Third seed Grigor Dimitrov delighted the home crowd on Thursday at the Garanti Koza Sofia Open, rallying from a set down to defeat former Top 15 player Jerzy Janowicz in the second round 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. “The crowd won the match today,” said Dimitrov. “I had tremendous support and everything was amazing. I haven’t played at home in a long time, so I’m pumped for each match here and hope I can repeat this tomorrow.” Janowicz only needed a lone break of serve to capture the opening set, but the Bulgarian gradually found his footing as the contest wore on. Little separated the two players in the final stages of the match, but Dimitrov grabbed the crucial break at 5-5...
Rafael Nadal fans must be counting down the days. With Nadal's left wrist looking healthy – see 2017 Australian Open – and the Spaniard back in fighting form, his legion of supporters surely cannot wait until the left-hander slides on red dirt again. The 30 year old has taken multiple tour-level titles on all surfaces since turning pro in 2001, but nowhere has his game been as dominant as it has been on clay. As the European clay-court season approaches, it's worth reminding ourselves of Nadal's most impressive numbers, found in the FedEx ATP Performance Zone. More: View Best Career Clay-Court Records In FedEx ATP Performance Zone Nadal has won almost 92 per cent of the matches he's played on...
Alex De Minaur would be “honoured” to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals but is fully focused on rising up the Emirates ATP Rankings with further success on the ATP Challenger Tour. The 17 year old has shot to prominence with eye-catching performances in his native Australia at the start of 2017. Already at World No. 248, De Minaur clinched another memorable victory at the $75,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Launceston, where he toppled top seed Go Soeda in the opening round. Edging towards the world's Top 200 and sitting well placed at No. 11 in the Emirates ATP Race to Milan, De Minaur is poised for an exciting 2017. “It would be a great honour (to qualify...
I am at a crossroads in my career, having fulfilled my original goals in tennis, while remaining short of the accomplishments of my idols … and I find myself learning to process versions of FOMO (fear of missing out) in two separate directions. Sometimes I wonder if, by focusing on my goal, am I letting the world pass me by? Or is achieving my goal, through sheer persistence and drive, worth the sacrifices I have to make? My biggest phobia at this point in my life is the possibility that someday I’ll look back and feel like I didn’t realise my full potential as a player. That I didn’t get to No. 1. That I didn’t win the multiple Slams....
Top-ranked Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci booked an all-South American quarter-final on Wednesday after he edged past Janko Tipsarevic at the Ecuador Open. The Brazilian fourth seed, a runner-up in Quito last season, saw off the Serbian wild card 7-6(8), 7-6(2) and will next face Argentine Renzo Olivo. Eighth-seeded Olivo ground out a 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3 second-round victory over Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo to book his second straight Quito quarter-final berth. Giraldo was bidding to reach his first ATP World Tour quarter-final since Los Cabos in August last year. In the final first-round clash, two-time defending champion Victor Estrella Burgos won his 11th straight match in the Ecuadorian capital with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 win over Slovakian Andrej Martin. The win secures a...