Demon Season: Tennis Insights

Couple goals; a new reign at the top of the ranking; a first ATP career title; incredible comebacks. Last week in tennis was brilliant and here’s all the action put together in a 5-minute read for you.

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What Happened Last Week

ATP

Libema Open

Alex de Minaur had the perfect week at the Libema Open where he handled the pressure of being the top seed at a tour-level event perfectly. The Aussie didn’t drop a set in ‘s-Hertogenbosch en route to his second ATP Tour crown of the season. He capped off his a dominant run with an emphatic 6-2,6-4 win against Sebastian Korda in the final. De Minaur is now 33-11 for the year, and is the first Australian to be ranked as high as No. 7 since Lleyton Hewitt in January 2006.

BOSS OPEN, Stuttgart

Jack Draper won an ATP Tour final in his third attempt after an impressive 3-6,7-6,6-4 display against Matteo Berrettini at the BOSS OPEN final in Stuttgart. The 22-year-old lefty missed half the season last year due to multiple shoulder injuries, so it’s great to see him healthy and playing some great tennis again. Draper has also now become the youngest British No. 1 since Andy Murray in 2009.

WTA

Nottingham

A few hours after De Minaur’s title win in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Katie Boulter followed suit by beating Karolina Pliskova 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the Nottingham trophy match. This is the second time the tennis power couple are winning titles on the same weekend.

The third seed pulled double duty on Sunday, wrapping up a three-set semi-final win against fellow Briton Emma Raducanu earlier in the day. Boulter became the 1st British woman to defend the Nottingham title.

‘s-Hertogenbosch

No.2 seed Liudmila Samsonova won her first title of the season after coming from a set down to defeat Bianca Andreescu 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the final of the Libema Open on Sunday for her fifth WTA title. Samsonova's consistent baseline barrage proved the difference against Andreescu, who was playing her second tournament of the year.

The Biggest Movers Of The Week

ATP

Alex De Minaur, Jack Draper, and Luciano Darderi all hit new career highs this week while we see huge leaps in the ranking from the rest of these guys.

WTA

Naomi Osaka continues to edge closer to the Top 100 while Bianca Andreescu is back inside the Top 200 after reaching the final in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

Major Tournament Updates 

ATP

Cinch Championships | London, Great Britain | 17 - 23 June, 2024

Alcaraz leads the field in London. The Spaniard won his maiden grass title at this tournament last year. He now looks to defend his title. Here’s the full draw.

Terra Wortmann Open | Halle, Germany | 17 - 23 June, 2024

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner leads the charge in Halle and he is joined by four other Top 10 players; Zverev, Medvedev, Rublev, and Hurkacz. Here’s the full draw.

WTA

Ecotrans Ladies Open | Berlin, Germany | 17 - 23 June, 2024

Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, and Jessica Pegula are the top seeds in the WTA 500 event. With 8 of the WTA Top 10 players featuring, it’s shaping up to be an exciting tournament. Last year’s winner, Petra Kvitova won’t be around to defend her title as she is pregnant and on maternity leave.

HOT TAKE

Last week, Mats Wilander said that Alcaraz has shown that he doesn't have to play his best tennis to win and that he was going to win many more slams. He then added that Sinner was only the number one on paper before going on to state that Alcaraz was stronger.

While I understand where that was coming from, I do not completely agree. It’s obbious that Alcaraz has a more complete game than Sinner but it is also surface dependent. Alcaraz is a lot better on the slower surfaces but I believe a 100% Sinner might be a real problem for Alcaraz on faster surfaces like grass and some other hard courts.

Off The Court

Carlos Pens a New Deal

Alcaraz has reportedly signed a new Nike extension that will last for the next decade. The deal is estimated to be worth around $15 to $20 million annually and it’s also being reported that a Carlitos logo is in the works.

Nadal to Return to Action

Rafael Nadal has decided to skip Wimbledon and continue preparations on clay ahead of the 2024 Olympics. He will return to action in Bastad.

World No. 1s Congratulate Sinner

We also saw this wholesome video of many of the former world #1s congratulating the Italian for his achievement. You can check it out here if you missed it.

In the Arena

Serena Williams hit the red carpet at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival to attend the premiere of her new eight-part documentary series, "In the Arena: Serena Williams". The series is set to air on ESPN+ on July 10.

Rublev, Khachanov, Samsonova Out!

The President of the Russian Tennis Federation Shamil Tarpishchev says Andrey Rublev, Karen Kachanov and Liudmila Samsonova will all miss the Paris Olympics. “Andrey needs recovery, he plays everything," said Tarpishchev.

Trivia of the Week

Who won the last 5 editions of the tournaments in Halle and Cinch Championships?

Highlight of the Week

Demon Magic

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Until next time, keep swinging.

For The Love of Tennis