Kei Nishikori is relishing his time back in Buenos Aires for the first time in five years. Guided by his coach, Dante Bottini, the Shimane native has done one of the most compulsory experiences that a visitor has to do: having a nice ‘asado’, an Argentinian roast. “This country is great and there are so many things that you can do. Yesterday I had a great steak. It was really tasty,” the No. 1 seed said. “I am really excited to be back here. Dante has been helping me a lot, especially on clay courts, and for me it is very special to be here because he is from Argentina.” It was Bottini’s idea for the then 17th-ranked Nishikori to...
In a solid day for the home favourites on Monday, Federico Delbonis and Leonardo Mayer are through to the second round of the Argentina Open. Delbonis squared his FedEx Head2Head series at 1-1 with Frenchman Stephane Robert after a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 result in Buenos Aires, while wild card Mayer – in his first match of the season – prevailed against Portugal’s Gastao Elias 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Watch full match replays Delbonis, the World No. 48 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, won his first match of 2017 with the straight-sets result against the 36-year-old. He awaits the winner of either his countryman Horacio Zeballos or Portugal’s Joao Sousa. Former world No. 21 Mayer, whose 2016 season was disrupted by right...
Damir Dzumhur notched his first ATP World Tour match win of the season on Monday after he felled former Memphis Open finalist Kevin Anderson in the first round. The unseeded Bosnian had fallen three times in his opening match in 2017 but eked out a 6-7(6), 7-6(2), 6-4 victory over the South African. World No. 86 Dzumhur rallied from a set and 1-3 down in the second set to seal the two-hour, 38-minute result. He booked a second-round meeting with either seventh seed Steve Darcis or Radu Albot. Watch full replays “It's really a big win, especially after some tough results the last few weeks,” Dzumhur said. “I lost last week in three sets to [Andreas] Seppi. In Australia, I...
Former finalist Marin Cilic is targeting some confidence-boosting victories in Rotterdam. He's No. 1 seed at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament and hopes the added pressure boosts his performances. Watch live Rotterdam matches at TennisTV.com
Former ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament champion Tomas Berdych started his quest for a second Rotterdam title on Monday with a 7-6(3), 6-4 victory over Marius Copil. Berdych is making his 10th appearance at the tournament. The No. 4 seed improved to a 17-7 record in Rotterdam, where he won the title in 2014 (d. Cilic) and reached the final in 2015 (l. Wawrinka). Watch full match replays Berdych had won their previous two meetings in straight sets but qualifier Copil provided a stern test. However, the world No. 130 couldn’t find a way to break, with three chances dismissed by the Czech’s heavy serve. Berdych will take on Viktor Troicki or Open Sud de France finalist Richard Gasquet in...