It was a day for sightseeing in St. Petersburg as Tomas Berdych and Milos Raonic took time away from the St. Petersburg Open to visit the iconic St. Isaac cathedral on Tuesday. The duo were joined by Raonic’s girlfriend Danielle Knudson to take a tour of one of the city’s most picturesque landmarks, as well as a climb up a private staircase to the Balustrade where 12 bronze angels overlook St. Petersburg. “I think it’s pretty special,” said Raonic, who will open his title defence in the Russian city against 2004 champion Mikhail Youzhny in the second round. “You can see most of fantastic cultural icons, monuments here in St. Petersburg. From this point atop St. Isaac’s Church, you can...
Milos Raonic, Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Berdych and more stars attend the St. Petersburg Open's swanky soiree at The Four Seasons Hotel on Monday night in St. Petersburg. Video courtesy: St. Petersburg Open.
The best stretch of Paolo Lorenzi's career continued on Tuesday at the St. Petersburg Open. The 34-year-old Italian saved two match points to outlast German qualifier Mischa Zverev 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-0 in two hours and six minutes to move into the second round at the Sibur Arena. Earlier this month at the US Open, Lorenzi reached the third round and took a set off World No. 2 Andy Murray. In July, the Rome native became the oldest first-time winner in ATP World Tour history by winning the Generali Open in Kitzbuhel at the age of 34 years, seven months (d. Basilashvili). Read What Lorenzi Had To Say After His First ATP World Tour Title Lorenzi, who's playing a career high...
The last time Stan Wawrinka played in St. Petersburg, he lost in a final. It was August 2004, and Wawrinka, then 19 years old and No. 159 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, fell to Jean-Rene Lisnard 3-6, 7-5, 7-5. Since then, much has changed for Wawrinka. Namely, the Swiss No. 1 hardly loses in finals anymore. Wawrinka is 11-0 in his past 11 finals, including his US Open victory against Novak Djokovic earlier this month. As the top seed at the St. Petersburg Open this week, the 31-year-old Wawrinka will try to make it 12 final victories in a row. “I have to make it to the final first,” he said during his pre-tournament press conference. “I hope to win...
Defending champion Milos Raonic returns to the St. Petersburg Open this week to defend his title and with an eye on the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, 13-20 November at The O2 in London. Raonic is currently No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Race To London standings. But the Canadian is trying unseat No. 3 Stan Wawrinka. Raonic currently has 4,420 points, 400 behind Wawrinka's 4,820. Japanese Kei Nishikori remains close to the No. 3 spot as well. He's in fifth place, only 105 points behind Raonic. Who Else Is Ahead Of Raonic? View The Emirates ATP Race To London Standings “Part of me takes pride in winning this tournament again and there is also an aim to move higher...
