Top seed Marin Cilic continued his quest for an 18th tour-level title on Friday when he reached the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2017 semi-finals, a win that boosts his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals. Cilic was in devastating form, breaking Ryan Harrison's serve five times in a 6-2, 6-0 victory over 53 minutes. The Croatian struck 11 aces and lost just one of his first service points (20/21). He also reached last year’s Tokyo semi-finals (l. to Goffin). “It was definitely the best match for me this week, everything was functioning well from the beginning to the end,” said Cilic. “I was serving exceptionally well, I played aggressively and was able to return his serve. To...
Rafael Nadal will look to get the better of a player hoping to join him at next month’s Nitto ATP Finals, Grigor Dimitrov, on Saturday in the China Open semi-finals. Nadal leads Dimitrov 8-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. “He is a player that I really like, a good friend on the Tour," said Nadal. "He's a great guy. I think Grigor is a player always with a great attitude, with a positive character. I’m happy for him that he's having a good year. Tomorrow will be a tough one, for sure. He's playing well. He had a good victory today. Let's see. I going to try to play my best. I hope to be ready for it.” Top...
Belgian David Goffin continued his rise up the Emirates ATP Race To London and into contention for a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals on Friday when he reached the semi-finals of the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2017. Fourth seed Goffin recovered from a 2-5 deficit in the first set and three set points to defeat 2007 finalist Richard Gasquet of France 7-5, 6-2 in one hour and 38 minutes on an overcast and wet Friday in Tokyo. He will now prepare to face eighth-seeded Argentine Diego Schwartzman on Saturday. Goffin, who began the week at No. 13 in the Emirates ATP Race To London, is now up to No. 11 and within just 15 points of No. 10-placed...
Alexander Zverev earned his 50th tour-level match victory of the season with a convincing 6-4, 6-2 win over Fabio Fognini in 73 minutes on Thursday, advancing to the quarter-finals of the China Open. Victory in Friday's quarter-finals against Russian Andrey Rublev will see Zverev qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time. “I thought in the beginning we both played pretty well, from the baseline especially. I think [it was] a pretty high level,” Zverev said. “I’m happy to get through.” The German, who broke the Italian four times, continued his pursuit of a tour-leading sixth ATP World Tour title in 2017. He is currently tied with fellow Beijing quarter-finalist Rafael Nadal and 19-time Grand Slam champion Roger...
Andrey Rublev overcame a set and a break deficit to defeat World No. 20 Tomas Berdych, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and 48 minutes at the China Open in Beijing on Thursday. The #NextGenATP star trailed the Czech 1-6, 1-3 before storming back to win 11 of the next 13 games, severely damaging Berdych’s London dreams of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals. After the former World No. 4 saved a break point to hold for 3-1 in the second set, his 19-year-old Russian opponent broke his serve on three consecutive occasions to completely turn the tide of the match, winning 64 per cent of points in the third set. For Rublev, Thursday’s victory was the third Top 20...
