A Glamorous Murray Back In A Semi-final On Grass After Six Years - UBITENNIS
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A Glamorous Murray Back In A Semi-final On Grass After Six Years

In Stuttgart Murray defeats Tsitsipas 7-6 6-3 and continues his run

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Andy Murray - Stuttgart 2022 (photo Twitter @atptour)

By Kingsley Elliot Kaye

Everybody remembers the last clash between Murray and Tsitsipas at the last US Open, with Murray leading by 2 sets to 1, before losing in five, and Tsitsipas’s famous toilet breaks. So close to victory nine months ago, now Murray is enjoying the form he was relishing and in the quarter-final of the Boss Open in Stuttgart he took advantage of the surface where he is definitely at ease and secured his first win, 7-6 6-3, against a top 5 since his comeback.  Tsitsipas is still trying to find the key to grass. And for one set he had found it: top-class serving, slicing his backhands while waiting for a chance to overturn the rally and start pounding forehands, always eager to come forward and exhibit his net skills. He elected to chip first serve returns and to frequently pounce on second serves. But after losing a very tight first set, and once his first serve let him down in the second set,  there was no match.

He played unbelievably well in the first set, Murray said. I felt I had very few chances when I was returning. When he was creating opportunities on my serve, I stayed strong. I played a really solid tiebreak. In the second set I served well. His serve dropped a little bit and once I was in the rallies, I felt like I was dictating the points. This surface really suits my game style. I’m able to use my strengths on this court.

The first set was dominated by serve. Tsitsipas conceded just one point in his first three service games.  

In the seventh game Murray was able to rally, and earned a break point, but Tsitsipas hit a winning serve and two aces to hold.

Murray in turn faced a set point while serving in the eleventh game and miraculously clinched the point by coming up with a half volley backhand passing shot hit on the very baseline.   

The tiebreak went hand in hand till the seventh point, when Murray returned a first service and his following backhand hit the top of the net and cheekily dropped over. Tsitsipas dashed forward in vain.

An ace and an excellent first serve did the job and Murray won the first set scoring fewer points than his opponent.

In the second set Murray played an outstanding sixth game where he hit a forehand winner down the line and two backhand passing shots to rip the Greeks’ serve.

I was kind of defending all the point. It was quite far behind the baseline but I saw his shot early, got across there, used a lot of the left hand to get the angle, That turned the match, Murray said.

He had two match points in the 8th game, which Tsitsipas saved with his last service fireworks, but Murray hit two forehand winners to close the match in his following service game.

He will face Nick Kyrgios in the semi-final in what will surely be a groovy match between two of the greatest grass artists on the tour.

The Australian edged past Marton Fucsovics, who was forced to withdraw in the second set. Kyrgios had won the first set at the tiebreak, when he eventually found some focus, after a loose start. I just felt like serving. I didn’t feel like running or anything. He explained. I know I can win most of my matches if I serve well, especially on grass, and make a couple of returns here and there.

He looks forward to taking on Andy Murray. Andy is one of the closest friends I have on tour. It’s good to see him back and competing at this level. He’s one of the greatest of all time. I’m excited. I know he’s going to be focused and I’m sure he knows what he expects, the unexpected, tomorrow. It’s going to be fun.

The second semi-final of the Stuttgart Boss Open will feature Oscar Otte, who didn’t even step out on court yesterday due to Benjamin Bonzi’s withdrawal, and Matteo Berrettini. The former Wimbledon runner-up defeated fellow countryman Lorenzo Sonego 6-3 4-6 6-4 and is on the way back to his best form, after missing from the tour for three months after his hand surgery.      

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Alcaraz Halts Sinner’s Winning Streak To Reach The Final In Indian Wells

Carlos Alcaraz earns the right to defend his title at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells fending off Jannik Sinner’s assault to his ATP no. 2 spot

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Jannik Sinner (left) and Carlos Alcaraz (right) - Indian Wells 2024 (photo Twitter X @BNPPARIBASOPEN)

All good things come to an end. Jannik Sinner was on a 19-match winning streak since his loss to Novak Djokovic in the final of the Nitto ATP Finals that included his first Grand Slam win in Australia last January, and appeared as the most in-form player at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the first Masters 1000 tournament of the season. But as he faced Carlos Alcaraz in an eagerly-awaited semifinal, he was unable to continue his quest for the third consecutive title of the season, succumbing to the Spaniard 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.

The match was a face-off for the no. 2 spot in the ATP ranking that Alcaraz will still occupy next Monday regardless of the result of Sunday’s final, and this is a much-needed confidence boost for him after a disappointing start of the season where he was handily beaten in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open by Zverev and did not win any tournament during the South American clay court swing where he was ousted by Nicolas Jarry in Buenos Aires and had to retire for an ankle injury at the Rio Open.

The match, originally scheduled for 1.30 pm Pacific Time, had to be suspended for over three hours after only three games because of an unusual downpour. As the match resumed, Sinner appeared once again the perfectly-tuned machine that had been crushing opponents with metronomic regularity for the past weeks while Alcaraz was struggling to keep up with his opponent’s pace from the baseline.

The first set was smooth sailing for the Italian who cruised to a comprehensive 6-1 in 27 minutes: Alcaraz was tentative from the baseline and could not find the right position to fire his screamers and change the tactical discourse of the match. “Then at the beginning of the second set, as I saw he was making a lot of mistakes, I tried to be as solid as possible when I should have kept pushing instead – Sinner said during his press conference – and that’s what cost me the match in the end”.

While serving at 1-2 in the second set, a few uncharacteristic forehand mistakes started to dot his thus far spotless game, and that cost him the break that sent Alcaraz flying to a 4-1 advantage. The Spaniard then found the confidence to change his return position and make Sinner work a lot more on his service games, as the Italian struggled to find a countermeasure to the tactical shift in the match: “I kept doing the same thing over and over again”, Sinner stressed, and forehand unforced errors started to pile up to reach the burdensome number of 27 at the end of the match.

Sinner had the chance to find his way back into the second set while Alcaraz was serving at 3-5, but Carlos cancelled his break point with a laser backhand down the line that had the 15,000-strong crowd cheering on their feet.

The third set ran away very quickly from the Italian, who started touching repeatedly the back of his left leg around his knee. Sinner got broken again during the third game, and while going for a last-ditch attempt to recover a short volley by Alcaraz he tumbled to the ground slightly injuring his right elbow and arm. From there onwards it was just more mistakes by Sinner and a clinical execution by Alcaraz on how to take home a match.

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“It Feels Great’ – Novak Djokovic Marks Indian Wells Return With Milestone Win

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Novak Djokovic - Indian Wells 2024 (foto Ubitennis)

Novak Djokovic says he still has a ‘great feeling’ in Indian Wells after playing his first match at the event for five years. 

The world No.1 battled to a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, win over Aleksandar Vukic in what was his first taste of competitive tennis since losing in the semi-finals of the Australian Open. It was a far from smooth encounter for Djokovic, who hit 23 winners and won 83% of his first service points. In the second set, he was broken twice with the second of those occurring when he was serving at 5-6. Nevertheless, he battled back in the decider to win. 

This year is the first time Djokovic has been able to play in the Masters 1000 event since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the 2020 tournament was cancelled, he was unable to play the next three editions due to restrictions placed on unvaccinated foreign visitors to America. Despite the absence, the five-time champion states that his love for the event is as strong as ever.

“It feels great to come back with the win. It’s been five years and the great feeling is still there. I enjoyed myself very much. Beautiful stadium. Great atmosphere.” Djokovic said during his press conference. 
“I was a bit nervous at the beginning. I haven’t played a match in more than five weeks. I thought the start was good. Then I think he upped his game.
“I probably lost a little bit of the momentum. We got into the third set, I thought the level of the tennis was pretty good in the third. Great points. He made me produce some really important points in games in order to prevail in this match. I’m glad that I was pushed, as well, which is important.”

Djokovic’s latest victory is his 400th in a Masters 1000 tournament. He is only the second player in history to have reached this milestone since the tournament category was introduced in 1990. The first to do so was Rafael Nadal who currently has 406 wins to his name. 

He could create more history in Indian Wells should the Serbian go on to claim the title this year. If he does, he would become the first man to have won it for a sixth time. Although Djokovic is refusing to get too far ahead of himself. 

“I would love to,” he said of trying to claim a sixth title. “Obviously there is still a long way to get to the title match, but it’s a good start.’
“I know I can always produce better tennis. Obviously very self-critical, and I think some extent it’s also important because then it puts you in the right mindset of wanting to work more and being engaged in the process of improving on a daily basis, or trying to perfect your game and right the wrongs that you’ve done in a previous match or previous practice session.
“So that’s what I’m going to keep doing and hopefully building my game as this tournament is played over 10 to 14 days, so it allows you to have the practice days also between matches, which then allows you to work on certain specifics in the game.”

Djokovic will play Italy’s Luca Nardi in the next round. 

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Carlos Alcaraz Brushes Aside Injury Doubts To Reach Indian Wells Third Round

Carlos Alcaraz is into the third round at Indian Wells after a three set win over Matteo Arnaldi.

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(@BNPPARIBASOPEN - Twitter)

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz overcame injury doubts to edge past Matteo Arnaldi 6-7(5) 6-0 6-1 at Indian Wells.

The world number two had to endure an aggressive opening set from the in-form Italian to reach the third round.

After a tight opening set, Alcaraz raced through the last two sets as he set up a third round showdown with Felix Auger-Aliassime.

The Spaniard had entered this match with injury doubts after retiring from his match with Thiago Monteiro in Rio De Janeiro.

However Alcaraz was very pleased with how his ankle held up as he moved on in California, “Honestly it surprised me. I felt great, moving normally without thinking about it,” Alcaraz told the ATP website.

“It was a really good match to realise that I am better than I thought. I think I played great tennis because of that. I had to change just a few things. I made a few mistakes in the first set… I had to put in more first serves in the second and third set, and I think that was a big key to improving my level a little bit, to be in the rallies — long rallies as well, to get the rhythm, and I’m really happy to get it at the end.

“But right now I’m getting better and feeling really, really well. But I think I have to get a good rhythm step by step. I think that’s the big difference between last year and this one. This [is a] really special tournament for me. I want to do it well. This is the first match playing high intensity and I didn’t know how it’s going respond, the ankle.

“I have to deal with it, but I didn’t deal with the nerves very well in the first set, moving differently, hitting the ball differently. My game is playing aggressive all the time. And try to stay calm and wait for my chances.

“When you get nervous, you don’t think about it. You don’t hit the ball as good as you want. You don’t move as good as you want. I think that’s the big difference.”

Alcaraz will hope for a good week this week as he defends the Indian Wells title as he aims to win a first title since Wimbledon this week.

Next for the Spaniard will be Felix Auger-Aliassime, who defeated Constant Lestienne in straight sets.

Auger-Aliassime currently leads the head-to-head 3-1 but Alcaraz won their last meeting in Indian Wells last year.

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