Tennis News

The Last Time With… Filip Krajinovic

During the 2021 season, Filip Krajinovic earned his 100th career tour-level win in Indian Wells and reached his fourth ATP Tour final in Hamburg. Off court, the Serbian has stories to tell, from meeting his idol Pete Sampras to his struggles in the kitchen.

In the latest installment of our popular series, Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic reveals the last time…

I missed a flight?
I cancelled a flight last minute in June because Novak [Djokovic] called me to tell me he was going to do something to celebrate his Roland Garros victory. I was meant to go to Montenegro and then at the last minute I just cancelled and went to see him. I am always last minute, but to miss a flight, I don’t think I have.

I lost something important?
I lose my wallet so much. I am quite good on that also though. I don’t think I have lost something very important ever. I have lost the keys to my car, but they can be easily replaced. So far, so good.

I paid money to hire a court or buy tennis balls?
I paid before I came to Wimbledon. There is one tennis club in Serbia and I was a little bit surprised when they told me, ‘Hey, man, you have to pay’. It was €15 per hour, and I paid for four hours and needed four hours and was with my coach.

Being famous helped me?
It has helped me out a lot. Back in Serbia, people follow tennis a lot because of Novak and the rest of us are second league, but they are still following. I always try and say I am a tennis player. If need a reservation, I try to always have my tennis racquet next to me. I am hoping they know who I am. Serbia is a very small country, so we all know each other.

I strung a tennis racquet?

I have never done that in my life. I don’t think I can do it. I need time to learn a little bit, but I am really not interested in that! It takes at least 25 minutes. I have never watched the whole racquet being done either.

I cooked for myself or others?
No, I am really bad! All I do is make a tea, I do not go to the kitchen at all, I am really really bad at that. I can make the coffee though with a machine, you press the button and magic. When I am playing the tournaments I always eat in the restaurants. Even when I am home, I like to go to the restaurant. I love to eat steak and spaghetti, Europe and Italian food. My kitchen, when you go to my apartment, is totally new.

I met a childhood idol?
My idol when I was young was Pete Sampras, and 10 years ago I had the chance to go to his house. My sponsor was IMG, and he was in touch with IMG needing someone to hit with him, so they told me to go to his house and hit for a couple of days. I was really happy I was able to meet him. I was young and it was fun. I was too scared to ask for advice, I was in shock. At that time, my English was not very good, so I didn’t want to get into that many conversations.

Photo Credit: Adam Pretty/Getty Images

I asked someone for a selfie?
Today I asked my coach, let’s do a selfie on the court.

I went to a concert?
Over a year ago, when everything was normal. I went to see some Serbian star, a big star. He is about 70-years-old, he is the most famous singer in Serbia. I went there and it was amazing, about 20,000 people there. I had a great time; he plays pop music. I am really in love with music, I like to listen to music all the time.

I attended a live sporting event other than tennis?
I watch soccer lots in Serbia. I watch Red Star [Belgrade], and I also watch the NBA when I am in America. I like to watch Nikola Jokic, the Most Valuable Player. For me, soccer is the main sport, I like to go to the stadium and cheer my team. The crowd is amazing, unbelievable, one of the best in the world.

I made my debut at a Tour event?
I played in Madrid for the first time this year at the tournament. I had never played in Madrid before, but every other tournament I have played.

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2022 ATP Cup FAQ

What is the ATP Cup?
The ATP Cup is an annual country teams competition staged in Australia by Tennis Australia in partnership with ATP.

When will the 2022 event be played?
Running 1-9 January, ATP Cup will be staged in the first week of the 2022 ATP Tour season. The 2022 tournament will feature a 16-team field and be hosted across two venues in Sydney – Ken Rosewall Arena and the Qudos Bank Arena – both at Sydney Olympic Park.

What is the format of the 2022 event?
The 2022 ATP Cup will feature a 16-team field with four groups of four teams. The winners of each group will advance to the semi-finals.

When will the draw and schedule be released?
The draw will be made 4 December, when the 16 countries will be allocated to the four groups. The schedule will be released 6 December.

How do entries work?
The top-placed countries in the ATP Cup Standings gain acceptance into the event based on the singles FedEx ATP Ranking and entry of the country’s No. 1 singles player at the entry deadline. Host country Australia will be granted a wild card into the event if it doesn’t gain acceptance based on the ranking of its No. 1 singles player.

A minimum of three ATP-ranked players, including two members with singles FedEx ATP Rankings points, are required for a country to be eligible to qualify.

Rankings to be used for entries are the FedEx ATP Rankings. A Protected Ranking can be used to enter provided the player’s Protected Ranking is valid through the entry deadline. Protected Ranking will not be used for team seeding.

What are the ATP Cup Standings?
The ATP Cup Standings is a provisional entry list for the ATP Cup, ordered by the FedEx ATP Ranking (or Protected Ranking) of a country’s highest-ranked singles player. ATP Cup Standings also show which players within each country would qualify for a place in their country’s team, subject to player entry rules.

View ATP Cup Standings

How many players will be in each team?
Competing teams will have a maximum of five players – three selected based on singles FedEx ATP Ranking, with fourth and fifth position decided by best (singles or doubles) ranking. Teams with less than five players will have their third and fourth (if applicable) player(s) decided by best (singles or doubles) ranking.

What points and prize money are on offer?
The 2022 ATP Cup will feature US$10 million prizemoney and award a maximum of 750 FedEx ATP Rankings points in singles and 250 in doubles.

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How did previous editions of the tournament work?

The inaugural event in 2020 saw 24 countries divided into six groups in three Australian cities — Brisbane, Perth and Sydney — for six days of round-robin play. The six group winners and the two best second-placed teams advanced to the knockout Final Eight in Sydney. Novak Djokovic took Serbia to victory over Spain, led by Rafael Nadal, in a fairytale final in year one.

In 2021, due to COVID-19 restrictions, ATP Cup featured 12 countries playing exclusively at Melbourne Park in the lead-up to the Australian Open. The four groups contested the semi-finals, with Russia beating Italy in the final.

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What is the format?
Each tie will be comprised of two singles matches and one doubles match. The country that wins two matches will win the tie. Singles will be best-of-three tie-break sets. Doubles will feature No-Ad scoring and a Match Tie-break in lieu of a third set.

What is the order of play?
There is a day session and an evening session each day. The No. 2 players will play first in each tie, followed by the No. 1 players, with the doubles to follow. All doubles matches will be played regardless of whether the tie is decided after the two singles matches, except if the final is decided after the two singles matches. In that event, the doubles will not be played.

Is on-court coaching allowed?
Yes. Coaching will be permitted by the team captain, the competing player’s individual coach or fellow player team members. Coaching advice is not limited to changeovers and set breaks, but it shall not interfere with the speed of play.

Can a player play singles and doubles?
Yes. The team captain decides who plays doubles. The on-site FedEx ATP Ranking order must be respected for singles matches. For example, the No. 1-ranked player on a team based on on-site FedEx ATP Rankings at the start of the competition cannot play No. 2 singles. Protected Ranking will be considered the official ranking for line-up position.

*All the above information is subject to change by the ATP rules and regulations.

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Germany Defeats Great Britain In Thriller, Advances To Davis Cup SFs

Germany advanced to the semi-finals of the Davis Cup Finals on Tuesday evening, with the country’s doubles team of Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz leading the way past Great Britain in a thriller.

All three of Germany’s ties have gone to a deciding doubles rubber and on all three occasions, Krawietz and Puetz have come through. They battled past Great Britain’s Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski 7-6(10), 7-6(5) on Tuesday to send their country to Madrid, where Germany will face the Russian Tennis Federation or Sweden.

“I’m super happy that we are going to Madrid. The whole team is great. We feel so comfortable with the whole team. The box today was unbelievably loud,” Krawietz said in his on-court interview. “[There were] no spectators, but we heard everything, so it pushed us a lot and we are super happy to make it through to the semi-finals.”

All four players showed a tremendous competitive spirit and flashes of brilliant shotmaking in Innsbruck. But the Germans stayed cooler under pressure to triumph. Krawietz and Puetz saved four set points in the first-set tie-break and rallied from 0/5 in the second-set tie-break to secure their victory.

“[It was] just grit, persistence, whatever you want to call it. I thought it was a pretty high level,” Puetz said. “I think it showed in the tie-break, us being down 5/0 and just [being] persistent, keeping going, believing in ourselves, playing point by point and here we are.”

Jan-Lennard Struff kept Germany’s hopes alive in the second match of the day when he clawed past 2021 breakthrough star Cameron Norrie 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-2. 

Norrie, who competed as an alternate in the Nitto ATP Finals earlier this month, appeared to turn the match around when he forced the decider. But Struff played courageously to earn his first ATP Head2Head win against the lefty (series tied 1-1).

Earlier in the day, the crafty righty Daniel Evans had given Great Britain a 1-0 lead in the tie when he defeated Peter Gojowczyk 6-2, 6-1.

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Tsitsipas 'Caravaggio' Image Named One Of Time's Top 100 Photos Of 2021

Fans will remember this year’s Roland Garros final — in which Novak Djokovic rallied past Stefanos Tsitsipas in five sets — for years to come. Getty Images photographer Julian Finney was there to document it, with one of his images from the match recently being named one of TIME’s Top 100 Photos of 2021.

Finney captured Tsitsipas sliding into a backhand slice on Court Philippe Chatrier, with a pocket of light shining perfectly on the Greek as if he were under a spotlight. According to the photographer, the moment came “out of nowhere”.

“The usual nice light us photographers love had gone from the court as the sun was beginning to go down behind the stadium. Without a fifth set this picture wouldn’t have been possible,” Finney said. “I was aware of new pockets of light formed by the new centre court construction, but what occurred at this split moment was something I didn’t plan for. It’s one of those golden moments that comes and goes very quickly.

“What was so special was the low light beaming through a gangway in the stadium above whilst at the same time it was also reflecting off a window up a few rows behind me. Stefanos was also playing a low sliding backhand in the very limited spot of light. It all came together. It is the kind of lighting you’d expect from a studio set up.”

View TIME’S Top 100 Photos Of 2021

Finney, who was using a 24-70mm lens, knew as soon as he shot the image that he “had something special”, which was rewarding.

“When in that moment Stefanos played this particular shot low and sliding into this spot on the court, I couldn’t believe it paid off to shoot it loosely cropped,” Finney said. “The way the light is flaring through, the very certain spot he played the shot, the timing, his white top helped elevate the reflection of the light, [everything worked]. I knew as soon as I looked at the back of my camera I had a very special image.

“One friend mentioned it having a feel of a Caravaggio painting, quite the compliment! I also think the fact no one else got the same image, [which does not happen often] these days, is something to treasure.”

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Davis Cup: Great Britain lead Germany in quarter-finals after Dan Evans win

Great Britain make the perfect start in their Davis Cup quarter-final as Dan Evans thrashes German opponent Peter Gojowczyk in the opening rubber.

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Haas Defeats Berdych On Final Day Of Champions Tennis

The ATP Champions Tour’s Champions Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall came to a close on Sunday night, with Greg Rusedski’s Team Greg taking home the trophy. Tommy Haas’ 4-1, 4-3(1) victory against Tomas Berdych was one of the highlights of the day.

Across the event, tennis fans laughed, cheered – and some even had the chance to play with some of the world’s greatest players — with 2021 wrapping up 24 years of Champions Tennis at the iconic British venue. In addition to Haas’ win against Berdych, Xavier Malisse defeated Marcos Baghdatis 4-2, 4-3(2), and Radek Stepanek overcame Fernando Gonzalez 4-2, 4-3(0). 

At the end of the four-day event, Team Greg lifted the trophy as the clear victors in this year’s tournament, with Team Mark coming in second and Team Goran in third.

Over the past 24 years, Champions Tennis has seen players through the ages who have held the World No. 1 FedEx ATP Ranking, reached a Grand Slam singles final or been a singles player on a victorious Davis Cup team, compete in a mixture of team and individual events in both singles and doubles. 

Some of the biggest legends of the game took to the stage in front of a full house at the Royal Albert Hall, including British star and US Open champion Emma Raducanu, who faced Romanian Elena-Gabriela Ruse. 

Other stars included British favourite Rusedski, fan favourite Mansour Bahrami, Chilean Gonzalez, Spaniard David Ferrer, 2006 Australian Open finalist Baghdatis and former Top 10 star Stepanek. Other players who competed in the tournament included Malisse, Australian legend Philippoussis, 2010 Wimbledon finalist Berdych, former top five player Thomas Enqvist, former Russian No. 1 Mikhail Youzhny, German Haas, Swedish star Mikael Pernfors and Spaniard Nicolas Almagro.

2021 also marked the last time the tournament will be held at the historic Royal Albert Hall.

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Ivashka: 'My Father Wanted Me To Do Martial Arts'

Ilya Ivashka knew the moment he tried his first sport it was never going to last.

The Belarusian enjoyed a breakout season at 27 with a maiden tour-level title at Winston-Salem and a career-best FedEx ATP Ranking of No. 43. But his late-blooming tennis success may not have been possible had he taken his father’s advice.

“It is funny because my father wanted me to do martial arts,” Ivashka told ATPTour.com. “I started but I didn’t really like it because I was so scared I was going to break something, so I didn’t want to go and I didn’t like to fight.

“My dad was playing tennis with his friends and he was always taking me and I saw it and liked it, so I asked him if I could play tennis. Then my parents helped me and have been there all of my life to help me find coaches and put me in good tennis centres to improve and it went naturally.”

It soon became apparent Ivashka had the talent for his chosen discipline and he quickly excelled, after he started playing aged five. He was channelled into a more advanced group and from there, there was no turning back.

The Minsk native enjoyed his best season to date under Spanish coach and former player, Jose Checa-Calvo. In addition to his title run in Winston-Salem, which included wins over the likes of top seed Pablo Carreno Busta and former World No. 3 Marin Cilic, he reached the second week at a major for the first time with a fourth-round run at Wimbledon. His biggest win by FedEx ATP Ranking came as a qualifier in Munich in May, where he scored his first Top 10 victory over Alexander Zverev to reach the final.

“I have been quite consistent this year and coming through qualifying all the year I have been competing well and giving my best,” he said. “I was improving week by week and it didn’t matter if I won or lost. I was feeling very good in Winston-Salem.

“I think I have improved a little bit mentally, which helps me to be more consistent and fight for every match. It doesn’t matter about your ranking because at this level you can beat anybody or lose to anybody.”

He first teamed up with Checa-Calvo while training in Spain in 2018 after he decided to part ways with his former coach. The new partnership was one which Ivashka said quickly brought out the best in him as a player and as a person.

“I met Jose and we spoke for five minutes and I was like ‘wow’. So since then we are very good friends and he is like a step-brother to me,” Ivashka said. “He is always helping with all of the things off court and on court. He is a very big part of our success.

“He is a different character, but it is something I am learning from him. He is very calm. We are kind of similar because I spent a few years practising in Spain and the people there are more relaxed with everything.

“They take life very easily. In Belarus we have a little bit of a different mentality, so going to Spain was good for me. When we are back in Barcelona he has his life and I have my own. He has his kid, who is nine months and I have my wife.”

Ivashka, who went 31-16 in 2021, is a self-confessed home body who favours a night in watching TV with his wife or reading J.K. Rowling books over a night out on the town. After four to five weeks on the road he admitted he tired of travel and enjoyed being home. However, there was one place he didn’t mind being away for work in 2021 on the ATP Tour.

“One of my favourite tournaments is St. Petersburg,” Ivashka said. “It is one of my favourite cities in the world because everywhere you go, it is like a museum. It is amazing.”

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Gojo Fires Croatia Ahead

Borna Gojo sprung a surprise Monday at the Davis Cup Finals, overcoming World No. 27 Lorenzo Sonego 7-6(2), 2-6, 6-2 to give Croatia a 1-0 lead against Italy in the quarter-finals in Turin.

The World No. 279 played well above his FedEx ATP Ranking against Sonego, striking 20 winners and hitting with great power and depth to triumph after two hours and 19 minutes.

“It feels amazing,” Gojo said. “We knew we had to get one point from the two singles. We are confident with our doubles team. I hope Marin [Cilic] can bring us another win. The support was unbelievable. They are so loud. Some of my best friends and family are here and I want to thank them with all my heart for coming.”

Jannik Sinner will face Marin Cilic in the next match Monday, aiming to level the tie and force a deciding doubles rubber in Italy.

See all Davis Cup results

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Davis Cup Finals: Great Britain ready for Germany in quarter-finals

Great Britain’s players are “bouncing” going into the Davis Cup quarter-final against Germany on Tuesday, says captain Leon Smith.

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Novak Djokovic unlikely to play at Australian Open over Covid-19 vaccination rules says player's father

Novak Djokovicis is unlikely to play at the Australian Open because of rules over Covid-19 vaccinations, according to his father Srdjan Djokovic.

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