Tennis News

From around the world

Thiem Hits Improbable Winner

Thiem Hits Improbable Winner

  • Posted: Oct 06, 2015

Watch Hot Shot as Dominic Thiem shows off his range against John Isner. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com.

Young gun turns defense into offense

Dominic Thiem might not be a giant, but the Austrian made a prodigious forehand reach in this Hot Shot.

Playing against 6’10” (2.08m) John Isner, the World No. 19 retrieved a sizzling Isner serve, then tracked down an offensive forehand from the American for the best shot of the match.

More stories like this in:

require([“modules/global/rolexAd”], function(RolexAd) return new RolexAd( analytics: gaCategory: “Outbound”, gaCategoryInner: “Rolex Clock”, gaClickAction: “Click”, gaToggleAction: “Toggle”, ); );

Source link

Family Matters For Djokovic

  • Posted: Oct 06, 2015

Playing with younger brother Djordje Djokovic for the first time in an ATP World Tour event, defending Beijing singles champion Novak Djokovic earned a 7-6(5), 6-7(6), 10-5 first-round doubles win over wild cards Mao-Xing Gong and Michael Venus on Tuesday.

“Of course [it was a] very special occasion,” said Novak. “I want to thank the organisers for giving us a wild card and the opportunity to play.”

The five-time Beijing champion realises that he casts a long shadow on his younger siblings, and is thankful for the positive experience he shared with Djordje on Tuesday.

“Well, you know, my brother (Marko) is 24, and he stopped playing tennis,” said Novak, the oldest of three at 28.  “The youngest one is considering if he wants to continue or not. I’m glad we got a chance to play before he makes any decisions.

“Obviously with the success that I had throughout all my career, it added extra pressure and expectations. It was very difficult for them to handle such expectations. As a matter of fact, if you look at the history of all the successful athletes and their siblings that are younger than them, there are not many that manage to follow that success up and at least achieve something that is close to that,” added Novak, who is 0-5 in doubles alongside Marko but 1-0 with Djordje.

“I try to participate in their careers, but I figure that if I constantly talk about tennis, trying to improve their game, give them advice, that would maybe jeopardise our private relationship and brother relationship, which is truly what I want to have with them. I want to be able to speak freely with them, not only about tennis. Whenever they want to talk, we talk. We have a great relationship, I must say.”

Herbert/Mahut Advance In Tokyo

US Open champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut advanced to the quarter-finals in Tokyo on Tuesday after defeating wild cards Austin Krajicek and Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-4, 7-6(4). The No. 2 seeds saved all four break points faced during the 80-minute win. Their next opponents will be Aisam ul-Haq Qureshi and Gilles Simon.

Source link

Emirates ATP Race To London Update 6 October 2015

  • Posted: Oct 06, 2015

See the latest standings in the Emirates ATP Race To London.

require([“modules/global/rolexAd”], function(RolexAd) return new RolexAd( analytics: gaCategory: “Outbound”, gaCategoryInner: “Rolex Clock”, gaClickAction: “Click”, gaToggleAction: “Toggle”, ); );

Source link

Two Matches In Two Tournaments In One Day

  • Posted: Oct 06, 2015

Life on the ATP Challenger Tour is a grind. Players are constantly on the move, traversing the globe in search of critical Emirates ATP Rankings points and prize money. On Sunday, Frederik Nielsen took this philosophy to the next level, contesting two matches in two tournaments in one day. This time, no global trekking was involved. Only the state of California.

Here is how it all unfolded… The 32-year-old Dane was competing at the $100,000 event in Tiburon, a suburb of San Francisco located just north of the U.S. metropolis. Alongside Johan Brunstrom, the doubles top seeds would reach the final, which was slated for Sunday. But there was one problem: Nielsen was also in the qualifying singles draw at the next stop on the California swing, in Sacramento. Despite receiving a first-round bye as the second seed, his opening match was scheduled for Sunday as well, leaving him with a potential logistical nightmare.

“It’s a unique situation, but I was told by the supervisors before Friday sign-in that they would be able to accommodate me in case it was an issue,” Nielsen told broadcaster Mike Cation in Tiburon.

Finding Freddie: The Right Balance

Establishing clusters of tournaments in a region provides an advantageous situation for players, who seek to minimize travel time between tournaments in order to save money and reduce stress. With three consecutive ATP Challenger Tour events in northern California, it created the perfect setting for Nielsen to pull off the feat. A manageable two-hour drive separates Tiburon and Sacramento, leaving the order of play in both tournaments as the only potential pitfall.

“If it would happen in any place, it would be here because there’s not a long drive. I knew when I came that it could be an issue, but I’m just happy to get the chance to play both.”

“This situation is somewhat common when tournament sites are in close proximity to each other,” explains USTA supervisor Mike Loo, who identifies page 84 of the 2015 ATP Official Rulebook for confirmation. “Usually a one to two hour drive between sites is reasonable for a player to compete in both events.”

Nielsen’s singles qualifying match in Sacramento would be scheduled for first on Court 7 at 9:00am. With a 12:00pm singles final in Tiburon preceding the doubles title match, it meant the Dane would have plenty of time to complete the journey. He would defeat Reilly Opelka 6-2, 6-4 in just 61 minutes and returned to Tiburon with time to spare. He and Brunstrom later hoisted the trophy, beating Carsten Ball and Matt Reid 7-6(2), 6-1.

“On Saturday, I was waiting in Tiburon to see how the schedule would look,” Nielsen added. “I could have played in Tiburon first or Sacramento first. When they released the schedule, I drove to Sacramento late in the evening and grabbed some dinner on the way. I was lucky my housing was flexible. I woke up Sunday morning, played a good singles match which finished quickly. That allowed me to take a shower and take a nice and easy drive back to Tiburon.

“I knew that I had roughly two and a half hours, so I was pretty comfortable time-wise. My game plan was very good and had great execution. I like these situations with no expectations. This is what I play for. I knew it was going to happen. I was happy to get the chance to play two matches. It’s always encouraging.”

Nielsen would qualify for the main draw in Sacramento on Monday, defeating American Eric Johnson. He will look to ride his wave of momentum against fellow qualifier Nicolas Meister in Tuesday’s first round.

Source link