Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram boosted their chances of qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals as they captured their second ATP World Tour team title with a 7-6(2), 7-5 victory over Pablo Carreno Busta and Mariusz Fyrstenberg on Sunday in the final of the Chengdu Open. "This week we came with a goal in mind to improve our performance after the US Open," said Ram. "We felt like we didn't play as well as we could have there. We got through this whole tournament without losing a set. I think it’s a really good step in the right direction for us to finish of the season." The South African/American duo is currently seventh in the Emirates ATP Doubles...
How does it feel to win your first ATP World Tour title in Metz? I’m very happy. It’s a big honour to win my first ATP World Tour title in France, in front of family and friends. It’s even more special to win when they are here, since I can share the happiness with all of them. Winning a title is something I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid watching tennis on television. I’ve played to win since I was young so this one means a lot. What did you do differently this time, compared to your first final in Bucharest? This time I knew what time the match was starting, since in Bucharest it was raining quite a...
#NextGen star Alexander Zverev claimed his first ATP World Tour title on Sunday, knocking off US Open champion Stan Wawrinka and ending the teenage title drought on the ATP World Tour. The 19 year old Zverev withstood a late charge from Wawrinka to win the St. Petersburg Open final 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 in two hours and 23 minutes. The Hamburg native had been 0-2 in his previous finals this season and in his career (l. to Mayer at Halle; l. to Thiem at Nice). “This victory is something special,” Zverev said. “I played all the finals well. I lost to Dominic Thiem on clay and I could have won against Florian Mayer on the grass... Now I'm very happy with...
Lucas Pouille has thrived under pressure all year and the Frenchman's steely focus and determination paid dividends in Sunday's Moselle Open final. Pouille rallied from 0-4 down in the first set tie-break and cruised in the second to defeat top seed Dominic Thiem 7-6(5), 6-2 for his maiden ATP World Tour title in Metz. The 22 year old notched his fifth victory over a Top 10 opponent this year and a milestone 30th match win overall in 2016. Pouille continues the recent trend of French champions in Metz, becoming the seventh homegrown winner in the past eight years. Gael Monfils won in 2009, followed by Gilles Simon in 2010 and '13 and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2011-12 and '15. Learn More:...
Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos improved to 3-0 in ATP World Tour doubles finals this year, taking the title at the Moselle Open on Sunday. The Chilean-Argentine duo fired seven aces and saved all five break points faced to down third seeds Mate Pavic and Michael Venus 6-3, 7-6(4) in the Metz final. A rematch of the final on the clay of Gstaad in July, Peralta and Zeballos defeated their third straight seeded team to prevail. They had stormed back from a set down to upset both fourth seeds Robert Lindstedt and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and second seeds Oliver Marach and Fabrice Martin earlier in the week. "We really felt great with our game today," said Zeballos. "It was a tough...