Stefanos Tsitsipas, who reached his fourth ATP World Tour quarter-final in Barcelona on Thursday, is only 19 years old, a leading candidate to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, where eight of the world's best 21-and-under players will compete from 6-10 November. But the 6'3” right-hander is also leading his entire country. For nearly everything the Greek achieves on the ATP World Tour, he becomes the 'first' or the first in decades' time from Greece to celebrate the milestone. Last October, Tsitsipas became the first Greek to enter the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings and the first Greek semi-finalist (2017 Antwerp) in 44 years (Kalogeropoulos, 1973 Des Moines). And after his start to the European clay-court...
#NextGenATP Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas discusses his development, what has been a strong week at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and a blockbuster clash against Dominic Thiem on Friday.
During his time on the ATP World Tour, Feliciano Lopez has amassed a number of accomplishments. One of his most impressive, however, is longevity: For two decades, Lopez has been a regular on the tour for 20 years. Lopez is now 36 years old and shows no signs of slowing down. On Tuesday, the left-handed Lopez will face Dusan Lajovic, a 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3 winner over Pedro Martinez in the first round of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. When he was just 16 years old, Lopez was granted a wild card by the Real Tennis Club Barcelona, the facility that runs the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, after they saw serious potential in the young Spaniard. Lopez made the most of...
The road to success is never easy, but Juan Ignacio Londero’s route to his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title in Mexico City was a test of both his mental and physical strengths. Londero, who reached a career-high No. 186 in the ATP Rankings in September 2014, has struggled in recent years with a series of health issues and saw his position drop outside the Top 400 less than a year ago. His road to becoming a Challenger champion was littered with obstacles. “It's been a process and a difficult one at that,” reflected Londero. “In 2015, I had something similar to the mumps and… I spent a month in bed with a fever, vomiting. After that, I had a herniated...
It was a seminal moment for Hugo Dellien. And one that was just as groundbreaking for his native Bolivia. On Sunday, the 24-year-old from Trinidad, Bolivia, celebrated a historic victory in clinching his first ATP Challenger Tour title. In front of a packed crowd in Sarasota, Florida, a dogged Dellien rallied from a set down to lift the trophy, defeating Argentine veteran Facundo Bagnis 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 in one hour and 58 minutes. As Dellien fired a backhand down the line and collapsed to the green clay, his hands covering his face as emotions from years of hard work boiled over, it was clear that this wasn't an ordinary victory. "I am so happy, because I know that Bolivia does...
