Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria was forced to make light of his work as he topped Austrian Dominic Thiem 6-3,5-7, 5-7 in a gripping afternoon duel at the O2 Arena on Monday. Dimitrov held his nerve to launch his ATP Finals campaign with the hard fought victory as Rafael Nadal prepared to start his quest for the biggest title missing from his impressive collection.
Serena Williams can “absolutely’’ surpass Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles if the American returns to tennis after giving birth earlier this year, a women tennis legend says. Former world number one Steffi Graf said that her ability to do this will however be dependent upon her determination and will.
World No 1 Rafael Nadal had to withdraw from the Paris Masters with a knee injury just hours before he was due on court for the quarter-finals that now leaves his place in the ATP World Tour Finals uncertain. He told a news conference ahead of scheduled quarter-final match against Serbian Filip Krajinovic on Friday in the last eight this afternoon but withdrew from the tournament and is now a doubt for London.
Nigeria’s top ranked player, Aruna Quadri, has moved up seven places in the latest International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) ranking released on Wednesday, Completesportsnigeria.comreports.
Quadri gained 23 points from his victory in the men’s singles of the Polish Open in Poland as well as claiming some points from his qualification to the main draw at the ITTF World Cup in Liege, Belgium in the month of October.
Rafael Nadal secured the year-end world number one ranking with a 7-5, 6-3 second-round victory over South Korean Hyeon Chung at the Paris Masters on Wednesday. The 16-time Grand Slam champion is the oldest man to finish a season at the top of the rankings at the age of 31, after a year that saw him win the French and US Opens.
Roger Federer thrashed American teenager Frances Tiafoe 6-1, 6-3 on Tuesday as the top seed began his week at the Swiss Indoors with a resounding first-round victory. Federer, who won in a stroll over Rafael Nadal just over a week ago in the Shanghai final, continued his top form in front of the local crowd at an event he has won seven times.
