Here is the result in plain text:
Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court. This week, illness decimated the Mexican Open in Acapulco. Elsewhere, Stefanos Tsitsipas’ new racket gave him a boost and a court surface change provoked a ruckus.
Tennis court conditions are complicated: they will feel faster or slower for different players and playstyles, and atmospheric conditions and balls can make the same court play very differently. One thing not in dispute is that the speed of the courts at Indian Wells, Calif., is always a talking point, and that speed is always slow.
Indian Wells has traditionally been one of the slowest of the big hard-court events, and has remained so across a general quickening in hard-court surfaces across the ATP and WTA tours in the last few years. The move could quicken things up in California, as happened at the Miami Open when it switched to Laykold in 2023.
For some players, this will be a relief. World No. 6 and former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev has been vocal in his criticism of the surface, as well as the slower, heavier tennis balls about which many players (mostly on the ATP Tour) have complained in recent times.
This year, things might look different after BNP Paribas Open announced a new surface provider on the eve of the event. A press release from the event over the weekend outlined that Laykold, which also makes the courts for the US Open, had been given the contract.
Tsitsipas, who has been testing out a blacked-out racket reminiscent of a Babolat Pure Aero 98, finally made some headway last week, playing his best tennis in nearly a year to win in Dubai. His single-handed backhand once more sent the ball exploding off his strings. His touch was soft when he needed it to be.
The intrigue in the desert this year will be over who will be the big beneficiaries and losers from the changed conditions.
The winners of the week:
ATP:
* Tomas Machac def. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(6), 6-2 to win the Mexican Open (500) in Acapulco, Mexico. It is the Czech’s first ATP title.
* Stefanos Tsitsipas def. Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3 to win the Dubai Tennis Championships (500) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is his first 500-level title in 12 finals.
* Laslo Djere def. Sebastian Baez (3) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 to win the Chile Open (250) in Santiago, Chile. It is his first ATP title since 2020.
WTA:
* Emma Navarro (1) def. Emiliana Arango (Q) 6-0, 6-0 to win the Merida Open (500) in Merida, Mexico. It is Navarro’s first 500-level title.
* Jessica Pegula (1) def. McCartney Kessler (5) 7-5, 6-2 to win the ATX Open (250) in Austin, Texas. It is the American’s seventh WTA Tour title.
On the rise / Down the line:
* Emiliana Arango moves up 53 places from No. 133 to No. 80 after her run to the final in Mexico.
* Tsitsipas returns to the top 10, moving from No. 11 to No. 9.
* Learner Tien moves inside the top 70 after rising 15 spots from No. 83 to No. 68.
Coming up:
* ATP Indian Wells, California: BNP Paribas Open (1,000) featuring Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic, Learner Tien.
* WTA Indian Wells, California: BNP Paribas Open (1,000) featuring Aryna Sabalenka, Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Zheng Qinwen.
Source link
