Looking for Tennis and Racket Sports International News?

Tennis is a 55-45 sport.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of match winners vs. match losers identifies that match winners on average win 55 per cent of points in a match while match losers still accumulate a healthy 45 per cent of total points played. The data set includes 464 players who have competed in 100 matches or more in their career from the 1991 season when official match statistics were first recorded.

When analysing only match winners, Rafael Nadal sits at the top of the tree as the most dominant player in our sport in the past 30+ years. When Nadal wins his matches, he consistently creates a greater margin of victory than any other player. The leading three players with the highest percentage of points won when winning matches are below.

Percentage Of Points Won By Match Winners
1. Rafael Nadal = 56.40%
2. Novak Djokovic = 56.12%
3. Roger Federer = 55.91%

It’s fascinating to see the “Big Three” grouped together at the top of the leaderboard all within one percentage point of each other.

It was smooth sailing for Daniil Medvedev in the beach town of Los Cabos on Thursday, as the World No. 1 eased into the semi-finals of the Abierto de Tenis Mifel.

After earning his 250th match win in the opening round as he found his footing back on the hard courts for the first time since March, Medvedev reached a new gear in his debut at the ATP 250 with a 6-2, 6-2 victory against Ricardas Berankis.

[ATP APP]

Medvedev dropped just three points on first serve, but made fewer than half of his first deliveries in the one-hour, 19-minute contest. He saved two break points in the opening set and had to navigate through a two-deuce service game midway throughout the second.

The 26-year-old is two wins away from his first title of 2022, and one win away from securing his place atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings until after the US Open, where he will be defending 2,000 points as the reigning champion.

After defeating last week’s Atlanta finalists Jenson Brooksby and Alex de Minaur in consecutive matches to kick-start his week at the Citi Open, Yoshihito Nishioka upset seventh seed Karen Khachanov 7-6(2), 7-6(1) on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals in the U.S. capital for the first time. 

It was one of only three singles matches to be completed before heavy rain brought an early end to the day's play.

"Feeling wonderful," the 26-year-old said after his latest victory. "From the first round, a very tough opponent [in Brooksby]. And then De Minuar, we always play tough matches with each other. Everybody knows he is fast, and I am fast, so everyone is thinking 'who is faster?' It was a battle yesterday."

[ATP APP]

Fighting back from 1-4 down in the second set on Thursday, the World No. 96 edged through to notch his first win against Khachanov in three ATP Head2Head meetings and advance to his second tour-level quarter-final of the 2022 season (Acapulco).

Playing in his first match since June and making his debut at the Abierto de Tenis Mifel, Daniil Medvedev eased back into competition with a 6-4, 6-3 result against Australian wild card Rinky Hijikata.

The World No. 1 earned his 250th match win as he returned to his favoured hard courts for the first time since his run to the Miami quarter-finals in March.

"Somebody told me this a few days ago at media day, otherwise I would not have known," Medvedev said of the reaching the 250-wins landmark. "That's probably a milestone in a way. For sure I want more victories but that's also nice to have 250. We'll try to get more."

Medvedev secured his first break of the match to seal the opening set as he settled in on the Los Cabos stadium court, then converted on his fifth break point of the second midway through the set. 

"It's definitely not that easy to play after you stop for a while, especially [playing my] first match on hard courts in a long, long time, since Miami," he said. "Sensations were not bad. I could have just broke a little bit more, but when you win, everything is fine. I have to play like this in the next matches."

Nick Kyrgios will have to beat three Americans in as many days to reach the Citi Open quarter-finals. After easing past Marcos Giron in the opening round, the 2019 Washington champion scored a 6-3, 6-4 decision in an entertaining evening match against 14th seed Tommy Paul on Wednesday.

That sets up a Round-of-16 showdown with fourth seed Reilly Opelka, who leads the pair's ATP Head2Head 2-0.

Kyrgios saved all four break points he faced against Paul, who used his athleticism and consistency to play his part in a crowd-pleasing match under the D.C. lights. The American created three of those break points at 2-2 in the second set as he began to pick up the Kyrgios serve, but could not edge in front.

[ATP APP]

Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios did not create a break point in the second set until the final game, when his third break of the match closed it out after one hour and 25 minutes. He also earned a straight-sets win against Marcos Giron on Tuesday, claiming a win in his first singles match since his first major final.

Felix Auger-Aliassime used a quick start and a finishing flurry to open his account with a win at the Abierto de Tenis Mifel in Los Cabos. Playing against home favourite Alex Hernandez on Wednesday, the second seed denied the Mexican wild card a famous victory by taking a 6-3, 7-5 decision.

The Canadian won the first three games of the match but twice found himself down a break in the second set as Hernandez gave the Stadium CSC crowd plenty to cheer about. The World No. 521 was aided by his opponent's 58 per cent first-serve percentage, though Auger-Aliassime dominated when he did connect on his first delivery, winning those points at an 83 per cent clip (35/42).

From 2-5 down in the second set, Auger-Aliassime won the last five games of the match — but not before a nervy final game in which he saved two break points after leading 30/0.

The victory sees the Canadian advance to his 10th tour-level quarter-final of 2022, equalling his personal best for a single season (2021). He will next face seventh seed Thanasi Kokkinakis or Steve Johnson.

More to follow...

The sixth ATP Masters 1000 event of the season will see the ATP Tour's best compete at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers.

Here's what you need to know ahead of the tournament in Montreal:

When is the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers?

The 2022 National Bank Open Presented by Rogers will be held from 8 August-14 August. The hard-court ATP Masters 1000 tournament, established in 1881, will take place at Stade IGA in Montreal, Canada. The tournament director is Eugene Lapierre.

Who is playing at the 2022 National Bank Open Presented by Rogers?

The Montreal field will feature five-time champion Rafael Nadal, reigning titlist Daniil Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz and more.

When is the draw for the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers?

The Montreal draw will be made Friday 5 August at 4 p.m.

Three years ago Andy Murray and Jamie Murray defeated Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the first round of the Citi Open. On Wednesday, the Frenchmen earned their revenge.

Mahut and Roger-Vasselin eliminated Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares 6-3, 6-7(7), 10-4 to reach the quarter-finals in Washington. They will next play Nick Kyrgios and Jack Sock.

The Frenchmen have claimed seven tour-level titles together, most recently lifting the trophy in Tokyo in 2019. 

In other doubles action in the United States' capital, fourth seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek defeated Emil Ruusuvuori and Luke Saville 6-4, 6-4 to set a clash against Daniel Evans and John Peers.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

Canada's Denis Shapovalov was known to have a stuffed animal wolf in his player box in his early days on the ATP Tour. But on Wednesday at the Citi Open, he had to contend with J.J. Wolf across the net.

The unseeded American won the battle of 23-year-olds 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3 to advance to the Washington third round, breaking serve on five of seven chances. Despite hitting three aces to Shapovalov's 20, Wolf was more successful on both first and second serve and posted a strong 81 per cent (46/57) win rate on his first delivery.

Fuelled by the home support, the former Ohio State Buckeye also found success at net, winning 13 of his 16 approaches in the two-hour, 17-minute contest.

[ATP APP]

Entering the ATP 500 event as a newly minted member of the Top 100 for the first time, Wolf is up nine spots to No. 90 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings this week. With a 6-4 record on the season, he has twice before reached the Round of 16 on the ATP Tour this year (Acapulco, Houston). He also picked up wins at the ATP Masters 1000s in Indian Wells and Miami after qualifying for both events.

Emil Ruusuvuori lost the first set of his Citi Open run 1-6 against Mackenzie McDonald. The Finnish star has not looked back since.

After rallying past McDonald on Tuesday, Ruusuvuori upset second seed Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 7-6(3) on Wednesday to reach the third round at the ATP 500 event in Washington. The 23-year-old saved all four break points he faced against the Pole to triumph after one hour and 44 minutes.

"I just was able to hang in there in the first couple games. He had an early break point, but then I was able to keep that service game and give myself a chance to break him and I was able to use it and then just try to keep my own serve," Ruusuvuori said in his on-court interview. "I didn't have many chances until the [second-set] tie-break and then I got a look at a couple second serves and [made] a couple deep returns, so that gave me the chance."

Hurkacz battled hard until the end, relying on all the skills in his all-court game, even winning a point in the second set with a backhand skyhook and trying to pump up the crowd with a forehand passing shot. But Ruusuvuori  won back-to-back points on his opponent's serve late in the tie-break and that proved decisive.

"I just tried to hang in there and tried to stay as tough as [I] can," Ruusuvuori said. "[The] long rallies, they really drain you and you start to feel dizzy during the points, so [it was] very tough. But it's a part of the game during this period of the year."

With a bit of help from the crowd, Nick Kyrgios began his Citi Open campaign with victory on Tuesday, when he overcame Marcos Giron in straight sets.

The Australian lifted the trophy in Washington 2019 and during that run, he frequently asked fans where to serve on match point, with the entertaining strategy proving effective.

Three years on and in front of a packed crowd at the ATP 500 event, the 27-year-old was at it again, engaging with a supporter in the front row on match point to help him finish the job against Giron.

“In 2019 I was just doing that on match point, just asking someone in the crowd. I think it's a cool experience for someone that's paid money to come watch you play and potentially to go home with that memory,” Kyrgios said in his post-match press conference.

“If it's a young kid or an older lady like today, I think that's something that's pretty cool. I wish I had that experience when I was watching tennis matches.”

#NextGenATP American Brandon Nakashima continued his love affair with the Abierto de Tenis Mifel on Tuesday, moving past Japanese qualifier Kaichi Uchida 7-6(1), 6-2 to reach the second round in Los Cabos.

The 20-year-old enjoyed a run to his maiden tour-level final in Mexico last year and quickly looked at home at the ATP 250 event against Uchida, pulling the World No. 175 around the court with his explosive hitting to advance after one hour and 56 minutes.

Nakashima, currently seventh in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Milan, now holds a 7-0 record against players outside of the Top 100 this season. The World No. 61, who is aiming to win his maiden tour-level title this week, will next play Australian qualifier Max Purcell.

[ATP APP]

Mexican wild card Alex Hernandez overcame Colombian lucky loser Nicolas Barrientos 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to capture his first tour-level win.

A trip to the Citi Open was a home run in more ways than one for Major League Baseball star Francisco Lindor.

The popular shortstop for the New York Mets met several ATP Tour stars at the ATP 500 event early Tuesday, including Tommy Paul, Hubert Hurkacz and Jack Sock.

“It was really cool meeting him. I haven’t met many baseball players, but I told him I might go to a game if I have time,” Paul said. “I actually played baseball a little bit when I was really young, same position as him, so it was cool. I’ll probably pay attention to him playing a little bit more now.”

Lindor chats with Frances Tiafoe in Washington. Photo Credit: Richard Kessler/Citi Open
Lindor also bumped into Frances Tiafoe, whom he met at last year’s US Open.

“We’ve been cool for a little bit and kept in touch,” Tiafoe said. “The main thing I like about him is I like his swag, how cool he is and how he supports players in other sports.”

Back on the singles court Tuesday night for the first time since last month's Wimbledon final, Nick Kyrgios picked up where he left off with a dominant Citi Open win. 

Still donning his tennis whites — at least his shirt and cap — Kyrgios rolled past Marcos Giron 6-3, 6-2 in just under an hour. The Aussie was a different class once he settled into the evening session match, saving an early break point before dominating from 3-3 in the opening set.

"I came out a bit slow, obviously very different conditions to Wimbledon," said Kyrgios, who later admitted it took him a long time to get over his four-set final defeat to Novak Djokovic. "I think it was just a bit of nerves as well. I won the tournament in 2019. Seeing my name up on the stadium and then knowing I didn't play well here at all last year — I lost first round and I was just going through such a dark time in my life.

"I'm just so happy to be here with my team, the love and support from the crowd. I'm just really happy to be out here playing some good tennis again."

[ATP APP]

Playing together for the first time, Top 30 singles stars Alex de Minaur and Frances Tiafoe scored a big doubles upset on Tuesday at the Citi Open.

The Australian-American pair knocked off top seeds Rajeev Ram and Horacio Zeballos 6-4, 1-6, 10-2 to advance to the quarter-finals at the Washington ATP 500 event. With the defeat, Ram loses out on an opportunity to overtake his full-time partner Joe Salisbury at No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings.

De Minaur/Tiafoe struck late in the opening set but quickly lost the second after failing to convert from 15/40 at 0-2 down on return. But they used runs of four and five straight points to dominate the Match Tie-break.

[ATP APP]

The new-look pair advances to face Mackenzie McDonald and Botic van de Zandschulp, who advanced past Ilya Ivashka and Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-7(5), 10-8 on Monday.

It’s May at the Foro Italico and Denis Shapovalov is locked in an epic quarter-final battle with Rafael Nadal, the 10-time champion at the ATP Masters 1000 clay-court event in Rome. After being handed a breadstick in the opening set, the Canadian keeps faith in his fearless brand of tennis to take the second 7-5.

The 23-year-old had held two match points against Nadal at the same venue one year prior and had pushed the Spaniard to five sets at January’s Australian Open. He had also famously beaten him as an 18-year-old on home soil in Canada in 2017.

Although Nadal was increasingly impeded by a foot injury in the third, there was no diminishing the worthiness of Shapovalov’s 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory. He produced breathtaking tennis and was a deserved winner.

Rising to No. 15 in the Pepperstone Rankings after his semi-final run, Shapovalov was full of confidence and looking at good times ahead. Earlier in the year he had made a remarkable recovery from Covid-19 to steer Canada to victory in the ATP Cup alongside close friend Felix Auger-Aliassime, before his deep run at the Australian Open, where he dismissed World No. 3 Alexander Zverev in straight sets in the fourth round.

But tennis can be a fickle sport.

Despite being the top seed at the Citi Open, Andrey Rublev was not expecting a long stay in Washington, D.C., once he learned that #NextGenATP star Jack Draper was his opening opponent.

But with a nothing-to-lose mindset, Rublev dominated the Briton on Tuesday in a 6-4, 6-2 victory that enabled him to conserve energy during a hot week in the United States.

"To be honest, I was thinking today... for sure it was a tough match, but I was thinking most likely I would lose the match," he revealed after the win. "I had that feeling because in Madrid he almost beat me. Today I was just going on court to do my best and I said since the beginning that maybe, most likely, I'm going to lose the match."

[ATP APP]

Draper left a lasting impression in their first ATP Head2Head meeting at the Mutua Madrid Open in May, when Rublev edged through 2-6, 6-4, 7-5. But there would be no late drama in the D.C. sun, as Rublev controlled the second-round matchup throughout.

Sebastian Korda earned a bounceback victory on Tuesday to reach the second round of the Citi Open.

The American snapped a three-match losing streak with a 6-4, 7-6(5) win against Ilya Ivashka, who reached the semi-finals last week in Atlanta. Korda will next play 12th seed Sebastian Baez of Argentina, whom he defeated in last year's Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals.

"He's an unbelievable player when it's in his strike zone," Korda said of Baez. "Just kind of [have to] mix it up and hope for the best."

There was little to differentiate the two players on Stadium Court, but Ivashka made two consecutive unforced backhand errors from 5/5 in the second-set tie-break to relinquish his chance to force a decider. Korda triumphed after one hour and 40 minutes.

[ATP APP]

Andy Murray is determined to find a solution to his ongoing cramping issues after he struggled physically during his first-round defeat against Mikael Ymer on Monday at the Citi Open in Washington.

The former World No. 1, who also suffered cramping in Newport last month, battled against the Swede in the American heat for two hours and 50 minutes and looked physically drained in the deciding set.

“I [have] struggled a little bit with [cramping] the past two tournaments. I need to have a little look at that with my team and maybe see why that is, make a few changes,” Murray said during his post-match press conference.

“In terms of the training off the court and on the practice court, I'll have to look at that as well and see if there's more that I could be doing, maybe different ways of practising to help with that. Scheduling training more in the heat of the day at 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. rather than 10 a.m. when it's not quite as humid, not quite as warm, not quite as helpful. There are a few things I can look at.”

After losing the first set, Murray responded by taking his chances in the second set to level the match at the ATP 500 event. However, the Scot, who admitted he normally enjoys the humid conditions, was unable to match Ymer’s intensity in the third set.