The Best Shots From The Grass Court Season
The Best Shots From The Grass Court Season
Davis Cup: Serbia v Great Britain |
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Venue: Tasmajdan Stadium, Belgrade Dates: 15-17 July |
Coverage: Live on BBC TV, Red Button, the BBC Sport website, mobile, the BBC Sport app and Connected TV. Click for more details. |
Kyle Edmund and James Ward are expected to play singles for Great Britain in this week’s Davis Cup quarter-final against Serbia.
Andy Murray said it is “unlikely” he will play after winning Wimbledon for the second time on Sunday. But the world number two will travel to Belgrade as a spectator.
Britain’s world number 73 Dan Evans will miss out with a shoulder problem.
Edmund is 67 in the world rankings, but Ward has fallen to number 240.
Murray won all eight of his singles rubbers during Great Britain’s Davis Cup victory last year and contributed to 11 of their 12 points.
Edmund made his debut in last year’s final against Belgium, while Ward earned a crucial win against American John Isner in the first round last year.
World number one Novak Djokovic, beaten in the third round at Wimbledon, has already withdrawn from the Serbia team.
Americans Kozlov, Baker also advance on Tuesday
Sixth seed Adrian Mannarino won 122 points in his first-round match at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport on Tuesday. His opponent, Aussie wild card James Duckworth, won 124.
But in tennis, not all points are created equal, and it was the 28-year-old Frenchman who won the biggest points to move into the second round 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 7-6(4).
The two-hour and 35-minute match was about as close as they come. Both players lost their serve exactly four times. But in the two set tie-breaks that Mannarino won, he suffered exactly one less mini-break than Duckworth. The left-handed Mannarino also took full advantage of the two opportunities he had to serve out the tie-breaks.
He next will face Aussie Sam Groth, who hit 23 aces to beat Polish qualifier Michal Przysiezny 7-6(2), 6-4.
American wild card Stefan Kozlov earned his third ATP World Tour match win with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over German veteran Benjamin Becker. The 17 year old next will face countryman Donald Young.
Canadian qualifier Frank Dancevic swept American Ryan Harrison 6-4, 6-4. Dancevic’s reward for winning three consecutive matches, including qualifying? A second-round match-up with big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic, a two-time Newport finalist.
In a battle of Aussies, John-Patrick Smith got the better of Jordan Thompson 6-4, 6-4. In the second round, Smith will face 34-year-old Swiss Marco Chiudinelli, who prevailed against American qualifier Alex Kuznetsov 6-4, 7-6(6).
Brian Baker won the all-American battle against Austin Krajicek 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. “It’s just one of those matches where you just have to compete pretty hard and take advantage of some break points when you get them,” said Baker, who saved five of six break points and converted three.
The 31-year-old qualifier, who’s had 11 surgeries since 1999, will face fourth seed Marcos Baghdatis in the second round for the first time. Baghdatis, who made the quarter-finals on the grass in Halle and Nottingham, is making his Newport debut.
In doubles, Baker teamed up with Wimbledon doubles semi-finalist Rajeev Ram to sweep Young and South African Dean O’Brien 6-3, 7-5 in 62 minutes. Fourth seeds Purav Raja and Divij Sharan, both of India, advanced with a 2-6, 6-3 10-6 win against Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic and American John Paul Fruttero.
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The richest purse in the history of tennis will be on offer at this year’s US Open.
Prize money for the event will be $46.3m (£35m) – an increase of $4m (£3m) on the 2015 event.
Both the men’s and women’s singles champions will earn $3.5m (£2.6m) – a record payout for the tournament, which runs from 29 August to 11 September.
The average increase per round for the singles competition is 10% above the 2015 US Open.