Grigor Dimitrov opened his campaign on Tuesday at the China Open with a battling 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Damir Dzumhur, the recent St. Petersburg Open titlist, in one hour and 54 minutes. Dimitrov, who is currently No. 6 in the Emirates ATP Race To London, added 35 points with the first-round win as he continued his bid to qualify for the first time to the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 12-19 November this year. Dimitrov will next look to overcome Argentinean wild card Juan Martin del Potro, who is making his tournament debut. Del Potro knocked out Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay 7-6(4), 6-4 in their first meeting since 2011...
Milos Raonic made a winning return to the ATP World Tour on Tuesday after a seven-week absence. The Canadian settled quickly on Centre Court at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships, where he is a three-time finalist (2012-14), to triumph 6-3, 6-4 and extend his FedEx ATP Head2Head lead to 6-1 over Viktor Troicki of Serbia. Third seed Raonic struck 16 aces, breaking serve in the sixth game of the first set and third game of the second set in a 72-minute encounter. “It was a good match for me in a lot of ways, disciplined and competed well – considering the circumstances,” said Raonic. “I couldn’t hit over a backhand, but I made the most of it.” Raonic, who...
Fifth-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut kicked off singles play at the China Open with a straightforward 6-1, 6-3 victory over Chinese wild card Ze Zhang in 61 minutes. The Spaniard, ranked No. 15 in the Emirates ATP Race To London, clung to his hopes of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals by converting four of five break opportunities, while saving the only two he faced on his own serve. Both of Zhang’s break points came at 2-3 in the second set, creating a chance to get back on serve. But Bautista Agut managed to hold, and then got through a deuce game the next time he served to advance to the second round for the third time in three appearances in...
Top seed Marin Cilic played with great assurance on Monday at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships as he continued his comeback from an adductor injury with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over #NextGenATP Greek qualifier Stefanos Tsitsipas in 74 minutes. Cilic, who celebrated his 29th birthday on 28 September, lost his serve just once in the third game of the pair’s first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting, ultimately finishing with eight aces and having won 24 of his 29 first service points. “He’s a good player, an upcoming star of men’s tennis, who broke me early and forced me to find my best level and a good rhythm,” said Cilic. “At the end, I was pleased with the way I served...
Winning a title on the ATP World Tour is never easy. And the Shenzhen Open final proved no different for World No. 12 David Goffin on Sunday. But despite losing the second set after recovering from a 1-5 deficit to force a tie-break, the Belgian second seed bolstered his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals by defeating fifth-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3. He earned his first title of the season in his third attempt, ending a six-final losing streak that began after winning his first two tour-level trophies (2014 Kitzbuhel d. Thiem, 2014 Metz d. Sousa). The victory helped Goffin strengthen his position in the Emirates ATP Race To London. He will now sit in 13th place,...
