Tag Archives: Andy Roddick

Marcos Giron Defeats Alex Michelsen at Hall of Fame Open to Claim First-Ever ATP Tour Title

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Marcos Giron has claimed his first-ever ATP Tour title…

The 30-year-old Argentine and Ecuadorian American professional tennis player defeated Next Gen ATP countryman Alex Michelsen 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-5 to claim the trophy in at the Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Rhode Island.

Marcos GironGiron saved match point with an ace at 4-5, 30/40 in the deciding set and clinched the victory with his 13th ace of the match.

“Better late than never. We’ll take it!” Giron said with a laugh. “There are so many people I can thank and couldn’t be more lucky to have them in my life. Family, coaches, friends. For this, it’s really special for me but also for all their help and support though the years.”

Giron, a former college tennis star at UCLA who underwent right hip surgery in December 2015 and left hip surgery in February 2016, reached his first two ATP Tour finals two years ago in San Diego and earlier this season in Dallas.

After a gritty two-hour, 37-minute victory against 19-year-old Michelsen, the veteran Giron can now call himself a tour-level champion.

A critical moment for Giron came when he served at 2-3 in the deciding set. Facing break point, the new No. 38 player in the ATP Live Rankings crushed a courageous forehand winner to escape trouble.

Michelsen was then a shot away from the championship with Giron serving at 4-5, but the older of the two Americans did not allow him to touch the ball with an ace down the T.

The second-seeded Giron saved eight of the nine break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats. He won 82 per cent of his first-serve points and hit 41 total winners.

“Honestly, Alex, unbelievable tournament, unbelievable match,” Giron told his countryman. “It’s unreal, 19 [years old]. We’ve been practising together. On court, he’s so mature, he’s so good. He’s got such a bright future. I’m happy to get the win now while I can!”

Michelsen did not lose serve en route to the final, his second consecutive championship match appearance in Newport. One year ago, aged 18, the American advanced to the final of the ATP 250 event when he had never previously won a tour-level match.

The teen was trying to become the youngest American ATP Tour champion (and first teenager) since Andy Roddick in Houston in 2002.

Carlos Alcaraz Becomes Youngest Year-End No. 1 in ATP History

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Carlos Alcaraz has another a place in tennis history once again…

The 19-year-old Spanish professional tennis player is the youngest year-end No. 1 in the history of the ATP computerized rankings.

Carlos AlcarazHe also joins fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal as the first players from the same country to claim the top two spots at the close of a season since Americans Pete Sampras and Michael Chang in 1996.

The final men’s tennis rankings for 2022 were published Monday, and Alcaraz’s rise from No. 32 at the end of 2021 is the largest single-season jump to No. 1.

Alcaraz, who turned 19 in May, has remained atop the rankings since he won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open in September by beating Casper Ruud in the final.

That made Alcaraz the first male teen at No. 1 since the ATP computerized rankings began in 1973.

He’s the first man in 20 years other than Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray — since Andy Roddick in 2003 — to finish at No. 1.

Alcaraz ended his season early after tearing an abdominal muscle while competing at the Paris Masters a month ago.

The 36-year-old Nadal, meanwhile, is the oldest man to finish a year ranked first or second. He also extended his own record by placing in the top 10 at the end of a year for the 18th consecutive season. The recently retired Federer is the only other man with that many top-10 finishes over the course of a career.

Nadal won the Australian Open and French Open to raise his men’s-record Grand Slam total to 22 trophies, one ahead of Djokovic and two ahead of Federer.

Ruud finishes at No. 3, followed by No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas, No. 5 Djokovic, No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime, No. 7 Daniil Medvedev, No. 8 Andrey Rublev, No. 9 Taylor Fritz and No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz.

Djokovic couldn’t play at the Australian Open or US Open because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19 and didn’t earn any rankings boost for his title at Wimbledon because the WTA and ATP stripped that tournament of any points over the All England Club‘s ban on players from Russia and Belarus.

Almagro Defeats Roddick at Miami Tennis Cup Event

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Nicolás Almagro is the exhibition king…

The 27-year-old Spanish tennis star beat Andy Roddick 6-4, 7-5 in the Miami Tennis Cup exhibition final on Sunday.

Nicolas Almagro & Andy Roddick

Roddick, who retired from professional tennis at the U.S. Open, was broken once in each set. He dropped the ninth game of the first set at 30-40 on a netted backhand. Roddick saved a break point in the ninth game of the second set but had no answer for an Almagro forehand crosscourt passing shot at 30-40 in the 11th game.

Almagro, who currently ranks No. 11 in the world, lost both times he played Roddick in tour matches. One of those losses came in Key Biscayne in the 2010 Sony Open quarterfinals.

Earlier this year Almagro defended his title in Nice, France for his 12th career title, beating another American, Brian Baker, in the final.

Ferrero Announces His Retirement from Professional Tennis

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It’s the end of an era for Grand Slam champion Juan Carlos Ferrero…

The 32-year-old Spanish tenista, a former World No. 1, says he’ll retire after playing in his hometown’s ATP tennis tournament, the Valencia Open, next month.

Juan Carlos Ferrero

Ferrero, who started playing professional tennis 1998, rose to the top of the rankings in 2003 after winning the French Open and reaching the U.S. Open final, where he lost to Andy Roddick.

In his 14-year professional career, Ferrero won 16 titles and helped Spain win two of its five Davis Cup titles in 2000 and 2004.

“It was a complicated decision to leave a world you have lived in intensely,” said Ferrero, who is currently ranked No. 66 in the world. “But I have had a tough year and you start to notice that you don’t have the same ambition and motivation.”

Following his retirement from professional play, Ferrero has plans to devote his extra time to his tennis academy and his hotel. In July 2007, he bought an old cottage in Bocairente, 50 minutes south of Valencia and refurbished it into Hotel Ferrero, which features 12 luxury suites.

The Valencia Open runs October 20-28.