Rafael Nadal leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 23-14, but Roger Federer is doing his best to narrow the Spaniard's margin. The Swiss right-hander has won their past four match-ups for the first time in their rivalry. Here is a history of their 37 career meetings: 2017 Miami Open presented by Itau F, hard, Federer d. Nadal 6-3, 6-4 Federer might have said it best before he and Nadal faced off for the 37th time during the Miami final on 2 April: “Feels like old times.” Few would have predicted that Federer and Nadal would have fought over one 'Big Title' in 2017, let alone a second. But both players steamrolled into the Miami title match, where Federer picked up...
Jack Sock claimed his second ATP World Tour title, beating Joao Sousa 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 for the ASB Classic crown on Saturday. Sock, the fourth seed, became the first American to win the title at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament in Auckland since John Isner in 2014 (also 2010). The 24-year-old Nebraska native adds to his 2015 Houston title and improves to 2-4 in tour-level finals. Sock broke twice in the first set to take a lead in the championship match, 6-3. The opponents traded breaks in the second set, but Sousa broke again for a 6-5 lead and then held serve once more to force a deciding set. Breaks were traded again early in the third set until...
Fourth seeds Marcin Matkowski and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi captured the ASB Classic crown with a 1-6, 6-2, 10-3 win over Jonathan Erlich and Scott Lipsky on Saturday. Erlich and Lipsky quickly claimed the first set after 23 minutes, but the eventual champions fired up for a comeback, breaking early in the second set for a 1-0 lead. The Polish/Pakistani duo capitalised on all three break point chances in their 61-minute victory. Matkowski and Qureshi topped Ryan Harrison and John Isner 7-6(4), 6-1 in the first round, beat Santiago Gonzalez and David Marrero 6-4, 3-6, 11-9 in the quarter-finals and defeated Marcus Daniell and Marcelo Demoliner 6-4, 6-4 for a final berth. “I’m really happy with our performances throughout the week and...
Roberto Bautista Agut added a fifth ATP World Tour title to his trophy cabinet, beating 20-year-old Russian Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-4 in the Aircel Chennai Open final on Sunday. The World No. 14 is now 5-6 in finals, with Chennai added to his Sofia (2016), Auckland (2016), Stuttgart (2014) and s-Hertogenbosch (2014) titles. “I think it’s a great tournament and that’s why it’s my fifth time in a row coming here,” said Bautista Agut. “This tournament has helped me a lot to get into the Top 50 players [in the world]. I’m a much better player now than five years ago. I have more experience and I’ve improved a lot of things. “There are a lot of tournaments and a...
Grigor Dimitrov’s late-season resurgence in 2016 continues unabated in early 2017. The Bulgarian snapped a two-and-a-half year title drought Sunday at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp, defeating third seed Kei Nishikori 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 in the final. Dimitrov’s title run included three consecutive Top 10 scalps: Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals, top seed Milos Raonic in the semis and Nishikori in the final. Having lost his past four ATP World Tour finals, he finally claimed his fifth career title, his first since Queen’s Club in 2014. A former World No. 8, Dimitrov saw his Emirates ATP Ranking slip to No. 40 midway through 2016 before a heart-to-heart career reflection with coach Dani Vallverdu saw the 25 year old turn...