Two weeks ago, Hugo Dellien ended the drought for Bolivian tennis, claiming his nation's first ATP Challenger Tour title since 1983. But the 24-year-old was far from satisfied with lifting just one trophy, so he added a second. On Sunday, Dellien capped a dominant three-week stretch with a triumph on the clay of the St. Joseph's/Candler Savannah Challenger, overcoming Christian Harrison 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 in the final. After waiting nearly 35 years for a title, Bolivia now has two in three weeks, as Dellien added to his win in Sarasota with a hard-fought victory on the clay of Savannah. Entering Sarasota, Dellien was sitting at No. 231 in the ATP Rankings. Now, thanks to the pair of titles and a...
Before his maiden ATP World Tour title in Istanbul on Sunday, Japan's Taro Daniel hadn't reached a tour-level semi-final, let alone leave a tournament with the biggest trophy. But at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open, the 25-year-old won five matches in a row to claim the ATP World Tour 250-level tournament. In doing so, Daniel jumped 32 spots in the ATP Rankings to a career-high of No. 82. Earlier this year at the Miami Open, he spoke with Scoop Malinowski about his career highlights, the traveling life of a tennis player and which quality he admires most in people. [ALSO LIKE] First Tennis Memory: My parents used to be members of a tennis club in Japan. They had clay...
Taro Daniel arrived at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open having never advanced to an ATP World Tour semi-final. The Japanese right-hander was on the verge of falling short again, trailing 0-4 in the deciding set of his quarter-final. But after an impressive performance Sunday against fellow first-time tour-level finalist Malek Jaziri, Daniel raised his first ATP World Tour trophy. Daniel spoke to ATPWorldTour.com after the match about what the victory means to him, how he approached the moment and more. How does it feel to be holding your first ATP World Tour trophy? Obviously I’m very happy. But I’m very surprised, mostly. I lost in the first round of a Challenger two weeks ago, so winning an ATP World...
As dominant as Rafael Nadal has been during the European clay-court swing, he is not the only player in red-hot form at this week's Mutua Madrid Open. The Spaniard has some company among favourites to lift the trophy at the clay-court ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event. Despite making his first appearance on the dirt this year, Juan Martin del Potro poses a significant threat at the Caja Mágica. Just six weeks removed from capturing his maiden Masters 1000 crown at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Del Potro is eyeing even more success at the elite level. And having won 15 of his past 16 matches entering the week, the Argentine is undoubtedly one to watch in the...
There may be an air of inevitability coming into the Mutua Madrid Open, with Rafael Nadal once again on a clay court rampage in 2018. But third seed Grigor Dimitrov is seeing the gauntlet laid down by the Spaniard as a challenge he’s up for facing. Nadal comes into Madrid after his 11th tournament wins, respectively, in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona. He is on a 12-match winning streak in all competitions and is looking to retain his title in the Spanish capital. Dimitrov will be one of those tasked with stopping the Mallorcan, and is relishing the opportunity to keep working and get himself to a level on clay where he can try to bring down Nadal. “For me personally, [Rafa's...
