Tennis News

Yet to begin his clay court season, Andy Murray took some time off to get married to longtime girlfriend Kim Sears. Now happily hitched, Murray will step onto the courts in Munich as a rejuvenated spirit looking to capitalize on the opportunities ahead. He most recently reached the semi-final stage in Indian Wells and the final in Miami, both times losing to world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. It will be interesting to see if Murray’s strong performances on hard courts can transition onto clay, where he has historically played well, albeit inconsistently.

In another interesting note, Murray has already gotten some practice on this court, as he, along with Jean-Julien Rojer, eliminated third seeds Raven Klaasen and Lukas Rosol 7-5, 6-2 in an entertaining doubles action.

His first challenge in Munich will be Mischa Zverev, who defeated Jan-Lennard Struff in three sets to secure his spot in the second round. He beat his fellow countryman 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-4 in a match where he struck four aces, won 61 percent of his first service points, and saved seven break points to finish it off in two hours and four minutes.

This marks the first time that these two competitors will cross paths on the ATP World Tour. Murray is undoubtedly the more experienced competitor and will look to impose his dominance on his German adversary en route to a straight sets victory before reaching the quarter-final round. It will mark Murray’s first clay court appearance of the season but that should not stop him from completing a reasonably straightforward encounter.

17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer will make his debut in Istanbul on Wednesday evening when he takes to the courts for his second round encounter against Jarkko Nieminen. Federer has played Nieminen on 14 previous occasions on the tour and is yet to drop more than a set against him. Check out the Federer vs Nieminen Head to Head.

Following a successful run to the Dubai title and the Indian Wells final, Roger Federer suffered a second round loss to Gael Monfils in Monte Carlo. It was the second time he lost to the Frenchman in such decisive fashion. With that behind him, he will prepare to prepare himself for the French Open.

“The French Open clearly is a big goal of mine, but to play well at the French Open I need confidence and I need to play well, and I hope I can pick that up here in Istanbul and really win a lot of matches,

“It’s about getting used to the sliding and just wanting to decide how aggressive I want to play,” he said. “Clearly I play on hard court for 7-8 months like all the other players. It just takes some adjustments. For that, I’m trying to put up as many hours as I can on the clay and I think my game is going to get better and better as we move along.”

While the local crowd wanted to see Federer face Marsel Ilhan in the second round, it will be Jarkko Nieminen who will meet the Swiss star instead. He defeated the Turkish No. 1 in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 to secure his spot in the second round.

Dating back to their first encounter in 2002, Federer has compiled a 14-0 h2h record against Nieminen and will likely extend that lead further tomorrow evening. Federer has an impeccable record against the Finish player and holds two clay court wins against him already. Wednesday evening will likely mark his third overall against Nieminen.

In a straightforward encounter, Kei Nishikori only needed straight sets to successfully complete his title defence campaign to become the only non-Spanish player to lift the Barcelona title on two separate occasions.

Nishikori, who played some solid tennis during the week, was faced with a Spanish opponent in the final, Pablo Andujar. While the local talent had the backing of the crowd and showcased a superb effort against the former US Open runner up, he was unable to stop decisive breaks in both sets, and eventually lost the match 6-4, 6-4.

“I’m really happy I’m able to defend the title,” said Nishikori. “I think the second set was extremely tough and I don’t really know how I won it to be honest. Pablo was very aggressive, he kept moving the ball and made me run up and down all the time. I also tried to be aggressive and I think that’s why I won the important points, but I’d say he played better than me.

“I think this victory on clay and in such a difficult tournament gives me a lot of confidence to face the upcoming competitions. It’s just an amazing feeling to win a title. I have to come back to Barcelona.”

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Although Andujar had pulled off an impressive upset of David Ferrer in the previous round, he was unable to deny Nishikori a successful title defence. In the end, he fell to 3-4 in tournament finals.

“It was a great, high-quality final,” said Andujar. “We were both playing well. I played better in the second set and I felt I deserved something more, but what happened was I let some opportunities pass. I believe that I could have won but here we are. I feel I played my best tennis this week.”

In a remarkable performance and exceptional usage of momentum from the last few weeks, Angelique Kerber ousted Caroline Wozniacki to win the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix event on Sunday.

It was a highly antiticpated final to the 2015 editon of the Premier-level tournament, as both competitors had played some fantastic tennis to reach this stage of the event. Kerber had ousted three-time defending champ Maria Sharapova, while Wozniacki eliminated the No. 2 seed Simona Halep to secure her spot in the final. Following a grueling back-and-forth affair, it was Kerber who raised her hand in victory.

The German was forced to rally back from a set down to beat Wozniacki 3-6, 6-1, 7-5. It was a dramatic performance and conclusion to the match, as Wozniacki held a break lead at 5-3 before Kerber reeled off the next four games to win the title.

Kerber extended her undefeated streak to 11-0 on clay so far this season, including two title wins.

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“A few days ago I said clay is actually not my favorite surface, but right now I think I will change my mind,” Kerber said. “I’ve played very well on clay the last few days and weeks. I feel good that I have had so many matches on clay, and now I’m looking forward to the next tournaments before Paris.”

If Wozniacki was to leave without the title, she was glad it happened to a good friend of hers on the tour.

“It was small things today that made the difference,” Wozniacki told the crowd. “I had 5-3 in the third set and 30-all, and it could have gone both ways, but she took her chances and it went her way.

“We’re great friends, we hang out a lot and practice a lot together, and it’s always nice to play a friend in a final. You obviously want to win, but if you don’t win, it’s still nice that your friend does.”

For the fifth time in his career, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez lifted a title on the ATP World Tour, this time in Bucharest.

On Sunday afternoon, the Spaniard stepped across the court from touted youngster Jiri Vesely, whom he edged in straight sets to lift the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy. He won the match 7-6(5), 7-6 (11) to secure his fifth title on the tour.

“I feel like I’m doing the right things to improve my game and my ranking,” said Garcia-Lopez. “When you work hard, there is always a reward, not only in tennis, but in life in general.”

The second set in particular was a competitive affair, as Vesely rallied back from a 4-0 deficit in that set and traded breaks with the Spaniard before losing in a gruellingly close tiebreaker.

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“It was complicated for me to close the match,” said Garcia-Lopez. “I was feeling nervous, a lot of things crossing my mind, but in the end I was happy to win. It is the first time in my career that I’ve won two titles in a year.”

Garcia-Lopez received 80,000 Euros and 250 Emirates ATP Ranking Points, while Vesely took home 42,100 Euros and 150 points.

“I’m at the beginning of my career and a success here in Bucharest would have meant more for me, but that’s life,” said Vesely. “I will clearly be here next year and hopefully I will have better luck then.”

Following an impressive week of varied results and unexpected upsets, Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki are through to the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix event, where they will meet for the 10th time to determine who will lift the title and win the Porsche car. Kerber leads the head-to-head series 5-4.

Watch the final match live: Kerber vs Wozniacki Live Streaming

In a grueling and impressive display of tennis that lasted nearly three hours of court time, Caroline Wozniacki was able to get past Simona Halep to secure her spot in the final in Stuttgart. The two exchanged blows and split sets until Wozniacki found the pivotal breakthrough in the decider to secure the victory 7-5, 5-7, 6-2. The win sends Wozniacki to her first Premier level final since the Moscow Open in 2012.

“I had my chances to close it out in the second set but I didn’t, but then you just have to suck it up and play a third set – there’s nothing else you can do about it,” Wozniacki said. “I came out strong there and just tried to keep it going. I knew I had loads of energy left for the third set. That’s what I was going for, to try to stay longer in the rallies, make her run, and stay aggressive, and that’s really what I did.”

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In her final obstacle at this event, Wozniacki will come up against the soaring Angelique Kerber, who halted Madison Brengle’s impressive run to the final with a 6-3, 6-1 victory. The German is now on a 10-match win streak on clay and is yet to suffer a defeat on that surface this season. She will next come up against the Dane, whom she holds a lead against in the head-to-head series.

“We both want to win,” Wozniacki said. “It’s all about momentum and all about trying to win the important points, keep your serve, be aggressive, be defensive when you need to – it’s going to be a tough match. Finals is finals, and that means both players have played well to reach that final.”

Of their nine previous meetings on the professional tour, Kerber leads the head-to-head series 5-4.This is jus their second meeting on clay, yet Kerber showed her dominance on this surface with a lopsided victory on that surface back in 2012.

Prediction: Angelique Kerber in Three Sets

Once again, for just the second time in the tournament’s history, a non-Spanish native will look to win the Barcelona Open title. Kei Nishikori, who is the defending champion, will look to retain his title with a victory over Spain’s Pablo Andujar. This marks the fourth time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, with Nishikori leading the head to head series 2-1.

Watch the final match live: Nishikori vs Andujar Live Streaming

In a breezy match en route to the tournament final, Kei Nishikori defeated Martin Klizan 6-1, 6-2 to further his campaign for a second crown in Barcelona. The Japanese No. 1 hit 25 winners and saved all six of the break points he faced to secure the victory.

“I’m delighted to be playing the final again,” said Nishikori. “You don’t usually play two finals in a row, especially in such a difficult tournament, with many great players. Lifting the trophy here last year gave me a lot of confidence and I think I changed my way of playing on clay.

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“I’ve become more aggressive, my service is better and so is my return. I guess my style is becoming more Spanish. I still feel more comfortable on hard court than on clay but these last four matches have been great and I think they’ve helped me improve.”

In a surprising upset, former four-time finalist David Ferrer was ousted from the Barcelona Open following a straight sets loss to Pablo Andujar. Andujar struck 32 winners to close out the match 7-6(6), 6-3.

This is just the fourth time that Nishikori and Andujar will cross paths on the ATP World Tour, with Nishikori leading the head-to-head series 2-1, including the most recent encounter at last year’s US Open. However, Andujar won their sole clay court encounter at the Madrid Masters in 2013 and it will be interesting if he can topple the Japanese No. 1 once again on his preferred surface.

Prediction: Kei Nishikori in Three Sets