Moldovan Radu Albot kicked off main draw play at the 2017 Garanti Koza Sofia Open on Monday with a 7-6(0), 6-2 win against 19-year-old Alexandar Lazarov of Bulgaria. Albot, No. 92 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, converted all four break points against Lazarov, who received a wild card into the main draw. The 27-year-old Albot will meet second seed David Goffin in the second round. Goffin, No. 11 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, is one of four Top 20 players at the Garanti Koza Sofia Open, along with World No. 8 Dominic Thiem, top Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov and defending champion Roberto Bautista Agut. [ALSO LIKE] Bulgarian wild cards were more fortunate in doubles. Dimitar Kuzmanov and Alexandar Lazov battled past...
GERMANY 1, BELGIUM 4 Venue: Fraport Arena, Frankfurt, Germany (Indoor Hard) Steve Darcis' Davis Cup legend continues to grow, as the Belgian stalwart provided the heroics once again for the European nation. Darcis improved to an impressive 21-8 in Davis Cup singles play with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(8) upset of Alexander Zverev in Sunday's fourth rubber, sending Belgium into the quarter-finals. The 32 year old's second straight Top 30 win comes on the heels of a five-set victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber to open the tie on Friday. Previously, Darcis was 0-9 against Top 30 opponents since stunning Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2013. "You never know in Davis Cup," said Darcis. "They said it would be an easy match...
CROATIA 2, SPAIN 3 Venue: Gradski Vrt Hall, Osijek, Croatia (hard - indoor) No Rafael Nadal, no David Ferrer, no problem for Spain. The European nation overcame a 1-2 deficit to advance to the Davis Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 2012. Roberto Bautista Agut survived Franko Skugor 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(6) in the fourth rubber, followed by a 7-6(4), 6-1, 6-4 victory for Pablo Carreno Busta over Nikola Mektic in the decider. "I felt a lot of pressure closing out the match but I kept going," said Bautista Agut. "It was a tough tie-break but I closed it. It's much more difficult in the Davis Cup. The crowd is supporting them a lot, but these are good things...
SERBIA 3, RUSSIA 0 Venue: Cair Sports Center, Nis, Serbia (Indoor Hard) Viktor Troicki was the hero in Serbia's title-clinching run in 2010 and the 30 year old is once again thriving in Davis Cup play. The Serbians are back in the quarter-finals for the third straight year after Troicki and former doubles No. 1 Nenad Zimonjic defeated Russians Konstantin Kravchuk and Andrey Kuznetsov 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 6-4. The win also gives Zimonjic his first victory as Davis Cup captain. The home nation converted eight of 18 break chances during the three-hour and nine-minute encounter. Troicki is the marathon man of the tie after overcoming #NextGenATP star Karen Khachanov in a fifth-set tie-break on Friday afternoon in Nis. Also led...
He’s been a man on a mission in Melbourne the past two weeks and the dream came true for Roger Federer on Sunday evening as he toppled his great rival, Rafael Nadal, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in the Australian Open final to win his 18th Grand Slam championship. “I’m out of words,” said Federer, after receiving the trophy from Rod Laver. “I'd like to congratulate Rafa on an amazing comeback. There are no draws in tennis, but I would have been very happy to accept one and share it with Rafa tonight. The comeback had been perfect as it was,” said the Swiss, who was playing his first tour-level event after a six-month injury lay-off. All out aggression from...