Norwegian teen rapidly rising up Emirates ATP Rankings
Casper Ruud decided to forgo this year’s US Open junior events in order to play his first ATP Challenger Tour tournament. Less than two weeks later, the Norwegian teenager has already graduated to the ATP World Tour.
The 17 year old will make his ATP World Tour main draw debut later this month after receiving a wild card into the Chengdu Open, held from 26 September to 2 October. Ruud’s father, Christian Ruud, competed on the ATP World Tour throughout the ‘90s, reaching a career-high ranking of No. 39 in October 1995.
“You have to take it day by day and I’m just trying my best every day and working hard,” said Casper. “Anything can happen, but I’m going to stay humble and just try to work every day.”
The teenager came through qualifying to win last week’s $75,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Seville, Spain. He became the fourth youngest player to win an ATP Challenger Tour event in their debut, joining prestigious champions including Michael Chang, Richard Gasquet and Jonathan Stark. Ruud is also the youngest ATP Challenger Tour winner since Alexander Zverev in 2014.
“Given his recent Challenger, it was an easy decision to give him the coveted wild card,” said Tournament Director Nick Freyer. “He was outside the top 1000 in the [Emirates] ATP Rankings at the start of the year, but his results have taken him to a career high ranking of 274 this week. [It’s] outstanding by any measure, especially so given his young age.”
Nick Kyrgios, Grigor Dimitrov and Pablo Carreno Busta are among the top players competing in the inaugural edition of the Chengdu Open.
Andy Murray expects a tough test from Juan Martin del Potro when the two go head-to-head in the Davis Cup for the first time since the Olympic final in Rio.
READ MORE: Davis Cup 2016 Preview – GB v Argentina
Paul Ryb loved all forms of sport before he lost his sight in 2007. Monica Smith never got into sport until later in life because she thought, in her twenties, “I can’t see so I can’t do anything.”
Both – and many others who are visually impaired – are enjoying playing tennis.
“It’s quite liberating to play, because sometimes you forget that you can’t see,” adds Ekinath Khedekar.
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Spaniard returning from six-month lay-off
After six months on the sidelines with a right elbow injury, Tommy Robredo is set to make his comeback on the ATP World Tour next week at the Moselle Open in Metz.
The 34-year-old Robredo last competed on the ATP World Tour in February at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where he fell to Novak Djokovic in the first round. Since then, the Spaniard has endured a tough spell away from the court after having surgery.
“It’s been hard,” Robredo told ATPWorldTour.com. “Firstly having to make the decision to have surgery, because after Dubai I had a tear in the tendon and I tried to avoid the operating theatre. I spent some time doing rehabilitation, but after a month and a half, we saw that it hadn’t mended at all so we opted for the surgery.”
After first detecting the injury in Dubai, Robredo initially hoped to return in April at the Barcelona Open BancSabadell. But the doctors confirmed that surgery would be the best way to get back on the court. As such, there followed a lengthy stretch of recuperation and rehabilitation.
“Technically it’s been four months of recuperation,” said Robredo. “The first two months were hard because you have to come to terms with not training or competing. The third and fourth months, when you know you’re getting close, are when you put your foot down a bit. You’re excited to get back.”
Robredo’s 19 years of experience as a professional, the team he has around him and the people closest to him have been an important an important part of his recuperation. “The dream of coming back has always been there, working day after day with my team, with the physio, with my coach. It all helps,” said Robredo. “It’s all gone well. Also being at home with my family, with my friends, with my girlfriend has meant my return has been faster and more enjoyable.
The Spaniard, who has received a wild card into the Moselle Open, where he lifted the trophy in 2007 (d. Murray), made a tentative comeback on the ATP Challenger Tour last week in Genova. “I was really looking forward to playing again. Now in Metz, I think I will play better.”
After playing just six matches so far in 2016, Robredo is keen for as much court time as he can get as the season draws to a close in the coming weeks. “The goal is to play as many matches as possible so that my arm improves and I can start 2017 in top form,” said the Spaniard.
“There are going to be some difficult months ahead because having to start playing with pain is annoying and it isn’t easy. The goal is to get back to 100 per cent next year and give my all to see if we can have another great run, another great comeback and get back to where I really want to be on the ATP World Tour.”
| Davis Cup semi-final, Great Britain v Argentina |
|---|
| Venue: Emirates Arena, Glasgow Dates: 16-18 September |
| Coverage: Live on BBC TV, radio, online and social media. |
Andy Murray will take on former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro in the opening match of defending champions Great Britain’s Davis Cup semi-final against Argentina in Glasgow on Friday.
Murray, the world number two, will play Del Potro at 13:00 BST, followed by Kyle Edmund against Guido Pella.
Del Potro, ranked 64th in the world as he makes his way back from injury, lost to Murray in August’s Olympic final.
Andy and Jamie Murray will play together in Saturday’s doubles match.
Andy Murray will miss his paternal grandfather’s funeral on Friday to play on the opening day, with his brother Jamie expected to attend the funeral.
| Great Britain v Argentina (best-of-five tie) |
|---|
| Friday: Andy Murray v Juan Martin del Potro |
| Friday: Kyle Edmund v Guido Pella |
| Saturday: Andy Murray & Jamie Murray v Federico Delbonis & Leonardo Mayer |
| Sunday: Andy Murray v Guido Pella |
| Sunday: Kyle Edmund v Juan Martin del Potro |
The brothers are set to take on Federico Delbonis and Leonardo Mayer on Saturday, although team captains can change their nominations up to one hour before the start of play.
GB captain Leon Smith left doubles specialist Dom Inglot out of his final four to give himself another singles option for Sunday’s final matches in Dan Evans.
“It’s a difficult choice because both Dan and Kyle are playing great tennis,” Smith said of selecting Edmund over Evans for the second singles match.
“They’re pretty much neck and neck in the rankings, they both have really good Davis Cup experience now.”
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Britain are attempting to retain the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936, having won the tournament for the first time in 79 years in 2015.
Croatia host France in Zadar in the other semi-final.
Murray and Del Potro are the headline names in the Glasgow tie but meet on day one because the Argentine is the second-ranked singles player in their team following three wrist surgeries.
Del Potro, 27, who won the 2009 US Open, beat Novak Djokovic at the Olympic Games in Rio before losing a four-hour final to Murray, and then reached the last eight in this year’s US Open.
“I will be fresh tomorrow and I know how my level is at this moment,” said Del Potro. “I will try to play aggressive all the time. We’ll see if I can give the first point to my team.”
Edmund, 21, was selected ahead of Evans as Britain’s second singles player after rising to 55th in the world and reaching the fourth round at the US Open.
He has played Pella, the world number 49, once before, with the 26-year-old Argentine winning in three sets at Indian Wells this year.
Defending champions Great Britain face Argentina in the Davis Cup semi-final in Glasgow starting on Friday.
The hosts won 4-1 the last time the countries met – on the clay of Buenos Aires in 2008 – Britain’s 23rd consecutive defeat in World Group matches.
BBC Sport looks at how things have changed since.
Watch live coverage of Great Britain’s Davis Cup semi-final against Argentina across TV, radio, online and social media.
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“Can you be Number 1?” Charlie Rose asked US Open champion Stan Wawrinka during a sit-down interview on Monday.
“No,” laughed Wawrinka, his shiny new trophy on the table next to him. “I won three Grand Slams, but I’m not consistent enough during the year. If you look, Novak [Djokovic] is making a final or winning every tournament that he’s playing. I can play amazing, I can win a Grand Slam, but I’m not playing well enough in the year.”
The buzz of his third major title had yet to lift as the 31-year-old Swiss chatted with the American talk show host about his friendship with compatriot Roger Federer, how he deals with stress, coach Magnus Norman’s influence and what practice is like with World No. 1 Djokovic.
“We push each other in practice… try to improve most of the time,” said Wawrinka. “It’s good fun also because we like each other.”
Wawrinka’s appearance on Charlie Rose was part of a media tour in New York City, which also saw him visit “Live With Kelly” and play Wii Tennis with Jimmy Fallon. Watch
NextGen star out since Roland Garros due to injury
NextGen star Hyeon Chung is back after four months out due to injury, but he’s picking up right where he left off.
Competing in the first tournament of his comeback at the $50,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Nanchang, China, the 20 year old from Korea has moved into the quarterfinals without dropping a set. Although he admitted that the rehab process took longer than expected, he’s now fully healthy and ready to make another climb up the Emirates ATP Rankings.
“After Roland Garros, I found out after I lost my [first-round] match that I had injured my abs,” said Chung. “I did nothing for two weeks and then slowly began training. I want to see now if I’m able to do everything that I could before.”
During his time away from the court, Chung said he was motivated by the success of other young Korean players on the ATP Challenger Tour, including Duckhee Lee and Soon Woo Kwon.
“We’re all friends,” said Chung. “Duckhee is playing Davis Cup now, but we all played the same tournaments growing up. We’re all pushing each other to get better.”
Chung made headlines last year for his rapid rise up the Emirates ATP Rankings, climbing from No. 169 to No. 51 in 12 months. He won four ATP Challenger Tour titles in 2015 and finished as runner-up in two other Challenger events. Chung also reached his first ATP World Tour quarterfinal that October at the Shenzhen Open.
Having added new weapons to his game during his time away from the court, he’s optimistic about cracking the Top 50 of the Emirates ATP Rankings next year.
“I made a few changes to my serve and my balance on my forehand,” said Chung. “This week was my first match in four months, so it’s not great yet, but I’m going to keep trying. I just want to keep going and play more Challengers.”