Former runner-up Kevin Anderson is enjoying his return to the Top 10 in the ATP Rankings, surging past Moldova’s Radu Albot in the opening round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC on Monday night. The fifth seed’s 6-4, 6-3 result marked his fifth straight match win after his recent title run at the New York Open. It is the 31-year-old’s first tournament ranked in the Top 10 since the Shanghai Rolex Masters in October 2015. The South African, who reached the Acapulco final in 2014 (l. to Dimitrov), arrived in Mexico at a career-high of No. 8. In his first FedEx ATP Head2Head encounter with the 86th-ranked Albot, Anderson recovered from an early break down and reeled off...
Federico Delbonis has fond memories of the Brasil Open in Sao Paulo, where he won his first ATP World Tour title four years ago, using the effort to crack the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings for the first time. The Argentine is looking to use those memories to propel him to a strong performance this week in Brazil. And the 27-year-old got off to a good start on Monday, beating recent Ecuador Open champion Roberto Carballes Baena 6-4, 6-4 in one hour, 38 minutes. "Coming here where I won my first ATP World Tour title, I have very good memories,” Delbonis said. "I try to play like the tournament when I won, but I have to keep going and...
Roberto Bautista Agut returned to winning ways at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Monday, ending a three-match tour-level losing streak with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Florian Mayer. "I felt great on the court," Bautista Agut said. "He was mixing up all his game, and he was playing very aggressively on the return. We made a lot of good returns, both of us.... I think I did a great job." The Spaniard, who had failed to record a win since lifting his seventh ATP World Tour title at the ASB Classic last month (d. Del Potro), struggled to hold serve throughout the 76-minute encounter, losing serve three times. However, the World No. 23 broke Mayer on five occasions...
Diego Schwartzman is the champion at the Rio Open presented by Claro, easing his way past Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 6-3 to claim the biggest title of his career and first ATP World Tour 500 crown. The 5’7” Argentine, who didn’t drop a set all tournament, will make his Top 20 debut in the ATP Rankings next week (No. 18). Schwartzman got off to an inauspicious start, as he was broken in the opening game of the final by an aggressive Verdasco, whose signature forehand appeared to be firing on all cylinders. However, the Spaniard, who just yesterday claimed the doubles title with partner David Marrero, quickly dropped serve himself, allowing the Argentine back on level terms. As both players settled...
First final nerves? Not for Frances Tiafoe. The 20-year-old American coasted to his first ATP World Tour title on Sunday, beating Peter Gojowczyk of Germany 6-1, 6-4 at the Delray Beach Open. Tiafoe becomes the youngest American to win an ATP World Tour title since 19-year-old Andy Roddick at 2002 Houston, and his maiden crown caps off the best two weeks of his career. Before last week's New York Open, Tiafoe had won nine tour-level matches (9-31) and had never reached a tour-level quarter-final. But after reaching the last eight in New York (l. to Anderson) and triumphing in Delray Beach, Tiafoe almost doubled his tour-level win count (16) in two weeks. “I was not expecting this this week, especially...
