12 tournaments. Up to 250 matches. Frantic February on Tennis TV.
The gruelling heat of the Australian summer produced one of the most iconic, celebrated matches ever, between two of the greatest players (if not the greatest) of all-time in Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Melbourne’s Australian Open couldn’t have dreamed for a better finale, as the 35-year-old Swiss global icon battled past his ferocious, long-time Spanish nemesis and friend in five sets to claim a stunning 18th Grand Slam title.
And now, with that heart-warming opening to 2017, we motor on with the season as calendars turn to February, with four ATP World Tour 500 tournaments featuring the world’s best leading the way. You’ll be able to watch up to 250 matches (geo-restrictions may apply) live and on-demand on Tennis TV, with all matches available to enjoy in the replays channel across all the different devices which Tennis TV is supported on.
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After three ATP World Tour 250 events in the first week in Montpellier, Sofia and Quito, the 44th edition of the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam will start on 13 February. Tournament director – 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek – will welcome 14-time major winner Rafael Nadal to the Dutch city, alongside Australian Open semi-finalists Stan Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov.
Marin Cilic, Dominic Thiem and Gael Monfils will also be part of a first-class line-up for the year’s first ATP World Tour 500-level event. Martin Klizan is the defending champion, embarking on a surprise, match-point-saving run in 2016 and ultimately beating Monfils in the final. Also in that Rotterdam week are 250 competitions in Memphis and Buenos Aires – where Kei Nishikori will look to grab his first title at the Argentina Open.
Golden Swing hits Rio (20-26 February)
Following the first clay-court event of the season in the Argentinian capital, the Golden Swing arrives in Brazil’s most famous city – Rio de Janeiro. Joining a clay-focused Nishikori in Rio will be last year’s semi-finalist Dominic Thiem. The 23-year-old Austrian plans to jet straight from Rotterdam to play in South America.
Milos Raonic and Juan Martin del Potro head the Delray Beach field in the same week, and unsurprisingly the line-up for the 250 tournament in Marseille is French-dominated. Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet and Lucas Pouille will compete at Open 13 Provence. Defending champ Nick Kyrgios will also return to the event where he won his first career ATP World Tour title last year.
Near 24-hour, around-the- clock tennis from Dubai and Acapulco (27 February – 4 March)
Fresh from his glorious Australian Open triumph, Federer will return to action at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where he is a seven-time champion – most recently in 2015. World No. 1 Andy Murray will also play at the 500 tournament in Dubai, which will be his first competition since disappointingly crashing out of Melbourne at the hands of serve-and-volleying Mischa Zverev.
Last year’s winner Stan Wawrinka will be there too, along with Monfils and Tomas Berdych. In the same week, in a far-away time zone, Mexican paradise Acapulco will host the likes of Nadal, Raonic, Thiem, del Potro and David Goffin. Thiem captured the biggest title of his young career there last year.
Get your monthly access pass to Tennis TV today and don’t miss up to 12 tournaments and up to 250 matches live in February! The live tennis certainly doesn’t stop coming after February, with massive, back-to-back ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami in March. In a first for Tennis TV, all ATP World Tour singles and doubles matches will be streamed live from these two events with all matches available on demand in replays on all devices.
| Davis Cup: Canada v Great Britain |
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| Venue: TD Place Arena, Ottawa Dates: 3-5 Feb Time: 20:00 GMT on Friday |
| Friday’s coverage: Watch live on BBC Red Button, Connected TV and online from 20:00 and BBC Two from 23:05, plus follow text updates on the BBC Sport website. |
Dan Evans will play 17-year-old Denis Shapovalov in the opening rubber of Great Britain’s Davis Cup first-round tie against Canada in Ottawa.
Friday’s second singles rubber will be between Kyle Edmund and Vasek Pospisil.
Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot will contest Saturday’s doubles rubber against Daniel Nestor and Pospisil.
Captain Leon Smith has confirmed world number one Andy Murray will not compete for Great Britain this weekend, saying it is the “right thing for him to do”.
“We all miss Andy because he is such a great influence on the team both on and off the court,” said Smith.
“Like we saw last year [in the match against Serbia when he watched as a spectator], he puts a lot of interest and care into this team.”
World number three Milos Raonic pulled out of the Canadian team with an injury, meaning the hosts are without a top-100 singles player.
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller in Ottawa:
The draw was conducted at the home of the Canadian Parliament by the Speaker of the House. The match court is about three miles from Parliament, and it is nearly possible to make the entire journey on skates as the Rideau Canal is frozen solid and open to skaters.
The absence of Milos Raonic hits Canada very hard. Denis Shapovalov won last year’s junior Wimbledon and is an exciting prospect, but it is a huge ask for him to win a five-set match at the age of 17.
Kyle Edmund will also start favourite against Vasek Pospisil, although the Canadian was a top 40 player this time last year.
British number one Johanna Konta will play all three Wimbledon warm-up events in England this year.
Konta, the first British woman to reach the top 10 in the world rankings in 32 years, has confirmed her place at the Aegon Open in Nottingham and will then play in Birmingham and Eastbourne.
The 25-year-old world number 10 said: “The grass-court season is one of my favourites.
“This series of tournaments ahead of Wimbledon provides great preparation.”
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She added: “Tournaments like Birmingham, Eastbourne, and Nottingham have such an incredible history, you just need to look at the roll of honour to see that, and you can sense that when you step on court.”
The Aegon Nottingham Open at the Nottingham Tennis Centre starts on 10 June.
Konta was beaten in the second round last year, losing 6-4 7-5 to Zheng Saisai of China, having reached the quarter-finals in 2015.
They say everything is bigger in Texas. The tennis is no different and NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki and NFL star Ty Montgomery have taken notice. The sports stars visited the RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas, a prestigious $125,000 event on the ATP Challenger Tour, this week.
Attending his first tennis event at any level, Montgomery was immediately hooked. The star running back of the American football juggernaut Green Bay Packers was made an instant fan of #NextGenATP stars Reilly Opelka, Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz, visiting the T Bar M Racquet Club on both Tuesday and Wednesday.
“Ty was really cool,” Opelka told ATPWorldTour.com. “Today was his first time watching tennis live and it seemed like he enjoyed it. It’s cool to have a guy like him in the stands watching and supporting. I remember just a few weeks ago all the Americans were going crazy in the Australian Open locker room watching the Packers against the Cowboys. Ty had a huge game that day too, scoring two touchdowns. We all watched it live from Australia.”
Cool having @TyMontgomery2 at the courts today! #GoPackGo #ShirtGame? pic.twitter.com/AFI0rghp6T
— Reilly Opelka (@ReillyOpelka) January 31, 2017
Watch Interviews: Opelka | Tiafoe
Montgomery, impressed with the games of the American teens, took to social media during their matches. He stayed the entire day on Wednesday, watching Fritz and Tiafoe advance to the quarter-finals and fellow Stanford University alum Scott Lipsky in his first-round doubles match.
A young king right here?? @FTiafoe it was a pleasure getting to watch you. Making me a tennis fan pic.twitter.com/IB7EBvcDKe
— Ty Montgomery (@TyMontgomery2) February 2, 2017
Got to meet and hangout with some super cool tennis superstars @Taylor_Fritz97 and @ReillyOpelka ?
— Ty Montgomery (@TyMontgomery2) January 30, 2017
Appreciate the love from @TyMontgomery2 in Dallas means a lot you coming out to watch last couple days enjoy Houston man #wishicouldcome
— Frances Tiafoe (@FTiafoe) February 2, 2017
Meanwhile, Dallas Mavericks forward Nowitzki, a lifelong tennis fan and yearly fixture at the Challenger events in Dallas and Irving, watched countryman and close friend Benjamin Becker in action on Tuesday. Becker is a local resident and graduate of nearby Baylor University.
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