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First-time partners Fritz/Khachanov advance to Queen's Club doubles final

After knocking out top seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden on Friday at the cinch Championships, Taylor Fritz and Karen Khachanov took out third seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic on Saturday to reach the final in their first event as a pair.

They followed a 7-6(1), 7-6(3) win against Bopanna/Ebden with a 4-6, 6-3, 12-10 victory in the semi-finals, saving a match point at 8/9 in the Match Tie-break. Despite being broken for the first time in the tournament in the opening set against Arevalo/Pavic, the fan-favourite duo responded quickly before capping their comeback in dramatic fashion.

Becoming Kings at Queens ?

This duo is into the final, but they need your help choosing a nickname ??@QueensTennis | #CinchChampionships pic.twitter.com/OPJmh94TB4

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 22, 2024

Fritz is through to the Queen's Club final for the second straight year after a runner-up finish with Jiri Lehecka in 2023. He will seek his first tour-level doubles crown in his fourth final. Khachanov has also reached three previous tour-level doubles finals, all at the ATP Masters 1000 level. He won Madrid in 2023 with Andrey Rublev.

The eighth seeds will next meet seventh seeds Neal Skupski and Michael Venus in Sunday's final. The Kiwi-British duo beat fourth seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek 7-6(6), 6-4 in Saturday's second London semi-final.

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Musetti, Paul seal Queen's final spot

Lorenzo Musetti became just the fifth Italian man to reach a grass-court tour-level final on Saturday at the cinch Championships, where he moved past Australian Jordan Thompson 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in London.

The 22-year-old opened his shoulders to hit through his groundstrokes in the fast conditions, producing an impressive display in the third set to advance to his third ATP Tour final. Musetti struck 14 winners and hit just four unforced errors in the decider according to ATP Infosys Stats, roaring in delight after sealing victory on his first match point.

"It was one of the toughest matches of the week," Musetti said. "Jordan was playing amazing, especially in the second and third sets. It was a really tough match. I am really proud of my achievement. I love this sport."

[ATP APP]

Musetti, who is up five spots to No. 25 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, holds a perfect two-from-two record in tour-level finals and will hope to improve that record when he meets Tommy Paul in the title match on Sunday.

Musetti has battled hard all week at The Queen’s Club, where he has also defeated Alex de Minaur and Brandon Nakashima in three sets. He holds a 7-1 record on grass this year, having advanced to the semi-finals in Stuttgart last week.

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Fritz, Paul compete in Eastbourne; Shelton headlines Mallorca

The grass-court swing continues on the ATP Tour this week at the Rothesay International and the Mallorca Championships.

Two-time champion Taylor Fritz and American Tommy Paul compete in Eastbourne, where Francisco Cerundolo returns as the defending champion at the ATP 250. Ben Shelton leads the Mallorca field, with Ugo Humbert also in action.

ATPTour.com looks at 10 things to watch across the two events.

[ATP APP]

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN EASTBOURNE

1) Fritz Aims For Hat-Trick: Top seed Fritz boasts a 9-2 record across four appearances at the ATP 250, where he lifted the trophy in 2019 and 2022, the latter coming a week before his Wimbledon quarter-final run. The American, searching for his second title of the year, has not won the same event three times in his career.

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Sinner reaches first grass final in Halle

After notching three consecutive three-set wins to begin his Terra Wortmann Open campaign, Jannik Sinner finished the job in straight sets on Saturday. Still, he was made to work for his 6-4, 7-6(3) semi-final victory against Zhang Zhizhen.

The result saw Sinner through to his first grass final, with his best previous result on the lawns a semi-final showing last year at Wimbledon (l. to Djokovic). He will meet 2022 Halle champion Hubert Hurkacz in Sunday's title match.

"It means a lot. I had four very tough matches to go to the final," Sinner said in his post-match interview. "It was a good match today. Definitely more rallies than yesterday and that's exactly what I needed today. I'm happy and let's see what's coming tomorrow."

Ticking off the milestones ??

World No.1 @janniksin also heads into a 1st grass final 6-4, 7-6(3) over Zhang@ATPHalle | #TerraWortmannOpen pic.twitter.com/0rXohGdRcG

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 22, 2024

In a match of fine margins that hung on a knife's edge throughout, Sinner claimed his lone break point late in the opening set and saved the only break point against him to erase a set point for Zhang at 5-6 in the second. Sinner ripped a brave forehand winner to fend off that break chance, then made good on a fast start to the tie-break to escape in two sets in the pair's first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

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Predictor Picks: Why a Fritz Eastbourne hat-trick could help your team

The grass-court season continues to heat up at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne and the Mallorca Championships, both ATP 250 events. Among the stars in action across the two tournaments will be Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton and Ugo Humbert.

Before each tournament week, ATPTour.com looks at three players who might be good selections for fans in the PIF ATP Rankings Predictor.

Make Your Picks Now!

Taylor Fritz — replacing 45 points
Fritz won his first ATP Tour title in Eastbourne in 2019 and claimed another trophy at the ATP 250 in 2022. Will the American claim his third over the coming week?

The seven-time tour-level champion reached the quarter-finals last week at Queen’s Club, where he earned two wins before losing to Australian Jordan Thompson. Fritz now owns a 27-12 record this season.

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Hurkacz moves past Zverev to reach Halle final

Former champion Hubert Hurkacz moved to within one win of clinching his second title at the Terra Wortmann Open on Saturday when he overcame World No. 4 Alexander Zverev 7-6(2), 6-4.

The fifth-seeded Pole produced an impressive serving display in his semi-final clash against Zverev, firing 17 aces and saving all four break points he faced to earn his fifth Top 10 grass-court win.

"It needed to be really good," Hurkacz said. "He is such a good competitor and is playing good tennis, reaching the final at the French [Roland Garros] and playing at a really high level.

"I am really confident on my serve. I am serving really good. There were some moments but I managed to believe in my game and hit some good serves and good shots, so I stayed pretty calm."

With his one-hour, 33-minute triumph in Halle, Hurkacz improved to 1-3 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Zverev. Into his 11th tour-level final, the 27-year-old will aim to clinch his ninth ATP Tour title when he faces top seed Jannik Sinner or China’s Zhang Zhizhen on Sunday.

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Tsitsipas, Ruud, Shelton sign up for doubles duty at Wimbledon

Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Ben Shelton lead a strong group of singles players who have signed on to play doubles at this year’s Wimbledon.

World No. 4 Daniil Medvedev has also entered but is two spots away from making the acceptance list cut with Brazilian Marcelo Demoliner. Andy Murray and Jamie Murray are eighth on the alternate list but would stand a strong chance of receiving a wild card if the two-time Wimbledon singles champion declares himself fit to play after undergoing a back procedure Saturday.

[ATP APP]

Tsitsipas will team with his brother Petros Tsitsipas for the second straight major. At Roland Garros the brothers took out fourth seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek en route to the quarter-finals, where they were stopped by eventual champions Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic.

Ruud, No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings, will partner American William Blumberg. World No. 14 Shelton will partner Mackenzie McDonald. Other Top 20 singles players entered in doubles are Ugo Humbert (w/ Arthur Fils), Alexander Bublik (w/ Alexander Shevchenko), Sebastian Baez (w/ Dustin Brown).

Marcelo Granollers and Horacio Zeballos head the acceptance list along with Australian Open champions Matthew Ebden, a former Wimbledon doubles champion, and Rohan Bopanna.

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Andy Murray readies for 'back procedure' in quest to play Wimbledon

Andy Murray will undergo a back procedure Saturday as he races the clock to be fit for a likely farewell appearance at Wimbledon.

The former World No. 1 retired from his second-round match against Jordan Thompson at Queen’s on Wednesday and acknowledged that he had been struggling with an ongoing back complaint.

Murray’s management team issued a statement Friday that read: “Andy is having a procedure on his back tomorrow. We will know more after this has taken place and will update further as soon as possible.”

[ATP APP]

His brother Jamie Murray, who this week is serving as tournament director at the cinch Championships, told the BBC on Friday: "He saw a specialist yesterday evening and he's basically trying to decide what his next move is.

"I don't think it's right for me to go into that personally, that's up to him, but I think he has got a few decisions to make.

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Sinner survives Struff's clutch serving to snatch three-set win

In the face of a brilliant serving display from Jan-Lennard Struff, Jannik Sinner held firm Friday to advance to the Terra Wortmann Open semi-finals. Struff hit 18 aces and saved 16 of 18 break points — including all 11 in the second and third sets — but could not pull off the upset against the new No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

The Italian's 6-2, 6-7(1), 7-6(3) result was his third consecutive three-set win in Halle, after earlier victories against Tallon Griekspoor and Fabian Marozsan. Sinner lost a tie-break in each of the three matches.

"It was a very tough match," Sinner said. "I had chances in the second, had chances in the third, but couldn't use them. It was 0/40 [in the first game of the third set]. I just try to accept these kind of challenges. Obviously it has been very tough, also mentally. I'm very pleased to be in the next round, I played a lot yesterday, I played a lot also today — two and a half hours on grass, it's a long time. I'll try to recover for tomorrow and hopefully show some good tennis."

[ATP APP]

Playing in his first event as World No. 1, Sinner has yet to meet a seeded opponent. That trend will continue in Saturday's semis, when he takes on Zhang Zhizhen.

Sinner is bidding to become the eighth man in PIF ATP Rankings history to win the title in his first event as No. 1, and the first to do it since Andy Murray at the 2016 Nitto ATP Finals.

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Paul ends Draper's run, reaches Queen's SFs

Tommy Paul reached his second tour-level grass-court semi-final on Friday at the cinch Championships, where he snapped Jack Draper’s seven-match winning streak.

The American played aggressively throughout the two-hour, five-minute encounter in west London, attacking the Briton’s second serve at every opportunity to earn a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory. Paul hit his flat groundstrokes through the fast conditions and won 51 per cent (18/35) of points on Draper’s second delivery to improve to 2-3 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

"I played good tennis and I like the grass. I knew today was going to be a battle," Paul said. "It is never easy against Jack, he has been playing such good tennis, so I am really happy to get through that one."

Flying the flag ???@TommyPaul1 hits the semi-finals 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 past Draper@QueensTennis | #cinchChampionships pic.twitter.com/ljHnC1oqLy

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 21, 2024

The home favourite Draper lifted his maiden tour-level title in Stuttgart last week and then upset World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the second round at Queen’s for the biggest win of his career by PIF ATP Rankings. However, he could not battle to an eighth consecutive victory, with Paul fresher in the third set.

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Fritz/Khachanov upset top seeds Bopanna/Ebden at Queen's

Singles stars Taylor Fritz and Karen Khachanov continued their run at the cinch Championships on Friday when they upset top seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden 7-6(1), 7-6(3) to reach the semi-finals in London.

Fritz and Khachanov saved one set point in the first set and were impressive in the crucial moments in the second set, saving all five break points they faced to advance after 80 minutes.

The eighth seeds are teaming for the first time this week, having beaten Francisco Cerundolo and Tomas Martin Etcheverry in their opening match. They will meet third seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic or fifth seeds Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic in the last four.

In other action, Neal Skupski and Michael Venus clawed past second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 7-6(5), 7-6(6).

"I think we played very well and deserved it in the end," Skupski said. "We can take confidence in beating a very good team in Joe and Rajeev. They have won Grand Slams together and are a very dangerous team on the grass."

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Zverev rallies past Fils, reaches Halle SFs

Is this the week Alexander Zverev captures his first grass title?

A two-time Halle finalist, the German is looking to go one step further at the Terra Wortmann Open, where on Friday he rallied past #NextGenATP Arthur Fils 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 in the quarter-finals.

The 27-year-old raised his level in the second set, breaking Fils to love at 3-2 amidst a run of winning eight consecutive points. Zverev, seeded second at the ATP 500, took free swings from the baseline and looked for opportunities to charge forward in the latter stages of the match.

[ATP APP]

With rain falling at the start of the third set, the roof at OWL Arena was closed for the decider. Cheered on by his home crowd, Zverev won 83 per cent of his first-serve points and was not broken across two hours, 30 minutes, improving to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Fils. The Rome champion is yet to be broken this week.

“After the French Open, I was hoping on grass I would play a bit quicker and not play for two-and-a-half, three hours every single match, but I’m continuing what I always do,” the Roland Garros finalist joked. “I’m happy to be winning and be in the semi-finals.”

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All-time Volleyers

Several tennis players are renowned for their exceptional volleying skills, an essential part of a strong net game. Here are some famous tennis players known for their volley prowess: 1. Rod LaverEra: 1960sAchievements: The only player to win the Grand Slam twice (1962 and 1969).Volleying Skill: Known for his extraordinary all-court game and deft t...

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Lexus ATP Head2Head Challenge: Is Etcheverry or Tabilo the better cricketer?

Who is better at cricket: Tomas Martin Etcheverry or Alejandro Tabilo?

That question was answered in the newest Lexus ATP Head2Head Challenge, which took place in London.

We're swapping rackets for wickets ?

It's time for the players to try their hand at some cricket in the latest #LexusChallenge ?@LexusUK | #Partner pic.twitter.com/RFsIzxibtr

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 20, 2024

The South American players joined England cricket stars Katherine Sciver-Brunt and Natalie Sciver-Brunt for a special tutorial and competition. Although they might not be the next Sachin Tendulkar, the tennis standouts picked up the sport quickly.

“It’s a tough sport. When I [made] the first swing, I didn’t hit any balls,” Etcheverry said. “I enjoyed it a lot, of course. I think I’m going to be a huge fan of this sport, cricket.”

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Kuerten, Djokovic, Medvedev & more rally to benefit Brazil flood victims

Doubles player Marcelo Demoliner is organising a live auction that will benefit three charities and assist those affected by unprecedented flooding in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, his home region. The highlight of the auction, which takes place Tuesday, 25 June at 6:30 p.m. EDT, is an exclusive experience with Gustavo Kuerten. Equipment from Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin Del Potro, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud will also be up for auction.

In the past month-and-a-half, Brazil has received torrential rain, displacing hundreds of thousands and tragically killing nearly 200 people. The 35-year-old Demoliner is lending a hand in a time of desperate need for his home country. A native of Caxias do Sul, who has been as high as No. 34 in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings, Demoliner is teaming with his hometown club Recreio da Juventude and auctioneer Cristiano Escola Leilões to organise the event.

Three-time Roland Garros champion Kuerten, one of 29 men to reach World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, is offering a private tour of his Florianopolis museum and personal collection, which is filled with trophies. The highest bidder will meet Kuerten to hear stories and receive behind-the-scenes details of his successful career.

“Guga, our biggest idol, gave us an experience to have an afternoon with him and he will show his museum, his trophies to the person who will buy this experience,” Demoliner told ATPTour.com in excitement. “For me, it’s one of the greatest items we have. Imagine having an afternoon with your idol. For me, this is insane.”

Fans can log on to the Cristiano Escola Leilões website to view the catalog of items and begin bidding. The auction broadcast will be livestreamed on the Recreio da Juventude YouTube channel, Tuesday 25 June at 6:30 p.m. EDT. 

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Struff upsets Tsitsipas in Halle, sets Sinner clash

Jan-Lennard Struff is playing some of his best tennis on home soil this week at the Terra Wortmann Open.

The German downed sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday, setting a quarter-final clash against Jannik Sinner, World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings. The 34-year-old dropped just five points behind his first serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and drew errors from Tsitsipas' backhand to advance after 67 minutes.

“It’s very special. The crowd was supporting me like hell and it was just an amazing feeling, amazing atmosphere,” said Struff, who did not face a break point. “It means really a lot to finally take this step.”

[ATP APP]

One day after saving a match point to defeat Luciano Darderi, Struff struck 22 winners to just five unforced errors to overhaul the Greek and avenge last month’s Rome loss to Tsitsipas. Their Lexus ATP Head2Head series is now tied at 4-4. Struff is 0-2 against Sinner with both meetings coming this season (Indian Wells, Monte-Carlo).

“I was very happy. Yesterday was a tough match. I was sick before and today in the morning, I felt good," Struff said. "I had good connection with the ball straight away and came in very well. I was serving pretty good, playing aggressive style. Very, very pleased with the way I played.”

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Van Man: Five things to know about Billy Harris

In a big day for British tennis at the Cinch Championships, 29-year-old Billy Harris followed Jack Draper's upset of Carlos Alcaraz with a milestone result of his own at The Queen's Club. Behind a 6-4, 7-5 win against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, the English journeyman advanced to his first tour-level quarter-final in London.

Before he bids for his third win of the week on Friday, ATPTour.com brings you five things to know about the No. 162 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

[ATP APP]

Harris spent three and a half years travelling between tournaments in a van
Earlier in his career, Harris often travelled around Europe in a converted transit van to save money while competing primarily on the ITF World Tennis Tour — one step below the ATP Challenger Tour. In addition to driving from city to city in the van, Harris also used it for lodging.

"I was travelling around in my transit van for three and a half years, with a bed in the back, cooking on the roadside and parking up in McDonald's car parks," he said, as quoted in a 2023 BBC story. Harris owns five ITF singles titles, winning four in 2021 and one in 2022.

He picked up his first tour-level win last November in Sofia
Harris beat Switzerland's Marc-Andrea Huesler 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5) two months before his 29th birthday to record his first tour-level singles win. The ATP 250 was his only previous tour-level event before his appearance this week in London. He has tripled his career win total by reaching the Queen's quarters, improving to 3-1.

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Alcaraz on Queen's defeat: 'It's part of our lives'

Carlos Alcaraz's title defence at the Cinch Championships came to an early end on Thursday courtesy of a 7-6(3), 6-3 defeat to home favourite Jack Draper. While the Spaniard was not happy with his performance, he is taking his first grass-court defeat since 2022 in stride.

"Of course it's tough to deal with the losses, but I think it's part of our lives," he said, crediting Draper for his play. "We have to [deal with it] as good as you can. After the losses, you have to take the positive things and of course the negative things just to improve to the next tournament."

 

For Alcaraz, that next tournament is Wimbledon, where — like at The Queen's Club — he will enter as defending champion. Prior to this week in London, Alcaraz had not competed on grass since his comeback victory against Novak Djokovic in last year's final at the grass-court major. While he was perfect on the lawns last season, Alcaraz remains a relative novice on the unique surface with a 17-3 record.

"I think the best way to be better on grass is to stay here, practise with players, physically doing good stuff on grass and the movement, really specific things," Alcaraz said when asked if he would return to Spain before Wimbledon, which begins 1 July. "In Spain or at my home, we don't have grass courts or really grass places just to practise.

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What Alcaraz’s loss means for World No. 1 battle

Carlos Alcaraz’s second-round loss to Jack Draper Thursday at the cinch Championships could have a big impact on the battle for No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Jannik Sinner, who last week became the first Italian in history to reach World No. 1, has an opportunity at the Terra Wortmann Open to consolidate his standing for the weeks to come.

Sinner has 9,490 live points, putting him 1,130 points ahead of live World No. 2 Novak Djokovic and 1,360 points ahead of live World No. 3 Alcaraz.

PIF ATP Live Rankings (as of 20 June)

 Player  Current Pts  Max Pts
 1) Jannik Sinner  9,490  9,890
 2) Novak Djokovic  8,360  -
 3) Carlos Alcaraz  8,130  -

The 22-year-old Italian can add an additional 400 points if he lifts the Halle trophy at the end of the week, which would give him a 1,530-point margin over his competitors.

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Draper stuns defending champion Alcaraz at Queen's Club

Jack Draper earned the biggest win of his career Thursday at the cinch Championships, where he stunned top seed and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(3), 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.

Both men entered the match on winning streaks. Alcaraz had won eight consecutive matches thanks to his victory at Roland Garros, but Draper snapped that streak by claiming his seventh straight win after earning his first ATP Tour title last week in Stuttgart.

“It was a really tough match," Draper said in his on-court interview. "I knew coming out here Carlos is defending champion here, obviously won Wimbledon last year. [He is an] incredible talent and so amazing for the sport. So I had to come out and play really well and luckily I did today, so thank you.”

British No.1 BRINGS it ?@jackdraper0 with the performance of a lifetime to topple defending champion Alcaraz@QueensTennis | #cinchChampionships pic.twitter.com/MDkFSbSaQN

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 20, 2024

The big-serving lefty thrilled his home fans with a dominant serving performance in which he did not lose a service game. The No. 31 player in the PIF ATP Rankings made good use of his wide serve in both courts to win 76 per cent of his service points according to Infosys ATP Stats and triumph in one hour and 39 minutes.

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