Latest news with #AlexdeMinaur
Independent Singapore
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
Alex de Minaur launches incredible comeback to claim this year's Washington title
WASHINGTON, D.C.: At the finals for this season's Washington title, Alex de Minaur made an impressive comeback after dropping the first set and saved three match points. He defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(3) in the ATP 500 final match. Back in 2018, de Minaur was a runner-up to Alexander Zverev. Now, he felt that luck was on his side as he clinched his 10th career trophy and secured his place in the world's top 10 rankings before the start of the US Open next month. With his win, de Minaur expressed: 'I came here in 2018 and it gave me so much confidence, so I'm so happy that I was able to come back and end up winning the title.' He added: 'Alejandro, you're way too good not to have one of these, it's coming for sure… You deserved it today, I just got lucky. You are a hell of a competitor, hell of a player. No one on the tour wants to play you. And this is not the end, this is only going on for you.' See also Katie Boulter makes history with her first WTA clay-court victory Fokina declared: 'He deserved the win, he was fighting every … ball, he was always pushing through my limits. 'We had a job to do before we started the year, to be at the middle of the year in the top 20. This week we did it, just not with the trophy. But for sure, we will keep going, pushing our limits, pushing harder,' he further stated. On social media, de Minaur shared this milestone with a caption: 'What a special week in D.C. 🇺🇸🏆 Happy to claim my 10th ATP title! Thanks for all the support throughout the week — you guys are the best 🙌… Big respect to @aledavidovichofficial for a great final battle 💪' A netizen commented: 'It truly was an incredible match and an amazing come back from 4-1 down 👏 Alex you are a champion on and off the court 🇦🇺🎾😈🤩.' Another netizen remarked: 'Congratulations, Alex. What a great win, and your speech was so kind and thoughtful. You deserve these victories – you are such a hard worker and always so humble. Keep going – vamos!' One more netizen said: 'Wow just wow. 👏 all of it, a spectacular display of talent, sportsmanship and moxi! Cheers mate! Best comeback ever, and the quality was off the charts! 💪🏻🎾❤️.' Highlights of the match During the match, both athletes broke each other's serve a few times in the first set. Moving forward, Davidovich Fokina took control by breaking again and winning the set with strong forehand shots. However, de Minaur fought back strongly in the second set as he made the most of two out of four chances to break his opponent's serve. He then finished the set quickly with an ace, tying the match. In the final set, Davidovich Fokina looked like he might win when he broke serve to lead 5-3, but he made a mistake and gave his opponent a break back. De Minaur then took advantage of the mishaps and went on to win the match.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
China's Zhang Zhizhen says he is on track to play at Ultimate Tennis Showdown in Hong Kong
China's Zhang Zhizhen has said he expected to return to action in time for October's Ultimate Tennis Showdown in Hong Kong – but would first have to get to grips with the rules of the innovative event. From his career-high ranking of No 31 on the ATP list last July, Zhang, still nursing a shoulder injury, had seen his position slide to No 165 this week. But he said on Monday that he should be back in six weeks' time and confirmed he was on course to play in November's National Games. 'If everything goes well, I should be returning in the week of September 8, at the Challenger Tour event in Guangzhou,' he said. 'I am still recovering, [but] everything is getting better.' Zhang, whose last tournament was an ATP Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells in the United States in March, said he had been enjoying the time off with his daughter, who was born last August. Australians Alex de Minaur (left) and Nick Kyrgios are part of the line-up in Hong Kong. Photo: AFP But as he returns to the court, the 28-year-old said he planned to prepare specially for the two-day UTS, which runs at Kai Tak Arena from October 14 to 15.
CTV News
a day ago
- Sport
- CTV News
Fernandez wins D.C. Open fuelled by Shake Shack, de Minaur takes men's title
Jessica Pegula, bottom, serves to Leylah Fernandez, top, of Canada, during a match at the Citi Open tennis tournament Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass) WASHINGTON — The biggest tennis title of Leylah Fernandez's career arrived at the D.C. Open on Sunday with the help of a terrific backhand, some superb returning — and energy courtesy of Shake Shack's burgers and fries. The left-handed Fernandez, a 22-year-old from Laval, Que., who is ranked 36th, wrapped up a big week of tight matches with a lopsided victory, defeating Anna Kalinskaya of Russia 6-1, 6-2 in the final. Fernandez earned her fourth singles trophy — all have come at hard-court tournaments — and first at a WTA 500 event. She came quite close to a Grand Slam championship as a teenager at the 2021 U.S. Open, making it all the way to the final in New York before losing to Emma Raducanu. There almost was a rematch in Washington, but Kalinskaya eliminated Raducanu in Saturday's semifinals. The men's trophy was won by No. 7 seed Alex de Minaur, who earned his 10th ATP title — eighth on hard courts — by saving three championship points in a 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (3) victory over No. 12 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. De Minaur, a 26-year-old Australian, was the runner-up in Washington in 2018. Davidovich Fokina dropped to 0-4 for his career in finals despite leading 5-2 in the third set Sunday and repeatedly standing just a single point from victory. This was his second time frittering away multiple match points in a tournament final this year. He entered the week at No. 26 and will make his debut in the top 20 on Monday; he remains the highest-ranked man without a title. Fernandez took quite a journey through the women's bracket. She needed 2 hours, 19 minutes to oust No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula — last year's U.S. Open runner-up — in three sets in the second round, then 2 hours, 20 minutes to beat Taylor Townsend in the quarterfinals, and 3 hours, 12 minutes for a three-tiebreaker victory over No. 3 seed Elena Rybakina — the 2022 Wimbledon champion — in the semifinals. After each of the last two, Fernandez and her father — who is also her coach — opted for Shake Shack. 'We got burgers, hotdog, cheese fries — everything that an athlete should not eat before a match, but it did the trick,' Fernandez said about what she ate after the Townsend match. 'It gave me the right nutrients to recover from the cramps and get ready for the next round.' Following the Rybakina marathon, Fernandez said she and her father 'were messaging, and I was, like, 'OK, what do you want to eat tonight?' We both answered at the same time: burgers. … That was kind of my diet for the whole week.' Sure worked: This was the first title for Fernandez since October 2023 at the Hong Kong Open. Plus, she arrived in Washington with a losing record this season and hadn't won more than two matches at the same tournament since last November. 'I have gone through so many different challenges this week. It just has made me stronger, in a way, that if I can get through this week — through the cramps, through the long matches, through the heat, the humidity — I can get through anything,' Fernandez said. 'So I was just very happy that I got to not only push myself physically through the limits, but also mentally. So that kind of will help me hopefully for future tournaments.' Against the 48th-ranked Kalinskaya, who hadn't dropped a set until Sunday, Fernandez saved the only break point she faced while breaking four times. One key: Fernandez claimed 10 of the 12 points when Kalinskaya hit a second serve. Another: Kalinskaya — a 26-year-oldwho is 0-3 in tour finals — finished with 24 unforced errors and just nine winners. 'Amazing fight this week,' Kalinskaya told Fernandez. 'You truly deserve it.' ___ Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
De Minaur's incredible save on match point
Aussie star Alex de Minaur makes an incredible save on his opponent's match point on his way to winning the Washington Open.
The Age
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Age
De Minaur's incredible save on match point
Aussie star Alex de Minaur makes an incredible save on his opponent's match point on his way to winning the Washington Open.
