This week’s $100,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Tiburon, California, has long been known as one of the most respected tournaments on the calendar, but now it will also be known for holding a record that likely won’t be broken anytime soon. On Wednesday, Canadians Philip Bester and Peter Polansky won a marathon 20-18 second set tie-break in their opening round doubles match over Darian King of Barbados and American #NextGen star Frances Tiafoe. The 38-point tie-break is the longest in Challenger doubles since the ATP began keeping records for such doubles matches in 2007. Bester/Polansky saved multiple match points to prevail in the tie-break. Including ATP World Tour matches, it is the second-longest tie-break, only behind a 25-23 marathon in a...
After being hampered by an elbow injury for several months, American teenager Michael Mmoh is finally healthy and producing the high quality tennis he’s capable of. Competing at this week’s $100,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Tiburon, California, the 18 year old is into his first Challenger quarter-final of 2016. Mmoh ousted sixth seed and fellow American Stefan Kozlov in a second-round clash on Wednesday. The match was mentally difficult for both because they’re close friends off the court, with Kozlov even recently beating Mmoh in a game of fantasy football. Kozlov said they had to “put the friendship aside and do their best” before walking on court, but Mmoh said playing a familiar face can sometimes provide an extra...
Already a four-time ATP World Tour champion this season, 23-year-old Dominic Thiem is riding high on his formula for success. The co-leader with Novak Djokovic for match wins this season, on 56, the Austrian is on track to qualify for his first Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. An often unrecognised statistic in his winning ways, though, is his enviable tour-leading 21-1 record in deciding sets for the year to date. “Every time I read it I’m impressed about the statistic,” Thiem laughs. It is a huge improvement on last season, a combination of factors the Austrian puts down to luck, fitness and a healthy dose of confidence. “A lot of things have an influence,” he said. “First of all, in...
Third seed Richard Gasquet is through to the Shenzhen Open semi-finals after edging qualifier Mischa Zverev 7-6(4), 7-6(2) on Friday. The Frenchman prevailed in just over two hours to claim his 28th win of the season. Zverev had not dropped a set in advancing to his first ATP World Tour quarter-final in almost a year, but came up just short against Gasquet, despite saving 11 of 14 break points. The German was looking to reach his first semi-final in six years. The 30-year-old Gasquet is chasing his second ATP World Tour title of the season, following victory in Montpellier in February (d. Mathieu). It has been, at times, a frustrating year for the right-hander, hampered by back, rib and abdominal...
Russian #NextGen star Karen Khachanov is through to his first ATP World Tour semi-final after taking down his second seeded opponent at the Chengdu Open on Friday. The 20-year-old Muscovite defeated fourth seed Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-4. In the first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting between the pair, it was the young Russian who outshone the Spaniard on serve, sending down 10 aces and conceding just six points on his first serve. He did not face a break point throughout. Lopez, a winner in Gstaad this season, was attempting to reach his fifth ATP World Tour semi-final of the season. He was broken once in each set and it was enough for the player 15 years his junior to close it...