The first time Dominic Thiem played in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in 2014, he was a 20-year-old qualifier who lost in the first round of the main draw against the No. 162 player in the ATP Rankings. Just four years later, the Austrian is a star on the ATP World Tour and he showed it in his 7-6(3), 6-3 victory over Evgeny Donskoy on Monday. The top seed, who is now ranked No. 5, won a stunning 92 per cent of his first-serve points and overcame a strong performance by the Russian in the opening set to earn his first triumph of the new campaign. “It was a good victory because [of a] tough opponent… after a pretty long period...
Season openers have not been kind to ATP World Tour veteran Gilles Simon of late. But the fifth time was the charm for the No. 89 in the ATP Rankings on Monday. After losing his first match of the year four straight times, the Frenchman got off to a strong start in 2018 at India’s ATP World Tour 250 event, the Tata Open Maharashtra, defeating American Tennys Sandgren 6-4, 6-1. The former World No. 6 showed signs of good form to begin the new campaign, breaking Sandgren's serve five times to claim victory in 76 minutes. The 33-year-old will look to win two matches in a row for the first time since Bangkok in September 2017 when he faces defending...
Mischa Zverev made a winning start to 2018 with an 88-minute victory at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp on Monday. The eighth seed broke the serve of Australian qualifier John-Patrick Smith on five occasions to record a 6-4, 7-5 victory. Home spirits had been lifted earlier in the day after Matthew Ebden triumphed 6-3, 6-2 in his meeting with #NextGenATP contender Frances Tiafoe. The Australian produced a perfect record on his second serve return in the first set (100 percent) on his way to setting up an all-Australian second-round meeting against fourth seed Nick Kyrgios. Looking forward to that battle, Ebden spoke of his opponent’s greatest strength and how his own previous experiences may help on the day. “Nick...
It did not take long for the thrills to begin in the 2018 ATP World Tour season. Australian #NextGenATP contender Alex de Minaur put on a show for his home crowd on the final day of 2017, earning the best win of his young career by ranking, defeating World No. 44 Steve Johnson 7-6(7), 6-4 at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp on Sunday. The 18-year-old wild card saved five set points — two while serving at 5-6 and three more in the ensuing tie-break — in the opening set before riding the momentum to his third ATP World Tour victory. “It was the best way to finish off the year. I couldn't ask for more. I beat a high-quality opponent...
FRANCE 3, BELGIUM 2 Lille, France (Indoor Hard) If Lucas Pouille was nervous competing in a live Davis Cup fifth rubber for the first time, he certainly didn’t show it. Pouille clinched France’s 10th Davis Cup title with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-0 victory over Belgium’s Steve Darcis in Lille, France, giving his country a 3-2 win in the tie. "There are no words needed," Pouille said. "Just look at the atmosphere and the emotion... I'm just so proud of my team. We really wanted this trophy and finally we got it after 16 years. I'm very happy." The Frenchman entered the match having lost his past two Davis Cup matches, including a one-hour, 59-minute defeat at the hands of David...
