Stefanos Tsitsipas and Matteo Berrettini claim wins in the opening day at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown - UBITENNIS
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Stefanos Tsitsipas and Matteo Berrettini claim wins in the opening day at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown

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Stefanos Tsitsipas edged Benoit Paire 24-5 22-6 13-14 15-10 in his first match at the 2020 Ultimate Tennis Showdown organized by Patrick Mouratoglou and Alex Popyrin, who launched this innovative tournament at his Academy in Southern France with the goal to attract new fans at a time, in which the ATP Tour is suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Tsitisipas cruised through to a two-set lead before Paire bounced back by winning the third quarter. Tsitsipas pulled away to claim the win.

“The first two quarters were phenomenal. I got off to a very good start. In the third set he found his serve, his shots were deeper and he started missing less. Things got tense in the third quarter. I had a lot of fun”, said Tsitsipas.

World number 8 and last year’s US Open semifinalist Matteo Berrettini fought back from 7-11 in the fourth quarter to claim a 14-10 12-13 22-5 13-12 win. Berrettini won the first quarter 14-10, but Brown drew level to one set apiece by winning the second set 13-12 with a brilliant forehand. Berrettini cruised through to a 22-5 win in the third set. Brown took a 11-7 lead in the fourth quarter. Berrettini won four consecutive points to draw level to 11-11. Brown took a 12-11 lead after a double fault from Berrettini with 20 seconds to go. Berrettini hit a smash to take a 13-12 win after Brown tried to lob a tweener over his head.

“It was tough, physically, mentally, everything. Dustin always plays fast but with 15 points between points, the UTS cards and everything, it was really tough”, said Berrettini.

Richard Gasquet won the first two points of sudden death to claim a 13-11 12-14 12-11 10-15 victory over David Goffin. Gasquet took a tight first set with one-handed backhands. Goffin clinched the second set 14-12. Gasquet claimed the third quarter when Goffin made a double fault on the deciding point. Goffin won the fourth quarter 15-10, before Gasquet claimed the first two points of sudden death to clinch the win. In the sudden point Gasquet hit a forehand pass to win the opening point and sealed the second point on Goffin’s serve when the Belgian player hit a forehand into the net.

Australia’s Alexei Popyrin beat Elliot Benchetrit 13-9 9-12 15-12 14-12 to claim the first ever win in the Ultimate Tennis Showdown. Popyrin took a 8-2 lead in the third set. Benchetrit fought back to 12-11, but he made a double fault to lose the second set. Popyrin clinched the third set 15-12 before pulling away to win the fourth set 14-12.

Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez clinched a sudden-death win over Lucas Pouille by the scoreline of 17-14 13-12 9-13 11-12.

 

Lopez took a 7-1 lead in the second set before Pouille came back to take the quarter to a deciding point. Lopez hit a serve and volley to win the second set 13-12.

 

Lopez led 9-7 in the third quarter but Pouille came back by winning six consecutive points to clinch the third quarter 13-9.

 

Pouille fended off a match point to win the fourth quarter on a deciding point forcing the match to the sudden death. Lopez won the opening point on his serve, when Pouille netted a return. Lopez hit a backhand return onto the baseline to claim the win. Lopez was a late replacement for injured Felix Auger Aliassime.

 

The revolutionary format of the Ultimate Tennis Showdown consists of four quarters of ten minutes each and just 15 points.

 

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Iga Swiatek survives Mai Hontama to reach the quarter final in Tokyo

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World number 2 Iga Swiatek came back from a double break down in the first set and a a break down in the second set to beat Japanese qualifier Mai Hontama 6-4 7-5 in 2 hours and 2 minutes at the Toray Pan Pacific Open. 

 

Hontama went up a 4-1 lead in the first set with two breaks of serve in the third and fifth games. Swiatek rallied by winning five games with three breaks. 

Swiatek raced out to a 5-1 lead with three breaks, but she failed to serve out the match. The Polish player held off a late fightback from Hontama, who pulled both breaks back to draw level to 5-5 after saving two match points at 4-5. Swiatek earned a break in the 12th game on her fourth match point to close out the second set 7-5 as Hontama sent a backhand into the net. 

Swiatek has reached her 13th quarter final of the season. She has only failed to reach this stage twice this season at the Australian Open and at the US Open. 

Swiatek set up a quarter final match against Veronika Kudemertova, who beat Kayla Day 6-3 6-3 in one hour and 26 minutes to reach her ninth quarter final of the season. 

Hontama reached the semifinal in Osaka and won three matches in Tokyo without dropping a set. 

Hontama ended the match with 41 unforced errors to 21 winners. 

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Karen Khachanov beats Yoshihito Nishioka to claim his first title since 2018

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Karen Khachanov overcame Yoshihito Nishioka 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 in 1 hour and 43 minutes in the final of the Huafa Properties Zhuhai Championships to claim his fifth tour title and his first since Paris Bercy 2018. 

 

Khachanov earned an early break in the fifth game of the opening set to take a 3-2 lead. Nishioka broke back in the eighth game to draw level to 4-4. Khachanov was just two points from losing the first set when he was serving at 4-5 15-30. 

Nishioka earned an early mini-break to take a 2-1 lead, but Khachanov reeled off consecutive points to close out the first set 7-2, when Nishioka hit a backhand long. 

Khachanov won the final five games with two breaks of serve to close out the win after 1 hour and 44 minutes with a forehand winner up the line. 

Khachanov joked with Nishioka during the award ceremony. 

“I did not know that you had a birthday tomorrow, otherwise maybe I would have played different. When I play against you, I have to run a lot. Left, right, left, right, like table tennis”, said Khachanov.

Khachanov was playing in his second tour-level match since his Roland Garros quarter final last May when he suffered from a stress fracture in his back. 

Khachanov, who lost in the first round at the US Open on his return last August, dropped just one set en route to the title. The Russian player moves up to number 14 in the ATP Live Ranking. Khachanov improves to 4-1 in his head-to-head series against Nishioka. 

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Alexander Zverev beats Roman Safiulin to to claim his second title of the year in Chengdu

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Alexander Zverev came back from a set and a break down to beat Roman Safiulin 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 at the Chengdu Open claiming the 21st title of his career. 

 

Zverev has moved to seventh seventh in the ATP Race to Turin boosting his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals. 

Safiulin  saved three break points in the 10th game of the first set, which went on serve en route to the tie-break. Safiulin earned three mini-breaks to win the tie-break 7-3. 

Safiulin earned an early break in the second game to take a 2-0 lead. Zverev broke straight back and forced the second set  to a second tie-break. Zverev went up a mini-break three times, but Safiulin pulled back on serve each time. Zverev was two points from defeat at 5-5 in the tie-break of the second set but he won the final two points to win the second set. 

Zverev earned the decisive break in the fourth game to open up a 3-1 lead and closed out the win on his first match point. 

Zverev won his second title of the season after his triumph in home city Hamburg last July. “He is playing the best tennis of his life for sure. The way he was winning this week. I think he beat a lot of great players quite easily, so I think that he was playing well. Obviously, I am happy to be able to come back and to win this title”, said Zverev. 

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