Before arriving in Budapest at the end of April for the Gazprom Hungarian Open, Marco Cecchinato had won just five of his first 34 tour-level matches. Little did the Italian know that he would go on to capture his maiden ATP World Tour title on the red clay as a lucky loser. “Maybe it is a dream,” Cecchinato told ATPWorldTour.com at the time. Little did he know what would come in the weeks ahead. When the World No. 72 began his Roland Garros campaign, he had never won a Grand Slam main draw match. But after defeating reigning Nitto ATP Finals runner-up David Goffin in four sets on Sunday, Cecchinato advanced to the quarter-finals. [ALSO LIKE] “This is the best...
Marco Cecchinato became just the second Italian man to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final since 1998 on Sunday, upsetting No. 8 seed David Goffin 7-5, 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 on Sunday at Roland Garros. The Gazprom Hungarian Open champion, competing in only his fifth Grand Slam, joins Fabio Fognini (2011 Roland Garros) as the only two Italian men to reach the last eight of a major since Davide Sanguinetti (1998 Wimbledon). Prior to Roland Garros, Cecchinato had never won a Grand Slam main draw match (0-4). World No. 72 Cecchinato converted six of 18 break point chances en route to victory after two hours and 31 minutes, becoming the lowest-ranked man to reach the quarter-finals at Roland Garros since Ernests Gulbis...
It was a milestone day for Novak Djokovic in Paris. The Serbian defeated Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the Roland Garros fourth round on Sunday, claiming a few slices of history with the victory. Entering the fortnight in Paris, only two men had appeared in a Grand Slam quarter-final on 40 occasions. Until now. Djokovic joined Roger Federer (52) and Jimmy Connors (41) in the exclusive club, as the 2016 champion fired 21 winners and converted on five of 10 break chances to etch his name in the record books. In addition, the Serbian reached the last eight at Roland Garros for the ninth straight time, equaling Federer’s Open Era record for most consecutive quarter-final appearances on the terre...
Throughout Rafael Nadal's career, his uncle, mentor and former coach, Toni Nadal, has been an instrumental figure in guiding the Spaniard to success. Nadal, winner of 78 tour-level titles, has never downplayed the importance of having Toni by his side. His uncle stepped down from coaching duties at the end of last season and has since primarily focused his time into running the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar in Mallorca, Spain. Last year, Toni led coaching duties as Nadal defeated Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 to lift his 10th title on the Parisian terre battue. This week, however, Toni is in Paris solely to support the World No. 1 in his quest for an 11th championship at the event. He...
If you’re going to break through to your first Grand Slam quarter-final, you might as well do it in style, right? No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev came back from two sets to one down for the third consecutive match on Sunday, defeating Karen Khachanov to set a blockbuster quarter-final against two-time Roland Garros semi-finalist Dominic Thiem. And in doing so, Zverev joined an elite group. The German 21-year-old is the eighth player in the Open Era to survive three consecutive five-setters in Paris, and the first since Tommy Robredo in 2013. He is also the first to win three five-setters in a row at a major since Sam Querrey at Wimbledon last year. [ALSO LIKE] It was a long time...