A LOOK BACK Verrazzano Open (Sophia Antipolis, France): Aljaz Bedene cruised to his second ATP Challenger Tour title of 2017 (Irving, U.S.A.) without dropping a set. The Brit needed just 69 minutes to dismiss top seed Benoit Paire 6-2, 6-2 in Sunday’s final. A rejuvenated Bedene, who is now 10-0 on the Challenger Tour in 2017 and improves to a staggering 13-2 in career Challenger finals, rises to World No. 76 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. World No. 1 Andy Murray helped present the trophy to his countryman Bedene. Murray has been training at the tournament venue, the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy, ahead of his return to the ATP World Tour at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters later this month. Great week...
Next Gen ATP American Ernesto Escobedo cracked the Top 100 in the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time this month, jumping well over 200 spots since April 2016. The 20-year-old California native talks about the best gift he ever received, the first professional tennis match he ever watched and when he knew he loved the sport. First moment I realised I loved tennis When I was about eight years old and started to play in tennis tournaments. I loved being on the court being myself or competing with someone else. I played basketball and soccer, but tennis was always in my heart. First tournament I played It was five minutes from my house in West Covina at a club...
BELGIUM 3, ITALY 2 Spiroudome de Charleroi, Charleroi, BEL (hard - indoor) World No. 14 David Goffin wasted no time in sending Belgium to the Davis Cup semi-finals, ousting Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 in just one hour and 52 minutes on Sunday. In front of the partisan Belgian crowd in Charleroi, Goffin sent the host nation back to the semis for the second time in three years, improving to 13-1 in his last 14 singles rubbers. The 2015 runners-up will welcome Australia in September. "When you see the score it was comfortable, but inside it was not," said Goffin. "You have to stay focused. Especially when you win the first two sets and you think it's the end, but...
AUSTRALIA 3, USA 2 Pat Rafter Arena, Brisbane, AUS (hard - outdoor) Nick Kyrgios guided Australia back into the Davis Cup semi-finals with a 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-4 victory over Sam Querrey on Sunday. The World No. 16 fired down 21 aces to secure an unassailable 3-1 lead for Lleyton Hewitt’s side at the Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane. The United States swapped Jack Sock for Querrey, a move that could have been prompted by the towering 29 year old’s win over Kyrgios en route to taking the Abierto Mexicano Telcel title in February. However, Kyrgios dictated play, fighting back from a 1-4 deficit in the third set to clinch the tie on home soil. [ALSO LIKE] “It's a lot of...