Chung powers into last four

Milan : South Korean Hyeon Chung became the first player to book his ticket to the semi-finals of the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan on Wednesday.

 The 54th-ranked Chung made it two wins out of two in the round robin format being used in the inaugural edition of the under-21 version of the ATP Tour finals.

 Chung beat Russia’s Andrey Rublev 4-0, 4-1, 4-3 (7/1) in their Group A match a day after rallying from a set down to get past Canadian Denis Shapovalov.

 “The score looks easy, but it was not easy on the court. Every point was a fight,” said 21-year-old Chung who is guaranteed of finishing top of the group. Croatia’s Borna Coric beat Daniil Medvedev 4-3 (7/5), 2- 4, 4-1, 4-2 but will have to wait until Thursday to book his berth after a fightback by the Russian who saved two match points.

 Coric was up two sets to one and 3-2, 40/15 and serving for the match, but thanks to the no-advantage scoring system, when he reached deuce, everything was on the line.

 One more point and he could force a tie-break, and from there a fifth set, but Medvedev could not save a third match point.

 Coric will need to get two sets Thursday against Karen Khachanov to seal one of the two Group B spots in the semi- finals on the final day of round-robin play.

 Jared Donaldson is out of the running after a second loss, falling to Khachanov 4-1, 4-3 (7/3), 4-2.

 Pre-tournament favourite Rublev, ranked 37th and winner of his first title in Umag this year, had won his opener against Italian wildcard Gianluigi Quinzi.

 In the second Group A match, Shapovalov beat Quinzi 4-1, 4-1, 3-4 (5/7), 4-3 (7/5).

 Rublev can still make the semi-finals on Thursday when he plays Shapovalov but former Wimbledon junior champion Quinzi is out of the running.

 The tournament has brought together eight emerging stars tipped to succeed the likes of Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the future. (AFP) AT AT 11090901

SERENA BACK-IN-GYM

With an aim to make a return to the tennis court by the next year’s Australian Open, former world number one and new mom Serena Williams has begun her preparation by hitting the gym.

In order to regain her form slightly ahead of the first major of the season, the American tennis player is back in gym with a bang, revealed her physical therapist, Ruben Mateu. “Serena is already training in the gym to regain form slightly,” news.com.au quoted Mateu, as saying.

In September, Serena had revealed that she had set an ‘outrageous’ goal for making a comeback at the Australian Open, something which will push her Grand Slam total to an all-time record-tying 24 titles.

Williams, who won this year’s Grand Slam title at the Melbourne Park, while she was pregnant, is hoping to make a return just four-and-a-half months after giving birth to her baby girl Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.

And Mateu, who has been part of Williams’ team for a year, will fly to Palm Beach, Florida, in the coming days to contribute to the new mom’s recovery.

He, however, admitted that he is not worried about Williams’ prospects, knowing the kind of a person she is.

“When someone’s muscles are so well-developed, it is easier for them to recover because muscles have a memory. It is easier to achieve results with that kind of person.

The capacity for recovery will be faster for Serena than for any other sportswoman at her level,” Mateu said.Serena’ baby girl, Alexis Olympia Ohanian, arrived on September 1 at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, weighing in at 6 lbs., 13 oz.(ANI)