Third seed Stan Wawrinka earned revenge on Benoit Paire on Wednesday, beating the Frenchman 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 to advance to the third round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. The Swiss No. 1 had fallen to the 28-year-old Paire in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open last week. But Wawrinka locked down in decider of their second-round match in Rome, winning 71 per cent of his service points and not facing a break point. He converted his lone break point at 1-0. Watch Live On TennisTV Watch Full Match Replays Wawrinka improves to 8-3 against Paire in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, and the victory may boost the 32 year old's confidence as he looks to return...
Dominic Thiem continued his outstanding clay-court season on Wednesday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, defeating Pablo Cuevas for the second time in less than a week, 7-6(4), 6-4, en route to the round of 16. The Austrian also scored a straight-sets win over Cuevas in the semi-finals of the Mutua Madrid Open. Thiem takes the lead in his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry over Cuevas 2-1, and improves to 15-3 on clay in 2017. He took the title this February in Rio de Janeiro (d. Carreno Busta) and finished runner-up in Barcelona and Madrid (both l. to Nadal). “I'm feeling a little bit [tired], but I have very good confidence right now. The match was good and it was a very...
Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers didn’t put a foot wrong on Wednesday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, not facing a break point as they reached the quarter-finals 6-1, 6-4 over Nikola Mektic and Albert Ramos-Vinolas. The eighth seeds will look to reach their first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final of 2017 after going 0-3 in their previous quarter-final appearances (Miami, Monte-Carlo, Madrid). Dodig/Granollers will next play Americans John Isner and Jack Sock, who defeated third seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares 7-5, 6-3. Isner/Sock teamed up last October to win the Shanghai Rolex Masters (d. Kontinen/Peers). In first-round matches, Joao Sousa and Fernando Verdasco defeated Daniel Nestor and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-7(6), 6-4, 10-6. Sousa/Verdasco will face top seeds Henri...
Juan Martin del Potro didn’t have everything his own way on Wednesday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia when the former World No. 4 booked a place in the third round. The Argentinean, a quarter-finalist in 2009 (l. to Djokovic), admitted post-match to feeling nerves against the flashy Kyle Edmund in a 7-5, 6-4 victory over one hour and 45 minutes. "I think I'm playing better [than 2016], for sure," said del Potro. "Last year, I was trying to win a couple of matches at this moment of the year, and now I'm beating good guys. I'm playing well, and I think my game can still improve week by week. It's going to be a big challenge for me to play...
