Murray out of Olympic singles but will play doubles
Andy Murray withdraws from the singles in the Olympics but will play doubles in what will be the final event of his career.
Andy Murray withdraws from the singles in the Olympics but will play doubles in what will be the final event of his career.
The scene is genuinely incredible, but the adjective surely fails to do it justice. Late Wednesday morning, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz stepped out onto Court Philippe-Chatrier at Roland Garros to share a high-octane practice session.
Under the orders of David Ferrer, captain of the Spanish team at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the two players continued to fine-tune their games while 50 or so inquisitive pairs of eyes took in an event that was as unusual (they had only previously practised together once, at Indian Wells in 2022) as it was awesome.
[ATP APP]During their first session, 14-time Roland Garros titlist Nadal and reigning Paris champ Alcaraz were focused on their singles campaigns. In the afternoon, after lunch, they returned to the court to put their minds to a challenge that has captured the imagination of the entire sports world: In Paris, Nadal and Alcaraz will play for Spain in doubles, competing together for the first time. Their high-profile partnership has stolen much of the limelight in the days leading up to the competition.
“The Olympic Games is the biggest event,” said Nadal. “We’ll be making an effort to ensure we can leave with the peace of mind that we have tried to go as far as possible. We haven’t been able to prepare like other pairs, but we have confidence in Carlos’ form. I hope that last week, when I spent a lot of time on court, helps me physically to raise the level so that this works.”
“I’m so excited as I arrive at the Games,” Alcaraz exclaimed. “I’m less experienced, but I hope to adapt quickly to doubles. For me it’s a dream to play with Rafa. The road is difficult but exciting. I’m going to enjoy it as much as possible. We hope to play many matches together. It’ll be something I never forget.”
Cómo debería llamarse esta pareja de dobles? 👀 @RafaelNadal pic.twitter.com/YqWI7LVfg6
— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) July 23, 2024
Preparations could not have been more different for the two players. While Alcaraz left London the Monday after winning Wimbledon and took a couple of days off before returning to practice on the clay courts in his native Murcia, Nadal competed in Bastad — his first event since Roland Garros — reaching the final before heading back to Paris.
The two stars will join forces in doubles competition for the first time Saturday as they embark on a campaign to earn an Olympic medal for Spain.
“We haven’t crossed paths much recently, but it’s an opportunity to spend some time together and learn from these new generations,” Nadal said. “Being with him is rejuvenating and it reminds you of when you were 20. It’s amazing to see him experience his first Olympic Games knowing that he is one of the star attractions, something he copes with amazingly well.
“He shows what a professional he is in the way he is with teammates, and that’s the legacy you leave in sport and for those teammates. He always has a smile and he’s happy to talk to anyone. It’s great to have role models like him,” added Nadal.
“I have everything to learn from Nadal,” countered Alcaraz. “The way he competes, his grit on court, never giving up on a single point… His ability to turn problems on their head is admirable and I always try to follow his example on and off the court. His humility, with everything he has achieved, is certainly commendable.”
Those mutual words of praise continued throughout Wednesday, amidst the jokes and light-hearted banter that were very much the flavour of the day: “You’re not allowed to wrong-foot him!” Carlos Moya told Alcaraz after the 21-year-old won a point by doing just that.
We will see their game faces on Saturday, but don’t be surprised to see a few more smiles, too.
This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Reilly Opelka went nearly two years without playing a tour-level match after undergoing hip surgery and later multiple wrist surgeries. The American made a successful comeback last week in Newport, where he reached the semi-finals.
ATPTour.com caught up with Opelka’s longtime coach, former No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings Jay Berger, about what he past two years have been like behind the scenes, the 26-year-old’s comeback and what he is most proud of his charge for.
In addition to the challenges Reilly has faced, it hasn’t been an easy couple of years for you either. How nice is it for you after being there for him throughout the process to see his good start?
It’s been an incredibly long two years. We had a kid really rising in the ranks and doing incredibly well, has one surgery, turns into two surgeries, turns into three surgeries. There’s certainly a personal side for me, because at a young age, I was at the top of my game and had a surgery and ended up not being able to come back. So any surgery you have, there are no guarantees.
Mostly I’m just blown away by the commitment he’s had to search for answers along so many different lines and the effort he puts in. I don’t think people realise how dedicated he is, how committed he is, and how resilient and determined he was to get back. And I do have some experience in this because I have experienced it myself, and my point along the way is that whatever it takes, it’s going to be worth it in the end.
The one match he played [at an ATP Challenger Tour event last year] was probably more incredible for him to get out there. And then, to play here [it has been] how his body’s reacting more than anything, and then certainly the way he’s playing. I thought he was playing pretty well, but you never know until you get out there.
You mentioned the resilience. People associate him with his fashion and the art interests and they don’t see how much work he puts in. How would you describe the extent to which he pushed?
He literally went to any extent to get better, from traveling to doctors. His days were therapy at seven to what he was eating to how he was going about his day, everything was about getting better, and really, for a long time, he wasn’t. And then to do it kind of three different times — you do it once for your hip, and you get all the way back, and then it happens with your wrist and you start to come back, and then you have to have a second surgery.
There were a lot of ups and downs and three to four months ago, I was not very optimistic to be honest. So his determination to just to see it to the end and to do everything possible to get back on the court… I mean, he is one of the most dedicated athletes I’ve ever seen or been around.
[ATP APP]Was Newport more about how he feels and just getting back into the rhythm than his result?
Yeah, that certainly is a bonus. It’s always nice to see him doing well. First of all, it gives us a good idea of what he needs to work on in these events. We came into [Newport] with success being, ‘I can play next week, I can get through a match and play next week.’ That was literally what success looked like to us.
We’re pretty process-focused, always have been since we started working [together]. So [we are] constantly looking at things, how can you do things better? But yeah, I think so far it has been really best-case scenario, whether he wins or loses, that his body has actually really held up remarkably well and I think it’s really a tribute to the work he’s put in. The guy is in the gym seven days a week, it’s really been an all-encompassing thing for him to get back.
He was telling me about how the hip was less of an issue and how after the hip surgery with his service motion he had more ability to sit further into his leg. What have you noticed?
Certainly it helps in some ways, and I think right at the end, the last two to three months of him playing when his hip was kind of bothering him a little bit, he stopped serving as well as normal. After the surgery, he came back and found his motion again. So he’s been serving well.
Overall, you’ve known Reilly since he’s relatively young.
11, 12, yeah.
How proud are you of the perseverance he has shown?
We’ve spent a lot of time and I was kind of was overseeing his programme when he was young, but he had some great coaches and some great mentors in Tom Gullikson and Brian Gottfried and people like Jim Loehr and Michael Sell, Andy Brandi.
He had some really great mentors. He was brought up to really appreciate knowledge and take advantage of it. I’m probably happiest [about] the kind of person he is and I probably wouldn’t be around somebody that’s not like that. I’ve been doing this for a while and the reason I do it with him is I enjoy it, he’s a great kid. He listens and keeps trying to get better.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]One year after beating home favourite Ben Shelton in the first round of the Atlanta Open, 19-year-old Shang Juncheng has earned himself a rematch with this year’s top seed.
The Chinese #NextGenATP star followed up two qualifying wins with a 6-1, 6-1 victory against American wild card Andres Martin on Wednesday in his first tour-level match since Wimbledon. In both of his Atlanta appearances, Shang has reached the second round after a successful qualifying campaign.
At No. 156 in the PIF ATP Rankings last year, he beat Shelton before bowing out against Kei Nishikori. This week, Shang is up to No. 86 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, setting himself up for a career high. He is also in fourth place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah.
[ATP APP]Reilly Opelka also earned an opening win on Wednesday, beating Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-3, 7-6(5) in an all-American matchup. Like Shang, Opelka did not drop serve in the match; both he and Shang saved two beak points, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
“I was impressed with my level. I kind of surprised myself,” Opelka said in his on-court interview.
The former World No. 17 is competing in his second ATP Tour event after a nearly two-year injury hiatus due to hip and wrist problems. But after reaching the Newport semi-finals in his first event back, Opelka continues to impress in Atlanta. He will next face fifth seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for a place in the quarter-finals.
“It’s as major of a difference as it gets,” he said, comparing the Newport grass to Atlanta’s hard courts. “It’s nicer coming from that to this, as opposed to the other way around. Every ball bounces true here. Especially when it’s hot, it’s a live court.
“There’s a reason why the other guy that kind of looks like me and plays like me [John Isner] has won it six times,” he joked. “It’s a bouncy court, servers like playing here.”
Serve-bot is back at it 🤖💥⚡️⚙️
Opelka wins against Kovacevic 6-3 7-6(5) @ATLOpenTennis | #AtlantaOpen pic.twitter.com/XD7pKuYDlZ
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 24, 2024
Also in first-round action, eighth seed Max Purcell outlasted fellow Aussie Christopher O’Connell 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Two men are already through to the quarter-finals: Mattia Bellucci and Arthur Rinderknech, who will meet in the last eight. Italy’s Bellucci hit 17 aces in a 7-6(8), 4-6, 6-3 uspset of second seed Adrian Mannarino, while Rinderknech did not face a break point in a 7-6(4), 6-3 win against Adam Walton.
For the second straight night in Atlanta, rain cancelled the evening session. Third seed Frances Tiafoe was set to take on Aslan Karatsev, followed by Mackenzie McDonald vs. Yoshihito Nishioka.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Second seed Lorenzo Musetti advanced to the quarter-finals of the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag Wednesday with a solid 6-4, 6-3 victory over Argentine Marco Trungelliti.
The Italian, No. 17 in the PIF ATP Rankings, rallied from an early 0-3 deficit in the opening set to claim the next five games and with it the momentum of the match, which he wrapped up in one hour and 51 minutes.
“First match on clay after a long grass season. It was not an easy start,” Musetti said post-match. “Marco was playing good. I had my chances in the first game, I didn’t break him and it was not easy to find the right balance.
“Then afterwards I think I raised my level. At the end I was serving better, playing more aggressive with the forehand, and that was probably the key of the match.”
[ATP APP]Musetti applied considerable pressure on Trungelliti’s serve, earning 11 break points and converting four, while saving two of the three break points on his own serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
The 22-year-old advanced to his first clay-court quarter-final since Hamburg 2023 and he will now play Serbian Dusan Lajovic.
This was Musetti’s first match since achieving a career-best Grand Slam result by reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals, where he lost to seven-time champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets. He is chasing his first ATP Tour title since 2022 (Naples).
Jakub Mensik continued to press his claim to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF when he defeated Luciano Darderi 6-4, 6-3 in the last match on centre court.
The 18-year-old Czech, No. 81 in the PIF ATP Rankings, traded several breaks with the Italian in a tight opening set before closing it out and gaining the upper hand. Converting four of his five break point opportunities according to Infosys ATP Stats, Mensik’s clinical return game helped him power to victory in one hour and 27 minutes. He advances to the quarter-finals, where he will face Tseng Chun-hsin.
He has become the youngest man since Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach tour level quarter-finals on all three surfaces, after reaching the last eight on hard courts in Doha, and grass courts in Mallorca.
Mensik currently sits third in the PIF ATP Race To Jeddah, behind Arthur Fils and Alex Michelsen.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Holger Rune withdrew from the Paris Olympics on Wednesday due to a wrist injury.
“I am really sorry that I will be unable to play the Olympics. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to playing and being a part of,” Rune wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I have played with pain in my wrist throughout both the clay and grass seasons, so I have to take the medical recommendations seriously.
“I will follow the Olympics from home and cheer on all the Danish athletes and I hope and believe that we can bring home many medals from Paris. Come on Denmark”
[ATP APP]I am really sorry that I will be unable to play the Olympics. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to playing and being a part of.
I have played with pain in my wrist throughout both the clay and grass season, so I have to take the medical recommendations seriously. I will…— Holger Rune (@holgerrune2003) July 24, 2024
Rune, who last year climbed to No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings, was poised to make his Olympics debut. The Danish star has tallied a 27-15 record this season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.
The 21-year-old competed last week in Hamburg, where he retired from his quarter-final match against eventual champion Arthur Fils while trailing 4-6, 1-4.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Matteo Berrettini extended his winning streak to seven matches on Wednesday in Kitzbühel when he ousted second seed Alejandro Tabilo 7-6(4), 7-6(5) for a place in the Generali Open quarter-finals.
“Definitely a tough match. He’s having a great season. He’s playing good, he’s got a lot of confidence, a tricky lefty so for sure he likes to play in these conditions,” Berrettini said. “But I was confident with my level. I think I was serving really well apart from when I served for the match.
“But it can happen, it’s tennis and really happy how I held my nerves and again two tie-breaks so it means that I was pretty focused and I think I did the right things in the right moments.”
Ascending in Austria ⚒️@MattBerrettini adds to his winning streak with a 7-6(4) 7-6(5) win over Tabilo to reach the QF!#GeneraliOpen pic.twitter.com/naw3DhOuye
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 24, 2024
Last week’s Gstaad champion Berrettini relied on his first serve, landing 81 per cent of his first deliveries and winning 79 per cent of those points, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The Italian failed to serve out the match at 5-3 in the second set, but remained calm to take a 2-0 lead in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
“Having the chance to just play, feeling good, feeling healthy, fighting for matches is just what I wanted for so many months,” Berrettini said. “So I’m enjoying it and I’m really looking forward for my next match.”
[ATP APP]The former No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings will next play American wild card Nicolas Moreno De Alboran, who eliminated fellow wild card Lukas Neumayer 6-4, 6-4. The 27-year-old reached his first ATP Tour quarter-final earlier this year in Marrakech.
Top seed and defending champion Sebastian Baez won an all-Argentine clash with Thiago Agustin Tirante 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 23 minutes.
Baez has already won two clay-court ATP Tour titles this season in Rio de Janeiro and Santiago and is trying to secure a third in Kitzbühel. One year ago, the Argentine defeated Dominic Thiem in the final.
In the first match of the day on centre court, German Yannick Hanfmann clawed past Brazilian lucky loser Gustavo Heide 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Hanfmann made the Kitzbühel final in 2020.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Andy Murray tells BBC sports editor Dan Roan that it is the “right time” for him to retire from tennis after the Paris Olympics – and he is happy with the decision.
World number one Jannik Sinner withdraws from the Paris Olympics with tonsillitis.
Americans Taylor Fritz and Coco Gauff are among the star-studded teams that headline the Paris Olympics mixed doubles field, which was announced Wednesday.
Gauff and Fritz are the second seeds, only behind top seeds Laura Siegemund and Alexander Zverev, who clinched Germany’s United Cup victory against Poland at the start of the season.
Other current or former Top 10 players in the PIF ATP Rankings who are competing in mixed doubles are Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (with Maria Sakkari), Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (with Gabirela Dabrowski), Daniil Medvedev (with Mirra Andreeva) and Kei Nishikori (with Ena Shibahara).
There are 16 teams in the event including four seeded pairs: top seeds Siegemund/Zverev, second seeds Gauff/Fritz, third seeds Matthew Ebden and Ellen Perez and fourth seeds Sakkari/Tsitsipas.
The draw ceremony for the Paris Olympics tennis events will take place on Thursday at Roland Garros. The full list of teams in the mixed doubles field is below:
[ATP APP]Laura Siegemund / Alexander Zverev (Germany) [1]
Coco Gauff / Taylor Fritz (USA) [2]
Ellen Perez / Matthew Ebden (Australia) [3]
Maria Sakkari / Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) [4]
Gabriela Dabrowski / Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada)
Sara Errani / Andrea Vavassori (Italy)
Sara Sorribes Tormo / Marcel Granollers (Spain)
Elena Rybakina / Alexander Bublik (Kazakhstan)
Donna Vekic / Mate Pavic (Croatia)
Caroline Garcia / Edouard Roger-Vasselin (France)
Mirra Andreeva / Daniil Medvedev
Zheng Qinwen / Zhang Zhizhen (China)
Katerina Siniakova / Tomas Machac (Czech Republic)
Demi Schuurs / Wesley Koolhof (Netherlands)
Heather Watson / Joe Salisbury (Great Britain)
Ena Shibahara / Kei Nishikori (Japan)