Tennis News

From around the world

Del Potro Delights In Munich, Dimitrov Enjoys Bosphorus Boat Ride

  • Posted: Apr 28, 2016

Del Potro Delights In Munich, Dimitrov Enjoys Bosphorus Boat Ride

It hasn’t all been about tennis for players this week. ATPWorldTour.com provides a recap of the highlights.

Follow all the latest off-court action on MyATP! Download the app for iPhone or Android or visit MyATP.com.

BMW Open by FWU AG – Munich, Germany

The player party was a jam-packed affair with Dominic Thiem, Gael Monfils, David Goffin, Fabio Fognini, Thomaz Bellucci, Lukas Rosol, Ivan Dodig, Malek Jaziri, Dustin Brown, Alexander Peya, Neal Skupski, Ken Skupski and many more stars in attendance. German comedian Oliver Pocher hosted the event and presented Philipp Kohlschreiber with the Iphitos Award.

Juan Martin del Potro attended a meet-and-greet at the Emirates Suite to post for photos and sign autographs.

Bellucci, Marcelo Melo, Dodig, Victor Estrella Burgos, Denis Istomin, Mikhail Kukushkin, Oliver Marach and Jan-Lennard Struff participated in a pro-am with tournament sponsors. 

Alexander Zverev joined in on the fun at the pro-am dinner party for an interview on stage.

Mischa Zverev, Oliver Marach and Fabrice Martin participated in kids’ day activities, signing autographs and sitting in the hot seat for Q&A sessions.

Millennium Estoril Open – Estoril, Portugal

Borna Coric and Joao Sousa visited the Cascais Lighthouse and the historic Casa Santa Maria on the scenic coastline of Estoril. Watch Video

Sousa also joined Gilles Simon and Nick Kyrgios at the tournament’s launch party at the Forte da Cruz. Watch Video

Simon and Kyrgios got their need for speed when they visited the Autódromo do Estoril to test out some sport-tuned Peugeot cars with professional Portuguese drivers. Read & Watch

“It was very nice and the first time on a track like this,” said Simon. “It was really impressive how fast the professional drivers could go, especially on the bends and their breaking. At times you think you’re doing a U-turn. It’s a lot of stress if you’re not used to it, but I had a lot of confidence in the driver.”

Joao Sousa had the honour of meeting his country’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, when the dignitary visited the site to take in some tennis. Read more

Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi teamed up with two wheelchair tennis players for a doubles match on Stadium 3. Huey and Mirnyi also joined a number or ATP players, including Sousa, Rogerio Dutra Silva, Nicolas Almagro, Fred Gil, Leonardo Mayer and Borna Coric, in autograph sessions and sponsor meet-and-greets.

TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open – Istanbul, Turkey

Ivo Karlovic, Grigor Dimitrov, Jiri Vesely, Federico Delbonis, Andres Molteni, Diego Schwartzman, Guillermo Duran, Facundo Bagnis, Wesley Koolhof, Maximo Gonzalez and Adrian Ungur attended the tournament player party, taking a beautiful boat ride on the Bosphorus. View Photo

“I enjoyed the great views of the city and the beautiful sunset,” said Dimitrov. “It was nice to get to know a bit more about the city and see the beautiful houses by the coast.” 

Marcel Granollers and Roberto Carballes Baena visited the Peugeot booth to sign autographs and meet fans.

Moet and Chandon off-court news 

Source link

Dimitrov Battles For Istanbul QF Spot

  • Posted: Apr 27, 2016

Dimitrov Battles For Istanbul QF Spot

Bulgarian star fires into last eight

Grigor Dimitrov got his campaign at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open off to a winning start on Wednesday when the second seed defeated qualifier Adrian Ungur 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 in two hours and 14 minutes. He is now 16-8 on the year and next challenges sixth seed Jiri Vesely or Roberto Carballes Baena. Last year, Dimitrov reached the semi-finals (l. to Cuevas).

Federico Delbonis, the fourth seed, who is two spots off his career-high of No. 34 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, got the better of Dudi Sela 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 and now faces eighth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the last eight. Ramos-Vinolas knocked out ATP Next Generation wild card Karen Khachanov 4-6, 6-1, 6-0.

Sofia Champions Fall In Doubles Opener

Fourth seeds Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop, who picked up their first ATP World Tour title at Sofia (d. Oswald/Shamasdin) in February by winning all four of their matches in Match tie-breaks, lost in the first round. Carlos Berlocq and Teymuraz Gabashvili won 7-6(6), 6-7(5), 10-4.

Day Four Preview

It took Bernard Tomic only one week of the 2016 season to reach a career-high No. 17 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Since then, he has been the No. 1 seed at four ATP World Tour 250 events, including the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open. But life on top hasn’t been easy for the Aussie. He has yet to reach a semi-final as a No. 1 seed, posting his only two wins over players outside the Top 100. Tomic’s challenge will be tougher in Istanbul on Thursday as he meets Diego Schwartzman, who fell to No. 1 seed Roger Federer 26 62 75 in the 2015 Istanbul semi-finals.

Also inside Garanti Koza Arena, No. 3 seed Ivo Karlovic of Croatia faces Dusan Lajovic of Serbia. Karlovic has been stuck on 299 career wins since October, losing eight straight matches while struggling with a left knee injury. Thursday may be his lucky day as he enters with a 3-0 FedEx ATP Head 2 Head record against Lajovic, who is 0-6 lifetime against Croatian opponents.

In-form players open the action on Thursday when Illya Marchenko meets Damir Dzumhur. Marchenko has 10 wins on the season, his most since earning 18 in 2010. Dzumhur has a career-high 12 wins in 2016, highlighted by victories over No. 5 Rafael Nadal and No. 7 Tomas Berdych. Play concludes with No. 5 seed Marcel Granollers against Next Generation star Hyeon Chung.

Source link

Edmund knocked out of Estoril Open

  • Posted: Apr 27, 2016

British number three Kyle Edmund lost to third seed Benoit Paire in the second round of the Estoril Open.

Despite winning the first set on a tie-break, the 21-year-old was beaten 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-3 by his French opponent.

Yorkshireman Edmund, who beat Spain’s Daniel Gimeno-Traver in the previous round of the clay-court event, is ranked 89 in the world.

Paire, 26, who is 21st in the ATP rankings, will next face Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

Source link

Del Potro Makes Successful Clay Return

  • Posted: Apr 27, 2016

Del Potro Makes Successful Clay Return

Argentine into second round in Munich

Juan Martin del Potro scored his first win on clay in nearly three years at the BMW Open by FWU AG on Wednesday. The Tandil native won 7-6(2), 6-4 against German Dustin Brown and advanced to the second round. Del Potro’s previous clay court ATP World Tour event was Rome 2013, when he fell in the third round to Benoit Paire.

“I’m very happy to win my first match in three years on clay,” del Potro said. “I was quite nervous at the end of the match and didn’t serve as well as I did early in the match. He played better in the end too. But for the conditions, we played a nice match.

“I feel better. I am starting to hit my topspin backhand, which is what I need on this surface. I am looking forward to getting even better and hitting harder on my backhand.”

The Argentine landed 71 per cent of first serves and broke serve three times in the 82-minute win. He will face Jan-Lennard Struff in his next match. The German upset seventh seed Vasek Pospisil 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2. Del Potro last won consecutive tour-level matches on clay at Roland Garros in 2012 (l. to Federer in quarter-finals).

Third seed Dominic Thiem fired six aces in defeating Santiago Giraldo 7-5, 6-4. The Austrian saved three break points in the 93-minute second-round win and leveled the FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Giraldo at 1-1. The 22 year old will face Ivan Dodig, who beat sixth seed Thomaz Bellucci 7-6(5), 6-3, in the quarter-finals.

Fabio Fognini, the fifth seed and 2014 runner-up (l. to Klizan), required just 57 minutes to beat 20-year-old wild card Maximilian Marterer 6-3, 6-1  for a place in the second round.

Eighth seed Alexander Zverev, an ATP #NextGen player, saved 11 of 12 break points to knock out Malek Jaziri 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in two hours and 11 minutes in the first round.

Seeded Teams Cruise In Doubles

Second seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah defeated Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Santiago Gonzalez 6-2, 6-2 in 56 minutes to advance to the quarter-finals on Wednesday. The Colombian duo saved both break points faced and remain on track to earn their third clay-court title of the year (Rio and Buenos Aires).

Also into the final eight are third seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers, who downed German wild cards Kevin Krawietz and Maximilian Marterer 6-4, 6-2 in 53 minutes. Austrians Julian Knowle and Alexander Peya, seeded fourth, beat Germans Gero Kretschmer and Alexander Satschko 6-4, 6-3.

Day Four Preview

The BMW Open by FWU AG has been won by the likes of Roger Federer, Ivan Lendl and Guillermo Vilas, but no player has more victories in Munich than Germany’s own Philipp Kohlschreiber. The two-time champion and four-time finalist makes his 12th tournament appearance Thursday against countryman Florian Mayer. Kohlschreiber, who captured the title in 2007 and 2012, is 24-9 in Munich, ahead of Mikhail Youzhny (21-11) and Tommy Haas (20-11).

The Next Generation of German tennis precedes Kohlschreiber vs. Mayer on Center Court when 19-year-old Alexander Zverev meets Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic. Zverev is 0-3 in the FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against Rosol, including a straight-set loss in the deciding rubber of a Davis Cup tie in March.

No. 1 seed David Goffin plays his first match of the 2016 tournament on Court 1 against Victor Estrella Burgos. Goffin is ranked a career-high No. 13 following semi-final runs at ATP Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami. But the Belgian is still seeking his first title in more than 19 months. Estrella Burgos has captured two titles in that time, both on the clay courts of Quito.

Source link

Drive To Tennis In Estoril 2016

  • Posted: Apr 27, 2016

Drive To Tennis In Estoril 2016

Source link

Simon Races Peugeot In Estoril 2016

  • Posted: Apr 27, 2016

Simon Races Peugeot In Estoril 2016

Source link

Bucharest History Flashback 1996 to 2016

  • Posted: Apr 27, 2016

Bucharest History Flashback 1996 to 2016

Source link

Robson falls to heavy Morocco defeat

  • Posted: Apr 27, 2016

Laura Robson’s hopes of a sustained run at the Rabat Open ended with a heavy defeat by Hungarian fifth seed Timea Babos in the second round.

Robson, the former British number one, had break-point chances in the third game but could not convert them.

Babos then took charge, dropping just two more games in a 6-1 6-2 victory.

Robson had earned her first WTA main draw win since 2013 in round one, as she tries to return to the top of the game following a wrist injury.

The 22-year-old is currently ranked 426th, but looks set to move inside the world’s top 350 in next week’s rankings.

Never want to miss the latest tennis news? You can now add this sport and all the other sports and teams you follow to your personalised My Sport home.

Source link

Wednesday Highlights Estoril Open 2016

  • Posted: Apr 27, 2016

Wednesday Highlights Estoril Open 2016

Source link

Jamie Murray aims for Olympic remedy

  • Posted: Apr 27, 2016

Jamie Murray is targeting Rio doubles success with brother Andy to make up for past Olympic disappointments.

The Murrays have never lost a Davis Cup doubles rubber but crashed out in the first round in London 2012, with Andy going on to win singles gold.

They also paired up in Beijing in 2008, suffering a second round loss.

“It’s four years to sit on that result, for me personally anyway, so we will be trying our best to do as well as we can and make up for London,” said Jamie.

“We want to do really well in the doubles and we’re both in the peaks of our careers.

“London was a big disappointment for us in the doubles front, although Andy did amazing to win gold in the singles.”

Chasing more Slams

Jamie, 30, is ranked the world’s number one doubles player, with his younger brother the number two in singles.

Having reached two finals in 2015, Jamie gained his first Grand Slam men’s doubles title in January, winning the Australian Open alongside partner Bruno Soares.

And the Scots-Brazilian pair reached their first Masters final this month, losing to Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut in Monte Carlo.

“A lot of good things happened for me in the last six to eight months,” said Jamie on a visit to his hometown of Dunblane.

“I’ve got some big tournaments coming up in Madrid and Rome in preparation for the French Open then straight into the grass courts at Wimbledon.

“So there are a lot of good things coming up and I’ll try my best in each tournament.”

Davis Cup schedule ‘not easy’

Last year, Andy, 28, led Britain to their first Davis Cup triumph for 79 years, winning all of his singles and doubles contests.

The title defence continues with a trip to Serbia in July but, with the tie coming just five days after the Wimbledon final and on a clay surface, Andy’s participation may be in doubt.

The 2013 Wimbledon champion says that he plans to play but it may depend on how he fares during the short grass season.

“He is our best player by a country mile,” said Jamie. “He carried the team to the title last year.

“The summer this year is really tough with the Olympics thrown in there and, for us to play Wimbledon and to play a few days later on clay in Serbia, is not easy.

“Then it’s straight to America and the Olympics.

“But we’ll see what happens. For him, as long as he’s feeling good with his body and his fitness then there’s a good chance he’ll play.”

Source link