Players competing at this week’s ATP Challenger Tour event in Shenzhen stepped away from the court for a pair of off-site activities, sampling the local Chinese culture. Sweden's Andreas Siljestrom and Austria's Tristan-Samuel Weissborn went hiking in nearby Dashanbei Park, where they put their artistic skills to the test. The duo took a break from their trek to paint in front of the famous Taihe Tower. The tower was built in the Ming dynasty, with the name “Taihe” referring to a high level of harmony, such as the harmony within oneself. Later in the week, Marcel Granollers interacted with students at the local Gemdale International School. The Spaniard led a Q&A session, discussing his journey in professional tennis and providing advice...
Winning a title on the ATP World Tour is never easy. And the Shenzhen Open final proved no different for World No. 12 David Goffin on Sunday. But despite losing the second set after recovering from a 1-5 deficit to force a tie-break, the Belgian second seed bolstered his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals by defeating fifth-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3. He earned his first title of the season in his third attempt, ending a six-final losing streak that began after winning his first two tour-level trophies (2014 Kitzbuhel d. Thiem, 2014 Metz d. Sousa). The victory helped Goffin strengthen his position in the Emirates ATP Race To London. He will now sit in 13th place,...
For a partnership formed just over a week ago, the Shenzhen Open worked out well for the duo of Rajeev Ram and Alexander Peya, who beat top-seeded Nikola Mektic and Nicholas Monroe 6-3, 6-2 to win the title in their first tournament playing together. “It was an unbelievable week for me, I guess for both of us,” said Peya. “Luckily I was able to find such a great one [partner] and it worked out perfect for us." Peya's usual partner, Julian Knowle, suffered an injury last week in St. Petersburg. "I want to wish [him] a speedy recovery from his elbow surgery," Peya said. Ram and Peya dropped just one set, in the semi-finals, en route to their victory. Ram said...
