Klaasen/Ram prevail in ‘s-Hertogenbosch
Second seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares came out on top in another tight match on Friday at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, reaching the final with a 6-3, 6-7(5), 10-6 victory over Marcin Matkowski and Max Mirnyi.
Murray/Soares needed 11 match points to prevail in their quarter-final on Wednesday against Brian Baker and Nikola Mektic, but only needed three in the Match Tie-break against Matkowski/Mirnyi to advance in 77 minutes.
Awaiting them in the final will be top seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan or fourth seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic. Murray/Soares are 1-1 in ATP World Tour doubles finals in 2017, prevailing in Acapulco (d. Isner/Lopez) and finishing runner-up in Sydney (l. Koolhof/Middelkoop).
At the Ricoh Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, second seeds Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram secured the lone break in the last game of their semi-final match against Aussies John Peers and Jordan Thompson to advance 7-6(4), 7-5. Klaasen/Ram have already lifted winner’s trophies this year in Delray Beach (d. Huey/Mirnyi) and the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells (d. Kubot/Melo).
They’ll play Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo in a rematch of their Indian Wells final after the top seeds defeated Andre Sa and recent Roland Garros doubles champion Michael Venus 6-7(5), 6-4, 10-5. Kubot/Melo have excelled at Masters 1000 events this year, winning in Madrid (d. Mahut/Roger-Vasselin) and Miami (d. Monroe/Sock).
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World number one Andy Murray says he may only have “a couple of years” left at the top of tennis but insists he will “make the most of every tournament”.
Now 30 years old, Murray will be aiming to win Wimbledon for the third time and equal Fred Perry’s record when the tournament starts next month.
In a wide-ranging interview with BBC Sport, the Briton discussed being the world’s top player, his love of Wimbledon, “making mistakes” and life after retirement.
The Scot, who was knighted in the New Year Honours, turned 30 in May and all of the top five players on the men’s tour are in their 30s. Spaniard Rafael Nadal is 31, Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland is 32, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic is 30 and Swiss Roger Federer 35.
But Murray said that despite players continuing to compete at the highest level into their 30s he accepts that he may not have long left at the top.
“My coach, Ivan Lendl, was still competitive at the top until he was about 32 but, generally, over the past 20 to 30 years, normally by early 30s is when players have struggled to stay at the top.
“I know some of the players have been doing really well until their mid-30s recently, but that might not be the case with me. Maybe the next couple of years are the last few where I have a chance to compete for the majors and the biggest tournaments.
“Most of the players are travelling with physios now, spending a lot more time working in the gym to protect their bodies from the kind of pounding you give it on the court as well. I think some of that explains it.
“I don’t know how long I’m going to be playing for any more. I want to make the most of every tournament I compete in. If I’m going to be away from my family, I’m not going to do that and not do my best, be totally professional and take every tournament as seriously as I can.
“I’ll continue to play and so long as my body is fine. I would like to hope that I would continue to do that whilst I’m still enjoying it.
“I enjoy being away from the court. I have a family now – I have more interests away from the court than I did in my early 20s or mid 20s – so obviously it will be sad to stop. But I think I’ll be all right.”
Wimbledon, which Murray won in 2013 and 2016, begins on 3 July and the defending champion says expectations will be high that he can repeat his previous successes.
“For me, it is obviously always going to be the biggest tournament during the year,” said Murray, who begins his grass-court season at next week’s Aegon Championships at Queen’s.
“A lot of pressure comes with it as well. There’s a lot of expectation during this period, so it can be a bit stressful – but I’m able to get away from that as well because I’m at home, I’m sleeping in my own bed and I have all my family around me.
“I’m older and more experienced in dealing with it. The pressure and stress that goes with it maybe doesn’t affect me quite as much when I was younger.
On the possibility of equalling fellow Briton Perry’s Wimbledon record of three wins, he added: “It would be amazing, I never expected to win it once, never mind twice. It had been such a long time since any British man had won that.
“I’ll give it my best shot for sure. I’ll prepare as best I can and if I play well then I definitely have a chance of winning.”
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Since becoming world number one in November last year he has struggled with injuries and for form. So has the pressure of being top of the rankings taken its toll?
“It hasn’t for me,” he said.
“I mean, I’ve been asked that question lots over the past few months. I didn’t play particularly well from February through to the French Open, but at the French [where he was knocked out in the semi-finals by Wawrinka] I felt I played quite well.
“It [the world ranking] isn’t something I think about when I’m on the court or when I’m preparing for matches.
“Obviously when you get asked about it, you spend a little bit of time thinking: ‘Maybe, could it be because of that?’ But I really don’t think it has been the reason why I struggled for a few months – but everyone will have their own opinion on that.
“It’s been a frustrating few months because I picked up a couple of injuries, including one to my elbow, and a couple of illnesses.
“I was still pretty nervous going into the French because I’d hardly won any matches for a while, but with each match that I got through, I started to build confidence, started to play a little bit better and was very close to reaching the final by the end.
“Form can turn around very quickly providing you’re mentally in the right place and you’re doing the right things and training. And I feel I’m in a good place now to go on a good run during the grass.”
After reaching the quarter-finals at the French Open, Murray paid tribute to the victims of the recent attacks in Manchester and London.
Wimbledon organisers are preparing for the biggest security operation in the Championships’ 140-year history, and Murray admits safety is now a concern.
“I do think about it – when you’re playing in front of huge crowds, or you’re in walking around the grounds and there’s huge, huge amounts of people.
“But we do also see the security that goes into sporting events now and it’s been fine throughout my career -but it is something that is a concern from time to time.”
Murray is already starting to think about what to do when he steps away from the court and advising young players, possibly in a sports management capacity, is something he is considering.
“I wish I’d enjoyed my career more when I was younger. I enjoy it a lot more now than I did when I was 19, 20, 21,” added the three-time Grand Slam champion.
“I certainly wasn’t prepared for the attention that came with becoming a professional athlete or a top tennis player.
“I didn’t feel ready for that. I really struggled with the attention that came with that, and I think throughout my career I’ve made lots of mistakes – maybe some that could have been avoided.
“That’s something I would like to pass on to young British athletes, how to avoid [mistakes] because so many athletes go through the same thing.
“It’s about surrounding yourself with people who have been down that road before, people who can give you the best advice possible.”
| 2017 Aegon Championships |
|---|
| Venue: Queen’s Club, London Dates: 19-25 June |
| Coverage: Comprehensive live coverage on BBC One, BBC Two, Red Button, Connected TV and online daily |
World number one Andy Murray speaks to BBC sports editor Dan Roan as he prepares to begin his grass-court season and defend his Wimbledon title.
Fourth seed Pouille takes on Kohlschreiber later today
Feliciano Lopez is one match away from reaching his fourth grass-court final – and his first in three years. He will next challenge sixth seed Mischa Zverev or Tommy Haas on Saturday at the Mercedes Cup.
The Spaniard battled hard to beat third-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and nine minutes on Friday for a place in the Stuttgart semi-finals.
Berdych could not convert two set-point chances at 6-5, 15/40 on Lopez’s serve in the first set, but seized early control of the tie-break in a big-serving encounter. Serve-volleyer Lopez broke for a 4-2 lead in the second set, then in the seventh game of the decider to improve to a 12-12 match record in 2017. Berdych hit 21 aces, but Lopez struck 19 aces and importantly saved all nine break points he faced.
Lopez has won two grass-court titles at the Aegon International in 2013 (d. Simon) and 2014 (d. Gasquet). He also finished runner-up at the 2014 Aegon Championships (l. to Dimitrov).
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British number one Johanna Konta reached the Nottingham Open semi-finals for the first time with a straight-sets win over Australia’s Ashleigh Barty.
The world number eight, 26, won 6-3 7-5 after converting her fourth match point against the 21-year-old.
Konta lost her serve midway through the second set before fighting back to claim four of the final five games.
“It was difficult, she started very strongly. I had to raise my game and only had one little dip,” said Konta.
Konta, whose three career titles have all come on hard courts, is two more wins away from earning her first WTA title on home soil.
She will face either Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova or American Kristie Ahn – both ranked outside the world’s top 100 – in Saturday’s semi-finals.
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Meanwhile, British number three Naomi Broady has reached the semi-finals of the Aegon Trophy in Manchester after beating top seed Chang Kai-Chen.
The 27-year-old from Stockport, who is ranked 115th in the world, won 6-3 6-4 against the Taiwanese world number 109.
British men’s number four Aljaz Bedene’s run at the Ricoh Open ended with a quarter-final defeat by Luxembourg’s fourth seed Gilles Muller.
Bedene, 27, was a break up in the deciding set but lost five of the final six games in a 6-3 3-6 6-4 defeat.
Reaching the last eight is still an encouraging start to the grass court season for the Slovenian-born player ahead of next month’s Wimbledon.
| 2017 Aegon Championships |
|---|
| Venue: Queen’s Club, London |
| Dates: 19-25 June |
| Coverage: Comprehensive live coverage on BBC One, BBC Two, Red Button, Connected TV and online daily |
British number three Dan Evans and 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro will both miss the Aegon Championships at Queen’s because of injury.
Evans, 27, retired against Germany’s Dustin Brown in the recent Surbiton Trophy with a calf injury, missing this week’s Nottingham Open as a result.
Argentina’s Del Potro, 28, is still struggling with the groin problem that hampered him at the French Open.
It is not known if they will be fit for Wimbledon, which starts on 3 July.
World number one Andy Murray heads the field at Queen’s, aiming for a record sixth title.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka and 2016 Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic are also playing in the west London event.
However, French Open winner Rafa Nadal has also pulled out of the tournament after being advised to rest by his doctor.
Following the withdrawals of Evans and Del Potro, Britain’s James Ward has been given a wild card as he continues his comeback from a knee injury.
The 30-year-old, who was a semi-finalist at Queen’s in 2011, has only played once on the ATP tour this year – losing to Evans at Surbiton – and is currently ranked outside the top 1,000.
BBC Sport will provide the usual comprehensive live coverage on BBC One, BBC Two, Red Button, Connected TV and online daily throughout the competition.
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Lisbon hosts high-quality red clay event this week
After a four-year absence, the ATP Challenger Tour is back in Portugal this week with the Lisboa Belem Open, a $50,000 event on the red clay of this historic city.
The tournament is named after the Belém Tower, an iconic structure in Portugal that’s also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Enthusiastic fans have already lined up to check out the tennis at the Club Internacional de Foot-ball, a world-class venue with 19 courts (17 with floodlights) that also hosted a Davis Cup tie in April.
#ATPChallenger tennis is back in Portugal! Explore the grounds at inaugural Lisboa Belem Open. Free live streaming: https://t.co/BSGzRUzoZi pic.twitter.com/7tyi6YdJtb
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) June 14, 2017
Portugal last saw Challenger tennis in the city of Guimares in 2013, marking the only other time a Challenger event has come to Portugal in the past 15 years. However, 11 cities throughout the country have hosted tournaments at this level and tennis fans in Portugal are passionate about the sport, sparking optimism that the tournament in Lisbon will become a staple on the ATP Challenger Tour.
“Organizing a Challenger Tour event is long time goal for me. It’s a tournament category that was missing in our calendar and is complementary of the Millennium Estoril Open, from the ATP World Tour, and dozens of Futures events here,” said Manuel de Sousa, tournament director and father of Challenger Tour player Pedro Sousa. “We have all the best Portuguese players, with the exception of João. I expect a very tough draw, as usual in Challengers, and I hope we will have a Portuguese champion on Sunday.”
Portugal is enjoying a recent surge of success in tennis. Joao Domingues and Pedro won their maiden titles this year in Mestre and Francavilla, respectively, leading to career-high Emirates ATP Rankings this season. On the ATP World Tour, João reached the final in Auckland this January and achieved a career-high ranking of No. 28 in May 2016.
Several emerging players in the country also received main draw wild cards this week, including Franco Ferreiro Silva, Andre Gaspar Murta, Goncalo Oliveira and Joao Monteiro. For these players looking to boost their rankings and test themselves against the world’s best, regular exposure to Challengers at home will be essential.
“Not only for me but for all the Portuguese players, a tournament of this level is extremely important for tennis in Portugal, which is evolving,” said Domingues. “Having a Challenger-level tournament is key to the development of tennis here.”
Pedro, seeded seventh this week, is through to the quarter-finals and plays Gianlugi Quinzi of Italy on Friday. In doubles, Oliveira and Fred Gil have advanced to the semi-finals and play Hungarians Attila Balazs and Gabor Borsos for a spot in the final.