Looking for Tennis and Racket Sports International News?

Fresh off winning his first ATP Tour title in Hamburg, #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti remained in top form at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag on Tuesday. The 20-year-old earned a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win against Slovakia's Aljaz Bedene.

"I think I learned a lot from last week," Musetti said post-match. "I think I grew up as a human being, as a professional player. There were a lot of difficult moments in this match, but I arrived in a positive way.

"That's why I won today, because Aljaz was playing really good, especially in the second set and the beginning of the third. So it was not easy for me to find a way to break his game."

[ATP APP]

Entering Umag at a career-high of No. 31 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Musetti picked up where he left off in his Hamburg final victory against Carlos Alcaraz. The Italian eased to the opening set as he showcased his variety from all parts of the court before Bedene snapped back in the second set, overcoming an early break deficit as he hit through the court with his power game.

Jenson Brooksby made a perfect Atlanta Open debut on Tuesday when he eliminated Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-1 to reach the second round.

"It feels really nice to be back in the States," Brooksby said. "Always after two, three weeks off of matches it feels good to get a win under your belt and I thought that was a really solid match to start and I've been training really well too, so I'm excited with the path I'm on right now."

[ATP APP]

The American got off to a quick start to his season, reaching the final in Dallas and winning three matches each at ATP Masters 1000 events at Indian Wells and Miami. But he went 5-8 during the clay and grass seasons.

While the 21-year-old used that as a learning experience, he is happy to be back on the hard courts.

Up a break in the third set, it seemed Richard Gasquet was well on a track to victory on Tuesday in Kitzbühel, but Sebastian Ofner never gave up and that paid dividends for the Austrian.

The qualifier clawed past former World No. 7 Gasquet 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 after two hours and 34 minutes to reach the second round of the Generali Open. Ofner will next play countryman Dominic Thiem, the former World No. 3, or lucky loser Alexander Shevchenko.

Ofner owns an 11-13 tour-level record, but he is now 6-4 in Kitzbühel, where in 2017 he advanced to the semi-finals. The 26-year-old showed no fear of the moment competing in front of his home fans, taking full advantage of poor shot selection by Gasquet at the end of the match with a flurry of rushes to net to dispose of drop shots, also painting the line with shots at critical moments.

[ATP APP]

The No. 235 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings saved eight of the 12 break points he faced in his first ATP Head2Head meeting with Gasquet. 

Germans Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies have already lifted trophies in Barcelona and Munich this season. On Tuesday, they made a good start towards earning a third crown in 2022.

The two-time Roland Garros champions defeated Spaniards Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Carlos Taberner 6-3, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals of the Generali Open in Kitzbühel. The second seeds will next play Monagesque-Polish team Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski. This is the first time Krawietz and Mies have competed together in Kitzbühel.

In other doubles action at the Austrian ATP 250, home favourites Neil Oberleitner and Jurij Rodionov upset third seeds Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 6-4, 3-6, 11-9. Other teams that advanced were Dutch-Austrian duo Robin Haase and Philipp Oswald, Frenchmen Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul, and Dutchmen Tallon Griekspoor and Bart Stevens.

[ATP APP]

Second Seeds Survive Tough Test In Umag
Brazilian-Spanish pair Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez have captured three tour-level crowns together this year, but on Tuesday they nearly lost in the first round at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag. The second seeds found a way to win though, clawing past Frenchman Albano Olivetti and Brazilian Fernando Romboli 3-6, 6-3, 11-9 to reach the quarter-finals in Umag.

Rajeev Ram and Jack Sock competed together in an ATP Tour event for the first time on Monday. That did not stop them from producing a nearly flawless performance.

The Americans ousted Mexico's Hans Hach Verdugo and India's Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the Atlanta Open quarter-finals without facing a break point. The third seeds won 93 per cent of their first-serve points to triumph after 53 minutes.

Ram's full-time doubles partner is Joe Salisbury, the current No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings. If Ram and Sock win the Atlanta title, Ram will have the same number of ranking points as Salisbury on Monday. Since he will have played fewer tournaments to earn those points, Ram would become the new doubles World No. 1.

In other Atlanta doubles action, American wild cards Christopher Eubanks and Mackenzie McDonald clawed past Frenchmen Quentin Halys and Adrian Mannarino 6-7(3), 6-4, 10-8.

[ATP APP]

One year ago, Brandon Nakashima reached his second ATP Tour final at the Atlanta Open. This edition, the #NextGenATP American will try to go one step further.

The 20-year-old made a good start on Monday when he battled past Australian Jordan Thompson 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-3 after two hours and 12 minutes. The eighth seed earned his first break of the match in the third set, and that was enough to move on at Atlantic Station.

[ATP APP]

Thompson is a familiar foe for Nakashima, as they have now played each other four times in the past 53 weeks, including twice in Atlanta. On this occasion, it was the American who advanced and took a 3-1 lead in their ATP Head2Head series. He will next play another Australian: John Millman or Alexei Popyrin.

Nakashima, who is trying to qualify for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, began the week eighth in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Milan.

At the fifth time of trying, Giulio Zeppieri is a main draw winner on the ATP Tour.

The #NextGenATP Italian rallied to a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 first-round victory against Pedro Cachin at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag on Monday. The 20-year-old needed five match points to complete his victory, but kept his cool to serve out for a one-hour, 54-minute win against the World No. 90.

“It’s a very emotional moment for me, my first win on the ATP Tour,” said Zeppieri in his on-court interview. “I’m very proud of myself because I beat a very good guy in Pedro, and I’m very happy.”

[FOLLOW ACTION]

Zeppieri showed good form on clay earlier this year, defeating Alex Molcan and Maxime Cressy to qualify for the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome before qualifying for his first Grand Slam main draw at Roland Garros.

After starting the year with some top-class displays on hard courts, has the time come for Jiri Lehecka to make a breakthrough on the clay?

The #NextGenATP Czech may have done things the hard way in his 7-6(6), 6-4 first-round victory against Thiago Monteiro at the Generali Open in Kitzbühel on Monday, but a dominant serving performance ultimately helped the 20-year-old seal a debut win at the ATP 250 event in Austria.

Lehecka let slip a 3-0 lead in the first set and later had to fend off a Monteiro set point at 5/6 in a close-fought first-set tie-break, but he retained his composure to complete a one-hour, 46-minute win, having fired 10 aces and won 82 per cent (31/38) of points behind his first delivery.

[FOLLOW ACTION]

The 20-year-old charged to a maiden tour-level semi-final in February as a qualifier at the indoor hard-court ATP 500 event in Rotterdam, where he upset Denis Shapovalov, Botic van de Zandschulp and Lorenzo Musetti. Lehecka, who currently sits sixth in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Milan, will hope for a similarly deep run in Austria to boost his chances of qualifying for November’s Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals.

Former Top 5 stars Dominic Thiem and Kei Nishikori have accepted wild cards into the Winston-Salem Open, an ATP 250 event to be played from 21-27 August.

Thiem will compete in the main draw of the hard-court tournament for the first time. In 2012, the Austrian attempted to qualify in North Carolina, but was unsuccessful.

Now 28, Thiem will try to add to his hard-court resumé, which includes titles at the US Open and the BNP Paribas Open as well as two runner-up finishes at the Nitto ATP Finals. The former World No. 3 is continuing his comeback from a wrist injury, which he began in March.

[ATP APP]

Nishikori has not been in action since last October's BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. The former World No. 4 underwent arthroscopic left hip surgery in January.

After clinching his maiden ATP Tour title at the Hamburg European Open, #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti has broken into the Top 50 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time. Musetti's championship match opponent, Carlos Alcaraz, has become the second-youngest player in the 21st century to crack the Top 5 with his run to the final in Germany.

ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week, as of Monday, 25 July.

[ATP APP]

No. 31 Lorenzo Musetti, +31 (Career High)
Musetti’s run to the title in Hamburg propels him into the Top 50 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, cutting in half his ranking to No. 31. The 20-year-old overcame Alcaraz in a thrilling #NextGenATP clash on the clay at the ATP 500 event in Germany, where Musetti’s run also included wins against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Francisco Cerundolo. Read Hamburg Final Report & Watch Highlights.

View Latest Pepperstone ATP Rankings

China’s highest-ranked men’s player Wu Yibing continued his sizzling run on the ATP Challenger Tour Sunday when he saved six championship points to claim the Rajeev Ram Foundation Indy Challenger. Wu erased the match points in the second set en route to a 6-7(10), 7-6(13), 6-3 victory over Aleksandar Kovacevic in 2 hours and 54 minutes. The win lifts Wu to a career-high 174 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

“Today means a lot. I was crying like a baby after the match,” said the former junior No. 1.

In a big week for Chinese players, Zhang Zhizhen also reached the final at the Citta di Trieste Challenger in Italy.

Wu is the first Asian-born men’s player to win three titles in the same season since Alexander Bublik in 2019. Boasting an 18-2 record on the Challenger Tour this season, he is attempting to become the first Chinese man to reach the Top 100.

The on-court battle proved to be both physically and mentally exhausting. Wu’s remarkable effort to save six match points is the most in a Challenger final since Marcos Giron saved six against Ivo Karlovic in Houston in 2019. “Both tie-breaks were more mental than (about) tennis,” Wu said.

Nineteen-year-old Carlos Alcaraz made history on Monday when he climbed to No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, becoming the second-youngest player in the 21st century to crack the top five.

The only player who has achieved the feat at a younger age since 2000 is Rafael Nadal, who did it in May 2005 as an 18-year-old. Alcaraz had an opportunity to reach World No. 4, but settled for No. 5 after falling short in the Hamburg European Open final against Lorenzo Musetti.

“It means a lot. The hard work that I put in every day for reaching my dreams, [No.] 1, and little by little I’m reaching my dream,” Alcaraz said. “Top five for me is pretty amazing and I will keep going to be [No.] 1.”

Five Youngest Players To Crack Top Five (since 2000)

Alcaraz began his season at World No. 32, but has quickly surged towards the top of the sport. Alcaraz, Nadal and Novak Djokovic are the only three players this millennium who have broken into the top five as teens.

Lorenzo Musetti became the 10th first-time ATP Tour titlist of the season on Sunday when he won a thrilling Hamburg European Open final against Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4.

The Italian let slip five championship points in the second set, but managed to weather the Alcaraz storm in the third set to lift the ATP 500 trophy.

ATPTour.com spoke to the 20-year-old after the match about his breakthrough, his relationship with his coach, Simone Tartarini, why he idolised his grandfather and his pre-match playlist.

What does it mean to you to win your first ATP Tour title?
For me it’s a dream. Obviously I always dreamed about winning a title and I didn’t have any chances before. I think my best result was a semi-final, so I never had the opportunity to play a final. I’m really happy with this week. I think we did an amazing job and now we will celebrate and enjoy it for the next days, but we have to focus on Umag and the rest of the year.

What was going through your mind after the second set and how were you able to battle back?
It was a really tough loss in the second set. I think I deserved to close the match in two sets, but then some unlucky things [happened] and Carlos was very good saving so many match points. I was upset with myself with everything, but I tried to find the solution and the solution was to again find the rhythm and the energy. That’s what I did. I’m really happy that I never gave up and it worked at the end.

Nobody will soon forget how Lorenzo Musetti won his first ATP Tour title.

The 20-year-old let slip five championship points in the second set of the Hamburg European Open final on Sunday before stunning top seed Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4 in an all-#NextGenATP battle to lift the trophy.

"I have no words because it was a roller-coaster until the end. I had so many match points. Carlos was so good on the match points, [I had] so many chances," Musetti said in his on-court interview. "But I think the key of the match was to keep calm and [have] all the patience [with] myself because it was really not easy. Carlos was putting so much effort in the match points when he was down, so it was not easy to find the energy to come back.

"But I cannot describe what I am feeling right now. I think I am still dreaming."

Entering the week, the Italian had not advanced to a tour-level final. But Musetti showed his mental fortitude against Alcaraz, who will climb to a career-high No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday, to triumph after two hours and 47 minutes.

Despite a straight-sets defeat in their first ATP Tour match together in Stuttgart in June, Tomislav Brkic and Francisco Cabral opted to give their partnership a second chance.

That decision paid off on Sunday at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad, where the unseeded pairing capped an impressive week at the ATP 250 event in the Swiss Alps with a 6-4, 6-4 championship match victory against Robin Haase and Philipp Oswald.

“It’s just our second tournament together,” said Cabral at the trophy ceremony. “The first one was on grass. It was my first ever grass event and he [Cabral] doesn’t feel that comfortable on grass, so we just decided we needed to give it one more try and we have got better.”

[ATP APP]

Brkic and Cabral upset top seeds Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez with a Match Tie-break win in the first round in Gstaad and did not drop another set all week. The duo produced a powerful serving performance against Haase and Oswald on Sunday to surge to the title in Switzerland, winning 87 per cent (26/30) of points behind their first delivery in a 71-minute victory.

The action takes place on both clay and hard courts this week on the ATP Tour, as a host of Top 20 stars compete at three ATP 250 events across two continents.

Reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz headlines the field at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag, while Casper Ruud is the top seed at the at the week's other European clay-court event, the Generali Open in Kitzbühel. In the United States, John Isner will aim to win his seventh title on the hard courts at the Atlanta Open.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch from each event.

View Draws: Atlanta | Kitzbühel | Umag

[FOLLOW ACTION]

The fourth final was the charm this season for Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara.

After falling short in their first three tour-level finals of the year, the British-Finnish duo lifted their first ATP Tour trophy of the season on Sunday when they defeated fourth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matwe Middelkoop 6-2, 6-4 to win the Hamburg European Open. The unseeded duo did not lose a set at the ATP 500.

“We really clicked this week. Of course we’ve had some good results, especially this year and on clay I think at the beginning of this year we didn’t feel that comfortable,” Heliovaara said. “Now it almost feels like the best surface for us because we’re serving well, but we also give very big pressure to the opponents with our aggressive return game.

“We feel very good together on the court, great chemistry and just enjoy playing. That’s an important thing.”

[ATP APP]

The Swiss air brings out the best in Casper Ruud.

The top seed engineered a mid-match turnaround at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad on Sunday to complete a 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 victory in a heavy-hitting championship match against Matteo Berrettini.

Second seed Berrettini appeared in control in the final at the clay-court ATP 250 event after clinching the opening set and carving out the only three break points of the second. Yet Ruud dug deep to clinch the second-set tie-break and his high-powered forehand dominated the final set as he secured his ninth ATP Tour title, and his eighth on clay, with a two-hour, 34-minute win.

Ruud’s successful title defence at the ATP 250 event in Switzerland improved his record at tour-level in Switzerland to 16-0. As well as his two titles in Gstaad, the 23-year-old has also lifted the trophy at the past two editions of the Gonet Geneva Open.

More to follow…

Robin Haase and Philipp Oswald dropped their first set this week at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad in Saturday's semi-finals, but quickly recovered to claim a 7-5, 3-6, 10-3 win against Italians Lorenzo Sonego and Andrea Vavassori.

The Dutch-Austrian duo claimed its only break point of the match to secure the opening set and saved six of the seven break point against them in the contest. The victory puts them through to their second tour-level final as a team; they won their only previous title match in 2019 in Umag.

[ATP APP]

Tomislav Brkic and Francisco Cabral will provide the opposition in Sunday's final after the Bosnian-Portuguese duo eased past Fabrice Martin and Franko Skugor 6-3 6-3 without facing a break point. The pair is seeking it first title as a team, though Martin is a seven-time tour-level doubles champion and Skugor has six titles to his name.

Glasspool/Heliovaara Pull Upset In Hamburg
Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara defeated third seeds Tim Puetz and Michael Venus 6-4 6-4 in the Hamburg European Open semi-finals on Saturday, extending their perfect record this week to six sets won from six played.

Carlos Alcaraz fought off a stern test from Alex Molcan on Saturday at the Hamburg European Open to set up a marquee final against fellow #NextGenATP star Lorenzo Musetti at the ATP 500 event.

The 7-6(2), 6-1 victory moves the Spaniard up to No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, with the No. 4 spot on offer should he claim the Hamburg title. Regardless of the final result, Alcaraz is set to break into the Top 5 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time.

"It was tough," Alcaraz said post-match. "Obviously he played really well. The first set was really close. I'm really happy to be able to end the first set playing well.

"In the second set, I think he was down a little bit. He didn't play well in the second set. I finished the match with a lot of confidence and played very well."

[ATP APP]