It is fair to say that many matches on the ATP World Tour are like wild rides with many momentum shifts and plenty of ups and downs. But before the action got started this week at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech, some of the tournament’s stars got to enjoy a new kind of wild ride. Radu Albot, Pablo Andujar, Kyle Edmund, Robin Haase, Matwe Middelkoop and Gilles Simon ventured just outside of the city Sunday afternoon into the Palmeraie district, where they rode quad bikes. “It’s nice to go out of the city and drive around the Palmeraie. It was good fun,” said Edmund, the second seed in Morocco. “When I go to South Africa we do similar...
A decade ago, Gilles Simon won the title in Casablanca to begin the best year of his career, eventually finishing the season at No. 7 in the ATP Rankings and advancing to the semi-finals of the Nitto ATP Finals, where he beat Roger Federer in round-robin play. Now, the Casablanca tournament is in Marrakech. And Simon got off to a good start there on Monday, saving a match point before upsetting French compatriot Benoit Paire, the sixth seed, 6-2, 6-7(1), 7-6(5) at the Grand Prix Hassan II. The 33-year-old, who won the Tata Open Maharashtra to open the season, saved match point while serving at 4-5 in the decider and then overcame a 5/1 deficit in the final-set tie-break to...
The ATP World Tour’s only clay-court event in North America and the Tour's lone event in Africa take place this week at Houston and Marrakech, respectively. Twelve clay-court tournaments will be held over the next seven weeks leading into Roland Garros, with thousands of ATP Rankings points at stake. In Houston at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship, top seed John Isner will attempt to back up his terrific performance to win the second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event of the year in Miami, while 2017 Monte-Carlo finalist and top seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas will look to start his clay-court stretch off on a high note, leading the field at the Grand Prix Hassan II in...
If the ending of last year’s Grand Prix Hassan II is any sign of what is to come this week in Marrakech, fans will be in for an absolute treat. Philipp Kohlschreiber, who held five championship points against Borna Coric in last year's epic final at the tournament, will get another chance to claim glory in Morocco. The third-seeded German will begin his title assault against local wild card Lamine Ouahab. Top seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas pursues his second ATP World Tour title on his beloved red clay. According to the FedEx ATP Performance Zone, the left-handed Spaniard ranks fifth on the Tour in the past 52 weeks with 19 victories on the surface. The 30-year-old advanced to the final at...
