They’ll have a hard time finding better scenery anywhere.

To kick off this year’s Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech, wild cards Fabio Fognini of Italy and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France joined Tunisian Malek Jaziri and tournament director Hicham Arazi of Morocco for a light-hearted hit on Marrakech’s famous Djemaa el Fna square.

Fabio Fognini, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Malek Jaziri and Tournament Director Hicham Arazi have fun ahead of the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech. (Photo: Hakim Wiseman Joundy)

Hundreds of spectators watched team Africa (Arazi/Jaziri) beat team Europe (Fognini/Tsonga) in an entertaining tie-break match. The players all enjoyed their time in the city, especially Fognini, who is making his first appearance at the Marrakech tournament.

“I’m happy to be here in Marrakech and hope to play well this week. The atmosphere here on the square is very fascinating, and it was a pleasure to share the court with those players and play in front of the enthusiastic crowd. I hope they will all come on-site and support me,” said Fognini, who, at No. 18 in the ATP Rankings, is the second seed.

View Marrakech Draw

Jaziri, on the other hand, is making his third consecutive showing at the ATP 250 tournament. The 35-year-old, who at No. 66, is the highest-ranked Arab player, reached the quarter-finals last year (l. to Edmund).

“It’s great to bring tennis in the city and play in front of tourists and on such a legendary landmark like Djemaa el Fna. I always enjoy playing in Morocco,” he said.

Tsonga, still on the comeback from left knee surgery one year ago, also had a great time. The Frenchman opens against German Cedrik-Marcel Stebe.

“I was here as a tourist a couple years ago and now I’m back playing tennis, which feels great,” Tsonga said.

Top seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan will have some top-level competition at this week’s Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship, which starts Monday in Houston.

The six-time champions will open against American wild cards Robert Galloway and Nathaniel Lammons, but looming on the other side of the draw are wild cards Jordan Thompson and Lleyton Hewitt. The Aussies played together earlier this year at the Sydney International, where they made the semi-finals (l. to Cabal/Farah).

Houston will be Hewitt’s fifth doubles event of the year. The 38-year-old Hewitt, who retired from singles in 2016, also played in Brisbane with #NextGenATP Aussie Alex de Minaur, at the Australian Open with countryman John-Patrick Smith and at the New York Open with 19-year-old Aussie Alexei Popyrin.

“I’m lucky I could still go out there and compete reasonably well on the doubles court. It’s easier on your body and covering half the court. For me, to play with the young Australians is exciting,” Hewitt said at the New York Open in February. “I get to know them a little bit better as well and [see] how they handle different situations.”

The Bryan brothers won their sixth Miami Open presented by Itau and their 39^th ATP Masters 1000 title on 30 March. It was their second title since Bob returned to action in January (Delray Beach). He missed eight months last year because of a right hip injury that required him to undergo hip replacement surgery last August.

Read & Watch: Bryan Brothers Back In Business With Sixth Miami Title

Novak Djokovic’s tennis career is going swimmingly well, but when the Serbian decides to put away his racquets for good, he could have a successful second career in acting if he wants.

The World No. 1 plays a starring role in the funniest moments of the 2019 ATP Tour season so far. Djokovic’s impression of an Italian journalist at the Australian Open, and when he taught his trademark celebration to Italy’s No. 1 Fabio Fognini made the cut.

Rafael Nadal, Nick Kyrgios and Felix Auger-Aliassime also feature prominently in the hilarious compilation. Watch Now

Why does Rafael Nadal stand so far back to return serve, especially on clay?

It’s an extreme strategy that other players seldom employ to the same degree, but it works wonders for the Spaniard. An Infosys Insights deep dive into Rafael Nadal’s dominant return game on clay courts reveals that his ultra-deep court position to return serve creates several small benefits that all add up to one big advantage.

The data set comes from a random sampling of 20 of Nadal’s clay court matches in the past two seasons, where he went 18-2. The two losses both came against Dominic Thiem, at the 2018 Mutua Madrid Open and the 2017 Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.

Advantage One: More Returns In
When Nadal stands way back, the serve naturally slows down more at contact than it does for a returner who stands closer to the baseline. Nadal also gets to make contact with the ball at a lower height, which is much more in the strike zone around his waist than up higher around his shoulders. All that adds up to more returns back in the court.

The return of serve stroke typically has a shorter, blocking motion compared to a regular groundstroke. But because Nadal stands so far back and creates more time, he is able to take full cuts at the return and deal with it much more as a full-blooded swing than a blocking stroke.

20-Match Analysis
First-Serve Returns Made
Nadal = 84.1%
Opponents = 79.4%

Second-Serve Returns Made
Nadal = 90%
Opponents = 85.2%

More returns in means fewer free points for the server.

Advantage Two: More Points Won
Once Nadal makes his return from deep near the back of the court, he immediately looks to move forward to a more regular baseline position to develop the point. Very few players have the strength to return the ball deep to the server when standing so far back in the court to return, which is one of the reasons why more players don’t do it.

Nadal not only puts more returns in play, he wins the ensuing rallies considerably more often than his opponents, who are returning from a more traditional position.

20-Match Analysis
First-Serve Returns Won
Nadal = 44.7%
Opponents = 31.1%

Second-Serve Returns Won
Nadal = 52.4%
Opponents = 33.2%

The obvious two questions:

Would Nadal enjoy such healthy win percentages over his opponents if he stood in a more traditional return position? Probably not.

Should opponents stand far back like Nadal to return serve as well? Again, not advisable.

Nadal has made a career out of hitting an extreme forehand with extreme technique that works for him. The same can be said of his ultra-deep return location.

The beauty of our sport is that there are many different ways to be successful, and what works incredibly well for one player may not be a good fit for another.

The human highlight reel is at it again. Dustin Brown is making his mark on the ATP Challenger Tour event in Sophia Antipolis, France, claiming Hot Shot honours en route to the semis.

Facing Italy’s Matteo Donati in Friday’s Mouratoglou Open quarter-finals, Brown found himself just two points from the finish line at 5-2 0/30 in the second set. And the 34-year-old wasted little time in securing the victory, striking a sublime mid-rally backspin shot that leapt back over the net to his side of the court.

It was yet another moment of moment from the German, who was standing well behind the baseline when he abruptly halted the rally and earned his first match point. Two points later, he had punched his ticket into the last four.

Brown is into his first semi-final of the year and is projected to return to the Top 200 of the ATP Rankings, following an injury-plagued (back) 2018 campaign.

The Grand Prix Hassan II is the lone ATP Tour event held in Africa. Here’s all you need to know about Houston tennis tournament: when is the draw, what is the schedule, where to watch, who won and more.

First Edition In Marrakech: 2016

Tournament Dates: 8-14 April 2019

Tournament Director: Hicham Arazi

Draw Ceremony: Saturday, 6 April at 3pm

Are You In? Subscribe To Get Tournament Updates In Your Inbox

Schedule
* Qualifying: Sunday at 11am

* Main draw: Monday-Friday at 11am, Saturday at 12pm

* Doubles final: Saturday, TBC

* Singles final: Sunday, 14 April at 2pm

How To Watch
Watch Live On Tennis TV

Venue: Royal Tennis Club de Marrakech

Prize Money: € 524,340 (Total Financial Commitment: € 586,140)

Tickets On Sale: Buy Now

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Honour Roll (Open Era)
Most Titles, Singles: Pablo Andujar (3)

Most Titles, Doubles: Horia Tecau (3)

Oldest Champion: Pablo Andujar, 32, in 2018

Youngest Champion: Borna Coric, 20, in 2017

Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 355 Pablo Andujar in 2018

Most Match Wins: Younes El Aynaoui (27)

2018 Finals
Singles: [PR] Pablo Andujar (ESP) d [2] Kyle Edmund (GBR) 62 62 Read & Watch

Doubles: [1] Nikola Mektic (CRO) / Alexander Peya (AUT) d Benoit Paire (FRA) / Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) 75 36 10-7 Read More

Did You Know… The Grand Prix Hassan II was inaugurated as an ATP Challenger event in 1984 and as an ATP Tour tournament in 1990.

The Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship has long had the best players in the world competing for its titles. Past winners include the likes of Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander, Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick. It is the only ATP World Tour event in the U.S. contested on clay.

Here’s all you need to know about Houston tennis tournament: when is the draw, what is the schedule, where to watch, who won and more.

First Edition In Houston: 2001

Tournament Dates: 8-14 April 2019

Tournament Director: Bronwyn Greer

Draw Ceremony: Friday, 5 April at 4pm

Are You In? Subscribe To Get Tournament Updates In Your Inbox

Schedule (View On Official Website)
* Qualifying: Saturday at 10am and Sunday at 11am

* Main draw: Monday at 3pm & 6pm, Tuesday to Friday at 12pm & 6pm, Saturday at 1pm

* Doubles final: Immediately following 1pm matches on Saturday

* Singles final: Sunday, 14 April at 2pm

How To Watch
Watch Live On Tennis TV

Tennis Channel Schedule
Monday, April 8: 3pm – 10pm

Tuesday, April 9: 2 pm – 10 pm

Wednesday, April 10: 12 pm – 8 pm

Thursday, April 11: 12 pm – 4 pm; 6 pm – 10 pm

Friday, April 12: 12 pm – 8 pm

Saturday, April 13: 1 pm – 6:30 pm

Sunday, April 14: 2 pm – 4 pm

Venue: River Oaks Country Club

Main Court Seating: 3,000

Prize Money: US $ 583,585 (Total Financial Commitment: US $ 652,245)

Tickets On Sale: Buy Now

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Honour Roll (Open Era)
Most Titles, Singles: Jimmy Connors (4)

Most Titles, Doubles: Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan (6)

Oldest Champion: Andre Agassi, 32, in 2003

Youngest Champion: Andre Agassi, 18, in 1988

Lowest-Ranked Champion (since 1979): No. 352 Fernando Gonzalez in 2000

Most Match Wins: Jimmy Connors (36)

2018 Finals
Singles: [6] Steve Johnson (USA) d [8] Tennys Sandgren (USA) 76(2) 26 64 Read & Watch

Doubles: Max Mirnyi (BLR) / Philipp Oswald (AUT) d Andre Begemann (GER) / Antonio Sancic (CRO) 67(2) 64 11-9 Read More

Social
Hashtag: #USClay

Facebook: @mensclaycourt

Twitter: @mensclaycourt

Instagram: @mensclaycourt

Did You Know… The U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship began in 1910 in Omaha with the idea of encouraging the establishment of more clay courts in the West.

John Isner was flying high into the Miami Open presented by Itau final, reaching the championship match in South Florida without dropping a set. But the 2018 champion quickly lost the first set against Roger Federer, and began feeling pain in his left foot a couple of games into the second. The American finished the match, but he was clearly in pain, returning home to find out he has a stress fracture in his left foot that doctors say will keep him sidelined for three to six weeks.

The good thing for Isner is that while he is home, he gets to spend plenty of time with his six-month-old daughter Hunter Grace.

“It helps so much. She takes up a lot of my time even though I can’t really do that much. I have to be off my feet,” Isner told ATPTour.com. “I just actually fed her sitting on the couch and had a lot of fun doing that. But it certainly takes my mind off the injury. Sitting here right now I have nothing to complain about whatsoever. I’m keeping a very positive mindset on all of this because life is pretty good.”

The good news for Isner is that he is hoping to return for the Mutua Madrid Open, an ATP Masters 1000 tournament that begins on 3 May. The American will hope to maintain the confidence he has built by winning 15 of his past 20 matches. Isner’s 15-7 start in 2019 is his best start ahead of the clay-court season since 2012 when he went 15-6.

“I consider myself very fortunate. I could have hurt myself in my second match and had to have probably lost that match or pulled out of the tournament. There was just one match to go and of course I was thrilled to be in the final. I wanted to put on a little bit of a better show out there but I was also up against the greatest player of all-time,” Isner said. “Being in the final of a Masters, I could definitely draw confidence from that for sure. When I come back, if it’s Madrid, I won’t have hit many balls before my first match. But I could look back knowing the last tournament I played I made the final and it was a very big tournament.”

The World No. 10 doesn’t know exactly when the injury occurred. But it was extremely painful, and while he battled to the best of his ability, he knew there was not much he could do against Federer.

“It was just any time I put weight on my left foot. Serving puts a lot of weight on my left foot, that’s my predominant leg when I’m serving. Any other movement that required any sort of push off my left leg was pretty excruciating,” Isner said. “It was a tough, tough feeling because there’s nothing you could do. There’s no hiding it out there. You can’t play through that pain, either. You’re stuck out there. It’s a pretty miserable feeling.”

Isner is doing his best to stay off his feet at home in Dallas, Texas. The only time he’s really leaving the house is when he has to go get treatment on his foot.

“For the most part the more I stay off my foot the better. The less pressure that’s on my foot, the quicker it’s going to heal,” Isner said. “It’s tough for me because it seems counterproductive. Even when I’ve been hurt in the past I’ve always been able to actively recover. But this is a tough one to actively recover.”

The 2018 Nitto ATP Finals qualifier says that the toughest part of the situation is how immobile he has to stay. Even if his foot is 100 per cent ready, but he is not in satisfactory ‘tennis shape’, he’s not going to rush back to compete in Madrid. He plans on taking his time so that he is completely over the injury before playing again.

“I’ve been pretty used to being healthy the past bunch of years. I take a lot of pride in keeping myself healthy even though it’s not an easy task whatsoever,” Isner said. “Being on the shelf right now, as far as times of the season go, it’s not a horrible time. It’s just foreign to me because I’m so used to training when I’m home and working out and being very, very active. Because my foot is hurt, it’s very hard to do all of that.”

Isner was looking forward to competing at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship next week in Houston, as he could drive from his home to the event. But he’s likely to not be able to even practise next week, so he had to make the tough decision to withdraw.

“I’m absolutely bummed to be missing Houston considering it’s a tournament I can drive to and a tournament I’ve never missed in my whole career. I played it 12 years in a row,” Isner said. “This year I’m going to miss it and that’s pretty tough to swallow because I really enjoy playing there.”

For now, Isner is doing his best to remain positive, rest up, and set his sights on Madrid and beyond.

“It’s all about how I feel. It’s all about how my foot feels, if I could put all my weight on my leg and as of now I can’t do that at all,” Isner said. “I’ve always been a fast healer when things have popped up here and there. I do believe that I’m going to get over this in a very quick fashion. It won’t be tomorrow or the next day or probably next week. So I just have to give it time.”

Which actor would you want to portray you in a movie about your life? Is there a movie character whom you would want to be?

Those are the questions that some of the best tennis players recently answered in an ATP Tour exclusive.

What do you think, @chrishemsworth? ?

Think you could play @denis_shapo on the big screen? ?? pic.twitter.com/bGwsNRxaGK

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) April 4, 2019

Tomas Berdych – James Bond
Alex de Minaur – Hugh Jackman
David Goffin – Leonardo DiCaprio
Karen Khachanov – Liam Hemsworth
Gael Monfils – Denzel Washington
Kei Nishikori – Batman
Milos Raonic – John Malkovich (no resemblance, but big fan of his acting)
Diego Schwartzman – Gerard Butler
Denis Shapovalov – Chris Hemsworth
Frances Tiafoe – Kevin Hart

Khachanov looks especially similar to Liam Hemsworth, who was in The Hunger Games series. The similarity was even covered by Buzzfeed and People.

pic.twitter.com/PF1OaZ0XQN

— Karen Khachanov (@karenkhachanov) February 15, 2019

Yeah I am the 4th brother?? https://t.co/I5pG9vjixY

— Karen Khachanov (@karenkhachanov) September 5, 2018

The stars of the ATP Tour can be identified by their strokes, their unique celebrations and their pre-point routines. But if you close your eyes and listen closely, you may be able to identify them by something else: their grunts.

ATPTour.com challenged Alexander Zverev, Jeremy Chardy, Kyle Edmund, Steve Johnson and Andrey Rublev to the ‘Guess The Grunt Challenge’, to see who would be able to figure out which grunts belong to which player.

One of the stars scored a perfect score while others were left bargaining for partial credit. Find out who was successful by watching the video above or in the tweet below.

On a scale of Jeremy Chardy to Alexander Zverev, how good are you at guessing the player by their grunt? ?? pic.twitter.com/tffdViyZru

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) April 3, 2019