Halle 2017 Uncovered
Halle 2017 Uncovered
Jun272017
World number one Andy Murray has pulled out of his first exhibition match at Hurlingham Club with a sore hip.
The Briton, who was knocked out in the first round at Queen’s last week, was due to play France’s Lucas Pouille at the Aspall Tennis Classic.
Murray is still expected to play on Friday before he begins the defence of his Wimbledon title on 3 July.
The 30-year-old last played at Hurlingham in 2014 after he lost in the last 16 at Queen’s.
Elsewhere, world number two Novak Djokovic managed two games against Canadian Vasek Pospisil at Eastbourne before rain delayed play.
The Serb, appearing in his first pre-Wimbledon tournament for seven years, was forced to save two break points in his opening service game.
German world number one Angelique Kerber and British number one Johanna Konta, ranked seventh, are also due on Centre Court at Eastbourne later on Tuesday.
Roger Federer recalls his Wimbledon debut and his first Championship victory in 2003.
Egyptian qualifier Mohamed Safwat saved five match points in the Antalya Open first round against Cem Ilkel, beating the home hope 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(7) on Monday. A second-round clash against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino awaits the 26-year-old Turkish player.
Top seed Dominic Thiem will open his campaign in Antalya against Ramkumar Ramanathan in the second round after the Indian qualifier defeated Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-3, 6-4. Second seed Paolo Lorenzi will face Radu Albot in his opener. The Moldovan beat Joao Sousa 7-6(2), 6-2.
Carlos Berlocq scored an upset win over No. 6 seed Viktor Troicki. The Argentine saved 11 of the 15 break points he faced to win 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. Marcos Baghdatis, a 6-2, 6-1 winner over Nikoloz Basilashvili, and Yuichi Sugita, who beat Matthew Ebden 6-1, 6-3, also advanced.
Oliver Marach scored his 300th doubles match win when he and partner Mate Pavic, the second seeds, beat Victor Estrella Burgos and Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-2.
Serena Williams would struggle to be in the world’s top 700 if she was on the men’s circuit, according to seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe.
And the male player ranked 701 in the world – Dmitry Tursunov – believes he could beat her too.
Speaking to US radio station NPR, McEnroe said of world number one Williams, who has won an Open-era record 23 Grand Slams: “If she played the men’s circuit she’d be, like, 700 in the world.”
He qualified the comments by saying: “That doesn’t mean I don’t think Serena is an incredible player, and I suppose anything’s possible; maybe at some point a women’s tennis player can be better than anybody.”
But he added: “I just haven’t seen that in any other sport, and I haven’t seen it in tennis. If she had to just play the men’s circuit, it would be an entirely different story.”
Williams later responded on Twitter: “Dear John, I adore and respect you but please please keep me out of your statements that are not factually based.
“I’ve never played anyone ranked “there” nor do I have time. Respect me and my privacy as I’m trying to have a baby. Good day sir.”
Tursunov, 34, was once ranked as high as 20th in the world.
The Russian told BBC World Service Sport he did not think McEnroe was “trying to talk women’s tennis down” but said “the reality” was that “men are stronger in general”.
“I would hope that I would win against Serena,” he added.
“It would be a similar argument to: who would run faster, the fastest woman or the fastest man? Tennis is becoming more and more a physical sport, so it’s going to be hard for a woman to beat the men.
“It’s not black and white, there are lots of factors to take into account. Physically I might not be in the best shape of my life but as an overall package I’m much better than my ranking would suggest. She is pregnant, and I’m not.
“I’ve never heard John say anything absolutely stupid – he knows his stuff. What he said about her being an incredible player is correct – explosive, powerful and she puts in a lot of work. But I would hope that I would win.”
Top seed plays opening match on Tuesday
Novak Djokovic hasn’t played an ATP World Tour event on grass leading into Wimbledon since 2010, but he’s ready to try something new in hopes of a big run at the Aegon International in Eastbourne.
After more than a decade at the top of the sport, Djokovic’s tournament schedule has reflected that of a man who thrives on routine and familiarity. But in his first visit to Eastbourne, the Serbian has already been enjoying the tournament amenities and charm of this seaside town.
“It’s great to visit a new place and be part of a new event. We more or less have the same schedule each year, so I don’t get to experience that too often,” said Djokovic. “There are a lot of matches and a lot of people coming out to watch and support the players. You can feel the appreciation for tennis that they have here. They love this event, so it’s obviously a pleasure to be here.”
Comparatively short on match play compared to recent seasons, Djokovic took a late wild card and believes the on-court time this week can only benefit him. The World No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, who plays qualifier Vasek Pospisil in his opening round, has never won a grass-court event outside of Wimbledon. He reached the Queen’s Club final in 2008 (l. Nadal) and Halle in 2009 (l.Haas).
“I was fortunate to have lots of matches and lots of success in the first part of the year over the years, especially on the clay courts and always reaching the final stages of Roland Garros. And because of the old schedule, we had a week less (on grass), which was a bit challenging obviously coming from the slowest to the fastest surface in the sport. It’s a big shift in only a few days,” said Djokovic. “I knew I wanted to play one this year, but thought Queen’s and Halle would be too early for me. That’s the reason why I came to Eastbourne. And it’s a new place, so it does give me that extra motivation to be here.”
Djokovic won’t have Andre Agassi in his camp for Eastbourne, but the 1992 Wimbledon champion will be with him at SW19 for as long as he remains in the tournament. The Serbian believes they got off to a positive start in their coaching arrangement for Roland Garros and is eager to see it continue.
“The eight or nine days that we spent together at Roland Garros were very valuable for me to get to know him and learn from him. We shared a lot of experiences on and off the court. Having him around is not only great for myself, but also for tennis,” said Djokovic. “I can see how much he cares about the game and how much he knows it. It was very interesting to hear his perspective on tennis before and now, how he analyses my game and what he sees with things to improve moving forward. I’m just looking forward to spending as much quality time with Andre as I can.”
#NextGenATP brigade thrives on Monday
Last year’s Wimbledon fairytale story Marcus Willis moved closer to another round of heroics on Monday, advancing into the second round of qualifying on Monday along with eight #NextGenATP players.
The Brit took time off from his tennis coaching job last year to play Wimbledon pre-qualifying and earn a wild card into the qualifying draw. He then qualified for the main draw and won his first-round match before falling to Roger Federer on Centre Court.
This year in Roehampton, Willis produced more memorable moments with a qualifying wild card by scoring a 7-5, 7-5 win over 31st seed Andrej Martin of Slovakia. Next up for him is a fellow British wild card in Liam Broady.
In an all-#NextGenATP battle, Elias Ymer of Sweden defeated Duckhee Lee of Korea 6-3, 6-2. It was Ymer’s first match on grass since qualifying for the Wimbledon main draw two years ago.
“If I’m playing a top-ranked guy, I really don’t know what to expect. But the (#NextGenATP) guys, I’ve seen (Duckhee) since I was 12, so it’s kind of a family kind of feeling. You relax more,” said Ymer to Wimbledon.com. “It feels like it’s on my level if I’m playing one of the young guys.”
#NextGenATP player Stefanos Tsitsipas scored the upset of the day by defeating second seed Santiago Giraldo of Colombia 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. The 18-year-old from Greece will take on Yannick Hanfmann of Germany in the next round.
Fifth seed Andrey Rublev continued his grass-court prowess with a convincing 6-3, 6-3 victory over Joao Domingues of Portugal. The 18-year-old #NextGen ATP Russian reached his first ATP World Tour quarter-final last week in Halle.
Other #NextGenATP players to move into the second round of qualifying are 12th seed Stefan Kozlov of the U.S., 19th seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, 21st seed Taylor Fritz of the U.S., 25th seed Quentin Halys of France and Alex De Minaur of Australia.
All second-round qualifying matches will be completed on Tuesday. View full Monday results here.
American Donald Young advanced with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over local hope Kyle Edmund on Monday at the Aegon International to set a second-round clash with compatriot Jared Donaldson. The #NextGenATP player saved one match point at 4-5, 30/40 in the deciding set of a 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-5 victory over eighth seed Diego Schwartzman in two hours and 47 minutes.
Former World No. 10 Kevin Anderson struck 11 aces and won 24 of his 26 first-service points to beat Thomaz Bellucci 6-3, 6-1 for a second-round match against seventh seed Richard Gasquet or #NextGenATP American Frances Tiafoe.
Top seed Novak Djokovic will open his Eastbourne campaign against qualifier Vasek Pospisil, who reached the second round with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Jiri Vesely. Robin Haase, who defeated Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 7-6(4), and Bernard Tomic, who topped Norbert Gombos 7-6(3), 6-3, also advanced.
Cameron Norrie claimed his first victory on the ATP World Tour, a 6-4, 7-6(4) win over Horacio Zeballos. “It feels great… I couldn’t be more excited to have won my first match at the ATP level,” said the Brit, who will take on second seed Gael Monfils in the second round. “It was quite nice to know I didn’t play my best today. It’s nice to know that I can hang with these guys even if I’m not playing my best tennis. I can just build on that.”
"He's nailed it!"
How good is this winner by @cam_nozza? #AegonInternational #hotshot pic.twitter.com/dT6UlXC5eU
— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) June 26, 2017
In doubles, top seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan reached the quarter-finals with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Donald Young and Nenad Zimonjic, while Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Matt Reid ousted third seeds and Roland Garros champions Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus 6-3, 3-6, 10-7.