With the Top 32 seeds having a bye, the focus is on a host of tantalising first-round showdowns at the BNP Paribas Open. Frances Tiafoe v Ernesto Escobedo Fresh from his maiden ATP World Tour title at the Delray Beach Open, #NextGenATP American Frances Tiafoe will carry an abundance of confidence into his first FedExATP Head2Head meeting with 21-year-old countryman Ernesto Escobedo. The pair has clashed twice before at ATP Challenger Tour level, with Escobedo winning both in a third-set tie-break. However, both matches were in 2016 and Tiafoe has since surged up the ATP Rankings to No. 64, with Escobedo currently at No. 117. The 20-year-old Tiafoe defeated #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov, Next Gen ATP Finals champion Hyeon Chung and...
In less than two weeks, the BNP Paribas Open could have an outright all-time greatest champion. But which five-time champion will perform better this fortnight: Roger Federer (2004-06, 2012, 2017) or Novak Djokovic (2008, 2011, 2014-16)? This could well be determined on the final Sunday of the season's first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament. Federer and Djokovic have been drawn in opposite halves of the 96-player tournament, which begins on Thursday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California, U.S.A. View Draw But neither all-time great will have an easy path in the desert, including Federer, despite his perfect start. The World No. 1 is 12-0 on the season, having won both tournaments he's contested – the Australian Open,...
Top seed Rafael Nadal is back at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC on a mission to remain within striking distance of reclaiming No. 1 in the ATP Rankings from Roger Federer. But an all-too-familiar foe, compatriot Feliciano Lopez, presents a dangerous first obstacle for last year’s runner-up on Tuesday. In the opening-round battle between the two left-handed Spaniards, 36-year-old Lopez will bid to record his third straight FedEx ATP Head2Head victory over his more decorated opponent. While Nadal leads the pair’s ledger 9-4, it is Lopez who landed wins in their past two hard-court encounters in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events – the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati (2015) and the Rolex Shanghai Masters (2014). [ALSO...
Top seed Rafael Nadal is back at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC on a mission to remain within striking distance of reclaiming No. 1 in the ATP Rankings from Roger Federer. But an all-too-familiar foe, compatriot Feliciano Lopez, presents a dangerous first obstacle for last year’s runner-up on Tuesday. In the opening-round battle between the two left-handed Spaniards, 36-year-old Lopez will bid to record his third straight FedEx ATP Head2Head victory over his more decorated opponent. While Nadal leads the pair’s ledger 9-4, it is Lopez who landed their past two hard-court encounters in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events – the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati (2015) and the Rolex Shanghai Masters (2014). [ALSO LIKE] Given...
Nitto ATP Finals champion and World No. 4 Grigor Dimitrov leads the field at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in a draw that is guaranteed to produce just the second first-time winner of the event since 2009. The prestigious Middle Eastern tournament, which has been voted Best ATP World Tour 500 event 11 times in its history, boasts a diverse and competitive field of players looking to add their name to the list of champions. Dimitrov opens against Tunisian veteran and wild card Malek Jaziri. One-handed backhands are out in full force in Dimitrov’s quarter of the draw, which features fellow single-handed players Philipp Kohlschreiber and #NextGenATP Stefanos Tsitsipas. Rounding out the top half of the draw are 2018...
