Roddick Or Clijsters: Hall Of Fame Trivia Newport 2017
Roddick Or Clijsters: Hall Of Fame Trivia Newport 2017
Jul192017
Two-time champion David Ferrer successfully transitioned from grass to clay on Tuesday, beating Argentine qualifier Federico Delbonis 6-3, 6-4 to move into the second round at the SkiStar Swedish Open in Bastad.
The eighth-seeded Ferrer, who won the title in 2010 and 2012, is making his 10th appearance in Bastad and improved to 22-7 at the clay-court event. The 35 year old will next meet German Dustin Brown, who defeated Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci 6-4, 6-3.
Two-time finalist (2013, 2016) Fernando Verdasco saved four of five break points to outlast #NextGenATP Swede Elias Ymer 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours. “I could have been more aggressive but I really felt I played with all my heart,” Ymer said. “I had a lot of energy going into the third set and that is a great feeling, when you know you can play every point with a great mindset and intensity.”
Verdasco is also making his 10th appearance at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament and will next face Argentine Facundo Bagnis, who put an end to Tommy Haas’ last campaign in Bastad, firing eight aces to win 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2 in two hours and 28 minutes.
Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov celebrated his 200th match win by saving both break points to beat Leonardo Mayer 6-3, 6-2. The 28 year old, who reached a career-high No. 13 Emirates ATP Ranking in 2012, has won three ATP World Tour singles titles. Earlier this year, he defeated World No. 5 Kei Nishikori in the Argentina Open final.
Top seed Pablo Carreno Busta will face Andrey Kuznetsov in his opening match after the Russian defeated Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-4 in the first round.
Seventh seed Diego Schwartzman sped into the second round with a 61-minute win over Maximilian Marterer, 6-1, 6-3. Schwartzman’s fellow Argentine Renzo Olivo will be his next opponent after advancing with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Paul-Henri Mathieu.
French qualifier Kenny De Schepper won 86 per cent of his first-serve points to upset his seventh-seeded countryman Benoit Paire 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 on Tuesday at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag.
The 30-year-old De Schepper will next play Italian Allessandro Giannessi, who beat Aussie wild card Marc Polmans 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4.
#NextGenATP Russian Andrey Rublev took advantage of his good fortune to beat Argentine Carlos Berlocq 6-2, 6-4. Rublev, No. 74 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, made the main draw as a lucky loser when sixth seed Borna Coric withdrew because of neck pain.
“I’m really happy that I won today because I know that to beat Carlos you have to play really aggressiave, you have to really give everything on court because he’s a really great player and he fights till the end, no matter what the score is,” Rublev said.
The 19-year-old Rublev will next meet Slovakia’s Andrej Martin, who beat Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin 6-3, 6-2.
Eighth seed Jiri Vesely erased the only break point he faced to beat Slovakian Norbert Gombos 6-4, 6-0. Birthday boy Aljaz Bedene, who turned 28, also advanced, knocking out two-time Umag champion Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and nine minutes.
#NextGenATP Aussie Akira Santillan made it look easy. Going for his first ATP World Tour win, the 20-year-old right-hander dismissed #NextGenATP American Michael Mmoh 6-1, 6-2 on Tuesday at the Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open in Newport.
6 Things To Know About Santillan
Santillan won 77 per cent of his first-serve points and broke the 19-year-old Mmoh five times to advance in 53 minutes. The Brisbane resident, fresh off his first ATP Challenger Tour title on Sunday in Winnetka, had been 0-4 in ATP World Tour matches. He will face American Bjorn Fratangelo in the second round.
Expect a lot of aces when Aussie Sam Groth meets top seed John Isner in the second round. Groth set-up the clash by saving a match point and beating qualifier Austin Krajicek of the U.S. 6-7(3), 7-6(2), 6-3. The 6’4” Groth was down 30/40, 5-6 in the second set.
“I snuck a volley over the net there. Quite often in Newport, it’s a bit throwback grass court, so quite often making that first volley is enough, and thankfully on that point it was,” said Groth, who finished with 23 aces.
Sixth seed Lukas Lacko of Slovakia overcame #NextGenATP Reilly Opelka of the U.S. 7-6(7), 6-4. He will next meet Aussie qualifier Matthew Ebden, who needed 65 minutes to prevail against American wild card Rajeev Ram 6-1, 6-4.
After the match, the 33-year-old Ram said the contest was likely his final singles match. Ram’s two ATP World Tour singles titles came at Newport (2009, 2015).
“I’ve played this tournament every year of my career since 2004. There’s no better way to cap it off, if it is my last singles match, to play here. Unfortunately it didn’t go my way but that’s besides the point. I’ve had so many great memories here over the years,” Ram said.
Konstantin Kravchuk picked up his first grass-court win, 6-4, 6-4, against fifth seed Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic. The Russian will next face German Peter Gojowczyk.
Johanna Konta says she can significantly improve her game despite reaching the Wimbledon semi-final and fourth in the world rankings.
The 26-year-old British number one is taking a short break before preparing for the US Open in August.
“I’ve got a massive amount of room to grow in all areas of my game to be quite honest,” she told BBC Sport.
Australia-born Konta said she is proud to represent Great Britain after her nationality was questioned.
Konta became the first British woman since Virginia Wade 39 years earlier to reach the Wimbledon last four.
But she is determined to make further progress towards her goals of becoming world number one and winning Grand Slams.
“I know there’s a lot of work to be done between now and achieving such things,” she said.
“I definitely feel I can physically improve. I’d like to get stronger, move even better on the court – maximise my movement.”
Konta, who was ranked 150 at the start of 2015, often speaks of the mental “process” she relies upon during her rise up the rankings and believes experience will improve her tactical game.
“I’m constantly looking to be more mentally strong and technically sound. I’m trying to leave no stone unturned,” she said.
Konta said she was proud to represent Great Britain after her nationality was questioned by BBC presenter John Humphrys on Radio 4’s Today programme.
The veteran interviewer said: “We talk about you as being British, but you were born in Hungary, Australian citizenship, and I seem to remember that the Australian high commissioner, when you won the quarter-final, said: ‘Great to see an Aussie win’, and we were saying: ‘Great to see a Brit win’ – so, what are you?”
She laughed before replying: “I was actually born in Australia to Hungarian parents, but I have lived half my life here now, almost. So, I’m a British citizen, and I’m incredibly proud to represent Great Britain. I have done so officially since 2012.”
Konta, who came to the UK aged 14, later told BBC Sport of her bond with Britain.
“This is my home, where I consider to be from and where I come back to. This is the place I miss when I am away,” she said.
“People are entitled to their opinion, but this is the only place I’ve truly represented and will continue to do so.
“I’m a British citizen and representing Great Britain at the 2016 Olympics was one of the proudest moments of my career.”
Some newspaper reports during Wimbledon referenced the fact that five years ago Konta did not know the words to the national anthem.
“Seeing as I’ve sung the national anthem at both the Olympics and many Fed Cup ties, I do know the words to my national anthem, yes,” she said.
Konta reached the Wimbledon semi-finals with a thrilling defeat of Romanian second seed Simona Halep which was watched by a peak of 7.4 million viewers, the BBC’s best TV figures for the 2017 tournament.
“It’s a massive compliment and a brilliant thing for tennis. It’s great that so many people got invested and involved in my match and were living the moment with me,” she said.
“I’ve definitely noticed that I’ve been recognised on the street more but it’s always positive. People have only said good things and congratulated me on my run and said I’ve inspired them or their children.”
She went out with a 6-4 6-2 defeat by five-time champion Venus Williams.
“I digested the match quite quickly and understood the things I could have done better, and acknowledge how well she played,” said Konta.
A higher profile has led to greater analysis of Konta by tennis pundits – but she tries to keep her focus.
“I employ the team around me to bring the most out of myself, and leave it to them to listen to lot of external things,” she said.
“I limit the amount I open my ears to because it can be a little bit overwhelming and confusing. Within my career, the simpler I’ve kept it, the better. I don’t listen too much to what’s going on outside.”
Away from the court, Konta has been enjoying her new-found love of baking, although admits it brought her to tears during Wimbledon.
“It was very random, I forgot to buy some chocolate chips (for muffins) in the supermarket and I only realised when I got home. I think I was a bit tired that day,” she said.
“I’m a massive fan of food. I like exploring new restaurants and cuisines. I’ve only just started baking so the only thing I can make is muffins – I’ve been making blueberry ones, chocolate and banana, white chocolate and raspberry.”
She also lists live music and the cinema as two other interests in her downtime.
“I’m going to see U2 soon and I’m very excited about that, and then I’m going to see Celine Dion with my mum,” she said.
Konta is next due on court at the Rogers Cup, which starts in Toronto on 7 August, having chosen not to defend her title at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California.
Another tilt at a Grand Slam title will begin on 28 August at the US Open, where Konta has reached the fourth round for the past two years.
“I only finished Wimbledon on Thursday and haven’t played since. I’m resting for the rest of this week and start training again on Monday. This is the only chance in the year when I can take more than two or three days off at one time,” she said.
Find out how to get into tennis in our special guide.
“We play a lot of tennis in the season and the season is very long. So to be able to find those moments where you can remove yourself from it and take care of your body goes towards ensuring the longevity and you being able to play many years.
“I need to remind myself to do that because I am a bit of a busybody. I like lists and ticking things off lists, so I need to make sure I do chill out and relax and try to get a day on the sofa here and there.”
Longer term she hopes to play again for Britain in the Fed Cup team event after this year’s controversy which led to Romania captain Ilie Nastase being suspended by the International Tennis Federation after swearing at the umpire and abusing Konta and her captain Anne Keothavong.
“It is not something that anyone should experience. It’s not something I think about or look to revisit. My life has moved on from it,” she said.
“One of the biggest honours you get as an athlete is to represent your country, especially in a team event. I would definitely love to keep participating.”
Wimbledon may be over but that’s not the end of the summer’s tennis action – now you can get to play for free!
The Great British Tennis Weekend (22-23 July) provides free tennis sessions across the UK and you don’t even have to bring equipment – racquets and balls are provided by participating clubs.
It’s effectively a nation-wide open day for tennis clubs and centres, so if you or your children have been inspired by events in SW19 to head out on the courts, this is the perfect opportunity to get playing.
To find activities and clubs near you, go to the LTA’s session finder and simply put in your postcode or have a look on the Get Inspired Activity Finder.
While the weekend of 22-23 July is one of the year’s nationally supported weekends, events are happening throughout the summer.
So if you run a tennis club and want to get involved, you can sign up here.
And if you want to find out more about getting into tennis, check out our Get Inspired guide.
Still not sure? Let Tony Costa tell you what tennis has done for him…….