Tag: ATP

Lucas Pouille punctures Andy Murray’s comeback in Cincinnati.

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The 24-year-old Frenchman defeated the double Wimbledon winner in three sets. 

Andy Murray’s comeback hit another bump in the road after defeat to Lucas Pouille in the first round of the Western & Southern Open.

Cincinnati is well known for being home to the famous Graeter’s Ice Cream, but unfortunately for Murray, his hopes for a decent tournament ahead of the US Open melted quickly in the Ohio sunshine.

It was his first appearance on court since pulling out of the Citi Open two weeks ago and rustiness showed as the former world number one began timidly against a fresher Pouille.

Whether he was still recovering from those titanic matches in Washington, or changed his approach, something wasn’t quite right from the outset. His serving was not up to scratch during the opening set, as he recorded six double-faults. He was broken three times by his French opponent, who closed out a comfortable first set 6-1 within 29 minutes.

The one positive the Scot could take from a lacklustre opening set was that he was winning the majority of points from the long rallies. However, Pouille hadn’t needed to get out of second gear and looked well on course to end the contest quickly.

But where most players would capitulate in such a situation, Murray rallied. His performance levels improved during the second set, and the roles were quickly reversed. The 31-year-old broke the 16th seed, before holding serve to take a 2-0 lead. The former world number one only made three unforced errors, and won more points on his first serve as he raced to take the second set 6-1, as the match went to a decider.

The tables then turned once again. Murray started the final set nervously and double-faulted the opening point, before being broken by a resurgent Pouille desperate to make amends for a poor second set.

Missed chances then cost the 31-year-old the match. He failed to convert a crucial break point before falling 3-1 behind. Despite saving a match point at 5-3, Murray was helpless as his French opponent served out the match to claim a 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 win.

Whilst this defeat will disappoint British fans, it was a first victory over Murray for Pouille at the fifth attempt.

The Frenchman has been a regular on the ATP Tour this season, with this being his 17th competition in 2018. Whilst he is gaining more experience on court and slowly climbing up into the world top 20, the 24-year-old can still be a loose canon on the court.

His performance against Murray showed why. His game heavily revolves around speed, and this can sometimes effect the accuracy and precision of his shots. Where he was clinical in the opening set, he lost composure during the second and mistakes began to creep in.

But he held his nerve in the final set, and found his range once again to hit some impressive winners. Pouille hit a total of 40 in the match as he defeated the former world number one in an hour and 53 minutes to book his place in round two.

Murray is not scheduled to play again until the US Open at Flushing Meadows, which begins on the 27th August. He now has four tournaments under his belt after missing a year out with a hip injury, but there is much that needs improving still – especially his serving.

He may take up a wildcard at the Winston-Salem Open next week after this defeat, but it will depend on whether his body can cope with another tournament just one week before the gruelling five-set matches at the final Grand Slam of the year.

 

 

 

 

 

Footballer Gerard Pique is showing his business ambitions with plans to reform tennis’ Davis Cup into an 18-nation extravaganza, but his proposal needs some finishing touches.

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Hours before lining up for Barcelona in their La Liga match against Girona last Saturday, Gerard Pique gave a presentation to the International Tennis Federation proposing a radical change that could make or break the men’s game. 

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Pique and his company Kosmos have entered a partnership with the ITF. Image Credit: https://tribuna.com/fcbarcelona/en/news/1669524/

“Together we can elevate the Davis Cup to new heights by putting on a must-see World Cup of Tennis Finals featuring the top nations and top players,” said the 31-year old footballer, who for a long time has had entrepreneurial ambitions he plans to pursue now and long after hanging up his boots.

The Spaniard, with the backing of Barcelona shirt sponsors Rakuten, is set to cough up an investment of £2.2 billion – spread over a 25 year period – to help transform the Davis Cup into an 18-nation extravaganza.

This would mean the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic could all  compete for up to £14.1 million in prize money as part of the revamp set to take place next year.

Pique is a huge tennis fanatic. The proud Catalan tries to get to as many events in his native Spain as possible, which even includes throwing himself into the lion’s den by visiting rival city Madrid to watch the sport he adores. Now he plans to help it reach new heights.

The World Cup of Tennis Finals – which would take place over the course of a week in November – is both his and the ITF’s answer to prolong the sport’s historic men’s team competition as a major global sporting event.

For many the change is needed. The Davis Cup has been stuttering at late and needs to be regenerated into something that will get people talking about it again.

A final meeting is scheduled for August in Orlando, USA to decide whether to finalise the proposal. A two-thirds majority is needed to give the new tournament the green light.

The format of the new competition would follow a similar set-up to that of many World Cups in other sports, with an initial round robin (six groups of three) followed by a knockout phase (quarter-finals, semi-finals and final). The 16 World Group nations will automatically qualify for the finals, with a further two places up for grabs.

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Pique has played in 265 matches for Barcelona. Image Credit: AFP via. https://www.hindustantimes.com/football/gerard-pique-extends-fc-barcelona-deal-till-2022/story-htc31UfLMWxzuFU0nqsloK.html

Pique may see this as the new big thing for tennis, but there are still question marks about one or two aspects of the Spaniard’s proposed blockbuster.

One of the greatest aspects of the Davis Cup was the home and away ties. Playing on different surfaces and either with or against a home crowd provided every nation with a different challenge at every round. Having the World Cup located in one place could hinder that.

This new competition could therefore follow the example of others World Cup and have a different host each year. With countries bidding for the Finals, it could help grab fans attention and generate that level of excitement knowing that the tournament was coming to your home city.

With 18 nations taking part you’d expect around 100 tennis stars to be involved in the week-long event. Normally it’s only during one of the Grand Slams where you’d have the opportunity to see all your favourite players in one place. This again makes it appealing for countries who aren’t home to one of the four major tournaments and can accommodate so many fans and athletes to bid for the competition.

To host something of this magnitude costs a lot of money though, and with Japanese company Rakuten pledging their allegiance into the project, there is a good chance that the World Cup will take place somewhere in Asia.

Another issue would be player participation. The exhausting ATP Tour season and gruelling Grand Slams already make it a demanding calendar for the stars. Injuries have hijacked the sport’s biggest names in recent years, with many of the top players deciding to finish their season in October so that they can fully recover and recharge the batteries.

The Davis Cup has had a constant struggle with this problem in recent times, with only two of the current top 10 in the rankings taking part in the first round of the competition earlier this year.

The money may be an enticing incentive for the players, but you’d feel that more will be needed to get the likes of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray fully on board and extend their seasons by another couple of weeks.

Pique has also got to think about sustaining the competition past it’s initial phase.

You’d assume that for the first couple of years people will flock into the arenas to see this new competition.

However, should the World Cup fall on it’s head and not provide the entertainment or the big names it intends too, attendance numbers could stutter. The WTA Finals is a prime example of this. The climatic showstopper for the women’s tour is moving to Shenzhen in China next year after spending four years in Singapore. Unfortunately, the tournament failed to entice the locals to come and watch. The Spaniard will have to keep things fresh to keep the interest going.

It won’t be perfect from the very first moment and it will take getting some adjusting too. But Pique has seemingly provided himself to the ITF that he can make this huge change a successful one.

Ambitious projects such as these aren’t new to the Barcelona defender. For years the 31-year-old has voiced his support for Catalan independence – which was won in a referendum back in October. He even said he would step down from Spain duties should his opinion cause a disturbance within the Royal Spanish Football Federation. He has already played a part in creating a new chapter for Catalonia, now he was ready to do the same again for men’s tennis.

Chung Hyeon: The Korean making history at the 2018 Australian Open.

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Suwon is a province just outside Seoul in South Korea with a estimated population of 1.2 million people. In the heart of it you’d find a street which is named after former PSV Eindhoven and Manchester United footballer Park Ji-Sung. Suwon is where he grew up before going on to represent his country at three World Cups. Park is one of the greatest sportsman to ever come out of South Korea, but now Suwon has another local hero to cheer: Chung Hyeon.

The 21-year-old tennis sensation became the country’s first Grand Slam semi-finalist after beating Tennys Sandgren in their quarter final clash at the Australian Open. Chung is the youngest player to make it through to the final four since Marin Cilic in 2010, and the lowest ranked player to achieve the feat since Marat Safin in 2004.

It’s been a memorable run for the unseeded Korean. He defeated another fast rising star in Alexander Zverev in round three, before getting the better of six-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic in the last 16.

Now he will be preparing for a semi-final against not just the defending champion, but the greatest player of all-time in Roger Federer. If the dream is to continue, Chung will have to produce the best performance of his young career to stun both the second seed and the world.

But if you asked any tennis follower whether he deserves to be in this position, then you’d get a unanimous yes.

The world number 58 has made a steady rise up the rankings since turning professional four years ago. Before that, he performed admirably in the junior tour. In 2013, he came runner-up in the Wimbledon boy’s singles, and reached as high as world number seven  in the junior rankings.

In the year he turned pro, he won the Bangkok Open – his first Challenger tour event, and in 2015 he broke into the top 150. Chung received a wildcard for the Miami Open (a prestigious Masters tour event), where he reached the second round. Two more Challenger titles beckoned in April, which resulted in him climbing into the top 100.

Chung’s rapid rise up the rankings coincided with his first taste of Grand Slam tennis at Wimbledon in 2015, where he lost in the first round to Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Later that year he would win his first Grand Slam match at the US Open, defeating James Duckworth to set up a second round meeting with fifth seed Stan Wawrinka. Despite losing in straight sets, Chung showed his potential by taking the Swiss to a tiebreak in each set.

The Korean – then just 19 years old – won the ATP Most Improved Award after climbing over 120 places to world number 51 by the end of 2015.

More progress was made last year. Chung defeated Frenchman Gael Monfis on his way to the semi-finals of the BMW Open in Munich before getting to the third round of the French Open.

The Korean qualified for the Next Generation ATP Finals in Milan last November and went on to win the competition- defeating Andrey Rublev in the final.

Chung’s performances have been a welcome surprise for the many who have pondered how the sport will look when the likes of Rafa Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer retire.

For years, men’s tennis has been a monopoly controlled by four (or five) players – Federer, Murray, Nadal and Djokovic (and arguably Wawrinka).

Now they are coming towards the end of their careers, it’s good to see that young players – such as Chung – are rising through the ranks and look ready to step into the big shoes they leave behind.

Whatever happens in his semi-final, it has been quite the journey for Chung. I imagine the people of South Korea are immensely proud of their new hero, and will be hoping that he can become the country’s first Grand Slam champion in years to come.

People have already compared Chung and Murray in terms of playing style and being a beacon of hope for their respective nations. The 30-year-old Scot has had the weight of the British public on his shoulders since bursting onto the scene over a decade ago. Now it could be the 21-year-old’s turn to carry the hopes and dreams of South Korea in major tournaments going forward. Time will tell if he can handle all the attention and all the pressure to succeed.

Perhaps in 20 years’ time the city of Suwon will have another street named after a local sport star, one that currently has an extremely bright future ahead of him.

The Swiss and Spanish renaissance: A year to remember for Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

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They won all four Grand Slam titles between them and will end the year as world number one and two. What a 12 months it has been for the 36-year-old Swiss and 31-year-old Spaniard.

Just when it seemed like two legends of tennis had been chewed up and spat through the exit doors by the impressive, younger stars at the end of 2016, both came rallying back to dominate the 2017 season.

Of course, I’m talking about Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Both subsequently came into this year following injury lay-offs. Federer had been out of action since Wimbledon 2016 with a knee injury, whilst Nadal ended his tour in October of that year after problems with his wrist.

As a result, Nadal was seeded ninth and Federer 17th going into January’s Australian Open.

However, the Swiss beat two of the top 10 seeds in Tomas Berdych and Kei Nishikori in the early rounds, before defeating Mischa Zverev (Andy Murray’s victor in the fourth round) to become the oldest player to make it to a Grand Slam semi-final since Jimmy Connors in 1991.

Federer battled past fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka in five sets to become the oldest singles male player to make a final since 1974, where he would meet old nemesis Nadal.

The Spaniard himself had beaten Zverev’s impressive younger brother Alexander and Gael Monfis before coming out of his five-hour, semi-final grudge match against Gregor Dimitrov victorious.

This was Nadal’s first Grand Slam final since 2014, whilst Federer had not been in a major final since the 2015 US Open.

The subsequent match at the Rod Lever Arena was almost a reincarnation of that exhilarating Wimbledon final of 2008, but this time it was Federer – who was playing in his 100th match at the Australian Open – who came out on top in five sets.

Federer’s win was his first Gram Slam title for five years, but it was also his first Grand Slam win over his old rival since 2007 and the first that wasn’t at Wimbledon.

That win in Melbourne was a historic one for the illustrious Swiss. He became the first man to win five or more times at THREE of the four Grand Slam events and the second-oldest man behind Ken Rosewell to win a major singles tournament.

Titles at Indian Wells, Miami and Halle swiftly followed, but Federer had his eyes on one prize that was close to his heart and had evaded him for half a decade: Wimbledon.

From round one all the way to the final, the Swiss maestro dominated his opponents, and after defeating Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 in the final, he managed to win his eighth Wimbledon title without dropping a single set.

Federer became the record holder for most Gentlemen’s singles Wimbledon titles, surpassing both Pete Sampras and William Renshaw who had won it seven times.

He won more trophies in Shanghai and in his native Switzerland at Basel to cap off his best season statistically since 2007.

As for Rafael Nadal, defeat at the Australian Open only spurred him on for the rest of the year.

In April he won his first title of the year at Monte-Carlo, before winning both the Madrid and Barcelona Open back-to-back in his native Spain.

Much like Federer, Nadal had an eye on the one prize he had won so many times- the French Open title.

Roland Garros was like a second home to the 31-year old, and once again he was at his very best in Paris.

He comfortably made it to the final where he would face Wawrinka, but even he was powerless to stop Nadal from winning ‘La Decima’ (“the tenth” in Spanish) and become the first tennis player to ever win 10 titles at the same Grand Slam.

Nadal dropped no sets and only 35 games at Roland Garros this year, the second-lowest return in Grand Slam history.

The final Grand Slam of the year – The US Open – was again dominated by the old guards. After overcoming a difficult test in Juan Martin Del Potro in the semi-finals, Nadal comfortably beat Kevin Anderson in straight sets for his 16th career Grand Slam title.

His final victory of the year came at the Chinese Open in Beijing in October.

In December, the ATP Rankings saw Nadal and Federer ranked as world number one and two respectively, sending a message to the ATP Tour that despite their age they are both far from finished. At 31, Nadal is the oldest man to ever end the year top of the tree.

Despite his and Federer’s successes, 2017 wasn’t so rosy for Novak Djockovic and Sir Andy Murray.  These were two of the leading members of this new, younger, ambitious group trying to push Federer and Nadal out, but now it looks like they will all need to go back to the drawing board.

Djokovic and Murray have both had injury problems this year, with the former splitting with coach Marian Vajda in April.

Beforehand the Serbian had lost to a player outside the top 100 for the first time at a Grand Slam in his career in Australia.

He appointed Andre Agassi as his new coach in the summer but an elbow injury at Wimbledon saw him retire during his quarter-final match with Berdych and ultimately ruled out for the rest of the season.

Murray went into 2017 as world number one following his best season to date the year before. However, an early exit at the Australian Open was just the first of many shock defeats that the Scot endured during the season.

He lost in the first round at Queen’s Club before also exiting Wimbledon at the quarter-final stage.

A hip injury saw him miss the remainder of the season and drop as low as world number 16 in November, his lowest ranking since 2008. He also split with Ivan Lendl for a second time in the autumn, as he now prepares for the new season which starts next month.

All of these developments set up an exciting 2018 for Men’s tennis. With Djokovic, Murray and Wawrinka all set to return from injury and both Nadal and Federer in their best form for years, we could see fireworks in the months ahead.

One could even argue that there has never been a greater anticipation for an upcoming ATP Tour since it was established back in 1990.

Queen’s 2017: Day Two

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Andy Murray’s quest for a sixth Queen’s title is over after shock defeat. 

It’s been an extraordinary day at Queen’s Club.  Here’s a round up of all the matches that took place on Centre Court:

Thanasi Kokkinakis bt. Milos Raonic (7-6, 7-6)

Last year’s runner-up at both Queen’s and Wimbledon Milos Raonic was beaten in straight sets by wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis.

The number three seed struggled to take control of the game, and failed to claim a single break against the Australian.

Kokkinakis, who is ranked 698th in the world, took the first set after winning the tie-break 7-5.

The second set was just as gruelling, with temperatures reaching up to 40 degrees on court.

Raonic dropped three set points to rub salt into the wound, with Kokkinakis winning the second set tie-break 10-8.

This defeat will be difficult for the world number six to shrug off ahead of Wimbledon, but for the 21-year old Aussie, this was a massive win after 18 weeks out through injury.

Feliciano Lopez bt. Stan Wawrinka (7-6, 7-5)

Three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka suffered a shock straight sets defeat at the hands of tour veteran Feliciano Lopez.

Once again, it proved difficult for the player returning the serve, with no breaks in the opening set.

Lopez, who came out on top 7-4 in the tiebreak, won the first set with a superb forehand across court that caught second seed Wawrinka.

The first break of the day came in the final game of the second set, with the Spaniard winning 7-5.

Wawrinka, who lost the French Open final against Rafael Nadal less than 2 weeks ago, has now lost in the first round at Queen’s for the second year running.

Jordan Thompson bt. Andy Murray (7-6, 6-2)

The biggest shock of the day saw defending champion Andy Murray crash out to Australian Jordan Thompson in straight sets.

The world number one became the latest top seed to struggle returning the serve, but seemed to have an off-day in all departments. His serve wasn’t as quick as it has been and his forehand let him down on numerous occasions.

Thompson, who replaced the injured Aljaz Bedene, won the first set by winning the tie-break 7-4.

The world number 90 then double-broke the five-time Queen’s champion, and won the second set 6-2.

Murray’s preparation ahead of his Wimbledon defence has taken a major setback with his early exit, but for Thompson it was the biggest win of his career.

Marin Cilic bt. John Isner (7-5, 6-3)

Number four seed Marin Cilic is now the favourite for the Queen’s title after he beat John Isner in straight sets.

The Croatian won this tournament back in 2012, and was very sharp on the court. He crucially broke Isner in the opening set and win it 7-5.

Cilic, who is currently ranking in at world number 7 ahead of Wimbledon, then made light work of the second set, winning it 6-3.

 

Queen’s 2017: Day One

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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gregor Dimitrov and Kyle Edmund all starred on opening day. 

The grass court season is finally upon us, meaning the return of Queen’s– one of the most prestigious tour events which also serves as perfect preparation for Wimbledon. It’s been a tough day for all the players, with such blistering hot temperatures in West London. Here is how each match on Centre Court unfolded on the opening day.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bt. Adrian Mannarino (6-2, 6-2)

Fifth seed and world number 10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga opened proceedings with a straight sets win over fellow Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.

The crucial game of the match came during the opening set, when a 12-minute grudge match finally ended with Tsonga claiming an all-important break to go 4-2 up.

Mannarino struggled after that, and needed a medical time-out at one point after feeling a pain in his back.

Tsonga stepped up a gear to make easy work of the second set. The 2008 Australian Open finalist served well, and used his ferocious forehand to his advantage as he aims to make it to a first Queen’s final since 2011.

Gregor Dimitrov bt. Ryan Harrison (6-3, 6-1)

Bulgarian Gregor Dimitrov was comfortable from start to end as he beat American Ryan Harrison in straight sets.

The world number 11 took just 54 minutes to win the match, and dropped just four games along the way.

Harrison was hampered by too many unforced errors, which lead to him throwing balls into the crowd and slamming his racket in frustration. He was ultimately cautioned by the match umpire.

Dimitrov was different class however. The number six seed held his serve well, and played some magnificent shots from the baseline. The 2014 Queen’s champion showed flashes of just what he can do on a grass court and will go into the second round full of confidence.

Donald Young bt. Nick Kyrgios (7-6, Ret)

Nick Kyrgios’ retired from his first round match with American Donald Young with injury.

The Australian and number nine seed had yet to win a match at Queen’s prior to the tournament, and had his right leg heavily strapped up at the beginning of the match.

With the match closely fought, a slip during the ninth game of the first set ultimately cost Kyrgios, as he seemed to pull his left groin after his awkward tumble.

The world number 20 was sluggish around the court following the slip due to the injury he suffered, and struggled to compete in the tiebreak, which Young won 7-3.

The American used his powerful forehand to push Kyrgios around the court, and could be one to watch in this tournament. He very much held his own against the ninth seed, but the question following this match will be whether the Australian will return in time for Wimbledon, which starts in just two weeks time.

Denis Shapovalov bt. Kyle Edmund (7-6, 4-6, 6-4)

Two of tennis’ promising prodigies came face to face in the final match of the day, with 18-year old Denis Shapovalov shocking Queen’s by beating Britain’s Kyle Edmund.

Edmund, who has grown into a fine young player, was looking to make a mark on home soil. He made it through to the quarter-finals in this tournament last year, and wanted to try and at least make it to the same stage this time around.

However, the world number 44 struggled against the impressive Shapovalov. The Canadian, who won the junior Wimbledon last year, served well and played aggressively. He was rewarded with a first set win, beating Edmund 7-4 in the tiebreak.

Edmund recovered well, and got that all important break early on before wrapping up the second set 6-4.

The final set had a similar tone to the first, with both players struggling to break away from their opponent. The Canadian eventually found that elusive break in the final game, and will celebrate the biggest win of his very short career to date.

Shapovalov for certain has a bright future ahead of him, and will be a name to watch out for in the coming years. For Edmund, it’s about regrouping and rebuilding ahead of Wimbledon.