Tag: Taylor Fritz

Tennis

AUS OPEN 2023: Ruud, Zverev and Fritz all stunned, Murray weaves his magic again in epic on Day 4

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Casper Ruud of Norway reacts in the round two singles match against Jenson Brooksby of the United States during day four of the 2023 Australian Open...

Casper Ruud’s four-set loss to Jenson Brooksby – on a brilliant Day 4 for American players not named Taylor Fritz – marks the first time a Grand Slam’s top two seeds have been knocked out before round three since this very tournament 21 years ago. Elsewhere, Aryna Sabalenka faces her Major-winning doubles teammate in the next round, Daniel Evans will meet a familiar foe while Andy Murray surpassed his Matteo Berrettini scalp after the longest match of his career.
Continue reading “AUS OPEN 2023: Ruud, Zverev and Fritz all stunned, Murray weaves his magic again in epic on Day 4” →

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AUS OPEN 2023: Nadal, Swiatek and more in round-up, draw analysis as year’s first Major starts Monday

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Rafael Nadal of Spain plays a backhand shot during a practice session ahead of the 2023 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 13, 2023 in...

2023 brings a new year packed with resolutions, time-specific targets and compelling storylines too. With the year’s first Major tournament set to begin on Monday in Melbourne, here’s a news round-up before the big occasion finally gets underway – from player withdrawals, injury scares, progress reports from recent tournaments and my draw analysis for both tours.
Continue reading “AUS OPEN 2023: Nadal, Swiatek and more in round-up, draw analysis as year’s first Major starts Monday” →

Tennis

USA secure United Cup, Sabalenka and Gauff win clean while Djokovic saves match point to pip Korda

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Novak Djokovic of Serbia mens champion after defeating Sebastian Korda of the USA during day eight of the 2023 Adelaide International at Memorial...

What a day of finals action. USA swept Italy in the inaugural United Cup, before American teenager Coco Gauff and world no. 5 Aryna Sabalenka both prevailed in straight-sets to clinch their first WTA singles titles since May 2021 while Novak Djokovic recovered from the brink – match point down – to eventually overwhelm Sebastian Korda to win his 92nd ATP title. Continue reading “USA secure United Cup, Sabalenka and Gauff win clean while Djokovic saves match point to pip Korda” →

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USA vs. Italy sealed for United Cup final, Gauff-Masarova and Djokovic-Korda finals plus more

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Greeces Stefanos Tsitsipas embraces Italys Matteo Berrettini after their mens singles in the semi-final of the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney...

USA vs. Italy awaits in the United Cup final after both nations took care of business. Coco Gauff faces Spanish qualifier Rebeka Masarova in tomorrow’s finale, while Tallon Griekspoor became a first-time ATP tour-level titlist with a recovery win over Benjamin Bonzi. Elsewhere, Sebastian Korda’s steady tennis helped him book a final berth, but not before witnessing an emotional outburst – while Novak Djokovic bested Daniil Medvedev despite weathering an injury scare. Continue reading “USA vs. Italy sealed for United Cup final, Gauff-Masarova and Djokovic-Korda finals plus more” →

Tennis

Tennis: United Cup’s final four teams confirmed, Rybakina and Andreescu lose in Adelaide and more

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Greece's Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrate with teammates their win over Croatia's Petra Martic and Borna Gojo at the end of their mixed...

Maria Sakkari called this one of the best weeks in her career. Jessica Pegula spoke for team USA, stressing their excitement for what’s to come. Poland are deadly in unison and we’re only halfway through: the United Cup’s final four nations were sealed after a manic day’s action – with a few surprising results as expected across tour-level tournaments elsewhere today. Continue reading “Tennis: United Cup’s final four teams confirmed, Rybakina and Andreescu lose in Adelaide and more” →

Tennis

United Cup: Berrettini, Sakkari, Wawrinka all prevail before Kubler clinches big win for team Australia

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Jason Kubler of Australia celebrates victory in the Group D match against Daniel Evans of Great Britain during day two of the 2023 United Cup at Ken...

There were straight-set victories for Matteo Berrettini, Maria Sakkari and Stan Wawrinka among others but the big story came in the evening as home favourite Jason Kubler recovered from a 5-0 second set deficit to overwhelm world no. 27 Dan Evans and secure Australia’s first-ever United Cup triumph, on an eventful second day of group action at the tournament. Continue reading “United Cup: Berrettini, Sakkari, Wawrinka all prevail before Kubler clinches big win for team Australia” →

Tennis

Australian Open 2023: Zverev, Norrie eager to ramp up their preparations in Saudi Arabia event

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Zverev Alexander tennis player during the 2022/2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 10 match between AS Monaco and FC Bayern Munich...

Olympic champion Alexander Zverev’s long-awaited comeback from ankle surgery, after an unexpected setback, is less than a fortnight away now. He’s looking forward to returning against a competitive field for Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah Tennis Cup, which includes 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev and Cameron Norrie, hoping the three-day event serves him well as the British no. 1 looks to banish his historical Australian Open struggles come early 2023. Continue reading “Australian Open 2023: Zverev, Norrie eager to ramp up their preparations in Saudi Arabia event” →

Tennis

ATP Finals: Djokovic outlasts Ruud to seal record-equalling sixth title, ending a memorable 2022

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Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after winning the match between Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Casper Ruud of Norway during day eight of the Nitto...

2022 started with the now-former world no. 1 being embarrassed in Australia, deported as he prepared to defend his Grand Slam title – an easy target for vilification worldwide given his vaccination stance. It ends with Novak Djokovic clinching a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals title despite Casper Ruud’s best efforts, another result during an eventful week in Turin setting up the new season perfectly with plenty of compelling questions now bubbling to the surface. Continue reading “ATP Finals: Djokovic outlasts Ruud to seal record-equalling sixth title, ending a memorable 2022” →

Tennis

Simon stuns Fritz to extend his retirement party; Sakkari into semi-finals with Sabalenka win

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Gilles Simon during his match against Taylor Fritz on the center court in Rolex Paris Masters tennis tournament 2022 day three.

After battling from a perilous position against Andy Murray on Monday, the retiring Gilles Simon extended his retirement party with a rousing three-set win over Tokyo champion Taylor Fritz, hours before Maria Sakkari became the first woman to secure a WTA Finals’ knockout stage berth after a 6-2, 6-4 win over Aryna Sabalenka – though the scoreline doesn’t tell the full story.
Continue reading “Simon stuns Fritz to extend his retirement party; Sakkari into semi-finals with Sabalenka win” →

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Fritz downs Tiafoe in Japan while Djokovic, Mertens and Krejcikova seal titles on busy Sunday

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Taylor Fritz of the United States poses with the trophy after defeating Frances Tiafoe of the United States in the singles final game on day seven of...

New career-highs sealed, valuable points for the year-end finals secured, records broken and more besides across the tennis circuit. Taylor Fritz, Novak Djokovic, Elise Mertens and Barbora Krejcikova all won their respective finals across Europe, Asia and Africa – read on for more.
Continue reading “Fritz downs Tiafoe in Japan while Djokovic, Mertens and Krejcikova seal titles on busy Sunday” →

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Japan Open: Tiafoe outlasts Kwon after topsy-turvy clash, friend Fritz awaits in Sunday’s final

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Frances Tiafoe of the United States celebrates winning Soonwoo Kwon of Republic of Korea during on day six of the Rakuten Japan Open at Ariake...

Frances Tiafoe will contest his second ATP final of 2022 after enduring a rollercoaster ride to eventually overcome Soonwoo Kwon 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 in their Japan Open semi-final. He’ll play Taylor Fritz in Sunday’s showpiece event, after his compatriot and friend similarly did things the hard way to extinguish Denis Shapovalov’s hopes of securing consecutive tour-level finals. Continue reading “Japan Open: Tiafoe outlasts Kwon after topsy-turvy clash, friend Fritz awaits in Sunday’s final” →

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Japan Open: Tiafoe’s blistering start helps him overwhelm Kecmanovic in quarter-finals

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Frances Tiafoe of the US reacts during his men's singles quarter-final match against Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia at the Japan Open tennis tournament...

US Open semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe is into his third ATP tour-level semi-final of 2022 after a remarkable start – firing on all cylinders – proved key in helping him overpower Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic in a tussle between two players on similar trajectories. The 24-year-old American will next play either Pedro Martinez or Soonwoo Kwon in little over 24 hours time, with multiple factors meaning a winnable path has seriously opened up in this week’s ATP 500 event.
Continue reading “Japan Open: Tiafoe’s blistering start helps him overwhelm Kecmanovic in quarter-finals” →