In the South American nation of Uruguay, sports are an integral part of its vibrant culture. Its stars are a closely knit group and that fraternity was on display on Saturday at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Montevideo. Diego Forlan, a former legend of Uruguayan football and one of the greatest players in the world, attended the draw ceremony at the $75,000 clay court event. Alongside countryman and top seed Pablo Cuevas and former champion Guido Pella, Forlan helped make the singles draw for the 13th edition of the tournament. “It´s a great chance to help this tournament, which is held in my home club, the Carrasco Lawn Tennis Club," said Forlan, an avid tennis fan. "I actually started...
A LOOK BACK Aspria Tennis Cup (Milan, Italy): In November, all eyes will be on the Italian metropolis of Milan for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals. But before the #NextGenATP contingent take over the city, the stars of the ATP Challenger Tour descended on the clay courts of the Aspria Harbour Club Milano. Guido Pella completed his return to the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, notching his 11th Challenger crown on Sunday. Pella prevailed when countryman Federico Delbonis retired down 6-2, 2-1 with a strained gluteus muscle. The Argentine is in the midst of a dominant stretch, which kicked off with a run to the final at the BMW Open by FWU in Munich as a qualiifer....
On a Friday filled with upsets at the Miami Open presented by Itau, Guido Pella provided another stunning second-round casualty by defeating ninth seed Grigor Dimitrov under the lights 6-3, 7-6(4). The Bulgarian struggled to find his timing on Stadium Court, hitting 38 unforced errors to 18 winners. Meanwhile, the World No. 158 in the Emirates ATP Rankings appeared inspired by the occasion and rose to the challenge with several flashy winners from the baseline. He also remained calm in saving a set point on his serve down 4-5 in the second set and again at 5-6. Nerves got the better of Pella with a double fault on his first match point up 6/3 in the second-set tie-break, but a...
CROATIA 2, ARGENTINA 3 Arena Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia Davis Cup Final Argentina completed an improbable comeback to claim its first Davis Cup title, storming back from the brink of elimination to defeat Croatia on Sunday. The South American nation was one set from defeat in the fourth rubber, with Marin Cilic leading Juan Martin del Potro two sets to love, and they would mount a historic rally to lift the trophy. Del Potro turned in his first career two-set comeback 6-7(4), 2-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-3, followed by a clutch 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win for Federico Delbonis over Ivo Karlovic. Argentina is the eighth nation to rally from 1-2 down and first since Serbia completed the comeback in 2010. Having captured...
