Is #NextGenATP's Jaume Munar the most likely man to lead Spanish tennis into the 2020s and become the nation's greatest hope when Rafael Nadal eventually steps aside (hopefully many years from now)? Maybe. One thing we do know: Munar will try to channel his best Rafa impersonation against Nadal's great rival, Novak Djokovic, Wednesday at Roland Garros as second-round action begins. Munar earned his first Grand Slam victory on Monday, coming back from two sets down to beat Spanish tennis icon David Ferrer. The 21-year-old Barcelona resident called it “the most important victory” of his career. Next for Munar: 2016 champion Djokovic. Welcome to the big league, Jaume. [ALSO LIKE] Djokovic has looked much more like his old self during...
Robert Farah clinched his 200th tour-level doubles victory on Tuesday, defeating Max Mirnyi and Philipp Oswald 7-6(3), 7-6(4) alongside partner Juan Sebastian Cabal at Roland Garros. The fifth seeds advanced to the second round after one hour and 52 minutes, winning 76 per cent of second-serve points. Farah, who turned professional in 2010, recently won his 11th tour-level title with Cabal at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, beating Pablo Carreno Busta and Joao Sousa in the championship match. The Colombian Power await Argentina's Guido Pella and Diego Schwartzman or Antoine Hoang and Ugo Humbert in the second round. Great Britain's Ken Skupski and Neal Skupski took just 67 minutes to produce a big upset on Court 15, defeating Americans Mike Bryan...
For a half hour on Tuesday at Roland Garros, 36-year-old Nicolas Mahut turned back time. The French wild card was dominating fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro, drop shotting the 6'6” Argentine and serving and volleying as if he was on the The Queen's Club grass. Twenty-five minutes into their first-round match, Mahut led 6-1 and had the French crowd on Court Suzanne-Lenglen eager for more. But the party soon ended. Del Potro, perhaps nervous about testing his injured groin, eventually settled his game and started to solve Mahut's serve-and-volley style. The Argentine sprinted through the second set in 31 minutes, and repeated the act two more times to advance 1-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. “I know he starts very slow,...
Carlos Moya, coach of world No. 1 Rafael Nadal, will be breaking down Rafa's performances for ATPWorldTour.com. Nadal hopes to lift the trophy for the 11th time. On Tuesday, the defending champion defeated Simone Bolelli 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(9) to advance to the second round, where he'll face Guido Pella for a place in the Round of 32. Moya lists five key takeaways from Nadal’s opening-round match. A Victory -- With Its Ups And Downs Today's match wasn't the prettiest, but he still managed to win. Getting through the early rounds at a Grand Slam is an ordeal. Yes, he came through in three sets, but the match was a lot tougher than the score suggests [Nadal trailed 6/3 in the...
So let's begin here: At the start of the year, my goals for 2018 were to have a breakout season, and to reach the main draw at Roland Garros for the third consecutive time. I wanted to blossom on the court and break into the Top 100 of the ATP rankings. The actual quest to this year's Roland Garros main draw has been a long and winding one and my dream of getting here actually began back in May, when I won the title in Barletta, Italy -- my first ATP Challenger Tour title (d. Simone Bolelli 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-4). Winning at Barletta only reinforced my belief that I have what it takes to keep my early year goal of...