Tag Archives: Brandon Nakashima

Tomas Martin Etcheverry Defeats Cameron Norrie to Reach Barcelona Open Semifinals

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Tomas Martin Etcheverry is one step closer to a Spanish title…

The 24-year-old Argentine professional tennis player defeated Cameron Norrie to advance to the Barcelona Open semifinals.

Etcheverry, ranked No. 30 in the workd, stormed through two tiebreakers to win 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-1).

Norrie and Etcheverry went head-to-head for only the second time in their careers during Friday’s match.

Their only previous encounter came last February in Buenos Aires, where Norrie prevailed 5-7, 6-0, 6-3–also in the quarterfinals.

But Etcheverry has made significant improvements in his game over the past 14 months. Along with being up to No. 30 in the world, he made a run to the French Open quarterfinals last spring.

Proir to knocking out Norrie, Etcheverry ousted Nick Hardt and Brandon Nakashima.

Norwegian third seed Casper Ruud, who claimed a straightforward 6-4 6-3 win over Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi, awaits Etcheverry.

Marcos Giron Defeats Adrian Mannarino to Reach Dallas Open Final

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Marcos Giron is one win away from his first ATP Tour title…

The 30-year-old Colombian American tennis player, unseeded in the tournament, beat No. 4 seed Adrian Mannarino of France, 6-1, 6-3, in the semifinals at the Dallas Open.

Marcos GironGiron took a 4-0 lead in the first set a day after going up 5-0 in a straight-set win over Tiafoe, who was the highest-ranked player in the tournament at No. 14.

The first break of the second set came when Giron made a lunging save with a forehand, then ran down Mannarino’s volley for a backhand crosscourt passing shot and a 5-3 lead.

Giron, who hasn’t lost a service game in four matches in the tournament, had little trouble closing out the match on his serve.

With three victories over seeded opponents, Giron has a chance to surpass his career-best ranking of 49th from 2022.

Giron reached the semifinals in Dallas two years ago, losing a three-setter to Jenson Brooksby while having match points. The final two sets went to tiebreakers.

 

“That stuck with me, and that’s hard,” Giron said. “I have experience. I know what it’s like to lose. I know what it’s like to win. Having a big win yesterday was awesome, and I’m really, really happy to be able to come back today.”

Giron, who beat top-seeded American Frances Tiafoe in the quarterfinals, is making his second trip to a final. He previously appeared in the finals of the 2022 San Diego Open, where he lost to Brandon Nakashima.

He’ll face second-seeded Tommy Paul in Sunday’s final.

Carlos Alcaraz Advances to Final at This Year’s Next Gen ATP Finals

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Carlos Alcaraz is one win away from proving he’s nex-gen ready…

The 18-year-old Spanish tennis player defeated Argentina’s Sebastian Baez on Friday to reach the final round at the Next Gen ATP Finals.

Carlos Alcaraz Alcaraz dominated from the start in semifinal to win 4-2, 4-1, 4-2 in just 62 minutes.

The only time Alcaraz appeared to struggle was in the penultimate game of the match, when he faced three break points. But he responded with three serves of speeds over 133 mph – including two aces.

He’ll next face American Sebatian Korda, who beat compatriot Brandon Nakashima in five sets on Friday to become the first American to reach the final at the Next Gen ATP Finals.

Both Korda and Alcaraz won all three of their matches in the round-robin group stage.

It is the fourth edition of the tournament in Milan for the top 21-and-under players on the ATP Tour. It was canceled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The ATP Finals will also be in Italy, in Turin next week.

There are different rules at the Next Gen tournament, including on-court coaching, no-Ad scoring, medical timeout limits, and Hawk-Eye making all the line calls.

The most drastic change is the shorter first-to-four set, with a tiebreaker at 3-3.

Carlos Alcaraz Makes History While Reaching the Semifinals at the Next Gen ATP Finals

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Carlos Alcaraz is two wins away…

The 18-year-old Spanish tennis player will head into the semifinals at the Next Gen ATP Finals in fine form after he captured his third consecutive round-robin win Thursday to top Group A with a 3-0 record.

Carlos Alcaraz

Alcaraz, who secured his qualification for the last four on Wednesday when he downed Brandon Nakashima, overcame Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo 4-0, 4-1, 2-4, 4-3(3) after 84 minutes in Milan.

In their first head to head meeting, Alcaraz overpowered the World No. 91 from the baseline with his deep, heavy-hitting and saved nine of the 10 break points he faced to secure victory. With his triumph, Alcaraz is the youngest player to earn 30 tour-level wins in a season since Rafael Nadal, 18, went 30-17 in 2004.

“I am very happy to get to the semi-finals,” Alcaraz said in his on-court interview. “It is so important and to be able to play in the semi-finals here is amazing. To play these kinds of matches and this level, I am really glad. I am playing really, really well and feel very comfortable in Milan. I want to end the year with a title.”

Under the watchful eye of coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, Alcaraz has dropped just one set at the 21-and-under event as he continues to live up to his top seed status in Italy. The former World No. 1 has been instructing his protégé to great effect courtside throughout the event, with on-court coaching allowed at the Next Gen ATP Finals.

“I had to be really focused on my serve, make first serves and play aggressive on big points,” Alcaraz added. “Making first serves helped me. It is something I am trying to add to my game. The most important points is when you want the first serves.”

Earlier this year, Alcaraz lifted his maiden tour-level trophy in Umag and made headlines when he upset World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the quarterfinals at the US Open.

Cordoba champion Cerundolo was already out of the tournament before his match against Alcaraz after losing his first two round-robin matches. But the World No. 91 demonstrated what he was capable off by taking a set off the Spaniard at the Allianz Cloud.

Carlos Alcaraz Wins Opening Match at Next Gen Finals

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Carlos Alcaraz is still the man to beat…

The 18-year-old Spanish tennis phenom, the tournament favorite, took just 75 minutes to beat Holger Rune of Denmark 4-3 (6) 4-2 4-0, seeing out the group match with a crosscourt volley to take the final game and set to love at the Next Gen Finals on Tuesday.

Carlos AlcarazAlcaraz has moved more than 100 places up the rankings this season to No. 32 and reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals.

Earlier, Brandon Nakashima  took less than 90 minutes to beat Francisco Cerúndolo of Argentina 4-1 3-4 (3) 4-1 4-0.

All four players are in Group A of the eight-man tournament, which has a round-robin format. The top two in both groups qualify for Friday’s semifinals. The final is on Saturday.

In Group B, Sebastian Korda of the U.S. plays Hugo Gaston of France in the first match of the evening session, followed by home favorite Lorenzo Musetti against Sebastian Baez of Argentina.

It is the fourth edition of the tournament in Milan for the top 21-and-under players on the ATP Tour. The tournament was cancelled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The ATP Finals will also be in Italy, in Turin next week.

There are different rules at the Next Gen Finals, including on-court coaching, no-Ad scoring, medical timeout limits, and Hawk-Eye making all the line calls.

The most drastic change is the shorter set, where the first to four games takes the set, with a tiebreak at 3-3.

This year there are also shorter warm-ups, ensuring matches begin just one minute after the players enter the court, while bathroom breaks are timed to three minutes.