Karen Khachanov lifted his second ATP World Tour title on Sunday, beating home favourite Lucas Pouille 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 at the Open 13 Provence. "It is the second title in my career, so I am extremely happy. I just need to keep working and keep going," said Khachanov. "I felt I was playing good here from the first day. It's nice to play on a full court in the final, and I hope to come back next year." Between his maiden ATP World Tour title at the 2016 Chengdu Open (d. Ramos-Vinolas) and this week in Marseille, Khachanov's best result was a semi-final appearance at the 2017 Gerry Weber Open (l. to Federer) last July. But the Russian turned that...
Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus clinched their first title as a team at the Open 13 Provence, defeating fourth seeds Marcus Daniell and Dominic Inglot 6-7(2), 6-3, 10/4 on Sunday. Competing in their first tour-level final together, Klaasen and Venus battled past their opponents without dropping serve in 82 minutes. It is Klaasen’s 14th ATP World Tour doubles triumph and Venus’ eighth tournament crown. Venus has now won the title in Marseille on two occasions, having previously lifted the trophy with Mate Pavic in 2016. “It is really exciting [to win our first title],” said Venus. “We have been working hard on the practice court, and every time we have been out there competing, we have felt like we have...
Americans Jack Sock and Jackson Withrow have known each other since their pre-teen years playing junior tennis together in Nebraska. Sock grew up in Lincoln, just 45 minutes from Withrow in Omaha. So while Sock has soared into the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings and had already won eight tour-level doubles titles heading into Sunday's final at the Delray Beach Open, it was only fitting that he partnered his longtime friend Withrow to his maiden triumph, beating fourth seeds Nicholas Monroe and John-Patrick Smith 4-6, 6-4, 10/8. "It's something that I've always planned on doing and pictured doing," Withrow said. "To do it with him, it makes it more special, for sure." Prior to this week, the pair had...
Have a day, Fernando Verdasco! Following his singles semi-final victory at the Rio Open presented by Claro, the Spaniard said that he has found extra motivation in his tournament debut. The confidence boost extended into the doubles final as well. Verdasco captured the title in Rio de Janeiro alongside countryman David Marrero, rallying past Nikola Mektic and Alexander Peya 5-7, 7-5, 10/8 in one hour and 51 minutes. Just hours earlier, the Madrid native advanced to his 23rd ATP World Tour singles final, downing Fabio Fognini in straight sets. Take a bow, gentlemen (all four of you! ) Epic doubles point! #RioOpen2018 pic.twitter.com/bhOYzAfTCV — Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 25, 2018 "It was a difficult match, but the good thing is...
It has been a long time coming for Kevin Anderson. The South African had not won a title since 2015 Winston-Salem, and a slew of injuries forced his ATP Ranking down to as low as No. 80 last January. But five months after advancing to his first Grand Slam final at the US Open, Anderson added a fourth tour-level title to his collection, defeating second seed Sam Querrey 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(1) to win the inaugural New York Open on Sunday. "Tennis is a tough sport. You play three, four, five matches sometimes to get to the final and if it doesn’t go your way, it’s pretty tough to deal with even though you’ve had a great week,” Anderson said. "I’ve...
