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Two-time titlist to rise into Top 35 for the first time
Damir Dzumhur made tennis history for Bosnia and Herzegovina last month in Russia. So why not do it again?
The first Bosnian and Herzegovinian ATP World Tour champion captured title No. 2 on Sunday, defeating Ricardas Berankis, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 to win the VTB Kremlin Cup in one hour, 39 minutes.
"I really don't know, but there is something special here in Russia. Maybe the crowd, I don't know," said Dzumhur after the match, eliciting a roar from the crowd.
For Dzumhur, it was his third final in his past seven tournaments after never previously reaching a final. The St. Petersburg Open champion moved to 10-0 in Russia this season. He will climb to a career-high in the Emirates ATP Rankings of No. 31 on Monday.
It was a back-and-forth tilt against Berankis, who had beat him in two of their three FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings. After winning the opening set in 32 minutes, Dzumhur dropped the second in 35. And when he faced a 0/40 deficit at 3-4 in the deciding set, it appeared that the Lithuanian might be in perfect position to break and serve for his first title.
But Dzumhur saved all three break points, with a service winner and two backhand winners, winning five points in a row to hold serve. He broke Berankis in the very next game to put himself in position for his second title. And while he once again faced a 0-40 deficit, this time, winning five points in a row on his serve finished the match and earned him the championship. But the key was Dzumhur's hold at 3-4.
"I didn't think about it. I was just trying to play good serves and it worked well. Some amazing backhands," Dzumhur said. " a little bit lucky. I was close to the line two times. But that's tennis, you have to be lucky to win some games."
Luck may not have been on Berankis' side Sunday, but hard work certainly was. The Lithuanian has been both on top of the world and spiraling toward the bottom in his career. The former junior World No. 1 was recently at a low, beginning his season in May after recovering from hip surgery, which caused him to drop as low as No. 244 in the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time since February 2010. Just five months later, Berankis' recovery efforts showed in reaching his second ATP World Tour final, and first since 2012, when he lost to Sam Querrey in Los Angeles.
"He deserves to win today," Berankis said of Dzumhur.
Berankis had lost two of his past three matches before arriving in Moscow, each on the ATP Challenger Tour. "I am really happy with this result, especially compared to my results in the last few weeks, so I hope my game is starting to come back. I really wish that I can continue in a similar way the rest of the year."
It won't be the last that Dzumhur and Berankis see each other, as the pair will meet in the opening round of the Erste Bank Open 500 in Vienna. For now, Dzumhur's celebration will have to wait, saying he wants to focus on his next tournament.
"After that it's going to be a really hard celebration," Dzumhur laughed.
It was a banner week for Bosnia and Herzegovina in Moscow, with Dzumhur and compatriot Mirza Basic playing in the first all-Bosnian ATP World Tour semi-final.
Dzumhur earned 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points with his victory, and a prize check of $132,990. Berankis captured 150 points and $70,045 for his efforts.

Damir Dzumhur obronił cztery meczbole i w trzech setach pokonał Michaiła Kukuszkina w I rundzie rozgrywanego na kortach twardych w hali turnieju ATP World Tour 250 w Marsylii. Felix Auger-Aliassime nie wykorzystał kolejnej dzikiej karty.

ATP Marsylia: turniej bez obrońcy tytułu oraz "jedynki". Stan Wawrinka największą gwiazdą
Rozgrywany od 1993 roku turniej w Marsylii jest jedną z pięciu francuskich imprez w kalendarzu głównego cyklu męskich rozgrywek. W tegorocznej edycji zabraknie jednak przedstawicieli czołowej "10" światowej rankingu. Miał być nim David Goffin, lecz wycofał się z powodu kontuzji oka, podobnie jak zeszłoroczny triumfator Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, który zmaga się z urazem uda.

Mecz otwarcia zawodów w marsylskiej hali przyniósł wiele emocji. Damir Dzumhur po dwóch godzinach i 55 minutach walki okazał się lepszy od Michaiła Kukuszkina. Bośniak pokonał Kazacha 6:7(6), 7:6(3), 6:1, w dziesiątym gemie drugiej partii broniąc czterech piłek meczowych.

Rozstawiony z numerem siódmym Dzumhur w II rundzie zmierzy się z Thomasem Fabbiano, który na zakończenie poniedziałkowej serii gier wygrał 6:3, 6:4 z Felixem Augerem-Aliassime'em. Tym samym 17-letni Kanadyjczyk nie wykorzystał drugiej kolejnej dzikiej karty i wciąż musi czekać na wygrany mecz w głównym cyklu. W ubiegłym tygodniu przepustką do głównej drabinki obdarowali go również organizatorzy imprezy w Rotterdamie, gdzie jednak także odpadł w I rundzie.

Miejscowi kibice przeżyli miłe chwile za sprawą Julien Benneteau. 36-letni Francuz, najstarszy uczestnik zawodów, ograł 6:4, 6:3 Maleka Jaziriego. - Czuję się świetnie po tym meczu. Podobało mi się to, co pokazałem, i jestem zadowolony z jakości swoich uderzeń. Na korcie wykonałem dobrą pracę - powiedział Benneteau, który w 1/8 finału zmierzy się z oznaczonym numerem piątym Roberto Bautistą.

W poniedziałek rozegrano również decydujące mecze kwalifikacji. Awans do głównej drabinki wywalczyli Ilja Iwaszka, Ruben Bemelmans, Norbert Gombos i Stefano Travaglia, natomiast Serhij Stachowski wszedł jako tzw. "szczęśliwy przegrany". Ukrainiec zastąpi Daniła Miedwiediewa, który wycofał się z udziału w turnieju.

One year ago, Adrian Mannarino fell just short of claiming his maiden ATP World Tour title, losing in the Turkish Airlines Open Antalya final against Yuichi Sugita.
But Mannarino, the top seed, ousted compatriot Gael Monfils 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 on Friday to give himself another chance, reaching his fifth ATP World Tour final. The left-handed World No. 24 is one of three players in the Top 25 of the ATP Rankings without a title, and the only player in the Top 50 to reach multiple finals without lifting a trophy.
"It was tricky," Mannarino said. "Even in the tight moments, I was staying very calm and trying to just play as smart as I could and it worked out. I'm really happy with the performance today."
The Frenchman has done well to shake off a recent slump. Prior to last week's Fever-Tree Championships, Mannarino lost six matches in a row. But after gaining momentum with a run to The Queen's Club quarter-finals (l. to Djokovic), Mannarino is back in form ahead of the final against two-time ATP World Tour champion Damir Dzumhur.
"It's going to be a really hard match tomorrow. My opponent is playing really well," said Mannarino, who leads Dzumhur 1-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. "A final is always a different match because there's a lot of pressure. Both players are getting a little bit stressed, usually. I'm going to try to handle the situation as much as I can and I'll try to play my best tennis."
Mannarino appeared in deep trouble late in the second set against Monfils, facing break point while down a set and break point at 3-4. But the fourth-seeded Monfils missed a rally backhand down the line wide without going for much, giving the left-handed top seed the momentum. And despite falling behind an immediate break in the decider, he broke back for 1-1.
After falling behind 0/40 in the next game, Mannarino came back to hold, which proved key. The final set appeared destined for another tie-break, but Mannarino clinched the victory on his second match point when Monfils missed a forehand drop volley wide.
His opponent in the championship match, Dzumhur, advanced to his fourth ATP World Tour final (2-1), saving two set points in the second set to beat the Czech Republic’s Jiri Vesely 6-3, 7-6(1) in 80 minutes. It was his fourth straight win — at ATP World Tour and ATP Challenger Tour levels — over Vesely.
“It’s the first time I have played two tournaments on grass prior to Wimbledon,” said Dzumhur, the No. 2 seed. “So I have never given myself the chance to play well on grass. I did feel like I could play well, but I needed matches. I came here with some confidence and I feel my game is quite good for this surface. I played better and better from the second round on.”
The 26-year-old Dzumhur saved two set points at 4-5, 15/40 in the second set, prior to winning the first four points of the tie-break. Vesely volleyed into the net on match point, off a Dzumhur forehand down the line.
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Dzumhur, who is two spots off his career-high of No. 28 in the ATP Rankings (first attained on 11 June this year), won two titles in 2017 at the St. Petersburg Open (d. Fognini) and the VTB Kremlin Cup (d. Berankis). The 26-year-old from Bosnia and Herzegovina also finished runner-up at the Winston-Salem Open (l. to Bautista Agut).
Did You Know?
In their only previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting, Mannarino defeated Dzumhur 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the 2014 Winston-Salem Open, converting all six break-point chances he earned.

After collecting his first two tour-level trophies in Russia last season, Damir Dzumhur lifted his third ATP World Tour title with a 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 victory over Adrian Mannarino at the Turkish Airlines Open Antalya on Saturday.

"It feels great," said Dzumhur. "[This is my] third title, the first this year and my first ever on grass. I didn't expect this one, especially because it is the surface [on which] I play one or two tournaments each year. But it seems, from next year, I should play much more."

Dzumhur, who won his first two ATP World Tour titles in St. Petersburg (d. Fognini) and Moscow (d. Berankis), hit eight aces and won 65 per cent of second-serve return points to improve to 3-1 in championship matches at tour-level. World No. 30 Dzumhur is projected to rise to a career-high No. 23 ATP Ranking on 1 July.

In 2017, Dzumhur became the first player from Bosnia & Herzegovina to win an ATP World Tour singles title. He is the second player from the country this season to win a tour-level crown after Mirza Basic's title run at the Diema Xtra Sofia Open.

Mannarino was bidding to win his first tour-level title but, after falling in three sets, drops to 0-5 in championship matches. The Frenchman also lost the 2017 Antalya final to Japan's Yuichi Sugita.

"Damir played really well... We both played up and down, but at the end he was more consistent than me," said Mannarino. "He played really well in the big moments and he deserved to win."


Dzumhur entered the championship match with a tournament-leading 26 per cent success rate in return games, and quickly improved upon that statistic with service breaks in the fourth and six games. The 26-year-old injected pace into his groundstrokes, especially on the backhand side, to take a 3-1 lead before doubling his advantage, two games later, with a mix of power and touch on his forehand.

"I tried not to give him a lot of rhythm," said Dzumhur. " mix it with the higher ball, some slice and the lower balls."

Top-seeded Mannarino benefitted from back-to-back volley errors from Dzumhur to secure an early break in the second set and, from there, grew in confidence. The Frenchman improved his level on serve and, after a game of errors from Dzumhur, secured a double-break lead for 5-1. Mannarino, who led the tournament in break points saved prior to the final (18 of 21), then saved another in the seventh game before converting his third set point to force a decider.

"In the second set, I was rushing a little bit at the start of the set and then he started to play good," said Dzumhur.

Backhand errors proved costly for Mannarino in the final set, with three mistakes in the fourth game opening up a 3-1 lead. Dzumhur then regained his opening-set form and clinched a second break at the net to lead 5-1. The second seed then moved up the court once more to convert his second championship point, in the following game, to earn his third tour-level crown.

"After the second set... I was running very well, started to serve very well and returning on a very high level," said Dzumhur. "When I came back to the game of the first set, I started to feel very comfortable."

Dzumhur receives 250 ATP Ranking points and collects €76,020 in prize money for lifting the trophy. Mannarino gains 150 ATP Ranking points and receives €40,040.



Did You Know?
Damir Dzumhur is now 17-17 at tour-level this season. Dzumhur's best 2018 results prior to winning his first tour-level grass-court title at the Turkish Airlines Open Antalya were quarter-final runs at France's Open Sud de France (l. to Gasquet) and Open 13 Provence (l. to Berdych).