Tsitsipas Battles In Den Bosch; Seppi Falls

Jun122018

Tomic, Ebden pass first tests

#NextGenATP Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas recorded his first tour-level grass-court match win on Tuesday at the Libema Open. The fifth seed defeated lucky loser John-Patrick Smith of Australia 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 35 minutes for a place in the second round. Smith replaced Dutch wild card Tallon Griekspoor, who withdrew due to a left leg injury.

“It feels great to be back on grass, I’ve been waiting for this season for a very long time,” said Tsitsipas. “I have had some good memories in the past, winning [Junior] Wimbledon doubles and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to perform today in [front of] such a big crowd on Centre Court and play my best in the second and third sets.”

Currently at a career-high No. 37 in the ATP Rankings, 19-year-old Tsitsipas reached his first ATP World Tour final in April at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell (l. to Nadal). He will now play Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri, who overcame Australian qualifier Max Purcell 6-2, 6-3 in 58 minutes.

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American wild card Mackenzie McDonald, the winner of the 2016 NCAA Division I singles and doubles titles, caused a big upset in beating eighth seed Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-4, 6-2 over 77 minutes. Seppi won one of his three ATP World Tour trophies on grass courts in June 2011 at the Nature Valley International (d. Tipsarevic). McDonald will now prepare to face Australian qualifier Alex Bolt, a 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 victor over Vasek Pospisil of Canada.

Two Australians, qualifier Bernard Tomic and Matthew Ebden, also booked their spots in the second round.

Tomic, the 2011 Wimbledon quarter-finalist, moved past American lucky loser Kevin King 6-4, 6-2 in 73 minutes for his first ATP World Tour match win since October 2017 at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships (d. Sousa, l. to Schwartzman). Tomic was previously meant to face Marcos Baghdatis, who withdrew due to a left hamstring injury. He will now play sixth-seeded Dutchman Robin Haase.

Ebden knocked out another American lucky loser Tim Smyczek 6-2, 6-3 in one hour, for a second-round clash against third seed Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. Smyczek took the spot of Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who pulled out due to a stomach issue.

Melo Records 450th Doubles Match Win
Marcelo Melo recorded the 450th victory of his career (450-272) in partnership with Lukasz Kubot as the top seeds beat Yuichi Sugita and Donald Young 6-4, 6-2 in 58 minutes. Kubot and Melo are 9-4 in tour-level doubles finals.

Two other seeded teams also advanced to the quarter-finals. Third seeds Dominic Inglot and Franko Skugor knocked out Dutchmen Haase and Wesley Koolhof 6-4, 7-6(4) in 78 minutes, while fourth seed Divij Sharan and Artem Sitak overcame Spaniards David Marrero and Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-3 in 57 minutes.

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Uncovered: Safwat Lives His Dream At Roland Garros

Posted: Jun 12, 2018

Uncovered: Safwat Lives His Dream At Roland Garros

Jun122018

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New British academies to open in 2019 with aim of producing top-100 players

Posted: Jun 12, 2018

Britain’s first national tennis academies will open in Stirling and Loughborough in 2019 in a bid to boost the number of players in the top 100.

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is setting up the centres as the first major step in its 10-year project to improve British tennis.

Tim Henman and Sam Smith will join an LTA advisory group as part of the plan.

The former British number ones, plus Andy Murray’s coach Jamie Delgado, will advise on performance and strategy.

Britain has four players in the WTA and ATP top 100, with Kyle Edmund ranked highest at 18.

Under the programme, up to 32 players – aged between 11 and 18 – will be selected for a full-time residential programme, which promises a mainstream education, at a cost of £5,000 per year.

There will also be 11 regional development centres aimed at improving 10-14-year-olds.

“The new performance strategy has been designed to help create future British tennis champions, who we hope will continue to inspire others to play, watch and enjoy the sport for generations to come,” said LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd.

Analysis

Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent

The new national academies will be aimed primarily at those between the ages of 13 and 18, but could accommodate children as young as 11 if they meet the criteria.

There will be regional and local centres as well, but the LTA will be investing in fewer venues and individuals as part of its new performance strategy. There will be a maximum of 32 players across the two academies, so the talent identification programme will be crucial.

Costs will, however, be much reduced for the parents of those who do make the grade. The charge will be just £5,000 per year, which includes the expense of weeks on the road at tournaments.

The LTA admits its development programme has suffered from too much chopping and changing in recent years, and the volume of potential top-100 players in the pipeline is not nearly as great as it should be.

The LTA’s ambition, though, is that in 10 years’ time Britain will be one of the most respected nations in the world for player development.

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