Battle of the Brits: Andy Murray beats Dan Evans in Roehampton
Andy Murray is in impressive form in his first match since October as he defeats British number one Dan Evans at Battle of the Brits.
Andy Murray is in impressive form in his first match since October as he defeats British number one Dan Evans at Battle of the Brits.
Over the course of eight days, ATPTour.com is serving up a season snapshot of the eight players who qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals. The series is illustrated by intimate portraits shot by British photographer Simon Owen. So far, we have looked at Diego Schwartzman, Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev’s year. Today, we examine Stefanos Tsitsipas’ season.
Memorable Moment
Stefanos Tsitsipas matched his career-best Grand Slam result with a run to the semi-finals at Roland Garros. But to get there, he had to pull off a comeback unlike any other just to advance past the opening round.
The Marseille champion arrived in Paris after narrowly missing out on winning the title in Vienna. Tsitsipas struggled to get going against Spain’s Jaume Munar and found himself trailing by two sets. The Greek player was forced to dig deep, and eventually prevailed 4-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4, recording his first victory from two-sets-to-love down.
Key Stat
One of Tsitsipas’ best weapons is his solid serve, and the Greek player proved that he’s not afraid to take big risks for big rewards. According to an Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis, Tsitsipas dominated the Deuce court against right-handers with his second serve out wide, winning 75 per cent (21/28) of points when he targetted his opponent’s forehand, instead of serving to the backhand return like conventional tennis wisdom dictates. It paid off, as Tsitsipas won 85 per cent of his service games in 2020.
Quotable
“I would like to tell you that I’m not a Next Gen player any more. I’m a proper adult… The Big Three have been there for a long time. I don’t feel like it’s going to be the same in five, six years’ time.”
The Road Ahead
Currently sitting at No. 6 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, Tsitsipas will be fighting to close the 705-point gap between him and Roger Federer for a return to the Top 5. He is still looking for his first championship match appearance at a Grand Slam, having reached the semi-finals at the 2019 Australian Open and 2020 Roland Garros.
Photo: Simon Owen/Wonderhatch
In the least surprising news of the day, Rafael Nadal is working hard.
The Spaniard has been conducting his off-season training at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar, where he has been joined by other Top 100 players in the FedEx ATP Rankings.
Among the players who are training at the facility are Felix Auger-Aliassime, Emil Ruusuvuori and Lorenzo Sonego. On Friday, the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar posted a clip of Nadal practising with Ruusuvori, which caught the attention of former players and well-known coaches, Darren Cahill and Brad Gilbert.
Intensity on every shot in practice. The normal by Rafa. Never a wasted second. https://t.co/9XpPAZcMdo
— Darren Cahill (@darren_cahill) December 19, 2020
The little recovery steps back to middle every time are phenomenal, no lite shoot around for Vamos-Rafa ????✅? @darren_cahill https://t.co/v21BbIgmpQ
— Brad Gilbert (@bgtennisnation) December 19, 2020
“Liking this yearly routine?. Always an honour to share the court with Rafael Nadal,” Ruusuvuori wrote on Instagram.
The Finn is one of six nominees for Newcomer of the Year in the 2020 ATP Awards. Ruusuvuori, who reached the Astana Open semi-finals, climbed to a career-high No. 84 in the FedEx ATP Rankings in November.
Sonego, who defeated World No. 1 Novak Djokovic at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, hit with Nadal on Saturday. Auger-Aliassime has trained under the watchful eye of Toni Nadal, Rafa’s uncle.
