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Johanna Konta: British number one climbs to 13th in WTA rankings

  • Posted: Aug 01, 2016

British number one Johanna Konta has risen one place in the women’s rankings to a career-high 13th before Rio 2016.

Australian Open semi-finalist Konta, 25, won her first WTA title on 25 July but missed out on the top 10 after a quarter-final defeat in the Rogers Cup on Friday.

British number two Naomi Broady climbed three spots to 81st, while there was no change for 67th-placed Heather Watson.

Wimbledon champion Andy Murray remains second in the men’s rankings.

Jo Durie is the last British woman to be ranked in the top 10, reaching a career-high fifth in 1984.

Konta, Watson and Murray are among those in the Great Britain squad for the Olympics, which start in Brazil on Friday.

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Brain Game: Djokovic Controls The Points

  • Posted: Aug 01, 2016

Brain Game: Djokovic Controls The Points

Brain Game explains how Djokovic got the better of Nishikori in the Toronto final

Novak Djokovic owned the start of the point and the back of the court to defeat Kei Nishikori 6-3, 7-5 in the the final of the Rogers Cup in Toronto on Sunday.

Djokovic is a master at figuring out where the key areas of separation exist in a match, and there were numerous battles against Nishikori that finished even, or ones that he lost. 

Nishikori won more of the extended rallies of 10+ shots (9-8), hit more overall winners (14-13), and performed better on second serves, winning 56 per cent (9/16) to Djokovic’s 43 per cent (6/14).

But those were secondary elements of this final. You can’t win all the skirmishes around the court, and Djokovic focused his strengths on attacking early, pressuring with direction, and taking time away in the preparation phase of Nishikori’s lethal groundstrokes. 

You May Also Like: Djokovic Wins Record 30th Masters 1000 Crown

 

First Strike Tennis

The length of a point matters a lot in our sport. On hard courts, around 70 per cent of points are played in the 0-4 shot rally length, 20 per cent in the 5-9 shot rally length, and only 10 per cent of points make it 10 shots or longer.

Players that win the 0-4 shot rally length typically win the match more than 90 per cent of the time. Surprisingly, players that win the extended rallies of 10 shots or more (the rallies that look so much like the practice court) have a much lower correlation of winning the match – less than 60 per cent of the time. 

True to form, Djokovic won the short rallies up to four shots 36-26, and lost the really long rallies 8-9. Fifty four per cent of total rallies existed in the 0-4 shot range, 31 per cent in the 5-9 shot range, and only 15 per cent of total points went 10 shots or longer.

Djokovic simply reigned supreme in by far the biggest pool of points a tennis match offers (0-4 shots), which is the same at every level of the game. 

Baseline Control

Once the point developed into a baseline duel, Djokovic dominated 35-28. The writing was on the wall early, with Djokovic winning baseline points by an 18-10 margin in the opening set. With Djokovic up a set and a break, 6-3, 2-1, he had directed 48 per cent of his forehands to Nishikori’s forehand, 47 per cent to his backhand, and only two rally forehands had landed in the middle third of the court.

Djokovic did not particularly care where he attacked from the back of the court, as long as his court position was superior and he was making Nishikori lean off the ball. This forced Nishikori to “press” with his groundstrokes, often going for a little too much when it wasn’t quite there.

Nishikori narrowly missed time and time again, trying to play offence when Djokovic was dictating that he needed to play defence. Overall, Nishikori committed 17 forehand and 17 backhand errors for the match, a testament to Djokovic’s attacking so evenly with his forehand. 

Serve + 1 Forehands

Djokovic’s backhand normally gets all the attention, but right from the start of this match he was looking to upgrade to a forehand as much as possible with his first shot after the serve, sometimes running into the Ad court to do it. Djokovic won 69 per cent (11/16) when he started the point with a serve and a forehand, including eight of ten in the opening set. He only won 50 per cent (9/18) when he started with a serve and a backhand, including just 33 per cent (3/9) in the second set.

Djokovic picks and chooses his battles wisely, and his leverage is not immediately picked up by the naked eye. But a stats sheet lays bare where the World No. 1 creates his separation.

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Toronto 2016 Story Of The Tournament

  • Posted: Aug 01, 2016

Toronto 2016 Story Of The Tournament

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Djokovic Tops Nishikori Toronto 2016 Final Highlights

  • Posted: Aug 01, 2016

Djokovic Tops Nishikori Toronto 2016 Final Highlights

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Escobedo Wins First Challenger Title In Lexington 2016

  • Posted: Aug 01, 2016

Escobedo Wins First Challenger Title In Lexington 2016

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Nishikori Strikes Toronto 2016 Final Hot Shot

  • Posted: Aug 01, 2016

Nishikori Strikes Toronto 2016 Final Hot Shot

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Dodig/Melo Prevail In Toronto

  • Posted: Aug 01, 2016

Dodig/Melo Prevail In Toronto

No. 3 seeds earn third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title

Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo overcame a rain delay and stayed the course against Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares to win 6-4, 6-4 in the Rogers Cup doubles final on Sunday. Starting their fifth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final on Centre Court, Dodig/Melo were up 4-3 in the first set when rain interrupted play. The match was later completed on Grandstand court, where Dodig/Melo closed out their third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown as a team (Shanghai 2013 & Paris 2015) and first tour-level title of 2016.

“Finishing on another court was something we could not control, that we had to adapt to,” Dodig said. “But throughout the match we did a great job of that.”

“This is the type of experience we had at Wimbledon,” Melo said. “We often needed to go in and out of the locker room due to rain. We would have loved to play the whole match without interruption, but we are professionals and it’s our job to stay focused and to get it done.”

Vote for the Golden Moment

Both teams won over 70 per cent of second-serve points in the 69-minute encounter, but Dodig/Melo were able to rely on their first serves to dictate play. The Croatian/Brazilian duo landed 75 per cent of first serves and only dropped five points (31/36) throughout. They did not face break point in the match and broke Murray/Soares twice.

Murray/Soares were contesting their second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final of 2016 after finishing runners-up in Monte Carlo. Soares is a two-time champion at the Rogers Cup alongside Alexander Peya. They won in Montreal in 2013, defeating Dodig/Melo along the way, and in Toronto in 2014.

Sunday’s win was Melo’s seventh in 18 FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against countryman Soares. The pair is 10-2 in Davis Cup play and 82-56 at the tour level.

Dodig/Melo earned 1000 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and $242,330, while Murray/Soares will split 600 points and $118,640.

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Djokovic back on track with Rogers Cup title

  • Posted: Jul 31, 2016

World number one Novak Djokovic won his first title since his surprise exit from Wimbledon with a straight-sets win over Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the final of the Rogers Cup in Toronto.

Djokovic won 6-3 7-5 in a largely commanding performance.

The 29-year-old, who has now won seven titles this year, has beaten the Japanese on nine successive occasions.

Djokovic, who was beaten in the third round at Wimbledon by Sam Querrey, will represent his at the Rio Olympics.

“I don’t need to explain that every athlete dreams of being a part of the Olympic Games,” he said. “I’m competing in singles and doubles.

“Hopefully I’ll get at least one medal.”

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Rogers Cup: Ivan Dodig & Marcelo Melo beat Jamie Murray & Bruno Soares in Toronto

  • Posted: Jul 31, 2016

Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo beat Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares to win the men’s doubles final of the Rogers Cup in Toronto.

The third-seeded Croatian and Brazilian beat the second-seeded Scot and Brazilian in straight sets 6-4 6-4.

Rain had forced a lengthy delay with Murray and Soares a break of serve down at 4-3 in the first set.

Murray will team up with his brother, two-time Wimbledon champion Andy, 29, at the Rio Olympics.

Meanwhile, the victorious Melo will play in his home Olympics alongside Soares.

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Doubles Champion Benneteau Hoping For Singles Success In Atlanta

  • Posted: Jul 31, 2016

Doubles Champion Benneteau Hoping For Singles Success In Atlanta

Frenchman will look to return to his dominating singles days

Julien Benneteau has achieved so much success as a doubles player on the ATP World Tour that it can be easy to forget how much the Frenchman also has accomplished by himself on court.

From 2008 to 2014, the 6’1” right-hander reached 10 ATP World Tour finals, including two per year in 2008 and 2012-2013. Benneteau has always finished as a singles finalist, but he’s never let that deter his singles or doubles success or his participation in singles.

This week, the two-time ATP World Tour Masters 1000 doubles champion (Shanghai, with Tsonga; Monte-Carlo, with Zimonjic) will again return to the singles side of play in his debut at the BB&T Atlanta Open. “I love to play in the U.S. The tournaments are good and very well-organized,” Benneteau said. “I’m very glad to be here for the first time.”

Benneteau wasn’t always pleased, though, when he kept falling short in ATP World Tour singles finals. “Keep going, keep going, keep going,” he remembers telling himself.

“Because sometimes after one, two of the finals, I was very disappointed. I was very low and in a bad mood, and it was tough,” he said.

He also encouraged himself to keep reaching the bigger stages of tournaments. “It was one of the things I told myself, ‘OK, it’s not this one. Give yourself another chance, another time’,” he said.

The Frenchman has followed his own advice. In doubles, Benneteau has won 10 career tour-level titles, including two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crowns. He and compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won the Shanghai Rolex Masters on hard courts in 2009. Benneteau and Serbian Nenad Zimonjic won the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on clay in 2013.

In 2014, the Bourg-en-Bresse native and current doubles partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, claimed their home Grand Slam championship by winning Roland Garros. This season, they reached the semi-finals in Rome and the final at Wimbledon.

“I always loved to play doubles, even when I was younger so it’s natural for me,” said Benneteau, No. 37 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings.

The 34 year old said his game, especially his return of serve, also might be better suited for two-on-two tennis. “I’m an all-around player. I can play a lot of styles, on every surface. It helps me a lot for doubles,” said Benneteau, who has won doubles titles on hard courts, clay courts, indoor carpet and indoor hard courts.

This week, Benneteau won’t have a partner with him on the court but he will have a longtime pal ready to discuss his matches. Antoine Benneteau, Julien Benneteau’s younger brother by four and a half years, now coaches Julien. Antoine Benneteau also played on the ATP World Tour, reaching No. 370 in the Emirates ATP Rankings in April 2013.

“Obviously he knows me very well. He always followed my career and my matches and he used to play so he knows tennis… he knows the [ATP World Tour], he knows how it works, he knows all the players, so he helps me a lot,” Julien Benneteau said. “Everything is good, and I hope now in singles we can have a good result to show to others that we make a good team.”

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