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Rafael Nadal Celebrates 31st Birthday

  • Posted: Jun 03, 2017

Rafael Nadal Celebrates 31st Birthday

Jun032017

ATPWorldTour.com pays tribute to Rafael Nadal, who turns 31 on Saturday

Happy birthday, Rafa!

It’s been 15 years since Rafael Nadal’s first tour-level win, close to half a lifetime ago when his star began to burn bright. But now on his 31st birthday, once an indicator of the twilight of a player’s career, it is nothing more than a number. In the midst of a resurgent rise to the pinnacle of the sport, Nadal is proving that he still has the passion, desire and motivation to perform at the highest level.

The sublime Spaniard is celebrating his 31st birthday in familiar fashion on Saturday after advancing to the fourth round at Roland Garros for the 12th time in 13 years. As the clock struck midnight, Nadal added another impressive achievement to his glittering, legendary resume. The World No. 4 has become just the 12th player aged 31 & over to feature in the Top 5 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, since its inception on 23 August 1973. Moreover, he joins Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka and David Ferrer as the only players to achieve the feat in the past 20 years.

Top 5 At Age 31 & Over

Player Career-High Year Reached Top 5 At 31 & Over
Rafael Nadal No. 1 2017
Stan Wawrinka No. 3 2016
David Ferrer No. 3 2013
Roger Federer No. 1 2012
Andre Agassi No. 1 2001
Ivan Lendl No. 1 1991
John McEnroe  No. 1  1990 
Jimmy Connors  No. 1  1983 
Arthur Ashe No. 2 1975
John Newcombe No. 1 1975
Ken Rosewall  No. 2 1974 
Rod Laver  No. 3 1973

One of the greatest players to ever step on a tennis court, Nadal’s tenacity and unrelenting ambition are rivaled only by his humility and selfless approach to the game, win or lose. One of its most fervent ambassadors and a pillar of the ATP community, he holds himself to the highest standard and aims to promote and grow the sport through the recently opened Rafa Nadal Academy in his hometown of Manacor.

The ability to sustain an elite level of play, with the professional landscape constantly changing, is the biggest test of any professional tennis player’s longevity. Nadal is proving to have all the answers. The leader in the Emirates ATP Race To London entering the month of June, he has stormed through the competition with the help of Carlos Moya, a relatively new addition to his stellar team. Final appearances at the Australian Open and Miami Open presented by Itau were followed by a ruthless run at his clay-court playgrounds of Monte-Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid. With an unwavering passion and commitment to his craft in the face of adversity, the Spaniard is refusing to back down in 2017, streaking to a tour-leading 36 match wins, buoyed by seven Top 10 victories.

Nadal has filled the past 15 years with immeasurable pulsating moments, since first crashing onto the scene as an audacious teenager with boundless energy and charisma. Even despite multiple physical ailments and injuries, he remains the same champion today and continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible on the court. Where many would consider a career with 10 ATP World Tour titles a great achievement, Nadal’s decade of victories in both Monte-Carlo and Barcelona are two of the most astonishing feats in history. His legacy on clay may very well stand the test of time.

Moet and Chandon off-court news 

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Schwartzman Reflects On Standing Ovation At Roland Garros

  • Posted: Jun 03, 2017

Schwartzman Reflects On Standing Ovation At Roland Garros

Jun022017

Argentine falls to Djokovic in five sets on Friday

Diego Schwartzman may have lost his third round match to Novak Djokovic on Friday at Roland Garros, but he won plenty of new fans with his inspired play and fighting spirit.

Shortly after Djokovic prevailed in their five-set tussle, both the Serbian and Court Philippe-Chatrier crowd rose to their feet to give Schwartzman a standing ovation for his effort. It was a first-time experience for Schwartzman, who said he’ll take it with him for the rest of his life.

“It took me a while to notice because I was packing my stuff. I could see that everyone was clapping, and that Djoko was clapping and looking my way. Then finally I understood and I thought, ‘Okay, get your kit in the bag and try to enjoy the moment.’ It’s a truly extraordinary thing,” said Schwartzman. “I think people who haven’t experienced it directly cannot even imagine how wonderful it is. It’s going to be a great memory.

“I just want to say thank you to all of them,” he added. “It was really nice to receive that noise from the people. It’s amazing for me.”

You May Also Like: Djokovic Survives In Five At Roland Garros

Djokovic was also full of praise for Schwartzman after the match and acknowledged that the Argentine had him on the ropes for much of the contest.

“He definitely deserved the applause he got at the end of the match, because he was fighting, He was playing really well,” said Djokovic. “He was probably the better player for the first three sets.”

Schwartzman has been in fine form on clay this season. He reached the semi-finals last month in Istanbul and recorded back-to-back quarter-final finishes this February in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Schwartzman also defeated Alexander Zverev en route to his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final this April in Monte-Carlo. He currently sits at No. 41 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, just seven spots off his career-best ranking achieved in April.

Despite the loss, Schwartzman can take solace in reaching the third round at a Grand Slam for the first time in his career. But if he continues to play at this level, it’s safe to say it won’t be his last.

Go inside the tournament at RolandGarros.com

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Goffin Gets Promising News On Ankle Injury

  • Posted: Jun 03, 2017

Goffin Gets Promising News On Ankle Injury

Jun022017

Belgian forced to retire on Friday

David Goffin had plenty of people worried after suffering a freak ankle injury in his third-round match on Friday against Horacio Zeballos, but the early reports for a speedy recovery are already encouraging.

“He had an MRI, and the news is reassuring,” said Goffin’s coach, Thierry Cleemput, who came to press in Goffin’s absence. “There is no tearing of the ligaments and no bone that’s been broken, either. That’s the only thing we can say. We can’t say much more. There is an edema, and in 48 hours we will see how things go on.

“The doctors were incredible with him,” he added. “They contacted David’s doctor. They agree as to the procedure to follow, and we decided to have emergency treatment to start with so that he can come back as quickly as possible. I don’t know how he feels now. I suppose that now that we have got reassuring news for him, he’s going to have more smiles on his face.”

Goffin is still on the entry list to compete at the ATP World Tour grass-court event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 10 days time.

Serving at 4-5, Ad-out in the first set, after 47 minutes of play, Goffin went to retrieve a ball from well behind the baseline and got his right foot caught on the tarpaulin cover at the back of the court. The Belgian twisted his ankle and appeared to be in severe discomfort.

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After a medical time-out of 10 minutes, it was clear that Goffin could not continue and Zeballos was awarded the match. Zeballos insisted that he would take Goffin’s bag off the court and into the locker room.

Go inside the tournament at RolandGarros.com.

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Djokovic Survives In Five At Roland Garros

  • Posted: Jun 02, 2017

Djokovic Survives In Five At Roland Garros

Jun022017

Pouille plays Ramos-Vinolas on Friday

Second seed Novak Djokovic was a set away from losing his Roland Garros crown, but finished with a flourish against an inspired Diego Schwartzman on Friday to reach the fourth round with a  5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory in three hours and 18 minutes.

Djokovic improves his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Schwartzman to 2-0. He picked up his 58th match win (58-11) at Roland Garros, tieing Guillermo Vilas for third on the all-time list at this event. Making his 13th consecutive appearance at Roland Garros, Djokovic has not lost before the quarter-finals since 2009. He is bidding to become the first man in the Open Era – and only the third man in history – to win each of the four Grand Slams twice. Roy Emerson and Rod Laver are the only other men to accomplish the feat.

Schwartzman was appearing in the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time. He falls to 0-13 against players inside the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Djokovic will play 16th seed Lucas Pouille or 19th seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas for a place in the last eight.

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Although Schwartzman was in uncharted territory at a Grand Slam, he wasn’t overwhelmed by the occasion on Court Philippe Chatrier. The Argentine twice rallied from a break down in the opening set. A nervy game on his serve at 6-5 saw four set points come and go, but he made good on his fifth chance to take the early advantage.

Djokovic cleaned up his game considerably in the second set. He finished the opening set with eight winners and 21 unforced errors, but ended the second set with 13 winners and nine unforced errors. The Serbian grabbed the lone break of the set at 4-3 and eventually leveled the match.

Schwartzman refused to budge, though, and continued to engage the defending champion in grueling baseline battles. With the crowd chanting his name, Schwartzman began throwing his whole body into forehand winners that saw the packed stadium yell in delight. He earned three straight break points on Djokovic’s serve at 4-3 and converted on the third after Djokovic sent a forehand just outside the lines. He then rallied from 0/40 in the next game, saving four break points in total, and took a commanding lead when Djokovic hit a backhand return wide on set point.chwartzman

But while Schwartzman’s effort never betrayed him, his body did in the latter stages of the match. He began to frequently clutch his ribs after points in the fourth set and the injury appeared to result in diminished speeds on his shots. He failed to hold serve in the fourth set and won just five points in his three service games.

The Argentine took an injury timeout at 1-4 in the fifth set, but the treatment wasn’t enough to sustain the barrage of relentless rallies. A final forehand from Djokovic on his first match point wrapped up the contest, but both he and the rest of Court Philippe Chatrier gave Schwartzman a standing ovation for his outstanding effort.

Go inside the tournament at RolandGarros.com

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Novak Djokovic survives scare to reach French Open fourth round

  • Posted: Jun 02, 2017
French Open
Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Dates: 28 May-11 June
Coverage: Listen to live radio commentary and follow text coverage of selected matches on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic survived a third-round scare at the French Open to beat unseeded Argentine Diego Schwartzman in five sets.

The Serb came back from two sets to one down to win 5-7 6-3 3-6 6-1 6-1.

Djokovic, 30, finished strongly despite making 55 unforced errors and arguing with umpire Carlos Ramos over a conduct warning.

The second seed goes on to face Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who beat France’s Lucas Pouille.

  • Agassi to keep working with Djokovic
  • Nadal races to emphatic win
  • Murray ready for Del Potro test
  • Live scores and schedule

The presence of new coach Andre Agassi has yet to inspire Djokovic to rediscover the form that made him a seemingly untouchable world number one this time last year.

An erratic performance saw the 12-time Grand Slam champion hit 21 errors in relinquishing a 4-1 lead in the first set.

However, Agassi’s unexpected arrival midway through the second set apparently inspired Djokovic to a break of serve.

“I was focused on the screen and I saw obviously people reacting when he arrived,” said the Serb.

“He was not supposed to be here today, because we have finished yesterday with our in-person collaboration here in Paris.

“I appreciate that. I respect that very much that he managed to do things and move his commitments around so he could come and watch.”

That late break in the second appeared to have settled the world number two, but Schwartzman – playing his first ever third-round match at a Grand Slam – was his equal throughout the third.

The 5ft 7in Argentine then broke serve for a 5-3 lead and remarkably recovered from 0-40 to serve out the set.

With the crowd now excited by the prospect of an upset, Djokovic finally took a firm grip on the match by quickening the pace and shortening the rallies.

It was not plain sailing, however, and despite racing into a 4-0 lead in the fourth set, Djokovic became embroiled in a row with umpire Ramos after receiving two warnings in a game – one of slow play, the second for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Clearly annoyed, the champion retained his focus on the job in hand and reeled off 12 of the last 14 games as dark clouds above threatened to delay his progress.

“Playing a five-setter at this stage is good,” added Djokovic.

“I enjoyed playing, really, even though of course at times I was not playing my best, especially for first three sets, but fourth and fifth sets went completely my way.”

  • The victory was Djokovic’s 58th in the French Open and means he ties Guillermo Vilas in third place on the all-time list for most matches won at Roland Garros. He has a 58-11 win-loss record behind Rafael Nadal (75-2) and Roger Federer (65-16) while Vilas recorded 58-17.

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Champion Muguruza, Williams & Kuznetsova reach fourth round

  • Posted: Jun 02, 2017
French Open
Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Dates: 28 May- 11 June
Coverage: Listen to live radio commentary and follow text coverage of selected matches on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online.

Defending champion Garbine Muguruza reached the fourth round of the French Open with a 7-5 6-2 win over Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.

The Spaniard has had a patchy year so far and is seeking to regain the form that enabled her to secure her first Grand Slam title in Paris last year.

She will face France’s 13th seed Kristina Mladenovic in the last 16.

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, 36, joined them with an impressive win against Elise Mertens.

  • Live scores and schedule

Fourth seed Muguruza, 23, took a tight first set that featured seven breaks of serve but improved in the second set to see off Putintseva, a surprise quarter-finalist at Roland Garros last year.

“I’m happy I went out there without any kind of fear,” said Muguruza.

“I wanted the match. I tried to just do what I had to do and keep that during the whole match.

“The more matches I play and the tougher victories gives you self-confidence, a successful feeling out there.”

Mladenovic, 24, reached the last 16 at Roland Garros for the first time with a remarkable comeback win against American Shelby Rogers.

The Frenchwoman won 7-5 4-6 8-6 against Rogers, who reached the quarter-finals last year, after trailing 5-2 in the deciding set.

Venus to make more history?

Williams is making an Open Era record 20th appearance at Roland Garros, having missed just one tournament in Paris since her debut appearance in 1997.

And, on the evidence of a clinical win against Belgium’s Mertens, the American is a serious contender to win her first title on the French clay.

She swept past her unseeded opponent in one hour and two minutes to win 6-3 6-1.

In the last 16, Williams will play Switzerland’s 30th seed Timea Bacsinszky, who defeated unseeded Tunisian Ons Jabeur.

Elsewhere, Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, the 11th seed, will finish her match against 18-year-old unseeded American Cici Bellis on Saturday. Wozniacki took the first set 6-2 with Bellis leading 5-2 in the second before rain caused an early end to Friday’s play.

Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2009 champion, moved into the last 16 with a hard-fought three-set win against China’s Zhang Shuai.

The eighth seed needed more than three hours to eventually see off 32nd seed Zhang in a 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-5 win.

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Andy Murray v Juan Martin del Potro: French Open set for biggest clash so far

  • Posted: Jun 02, 2017
French Open third round: Murray v Del Potro
Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Dates: Saturday, 3 June
Coverage: Listen to live radio commentary and follow text coverage on BBC Radio 5 live and online.

Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro will resume their rivalry in the most anticipated match of the French Open so far on Saturday.

The pair will meet in the third round on Philippe Chatrier Court at about 12:00 BST.

Murray, the world number one, beat the Argentine to win Olympic gold last August, but lost their Davis Cup match the following month.

British number two Kyle Edmund plays South Africa’s Kevin Anderson at 10:00.

The 22-year-old from Yorkshire is through to the third round of a Grand Slam for only the second time, having reached round four at last year’s US Open.

Murray will hope to take another step back towards top form when he plays Del Potro for the 10th time, having won six of their previous encounters.

“I definitely feel like I’m capable of winning that match,” said the Scot.

  • ‘I’m not playing like number one, but I can turn it around’ – Murray
  • French Open live scores and schedule

Murray & Del Potro fighting for fitness

After two epic contests in 2016, Murray and Del Potro will both head into Saturday’s match with uncertainly surrounding their form and fitness.

The 30-year-old Scot has struggled with injury and illness this year and, although now suffering only with a mild cough, his relative lack of matches has left him searching for consistency.

He was heard complaining about his own movement as he fought his way past Martin Klizan on Thursday, but drew encouragement from the performance.

Two four-set matches this week have at least seen him run 5,248m over the course of six hours.

“Physically I pulled up well and felt good, so I will gain a lot of confidence from that,” he said after his second-round match.

“And also, I hit a lot of balls out there today.”

Del Potro, 28, skipped the Australian Open at the start of the year to protect a fragile body that has seen the latter years of his career repeatedly interrupted by injuries.

As a result, he is ranked 30th and so meets the top players earlier in tournaments – he has already lost three times to Novak Djokovic and once to Roger Federer in 2017.

He made it through the second round in Paris when opponent Nicolas Almagro retired with an injury, but the Argentine was himself dealing with a groin problem, later saying: “I felt some pain. I didn’t move well.”

Looking ahead to Saturday, the 2009 US Open champion added: “Andy is one of the favourites to win this tournament.

“And now I know his game a lot, but I need to be in good shape and physically be stronger to hold a long match if we play a long match, long rallies.”

Positivity key for Murray success

Murray lost his composure at times during his second-round match and repeatedly looked to those in his player box for more obvious support.

Coaches Ivan Lendl and Jamie Delgado, along with Davis Cup captain Leon Smith and members of Murray’s support team and family, will again be in the box on Saturday.

“I think a lot of the time when I’m playing and especially when I’m frustrated or down, I don’t always project a lot of positivity on the court,” said Murray.

“Sometimes I think also for my team it’s difficult to know exactly how I’m feeling or what it is that I need when I’m on the court.

“So I think my job is really to try to be more positive while I’m out there.”

Anderson serve to test Edmund

Edmund might hold the edge in terms of ranking over Anderson at 47 in the world to 56, but the South African has far more experience.

Nine years older, at 31, the 6ft 8in Anderson will play in the third round of a Grand Slam for the 17th time.

He also has a huge weapon in his serve, hitting 34 aces to Edmund’s four across the first two rounds.

“He’s obviously got a big game, big guy,” said Edmund.

“In hot conditions the ball is really pinging around, so Saturday I’ve just got to be on it. One match at a time.

“He’s got a great serve and good groundstrokes. He was out a bit with injury, but before that he was consistent at the top of the game and getting good results.”

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Andre Agassi expects to coach Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon

  • Posted: Jun 02, 2017

Andre Agassi expects to continue his coaching relationship with world number two Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon next month.

The American former world number one began working with Djokovic at the French Open last week.

The pair have yet to decide on a long-term arrangement, but Agassi is ready to take it through to Wimbledon.

“If he wants me there, yeah, I will come and figure it out,” Agassi told Eurosport.

“Whatever’s practical and achievable, 100% I will make that effort.”

Agassi, 47, won eight Grand Slam titles before retiring in 2006, and has since committed most of his time to his charitable foundation in Las Vegas.

  • Can Agassi bring back the ‘warrior’ in Djokovic?

He was lured back to the tennis circuit by a phone call in April from Djokovic, whose form has deserted him since he won his 12th Grand Slam title in Paris last year.

Speaking to Boris Becker – who was among the coaching team Djokovic split from in December – Agassi revealed it was his wife, 22-time Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf, who persuaded him to try out the role.

“I said: ‘Listen, maybe I can help you over the phone, I don’t think you need much, but this is not possible for me with the balance of my life’,” said Agassi.

“Then Steffi said ‘maybe you’ll enjoy it.’ I said, ‘you think?’ I respect her so much I said I’ll go early, as I have to be in Paris anyway, and just get to know him.”

The American also suggested he was not being paid by Djokovic for his time.

“I do it on my own time, I do it on my own dime,” said Agassi.

“I don’t want anything, I don’t need anything. I want to help him and it helps the game. Him at his best is good for the game, and it’s a way I can contribute.”

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