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Djokovic Made To Wait By Eastbourne Rain

  • Posted: Jun 27, 2017

Djokovic Made To Wait By Eastbourne Rain

Organisers forced to postpone 12 singles and doubles matches on day two

Heavy rain at Devonshire Park in Eastbourne, venue of the Aegon International, meant that fans could only watch under 10 minutes of play on Tuesday.

Vasek Pospisil was serving at 0-1, 15/30 against World No. 4 Novak Djokovic when rain began to fall at 11:22 a.m. local time. Top seed Djokovic is competing at a grass-court event prior to Wimbledon for the first time since the 2010 Aegon Championships.

You May Also Like: Djokovic Ready To Switch It Up In Eastbourne

Elsewhere, Ryan Harrison leads sixth seed Mischa Zverev 2-1 and Thomas Fabbiano has won the opening game against fellow qualifier Franko Skugor.

Organisers of the ATP World Tour 250 tournament finally called off play for the day shortly before 5 p.m. local time.

Wimbledon Qualifying Washed Out

Day 2 of Wimbledon qualifying was also a washout, with none of the second-round qualifying matches on Tuesday making it on court due to ongoing showers.

All of these matches will take place on Wednesday, with eight #NextGenATP players scheduled to bid for a place in the final round of qualifying. View the full order of play here.

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Murray pulls out of Pouille match with sore hip

  • Posted: Jun 27, 2017

World number one Andy Murray has pulled out of his first exhibition match at Hurlingham Club with a sore hip.

The Briton, who was knocked out in the first round at Queen’s last week, was due to play France’s Lucas Pouille at the Aspall Tennis Classic.

Murray is still expected to play on Friday before he begins the defence of his Wimbledon title on 3 July.

The 30-year-old last played at Hurlingham in 2014 after he lost in the last 16 at Queen’s.

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Elsewhere, world number two Novak Djokovic managed two games against Canadian Vasek Pospisil at Eastbourne before rain delayed play.

The Serb, appearing in his first pre-Wimbledon tournament for seven years, was forced to save two break points in his opening service game.

German world number one Angelique Kerber and British number one Johanna Konta, ranked seventh, are also due on Centre Court at Eastbourne later on Tuesday.

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Qualifier Safwat Saves 5 MP, Marach Notches 300th Win

  • Posted: Jun 27, 2017

Qualifier Safwat Saves 5 MP, Marach Notches 300th Win

Top seed Thiem to face Ramanathan in the second round

Egyptian qualifier Mohamed Safwat saved five match points in the Antalya Open first round against Cem Ilkel, beating the home hope 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(7) on Monday. A second-round clash against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino awaits the 26-year-old Turkish player.

Top seed Dominic Thiem will open his campaign in Antalya against Ramkumar Ramanathan in the second round after the Indian qualifier defeated Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-3, 6-4. Second seed Paolo Lorenzi will face Radu Albot in his opener. The Moldovan beat Joao Sousa 7-6(2), 6-2.

Carlos Berlocq scored an upset win over No. 6 seed Viktor Troicki. The Argentine saved 11 of the 15 break points he faced to win 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. Marcos Baghdatis, a 6-2, 6-1 winner over Nikoloz Basilashvili, and Yuichi Sugita, who beat Matthew Ebden 6-1, 6-3, also advanced.

Oliver Marach scored his 300th doubles match win when he and partner Mate Pavic, the second seeds, beat Victor Estrella Burgos and Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-2.

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Serena Williams: John McEnroe believes she would struggle on men's circuit

  • Posted: Jun 27, 2017

Serena Williams would struggle to be in the world’s top 700 if she was on the men’s circuit, according to seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe.

And the male player ranked 701 in the world – Dmitry Tursunov – believes he could beat her too.

Speaking to US radio station NPR, McEnroe said of world number one Williams, who has won an Open-era record 23 Grand Slams: “If she played the men’s circuit she’d be, like, 700 in the world.”

He qualified the comments by saying: “That doesn’t mean I don’t think Serena is an incredible player, and I suppose anything’s possible; maybe at some point a women’s tennis player can be better than anybody.”

But he added: “I just haven’t seen that in any other sport, and I haven’t seen it in tennis. If she had to just play the men’s circuit, it would be an entirely different story.”

Williams later responded on Twitter: “Dear John, I adore and respect you but please please keep me out of your statements that are not factually based.

“I’ve never played anyone ranked “there” nor do I have time. Respect me and my privacy as I’m trying to have a baby. Good day sir.”

‘She is pregnant, and I’m not’

Tursunov, 34, was once ranked as high as 20th in the world.

The Russian told BBC World Service Sport he did not think McEnroe was “trying to talk women’s tennis down” but said “the reality” was that “men are stronger in general”.

“I would hope that I would win against Serena,” he added.

“It would be a similar argument to: who would run faster, the fastest woman or the fastest man? Tennis is becoming more and more a physical sport, so it’s going to be hard for a woman to beat the men.

“It’s not black and white, there are lots of factors to take into account. Physically I might not be in the best shape of my life but as an overall package I’m much better than my ranking would suggest. She is pregnant, and I’m not.

“I’ve never heard John say anything absolutely stupid – he knows his stuff. What he said about her being an incredible player is correct – explosive, powerful and she puts in a lot of work. But I would hope that I would win.”

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Djokovic Ready To Switch It Up In Eastbourne

  • Posted: Jun 27, 2017

Djokovic Ready To Switch It Up In Eastbourne

Top seed plays opening match on Tuesday

Novak Djokovic hasn’t played an ATP World Tour event on grass leading into Wimbledon since 2010, but he’s ready to try something new in hopes of a big run at the Aegon International in Eastbourne. 

After more than a decade at the top of the sport, Djokovic’s tournament schedule has reflected that of a man who thrives on routine and familiarity. But in his first visit to Eastbourne, the Serbian has already been enjoying the tournament amenities and charm of this seaside town.

“It’s great to visit a new place and be part of a new event. We more or less have the same schedule each year, so I don’t get to experience that too often,” said Djokovic. “There are a lot of matches and a lot of people coming out to watch and support the players. You can feel the appreciation for tennis that they have here. They love this event, so it’s obviously a pleasure to be here.”

You May Also Like: Djokovic Accepts Eastbourne Wild Card

Comparatively short on match play compared to recent seasons, Djokovic took a late wild card and believes the on-court time this week can only benefit him. The World No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, who plays qualifier Vasek Pospisil in his opening round, has never won a grass-court event outside of Wimbledon. He reached the Queen’s Club final in 2008 (l. Nadal) and Halle in 2009 (l.Haas).

“I was fortunate to have lots of matches and lots of success in the first part of the year over the years, especially on the clay courts and always reaching the final stages of Roland Garros. And because of the old schedule, we had a week less (on grass), which was a bit challenging obviously coming from the slowest to the fastest surface in the sport. It’s a big shift in only a few days,” said Djokovic. “I knew I wanted to play one this year, but thought Queen’s and Halle would be too early for me. That’s the reason why I came to Eastbourne. And it’s a new place, so it does give me that extra motivation to be here.”

Djokovic won’t have Andre Agassi in his camp for Eastbourne, but the 1992 Wimbledon champion will be with him at SW19 for as long as he remains in the tournament. The Serbian believes they got off to a positive start in their coaching arrangement for Roland Garros and is eager to see it continue.

“The eight or nine days that we spent together at Roland Garros were very valuable for me to get to know him and learn from him. We shared a lot of experiences on and off the court. Having him around is not only great for myself, but also for tennis,” said Djokovic. “I can see how much he cares about the game and how much he knows it. It was very interesting to hear his perspective on tennis before and now, how he analyses my game and what he sees with things to improve moving forward. I’m just looking forward to spending as much quality time with Andre as I can.” 

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