For Dominic Thiem, Sunday's Mutua Madrid Open final against Alexander Zverev will be a chance to become a fully-fledged member of the game's current elite. Thiem, the No. 7 player in the ATP Rankings, has been in the Top 10 since June 2016, after reaching his maiden Grand Slam semi-final at Roland Garros (l. to Djokovic), and he has twice qualified for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals in London (2016, 2017). But Thiem has never won an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event. “A Masters 1000 title would mean a lot to me because it's obviously really tough to win one,” Thiem said. View FedEx ATP Head2Head for the championship match at the 2018 Mutua Madrid Open & vote for...
For the second straight week, a final in Portugal will feature a #NextGenATP star against a home hope named Sousa. Last week, it was Joao Sousa prevailing over Frances Tiafoe at the ATP World Tour stop in Estoril. And on Sunday, Lisbon native Pedro Sousa will battle Casper Ruud at the inaugural Braga Open. A first ATP Challenger Tour title of the year will be on the line, as Ruud and Sousa meet for the €43,000 clay-court crown. Ruud is bidding to become the first teenage winner on the Challenger circuit this year and lift the second trophy of his young career. He survived a tricky half of the draw without dropping a set, ousting fellow #NextGenATP Alex de Minaur...
The trio of clay-court ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments wraps up this week at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. One year ago, Alexander Zverev became the first player born in the 1990s to capture a Masters 1000 trophy. There will be plenty of competition attempting to prevent him from retaining that title. Eighteen of the Top 20 players in the ATP Rankings are competing, with Rafael Nadal, who is seeking a record eighth title in Rome, leading the way. View Draw 1) Rafa’s Record: Although he will fall to No. 2 in the ATP Rankings on Monday, Nadal can climb back to the top spot to start a sixth stint as World No. 1 on 21 May if...
