Marcel Granollers & Horacio Zeballos Win Barcelona Open for Sixth ATP Masters 1000 Title

Posted on May 19, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos have added to their hardware collection.

The 38-year-old Spanish professional tennis player and 39-year-old Argentine professional tennis player beat Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic 6-2, 6-2 for the men’s doubles title at the Barcelona Open.

In the process, Granollers and Zeballos captured their sixth ATP Masters 1000 crown as a team on Sunday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

In a rain-disrupted final, the top seeds were dominant throughout. They won 81 percent (26/32) of their first-serve points and saved both break points they faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to triumph after 69 minutes.

Granollers and Zeballos lead Arevalo and Pavic 2-0 in the teams’ Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

“It is always special to win a Masters 1000 title, so we are very happy with the way we played all week,” Granollers said. “It was unbelievable how we played.”

Granollers and Zeballos, who are joint No. 1 in the ATP Doubles Rankings, have now lifted the trophy in Rome twice, having also won in 2020.

“I think we are like wine,” Zeballos said. “We are getting older and we are getting better. We have a lot of confidence and have been playing well the last weeks and year.”

The Spanish-Argentine pair was dominant throughout their run in the Italian capital. They did not drop a set, defeating singles stars Alexander Bublik and Ben Shelton in the semifinals. Granollers has now won 26 tour-level doubles titles, while Zeballos has lifted 21.

Granollers and Zeballos are currently second in the ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.

They reached the title match at the ATP Finals last season.

Nicolas Jarry Outlasts Tommy Paul to Reach Rome Open Final

Posted on May 17, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Nicolas Jarry is one win away from becoming Chile’s first ATP Masters 1000 champion in 25 years.

On Friday, the No. 21 seed overcame 14th-seeded Tommy Paul, 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3, for his third three-set victory in his run to the Rome Open final.

With grandfather Jaime Fillol cheering him on, Jarry regrouped after dropping the second set from a set and a break up. He held his nerve in the final game, saving two break points in between needing five match points to shut the door on Paul and dampen his 27th birthday.

“I was not very happy at the end of the second set,” Jarry admitted to press in the mixed zone afterwards. “I tried to use that energy to push myself and to focus it on my tennis, on what I need to do, and try to play as best I can. That gave me the break and more confidence to continue and to close the match.

“Tommy doesn’t make you feel comfortable on the court, so I made it through and that’s the best thing about it.”

Jarry advanced to his second final of the year, following Buenos Aires (defeated No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in semis)

The last Chilean player to win a 1000-level title was Marcelo Rios at 1999 Hamburg, the former world No. 1’s fifth triumph at that level.

Jarry will look to join him on the Internazionali BNL d’Italia honor roll, as Rios was crowned the 1998 winner when Albert Costa withdrew prior to their final with a wrist injury.

In the quarterfinals, Jarry picked up his third Top 10 victory of the season by ousting Monte Carlo title holder Stefanos Tsitsipas. The boisterous crowd at the Foro Italico was one of the factors in pushing him across the finish line then and against Paul.

“Yesterday and today were amazing. I was hoping it was going to be like yesterday. Yesterday was my first day in the stadium. It was quite a shock. But I enjoy this atmosphere, I like it,” said Jarry.

His nation nearly had two reasons to celebrate on the day, before Alexander Zverev crashed the party. After getting outplayed early, the 2017 champion stormed past Alejandro Tabilo, 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2.

“He’s a tough, tough guy to beat. Amazing backhand, good serve. He’s playing very good tennis right now,” assessed Jarry about his upcoming opponent.

In turning the tide, Zverev has now won his past 18 matches against left-handers. The No. 3 seed is 21-11 lifetime in tour-level finals.

Nicolas Jarry Upsets Stefanos Tsitsipas at Italian Open to Reach First ATP Masters 1000 Semifinal

Posted on May 16, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Nicolas Jarry has reached his first career ATP Masters 1000 semifinal.

The 28-year-old Chilean professional tennis player rallied past sixth seed and 2022 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 on Thursday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia to advance to his first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal.

Jarry produced relentless power from the baseline, striking 23 forehand winners, including a 166 kilometres-per-hour bruiser, to spoil Tsitsipas’ quest for a third consecutive semi-final appearance in Rome.

“I think beating Stefanos on clay is a good achievement. Certainly happy with my fight today, for how I played and how I maintained myself,” Jarry said in his on-court interview. “I kept trying to find different ways to have chances on his serve. I knew I was playing good. I had to adjust some things in the backhand so he didn’t push me back, that’s why he played so good. I was able to do those things and I’m extremely happy for the win.”

A key turning point came at 3-3 in the second set, when Jarry tallied five consecutive points from 0/40 and let out a massive roar to bring alive the Foro Italico crowd.

The 21st seed was crisp from the back of the court and delivered some of his best tennis to win nine of the final 11 points in the second set, sending the match into a decider.

Jarry displayed mental fortitude throughout the two-hour, 38-minute thriller, during which he fought off 11 of 13 break points faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Tsitsipas will rue letting slip two break points at 5-5, 15/40 in the second set that would have given him the chance to serve for the match had he converted.

But Jarry held his nerve under pressure and earned a dramatic break of his own at 5-4 in the third set, converting his fourth match point to improve to 4-2 in his ATP Head2Head series with Tsitsipas.

“I always practise, always trying to find ways to be better, be stronger, be happier, enjoying it more,” Jarry said. “The last two matches, I’ve enjoyed it a lot so that’s my greatest achievement so far. Happy for that and that it’s brought me into the semis. [I will] try to continue this path. I’m playing pretty well, I just want to maintain it. That’s the toughest thing of all.”

Jarry and countryman Alejandro Tabilo are the first Chilean duo to reach the semifinals of an ATP Tour event since 2006 in Vina del Mar, where Fernando Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu made the last four.

The 6’7” Jarry, who is 15-11 on the season, is tied at his career-high No. 18 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. Thursday’s quarter-final victory marks the three-time tour-level titlist’s 10th victory against a Top 10 player and third this season, having defeated Carlos Alcaraz in Buenos Aires and Casper Ruud in Miami.

Jarry will face 14th seed Tommy Paul in Friday’s semifinals. The Santiago native won their lone meeting at Roland Garros last year.

Francisco Cerundolo Upsets Alexander Zverev to Reach Madrid Open Quarterfinals

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Francisco Cerundolo has reached his fourth ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal.

The 25-year-old Argentine professional tennis player earned his third Top 5 win on Tuesday at the Madrid Open, after upsetting World No. 5 Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-4.

Cerundolo saved both break points he faced and won 79 percent (33/42) of his first-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to overcome the two-time Madrid champ Zverev after 90 minutes.

Cerundolo is the first Argentine quarterfinalist in Madrid since Juan Martin del Potro reached the last eight in the Spanish capital in 2012.

Cerundolo, who captured a tour-level clay-court title in Bastad in 2022, will aim to reach his second ATP Masters 1000 semifinal (Miami 2022) when he takes on American Taylor Fritz.

If Cerundolo defeats Fritz, he will move to No. 17 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. He eached a previous career-high No. 19 in June last year.

Fritz defeated Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(2), 6-4 in 88 minutes to advance to his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal this season.

Marcel Granollers & Horacio Zeballos Advance to Title Match at ATP Finals

Posted on November 18, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos are one win away from the title…

The 37-year-old Spanish professional tennis player and his 38-year-old Argentine professional doubles partner have advanced to the championship match at the the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time together to keep their Year-End ATP Doubles No. 1 hopes alive.

Granollers and Zeballos, the tournament’s fifth seeds, overcame Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden 7-5, 6-4 on Saturday after one hour and 20 minutes in Turin.

Granollers and Zeballos are making their fourth appearance together at the year-end event, where they lost in the semifinals in 2020 and 2021.

They’ll look to go all the way on Sunday when they meet defending champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, who defeated fourth seeds Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

“We are very happy,” Granollers said. “It is our third semi-final here at the Finals and we are happy to be in the final this time. We will try to enjoy the match and play our best tennis.”

Granollers and Zeballos are up to third in the ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings and will end the season in first place if they win the title in Turin. Already-eliminated Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek are currently first. Bopanna and Ebden are now out of the race.

“We tried to think that every match was a final because every match was against a great team,” Zeballos said on their run. “We tried to be positive and offensive and it is working so far so we will try the same tomorrow.”

Earlier this season, Granollers and Zeballos clinched the crown at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai. Granollers is chasing his second title at the year-end event having triumphed with Marc Lopez in 2012.

Competing inside the Pala Alpitour, Granollers and Zeballos were comfortable on serve and were clinical on return in crucial moments. They pounced on two inconsistent serving games from Ebden, one in each set, to earn victory.

Santiago Gonzalez & Partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin Claim Paris Masters Men’s Doubles Title

Posted on November 6, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Santiago Gonzalez is celebrating another title…

The 40-year-old Mexican professional player and his men’s doubles partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin have extended their late-season winning streak to eight to clinch the title at the Paris Masters.

The seventh-seeded duo defeated Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden 6-2, 5-7, 10-7 to lift the trophy at the ATP Masters 1000 event in the French capital.

Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin converted both break points they earned to claim the victory, holding firm after dropping their first set of the week in the championship match in Paris.

“The set we lost, it’s totally my fault. I did a pretty bad game in the second set, but Santi helped a lot at the changeover,” said home favorite Roger-Vasselin. “[He said] ‘It’s OK, we’re just going to fight every point and enjoy the crowd’. For me it’s super special to win here in Paris, so I’m really thankful to Santi. He played amazing all week, and I’m really happy to win this trophy here.”

Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin, who also lifted the trophy in Basel a week ago, defeated the second, third and fourth-seeded pairs en route to their second Masters 1000 crown of the year.

The duo has qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, where the pair will enter the prestigious season finale on a high.

“The last two weeks were amazing, ending the year like this and now going to Turin with confidence,” said Gonzalez. “We are happy to win our second Masters title of this year, so we are very pleased about it and hopefully we can keep it going.”

Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin are now 51-21 in their first full season together on the ATP Tour.

They became champions in Marseille, Miami and Los Cabos prior to their Basel and Paris triumphs, and will enter Turin in fourth in the ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.

Alex de Minaur Defeats Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to Reach His First ATP Masters 1000 Final

Posted on August 12, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Alex de Minaur has advanced to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 final…

In red-hot form, the 24-year-old Uruguayan & Spanish Australian professional tennis player wasted little time booking his spot in the Canadian Open championship match with a 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Saturday in Toronto.

de Minaur stayed largely solid to ease to victory against his under-par opponent in just 78 minutes, breaking in all but one of the Spaniard’s eight service games to reach his fourth ATP Tour final of the season.

“It was a very tough day. Very tricky conditions out here,” said de Minaur. “Very windy, and not easy to play tennis, so from the first point I just told myself to stay positive. I was going to try and win every point, try to be solid and not expect perfect tennis. I think that made the difference today.”

Now 16-5 since the beginning of the grass-court season in June, de Minaur will meet seventh seed Jannik Sinner on Sunday at Sobeys Stadium as he chases the biggest title of his career.

His run in Toronto, where he took out Top 10 opponents Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev prior to Davidovich Fokina, has lifted him five spots to 10th in the ATP Live Race To Turin.

Davidovich Fokina’s low-energy performance on Saturday suggested he may have been feeling the effects of his previous exertions this week in Toronto, where he upset seeded players Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud.

de Minaur was clinical in capitalizing on his opponent’s struggles, cruising to become the first Australian to reach the Canadian Open final since Patrick Rafter in 2001.

Even when Davidovich Fokina found some rhythm on return, he was unable to regain control as he offered up 38 unforced errors to de Minaur’s nine overall. The Australian claimed the only hold of the second set in the second game before the windy conditions contributed to seven straight breaks of serve to finish the match.

“[I‘m proud of] bringing out the level that I knew I always could and being able to back it up day after day,” said de Minaur, who had not been past the last 16 of a Masters 1000 prior to this week. “That’s been one of the goals of mine, to stay consistent and keep bringing this level, and give myself chances to play in the deep ends of tournaments. To play against the best in the world and go toe to toe with them.

“I gave myself the chance this week, I’ve taken that opportunity, and tomorrow I get to play another final.”

de Minaur has now risen six spots to No. 12 in the ATP Live Rankings as a result of his run in Toronto, three clear of his career-high No. 15. He is set up nicely for a bid to crack the Top 10 for the first time across the rest of the North American hard-court swing.

“For a couple of years now I’ve been chasing that goal, and probably put a lot of stress on myself to try to achieve that,” said De Minaur. “I’m always going to get the absolute most out of myself. I’m not content where I am, so I’m just going to keep on pushing.”

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina Rallies to Beat Casper Ruud at the Canadian Open

Posted on August 10, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has pulled off a major upset…

The 24-year-old Spanish professional tennis player earned his fifth Top 10 win on Thursday when he claimed a hard-fought 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(4) victory against World No. 5 Casper Ruud at the Canadian Open.

After Davidovich Fokina clinched the first set, play was suspended for one hour and 34 minutes due to rain. Ruud came out firing on the resumption and was two points away from victory, leading 5-3, 30/0 in the third set before the Spaniard came roaring back to clinch a thrilling victory after three hours and three minutes in Toronto.

Davidovich Fokina hit 58 winners and played aggressively in the late stages of the deciding set, advancing to his fourth ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal.

“I kept very focused on every point,” Davidovich Fokina said. “He had the serve to close out the match, but I was focused on every point to be there and not give up. It was very tough. We played long rallies, with a lot of pressure. When I broke for 4-5, it was a show of power to finish the match.”

With his first Top 10 win on a hard court, Davidovich Fokina improved to 2-1 in his ATP Head2Head series against Ruud, whose best result this year was a run to the final at Roland Garros.

The World No. 37 will meet Mackenzie McDonald in the quarterfinals.

Alex de Minaur Outlasts Taylor Fritz at Canadian Open to Reach First-Ever ATP Masters 1000 Quarterfinals

Posted on August 10, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Alex de Minaur is celebrating an impressive comeback.

The 24-year-old Uruguayan & Spanish Australian professional tennis player completed a stunning first-set comeback at the Canadian Open en route to a 7-6(7), 4-6, 6-1 victory against American Taylor Fritz.

With his win, de Minaur has reached the quarterfinals at an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time in his young career.

de Minaur trailed 1-5 in the first set against Fritz, who squandered two set points on serve. The Australian eventually sealed the opener on his sixth set point and took advantage of some loose hitting from Fritz in the third set to advance after two hours and 28 minutes.

Fritz is ninth in the ATP Live Race To Turin and was hoping to boost his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals with a deep run in Toronto. However, he struggled to find consistency against de Minaur, committing 55 unforced errors.

”It feels great to finally break that barrier,” de Minaur said when asked about reaching the last eight at a Masters 1000 event for the first time.

“It’s just a never-say-die attitude. It doesn’t matter what the score is. I’m always going to fight till the end. Being able to compete and stay positive got me into the match. I knew even if I lost that set I’d be in the match and playing a lot better.”

Earlier this year the 24-year-old captured the biggest title of his career at the ATP 500 in Acapulco. He has now won six of his past seven matches, after advancing to the title match in Los Cabos last week (l. to Stefanos Tsitsipas).

He will next fight Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals.

Francisco Cerundolo Defeats Taylor Fritz to Reach Fourth Round at French Open

Posted on June 3, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Francisco Cerundolo is having a moment…

After entering the French Open without a main-draw win at the event, the 24-year-old Argentine professional tennis player has secured his best Grand Slam result by reaching the fourth round in Paris.

Cerundolo, the No. 23 seed, defeated ninth seed Taylor Fritz 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday evening to continue his run, improving to 6-7 against Top 10 opponents with the victory.

Cerundolo was without a win in four Grand Slam main-draw appearances prior to 2023, but reached the third round at the Australian Open before his success at Roland Garros.

His Paris campaign will continue with a showdown against sixth seed Holger Rune on Monday.

Cerundolo, who has moved up three places from his current career-high to No. 20 this week in the ATP Live Rankings, frustrated Fritz with his big forehand to earn the victory on Court Suzanne-Lenglen after two hours and 50 minutes.

After surrendering an early break advantage in a dramatic fourth set, Cerundolo saved a set point on serve at 4-5 with a majestic topspin lob and ultimately won the final three games of the match behind his baseline brilliance.

The back-and-forth match saw a combined 10 breaks of serve, with Cerundolo converting on six of 21 break chances and Fritz claiming four of his 15 break points. Fritz, whose defeat means that five of the Top 10 seeds are out after three rounds at Roland Garros, fired nine aces to Cerundolo’s one. But the American was second-best in many of the neutral rallies as Cerundolo moved him from side to side with power and width.

Cerundolo, a quarterfinalist at the ATP Masters 1000s in Miami and Rome this season, was one of three Argentines in action on Saturday. While Rune breezed past Genaro Alberto Olivieri, Tomas Martin Etcheverry upset 15th seed Borna Coric 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-2 earlier in the day. With the victory, the 23-year-old Etcheverry — who reached his first two ATP Tour finals this season in Santiago and Houston — extended his best major run.

Etcheverry owned just one Grand Slam main-draw win prior to Roland Garros, his victory coming earlier this season at the Australian Open.

Next up for the unseeded Argentine is a fourth-round meeting with 27th seed Yoshihito Nishioka, a 3-6, 7-6(8), 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 winner against Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild on Saturday.

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