Second seed Gilles Muller started his campaign to retain the Sydney International title on Wednesday with a gritty 7-6(5), 6-4 victory over Australian wild card John Millman. Muller, who was broken in the third game, saved two set points on Millman’s serve at 4-5 and later grew in confidence at the scene of his first ATP World Tour crown 12 months ago. The 34-year-old Luxembourg native broke for a 3-2 lead in the second set, and although he could not convert one match point at 5-3, with Millman serving at 40/30, minutes later he completed the one-hour and 36-minute victory. “I was looking forward for a long time to come back,” said Muller, afterwards. “I was very happy when I...
Former World No. 17 Bernard Tomic advanced to the second round of qualifying for the Australian Open on Wednesday. Now ranked No. 142 in the ATP Rankings, the Australian knocked out France’s Vincent Millot 6-1, 6-3 in 48 minutes. Tomic, who needs to win two more matches in order to compete in the main draw for the 10th straight year, lost just eight points in the 15-minute first set. He’ll now play American Tommy Paul. Watch Live Streaming Of Qualifying From Melbourne Park Groth, who watched Tomic’s victory courtside, was not so fortunate. American Taylor Fritz beat the Australian, who will retire from professional tennis after the first Grand Slam championship of the year, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(3) for a second-round...
Juan Martin del Potro drew on his experience to overcome #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov on Wednesday for a place in the ASB Classic quarter-finals. The World No. 12 struck just six winners, and committed 11 unforced errors, in a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Shapovalov in 65 minutes. Shapovalov, who hit 20 winners and made 40 unforced errors, had previously beaten Del Potro in August 2017 en route to the Coupe Rogers semi-finals in Montreal. “I was surprised by the match today,” said Del Potro. “I didn’t expect to play at this level in the first match of the year. But I’ve been working hard to play this tennis and hopefully I can still improve in the next matches. “If he...
Italy's Paolo Lorenzi extended his FedEx ATP Head2Head advantage to 3-1 against Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain, knocking out the top seed 6-3, 7-5 on Wednesday at the Sydney International. Lorenzi had an immaculate day serving, capturing 90 per cent of his first-serve points and saving both break points. Ramos-Vinolas has been the top seed two times in his career, and he's lost in the first round both times. The Spaniard also fell in the first round of the German Tennis Championships 2017 to eventual champion Leonardo Mayer of Argentina. The 36-year-old Lorenzi will next face Russian qualifier Daniil Medvedev, who beat American Jared Donaldson 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 in two hours and six minutes. Medvedev also beat Donaldson in four shortened...
Is it David Ferrer's turn to roll back the years and enjoy a throwback season? The 35-year-old Spaniard looked as dominant as ever on Wednesday, needing only 66 minutes to prevail past 2017 finalist Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-2, 6-2 at the ASB Classic in Auckland. Ferrer, a four-time champion (2007, 2011, 2012, 2013), lost only eight service points (33/41, 80 per cent) and won almost 75 per cent of his second-serve return points against Portugal's No. 1. Ferrer enters the 2018 season just inside the Top 40, at No. 38. He won his 27th ATP World Tour title last year in Bastad, after finishing 2016 without a title. Ferrer captured five ATP World Tour crowns in 2015. [ALSO LIKE]...
