Tennis News

After over ten months away from the professional tour, Juan Martin del Potro made a successful return to competition and will now contest a second round contest against Fabio Fognini. This marks the first time that the two competitors will cross paths on the tour.

Watch the match live here: Del Potro v Fognini

Following his extended spell on the sidelines with another wrist injury, del Potro dispatched Sergiy Stakhovsky in straight sets to reach the second round of the Apia Sydney International on Tuesday. He defeated his Ukrainian opponent 6-3, 7-6(4) in exactly 81 minutes of court time.

“It was a great moment for me,” Del Potro said. “I think I played well in my first match after 10 months. I served well. My forehand is still working out. So that’s a good signal for the future. I need to work very hard to my backhands and my movements, but I think now is time to think about my comeback and enjoy this moment a lot.

“I’ve been at home for a long time; [it’s been] really sad. To be honest, I didn’t expect this moment to be early in the season. I’m so happy, so glad. I would like to share with a lot of people who were behind me last year, but all of them are in Argentina. So I will meet them once again very soon.”

The world No. 338 will now face Italian No. 1 Fabio Fognini for the first time. The world No. 18 is taking part in his first tournament of the season, as well as his first professional match of 2015. Following a mediocre year last season, he will be looking for a strong start against the Argentine.

To the surprise of many, this is the first time that Fognini and del Potro cross paths on the ATP World Tour. Given del Potro’s injury, this will be a difficult contest to predict fairly. Fognini will have the advantage if he plays to the best of his abilities, while del Potro appears to be recovering quicker than many expected and could manage a path to the quarter-final round.

Prediction: Fabio Fognini in Three Sets

Simona Halep withdrew from the event citing a gastrointestinal illness.

“We’re sorry to receive the news that Simona has had to withdraw from the tournament due to illness and we wish her a speedy recovery in time for the Australian Open,” Alistair MacDonald, the Tournament Director in Sydney, said. “We look forward to welcoming her back to Sydney next year.”

Halep, who lifted the Shenzhen title last week, was due to begin her Sydney campaign with a contest against Karolina Pliskova. She was eventually replaced by lucky loser Nicole Gibbs.

“During the tournament in China I got this problem in my stomach,” said Halep, who, after winning the title in Shenzhen three days ago, mentioned she was feeling a little bit sick before the final.

“I didn’t play for three days. I was waiting until today to see if I was ready to play again, but I feel like I cannot play. It’s tough to play a tournament like this so unfortunately I decided to withdraw.”

However, Halep does not expect this to impact her preparation or participation in the Australian Open.

“You never know with the stomach, but hopefully in two or three days I’ll be ready to play again,” she said. “Right now I just need to think about recovering, then I will worry about matches later.”

The Romanian is the third seed at the tournament, behind Serena Williams and aria Sharapova. As a clear favourite at the event, she will look to play her best and aim for her maiden Grand Slam title.

“I’m confident now,” Halep said. “Last year I did some good results but now it’s another year and another start, and I’ve had a good start, winning in Shenzhen and playing better match by match.”

The ATP announced on Thursday afternoon that they intend to increase prize money in an attempt to further enhance the ATP Challenger Tour.

The tour, which comprises of approximately 150 events annually, is the stepping-stone for elite competitors who want to head to the ATP World Tour. With that in mind, the increases will take place at the lower end of the spectrum of events – a predicted 100% increase in minimum prize money within the next 10 years.

“Men’s professional tennis is enjoying one of the most successful periods in its history, however it is essential that we see growth across all levels of the game,” said Chris Kermode, ATP Executive Chairman & President. “Almost every player earns their stripes on the Challenger Tour before they make it on the ATP World Tour and every bit of extra prize money helps as they look to forge a career in men’s professional tennis. The ATP is committed to making that career path as viable as possible.”

In 2007, the minimum prize money was $25,000 + hospitality. By 2014, the minimum was $40,000 + hospitality. This will rise to $50,000 in 2015. The tour also plans to offer additional umpires, physiotherapists and other PR staff to help players with accessibility.

The ATP also announced that they will look to alter the Challenger schedule so that it resembles the World Tour one, thus reducing travel costs.

‘We need to get the right Challenger events in the right weeks, reducing travel costs and improving the medical services, player education, officiating and marketing at these events,” added Kermode. “We are taking a holistic approach as we look to make the time players spend at the Challenger level more sustainable.”

After several false starts, Juan Martin del Potro will finally make his long-awaited comeback to the professional tour on Tuesday afternoon at the Apia Sydney International. The Argentine will begin his campaign against crafty Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky, whom he has never encountered on the ATP World Tour.

After withdrawing from a scheduled return to professional competition at the Brisbane International, the ‘Tower of Tandil’ Juan Martin del Potro has announced that he is prepared to return to the tour this week, even though it appeared as though his wrist was still bothering him.

“[The wrist] hurts a little bit. It bothers me sometimes when I hit backhands but I am trying to hit harder because I need to hit harder if I want to play this tournament. Sometimes the pain is high, sometimes it is low,” del Potro said. “It’s much better than [it was] three or four weeks ago and the doctor says that I can’t make it worse by playing at a high level, so I am very positive for that. I need to do a lot of treatment every day. I do a long warmup before practice and matches, which takes a lot of time. That is my life at the moment.”

Del Potro, who is currently ranked No. 138 but will use a protected ranking of 7 in 2015, prepared his training both on and off the court in Argentina. He has not played a match since February 25. He managed to win the Apia international in Sydney at the start of the season, then struggled from then on and eventually opted for surgery after failed bids in Rotterdam and Dubai.

“It will be a big challenge to play this tournament and see if I can start the season healthy and play for the whole year.”

World No. 69 Sergiy Stakhovsky began his year at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open last week, where he reached the second round of the tournament before losing in straight sets to Novak Djokovic. He will now look to earn an upset victory over a former Grand Slam champion to build momentum heading into the Australian Open.

This marks the first time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour. Given Del Potro’s current state and long layoff, it is unlikely that he will manage a victory against Stakhovsky. However, if he can make the match slightly competitive, he will be well on his way to making a full recovery.

Prediction: Sergiy Stakhovsky in Straight Sets