Sousa Delighted For Portugal Win Bastad 2016
Sousa Delighted For Portugal Win Bastad 2016
Jul112016
I knew I must have achieved something special on Sunday because I got a hug from Ivan Lendl.
It’s usually just a handshake but for Wimbledon he makes an exception – and I think he might even have got a bit emotional.
My mum was teasing him about it while we were on our way to the Champions’ Ball, because a few people messaged us with Gifs zooming in on Ivan during the final – his eyes definitely looked a bit red and teary!
I asked him: “Did you have a cry?” He said: “No, of course not. I’ve just got hay fever.”
There was no dancing for me and [ladies’ singles champion] Serena Williams at the ball – I think the tradition had finished until Novak Djokovic wanted to do it last year.
It’s a nice thing to do but it never really happened this year, and I was just lucky to leave the stage in one piece.
When Serena and I were coming off the stage together a few people were shouting “dance, dance” – and I got distracted and literally fell down the stairs. I had dress shoes on with slippy soles and things almost got a bit ugly.
Fortunately, I got away with it and think a few of my team definitely woke up feeling worse than me.
I had a few drinks, which I would normally only do to calm down if I’m on a bumpy flight, but some of the others pushed it a bit harder.
I got to bed at about 4am and was up at 8am, and I’m happy to report there was no sore head – although maybe a bit of dizziness!
It was a great night though, everyone enjoyed themselves, and those moments after winning something as big as Wimbledon are really special.
There was no thought of skipping my regular ice bath after the final – I needed it.
I remembered that the last time I won in 2013, I didn’t do recovery after the final – and I then sat in a car and went to the ball.
I felt awful that night. Just standing up was trouble, so I thought I’d better do something this time around. I am 29 now, after all.
The nicest thing for me after the match was the time spent in the locker room with some great champions.
Stefan Edberg was there, Boris Becker, Pat Cash, Richard Krajicek, and obviously Ivan – he wasn’t a bad player.
We weren’t talking about tennis but just chatting about other stuff, like kids and life in general. That was really nice to be a part of.
It just feels surreal chatting to them about other things and having them come to see me play. When I remember watching them as I was growing up – and even now – I still sometimes look at videos of them playing. It’s weird.
To see my name go up on the winners’ board for a second time is amazing but it’s hard to process where I fit in among all those great names right now.
I think maybe that’s something for when I finish playing and look back.
There might have been a bit more pressure going into the final because it was an opportunity, without Novak on the other side of the net, but I think my experience helped in the tight moments.
I would love to now go on and get to number one in the rankings but it will be incredibly difficult as Novak’s consistency has been unbelievable.
I’ll need to keep up my level of the last couple of months right through until the end of the year to close the gap.
That means more hard work, and there’s no doubt that physically it is very demanding, but there are way worse jobs in the world.
I really enjoy training, it’s not something I hate. I like practising, I like going to the gym, I like trying to get better physically.
The hardest part for me is when the cameras are on. That’s when there’s pressure and it’s stressful. But I love the rest of the life. I love the travelling, going to new cities, new countries.
The matches are the hard part and everything that goes on around that, and that’s why I’ve got to make sure I enjoy special moments like this.
Andy Murray was talking to BBC Sport’s Piers Newbery.
Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic is keen to continue working with John McEnroe, according to coach Riccardo Piatti.
Seven-time Grand Slam winner McEnroe joined Raonic’s team in May, and the 25-year-old has since reached the final at Queen’s and Wimbledon.
Piatti, who has worked with the Canadian since 2013, said McEnroe’s influence was “good for everybody”.
“John has great experience, he loves this game, he loves to work in a team and everybody wants him,” he said.
“Milos wants that, and I hope he will continue that relationship with him.”
Raonic praised McEnroe after his Wimbledon defeat by Andy Murray, saying the American had encouraged him to show more emotion on court.
“I think we’ll probably try to find an extent that it can work, he can help me, and try to make the most of it,” he said.
Wimbledon champion Andy Murray says it is “unlikely” he will play in Great Britain’s Davis Cup quarter-final against Serbia in Belgrade this week.
The 29-year-old beat Milos Raonic in straight sets on Sunday to win his second Wimbledon title.
A final decision on his Davis Cup participation will be made after talks with captain Leon Smith.
World number one Novak Djokovic, beaten in the third round at Wimbledon, has already withdrawn from the Serbia team.
Murray will travel to Belgrade even if he does not play because he feels a “responsibility” to the team.
The Scot told BBC Sport: “All the guys on the team are great. Winning the Davis Cup was one of the best moments of my career, and the whole team’s.
“We are a team and whether I’m playing or not I’ll always try to support.”
The London 2012 Olympic gold medallist said defending his title in Rio next month is his next big priority.
“The Olympics is important to me,” he said. “I loved the two I was involved in and winning the gold medal made me realise how special it is.”
Murray played a pivotal role as Britain won the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936 by beating Belgium in Ghent last November.
The Scot won all three of his matches on clay in Flanders, and contributed to 11 of the 12 points won by Britain across the campaign.
In March, in his first event back following the birth of daughter Sophia, he won three matches in three days as GB began the defence of their title with victory over Japan in Birmingham.
Murray beat Kei Nishikori 7-5 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 4-6 6-3 in four hours and 54 minutes to ensure Britain will again compete in the World Group in 2017.
Great Britain’s Gabriella Taylor is continuing to receive hospital treatment for an unknown virus which forced her to withdraw from Wimbledon.
Taylor had to retire from her girls’ singles quarter-final on Thursday against Kayla Day of the USA.
The 18-year-old from Southampton posted on Twitter on Monday that she has been under observation at the city’s General Hospital for four days.
Her agent told BBC Sport Taylor is in a stable condition and improving.
The world number 377 is being kept on an isolation ward in hospital and is waiting for blood tests to reveal more details.
You can now add tennis alerts in the BBC Sport app – simply head to the menu and My Alerts section
Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova will miss the Rio Olympics after her doping appeal verdict was postponed until September by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).
She was given a two-year suspension in June after testing positive for the banned substance meldonium.
Sharapova appealed to Cas but both the 29-year-old Russian and the International Tennis Federation need more time to prepare their cases.
The Rio Olympics start on 5 August.
“Maria Sharapova and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) have agreed to defer the Cas decision until September 2016,” said a statement.
“A decision is expected to be issued by 19 September 2016.”
Sharapova tested positive for meldonium at the Australian Open in January.
Also known as mildronate, it became a banned substance on 1 January, but Sharapova claimed she had been using it since 2006 for health issues.
Watch the funniest moments from this year’s Wimbledon, featuring fails, falls and fancy dress.
WATCH MORE: Wimbledon 2016 tantrums and what they cost
WATCH MORE: Wimbledon – The best of the press room
Discover how Andy Murray got the better of Milos Raonic in the Wimbledon final
The return of serve is the least practised shot in our sport. Andy Murray showed the world just how wrong that is, powering to a second Wimbledon title on the back of a masterful return performance against one of the biggest servers in the game.
Murray defeated Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2), putting return after return back in play to ramp up pressure all over the court. It subsequently forced Raonic to press just a little too much in attempting to end the point early on his terms.
To the final, Raonic enjoyed not having to hit another shot after a serve more than having to hit one, with 51 per cent of all serves unreturned. In the final, against the suffocating defence of Murray, that number was basically chopped in half down to 26 per cent.
Free points dried up in the Sunday London sun, and rallies stretched out far longer than Raonic was comfortable with. The pressure of making returns created the amazing statistic that Raonic’s average rally length on serve actually ended up longer than Murray’s.
On Raonic’s service games to the final, his average rally length was around 2.5 shots, but that blew out to four shots in the final against Murray. The simple yet powerful effect of one more ball in play eventually took its toll.
Murray enjoyed shorter rallies than the Canadian when serving, at only 3.7 shots per point, which was also much shorter than his tournament average of 4.4 shots.
Murray seemed to thrive against the power of the Raonic serve in the final, winning a higher percentage of points against Raonic’s first serve at 33 per cent, than against the second at only 29 per cent.
Raonic’s favourite first serve patterns in both the Deuce and Ad courts was to serve out wide to open holes on the other side of the court to immediately attack.
In the Deuce court, Raonic made 17 first serves out wide, four at the body, and 15 down the middle T. In the Ad court, Raonic made 21 out wide, four at the body, and just 12 down the middle T.
Raonic made 64 per cent of his first serves in the final, which was one per cent higher than the entire tournament average of 63 per cent, but it also equalled his lowest total for the tournament.
Raonic did win a massive 71 per cent of his second serve points, which was tied equal-best with his quarter-final performance against Sam Querrey.
Raonic Serve & Volley
Raonic serve and volleyed on 45 per cent of his first serves, which was much higher the 30 per cent he employed to the final. Clearly, Raonic felt the pressure to end the point early at the front of the court much more than trying to go toe-to-toe with Murray from the back of the court. The other advantage of serve and volley was to capitalise on the constant flow of returns Murray was making, instantly attacking anything that was floating high back to his side of the court.
Raonic won 64 per cent (21/33) of his serve and volley points in the final, which was well below the 76 per cent he had won on the road to the final.
Second Fastest Serve in Tournament History
Raonic hit a 147 miles per hour bomb serving at 4-4, 30/30 in the second set – a point that Murray ultimately won. That delivery tied for the second-fastest serve hit in Wimbledon history, behind Taylor Dent’s 148 m.p.h. serve against Novak Djokovic in the 2010 second round. Raonic aimed the missile at the backhand jam location of Murray. Just like most serves, it came back in play. Raonic then hit a forehand approach to Murray’s backhand, but as Murray had done all day long, he rolled a delicate backhand passing shot cross-court for a winner, setting up break point.
Murray Baseline Control
Murray won 49 per cent (61/125) of his baseline points in the final, while Raonic struggled mightily from the back of the court, only winning 32 per cent (23/73). Too often, Raonic could not hurt Murray with his backhand slice or penetrate the Scot’s defence well enough with his run-around forehand.
To illustrate just how tough it is to gain an advantage from the back of the court, Murray finished the tournament only winning 52 per cent (394/764) of his baseline points, while Raonic was a distant 63rd in this strategic category, winning just 44 per cent.
Andy Murray’s second Wimbledon title is a lesson for every junior and aspiring professional around the world. Our sport is going through a cycle where great returning trumps great serving, and if you get good enough at it, Wimbledon glory beckons.
The American plays more tournaments than anyone else on tour
If there’s a week with an ATP Challenger Tour event, James Cerretani is probably playing in it.
The 34-year-old American doubles specialist has played in 40 tournaments over the past year. In 2015, he competed for an astounding 28 consecutive weeks in tournaments throughout the U.S., Asia and Europe. Cerretani has already played 23 tournaments so far this year, opening the 2016 season by playing in 10 of the first 11 weeks.
The miles he’s logged have been paying off, though. Cerretani has already won four ATP Challenger Tour doubles title this year and is now on an eight-match win streak with Philipp Oswald of Austria. The pair won this week’s $125,000 event in Braunschweig, Germany, giving Cerretani his biggest title in more than five years.
“I just have a burning passion for the game,” said Cerretani. “I’ve achieved a lot, but there are still a lot of things I haven’t achieved. I feel like I’ve even underachieved in some ways. I still want to fulfill my potential and achieve the goals I have before moving on to the next phase of my life. “
Having started the year at No. 135 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings, Cerretani will now be firmly entrenched inside the Top 100 after his win in Braunschweig. After spending several years competing primarily on the ATP World Tour, the American said the time he’s spent in Challengers has given him the experience needed to start competing in the world’s biggest events again.
“Challenger tournaments are a great opportunity to build your ranking and get matches to improve your game,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a Challenger or a Grand Slam because everyone is working hard and the level is still high.”
Having competed in more than 35 tournaments annually for most of his time on tour, Cerretani has inevitably picked up a few good stories during his time on tour. But during this year’s ATP Challenger Tour event in Jonkoping, he endured an especially painful experience.
“I told my partner he needed to hit his serve harder. The very next point, I get down at the net and he hit me in the back of my head with his serve,” laughed Cerretani. “I have to lay down on the ground when he serves now!”
Cerretani is back at it again this week, teaming up with fellow American Max Schnur as the top seeds at the $50,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Poznan, Poland. Although his aim is to make it back into the Top 50 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, his main focus is on the journey to get there.
“There are small goals I want to achieve every day – like having a positive mindset and high morale. You want to feel like you’re moving forward with a purpose,” said Cerretani. “I think I’m playing at a very high level and happy with the commitment to the process each day, so I’m confident about the rest of the year.”