Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beats Matteo Berrettini to reach the third round in Paris Bercy - UBITENNIS
Connect with us

Focus

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beats Matteo Berrettini to reach the third round in Paris Bercy

Published

on

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beats Matteo Berrettini 6-4 6-3 in the second round of the Paris Rolex Masters at the Accorhotel Arena in Paris Bercy.

Tsonga went up a break to race out to a 3-0 lead. Berrettini broke back in the fifth game and held serve at 15 to draw level to 3-3. Tsonga converted his fourth break point in the tenth game to close out the opening set 6-4.

Tsonga saved a break point in the first game of the second set. Both players went on serve until the sixth game, when Tsonga got the only break of the second set. The Frenchman held his final two service games to seal the second set 6-3.

Gael Monfils beat his compatriot Benoit Paire 6-4 7-6 (7-4) in an all- French head-to-head keeping alive his hopes of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals in London. Monfils is currently ranked 11th with 2440 points, 220 behind eighth placer Matteo Berrettini.

Monfils fended three break points at 2-2. Monfils got the break at 5-4 30-30, when Paire made his first double fault of the match. Paire went up a 2-0 lead in the tie-break of the second set, but Monfils reeled off the next four points. Monfils sealed the tie-break, when Paire hit a forehand volley into the net. Monfils to reach the semifinal in Paris Bercy to qualify for the ATP Finals in London. The Frenchman will face Radu Albot in the third round . If he beats the Moldovan player Monfils will face either Denis Shapovalov or Alexander Zverev in the quarter final.

“I want to wrap up the season on a good note and to fulfill my goal, which was to be back in the top 10. We know how daunting it is”, said Monfils.

 

Alex De Minaur battled past Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-1) after 2 hours and 17 minutes. The Australian Next Gen player rallied from 3-5 down and saved two set points at 4-5 in the second set. De Minaur will face against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (7-3) 6-3.

 

 

Focus

Miami Open Daily Preview: Elena Rybakina Plays Victoria Azarenka in the Semifinals

Published

on

Elena Rybakina on Tuesday in Miami (twitter.com/miamiopen)

The men’s singles quarterfinals conclude on Thursday, while the women’s singles semifinals will both be played.

2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina faces three-time Miami Open champ Victoria Azarenka on Thursday.  The other WTA semifinal sees Ekaterina Alexandrova, who has now taken out top five seeds in consecutive rounds (Swiatek, Pegula), play an in-form American in Danielle Collins,

Plus, the second two ATP singles quarterfinals will be contested.  2022 champ Carlos Alcaraz squares off against Grigor Dimitrov, who has been playing some of the best tennis of his career.  And 2018 runner-up Sascha Zverev takes on Fabian Marozsan, a red-hot Hungarian who is now 14-3 at Masters 1000 level.

Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule.  Thursday’s play gets underway at 1:00pm local time.


Elena Rybakina (4) vs. Victoria Azarenka (27) – Not Before 3:00pm on Stadium Court

Rybakina is 21-3 on the year, after surviving a stern test from an in-form Maria Sakkari on Tuesday night.  Elena has already claimed two titles this season (Brisbane, Abu Dhabi), and reached another final (Doha).  This is her seventh WTA 1000 semifinal since last March, and she’s 4-2 in this round.

Azarenka is 14-5 this season, and has now accumulated 44 match wins at this event, the most of any WTA 1000 tournament.  She defeated two seeded players to this stage (Zheng, Boulter), both in straight sets.  This is a fifth Miami Open semifinal for the three-time champ.

Rybakina is 3-0 against Azarenka, with all three meetings occurring within the last few years on hard courts.  She took the first two in straight sets, and then split sets with Vika last month in Dubai, before Azarenka retired.  Despite Vika’s great history at this tournament, recent form dictates Elena must be considered the favorite to achieve a second consecutive final in Miami. 


Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs. Grigor Dimitrov (11) – Not Before 7:00pm on Stadium Court

Coming off his title run in Indian Wells, Alcaraz has been in stellar form.  He has not dropped a set through three matches, playing confident and composed tennis.  Carlitos is vying for a third straight semifinal appearance in Miami.

Until this week, this was the only Masters 1000 event where Dimitrov had failed to reach the quarterfinals or better, and he held a losing record of 11-12 in Miami.  But across the past six months, Grigor has been playing at a very high level.  Since the Shanghai Masters in October, he’s gone 28-7, and advanced to three tournament finals.  In the last round, he looked completely gassed at the end of a near three-hour match against Hubert Hurkacz, yet escaped in a third-set tiebreak.

Alcaraz leads their head-to-head 3-1, though Dimitrov’s only victory was their most recent encounter, six months ago in Shanghai when Grigor began this nice run.  But beating Carlitos again when the Spaniard is seemingly at the peak of his abilities will be an entirely different story.  And considering Dimitrov is just 2-8 in Masters semifinals, Alcaraz should be favored on Thursday.


Other Notable Matches on Thursday:

Sascha Zverev (4) vs. Fabian Marozsan – Zverev is yet to drop a set, and ousted Karen Khachanov in the last round.  Marozsan has now reached the fourth round or better in all four of his Masters 1000 appearances, and already took out two top 10 seeds during this fortnight (Rune, de Minaur).  This will be their first career meeting.

Ekaterina Alexandrova (14) vs. Danielle Collins – As per Diego Barbiani on Twitter, Alexandrova’s comeback win over Pegula was the first time she’s beaten a top 10 player after losing the first set, coming after 25 losses.  Collins has played ferociously to achieve her second WTA 1000 semifinal, taking 10 consecutive sets where her opponent has failed to win more than three games.  This is another first-time encounter.


Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.

Continue Reading

Focus

Revitalised Grigor Dimitrov Targets Alcaraz Upset In Miami

Published

on

(credit Miami Open/Hard Rock Stadium)

Grigor Dimitrov says playing at this year’s Miami Open has been ‘kryptonite’ for his tennis after reaching the quarter-finals of the Masters 1000 event for the first time at the age of 32. 

The 11th seed secured his place in the last eight with a dramatic 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3), win over Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz who uncharacteristically lost his cool in the closing stages. Tied at 2-2 in the deciding tiebreaker, Hurkacz slammed his racket on the ground after the umpire ruled that his foot touched the net which resulted in Dimitrov winning that point. The Pole demanded to see a replay but wasn’t allowed to do so as the umpire was certain that he did. A replay after the match confirmed that he did touch the net. 

“Grigor had hit a little bit of an unconventional return. I hit a good second serve and yeah, I was just trying to get to the ball and I slid,” said Hurkacz. “My coach told me after the match – because I was just sliding and I didn’t feel anything – but my coach told me that I touched the net at the end. So yeah, just a bit unfortunate.”
“I couldn’t feel anything because I was just sliding, so I wanted to see a replay,” explained Hurkacz. “But anyway, I tried to move on and keep playing, but Grigor came up with some good shots.”

As for Dimitrov, it is the second time he has beaten a top 10 player on the Tour during what has been a strong start to the season for him. He has won 18 out of 22 matches played so far in 2024 and has become only the ninth active player to reach the quarter-finals or better at every Masters event at least once. Dimitrov has reached the last eight in three out of the last four tournaments he has played in this category. 

Awaiting the Bulgarian next will be Carlos Alcaraz who won the Indian Wells title earlier this month. He has only beaten the Spaniard once in their four previous meetings on the Tour. However, the only time Dimitrov did so was in their most recent encounter at the Shanghai Masters last October. 

“It’s been like a kryptonite for me, this tournament,” Dimitrov said after his latest win.
“I’m looking forward to the (next) match. Everyone wants to challenge the best of the world. Clearly [Carlos has] been playing outstanding tennis, but so am I.
“I’ve been very consistent on a lot of ends. I think if I clean up my game a little bit it can be very interesting. I’m excited because these are the types of matches I want to play. First time in the quarter-finals here, I think it gives you an extra boost.”

A rejuvenated Dimitrov certainly can trouble Alcaraz who admits himself that he faces a stern challenge. The world No.2 sealed his place in the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-3, win over Lorenzo Musetti. 

“I know he’s a really talented player, a really tough one.” Alcaraz said of Dimitrov.
“Here with the court, I feel that the slice a lot is going to be difficult for me. I know that. But I try to play my best game and try to get the victory.”

Dimitrov is currently playing in his 94th Masters 1000 event. 

Continue Reading

Focus

Novak Djokovic Splits With Coach Ivanisevic

Published

on

Novak Djokovic has announced that he is no longer working with Goran Ivanisevic following a mutual agreement between the two.

The world No.1 had been working with the former Wimbledon champion since 2018 and won half of his 24 Grand Slam titles with the Croat in his team. Ivanisevic has been a key figure in the Djokovic camp in recent years and has spoken candidly about their collaboration on multiple occasions. He has described the tennis star as a ‘genius’ in the sport but admits that he isn’t always the easiest player to work with

Djokovic’s shock announcement comes after what has been a steady start to the season for the Serbian who is yet to win a title on the Tour. At the Australian Open, he reached the semi-finals before losing to Jannik Sinner, who went on to claim the title. More recently in Indian Wells, he suffered a third round loss to Luca Nardi. He then opted to not play Miami due to scheduling issues and is now training on the clay. 

“I remember clearly the moment I invited Goran to be part of my team. It was back in 2018, and Marian and I were looking to innovate and bring some serve magic to our duo,” Djokovic wrote on Instagram.
“In fact, not only we brought serve, but also lots of laughter, fun, year end No.1 rankings, record-breaking achievements and 12 more Grand Slams (and a few finals) to the count since then. Did I mention a bit of drama too? #Nolefam would know 
“Goran and I decided to stop working together a few days ago. Our on court chemistry had its ups and downs, but our friendship was always rock solid. In fact, I am proud to say (not sure he is ) that apart from winning tournaments together, we also had a side battle in Parchisi going on… for many years. And – that tournament never stops for us.
“Šefinjo, thanks for everything my friend. Love you.”

Ivanisevic, who has been ranked as high as No.2 in the world during his playing career, is yet to publicly comment on the split. Before mentoring Djokovic, he also worked with Marin Cilic, Tomas Berdych and Milos Raonic.

There is yet to be any comment on who will be replacing Ivanisevic in Djokovic’s team. 

Djokovic, who will turn 37 in May, is scheduled to return to competitive tennis at the Monte Carlo Masters next month.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending