Tennis News

Stan Wawrinka will look to rebound from his semi-final exit at the Australian Open, when he arrives to Rotterdam as the fourth seed of the tournament. The Swiss No. 2 will begin his campaign against local talent Jesse Huta Galung, whom he has never faced previously on the professional tour.

Follow the match live here: Wawrinka v Huta Galung

Although Wawrinka has not played in Rotterdam since 2005, he is excited to perform at the event. He trained with Grigor Dimitrov on Sunday and is prepared to play his first February indoor tournament in a decade.

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“It’s good indoor conditions. I’m happy with my level in general. I’m excited to start here.I want to win tournaments and finish at the best [Emirates ATP] Ranking. I’m hungry to be here and improve. I have to be clever with my schedule and what I’ll play this year.”

The former Aussie Open champion will meet Dutch wildcard entrant Jesse Huta Galung in his opening round match at the event. The 29-year-old is ranked at No. 248 in the ATP Rankings and will be hard-pressed to topple the fourth seed at the event.

“I’ve seen him many years, but I’ve never played or practised with him,” Wawrinka said of his upcoming opponent. “I’ll watch a few videos and talk to my coach. The Dutch always play well here, he will be pumped for the first match and he’ll be ready and dangerous.”

This marks the first time that these two competitors will meet on the ATP World Tour. Wawrinka will undoubtedly be the favourite at the event, and will be expected to close out the match in quick fashion. However, considering this is an opponent he has never played before, it is more than possible that Galung takes advantage of having nothing to lose, and push the Swiss to deep waters.

Prediction: Stan Wawrinka in Straight Sets

Following an outstanding fortnight in Melbourne, where it became clear that the British No. 1 was en route to a return to form, Andy Murray will continue his upward trend in Rotterdam, where he will look to work his way through a tough draw to lift the title. His first obstacle at the Dutch tournament will be France’s Nicholas Mahut, whom he has encountered previously on four occasions. The Scot leads the head-to-head series 3-1.

Follow the match live here: Murray v Mahut

After a humdrum 2014 season that concluded in a thrashing at the hands of Roger Federer, Andy Murray made a remarkable return to form at the start of the 2015 season when he secured a spot in the final of the Australian Open for the fourth time in his career. However, he ended up imploding in the later stages of the match, which implies that he is yet to get his emotions under control following the Lendl era.

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While Murray on blames himself for his 0-4 record in Melbourne finals, he is happy to be back playing “close to his best” and looks forward to improvements over the coming months.

“It’s pleasing to be back playing close to my best. I still feel like I can make improvements in my game. I think I can get a few percent better over the next couple of months,”

His first opponent in Rotterdam will be Nicolas Mahut, who overcame Nikoloz Basilashvili and Nadal-vanquisher Michael Berrer to reach the main draw of the event.

This marks the fifth time that Murray and Mahut will cross paths on the professional tour, with the Scot leading the head-to-head series 3-1. Murray is also 2-0 against Mahut on hard courts, although this will mark their first meeting on that surface on nearly seven years. Given the Briton’s continued rise up the ranks, and his return to form, there is little doubt that Murray should move past Mahut with relative ease.

Prediction: Andy Murray in Straight Sets

After news that a Tunisian player had suspiciously withdrawn from a tournament ahead of a potential match-up against an Israeli in the following round, the ATP World Tour has officially cleared him of any wrongdoing.

The Associated Press revealed that the ATP was satisfied with Malek Jaziri’s withdrawal, and added that he had a legitimate injury.

Jaziri, took the first set off Denis Istomin in Round 1 of the Open Sud de France. He later retired from the match after he suffered an elbow injury and called for the trainer on two occasions.

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This incident immediately took center stage, as in 2013, the Tunisian Tennis federation forced Jaziri to withdraw from am ATP Challenger match against Israeli opponent Amir Weintraub in Uzbekistan. This led to the International Tennis Federation placing a ban on Tunisia from the 2014 Davis Cup.

Here is Jaziri’s reasoning as quoted by Fédéric Bernès in l’Équipe (via @markalannixon)

“My phone is off, it’s not working. I haven’t received any orders or pressure. I’m playing Denis, he’s no piece of cake. I hadn’t looked at my next match, and even if I’d known … I got a golfer’s elbow at the Australian Open (reached the 3rd round). The travelling after, the time differences, that didn’t help. I’ve only hit the ball once in the last eight days. I took pain killers but I’m still hurting. Not so much when I hit the ball, but just after bringing the racquet back. It’s like a tendinitis in the forearm. You have to be smart in cases like this – I’ve got some big tournaments ahead in Memphis, Indian Wells, Miami and I didn’t want to run the risk of aggravating the problem. My cervical vertebrae really hurt this morning.”

Following their investigation, the ATP announced that they were fully satisfied with the Jaziri’s story, as well as that of the medical staff on duty at the time in Montpellier.

”The ATP is fully satisfied as to the legitimacy of the player’s reasons for retiring from his match due to an elbow injury,” it said. ”Accordingly, this matter is considered closed.”