Before the US Open, Juan Martin del Potro was 47th in the Emirates ATP Race To London. The only place it appeared the Argentine would get to see the Nitto ATP Finals action would be from home. But after defeating defending champion Marin Cilic, 6-4, 6-4, in one hour, 37 minutes in the semi-finals of the Swiss Indoors Basel, del Potro moved to within one match of putting himself in the final qualifying spot for the year-end finale with just one tournament remaining, at the Rolex Paris Masters next week. "I played a good match, but always to beat Cilic you must play at a high level," del Potro said. "I'm happy that I did well and reached another final...
Roger Federer proved in his 15th quarter-final at the Swiss Indoors Basel, his hometown tournament, that he still has plenty of magic left. The top seed rode the momentum of a tremendous backhand half-volley winner from the baseline down break point in the third set to oust Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, in one hour, 43 minutes. Federer will have the opportunity to advance to his 13th final in Basel, and next plays third seed and Nitto ATP Finals hopeful David Goffin. “Today was a battle. I had to somehow dig and fight and sometimes these wins are more rewarding than just leading from the get-go and dominating throughout and bringing it home,” said Federer. “These are better matches...
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga simply will not let his hopes of qualifying for a third Nitto ATP Finals slip away. In the marquee match of the day, Tsonga stunned top seed Alexander Zverev, 7-6(6), 6-2, at the Erste Bank Open 500 to bolster his London hopes as the Emirates ATP Race To London comes to an exciting finale. The Frenchman was 22nd in the Race at the beginning of last week. But after winning the title in Antwerp and now advancing to the semi-finals in Vienna, he is certainly in the hunt for one of the two remaining spots at the year-end finale at The O2 in London. Tsonga is up to the No. 15 spot in the Race with 2,190 points...
Convention says that a tournament’s seeded players should make their way through the draw. Not in Vienna. Lucas Pouille leads three unseeded players into the semi-finals of the Erste Bank Open 500 after ousting compatriot Richard Gasquet, 7-6(5), 6-1, in one hour, 31 minutes. It was Pouille’s third victory in a row against his fellow Frenchman, extending his lead in the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry to 3-1. The 23-year-old is into his sixth ATP World Tour semi-final of the season (3-2) as he seeks his third title of the year (Budapest, Stuttgart). Pouille also defeated Gasquet in Marseille this February, 7-5, 6-3, to advance to the final. While the elder Frenchman, Gasquet, used his guile and consistency in the...
Whisper it quietly, but Juan Martin del Potro is building momentum for a shot at Nitto ATP Finals qualification. Five days on from capturing his 20th tour-level title at the Intrum Stockholm Open (d. Dimitrov), the popular Argentine is through to the Swiss Indoors Basel semi-finals. His 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 quarter-final victory over sixth-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, one of the cleanest strikers on the ATP World Tour, on Friday was anything but easy, but it gave del Potro an extra 90 points to move up to No. 13 in the Emirates ATP Race To London. Del Potro is now 310 points behind ninth-placed Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, who holds the final automatic qualification spot for the Nitto ATP Finals....
