French Open, Steve Flink: “Nadal is close to his best. Sinner will be in the Top 10 within a year” - UBITENNIS
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French Open, Steve Flink: “Nadal is close to his best. Sinner will be in the Top 10 within a year”

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3 years ago

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UbiTennis CEO Ubaldo Scanagatta and his Hall-of-Famer colleague previewed the semi-finals of the Roland Garros, with the women’s matches about to start. Who would Roger Federer cheer for in a Nadal v Djokovic final?  

 

The women’s semi-finals of the French Open (Swiatek v Podoroska and Kenin v Kvitova) are slated for today at 2pm, while tomorrow will feature the showdown between Nadal and Schwartzman followed by the one between Djokovic and Tsitsipas. Ubaldo Scanagatta commented on what has happened so far in the Parisian Major, and was joined as usual by his American peer, Steve Flink. Their chat can be seen in the following video:

00:00 – Is it suprising to have Kvitova and Kenin this deep in the tournament? “After she got a double bagel against Azarenka in Rome, few expected to see her this far.” She has already lost four sets, but were her matches actually that close? And what about her Czech opponent? “Kvitova is at the top of her game, but you never know what to expect from her…”

05:13 – Swiatek v Podoroska. “The Pole was very impressive against Halep, losing just three games against the first seed and 20 in total without dropping a set.” Can the Argentine, whom nobody really knew before the tournament, give her a run for her money?

09:48 – The men’s draw: “Schwartzman just beat Thiem after defeating Nadal in Rome as well, so the Spaniard will not underestimate him. However, he lost nine times in a row against Rafa in the past, and he’s coming off a marathon match…” Will the diminutive Argentine put up a fight?

14:13 – A few words on Jannik Sinner, who impressed against Nadal on Tuesday night: “He could have won the opening set, he just got tight while trying to serve it out. Who would have expected to see him dictate the play against the greatest clay-courter of all time?” What does his future look like?

21:23 – Djokovic v Tsitsipas: “The Greek put up a dominant display against Rublev, showcasing his entire arsenal of shots.” After getting disqualified in New York, Djokovic struggled once more against Pablo Carreno Busta – does the Spaniard get the credit he deserves?

25:44 – Who will win the second semi-final? “The most important theme is whether Djokovic will have gotten over his physical issues.” Who would be the favourite in a Nadal v Djokovic final, and whose win would be more historically relevant? “Nadal would tie Federer’s record, while Djokovic would become the first man in the Open Era to win every Major at least twice…”

29:08 – A million-dollar question for Steve Flink: who would Federer root for in the event of such a final?

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Jannik Sinner sets up a quarter final against Grigor Dimitrov in Beijing

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13 hours ago

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01/10/2023

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Jannik Sinner cruised into the quarter final of the China Open with a 6-2 6-0 win over Yoshihito Nishioka in 67 minutes at the China Open in Beijing. 

 

Earlier this week Sinner had won the first match in his career against Dan Evans in three sets. 

Sinner and Nishioka traded breaks in the first two games of the opening set. Sinner won 11 consecutive games in the first set to close out the match. Sinner now leads 2-0 in his head-to-head series against Nishioka.  

“During the first week in China I was sick, and somehow I tried to get through the first round and I knew then I would have one day off. Every day is different. I feel physically much better. I think when I have the shape of physicality, the way I play is a little bit bette Today I played well. Maybe on serve I have to improve a little bit the percentage. I think all the rest was really good today. There were key moments of this match that made my confidence grow”, said Sinner. 

Sinner set up a quarter final against Grigor Dimitrov, who beat Holger Rune 6-3 7-5. Dimitrov has drawn level to 1-1 in his two head-to-head matches against Rune, who beat his Bulgarian rival 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon 2023. 

Dimitrov raced out to a 4-0 lead with a double break. Rune pulled a break back in the sixth game but Dimitrov earned his third break in the ninth game to close out the first set 6-3. 

Both players went on serve until the 12th game when Dimitrov earned his only break on his third match point with forehand drop volley winner to seal the second set 7-5. 

Dimitrov reached the quarter final for the fourth time in his eight appearances at the Beijing tournament. The Bulgarian player lost to Andy Murray in the final of the China Open in 2016.

“I have lost quite a few matches this year against against a few players like that, so I really wanted to step up a little bit more. I still felt I could have done a few things a little bit better, but a win is a win. I just need to think a little bit about what I can improve. From the first match to now I see a few things that are better, but I still believe I can top it off a little bit more”, said Dimitrov. 

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Aryna Sabalenka and Anhelina Kalinina reach the second round at the China Open in Beijing

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1 day ago

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01/10/2023

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This year’s Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka cruised into the second round with a 6-2 6-1 win over Sofia Kenin in just 67 minutes at the China Open in Beijing. 

 

Sabalenka fired 22 winners to just 9 unforced errors, while Kenis made made just seven winners. Sabalenka did not face a break point and broke twice in each set. 

World number 28 Anhelina Kalinina came from one set down to beat Marketa Vondrousova 1-6 6-4 6-1. 

Vondrousova broke three times to race out to a 5-0 lead. Kalinina pulled one of the breaks in the sixth game for 1-5 but Vondrousova sealed the first set 6-1 with her third break. 

Vondrousova came within of holding a break lead in the second set. The Czech player was not able to convert one of the three break points and dropped her serve in the seventh game. 

Kalinina lost just games in the rest of the match and broke three times to win the third set 6-1. 

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Alexander Zverev reaches his 10th quarter final of the season in Beijing

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2 days ago

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30/09/2023

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Alexander Zverev came back from one set down to beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-1 reaching his 10thquarter final of the season at the China Open in Beijing. 

 

Zverev won the tie-break 7-4 with three mini-breaks after a marathon first set that featured six breaks of serve. Zverev broke twice in the third and fifth games to win the second set 6-2. The German earned three breaks to seal the third set. Zverev saved the only break point he faced in the final two sets. 

Zverev has improved to 4-1 in his head-to-head series against Davidovich Fokina. The Hamburg native player avenged his recent defeat against Davidovich Fokina in Toronto. 

The German player set up a quarter final against Nicolas Jarry. 

Zverev recently reached the quarter final at the US Open and won his second title of the season in Chengdu. He is currently seventh in the ATP Live Race to Turin and could rise to fifth if he wins his third title of the season in Beijing. 

“I am happy with win. I feel like I picked up my game a lot. I played a lot of tennis in the past two weeks. I just need to recover. I need to rest”, said Zverev. 

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