Watch Johnson's Back-Wall Hot Shot vs. Kyrgios
Watch Johnson's Back-Wall Hot Shot vs. Kyrgios
Oct102017
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British number three Naomi Broady was knocked out in the first round of the Linz Open in three sets by Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old lost 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 in two hours, 10 minutes in Austria.
World number 132 Broady served 16 aces but added 10 double faults to Tomova’s none as the world number 151 fought back from a set down.
Broady made the first round via a lucky loser spot having lost in qualifying to Slovakia’s Viktoria Kuzmova.
Experience and composure kept Juan Martin del Potro rolling on Tuesday as the 2013 runner-up saw off #NextGenATP Russian Andrey Rublev in the second round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters. The No. 16 seed prevailed 6-3, 6-4 in his first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting with the 19 year old.
The Argentine put the foot down early to break for 2-0 and was dominant on serve throughout. He never faced a break point in either set and finished with 14 aces to set a third-round showdown with either No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev or Aljaz Bedene, an earlier 6-1, 6-4 winner over Paolo Lorenzi.
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Rublev, currently No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Race to Milan, let his frustrations show when he dropped serve to open the second set, having worked hard to save three break points. He showed momentary glimpses of his best when he saved a match point at 3-5, serving to stay in the second. Despite a thumping forehand winner down the line to fend off a second match point on del Potro’s serve, it was momentary reprieve as the Argentine closed the match out a point later.
Fabio Fognini also advanced to the third round after a 7-6(7), 6-3 upset of No. 15 seed Lucas Pouille of France. Both players finished with nine aces but it was Fognini who was more effective on break points, fending off all three faced.
The Italian’s win nudged up his FedEx ATP Head2Head ledger with Pouille to 2-1. He awaits the winner of top seed Rafael Nadal and #NextGenATP American Jared Donaldson.
Andy Murray and Serena Williams are set to play at the Australian Open in January, according to tournament director Craig Tiley.
British number one Murray, 30, has not played since July when a hip injury hampered him in a quarter-final defeat at Wimbledon, while Williams, 36, gave birth to her first child in September.
The pair could be joined by Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka, says Tiley.
“All the top players will be back in Melbourne,” he said.
Former world number one Djokovic has been sidelined since suffering an elbow injury at Wimbledon, while Wawrinka and Nishikori have been out since the summer with respective knee and wrist problems.
“I can tell you that in talking to Andy, he has been training and he is preparing for having a great year in 2018,” Tiley said.
“How much would this year have hurt him, to watch over the entire year Roger [Federer] and Rafa [Nadal] share four Grand Slam titles – he would not have liked that.
“As competitive as Andy is, we know he’s back and he’ll want to improve his current ranking of number three in the world and getting back to number one.”
Murray had hoped to return for the US Open in August but pulled out 48 hours before it started.
During his absence, the Scot has dropped to number three in the world behind number one Nadal and number two Federer.
Last month, Murray’s mother Judy said there was “no timescale” for his return to competitive action.
Williams’ potential return to Melbourne Park would allow the American to defend the 2017 title she won while eight weeks pregnant.
The 23-times Grand Slam champion said before giving birth that she was planning to play at the tournament.
Tiley said Williams has a “special relationship” with the Australian Open, while the player has said the initials of her daughter’s name – Alexis Olympia Ohanian – are a nod to the tournament.
“She wants to come back in 2018 and defend her title,” Tiley said.
“Obviously, at training now, there is several months to go and it will be up to her as far as where she is with her fitness.”
The men’s and women’s singles winners will each collect four million Australian dollars (£2.4m) in 2018, up from A$3.7m in 2017, while the entire prize money pool has increased by 10% to A$55m (£32.4m).
Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent
While there is nothing to suggest Andy Murray won’t be in Melbourne in January, it is simply too early to say he will definitely be fit.
He is happy to be away from the public eye as he continues his rehabilitation, and is still planning to play Roger Federer in a charity exhibition match in Glasgow in a month’s time.
And although Murray has not officially called time on the 2017 season, it seems almost certain his next competitive appearance won’t be before the Brisbane tournament in the first week of the New Year.
British number two Aljaz Bedene reached the second round of the Shanghai Masters with a straight-sets defeat of Italian world number 39 Paolo Lorenzi.
The 28-year-old won 6-1 6-4 in an hour and 13 minutes and will now face German third seed Alexander Zverev, who was given a first-round bye.
World number 48 Bedene hit 10 aces and won 84% of the points on his serve.
Later on Tuesday, British number three Kyle Edmund will play Croatian fourth seed Marin Cilic in the second round.
Edmund served well to beat Jiri Vesely 6-3 6-2 in one hour and seven minutes to set up the tie with the 2014 US Open champion.
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The first round concludes and second round commences with 15 singles matches on Tuesday’s schedule at the Shanghai Rolex Masters. Nine of the 16 seeds are in action, including 2013 finalist Juan Martin del Potro, who meets 19-year-old Russian Andrey Rublev for the first time. Rublev is No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan and a career-high No. 35 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.
View FedEx ATP Head2Head matchup for Day 3 of the Shanghai Rolex Masters and vote for who you think will win!
del Potro vs. Rublev | Cilic vs. Edmund | Carreno Busta vs. Ramos-Vinolas
In other second-round matches, No. 4 seed Marin Cilic faces Kyle Edmund, No. 15 seed Lucas Pouille plays Fabio Fognini, #NextGenATP player Hyeon Chung challenges Richard Gasquet, and Spaniards Pablo Carreno Busta and Albert Ramos-Vinolas go head-to-head. Carreno Busta narrowly leads Sam Querrey and Kevin Anderson on the cut-off for Nitto ATP Finals qualification.
Querrey and Anderson are among the 20 players in first-round action. The 6-foot-6 Querrey opens against 5-foot-9 Yuichi Sugita, while the 6-foot-8 Anderson faces 5-foot-11 Adrian Mannarino. Denis Shapovalov debuts against Viktor Troicki on Court 4. The 18-year-old Shapovalov cracked the Top 50 on Monday to become the youngest Top 50 player since Rafael Nadal on 1 November 2004.
Juan Martin del Potro has three times come within a match of winning his maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title. The likeable Argentine reached the final at 2009 Coupe Rogers, 2013 BNP Paribas Open and 2013 Shanghai Rolex Masters.
He spoke to ATPWorldTour.com about his favourite Masters 1000 tournament, the time he met the Pope in Rome and which Masters 1000 event he’d like to win the most.
Which Masters 1000 host city is your favourite and why?
I like the Shanghai Rolex Masters. It’s pretty far but I think it’s a great tournament. The stadium is different and great. The food is amazing. We have great facilities, and I always like to play in Shanghai.
You reached the 2013 final there. Is that also why it’s your favourite?
It could be because I play good tennis always when I have the chance to play the tournament. I like the surface. I like to be discovering something new in the city. I have some Chinese friends, too, so I like the tournament.
Which Masters 1000 title would you most want to win and why?
I was close to winning Montreal a long time ago (2009). But I would love to win Miami because it’s more like playing in my home country, and many South American people live there. And I have a big number of fans cheering for me during the whole tournament. So I would love to win that tournament one day.
What do you consider to be your best Masters 1000 win?
I think against Nadal in Miami in 2009. I beat him in the quarter-finals, 7-6 in the third. And the crowd was completely full, and it was an exciting match.
What’s your favourite off-court memory at a Masters 1000?
When I met the Pope (Francis) of Argentina in Rome. That was great.
What do you consider the toughest aspect of Masters 1000 tournaments?
The draw. All of the players are so good, and from the first round until the end, all the matches are difficult to play. I never have a good draw in the Masters 1000s. It’s a really big challenge to play the Masters 1000s.
To compare the on-court emotions of Kevin Anderson from a few years ago to the 2017 edition of Anderson is to question if you’re watching the same 6’8” big-serving right-hander.
A few years ago, a show of emotion from Anderson was the crumpling of his hand into a fist. No shouting. No jumping. The South African barely talked out loud to himself.
But this season, the 31 year old has unveiled a completely different side of himself, and to great success. The veteran says “Come on” multiple times a game. He shouts at his box with excitement throughout the match, and frequently pumps his fist to help him stay focused on every point.
The moment hardly matters: Anderson yells at himself after a regular service winner at 1-1 in the first set, or after an overhead smash in the middle of a third-set tie-break.
It’s all part of his team’s plan to help him stay in the moment and celebrate the good that he’s doing on court. In the past, Anderson had a tendency to become too analytical and think too often during matches. His focus would wane, and points and games would trickle past him.
“I’ve always been pretty critical by nature about my game, and sometimes I feel that I’m maybe going a little bit too far, always thinking of little things I can do better,” Anderson exclusively told ATPWorldTour.com.
But by accentuating the positives, Anderson and his team hope to narrow his focus on only what’s going right.
“It’s a work in progress. Obviously he’s very, very pumped up and vocal about it right now,” said Neville Godwin, who’s coached Anderson since February 2014, and worked with psychologist Alexis Castorri on the idea. “It seems to be working because he’s been playing great.”
Anderson employed the rowdier game at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell in April, reaching the third round before falling to eventual champion Rafael Nadal. But it was on the hard courts in the U.S. where his season – and his noisier style – hit full stride.
Anderson reached his third ATP World Tour 500 final at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C., in early July before falling to German Alexander Zverev. At the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Montreal, Anderson made the quarter-finals, again coming up short against eventual champion Zverev.
But perhaps the biggest evidence of success from Anderson’s newfound emotional game came during his breakout US Open. Placed in a wide-open bottom half of the draw, Anderson took full advantage, winning six consecutive matches at a tournament for the first time.
Read More: Anderson Reaps Rewards On Long Way Back
The right-hander dismissed #NextGenATP Croatian Borna Coric, who had upset Zverev in the second round. Anderson avenged his Wimbledon loss to Sam Querrey in the quarter-finals.
To reach his first Grand Slam final, the South African came back from a set down to beat Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta. He celebrated with his memorable march into the Arthur Ashe Stadium stands.
“I feel like it allows me to play better tennis,” Anderson said of his more emotional self at the US Open. “The faster you can reset after a point that maybe hasn’t gone your way, maybe a missed opportunity, definitely the better. When you’ve played a good point, acknowledging that also has a lot of positive effects that increase your confidence level.”
The on-court change also came about because of a much-less celebrated time in Anderson’s career. Last year, he spent much of the season as a footnote on draw sheets.
Left knee, right shoulder, ankle and groin injuries forced Anderson to retire from two matches and withdraw from nine events. He started 2017 the same way, missing the Australian Open.
But the months away gave Anderson time to think about what’s worked in his career, what’s helped him bring his best tennis. He thought of past matches, including his 2015 US Open breakthough against Andy Murray, during which Anderson ended a 0-7 record in fourth-round matches at Grand Slams.
Serving at 5-6 in the third set, Murray lobbed Anderson, but he chased down the lob, pivoted around the ball and, while leaping in the air, smacked a forehand winner to roars from the packed Louis Armstrong Stadium. Anderson closed his fist and punched at the air as fans screamed.
It was a rare but natural reaction from Anderson, who was playing off of the crowd and living in the moment. “You don’t see that reaction from Anderson, almost never,” said commentator Jimmy Arias during the match.
The fourth-round match stands out to Anderson as a time when more emotions meant better tennis. “Looking back at past matches, when I’ve played my best tennis I have been a little bit more emotional, vocal,” Anderson said.
The change has taken time. The shouting was initially tiring for Anderson, but, as he’s played more matches, he’s felt more comfortable with it.
And, as his coach explains, the best tennis players force themselves away from what’s comfortable so they can experience something better. Nadal, for instance, one of Anderson’s idols and peers, remains a quiet and private person off the court but a gregarious and intense player in between the lines.
“In order to move up in tennis you have to do things differently. The old adage, if you keep doing the same things and expecting a different result, you’re an idiot,” Godwin said. “[Kevin has] always been someone who prides himself on working hard and improving, and this is just another step on that journey.”
The 2017 journey might include another first-ever stop later this year. With his US Open final run, Anderson has surged into contention to make his debut at the Nitto ATP Finals, the prestigious season-ending tournament, to be held 12-19 November at The O2 in London.
Anderson enters the Shanghai Rolex Masters in 12th place, 250 points behind Carreno Busta, who is in ninth place but holds the last qualification spot, with Stan Wawrinka (seventh) out for the season because of injuries.
“It would be great… Looking back at the summer, I have had some really good results. I’ve put myself in contention. There are a few other guys also in contention,” Anderson said. “It will be a fight to the finish, but I missed out on it by a couple of spots a couple years ago, so I think that will definitely be one of my biggest goals for the rest of the year.”