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Monfils claims first win against Thiem in Mallorca

Gael Monfils rode an outstanding day on serve to snap a six-match losing streak against Dominic Thiem at the Mallorca Championships presented by Waterdrop.

Monfils came into the match with an 0-6 Lexus ATP Head2Head record against the Austrian, but fired 13 aces, won 90 per cent of first-serve points and did not face a break point en route to a 6-3, 7-6(3) win.

[ATP APP]

"It was my first grass match for three years and I felt I had to serve good and be aggressive against Dominic," Monfils said. "The weather is good, the stadium was full and I really like the vibes here. Now I'll try to win again. It would be great to have two wins in a row under the belt."

The 37-year-old Frenchman advances to play Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena, who defeated countryman Pablo Carreno Busta in a third-set tie-break on Sunday. Improving to 14-13 on the year, Monfils seeks to reach his first quarter-final since making the Doha semi-finals in February.

Thiem, who has announced that the 2024 season will be his last, was acknowledged by the tournament during a brief post-match ceremony. “I have been here many times before the tournament and twice for the tournament and it has been great,” Thiem said. “I’m really looking forward to coming back to this nice club to watch the tournament in the future.”

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Shang claws past Etcheverry, Giron ousts defending champ in Eastbourne

#NextGenATP star Shang Juncheng earned victory in his first tour-level grass-court match on Monday at the Rothesay International, where he moved past seventh seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(4).

The 19-year-old qualifier fired 39 winners and hung tough in the third-set tie-break to advance after two hours and 27 minutes.

The Chinese lefty, who sealed victory with a forehand winner, now holds a 9-10 record against Top 50 opponents. Shang, currently third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, plays Cameron Norrie or Emil Ruusuvuori in the second round.

[ATP APP]

American Marcos Giron continued his strong start to the grass season when he took out fifth seed and defending champion Francisco Cerundolo 7-6(5), 7-6(4)

Giron last week defeated former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini en route to the Halle quarter-finals after beginning the swing with victory over two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray in Stuttgart, where he pushed eventual champion Jack Draper to three sets.

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Alcaraz, Djokovic firing up preparations at Wimbledon

Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and more of the world's biggest stars have arrived at Wimbledon to begin their preparation for the grass-court major.

Alcaraz, the defending champion, will try to secure his second consecutive Grand Slam title after lifting the Coupe des Mousquetaires at Roland Garros. The No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings was working hard on the practice court Monday under the watchful eye of Samuel Lopez.

[ATP APP]

Alcaraz began his grass-court season at the cinch Championships in London, where he lost in the second round to in-form Briton Jack Draper. The Spaniard is 17-3 in tour-level grass-court matches according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.


Photo: John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic has also arrived at The Championships.

The Serbian has been working hard following recent knee surgery. Djokovic withdrew ahead of the Roland Garros quarter-finals due to a meniscus tear in his right knee.

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Goffin, Gasquet advance to second round in Wimbledon qualifying

Two-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist David Goffin made a winning start in qualifying on Monday when he defeated Australian Marc Polmans 6-3, 6-1.

The Belgian, who won an ATP Challenger Tour title on grass in Ilkley last week, reached the last eight at SW19 in 2019 and 2022. Goffin will next play Yasutaka Uchiyama after the Japanese World No. 203 beat 2022 ‘s-Hertogenbosch champion Tim van Rijthoven 6-7(6), 7-6(3), 6-1.

Richard Gasquet reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2007 and 2015. The former No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings is up and running in qualifying after he defeated Briton Oliver Crawford 6-2, 7-6(8). The 38-year-old Frenchman holds a 31-17 main draw record at SW19.

[ATP APP]

Daniel Elahi Galan advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon last year. The Colombian defeated Spani’s Roca Batalla Oriol 6-3, 6-4. Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who reached the second round at the ATP 500 event at Queen’s last week, beat countryman Ugo Blanchet 6-2, 7-5.

#NextGenATP Croatian Dino Prizmic qualified for the Australian Open in January. He moved closer to matching that feat at Wimbledon, where he downed Clement Tabur 6-3, 6-4. The 36-year-old Mikhail Kukushkin also advanced, defeating Ukraine's Vitaliy Sachko 6-3, 6-3. Kukushkin reached the fourth round at The Championships in 2019.

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Cerundolo claims back-to-back Challenger titles; Goffin returns to winners' circle

Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo is red hot on the red clay.

The 22-year-old claimed his second consecutive ATP Challenger Tour title Saturday when he won the Challenger Bolivia 2 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, a week after he won in Lima.

Cerundolo defeated Ecuadorian Alvaro Guillen Meza 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the final after saving five of the 10 break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and battled past physical struggles to lift his ninth ATP Challenger Tour trophy.

"It was a tough final against a strong opponent, made even more challenging by the wind and a blister,” said the top-seeded lefty, who is on a 10-match winning streak at the Challenger level. “Despite that, I went out to compete in the third set, and the victory came.”

[ATP APP]

This is not the first time Cerundolo has captured back-to-back titles on the ATP Challenger Tour. In January 2023, he opened the season by winning a pair of trophies in Tigre, Argentina.

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Paul becomes American No. 1, Mover of Week

The grass-court swing continued on the ATP Tour at the cinch Championships and the Terra Wortmann Open, where Tommy Paul and Jannik Sinner lifted trophies, respectively. ATPTour.com looks at the movers in the PIF ATP Rankings as of Monday, 24 June.

[ATP APP]

No. 12 Tommy Paul, +1 (Joint Career High)
The 27-year-old has become the American No. 1 for the first time after he captured his third tour-level title in London. Paul, who beat Lorenzo Musetti in the final, dropped just one set en route to the crown. With his run, he surpassed Taylor Fritz as the American No. 1.

“It's an honour to become the No. 1 American, but we both have big goals and we want to be in the Top 10 [of the] rankings,” Paul said when asked about rising to No. 1 and Fritz. “That's where both of us want to be.”

No. 7 Hubert Hurkacz, +2 (Career High)
The Pole has climbed to a career-high No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings after advancing to the final at the ATP 500 event in Halle. Hurkacz downed Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals for his fifth Top 10 win on grass, but was unable to overcome World No. 1 Sinner in the title match.

No. 33 Zhang Zhizhen, +9 (Career High)
The Chinese star has jumped nine spots after advancing to his first tour-level semi-final of the season in Halle. Zhang overcame Top 5 star Daniil Medvedev in the second round in Germany.

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Thiem: 'Tennis is in very good hands'

Less than a year had passed since Dominic Thiem claimed his first major title at the 2020 US Open, when in June 2021 he hurt his wrist at the Mallorca Championships presented by Waterdrop and was forced to withdraw during the first set of his opening-round match against Adrian Mannarino.

Three seasons on, the Austrian is back at the venue where he picked up the injury. That moment led to a slump from which he would never return to the form that helped him reach No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Now, at 30 years of age, Thiem is enjoying the Spanish grass courts at one of the last events of his career. He has said he will retire following Vienna later this year.

“I’ve had an amazing career, I’ve always put a lot of passion into it and I’ve given my all, but now that I’ve announced my retirement, I’m very happy, because it’s relieved a lot of stress,” admitted Thiem before his opener against Gael Monfils in Mallorca.

“I can’t wait to play my last tournaments, but also to do everything that comes afterwards. I’m trying to enjoy my last months as much as possible.”

Thiem forms part of a group of accomplished players on Tour who are close to saying goodbye to professional tennis.

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#NextGenATP Michelsen makes history in Mallorca

Alex Michelsen made history on Sunday in Mallorca.

The #NextGenATP American earned his first grass-court win of the season at the Mallorca Championships presented by Waterdrop, where he defeated Nuno Borges 6-3, 7-6(4). By doing so, the 19-year-old became the youngest player to win a main draw match at the event.

“That’s pretty cool,” Michelsen said. “I had no idea that that was going to be a statistic, so I’m super happy with that and super happy with the win today.”

[ATP APP]

One year ago, Michelsen entered the Mallorca main draw as a lucky loser and nearly defeated Christopher Eubanks, who won the match 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-5. Eubanks went on to win the tournament.

“The island, there are not many places that you go on Tour that are better than this,” said Michelsen, who will next play third seed Adrian Mannarino. “The tournament is very well run, one of the best clubs I’ve ever been to. The courts suit my game. I almost beat Eubanks last year and he won the tournament, so just really enjoy being here and hopefully I can come here for many years.”

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Skupski/Venus clinch Queen's crown

Neal Skupski and Michael Venus captured their first title as a team on Sunday at the cinch Championships, where they clawed past singles stars Taylor Fritz and Karen Khachanov 4-6, 7-6(5), 10-8.

The seventh seeds played fearlessly in the crucial moments, closing the net and striking heavy returns. Skupski and Venus won 88 per cent (37/42) of their first-serve points and raised their level in the Match Tie-break to triumph in London after 77 minutes.

"It has been very special," Skupski said. "First time winning at Queen's, first time winning with Mike. We went to University together and we go back a long way. We have never been able to play on Tour much together, so this was nice to play with him."

[ATP APP]

The Briton and Kiwi, who were teaming in just their third tour-level event together, were impressive throughout their run at the ATP 500. They defeated second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in the quarter-finals and downed 2023 champs Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek in the last four, not dropping a set in either match.

Skupski, 34, is the first Briton to win the doubles title at Queen’s since Andy Murray won with Feliciano Lopez in 2019. Venus, 36, is the first player from New Zealand to win the title in the Open Era (since 1968).

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Paul races to Queen's trophy

Tommy Paul captured his third ATP Tour title and first on grass Sunday at the cinch Championships, where he overcame Lorenzo Musetti 6-1, 7-6(8) in the final at Queen’s.

The fifth seed played with intensity and aggression throughout the 88-minute clash. After racing ahead, Paul recovered from failing to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set, and he rallied from 1/4 in the tie-break, saving one set point at 6/7 against Musetti, who was competing in his third tour-level final.

"Hearing about the names [of previous winners] in the locker room, it is unbelievable. It was my goal to put my name next to them," Paul said. "Thank you to my whole team."

King of Queen’s ?@TommyPaul1 outlasts Musetti 6-1 7-6(8).@QueensTennis | #cinchChampionships pic.twitter.com/7BP6feczHD

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 23, 2024

With his 27th tour-level win of the season, Paul ensured he will surpass Taylor Fritz and become American No. 1 for the first time in his career on Monday. The 27-year-old is set to rise to No. 12 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

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Sinner wins Halle title in first tournament as World No. 1

It was far from an easy week, but Jannik Sinner won his first tournament as the World No. 1 in Halle.

The Italian star lost a set in each of his first three matches, but battled through on each occasion and ultimately defeated Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(8), 7-6(2) on Sunday to lift the ATP 500 trophy.

By winning his first grass-court title, Sinner became the eighth player in PIF ATP Rankings history (since 1973) to claim a trophy in his first tournament as World No. 1.

SINNER WINNER ? @janniksin is victorious in Halle after a 7-6(8) 7-6(2) win over Hurkacz.@ATPHalle | #TerraWortmannOpen pic.twitter.com/hBQEa1n7Rm

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 23, 2024

Players to win title in first event as World No. 1

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Bolelli & Vavassori triumph in Halle

A big week for Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori became even bigger on Sunday in Halle.

After becoming the first-placed team in the PIF ATP Doubles Teams Rankings earlier in the tournament — they began the week in fourth — the Italians lifted the Terra Wortmann Open trophy. Bolelli and Vavassori defeated home favourites Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 7-6(3), 7-6(5) on Sunday in the final.

That winning feeling ?

Vavassori and Bolelli lift the trophy in Halle ❤️@ATPHalle | #TerraWortmannOpen pic.twitter.com/IQyLt0YPpG

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 23, 2024

Last year, Bolelli and Vavassori lost the Halle final in a Match Tie-break. This edition, the top seeds did not lose a set in four matches.

Entering the championship clash, Bolelli and Vavassori held a 1-4 record as a team in tour-level finals. They found their best in the critical moments, saving all three break points they faced according to Infosys ATP Stats and winning both tie-breaks.

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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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