The 2018 ATP World Tour season continues with a pair of 250-level tournaments in Auckland and Sydney. Defending champion Jack Sock returns as the top seed at the ASB Classic and Albert Ramos-Vinolas leads the pack at the Apia International, where Gilles Muller is the reigning champ. View Draws: Auckland | Sydney 10 THINGS TO WATCH IN AUCKLAND (1) Sock Leads Strong Field: No. 1 American Jack Sock is the top seed and one of five players in Auckland who are in the Top 20 of the ATP Rankings. The other seeds receiving byes are No. 2 Juan Martin del Potro, No. 3 Sam Querrey and No. 4 John Isner. There are six former champions in the field from the...
With the Sydney International set to get underway this week in the coastal capital of New South Wales, some of the world’s top players took the time to witness some of the city’s famous sights. World No. 26 Diego Schwartzman, who is making his first appearance in Sydney this week, joined 2017 Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open finalist Mischa Zverev on a boat in the prolific Sydney Harbour. The ATP World Tour stars enjoyed some fine dining and a game of mini-tennis next to the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge on a brilliant sunny day in southern Australia. “It’s amazing for me. It’s my first time here in Sydney – I am enjoying it a lot,” said...
Gilles Simon entered the Tata Open Maharashtra doubles final looking to complete the tournament sweep after winning his first ATP World Tour singles title since 2015 earlier Saturday. A victory with Pierre-Hugues Herbert would have made Simon the first player to win both events at India’s ATP World Tour 250 tournament since Xavier Malisse in 2007. But Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop spoiled the French party, winning their first title as a team in a back-and-forth thriller, 7-6(5), 7-6(5). “To play the final there with three unbelievable athletes, it’s an honour to play there,” Middelkoop said. “I will never forget this for the rest of my life. This is my fifth title and I will come back here next year...
Despite losing in the semi-finals of the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp to a red-hot Nick Kyrgios, Grigor Dimitrov can hold his head high knowing he’s started 2018 with the same momentum that he finished a career year in 2017. Last season’s Nitto ATP Finals titlist and defending Brisbane champion gritted through two tough three-set matches before falling to Nick Kyrgios in a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 decision. Saving match points in his season-opening clash with John Millman, Dimitrov navigated Kyle Edmund in the quarter-finals in yet another two-and-a-half hour thriller. Against Kyrgios, however, the Bulgarian was unable to come up with the answer to his opponent’s cannonball serve and unpredictable patterns of play. “I'm glad at least I could play...
If 2017 was a struggle, Gael Monfils is back in business in the new year. The Frenchman rode a dominant serving display and dogged defence in claiming the title at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Saturday. Monfils raced to his seventh ATP World Tour crown, downing #NextGenATP Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-3 in 61 minutes. Appearing in his fourth final in Doha, Monfils finally broke through for his first tournament title. Runner-up in 2006 (l. t Federer), 2012 (l. to Tsonga) and 2014 (l. to Nadal), it was fourth time lucky for the Frenchman. He fired a total of 29 winners while striking only 10 unforced errors. One year after making his debut appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals, Monfils saw...
