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Gasquet on farewell US Open: 'I will keep these memories for my life'

Richard Gasquet bade farewell to more than two decades worth of US Open memories on Wednesday. The Frenchman, who reached the semi-finals in 2013, was celebrated with an on-court presentation following his second-round qualifying loss to #NextGenATP Vilius Gaubas.

During the ceremony, US Open tournament director Stacey Allaster presented the former World No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings with a symbol of thanks and Gasquet addressed the crowd. The 38-year-old was aiming to reach his 20th consecutive US Open main draw.

“I will keep these memories for my life,” Gasquet said. “It's a little bit sad for me to finish this year [like this], but I'm really happy with how I've played here in New York... to be here with the crowd, to feel this emotion, these feelings. You play tennis to feel these kind of feelings. It's electric, it's incredible for me to play in New York.”

[ATP APP]

Gasquet is continuing to work hard on Tour, with no official retirement date set. The 16-time tour-level titlist earned his 600th match win last year in Stuttgart. This season in Madrid, Gasquet competed in his 1,000th match.

"I'm so lucky," Gasquet added. "I played on the best court here with a lot of crowds. It was the most incredible atmosphere you can face on a tennis court, playing with 20,000 people on a centre court. I played [Roger] Federer, [Novak] Djokovic, [Rafael] Nadal, the best players on this court, and I'm proud with the way I played here in New York.”

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Krajinovic reflects on retirement: 'It was not easy to say goodbye'

Filip Krajinovic called the situation he was in Monday evening “strange”. The former No. 26 player in the PIF ATP Rankings was emotional during his first-round qualifying match against Jurij Rodionov at the US Open to the point that he struggled to play.

Rodionov won 6-4, 6-2 in a straightforward 71 minutes. His Serbian opponent was not emotional because he was losing, but because the 32-year-old knew it was the end of his tennis journey. The defeat marked the final match of Krajinovic’s standout career.

“I was struggling for the past year and a half, thinking what to do. I was not happy with my form. I was not happy with my body, and I didn't play the level I wanted. I dropped a lot. I decided to finish after the US Open,” Krajinovic told ATPTour.com. “I was really, really sad [Monday]. I couldn't really even play. I was crying on the court because the whole life you're playing and you're competing, so it was not easy to say goodbye, but at the same time, I'm happy that now I'm free.”

Krajinovic set high standards for himself. It was one of the reasons he cracked the world’s Top 30, reached five ATP Tour finals and defeated four Top 10 opponents. But in the past couple of years he has not been able to maintain the level he has been used to for much of his career.

[ATP APP]

The Serbian struggled with a wrist injury, broke a finger and dealt with “a couple of little things”. As that happened, he realised that physically he was not quite as quick, which made a difference on court. With that came a slide in the PIF ATP Rankings.

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ATP Tour delivers record sponsorship revenues & growth in 2024

The ATP Tour has announced record sponsorship revenues for the 2024 season, headlined by the signing of nine new global partners and multiple partnership renewals. The Tour’s unprecedented commercial success reflects its focus on strategic growth under OneVision.

Fast-growing partnerships portfolio
New global partners signed since 2023 include PIF, Lexus, Yokohama, Haier, Waterdrop, LONGi Solar, Sense Arena, OFX and most recently Fitline. During this same period the ATP Tour renewed longtime partnerships with Infosys, Lacoste and Dunlop, along with Asti Docg. These partners join an array of leading global brands including the ATP Tour’s Premier Partner, Emirates, along with Nitto, Rolex, Nilox and Sense Arena. The ATP and WTA also entered a joint licensing partnership with game maker Nacon for the TIEBREAK tennis game. This season’s commercial success has seen the ATP Tour grow its sponsorship revenues by 50% vs. 2023, with an 89% increase projected by 2026.

“We are thrilled that leading brands are increasingly seeking to align with the ATP Tour, our globally recognised athletes and world-class tournaments,” said Massimo Calvelli, ATP CEO. “Our partners are committed to enhancing the promotion of the sport, attracting new fans and supporting our members and communities through ATP Serves. They have also bought into our OneVision strategic plan. This has laid the foundation for growth through more premium events, rights aggregation, and a game-changing profit-sharing agreement creating a true partnership between players and tournaments.”

OneVision: a key growth engine
The ATP’s OneVision strategic plan has been the central driver of commercial success, creating new sponsorship inventory through the expansion of several ATP Masters 1000 tournaments from eight to 12-day events. It has attracted direct support from brands, most notably PIF, which signed a major multi-year partnership in 2024 supporting the ATP in growing the game globally for players and fans. In total, ATP has doubled its annual sponsorship distributions to tournaments since 2021.

OneVision is also unlocking new investment at the tournament level, with multi-million dollar infrastructure upgrades and sell-out partnership portfolios underpinned by long-term category protection. Learn more about OneVision here.

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Best Individual Tennis Seasons

The best tennis seasons are often characterized by dominant performances, record-breaking achievements, and memorable moments. Here are some standout seasons in tennis history: 1. Rod Laver's 1969 SeasonAchievements: Rod Laver won all four Grand Slam titles (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open) in a single calendar year, completing...

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#NextGenATP Tien continues dream ATP debut, ousts Marozsan in Winston-Salem

#NextGenATP American Learner Tien had never competed in an ATP Tour main draw entering the week. Now the 18-year-old is into the third round of the Winston-Salem Open.

The teen stunned ninth seed Fabian Maroszan 6-2, 6-7(1), 7-6(2) in two hours and nine minutes to advance at the ATP 250 event. The lefty rallied from a break down in the deciding set, took a 5-3 lead and then surged to victory in the tie-break despite failing to serve out the match.

Tien has played the past two main draws of the US Open and will compete in the season’s final major again next week. But for now, he is focused on the task at hand in North Carolina.

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This year’s Bloomfield Hills ATP Challenger Tour champion converted six of his 14 break points according to Infosys ATP Stats to earn his fourth win of the tournament including qualifying. He will next play Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild, who ousted eighth seed Nuno Borges 7-6(2), 6-2.

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Film study pays off, Coric avenges last year's Winston-Salem loss to Baez

One year on from Borna Coric's marathon semi-final loss to Sebastian Baez at the Winston-Salem Open, the Croatian avenged that defeat Tuesday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory against the top seed and defending champion. 

"I learned from that match, I was watching that match last night," Coric said of last year's loss at the ATP 250. "I was prepared for the match and also it was much better for me that we played today while it was sunny. Last year we played in the evening, which was actually much, much slower."

The 27-year-old dropped just four points behind his first serve and held the advantage in lengthy baseline rallies to improve to 1-2 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Baez. Just days after their three-hour 19-minute Winston-Salem meeting in 2023, Baez again defeated Coric in the US Open first round.  

Into the Round of 16, the three-time tour-level titlist will next face 16th seed Rinky Hijikata.

[ATP APP]

Earlier, American lucky loser Zachary Svajda earned the highest-ranked win of his career when he upset World No. 29 Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 6-4. The 21-year-old Svajda is up to No. 101 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings as he aims for his Top 100 debut.

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Reigning #NextGenATP champ Medjedovic advances in US Open qualifying

Hamad Medjedovic moved one step closer to competing in the US Open main draw for the first time on Tuesday. The champion of last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF kept his hopes alive with a gutsy qualifying performance, rallying past Oriol Roca Batalla 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the opening round.

Each time the 21-year-old has competed in a major, he has advanced through qualifying, a good omen for the Serbian who next faces Duje Ajdukovic. Medjedovic qualified for Roland Garros for the second consecutive year in May and also reached the Wimbledon main draw in 2023.

Abdullah Shelbayh advanced to the second round after his 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory against Brandon Holt. The 20-year-old Jordanian, who last year competed in Jeddah and fell to Medjedovic in round-robin play, converted five of his six break points to defeat the 26-year-old Holt.

Shelbayh is seeking his first major main draw appearance. He reached the third round of qualifying at this year’s Australian Open, where he beat Medjedovic in the penultimate round.

[ATP APP]

Third seed Aslan Karatsev raced past Enzo Couacaud 6-3, 6-1 after winning nine of 10 net points across his 57-minute victory. Karatsev was clinical from the baseline too, hitting 28 winners compared to his opponent’s six.

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ATP statement on Jannik Sinner

We are encouraged that no fault or negligence has been found on Jannik Sinner’s part. We would also like to acknowledge the robustness of the investigation process and independent evaluation of the facts under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP), which has allowed him to continue competing. This has been a challenging matter for Jannik and his team, and underscores the need for players and their entourages to take utmost care in the use of products or treatments. Integrity is paramount in our sport.

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Belgrade to host ATP 250 tournament from November 2024

The ATP has announced that an ATP 250 tournament in Belgrade, Serbia, will take place from 3-9 November.

The tournament will be played on indoor hard court at Belgrade Arena, a multi-purpose venue and host of the historic 2010 and 2013 Davis Cup finals.

Djordje Djokovic, Belgrade Open Tournament Director, said: "We are grateful that we got a chance to organise yet another ATP 250 tournament, this time on a hard-court surface. Belgrade has a successful history in hard-court tournaments, as some of the most exciting Davis Cup matches and finals were played here many years ago. We are excited to continue with this tradition and try to make everything even more exciting and better, this time with an ATP tournament."

The tournament was initially due to be held in Gijon, Spain, but was relocated due to unforeseen operational matters. The relocation will see the event held in Belgrade for an initial two-year period.

All other tournaments on the 2024 ATP Tour calendar remain unchanged at this time and are planned to take place as scheduled.

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String Tension

Tennis racket stringing tension is an important aspect of customizing your racket for optimal performance. The string tension, typically measured in pounds (lbs) or kilograms (kg), directly impacts power, control, and feel. Here's a breakdown of how string tension affects your game and what to consider when selecting the right tension: Understandin...

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Tiafoe charges back into Top 20, Mover of Week

The Cincinnati Open provided another week of thrilling ATP Masters 1000 action as Jannik Sinner clinched his tour-leading fifth title of the season. The man he overcame in the championship match, Frances Tiafoe, has surged back into the Top 20 of the PIF ATP Rankings as a result of his run in Ohio, where he became the first American finalist since John Isner in 2013.

ATPTour.com looks at the movers in the PIF ATP Rankings as of Tuesday, 20 August.

[ATP APP]

No. 20 Frances Tiafoe, +7
Tiafoe’s run to the final at the Cincinnati Open has propelled the 26-year-old back into the Top 20 for the first time since March. The home favourite defeated Top 20 opponents Lorenzo Musetti, Hubert Hurkacz and Holger Rune (against whom he saved two match points) at the Masters 1000 event before falling to World No. 1 Sinner.

No. 13 Ben Shelton, +1 (Career High)
The 21-year-old Shelton strengthened his bid to crack the Top 10 with a run to his maiden Cincinnati quarter-final. The lefty overcame the big-serving threat of Reilly Opelka in his opening round, before also notching wins against Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Fabian Marozsan. Alexander Zverev edged Shelton in three sets in the last eight, but the American has nonetheless risen to a career-high No. 13.

No. 15 Holger Rune, +1
Rune’s inspired run in Cincinnati was ended in heartbreaking fashion by Tiafoe, but the Dane can still reflect on a confidence-building run in Ohio. Rune overcame tricky tests from Matteo Berrettini, Nuno Borges, Gael Monfils and Jack Draper before letting slip two match points in his semi-final defeat. He has risen one spot to No. 15 in the PIF ATP Rankings as he now prepares for the US Open.

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#NextGenATP Shang storms into R2 in Winston-Salem

Shang Juncheng did not take long to kick-start his campaign at the Winston-Salem Open.

The Chinese #NextGenATP star marked his debut appearance at the hard-court ATP 250 with a commanding 6-2, 6-1 triumph against Francisco Comesana on Monday afternoon. Shang won 10 of the final 11 games to wrap a 69-minute win and set a second-round showdown with seventh seed Mariano Navone.

After winning 80 per cent (24/30) of points behind his first serve against Comesana, according to Infosys ATP Stats, Shang improved to 20-23 for the season. The 19-year-old lefty has enjoyed a breakout year on the ATP Tour in 2024, during which he has reached semi-finals in Hong Kong and Atlanta and risen as high as No. 73 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

With his victory against Comesana on Monday, Shang has also boosted his hopes of reaching the season-ending Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF for the first time. He is currently third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, with only Arthur Fils and Alex Michelsen ahead of him.

Meanwhile a contestant at the past two editions of the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, Dominic Stricker, enjoyed a breakthrough of his own on Monday in Winston-Salem. The 22-year-old downed Federico Coria 7-5, 6-2 to notch his first tour-level win of the season.

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Tiafoe flips his 2024 upside down: 'I couldn't be happier'

Nobody likes losing tennis matches. But despite falling to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the Cincinnati Open final, Frances Tiafoe was thrilled with his week at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

“Insanely happy for the effort I had all week. Tennis is a funny sport, man. It's been a really tough year,” Tiafoe said. “Since post-US Open honestly, since I made the quarters there last year, I've struggled to put matches together, taking the game for granted, not having much gratitude. [I] changed coaches, [was] trying to just figure myself out. [I am] in a great situation now, and to be able to make a final in a Masters series, a chance to win it, I couldn't be happier.”

This was the first time the American reached the final of an ATP Masters 1000 event. He defeated plenty of tough opponents, including Paris Olympics bronze medalist and Wimbledon semi-finalist Lorenzo Musetti, and former World No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings Holger Rune.

“It doesn't really shock me or anything that I played tight with the best players in the world. I think I've beaten the best players in the world. I've played insanely tight matches with the best players in the world,” Tiafoe said. “More [the] thing that stood out to me is beating Musetti, who's had an insane season, and then backing it up and beating Lehecka and beating Rune in a tough match.”

This was Tiafoe’s second final of the year after making the championship match in Houston. He is now back in the Top 20 in the PIF ATP Rankings after falling from the elite group in March.

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Sinner's lights-out serving torpedoes Tiafoe in Cincinnati final

The serve was lights out.

Jannik Sinner defeated Frances Tiafoe 7-6(1), 6-2 in the final of the Cincinnati Open on Friday on the back of his strongest serving display of the tournament.

Tiafoe only won 11 return points for the match, with Sinner holding five of his 10 service games to love. Things might have trended in a different direction if Tiafoe had converted either of the two break points he held in the opening game when Sinner fell behind 15/40. But two return errors later, Sinner was out of an early hole, and his match-winning momentum had clicked into gear.

[ATP APP]

Tiafoe only won five return points against Sinner's first serve and six against his second, according to Infosys ATP Stats. On the other side of the net, Sinner won more than triple that amount, with 34 return points won. Fourteen were against first serves, and 20 were against second serves.

The real problem for Tiafoe was simply getting Sinner’s serves back in the court.

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Sinner beats Tiafoe to clinch courageous Cincinnati title

Jannik Sinner has shown the world the incredible tennis he is capable of. But it was grit and determination that he relied on to capture the Cincinnati Open title.

After battling through back-to-back three-setters against Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev, the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings surged past home favourite Frances Tiafoe 7-6(4), 6-2 on Monday evening to lift the trophy at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.

“It was a very difficult week, tough week. I'm very happy about about today's match,” Sinner said in his on-court interview. “It was very tough mentally. Had such an amazing run here, and I tried to do my best today. We both were quite tired from yesterday. We both felt a lot of tension, but I'm very glad about [the] level I played today, especially in the important moments.”

The 23-year-old overcame Tiafoe in one hour and 37 minutes to move to 15-4 in tour-level finals. He now owns an ATP Tour-leading five trophies this season following triumphs in Melbourne, Rotterdam, Miami and Halle, and is the only player to claim two ATP Masters 1000 crowns in 2024.

??????????? ?@janniksin is your 2024 Cincinnati Open CHAMPION ?@CincyTennis | #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/fHpUu188Sn

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Sinner surges in battle for year-end No. 1, but Alcaraz within striking distance

Jannik Sinner has taken a sizable lead in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin by winning the Cincinnati Open, but the battle for ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours is far from over.

The 23-year-old is in pole position for the accolade with just three months remaining in the season. But with this year's Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz 1,440 points behind the Italian, there is still plenty to play for with the US Open coming up next week.

PIF ATP Live Race To Turin

 Player  Points
 1) Jannik Sinner  7,400
 2) Carlos Alcaraz   5,960
 3) Alexander Zverev  5,715
 4) Daniil Medvedev  4,020
 5) Casper Ruud  3,595
 6) Andrey Rublev  3,280
 7) Novak Djokovic  3,160
 8) Alex de Minaur  2,905

Sinner, who became the first player from his country to reach World No. 1 earlier this year, has given himself a cushion in the Live Race. If he reaches the semi-finals in New York, he will remain in first place regardless of any other player's performance at the season's final major.

What the Italian has done by winning Cincinnati has put pressure on Alcaraz and third-placed Alexander Zverev, who is 245 points behind him, to make a huge run at Flushing Meadows in an attempt to close the gap.

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Arevalo/Pavic march to Cincinnati crown

Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic charged into the ATP Masters 1000 winners' circle together in style on Monday at the Cincinnati Open.

The fourth-seeded duo eased past home favourites Mackenzie McDonald and Alex Michelsen 6-2, 6-4 in the championship match in Ohio. Arevalo and Pavic did not face a break point and converted three of five of their own, according to Infosys ATP Stats, as they sealed their fourth tour-level title as a team in just 63 minutes.

? Cincinnati Doubles Champions! ?

No. 4 seeds Pavic and Arevalo defeat McDonald/Michelsen 6-2 6-4!@CincyTennis | #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/OEcPhxLAJd

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 19, 2024

“It’s never easy in the finals, especially [against] those guys,” said Pavic. “They won a couple of great matches this week, they beat the number one seed, [who] for me at the moment are maybe in the best shape on tour, so they proved they can beat anybody in doubles. They are good singles guys, good players so it was not easy.

“It was a bit of a different matchup, we didn’t know what to expect, we didn’t seen them playing that much, compared to when we played the other doubles teams. We were playing smart, we were playing good [doubles] from the beginning and throughout the week we were playing some good tennis.”

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Van Assche leads French charge in US Open R1 Qualifying

#NextGen ATP Frenchman Luca Van Assche sailed past veteran Pablo Cuevas 6-2, 6-1 Monday to advance to the second round of qualifying at the US Open.

Eighteen years younger than his opponent, Van Assche converted five of 10 break points to dispatch the 38-year-old Uruguayan as he bids to make a second main draw appearance at Flushing Meadows, where he lost in the first round on debut last year.

The 20-year-old is currently No. 111 in the PIF ATP Rankings, having slipped from No. 65 a year ago. He is currently fifth in the PIF ATP Race to Jeddah as he aims to return to the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF for the second consecutive year.

[ATP APP]

Van Assche led the French charge on Day 1 of qualifying, with Richard Gasquet, Lucas Pouille and Harold Mayot all advancing.

Gasquet hopes to make his 20th main draw appearance at Flushing Meadows this year. His best result came in 2013 when he reached the semi-finals, losing to Rafael Nadal in straight sets.

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Tennis Facts

1. Origin of Tennis Tennis originated in France in the 12th century, known initially as "jeu de paume," meaning "game of the palm." It was played by striking the ball with the hand until rackets were introduced in the 16th century.2. The Longest Match EverThe longest tennis match in history was played at Wimbledon in 2010 between John Isner and Nic...

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Safiullin survives two championship points, wins Cary Challenger

Top seed Roman Safiullin made a dramatic comeback Saturday at the Cary Tennis Classic, where he saved two championship points to claim his fifth ATP Challenger Tour title.

The 27-year-old escaped Mattia Bellucci 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 in the final, during which the Italian qualifier led 6-1, 4-1. Safiullin stared down two championship points on serve at 4-5 in the second set, but found a way to turn around the match and lift the trophy after two hours, 53 minutes. Appearing to fade physically in the latter stages, Safiullin let out a sigh of relief when he converted his eighth championship point.

“I just decided to put the ball back [in play], try to let him win it and he made some mistakes and I played some good balls. At the end of the match, I was able to turn it around,” Safiullin told commentator Rob Werner.

“It was super humid today. It was really tough with the conditions, but I’m happy that I managed it. It was a very good test for me ahead of New York, because New York is going to be similar conditions.”

[ATP APP]

Following his title run, Safiullin is up seven places to No. 57 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. He was playing just his fifth Challenger event since September 2022.

a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/marc-andrea-huesler/hh06/overview'Marc-Andrea Huesler/a poses with the Grodzisk Mazowiecki ballkids affter the trophy ceremony.
a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/carlos-taberner/te16/overview'Carlos Taberner/a celebrates winning the Challenger 75 event in Todi, Italy.
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