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Nadal & Djokovic matches moved to Wednesday

  • Posted: Jun 06, 2017
French Open
Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Dates: 28 May-11 June
Coverage: Live radio commentary and text coverage of selected matches on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online.

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic’s French Open quarter-finals were postponed until Wednesday following torrential rain in Paris.

The women’s quarter-finals were interrupted twice before Latvian Jelena Ostapenko and Swiss Timea Bacsinszky booked their semi-final places.

As a result of Tuesday’s downpours, officials decided to reschedule the first two men’s quarter-finals.

That means all four men’s last-eight matches will be played on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s order of play
Time (BST) Court Philippe Chatrier Court Suzanne Lenglen
10:00 Rafael Nadal v Pablo Carreno Busta Novak Djokovic v Dominic Thiem
13:00 Karolina Pliskova v Caroline Garcia Simona Halep v Elina Svitolina
15:00 approx Andy Murray v Kei Nishikori Stan Wawrinka v Marin Cilic

Fourth seed Nadal meets fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta as he aims to move a step closer to a record 10th title at Roland Garros.

Twelve-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic, who is seeded second, plays Austrian sixth seed Dominic Thiem.

World number one Andy Murray faces Japan’s eighth seed Kei Nishikori, while Swiss third seed Stan Wawrinka – the 2015 champion – takes on Croatian seventh seed Marin Cilic.

The remaining women’s quarter-finals are also scheduled for Wednesday.

Czech second seed Karolina Pliskova plays France’s Caroline Garcia, while 2014 finalist Simona Halep – the Romanian third seed – faces Ukraine’s fifth seed Elina Svitolina.

  • Wide-open women’s draw is ‘land of opportunity’ – Davenport

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Davis Cup singles to be reduced to three sets

  • Posted: Jun 06, 2017

Davis Cup singles matches will be reduced to three sets among a series reforms approved by the International Tennis Federation Board of Directors.

Davis Cup will retain its three-day format, with doubles matches on the Saturday still the best-of-five sets, and the dead rubber policy will also be amended.

Both Davis Cup and Fed Cup finalists will have the choice of hosting their first-round tie the following year.

The changes still require AGM approval.

The ITF will be asked to approve these changes at its meeting in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in August and president David Haggerty is confident they will be passed.

“Davis Cup and Fed Cup are two of the most iconic team competitions in sport, but there is no doubt change is needed to ensure that we maximise their full potential,” he said.

“While still needing AGM approval, we are confident that our National Associations will see that to vote for these reforms is to vote for the long-term future of our competitions and our sport.”

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This Top 10 Duo Makes Return Numbers Add Up

  • Posted: Jun 06, 2017

This Top 10 Duo Makes Return Numbers Add Up

Jun052017

Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers reveals which two Top 10 players convert significantly more break points from the Ad court and why returning serve should be an integral part of every practice plan

The growth of match analytics in tennis provides us with new insights into what actually matters to winning. It also helps us better organise the practise court at all levels of the game.

Forehands and backhands typically dominate practice, as shot tolerance and repetition are developed. Serving also gets attention, as does transitioning to the net to finish with volleys and overheads.

What gets left behind? The return of serve.

The return of serve is without doubt the least practised shot in tennis, but it is a trademark of the best players in the game. There is a disconnect between how often this specific shot is practised, and how obviously important it is to winning tennis matches.

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An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the current Top 10 players identifies the return of serve – particularly in the ad court – as something that should take much more of the spotlight on the practice court.

In the 2017 season leading into Roland Garros, more than three out of four break points were competed in the ad court by the Top 10.

  • Ad Court Break Points = 76%

  • Deuce Court Break Points = 24%

It stands to reason that these metrics should directly be reflected on the practice court. They are clearly not. When returns are being practised, players all over the world naturally gravitate to where games begin – in the deuce court.

Top 10 2017 Season: Break Points Won Receiving in the Deuce Court / Ad Court

#

Player

Deuce Court Won

Deuce Court Total

Deuce Court %

Ad Court Won

Ad Court Total

Ad Court %

1

Andy Murray

22

41

53.7%

65

142

45.8%

2

Novak Djokovic

25

49

51.0%

57

126

45.2%

3

Stan Wawrinka

17

50

34.0%

59

161

36.6%

4

Rafael Nadal

28

77

36.4%

114

270

42.2%

5

Roger Federer

19

40

47.5%

52

124

41.9%

6

Milos Raonic

15

32

46.9%

40

104

38.5%

7

Dominic Thiem

24

68

35.3%

105

231

45.5%

8

Marin Cilic

12

45

26.7%

54

162

33.3%

9

Kei Nishikori

22

59

37.3%

81

176

46.0%

10

Alexander Zverev

18

51

35.3%

80

163

49.1%

 

TOTAL

202

512

39.5%

707

1659

42.6%

Six out of the Top 10 have a superior win percentage returning in the ad court compared to the deuce court. Kei Nishikori’s break point conversion is 8.7 points better on the ad court (46%) than the deuce court (37.3). But two players do more than 10 percentage points better in the ad court.

Dominic Thiem, who has earned more break point chances this year than any other player except Rafael Nadal, converts a satisfactory 35.3 per cent of break chances in the deuce court, but that increases to an impressive 45.5 per cent in the ad court.

#NextGenATP star Alexander Zverev leads the way in 2017, converting 49.1 per cent of his break points in the ad court – a 13.8 percentage point increase over his deuce court average.

Zverev won his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Rome last month, playing 83 per cent (35/42) of his break points when returning in the ad court. He converted 46 per cent (16/35) in the ad court, and 43 per cent (3/7) in the deuce court.

World No. 1 Andy Murray leads the Top 10 in break points won from the deuce court in 2017, winning 53.7 per cent (22/41), with Rafael Nadal seeing the most (77), and winning 36.4 per cent (28/77) of them.

Infosys Nia Data identified that the Top 10 on average perform better on break points when returning from the Ad court.

  • Ad Court: Break Points Converted = 42.6%

  • Deuce Court: Break Points Converted = 39.5%

These numbers are significant for players at all levels of the game. We would be wise to substitute endless grinding with more return work, particularly in the ad court.

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Murray/Soares Fall To Young/Gonzalez

  • Posted: Jun 06, 2017

Murray/Soares Fall To Young/Gonzalez

Jun052017

Team playing together for only the second time

Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Donald Young of the U.S. advanced to the Roland Garros semi-finals on Monday, upsetting fifth seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares 3-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(4). Murray/Soares served for the match at 5-4 in the second set and had a match point at 40/30, but Gonzalez and Young, playing together for only the second time, strung together three consecutive points to break and stay in the quarter-final contest.

The next game, they erased a break point and held, and they later took the tie-break to even the match. Neither team broke in the decider, but Gonzalez/Young claimed their first match point. Gonzalez/Young actually won eight fewer points than Murray/Soares during the two-hour and 19-minute match, 111 to 119.

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Gonzalez/Young also played together two weeks ago in Lyon, losing in the first round to Carlos Berlocq and Andreas Seppi. Gonzalez/Young will meet Rogerio Dutra Silva and Paolo Lorenzi or Fernando Verdasco and Nenad Zimonjic in the semi-finals.

In Monday’s other quarter-final contest, 16th seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah sprinted to the finish, beating Houston champions Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos 6-7(1), 7-6(6), 6-0. Colombians Cabal/Farah will next face Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus or seventh seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers.

Go inside the tournament at RolandGarros.com.

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