A LOOK BACK Morelos Open (Morelos, Mexico): Third seed and #NextGenATP star Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan won his first ATP Challenger Tour title with a 7-6(5), 6-4 win over Nicolas Jarry of Chile. At 19 years and eight months, he is the youngest Challenger winner so far this year. Bublik is the third #NextGenATP winner in 2017, joining Korean Hyeon Chung (Maui) and American Noah Rubin (Launceston). He has jumped nearly 70 spots since the start of the season to a career-high No. 137 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Jarry was also seeking his first Challenger title, reaching his first Challenger final since Quito in September 2014. His run in Morelos pushes him back inside the Top 250 and he’s...
Strong Fields in Acapulco, Dubai & Sao Paulo: The busiest month of the season comes to a close this week with ATP World Tour 500-level tournaments in Acapulco and Dubai and the final Latin American clay-court stop in Sao Paulo. Eight of the Top 10 players in the Emirates ATP Rankings are in action, including five in Acapulco, led by No. 2 Novak Djokovic, and No. 6 Rafael Nadal. In Dubai, top-ranked Andy Murray, No. 3 Stan Wawrinka and No. 10 Roger Federer lead the way. In Sao Paulo, the top three are Spaniards Pablo Carreno Busta and Albert Ramos-Vinolas and two-time reigning champion Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay. Emirates ATP Race to Milan Leaders: There are six #NextGenATP players among the Top 20...
Four members of the Top 10 in the Emirates ATP Rankings are appearing at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, in what is shaping to be a thrilling week in Acapulco. It is a historic field for the ATP World Tour 500 event, with Top 10 stalwarts Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Marin Cilic and Dominic Thiem leading the pack, alongside the likes of Juan Martin del Potro, David Goffin and Nick Kyrgios. If Djokovic and Nadal cross paths in Saturday's championship, it would be an unprecedented 50th FedEx ATP Head2Head encounter between the two stars, their first since the Internazionali BNL d'Italia quarter-finals last year. The Spaniard leads a talented bottom half of the draw that also features third seed Cilic, Delray...
Dominic Thiem has found a home on the Latin American Golden Swing, surging to the title at the Rio Open presented by Claro on Sunday. Thiem fought past Pablo Carreno Busta 7-5, 6-4 in one hour and 34 minutes to lift the trophy at the Jockey Club Brasileiro. With Brazilian legend Gustavo Kuerten in attendance, the World No. 8 claimed his eighth ATP World Tour crown, second at the 500 level and third on the Golden Swing, having previously triumphed in Buenos Aires and Acapulco in 2016. He fired 25 winners, including 14 on his forehand wing and seven aces to prevail over Carreno Busta. Thiem also converted four of eight break chances in extending his FedEx ATP Head2Head edge...
Second seeds Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram picked up their first ATP World Tour doubles title of 2017 on Sunday at the Delray Beach Open, prevailing in a tight 7-5, 7-5 final over third seeds Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi. “It seems like I’m just the sideshow here in Delray Beach. I just have to make sure I’m not the reason we’re losing matches!” joked Klaasen. “I think Rajeev and I have done some good things to improve our games and this week was another progression for us as a team. The crowd has been great all week. People really enjoy their doubles here and that makes it fun for us." The South African-American pair earned their fourth ATP World...
