Kubot/Melo Continue Surge For London

Entering the week Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, who have qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals as a team in three consecutive years, appeared in danger of missing a spot at the season finale, to be held in London from 15-22 November. But the Polish-Brazilian pair, which was in 11th place in the FedEx ATP Battle For London, is surging at the perfect time.

Kubot and Melo beat two-time Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 on Saturday to reach the final of the Erste Bank Open. If the 2015 and 2016 Vienna champions add a third team title at the Austrian ATP 500, they will jump into one of the last four qualifying spot heading into the Rolex Paris Masters.

[WATCH LIVE 1]

Kubot and Melo will face Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski for the title. The only previous ATP Head2Head meetings between the teams came at last year's Winston-Salem Open, where Kubot and Melo triumphed 6-2, 6-3. The 500 FedEx ATP Doubles Ranking points that go to the winner could prove critical, as both teams are battling for a spot at The O2. By reaching the final, Murray and Skupski are into seventh place as they pursue their first Nitto ATP Finals qualifications as a tandem.

Kubot and Melo trailed Krawietz and Mies 5/7 in the Match Tie-break, but they won five of the final six points to advance after one hour and 27 minutes. The third seeds saved nine of the 10 break points they faced.

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Video : The Day Federer CRUSHED Hewitt at Wimbledon

The Day Federer CRUSHED Hewitt at Wimbledon
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Sonego Backs Up Djokovic Win, Earns Shot At Vienna Title

Lorenzo Sonego earned what he called, "the best victory of my life" on Friday against Novak Djokovic. His confidence showed on Saturday, when the World No. 42 played impressive tennis to reach the Erste Bank Open final.

The Italian, competing in his first ATP 500 semi-final in Vienna, defeated British No. 1 Daniel Evans 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 21 minutes to set a championship clash against red-hot Russian Andrey Rublev.

"I'm really happy," Sonego said in his on-court interview. "After yesterday it was not easy playing against Evans because he has a good talent. He has a good backhand and it was not easy. But today I won and I am so happy."

[WATCH LIVE 1]

The 25-year-old lost in the final round of qualifying against Aljaz Bedene six days ago, but he entered the draw as a lucky loser when Diego Schwartzman withdrew. Sonego is the first lucky loser to reach the Vienna final since home favourite Andreas Haider-Maurer in 2010.

Sonego had never previously played Evans, but he managed to outsmart one of the best tacticians on the ATP Tour. The Briton has eight Top 20 victories this season, many of which he has earned by getting players out of their comfort zone with his intelligent use of angles and spins. 

But Sonego set the tone with big hitting early to prevent Evans from finding his own rhythm, and the Italian consistently used his forehand drop shot throughout the match to keep his 30-year-old opponent off balance.

Evans attempted to shake things up as the match wore on, even throwing in serve-and-volley attempts and charging the net early in points. But Sonego had an answer for everything Evans threw at him, winning 78 per cent of his service points and breaking serve three times to triumph.

Sonego will meet Rublev for the first time in their ATP Head2Head series on Sunday. Rublev is pursuing his fifth ATP Tour title of the season, while Sonego is trying to lift the second tour-level trophy of his career.

 

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Red-Hot Rublev's Roll Continues Into Vienna Final

The Andrey Rublev train is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

The red-hot Russian was leading Kevin Anderson 6-4, 4-1 on Saturday when the two-time Grand Slam finalist retired due to a right leg injury. Rublev advanced to the Erste Bank Open final and he has now won 18 of his past 19 matches. The World No. 8 will play for an ATP Tour-leading fifth title of the season in Vienna.

“I don’t know why it’s going so well. I have such an amazing team, such amazing friends around me that always support me and probably that’s why I’m playing so good,” Rublev said in his on-court interview. “I came here thinking that I have nothing to lose. I already did a really great season, so I came here to enjoy, to do my best, to fight for every point, every match, and now here I am in the final. I want to keep thinking in the same way and we’ll see what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

[WATCH LIVE 1]

The fifth seed, who eliminated defending champion Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals, has not dropped a set this week, nor has he lost any of his 28 service games. Rublev has won two ATP 500 titles since the ATP Tour restarted in August and he will play Daniel Evans or Lorenzo Sonego for a third.

"I was not even thinking about it," Rublev said. "I'm serving really well this week, so we'll see. You never know what's going to happen tomorrow."

Anderson struggled with his second serve early, hitting double faults on his first three second-serve points. The South African, who upset Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals, competed well from the baseline to hang with Rublev. But on the Russian’s third set point in the first set, Anderson hit his fifth double fault to give the Russian the set.

After one game in the second set, Anderson took an injury timeout to have his upper right leg examined. Immediately following that he got broken, missing a forehand approach shot into the net. At 4-1, Anderson decided he could not continue. This was his first ATP Tour semi-final since winning January 2019 when he triumphed in Pune.

Two spots remain in the singles field at the Nitto ATP Finals, and Rublev is next in line to qualify. The Russian is pushing for his first berth into the season finale, which will take place from 15-22 November at The O2 in London.

Did You Know?
Rublev has not lost a final this season (4-0). He began the season with two ATP Tour titles.

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Another Day, Another Comeback For Millman

After saving two match points against Tommy Paul on Friday, John Millman produced another comeback victory to reach his third ATP Tour final at the Astana Open in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

The fourth seed hit 16 winners and found success in extended rallies to defeat Frances Tiafoe 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and reach an ATP Tour championship match for the third straight year. Millman is attempting to capture his first tour-level trophy after runner up finishes in Budapest in 2018 and Tokyo last year.

“I definitely didn’t want to play three sets. I was pretty tired after yesterday’s match. It was tough out there today with really physical tennis,” said Millman in an on-court interview. “Frances is a top player. He is obviously so dangerous.”

Millman, who owns a 15-11 record in 2020, gained revenge for his loss to Tiafoe at last month’s US Open. The Australian won 79 per cent of second-serve return points (11/14) in the decider, where he rallied from a 0-3 deficit to record his third win in four ATP Head2Head clashes against Tiafoe.

”It is so hard to make finals in ATP events,” said Millman. “It has been a really unexpected surprise, but in every tournament you go out there to hopefully try and win it. I am glad I am in a position to [do that].”

Tiafoe was attempting to reach his first ATP Tour championship since the 2018 Millennium Estoril Open. The American earned wins against Corentin Moutet, second seed Miomir Kecmanovic and Egor Gerasimov and leaves Nur-Sultan with a 12-11 record this season.

Millman will face Adrian Mannarino for the trophy. The Frenchman saved four of five break points to beat Emil Ruusuvuori 7-5, 6-2 and reach his 10th ATP Tour championship match.

Mannarino is yet to drop a set this week in Nur-Sultan. The third seed dropped just seven games en route to the semi-finals with wins against Yuichi Sugita and Mackenzie McDonald.

Millman owns a 2-0 ATP Head2Head advantage against Mannarino. The Brisbane native recovered from a set down to beat Mannarino in Tokyo last year and at this year’s Western & Southern Open.

”Adrian Mannarino is an established Top 100 player… He is very comfortable on these courts,” said Millman. “He is a lefty [who is] so tough to break down… I am really glad that I can be in a position to play for the title.”

After reaching 3-3 in the first set, Tiafoe claimed three straight games to earn a one-set lead. The American broke serve in back-to-back return games, as he played with aggression on his forehand and capitalised on Millman forehand errors.

Millman broke late in the second set to force a decider. The 31-year-old battled from the back of the court in extended rallies and drove backhand winners up the line to win consecutive games from 4-4.

From 0-3 down in the third set, the World No. 45 dictated rallies with his forehand and dragged Tiafoe out of position to serve for the match at 5-4. Millman converted his first match point when Tiafoe fired a crosscourt backhand into the tramline.

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Another Day, Another Comeback For Millman

After saving two match points against Tommy Paul on Friday, John Millman produced another comeback victory to reach his third ATP Tour final at the Astana Open in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

The fourth seed hit 16 winners and found success in extended rallies to defeat Frances Tiafoe 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and reach an ATP Tour championship match for the third straight year. Millman is attempting to capture his first tour-level trophy after runner up finishes in Budapest in 2018 and Tokyo last year.

“I definitely didn’t want to play three sets. I was pretty tired after yesterday’s match. It was tough out there today with really physical tennis,” said Millman in an on-court interview. “Frances is a top player. He is obviously so dangerous.”

Millman, who owns a 15-11 record in 2020, gained revenge for his loss to Tiafoe at last month’s US Open. The Australian won 79 per cent of second-serve return points (11/14) in the decider, where he rallied from a 0-3 deficit to record his third win in four ATP Head2Head clashes against Tiafoe.

”It is so hard to make finals in ATP events,” said Millman. “It has been a really unexpected surprise, but in every tournament you go out there to hopefully try and win it. I am glad I am in a position to [do that].”

Tiafoe was attempting to reach his first ATP Tour championship since the 2018 Millennium Estoril Open. The American earned wins against Corentin Moutet, second seed Miomir Kecmanovic and Egor Gerasimov and leaves Nur-Sultan with a 12-11 record this season.

Millman will face Adrian Mannarino for the trophy. The Frenchman saved four of five break points to beat Emil Ruusuvuori 7-5, 6-2 and reach his 10th ATP Tour championship match.

Mannarino is yet to drop a set this week in Nur-Sultan. The third seed dropped just seven games en route to the semi-finals with wins against Yuichi Sugita and Mackenzie McDonald.

Millman owns a 2-0 ATP Head2Head advantage against Mannarino. The Brisbane native recovered from a set down to beat Mannarino in Tokyo last year and at this year’s Western & Southern Open.

”Adrian Mannarino is an established Top 100 player… He is very comfortable on these courts,” said Millman. “He is a lefty [who is] so tough to break down… I am really glad that I can be in a position to play for the title.”

After reaching 3-3 in the first set, Tiafoe claimed three straight games to earn a one-set lead. The American broke serve in back-to-back return games, as he played with aggression on his forehand and capitalised on Millman forehand errors.

Millman broke late in the second set to force a decider. The 31-year-old battled from the back of the court in extended rallies and drove backhand winners up the line to win consecutive games from 4-4.

From 0-3 down in the third set, the World No. 45 dictated rallies with his forehand and dragged Tiafoe out of position to serve for the match at 5-4. Millman converted his first match point when Tiafoe fired a crosscourt backhand into the tramline.

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Nadal Learns Path To Paris Trophy

Just more than three weeks after capturing his 13th Roland Garros crown, Rafael Nadal returns to Paris as one of seven Top 10 players seeking their first title at the Rolex Paris Masters.

Nadal will attempt to tie Novak Djokovic’s record haul of 36 ATP Masters 1000 titles with a championship run in the French capital. The Spaniard, who owns a 19-5 record at the final Masters 1000 event of the year, will open his campaign against Filip Krajinovic or Feliciano Lopez in the second round.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion will attempt to claim his 1000th tour-level victory in his opening match of the tournament (999-201). If he reaches that milestone, he could face 15th seed Borna Coric in the third round for the fifth time in their ATP Head2Head series (tied at 2-2).

One court, two champions👇@RafaelNadal @stanwawrinka #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/Cb0G6VF98G

— ROLEX PARIS MASTERS (@RolexPMasters) October 30, 2020

Nadal shares the top quarter of the draw with countryman Pablo Carreno Busta and eighth seed David Goffin. Carreno Busta, the recent US Open semi-finalist, will meet French wild card Hugo Gaston in the first round. Earlier this month, Gaston forced two-time Roland Garros runner-up Dominic Thiem to five sets on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Fourth seed Alexander Zverev headlines the second quarter of the draw. The German, who won back-to-back titles in Cologne this month, will meet Miomir Kecmanovic or Nur-Sultan finalist John Millman in the second round.

Zverev is joined in a packed section of the draw by fifth seed Andrey Rublev. The in-form Russian is attempting to secure one of the two remaining qualification positions at the Nitto ATP Finals, which will be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November.

In the bottom half of the draw, second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will begin his title bid against Antwerp champion Ugo Humbert or Casper Ruud. Making his third straight appearance at the Masters 1000 event, last year’s quarter-finalist is joined in the fourth quarter by seventh seed Matteo Berrettini and 2014 runner-up Milos Raonic.

Third seed Daniil Medvedev will look to build on his quarter-final run in Vienna next week. The Russian could meet the man who beat him in Vienna in his first match: Kevin Anderson. Anderson will begin the tournament against a qualifier or a lucky loser in the first round.

Sixth seed Diego Schwartzman also appears in the third quarter of the draw. The Roland Garros semi-finalist will face home favourite Richard Gasquet or Taylor Fritz in the second round. If Schwartzman makes it through that match, he could face 2018 champion Karen Khachanov in the third round.

Other notable first-round matches include Stan Wawrinka and Daniel Evans’ second meeting in four weeks. At the St. Petersburg Open, Wawrinka saved three match points to extend his unbeaten ATP Head2Head record against the Brit to 4-0. Evans is in good form, set to compete in the Vienna semi-finals on Saturday.

Felix Auger-Aliassime and Marin Cilic will also meet in the first round. Auger-Aliassime will be making his tournament debut, while Cilic will be appearing at the Accor Arena for the 12th time. The former World No. 3 achieved his best result in 2016, when he reached the semi-finals.

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Rafael Nadal reveals regular Roger Federer chats as Spaniard makes injury prediction

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have won 40 Grand Slam titles between them.

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Video : The Scariest Shots In Tennis

The Scariest Shots In Tennis
Who has the most feared shot in tennis? We asked the players on Halloween... SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/2dj6EhW WEBSITE: http://www.atptour.com/ FACEBOOK: https://ift.tt/2T3aGl9 TWITTER: https://twitter.com/ATP_Tour INSTAGRAM: https://ift.tt/2IoGZGP RADIO: http://bit.ly/2Dictrm PODCAST: http://bit.ly/2NilRRn About the Official ATP Tour YouTube Channel: Here you will find the latest videos from the ATP Tour, including hot shots, highlights, behind the scenes footage, documentaries and more. The ATP Tour showcases the best of the best, competing in 63 tournaments across 4 surfaces, all to be No. 1. Find all the action from on and off the court right here.

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Purcell/Saville Claim Spot In Nur-Sultan Final

Nitto ATP Finals contenders Max Purcell and Luke Saville rallied from a set down to reach their second final of the year at the Astana Open in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

The Aussies overcame Ben McLachlan and Franko Skugor 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 to advance in 75 minutes. Purcell and Saville dropped just three points behind their first serves in the second set (16/19) and returned with skill in the Match Tie-break to improve to 13-9 at tour-level this season.

[WATCH LIVE 1]

The Australian Open finalists are bidding to clinch one of the remaining four qualification spots for the Nitto ATP Finals, which will be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November. Purcell and Saville started the week in ninth position in the FedEx ATP Battle For London.

The second seeds will face Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen for the trophy. The top seeds reached their first championship match of 2020 with a 7-6(4), 7-6(3) victory against Marcelo Arevalo and Tomislav Brkic.

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Djokovic: ‘He Just Blew Me Off The Court’

Novak Djokovic suffered just his third loss of the season on Friday at the Erste Bank Open against Italian Lorenzo Sonego, but the World No. 1 was in good spirits after the match.

"He just blew me off the court, that's all," Djokovic said. "He was better in every segment of the game... it was a pretty bad match from my side, but amazing from his side. He definitely deserved this result."

The Serbian fell to 39-3 in 2020, but he is still an overwhelming favourite to clinch the year-end No. 1 FedEx ATP Ranking, which will be presented at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he is a five-time champion.

“Looking forward to it. It’s the final tournament of the year. Obviously I’ll do my best to prepare well and have a shot at the title,” Djokovic said. “[The] best eight players in this season are going to be there. After Slams it’s probably the strongest event we have on our Tour, maybe the strongest because of the field of players. Every match that you get to play is against a top eight player in the world.

“I’ve had plenty of success in that arena [The O2]. It’s obviously going to be different without the crowd, but hopefully I can have a strong finish.”

[WATCH LIVE 1]

Had Djokovic won his second Vienna trophy (also 2007), he would have tied Pete Sampras’ record by guaranteeing a sixth year-end No. 1 finish in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

“I came here with the intention to try to earn more points and secure the [World] No. 1 at the end of the year,” Djokovic said. “I’m happy, I’m pleased [that] I’m healthy and hopefully I can have a strong finish in London.”

More than anything else, Djokovic was complimentary of Sonego’s performance in Austria, where the lucky loser earned his first Top 10 win by upsetting the Serbian.

“I move on completely fine with today’s result and [I am] looking to the next chapter.”

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Sonego Stuns Djokovic In Vienna

Lorenzo Sonego stunned World No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-1 on Friday for the biggest win of his career, advancing to the Erste Bank Open semi-finals.

"For sure it's the best victory of my life. Novak is the best in the world. Today I played so, so good," Sonego said in his on-court interview. "It's unbelievable. It's amazing."

Five days ago, the Italian lost a three-setter in the final round of Vienna qualifying against Aljaz Bedene. The 25-year-old has not lost a set in three main draw matches, playing his top level to shock the 81-time tour-level titlist after 68 minutes.

"I played the best match in my life," Sonego said. "I'm so happy for this."

[WATCH LIVE 1]

Sonego had not won a set in three previous matches against Top 10 opponents. But the World No. 42 held his nerve to become the first lucky loser to defeat Djokovic (1-12). The top seed earned six break points in two games in the second set, but Sonego rose to the occasion to maintain his advantage. It seemed Djokovic needed one momentum-shifting point to dig his teeth into the match, but Sonego didn't allow that with his consistently high level.

Djokovic made an unusually high number of unforced errors, which gave Sonego confidence. The Serbian dumped a neutral forehand into the net to relinquish a service break in the first game of the match and that set the tone.

Sonego, who won his lone ATP Tour title in Antalya last year, began the week with a 6-16 tour-level record on hard courts. But the unseeded Italian looked comfortable playing aggressive tennis against one of the best defenders in history, showing no fear with his heavy forehand. 

Djokovic got off to a slow start in the second set, once again missing a forehand into the net on break point in the first game. With Sonego serving at 2-1, the World No. 1 earned three break points to get back on serve and put pressure on the Turin-native. But after Djokovic let slip that opportunity, Sonego put his foot on the gas in the next game to take a double-break advantage with a curling forehand passing shot down the line on the dead run. 

Sonego won 80 per cent of his first-serve points against one of the world's best returners and he earned 53 per cent of his return points.

Djokovic let slip a chance to guarantee his spot atop the year-end FedEx ATP Rankings this week. If the Serbian won the Vienna title, he would have ensured that he would tie Pete Sampras’ record with six year-end No. 1 finishes.

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Rublev Downs Defending Champion Thiem In Vienna

Andrey Rublev’s hot streak continued on Friday, when the World No. 8 eliminated defending champion Dominic Thiem 7-6(5), 6-2 at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

The Russian struck 30 winners and saved both break points he faced to take his ATP 500 winning streak to 13 matches after one hour and 34 minutes. Rublev is attempting to capture his third straight trophy at the level, following title runs at the Hamburg European Open and the St. Petersburg Open.

Rublev is through to his fifth semi-final of the year. In each of the previous tournaments where he has reached this stage in 2020, he has gone on to lift the trophy. Rublev improved to 37-7 this year with his second ATP Head2Head win against Thiem (tied at 2-2). Only Novak Djokovic owns more wins at tour-level this year (39-2).

Rublev will face Kevin Anderson for a place in the championship match. The 23-year-old is tied at 1-1 in his ATP Head2Head series against the 2018 champion and won his most recent clash against the South African at Roland Garros earlier this month.

Thiem was attempting to extend a winning streak of his own. The US Open champion entered his fourth ATP Head2Head clash against Rublev with an 11-match winning run on home soil. Alongside his Vienna title, Thiem won last year’s Generali Open in Kitzbühel to finish 2019 with a 9-0 record in Austria.

In a first set dominated by serve, Rublev saved the only two break points of the set with powerful serving at 1-1. Both players battled from the baseline in the tie-break, with just one mini-break deciding the outcome of the set. Rublev, who had moved up to court to fire consecutive forehand winners from 3/4, capitalised on a forehand error from his opponent and claimed the opener in 55 minutes.

Rublev made an early breakthrough in the second set, as he pushed Thiem into the tramline with an inside-out forehand and struck a forehand winner up the line to break. The Russian doubled his advantage two games later with consistent depth on his returns, which may have contributed towards Thiem’s double fault on break point. Rublev forced a backhand return error from Thiem to convert his second match point.

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London Hopes Murray/Skupski Book Vienna Final Spot

Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski advanced to their second final as a team on Friday at the Erste Bank Open.

The Western & Southern Open finalists (l. to Carreno Busta/De Minaur) broke serve on three occasions to defeat Robert Farah and Fabrice Martin 6-4, 6-4 in 77 minutes. Murray and Skupski are chasing their first team trophy in the Austrian capital.

The British standouts are also attempting to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time as a pair. Murray and Skupski entered the tournament in eighth position in the FedEx ATP Battle For London, with four qualification positions still available.

Murray and Skupski will face third seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo or two-time Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies for the trophy. Krawietz and Mies will compete at The O2 in London for the second straight year from 15-22 November.

McLachlan/Skugor Earn Nur-Sultan Quarter-final Win
Ben McLachlan and Franko Skugor reached their second ATP Tour semi-final of the year together at the Astana Open in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

The fourth seeds won 72 per cent of their second-serve return points (13/18) to overcome Sander Arends and Artem Sitak 6-3, 7-6(4). McLachlan and Skugor will face London contenders Max Purcell and Luke Saville in the semi-finals.

Marcelo Arevalo and Tomislav Brkic also advanced at the ATP 250 with a 7-6(4), 3-6, 11-9 victory against third seeds Marcus Daniell and Philipp Oswald. The unseeded pair overcame the Sardinia champions in one hour and 35 minutes to book a semi-final clash against top seeds Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen.

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Monfils, Medvedev Play The Percentages On Return

Gael Monfils and Daniil Medvedev have manipulated time and distance on a tennis court to their advantage to lead the ATP Tour in Returns Made in the past two seasons.

Most players traditionally prefer to stand slightly behind the baseline to return first serves and inside it to attack second serves. Monfils and Medvedev are not the norm. They take up residence far behind the baseline to return serve, which reduces the effect of the power of the serve and increases their time to get better prepared and return the ball back into play.

Different strokes for different folks.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of first and second serves returned back in play finds Monfils leading the First Serves Returned table and Medvedev topping the Second Serves Returned list. The data set includes players that competed in a minimum of 25 matches on Hawkeye courts at ATP events in 2018 and 2019.

Monfils put an impressive 75 per cent of first serves back in play. A mark considerably greater than the 67.5 per cent average of the 37 players that qualified for the analysis. There were eight players overall who made north of 70 per cent of their first serve returns, with Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Medvedev hot on the heels of Monfils’ Tour-leading average. The leading 10 players in the data set are in the table below.

2018-19 First Serves Returned Infosys LEADERBOARD

Rank	Player	First Serve Returns Made
1	Gael Monfils	75.0%
2	Rafael Nadal	72.7%
3	Roger Federer	72.1%
4	Daniil Medvedev	72.0%
5	Taylor Fritz	71.6%
6	Alexander Zverev	70.9%
7	Stan Wawrinka	70.5%
8	Hubert Hurkacz	70.1%
9	Denis Shapovalov	69.8%
10	David Goffin	69.7%

Medvedev topped the table for Second Serve Returns In, putting almost nine of every 10 second serve returns back in the court. Medvedev moved up from fourth best in the First Serve Returns leaderboard to top the Second Serve Returns chart, putting 89.7 per cent of second serve returns back in play. The data-set average was significantly lower at 83.3 per cent. Roberto Bautista Agut, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev all made their way high up the list of the leading 10 players returning second serves back in play.

2018-19 Second Serves Returned Infosys LEADERBOARD

Rank	Player	First Serve Returns Made
1	Daniil Medvedev	89.7%
2	Roberto Bautista Agut	87.8%
3	Novak Djokovic	87.1%
4	Alexander Zverev	86.9%
5	Rafael Nadal	86.8%
6	Fernando Verdasco	86.6%
7	Milos Raonic	86.4%
8	Andrey Rublev	85.6%
9	Gael Monfils	85.2%
10	Alex de Minaur	85.1%

Standing up in the court to return serve allows the returner to rebound the serve back quickly, which takes time away from the server and increases the likelihood of a Serve +1 error. Standing further back, like Monfils and Medvedev prefer to do, allows more time to hit the maximum amount of returns back in play to begin the point. This is just another layer of our sport where players seemingly step 'out of the box' with a strategy to enhance their specific game style.

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Mannarino Survives Tense Finish In Nur-Sultan

Adrian Mannarino survived a late comeback from Mackenzie McDonald on Friday for a place in the Astana Open semi-finals.

The third-seeded Frenchman came through 6-1, 6-4 in one hour and 40 minutes, but was left to rue missing out on two points for a set and 4-1 lead.

“It was a tough match and I got a little tight at the start of the second set and I lost pace on my serve,” said Mannarino, who committed 12 unforced errors. “I led 3-1 and had two points for a 4-1 lead, and I started to serve too quickly. Mackenzie then started to play really well and started putting on the pressure. He is a really good player.”

The 32-year-old Mannarino, who will contest his first ATP Tour semi-final since October 2019, when he reached the VTB Kremlin Cup final, will next face Kazakhstani No. 2 Mikhail Kukushkin or qualifier Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland.

[WATCH LIVE 2]

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Anderson Earns Milestone Medvedev Win In Vienna

Kevin Anderson made it through to his first ATP Tour semi-final in 21 months at the Erste Bank Open on Friday.

The former World No. 5, appearing in Vienna for the first time since lifting the trophy in 2018, defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 7-6(5) to earn his first Top 10 win since the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals. Anderson was impressive on serve throughout the 89-minute encounter. He won 83 per cent of first-serve points (34/41) and saved the only break point he faced.

”I am very, very pleased. I have waited a long time to play a match like this. It was very high quality and I knew I had to play very well against Daniil to get through,” said Anderson in an on-court interview.

[WATCH LIVE 1]

The South African was appearing in his first quarter-final since undergoing a second right knee surgery on 19 February. Anderson improves to 9-8 this season with his seventh straight victory in Vienna. Anderson’s return to the Austrian capital almost ended in the first round, when he saved three consecutive match points to beat Austrian Dennis Novak in a final-set tie-break.

”I love playing here,” said Anderson. “I have good memories from playing a couple of years ago. I was very disappointed not to be able to come back last year, but I am happy to be back here playing great tennis and I am really looking forward to my match tomorrow.”

Anderson will face defending champion Dominic Thiem or Nitto ATP Finals contender Andrey Rublev for a spot in the final. The 6’8 right-hander owns a 7-2 ATP Head2Head record against Thiem and is tied at 1-1 against Rublev.

Medvedev was attempting to reach his first semi-final since last month’s US Open. The Russian won back-to-back matches for the first time since that event — against Jason Jung and Vasek Pospisil — to advance to the last eight in Vienna.

Anderson opened the match with an immediate break, as he rushed Medvedev with deep returns and capitalised on unforced errors. The 34-year-old stepped inside the baseline to finish rallies with his forehand and dropped just three first-serve points to take the first set.

Anderson was unable to convert four break points at the start of the second set, but he kept his composure on serve to reach a second-set tie-break. The 2018 champion played with consistency from the baseline to earn three match points and extracted a backhand error from his opponent on his third match point to claim victory.

”Right from the beginning, I felt very good about my game and obviously [I knew] it was going to be tough,” said Anderson. “I couldn’t be happier right now to be through to the semi-finals. Obviously the job is not done. but I just want to take a moment to appreciate the work that has gone in for me to play a match like this.”

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Tiafoe Moves Into Nur-Sultan Semi-finals; Millman Saves 2 M.P.

Frances Tiafoe booked a place in his first ATP Tour semi-final for two-and-a-half years on Friday at the Astana Open, an ATP 250 tournament in Nur-Sultan.

The 22-year-old American improved to 9-10 on the season with a hard-fought 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-5 victory over Egor Gerasimov of Belarus in two hours and 35 minutes. Tiafoe last reached a tour-level semi-final (or better) en route to the Millennium Estoril Open final in May 2018.

Earlier this month, Tiafoe lifted the fifth ATP Challenger Tour trophy of his career at the Internazionali di Tennis Emilia Romagna in Parma (d. Caruso).

[WATCH LIVE 2]

Tiafoe will next meet fourth-seeded Australian John Millman, who completed a remarkable comeback to advance to his first ATP Tour semi-final since October 2019, when he reached the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships final (l. to Djokovic).

Millman saved two match points at 3-5 in the deciding set and recovered from 0/5 down in the third-set tie-break to complete at 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(4) victory over Paul in two hours and 51 minutes.

The 23-year-old Paul, who reached the Adelaide International semi-finals (l. to Harris) in January, hit a double fault at 5-4, 40/30 and a forehand long at Ad-In in the third set.

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Grigor Dimitrov girlfriend: Nicole Scherzinger reveals split from US Open star on TV

Grigor Dimitrov and Nicole Scherzinger are no longer together, it would seem.

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Musetti's Newest Highlight: Landing The Esquire Italia Cover!

It has been a breakthrough year in more ways than one for Italian #NextGenATP sensation Lorenzo Musetti. Less than two months after bursting onto the ATP Tour with an impressive run at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, where he reached the third round as a qualifier, the 18-year-old is on the cover of Esquire Italia’s November issue.

The teen began the season outside the Top 350 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. But even with the five-month suspension of the ATP Tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Musetti has proven himself one of the brightest #NextGenATP stars.

After defeating Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori in back-to-back matches in Rome, Musetti maintained his momentum by winning his first ATP Challenger Tour title in Forli. In Sardinia, he reached his maiden ATP Tour semi-final. Those efforts propelled him to a career-high World No. 123 last week.

Find below a translated excerpt of Esquire Italia's story and interview with the Italian. 

^{Photo Credit: Pietro Cocco}
At the age of 18 he is the future of Italian tennis. [He is] a talent with great strokes that likes rap but considers himself retro, doesn't like clubs or TikTok, and is not into breaking rules at all.

Lorenzo Musetti has made a lot of promises to himself and one of them is to never open a TikTok account. At the age of 18 he became the first player born in 2002 to win a match on the ATP Tour, he won a junior Slam in Melbourne in 2019 and the tournament in Forlì this September.

Asked if sometimes all the discipline needed to succeed in tennis [becomes] too much, he says: "No, I wouldn't say that. I'm not really tempted to go out dancing or to a pub. If I have time off, which isn't often, I prefer to relax or go to the sea, which I love very much." 

Q: How did everything start?
A: Thanks to my father who works in a marble company in Carrara. I started playing a bit with him at my grandmother's basement when I was four years old. It quickly became more serious and when I was eight they took me to the club in La Spezia, where I took part in team matches. That's where I met Simone Tartarini, who was first my teacher and then became my coach. It's thanks to him that I became a player.

Patrick Mouratoglou's academy has also been important since they often welcomed me for practice weeks there. But I have to say it again: If I become a great player, it will be a hundred per cent thanks to Coach Tartarini. 

Q: What other sports do you like?
A: I really like basketball. But it's difficult to follow the NBA because of the time difference. LeBron James is one of my idols. 

^{Photo Credit: Pietro Cocco}

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Nadal Goes For Paris Double; When Is The Draw & More

Rafael Nadal returns to Paris three weeks after his 13th Roland Garros triumph, and this time, the Spaniard has his sights on his first title at the Rolex Paris Masters. Nadal, a winner of seven different ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, enjoyed his best result here on his 2007 debut, when he finished runner-up to David Nalbandian.

With victory at the Rolex Paris Masters, the Spaniard would once again join Novak Djokovic atop the ATP Masters 1000 leaderboard with 36 titles at this level. Nadal would also become the fourth player in the Open Era to join the 1000-match wins club should he win his opening match.

World No. 3 Dominic Thiem is set to lead the bottom half of the draw. Thiem, the reigning US Open champion, reached the Paris semi-finals in 2018, falling to eventual champion Karen Khachanov.

The Masters 1000 field also includes Top 10 stars Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Diego Schwartzman and Matteo Berrettini. Rublev has won a tour-best four titles in 2020 (tied with Djokovic), while Zverev enters Paris following back-to-back title wins at the ATP 250 tournaments in Cologne. 

Here's all you need to know about the Paris tennis tournament: what is the schedule, where to watch, who has won, how much is the prize money and more. 

Established: 1986

Tournament Dates: 2-8 November 2020

Tournament Director: Guy Forget

Draw Ceremony: Saturday, 31 October

Are You In? Subscribe To Get Tournament Updates In Your Inbox

Schedule (View On Official Website)
* Qualifying: Saturday, 31 October (10:00am start) – Sunday, 1 November (11:00am start)
* Main draw: Monday – Thursday from 11:00am; Friday from 2:00pm; Saturday from 11:45am
* Doubles final: Sunday, 8 November at 12:15pm
* Singles final: Sunday, 8 November at 3:00pm

How To Watch
Watch Live On Tennis TV 
TV Schedule

Venue: AccorHotels Arena

Prize Money: €3,901,015 (Total Financial Commitment: €4,289,970)  

Round	Singles €	Doubles €
Winner	301,975	108,020
Finalist	200,000	90,000
SF	133,000	64,000
QF	100,000	41,830
R16	69,000	21,870
R32	39,120	11,550
R64	22,275	--

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points Breakdown

Honour Roll (Open Era)
Most Titles, Singles: Novak Djokovic (5)
Most Titles, Doubles: Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan (4)
Oldest Champion: Novak Djokovic, 32, in 2009
Youngest Champion: Boris Becker, 18, in 1986
Last Home Champion: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2008
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1 Stefan Edberg in 1990, Pete Sampras in 1997, Andre Agassi in 1999, Novak Djokovic in 2014-15, 2019
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 50 Tomas Berdych in 2005
Most Match Wins: Novak Djokovic (37)

2019 Finals
Singles: [1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) d Denis Shapovalov (CAN) 63 64   Read & Watch
Doubles: [7] Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) / Nicolas Mahut (FRA) d Karen Khachanov (RUS) / Andrey Rublev (RUS) 64 61  Read More

Social
Hashtag: #RolexParisMasters
Facebook: @rolexparismasters
Twitter: @RolexPMasters
Instagram: @rolexparismasters 

Did You Know...The ‘Tree of Fanti’ trophy, sculpted by Italian artist Lucio Fanti, bears the name of the winners on the trunk. The two branches show how the two sides of the draw played out. “When I was asked to create a work to commemorate the centenary of Roland Garros, the tournament organisers sent me the draws and results from down the years,” says Fanti. “When I turned one of the pieces of paper 90 degrees and by starting the players off at the top, you ended up with the winner alone at the bottom. Overall, it looked like a tree, so all I had to do was imagine it in 3D.”

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Gille/Vliegen Charge Into Nur-Sultan Quarter-finals

Top seeds Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen booked their spot in the inaugural Astana Open quarter-finals, while the second seeds Max Purcell and Luke Saville became the first team to reach the final four after an action-packed day in Nur-Sultan. 

The Belgian duo faced Americans Mackenzie McDonald and Tommy Paul in the second round, and had to fend off three break chances across both sets. But Gille and Vliegen responded emphatically, never dropping serve and breaking McDonald and Paul immediately afterwards each time en route to a 6-3, 6-4 victory in 64 minutes.

In the quarter-finals, Gille and Vliegen will take on Jonathan Erlich and Andrei Vasilevski after the Israeli-Belarussian duo defeated Mohamed Safwat and Denis Yevseyev 6-3, 6-3 to eliminate the last Kazakh player left standing in the doubles draw. Yevseyev’s countryman Mikhail Kukushkin has reached the singles quarter-finals after taking down top seed Benoit Paire in a rollercoaster three-set battle earlier in the day.

 

Gille and Vliegen are still on the hunt for their first trophy of the season as they seek to back up a breakthrough 2019 that saw the pair claim three ATP Tour titles, winning in Bastad, Gstaad and Zhuhai. Since the Tour’s resumption, the pair have picked up steam with a quarter-final run at the US Open and a semi-final at Antwerp in the lead up to Nur-Sultan.  

Second seeds Purcell and Saville continued to make their case in the FedEx ATP Battle For London as they defeated Luke Bambridge and Divij Sharan to capture the first semi-final spot at the Astana Open. The Australian Open finalists edged through in straight sets 6-3, 7-5 as Saville and Bambridge combined for seven double faults in the opening set. Purcell and Saville began the week in ninth place in the Battle as they pursue their first Nitto ATP Finals qualification.

 

Also in action in Nur-Sultan, fourth seeds Ben McLachlan and Franko Skugor joined Marcelo Arevalo and Tomislav Brkic in the quarter-finals after both teams needed Match Tie-breaks to advance. McLachlan and Skugor edged past Matwe Middelkoop and Hugo Nys 7-6(4), 6-7(8), 12-10, while Arevalo and Brkic came from a set down to oust Rohan Bopanna and Frederik Nielsen 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 10-5.

 

[WATCH LIVE 1]

Top Two Seeded Teams Out In Vienna

At the Erste Bank Open, the doubles field is wide open as the top two seeded teams bowed out after a day full of surprises in Vienna. 

Two-time French Open winners Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies came out on top in a battle between 2020 Grand Slam champions against Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares, who triumphed at the US Open earlier in the season. 

 

In a rematch of the 2020 Roland Garros final, Krawietz and Mies repeated the same result, breaking Pavic and Soares four times to record a 6-1, 4-6, 10-8 victory over the top seeds and book their spot in the semi-finals. 

The second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury also exited Vienna after Ram was forced to withdraw due to a leg injury, sending Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski into the semi-finals.

Third seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo dodged St. Petersburg champions Jurgen Melzer and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 to become the lone seeds through to the final four in Vienna. The pair currently sit in 11th place in the Battle For London, and are hoping to make their fourth consecutive appearance as a team at the Nitto ATP Finals. 

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Dimitrov Weathers Tsitsipas' Storm In Battle Of Former London Champions

Former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov let slip a seemingly insurmountable 5/0 lead in the first-set tie-break against Stefanos Tsitsipas. But instead of allowing that tough moment ruin the rest of his match, the Bulgarian rallied for his first Top 10 win of the season.

Dimitrov battled past Tsitsipas 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 to reach the Erste Bank Open quarter-finals for the first time. The World No. 20 withstood 15 aces from the Greek and saved the two break points he faced to triumph after two hours and 14 minutes.

“It’s never easy to come out of a situation like that,” Dimitrov said in his on-court interview. “I was focussed, but he went for it. In the tie-break a few close calls here and there went his way. [There was] not much else I could have done, I felt. But I kept on believing and kept on doing the right things.”

[WATCH LIVE 1]

In a battle of former Nitto ATP Finals champions, Dimitrov showed a willingness to go after his shots against Tsitsipas, who is known for his attacking tennis. The Greek defeated his veteran opponent 6-3, 7-6(9), 6-2 less than a month ago in the fourth round at Roland Garros. That made the first-set tie-break result appear even more pivotal.

For the most part, Tsitsipas earned his way back into the tie-break, with Dimitrov doing little wrong. Perhaps his most glaring error came at 5/3, when he stretched for and missed a forehand volley that appeared to be sailing wide. On the next point, Tsitsipas evened the score with a perfect forehand drop volley from his shoestrings. The third seed won seven consecutive points to take the first set.

“[I] stayed in the match, which I think was the most important thing. He’s such a great competitor,” Dimitrov said. “You always have to be ready. I was just focussing on the most simple things of the game.”

Dimitrov did not back off the baseline and he performed especially well behind his second serve. The unseeded righty won 60 per cent of his second-serve points, breaking the Greek’s serve once in the second set and twice in the third set. Instead of letting down after the tie-break, Dimitrov only got better, while Tsitsipas was unable to raise his level in the decider.

“Every good match that you play gives you a certain amount of confidence. Clearly today was very taxing on the body. Hopefully I’m going to have enough time to recover for tomorrow’s match,” said Dimitrov, who next plays Daniel Evans. “That was the second round of the tournament if you think about it. The rounds are getting tougher and tougher, which is normal. But I like my chances. Just very pleased to be here.”

Did You Know?
Dimitrov's last Top 10 victory came at last year's Rolex Paris Masters against Dominic Thiem.

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Medvedev Serves 17 Aces & Revenge In Vienna

Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev served a dose of revenge Thursday in Vienna, rallying past Canadian Vasek Pospisil 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 behind 17 aces to reach the Erste Bank Open quarter-finals.

“It was really tough and Vasek was playing some unbelievable tennis,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview. “I'm really happy that he didn't finish the match [as strongly] and played a little bit worse. I took my chances. I'm really happy about it [and] looking forward [to] tomorrow.”

In February, Pospisil played lights-out power tennis to overwhelm the Russian in Rotterdam. Although the World No. 81 played inspired tennis again early in Austria, Medvedev made appropriate adjustments to wear down the Canadian after one hour and 58 minutes, taking a 2-1 lead in their ATP Head2Head series.

[WATCH LIVE 1]

The turning point came with Pospisil serving at 3-4 in the second set. The 30-year-old was cruising to a service hold at 40/15, and he had not yet been broken in the match. But Pospisil made four consecutive errors — including three unforced forehand errors from the baseline — to let slip his grip on the match.

Medvedev took full advantage of that opening, stepping closer to the baseline to take time away from the former World No. 25. Pospisil became increasingly frustrated in the third set after he missed an inside-out forehand wide at 1-1 to give the Russian the break in the final set. In the first half of the match, the veteran was playing aggressively without missing much. But as time wore on he began misfiring from the baseline.

Medvedev, who is pursuing his first ATP Tour title of the season, kept his foot on the gas and broke again in his next return game when Pospisil missed a volley-lob long. The fourth seed did not face a break point in the third set, completing his victory with his 17th ace of the match.

The 24-year-old has been building momentum since the ATP Tour restarted in August. At the US Open, Medvedev did not lose a set en route to his second Grand Slam semi-final. He has already qualified for his second consecutive appearance in the Nitto ATP Finals.

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Thiem Sets Rublev Showdown In Vienna QFs

Dominic Thiem said before this week’s Erste Bank Open that triumphing on home soil in Vienna last year remains his second-greatest accomplishment. Based on his performance Thursday, the second seed is hungry to add another Austrian trophy to his collection.

Thiem cruised past World No. 22 Cristian Garin 6-3, 6-2 in 66 minutes to reach the quarter-finals at his home tournament for the third consecutive year and the fourth time overall. The second seed will play fifth seed Andrey Rublev in a big-hitting encounter for a spot in the last four.

The 27-year-old, who recently captured his first Grand Slam title at the US Open, was ruthless on the indoor hard court. Without overplaying, he overpowered Garin. Thiem did not face a break point in the match, winning 83 per cent of his first-serve points and only making 12 unforced errors.

[WATCH LIVE 1]

Garin has won two ATP Tour titles this year in Cordoba and Rio de Janeiro, but both of those victories came on clay. The 24-year-old struggled to get the Austrian out of his comfort zone, making 24 unforced errors, including 15 on the forehand side.

The Chilean certainly tried to make an impact on Thiem’s game, even trying moving into the forecourt, where he showed good touch. But for the most part Thiem’s typical baseline shots were enough and he was never forced to go for too much.

Garin got off to a slow start, mis-hitting a forehand to lose his first service game. That set the tone for the match, as he later relinquished another break with a double fault.

Thiem will take a 2-1 ATP Head2Head series lead into his showdown against Rublev in the last eight. Rublev won their most recent clash last year in Hamburg 7-6(3), 7-6(5). The Austrian has already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, where he made the final last year. Rublev is making a push to earn his first season finale qualification.

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Medvedev Serves 17 Aces & Revenge In Vienna

Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev served a dose of revenge Thursday in Vienna, rallying past Canadian Vasek Pospisil 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 behind 17 aces to reach the Erste Bank Open quarter-finals.

“It was really tough and Vasek was playing some unbelievable tennis,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview. “I'm really happy that he didn't finish the match [as strongly] and played a little bit worse. I took my chances. I'm really happy about it [and] looking forward [to] tomorrow.”

In February, Pospisil played lights-out power tennis to overwhelm the Russian in Rotterdam. Although the World No. 81 played inspired tennis again early in Austria, Medvedev made appropriate adjustments to wear down the Canadian after one hour and 58 minutes, taking a 2-1 lead in their ATP Head2Head series.

[WATCH LIVE 1]

The turning point came with Pospisil serving at 3-4 in the second set. The 30-year-old was cruising to a service hold at 40/15, and he had not yet been broken in the match. But Pospisil made four consecutive errors — including three unforced forehand errors from the baseline — to let slip his grip on the match.

Medvedev took full advantage of that opening, stepping closer to the baseline to take time away from the former World No. 25. Pospisil became increasingly frustrated in the third set after he missed an inside-out forehand wide at 1-1 to give the Russian the break in the final set. In the first half of the match, the veteran was playing aggressively without missing much. But as time wore on he began misfiring from the baseline.

Medvedev, who is pursuing his first ATP Tour title of the season, kept his foot on the gas and broke again in his next return game when Pospisil missed a volley-lob long. The fourth seed did not face a break point in the third set, completing his victory with his 17th ace of the match.

The 24-year-old has been building momentum since the ATP Tour restarted in August. At the US Open, Medvedev did not lose a set en route to his second Grand Slam semi-final. He has already qualified for his second consecutive appearance in the Nitto ATP Finals.

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Rublev Advances To Vienna QFs

Andrey Rublev was leading Jannik Sinner 2-1 on Thursday when the Italian retired due to a right foot injury. Rublev advances to the quarter-finals of the Erste Bank Open, where he will play second seed Dominic Thiem or Chilean Cristian Garin.

Rublev is into his ninth tour-level quarter-final of the season from 12 tournaments. He is tied with World No. 1 Novak Djokovic atop the 2020 ATP Tour titles leaderboard with four trophies apiece. The 23-year-old, who also made the last eight in Vienna last year, has triumphed in Doha, Adelaide, Hamburg and St. Petersburg this season.

[WATCH LIVE 1]

In other action, Brit Daniel Evans eliminated Austrian wild card Jurij Rodionov 7-5, 6-3 in one hour and 43 minutes. Fresh off a trip to the European Open semi-finals, Evans will try to reach the last four again when he faces third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov.

Lucky loser Lorenzo Sonego also battled into the quarter-finals, moving past Poland's Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(6), 7-6(2) in one hour and 48 minutes. The Italian is into his first quarter-final since the Rio Open presented by Claro in February. Sonego will play top-seeded Djokovic. 

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Kukushkin Fights Back To Beat Paire In Nur-Sultan

Mikhail Kukushkin played with great pride on Thursday at the Astana Open, recovering from a set and 1-4 deficit against Benoit Paire for a place in the quarter-finals.

Kukushkin recorded his sixth victory of the season with a 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 6-1 win over Paire in two hours and 14 minutes at Kazakhstan’s first ATP Tour 250 event.

Kukushkin broke at 2-4 in the second set, played aggressively in the tie-break and won the first three games of the decider. The 32-year-old will next contest his first ATP Tour quarter-final for 13 months (2019 St. Petersburg Open) against Finnish qualifier Emil Ruusuvuori.

Ruusuvuori advanced to his first tour-level quarter-final by beat eighth seed Jordan Thompson of Australia 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in two hours and three minutes.

[WATCH LIVE 2]

Third seed Adrian Mannarino needed just 62 minutes to sweep past Japanese qualifier Yuichi Sugita 6-1, 6-1 for a place in the quarter-finals.

Mannarino won nine straight games from 0-1 in the first set and will next face American Mackenzie McDonald, who knocked out Italian wild card Andreas Seppi 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in just over two hours. McDonald is through to his first ATP Tour quarter-final since February 2019 at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC (l. to Nadal).

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Hewitt Tops International Tennis Hall Of Fame Class Of 2021 Fan Vote

It was announced on Wednesday that former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt received the most votes in the Class of 2021 International Tennis Hall of Fame Fan Vote presented by BNP Paribas. Swede Jonas Bjorkman received the third-most votes.

“Being nominated for the Hall of Fame is such a huge honour for me already, and to experience this incredible support from the fans while going through the Hall of Fame process just makes it even more special,” Hewitt said. “There are four additional great candidates with me on the ballot for the Hall of Fame, and I’m really honoured and appreciative of all the support I’ve received from tennis fans in Australia and around the world.”

To be elected into the Hall of Fame, a candidate must receive an affirmative vote in 75 per cent or more of ballots submitted from the Official Voting Group, which is comprised of tennis media and experts, or a combined total of 75 per cent or higher from their Voting Group result and any bonus percentage points earned in the Fan Vote.

As the first-place finisher in the International Tennis Hall of Fame Fan Vote presented by BNP Paribas, Hewitt will receive three bonus percentage points on his results from the Official Voting Group, while Bjorkman will receive one bonus percentage point. In addition to Hewitt and Björkman, Spaniards Juan Carlos Ferrero and Sergi Bruguera as well as American Lisa Raymond are on the ballot in the Player Category for Class of 2021 induction.

"In today’s digital world, sports fans are more knowledgeable and connected to athletes than ever before. We are pleased to give them the opportunity to express their opinions in determining who will be the recipients of tennis’ ultimate honour,” said International Tennis Hall of Fame CEO Todd Martin. “It’s been great to see fans embrace this opportunity with a strong voter turnout from all over the world. In such an unusual year for tennis, we are glad to offer this unique and important way for fans to engage with the sport, and we are grateful for our longstanding partner BNP Paribas for their support of the 2021 Fan Vote.”

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‘Can You Endure?’ Djokovic’s Advice For The #NextGenATP

The next generation of tennis stars has already arrived according to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, but their biggest challenge will be to endure at the top in order to establish themselves as great champions in the sport.

Speaking to press after his hard-fought victory against 23-year-old Borna Coric in the second round of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Djokovic reflected on the rise of young stars — including Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev — and what they can do to establish themselves at the top.

“I definitely see a lot of quality in the young players,” said Djokovic, highlighting 19-year-old Sinner as ‘one to watch’. “[Sinner] definitely possesses a game that is powerful and is with a lot of quality, and you can say he has the potential to be a top player of the world.

“Sinner is definitely, I would say, the leader of the guys younger than Zverev and Tsitsipas, who I think by many experts’ opinions [is] the next ‘top’ top player.”

Djokovic also reserved some words of praise and caution for 23-year-old Zverev and 22-year-old Tsitsipas, who have become fixtures in the Top 10 of the FedEx ATP Rankings and lifted the trophy at the Nitto ATP Finals in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

“These are the guys of the ‘next’ generation, so to speak,” said Djokovic. “They’re still very young, but they have a lot of titles. Both Zverev and Tsitsipas won the [Nitto ATP] Finals, which after Slams is the biggest event in our sport. So those guys are already established top guys. I can’t speak of them as ‘potential’ in tennis, because they already have achieved some great heights in tennis… But let’s see.

“Many things have to come together in a career and life of a tennis player in order for him to be able to find his best and maximise his potential and to thrive every single year,” he added. “And to endure, because I think you have a much better chance to have a great Grand Slam or a great season. But can you endure for three, four, five, 10 years? Fifteen years?”

[WATCH LIVE 1]

It’s something that Djokovic has a career of experience in doing, ever since lifting his first Grand Slam title at the 2008 Australian Open at 20 years old. He’s since gone on to break some of the longest standing records in the sport, racking up 17 Grand Slam titles as well as holding the No. 1 spot in the FedEx ATP Rankings for 292 weeks and counting.

“Obviously winning a Grand Slam is one of the biggest successes and achievements that you can have in our sport. And of course, anyone can have an unbelievable couple of weeks, but then can you really do that year after year, be No.1 in the world and finish the year as No.1?” Djokovic pondered.

“I think that’s probably the ultimate goal really, is how to find your balance in your private and professional life in order for you to thrive throughout the entire year and to be one of the contenders for No.1 in the world.”

Djokovic continues his Vienna quest against Hubert Hurkacz or Lorenzo Sonego in the next round for a spot in the semi-finals.

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Rublev And Sinner Face Off In Vienna

When Andrey Rublev and Jannik Sinner meet for the first time Thursday in Vienna, fans may be forgiven for seeing double when two of the ATP’s brightest young stars kick off the evening session on Next Gen Court. Both are lanky 6’ 2” right-handers with flowing red hair and thunderous groundstrokes. The pair even shares the same kit sponsor in Nike, making it hard at times for fans to tell them apart.

Just don’t get their names mixed up, as Rublev’s countryman Daniil Medvedev found out the hard way during the Australian Open in January. "Andrey gets really, really angry if you call him ‘Jannik’ because he looks like Jannik Sinner a little bit," said Medvedev with a laugh on Tennis United in July.

[WATCH LIVE 1]

"During this Australian Open he comes into the locker room and I said, 'Hi Jannik, how are you?' He got angry, he [went] away for 10 minutes, came back 10 minutes later, and goes, 'You are Davydenko then!'"

Rublev eased into the second round of the Erste Bank Open after a 6-3, 6-2 victory over qualifier Norbert Gombos 6-3, 6-2 on Monday, while 19-year-old Italian Sinner had to battle past Casper Ruud, 7-6(2), 6-3 on Wednesday to advance to win his opener.

Rublev and Sinner will hope that their best tennis stands out on the court, as they clash for a spot in the Vienna quarter-finals against No. 2 seed Dominic Thiem or Chile’s Cristian Garin.

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Daniell/Oswald Continue Hot Streak In Nur-Sultan

Marcus Daniell and Philipp Oswald have been one of the most in-form teams on the ATP Tour in recent weeks and they continued their hot streak on Wednesday in Nur-Sultan.

The third seeds beat veterans Dominic Inglot and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi 6-4, 6-1 to reach the second round of the Astana Open. Daniell and Oswald broke serve four times and won 87 per cent of their first-serve points to triumph after 67 minutes.

The tandem recently won their first title together at the Forte Village Sardegna Open, where they defeated Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in the final. They also reached the semi-finals last week in Cologne.

Luke Bambridge and Divij Sharan also advanced in Kazakhstan, battling past Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar 7-5, 4-6, 10-6. In the other doubles match of the day at the ATP 250, Sander Arends moved on with a 6-3, 4-5 lead when Nikola Cacic and Marcelo Demoliner retired.

[WATCH LIVE 2]

Kubot/Melo Continue Push For London
Third seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo began the Erste Bank Open in 11th place in the FedEx ATP Battle For London. But the team that has competed together in London in the season finale's past three editions made a good start in Vienna. Kubot and Melo beat Raven Klaasen and Jean-Julien Rojer 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 10-7 to reach the second round.

John Peers and Michael Venus, who began the week sixth in the Battle, fell against two-time Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies. The Germans, who have already qualified for this year's Nitto ATP Finals, triumphed 6-4, 6-4. 

Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski moved into seventh on Monday with a first-round win in Austria, but Jurgen Melzer and Edouard Roger-Vasselin retook that position with a 6-2, 7-5 victory against Daniel Evans and Oliver Marach. 

In the only quarter-final of the day, Robert Farah and Fabrice Martin reached the last four with a 6-7(5), 6-4, 10-2 triumph against Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev.

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Djokovic Survives Coric Scare, Reaches Vienna QFs

Borna Coric pulled Novak Djokovic into deep waters in the first set of their second-round match at the Erste Bank Open on Wednesday. But the top seed drowned the Croatian with unrelenting play to reach the quarter-finals.

Djokovic saved four set points in the opener before stepping on the gas in a 7-6(11), 6-3 victory over two hours and eight minutes against the two-time ATP Tour titlist. Djokovic is now guaranteed to finish as year-end No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings for a record-tying sixth time unless Nadal takes a wild card into Sofia. Should the Serbian win the Vienna title, he is certain to finish year-end No. 1 regardless of whether the Spaniard competes in Sofia.

“It was very tiring and very challenging. Obviously Borna is a great fighter. He’s a very good friend of mine. Off the court we’ve known each other for quite a long time,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “He has kind of a similar style of tennis as I do. From the backhand corner [he’s] very solid [and he is] trying to create points with his forehand. He was serving very well, especially in the first set. It was very difficult for me to return his serve.”

[WATCH LIVE 1]

Coric entered the clash with an 0-3 ATP Head2Head record against the World No. 1, losing all six of their previous sets. But the 23-year-old played tremendous tennis all-court tennis to earn four chances to win the first-set tie-break. 

At 5/6, Djokovic floated a backhand volley deep in the court, giving Coric plenty of time to unleash a backhand passing shot. But the top seed guessed the right direction and although he didn't hit his forehand volley cleanly, he did enough to win the point. 

”The tie-break again like yesterday against Krajinovic decided the match, I guess. I read his passing shot at 5/6 in the tie-break. He had quite an easy backhand. I read him, I made a short forehand volley,” Djokovic said. “These kinds of things happen and I’m just really glad to stay focussed and play my best at the right time.”

Coric missed forehands on set points at 7/6 and 8/7 before Djokovic painted the line on the fourth set point he faced at 9/10. The 2007 Vienna champion then escaped trouble when the Croatian missed a backhand long.

Djokovic is now 21-2 in tie-breaks since the start of last year's Wimbledon final against Roger Federer. Once he got through the opener, he raised his level even higher. Coric hit his first double fault of the match when facing break point at 1-1 in the second set, and that proved costly.

Although Coric showed great baseline play throughout the match and even won some cat-and-mouse points against the Serbian, Djokovic consistently found a way to win the big points. The World No. 1 increased his aggression in the second set and saved all three break points he faced.

Djokovic will play Hubert Hurkacz or Lorenzo Sonego for a spot in the quarter-finals.

Did You Know?
Sampras holds the record with six year-end No. 1 finishes in the FedEx ATP Rankings. Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Jimmy Connors have accomplished the feat five times.

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Nick Kyrgios sets about fixing Rafael Nadal relationship but retains Roger Federer belief

Nick Kyrgios has opened up on Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

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Sinner Shines Against Ruud In Vienna

Nineteen-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner needed nearly two hours on Wednesday to claim a straight-sets victory over Casper Ruud in a first-round battle between rising stars at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

The Italian’s win booked a second-round meeting against fifth seed Andrey Rublev as he seeks his third quarter-final of the season on indoor hard courts, after posting last eight appearances in Cologne and at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam.

The reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion came into Vienna with a career-high FedEx ATP Ranking of No. 43 after a scintillating run of tennis saw him reach the semi-finals at last week’s bett1HULKS Championship in Cologne, backing up a breakthrough at Roland Garros where he reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final.

Sinner continued the momentum against World No. 27 Ruud in his Vienna opener, dropping serve only once across both sets and winning 76% of his first-serve points en route to a 7-6(2), 6-3 victory.

It was a server’s contest in the opening set as neither Ruud nor Sinner converted the few break opportunities on offer. Ruud, the Buenos Aires champion, was competing in his first indoor hard court match of the year and had to save three break points in a lengthy seventh game that went to deuce five times. He held firm and notched a backhand volley at the net that dropped just out of Sinner’s reach to keep them on serve at 4-3.

[WATCH LIVE 1]

Sinner himself had to fight off a crucial break chance as the set wound to a close, denying the Norwegian a set point at 5-6 to send them into a decider. Sinner claimed the first mini-break of the tie-break at 3/1 with a zinging forehand, and it would prove to be decisive as he reeled off the next three points to escape with the opening set, 7-6(2).

He continued to pressure the Ruud second serve — winning 54% of points on the Norwegian’s second delivery across both sets — and was rewarded with an early break to start the second set with a 3-0 lead. Ruud got the break back a few games later at 3-2, but couldn’t hold off Sinner a second time as the Italian raised his level to reestablish the lead at 5-3.

A flurry of winners, including an ace for good measure, brought up three match points for Sinner in the next game. Ruud dug deep to save them all, but was powerless against the fourth, as Sinner’s backhands pulled him out wide before he netted a forehand to send Sinner into the second round.

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With New Shoe, Stef Steps It Up Against Struff In Vienna

Stefanos Tsitsipas had to switch his shoe in the third set of his first-round match against Jan-Lennard Struff at the Erste Bank Open on Wednesday, but that didn't stop the third seed from rallying past the German.

The reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion raised his level as the match wore on to oust Struff 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 52 minutes. Tsitsipas will next play former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov, who also has triumphed at The O2 in London (2017).

"I'm happy that I was relaxed and in that kind of state of mind and mood. I think it helped overall my performance today," Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview. "For sure there are a lot of benefits you can take when you're playing relaxed and when you're not panicked."

[WATCH LIVE 1]

Tsitsipas and Struff entered this match tied at two wins apiece in their ATP Head2Head series, with three of their clashes going to a deciding set. The pivotal moment in Vienna came at 1-1 in the third set. Just before Struff served to begin the game, Tsitsipas realised he needed to switch his left shoe.

When play resumed, the Greek broke serve and he never looked back. Tsitsipas only lost three service points in the decider, landing 83 per cent of his first serves in the set to put pressure on the German. The World No. 5 clinched his victory with a forehand winner, advancing to the second round on his debut at the ATP 500.

"I think Jan played good today and we were both serving well, [playing well] from the baseline. I wouldn't say there were many rallies," Tsitsipas said. "It was a demonstration of serves and I managed to overcome the difficulties that were presented in his service games."

For much of the early part of the match, Struff controlled play with his big serving and powerful groundstrokes. But he relinquished a pivotal break at the end of the second set by missing a high forehand volley into the net. That proved the opening Tsitsipas needed. He takes a 1-0 ATP Head2Head series advantage into his meeting against Dimitrov.

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Rafa In Class Of His Own In This Serving Stat

When returners dig into a service game and extend it to multiple deuces, they attempt to wear the server down both physically and mentally to eventually extract the prized break of serve.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the Top 10 from the 2019 season identifies that trend to be accurate, with one notable exception: Rafael Nadal.

The Top 10 averaged holding serve 79.1 per cent from the point score of deuce, and slightly lower at 78.8 per cent when the game involves 2+ deuces. Seven of the Top 10 players from the 2019 year-end FedEx ATP Rankings held serve less when the game went to multiple deuces, clearly showing which way this point score dynamic gravitates in our sport.

But Nadal totally bucks the trend, being more than seven percentage points higher holding serve when faced with multiple deuces. Nadal held 84.7 per cent (105/124) of the time from deuce and was the only Top 10 player to push through the 90 per cent threshold holding from 2+ deuces, at 91.8 per cent (122/142). Nadal is well known for his concentration, grit, focus and not rushing when serving, which all play a part in him elevating his game in this specific area.

Matteo Berrettini, who surged into the Top 10 for the first time in 2019, also showed a big bump in holding in extended deuce games, rising 6.6 percentage points compared to his deuce average. The only other Top 10 player to be better in extended deuce games was Roberto Bautista Agut, who improved 1.5 percentage points compared to holding from deuce.

A grouping of five players existed that were all within two percentage points of holding at 2+ Deuces compared to just at deuce. They were Dominic Thiem (-0.7), Stefanos Tsitsipas (-0.9), Roger Federer (-1.0), Novak Djokovic (-1.6) and Daniil Medvedev (-1.7). Alexander Zverev dropped off three percentage points, while Gael Monfils dropped off almost 10 percentage points holding in extended service games of 2+ deuces compared to deuce.

When Nadal’s serve ‘pitch count’ goes up, he is clearly rising to the challenge and holding serve even more as adversity comes knocking.

2019 Season: Year-End Top 10 Holding From Deuce & 2+ Deuces

Player	Hold From 2+ Deuces	Hold From Deuce	% Point Difference
Nadal	91.8%	84.7%	7.1
Berrettini	84.3%	77.7%	6.6
Bautista Agut	83.6%	82.1%	1.5
Thiem	75.3%	76.0%	-0.7
Tsitsipas	77.0%	77.9%	-0.9
Federer	84.9%	85.9%	-1.0
Djokovic	79.7%	81.3%	-1.6
Medvedev	75.6%	77.3%	-1.7
Zverev	66.2%	69.2%	-3.0
Monfils	69.6%	79.2%	-9.6
AVERAGE	78.8%	79.1%	-0.3

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How Food & Strong Serving Helped Medvedev Make Strong Vienna Debut

Daniil Medvedev made an impressive Erste Bank Open debut on Wednesday, cruising past lucky loser Jason Jung 6-3, 6-1 in 65 minutes to reach the second round.

"It was a great start, I think. The most important thing in the first round is to win," Medvedev said on court. "We always see tough matches in the first round, so really happy to be through and looking forward to the next matches."

[WATCH LIVE 1]

The fourth seed entered the match having lost four of his past five matches. But Medvedev didn't look short on confidence in Vienna, breaking Jung's serve four times and saving the five break points he faced to start well at the ATP 500. He added that he is certainly comfortable in Austria.

"It's great. The hotel is good, the food is amazing, maybe the best of the year. These small things make tennis players happy all the time," Medvedev said. "The most important is to play good on the tennis court, so the organisation is very good."

Medvedev, who won four ATP Tour titles last season — including his first two ATP Masters 1000 crowns — is pursuing his first trophy of 2020. He will next play #NextGenATP star Felix Auger-Aliassime or Vasek Pospisil.

There were virtually no hiccups for Medvedev in his victory against Jung. The World No. 6 faced a break point in the opening game of the second set, but he quickly wiped it out with a big first serve down the T that his opponent was unable to put back into play. In the next game, Medvedev earned the break with a tricky cross-court forehand passing shot at the end of a cat-and-mouse point.

Medvedev didn't look back from there. He won 82 per cent of his first-serve points in the second set and finished his triumph with a resounding smash.

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Video : If Tennis Players Were Footballers

If Tennis Players Were Footballers
GOAAAAAAL! There are some seriously good footballers on the ATP Tour! SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/2dj6EhW WEBSITE: http://www.atptour.com/ FACEBOOK: https://ift.tt/2T3aGl9 TWITTER: https://twitter.com/ATP_Tour INSTAGRAM: https://ift.tt/2IoGZGP RADIO: http://bit.ly/2Dictrm PODCAST: http://bit.ly/2NilRRn About the Official ATP Tour YouTube Channel: Here you will find the latest videos from the ATP Tour, including hot shots, highlights, behind the scenes footage, documentaries and more. The ATP Tour showcases the best of the best, competing in 63 tournaments across 4 surfaces, all to be No. 1. Find all the action from on and off the court right here.

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Tiafoe Upsets Kecmanovic For Nur-Sultan Quarter-final Spot

Frances Tiafoe powered into his second ATP Tour quarter-final of the year on Wednesday at the Astana Open. The 22-year-old American lost just five of his first-service points to upset second-seeded Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 7-5, 6-3 in 81 minutes.

Tiafoe, who also reached the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com last eight (l. to Humbert) in February, lost four points on serve in the second set. Kecmanovic captured his first ATP Tour title last month at the Generali Open in Kitzbühel (d. Hanfmann).

Tiafoe will next play Belarusian Egor Gerasimov, who avenged his 2020 Tata Open Maharashtra final loss to Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic with hard-fought 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over in one hour and 50 minutes. Gerasimov struck 14 aces for a place in his second ATP Tour quarter-final of the season (also Open 13 Provence in February).

Elsewhere, one break of serve in each set was enough for fourth-seeded Australian John Millman in a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Fernando Verdasco of Spain. In the Nur-Sultan quarter-finals, Millman now challenges American Tommy Paul, the seventh seed, who swept past Radu Albot of Moldova 6-4, 6-0 in 72 minutes.

[WATCH LIVE 2]

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Thiem Passes Early Test In Vienna

Dominic Thiem was made to work hard in his opening match at the Erste Bank Open on Tuesday, but fought well to overcome Vitaliy Sachko 6-4, 7-5 in Vienna.

The World No. 3 landed 20 winners and won nine of 13 net points to improve to 14-8 at the ATP 500. Thiem was regularly tested from late in the first set by Sachko, who broke the second seed on four occasions on his tour-level debut.

Thiem is competing for the first time since reaching the quarter-finals at Roland Garros earlier this month. The 6’1” right-hander is seeking his third straight trophy in Austria, following consecutive title runs on home soil last year in Kitzbühel and Vienna.

Thiem will next face the winner of the final match of the day between Stan Wawrinka and Cristian Garin. The 27-year-old owns a 1-3 ATP Head2Head record against Wawrinka and is yet to meet Garin at tour-level.

Thiem began the match in peak form, as he ripped groundstroke winners from the baseline and overpowered his opponent to stride into a 5-1 lead. But the Austrian lost his concentration and was dragged into a battle by Sachko, who began to find his range on his return to break Thiem’s serve on three consecutive occasions.

The US Open champion raised his level in the second set, as he varied the pace on his backhand and attacked with his forehand to open a 4-1 lead. Despite dropping serve for a fourth time, Thiem produced an impressive finish to close the match at 6-5. The second seed ended consecutive rallies with backhand winners up the line to book his spot in the second round.

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London Contenders Purcell/Saville Advance In Nur-Sultan

Max Purcell and Luke Saville boosted their hopes of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals on Tuesday at the Astana Open.

The Australians dominated on serve, winning 40 of their 45 service points to defeat Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-4, 6-4 in 69 minutes. Purcell and Saville are currently in ninth position in the FedEx ATP Battle For London. Four teams have already booked their places at The O2 in London, with the remaining four slots still available.

The second seeds are chasing their first ATP Tour team title in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. Purcell and Saville’s best team result came at the Australian Open this year, where they reached the championship match (l. to Ram/Salisbury).

The Aussie duo will next face Luke Bambridge and Divij Sharan or Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar for a place in the semi-finals.

Farah/Martin Eliminate Koolhof/Mektic In Vienna
Robert Farah and Fabrice Martin were clinical in crucial moments at the Erste Bank Open on Tuesday. The Colombian-French tandem saved all seven break points they faced and converted both of their break points to earn a 7-5, 6-3 win against Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic.

Koolhof and Mektic were attempting to improve their position in the FedEx ATP Battle For London. The US Open finalists entered the tournament in fifth position with 2,145 points. Farah and Martin will face fourth seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut or Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals.

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Greatness Revisited: Djokovic Reflects On Hero Sampras

The following is an excerpt from Steve Flink’s new book ‘Pete Sampras Greatness Revisited’, which will be officially released on 1 September. Flink reflects on Pete’s sparkling career and his extraordinary domination of the 1990s, writing extensively about Sampras’ 14 major titles and his record six year-end finishes at No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. The author interviewed Sampras for many hours, but also spoke with more than 20 other notable individuals in the game including Jim Courier, Michael Chang, Goran Ivanisevic, Stefan Edberg, Mats Wilander, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Patrick Rafter and Novak Djokovic. He interviewed coaches Paul Annacone, Tom Gullikson and Robert Lansdorp. This portrait of Sampras reaffirms why he was one of the central figures in the history of tennis and what set him apart as a champion, who, in many ways, was larger than the game he played.

In this excerpt, Flink writes about Sampras’ first Wimbledon title in 1993 and the impression it left on Novak Djokovic, who watched on television at home.

The 1993 Wimbledon final between Pete Sampras and Jim Courier took place on a stiflingly hot day. Sampras — much like Novak Djokovic in later years — was uncomfortable in the extreme heat. He could play through it with his own will and stout heart, but it was a tougher task. The heat complicated his challenge against Courier, a fighter through and through with astounding physicality.

Watching the match from his home nation in Serbia was the six-year-old Djokovic, a kid with a large imagination and even a sense of destiny about his future in the sport.

Djokovic recalled when he spoke to me for my book ‘Pete Sampras — Greatness Revisited’, “I was six and watching Pete play this Wimbledon final. The first video image of professional tennis I had was Pete winning this final over Courier in 93’. I was so amazed with his skills and his composure and the whole setting of watching him play on the most sacred court of the sport. I just fell in love with everything. When you are that young, you believe in everything. You live through your dreams and your dreams are your reality. You have that moment of, let’s say, a revelation when you just know that one day it is going to be you holding that trophy.”

Elaborating on that theme, Djokovic said, “I really felt that day watching Pete that it was kind of a higher power instilled in me. I just kind of received that information from above. It is just one of those things that you can’t explain. You just feel it and know it deep inside. But for me, Pete was the guy. I was actually doing my impersonations from very early stages of my tennis career and by the time I was seven, a year after the Wimbledon final Pete played against Courier, I started impersonating the top players and taking the best shots from each one of the top guys. But with Pete, even though our tennis styles were quite different, I still looked at him as my idol. And what impressed me the most about watching him that day in the Wimbledon 93’ final — and later on — was his ability to stay present and stay calm at the most decisive moments, to be mentally tough when it matters the most. That is what separates him as one of the greatest tennis players ever to hold a racket.”

Djokovic came away from observing Sampras beat Courier in that Wimbledon final of 1993 with a lasting admiration for his hero. He explained, “I was his big fan. I remember when my Dad and I would watch tennis, he would cheer for Agassi and Courier even though he liked Pete more at the time. That was because of me and my feelings. He was purposefully cheering for Agassi and Courier so he could provoke me and trigger me. In those days especially, I was such an avid fan of Pete and I kept following his results. When I got the chance to hit a few balls with him at Indian Wells in 2010 it was amazing when I saw him coming my way because I felt a flashback of my entire childhood and all those moments of supporting him and looking up to him. Here was my idol coming up to me, shaking my hand and acknowledging me.”

With the young Djokovic sitting in front of a television screen watching, Sampras and Courier went out onto the Centre Court on the balmy afternoon of July 4, 1993 and both men were ready for the appointment. It was a high-quality contest as Sampras won the most important tournament in all of tennis for the first time, prevailing 7-6(3), 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-3. He had at long last collected a second major title, moving past his anxiety to reward himself handsomely with a hard-earned triumph that would put him into a different sphere of the sport from that point forward.

Pete Sampras Greatness Revisited can be ordered on Amazon.

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