The picks at Roland Garros: Sunday, May 28

John Isner
Tom Grason

Roland Garros has started already, in 15 days, with a lot of competitors, 256 men and women in the singles. That is a lot. It would be impossible to walk over at the event, sit down near the chair, and match for three games, and then, go to another one, and another, and another, and another… Possibly, in Paris, you could see 24 matches, but not much. Try it out. Or words…

Match predictions were written before start of play.

John Isner over Nuno Borges
The older American has gone deep on the hardcourts and the grass, too, but he has really beaten the excellent competiteors on clay. Yes, the tall man has 14,222 aces, the most ever, but he has yet to win a Grand Slam. His forehand is huge, but his backhand is marginal. Now, he has to turn it on, and he did reach into the fourth round three times, but he could not crack into the quarters. To do it again would be surprising, as he is 38-year- old, so pretty soon, he will retire.

Borges has had a mediocre year, even though the Portugal can be consistent, and with some solid spin, but he has yet to win a match at the French Open, ever, so Isner will grab it in five, long, sets.

Sebastian Korda over Mackenzie McDonald
This is a toss-up, as Korda is just returned, and McDonald has put together a few excellent matches at the beginning of the year. He is very consistent, he is quick, running around, and he can smack his backhand. But over the past two months, he did not win hardly at all.

Korda can hit both sides, with his heavy forehand. He can really run, and he can returns pretty decent. Korda can trip up, but he wants to go into the top 20 this year, so in the first round, he will win it in three, simple sets.

Camila Giorgi over Alize Cornet
Will this be the French woman retire next year? You never know, as last year, she thought that this will be the end, but she stayed on, and because of that, she is still pretty good. She is not great, though, but she still puts together some wonderful winners. On the hardcourts, she won some wonderful matches, but she travels all the time, so when she is confused, on court, she can lose pretty early.

The same goes with Giorgi, the Italian can split the ball, and she can play with some hard shots, but she can also hit into the middle, and not deep enough. However she has had a few tournaments this year, really trying how to figure it out and really go for it when the time is right there. It will be a very close match, but Giorgi will edge Cornet in a dramatic, three sets.

Jessica Pegula over Danielle Collins
She has certainly better over the past two years, and Pegula has decided to really meld it up, and attack if she feels that she can put it on the lines. She is a true submarine, and she can also rush into the net, and put it away. There are times when she back off, and that is why that she has not gone deep at Roland Garros. Maybe she is ready to do it right now.

Collins can looks be brave, and she can slam at it almost immediately. Her forehand is big, and her backhand is pretty solid, but she will miss a lot of errors. She has had a medicare year, and they last time that they met, in Miami, Pegula beat her in two, tough, sets.

Perhaps in the second week, the No. 2 Pegula will fine reach it into the semis at Roland Garros for for the first time. As she said, “That would be another amazing result for me, especially on clay, I think to go further, I think you have to get to those points first and you have to just keep playing your game every single match. And I think that that’s what helps build confidence and takes you through the later rounds.”

This is Pegula’s time to shine and she will win in two close sets.

The Picks on clay: Charleston and Houston: Wednesday, April 5

Paula Badosa
Mal Taam/MALTphoto


Leylah Fernandez over Paula Badosa (written before play began)
The 20-year-old Fernandez can look startling, but then, she will stop where she is going. She is very briskly, running, and she can be fitting, but she doesn’t go enough to smash the ball.  At the 2021 U.S. Open, she reached the final, and it looked like that she is going close to the top, but now, she is ranked No. 51. That is surprising, and currently, she has to do a lot more work.

The Spaniard Badosa had a decent  year in 2022, as she finally realized that if she can kick down the excellent players, when she could grab a lot of matches.  She looked very good, in the three months, and then after that, she began to slink. This year,  she was respectable in Adelaide, but after that, she did very little. Fernandez has come close to winning some matches in 2023 against the very terrific players, many times, but she lost. However, she will nail some fine lines. This time the Canadian Fernandez  will win in three long sets.

Shelby Rogers over Caty McNally
Can Rogers come back and won more matches this year? It is up in the air, because while she can compete, the 30-year-old has no answers when her forehand and her backhand can be to short. Yes, she can be adventurous, but she doesn’t fool enough. However, at some point, she will start to surge again.

At the end of the year, McNally won Midland, an old tournament. Very few of the top players will play in early November, but there are other people who are trying to move up the latter, especially with the young set. The 21-year-old  has scored a couple good wins over the past 12 months, but she isn’t there yet to knock down with the fantastic players. Because of that, Rogers will win in two sets.

Frances Tiafoe over Steve Johnson
At this point, Tiafoe is struggling, inside the courts. Of course he can beat just about anyone, except on the clay, when he is still is not comfortable when he is crawling. Of maybe not, as on the hardcourts, he is almost all of it. Off court, he is a very nice person, but when he is competing, he can frustrate himself. However, he can crash his forehand, his backhand and his first serve. It is really hard to see that he can win a major title in Europe on the clay, and on the grass in England, but at least this week in Houston, he is the top seed. So right now, he really has to bring it.

As we wrote yesterday, Johnson does like to play almost every week, and he does have some solid stokes, but Tiafoe is more potent and fierce. Tiafoe will win in two sets.

John Isner over Gijs Brouwer
Where is Isner going? Yes he will play until he realizes that it is time to stop, because the 37-year-old is playing OK, in the singles, but this year he has not beat a player in the top 40. The former No. 8 American did win some tremendous matches, but physically he is slowing down, when he is running. However, he does think that when he continues to play more, he will begin to throw in his massive serves, and his forehand, too.

His first match in Houston will be against the against the Netherlands,
Brouwer, who has yet to crack the top 100, ever. However, he wants to. given that he is 27-year-old. If he does that, the No. 123 will have a candle. Isner will win in two tiebreakers, once again.

Matt’s current week picks

Correct: Jason Kubler over Fernando Verdasco 
Correct: Steve Johnson over Facundo Bagnis 
Correct: Victoria Azarenka over  Sloane Stephens
Claire Liu over Bernarda Pera

3 out of 4: 75% correct


Maxime Cressy almost won, but Jannik Sinner grabbed it

Maxime Cressy, Jannik Sinner, Yibing Wu, John Isner, Belinda Bencic, Anastasia Potapova, Matt Cronin, Matthew Cronin, Montpellier, Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open
Mal Taam/MALTphoto

The much improved Maxime Cressy almost won Montpellier. In the final, he could not grab the break, and the better player Jannik Sinner edged him 7-6(3) 6-3. The Italian had no problem when he served into the corners for a very tough service holds. They did had some fine rallies. But the American could not slam past him, so in the next few months, he has to return better.

Sinner is close to reach into the top 5 this year. Still, he can become damn angry on court. He is still young. Perhaps he will be more sound and thoughtful. He has beaten many top players in the ATP 250s, but if he is playing in the 1000s or a Grand Slam, he might be very good, but he is not yet to be nearly perfect. The 22-year-old is currently ranked No. 14. If he wants to chop down the excellent players, then he has to improve a lot.

Cressy has become more stable, mixing it up and pushing himself. He comes into the net a lot, and his first serve can be huge. In the semis, he upset Holger Rune 7-5 6-7(3) 7-6(4). That was a fantastic day.

Cressey, an American/Frenchman, has reached the top 40. Apparently, if he wants to reach into the top 32 at the Slams for the first time, then he has to be much more stable and consistent each week.

In Dallas, it was almost out of nowhere Yibing Wu beat John Isner 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 7-6(14-12) to win his first ATP title. Talk about the drama. The veteran Isner now has played more than 500 tiebreakers, which is remarkable. Sadly, he has never won a Grand Slam, and he probably won’t. But, at least the 37-year-old won in Miami, and he did reach in an ATP 1000s final four more times. Those were some crazy, terrific matches. But his return has never been good enough.
 
The Chinese Wu came up big and moving into the spotlight. His forehand and his backhand are now so rising and he is pretty quick. He was decent over the past few years, but now, the 23-year-old thinks that when he is on the line, he aims to bash the ball. He played so good in the semis when he edged Taylor Fritz. Wu will be there for a long time.

Seriously, Belinda Bencic looked mind blowing. At other times, she can blow her match. But last week, she won the title, in the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open and she beat Liudmila Samsonova 1-6, 7-6, 6-4. That was a long, long match, fighting off three match points. She is a warrior. When she is so intense, then she can continue to blend it up with many different styles. She has yet to win Slam, but she still does have a legitimate chance to win one, as long as she can serve better and improve her net play.

There are so many Russians who continue to play on the court, and some of them are very good. You could look at dozens of people over the past 20 years, and they just keep coming on.
 
In Linz, Anastasia Potapova crushed Petra Martic 6-3 6-1 in the final. The 21-year-old could eventually win a Slam, like the Russians did, such as Svetlana Kuznetsova or Anastasia Myskina. But Potapova will have to climbing into the mountain, and stay there.

Emma Raducanu: ‘I’m just trying to stay on one path’

Emma Raducanu
Mal Taam/MALTphoto

Emma Raducanu might be the US Open champion again, if she manages to clean it up on court. On Tuesday, she easily beat Serena Williams in Cincinnati, 6-4, 6-0. She was injured — and many people have in the summer — but currently, she is getting better. The next day, she blew out Vika Azarena, 6-0, 6-2, another Grand Slam champion.

Over that last 11 months, that might have seemed impossible, but she was so impressive in this tournament.

When Raducanu is on, she can be very fast, and she can also bang the ball. Her first serve is very big, and her return is muscular.
 
Against Serena, she was so excited to take her down, even though she thinks that she is the best player ever.

“I think that a big part of the match today was definitely the mental side, to not be intimidated by all her achievements. That was what I was focusing the most on, really present and thinking of my game, thinking of what I needed to do. Physically I held up pretty well” said Raducanu, who will face against Jessica Pegula next. “Like there were some longer exchanges, I held up well and I scrapped. I made her work. I feel good right now.”

She was also against Azarenka, who can crunch her forehand and her backhand, but her serve is still marginal. Plus, Azarenka is not a super quick runner. However, Raducanu can sprint.

The brit does want to win at Cincinnati or go deep. Still, on the mind of this 19-year-old was her run to US Open glory.

“I think that at this level, you play anyone, it’s a really difficult match. Each of those wins kind of build confidence regardless of the level you’re playing, every single win counts,” she said. “But, of course, this one more so, because you’re playing like the greatest. But I’m not trying to get too high or too low right now. I’m just trying to stay on one path and trajectory, because I know like I kind of feel like I have been on both ends of that, and, yeah, I’m just happy, proud of myself, but just moving on.”

By the way, she wants to play Simona Halep – that would be their first matchup – because “I think she all around is like, for me, all around the most complete player. She moves extremely well. She’s aggressive. She can defend. She makes you work so hard for every point. Could be like a slow, painful like she gets you (smiling).”

NOTES
Karolina Pliskova lost today. Yesterday, she said that “I’m 30 and I’m still like here. I don’t really want to like quit at the moment. So, I think I just want to see how it’s gonna go like this year, next year. Then I will make decision.” She still does like playing tennis, so maybe she can run up at the US Open. She reached the final in 2016.

Taylor Fritz stepped on Nick Kyrgios in two sets. Kyrgios wants to rest, and his body wore down, but the American played terrific today. He is No. 13, and he has been saying that he wants to be in the top 10 ASAP. Well, then he can do it this week, as long as he will not freeze up.

Where did Ben Shelton come from? His dad, Bryan, also played in the tour, winning Newport, twice. The 19-year-old Ben just upset Casper Ruud, so he must be very good, already. John Isner had two very good wins, beating the No. 10 Hubert
Hurkacz. The 37-year-old may not win Cincinnati, but if he can return better than he usually does, Mr. Ace may go further.

Taylor Fritz: ‘My goal is to move into the top-10”

Taylor Fritz

In Indian Wells it is somewhat odd that so many people can go very deep

Of course the top 10 players can go up the charts. But the reality is that outside of the top 32, the chances are somewhat slim.

Eventually, someone will rise up and have a great show. The fans can watch in a terrific, fun match.

Except for one, the American players are now gone in California, including Reilly Opelka, John Isner, Jenson Brooksby, Tommy Paul, Steve Johnson, Frances Tiafoe, Cori Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Sloane Stephens, Jennifer Brady and Danielle Collins.

The sole American standing is Taylor Fritz, who won two matches two days ago, winning third-set tiebreaks over Jaume Munar and Alex De Minaur. He  in the quarterfinals.
 
In January, Fritz began to mix it up a lot, and he almost beat Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Australia, Open in a classic five setter.

When he lost, he was very upset. He should have grabbed it, but he missed on a couple of key errors.

“I think obviously chances were there. It was just one of those matches, like, literally was decided by a couple points here and there. I felt like I just need to put myself in those situations a little more so I can play better in those moments” Fritz said. “The level is there to hang with those guys. I feel like I can play at that level consistently. I just got to keep having that consistency, keep getting in those situations, and it will just get easier.”

It has this week, but physically, he might feel tired. He has to face Miomir Kecmanovic, the Serbian, who has had a fine week. Kecmanovic needed three sets to oust Matteo Berrettini in the round of 16.

Fritz believes that he has progressed because he been more comfortable, but it is more mental than anything else.

“I think just my level as a player has gone up. I think I’ve gone up several levels. I’m a way better player than I was when I was here last year and I think I’ve improved a lot. I expect a lot more of myself. Back then when I think I was ranked about almost 40 six months ago, however long ago this tournament was, and now I’m in between 15 and 20. I’m looking, my goal is to move into the top 10. So I definitely have a lot higher expectations.”

Men’s first round at Australian Open

Reilly Opelka

Here are four men’s matches in the first round at the Australian Open, with the men.

Rafa Nadal vs. Marcos Giron
The Spaniard is back. In the fall, he couldn’t not play because he was injured. But last week, he won another tournament, his 89th victory. As always, he has a big first serve, his amazingly good with his heavy forehand, and at the net, he is so consistent. If he stays healthy over the next two weeks, he certainly has a shot to win another Grand Slam, as he is now the only former champion in the field with Novak Djokovic gone. That would be 21 majors, which would be a huge victory. Giron had a good 2021, and it took him years to understand how to win at this level. In order to win more matches, and to move up the ladder, he had to define what he really need to grow. Apparently, he did just that. However, to upset Nadal at a Grand Slam, the American has to play almost perfect. He will have some fine games, but to shock him, that is almost impossible.

John Isner vs. Maxime Cressy
The 36-year-old Isner says that he wants to stay this year and even more, even though he is aging. Well good for him. The big man will always throw in a huge amount of aces, and nail his hard forehand. He can be upset when he loses in close matches — especially at the Australian Open — bit when he wins, he can be super happy. Not many people know who Cressy is, but he reached the final last week, upsetting Reilly Opelka and Grigor Dimitrov, before he lost against Nadal, 7-6, 6-3. Very good. Last year, he was pretty decent, but not great. He is 24 years old, so he has lots of time to grow. But, on court at the AO, Isner will blast him in four sets.

Reilly Opelka vs. Kevin Anderson
The rising American improved a lot last year, with his huge serves and his forehand, too. He has improved his foot speed. The funny thing is when Opelka has to play against a gigantic server like Anderson, there will be few rallies. The South African — who does live in the United States — has aced so many times over the years, and believe it or, he improved his backhand and his return. He reached the Grand Slam finals twice, which is huge. Now he is aging, but he continues to push himself. The match should go into the fifth set, and the winner will be the player who returns more consistently. It looks like Opelka will do just that.

Cameron Norrie vs. Sebastian Korda
The young American Korda is rising. While he played a lot at the tournaments, he could be off, but when he is on, he can jump on the ball. At the start of 2021, he was ranked No. 119, and now he is No. 40. Clearly he was improving a lot. He does have a lot of different shots, which are all solid. So as long as he can produce, then he will continue to seriously improve. However, the Brit Norrie had a fine year. Now he is smart, on court, going for the shots, and to try to hit the lines. He has been disciplined, and stable. Korda will attempt to crack on him, but Norrie will stay there for a long time and beat him in five tough sets.

TennisReporters.net 2021 year-end review: top 25-21, men

Gael Monfils

25. Daniel Evans
It’s been quite a year for the Brit. He has yet to reach the top 20, but it took the 31-year-old a long time to hit the right ball with more consistency. The keys are for too move forward and swing very hard. Yes, the top 20 players can knock him off. Now he is more thoughtful, and he finally found out where he will be. Can he reach the top 20 in 2022 next year? Is the glass half empty or half full? He will find out soon enough.

24. John Isner
The American had a decent year, but he knows that if he wants to go back into the top 10, he will have to practice all the time, as well as to figure out his so-so backhand. Yes, his massive serves and dominant forehandse are fantastic. He has gone deep before, and he won Miami a few years ago. Then, he knockd off almost everyone. But now the 36-year-old is aging so if he wants to do it again, he has to jump on the jets.

23. Taylor Fritz
The young American had a very good year, during some tournaments when he was super consistent. But, other times when was unfulfilled. He plays a lot, and he travels all the time. Will he show up tired? The problem is he plays a lot, on court, which was 34 wins and 22 losses. In the fall, he upset a number of fine players at Indian Wells and St. Petersburg. He can bang the ball with both of his groundstrokes. Maybe he should slow down and rest more often. If he does, the top 10 is waiting for him.

22. Nikoloz Basilashvili
He has been around for 14 years, and he has some terrific wins. Oddly enough, he had some hard to believe losses. When he is into it, he can pound out winners when he wants to. He likes to slap the ball, which can be very flat, or he can run around and he waits to see there is a chance to clock the winner. A few years ago, he was ranked No. 16. There is no doubt that he wants to reach the top 10 before he retires. If so, it is important that he needs to improve his return and volleys. Something better is needed. 
 
21. Gael Monfils

The Frenchman is still so fast, and can return some very long shots. He has gone through so many matches, all over the world. When he is healthy, he can be riveting. Everyone knows that he has been hurt a lot, and he pulls out frequently. But if he can push through his sore knees, then in 2022, he will win some rousing matches.  

Davis Cup: Some with fans, some not

Novak Djokovic

At the Davis Cup, in Europe, there are a number of players who want to the event and are fully engaged. Lots of fans attended in some arenas, and there are other cities with no heads at all. That can be messy.

Hopefully, in 2022, crowds will return as things get back to normal

No. 1 Novak Djokovic is playing because he really believes that Serbia can grab the cup for the first time. In the singles, for the most part, he can beat just about everyone, but this year, he did lose a few amazing matches, like when he lost to Daniil Medvedev in the U.S. Open final. The Russian is playing also, so maybe they can meet again. It is super close, going backhand to backhand, cross-court, or down the line. On the forehand, Djokovic can mix it up, but Medvedev can slap it very hard. Next time, they meet, and as Medvedev said, he will throw in a few different hits. Perhaps Djokovic will do it, too, coming into the net more often.

Andrey Rublev is also playing for Russia. They have a strong one-two punch as he teams up with Medvedev and they think if they play well, then they can hoist the trophy.

NOTES
England lost to Germany. The Brits thought they could go deeper. One of their players, Cameron Norrie, had a fine year. He certainly wants to move into the top 10 next year. He has improved a lot…
 
A few years ago, we though that Nick Kyrgios will go deep at the Grand Slams. While he has won some terrific matches, he has never gone into the semis in the majors. He gets hurt a lot, so now, the chance of reaching a major final would be surprising. At least one of the other Australian John Millman had a solid year.

The American men lost early at the Davis Cup, which was odd, given that they have three good singles players and a decent doubles team. At least Frances Tiafoe won a tough match, but both Reilly Opelka and John Isner went down, twice, in the singles. Maybe next year they can re-adjust.

At Indian Wells: the tall Americans step up

John Isner

In Indian Wells, there will be some terrific hardcourts matches. It is dancing in the streets in the ATP and WTA 1000s.

Two of U.S. men are seeded: Reilly Opelka and John Isner. The tall man Isner has gone deep there a few times. Opelka hasn’t done that yet, but over the past year, his game has improved enough to make a move in the desert.

Both want to show that their backhands are decent, but not great and have improved with more consistency and with variety. Their returns need to jump up a level. Of course, they can crack their forehands.

Isner has been around for a long, long time, and his serve and his forehand are rattling, but his backhand at the net can be mediocre. He has tried, but not improved enough, which is why he has never reached the finals at the Grand Slams.

There other American men are not in the top 32, but some have pushed up towards into the top 50. Marcos Giron could reach into the top 50 pretty soon. He is aggressive and now he believes in himself.

There are a lot of the Americans who are talented, but can they crack into the top 10 next year? If so, then right now, they should be able to show all the fans in the biggest stadium in California, such as Taylor Fritz, Sebastian Korda, Frances Tiafoe, Mackenzie McDonald, Tommy Paul, Jenson Brooksby and Brandon Nakashima.

Serena Williams isn’t here, nor is Sofia Kenin, both of them were hurt in September. But there are a few women who possibly can go very deep, such as Cori Gauff, Daniela Collins, Jessica Pegula (who just beat Sloane Stephens), and Jennifer Brady

The teenager, Gauff, starts out great in the first three to four rounds, but when after that, she has been a little bit tired, mentally. Physically, she can play for hours, but at times, she overthinks. It is true, though that Serena when she started to play in 1997, she was good, but not great, yet. She admits that. But two years later, she rose way up, thinking and learning constantly. At the 1997 US Open, she won it, her first Grand Slam. After that, she won 22 more major titles, which is phenomenal.

Gauff can eventually win a Slam, but she has yet to win a gigantic tournament, especially one like Indian Wells.

Perhaps Pegula can continue to beat the top players, as does Collins. They have to continue to change it up and develop more weapons.

It would be surprising that some other good Americans can win it all, but there are some people who are digging it like Amanda Anisimova. She has not played that great this year, but the 20-year-old become more self-consistent and thoughtful over the past month.

Canadian Leylah Fernandez reached the US Open final, running fast and she goes for it a lot. She loves to hit it on court and kiss the lines. Young players have to be aggressive, and Fernandez is a great example of that.

Isner grabs Atlanta title for sixth time

John Isner

ATLANTA – With a fifth match point, John Isner was looking to step it up and go past his five Atlanta Open crowns. That’s when Brandon Nakashima’s second serve bounced off of the net and outside of the service box, making Isner a six-time winner of the Truist Atlanta Open. In a hot afternoon, the older American won 7-6(8), 7-5.

Call Georgia a second home for Isner, who played at the University of Georgia and continues to hear the UGA unofficial cheer of a bulldog bark at tournaments around the world. Plus, his collegiate home continues to be an advantage for Isner. In this tournaments 11 years, Isner has reached the final nine times. He lost to Mardy Fish in 2010-11 and Nick Kyrgios in 2016.

Isner moved into rarified company with six titles in one tournament. Roger Federer has at least six titles in seven tournaments while Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal has captured at least six at four events.

“You can’t compare me with those guys. In my earlier day, I was never pegged to be a great champion,” he said. Asked about what he considered his greatest accomplishment, he said, “My consistency. Being in the top 20 for 10 consecutive years.”

The former Georgia Bulldog avenged his Los Cabos loss last week to the 19-year-old from San Diego. Nakashima said that Isner probably learned from the match and had a better strategy for the final.

As usual, Isner depended on his booming serve, knocking down 21 aces, along with a bundle of service winners. Nakashima had 12 of his own and went into the final game with only two double faults before striking the fatal out serve.

Nakashima blasted two aces in the first-set tiebreak. But, that wasn’t enough to take out Isner, who found his range with his groundstrokes. At 8-8, Nakashima attacked the net but couldn’t deal with a dipping shot from Isner. Then, Isner cracked another menacing serve and the return sailed long.

The second set’s ninth game was packed with drama and four match points. Isner stepped up early with big forehands and a backhand, down-the-line winner. He was out in front 0-40. Nakashima evened the game with two volley winners and a forcing shot which resulted in an Isner error. On the fourth match point, Nakashima banged a crisp backhand volley for a winner.

At 5-5 in the second set, Isner had to escape two break points. He employed his serve for three aces and a service winner.

The drama continued in the final game, which came down to the third deuce before Nakashima dumped a volley into the net before he double faulted.

Nakashima employed the aggressive play that earned him the Los Cabos victory against Isner. But, he said after the match that his opponent probably picked up on his attacking style. “It’s always tough losing finals, especially back to back.” Cameron Norrie defeated him in the Los Cabos final.

Asked about successfully dealing with those match points, he added, “He serves so big. That puts a lot of pressure on my serve. I told myself to stay calm and get into these rallies, I know I’m in good shape.”

At the age of 36, Isner is starting to put his career in perspective. He enjoyed bringing his two young kids onto the court, with his pregnant wife, Madison, for photos during the trophy ceremony. “This could be my last title,” he conceded in the post-match press conference.

Doubles goes to Opelka/Sinner

Reilly Opelka and Jannik Sinner prevailed in a 10-3 match tiebreak to win the doubles over Jordan Thompson/Steve Johnson 6-4, 6-7(6) 10-3. After falling in the second-set tiebreak, Opelka/Sinner dominated the final tiebreak. Sinner capped off the tournament with an ace.