T23: Stuttgart, 's-Hertogenbosch 2020

[Damian]

08.06.2020-14.06.2020

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Mercedes Cup



Strona internetowa turnieju
Profil turnieju na oficjalnej stronie ATP

Nazwa turnieju: Mercedes Cup
Miejsce rozgrywania turnieju: Stuttgart, Niemcy
Czas rozgrywania turnieju: 08.06.2020-14.06.2020
Drabinka: Singiel - 28 osób, Debel - 16 par
Nawierzchnia: Trawa
Pula nagród pieniężnych: -

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Zwycięzca singla 2019: Mateo Berrettini
Zwycięzcy debla 2019: John Peers / Bruno Soares

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Ricoh Open



Strona internetowa turnieju
Profil turnieju na oficjalnej stronie ATP

Nazwa turnieju: Ricoh Open
Miejsce rozgrywania turnieju: 's-Hertogenbosch, Holandia
Czas rozgrywania turnieju: 08.06.2020-14.06.2020
Drabinka: Singiel - 28 osoby, Debel - 16 par
Nawierzchnia: Trawa
Pula nagród pieniężnych: -

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Zwycięzca singla 2019: Adrian Mannarino
Zwycięzcy debla 2019: Dominic Inglot / Austin Krajicek

[Damian]

Lista graczy:

[Damian]

Lista graczy:

[Damian]

Lista graczy - kwalifikacje:

[Damian]

Lista graczy - kwalifikacje:

[Damian]

Stuttgart'19 - finał: Berrettini d.Auger-Aliassime

[Damian]

's-Hertogenbosch'19 - finał: Mannarino d. Thompson

[Damian]

Stuttgart - pierwsze zgłoszenia:
Nick Kyrgios
Alexander Zverev

[Damian]

Turnieje odwołane.

ATP & WTA Announce Further Suspension Of Tours

Spoiler:

Suspension across ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour events

In conjunction with the cancellation of The Championships, Wimbledon, the ATP and WTA have jointly announced the continued suspension of the ATP and WTA Tours until July 13, 2020, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to Wimbledon, the suspension covers the entirety of the ATP/WTA European grass court swing, including ATP events in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Stuttgart, London-Queen’s, Halle, Mallorca, Eastbourne, as well as WTA events in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Nottingham, Birmingham, Berlin, Eastbourne and Bad Homburg. The suspension comes into effect at all levels of the professional game, including the ATP Challenger Tour, as well as the ITF World Tennis Tour. At this time, tournaments taking place from July 13, 2020 onwards are still planning to proceed as per the published schedule.

The ATP and WTA realise the importance and responsibility to prioritise the health and safety of the tennis community and general public while assessing the feasibility of the Tours’ resumption.

“Regrettably, the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic leaves us with no choice but to suspend the Tour further; a decision we’ve made in close cooperation with our members and the other governing bodies of tennis,” said Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman. “Health and safety remains the top priority as we navigate the challenges ahead in these unprecedented times, and we will do everything we can for the Tour to resume at the earliest opportunity once it is safe to do so.”

“This was a decision that the WTA and its members did not take lightly, however we remain vigilant in protecting the health and safety of our players, staff and fans,” said Steve Simon, WTA Chairman and CEO. “While we share in the disappointment of the season’s further postponement, our priority remains to support each other during this unprecedented time and work together as a sport in preparation of our return to play.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/atp-wta ... -wimbledon

[Damian]

Stuttgart będzie jeszcze walczył, o turniej w tym roku.

[Barty]

Federer, Nadal Lead Rich History In Stuttgart

Spoiler:

Learn more about the MercedesCup, an ATP 250 event

Alongside tournaments in Hamburg, Halle and Munich, the MercedesCup in Stuttgart is one of four German events on the ATP Tour calendar. The ATP 250 tournament, held at Tennis Club Weissenhof, switched from clay to grass in 2015.

The 2020 edition of the event would have been held this week, if not for the Tour suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to know about the tournament.

1) A Week To Remember
After missing 11 weeks of the 2018 ATP Tour season, Roger Federer made a successful return to action in Stuttgart. Making his third straight appearance at the ATP 250 event, the Swiss defeated Mischa Zverev, Guido Pella and Nick Kyrgios to reach the final and guarantee a return to World No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. In the championship match, Federer saved both break points he faced to beat Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6(3) for his maiden Stuttgart trophy.

Federer

2) One Last Victory For Haas
Tommy Haas may have defeated two Top 15 players en route to the 1999 championship match in Stuttgart, but the 6’2” right-hander’s biggest victory at the grass-court ATP 250 came in 2017. After battling past Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the first round, the wild card saved a match point to stun top seed Federer 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-4 in the Round of 16.

Haas withstood 23 aces and was forced to save nine of 12 break points to advance to his third quarter-final at the event. It proved to be the final victory of the German’s career, with Haas retiring from the sport at the Generali Open in Kitzbühel later that year.

“I’m a little bit speechless that I beat him today. It’s been a while since I have won back-to-back matches and to do it today against Roger is obviously one of my career highlights. It’s a very special feeling,” said Haas.

Haas

3) The Grass-Court Season Begins
Held the week after Roland Garros, alongside the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the MercedesCup provides ATP Tour stars with a first opportunity to gain grass-court match experience during the 2020 ATP Tour season.

Since the tournament transitioned to grass in 2015, three of the four Stuttgart champions have followed their title runs with success at the NOVENTI OPEN in Halle. Federer, the 2018 champion, advanced to the championship match at the grass-court ATP 500 tournament, while 2016 winner Dominic Thiem and 2019 titlist Matteo Berrettini reached the last four in Halle.

Nadal

4) From Clay To Grass, Makes No Difference To Rafa
After a long tradition of clay-court tennis, the MercedesCup transitioned to grass in 2015 as part of an extended grass-court season. The change was welcomed by former World No. 2 Haas, who made seven appearances at the event during his career.

"I think it is great that they finally realised to make it a little bit of a longer grass-court season," said Haas. "It is one of my favourite surfaces to play on, so that's great, I think. It's great for German tennis.”

Nadal twice won the title on clay before winning the inaugural grass-court event in 2015. In 2005, in his third appearance at the event, the Spaniard didn’t drop a set en route to the title, beating Gaston Gaudio 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in the final. After returning two years later and taking out Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 7-5 in the final, Nadal had won 21 straight sets at the tournament.

Eight years would elapse before Nadal would return to Stuttgart for the first grass-court edition. He survived tough three-setters against Marcos Baghdatis and Bernard Tomic before beating Gael Monfils in the semis and Viktor Troicki in the final to extend his winning streak at the tournament to 14 matches.


5) An All-Star Honour Roll
Since 1978, Stuttgart has crowned a number of high-profile champions. In fact, seven former World No. 1s have lifted the trophy in Stuttgart: Bjorn Borg (1981), Ivan Lendl (1985), Andre Agassi (1988), Thomas Muster (1995, ’96), Gustavo Kuerten (1998, 2001), Rafael Nadal (2005, ’07, ’15) and Federer (2018) have all triumphed at the ATP 250 event.

Lendl (1985) and Kuerten (1997) also claimed the doubles trophy in Stuttgart. Other doubles winners include Jan Kodes and Tomas Smid (1978), Colin Dowdeswell and Frew McMillan (1979, ’80), Paul McNamee and Peter McNamara (1981), Sergio Casal and Emilio Sanchez (1988), Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares (2017) and John Peers and Soares (2019).

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/tournam ... -stuttgart

[Barty]

Frenchmen Find Success At ‘s-Hertogenbosch

Spoiler:

Learn more about the Libema Open, an ATP 250 event

The Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, which began at the inception of the ATP Tour in 1990, is one of only two Dutch events on the ATP Tour calendar.

The 2020 edition of the event would have been held this week, if not for the Tour suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to know about the tournament.

1) The Grass-Court Season Begins
Held the week after Roland Garros, alongside the MercedesCup in Stuttgart, the Libema Open provides ATP Tour stars with a first opportunity to gain grass-court match experience during the ATP Tour season.

Several champions in ‘s-Hertogenbosch have gone on to achieve success at Wimbledon in the same year. In 2000, when the event was held in the week before The Championships, Patrick Rafter advanced to the championship match at SW19. Former champions David Ferrer and Gilles Muller also built on their title runs at the ATP 250 event, reaching the quarter-finals at the All England Club in 2012 and 2017, respectively.

Tennis At Home | How ATP Players Make The Most Of Stay At Home

2) Formidable Frenchmen
In recent years, French stars have enjoyed consistent success in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. The nation has accounted for five of the seven most recent champions at the tournament, with Nicolas Mahut (2013, ’15-’16), Richard Gasquet (2018) and Adrian Mannarino (2019) lifting the trophy. Since 2013, only Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain and Luxembourg’s Muller have broken the French hold on the tournament.

Mahut

3) A Dream Destination
Surrounded by trees and a tournament lake, the ATP 250 tournament provides a tranquil break from the usual fast-paced lifestyle required on the ATP Tour.

“The atmosphere here, I have to say, is almost like home,” said Marin Cilic. “I am just enjoying my time here and enjoying the nature.”

Tournament director Marcel Hunze also shared his memories of Michael Chang, who visited in 1989 after winning his maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.

“The first time he came here, he liked it so much that he started fishing the whole day,” said Hunze.



4) Mannarino’s Moment
After losses in his opening six tour-level championship matches, Mannarino finally captured his maiden ATP Tour crown in ‘s-Hertogenbosch last year.


The Frenchman joined countrymen Gasquet and Mahut as recent French champions at the grass-court event, recording three consecutive comeback victories against seeded opposition. After a comfortable first-round win, Mannarino beat Fernando Verdasco, David Goffin and Borna Coric to reach the championship match. The left-hander saved six of seven break points to overcome Jordan Thompson in the final.


”People are going to stop talking [about my finals record]… This is a big achievement for me. I am not pretending to be Top 10 or anything. Winning a title on the ATP Tour level is already something amazing for me and I cannot be more thankful to all the people who helped me get to this title,” said Mannarino.


5) A Glimpse Into The Future
Since 1990, six future Wimbledon champions have appeared at the Autotron Rosmalen in the years before their success at SW19. Michael Stich, Richard Krajicek, Goran Ivanisevic, Lleyton Hewitt, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic all made appearances in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, as they attempted to sharpen their grass-court skills. In the year of their title runs at the All England Club, Stich, Krajicek, Ivanisevic and Hewitt each used the event as their final preparation ground for The Championships.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/tournam ... togenbosch

[Barty]

Flashback: Before Federer Beat Sampras, Hewitt Defeated Federer

Spoiler:

Find out how both men enjoyed big breakthroughs later in 2001
The 2001 ‘s-Hertogenbosch semi-final between Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt was a glimpse of the future.

Hewitt was already entrenched in the Top 10 of the FedEx ATP Rankings and fresh off a triumph at Queen’s Club. Nineteen-year-old Federer, six months younger than the 20-year-old Aussie, won his first ATP Tour title earlier that year in Milan. That day was the pair’s fifth of 27 ATP Head2Head meetings, and it would be the most lopsided in Hewitt’s favour. The Australian only needed 75 minutes to dispatch Federer 6-4, 6-2.

"I've come to know the grass-court surface very well,” Hewitt said that week.


Federer has gone on to win 19 grass-court tour-level titles, including eight Wimbledon trophies. But that day in The Netherlands, Hewitt broke the Swiss’ serve five times, and Federer was only able to win 57 per cent of his first-serve points.

“I'm learning to play better and better on [the grass] all the time,” Hewitt said.

Federer has played 214 tour-level grass-court matches, and that first-serve winning percentage is his second-lowest. The Swiss only won 45 per cent of his first-serve points in a straight-sets loss against Byron Black at 1999 Queen’s Club, Federer’s first ATP Tour event on grass.

Hewitt vs. Federer Stats - 2001 's-Hertogenbosch

Stat Lleyton Hewitt Roger Federer
First-Serve Points Won 70% 57%
Second-Serve Points Won 47% 35%
Break Points Converted 5/8 2/6
Hewitt went on to lift the 's-Hertogenbosch trophy, defeating Guillermo Canas in the final. Although Nicolas Escude upset the Aussie in the fourth round at Wimbledon, Hewitt enjoyed the best season of his career.

The 20-year-old won his first Grand Slam title at the 2001 US Open, triumphed at the Tennis Masters Cup, and reached World No. 1 for the first time. Hewitt won 80 matches that season, and he claimed the Wimbledon title the next year.

Federer was not put off by his loss in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. He earned the biggest win of his early career one week later at Wimbledon, where he upset Pete Sampras in the fourth round to snap the American’s 31-match winning streak at The Championships.

“This is my biggest win in my life,” Federer said.

Although Hewitt's victory against Federer in 's-Hertogenbosch wasn't the most gripping of their rivalry, it was an early look at two future legends.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/hewitt- ... -flashback

[Kamileki]

[Damian]

Rafael Nadal's Last Grass Title Is...

Spoiler:

Quick trivia question: What was the last grass-court title Rafael Nadal won?
Rafael Nadal is a two-time Wimbledon champion, lifting the trophy at The Championships in 2008 and 2010. But the Spaniard’s most recent grass-court title came at the 2015 MercedesCup in Stuttgart.

It was an important event for the Spaniard, who entered the tournament without winning a European clay-court title for the first year since 2004. The lefty was World No. 10, his lowest standing in the FedEx ATP Rankings since 2005.

Watch Live

But after a tough first two matches, Nadal rounded into form to win his fourth tour-level grass-court crown.

“My level has always been there, I’ve not forgotten how to play tennis,” Nadal said. “But now things are coming together for me.”


In his first two matches, Nadal rallied from second-set hiccups to overcome tricky grass-court opponents Marcos Baghdatis and Bernard Tomic. Then the top seed beat fourth seed Gael Monfils in 79 minutes to earn a shot at glory.

“Thanks for coming to Stuttgart!”

That was a sign one fan waved in the stands as Nadal took the court to face big-serving Serbian Viktor Troicki for the trophy. The Spaniard received plenty of support from the German fans throughout the week, and he used that to his advantage in a 7-6(3), 6-3 victory.

You May Also Like: Nadal Reigns In Stuttgart
“All the titles are emotional. All the titles are important. At the end of your career, what’s still there is the number of titles that you have,” Nadal said. “To add another one is very important for me, especially to confirm that I am playing better and better the past couple of months. It’s important to have victories, important to have titles for the confidence, for calm, for everything.”


Nadal struck 11 aces against Troicki, winning 86 per cent of his first-serve points. He was not broken in the final.

It was Nadal’s third Stuttgart title. The 2015 tournament was the event’s first on grass after switching from clay. He emerged victorious on clay in Stuttgart in 2005 and 2007.

“The tournament has been great,” Nadal said. “On clay it used to be a fantastic event and now on grass it’s a fantastic event, too.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/nadal-s ... -flashback

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

The Last Time Roger Federer Clinched World No. 1...

Spoiler:

Relive the Swiss' 2018 run in Stuttgart
After skipping the clay-court season, Roger Federer arrived at the 2018 MercedesCup following an 11-week hiatus. The Swiss star immediately had to find his top gear, as World No. 1 was at stake. If Federer reached the Stuttgart final, he would pass Rafael Nadal for top spot.

“I think that’s a bit of extra motivation,” Federer said ahead of the ATP 250. “But then again, having lost here last year in the [opening] round, for me, it resets the goals.”

Watch Live

Federer was riding a two-match Stuttgart losing streak. Dominic Thiem saved two match points to oust the Swiss in the 2016 semi-finals, and Tommy Haas saved one match point in a second-round upset of Federer in 2017.

The 36-year-old lost his first set of the 2018 tournament against Mischa Zverev. But then Federer found his form, rallying past the German and ousting Guido Pella to set a semi-final clash against Nick Kyrgios. The stakes were clear: Win, and clinch a return to World No. 1 for the third time that season.


Federer played steadier tennis than the dynamic Aussie in a 6-7(2), 6-2, 7-6(5) triumph, securing No. 1 and reaching the championship match.

"I'm very happy, very relieved. I thought it was a tough match [like] I expected against Nick. We've played so many breakers already, I'm losing count," Federer said. "It was close. It could have gone either way, naturally. But I'm happy I got it and get back to World No. 1 next Monday, so it's very exciting. And I've got another final, so it's great news."

Federer had lost two of his previous three matches against his next opponent, Milos Raonic. But the Swiss claimed his 18th tour-level grass-court crown with a 6-4, 7-6(3) victory against the Canadian.

"I'm really happy. I thought it was a good final from my side. I think I played very well throughout the tournament, actually, having not played for a while. It's a great comeback for me," Federer said.

Federer only lost his serve twice all week, triumphing in Stuttgart for the first time on his third appearance. His efforts allowed him to reclaim World No. 1 for one week — Nadal took back top spot — which was the last week Federer spent atop tennis’ mountain.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/federer ... -flashback