The future of Chinese tennis has never looked brighter than in 2017, when 18-year-old Wu Yibing burst onto the ATP World Tour. Wu became the fourth player in the past five years to win a junior Grand Slam title and an ATP Challenger Tour crown in the same season after his triumph at the US Open and the Shanghai Challenger event, which earned him a wild card into the Shanghai Rolex Masters. This week, the Chinese teenager and fellow 18-year-old, Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia, were hitting partners for some of the ATP World Tour’s biggest names at the Nitto ATP Finals in London. Both are former junior No. 1s and claimed their first ATP Challenger Tour titles in recent months...
Marin Cilic did not have the Nitto ATP Finals he was hoping for this week. The fifth seed fell in all three of his Group Boris Becker matches, despite pushing them to three sets and leading by a break in the third set against Alexander Zverev and Jack Sock. But when the Croatian fully looks back at his 2017 season, he will have much to be proud of this year. For the second consecutive year, Cilic will finish in the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, and for the 10th consecutive year, the 6'6” right-hander celebrated an ATP World Tour title. In May, Cilic won the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open (d. Raonic). It was his first clay-court title...
It started with a backhand down the line. Elias Ymer’s eyes grew wide as his opponent left a forehand short. Stepping inside the baseline, he launched his six-foot frame into the ball, sending it careening to the back wall. Ymer let out a deafening roar, echoed by his coach Robin Soderling, who raised his fists in approval. One minute later, the sell-out crowd at the Vendespace Arena joined the Swedish duo in celebrating the 21-year-old’s fourth ATP Challenger Tour title. Tournament organisers in Mouilleron-le-Captif stormed the court to set up the trophy presentation as Ymer and Soderling savoured the moment, reveling in their latest triumph. For the elder Swede, the satisfaction in witnessing his young charge’s victory was made even...
As someone who has witnessed first-hand Alexander Zverev's growth in the span of a year, coach Juan Carlos Ferrero has no doubt that his pupil is experiencing a breakthrough moment at this year's Nitto ATP Finals. Sunday's opening round win over Marin Cilic is just a preview of what's to come from the 20-year-old, both this week and beyond, according to the Spaniard. "What we are witnessing is a before and after for Sascha," said Ferrero. The former Emirates ATP Rankings No.1 came on board as a coach alongside the #NextGenATP star's father, Alexander Sr., over the summer. "His experience this week in London will come in handy; he's learning how to handle himself during these types of events. That's...
On the morning of Jack Sock's first Nitto ATP Finals win, the American was standing outside his hotel at 4 a.m., waiting with Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem to go back to bed. Early Tuesday morning, the fire alarm went off in Sock's hotel. It was not a test, and the alarm felt like it was in Sock's room, he said. “It was probably one of the most annoying noises I've ever heard in my entire life. We're on the second floor of the hotel. I guess whatever happened in the hotel was on the second floor. “From what the workers at the hotel said, the location of your room is how loud the alarm is. We are right there,...
