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Serena Wins AP Athlete Of The Year

Serena Wins AP Athlete Of The Year

  • Posted: Dec 26, 2015

NEW YORK, NY, USA – Serena Williams has gotten yet another accolade for her phenomenal 2015 season, being named the Associated Press Female Athlete Of The Year for the fourth time.

In a vote by US editors and news directors, Williams was chosen in somewhat of a landslide, earning 50 first place votes – soccer star Carli Lloyd finished in second place with 14 first place votes. UFC stars Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm and basketball player Breanna Stewart rounded out the Top 5.

Williams had one of her very best seasons in 2015, collecting three Grand Slam titles – the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon – to bring her career haul to 21, holding the World No.1 ranking from start to finish, and winning a whopping 53 of her 56 matches during the year (the only losses coming to Petra Kvitova, Belinda Bencic and Roberta Vinci at Madrid, Toronto and the US Open).

Associated Press Female Athlete Of The Year is the latest in a long list of accolades Williams has received for her dynamite 2015 season – she earned the WTA Year-End World No.1 Singles Ranking presented by Dubai Duty Free, she was voted WTA Player Of The Year and Sports Illustrated Sportsperson Of The Year, and earlier this week she was named ITF Women’s World Champion as well.

She’s now been Associated Press Female Athlete Of The Year four times – 2002, 2009, 2013 and 2015. The only other women’s tennis player to win four is Chris Evert (1974, 1975, 1977 and 1980).

The only woman who’s won more than four times is Babe Didrikson (one for athletics and five for golf).

Other women’s tennis players to have received the award are Helen Jacobs, Helen Wills Moody, Alice Marble, Maureen Connolly, Althea Gibson, Maria Bueno, Billie Jean King, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Tracy Austin, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis and Jennifer Capriati.

Williams will kick off her 2016 season in two weeks at Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia. It’s a team exhibition event that includes singles and mixed doubles – she will represent the USA with Jack Sock.

The Associated Press is a global news network that delivers news from across the globe, 24 hours a day. It was founded in 1846 and has been the first to report many of history’s most important moments through its journalists, photographers and videographers. For more on the AP, visit www.ap.org.

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Here's What The Players Tweeted On Xmas

Here's What The Players Tweeted On Xmas

  • Posted: Dec 25, 2015

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The Numbers Game: 2015 Recap Part 2

  • Posted: Dec 25, 2015

The Numbers Game: 2015 Recap Part 2

Dec252015

In the second part of a three-part series, ATPWorldTour.com examines the stories behind the numbers in 2015

Winning Titles Without Losing a Set (10)

Seven players won ATP World Tour titles without dropping a set in 2015, but Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic were the only players to accomplish the feat at Masters 1000 events.

Player

Sets Won

Tournament

Stan Wawrinka

8

Chennai (4 wins)

Richard Gasquet

8

Montpellier (4 wins)

Rafael Nadal

8

Buenos Aires (4 wins)

Roger Federer

9

Dubai

Benoit Paire

10

Bastad

Roger Federer

10

Cincinnati

Tomas Berdych

8

Shenzhen (4 wins)

Tomas Berdych

7

Stockholm (4 wins)

Novak Djokovic

10

Beijing

Novak Djokovic

10

Shanghai

First-Time ATP Winners (6)

Players trying to win their first ATP World Tour title this season are 6-10 after going 5-10 last season. Here are the first-time winners:

Player

Age

Tournament

Jiri Vesely

21

Auckland

Victor Estrella Burgos

34

Quito

Jack Sock

22

Houston

Dominic Thiem

21

Nice

Denis Istomin

28

Nottingham

Benoit Paire

26

Bastad

Doubles Title Leaders

New No. 1 Marcelo Melo and the Bryan brothers led the way on the doubles court in 2015.

Player

Titles

Bob Bryan

6

Mike Bryan

6

Marcelo Melo

6

Henri Kontinen

5

Rohan Bopanna

4

Raven Klaasen

4

Lukasz Kubot

4

Top 10 Doubles Team Rankings

Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, who won the doubles crown at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, ended the year with a tour-high 48 wins.

Team

Match & Finals     W-L

Match TB W-L

1 Rojer/Tecau

48-21            3-2

9-7

2 Bryan/Bryan

44-16            6-1

14-4

3 Dodig/Melo

34-12            3-1

12-1

4 J. Murray/Peers

43-24            2-6

6-12

5 Bolelli/Fognini

26-14            1-3

5-5

6 Herbert/Mahut

30-12            2-3

4-6

7 Bopanna/Mergea

31-16            2-3

4-9

8 Matkowski/Zimonjic

33-22            0-3

8-7

9 Peya/Soares

34-24            2-1

6-12

10 Pospisil/Sock

23-10            2-2

8-5

Qualifying Leaders

Brothers Mischa and Alexander Zverev combined for 12 successful qualification bids in 2015, but Nicolas Mahut was the lone qualifier to capture a title this year. The Frenchman used his all-court game to good effect in winning ‘s-Hertogenbosch on grass.

Player

No.

Best Result – Tournament

Mischa Zverev

8

QF – Stuttgart, Valencia

Michael Berrer

7

3R – Indian Wells

Nikoloz Basilashvili

6

2R – Doha

Kenny De Schepper

6

2R – Auckland, Estoril, Wimbledon

Thanasi Kokkinakis

6

2R – Delray Beach, Cincinnati

Denis Kudla

6

SF – Atlanta

Paul-Henri Mathieu

6

Runner-up – Kitzbuehel

Edouard Roger-Vasselin

6

2R – Indian Wells, Metz

Aljaz Bedene

5

Runner-up – Chennai

Taro Daniel

5

2R – Valencia

Thiemo de Bakker

5

2R – Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo

Matthew Ebden

5

1R – 5 times

Austin Krajicek

5

QF – Memphis, Tokyo

Illya Marchenko

5

QF – ‘s-Hertogenbosch

Ruben Bemelmans

4

1R – Australian Open, Miami

Alejandro Falla

4

3R – Miami

Alejandro Gonzalez

4

1R – 4 times

Andrey Kuznetsov

4

2R – Geneva

Dusan Lajovic

4

2R – Basel, Paris-Bercy

Yen-Hsun Lu

4

1R – 4 times

Nicolas Mahut

4

Winner – ‘s-Hertogenbosch

Yoshihito Nishioka

4

QF – Delray Beach

John Patrick Smith

4

1R – 4 times

Yuichi Sugita

4

1R – 4 times

Luca Vanni

4

Runner-up – Sao Paulo

Elias Ymer

4

1R – 4 times

Alexander Zverev

4

2R – Miami

Longest Finals (Games)

Novak Djokovic out-lasted Roger Federer to capture the last two major tournaments of the year, while Rajeev Ram survived a serving showdown against Ivo Karlovic in Newport.

Wimbledon (best of five)

Novak Djokovic d. Roger Federer 76(1) 67(10) 64 63 – 45 games

US Open (best of five)

Novak Djokovic d. Roger Federer 64 57 64 64 – 42 games

Newport

Rajeev Ram d. Ivo Karlovic 76(5) 57 76(2) – 38 games

Munich

Andy Murray d. Philipp Kohlschreiber 76(4) 57 76(4) – 38 games

Longest Finals (Time)

Andy Murray faded late against Djokovic in Melbourne and in Miami, but got his revenge in Montreal seven months later.

Australian Open (best of five)

Novak Djokovic d. Andy Murray 76(5) 67(4) 63 60 – 3:39

Munich

Andy Murray d. Philipp Kohlschreiber 76(4) 57 76(4) – 3:04

Montreal

Andy Murray d. Novak Djokovic 64 46 63 – 3:00

Miami

Novak Djokovic d. Andy Murray 76 46 60 – 2:47

Monte-Carlo

Novak Djokovic d. Tomas Berdych 75 46 63 – 2:43

Longest ATP World Tour Matches (3 Hours+)

Madrid

Marcel Granollers d. Gael Monfils 76 67 64, 2R – 3:20

Rio de Janeiro

Fabio Fognini d. Federico Delbonis 64 67 76, QF – 3:12

Houston

Kevin Anderson d. Jeremy Chardy 75 67 76, QF – 3:08

Montreal

Jeremy Chardy d.  Ivo Karlovic 67(9) 76(13) 76(4) – 3:08

Casablanca

Carlos Berlocq d. Pablo Carreno Busta 46 76 64, 1R – 3:07

Munich

Andy Murray d. Philipp Kohlschreiber 76 57 76, Final – 3:04

Rio de Janeiro

Joao Souza d. Blaz Rola 64 67 64, 2R – 3:02

Shortest Finals (Games)

Casablanca

Martin Klizan d. Daniel Gimeno-Traver 62 62 – 16 games

Sydney

Viktor Troicki d. Mikhail Kukushkin 62 63 – 17 games

Estoril

Rafael Nadal d. David Ferrer 63 62 – 17 games

Auckland

Jiri Vesely d. Adrian Mannarino 63 62 –  17 games

Rio de Janeiro

David Ferrer d. Fabio Fognini 62 63 – 17 games

Buenos Aires

Rafael Nadal d. Juan Monaco 64 61 – 17 games

Madrid

Andy Murray d. Rafael Nadal 63 62 – 17 games

Shortest Completed Finals (Time)

Sydney

Viktor Troicki d. Mikhail Kukushkin 62 63 – 1:04

Estoril

Rafael Nadal d. David Ferrer 63 62 – 1:05

Auckland

Jiri Vesely d. Adrian Mannarino 63 62 –  1:07

THE LAST TIME…IN 2015

  • No. 1 and No. 2 seeds reached a final: No. 1 Novak Djokovic d. No. 2 Andy Murray, Paris-Bercy (13 times in 2015, seven times in 2014, nine times in 2013)
  • Top four seeds in semifinals: Shenzhen: (1) Berdych d. (3) Robredo, (4) G-Lopez d. (2) Cilic
  • Top eight seeds in quarterfinals: Gstaad (last time prior ’09 Montreal, Top 8 ranked in QFs)
  • A player won the title without dropping serve: Roger Federer (49 games), Cincinnati; also Ivo Karlovic (56 games, saved 19 BPs), Delray Beach
  • An all-left-handed final: Jiri Vesely d. Adrian Mannarino, Auckland
  • An all-unseeded final: Viktor Troicki (Q) d. Mikhail Kukushkin (Q), Sydney; Jiri Vesely (Q) d. Adrian Mannarino, Auckland
  • A player outside Top 100 reached final: Q-Pierre Hugues Herbert (No. 140), Winston-Salem
  • A player outside Top 100 won title: Rajeev Ram (No. 161), Newport
  • An unseeded player won a title: Joao Sousa, Valencia (10 times overall in 2015)
  • A wild card reached/won final: Tomas Berdych, Stockholm (d. Sock)
  • A qualifier reached a final: Pierre Hugues Herbert (No. 140), Winston-Salem
  • A qualifier won title: Nicolas Mahut d. David Goffin, ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Also in ’15 Viktor Troicki (Sydney), Jiri Vesely (Auckland)
  • A lucky loser reached SF: Borna Coric (l. to Federer), Dubai
  • Five left-handers in QF: Auckland (Falla, Mannarino, Ramos Vinolas, Vesely, Young)
  • Last Monday final: Oct. 5 (Shenzhen: Berdych d. Garcia-Lopez). Prior: Munich (May 4)
  • Winner beating No. 1, 2 & 3 seeds: Benoit Baire, Bastad (d. Goffin in 2R, Cuevas in SF, Robredo in F)
  • Winner beating No. 1 & No. 2 seeds: Rajeev Ram, Newport (d. Isner in 1R, Karlovic in F)
  • Playing four three-set matches en route to final: Benoit Paire (Tokyo)
  • First-time winner beating four seeds: Jack Sock (Houston)

OTHER 2015 STATISTICS

  • The winner in ATP singles finals this year won 59 of 66 times (.893) when capturing first set. Last year 43 of 63 times (.667); 46 of 65 times in 2013 (.708)
  • Longest singles TB (15-13): Jeremy Chardy d.  John Isner 67(9) 76(13) 76(4), QF Montreal;
  • Gilles Muller d. Bernard Tomic 76(3) 76(13), QF Sydney
  • Longest doubles TB(25-23): Cabal-Farah d. Krajicek-Monroe 76(25-23) 63, 1R Washington
  • The longest Match TB (19-17):Gabashvili-Berankis d. Delbonis-Lajovic 46 62 19-17, 1R Hston;
  • Cabal-Farah d. Brown-Kamke 63 67 19-17, QF, Acapulco
  • Left-handers went 6-10 in finals (Nadal-3, Bellucci, Klizan, Vesely), 8-6 in 2014 (Nadal-4, Debonis, Klizan), 12-10 in 2013, 8-6 in 2012, 3-14 in 2011
  • Players attempting to capture their first ATP World Tour title are 6-10 in finals (5-10 in 2014)   
  • There have been two Match Point(s) Saved Winners this year: Denis Istomin, Nottingham (QF); Rajeev Ram, Newport (in 1R & QF). There were seven in 2014
  • Most Match Points Saved: 7, Jeremy Chardy d. John Isner 67(9) 76(13) 76(4), QF Montreal

Read Part 1

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Kvitova: Serena's Big Threat In 2016?

Kvitova: Serena's Big Threat In 2016?

  • Posted: Dec 24, 2015

SHENZHEN, China – Petra Kvitova had some big moments in 2015 – three Premier titles at Sydney, Madrid and New Haven, her first US Open quarterfinal and, for a brief period, getting back to No.2.

But there was something else that’ll go down in the record books – a shocking win over the World No.1.

“She went for broke on every serve, every return – I hit some second serves, 170, 175, and she would just hit them for winners,” Serena Williams said after falling to Kvitova in the Madrid semifinals.

“For sure I’m happy I won today,” Kvitova said after her 6-2, 6-3 victory in the Spanish capital.

“I had never beaten Serena before, so this is a really special moment for me, of course.”

With that victory, Kvitova became the only player to beat Williams in straight sets in 2015 – and with that, could the big-hitting Czech, a former World No.2, be the World No.1’s biggest threat in 2016?

She certainly knows how to bring her best on the biggest stages – also Williams’ favorite stages. Kvitova has two Grand Slam titles to her name, Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014, and she’s been to the semis or better at the Australian Open and French Open, and the quarterfinals of the US Open as well.

The World No.6 is also an impressive 17-6 in WTA finals – more importantly, 2-0 in Grand Slam finals.

“I don’t really like the beginning of the tournaments, for sure, but that’s how it is – it’s probably normal that I’m improving my game with each match in a tournament,” Kvitova said. “And then when the finish line comes, I’m feeling better about my game. Unfortunately I can’t just play finals, which is sad!”

Speaking of finals, Kvitova suffered a rare loss in a title match at the WTA Finals in Singapore this year – to Agnieszka Radwanska – though she did score a big win over Maria Sharapova in the semis.

She was asked afterwards what she was hoping to work on in the off-season. “The main thing I want to do is improve my health,” she said. “I have a few weeks for that, so I hope it’s going to help me, and my main goal is to be prepared and healthy for the next season. For sure that’s my biggest goal.”

Kvitova will kick off her 2016 season at the Shenzhen Open in Shenzhen, China, an International-level event that boasts twice the usual International prize money – $500,000. Radwanska will be there too.

“I’m very happy to be going back to Shenzhen,” Kvitova commented. “Last year I had a very nice time. Everyone was very kind to me, and it was also very nice to see my good friend Li Na when I was there.

“I look forward to playing there again, seeing Li Na again and hopefully winning the title this time.”

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Can Venus Win A Grand Slam In 2016?

Can Venus Win A Grand Slam In 2016?

  • Posted: Dec 24, 2015

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – In two weeks, 2015’s WTA Comeback Player Of The Year – Venus Williams – will try to keep her momentum going, kicking off her 2016 season at the ASB Classic. The big question about the new year isn’t whether she’ll be able to defend her title there, though – it’s something bigger.

Can the seven-time Grand Slam champion and former World No.1 capture another major?

If the hunger she described in November in Zhuhai – where she won her third WTA title of the year – is anything to go by, the World No.7 might just get back into that Grand Slam winner’s circle again.

“Being back in the Top 10 is what every player is working for, and I’m really excited about it, but I’m still very hungry. I’m ready for more,” Williams said. “I’ve had so many experiences in tennis but I still expect a lot from myself – I’m very happy to be moving forward, but I want to continue.

“I don’t want to stop. I want to keep improving in the rankings and winning events and all that.”

After falling as low as No.137 in the world a few years ago after her Sjögren’s Syndrome lay-off, a lot of people wrote her off – and they kept writing her off as she struggled to stay in the Top 20.

But Williams has silenced the doubters before, and she’s just done it again.

“It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, everyone is willing to write you off. No one thought I would win Wimbledon in 2005 – I was 24 years old, and in sports people always think you’re done. But you’re not done until you say you’re done. I won that title that year, and it meant everything to me.

“I believed in myself,” Williams continued. “That’s one of the trophies I keep in my bedroom because it represents believing in yourself, really just trusting your instincts, and betting on yourself.”

Williams’ first shot at her eighth Grand Slam title will come at the Australian Open. Along with the French Open, it’s her toughest major – her best result in Melbourne is one final, just like in Paris.

But there’s a new kind of aggression coming off the Williams racquet lately – she’s always been one of the most aggressive players in the game, but the years of experience have brought even more clarity.

“At this stage of life it’s about finding that happy medium of playing the percentages, being smart and using your experience, but at the same time continuing to be aggressive,” she explained. “For me, it’s innate. I would be aggressive on every single shot if I could. It’s not the smartest thing to do – you have to work the point, and you have to realize what to do on the court at the right times.

“But there’s always a part of me that’s very free, like the young player who went for every shot.”

How will the former World No.1 do Down Under? Follow all the action right here on wtatennis.com!

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Best Of 2015 Second Quarter

  • Posted: Dec 24, 2015

Best Of 2015 Second Quarter

Dec242015

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Lucie Safarova: 2016 Preview

Lucie Safarova: 2016 Preview

  • Posted: Dec 24, 2015

When Lucie Safarova upset the odds – and a couple of former champions – to reach the final of this spring’s French Open, few in the tennis world would have begrudged her this long-overdue moment in the spotlight.

In a sport where the margins between winning and losing are invariably razor-thin, there is little room for niceties. However, Safarova has always been as charming and grounded off the court as she is intense on it. Never one to short-change fans, media or her fellow players, the 28-year-old is universally loved.

There has been no doubting Safarova’s ability on court either. A regular scourge of Top 10 opponents and a major semifinalist, in the first half of 2015 the Czech finally started to add the much-sought-after consistency to her game.

While a dip in form at the start of the summer and a bacterial infection threatened to undo her earlier good work, Safarova regrouped to book a place at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Although unable to make it out of the round robin stage in Singapore, she bounced back a few weeks later to help the Czech Republic regain its Fed Cup crown.

Now with the belief to go along with her talent, it will be interesting to see where Safarova and her larger-then-life coach Rob Steckley go next. Ill health has thrown a spanner into her pre-season training, but with relatively few points to defend Down Under, the mercurial left-hander has an opportunity to consolidate her Top 10 spot.

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The Numbers Game: 2015 Recap Part 1

  • Posted: Dec 24, 2015

The Numbers Game: 2015 Recap Part 1

Dec232015

In the first part of a three-part series, ATPWorldTour.com examines the stories behind the numbers in 2015

Singles Title Leaders By Surface

Not only did Novak Djokovic secure a tour-high 11 titles in 2015, he was also one of two players to win at a title on each surface.

Player

Total

Clay

Grass

  Hard

Djokovic, Novak

11

2

1

   8

Federer, Roger

6

1

1  

   4

Ferrer, David

5

1

 

   4 

Murray, Andy

4

2

1

   1

Wawrinka, Stan

4

1

 

   3

Nadal, Rafael

3

2

1

  

Nishikori, Kei

3

1

 

   2

Thiem, Dominic

3

3

 

 

Berdych, Tomas

2

 

 

   2

Garcia-Lopez,Guillermo

2

1

 

   1

Gasquet, Richard

2

1

 

   1

Outside Top 50 Winners (8)

American Rajeev Ram was the lowest-ranked player to capture an ATP World Tour title on the year, serve-and-volleying his way to the Newport title on grass in July.

Player, Tournament

Ranking

Rajeev Ram, Newport

No. 161

Nicolas Mahut (Q), ‘s-Hertogenbosch

No. 97

Denis Istomin, Nottingham

No. 92

Viktor Troicki (Q), Sydney

No. 92

Victor Estrella Burgos, Quito

No. 73

Jiri Vesely (Q), Auckland

No. 63

Benoit Paire, Bastad

No. 62

Thomaz Bellucci, Geneva

No. 60    


Youngest Finals:         

Gstaad

Dominic Thiem (21) d. David Goffin (24)

Auckland

Jiri Vesely (21) d. Adrian Mannarino (26)

Estoril

Richard Gasquet (28) d. Nick Kyrgios (20)

Oldest Finals:              

Kuala Lumpur

David Ferrer (33) d. Feliciano Lopez (34)

Quito

Victor Estrella Burgos (34) d. Feliciano Lopez (33)

Newport

Rajeev Ram (31) d. Ivo Karlovic (36)      

Kitzbuehel

Philipp Kohlschreiber (31) d. Paul-Henri Mathieu (33)

Halle

Roger Federer (33) d. Andreas Seppi (31)

Singles Final Record By Country

Djokovic powered Serbia to a 12-5 final record in 2015, while Dominic Thiem single-handedly helped Austria improve from 0-2 in 2014 to 3-0 this year.

Country (’14)

‘15 W-L

Winners

Serbia (7-1)

12-5

Djokovic-11, Troicki 

Spain (11-13)

10-11

Ferrer-5, Nadal-3, Garcia-Lopez-2  

Switzerland (8-6)

10-5

Federer-6, Wawrinka-4

France (2-7)

6-8

Gasquet-2, Mahut, Paire, Simon, Tsonga

Great Britain (4-1)

4-3

Murray-4

United States   (2-0)

3-6

Isner, Ram, Sock

Czech Republic (3-5)

3-4

Berdych-2, Vesely

Japan (4-2)

3-1

Nishkori-3

Austria (0-2)

3-0

Thiem-3

Croatia (4-5)

2-1

Cilic, Karlovic

All-Countrymen Finals (4):

Marseille

Gilles Simon d. Gael Monfils (FRA)

Houston

Jack Sock d. Sam Querrey (USA)

Metz

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga d. Gilles Simon (FRA)

Kuala Lumpur

David Ferrer d. Feliciano Lopez (ESP)

30 & Over Winners (25)

Tour veterans aged 30 and over combined for 25 titles in 2015, tying an all-time record set in 1975.

Roger Federer, Brisbane

33 yrs, 4 months

David Ferrer, Doha

32 yrs, 8 months

Victor Estrella Burgos, Quito

34 yrs, 6 months

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Zagreb

31 yrs, 8 months

Ivo Karlovic, Delray Beach

35 yrs, 11 months

Gilles Simon, Marseille

30 yrs, 2 months

Roger Federer, Dubai

33 yrs, 5 months

David Ferrer, Rio de Janeiro

32 yrs. 10 months

David Ferrer, Acapulco

32 yrs, 10 months

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Bucharest

31 yrs, 10 months

Roger Federer, Istanbul

33 yrs., 8 months

Stan Wawrinka, Roland Garros

30 yrs., 2 months

Nicolas Mahut, ‘s-Hertogenbosch

33 yrs., 4 months

Roger Federer, Halle

33 yrs., 10 months

Rajeev Ram, Newport

31 yrs., 4 months

John Isner, Atlanta

30 yrs., 3 months

Philipp Kohlschreiber, Kitzbuehel

31 yrs., 9 months

Roger Federer, Cincinnati

34 yrs., 15 days

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Metz

30 yrs., 5 months

David Ferrer, Kuala Lumpur

33 yrs., 6 months

Tomas Berdych, Shenzhen

30 yrs., 18 days

Stan Wawrinka, Tokyo

30 yrs., 6 months

David Ferrer, Vienna

33 yrs., 6 months

Tomas Berdych, Stockholm

30 yrs., 1 month

Roger Federer, Basel

34 yrs., 2 months

Born in 1990s Winners (7)

Jiri Vesely became the youngest champion in 2015 with an early-season win in New Zealand, while Thiem was the most consistent of the Young Guns with three titles. 

Jiri Vesely, Auckland

21 yrs., 6 months

Jack Sock, Houston

22 yrs., 6 months

Dominic Thiem, Nice

21 yrs., 8 months

Bernard Tomic, Bogota

22 yrs., 9 months

Dominic Thiem, Umag

21 yrs., 10 months

Dominic Thiem, Gstaad

21 yrs., 11 months

Milos Raonic, St. Petersburg

24 yrs., 9 months

Repeat Winners (18)

Djokovic continued his dominance in Beijing and in London, defending titles at both tournaments for a fourth consecutive year.

Stan Wawrinka

Chennai

Kei Nishikori

Memphis (three-peat)

Roger Federer

Dubai

Novak Djokovic

Indian Wells

Novak Djokovic

Miami

Kei Nishikori

Barcelona

Novak Djokovic

Rome

Roger Federer

Halle

Novak Djokovic

Wimbledon

Bernard Tomic

Bogota

John Isner

Atlanta (three-peat)

Roger Federer

Cincinnati

Novak Djokovic

Beijing (four-peat)

Marin Cilic

Moscow

Tomas Berdych

Stockholm

Roger Federer

Basel

Novak Djokovic

Paris-Bercy (three-peat)

Novak Djokovic

ATP Finals-London (four-peat)

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Chung Participates In Korean Military Training

  • Posted: Dec 24, 2015

Chung Participates In Korean Military Training

Dec232015

This year’s Most Improved Player finishes his required military training in South Korea

Has Hyeon Chung made a career change?

The 2015 Most Improved Player of the Year recipient made quite the transition this off-season, but don’t worry, the 19-year-old Korean will be back with a racquet come January.

Thanks to his success at the 2014 Asian Games (Chung won gold in doubles with partner Young-kyu Lim) the teen only needed to participate in four weeks of basic training for the South Korean Military instead of the required two years.

In November, the Korean was voted by his peers as the Most Improved Player of the Year Award, part of the 2015 ATP World Tour Awards presented by Moët & Chandon. Chung ended the tennis season at a career-high No. 51 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. The Suwon native found considerable success on the ATP Challenger Tour this year, winning titles in Burnie (d. Bolt), Savannah (d. McGee), Busan (d. Lacko) and Kaohsiung (d. Bhambri).

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Soderling Announces Retirement

  • Posted: Dec 24, 2015

Soderling Announces Retirement

Dec232015

Swede formally retires after long layoff

Robin Soderling, formerly No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, has retired from professional tennis. Soderling announced his retirement via Twitter on Wednesday.

The Tibro, Sweden native had not taken part in an ATP World Tour event since 2011 due to mononucleosis. In his 10 years on tour, Soderling compiled a 310-170 match record and captured 10 ATP World Tour titles.

A big server equally comfortable on fast indoor courts and on outdoor clay, he enjoyed his best results in Paris, France. At Roland Garros, he made history by handing Rafael Nadal his first loss at the event in 2009 and upset Roger Federer on the same court in 2010. Later that year, Soderling secured his lone ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title at the BNP Paribas Masters.

The 31 year old ended his ATP World Tour career with a win. Soderling entered the 2011 Bastad tournament as the top seed and defeated David Ferrer in the final before being forced to the sidelines.

Magnus Norman, who coached Soderling to consecutive Roland Garros finals, and Christian Lindell, who was in the draw for his final tournament, took to Twitter to pay homage to their compatriot:

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