Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Reilly Opelka carry the hopes of US tennis to end Grand Slam drought - UBITENNIS
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Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Reilly Opelka carry the hopes of US tennis to end Grand Slam drought

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US tennis has enjoyed a successful season at junior level this year thanks to American teenagers Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Reilly Opelka who clinched the last three Grand Slam Junior titles.

Paul won the French Open Junior title beating Taylor Fritz. Opelka clinched the Wimbledon Junior tournament. Fritz grabbed the headlines last September when he won the US Open Junior tournament.

These teenagers have raised the hopes of US fans that the long Grand Slam drought could come to an end in the near future. In 2003 Andy Roddick beat Carlos Ferrero in three sets to win the only Grand Slam title of his career. Roddick has been the last US player to win a Grand Slam title.

Taylor Fritz, a native of Rancho Santa Fe (California), started playing at the age of 2 following in the footsteps of his parents who were professional tennis. Hi mother Kathy May reached the quarter finals at three Grand Slam tournaments in the late 70s and was a former top 10 tennis player. His father Guy coaches other players like Coco Vandeweghe. He played in different sports like American Football, which he considers as his first love. He is a keen fan of American Football NFL team San Diego Chargers and of football team Manchester United.

“I was playing a lot of other sports and didn’t play a lot of tennis really”, said Taylor Fritz in an interview to Sports Illustrated. “When I got to Florida to train, I realized how much better everyone else was. I really wasn’t as good as I thought I was and it took that to make me drop everything and start training really hard”, said Fritz.

Since winning the 2015 US Junior title last September, 18-year-old Fritz has claimed two Challenger titles and has risen to World Number 207 in the ATP Ranking.

Fritz beat Pablo Carreno Busta 6-1 6-4 on the grass of Nottingham in the first ATP Tour levl match of his career. He became the second 17-year-old to win back-to-back Challenger tournaments in Sacramento and Fairfield in consecutive weeks. He has joined an elite group of eight players who won more than one Challenger before turning 18 following in the footsteps of Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin Del Potro and Tomas Berdych. He moved up 462 spots in the ranking to become the second highest ranked 17-year-old in the world.

“The US Open Junior title was the perfect ending to my junior career. It provided me with a lot of closure. There was nothing more I wanted to accomplish with the juniors so I felt right about ending it there and moving on to the pros. It’s going to take staying very humble and not buying into all the hype that surrounds all the American Juniors right now. There is still plenty of work to be done on and off the court”, said Fritz.

Paul and Opelka spent their high school years travelling the country playing tournaments or training at the USTA facilities in Boca Raton and have developed a friendly relationship.

“We lived together at the USTA dormitories for three years and then we are on the road together playing the same tournaments, probably 30 weeks out of the year. I am with Tommy and my coach Diego more than I am with my family, said 18-year-old Opelka.

“Me and Reilly hang out pretty much every day that we practice together. Taylor, whenever he comes down, we love hanging out with him. He is fun but he is not really in Boca as much. We are all pretty close”, said Paul.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas beats Sebastian Ofner in Barcelona to extend his winning streak

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Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Sebastian Ofner 6-4 7-5 at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell to extend his winning streak to seven consecutive matches after claiming his third title at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters last week. 

Tsitsipas earned an immediate break in the first game. Ofner broke straight back to draw level to 1-1. Tsitsipas earned his second break  in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead and served out the first set 6-4 with a hold at 15. 

Tsitsipas broke in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. Ofner won three consecutive games with two breaks of serve to take a 5-3 lead. Tsitsipas came back by winning four consecutive games with two breaks of serve to seal the second set 7-5.

Tsitsipas has a record of 17 wins to 5 defeats in Barcelona. The Greek player reached three finals at this tournament in 2018, 2021 and 2023.  

“I feel pretty good, but it is still early in the tournament. The conditions here are very different to Monte-Carlo and I felt it today when I was playing. My job is to adapt and to ensure I can bring my A game again in Barcelona this week. Today was a great test to see where I stand. I am hoping to keep on improving and getting good wins like this under my belt”, said Tsitsipas. 

Tsitssipas set up a third round match against Roberto Carballes Baena, who beat Lorenzo Musetti 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 in 2 hours and 15 minutes. 

Musetti saved three break points in the first game of the opening set. The Italian player earned two break points with a backhand down the line. Musetti saved two break points in the seventh game. Both players went on serve un the 12th game when Carballes Baena saved a set point. Carballes Baena went up a 5-1 lead with two mini-breaks in the tie-break. Musetti won three consecutive points to reduce to 4-5. Carballes Baena won the final two points to take the tie-break 7-4. 

Carballes Baena converted his fourth break point in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. Musetti broke back in the fifth game. Carballes Baena saved a break point in the sixth game. The Spanish player sealed the win with a break on his second match. 

Last week’s Monte-Carlo finalist Casper Ruud beat Alexandre Muller 6-3 6-4 to claim his 25th tour-level win of the season. Ruud has drawn level with Jannik Sinner for the most wins in 2024 on the ATP Tour. 

Ruud set up a third round match against Jordan Thompson, who beat Jaume Munar 6-4 2-4 6-4. Roberto Bautista Agut beat Andrea Vavassori 4-6 6-4 6-1 to claim his milestone 400th match win on the ATP Tour. Bautista Agut set up a third round match against Cameron Norrie. 

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Roberto Bautista Agut wins his milestone 400th match on the ATP Tour

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Roberto Bautista Agut came back from one set down to beat Australian Open doubles finalist Andrea Vavassori 4-6 6-3 6-1 after 2 hours and 1 minute at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. 

Vavassori earned an early break in the first game. The Italian player earned three break points in the seventh game, but Bautista Agut saved them. The Spanish player broke straight back in the eighth game. Vavassori broke again in the ninth game to take a 5-4 lead and saved two break points before closing out the first set 6-4 on his second set point. 

Both players went on serve in the first four games of the second set. Vavassori earned a break point in the fifth game, but he did not convert it. Bautista Agut broke serve in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead and did not face any break points to win the second set 6-3. 

Bautista Agut broke three times to cruise through to a 6-1. 

Bautista Agut reached the 400th milestone win on the ATP Tour.  The Spanish player has become the 13th active player with at least 400 ATP Tour wins. He achieved 20 wins against members of the top 10, ten wins against top 5 players and four against world number 1s. Bautista Agut is one of the nine players, who have beaten Novak Djokovic as World number 1 more than twice. 

“For me it’s just a number. The important thing is that I have done great work over these years, that I have a very consistent career, a career that I can feel proud of “, said Bautista Agut. 

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Martina Trevisan beats Naomi Osaka to reach the second round in Rouen

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Martina Trevisan upset former world number 1 Naomi Osaka 6-4 6-2 in the opening round of the Open Capfinances Rouen Metropole. 

Osaka has played her first clay-court match since Roland Garros 2022, where she lost to Amanda Anisimova. The Japanese player has not won a match on clay since beating Anastasia Potapova in the first round of the Madrid Mutua Open in 2022. She helped Japan beat Kazakhstan in the Billie Jean King Cup. 

Trevisan reached the quarter final in 2020 and the semifinal in 2022 at Roland Garros. The former world number 18 won her only title in Rabat in 2022. She reached the quarter finals of the Zaragoza ITF 100 tournament. 

Both players traded breaks in the first two games. Osaka earned two break points at 3-2 and three more chances at 4-3, but she was not able to convert them. Trevisan broke serve in the ninth game following a series of forehand errors. 

Trevisan broke twice in the third and seventh games and served out the win on her first match point. 

Sixteen-year-old Mirra Andreeva beat Elina Avanesyan 7-5 6-4 in 1 hour and 41 minutes to reach her second quarter final of 2024. 

Andreeva went up a break in the seventh game, but Avanesyan pulled back on serve to draw level to 4-4. Andreeva broke for the second time in the 11th game to win the second set 7-5. Andreeva broke in the first game to open up a 2-0 lead. Avanesyan converted her third break-back point in the fourth game to draw level to 2-2. Andreeva broke serve at love in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. Avanesyan broke back in the eighth game to draw level to 4-4. Andreeva broke for the third time in the ninth game and served out the win on her second match point after saving two break points. 

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