THIS WEEK IN TENNIS – OCTOBER 21

October 21, 2018

Three ATP tournaments are reaching their conclusion, as the World Tour moves into its final month.  The Kremlin Open is being played in Moscow, the European Open has been held in Antwerp, and Stockholm is also hosting its Open tournament.

In Moscow, Italian Marco Cecchinato was the top seed, ahead of local player, Daniil Medvedev.  Australian Nick Kyrgios was the fifth seed, but withdrew before his second round match against Mirza Basic of Bosnia and Herzigovina.  Cecchinato was beaten in the second round by unseeded French player, Adrian Mannarino, who has made it all the way to the final, where he will play third seeded Russian, Karen Khachanov.

Great Britain’s Kyle Edmund is the top seed at the European Open, and has qualified for the final by defeating French veteran Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-4 in the semi-finals.  Another French player, sixth seed Gael Monfils will face Edmund in the decider.  Monfils defeated the second seed, Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-3, 6-4 in the second semi-final.

In Stockholm, top seed John Isner of the USA was beaten in the semi-finals by unheralded Ernests Gulbis of Latvia.  Gulbis came from a set down to win the match, and will play third seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.  The up and coming Greek star beat second seed Fabio Fognini of Italy in straight sets in the second semi-final.

The WTA tour has also stopped in Moscow for the Kremlin Cup, as well as in Luxembourg City for the Luxembourg Open.  Simona Halep was the top seed in Moscow, but withdrew before the start of competition.  The next three seeds, Karolina Pliskova, Sloane Stephens, and Kiki Bertens were all eliminated in the second round, opening up the field.  The tournament was won by sixth seeded Russian, Daria Kasatkina, who defeated Tunisian qualifier Ons Jabeur 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the final.

In Luxembourg, Julia Gorges of Germany was the top seed, ahead of the Spanish pair Garbine Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro.  Another German, Carolina Witthoft was the defending champion, but bowed out in the first round.  Julia Gorges had a tough three sets win over Donna Vekic of Croatia in the quarter finals, and also needed three sets to get over the top of Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard in their semi-final.  Swiss qualifier Belinda Bencic, better known for her doubles play, qualified for the final with a win over Dayana Yastremska in the second semi-final.  Gorges was too strong in the final, winning 6-4, 7-5 to claim the title.