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Carlos Alcaraz leads the line-up at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi

Published

1 year ago

16/12/2022

The 14th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championships will be held in Abu Dhabi from 16 to 18 December 2022.

World number 1 player and this year’s US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz leads the star-studded line-up in the men’s tournament. Alcaraz, who was forced to miss the Nitto ATP Finals due to an injury he sustained during the Paris, will make his debut at the Mubadala tournament.

The line also features defending champion Andrey Rublev, this year’s Nitto ATP Finals champion Casper Ruud, 2019 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas and 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist Cameron Norrie. This year’s Cincinnati Masters 1000 champion Borna Coric has replaced injured Frances Tiafoe.

World number 4 and Monte-Carlo champion Stefanos Tsitsipas will face Cameron Norrie in the quarter finals on Friday. Tsitsipas reached the semifinals at the Australian Open for the third time last January. The Greek player finished runner-up to Felix Auger Aliassime in Rotterdam last February. During the clay season he won the Monte-Carlo final and finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic in the Rome Masters 1000 tournament before losing to Holger Rune in the fourth round at Roland Garros. He won his first title on grass in Mallorca, but he lost to Nick Kyrgios in the third round at Wimbledon.

Tsitsipas finished runner-up to Borna Coric in the Cincinnati Open, but he lost to Daniel Elahi Galan in the first round at the US Open. The 2019 ATP Finals champion reached two finals in Astana and Stockolm and the semifinal at the Masters 1000 tournament in Paris Bercy. He did not get through to the knock-out stage at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

Cameron Norrie lost in the first round at the Australian Open, but he came back to win his first title of the year at Delray Beach. He finished runner-up to Rafael Nadal at the Mexican Open in Acapulco. He was beaten by Carlor Alcaraz in the quarter finals at Indian Wells and by Casper Ruud in the fourth round at the Miami Open. Last July he achieved his best result at Grand Slam level when he reached the semifinal at Wimbledon before losing to Novak Djjokovic in four sets. Norrie lost to Danil Medvedev in the semifinals in Los Cabos. He lost to Borna Coric in the semifinals in Cincinnati and to Andrey Rublev in the fourth round at the US Open. During the autumn season he reached the quarter final in Seoul and Stockolm.

Tsitsipas and Norrie tied their two head-to-head matches 1-1 . Tsitsipas beat Norrie 6-4 6-4 in the Lyon final in 2021. Norrie 6-3 6-3 won their most recent match in Acapulco semifinal.

Andrey Rublev will take on Borna Coric in the Mubadala quarter finals on Friday.

Rublev lost to Marin Cilic in the third round at the Australian Open but he came back last February when he reached the semifinal in Rotterdam and won two consecutive titles in Marseille and Dubai. The Russian player lost to Taylor Fritz in the semifinals at Indian Wells. He clinched his third title of the season at Belgrade beating Novak Djokovic in the final. He lost to Marin Cilic in the quarter finals at Roland Garros. He lost to Yoshihito Nishioka in the semifinals in Washington and to Frances Tiafoe in three sets in the quarter finals at the US Open. He was beaten to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals in Astana and won his third title of the year in Gijon. He beat Danil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas to get through to the semifinals at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin before losing to Casper Ruud in the knock-out stage. Last week Rublev to Stan Wawrinka in tne quarter finals in the the exhibition tournament in Saud Arabia.

Coric came back from a shoulder injury last summer by winning his first Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati. He beat Lorenzo Musetti, Rafael Nadal, Roberto Bautista Agut, Felix Auger Aliassime, Cameron Norrie and Stefanos Tsitsipas to clinch the biggest tournament of his career. The Croatian player reached the quarter finals in Tokyo and the semifinals in Vienna and helped Croatia reach the Davis Cup semifinals.

Rublev leads 4-0 in his head-to-head matches against Coric and won the St. Petersburg final in their most recent clash.

Defending champion Ons Jabeur will take on 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu.

Jabeur won her first WTA 1000 title at the Madrid Mutua Open beating US player Jessica Pegula. Jabeu clinched her second title in Berlin and finished runner-up to Belinda Bencic in Charleston and to Iga Swiatek in Rome. She reached a career-high of world number 2 and made her debut at the WTA Finals. In Fort Worth Jabeur lost her first march against Aryna Sabalenka, but she kept her hopes of qualifying for the knock-out stage with a win over Jessica Pegula, but she lost to Maria Sakkari in straight sets.

Raducanu was not able to advance beyond the second round in the four Grand Slam tournaments. The British player reached two quarter finals in Stuttgart and Washington and the semifinal in Seoul, but she was forced to withdraw from the match due to an injury. She lost in the first round in Ostrava before ending the season following a wrist injury.

Jabeur became the first Arab player to reach the Grand Slam final at Wimbledon, but she finished runner-up to Elena Rybakina. The Tunisian player finished runner-up to Iga Swiatek in the US Open final.

Alcaraz and Ruud have received a bye into the semifinals.

The men’s semifinals and the fifth-place play-off will be held on 17 December. The final and the third-place play-off will be held on 18 December.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas beats Sebastian Ofner in Barcelona to extend his winning streak

Published

2 days ago

17/04/2024

sampaolo

Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Sebastian Ofner 6-4 7-5 at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell to extend his winning streak to seven consecutive matches after claiming his third title at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters last week.

Tsitsipas earned an immediate break in the first game. Ofner broke straight back to draw level to 1-1. Tsitsipas earned his second break in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead and served out the first set 6-4 with a hold at 15.

Tsitsipas broke in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. Ofner won three consecutive games with two breaks of serve to take a 5-3 lead. Tsitsipas came back by winning four consecutive games with two breaks of serve to seal the second set 7-5.

Tsitsipas has a record of 17 wins to 5 defeats in Barcelona. The Greek player reached three finals at this tournament in 2018, 2021 and 2023.

“I feel pretty good, but it is still early in the tournament. The conditions here are very different to Monte-Carlo and I felt it today when I was playing. My job is to adapt and to ensure I can bring my A game again in Barcelona this week. Today was a great test to see where I stand. I am hoping to keep on improving and getting good wins like this under my belt”, said Tsitsipas.

Tsitssipas set up a third round match against Roberto Carballes Baena, who beat Lorenzo Musetti 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 in 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Musetti saved three break points in the first game of the opening set. The Italian player earned two break points with a backhand down the line. Musetti saved two break points in the seventh game. Both players went on serve un the 12^th game when Carballes Baena saved a set point. Carballes Baena went up a 5-1 lead with two mini-breaks in the tie-break. Musetti won three consecutive points to reduce to 4-5. Carballes Baena won the final two points to take the tie-break 7-4.

Carballes Baena converted his fourth break point in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. Musetti broke back in the fifth game. Carballes Baena saved a break point in the sixth game. The Spanish player sealed the win with a break on his second match.

Last week’s Monte-Carlo finalist Casper Ruud beat Alexandre Muller 6-3 6-4 to claim his 25^th tour-level win of the season. Ruud has drawn level with Jannik Sinner for the most wins in 2024 on the ATP Tour.

Ruud set up a third round match against Jordan Thompson, who beat Jaume Munar 6-4 2-4 6-4. Roberto Bautista Agut beat Andrea Vavassori 4-6 6-4 6-1 to claim his milestone 400th match win on the ATP Tour. Bautista Agut set up a third round match against Cameron Norrie.

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Roberto Bautista Agut wins his milestone 400th match on the ATP Tour

Published

3 days ago

17/04/2024

sampaolo

Roberto Bautista Agut came back from one set down to beat Australian Open doubles finalist Andrea Vavassori 4-6 6-3 6-1 after 2 hours and 1 minute at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.

Vavassori earned an early break in the first game. The Italian player earned three break points in the seventh game, but Bautista Agut saved them. The Spanish player broke straight back in the eighth game. Vavassori broke again in the ninth game to take a 5-4 lead and saved two break points before closing out the first set 6-4 on his second set point.

Both players went on serve in the first four games of the second set. Vavassori earned a break point in the fifth game, but he did not convert it. Bautista Agut broke serve in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead and did not face any break points to win the second set 6-3.

Bautista Agut broke three times to cruise through to a 6-1.

Bautista Agut reached the 400^th milestone win on the ATP Tour. The Spanish player has become the 13^th active player with at least 400 ATP Tour wins. He achieved 20 wins against members of the top 10, ten wins against top 5 players and four against world number 1s. Bautista Agut is one of the nine players, who have beaten Novak Djokovic as World number 1 more than twice.

“For me it’s just a number. The important thing is that I have done great work over these years, that I have a very consistent career, a career that I can feel proud of “, said Bautista Agut.

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Martina Trevisan beats Naomi Osaka to reach the second round in Rouen

Published

3 days ago

17/04/2024

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Martina Trevisan upset former world number 1 Naomi Osaka 6-4 6-2 in the opening round of the Open Capfinances Rouen Metropole.

Osaka has played her first clay-court match since Roland Garros 2022, where she lost to Amanda Anisimova. The Japanese player has not won a match on clay since beating Anastasia Potapova in the first round of the Madrid Mutua Open in 2022. She helped Japan beat Kazakhstan in the Billie Jean King Cup.

Trevisan reached the quarter final in 2020 and the semifinal in 2022 at Roland Garros. The former world number 18 won her only title in Rabat in 2022. She reached the quarter finals of the Zaragoza ITF 100 tournament.

Both players traded breaks in the first two games. Osaka earned two break points at 3-2 and three more chances at 4-3, but she was not able to convert them. Trevisan broke serve in the ninth game following a series of forehand errors.

Trevisan broke twice in the third and seventh games and served out the win on her first match point.

Sixteen-year-old Mirra Andreeva beat Elina Avanesyan 7-5 6-4 in 1 hour and 41 minutes to reach her second quarter final of 2024.

Andreeva went up a break in the seventh game, but Avanesyan pulled back on serve to draw level to 4-4. Andreeva broke for the second time in the 11^th game to win the second set 7-5. Andreeva broke in the first game to open up a 2-0 lead. Avanesyan converted her third break-back point in the fourth game to draw level to 2-2. Andreeva broke serve at love in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. Avanesyan broke back in the eighth game to draw level to 4-4. Andreeva broke for the third time in the ninth game and served out the win on her second match point after saving two break points.