The numbers speak for themselves: Fernando Verdasco shines on the biggest stages. Just a few weeks ago, the 34-year-old earned his 500th ATP World Tour victory by defeatingPaoloLorenzi in the first round at the Mutua Madrid Open. On Friday, the Spaniard claimed his 102nd career singles win at a Grand Slam by defeating fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-4 to move into the fourth round at Roland Garros, where he'll face 20th seed Novak Djokovic. The 34-year-old is the oldest player remaining in the singles draw, and is now 3-1 against opponents inside the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings this season. [ALSO LIKE] World No. 35 Verdasco holds a 102-59 record at majors since his Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon...
Carlos Moya, coach of world No. 1 Rafael Nadal, will be breaking down Rafa's performances at Roland Garros for ATPWorldTour.com. Nadal hopes to lift the trophy for the 11th time. On Thursday, the defending champion defeated Guido Pella 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 to advance to the third round, where he'll face Richard Gasquet for a place in the Round of 16. Moya lists five key takeaways from Nadal’s win over Pella. A Solid Win I'm happy with how things went today. Nadal was a little more comfortable than he was (against Simone Bolelli) and didn't have to over-exert himself against Guido. We expect a tough test on Saturday when Rafa faces Gasquet. [ALSO LIKE] A Better Showing Than Tuesday This is...
Alexander Zverev played a dangerous game on Friday, when he came back from the brink of defeat in the fourth set — and saved one match point at 4-5 in the decider — against Damir Dzumhur at Roland Garros for the 150th match win of his career (150-78). Having led by a set and 3-1, the second-seeded German found himself staring down the barrel with Dzumhur serving for the match at 6-5 in the fourth set and later on serve at 4-5, 30/40 in the fifth set. But Dzumhur, the No. 26 seed from Bosnia and Herzegovina, blinked and Zverev fought back to complete a 6-2, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-5 win in just under four hours on Court Philippe-Chatrier. “It...
Dominic Thiem has accomplished as much on clay as any 24-year-old could hope for. The Austrian has won eight ATP World Tour titles on the red dirt and beaten Rafael Nadal three times on the surface, for starters. But he has been unable to move past the semi-finals at Roland Garros, falling in the final four in Paris the past two years. Thiem continued his efforts to take it one step further on the terre battue, defeating Italian Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2 on Friday in two hours, 37 minutes to reach the Round of 16 at the clay-court Grand Slam for the third time in five appearances. "He's a great player. Very dangerous. Great forehand and great serve,"...
Earlier this year, Novak Djokovic lost three consecutive matches for the first time since 2007. The former World No. 1 even dropped outside the Top 20 of the ATP Rankings this month for the first time since 2 October 2006 as he continued his comeback from a right elbow injury. But none of that has mattered at Roland Garros. Djokovic, who is seeded his lowest at a Grand Slam since the 2006 US Open, at No. 20, looks to have regained his confidence. The Serbian battled past No. 13 seed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-7(8), 7-6(4), 6-2 in three hours, 48 minutes on Friday. "It was a great fight, almost four hours. Bautista Agut, he's not going to hand you...