Matteo Berrettini and Fabio Fognini hope to continue Italian tennis renaissance - UBITENNIS
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Matteo Berrettini and Fabio Fognini hope to continue Italian tennis renaissance

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Italy will face a strong Austrian team featuring 2020 US Open champion and Australian Open finalist Dominic Thiem in the opening match in Group C at the ATP Cup in Melbourne on Tuesday. 

 

In the inaugural edition of the ATP Cup last year the Italian team was beaten by Russia, before winning the other two matches against Norway and the United States, but it was not not enough to get through to the knock-out stage. Matteo Berrettini had to pull out of last year’s edition due to an injury problem. This year the 2019 US Open semifinalist will lead a strong Italian team that features 2019 Monte-Carlo champion Fabio Fognini, Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori. 

Italian tennis hopes to continue its renaissance. There are currently eight players inside the top 100, four players inside the top 40 and two of the most promising Next Gen stars Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti. Fognini and Bolelli won the 2015 Australian Open doubles title, inspiring a new generation of players. 

“We are always helping each other to get trough our limits. One week Fabio is winnng a tournament. The next week I am trying to win my tournament, at least my best result. It’s a healthy competition. We always push each other to improve our performances. It’s a healthy competition. We were watching Fognini and Bolelli and we were inspired by them. They are still doing great careers. I think it helps us to figure out how to do it. We are all really excited to play, excited to come back and play with crowd. It’s been a long time. It’s nice play with a team. We are a strong team. We are good friends. It’s going to be nice”, said Berrettini. 

In the inaugural tie against Austria Berrettini will take on Dominic Thiem. They will meet for the fifth time. They are 2-2 in their previous head-to-head matches. Thiem beat Berrettini at 2018 Roland Garros and in the semifinal of the Vienna Open. Berrettini prevailed in the quarter final in Shanghai and in the round robin match at the Nitto ATP Finals in London. 

“At the end of the 2019 season I met Matteo in three important matches. They were high-quality matches. He is a great player. I am not happy to make my debut against him, but it will be an interesting match”, said Dominic Thiem. 

The good news of the Australian tennis season is that the ATP Cup will be attended by crowd. 

“We are lucky that we are here and we play with a big crowd on court. The player that I am, I feel that I need the crowd because, sometimes I am a bit crazy. I do something special in every sense, but I really enjoy”, said Fognini.

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Lorenzo Musetti, Alexander Zverev and Grigor Dimitrov reach the semifinals in Chengdu

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Lorenzo Musetti moved past Arthur Rinderknech 6-3 6-3 in one hour and 28 minutes at the Chengdu Open to reach his third semifinal of the season following Barcelona and Bastad. 

 

Musetti earned his first break in the fourth game to win the first set 6-3. The Italian player broke twice in the first and ninth games to close out the second set 6-3. 

“It was a step forward from yesterday. Yesterday’s match gave me a lot of confidence and today I started very well, breaking him immediately and that was the key to my win. A really solid performance from the baseline and I am really happy to be in the semifinals”, said Musetti.   

Musetti set up a semifinal match against this year’s Wimbledon quarter finalist Roman Safiulin, who advanced to his first semifinal of the season as Jordan Thompson was forced to withdraw from the match after Safiulin had won the first set 7-6 (7-1). 

Alexander Zverev came back from one set down to beat Miomir Kecmanovic 5-7 7-5 6-2. Zverev has reached his seventh semifinal this season. 

Kecmanovic earned an early break in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. Zverev broke straight back in the fifth game and held on his serve to draw level to 3-3. Kecmanovic broke for the second time in the 12th game to close out the first set 7-5. 

Zverev broke in the third game of the second set to take a 2-1 lead. Kecmanovic broke back in the eighth game to draw level to 4-4. Zverev earned his second break in the 11th game to seal the second set 7-5. The German player earned two breaks in the first and seventh games to close out the third set 6-2. 

The German player is currently seventh in the ATP Race to Turin and is aiming to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. Zverev will face Grigor Dimitrov, who cruised to a 6-4 6-1 win over Australia’s Christopher O’Connell. Dimitrov, who won the 400th match win of his career at ATP Tour leve, is chasing his first title since his triumph at the 2017 ATP Finals. Dimitrov broke three times in the 10th game of the first set and in the second and sixth games of the second set.

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Wang Xiyu claims her first WTA title at the Guangzhou Open

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China’s Wang Xiyu claimed her first WTA Tour title after beating this year’s Australian Open semifinalist Magda Linette 6-0 6-2 in the final of the Guangzhou Open. Wang Xiyu, US Open girls’ champion in 2018, dropped just one set en route to her first title. 

 

Linette beat Wang in their only previous match in the quarter finals in Hua Hin in 2020.   

Wang won 84% of her first service points and never faced a break point. The Chinese player hit eight winners to six unforced errors. 

Wang broke three times to take a bagel win in the second set. 

Wang earned an early break to open up a 2-0 lead in the second set. Linette won her first game before breaking back to draw level to 2-2, but Wang earned two more breaks in the fifth and seventh games to win the second set 6-2 after 80 minutes.   

Wang became the fifth Chinese champion in Guangzhou following in the footsteps of Li Na (2004), Yan Zi (2005), Zhang Shuai (2013 and 2017), Wang Qiang (2018). 

The 22-year-old player is the third Chinese champion this year after Zhu Lin in Hua Hin and Zheng Quinwen in Palermo. 

“It was very exciting and it’s a very emotional moment because every player is really tough. It’s very difficult to be here on the last day. I am very happy to be here and I think I cannot say it because it’s very emotional. I wanted a title from the first day, event when I started tennis. It was really a dream for me. I think there are going to be bigger tournaments, tougher matches waiting for me, and I am trying my best like I did this week”, said Wang Xiyu.

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Team World leads 4-0 over Team Europe after day one in the Laver Cup in Vancouver

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Team World took a 4-0 lead over Team Europe on Day one of the Laver Cup in Vancouver. 

 

This year’s US Open semifinal Ben Shelton came back from 1-4 down in the tie-break of the first set to beat Arthur Fils 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 in the opening singles match. 

“It’s different pressure, for sure. I love the type of pressure of playing for a team. In the back of your head, you don’t want to let them down, but the win is so much greater, when you get to do it for them and Team World, not just for yourself”, said Shelton. 

Francisco Cerundolo made a debut in the Laver Cup with a 6-3 7-5 win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. 

Felix Auger Aliassime scored the third singles win for Team World by beating French veteran Gael Monfils 6-4 6-3. Auger Aliassime broke Monfils twice to win five straight games from 4-4 in the first set. The Canadian player won 85% of his first service points. 

Auger Aliassime improved to 3-2 in Laver Cup singles matches with this win.  

“It felt nice. Last year it was an amazing win in London, but if we can win on home soil for the first time, that would be also cool. It was our first win for Team World. To do it with the crowd supporting us, and for me especially as a Canadian, it feels good. It feels good to get a first win under my belt here in the competition, and overall in my season it’s nice to get some wins”, said Auger Aliassime. 

Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul came back from 0-3 down in the Match Tie-Break to beat Arthur Fils and Andrey Rublev 6-3 4-6 10-6 in the doubles match. The first team to reach 13 points will win the Laver Cup. Two points will be awarded for each win on Saturday, and three for each win on Sunday.

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