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  • Canberra Events
    • Apis Canberra International Tennis
      • Canberra Challenger tournament transferred to Bendigo
      • Zoe Hives takes the Apis Canberra International title from Olivia Rogowska
      • Hoyt and Wu win men’s doubles Perez and Rodionova win women’s doubles at the Apis Canberra International
      • Rogowska moves closer to defending her Apis Canberra International title
      • Santillan jumping for joy as Duckworth left smashing
      • Top seed out of the women’s Apis Canberra International tennis tournament
      • Duckworth gives Polmans an early trip home after their round one Apis Canberra International match
      • 2016 Champion James Duckworth faces 2016 Runner-up Polmans in round one action at the Apis Canberra International
  • Australian Tennis
    • Videos
    • Tennis News
      • Sam Stosur becomes a mum
      • Pro tennis is back in Australia
      • Australian Tennis Results 11-17 February 2019
      • Fed Cup USA v Australia preview
      • Peers and Thompson secure Australia’s Davis Cup finals spot
      • Barty advances to the fourth round for the first time at the Aussie Open
      • de Minaur claims his maiden ATP title in his home town
      • Team Germany Secure Their Spot in the Hopman Cup Final 2019
      • Strong Start for Angelique Kerber at the Hopman Cup
      • Tomljanovic and de Minaur march on in Brisbane, Kyrgios falls
      • de Minaur, Kyrgios and Thomson lead men’s Australian charge in Brisbane
      • Federer Claims Victory in Historic Doubles Match Against Serena Williams
      • Australian results for 14 November
      • Australian Tennis Results 5-11 November 2018
      • Stefanos Tsitsipas gets the better of Alex de Minaur to claim the Next Gen ATP Finals
      • Australian Tennis Results 29 October – 4 November 2018
      • Zoe Hives takes the Apis Canberra International title from Olivia Rogowska
      • Top seed out of the women’s Apis Canberra International tennis tournament
      • Hon claims first ITF title in two years at the expense of Perez in Bendigo
      • Thanasi Kokkinakis into the Las Vegas ATP Challenger Final
      • Ellen Perez – forever the bridesmaid?
      • Australian Tennis Results 8-14 October 2018
      • Marc Polmans into the ATP Challenger Stockton $100,000 final
      • Marc Polmans and Jordan Thompson look to setup an all-Australian ATP Challenger final in Stockton
      • Alex de Minaur set to take over as the top ranked Australian
      • Australian Tennis Results for the week of 24-30 September 2018
      • Bernard Tomic Charges into the 70s as he comes back from four match points to win the ATP 250 title in Chengdu
      • Daria Gavrilova Advances Past Jelena Ostapenko – Ash Barty gets the better of Johanna Konta in Wuhan
      • Australian Tennis Results for the week of 17-23 September 2018
      • Bertens denies Tomljanovic her maiden WTA title as she wins the Korea Open title
      • Australian Tennis Results for the week of 10-16 September 2018 – James Duckworth Claims Cary Challenger Title
      • Ash Barty teams up with CoCo Vandeweghe to claime their first Grand Slam doubles title
      • Can John Millman pull off another big upset against Novak Djokovic at the US Open?
      • Tomic wins Challenger event at Rafa’s home patch
      • Millman marches on as Federer outclasses Kyrgios to setup meeting with Millman
      • Ash Barty advances to round 4 for the first time at a grand slam in singles
      • Kyrgios advances after a bizarre pep talk from the umpire – Federer is next
      • Tomljanovic lets a match point slip away before losing second round match in third set tiebreaker
      • Australia’s Alex de Minaur triumphs again in New York
      • Ash Barty has too much firepower for Lucie Safarova
      • Kyrgios Advances at the US Open
      • Gavrilova and Kubler out of the US Open
      • US Open preview for the Australians
      • Maverick Banes wins his maiden ATP Challenger title
      • The fight is on for a ticket to New York and the US Open – updated – Ellen Perez v Lizette Cabrera in final
      • Maverick Banes ends Alexei Popyrin’s win streak in Korea
  • Grand Slams
    • Australian Open
      • 3 Positive COVID-19 tests – Keys out, Sandgren in, Murray maybe
      • Tomic the lone Aussie to advance through qualifying
      • More to get wild about at the Aussie Open
      • Australian Open wild cards so far
      • Australian Open dates confirmed
      • Australian Open dates still up in the air
      • Djokovic is great at eight
      • Ram and Salisbury claim their first Grand Slam doubles title
      • Kenin completes the fairytale as she claims her maiden Grand Slam title
      • Barty blows it twice and Kenin swoops to take her place in the final
      • Could this be the changing of the guard?
      • Saville and Purcell advance to their first Grand Slam semifinal
      • Federer pulls off another escape act to advance to the semis
      • Barty books semifinal spot against Kenin after dismantling Kvitova
      • Kyrgios pushes Nadal to the limit before world no. 1 marches into the quarter finals
      • Barty bounces Riske to setup Kvitova quarterfinal rematch
      • Polmans gets breakthrough win at the Australian Open
      • The rain is the big winner at the Australian Open on day 1 but Barty advances
      • Aussies at the Australian Open – round one matchups and previews
    • French Open
      • Swiatek becomes first Pole to win a singles grand slam
      • Australian lucky losers and protected ranking player advance
      • Nadal the King of Clay reigns supreme at Roland Garros
      • Barty cruises to Grand Slam glory in Paris
      • Barty rides the rollercoaster into the French Open final
      • Barty charges into the French Open semifinals
      • Barty books French Open quarterfinal match against Keys
      • Barty enters new territory at Roland Garros
      • Top Aussies Barty and de Minaur advance at Roland Garros
      • Angelique Kerber is first to lose on the new Philippe Chatrier Court
      • Ash Barty headlines Aussie charge at Roland Garros
      • Nadal Stays Perfect in Roland Garros Finals and Claims Title Number 11
      • Simona Halep Finally Lifts a Grand Slam Trophy after Winning at Roland Garros
      • Gavrilova and Stosur crash out of the French Open
    • Wimbledon
      • Wimbledon cancelled for 2020 due to coronavirus
      • Djokovic fights off two match points to retain the Wimbledon title
      • Halep first Romanian to claim the Wimbledon Ladies singles title
      • Serena doing it for the mums at Wimbledon
      • Riske is rewarded as she bundles Barty out of Wimbledon
      • Kyrgios v Nadal match lives up to the hype as Nadal advances
      • Barty eases through to the third round
      • Tomljanovic and Popyrin lose their round two matches
      • Four Aussies still alive in Wimbledon qualifying draw
      • Mixed day for the Aussie women after a perfect start for the Aussie men at the Wimbledon qualifying
      • Aussies off to a perfect start at Wimbledon qualifying
      • Off Court News – What Have Some of the Players Been Up To Since Wimbledon
      • Novak Djokovic completes the comeback with a surprise Wimbledon title
      • Angelique Kerber Claims First Wimbledon Title
      • Aussies wiped out on Wimbledon’s opening Saturday
      • Barty, Gavrilova, Kyrgios, Ebden and de Minaur advance to the third round at Wimbledon as Tomic falls
      • Top three Australian women safely through to the second round of the Wimbledon Ladies’ singles
      • Day one Wimbledon wrap for the Australians
      • Australian Preview for Gentlemen’s Singles at Wimbledon 2018
      • Kubler, Smith and Bolt win through to the Wimbledon main-draw
      • Five from Eight Australian Men Advance at Roehampton in Wimbledon Singles Qualifiers
    • US Open
      • Mother of all comebacks falls short as Osaka claims title
      • Thiem tramples de Minaur to advance to semifinals
      • de Minaur into his first grand slam quarterfinal
      • Coric defeats Thompson to advance to the quarterfinals
      • Jordan Thompson advances to a grand slam fourth round for the first time
      • de Minaur advances Millman and O’Connell are out
      • Jordan Thompson advances to third round
      • Day two US Open Aussie review
      • Aussies fight hard but only Thompson advances
      • Aussies at the US Open – preview
      • Nick Kyrgios says no to the US Open
      • Barty confirms she won’t be playing the US Open
      • Wang Qiang ends Barty’s US Open
      • Barty and de Minaur take their place in the US Open round of 16
      • Rain sends most players packing at the US Open but Barty marches on
      • A good day for the Aussies in New York
      • Barty recovers from a slow start to Open her US Open campaign
      • Novak Djokovic joins Pete Sampras with 14th Grand Slam singles titles after defeating Juan Martin del Potro at the US Open
      • Ash Barty teams up with CoCo Vandeweghe to claime their first Grand Slam doubles title
      • Japan’s Naomi Osaka claims first Grand Slam title amid Serena coaching controversy
      • Lightning doesn’t strike twice as Djokovic advances past Millman
      • Can John Millman pull off another big upset against Novak Djokovic at the US Open?
      • John Millman claims the biggest win of his career as he knocks off Roger Federer
      • US Open – Barty fails to captilise on break points and bows out to Pliskova
      • Millman marches on as Federer outclasses Kyrgios to setup meeting with Millman
      • Alex de Minaur goes down fighting against Marin Cilic
      • Ash Barty advances to round 4 for the first time at a grand slam in singles
      • Tomljanovic lets a match point slip away before losing second round match in third set tiebreaker
      • Australia’s Alex de Minaur triumphs again in New York
      • Kyrgios advances after a bizarre pep talk from the umpire – Federer is next
      • Ash Barty has too much firepower for Lucie Safarova
      • Gavrilova and Kubler out of the US Open
      • Kyrgios Advances at the US Open
      • US Open preview for the Australians
      • The fight is on for a ticket to New York and the US Open – updated – Ellen Perez v Lizette Cabrera in final
      • Six US Open Winners Headline the 2018 US Open Women’s Singles field
  • Women’s Tennis Association
    • ATP and WTA announce an extension of the COVID-19 suspension
    • Ash Barty wins the WTA Finals to cap off an amazing year but one prize still remains
    • Videos
    • Premier
      • Kenin bundles Barty out of the Rogers Cup – Osaka one win from no. 1 ranking but Pliskova also in the hunt
      • Pliskova sends a warning ahead of Wimbledon
      • Ash Barty is two wins away from no. 1 after advancing past Venus Williams in Birmingham
      • Barty overcomes a tough first round opponent in Birmingham
      • Barty could take world no.1 ranking in Birmingham
      • Barty can’t halt Halep surge for no. 1
      • Barty punctuates her top-ten arrival by claiming Miami Open title
      • Barty beats the rain and Kontaveit to reach the Miami final
      • Barty finally gets the better of Kvitova to advance to the Miami semifinals and lock-in top-ten ranking
      • Andreescu completes her Indian Wells fairytale
      • Barty sets up Svitolina showdown in Indian Wells
      • Perfect day for the Aussies at Indian Wells with wins for Barty, Gavrilova, Bolt and Popyrin
      • Tomljanovic and Thompson advance – Stosur, Millman and Ebden are out at Indian Wells
      • Daria Gavrilova breaks her duck in Indian Wells
      • Bencic claims the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship title
      • Mertens claims another top-10 scalp on the way to the Qatar Total Open title
      • Bertens overcomes a slow start against Vekic to claim the St Petersburg title
      • Bertens and Vekic to face off for the St Petersburg title
      • Vekic ends Kvitova’s win streak in St Petersburg
      • Kvitova begins St Petersburgh Ladies Trophy title defence defeating Azarenka
      • Gavrilova’s 2019 winless streak continues
      • Petra Kvitova breaks Aussie’s hearts as she claims her second Sydney International title
      • Barty defeats Bertens to book her second consecutive final at the Sydney International
      • Barty advances to semifinal showdown against Bertens
      • Kvitova ends Kerber’s title defence at the Sydney International
      • Sydney International Tennis Stars Cruise the Harbour
      • Birrell stuns world no. 10 Kasatkina at the Brisbane International
    • International
      • Konta ends Tomljanovic’s run in Rabat
      • Anisimova denies Sharma her first WTA title as she wins her first in Bogota
      • Astra Sharma advances to her first WTA semifinal after a tricky encounter with Sara Errani
      • Sharma marches into new territory in Bogota
      • Azarenka Outlasts Kerber to Advance to Final in Monterrey
      • Yastremska claims second WTA title at Toyota Thailand Open
      • Yastremska secures spot in Toyota Thailand Open Final
      • Tomljanovic cruises into Toyota Thailand Open Final
      • Yastremska too hot for Muguruza in Thailand – Tomljanovic, Linette and Zidansek also advance
      • Tomljanovic toughs it out in Thailand
      • Muguruza mounts comeback to oust Barthel at the Toyota Thailand Open
      • Muguruza defeats Lisicki to open Toyota Thailand Open campaign
      • Bertens denies Tomljanovic her maiden WTA title as she wins the Korea Open title
      • Ajla Tomljanovic into Korea Open final after upsetting Hsieh Su-Wei
      • Ajla Tomljanovic battles past Mandy Minella to earn a semifinal spot in Seoul
      • Olga Danilovic is the first-ever lucky loser to claim a WTA singles title
      • Alizé Cornet heads to Gstaad final after Bouchard retirement
      • Sam Stosur Can’t Get Past the Mallorca Defending Champion
    • ITF
      • Ash Barty wins the WTA Finals to cap off an amazing year but one prize still remains
      • Honours even after Fed Cup day one – Australia v Belarus
      • Fed Cup finals spot up for grabs
      • Rogowska adds clay title to her Canberra hard court title
      • Hon to take on Rogowska for the ACT Clay Court International #2 title
      • Aussies shine despite gloomy weather for the ACT Clay Court International #2
      • No. 1 seed Hon advances while the defending champion goes down at the ACT Clay Court International #2
      • Priscilla Hon headlines the ACT Clay Court International #2 tournament
      • Destanee Aiava finally claims a Canberra title
    • Players
      • Angelique Kerber
  • ATP Tour
    • ATP and WTA announce an extension of the COVID-19 suspension
    • de Minaur back in action in Spain
    • Videos
    • Masters 1000
      • Indian Wells tournament called off due to coronavirus fears
      • Kyrgios and Thompson crash out of Miami along with Djokovic
      • Jordan Thompson steps it up in Miami
      • Kyrgios the entertainer marches on in Miami
      • Thiem overcomes Federer for Maiden Masters Title in Indian Wells
      • Perfect day for the Aussies at Indian Wells with wins for Barty, Gavrilova, Bolt and Popyrin
      • Tomljanovic and Thompson advance – Stosur, Millman and Ebden are out at Indian Wells
      • Potential Desert Duel for Kyrgios and Djokovic
      • Matt Ebden loses to Borna Coric in the quarterfinals at the Shanghai Masters
      • Djokovic finally gets his Cincinnati Masters title and completes career Golden Masters
      • Federer and Djokovic set to meet for the 46th time in the Cincinnati Masters final
      • Nick Kyrgios goes walkabout against Juan Martín del Potro
      • Rogers Cup – Barty Collects the Doubles Title in Montreal and Peers wins the Toronto Title
      • Kyrgios feeling the pain after falling to Wawrinka at Toronto
      • Nadal takes Rome Masters 1000 title from Zverev
    • ATP Cup
      • Australia defeats Great Britain in a thriller to advance to the ATP Cup semifinals
      • Australia takes another step toward the ATP Cup quarterfinals after despatching Canada
      • Kyrgios and de Minaur get Australia a winning start at the ATP Cup
    • World 500
      • Kyrgios Claims second ATP 500 title as he defeats Medvedev for the title in Washington – to rise to no. 1 ranked Australian
      • Kyrgios reaches ATP 500 final in Washington after rollercoaster ride against Tsitsipas
      • Nick Kyrgios silences the critics as he caps off an amazing week in Acapulco with title
      • Federer joins exclusive 100 club after claiming Dubai crown
      • Kyrgios ices Isner in Acapulco to book Zverev finals showdown
      • Federer one match away from 100 titles as he takes on his Australian Open conquerer Tsitsipas
      • Kyrgios Conquers Nadal in Acapulco
      • Kyrgios and de Minaur advance Popyrin falls in Acapulco
      • Alex de Minaur earns his first ATP 500 finals berth after epic battle against Andrey Rublev
      • Injured Kyrgios Withdraws from Washington – Duckworth into ATP 500 Third Round
      • Dominic Thiem proves too good for John Millman on the Hamburg clay at the ATP 500 event
      • John Millman Defeats Jan-Lennard Struff at Hamburg ATP 500 Event
      • Cilic Too Good for Kyrgios at the Queen’s Club
      • Kyrgios halts Murray’s comeback at Queen’s Club
      • Borna Coric takes the Halle title from Roger Federer
    • World 250
      • Millman claims his maiden ATP title in Nur-Sultan
      • Humbert defeats de Minaur to claim European Open title
      • de Minaur to take on Umbert for European Open title
      • de Minaur advances in Atlanta – Popyrin and Tomic are out
      • Thompson falls short in first ATP level final
      • Popyrin falls to defending champion in Estoril
      • Thompson fights back from defeat in Houston
      • de Minaur claims his maiden ATP title in his home town
      • Seppi into Sydney International Tennis final
      • John Millman falls short of Sydney International semifinal
      • Some late night Hewitt entertainment at the Sydney International
      • No. 1 seed knocked out of the Sydney International by Andreas Seppi
      • Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andreas Seppi preview
      • de Minaur Overcomes Thompson in an All Aussie Quarterfinal Clash at the Sydney International
      • Local hopes end as de Minaur and Tomljanovic bow out of the Brisbane International
      • Tomic grabs a top-100 ranking as he marches into the Chengdu final
      • Ebden falls to Isner in Atlanta – Thompson and Rodionova advance to finals in Binghamton and Granby
      • Ebden into Atlanta semis as Kyrgios retires against Norrie and Thompson marches on at Binghamton Challenger
      • Federer gets past Kyrgios to claim world no. 1 and reach the Stuttgart final
    • Challenger
      • Polmans wins the Zhangjiagang $54K ATP Challenger Title
      • Polmans overcomes a slow start to defeat Banes in Bangalore at the ATP Challenger Tour $150,000 event
      • Jordan Thompson rockets his ranking up to 73 after back-to-back ATP Challenger titles
      • Thompson aiming for eighth ATP Challenger final in 2018
      • Jordan Thompson wins his second ATP Challenger title for 2018
      • Thanasi Kokkinakis into the Las Vegas ATP Challenger Final
      • Jordan Thompson reaches back-to-back ATP Challenger finals
      • Kokkinakis and Smith roll into Las Vegas semifinals

Millman claims his maiden ATP title in Nur-Sultan

November 2, 2020 by Rob Keating Leave a Comment

Australia’s John Millman has defeated France’s Adrian Mannarino 7-5, 6-1 to claim the ATP 250 title in Kazakhstan and his first ATP title from his third finals appearance.
“It is incredible. I am so happy and relieved,” said Millman. “I just feel very satisfied. It is just a pure moment of satisfaction… That was my third final, third time lucky I guess. These things aren’t easy to win and to do so at a place where I felt so comfortable all week, in terms of the hospitality, makes it really special. To win the inaugural Astana Open is special. I am so happy. It has been a big team effort and I am pumped.”
Millman had faced two match points in his quarterfinal match against USA’s Tommy Paul at 3-5 and then was down 5-0 in the tie-breaker before storming back to claim the match.
Millman jumps to no. 37 on the ATP singles rankings.

Filed Under: World 250

Humbert defeats de Minaur to claim European Open title

October 26, 2020 by Rob Keating Leave a Comment

France’s Ugo Humbert has won his second ATP title of the year and for his career with a 6-1, 7-6(4) over Australia’s Alex de Minaur.
The world no. 38 broke his opponent twice in the opening set to comfortably take the opener.
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Humbert had won his first title in Auckland at the start of the year.
“It is one of my biggest wins,” said Humbert. “I am super happy to win my second title this year against a really great player. I was aggressive like the previous matches and I am super happy to do it.”
Humbert escaped defeat in his semifinal match against Britain’s Dan Evans after saving four match points.
Despite losing de Minaur was happy with his performance this week. “This was a very important week for me,” said De Minaur during the trophy ceremony. “I have managed to get back to the level I wanted to play at and play another final, which is great for me. I am very happy with where I am. This is a huge step in the right direction.”
Humbert earned 250 FedEx ATP Rankings points and €30,160. De Minaur collected 150 points and €24,000.
Next week in Vienna de Minaur faces a round one match against world no. 6 Daniil Medvedev from Russia. They are competing in an ATP 500 event with one of the strongest field ever assembled for that level of tournament.

Filed Under: World 250

de Minaur to take on Umbert for European Open title

October 25, 2020 by Rob Keating Leave a Comment

After a disappointing first round exit at the French Open Australia’s Alex de Minaur has bounced back in Antwerp to reach the final of the European Open where he will face France’s Ugo Humbert.

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de Minaur despatched Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(4), 6-7(3), 6-4 in two hours and 48 minutes to reach his first tour level final since the 2019 Swiss Indoors a year ago. On that occasion he lost 6-2, 6-2 to Roger Federer.

World no. 29 de Minaur is aiming for a fourth ATP title after collecting three trophies in 2019 including his home tournament in Sydney.

France’s world no. 38 Umbert has one title to his name after claiming the Auckland title at the start of the year.

The final is the first head-to-head meeting for this pair.

Filed Under: World 250

de Minaur back in action in Spain

June 7, 2020 by Rob Keating Leave a Comment

Screen shot from Alex de Minaur match

Australia’s Alex de Minaur is 2-0 in a return to competitive tennis, although it is only in exhibition matches.

After bunkering down in Alicante, Spain during the quarantine period de Minaur is competing at the Region of Valencia Tennis Challenge.

World No. 26 de Minaur defeated Pablo Andujar 6-2, 6-3 on Friday and followed that up with a win over Pablo Carreno Busta 7-5, 6-4 on Saturday.

He will next face world No.12 Roberto Bautista Agut on Sunday. Both players are undefeated in the round-robin format.

The matches are being played on clay courts with an umpire and ball kids. The line judges are not being used to limit the number of people involved.

Against world No. 25 Carreno Busta the Australian was up 4-2 before getting pegged back. de Minaur broke for 6-5 and served out the first set.

In the second set de Minaur got one break of serve and that was enough to seal the match.

The 21-year-old Australian last played at the ATP 500 in Acapulco when he lost in the first round against Miomir Kecmanovic from Serbia. It was the Australian’s first match back from an injury he sustained during the ATP Cup.

Filed Under: ATP Tour

Tennis is suspended through to July 31 but is that being overly ambitious

May 17, 2020 by Rob Keating Leave a Comment

The ATP and WTA have announced the suspension of tournaments through to the end of July.

The WTA said, “”We regret this is the case but will continue to be guided by medical experts for when it is safe and possible to return to WTA competition. We continue to monitor the situation closely and are hopeful to be back on the court as soon as possible.”

“Due to continued uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, we regret to announce our decision to extend the suspension of the Tour,” said Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman. “Just like tennis fans, players and tournament hosts all over the world, we share in the disappointment the Tour continues to be affected in this way. We continue to assess all of our options in an effort to resume the Tour as soon as it is safe to do so, including the feasibility of rescheduling events later in the season. As ever, the health and well-being of the tennis community and wider public remains our top priority in every decision we make.”

The August date to commence tennis could be wishful thinking. With the aviation industry pretty much at a complete standstill it will be difficult to get players to tournaments.

Australia is talking about have their borders closed into 2021. Tennis Australia are looking at many different scenarios in order to be able to hold the Australian Open in 2021.

With tennis not being played now for several months the governing bodies of world tennis have come together to raise in excess of USD $6 million to create a Player Relief Program to assist players who are particularly affected by the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Program will target around 800 ATP/WTA singles and doubles players that are in need of financial support.

At this stage the US Open is set to go ahead although it could be at an alternative venue and the French Open is scheduled to run from Sunday, 20 September – Sunday 4 October.

Filed Under: Grand Slams, Women's Tennis Association, ATP Tour

ATP and WTA announce an extension of the COVID-19 suspension

March 19, 2020 by Rob Keating Leave a Comment

Amended 5 April

ATP and WTA Tours until July 13, 2020 and Wimbledon cancelled.

We have seen sport around the world closed down due to the coronavirus. Tennis being one of the first of the big sports to close things down after Indian Wells was cancelled.

Below is a photo from the last tournament actually played in Canberra. The smoke that enveloped the city saw a Challenger tournament moved to Bendigo in January of this year and just days out from the 2020 clay court tournaments the coronavirus suspension saw the Canberra clay court tournaments postponed.

Canberra, Australia – 31 March 2019: ACT Clay Court International #2 women’s final – Olivia Rogowska and Priscilla Hon on centre court in Canberra. (Photo by Rob Keating http://robiciatennis.com )

Below is the text from an update from the ATP. At the end of the message they had a dig at the French Open organisers after they had rescheduled their tournament without consulting other key stakeholders.

After careful consideration, and due to the continuing outbreak of COVID-19, all ATP and WTA tournaments tin the Spring clay-court swing will not be held as scheduled.  This includes the combined ATP/WTA tournaments in Madrid and Rome, along with the WTA events in Strasbourg and Rabat and ATP events in Munich, Estoril, Geneva and Lyon. 

The professional tennis season is now suspended through 7 June 2020, including the ATP Challenger Tour and ITF World Tennis Tour. At this time, tournaments taking place from 8 June 2020 onwards are still planning to go ahead as per the published schedule. 

In parallel, the FedEx ATP Rankings and WTA Rankings will be frozen throughout this period and until further notice.

The challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic to professional tennis demand greater collaboration than ever from everyone in the tennis community in order for the sport to move forward collectively in the best interest of players, tournaments and fans. 

We are assessing all options related to preserving and maximising the tennis calendar based on various return dates for the Tours, which remains an unknown at this time. We are committed to working through these matters with our player and tournament members, and the other governing bodies, in the weeks and months ahead.

Now is not a time to act unilaterally, but in unison. All decisions related to the impact of the coronavirus require appropriate consultation and review with the stakeholders in the game, a view that is shared by ATP, WTA, ITF, AELTC, Tennis Australia, and USTA.

Filed Under: Women's Tennis Association, ATP Tour

Indian Wells tournament called off due to coronavirus fears

March 9, 2020 by Rob Keating Leave a Comment

One coronavirus case has sent the cards crashing in Indian Wells. The WTA Premier Mandatory and ATP Masters 1000 tournaments have been called off. The Indian Wells tournament is seen as one of the biggest tournaments outside of the Grand Slams.

The Riverside County Public Health Department has declared a public health emergency for the Coachella Valley after a confirmed case of coronavirus (COVID-19) locally.

“There is too great a risk, at this time, to the public health of the Riverside County area in holding a large gathering of this size,” said Dr. David Agus, Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California. “It is not in the public interest of fans, players and neighboring areas for this tournament to proceed. We all have to join together to protect the community from the coronavirus outbreak.”

“We appreciate the proactive stance tournament organizers are taking to ensure public health and safety,” said Martin Massiello, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Eisenhower Health.

“We are very disappointed that the tournament will not take place, but the health and safety of the local community, fans, players, volunteers, sponsors, employees, vendors, and everyone involved with the event is of paramount importance,” said Tournament Director Tommy Haas. “We are prepared to hold the tournament on another date and will explore options.”

It remains to be seen what will happen with the Miami Open which is due to start on 25 March.

As of Saturday, 16 Florida residents have tested positive for COVID-19, including five Florida cases that have been repatriated from elsewhere and a non-Florida resident, according to Florida’s Department of Health website.

“We’re past the point of containment,” Dr. Scott Gottlieb, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration during the first two years of President Trump’s administration, said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

“We have to implement broad mitigation strategies. The next two weeks are really going to change the complexion in this country. We’ll get through this, but it’s going to be a hard period. We’re looking at two months, probably, of difficulty,” Gottlieb said.

Filed Under: Masters 1000

Australia books a Davis Cup finals spot

March 8, 2020 by Rob Keating Leave a Comment

Australia faced Brazil without their top two ranked singles players in a Davis Cup final qualifying tie.

Jordan Thompson and John Millman stepped up to fill the places of Alex de Minaur and Nick Kyrgios after both were unavailable due to injury.

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Thompson got the Aussies off to a perfect start when he defeated Brazil’s top ranked player Thiago Monteiro 6-4, 6-4. Monteiro is ranked at no. 82 and Thompson sits at no. 63.

“It’s massive,” Thompson said of his victory. “I didn’t want to be sending Johnny (Millman) out there 0-1 down. It’s the perfect start being 1-0 up.”

“He told me to put returns in. Any return is a good return. Scoreboard pressure,” Thompson said of the advice captain Lleyton Hewitt shared during a tight opening set.

“You have to listen to that because Lleyton’s been out there.”

Next up it was world no. 43 John Millman facing world no. 113 Thiago Seyboth Wild.

The 19-year-old Brazilian took the first set and Millman was down a set and a break, with Seyboth Wild serving for the tie, before staging a remarkable comeback in the second set tiebreaker and the final set to claim a 4-6 7-6 (7-0) 6-2 win.

After his fightback win Millman said, “I used the bench, the team, I soaked up the experience of Lleyton and Roachy especially and I’m just happy I got through. That’s what Davis Cup is about. It’s never giving up, and I think that’s the Australian way.

“To be honest with you, at the start of the match I was a little shell-shocked. He came out of the blocks on debut, obviously a lot of confidence from last week, but he was playing an amazing match.

“When you’re staring at the brink of defeat you can either go out quietly or you can give it everything. I knew that if I could just turn it around and just give myself that extra chance I could get the win.”

Day Two Action

On day two the doubles rubber was first up on the Adelaide centre court.

Experienced Australian doubles player John Peers teamed up with James Duckworth who was making his Davis Cup debut. They faced Brazil’s Marcelo Demoliner and Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves who took the match 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(6).

The Australian’s were twice two points from sealing their spot in the finals but the Brazilians held their nerve to take the win.

Millman this time was facing Monteiro with the chance to seal the qualifying spot.

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As he did in his first match Millman found himself a set down after dropping the tie-breaker. Both players had dropped serve once in the opening set. They would not get broken again.

Millman fought back to win the second set in a tie-break to setup a deciding set.

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In the third set tie-breaker Millman jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Monteiro came back to 4-3. Millman surged again to claim the match and with that book Australia’s spot in the Davis Cup finals.

Millman won the match 6-7(6), 7-6(3), 7-6(3).

“That is what Davis Cup tennis is all about,” Australia’s captain Lleyton Hewitt said.

“Johnny had to come out here and back up what he did yesterday – and what a performance.

“That is going to go down as one of the great weekends in his career.”

“I always believed,” Millman said.

“The body was a little sore; the emotion levels were perhaps a little bit down at times – it’s tough to be up the whole time.

“But that is when you have really got to use your bench and use the experience that is Lleyton Hewitt and Tony Roche … they dragged me up when I was nearly down.”

After the qualifying ties here is the full list of teams that will lineup for the finals held in Madrid on 23-29 November.

Automatic qualification

Spain (defending champion)
Canada (2019 runner up)
Great Britain (2019 semi-finalist)
Russia (2019 semi-finalist)
France (2020 wild card)
Serbia (2020 wild card)

Qualifiers (12 nations winning their Qualifier ties on 6-7 March)

Australia
Austria
Colombia
Croatia
Czech Republic
Ecuador
Germany
Hungary
Italy
Kazakhstan
Sweden
USA

Filed Under: Davis Cup

Spain moves past Australia to setup final showdown against Serbia

January 11, 2020 by Rob Keating Leave a Comment

After Serbia had defeated Russia in the first semifinal at the ATP Cup it was Australia vs Spain fighting to be the second team to advance to the final.

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Nick Kyrgios faced world no. 10 Roberto Bautista Agut in the opening singles and pushed the Spaniard in the opening game but from there he struggled in the first set.

The world no. 29 Australian was broken twice in the first by the consistent Spaniard who made just two unforced errors in the opening set.

Kyrgios was broken early in the second set and had a few chances to hit back however Bautista Agut held firm to give Spain the opening match.

World no. 1 Rafael Nadal was defeated by David Goffin in the quarter-final and found himself down an early break against Australia’s no. 1 player Alex de Minaur.

The pair had met twice previously with Nadal winning convincingly at the 2019 Australian Open and at Wimbledon in 2018.

This time de Minaur was able to out hustle Nadal and he also managed to hit a lot more winners that his opponent to take the opening set.

Games went with serve in the second set until the 12th game where Nadal was able to break de Minaur to take the set 7-5.

Nadal raced to a 4-0 lead in the deciding set before wrapping up the match and sending Spain into the final. Nadal taking the match 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.

Filed Under: ATP Cup

Australia defeats Great Britain in a thriller to advance to the ATP Cup semifinals

January 9, 2020 by Rob Keating Leave a Comment

Nick Kyrgios got Australia off to a flying start in the first ATP Cup quarterfinal against Brisbane. He defeated world no. 52 Cameron Norrie 6-2, 6-2.

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Next up it was the no. 1s match between Australia’s Alex de Minaur and Britain’s Dan Evans. This match was one of the best of the tournament so far.

Both players were hitting the ball cleanly from the start but it was de Minaur that took an early lead after breaking Evans in the second game after hitting a down the line winner to bring up a break point. He consolidated the break to lead 3-0.

Evans held serve then broke the Australian to get back on serve. Both players then held serve to see the first set decided in a tiebreak.

Things did not start well for de Minaur as he lost the first point after an air-swing when attempting an overhead. Evans would take the opening set after winning the tiebreak 7-4.

de Minaur again broke early in the second set to lead 2-1 and advantage that he held onto to level the match at one set all.

In the deciding third set it was Evans that won the first break of serve to lead 2-0.

de Minaur broke back at 2-4 and again the players found themselves in a tiebreak after Evans failed to convert a few match points. The Brit finally did secure the win to send the tie into a live doubles match.

In the doubles match Australia’s captain decided to pair up the singles players instead of using the doubles specialists John Peers and Chris Guccione.

The Australian’s got off to an early lead with the first break of the match however de Minaur was not able to hold serve in the first set and the Brits took the opening set 6-4.

In the second set the Australians held serve and then broke to again hold an early lead however Kyrgios was broken for the first time at 3-1 to get things back on serve.

The Australians quickly broke again this time breaking Salisbury to lead 4-2. They held serve from there to take the second set 6-3 and send the match into a super tiebreak. It would turn out to be an epic moment.

Australia took the early lead with a mini break and were looking likely to secure the win when at 8-6 de Minaur was serving. The Brits however pounced at the net to smash a winner and get things back on serve.

Kyrgios brought up the first match point when he hit a down the line winner past Salisbury. The Brits would save that and then hold their own match point at 11-10.

This was perhaps when they should have claimed victory. With de Minaur serving Murray had hit a reflex volley at Kyrgios and he scooped the ball just over the net. Murray was right on the net with the open court at his mercy, he would however lift his backhand long over the baseline to give the Aussies a reprieve.

The Aussies again held match point after a great backhand smash from Kyrgios took the score to 11-12 with Murray serving to stay alive. He handled the pressure to level the scores.

An overhead error from Salisbury gave the Australian’s another match point at 13-12 but the Brits again stayed cool. They had a match point at 14-15 with the Australians to serve.

Murray finally had a serve with match point at 16-15 but de Minaur jumped on the return to hit a down the line winner to keep the Aussies alive. A high backhand return that Kyrgios guided down the tram lines saw the Australians serving at 17-16 for the win.

Kyrgios served and Salisbury hit long but a review of the serve was called for before the win could be confirmed. The ball had landed on the service live so it was a win for the Aussies to cap off an amazing tie.

The Australians took the match 3-6, 6-3, (18-16) and await the winner of the quarterfinal between Spain and Belgium.

Filed Under: ATP Cup

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