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Challenger Q&A: Nishioka Notches First Title In Comeback

Challenger Q&A: Nishioka Notches First Title In Comeback

Just 13 months ago, Yoshihito Nishioka was lying in a hospital bed, beginning his slow and arduous journey back from leg surgery. The 22-year-old Japanese had torn his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), an injury that kept him on the sidelines for the remainder of the 2017 season. What a difference a year makes. Nishioka returned to the winners' circle on Sunday in Gimcheon, Korea, securing a bittersweet first ATP Challenger Tour crown in his comeback. He would claim seven wins in eight days as a qualifier, capped by a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Vasek Pospisil in the final.  After battling through a pair of three-set encounters in qualifying, Nishioka would breeze through the main draw without dropping a set, scoring...

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5 Things We Learned From Madrid

5 Things We Learned From Madrid

1. Zverev Feeling Comfortable On Clay Again So much for feeling the pressure to repeat. German Alexander Zverev reached two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 finals in 2017 (Rome, d. Djokovic; Montreal, d. Federer), his breakout season on Tour. Already this year, however, Zverev has matched his Masters 1000 finals appearances, making the Miami Open presented by Itau title final (l. to Isner) and the Mutua Madrid Open title match on Sunday (d. Thiem). The 21-year-old also has more Masters 1000 titles than any active player outside the “Big Four” of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Zverev, the defending Rome champion, might also run into Federer in the near future in the ATP Race To London....

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Zverev's Winning Formula: Quick-Strike Tennis, Unbreakable Serving

The metrics behind Alexander Zverev’s 6-4, 6-4 victory over Dominic Thiem in the Mutua Madrid Open final on Sunday make you take a deep, hard look at where winning and losing really occurs in a tennis match. It’s in the first two touches. And then daylight. When Zverev and Thiem either struck the ball once, which was a serve and a return, or they added just one more shot each to the rally but no more, that counted for 65 per cent (70/108) of all points. [ALSO LIKE] A maximum of two shots in the court for each player basically equalled two out of every three points in the match. This is where winning and losing really occurs – even...

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