Fernando Verdasco once deemed it the best match he had played. Five hours and 14 minutes of no-holds-barred shot-making - two Spaniards trading blows under lights on a heaving Rod Laver Arena, a shootout he would ultimately fall short in against his more decorated countryman, Rafael Nadal, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-7(1), 6-4. On Tuesday, the pair will resume their rivalry in the round of 32 at the BNP Paribas Open. The fifth-seeded Nadal has lost three of his past five matches against the No. 29 seed but still leads their overall FedEx ATP Head2Head series 15-3. The five-hour-plus marathon match between the two southpaws came in the semi-finals of the Australian Open eight years ago and at the time was...
At first glance it is a rivalry that reads heavily in Novak Djokovic’s favour, but a closer inspection of the Serbian’s encounters with Juan Martin del Potro reveals a very different state of affairs. For nearly a decade the two have waged a string of epic battles and after their respective second-round triumphs at the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday, they will lock horns for a 17th time this week. Djokovic leads the FedEx ATP Head2Head series 12-4, but five of their past six matches have gone the distance. The only match in those six that hasn’t was del Potro’s narrow 7-6(4), 7-6(2) shock win in the first round of last year’s Rio Olympic Games. It was a victory the...
• Third round action in the top half of the draw at the BNP Paribas Open on Monday is headlined by No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka, No. 8 Dominic Thiem, No. 10 Gael Monfils and No. 11 David Goffin. They are the highest seeds of the 12 remaining in the top half of the draw. • In the first men’s match on Stadium 1, No. 29 seed Mischa Zverev looks for his second win against Thiem. Zverev won the previous meeting on grass 76 62 in the 1R of Stuttgart in June 2015. The 29-year-old German is trying to earn his seventh career Top 10 win (6-13) and second this season. He beat No. 1 Andy Murray in the 4R...
When the BNP Paribas Open draw was released on Wednesday, jaws plummeted to the floor at the sight of the star power in the bottom quarter. Novak Djokovic could set a rematch against Juan Martin del Potro in the third round and Roger Federer has longtime rival Rafael Nadal in his sights in the fourth round. But perhaps the most intriguing match-up is the under-the-radar clash between Nick Kyrgios and Alexander Zverev, set for Tuesday in Indian Wells. Youth will be served when the two youngest players in the Top 20 of the Emirates ATP Rankings lock horns for the first time at the professional level. Kyrgios took their lone encounter in the juniors 6-3, 6-1 on the grass of...
Three of the biggest superstars on the ATP World Tour are on Sunday’s schedule at the BNP Paribas Open with No. 2 seed/five-time champion Novak Djokovic, three-time winner/No. 5 seed Rafael Nadal and four-time title holder/No. 9 seed Roger Federer. They have won 12 of the last 13 BNP Paribas Open titles. But this year the trio are in the bottom quarter of the draw and only one of the former champions could reach the semi-finals. The trio have combined to win 82 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles and 44 Grand Slam championships while finishing No. 1 in 12 of the last 13 years (except 2016). Overall, they have combined to capture 225 singles titles. In the first match...
