There were plenty of keenly contested first-round encounters on Tuesday at the Generali Open, in the medieval ski resort town of Kitzbühel. Colombian qualifier Santiago Giraldo extended his perfect record to 4-0 against 2011 and 2012 titlist Robin Haase mid-afternoon in a 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-4 win over two hours and 13 minutes. Fifth seed Haase hit 19 aces, but, having managed to save two set points at 5-6 in the first set, could not convert his lone opportunity at 6/5 in the tie-break. Giraldo now challenges Austrian wild card and last year’s semi-finalist Gerald Melzer, who advanced with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 win over Carlos Berlocq of Argentina. German and Kitzbühel resident Philipp Kohlschreiber, who captured the 2015 title (d....
Thanasi Kokkinakis made the most of his Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Mifel wild card on Monday and claimed NextGenATP bragging honours in the process when he defeated Frances Tiafoe to reach the second round in Los Cabos. The 21-year-old Australian, on the long road back from a string of injuries, saved six set points to post his first match win on hard courts this season. Neither player broke serve throughout as Kokkinakis prevailed with a 7-6(3), 7-6(10) upset of the No. 8 seed. In the all-NextGenATP showdown, Kokkinakis saved three of the set points while serving to stay in the second set at 5-6 before fending off a further three in a 22-point tie-break. “Yeah it was tough. I think...
Jared Donaldson and Tommy Paul are off to the perfect starts in their respective 2017 Citi Open campaigns. The 20-year-old NextGenATP Americans ground their way through first-round clashes on Monday in contrasting fashion. Donaldson, the world No. 69 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and seventh in the ATP Race to Milan, prevailed in a tight 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-3 result over Israel’s Dudi Sela. Paul, who reached his first ATP World Tour quarter-final last week as a qualifier in Atlanta, led Casper Ruud 3-6, 7-5, 3-0 before the Norwegian retired with headaches and dizziness due to dehydration. Donaldson dropped just seven points on his first serve and saved four of five break points faced against Sela. He will next meet lucky loser Marc...
Tommy Haas and wife Sara Foster kicked off the German's last appearance in Kitzbühel in traditional Austrian style, donning Tyrolean outfits in front of Wilder Kaiser on Monday ahead of the Generali Open. “I’m happy to be back in Kitzbühel. This is the paradise of the Alps," said Haas. "I always enjoy coming back here. I’m looking forward to my last tournament here and hope that I can play well.” Thomaz Bellucci, a winner of four ATP World Tour clay-court titles, held his nerve in a thrilling 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Alexandr Dolgopolov, who was making his debut in Kitzbühel. Dolgopolov led 3-2 in the deciding set, but could not convert two break points on Bellucci’s serve at 15/40....
Fabio Fognini was a man in command on Sunday at the J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad, ousting Yannick Hanfmann 6-4, 7-5 to claim his fifth ATP World Tour title and first of the year. Fognini played steady, attacking tennis en route to hoisting the trophy in the Swiss Alps mountain town of Gstaad. He fired 21 winners, including two aces, while committing just 11 unforced errors, to Hanfmann's 18. It was the first title for the Italian in just over a year, since prevailing on the clay of Umag in 2016. All five of his victories have come on the dirt. "It's always a good feeling when you win," said Fognini. "Our job is winning matches and of course...
