Tennis News

From around the world

Iconic artist Wale: ‘Frances has got the rapper energy’

  • Posted: Sep 03, 2024

Frances Tiafoe has long been the face of tennis in the “DMV” (the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia), and other celebrities in the area have taken notice. Iconic artist Wale is a big supporter of the US Open quarter-finalist, who will play Grigor Dimitrov on Tuesday for a place in the last four.

“It’s like a shot in the arm. The DMV is known for football, basketball. We’ve got a lot. But tennis, there are not a lot of black men’s tennis players that are having that level of success,” Wale told ATPTour.com. “For him to be where we’re from, it’s just the icing on the cake. He’s an easy guy to root for in a sport that I feel like he can even be one of the faces of.”

Wale even visited the Mubadala Citi DC Open last month to watch his friend compete in the ATP 500 event. He compared the atmosphere to that of a Washington Commanders home game.

“I would imagine [it was] like a Sugar Ray [Leonard] boxing match that was in Landover in the ‘80s or something,” Wale said. “You could feel that the energy was for him and he put on a great show.”

Beyond his success on the tennis court, Wale has been impressed with how the 26-year-old carries himself.

“He’s humble. Even when he was like, ‘It’s my house’ [against Ben Shelton], you can still tell that he respects his opponent, he respects the game. He’s just easy to root for. He gets into it when he’s got to,” Wale said. “On a personal level, just how he is with me and how he is with other people, he’s just a really good dude. People that have that much success, they don’t always be the best people and he’s just a really good person that really respects the sport and respects his opponent. He’s an exciting player. What’s not to love, right?”

Wale has a couple pairs of Andre Agassi shoes in storage and has watched the likes of Agassi, Pete Sampras, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams over the years. Today, he follows players including Tiafoe, Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka, and believes “tennis is an easy watch”.

“There are a lot of young legends emerging right now,” Wale said. “[There is] just a lot to be excited about. I’ve been watching.”

Something that appeals to the Washington, D.C.-native about tennis is the one-on-one nature of the competition. He said that makes it “a different monster”.

“You can’t really take plays off. Your strategy is your strategy. You’ve got to battle with your own mind. It’s a psychological sport,” Wale said. “[Washington tournament chairman] Mark Ein explained so many layers of tennis to me at the Washington tournament. He explained so many levels that I never even thought of, so I watch it with a different mindset at this point.”

Wale is immersed in the sports world with the University of Maryland football team and its head coach, Michael Locksley, who is a mentor of Tiafoe’s. But when the rapper finishes for the day, he has checked in on Tiafoe’s US Open efforts. The home favourite is into the quarter-finals for the third consecutive year.

“I watch the highlights when I get back,” Wale said. “I think I’m going to be able to watch the next match, but I’ve been locked in with practice. I’ve been catching the good stuff, though.”

[ATP APP]

Most of all, Wale feels pride watching what his friend is accomplishing.

“It’s like an infinite level [of being proud] seeing him manoeuvre through this and seeing how he keeps his composure. It’s very inspiring to me. We can all learn a lot from Frances Tiafoe, to be honest,” Wale said. “Tennis is a wicked game, man. You can be down crazy and have to rally back… There’s a lot you can learn. I watched him, I talked to him. We talk on the phone. His energy is that of a person who is grateful for everything.

“He wants to represent this area just as much as a rapper would. Frances has got the rapper energy, to be honest. He wants to represent where he’s from just like a rapper would.”

Wale believes Tiafoe is just getting started on and off the court. The American also sets a great example off the court and has been recognised for it. Tiafoe earned the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award in 2020.

“He’s got so many more tricks up his sleeve and I think he’s just going to put Maryland tennis on the map,” Wale said. “Black tennis players, they have somebody to look up to. Young black kids have somebody to look up to, and Naomi and Coco are doing their thing. But young black boys have somebody to look up to and that’s exciting and admirable.

“It’s exciting to see what he can do and I’m always going to support him. I’m grateful that we made our connection and that he’s doing what he’s doing. Sometimes I take his matches too seriously!”

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

Source link

De Minaur sinks Thompson to reach 3rd straight Grand Slam QF

  • Posted: Sep 03, 2024

Alex de Minaur reached his third consecutive major quarter-final on Monday at the US Open, where he overcame fellow Australian Jordan Thompson 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 under the lights in New York.

The 10th seed raced out of the blocks to take command early and showed great foot speed throughout on Louis Armstrong, tracking down drop volleys and flat Thompson groundstrokes to reach the last eight after two hours and 57 minutes.

“I’ve got so much respect for Thommo. We’ve grown up together and he’s been like a big brother to me,” De Minaur said. “I really appreciate everything he’s done for me. He’s a helluva competitor, my Davis Cup teammate and I can’t wait to share the court many, many times with him.”

[ATP APP]

With his 40th tour-level win of the year, De Minaur passed Novak Djokovic in seventh place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. The 25-year-old has enjoyed an impressive year, reaching the last eight at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, while winning titles in Acapulco and ‘s-Hertogenbosch. He is aiming to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time.

“It’s just the mentality,” De Minaur said of his consistent success this year. “Having a positive mindset no matter what , trying to win every point and as always compete my heart out.”

Playing his first tournament since Wimbledon, where a hip injuring forced his withdrawal ahead of a quarter-final with Novak Djokovic, De Minaur will meet British lefty Jack Draper in the last eight.

De Minaur takes a 3-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head series lead into the clash, with both men aiming to reach the semi-finals at a major for the first time. De Minaur also advanced to the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows in 2020 when he lost to eventual champion Dominic Thiem.

De Minaur started fast against Thompson, who hit one winner and 12 unforced errors in a nervy first set. The top-ranked Australian was consistent from the baseline to lead but had to withstand an attacking second-set showing from Thompson. The 30-year-old started to move forward more frequently, winning 71 per cent (12/17) of net points in the set to apply pressure on De Minaur.

The 10th seed reacted well in the third set, winning 93 per cent (14/15) of his first-serve points and gaining the decisive break of the set in the sixth game and then survived a rollercoaster fourth set, which featured five service breaks, after rallying from 1-3. De Minaur had an edge in the key stats categories, winning 56 per cent of second serves to Thompson’s 43 per cent and making less than half (26 to 59) of his opponent’s unforced errors.

Thompson was aiming to reach the last eight at a major for the first time. The 30-year-old leaves New York at No. 29 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

Source link

Medvedev marches past Borges in New York

  • Posted: Sep 02, 2024

Is ‘hard-court specialist’ Daniil Medvedev ready to go all the way once more at the US Open?

The fifth seed and 2021 titlist continued his impressive 2024 campaign at the New York major with a 6-0, 6-1, 6-3 fourth-round triumph against Nuno Borges on Monday afternoon. Medvedev was in control for almost all of the one-hour, 51-minute encounter, during which his only brief moment of peril came when he trailed by a break early in the third set.

Since 2018, Medvedev has won more tour-level matches (268) on hard courts than anyone else on the ATP Tour: Andrey Rublev is second on that list with 210. The No. 5 in the PIF ATP Rankings certainly appeared at home inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, where he ground Borges down with his trademark retrieval skills and converted eight of 16 break points he earned.

“I try to work hard. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t,” Medvedev told his ATP Tour rival Nick Kyrgios in his on-court interview. “There are days when it is tougher to go out on court and practise, but I have the mentality that if the other guy practises more than me, I have less chances to win, and I want to win all the time. So I try to practise as much as I can.

“I’ve had a lot of success here at the US Open and last time I lost in the fourth round was against you. Good memories.”

[ATP APP]

Medvedev, who is bidding to win the same trophy twice for the first time this fortnight in New York, has now won all three of his Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings with Portuguese star Borges following his victories earlier this year at the Australian Open and in Halle. The 28-year-old, who has dropped just one set across his four matches so far, will play top seed Jannik Sinner or home favourite Tommy Paul in the quarter-finals.

His run in New York so far has also boosted Medvedev’s chances of qualifying for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals for the sixth consecutive year. The 20-time tour-level champion is currently fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, and he could jump above Carlos Alcaraz into third by clinching the US Open trophy.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

Source link

Isner, Opelka & more weigh in on Sinner's serving surge

  • Posted: Sep 02, 2024

A lot of the attention on Jannik Sinner’s game goes to his booming groundstrokes and dominant baseline game. But the key to his ascent to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings this year has been his serve.

The Italian has dominated all major service categories according to Infosys ATP Stats, positioning himself to unleash the rest of his game on the ATP Tour.

“There are still signs of sometimes being inconsistent with that shot. It has been more consistent in the last three, four months, that’s for sure,” Sinner told ATPTour.com in Cincinnati. “Then it’s a weapon or a shot where I can put myself a little bit out of danger sometimes, but I still believe that there’s a lot of work to do.”

Sinner entered the US Open leading the Tour in service games won (91.3%), second-serve points won (57.5%) and break points saved (72.9%). He is second in first-serve points won at 79.5 per cent, which only trails Grigor Dimitrov.

“We changed a couple of things with the toss of the ball, and also my mental side,” Sinner said. “It has been different, trying to play sometimes with a bit more rotation, instead of going to hit the ace or all that stuff.”

<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/09/02/18/37/sinner-cincinnati-2024-serve-final.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Jannik Sinner” />
Photo Credit: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour
One of the best servers in the history of tennis, John Isner, has taken notice of the Italian’s improvement. The final meeting of their Lexus ATP Head2Head series came two years ago at Wimbledon.

“A lot of people have noticed, myself included, that Sinner has, really since working with Darren Cahill, changed his service motion from platform to pinpoint,” Isner said. “His serve looks pretty similar to mine and in my mind, that’s the superior way to serve. So he obviously stuck with it. It seems like it would be a simple change, but it’s definitely not. He stuck with it, stayed the course and it’s paying off for him as his service numbers are so, so good.”

Isner won 91.8 per cent of his service games in his career, with his record 14,470 aces a big reason why. The American explained that Sinner’s improvement has been different.

“It’s not that he’s hitting a million aces like I did, but a little bit better placement allows him to dictate play much quicker in the rally on his serve and we all know he’s one of the best baseliners in the world,” Isner said. “It seems to me he’s improved just his serve in a vacuum about 10 per cent and that’s been huge for him and a big reason why he ascended to No. 1 in the world.”

Another dominant server, Reilly Opelka, won a doubles title with Sinner in Atlanta in 2021. The American missed nearly two years due to a wrist injury. But upon his return this year in Newport, he raved about how much the Italian has improved.

“Jannik’s improved a tonne since I’ve been on Tour. No one talks about it just because he was always really good,” Opelka said. “He didn’t have a great serve when I left. He took the ball almost too early, and made too many unforced errors. The guy barely loses to anybody now. You can’t say hands down the best player in the world since Alcaraz won Wimbledon, but those two are on their own level.”

[ATP APP]

According to Opelka, Sinner is hitting his spots with his serve “way better” and his cadence has changed.

“His motion looks faster. It looks like he changed the tempo of his motion,” Opelka said. “Any young guy — he was so young, and he was so good — you just knew he was going to improve and he’s still going to improve, which is scary. I got to hang out with him in Atlanta. Nicest kid in the whole world. We were going to dinner every night. Everything that you see, that you suspect, is who he really is. He’s as sweet of a guy as you can imagine.”

Sinner has not served quite as well in New York, where he has won 85 per cent of his service games. However, compared to his early-career numbers, that is still a solid effort. Before 2023, the Italian never won more than 83 per cent of his service games in a season.

The 85 per cent is also slightly misleading. The 23-year-old has lost serve six times in the tournament, and three of those service games came in his first set of the tournament. In his nine sets since, he has dropped a total of three service games. Excluding that opening set against Mackenzie McDonald, Sinner has won 89.5 per cent of his service games.

Sinner’s second-round opponent, #NextGenATP American Alex Michelsen, came away from their clash inside Arthur Ashe Stadium impressed.

“The guy is hitting 128 [mph] flat wide aces on the Ad and [at] 15/30, 40/30, on big points, he’s coming up with the goods,” Michelsen said. “He’s a very clutch server and that’s not really something I realised until I played him and it’s just like, ‘Ugh, this guy’s getting two, three free points a game’, and that helps a lot.”

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

Source link