Before his maiden ATP World Tour title in Istanbul on Sunday, Japan's Taro Daniel hadn't reached a tour-level semi-final, let alone leave a tournament with the biggest trophy. But at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open, the 25-year-old won five matches in a row to claim the ATP World Tour 250-level tournament. In doing so, Daniel jumped 32 spots in the ATP Rankings to a career-high of No. 82. Earlier this year at the Miami Open, he spoke with Scoop Malinowski about his career highlights, the traveling life of a tennis player and which quality he admires most in people. [ALSO LIKE] First Tennis Memory: My parents used to be members of a tennis club in Japan. They had clay...
Taro Daniel arrived at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open having never advanced to an ATP World Tour semi-final. The Japanese right-hander was on the verge of falling short again, trailing 0-4 in the deciding set of his quarter-final. But after an impressive performance Sunday against fellow first-time tour-level finalist Malek Jaziri, Daniel raised his first ATP World Tour trophy. Daniel spoke to ATPWorldTour.com after the match about what the victory means to him, how he approached the moment and more. How does it feel to be holding your first ATP World Tour trophy? Obviously I’m very happy. But I’m very surprised, mostly. I lost in the first round of a Challenger two weeks ago, so winning an ATP World...
Taro Daniel was on top of the world when he defeated five-time BNP Paribas Open champion Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells this year. But just as quickly as he climbed into the spotlight, losses in four of five matches at all levels sent the Japanese back to reality. That was until the World No. 114 completed the best week of his career on Sunday, capping off his first ATP World Tour triumph with a 7-6(4), 6-4 win against another first-time tour-level finalist, Malek Jaziri, at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open. "Obviously really happy. I think today was a great match, a lot of long rallies from the beginning until the end," Daniel said. "Very happy. I'm obviously pretty surprised...
Japan’s Taro Daniel shocked the tennis world at Indian Wells when he ousted Novak Djokovic in the second round. And now, two months later, he is into his maiden ATP World Tour final. Daniel defeated Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 on Saturday at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open in a gritty two-hour, 33-minute encounter that saw a combined 10 breaks of serve. Daniel got off to an emphatic start to the match, claiming the first set with two breaks of the Chardy serve, which wavered under the constant pressure of Daniel’s returning prowess. The second set was a different story, as Chardy upped his level and began dictating with his heavy forehand groundstrokes to even the contest at...
Watch highlights as Roger Federer, Taro Daniel, Marin Cilic and Juan Martin Del Potro reach the third round at Indian Wells. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com. Photo: Getty Images
