Tennis News

May Zhao interviewed some of the key figures from the world of tennis. Stevegtennis brings you the short version of the interview.
1) How do you see the situation with Tennis in Asia at this point and talk to us about what you see is happening now and possibly in the future? Can you make any good suggestions?

Melissa Pine, WTA Director
Women’s tennis in Asia is in such a great position and the growth on the sport has been phenomenal. We opened our Beijing office in 2008 with two tournaments in China, and will host a record nine WTA Premier and International tournaments in Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan during the 2016 season We have a full-fledged Asian Swing after the US Open and our year-end crown-jewel event the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global in Singapore. When we decided to host our event in Singapore, we saw a great opportunity to increase our presence in Southeast Asia, which has such huge potential.
We have seen through our WTA Future Stars activities in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand how, given the opportunity, kids of all ages love playing tennis and learning from WTA Stars such as Caroline Wozniacki and Tamarine Tanasugarn. The following one in China will be hosted in early October this year. In 2014 we invited 12 markets to participate in the tournament and this year we have already expanded to 17 markets, which highlights the desire for the local tennis associations to have access to more regional tournaments to help develop their young players. Through grassroots developmental programs like the WTA Future Stars we are working closely with the local associations to build and develop their youth programmes, as ultimately these are the next generation of players and fans.

2) What do you see as being the next step for Chinese Tennis and whom do you see coming up behind Li Na as the best genuine prospects for the future?

Li Na was a fantastic catalyst for boosting the popularity of tennis in China and across Asia as a whole. We saw the huge potential within China, which was part of the reason by WTA establishing the Beijing office. The Chinese Tennis Association has invested heavily in their infrastructure and by working closely with sponsors has managed to bring more tournaments to China, which in turn increases public exposure to women’s tennis and players.
Peng Shuai is one of China’s leading players and ranked World No.1 as a doubles player when she headed into the WTA Finals in 2014. Looking to the future, there are several Rising Stars on the WTA Circuit that are competing consistently and on the cusp of breaking into the top-50 and higher.
At the WTA Finals we have the WTA Rising Stars Invitational where fans can vote for their favorite player to play at year-end tournament. Zheng Saisai was one of those four WTA Rising Stars who came to Singapore in 2014 and was extremely popular with the fans so we see a bright future ahead for her. We also see several promising names that are on the verge of cracking the Top 100. Liu Fangzhou was a runner-up last year to Peng Shuai at Nanchang last year and Wang Yafan won her maiden WTA title with Chen Liang in doubles at Kuala Lumpur in 2015. With these ladies on the tour and greater support for tennis in China, we are hopeful of seeing more Chinese players rise up the ranks in the near future.

3) What do you see as the situation with tennis in Asia at this time and talk to us about how you see/have seen them developing in Wimbledon? Japan, Korea, China?

Mick Desmond Commercial Director of the AELTC:

We have seen the interest in tennis grow strongly throughout most of Asia. We have great media partners in South East Asia with Fox Asia and NHK and WowWow in Japan. They cover all the matches from Wimbledon live and this has grown our audiences dramatically. It also helps when there are players from within a country. In China we have also seen both the interest and our audiences growing.

The world No. 1 player Novak Djokovic showed exactly why he reigns atop the ATP World Tour when he outlasted rival Roger Federer to defend the Wimbledon title. This final was a repeat of last year’s battle for the Championships crown.

It was a contest that lasted four sets, one less than the previous year. Federer lost the opening round yet managed to rebound in the second set following one of the great tiebreaks of the 21st Century. However, from there, it was all Djokovic as he raised his game to a supreme level and dominated on serve to defeat the seven-time champion 7-6(1), 6-7(10), 6-4, 6-3.

“It’s a great privilege to play against Roger, who is a great champion,” Djokovic told BBC television on-court. “He has done so much for our sport on and off the court. It’s a great honour to play him again. I was aware coming onto the court, that Roger would play his best when it matters the most. He pushes you to limits.”

It was Djokovic’s 54th title in his career (9th Grand Slam trophy) and moved him to 48-3 this season. Federer, however, was unable to secure his elusive 18th Grand Slam title.

“Novak not only played great today, but also this year, last year and the year before that! Well done, Novak, you deserved it. At the end he was rock solid. I didn’t play bad myself, so I can be very happy. That’s the way it goes. Once more, it has been a privilege to play here.”

The Swiss No. 1 moved to 40-7 this season and will take several weeks off before the start of the North American Swing ahead of the US Open.

Not only did Roger Federer dispel many doubters and naysayers with his remarkable fortnight at the Wimbledon Championships, he also got the support of former champion and tennis legend Bjorn Borg, who believes Sunday will mark Federer’s eighth Wimbledon title.

The Swiss star arrived at his 10th Wimbledon final with a flawless performance against Andy Murray in their Friday semi-final. It was a serving master-class from Federer, who won a hefty 86% of his first service points and struck 56 winners and 20 aces to close out the match in straight sets, 7-5, 7-5, 6-4.

“That’s the best I’ve seen him play for many years, the best for maybe 10 years,” Borg told ESPN after Federer’s 7-5, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Murray. “He’s serving so well. It was great tennis.”

So convinced was Borg of Federer’s performance, that he has little doubt that the Swiss star should be considered the favourite, even though Djokovic holds the higher ranking and defeated him at this event last year.

“On Sunday, Federer will definitely be the favourite to win. He is playing well, moving well, he was doing everything he was supposed to. He is hitting the ball so cleanly and playing with a lot of confidence.

“It’s going to be interesting to see with Novak. I’m really surprised that Roger is playing as well as he is. Andy wasn’t playing badly, and it was a great match, but Federer was too good today. This match was an unbelievably good match.”

For the 40th time in their storied rivalry, the top two players in the world Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will cross paths on the professional tour, this time in a highly anticipated rematch at the Wimbledon Championships Final. For Federer, it is an opportunity to win his 18th Grand Slam title, and first in three years since he was crowned champion in 2012, while Djokovic remains on quest to defend the title he snatched from the Swiss during their memorable final last season. Federer leads the head-to-head series 20-19.

Roger Federer arrived at a remarkable 10th Wimbledon final with a flawless performance against Andy Murray in their Friday semi-final. It was a serving master-class from Federer, who won a hefty 86% of his first service points and struck 56 winners and 20 aces to close out the match in straight sets, 7-5, 7-5, 6-4.

“Andy’s been playing very well for the season,” Federer told the BBC following the match. “There is so much expectation riding on the match. I’m unbelievably happy. I played so well in the biggest occasion today.

“I’ve been serving very well for the entire tournament. I wasn’t broken against one of the best returners. I kept the pressure up and went for my shots. I mixed it up like I usually do and kept pushing forward and staying focused. It all worked out really well.”

Novak Djokovic strolled into the final of the Wimbledon Championships with a straight sets win against No. 21 seed Richard Gasquet in the first semi-final on Centre Court. He won the match 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4 to advance his head-to-head against the Frenchman to 12-1.

“The first set was really close,” said Djokovic. “I thought Richard played some really good tennis, especially from the backhand side. It was really difficult for me at times to play any kind of ball to his backhand side because he was really going for it, especially down the line. He made a lot of winners. He used the chipped backhand, slice variety as well… Winning the first set tie-break was psychologically very helpful for the rest of the match.”

The latest chapter in the remarkable rivalry between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will be written on Sunday afternoon at the All England Club, as the two top competitors will cross paths once again in the final of the Wimbledon Championships. They’ve already met three this; Federer won the Dubai title while Djokovic lifted the Indian Wells and Rome trophies. Now they will meet once again, yet the stakes are far greater. Federer is in absolutely remarkable form, and if he can potentially carry forth the momentum from his near-perfect performance against Andy Murray, Federer will be closer than ever before to lifting a historic eighth title at Wimbledon.

For the fourth time at a Grand Slam event, Serena Williams and Garbine Muguruza will meet, this time in the final of the 2015 Wimbledon Championships. With the current head-to-head record at 2-1 for Williams, this has the potential to be a riveting match-up on Saturday. Muguruza has beaten Williams before and will be keen to do that once again en route to her first Major title.

In a match that was not far different from her previous 16 consecutive wins, Serena Williams defeated Maria SHarapova in straight sets to secure her place in the final at the All England Club. Williams hit almost twice as many winners as unforced errors, which gave her the 6-2, 6-4 victory.

“I’m really excited,” the World No.1 told the BBC right after the match. “I was a little nervous out there. The semifinals of Wimbledon – it’s been a long time since I’ve been this far in this tournament!

“I think Maria played really well. She stepped up her game, and I was able to step mine up as well. And it’s the semifinals of Wimbledon – you never want to lose, and you want to do the best you can.”

Muguruza found her way to her first Grand Slam final when she downed 13th seed Agnieszka Radwanksa in a three-set thriller. It looked as though the match would be a one-sided affair yet Radwanksa managed to rally back and force a decider. In the end, Muguruza found the crucial break and ended the match 6-2, 3-6, 6-3..

“It’s the best final you can play,” Muguruza said. “Serena in the Wimbledon final is the hardest match you can have. If you want to win a Grand Slam, when you dream, you say, ‘I want Serena in the final.’

“She’s one of the best players in all these years. So it’s obviously the best challenge to have.”

Williams and Muguruza split their past two encounters on the tour – both at Grand Slam events before Williams snuck into the lead with a win in the fourth round of the Australian Open this season. At last year’s French Open, the Spaniard avenged the loss with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over the former champion in the tournament’s second round. While that is a promising sign, Williams is certainly the better hard court player, and unless she plays at a level well below her usual standard, she should find her way to edge one step closer to completing the Serena Slam and the Calendar Slam.

“She’s beaten me before, and she’s improved too,” Williams said. “It’s not going to be an easy match.”

The GOAT versus GBB (Great Britain’s best), No.2 vs No.3, Swiss Maestro vs Gritty British, All-time Legend vs Son of Soil, Aggressive Gladiator vs Defensive Wall, Roger Federer vs Andy Murray, what else to say. When the draw ceremony was conducted 2 weeks back, this was the one match that the thousands planning to visit SW 19 over the next fortnight were waiting for. It is the match-up between the Adopted Child of the All England Club and the Native Son of the United Kingdom.

Flashback to the summer of 2012; the summer which belonged to Federer and Murray as the consequence of the Wimbledon 2012 and the London Olympics turned out to be a major milestone in their respective careers. . Federer won his last major title at Wimbledon that year, beating Murray 4–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–4 in the Brit’s first Wimbledon final. Federer also managed to get back to the top of the rankings and overtake Sampras for the most weeks as No.1 (302 to 286).

Federer managed to get the better of Murray at the 2012 Wimbledon Final.

Murray immediately recovered from that tearful loss, getting his retaliation in the Olympic final, beating Federer on Centre Court 6–2, 6–1, 6–4, and went on to win his first major a few months later at the U.S. Open. A year later he would make his second Wimbledon final and go on to become the first British man in 77 years to hoist the Wimbledon singles trophy.

Fast forward to the current day and the two men now find themselves in analogous positions as they were back then. Despite their endeavors, they both arrived at Wimbledon in 2015 with something to prove. For Federer, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, this tournament remains his best chance at adding to his tally of 17 major titles. For Murray, after undergoing back surgery and battling his way back to his top form, he wants to prove he can do it again, this time with Coach Amelie Mauresmo in his corner.

Murray avenged his loss at the 2012 London Olympics and clinched the Gold Medal for Great Britain

With too much on stake, who will come out on top?? It might come down to who deals with the pressure and situation better!!

STATS-METER – Tenacious Brit vs Swiss Artiste

1. On Grass – Overall

Roger is 141-19 (88%) on grass overall. He has the best match win rate on grass in the Open-Era. He is also 2nd in the list of most matches won on grass behind Jimmy Connors (170). Similarly he leads the list for most titles won on grass – 15 (8 Halle & 7 Wimbledon; 15-5 in Grass Finals).

Andy is 88-16 (84.6%) on grass overall (4th best match win rate on grass in the Open-Era behind Federer, McEnroe, Borg). He’s won 6 titles on the greens (tied 8th in the Open-Era for most titles on grass; 4 Queen’s Club, 1 Wimbledon, 1 London Olympics; 6-1 in Grass Finals).

2. Wimbledon Track-record

Roger is 78-9 (89.6%) at Wimbledon; he is 2nd behind Connors (84) in the all-time match wins leader at Wimbledon. Also he is 3rd in the win-loss % at the All England Club behind Borg (92.7%) & Sampras (90%). He has won 7 titles at Wimbledon (tied with Pete Sampras for most championships). He is a 9-time Wimbledon finalist (7-2; most Wimbledon finals in the Open-Era). Federer is 9-0 in Wimbledon SF (won 27 of the 28 sets he’s played). He will play in his 10th SF (behind Jimmy Connors who has played the most SF at Wimbledon with 11 appearances).

Andy Murray is 46-8 (85.2%) at Wimbledon (8th in the all-time list for win-loss %). He won his only championship in 2013 and is 1-1 in finals. Also he’s reached the SF 5 times (2-3 record). He will play his 6th SF on Friday.

3. 2015 – ATP Season

World No.2 Federer is 39-6 in 2015 (4 titles – Brisbane, Dubai, Istanbul and Halle). He won his 1000th Professional match at the Brisbane Final. His victory in Halle saw him become the 3rd man to win titles at the same event (Rafael Nadal has nine Roland Garros titles and eight from Monte Carlo and Barcelona, while Guillermo Vilas has eight from Buenos Aires). He is 6-3 vs Top 10 opponents this season. Federer is 4-2 in Finals (both losses to Djokovic) & 6-0 in SF matches this season.

World No.3 Andy is 46-6 in 2015 (3 titles – Munich, Madrid and Queen’s Club). He reached his 4th AO Final losing to Novak Djokovic in the final. He won his 1st clay court title in Munich and followed that up with his 1st Clay-Court Masters title in Madrid beating Rafa Nadal in the final thus picking up his 1st victory against any of his fellow Big Four rivals since defeating Djokovic to win Wimbledon in 2013. He also won a record 4th Queen’s Club title. He is 6-4 vs Top 10 opponents this season (all 4 losses to World No.1 Djokovic). Andy is 3-2 in Finals & 5-2 in SF matches this season (again all losses to Djokovic).

Both men are the most in-form grass court players of the season. Both are on a 10-match win streak on grass after Federer won Halle and Murray won Queen’s.

4. The Head-to-Head

Federer leads the overall head-to-head 12-11 and has won the last 3 matches against the Scot (including the 6-0, 6-1 mauling at the O2 last year). The Surface break-up – Federer leads 11-10 on Hard and the match-up is tied 1-1 on grass. Also Federer leads 5-3 in Finals but trails 2-5 in SF matches. They are tied 1-1 at the All England Club.

In majors, Federer leads 4-1 (2-1 AO, 1-0 USO, 1-0 Wimby) but Andy won their only SF match at the 2013 AO Open (5 setter). Roger also leads 3-0 in slam finals. Federer is 5-1 in London (4 wins at World Tour Finals, 1 at Wimbledon only loss 2012 Olympics Final).

Before April of 2009, Murray dominated his rivalry with Federer, beating him all over the world, in Doha, Indian Wells, Shanghai, Madrid, Dubai and Cincinnati leading 6-2. But Fed won their Grand Slam final during that stretch and would turn it around starting in the summer of 2009, winning 10 of the last 15 matches.

The one stat to be noted is Murray is on an 11-match losing streak to players ranked in the top 2 (last win 2013 Wimbledon Final over Novak Djokovic). He is only 1-13 against the Big 3 since the start of 2014 (only win against an ailing Rafa – 2015 Madrid Final).

Marriage does work – Murray is 25-1 since marrying his long-time partner Kim Sears (since April 2015).

Roger – Serve Machine: In his 5 matches at SW 19 this year, Roger Federer is 72/1 (Service games win-loss) broken only once (broken by Simon QF). Thus far, he has faced only 3 break points and has won 85% 1st Serve Points and 67% 2nd Serve Points.

GAME ON..QUIET PLEASE PLAYERS ARE READY!!

The latest chapter of the Roger Federer vs Andy Murray rivalry will be written on Friday evening at the All England Club, as the two top competitors cross paths for a 24rd time on the tour. The head to head series is currently stands at 12-11 for Federer, who has won four of their last five meetings dating back to the semi-final round of the World Tour Finals in 2012. Much will be at stake in this coming encounter, as both these men are looking to secure their place in the final of the Wimbledon Championships.

Affected by the rain delays on court, Roger Federer still managed to work his way into the semi-final round with a 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 win against Gilles Simon. It was a solid showing from Federer, who confidently strolled into his first semi-final at Wimbledon since last season. He will now look to improve his 78-9 record at the Championships when he steps on court against the beloved Brit.

“I’m very happy to be in the semis again,” said Federer. “The road is long getting here. But still I feel like I’m fresh and I’ve got energy left in the tank for hopefully a great match with Andy and then we’ll see. But I’m looking forward to it.

“It’s been good so far. I felt like I played a very solid last year or so, especially on the grass I’ve done very well. I’m happy to keep it up here now. This is obviously now crunch time when you want to show if your game’s really up to par.”

In a match that was constantly halted for rain delays, Andy Murray still managed to work his way into the semi-final round of the Wimbledon Championships with a straight sets victory over Vasek Pospisil. Murray closed out the affair 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 for his 150th Grand Slam win. He also moved to 46-6 so far this season and will step on Centre Court for the semi-final for the first time since 2013.

“I needed to [step up] because at times, [he] was serving really well, [which] made it very difficult for me. Then I just managed to, at a few key moments, come up with some good shots. [The] third set was tricky, as well, because I had a bunch of break points. When you don’t take them, obviously you start to think about that a little bit. Overall, it was a good match.”

Of their previous 23 meetings on the tour, Federer leads the head-to-head series 12-11. Both Federer and Murray will be motivated to pick up the victory for a variety of reasons beyond simple bragging rights. Given their current form, it is exceptionally difficult to pick a certain winner. Federer did earn a 6-0, 6-1 win against Murray in the World Tour Finals last season, yet Murray has managed to regain much of his old form and could be poised to reach yet another Wimbledon final.

The latest chapter of the Roger Federer vs Andy Murray rivalry will be written on Friday evening at the All England Club, as the two top competitors cross paths for a 24rd time on the tour. The head to head series is currently stands at 12-11 for Federer, who has won four of their last five meetings dating back to the semi-final round of the World Tour Finals in 2012. Much will be at stake in this coming encounter, as both these men are looking to secure their place in the final of the Wimbledon Championships.

Follow the match: Federer vs Murray Live

Affected by the rain delays on court, Roger Federer still managed to work his way into the semi-final round with a 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 win against Gilles Simon. It was a solid showing from Federer, who confidently strolled into his first semi-final at Wimbledon since last season. He will now look to improve his 78-9 record at the Championships when he steps on court against the beloved Brit.

“I’m very happy to be in the semis again,” said Federer. “The road is long getting here. But still I feel like I’m fresh and I’ve got energy left in the tank for hopefully a great match with Andy and then we’ll see. But I’m looking forward to it.

“It’s been good so far. I felt like I played a very solid last year or so, especially on the grass I’ve done very well. I’m happy to keep it up here now. This is obviously now crunch time when you want to show if your game’s really up to par.”

In a match that was constantly halted for rain delays, Andy Murray still managed to work his way into the semi-final round of the Wimbledon Championships with a straight sets victory over Vasek Pospisil. Murray closed out the affair 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 for his 150th Grand Slam win. He also moved to 46-6 so far this season and will step on Centre Court for the semi-final for the first time since 2013.

“I needed to [step up] because at times, [he] was serving really well, [which] made it very difficult for me. Then I just managed to, at a few key moments, come up with some good shots. [The] third set was tricky, as well, because I had a bunch of break points. When you don’t take them, obviously you start to think about that a little bit. Overall, it was a good match.”

Of their previous 23 meetings on the tour, Federer leads the head-to-head series 12-11. Both Federer and Murray will be motivated to pick up the victory for a variety of reasons beyond simple bragging rights. Given their current form, it is exceptionally difficult to pick a certain winner. Federer did earn a 6-0, 6-1 win against Murray in the World Tour Finals last season, yet Murray has managed to regain much of his old form and could be poised to reach yet another Wimbledon final.

Prediction: Andy Murray in Five Sets

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The top seed at this year’s Wimbledon Championships will come across a player seeded 20 places below him in the draw when Novak Djokovic steps out on court to face Richard Gasquet for a spot in the final of the prestigious Grand Slam event. Novak leads the overall head-to-head 11-1 and has won nine consecutive matches against Gasquet, dating back to 2010. Their most recent meeting was during the fourth round of the French Open just a couple of months ago.

Follow the match: Djokovic vs Gasquet Live

Defending champion Novak Djokovic extended his head-to-head record against Marin Cilic to 13-0 when he defeated the reigning US Open champion in straight sets to advance to the semi-final round of the Championships. He won the match 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 49 minutes to emphasize his form heading into the semi-final. He will now attempt to complete one more victory before he challenges for his ninth Grand Slam title.

“I came out with the right intensity, moved well all over the court, tried to get as many returns back in play,” said Djokovic. “I didn’t allow Marin to come back to the match. It was a close game when I was serving for the set. I think that helped my confidence to feel better afterwards.”

In easily the best match of the men’s quarter-finals and of the tournament overall so far, Richard Gasquet upset Stan Wawrinka in a thrilling five-set battle to earn his place in the semi-final round of the Wimbledon Championships. Although he was unable to serve out he match up 5-3 yet eventually closed out the match with a 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 11-9 record.

“Even if I lost this important game at 5-3, I kept fighting a lot,” he said. “It was important because I know it’s a great match, playing the winner of Roland Garros in a quarter-final of a Grand Slam, so I need to keep focus, to stay focused, and to fight. Of course, it’s a very nice victory for me to win against him 11-9 in the fifth. It’s great.”

The incredible stat that one should remember is that while Gasquet has a terrible record in fourth round matches, he is an unbeaten 3-0 in quarter-finals at the slams. He will also bid to become just the second Frenchman to reach the Wimbledon final in the Open Era. The last French male to win the title was Yvon Petra in 1946.

“I’m proud because there are big players in the semis,” he said. “I’m the worst when you see Federer, Djokovic and [Andy] Murray and me (smiling). There is something, I want to enjoy it.”

Djokovic leads the head-to-head with Gasquet 11-1 and has not lost to the Frenchman in nine consecutive matches spanning over four years. Gasquet has not taken a set off the Serbian no. 1 since his last win over him in 2007, when the Tour Finals was hosted in Shanghai. It is hard to imagine Richard having much luck against Djokovic. In all cases, this should be a quick straight sets victory for Djokovic but it is not impossible for Gasquet to stretch it a fourth set given how well he performed against Wawrinka.

Prediction: Novak Djokovic in Four Sets

For more match tips, click Here: Wimbledon 2015 SF Predictions

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