Nikola Mektic and Alexander Peya won their first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title as a team at the Mutua Madrid Open on Sunday, prevailing over second seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan 5-3 after Bob Bryan was forced to retire with a hip injury. "Very mixed emotions right now," said Peya. "We are very happy that we won the tournament, but it is not the way you want it to end. I think we played a great match until that moment." The Croatian-Austrian duo began the championship match with an immediate break of the serve in the opening game, and maintained their lead through eight games with comfortable service holds. When serving at 3-5, Bob Bryan landed awkwardly and,...
Alexander Zverev’s start to 2018 was not what you may have expected after a breakout 2017, which saw him win five ATP World Tour titles. Three of the German’s first four losses came against opposition outside the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings. But ever since, the 21-year-old has been on a tear. Zverev continued his run of excellent form on Saturday by defeating #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 6-1 for his eighth consecutive victory, advancing to the Mutua Madrid Open final. "It was great. It was a great match," Zverev said. "Obviously it's not easy to play Denis. Great player. Great talent. Hopefully he'll still improve and there are a lot more matches like this in the future." It...
Can anyone stop Dominic Thiem in Madrid? One day after toppling World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, the Austrian put on a show once again inside the Caja Mágica. Thiem booked his spot in the Mutua Madrid Open final on Saturday, securing a comprehensive 6-4, 6-2 win over Kevin Anderson in one hour and 26 minutes. The fifth seed will feature in the championship match for a second straight year, continuing his quest for a maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown. It will be his 15th tour-level final in total and fifth straight on clay, having most recently lifted the trophy at the Argentina Open in February. "It gave me a huge boost of confidence," Thiem said of his win...
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan moved to within one victory of becoming the oldest World No. 1’s in ATP Doubles Rankings history on Saturday, defeating France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, for the first time in six meetings, 6-1, 7-6(2) at the Mutua Madrid Open. The American twins will return to the top spot of the ATP Doubles Rankings on Monday if they win a record sixth title in the Spanish capital, surpassing Daniel Nestor’s current record as the oldest doubles No. 1 (40 years and 5 days), set on 9 September 2012, by ten days. Bryan and Bryan will be competing in their eighth Madrid final (5-2), having last won the title in 2013 (d. Peya/Soares). The 40-year-olds are...
Alexander Zverev stretched two impressive streaks on Friday at the Mutua Madrid Open, but let's start with the most important one: The 21-year-old German won his seventh consecutive match, beating American John Isner 6-4, 7-5 to reach his third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final of the season (Miami, Monte-Carlo). [ALSO LIKE] Zverev exacted revenge on Isner, who had won their last FedEx ATP Head2Head matchup in the Miami Open presented by Itau final, Isner's maiden Masters 1000 title. But the 6'6” German was nearly flawless as the two finished a busy day on Caja Magica. “Yeah I returned much better to start with, which is very important against John,” Zverev said. “I found I was very happy with how...
