In 2015, Denis Istomin became the first player from Uzbekistan to lift an ATP World Tour trophy, when he prevailed in Nottingham. On Sunday, he added a second crown. Istomin kicked off the Asian swing in strong fashion, emerging as the champion of the Chengdu Open. The final concluded in unfortunate circumstances, as opponent Marcos Baghdatis was forced to retire with a back injury during the first set. Istomin was leading 3-2 when Baghdatis fell to the court and was unable to continue. "I know his situation, because I've had a lot of injuries," said Istomin. "I know the feeling and we are good friends, so my first thought was to help Marcos when I saw him go down. Of...
For a partnership formed just over a week ago, the Shenzhen Open worked out well for the duo of Rajeev Ram and Alexander Peya, who beat top-seeded Nikola Mektic and Nicholas Monroe 6-3, 6-2 to win the title in their first tournament playing together. “It was an unbelievable week for me, I guess for both of us,” said Peya. “Luckily I was able to find such a great one [partner] and it worked out perfect for us." Peya's usual partner, Julian Knowle, suffered an injury last week in St. Petersburg. "I want to wish [him] a speedy recovery from his elbow surgery," Peya said. Ram and Peya dropped just one set, in the semi-finals, en route to their victory. Ram said...
David Goffin advanced to his third final of the season by defeating Henri Laaksonen 7-6(7), 5-7, 6-3 at the Shenzhen Open on Saturday and could further boost his standing in the Emirates ATP Race To London during Sunday's final. With a win against Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov, Goffin would have 2,285 points in the Emirates ATP Race To London, which determines the Top 8 players who compete at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held 12-19 November at The O2 in London. With fifth-placed Stan Wawrinka and ninth-placed Novak Djokovic having ruled themselves out of the season-ending event, Goffin would be in strong position to qualify for the first time at the prestigious tournament. See Who's Leading The Emirates ATP Race...
Marcos Baghdatis had to win two matches in one day on Saturday at the Chengdu Open but the Cypriot pulled it off and now, he'll earn his reward: a chance to win his first ATP World Tour title since Sydney 2010. The 32-year-old Baghdatis won the final game of his Chengdu quarter-final, beating Chinese Taipei's Yen-Hsun Lu 6-3, 6-2 to reach his third semi-final of the season. Later in the day, Baghdatis returned to take on Argentina's Guido Pella, who had not dropped a set all tournament and had upset top seed Dominic Thiem in the second round. But Baghdatis hit 12 aces and lost his serve only once in the final two sets to advance past Pella 5-7, 6-4,...
Second seed David Goffin cruised to his fourth ATP World Tour semi-final of the season with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over eighth-seeded Donald Young at the Shenzhen Open on Friday, advancing in 64 minutes. “I was moving really well. I served also really well from the start. I was really aggressive. And I finished really well,” Goffin said. “I’m really happy the way I played today.” Goffin set the tone early, breaking Young in the opening game of the match for what would be the first of five times on the day. The Belgian reached at least deuce in all but two of the American’s service games, winning 68 per cent of second-serve return points. The biggest moment of tension...