Next Gen ATP star Thanasi Kokkinakis made a dream return to the ATP World Tour when he teamed with fellow Australian Jordan Thompson to win the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp title Sunday. The players, who ironically will play against each other in the first round of next week's Apia International Sydney, both claimed their first tour-level doubles title with a 7-6(7), 6-4 win over first-time team Gilles Muller and Sam Querrey. Kokkinakis, who did not play a match on the ATP World Tour last year after undergoing December 2015 shoulder surgery, said: “It's pretty crazy. I haven't experienced that for a while. To be honest, I haven't experienced a competitive match for a while. To go on a run...
Daniil Medvedev advanced to his first ATP World Tour final in dramatic fashion on Saturday, saving one match point to defeat Dudi Sela 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 at the Aircel Chennai Open. The Russian #NextGenATP star will face Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut for the title. The 20-year-old Medvedev, No. 99 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, stormed back from an early deficit and would break Sela serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set. The Israeli held match point at 40/30, but Medvedev would reel off three straight points to break back. He would eventually force a decider and it was smooth sailing from there. Medvedev, who reached a pair of ATP Challenger Tour finals last year, claiming his maiden...
Novak Djokovic has taken the first battle of the 2017 ATP World Tour season against Andy Murray, beating the Scot 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 to defend his Qatar ExxonMobil Open title and exact revenge on the World No. 1. In an electrifying final, the Serbian captured his first title since July (Rogers Cup) and showed some of the fiery tennis that helped him dominate the first half of 2016. The 29 year old frequently encouraged the crowd to back him, lifting his arms and pumping his fist while staring into the stands. “Best scenario I could ask for at the beginning of the season. Playing all five matches in this tournament and then three hours against No. 1 of the world,...
Seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov continued his stellar record against top seed and defending champion Milos Raonic on Saturday at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp, winning the last five games of their semi-final battle to score a 7-6(7), 6-2 upset win. "Milos is one of the biggest servers out there. I knew what to expect, so I just had to execute it the right way," said Dimitrov. "I played a quite solid game to break him [in the second set] and after that, I was just solid overall. I was reading his serve pretty well after that. From then on, it was just smooth sailing." This is Dimitrov’s third consecutive win against Raonic, allowing him to improve his record in...
Kei Nishikori is making a statement with his tennis at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp. The third seed didn’t drop serve on Saturday in scoring a 7-6(3), 6-3 upset over second seed Stan Wawrinka. "I'm feeling very happy to be in the final tomorrow. I've tried many times and this is the first time to get to Sunday in Brisbane," said Nishikori. "Especially beating Stan today, it's been a good start to the year." This is Nishikori’s second straight victory over Wawrinka, with the previous win coming last November at the ATP Finals. He evened his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Wawrinka to 4-4. Nishikori will now play the winner of seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov, who defeated top seed...