ATP Masters Rome: Djokovic overcomes Almagro in three set - UBITENNIS
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ATP Masters Rome: Djokovic overcomes Almagro in three set

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TENNIS – Novak Djokovic had to dig deep when Nicolas Almagro won the second set forcing the match to the third set in the second round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on a warm day in Rome. The Serb bounced back to win the third set for 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 in his first match after three weeks of rest following his triumph in Monte-Carlo. Diego Sampaolo

After winning the first set 6-1 in just 28 minutes, Djokovic came close to a two-set win as he was leading 5-2 in the tie-break but Almagro (who is now ranked World Number 174 after a foot injury) reeled off five points in a row to win the breaker with 7-5 and force the match to the third set.

Almagro tripped awkwardly at 2-2 in the decider. Fortunately Almagro recovered but Djokovic broke serve to build a 5-3 lead in the third set before wrapping up the match in little more than two hours to extend his winning streak to 18 consecutive matches. He is bidding to defend his Rome title and win this tournament for the fourth time in his career after 2008, 2011 and 2014. .

Djokovic converted on all his three break points and fended off the only break point he faced.

“In the most important moments today I felt a bit uncomfortable. Maybe that’s from lack of playing. I am sure I will be back on track in no time. It’s a win after three weeks with no official match. In the most important moments today I did feel a little uncomfortable. I won against a quality player who knows how to play on the big stage. It was a great test. Before coming to the court I was aware he was going to present a great challenge. I needed to take some time off because I have played a lot of matches. It has been one of the best starts to the season of my life but I needed to take it off, recharge my batteries and spend some time at home. It affected my overall feeling on the court especially in the tough moments. Hopefully the day off tomorrow will allow me to spend some more time on the court, working to get better in the next one. ”, said Djokovic.

Stan Wawrinka fought back from a set down to battle past Juan Monaco with 4-6 6-3 6-2. Wawrinka recovered from a set and a break down to win the second set and force the match to the third set.

Monaco went up 2-0 in the opening set and missed four double chances to take a 4-0 lead before dropping his serve. At 3-3 both players traded breaks for three consecutive games until 4-5 for Monaco. The player from Tandil produced a forehand drop-shot t close out the first set with 6-4. Monaco opened up a 3-1 lead with a break but Wawrinka reeled off five consecutive games to force the match to the third set. At 2-2 in the decider Wawrinka won four consecutive games to clinch a hard-fought match. .

Guiilermo Garcia Lopez upset last year US Open champion Marin Cilic with 6-4 6-3. Lopez had to save four break points (one in the sixth game and three in a very long tenth game). Cilic struggled on her serve and had to save many break points. The second set featured a very long second game with 24 points where Lopez got six break point chances. Cilic dropped his serve at the ninth break point chance in the fifth game after a double fault.

Feliciano Lopez overcame Australian Open quarter finalist Nick Kyrgios with 6-4 7-6 (7-4). Kyrgios saved a break point but he could not hold his serve at 4-all. Lopez closed out the first set with 6-4. In the second set the 20-year-old Australian player faced a break point but Lopez failed to convert on his break point chance. The second set came down to the tie-break. Kyrgios went down 1-3. Lopez took a 5-4 lead and closed out the win with her serve.

Jo Wilfred Tsonga broke serve five times in his 7-6 (8-6) 6-0 win over Sam Querrey setting up a second round match agaisst David Goffin, who fought back from dropping the first set to overcome Italian qualifier Andrea Arnaboldi with 5-7 6-2 6-1. Tsonga recently beat Goffin in straight sets in Monte-Carlo and leads 3-1 in their four head-to-head matches.

Victor Troicki battled past Bernard Tomic after three tie-breaks with 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4).

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Alcaraz Halts Sinner’s Winning Streak To Reach The Final In Indian Wells

Carlos Alcaraz earns the right to defend his title at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells fending off Jannik Sinner’s assault to his ATP no. 2 spot

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Jannik Sinner (left) and Carlos Alcaraz (right) - Indian Wells 2024 (photo Twitter X @BNPPARIBASOPEN)

All good things come to an end. Jannik Sinner was on a 19-match winning streak since his loss to Novak Djokovic in the final of the Nitto ATP Finals that included his first Grand Slam win in Australia last January, and appeared as the most in-form player at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the first Masters 1000 tournament of the season. But as he faced Carlos Alcaraz in an eagerly-awaited semifinal, he was unable to continue his quest for the third consecutive title of the season, succumbing to the Spaniard 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.

The match was a face-off for the no. 2 spot in the ATP ranking that Alcaraz will still occupy next Monday regardless of the result of Sunday’s final, and this is a much-needed confidence boost for him after a disappointing start of the season where he was handily beaten in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open by Zverev and did not win any tournament during the South American clay court swing where he was ousted by Nicolas Jarry in Buenos Aires and had to retire for an ankle injury at the Rio Open.

The match, originally scheduled for 1.30 pm Pacific Time, had to be suspended for over three hours after only three games because of an unusual downpour. As the match resumed, Sinner appeared once again the perfectly-tuned machine that had been crushing opponents with metronomic regularity for the past weeks while Alcaraz was struggling to keep up with his opponent’s pace from the baseline.

The first set was smooth sailing for the Italian who cruised to a comprehensive 6-1 in 27 minutes: Alcaraz was tentative from the baseline and could not find the right position to fire his screamers and change the tactical discourse of the match. “Then at the beginning of the second set, as I saw he was making a lot of mistakes, I tried to be as solid as possible when I should have kept pushing instead – Sinner said during his press conference – and that’s what cost me the match in the end”.

While serving at 1-2 in the second set, a few uncharacteristic forehand mistakes started to dot his thus far spotless game, and that cost him the break that sent Alcaraz flying to a 4-1 advantage. The Spaniard then found the confidence to change his return position and make Sinner work a lot more on his service games, as the Italian struggled to find a countermeasure to the tactical shift in the match: “I kept doing the same thing over and over again”, Sinner stressed, and forehand unforced errors started to pile up to reach the burdensome number of 27 at the end of the match.

Sinner had the chance to find his way back into the second set while Alcaraz was serving at 3-5, but Carlos cancelled his break point with a laser backhand down the line that had the 15,000-strong crowd cheering on their feet.

The third set ran away very quickly from the Italian, who started touching repeatedly the back of his left leg around his knee. Sinner got broken again during the third game, and while going for a last-ditch attempt to recover a short volley by Alcaraz he tumbled to the ground slightly injuring his right elbow and arm. From there onwards it was just more mistakes by Sinner and a clinical execution by Alcaraz on how to take home a match.

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“It Feels Great’ – Novak Djokovic Marks Indian Wells Return With Milestone Win

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Novak Djokovic - Indian Wells 2024 (foto Ubitennis)

Novak Djokovic says he still has a ‘great feeling’ in Indian Wells after playing his first match at the event for five years. 

The world No.1 battled to a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, win over Aleksandar Vukic in what was his first taste of competitive tennis since losing in the semi-finals of the Australian Open. It was a far from smooth encounter for Djokovic, who hit 23 winners and won 83% of his first service points. In the second set, he was broken twice with the second of those occurring when he was serving at 5-6. Nevertheless, he battled back in the decider to win. 

This year is the first time Djokovic has been able to play in the Masters 1000 event since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the 2020 tournament was cancelled, he was unable to play the next three editions due to restrictions placed on unvaccinated foreign visitors to America. Despite the absence, the five-time champion states that his love for the event is as strong as ever.

“It feels great to come back with the win. It’s been five years and the great feeling is still there. I enjoyed myself very much. Beautiful stadium. Great atmosphere.” Djokovic said during his press conference. 
“I was a bit nervous at the beginning. I haven’t played a match in more than five weeks. I thought the start was good. Then I think he upped his game.
“I probably lost a little bit of the momentum. We got into the third set, I thought the level of the tennis was pretty good in the third. Great points. He made me produce some really important points in games in order to prevail in this match. I’m glad that I was pushed, as well, which is important.”

Djokovic’s latest victory is his 400th in a Masters 1000 tournament. He is only the second player in history to have reached this milestone since the tournament category was introduced in 1990. The first to do so was Rafael Nadal who currently has 406 wins to his name. 

He could create more history in Indian Wells should the Serbian go on to claim the title this year. If he does, he would become the first man to have won it for a sixth time. Although Djokovic is refusing to get too far ahead of himself. 

“I would love to,” he said of trying to claim a sixth title. “Obviously there is still a long way to get to the title match, but it’s a good start.’
“I know I can always produce better tennis. Obviously very self-critical, and I think some extent it’s also important because then it puts you in the right mindset of wanting to work more and being engaged in the process of improving on a daily basis, or trying to perfect your game and right the wrongs that you’ve done in a previous match or previous practice session.
“So that’s what I’m going to keep doing and hopefully building my game as this tournament is played over 10 to 14 days, so it allows you to have the practice days also between matches, which then allows you to work on certain specifics in the game.”

Djokovic will play Italy’s Luca Nardi in the next round. 

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Carlos Alcaraz Brushes Aside Injury Doubts To Reach Indian Wells Third Round

Carlos Alcaraz is into the third round at Indian Wells after a three set win over Matteo Arnaldi.

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(@BNPPARIBASOPEN - Twitter)

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz overcame injury doubts to edge past Matteo Arnaldi 6-7(5) 6-0 6-1 at Indian Wells.

The world number two had to endure an aggressive opening set from the in-form Italian to reach the third round.

After a tight opening set, Alcaraz raced through the last two sets as he set up a third round showdown with Felix Auger-Aliassime.

The Spaniard had entered this match with injury doubts after retiring from his match with Thiago Monteiro in Rio De Janeiro.

However Alcaraz was very pleased with how his ankle held up as he moved on in California, “Honestly it surprised me. I felt great, moving normally without thinking about it,” Alcaraz told the ATP website.

“It was a really good match to realise that I am better than I thought. I think I played great tennis because of that. I had to change just a few things. I made a few mistakes in the first set… I had to put in more first serves in the second and third set, and I think that was a big key to improving my level a little bit, to be in the rallies — long rallies as well, to get the rhythm, and I’m really happy to get it at the end.

“But right now I’m getting better and feeling really, really well. But I think I have to get a good rhythm step by step. I think that’s the big difference between last year and this one. This [is a] really special tournament for me. I want to do it well. This is the first match playing high intensity and I didn’t know how it’s going respond, the ankle.

“I have to deal with it, but I didn’t deal with the nerves very well in the first set, moving differently, hitting the ball differently. My game is playing aggressive all the time. And try to stay calm and wait for my chances.

“When you get nervous, you don’t think about it. You don’t hit the ball as good as you want. You don’t move as good as you want. I think that’s the big difference.”

Alcaraz will hope for a good week this week as he defends the Indian Wells title as he aims to win a first title since Wimbledon this week.

Next for the Spaniard will be Felix Auger-Aliassime, who defeated Constant Lestienne in straight sets.

Auger-Aliassime currently leads the head-to-head 3-1 but Alcaraz won their last meeting in Indian Wells last year.

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