I can play as free as I have so far in the finals tomorrow.”

Second seeded Federer will clash on Sunday with German Alexander Zverev who ended the Cinderella run of 18-year old Canadian Denis Shapovalov with a 6-4, 7-5 win in the other semi-final.

Federer is undergoing a resurgence this season after it appeared to many he might be slowing down as he transitions through his mid-30s.

“Confidence can get you a long way, and if you’re feeling fine physically and you are ready to fight mentally you have a lot of things in the bag,” said Federer, who would earn the second seed at the upcoming US Open if he wins in Montreal.

“And then the only thing that maybe is missing is practice, but sometimes practice is overrated. It’s all about the matches at some stage.

“I’m happy I’m playing as well as I am this year on the match courts. At the end that’s what matters because I spent hours and hours on the practice courts in the last year.”

The 19-time Grand Slam winner Federer is seeking his 27th Masters 1000 title and his third Canadian Masters crown after wins in 2004 and 2006.

Haase, who hit 17 winners, made a late charge and forced a second-set tiebreak before Federer stymied the challenge to win the match.

Zverev, 20, will have a much tougher time against the skilled veteran Federer than he did in beating Shapovalov.

‘Life-changing week’

Zverev came into Montreal with four titles this season while Shapovalov had just three career match victories. Shapovalov leaves Montreal with seven career wins, including a shocking upset of 10-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal.

“It is a completely life-changing week,” said Shapovalov, whose dream run this week also included a win over former US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro.

The fourth seeded Zverev broke Shapovalov at 4-4 in the first set then served for the set to silence the partisan crowd.

Ultimately, Zverev played better in the key moments, finishing with two aces, winning 81 percent of his first-serve points and breaking the Canadian three times.

Shapovalov finished with three aces, six double faults and won 64 percent of his first-serve points in the one-hour, 43-minute match.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Raonic beats Nadal, keeps Brisbane title defense on track

BRISBANE, Australia — Rafael Nadal was up a set and had a break point against defending champion Milos Raonic when he sent a forehand just wide.

It was a mistake the 14-time Grand Slam champion wouldn’t recover from.

Raonic made the most of the reprieve, holding serve in that fifth game of the second set and then attacking Nadal’s serve in the eighth to swing the momentum his way in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 quarterfinal win Friday at the Brisbane International.





The top-seeded Raonic broke Nadal’s serve again to start the third set, and calmly held on for only his second win in eight matches against the Spaniard.

Raonic served 23 aces and hit 50 winners to just 19 for Nadal, who could only convert one of his seven break-point opportunities.

As well as the big, deep service returns, Raonic also repeatedly went to the net, trusting his instincts and putting pressure on Nadal.

“Today the mentality behind the match was what sort of kept me around,” Raonic said. “Some moments things weren’t looking great. I wasn’t efficient coming forward. I was missing some shots I shouldn’t be. I was rushing.

“But at least I kept myself there, and I was able to always recuperate the next point. That’s what I have to be most proud of.”

Nadal, coming back from a layoff after an injured left wrist curtailed the end of his 2016 season, beat Raonic in an exhibition tournament last week. But Raonic played with more intensity in Brisbane, and Nadal said a couple of lapses were costly.

“Probably if I put that passing shot forehand cross, I had the break in the second set, big chance that we will be here one hour before with a victory,” Nadal said. “That passing shot was long, and that’s it. Then he had the break and match changes.”

Nadal said three wins at the exhibition tournament, two wins and a close result in Brisbane gave him confidence his progress was good ahead of the Australian Open, where he is desperate to make amends for a surprising first-round exit last year.

Still in contention to start back-to-back seasons with a Brisbane title, Raonic will play seventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov – a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 winner over No. 4 Dominic Thiem – in the semifinals.

US Open champion Stan Wawrinka and third-seeded Kei Nishikori will meet in the other semifinal match.

The second-seeded Wawrinka beat unseeded Kyle Edmund 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-4 to reach the semifinals in his first trip to the Brisbane tournament.

In the previous three years, Wawrinka won the title in Chennai in the first week of the season before heading to Australia for the season’s first major.

Wawrkina has a 4-3 lead over Nishikori in career head-to-heads, including the semifinals at the US Open last year, but Nishikori won two of the three meetings in 2016.

Nishikori has now reached the semifinals four times in seven visits to the Brisbane International, needing just an hour for a 6-1, 6-1 quarterfinal win over Australian wild-card entry Jordan Thompson.

“I think I played one of the best matches so far, really dominating from the baseline and serving good today,” Nishikori said. “Everything was working well.”

US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova will play Alize Cornet in the women’s final on Saturday.

Cornet was leading 4-1 when French Open champion Garbine Muguruza retired with a right thigh injury. Pliskova beat sixth-seeded Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-4 in the other semifinal match.

“A little bit of luck never killed anybody,” said Cornet, who finished last year ranked No. 46 but now expects to be seeded at the Australian Open. “I’m just going to take it. I really enjoy the fact that I’m in the final. It’s a big day for me, yeah.”

Muguruza didn’t think the injury setback would trouble her at the Australian Open.

“It will not stop me,” Muguruza said. “Cornet was playing good. I couldn’t match her level today. I had some pains, and I thought it was smarter to take care of my body.” –John Pye

source: sports.inquirer.net

Kyrgios beats Cilic at Open 13 to win 1st title

MARSEILLE, France — Big-serving Nick Kyrgios won his first career title with a 6-2, 7-6 (3) victory over fourth-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia in the Open 13 final on Sunday.

Kyrgios closed out the match with his 17th ace to cap a dream week for the 20-year-old Australian, who didn’t lose a set and was unbroken in 47 games. Ranked 41st, he beat two top-10 players in No. 10 Richard Gasquet and No. 8 Tomas Berdych.

It was only Kyrgios’ second tournament of the year. He lost to Berdych in the third round of the Australian Open in January and was forced to withdraw from Rotterdam last week with an elbow injury.

“I didn’t really expect to win this title this week after having a couple of weeks off,” said Kyrgios, who lost his only previous final on outdoor clay last year in Estoril, Portugal. “But from the first round I started playing really well and just gained confidence as I kept winning matches.

“I think I served really, really well again. I was serving really well all week. I didn’t get broken once. That was the main thing that was good. And I was able to put pressure on my opponents’ serves a lot when I was going through my service games really quickly.”

The popular Krygios ended his victory speech with a few words of French, declaring to his fans “I really like cheese.”

Kyrgios had Cilic under pressure from the start and converted his eighth break point to go 3-1 up in the first set and never looked back, securing a second break in the seventh game before serving out the set to love.

Cilic fought back in the second set and almost leveled the match in the 10th game but Kyrgios saved the only break point he faced in the contest with a 201 kph (125 mph) ace.

“I felt I was getting much closer in that second set,” Cilic said. “I felt also that he was becoming a bit more frustrated, which was good for me. I had a chance at the end of the second set to get the break, but he managed to play well … I didn’t adjust well enough on the balls that were coming back.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Djokovic easily beats Murray to win Paris Masters title

 

PARIS — Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray 6-2, 6-4 to win the Paris Masters for the third straight year and a record fourth time overall, dominating the second-seeded Briton from the outset in a one-sided final.

The top-ranked Serb was largely untroubled clinching his 10th title of the season — four ahead of Roger Federer and six more than Murray. It was the 58th title of his career and 26th in Masters events, two more than Federer and one behind leader Rafael Nadal.

“I am obviously very proud and very happy to win this title again,” the 28-year-old Djokovic said. “It’s a great tournament and all the best players in the world were here.”

Djokovic also extended his winning streak to 22 matches, and will be the favorite to win the season-ending ATP finals for the fourth straight time when that tournament starts in London on Nov. 15.

Despite dropping only one set on the way to the final, Murray simply could not compete as Djokovic won his sixth Masters title of the year — setting a new record.

“It’s been an incredible year for him, well done,” Murray said.

Serving for the match, Djokovic clenched his fist and yelled when Murray’s return landed out to give him match point. When Murray’s aggressive two-handed backhand went just wide, he turned and blew a kiss to his coach Boris Becker — who has won this event three times.

In their 30th career meeting, Djokovic improve to 21-9 against Murray, a two-time Grand Slam winner who beat the Serb in the 2013 Wimbledon final.

But since then, Djokovic has won 10 of their 11 encounters. His only loss during that spell was in August, when Murray beat him in the Rogers Cup final in Montreal.

The second point of the match lasted 22 strokes, but that was about as competitive as it got.

Djokovic broke Murray at love in the third game, and the Briton had to save three break points in the fifth. Djokovic then held at love and broke again before serving out the set in 42 minutes.

Murray dropped his serve again to trail 2-1 in the second set but broke right back, only for Djokovic to get another break in the seventh game when the Briton’s forehand sailed long.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Djokovic improves to 25-0 at China Open with 1st-round win

BEIJING — Novak Djokovic improved his perfect record at the China Open to 25-0 by beating Simone Bolelli of Italy 6-1, 6-1 Tuesday in the first round.

The top-seeded Djokovic’s winning streak started in 2009, when he won the first of his five titles at the tournament. He has dropped only three sets out of 51 in his five appearances. He didn’t play in 2011.

Besides singles, Djokovic is also teaming with younger brother Djordje in doubles for the first time at an ATP Tour event.

Rafael Nadal also advanced to the second round, beating Chinese wild-card entry Wu Di 6-4, 6-4. Nadal dropped serve four times in the match, including three straight games in the second set.

The third-seeded Nadal is in the uncharacteristic position of needing a strong finish to the season to qualify for the ATP Finals in London next month.

The Spaniard looked to be cruising against the No. 230-ranked Wu, playing his first top-10 opponent, when he broke to take a 1-0 lead in the second set. But Wu broke right back, and then twice more before Nadal was finally able to serve it out.

“I think I played little bit too … far away from the baseline,” Nadal said. “The last three games of the match I was playing better. I hit some good forehands down the line and that’s why I finished well.”

On the women’s side, U.S. Open champion Flavia Pennetta of Italy rallied to advance to the third round with a 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 win over Teliana Pereira of Brazil.

Also, eighth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark defeated Chinese wild-card entry Wang Qiang 7-5, 6-0, and 10th-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany beat Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-1, 6-4.

For the second straight day, the pollution in Beijing reached hazardous levels, according to the U.S. Embassy’s real-time air quality index.

“The pollution, I think we’re used to it when we play here,” Wozniacki said. “You know, we just play. We just play.”

source: sports.inquirer.net