The Demon Dominates: Tennis Insights

What’s your super power?

Last week in tennis reminded us that having a super power isn’t enough to win tournaments. You also need the right amount of hard work to make that possible. In what was a rather dramatic week, here’s a quick recap of everything that went down.

New Video 

We touched on Simona Halep’s doping situation and all the controversies surrounding it in our latest upload and the comments section is blowing up with fans making a case for and against Halep. If you haven’t checked it out, have a look here.

Also, as you've come to expect over the last couple of weeks, we have our weekly recap video coming up on Monday, so make sure to check it out once it drops.

What Happened Last Week

Dubai Open

Ugo Humbert bagged his 6th ATP title in 6 ATP finals maintaining a perfect score on Saturday after overcoming Alexander Bublik 6-4,6-3 in the final. Earlier in the week, we were faced with lots of controversy after 2nd seed Andrey Rublev was defaulted for allegedly swearing at the line judge. Was he rightfully punished or was it a rather extreme spectacle?

Acapulco Open

Alex De Minaur defended his title from last year, beating Casper Ruud 6-4,6-4 in the final that lasted 1 hour and 57 minutes. The Aussie secured a first trophy of the year and 8th title overall as a reward for his excellent start to the 2024 season. Meanwhile, the wait for a title bigger than a 250 continues for Casper Ruud.

Chile Open

The Argentine Sebastian Baez rallied past home favourite Alejandro Tabilo 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 in the final of the Movistar Chile Open to secure his second title in two weeks after an intense two hours and 14 minutes. The 23-year-old has won nine consecutive matches and will climb to a career-high No. 19 in the PIF ATP Rankings on Monday. Baez is currently fifth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and is 16-5 in 2024.

San Diego Open

Marta Kostyuk ousted top seed Jessica Pegula to earn her first Top 5 win in San Diego and set up a final clash with the resurgent Katie Boulter at the WTA 500 tournament. For Boulter, she makes her first WTA 500 final after stunning No.3 seed Emma Navarro. Boulter won the final in three sets for her first ever WTA 500 title.

ATX Open

No.8 seed Yuan Yue won the first Hologic WTA Tour title of her career at the ATX Open on Sunday, battling past No.6 seed Wang Xiyu 6-4, 7-6(4) in an all-Chinese final that lasted 2 hours and 13 minutes.

The Biggest Movers Of The Week

ATP

WTA

Major Tournament Updates 

Indian Wells (March 6 - March 17)

The BNP Paribas Open will feature the best players in the world including Djokovic, Alcaraz, Sinner, Medvedev, Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Holger Rune and Rafael Nadal. The draw will be made Monday, March 4 at 3 p.m. Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz will be looking to defend his title from last year.

Indian Wells (March 6 - March 17)

Defending champion and World No.4 Elena Rybakina captured her first WTA 1000 title by defeating No.2 Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(11), 6-4 in the final last year and will be looking to hold on to her crown this year.

Watch Out For This Player

Sebastian Baez

Baez may not be getting the hype that he deserves but we've been keeping an eye on him and we believe that he’s one player to watch this season. At 23 years old, Baez has 6 ATP titles to his name and has already broken into the Top 20. Seeing how hardworking the Argentine is, it is easy to see him maximizing his talent and being a consistent presence in the Top 20.

Off The Court

Netflix Slam

We witnessed the match between Nadal and Alcaraz in all of it’s glory today. Alcaraz came out on top in three sets.

Trivia Of The Week

Did you know that Alex De Minaur is the first player to defend his Acapulco title in 12 years? The last person to do that was David Ferrer who won the title three consecutive times between 2010 and 2012.

Highlights Of The Week

1. De Minaur’s Outrageous Defense

tennistv

View more on Instagram

2. Rune’s Ridiculous Shot

tennistv

View more on Instagram

Until next time, keep swinging!

For The Love of Tennis