A slew of American #NextGenATP stars have successfully advanced into the main draw of the Australian Open, with Frances Tiafoe, Noah Rubin, Reilly Opelka and Ernesto Escobedo taking their spot among the 16 final-round qualifying winners on Saturday. Second seed Tiafoe survived a marathon 3-6, 6-0, 7-5 match against fellow American Tim Smyczek. Both players held serve throughout the final set until Tiafoe finally broke Smyczek in the last game to wrap up the win. This is the first time that the 18-year-old has come through qualifying at a Grand Slam. In an all-teen battle, Opelka came through 7-6(4) 6-3 against Norwegian Casper Ruud to secure his first Grand Slam main draw appearance. The American reached his first ATP World...
Jack Sock claimed his second ATP World Tour title, beating Joao Sousa 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 for the ASB Classic crown on Saturday. Sock, the fourth seed, became the first American to win the title at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament in Auckland since John Isner in 2014 (also 2010). The 24-year-old Nebraska native adds to his 2015 Houston title and improves to 2-4 in tour-level finals. Sock broke twice in the first set to take a lead in the championship match, 6-3. The opponents traded breaks in the second set, but Sousa broke again for a 6-5 lead and then held serve once more to force a deciding set. Breaks were traded again early in the third set until...
Fourth seeds Marcin Matkowski and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi captured the ASB Classic crown with a 1-6, 6-2, 10-3 win over Jonathan Erlich and Scott Lipsky on Saturday. Erlich and Lipsky quickly claimed the first set after 23 minutes, but the eventual champions fired up for a comeback, breaking early in the second set for a 1-0 lead. The Polish/Pakistani duo capitalised on all three break point chances in their 61-minute victory. Matkowski and Qureshi topped Ryan Harrison and John Isner 7-6(4), 6-1 in the first round, beat Santiago Gonzalez and David Marrero 6-4, 3-6, 11-9 in the quarter-finals and defeated Marcus Daniell and Marcelo Demoliner 6-4, 6-4 for a final berth. “I’m really happy with our performances throughout the week and...
#NextGenATP stars Noah Rubin and Andrey Rublev are one step away from the main draw of the Australian Open, with both players recording second-round qualifying victories in a rain-filled Day 3 of qualifying on Friday. Only 16 matches were completed. Rubin once again came through in a deciding set to take out No. 32 seed Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. The American reached the second round last year in Melbourne through a reciprocal main draw wild card, but looks to qualify for a Grand Slam for the first time in his career. The 20-year-old will now compete for a spot in the main draw against No. 11 seed Evgeny Donsky of Russia, who scored a hard-fought 7-6(3),...
Sixth seed Gilles Muller ended the 10-match Sydney winning streak of third seed and two-time defending champion Viktor Troicki, advancing into the final of the Apia International Sydney with a 6-3, 7-6(6) victory on Friday. "I served very well today, especially in the crucial moments when I was down break points," said Muller. "I always managed to serve a first big serve. It helped me a lot. Especially in the second set when I was also starting to struggle a little bit with the heat. In those pressure moments, the serve was there. That's what got me through." The 33-year-old Luxembourg native will play Daniel Evans in a first-time meeting on Saturday. Muller is looking for his first ATP World...