Category: Tennis

Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time winner of the French Open, has died at the age of 92, Italy’s tennis federation announced on Monday.

“Italian tennis is mourning an icon. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted into the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died,” said the FITP.

Born in Tunis in 1933 to an Italian father and Russian mother, Pietrangeli was widely considered the country’s greatest ever tennis player until the emergence of current world number two Jannik Sinner.

He was also one of the best clay-court players of his generation, with three titles in Monte Carlo and his home Italian Open tournament in Rome, where a court is named in his honour.

In total, Pietrangeli won 44 singles titles over his career, including his two triumphs at Roland Garros in 1959 and 1960, and reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in the same year as his second French Open title.

An all-round sportsman, Nicola Pietrangeli played for the football team Lazio until he was 18 years old, but he switched to tennis after the Rome-based club tried to send him away on loan.

Pietrangeli’s first victory at Roland Garros was the first time any Italian player had won a Grand Slam and came after he defeated South African Ian Vermaak in the final.

He also won that year’s doubles tournament, which back then was hugely popular, alongside his compatriot Orlando Sirola, with whom he formed a formidable pairing.

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Gifted with an excellent backhand, precise ball control, and impressive stamina, he won his second French Open title in 1960 against Chilean Luis Ayala before being beaten twice in the 1961 and 1964 finals by Spaniard Manuel Santana.

During the majority of his career, tennis was divided between amateurs, who played in the traditional top tournaments and the Davis Cup, and professionals who joined a parallel circuit once they established a reputation as a top player.

Unlike his contemporaries Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall, Pietrangeli didn’t turn professional until the beginning of the Open era in 1968, by which time he was in his mid-30s.

After his retirement, Pietrangeli, a fan of the high life, became a media personality, presenting popular sports programme La Domenica Sportiva and appearing in three films.

“If I’d trained harder, I would have won more, but I would have had less fun,” he once said.

Pietrangeli was also a Davis Cup stalwart, playing a record 164 matches for Italy, although he never managed to win it as a player, losing the final in 1960 and 1961.

He racked up those appearances between 1954 and 1972, but he didn’t taste success in the international tournament until 1976, when he captained his country to its first title.

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Pakistan’s tennis ace Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi has called time on his professional career, bringing down the curtain on a journey spanning over two decades.

The 45-year-old announced his retirement during the inaugural ATP Challenger Cup in Islamabad.

On this occasion, Aisam reflected on his early days and lauded his family for their unwavering support during his career.

“My parents were my real strength. Their belief, sacrifices , and constant encouragement shaped me into the player I became,” he said.

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He also shared a touching memory about his longtime coach Haseeb Aslam, revealing that he had initially refused to train him, but later agreed at the insistence of Aisam’s mother.

He expressed deep gratitude to all his coaches, mentors, fellow players, and the Pakistan sports media for standing by him throughout his career.

The ceremony also featured the formal introduction of both international and local tennis players, who will be participating in the ATP Challenger Islamabad tournament, making it a historic day for tennis in Pakistan.

Aisam-ul-Haq’s retirement marks the end of an era in Pakistan tennis history, as he leaves behind a legacy of international success, inspiration for young players, and immense contribution to the sport’s growth in the country.

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Italy claimed a third Davis Cup in as many years on Sunday after beating Spain 2-0 in front of delighted home fans in Bologna and completing a treble without star player Jannik Sinner.

Flavio Cobolli sparked loud celebrations by coming back from a set down to beat Jaume Munar 1-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-5 and ensure that Italy retained their title.

Matteo Berrettini had earlier cruised to a 6-3, 6-4 win over Pablo Carreno Busta, setting Filippo Volandri’s team up for victory without the doubles match needing to be played.

“This was my dream, we’re a really united team, and we tried to recreate the spirit of the Italy team that won the (football) World Cup in 2006,” said Cobolli.

“I’m really proud of everyone and our brilliant fans are also part of this team. I’ve been repeating for three days but it’s the best day of my life.”

Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori haven’t been employed in a doubles contest in northern Italy as the hosts won the Davis Cup without losing a match.

It’s an impressive feat by Italy who competed without their two highest-ranked players in superstar Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti.

Both players sit in the top 10 of the men’s world rankings and were major absences for the tournament, especially as they chose not to take part in the title defence on home soil.

“It doesn’t matter who goes out there for us, we have a deep squad and we have a lot of great lads who play great tennis,” said Berrettini.

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Spain, too, were missing their top player in world number one Carlos Alcaraz, but the six-time Grand Slam winner would have played had he not suffered a hamstring injury during his ATP Finals showdown with Sinner a week ago.

Their bid for a seventh Davis Cup came up short after returning to the final for the first time since 2019.

“It was a very, very, very close tie,” said Spain captain David Ferrer. “We were really close.”

“Italy, in important moments, they play really good,” he added. “It’s not easy for us to play in Italy against Italy.”

Earlier on Sunday, the head of the International Tennis Federation insisted that top players were not snubbing the competition.

“There’s this false feeling out there that top players don’t represent their nation. That’s not true,” David Haggerty told reporters ahead of the final.

“Some of those top players that played in the qualifier round or the second qualifier round didn’t make it to the finals. And so we had many top players who have played.”

American Taylor Fritz, Australian Alex de Minaur, Dane Holger Rune and Norwegian Casper Ruud, all in the top 20 of the men’s rankings, featured in the early rounds of the competition without managing to reach the finals with their respective nations.

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Spain’s world number one Carlos Alcaraz will miss the Davis Cup Final 8 tournament in Italy this week due to injury, the two-time Wimbledon champion announced on X on Tuesday.

“I am very sorry to announce that I will not be able to play with Spain in the Davis Cup in Bologna. I have swelling in my right hamstring, and the medical advice is not to play,” the 22-year-old six-time Grand Slam winner said.

“I’ve always said that playing for Spain is the greatest thing there is, and I was really looking forward to helping the team fight for the Davis Cup trophy.”

Alcaraz’s announcement comes two days after he was beaten by his arch-rival Jannik Sinner, the Italian world number two, 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 in the ATP Finals title-decider in Turin.

While both Sinner and Alcaraz breezed into the final, the championship game was an attritional affair, with each player rock-solid on serve until an enthralling tie-break at the end of the first set.

Sinner took the lead thanks to a brilliant lob which set up a set point, and he made no mistake with a missile of a serve which Alcaraz could only limply send wide.

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But Sinner immediately handed Alcaraz the advantage in the second set with two double-faults, which helped hand his opponent a break of serve at the start of the frame.

Sinner hadn’t dropped a service game in the whole tournament up to that point, but he broke back in game six to put the crowd on their feet.

And Sinner collapsed to the ground in joy when Alcaraz sent a backhand wide on the first championship point, before heading into the stands to share his joy with his family amid the roars of the crowd.

Notably, Sinner had already announced he would miss the Davis Cup Final 8 tournament, with hosts Italy aiming for a third title in a row.

Italy’s second-highest-ranked player, Lorenzo Musetti, has also pulled out of Italy’s defence.

Austria, France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Argentina and Germany are the other countries vying for victory in Bologna.

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TURIN: Jannik Sinner retained the ATP Finals title on Sunday after beating Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 and ending a turbulent season with victory over his great rival.

Italian Sinner brought the house down in Turin by winning the championship match that tennis fans wanted to see, adding the prestigious year-ending tournament to the Australian Open and a landmark triumph at Wimbledon this season.

The 24-year-old also bounced back from a three-month ban, which chopped out a large chunk of his season despite the World Anti-Doping Agency accepting that the Italian was accidentally contaminated with the banned substance clostebol last year.

Sinner has now won 31 straight matches on indoor hard courts, a run which stretches back to the 2023 championship match at Turin’s Inalpi Arena, which he lost to Novak Djokovic.

Four more wins on indoor hard courts would draw him level with Djokovic’s tally set between 2012 and 2015, the second-highest in the Open era, but some way behind John McEnroe’s record of 47.

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He hasn’t dropped a set at the Finals since losing that final to the Serb two years ago, and he was imperious over the week in northern Italy.

While both Sinner and Alcaraz breezed into the final, the championship game was an attritional affair, with each player rock-solid on serve until an enthralling tie-break at the end of the first set.

Sinner took the lead thanks to a brilliant lob which set up a set point, and he made no mistake with a missile of a serve which Alcaraz could only limply send wide.

But Sinner immediately handed Alcaraz the advantage in the second set with two double-faults, which helped hand his opponent a break of serve at the start of the frame.

Sinner hadn’t dropped a service game in the whole tournament up to that point, but he broke back in game six to put the crowd on their feet.

And Sinner collapsed to the ground in joy when Alcaraz sent a backhand wide on the first championship point, before heading into the stands to share his joy with his family amid the roars of the crowd.

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Jannik Sinner continued his mastery over Alex de Minaur on Saturday with a straight-sets win to reach the ATP Finals championship match for the third year in a row.

Sinner broke late in the first set and then pulled away from De Minaur to complete a 7-5, 6-2 win, his 13th in as many meetings with the Australian.

The Italian world number two has yet to drop a service game en route to the final but will likely have a tougher test in the final against top seed Carlos Alcaraz, who is the favourite to beat Felix Auger-Aliassime in Saturday’s other semi-final.

“Honestly, every matchup (with Alcaraz) is different. We saw it in Rome and Paris, even if it’s the same surface (clay), it can change,” said Sinner, who lost both of those finals before beating his Spanish rival to win Wimbledon.

“Another final, has been an amazing year for me. I’m looking forward for tomorrow… Also, to see for me where my level really is, but at the same time it’s great before the off-season to have this matchup.

“He still has a match to go against Felix… He loves to play indoors, as we know. Let’s see who is going to win. Anyway, I’m happy to be in the final. Then we see.”

Sinner has won his last 18 sets played in Turin, where he beat Taylor Fritz in last year’s final. The four-time Grand Slam champion is on a 30-match winning streak on indoor hard courts.

The 24-year-old Sinner hasn’t dropped a set at the ATP Finals since losing the 2023 final to Novak Djokovic, while De Minaur ends his year with a more upbeat mood than the one he had after losing to Lorenzo Musetti in the group stage.

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De Minaur admitted that he had been in a “dark place” after that loss, which almost cost him a place in the last four, before he beat Taylor Fritz to set up Saturday’s clash with Sinner.

“I had a little shift in perspective. Of course, like, sitting here right now, I feel like I should have finished my Turin campaign having won two matches instead of one,” De Minaur told reporters.

“But you can’t really change the past. You’ve just got to do your best to learn from it, get back up, and keep on heading forward, right? That’s ultimately the goal now. Obviously, I’m in a much better place.”

De Minaur fought off two break points in the opening game of the semi-final but then failed to convert any of the three he carved out in Sinner’s first service game.

The Australian resisted again when Sinner threatened to break in the seventh and ninth games, but the second seed eventually struck the key blow at 5-5 and snatched the first set.

Sinner surged 4-0 ahead in the second set before wrapping up his ninth straight win at the tournament, becoming the youngest player since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004 to reach three finals at the season-ending event.

If Sinner faces Alcaraz in the final, it will be their sixth meeting of the season. Alcaraz has won four of the five previous matches, triumphing in the French Open and US Open finals.

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Jannik Sinner reached the last four of the ATP Finals on Wednesday after beating Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-3 to qualify from the Bjorn Borg group with a match to spare.

World number one Sinner is bidding to retain his title at the prestigious end-of-season tournament, and he cruised into the semi-finals in front of a delighted crowd in Turin.

The 24-year-old was not at his best and struggled with a hand problem at the start of the match, but still had more than enough to see off Zverev for the fifth straight time.

Zverev hasn’t beaten Sinner since the 2023 US Open, being destroyed by the Italian in the semi-finals of the recent Paris Masters, and again, the German couldn’t handle the four-time Grand Slam champion.

Sinner was brutal on his serve, rattling in 12 aces, and once he took the first set with his third break point of game 10, he never looked back.

“If we watch the match today, there were one or two points, that’s why I won the first set,” Sinner told reporters.

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“A couple of points, that’s why I won the second set. If those points go the other way, maybe it’s the same score in the opposite way. You never know.”

Zverev needed to win in straight sets to book his place in the semis, but will now have to beat Felix Auger-Aliassime, a 4-6, 7-6 (9/7), 7-5 winner over Ben Shelton, in his final group match on Friday in order to progress.

But he cut an irritated figure on court, frustrated by his inability to capitalise on any of his seven break points, a series of unforced forehand errors and at one point by a flashing advertising sign.

“Listen, I hope to see him again, it’s as simple as that, this week,” Zverev said.

“He’s not unplayable. I had many opportunities. He had one, and he used the chance. This is why he’s number one in the world, you know? He uses the chances that he gets.”

Sinner, meanwhile, will take on Shelton, aiming to top the group and set up a clash with whoever finishes second in the Jimmy Connors Group, which is currently led by his great rival Carlos Alcaraz.

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NEW DELHI: India’s leading men’s tennis player Sumit Nagal has revealed that China denied him a visa just weeks before he was scheduled to compete in the Australian Open Asia-Pacific Wildcard Playoff in Sichuan, leaving his participation in jeopardy.

Nagal, ranked 275 in the world, took to the social media platform X on Monday to express his frustration over the development.

“I am supposed to fly to China soon to represent India at the Australian Open Playoff. But my visa was rejected without reason,” the 28-year-old wrote.

The week-long qualifying tournament, which begins on November 24, offers players from the Asia-Pacific region a chance to secure direct entry into the main draw of the 2026 Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year.

Nagal, who reached a career-high ranking of 68 in 2024, has represented India at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics.

He previously featured in the main draw at Melbourne Park twice, losing in the first round earlier this year and in the second round the year before.

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The tournament organisers have stated that players “should contact the Chinese consulate for information regarding visa requirements” and may request an official letter of invitation if needed.

However, they have yet to respond to inquiries from AFP regarding Nagal’s situation.

AFP also reached out to Nagal’s agent and China’s foreign ministry for comment, but received no immediate response.

The incident comes at a time when India and China are still working to rebuild ties strained by years of geopolitical tension.

The two nations, which share a long and disputed Himalayan border, only recently resumed direct flights after a five-year suspension following the pandemic and the deadly 2020 border clash in Ladakh.

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Carlos Alcaraz battled to victory over Taylor Fritz at the ATP Finals on Tuesday, moving to within one win of securing the year-end number one ranking for the second time.

The five-time Grand Slam champion made it two wins from two in the Jimmy Connors Group with a comeback 6-7 (2/7), 7-5, 6-3 victory over last year’s runner-up Fritz in Turin.

He will qualify for the semi-finals if Alex de Minaur beats home hope Lorenzo Musetti in Tuesday’s second match.

“I’m really happy that I was able to come back, find my good tennis,” Alcaraz said.

“I just tried to make the most of the opportunities that he gave to me. I think we played great tennis, some great points.”

Alcaraz, who was replaced by rival Jannik Sinner as world number one following the Paris Masters earlier this month, will finish 2025 at the top of the rankings if he beats Musetti on Thursday.

Sinner has to successfully defend his Finals title, unbeaten, to have any chance of ending the season as number one for a second straight year.

Alcaraz now holds a 5-1 winning record against Fritz, whose only win against the Spaniard came at the Laver Cup in September.

The United States’ Fritz will face De Minaur in his last group contest.

Fritz swept aside Musetti in his opener on Monday with a dominant serving display.

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Alcaraz immediately showed he would put up stronger resistance on return, but Fritz managed to hold in a lengthy first game, hitting three aces and saving two break points.

The Spaniard also had to dig deep to level at 1-1, staving off three break points himself.

He appeared to have made the most of that mistake as Fritz was broken for the first time in the tournament, but Alcaraz could not consolidate the break and dropped serve too.

Both players’ serves continued to be tested, with Alcaraz seeing off two more break points in the eighth game as the first set eventually went to a tie-break.

But Fritz powered through the breaker, sealing a one-set lead after 70 minutes with his sixth ace.

Some brutal hitting with his forehand brought up the first break point of the second set for Fritz in the fifth game, but Alcaraz came out on top in a dramatic rally to save it.

Alcaraz saw off a second break point with an ace and finally got out of the draining, 21-minute service game when Fritz fired long, celebrating as if he had won the match.

Fritz fought through a difficult game himself to make it 4-all after Alcaraz netted a return on a break point, as the second set edged towards another tie-break.

But the American buckled under the pressure in the 12th game, as two wild unforced errors helped bring up three set points for Alcaraz.

The 22-year-old took the second opportunity, with a rasping passing shot, forcing a deciding set.

Fritz managed to stay on serve early in the third set, but the momentum of the match had shifted, and Alcaraz grabbed the crucial break in the sixth game.

Sixth seed Fritz showed great resolve to save three match points in game eight, but Alcaraz successfully served it out to love, sealing the win as Fritz blasted a backhand wide.

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Italy’s Jannik Sinner got his title defence off to a solid start with a dominant straight-sets win over ailing Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime at the ATP Finals on Monday in Turin.

Nine days after their duel in the final of the Paris Masters, Sinner was again the strongest, winning 7-5, 6-1.

But fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti was earlier outclassed 6-3, 6-4 by American Taylor Fritz.

After a tight first set, Sinner swept aside Auger-Aliassime, who had been hampered by a left calf injury, by breaking serve to rush to a 3-0 lead.

He broke him a second time to close out the match with an ace after one hour 41 minutes.

“Obviously, winning the first match is very important in this competition and this format,” said 24-year-old Sinner.

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“It was a very tough match until 6-5. I had some chances to break. He served very well, except that I missed a return, but it can happen. He played some very aggressive tennis, so I’m happy to have overcome a very tough test today.

“I hope it‘s nothing too serious,” Sinner added of his rival. “I wish him obviously a very speedy recovery, and hopefully he is back to 100 per cent physically.”

Jannik Sinner notched his 27th consecutive victory on his preferred indoor hard court surface and took the lead in the Bjorn Borg Group, which will also see the world number two face Germany’s Alexander Zverev and American Ben Shelton.

The native of South Tyrol won the 2024 edition of the tournament, which brings together the eight best players of the year, by stringing together five wins without dropping a single set.

The 2025 edition could allow him to finish the season as world number one, currently held by his great Spanish rival Carlos Alcaraz, who has beaten him four times this year.

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