Italian Marco Cecchinato lost in the final round of qualifying in straight sets at the Gazprom Hungarian Open. Yet seven days later, the World No. 92 will leave Hungary as a first-time ATP World Tour champion. After gaining entry to the main draw in Budapest as a lucky loser, Cecchinato never looked back. And even though he had never reached a tour-level semi-final prior to this week, the Italian defeated Aussie John Millman, another first-time finalist, 7-5, 6-4 on Sunday to claim his maiden trophy. "I lost Sunday and now I won the tournament. It's amazing for me," Cecchinato said. "Maybe it's a dream, I don't know." Cecchinato is the first lucky loser to triumph since Leonardo Mayer won in...
Can anyone stop Rafael Nadal? Another week, another clay-court crown for the World No. 1. Nadal stormed to a staggering 11th title at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Sunday, dismissing Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-1. Not even an early rain shower could stop the scintillating Spaniard, who extended his win streak on clay to 19 straight and sets-won streak on the surface to 46 in a row. It marks the second straight week in which he has completed an 'undécima', hoisting an 11th trophy at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters before replicating the feat at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona. "I'm very happy for the victory against a very difficult opponent," said Nadal. "Tsitsipas has an amazing future. It was...
Watch as Rafael Nadal secures a double-break lead in the first set of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell final, striking a stunning over-the-shoulder Hot Shot. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com.
Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez won their third team title on Sunday, defeating Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer 7-6(5), 6-4 at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. The 2016 Roland Garros champions won 88 per cent of points behind their first serves (35/40) in the one-hour, 52-minute encounter to win their first tour-level title together since their success in Paris two years ago. It is Feliciano Lopez’s fourth doubles crown, while Marc Lopez has now lifted 14 titles. Both men had previously advanced to the Barcelona final, with Feliciano Lopez doing so in 2005 alongside Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez reaching the final with Marcel Granollers in 2012. Qureshi was bidding to retain his Barcelona trophy, having won the title in 2017 with Florin Mergea. Rojer was aiming to...
