Nikola Mektic and Alexander Peya won their second match of the day to capture the Grand Prix Hassan II title in Marrakech, defeating Frenchmen Benoit Paire and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-5, 3-6, 10/7 on Saturday. Mektic and Peya, who beat Divij Sharan and Jan-Lennard Struff earlier in the day in the semi-finals, won 72 per cent of points behind their first serves in the championship match to win their first title as a team in 86 minutes. It is Mektic’s third tour-level triumph, and the 16th time Peya has lifted a trophy. The Croatian-Austrian duo was appearing in its third final of 2018, after runner-up finishes in Rio de Janeiro and Sofia. "It was our third final together. We didn't want...
ATP World Tour stars hoping to reach the Grand Prix Hassan II final started their double shift on Saturday in Marrekech after rain washed out Friday’s play. Two-time champion Pablo Andujar needed three sets to advance to the semi-finals, ending the surprise run of Russian qualifier Alexey Vatutin 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 on Saturday. The champion in 2011 (d. Starace) and 2012 (d. Ramos-Vinolas), reached his first ATP World Tour semi-final since Barcelona in 2015 (l. to Nishikori) after two hours and 47 minutes to improve his tournament record to 13-2. Vatutin was bidding to reach his first tour-level semi-final after securing his first two wins on tour to reach the quarter-finals. Andujar will face Portugal’s Joao Sousa later in the...
It is set to be an action packed Saturday in Marrakech, after rain forced organisers at the Grand Prix Hassan II to cancel all matches on Friday. All four singles quarter-final matches and both doubles semi-finals will now be played on Saturday, with winners returning later in the day to compete in the last four of the singles and the doubles championship match. The quarter-final draw is headlined by Kyle Edmund, who will meet Tunisia's Malek Jaziri on Court Central at 11am. Edmund reached his third quarter-final of 2018 in Marrakech on Thursday, after a 6-2, 6-4 win over Radu Albot. The Australian Open semi-finalist needed just 74 minutes to secure his ninth win of the season, winning 83 per...
Gilles Simon emerged victorious in a battle of 2018 ATP World Tour titlists at the Grand Prix Hassan II on Wednesday. The Tata Open Maharashtra champion overcame surprise Ecuador Open winner Roberto Carballes Baena 7-5, 6-1 in one hour and 49 minutes to book his place in the quarter-finals. The French veteran won 66 per cent of points behind his first serve and will next meet 2014 champion Guillermo Garcia-Lopez or fourth seed Richard Gasquet. Morocco’s Lamine Ouahab produced a huge shock to open the day on Court Central, coming from a set down to defeat World No. 34 Philipp Kohlschreiber 2-6, 6-0, 7-6(3). Ouahab, competing in his first main draw match on the ATP World Tour in two years,...
Top seed and 2012 finalist Albert Ramos-Vinolas lost just two of his first-service points (20/22) to beat Moroccan wild card Amine Ahouda 6-1, 6-2 in 68 minutes on Tuesday at the Grand Prix Hassan II. Ramos-Vinolas, who has a 1-5 record in ATP World Tour finals, is 112-95 lifetime in clay-court matches according to the FedEx ATP Reliability Index (166-186 overall). "I'm happy with my match today," said Ramos-Vinolas. "I haven't a played a tournament for a month and it feels great to be back. I'm looking forward to the clay court swing and playing a lot of tournaments." He will next play Russian qualifier Alexey Vatutin, who recorded his first tour-level match win in beating Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany...
