Two former champions will battle it out for the 2017 Intrum Stockholm Open title as reigning champion Juan Martin del Potro outlasted eighth seed Fernando Verdasco on Saturday in a tussle between two of the biggest forehands in tennis, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(1), to set up a clash against top-seeded Grigor Dimitrov. “It was a great match. We both played great tennis and I think the crowd enjoyed our game,” del Potro said. “I’m glad to be in the final once again.” Del Potro is into his first final of the season, and his first overall since lifting the trophy in Sweden last year. The right-hander will attempt to win his 20th title on Sunday. The match will be of the...
It was a historic day at the VTB Kremlin Cup in Moscow, with two Bosnians playing in the semi-final of an ATP World Tour event for the first time. But it was sixth seed Damir Dzumhur who continued his good play with a 6-0, 7-6(9) victory over qualifier Mirza Basic, his best friend, who had not reached a tour-level quarter-final before this week. “It means a lot for us. It means a lot for Bosnian tennis. It means a lot for Bosnian people,” Dzumhur said. “I think back home in Bosnia everyone was watching us today. Some people were probably for cheering for him, some for me, but I think most of the people were just enjoying the tennis, especially...
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will play in his fourth ATP World Tour final of the season at the European Open in Antwerp. The Frenchman ended the run of home favourite Ruben Bemelmans on Saturday 6-3, 6-3 in 73 minutes. “Today was a good match. I played pretty good. Ruben had played a few good matches before and he was pretty confident, so it was not easy. I played well and had to play my best tennis to win,” Tsonga said. Watch Full Match Replays Tsonga broke twice in both sets, converting all four break points, and erased two of three break points to roll past the Belgian, who was playing in his first ATP World Tour semi-final. Sunday will mark Tsonga's first...
Grigor Dimitrov continued his march toward a maiden Nitto ATP Finals appearance with a 6-3, 7-6(2) victory over sixth seed Fabio Fognini on Saturday to advance to the Intrum Stockholm Open final. The seven-time ATP World Tour titlist has reached three finals this season, and gone on to capture the trophy at each event (Brisbane, Sofia, Cincinnati). "It's another final. That's all I can ask for," Dimitrov said. "It's very tricky playing against Fabio. After such a good first set from me, he took the lead in the second, so I had to uplift myself a little bit, trying to stay as positive as I can, and it was a great tie-break as well." Dimitrov did not have it easy...
Defending champion Juan Martin del Potro continued his late charge in the Emirates ATP Race To London with a 6-2, 7-6(6) win against seventh seed Yuichi Sugita at the Intrum Stockholm Open on Friday evening. “I just played good tennis in the tie-break,” del Potro said. “I found a way in the last point of the match and I got through in an important match and I’m glad to be in the semi-finals.” The Shanghai Rolex Masters semi-finalist is now No. 16 in the Race with 1,975 points. Should he go on to advance to his first final since his last visit to Stockholm, he will climb to 15th, and then 14th should he defend his crown, which would bring...
