Petzschner and Peya Glad To Be Reunited On Court
Petzschner and Peya Glad To Be Reunited On Court
Mar222016
British wildcard Katie Swan was beaten 6-2 4-6 6-2 by Sam Crawford in the final round of Miami Open qualifying.
The 16-year-old from Bristol had beaten world number 102 Lauren Davis on Monday but struggled with a tight hamstring against American Crawford.
After taking the second set, Swan left the court to have her thigh bandaged before losing the decider.
In men’s qualifying, Briton James Ward lost 6-3 6-3 to American Bjorn Fratangelo.
Indian Wells tournament chief Raymond Moore has quit after his controversial comments about women’s tennis.
Moore, 69, said the women’s game “rides on the coat-tails” of the men – a view described as “sexist” by the United States Tennis Association (USTA).
Women’s world number one Serena Williams said Moore’s statement was “offensive and very inaccurate”.
But her male counterpart, Novak Djokovic, claimed his tour should fight for more money.
Moore said female players “should get down on their knees” in thanks to male counterparts such as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The South African – a former player – later apologised for his “erroneous” remarks.
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova said Moore’s comments were “extremely prejudiced”, adding female players may boycott Indian Wells if Moore stayed.
Djokovic, who won the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells on Sunday, described Moore’s remarks as “not politically correct”.
But the 28-year-old Serb suggested men should get more prize money because more people watch their matches.
There has been equal prize money in all four majors – the Australian Open, US Open, French Open and Wimbledon – since 2007, and combined Masters events such as Indian Wells and Miami pay the same to men and women.
In a statement, Indian Wells tournament owner Larry Ellison said: “Ray let me know he has decided to step down from his roles as CEO and tournament director effective immediately. I fully understand his decision.”
Speaking in a BBC Radio 5 live special on equality in sport, former badminton world champion Gail Emms said: “If was Novak Djokovic, I would feel aggrieved as well.”
The Briton, an Olympic silver medallist, added: “I don’t like saying this, but it is easier to be a top female athlete than it is for males, because purely on numbers, how hard you’ve got to work to get up there.
“I’m not saying the top female athletes don’t work hard, and the ones at the top are fantastic athletes and sacrifice and dedicate a lot. It’s just a numbers game.”
Other arguments so far:
Australian men’s tennis is enjoying a resurgence with Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios ranked comfortably inside the Top 30 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, but 21-year-old Jordan Thompson has produced impressive results on the ATP Challenger Tour that show he could soon be ready to join them.
The World No. 117 has more than cut his ranking in half over the last 12 months with a series of strong performances. After reaching the final last year at Challenger events in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, and Traralgon, Australia, Thompson broke through last month by winning his first ATP Challenger Tour title in Cherbourg, France. The victory was even more impressive since the Australian was forced to save two match points in his quarter-final against Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
“It was very exciting. You play a lot of tournaments and you’re lucky to win one,” said Thompson, who is the No. 8 seed at this week’s ATP Challenger Tour event in Shenzhen, China. “I took a lot of confidence by winning my first Challenger and beating those top players.”
Thompson has spent the last few years training in Brisbane alongside fellow Aussies James Duckworth, John Millman and Benjamin Mitchell, but made a move earlier this year to Melbourne. But with plenty of top Australian players training there, Thompson will have plenty of motivation to continue pushing himself up the rankings.
“It’s best if we try and push each other,” said Thompson. “Nick (Kyrgios) just won his first ATP Tour title, Omar (Jasika) is very talented and Blake (Mott) just won his first challenger. It inspires young guys to be at that level and also just start playing tennis.”
His play has even attracted the attention of former world No. 1 and new Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt, who invited the rising star to practice with him at his house in Sydney and the Australian Open. But while Thompson freely admits that playing under Hewitt “would be a honor,” he has some more immediate targets in sight for the rest of the season.
“I think it’s every player’s goal to be in the Top 100 and it’s my goal for sure as well,” said Thompson. “The ultimately goal is to try and play as many Grand Slams as possible. That’s where the money is and this is my job now.”
The World No. 1 goes for sixth Miami title; Federer to face del Potro/Pella winner
The ATP World Tour changes U.S. coasts this week, from Indian Wells, California, to Miami, Florida. But many will be asking the same question as the month’s second Masters 1000 tournament kicks off: Who, if anyone, can slow down World No. 1 Novak Djokovic?
Djokovic is 22-1 on the year, his only imperfection a retirement to Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in the Dubai quarter-finals that Djokovic avenged last week with a straight-sets win in Indian Wells. The Serb also has won 14 consecutive sets since dropping his opening frame at the BNP Paribas Open.
Djokovic, a five-time Miami champion (2007, ’11-12, ’14-15), is looking to win a record 28th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Miami. He receives a first-round bye but will open his title defense against either Kyle Edmund of Great Britain or the Czech Republic’s Jiri Vesely. Should Djokovic bypass his second-round opponents, the first seeded player he could meet is Slovakia’s Martin Klizan, the No. 25 seed. Djokovic leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 2-0.
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In the fourth round, Djokovic potentially could meet World No. 14 Dominic Thiem, who’s played some of his best tennis in 2016. Thiem, the No. 14 seed, is the only player with as many wins as Djokovic – 22 – this year and nearly as many titles – two to Djokovic’s three.
But Thiem doesn’t have a straight line to Djokovic. The Austrian may have to overcome Lopez in the third round. Thiem possesses a 3-1 advantage in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry. In the quarter-finals, Djokovic could play the No. 10 seed Richard Gasquet or the No. 7 seed Tomas Berdych. Gasquet and Berdych each receive a first-round bye and are seeded to play in the fourth round. Gasquet leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 7-6 and beat Berdych the last time they played on hard courts.
In the semi-finals, World No. 3 Roger Federer, could await Djokovic. Federer returns to the ATP World Tour this week after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus on 3 February. The Swiss will be making his 16th appearance in Miami and going for his third title (2005-06 champion).
The two-time champion, though, received a less-than-ideal draw. He receives a first-round bye but could face Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro in the second round, which would be Federer’s first match since 28 January. Federer won their last contest, a three-set battle at the 2013 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The 34 year old also leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 15-5.
Del Potro opens against fellow Argentine Guido Pella, who enters Miami at a career-high No. 39 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Pella, a finalist in Rio last month, reached the third round at the BNP Paribas Open (l. to Goffin).
Should Federer escape his opening match, the Swiss No. 1 could be on track to face the No. 28 seed Jeremy Chardy in the third round and Belgium’s David Goffin in the fourth round. Goffin, the No. 15 seed, is coming off a career-best showing in Indian Wells, where he made the semi-finals and beat Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic. In the quarter-finals, either No. 11 seed Marin Cilic or No. 8 seed David Ferrer could await Federer.
World No. 2 and returning finalist Andy Murray leads the bottom half of the draw, as he looks to bounce back from an early exit in Indian Wells (l. to Delbonis). He could potentially face a third-round rematch with Federico Delbonis, who will first need to get through 19-year-old Swede Elias Ymer and No. 26 seed Grigor Dimitrov. The Brit, meanwhile, will open against either 19-year-old Borna Coric or Denis Istomin in the second round.
Murray is seeded to play the always tricky Gael Monfils in the fourth round, and could confront either Japan’s Kei Nishikori or France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals. Nishikori and Tsonga both reached the Indian Wells quarter-finals, respectively falling to Nadal and Djokovic.
Nadal, seeded No. 5, will look to maintain his momentum from a semi-final run in Indian Wells (l. to Djokovic), but could face Indian Wells finalist Milos Raonic, the No. 12 seed, in the fourth round and No. 4 seed Wawrinka in the quarter-finals. The top three Americans – No. 13 seed John Isner, No. 22 seed Jack Sock and No. 29 seed Sam Querrey – are also in the quarter of the draw.