Daniil Medvedev ensured that it will be a close finish in the battle to qualify for next month’s inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan when the #NextGenATP Russian caused an upset at the VTB Kremlin Cup on Thursday. The 21-year-old Medvedev played with great poise to overcome top-seeded Spaniard and defending champion Pablo Carreno Busta, vying for a place at the Nitto ATP Finals in London, 6-3, 6-3 in 81 minutes. “I’m very happy to have beaten Pablo, someone who is attempting to qualify for the [Nitto] ATP Finals,” said Medvedev. “I’m happy with the way I’m feeling on the court. I was serving well and I was only disappointed that I couldn’t hold the first break in the...
Second seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who is bidding to capture his 16th ATP World Tour title this week, moved into his eighth quarter-final (or better) this year by beating fellow Frenchman and qualifier Kenny De Schepper 6-4, 6-3 in 88 minutes at the European Open. Tsonga, who is 30-13 on the season, will next face another compatriot, 35-year-old Julien Benneteau. Tsonga has already lifted silverware in 2017 at the ABM AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam (d. Goffin), the Open 13 in Marseille (d. Pouille) and the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon in Lyon (d. Berdych). David Goffin maintained his good form, also advancing to the quarter-finals with a 7-6(1), 6-2 win against #NextGenATP Frances Tiafoe. The Belgian, who won back-to-back titles...
#NextGenATP Russian Daniil Medvedev improved his chances of qualifying for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held 7-11 November, on Wednesday at the VTB Kremlin Cup in Moscow. The 21-year-old right-hander hit 16 aces and saved eight of 11 break points to outlast countryman Andrey Kuznetsov 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(6). “It's always tough to play a friend and you always feel sorry to beat him,” Medvedev said. The Moscow native is in eighth place in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan. The top seven qualify for the inaugural event, with the eighth spot reserved for the winner of an Italian 21-and-under tournament. Medvedev has 747 Race points, only 13 behind seventh-placed Hyeon Chung of South Korea, who plays second...
France’s Julien Benneteau swept past Henri Laaksonen of Switzerland 6-1, 6-1 in 54 minutes to reach his second ATP World Tour quarter-final of the year (also ‘s-Hertogenbosch) on Wednesday at the European Open in Antwerp. The 35-year-old Benneteau will next play a compatriot, second seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or qualifier Kenny De Schepper. Portugal’s Joao Sousa withstood 18 aces and lost just seven of his first-service points (45/52) to beat Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. He will next face Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium, who beat Aussie Nick Kyrgios 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals for a third time in tour-level action. Bemelmans saved five of six break points against the third seed. [ALSO LIKE] His countryman Steve Darcis...
Two-time finalist Jack Sock snapped a five-match losing streak on Wednesday at the Intrum Stockholm Open. The third seed won 78 per cent of his service points and erased the lone break point faced to beat Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-4 and improve to 3-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. Sock improved to 12-4 in Stockholm and reached his eighth quarter-final (or better) of the season. The 25-year-old American will next face Italian Fabio Fognini, who drew on his big-match experience to save one match point in a thrilling end to a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(7) victory over top Swede and #NextGenATP Elias Ymer. The 21-year-old Ymer had come within two points of winning when serving at 5-4 in the...
