Glasspool/Heliovaara Strengthen Turin Bid With Stockholm QF Win

Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara moved up one place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings on Thursday by reaching the Stockholm semi-finals. The British/Finnish duo climbed to sixth in the Race, one spot ahead of Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios, courtesy of a 6-2, 6-3 win against the Czech pair of Roman Jebavy and Adam Pavlasek at the Stockholm Open.

The third seeds won each set by a single break of serve, saving both break points against them in the contest. The victory sets a matchup against Maxime Cressy and Albano Olivetti, who earned a 6-4, 6-4 win against Colombians Diego Hidalgo and Cristian Rodriguez.

With 3,180 points in the Doubles Race, Glasspool/Heliovaara are 220 points clear of Tim Puetz and Michael Venus in eighth place, with a Top 7 finish needed to guarantee qualification for the Nitto ATP Finals. This year's Hamburg champions would finish the week on 3,340 points by claiming their second title of the season at the ATP 250 in Naples.

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Dodig/Krajicek Advance In Naples
In need of a late surge to reach the Nitto ATP Finals, Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek progressed to the Naples semi-finals with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 win against Pedro Cachin and Roberto Carballes Baena. The top seeds remain in 12th place in the Doubles Race, but could move into 10th with a title at the Tennis Napoli Cup. It would be their second ATP Tour trophy of 2022 (Lyon).

They will next face Italians Lorenzo Sonego and Andrea Vavassori, who defeated Tomislav Brkic and Gonzalo Escobar 6-4, 7-5 in the quarters.

Bopanna/Middelkoop Reach Antwerp SFs
Rohan Bopanna and Matwe Middelkoop are also chasing a spot in Turin and have moved up to 15th place in the Doubles Race this week with a run to the Antwerp semi-finals. The second seeds scored a 6-4, 6-1 victory against the British duo of Daniel Evans and Jonny O'Mara on Thursday at the European Open.

Two other Antwerp doubles matches were decided in Match Tie-breaks: Fourth seeds Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin edged Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski 2-6, 6-1, 10-6, while the Dutch team of Sander Arends and David Pel upset third-seeded Germans Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies 4-6, 6-3, 10-4.

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Novak Djokovic's coach casts doubts over Serb's schedule with just two tournaments left

Novak Djokovic's coach Goran Ivanisevic claimed that the Serb's participation at the Paris Masters wasn't certain.

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Serena Williams drops biggest retirement U-turn hint yet with star teasing court return

Serena Williams ended her career at the US Open but has now teased the possibility of a comeback.

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Carlos Alcaraz visits Real Madrid changing room as Carlo Ancelotti shares message

Carlos Alcaraz watched Real Madrid beat Elche before posing for photos with Carlo Ancelotti and the squad.

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Berrettini Meets Cannavaro In Naples, Stars Enjoy Chocolate Museum In Antwerp

Matteo Berrettini kicked a goal in Naples before taking the court at the Tennis Napoli Cup.

The Italian on Wednesday met countryman Fabio Cannavaro, a football legend who won the prestigious Ballon d’Or in 2006. Cannavaro was the captain of the Italian team that won the World Cup that year.

”Onorato di avert incontrato Capitano,” Berrettini wrote on Instagram, which means, “Honoured to have met you Captain!”

 

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It was not the first time Berrettini has met with football royalty. After competing in the Wimbledon final in 2021, he joined his country’s football team to celebrate their victory at the European Championships.

Berrettini’s meeting was not the only fun off-court experience of the week on the ATP Tour. Several players competing in the European Open visited Chocolate Nation in Belgium.

^{Photo Credit: @europeantennisopen}
David Goffin, Hubert Hurkacz and Karen Khachanov went on a trip to the chocolate museum, where they signed autographs on chocolate tennis balls.

Dominic Thiem also visited the museum. Afterwards, the former World No. 3 revealed his favourite chocolate on Instagram: “Today at the chocolate museum 🤎,” Thiem wrote. “To be honest, 100% dark chocolate is my absolute favourite! 👀”

 

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Tsitsipas Stays Perfect In Stockholm

When Stefanos Tsitsipas last competed on centre court in Stockholm four years ago, he lifted his first ATP Tour title. A lot has changed for the World No. 5 since then, but one thing remained the same on Wednesday — his perfect record at the Swedish ATP 250.

The top seed battled past serve-and-volleying American Maxime Cressy 7-6(5), 7-6(12) to reach the quarter-finals of the Stockholm Open. The 24-year-old will next face defending champion Tommy Paul or home favourite Mikael Ymer.

"I really had to hang tight in there and I delivered the shots that I had to in that second tie-break, which was very crucial," Tsitsipas said. "He was serving extremely well, catching the lines, being very precise and I really went for it in that one."

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Cressy played aggressive, net-rushing tennis to apply plenty of pressure on his Top 5 opponent. But Tsitsipas remained calm in the critical moments to triumph after two hours and four minutes.

The American earned three set points in the second-set tie-break to force a decider, but Tsitsipas maintained pressure in tense baseline rallies and kept his opponent from approaching the net. The Greek also used his own serve as a weapon, winning 91 per cent of his first-serve points (52/57) in the match.

Tsitsipas has already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, which will be played from 13-20 November in Turin. This week, he is trying to claim his first trophy since emerging victorious in Mallorca during the grass-court season. The Greek also successfully defended his Rolex Monte Carlo Masters title during the clay-court season.

Did You Know?
Tsitsipas has won four of his five career matches in Stockholm in straight sets. The only set he lost at the tournament came in the second set of his opening-round match against John Millman in 2018.

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Baez Earns Opening Victory In Naples

Sebastian Baez made a winning start to his Tennis Napoli Cup campaign on Wednesday when he moved past Italian Lorenzo Sonego 7-5, 7-6(3) to reach the second round.

In a tight match, the Argentine broke twice and struck 23 winners to advance after two hours and 15 minutes at the ATP 250 event, improving to 1-2 in his ATP Head2Head series against Sonego.

The sixth seed, who snapped an 11-match losing streak, will next face Chinese qualifier Zhizhen Zhang or Hungarian Marton Fucsovics.

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In other action, Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena defeated Chilean Nicolas Jarry 6-4, 6-4, while Corentin Moutet edged #NextGenATP Italian Luca Nardi 6-7(7), 7-6(3), 6-2 in three hours and 32 minutes.

The 19-year-old Nardi is currently 12th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan on 385 points. He is 37 points behind 10th-placed Dominic Stricker. The Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals will be held from 13-20 November.

Play is currently suspended in Naples due to humidity on the courts in Italy.

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