Two weeks ago, Frances Tiafoe hadn't reached an ATP World Tour quarter-final. Now he's an ATP World Tour titlist. The 20-year-old right-hander became the youngest American to win an ATP World Tour title since 19-year-old Andy Roddick at 2002 Houston, and he had to take the hard route to his maiden trophy. Tiafoe beat Aussie Matthew Ebden, who had beaten him earlier this year, then childhood idol and World No. 10 Juan Martin del Potro and Australian Open semi-finalist Hyeon Chung. In the semi-finals, the #NextGenATP American beat #NextGenATP Denis Shapovalov, and in Sunday's final, Tiafoe outplayed 2017 Metz titlist Peter Gojowczyk of Germany. After his triumph, Tiafoe talked with ATPWorldTour.com about the career accomplishment. How does it feel to...
Before he reached the Australian Open semi-finals last week, it had been the breakout week of his career. South Korea's Hyeon Chung sped through the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan in November, going 5-0 to claim the 21-and-under title. But Chung, who turns 22 in May, won't be able to defend his crown come 6-10 November 2018. Who might hoist the Next Gen ATP Finals “X” trophy instead? ATPWorldTour.com takes a look at some of the possible candidates. TWO POTENTIAL RETURNERS Andrey Rublev (Rank: 35; Age: 20): Tennis fans across the world should know Rublev's name after his 2017. The Russian won his first title at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag in July and became the youngest...
He has the same “I-can-win-any-match” attitude. He pounds his chest with similar enthusiasm after big wins, and Alex de Minaur's tennis still thrives best when saturated with emotion. But the 18-year-old Aussie, who, for the second year in a row, delighted his home fans during the Australian summer, believes he's a different player than he was in 2017, when he earned his first tour-level wins in January. De Minaur is stronger – physically and mentally – than he was 12 months ago, and he carries with him the experiences of his first full season as a professional tennis player, a year that saw him start strong in his home country but not win another tour-level match after January. “I think...
“Come on, Jimbo!” Those were the words of encouragement from Rafael Nadal, who showed up in the stands of Court 14 on the Australian Open grounds, to the surprise of Jaume Munar. The young Spaniard was playing his first round Australian Open qualifying match. “Jimbo” ultimately prevailed against Andrea Arnaboldi, 6-2, 6-4, and moved on to the second round of qualifying. “Having the support of Rafa is very special to me,” Munar told ATPWorldTour.com after the victory. “It wasn't like I was expecting him to come see me play. I know it isn't easy for him to get to a match with all the attention he draws, and despite all that he still managed to get up close to the...
“That was incredible!” “Thanks, Lleyton.” On Wednesday night, Alex de Minaur earned his most important victory as a professional so far by defeating Milos Raonic, 6-4, 6-4, in the second round of Brisbane International presented by Suncorp. In the tunnel between the changing rooms and the court, de Minaur was congratulated by Australian legend Lleyton Hewitt, who plays an advisory role in steering de Minaur through the early stages of his career. By defeating Raonic, the 2016 champion in Brisbane and this year's fourth seed, de Minaur earned a spot in the quarter-finals and improved on his previous best showing (Round of 32 in 2017). This year, de Minaur is clearly in a different position. “I've improved a lot of...
