With three ATP tournaments going on concurrently – the 2020 Cologne Open, 2020 St. Petersburg Open, and the 2020 Sardinia Open – a lot happened across men’s tennis over these last few days. There were seeded upsets, future star highlights, dominant performances, fairytale runs, and records set. Here are a few statistical highlights and records of the week.
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Lorenzo Musetti: Hurt Elbow, Won Hearts
Italian standout Lorenzo Musetti’s recent run of form at home came to an end on Saturday when the 18-year-old had to retire from his semi-final due to an elbow injury. He was attempting to become the youngest Italian in the Open Era to reach an ATP Tour final.
The 18-year-old entered last month’s Italian Open with no Top 100 wins and was ranked No. 249 in the ATP Rankings. Since then, Musetti achieved seven Top 100 victories, an ATP Challenger Tour trophy (Forli), and managed to reach his first tour-level semi-final.
Additionally, in that run he ended up defeating three-time Grand Slam Champion Stan Wawrinka and former World No. four Kei Nishikori, all within a couple of weeks.
He also became the first player born in 2002 to reach both an ATP quarterfinal and semifinal.
*The last five players to be the first to reach an ATP semifinal in their birth year.
Year Born | Player | Age | Tournament | Year Played in Tournament |
1998 | Casper Ruud | 18yrs 2 months | Rio De Janeiro | 2017 |
1999 | Denis Shapovalov | 18yrs 3 months | Montreal | 2017 |
2000 | Felix Auger Aliassime | 18yrs 5 months | Rio De Janeiro | 2019 |
2001 | Jannik Sinner | 18yrs 2 months | Antwerp | 2019 |
2002 | Lorenzo Musetti | 18yrs 7 months | Sardinia | 2020 |
Musetti had also risen to a career-high No. 138 on 28th September, and had entered the Sardinia Open tournament as a wild card ranked 143rd.
By reaching his first ATP Tour semifinal, he is projected to jump to a career-high No. 123 in the ATP Rankings. At 18years and seven months, he will be the youngest in the Top 125.
Despite his elbow injury, Musetti showed that he is a future star, and won the hearts of many tennis fans with his stunning run in the process.
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Rublev Gunning for Djokovic and London as Well
Andrey Rublev, the No. 10-ranked Russian, is one win away from winning his fourth ATP title of the year. He’s currently ranked second in titles won in 2020, tied with two other players: Spain’s Marcel Granollers and Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos. Djokovic leads the pack with four titles in the year so far.
Additionally, Rublev’s win over a spirited Denis Shapovalov was his 33rd win of the year, second only to Novak Djokovic, who has 37 wins this year.
Player | Year To Date Titles | Year To Date Win/Loss |
Novak Djokovic | 4 | 37-2 |
Andrey Rublev | 3 | 33-7 |
Stefanos Tsitsipas | 1 | 27-10 |
Rafael Nadal | 2 | 22-4 |
Casper Ruud | 1 | 22-10 |
He’ll be gunning for his 34th win in the St. Petersburg final against Borna Coric. He is unbeaten in three ATP head-to-head matches against Coric and has never dropped a set to him.
Additionally, a win will help him in the running for the ATP Finals in the London O2 Arena. With only two spots left, the battle for London looks like this currently:
Ranking | Player | Points |
8 | Andrey Rublev | 3,229 |
9 | Diego Schwartzman | 3,180 |
10 | Matteo Berrettini | 3,075 |
11 | Gael Monfils | 2,860 |
12 | Denis Shapovalov | 2,830 |
Andrey Rublev is not only in prime position to clinch his fourth title of the season but for the London ATP finals as well.
That will be one of three finals on Sunday, with Finals in the Sardinia Open and Cologne Open happening as well. Moreover, out of all the six players competing in those finals, Rublev is the only one with a title in 2020. So we’ll be guaranteed at least two new 2020 ATP title winners.
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