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Granollers/Zeballos Seal Nitto ATP Finals Semi-Final Spot

Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos are the first confirmed semi-finalists at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals.

The Spanish-Argentine duo defeated top seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday evening in Turin to book their spot in the last four. They clinched a single break in each set to improve to 2-0 for the week at the Pala Alpitour and ensure their progress to the semi-finals at the prestigious season finale for the third time as a team (2020-21, 2023).

Granollers and Zeballos clinically converted both break points they earned to notch their 36th tour-level win of the year and improve to 6-7 as a team at the Nitto ATP Finals. Now 2-0 in Green Group, the fifth seeds are assured of a semi-final spot regardless of what happens in their third match against Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni.

Dodig and Krajicek were not without their chances in the first tour-level meeting on a hard court between the two teams. They carved out four break points in the first set, but were unable to convert any as Granollers and Zeballos held firm at key moments throughout the 87-minute encounter.

The Croatian-American duo Dodig and Krajieck, who lead the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings with a 39-14 record, enter their final match against Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin on Friday with a 1-1 record for the week. The match will be a shootout for second place in the group, with Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin also 1-1 after they beat Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni.

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Alcaraz, Rublev Eager To Make Most Of Second Chance In Turin

The Red Group returns to the court on Wednesday at the Nitto ATP Finals, where Carlos Alcaraz and Andrey Rublev will meet in the afternoon followed by an evening installment of the long-running Daniil Medvedev vs. Alexander Zverev rivalry.

It will be a maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting between Alcaraz and Rublev, who will both seek to bounce back from opening defeats in Turin. In contrast, familiar foes Medvedev and Zverev contest their 18th tour-level meeting, with the winner set to improve to 2-0 in the group stage.

[2] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) vs. [5] Andrey Rublev

Making his debut at the Nitto ATP FInals, Alcaraz won the opening set against Zverev but the German ultimately prevailed 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4. It was the Spaniard's third defeat in a row — but unlike after the previous two, he still has a chance to make amends in Turin.

“It’s the only tournament where a loss does not knock you out,” Alcaraz said on Monday. “I still have a chance to continue improving and to get through the group stage. Tomorrow I’ll practise to improve everything that I didn’t do well today, which is a lot."

Specifically, Alcaraz was unhappy with his consistency in the quick conditions at the Pala Alpitour. Rublev looked right at home on the slick surface early in his matchup against Daniil Medvedev, but a few loose errors at key points — and seven break-point saves by the World No. 3 late in the opening set — shifted the match decisively in Medvedev's favour.

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Can India’s Cricket World Cup Charge Inspire Bopanna In Turin?

Rohan Bopanna is preparing for one of the most significant matches of his season Wednesday at the Nitto ATP Finals. While he will be fully focused on his latest doubles clash alongside Matthew Ebden at Turin's Pala Alpitour, he may also look for inspiration from some fellow Indian sportsmen more than 6,500 kilometres away.

At the same time as Bopanna and Ebden’s Red Group meeting with Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler, the Indian men’s national cricket team will be in action in Mumbai, where it takes on New Zealand in a World Cup semi-final. In a country where cricket is akin to a religion, it is a huge occasion, and one that Bopanna is all too aware of despite being so far away.

“I am following it, of course” Bopanna told ATPTour.com when asked about the World Cup, where host nation India has won all nine of its matches so far. “I love cricket. Unfortunately, I have not been able to watch it, because Italy right now is not really showing the cricket, unless I try and find a stream online or something!

“I think the way India is playing this year, it's really looking extremely good. I think, overall, [the whole team] is performing. It's not just that one or two players are doing well. The bowlers, the batsmen, everybody is coming together as a team, and I think we've got some fantastic home support.”


Matthew Ebden and Rohan Bopanna in action during their opening loss on Monday in Turin. Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour

India’s cricket players are widely recognised figures at home. Star batsman Virat Kohli has one of the most-followed Instagram accounts in the world, with 263 million followers, and he is one of a handful of cricket stars with whom Bopanna shares a positive relationship.

Sachin Tendulkar/Virat Kohli
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Tsitsipas 'Really Gutted' About Back Injury, Withdraws From Nitto ATP Finals

Stefanos Tsitsipas apologised to the fans during his press conference on Tuesday at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he retired three games into his match with Holger Rune due to a back injury. The Greek has withdrawn from the season finale and will be replaced in Green Group by Hubert Hurkacz.

“My apologies to all the fans and the crowd that came to support me today and watch the match. I'm really gutted that I wasn't able to finish the match. It's a shame also not to give that spot to someone else to at least try and do something with it,” Tsitsipas said. “My doctors and the countless visits that I had in the past few days suggested that I play, gave me the green light to go and try it for myself.

“Unfortunately, I felt terrible on the court. I did what I could do in the best possible way to be ready and fit for this match, but it didn't work out for me.”

Tsitsipas held his lone service game against Rune and earned two break points against the Dane. But at the first changeover, he retired.

“I hate retiring from matches,” Tsitsipas said. “I’m not the kind of person that likes leaving mid match. It kills me not to be able to finish this tournament, the one that I've prepped for for so long, made sure that I'm completely fit to perform at my best and show my capacities as a player.”

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All Rise For Rune! Why Becker & Team Get On Their Feet

Holger Rune hired former World No. 1 Boris Becker as his coach last month. Since then, Rune has rejuvenated his season following a mid-year slump. With a semi-final appearance in Basel backed up by a quarter-final run in Paris, Rune is now making his Nitto ATP Finals debut with Becker in his corner.

One notable trait in their young partnership is how often Becker rises to his feet while watching his player compete.

“Might be for the blood flow for the legs,” Rune joked in his post-match press conference. “I just think when he wants to do the coaching, he stands up. He can express more, his way of coaching me. So I think that's why. I haven't asked him why he does it.

“When I worked with Patrick [Mouratoglou], he also did it a lot. I think it's just a character thing that some do, some don't do. I like the way my box behaves. It's cool to have him, Lapo [Becherini] (strength & conditioning coach), Mike [James] (data analyst) and my mom to be here with me.”

Rune improved to 1-1 in Green Group on Tuesday when Stefanos Tsitsipas was forced to retire after just three games. The World No. 8 Rune, who suffered a three-set defeat to Novak Djokovic earlier this week, is soaking in his Turin debut.

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#NextGenATP Teen Michelsen On Top 100 Debut: ‘This Isn’t The End Goal’

Alex Michelsen had just earned his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title in Chicago this July before arriving at the ATP Tour event in Newport, where he remembers having a ‘pinch-me’ moment.

The #NextGenATP American was enjoying his first week inside the Top 200 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and his breakthrough was only just beginning. Michelsen downed countryman and former World No. 8 John Isner, 19 years his senior, at the grass-court 250 tournament. It was an instant confidence booster that gave Michelsen the belief he could be where he is today: inside the Top 100.

“After beating John in the semis of Newport, that didn’t really feel real,” Michelsen told ATPTour.com. “I was telling myself throughout the match I could win it but when I actually won it, I was like, ‘Oh my God, that was crazy.’”

On Monday, Isner, who officially retired from pro tennis at the US Open, was among those to text Michelsen, congratulating the teenager on his latest milestone. Michelsen’s triumph at the Knoxville Challenger, his second title at that level, squeezed him inside the Top 100, at World No. 99.

“When I woke up and saw the rankings, it felt pretty good. It felt good to see myself next to two digits,” Michelsen said. “I’m always going for more, this isn’t the end goal.”

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Tsitsipas Retires In Turin, Hands Rune Win

Holger Rune will be credited with his first win in the Green Group after Stefanos Tsitsipas was forced to retire due to a medical reason after just three games of their Nitto ATP Finals round-robin match Tuesday afternoon in Turin.

The 20-year-old Dane lost his first match on debut against Novak Djokovic but is now 1-1 in Green Group play after the Greek was forced to retire after just 15 minutes inside the Pala Alpitour with Rune leading 2-1.

"For me, it's important to be fit and feel good with my back. The pain was very big," Tsitsipas said following his retirement due to a back injury. "I've gone through pain during matches in the past, and I endured pain, but this was clearly too much to handle. I had to take the difficult decision to do what I did.

"I felt it at the second game of the match. I actually felt it in the warm-up with my serve. Warming up on my serve, I felt very irritated and lots of pain hitting me on my back. I kind of knew at that time that I might not be able to go all the way."

[ATP APP]

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Gonzalez/Roger-Vasselin Notch First Finals Win

Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin kept alive their Nitto ATP Finals hopes on Tuesday when they moved past Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 6-4, 6-4 to improve to 1-1 in Green Group play.

The fourth seeds lost to Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in their opening match but responded well against Gonzalez and Molteni, firing eight aces and winning 94 per cent (30/32) of their first-serve points to triumph after 77 minutes.

Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin joined forces for the first time at the start of this season and enjoyed a standout year. The Mexican-French team won five tour-level trophies, including ATP Masters 1000 crowns in Miami and Paris.

[ATP APP]

Gonzalez, 40, is the first Mexican to qualify for the year-end event since Jorge Lozano in 1989, while Roger-Vasselin, 39, is appearing at the Nitto ATP Finals for the third time. Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin will play Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek in their final round-robin match on Thursday.

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Medvedev: 'Friends & Enemies Don't Exist' On The Court

Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev are two of the closest friends on the ATP Tour, so much so that Rublev is godfather to Medvedev's daughter. But across their nine Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings, they have also become familiar foes on the court.

Medvedev, who leads the series 7-2 following his straight-sets win on Monday at the Nitto ATP Finals, says he is able to put their relationship to one side in between the lines.

"To be honest, on court, I don't know how it is for him — for me on court, doesn't exist, friends, enemies. I just try to win the match. I don't think about anything else.

"But when the last point is finished, it's like I feel sorry for him, he lost the match. But it's the same for him. If he beats me, I mean, last year was brutal when he beat me [in Turin]. So I felt for one or two days he was kind of shy to talk to me, taking care.

"It's the same. You always try to look at him and see if tomorrow we can talk like normal. I'm going to say to him good luck, go for it the next matches, and he's probably going to say the same."

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Rublev Rues Missed Chances In Medvedev Defeat

Andrey Rublev played a brilliant opening set against Daniil Medvedev but was second best in the key moments in an eventual 6-4, 6-2 defeat on Monday night at the Nitto ATP Finals. While the fifth seed was pleased with his level during the first set, he was left to rue the few untimely errors that cost him.

"The feeling was that as soon as we had a rally, I was playing well and I had great chances," said Rublev, who missed out on seven break points in his last two return games of the opening set. "I was not able to use my serve really well to open the court. When he had important moments, I think almost all the break points he saved with a good serve.

"I had some chances, a drive volley that I missed. I had an opportunity [at] 5-4, 0/30, I had quite an easy drive forehand, and I didn't hit it clean, and the rally continued. He played really well. Also the [service game] that I lost in the first set, I missed two easy balls. One was a backhand in the middle of the court, then break point. Those things in the end make a huge difference."

[SWEEPSTAKES]

The defeat dropped Rublev to 2-7 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Medvedev, but he is becoming more accustomed to facing the unique challenge his close friend presents on the court.

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Can Home Hope Sinner Snap Djokovic's Winning Streak In Turin?

Defending champion Novak Djokovic and home favourite Jannik Sinner seek to maintain their perfect starts at the Nitto ATP Finals on Tuesday evening. The pair clashes in the evening session at Turin's Pala Alpitour, where both players could seal a semi-final spot with a victory.

[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. [4] Jannik Sinner (ITA)

Hugely popular in Italy and a speaker of the local language, Novak Djokovic is used to channelling plenty of fans’ support in Turin.

That is not likely to be the case on Tuesday night, when the World No. 1 steps out to take on home favourite Jannik Sinner inside the Pala Alpitour. Both players enter their fourth Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting fresh from an opening win in Green Group, and both could seal a semi-final spot with victory.

Sinner will advance if he downs Djokovic in straight sets, or with a three-set triumph combined with Tsitsipas beating Rune earlier in the day. The 22-year-old Italian is searching for his first tour-level win against the six-time Nitto ATP Finals champion Djokovic and will hope to embrace home support, including from his fan club ‘The Carota Boys’, as well as he did in easing past Tsitsipas in his opening match.

"The atmosphere was really, really nice," Sinner said after his opening win. "It's huge pleasure for me to play here in Turin, in Italy. Obviously, a little bit more pressure, but I managed it really well today, so I'm happy."

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Lopez Recognised In Turin For Standout Career

Feliciano Lopez was recognised for his standout career on Monday in Turin.

The Spaniard retired in June, then aged 41, after losing in the quarter-finals of the Mallorca Championships. The lefty won two matches at the ATP 250 to close out his career on a high.

ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Player Representative Pablo Andujar and former World No. 5 Rainer Schuettler were among those who paid tribute to Lopez.

“I feel very proud of my career. I think I have achieved much more than I expected when I started playing professionally,” Lopez told ATPTour.com. “It's been great being here again, seeing everyone and I just want to say thank you to everyone who has been working with me for the past 20 years helping me in every single way. And also, it's been very nice that they give us a last goodbye with this presentation that I had a few hours ago with Andrea, with [ATP Senior Vice President of Player Relations] Fernando [Sanchez]. It's been great.”

Lopez entertained fans around the world for more than two decades with his aggressive, net-crashing game. The lefty became known for his booming serve and fearless game. He won 766 tour-level matches between singles and doubles, 13 combined titles and more than $18 million in prize money.

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Medvedev Gains Rublev Revenge In Top-Class Turin Opener

After losing third-set tie-breaks in each of his Nitto ATP Finals matches last season, Daniil Medvedev played two sets of the highest quality to bounce back with a 6-4, 6-2 victory against Andrey Rublev in his 2023 opener.

The close friends treated the Turin crowd to a breathtaking match full of lung-busting rallies, with Medvedev saving seven break points in the opening set — all in his last two service games of the set — before dominating from the start in set two.

"I felt good and I managed to put it on the court," Medvedev said post-match. "First set was really tough. I managed to just get a little bit the upper hand on the most clutch moments, and this helped me in the second, so I'm really happy."

[SWEEPSTAKES]

The result extended Medvedev's lead for most tour-level wins (65) and most hard-court wins (48) this season and provided the perfect start in his bid to equal Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz on six tour-level titles on the year. Three of those match wins have come against Rublev this season (also in Dubai and at the US Open), after Rublev beat Medvedev in Turin last season. Medvedev now holds a 7-2 advantage in the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

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In Land Of Second Chances, Alcaraz Wants To 'Win Everything Put In Front Of Me'

For the first time, Carlos Alcaraz has lost a match but is still in with a chance of winning an ATP Tour tournament. With the exception of the Davis Cup, a team event with a very different format, the Spaniard had never before suffered a defeat and had to return to his hotel and focus on his next clash in the same event. Such is the current situation for the No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings at the Nitto ATP Finals. 

After succumbing to Alexander Zverev, Alcaraz will be back on court on Wednesday in the knowledge that he can still progress to the semi-finals.

“Congratulations to Alex for the win!” wrote the Spaniard on his Instagram account.  “This tournament is different in many ways, and one of them is that it allows you to reach the semis despite losing the first match. We will give our all on Wednesday!”

[SWEEPSTAKES]

Unlike any standard tournament on the ATP Tour, where a defeat sends you packing, the Nitto ATP Finals and its group stage mean players can bounce back from a poor start. There are many examples of players who have lost their opener and gone on to reach the semi-finals. There is also the case of Nikolay Davydenko in 2009. In the competition’s first year in the O2 Arena in London, after a stint in Shanghai from 2005 to 2008, Davydenko lost to Novak Djokovic on Day 1, but later beat Rafael Nadal and Robin Soderling (group stage), Roger Federer (semis), and Juan Martín del Potro (final) to get his hands on the title.

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Defending Champs Ram/Salisbury Return With Win In Turin

Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury sealed a happy return to the Nitto ATP Finals on Monday in Turin.

The 2022 champions at the prestigious season finale overcame Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden 6-3, 6-4 in their opening Red Group match. A single break in each set was enough for Ram and Salisbury to clinch a 61-minute triumph and extend their winning streak at the Pala Alpitour to six matches.

The fast court in Turin appeared tailor-made for Ram and Salisbury during their 2022 title run, and the American-British duo capitalised on the conditions expertly again on Monday with a high-class serving performance. They won 83 per cent (30/36) of points behind first deliveries and saved the only break point they faced at 1-2, 40/40 in the second set.

It was the second time this year that the teams had clashed on the big stage, after Ram and Salisbury also defeated Bopanna and Ebden in the US Open final in September. The American-British pair is aiming in Turin to become a tour-level champion for the fourth time this season, having also lifted trophies in Lyon and Vienna.

The third-seeded Bopanna and Ebden arrived in Italy having reached the championship match at their past three tournaments — the US Open, the Rolex Shanghai Masters, and the Rolex Paris Masters. India’s Bopanna is a two-time finalist at the Nitto ATP Finals, having reached that stage in London in 2012 and 2015.

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Doubles Stars Ready For 'Dream Come True', 'Bucket List' Nitto ATP Finals

This year’s doubles field at the Nitto ATP Finals features a mix of established teams and breakthrough stars. Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek are leading the way as the top seeds.

“It feels great to come back here, for us a second time as a team together. I'm really enjoying it. Happy that we had a great season. And to finish it here, it's always the best thing,” Dodig said. “That's why we fight through the year, to play this one. And hopefully this time we can have a good run.

“Last year, we had great matches. We lost all the matches in the [Match] Tie-break. Hopefully this time, we can do it better. But all in all, great season. Happy to be back.”

The best of the best ?

Which team will come out on top and claim the #NittoATPFinals ?? pic.twitter.com/cfjumyXx8v

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 11, 2023

Dodig and Krajicek won this year’s Roland Garros title and triumphed on four other occasions: at Rotterdam, Monte-Carlo, Queen’s Club and Beijing. But the Croatian-American duo will face stern tests in every match of Green Group action, with all teams in Turin champions in their own right.

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Scouting Report: Djokovic, Alcaraz Lead Groups In Turin

The ATP Tour's best singles and doubles players have descended on Turin for the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic leads the singles field alongside Carlos Alcaraz, who is making his debut at the season finale.

Former champions Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas will bid for another year-end crown, with Jannik Sinner, Andrey Rublev and Holger Rune all seeking their first Nitto ATP Finals trophy.

ATPTour.com breaks down five things to watch at the season finale.

[SWEEPSTAKES]

1) Djokovic's Records Quest, No. 1 Chase: The Serbian is seeking a record-breaking seventh Nitto ATP Finals crown, which would break a tie with Roger Federer. He could also secure a record-extending seventh ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone honour with one match win in Turin or a single defeat by the chasing Alcaraz.

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Escobar/Nedovyesov Win Sofia Doubles Title; Nys/Zielinski Retain Metz Crown

Gonzalo Escobar and Aleksandr Nedovyesov saved two mach points in the Sofia doubles final to claim their second tour-level title as a team. The Ecuadorian/Kazakhstani team defeated third seeds Julian Cash and Nikola Mektic 6-3, 3-6, 13-11 to earn a dramatic victory in what was their fourth final in 14 tour-level tournaments together.

"A [Match] Tie-break is always a lottery, but I think in the end we were just a little bit more aggressive," said Nedovyesov. "Luck was there as well I guess... It was a great tournament."

Escobar/Nedovyesov will finish the season in 23rd place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings after a successful close to a week in which Escobar earned his 100th tour-level doubles win. The Sofia title is the Ecuadorian's fifth at tour-level and Nedovyesov's second.

"Very happy for the title. But it's also been a tough year, so this makes me proud of the work we've done," added Escobar.


Photo credit: Moselle Open

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Doubles Stars Ready For Nitto ATP Finals

The doubles stars of the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals gathered on Saturday for Media Day, during which they took the Official Doubles Photo at the Pala Alpitour.

Ivan Dodig/Austin Krajicek, Wesley Koolhof/Neal Skupski, Rohan Bopanna/Matthew Ebden, Santiago Gonzalez/Edouard Roger-Vasselin, Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos, Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury, Maximo Gonzalez/Andres Molteni and Rinky Hijikata/Jason Kubler will compete for the ultimate title. 

Ram and Salisbury are the defending champions. Top seeds Dodig and Krajicek lead the Green Group and second seeds Koolhof and Skupski head the Red Group.

Action begins on Sunday in Turin, where Dodig/Krajicek will play the first match of the tournament against seventh seeds Gonzalez and Molteni. In the evening session, Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin will face Granollers and Zeballos.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

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Forsaken By Fortune Last Year, Medvedev Eyes Better Times In Turin

Daniil Medvedev is looking to cap arguably the most successful season of his career this coming week in Turin, where he intends to shake off three heart-breaking losses at the Nitto ATP Finals last year.

Medvedev, who has won a career best 64 matches this season to sit at No.3 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings coming into the season finale, was in high spirits at Friday’s media day activity at the Palace of Turin, projecting to his opening round-robin match Monday against close friend Andrey Rublev.

“I love playing in Italy,” Medvedev told ATP Media. “I think, honestly, Italian fans love me. I had great support all the time I have been playing in Rome and Turin. So I am happy to be back and hopefully I can show some good tennis.”

Medvedev won a career-best five titles this season, including an unexpected ATP Masters 1000 on clay in Rome. When asked about his season overall, Medvedev remarked, “If we take out the Grand Slams, it's the best of my life. I don’t have a Grand Slam because Carlos and Novak are playing very good tennis. Still a very good year, especially the first part of the year.

“The second part was great for different reasons, but probably just a little bit worse. I would have wanted one title because I was not able to get one. The season is not finished so I’m going to try to show my best here.”

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