It was a busy week in the world of tennis, with five tournaments taking place across the ATP and WTA Tours. If you missed any of the action, then read on, as I break down all the newsworthy headlines from on and off the court.
Last week’s tennis results
Between gang warfare in Mexico and Iran dropping bombs on Dubai, we somehow managed to get five new champions crowned over the weekend. Here’s who added to their title tallies:
- Dubai Open (ATP 500) – Daniil Medvedev beat Tallon Griekspoor by walkover
- Mexican Open (ATP 500) – Flavio Cobolli beat Frances Tiafoe 7-6(4), 6-4
- Chile Open (ATP 250) – Luciano Darderi beat Yannick Hanfmann 7-6(6), 7-5
- Merida Open (WTA 500) – Cristina Bucsa beat Magdalena Frech 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
- ATX Open (WTA 250) – Peyton Stearns beat Taylor Townsend 7-6(8), 7-5
That’s right: Medvedev won the same title twice for the first time in his career. Having won 21 different events, he finally bagged a Dubai repeat – but without even stepping on court in the final. Poor Griekspoor was forced to withdraw due to a hamstring tear, leaving Medvedev to anti-climatically claim the silverware. Still, the Russian had been favorite to win, having not dropped a set all week including against top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.
In the two other ATP events last week it was all Italy baby. Both Cobolli and Darderi prevailed, with the former capping off a remarkable turnaround. I was at Cobolli’s first-round match in Melbourne where he looked awful and crashed out at the hands of world No 186 Arthur Fery. He’d go on to lose four in a row, three of which were against players outside the top 100.
But something clicked for the Italian in recent weeks, with a semi-final run in Delray Beach and a title now in Acapulco, rocketing him into the top 15 for the first time in his career. Dare I say that that something had something to do with his girlfriend, who began travelling with him for moral support following his losing streak.
On the WTA Tour, Stearns won an all-American battle, denying Townsend in her maiden Tour-level final. Bucsa wasn’t to be denied her first title though, with the Spaniard knocking out top seed Jasmine Paolini en route to the Merida Open title.
Afterwards, Bucsa shared that she’d made her dad a birthday promise: she’d beat a top-10 player for him, despite having never done so in 10 previous attempts.
Medvedev, Rublev among those stuck in Dubai
The outbreak of war in the Middle East spilled over to impact the tennis world on the weekend, with several stars getting stuck in Dubai.
Medvedev’s celebrations of his first repeat may well be muted as the Russian is currently unable to leave the city and make his way to Indian Wells. Same goes for Andrey Rublev and a host of other tennis players, coaches and journalists.
Fonseca wins MGM Slam
With Indian Wells just around the corner and his form not looking great, Joao Fonseca received a much needed boost by winning the MGM Slam on Sunday.
The young Brazilian was competing alongside the likes of Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Alexander Bublik and Nick Kyrgios in the 10-point tiebreak format in Las Vegas. He beat Gael Monfils in the quarter-finals and Bublik in the semis, before edging out Reilly Opelka 10-6, 7-10, 10-5 in the final.
Fritz breaks down Indian Wells ball change
There’s been more ball-related drama on the ATP Tour this week, with Fritz slamming the switch to Dunlop balls ahead of Indian Wells. Speaking on a Twitch stream while playing video games, the American explained:
“Here’s the thing, it’s going to be very interesting because they’re changing the ball at Indian Wells this year to the Dunlop ball,” he said.
“The Dunlop ball plays slow when it’s worn out, and they’ve been wearing out really fast. The quality of the ball has dropped exponentially. You play like two games and these balls are f***ing balloons. I’m hitting them as hard as I possibly can and I can’t hit a winner.
“I’m really interested to see how slow it feels because people are going to be missing less, there’s going to be longer points.
“It’s going to be a very different Indian Wells because this is going to be the first Indian Wells I think, I’ve ever played in where they’re not using the Penn Tour ball. It’s hard to say, I’ve had success with both balls.”
Fritz’s breakdown went on for more than eight minutes, but you get the idea: the balls are slow, which he expects will have a big impact on Indian Wells this year.
Money, money, money
For those interested in the finance side of tennis, there were a few interesting updates this week:
- Stefanos Tsitsipas said that he’s never played the Golden Swing because their appearance fees can’t compete with the European/American/Middle Eastern tournaments
- Indian Wells almost tripled their prize money for this year’s mixed doubles
- Craig Tiley has stepped down from leading Tennis Australia – after more than doubling the Australian Open attendance over the past decade – and accepted the top job at the USTA
Alcaraz gets another shocker
On a lighter note, he’s done it again. Carlos Alcaraz has revealed another shocking haircut ahead of this year’s Indian Wells.
How does he keep getting away with it? Oh yeah, he’s pretty good at tennis…
Federer’s biggest fan completes full circle
Tennis fans may remember a seven-year-old asking Roger Federer at the 2017 US Open to delay his retirement by a decade so he could play his idol in the future.
Federer was gracious enough to organise an exhibition with the kid – Izyan Ahmad – a few years later. But now, Ahmad has fulfilled his side of the bargain. He’s gone on to develop his game, had success at the lower levels, and has received a wildcard into qualifying at this year’s Indian Wells.
Pity Federer couldn’t delay that retirement a few more years!
Coming up this week
This week, all eyes are on California as both tours converge on Indian Wells. It’s a longer format Masters 1000, with the finals not being held until next Sunday, March 15. However, main draw action gets underway this Wednesday, with qualifying underway already.
Keep an eye out for our draw previews and value bets pieces – these will be live as soon as the draw drops on Tuesday. Jonas is also visiting the tournament so make sure to check the site and the TN instagram for fun updates.