Jack Sock’s plan to reunite with Vasek Pospisil on the doubles court are on hold for now, but the pair teamed up for this week’s episode of Tennis United, set to air on Friday, and discussed Pospisil’s social media prank on the American.

Pospisil took over the ATP Tour Instagram account for last week’s episode, unbeknownst to his fellow players, and trolled several of them with snarky comments in their direct messages. After messaging Sock to ask if ATP Media could attend the American’s December wedding to Laura Little, Pospisil then urged him to post less about his relationship.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Well, we can’t say he didn’t warn us ? Swipe to see what happens when @vasek.pospisil goes rogue on our Instagram ?

A post shared by ATP Tour (@atptour) on Apr 9, 2020 at 2:53pm PDT

“I was genuinely upset,” Sock said, smiling. “I thought that maybe [ATP Media] was having fun and they’re bored. The wedding thing… That was never going to fly with me. I was just being nice. Then I read the next part and was fuming! How can the ATP tell me what to post?”

Sock has been staying at home and practising social distancing, but admitted that the lockdown was bad timing for his comeback that had quickly been gaining momentum. After an injury-filled 2019 season, the American returned to action in February and beat defending champion Radu Albot in Delray Beach, then finished runner-up at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Indian Wells.

“For me, it’s even more frustrating because I basically had a quarantine all of last year,” Sock said. “I rehabbed my [right] thumb and then had the disc problem in my back at the end of last year, so I didn’t play much at all. I was very hungry and excited and I think it showed in my past couple of tournaments. I was getting my form back and felt like my old self. It stings, but obviously health and safety comes first.”

When action does resume on the ATP Tour, Sock vowed to be ready. He’s still keeping up with his fitness sessions while maintaining social distancing and intends to be in top shape for his first tournament back.

“I like to get a sweat in and have to feel like I did something. There’s a massive soccer field near me where I’ve been going to most days, getting runs in and doing some medicine ball stuff,” Sock said. “I had some good momentum and felt like I was getting into the right shape towards the end of my past couple of tournaments, so I’m definitely keeping up with it because I don’t want to lose that.”

Lacoste, a long-term partner of the Nitto ATP Finals, is doing its part in the battle against COVID-19.

Since the middle of March, nearly 100 employees from the company’s French factories have volunteered to work on the manufacturing of 145,000 washable and reusable masks until 30 April. Some of these masks are intended to supply local shopkeepers and enable them to protect themselves in their daily lives and another part will be made available to the French government in the fight against COVID-19.

Dozens of Lacoste volunteers have also mobilised at the company’s San Juan, Argentina factory, where they are making gowns and masks.

“This mobilisation fully honours our company and reveals the commitment, courage and solidarity of these everyday heroes who work to protect us,” Lacoste wrote in a statement. “Every gesture counts to defeat this pandemic, and a big thank you to our heroes.” 

The Truist Atlanta Open announced that it is joining with partner, CIGNA, to feed some of Metro Atlanta’s frontline healthcare workers at Northside Hospital Cherokee on behalf of GF Sports, the Truist Atlanta Open, CIGNA and Waffle House.

The Waffle House Food Truck will visit Northside Hospital Cherokee on Tuesday, 14 April from 10am-2pm to feed the daytime shift and on Wednesday, 15 April, from 8pm-12am for the night shift.

“Northside Hospital and Waffle House are two of our key partners, not only during the nine days of the Truist Atlanta Open, but throughout the year,” said Eddie Gonzalez, Truist Atlanta Open Tournament Director. “They, like many others, are being affected by COVID-19.”

The Truist Atlanta Open and its partners wanted to do something for those right in their own community, so bringing an Atlanta institution like Waffle House out seemed like a perfect fit.

“We’re not just a tennis tournament, we’re a major community event,” added Gonzalez. “We have tremendous community partners, and they have stepped up in critical times. It’s our way of doing something to help support Northside Hospital and those hero frontline healthcare workers, along with our great partner Waffle House who is being hit through this as well , with all of their stores being closed other than take out.”

With the merger of BB&T and SunTrust Bank, the BB&T Atlanta Open has now become the Truist Atlanta Open as the popular Midtown Atlanta event celebrates its 10th Anniversary. This year’s event is scheduled from 25 July to 2 August.

In addition, the tournament’s charity partner, Giving Kitchen, was one of nine charitable causes to receive a $15,000 ATP ACES for Charity grant this year. The ATP 250 first began working with Giving Kitchen in 2017.

Giving Kitchen provides emergency assistance to food service workers through financial support and a network of community resources, with the goal of helping foster a food service community in which crisis is met with compassion and care, providing direct grants to food service workers based on financial need and a qualifying crisis. The ATP ACES For Charity grant will provide a minimum of eight crisis grants, providing peace of mind and stability to a food service worker and their family.

Since the inception of the series in 1990, only six men have won 11 or more ATP Masters 1000 titles. One of those men, Rafael Nadal, has remarkably achieved that feat at a single event.

The Spaniard has won the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters 11 times, matching former World No. 1 Pete Sampras’ haul across all Masters 1000 tournaments with his dominant reign in the Principality.

Since his tournament debut as a 16-year-old in 2003, when he defeated reigning Roland Garros champion Albert Costa to reach the third round, Nadal has consistently produced his best tennis at the Monte-Carlo Country Club. The Mallorcan, who has won 71 of his 76 matches at the event, won an Open-Era record eight successive titles from 2005 to 2012 and a further three straight crowns from 2016 to 2018.

The Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters was set for this week, but due to the global outbreak of COVID-19, this year’s tournament will not proceed as scheduled.

ATPTour.com looks back at each of Nadal’s 11 title runs in Monte-Carlo.

2005: The Reign Begins
Two years after stunning Costa on his Monte-Carlo debut, Nadal captured his maiden ATP Masters 1000 trophy in the Principality. After recovering from down a set in the semi-finals against Richard Gasquet, who had defeated Roger Federer, Nadal met defending champion Guillermo Coria in the championship match.

Coria ended Nadal’s maiden appearance in Monte-Carlo with a straight-sets victory in 2003, but Nadal had improved his game significantly since that meeting. The Spaniard battled to a 6-3, 6-1, 0-6, 7-5 win after three hours and nine minutes to claim what was the biggest title of his career.

2006: A Classic Final
After a breakthrough 2005 season, Nadal returned to Monte-Carlo the following year as World No. 2 and reigning Roland Garros champion. The Spaniard moved past Coria and Gaston Gaudio to book a final clash against World No. 1 Roger Federer, whom he had beaten in three of their past four ATP Head2Head clashes. Nadal successfully defended an ATP Tour title for the first time in a three-hour, 50-minute classic, triumphing 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-6(5).

2007: Hattrick Complete
After losing to Federer in the 2006 Wimbledon final and the semi-finals of the Nitto ATP Finals, Nadal earned the opportunity to once again face the Swiss on his preferred surface in the 2007 Monte-Carlo championship match. Nadal, who did not drop a set en route to the final, continued his dominant display against Federer with a break of serve in each set to lift the trophy for the third straight year.

2008: A Trilogy Completed
Following straight-sets wins against Top 5 players David Ferrer and Nikolay Davydenko, Nadal met Federer at the Monte-Carlo Country Club for the third straight year with the trophy on the line.

Nadal snatched the opening set with a late break, but Federer threatened to force a decider after racing out to a 4-0 lead in the second set. Three-time defending champion Nadal battled back though, taking the title with another late service break to complete an impressive trio of final victories against his rival in the Principality. Nadal and Federer have not met in Monte-Carlo since that day.

2009: A New Chapter
Competing as World No. 1 in Monte-Carlo for the first time, Nadal advanced to his fifth straight final at the tournament without dropping a set. In the championship match, he faced Novak Djokovic for the first time in Monte-Carlo.

Djokovic had already beaten Nadal at each of the Masters 1000 events in North America, but the Spaniard had won each of their previous six meetings on clay, losing one total set. Djokovic doubled that figure by forcing a deciding set in Monte-Carlo, but Nadal raised his game to clinch his fifth title in the Principality. The match marked the beginning of a new chapter in their rivalry, with the pair meeting on three further occasions at the tournament.

2010: Ruthless Rafa
When Nadal ends his career, he may look back at the 2010 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters as the most dominant tournament of his career. The Spaniard entered the event on an 11-month trophy drought, dating back to his 2009 Internazionali BNL d’Italia victory. But he only dropped 14 games across five matches to capture his sixth successive Monte-Carlo crown. Nadal beat Thiemo de Bakker, Michael Berrer and the Spanish trio of Juan Carlos Ferrero, David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco to earn the trophy.

2011: The Best Of Spain
For the second straight year, the Monte-Carlo final was contested by the top two Spaniards in the FedEx ATP Rankings. Nadal, who survived a three-set semi-final against Andy Murray, met in-form World No. 6 Ferrer for the title.

Ferrer had dropped just 17 games to reach his second Masters 1000 final, but Nadal battled past the man who ended his bid for a non-calendar Grand Slam three months earlier at the Australian Open with a 6-4, 7-5 victory.

2012: Ending The Streak
After straight-sets wins against Stan Wawrinka and Gilles Simon, Nadal entered the 2012 Monte-Carlo final seeking to end a seven-match losing streak against World No. 1 Djokovic. Meeting for the first time since their epic five-hour, 53-minute Australian Open final that January, Nadal charged past Djokovic 6-3, 6-1 in 79 minutes to lift an Open Era record eighth straight title at a single ATP Tour event.

2016: Back In The Winners’ Circle
Four years after picking up his eighth title in Monte-Carlo, Nadal returned to the opening clay-court Masters 1000 event of the year aiming to lift his first title in eight months. The Spaniard moved past 22-year-old Dominic Thiem and Stan Wawrinka before rallying from a set down to overcome Andy Murray in the semi-finals.

With support from French fans in the stands, his final opponent, Gael Monfils, showcased his incredible shot-making ability and defended well to force Nadal into a deciding set after more than two hours. But Nadal continued to trust his baseline game and wore his opponent down to clinch his ninth Monte-Carlo trophy.

2017: History Maker
After a first-round scare against Kyle Edmund, Nadal advanced to his 11th Monte-Carlo final with victories against Alexander Zverev, Diego Schwartzman and David Goffin. For the third time, a fellow Spaniard awaited Nadal in the final. Albert Ramos-Vinolas secured three-set victories against World No. 1 Andy Murray, Marin Cilic and Lucas Pouille to reach his first Masters 1000 championship match.

Like Verdasco and Ferrer before him, Ramos-Vinolas had no answer to the Mallorcan’s game on Court Rainier III. Nadal served with confidence throughout the 76-minute encounter to win 6-1, 6-3 and move clear of Guillermo Vilas with a record-breaking 50th tour-level clay court title.

2018: Dominant Display
In 2018, no player won more than five games against Nadal in Monte-Carlo. The Spaniard breezed through the draw, claiming wins against Aljaz Bedene, Karen Khachanov, Thiem and Grigor Dimitrov to reach his 12th final at the Monte-Carlo Country Club.

In the championship match, Nadal broke Kei Nishikori on four occasions to become the first man in the Open Era to win a single event 11 times. It was the fifth time Nadal won the tournament without dropping a set (2008-’10, ’12), which extended his career-best set-winning streak on clay to 36. Nadal’s sets won streak reached 50, before Thiem beat the Spaniard in the 2018 Mutua Madrid Open quarter-finals.

With less than two weeks until the Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro, the player field is taking shape. Rafael Nadal, David Goffin, Karen Khachanov and John Isner have joined the ATP draw for the virtual event, to be played from their homes from 27 to 30 April.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has prevented the 2020 Mutua Madrid Open from taking place from 1 to 10 May, the biggest ATP and WTA stars will clash in Manolo Santana Stadium, recreated in exquisite detail in the Tennis World Tour video game (Nacon Gaming), while swapping their racquets for a PlayStation 4.

Nadal holds the record for most Mutua Madrid Open titles with five (2005, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2017), and now he will try to add a different kind of Madrid victory to his resumé. The Spaniard will try to conquer the first online tennis tournament between professional tennis players.

“From isolation and with the strength and encouragement we are all giving each other, I’m happy to play in Madrid’s virtual tournament and, as always, I will be trying to give my all”, said Nadal. “I’m not sure how good I’ll be at it, but I hope to be with you all and feel your support as is always the case when I play at home, this time virtually”.

World No. 10 Goffin reached the championship match of the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals, and the Belgian player enjoyed his best performance at the Mutua Madrid Open in 2017, when he reached the quarter-finals. Goffin will be trying to go even further; virtually of course. 

“I’m very excited to play this e-tournament!”, said Goffin. “It’s the very first time for me and I’m going to give my best to win as much as I can, although I’m not very used to theses games! I hope you will support me and I already look forward to meet you all online!”

World No. 15 Khachanov earned his first Madrid match win last year, and he will look to continue the momentum in this competition.

“I like to play tennis, be it on court or online”, said Khachanov. “This initiative is interesting and it will bring back some competition in our sport. I’m looking forward to challenging my fellow players and showing my skills to the tennis fans around the world.  I’m super pumped up to get winning again and get on court”.

Isner, who has made the Madrid quarter-finals in his past two appearances (2015 and 2018), is not an avid gamer, but he will give his all to entertain fans worldwide.

“I am excited that the Mutua Madrid Open is hosting a virtual tennis competition”, admitted Isner. “Although I am not much of a gamer, I will be practising so I won’t embarrass myself!  Love the creativity by the organisation and it’s a huge plus that the proceeds will be going to fight the virus”.

The tournament will include a purse of €150,000 in both draws (ATP and WTA), from which the winners will be able to decide on how much they donate to the tennis players currently suffering economically, and €50,000 that will all go towards reducing the social impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The format for the Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro will be as follows: 16 singles players in each of two draws (ATP and WTA) initially divided into four groups. The champion of each group will progress to the quarter-finals, which will also include the runner-up of each group. From there (quarter-finals, semi-finals and final) the tournament will be played in a knock-out format. In addition, in parallel with the official competition, there will be a series of benefit matches that will see some of the biggest content creators in the gaming world take on the professional tennis players to raise funds to help those affected by Covid-19.

All fans will be able to follow the tournament online, on television and on the Mutua Madrid Open’s social media, with a spectacular production that will include commentary on all the matches, analysis, highlights and interviews with the winners after each match.

Twelve players have confirmed their participation so far: Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, David Goffin, Karen Khachanov, John Isner, Lucas Pouille, Kiki Bertens, Angelique Kerber, Kristina Mladenovic, Carla Suárez, Fiona Ferro and Eugenie Bouchard. The organisers of the Mutua Madrid Open will soon reveal the remaining participants, as well as other news of the competition.