ATP
Wimbledon Men’s Day 3
Novak Djokovic is guaranteed a day of rest on Thursday after setting another record as the third man to win 350 Grand Slam singles matches with his latest victory at Wimbledon.
The second seed and seven-time champion achieved the mark by defeating Jordan Thompson 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 to reach the third round.
But potential future opponents Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Swiss Stan Wawrinka had their match delayed for a second consecutive day due to weather and scheduling complications and cannot meet until Thursday..
Djokovic joins elite company which includes Roger Federer (369 wins ) and Serena Williams (365).
Djokovic is on the hunt for more history with a 24th Grand Slam singles and has won the last four Wimbledons editions.
“I don’t really know if I wanted to meet him this early in the tournament, but congratulations to him for a great performance today,” Djokovic said of Thompson, finalist on grass last month in the Netherlands.
“He was a bit unlucky in the second set, he had some chances, but he played a great match. He deserves a big round of applause for sure.”
Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas needed a great escape and a tiebreak fifth set to get past Dominic Thiem 7-6 (1), 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (8).
Thiem, who won the US Open in 2020, has had a long recovery from injuries which first began with a wrist in June, 2021.
His first-round match with the Greek began on Tuesday but was halted after one set.
Thiem was competing here for the first time in four years and had won five of the pair’s nine meetings.
Two-time Grand Slam finalist Tsitsipas moves into a second-round match with Andy Murray.
Grass-phobic third seed Daniil Medvedev found his feet on the somewhat alien surface as he defeated Paris-born British wild card Arthur Fery 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 after the weather cleared up in late afternoon.
Fery, ranked 391, gave away 30 cm in height to the rangy Medvedev, who has never passed the fourth round here.
The challenger was born in the shadow of Roland Garros and was brought up in Wimbledon.
Medvedev put aside his grass phobia as he produced victory on the secondary showcourt at the All England club, with his match safe from the weather interruptions which plagued the event since the start.
“I was happy to finish my match because that’s not the case for everyone,” he said.
“We know it can rain. On hard courts you cannot play in the rain.
“But the grass is even worse. As soon as it’s a few drops, you are scared.
“I was happy to be back on Court 1 – I don’t think I’ve ever lost a match there.
“I have only positive emotions.”
Danish sixth seed Holger Rune defeated British wild card George Loffhagen 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2 in another match which began a day earlier but was halted by rain.
“It was a good match, nice to be finished finally,” the winner said. “It was a tough first set.
“I had to adjust to how he was playing. Maybe in a way it was a bit of my luck that the rain came so I could adjust a few things in my game.
“I came back very strong. I’m happy to finish in a good style today with some good tennis and plenty of things to build on.”
American Taylor Fritz continued to excel on grass with a 6-4, 2-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 comeback from two sets to one down to beat German Yannick Hanfmann.
He was joined by good friend and compatriot Tommy Paul, a 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 winner over Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki.
A third American joined in as Christopher Eubanks put out Thiago Monteiro 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-3; Marcos Giron made it a winning quartet of Yanks, 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4 against Bolivia’ Hugo Dellien.
The day’s victory celebrations were finally capped at five with a 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 win by Ben Shelton against Taro Daniel.
Canada’s Denis Shapovalov finished off another rained off contest with his 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 defeat of qualifier Radu Albot.
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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