Nikola Mektic and Alexander Peya won their second match of the day to capture the Grand Prix Hassan II title in Marrakech, defeating Frenchmen Benoit Paire and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-5, 3-6, 10/7 on Saturday. Mektic and Peya, who beat Divij Sharan and Jan-Lennard Struff earlier in the day in the semi-finals, won 72 per cent of points behind their first serves in the championship match to win their first title as a team in 86 minutes. It is Mektic’s third tour-level triumph, and the 16th time Peya has lifted a trophy. The Croatian-Austrian duo was appearing in its third final of 2018, after runner-up finishes in Rio de Janeiro and Sofia. "It was our third final together. We didn't want...
It will not take long for breathtaking tennis to be played at the Monte-Carlo Country Club, with plenty of jaw-dropping first-round matchups. The ATP World Tour's best are set to get things underway on Sunday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, the first clay-court ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event of the season. Tomas Berdych v Kei Nishikori Any time two players who have climbed to No. 4 in the ATP Rankings meet at a tournament, it’s must-see action. And when they clash in the first round of an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, you need to grab extra popcorn. Nishikori leads the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head series 4-1, but interestingly enough, the bigger-hitting Berdych earned his lone victory on...
A number of ATP World Tour stars, led by Novak Djokovic, turned out in force to support the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation on Saturday, in a charity exhibition with participants of James Corden’s ‘A League of Their Own’ show on Courier Rainier III ahead of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. Novak Djokovic, the 2013 and 2015 champion at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament, was the chair umpire as Marin Cilic, Grigor Dimitrov, Dominic Thiem, David Goffin, Lucas Pouille, Alexander Zverev and his older brother, Mischa Zverev, all took to the court against the celebrities from the UK television show. Former Liverpool and England footballer Jamie Redknapp and comedian Josh Widdicombe teamed up to win a tie-break 7/5...
ATP World Tour stars hoping to reach the Grand Prix Hassan II final started their double shift on Saturday in Marrekech after rain washed out Friday’s play. Two-time champion Pablo Andujar needed three sets to advance to the semi-finals, ending the surprise run of Russian qualifier Alexey Vatutin 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 on Saturday. The champion in 2011 (d. Starace) and 2012 (d. Ramos-Vinolas), reached his first ATP World Tour semi-final since Barcelona in 2015 (l. to Nishikori) after two hours and 47 minutes to improve his tournament record to 13-2. Vatutin was bidding to reach his first tour-level semi-final after securing his first two wins on tour to reach the quarter-finals. Andujar will face Portugal’s Joao Sousa later in the...
