Rome, May 12 (IANS) Spanish teen sensation Rafael Jodar continued his rapid rise on clay by powering into the quarter-finals of the Italian Open with a commanding straight-sets victory over American youngster Learner Tien on Tuesday. The 19-year-old produced another statement performance at the Foro Italico, defeating Tien 6-1, 6-4 to become the first teenager since Novak Djokovic in 2007 to reach the quarter-finals at multiple ATP Masters 1000 events in the same season.Djokovic reached the Ital…
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Rome, May 11 (IANS) Teenage star Rafael Jodar held off Italian wild card Matteo Arnaldi 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 to reach the fourth round of the Italian Open, an ATP Masters 1000 event, on debut.After Arnaldi fought back to level the match, Jodar regrouped impressively from 1-3 down in the deciding set, reeling off five straight games to seal the victory in style.With his two-hour victory, Jodar improved to 14-2 on clay in 2026, according to the ATP Win/Loss Index, highlighted by his maiden ATP Tour title…
Rome, May 7 (IANS) Daniel Altmaier saved two match points to overcome Zhang Zhizhen 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 in the Italian Open first round. for his first ATP Masters 1000 match win of the season.The 27-year-old’s now set up a second-round meeting with two-time Rome champion Alexander Zverev, who leads their ATP Head2Head series 3-1.Elsewhere, Yannick Hanfmann and Jan-Lennard Struff also advanced. Hanfmann downed former Top-10 star Hubert Hurkacz 6-7(3), 7-6(2), 6-2 to set a second-round clash with 18t…
New Delhi, May 4 (IANS) The latest ATP Rankings have witnessed significant movement following an action-packed clay swing, with Alexander Blockx emerging as the biggest riser after a breakthrough campaign at the Mutua Madrid Open.The 21-year-old Belgian has climbed 33 places to a career-high World No. 36 after reaching his maiden ATP Tour semifinal. Having entered April without a single tour-level clay win, Blockx transformed his fortunes by first making the third round in Monte-Carlo and then p…
Madrid, April 30 (IANS) It was time for some brotherly attention, pride and love at the Madrid Open 2026 ATP Masters 1000 tournament on Thursday, and it involved World No.2, Carlos Alcaraz.Carlos Alcaraz made the trip to the Caja Magica to follow the debut of his brother Jaime, who, at just 14 years of age, is playing in the Under-16 section of the Madrid Open, a tournament that brings together the most promising talent from around Spain. The competition, designed to strengthen the future of ten…
Madrid, April 28 (IANS) Spain’s Rafael Jodar advanced to his maiden quarterfinals, dispatching Vit Kopriva 7-5, 6-0 on home soil to set up a first meeting with World No. 1 Jannik Sinner at an ATP Masters 1000 event at the Madrid Open in Madrid on Tuesday.The 19-year-old Spaniard thus became the sixth teenager to reach the last eight stage at a Masters 1000 event this decade, and is also the fourth wild card to advance to this stage in the history of the Madrid tournament.”I am super happy with m…
Madrid, April 28 (IANS) World No. 1 Jannik Sinner delivered a clinical performance to move into the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open, easing past Cameron Norrie in straight sets on Tuesday.Playing early in the day at the Manolo Santana Stadium, Sinner showed control and composure to secure a 6-2, 7-5 victory in 87 minutes in their first-ever meeting on the ATP Tour. The win extended the Italian’s remarkable run, marking his 20th consecutive victory at the tour level and his 25th straight win i…
Madrid, April 21 (IANS) Having established himself among the most promising names in the locker room, Rafael Jadar, who is all set for his maiden appearance at the Madrid Open in his home city, said he will try to handle the pressure as he has done before. Jodar, as of Monday, is an official member of the world’s Top 50, having climbed to No. 42 in the PIF ATP Rankings. The Spaniard has claimed three ATP Challenger Tour titles and ended the 2025 season competing in the Next Gen ATP Finals. Hav…
Houston, April 4 (IANS) Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante had the standout result of the day, making a strong comeback to defeat top seed Ben Shelton at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston.After narrowly losing the first set 7-6 (5), Tirante regrouped and took control of the match, winning the next two sets 6-3, 6-4. The Argentine was perfect on serve, holding all 16 of his service games with a calm and efficient performance.For Shelton, this defeat marks a tough stretch; he h…
Acapulco, Feb 26 (IANS) Top sed Alexander Zverev bowed out of the Mexican Open after losing to Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, (3)6-7, 7-6(4).This is the second time Zverev has been knocked out in the round of 16 in Acapulco, after winning the title in the 2021 edition. Kecmanovic took advantage of Zverev’s 34 unforced errors to clinch the match with a tiebreak in the third set, after the Serbian took the lead by winning the first set; however, the German evened the score in the second set. “I …