ATP
Roland Garros 2024 Men’s Day 6
Jannik Sinner moved closer to a possible rise to world No. 1 as the second seed produced a third consecutive straight-sets victory which took him into the fourth round of the French Open on Friday.
The Australian Open champion dominated Pavel Kotov, winner in the second round over 2015 Paris champion Stan Wawrinka, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on the Chatrier showcase court.
According to ATP calculations, Sinner would need to reach next Sunday’s Roland Garros final to replace Novak Djokovic on the top spot and become the first Italian to stand atop the ranking table.
Sinner sealed two of his three winning sets against Kotov with aces as he repeated a spring victory from Madrid against the No. 56.
“I was happy to get through, and let’s see what I can do in the next round,” Sinner said.
“Tennis-wise I felt quite good today on court. Physically I feel like I still
have to improve a couple of things.
“I’m trying to be ready for the next round.
“I know that there are tough moments on the court, but, you know, you have to accept it and see the general view.”
Fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi led the way for his Sinner earlier in the afternoon as he shoved sixth seed Andrey Rublev to the exits as the first Top 15 men’s seed to lose after six days of play.
The No 35 outsider kept up the pressure to eliminate a frustrated Rublev 7-6 (6), 6-2, 6-4 in two and a half hours.
The emotional seed who was DQ’d last February in Dubai for a similar outburst against a linesman, seed melted down in the second set after going down a break, slamming his racquet onto the clay and screaming at his player box to no avail.
His level-headed opponent simply stayed steady to grind out the straight-sets win in heavy conditions with the Lenglen court roof both open and closed during the contest.
“This was incredible, I played the best match of my life for sure,” the winner said. “To do it in three sets at a Slam…I was not expecting.
“He was not playing his best tennis but I was able to find the tactics to put him under pressure and that worked well.”
Arnaldi, who produced nearly 50 winners in his upset victory, said winning the opening-set tiebreaker was key.
“It gave me a lot of energy and confidence, so I continued to push.”
Rublev expressed regret for his meltdown: “Completely disappointed with myself the way I behaved, the way I performed.
“I don’t remember behaving worse in a Slam ever.”
Andry Rublev (xxx) loses second round match in straight sets to Matteo Arnaldi (ITA) Photo Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd
He added: “I had a lot of chances, and I didn’t make it. Then in one moment, if I completely lose it.
“I was keeping it inside, and when I lost the break second time in the second set, I lost it completely.”
Ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas eliminated China’s “Treble Zed” Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, with the 2021 finalist form Greece moving into the fourth round here for a sixth straight edition.
Holger Rune battled past injured Carlos Alcaraz to spoil the Spanish Easter party at the Barcelona Open, with the Dane lifting the trophy 7-6 (6), 6-2.
The pair of 21-year-olds were familiar foes, having played 20 times in juniors before hitting the Tour; Rune won the first 500 series title of his career and his fifth overall.
Alcaraz was treated three times in the second set after an apparent injury to his upper right thigh/groin after duelling hard in the opening set at the Real Club.
The loss will send Alcaraz back to third in the rankings, with Alexander Zverev moving back to second behind Jannik Sinner as a result of winning the Munich title on Sunday.
Rune, a first-round victim last week in Monte Carlo, reversed his clay momentum in Spain, handing Alcaraz a first loss of a set for the week.
The Spanish top seed’s two final shots both clipped the top of the net and fell back as Rune raised his hands in celebration after 97 minutes on court in the Catalan capital.
“This means the world,” the winner said. “I started the match stressed, he was playing big-time tennis.
“I was able to find my rhythm after he broke me (3-2 in the opening set) and I got more into the match.
“The first set was a big battle with a lot of important points. It was super-important to win the set and gain momentum.
“I’m so proud of myself.”
Rune ended with 18 winners while the ailing Alcaraz produced 33 unforced errors. The Dane claimed his 50th match win on clay and levelled his Tour record in the series to 2-2.
Rune said he channeled Novak Djokovic’s Paris Olympic gold medal win from last summer over Alcaraz as he struggled to turn his game around in Barcelona.
“I asked myself what Novak did to win that final. I (realised) that I didn’t need to hit every ball on the line. I need to make him play and hit a lot of balls.”
Rune, who won the elite Paris Bercy Masters 1000 title in 2022, finally began reversing a 13-match loss streak against top five opponents.with his title victory.
Alcaraz may be racing for fitness with the Madrid Masters starting on Wednesday as the ATP ploughs ahead with an unpopular two-week format for Masters tournaments despite growing protest from exhausted players.
Main photo:- Holger Rune celebrates Barcelona win – by ATPTour.com
Alexander Zverev turned 28 on Sunday and awarded himself a third title on his home Munich clay as he beat Ben Shelton 6-2,6-4 to win the ATP event.
The 2017 and 2018 champion here is now threatening Carlos Alcaraz as the pair duel for the world No. 2 position which the Spaniard took over last week after winning Monte Carlo.
Zverev schooled lefthander Shelton in 70 minutes for a second win in their series. The winner becomes the second to hold three Munich titles after countryman Philipp Kohlschreiber (2007, 2012, 2016).
“I’m enjoying my birthday so far,” Zverev said. “It’s extremely special to win in Germany, the most special thing I can do.
January’s Australian Open finalist added: “It’s definitely a great birthday present, I knew I had to play my best today, conditions were very hot and very fast.They were perfect for me.”
The winner broke three times while never facing a challenge to his serve from Shelton as he claimed a sixth career title at the 500-Tour level.
Main photo:- Alexander Zverev with his “birthday” trophy – by BMW Open/Bitpanda
Alexander Zverev gave fans in Munich what they were after as the top seed rolled into the final of the clay ATP in Bavaria with a 7-6 (3), 6-3 defeat of Fabian Marozsan.
World No. 3 Zverev, who won the titles in 2017 and 2018 needed 91 minutes to advance into a title match with Ben Shelton.
The American earned his spot with a .2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4 defeat of Argentine Francisco Cerundolo.
Zverev advanced with nine aces and broke twice in the tidy win over his Hungarian opposition.
“It’s awesome. The entire week has been great. Everybody is really enjoying the weather as well as the new Center Court,” the winner said. .
“I’m enjoying myself and hopefully I will have another great day tomorrow.”
Shelton reached his fourth career final, becoming the first American man to reach a clay final above ATP 250 level since Andre Agassi won the Rome Masters 23 years ago.
“It’s a big win for me. To get a win on clay against a guy like him gives me a lot of confidence,” Shelton.
“I’m really happy and excited to be in a 500-level final in Europe, my second clay-court tournament this season.
“I’ve been playing well this week and I’m not too stressed right now.”
Main photo:-Alexander Zverev winning in front of his home crowd – by ATPTour.com
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Rune rises to the occasion with defeat of Alcaraz
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