Tennis News

For the first time this season, French No. 1 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will step out on court to play a match on the ATP World Tour. Following an injury plagued few months, the Frenchman will begin his Miami campaign against Tim Smyczek, whom he has never encountered previously on the professional tour. Their match will headline the night session on Friday evening.

You can follow the match Live Here: Tsonga vs Smyczek Live Streaming

The tournament’s 11th seed has been dealing with arm pain as far back as the Cincinnati Masters event and ahead of the US Open. He would go on to play up until the end of the season at the Davis Cup final against Switzerland. By then, he was far from peak form.

Now, however, Tsonga plans to make a comeback and is inspired by other Top 10 players who have passed their 30th birthday.

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“When I see players like [David] Ferrer and [Roger] Federer and others, they are able to play really good tennis,” he told ATPWorldTour.com on Monday. “I hope my best tennis will come this year.”

“I don’t have big expectations for this tournament,” he said. “I’m just happy to be back on the court. The only thing I expect is to play my best tennis in the moment and that’s it.”

The Frenchman will begin his week in Miami against Tim Smyczek, who rallied from a set down to defeat qualifier Adrian Menendez-MacEiras 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. He struck seven aces, won 77% of his first service points and saved three break points to close out the match in one hour and 52 minutes.

This marks the first time that Tsonga and Smyczek will cross paths on the professional tour, and considering the Frenchman has been away from the tour for a while, it is difficult to gauge his ability this time around.

Prediction: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Three Sets

Following a false start several months ago that forced him to go back under the knife, Juan Martin del Potro has officially announced that he will return to singles competition at the Miami Open, after paying doubles last week at Indian Wells. In his first match back on tour, Del Potro, who has fallen well past No. 600 on the tour, will come up against Canada’s Vasek Pospisil. It will mark the first time that the two competitors will meet on the professional tour and could make for an enthralling encounter.

After spending most of 2014 on the sidelines, del Potro made his return to tennis in Sydney. While few expected much, he managed to reach the quarter-final round at the Apia Sydney International, where he was the defending champion. He defeated Sergiy Stakhovsky and followed up with a three-set win over Fabio Fognini before losing to Mikhail Kukushkin the following round. However, he withdrew from the Australian Open soon afterwards and was under the knife just a few days later.

Now, following a second surgery on his wrist, del Potro believes he is fit to resume professional competition, even if he does not have high hopes for his own performance at the tournament.

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“I focus only on entering the court to play my first match,” del Potro told the ATP World Tour. “I do not care about the result yet, but to leave the court fully well physically.

“I think being here in this tournament energises me again,” said del Potro. “At times I feel a bit far in the rankings. I know I have a long way to go. When I was No. 4 in the world, everything was much easier. Even the objectives that I had were different.”

With just a 7-7 record in singles so far this season, Vasek Pospisil is playing far from his best tennis in 2015. His best performance so far this season was at the Aussie Open, where he reached the third round of the tournament. He most recently fell to Andy Murray in the second round of Indian Wells and will now be faced with another tricky draw in Miami, where he could be slotted against Grigor Dimitrov in the second round.

This is just the first time that del Potro and Pospisil will cross paths on the ATP World Tour. While both players are far from their best currently, it is del Potro who will be the worse for wear in this opening round given his injury layoff.

Prediction: Vasek Pospisil in Three Sets

Shortly after completing his stay at Indian Wells, Rafael Nadal flew across the United States to Miami, where he immediately begun preparation for the second Masters 1000 event of the season. However, things quickly took a turn for the worst when it was revealed that the world No. 3 had taken a serious fall during one of his practice sessions and turned his left ankle.

While there was some concern that Nadal would not be fit to play at the tournament, the Spaniard revealed that he still expects to compete at the event.

“It’s for sure I’m going to be on court on Friday,” Nadal told the Associated Press on Tuesday. “The thing is, I don’t know how well I’m going to be prepared for then. I hope to be ready. It’s an important tournament for me.”

At the time of the fall, Nadal was certain he would be unable to perform in Miami, yet a few days of rest and treatment has changed his mind.

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“In the beginning, I thought that was going to be the end of the tournament,” Nadal said. “I am confident I’m going to be ready.”

Nadal took to court on Tuesday to practice and claimed to have not been bothered by his ankle at all. He did not even require an X-ray or MRI.

“I feel pain,” Nadal said. “It’s obviously normal. I was a little bit limited today, but I was able to practice one hour and a half, which is more than I expected yesterday when it happened.”

With the injury woe somewhat behind him, Nadal hopes to win his first career title in Miami. Following an opening round loss in Doha to kick off the season, Nadal reached the quarter-final in Melbourne, the semi-final in Rio, and won Buenos Aires before recently losing to Milos Raonic in the Indian Wells quarter-final.

You will be able to check out Miami Open Previews and Predictions Here

Maria Sharapova, the consensus world No. 2 on the WTA Tour, has been a resident of the United States for a significant portion of her life, and while she has always respected the nation that she resides in, she has never been interested in abandoning her own nationality for American citizenship.

In fact, even though Sharapova has not resided in Russia since the age of seven, she was one of the athletes who took part in the opening ceremony of the Sochi Olympics; she got to bear the Olympic torch all the way into the stadium.

“It was an honor, one of the best days of my career and my life,” Sharapova told CNBC. “My whole family was there watching. Pass through the stadium with the Olympic torch, it was great.”

Clearly proud of her heritage and culture, Sharapova suggested that there was never any doubt that she would remain a Russian citizen. After all, it was the Russian way of life that inspired her willpower and determination, she says.

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“If I had wanted to change citizenship, I would have done it, but I never thought about it. The Russian tradition has enriched my life, and the mentality and the tenacity of the Russians is part of me.

“It is about the family environment, it is about the rich culture. Just life experiences that I look back to and I know that for so many years I was shaped into the individual I was from those experiences. And not necessarily simply the country, but the people, the mentality and the toughness and that never giving up attitude.”

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The second of back-to-back ATP Masters 1000 events kicks off on Wednesday. The Miami Open will be without Roger Federer who chose not to compete while Marin Cilic is the only other top 20 player not available this week.

Novak Djokovic secured his 21st career Masters title with a three set win over Federer at Indian Wells over the week, overcoming a second set collapse to take victory. Without the World No.2, the Serbian’s case for favouritism becomes even stronger as he edges closer to the 27 titles (and counting) record set by Rafael Nadal.

With Martin Klizan or Paolo Lorenzi unlikely to put up much of a fight, even on a court like Miami’s, it will be up to Gilles Muller to pose the first threat. The Luxembourger does already have three top 20 wins to his name but came up short on each occasion against the top 10 this year. One of these was against Djokovic at the Australian Open, which Djokovic was a 6-4 7-5 7-5 victor in.The four times winner is 19-2 on the year and would be projected to face an opponent  in round four whom he lost to on their last meeting. 16th seed Tommy Robredo was a straight sets winner in Cincinnati but is 2-6 overall against the Serbian. Robredo will likely need to beat Alexandr Dolgopolov (faces Ricardas Berankis) and Pablo Cuevas to make it to the fourth round. Cuevas won the only meeting between he and Robredo but that was on the clay of Umag last year.

Aside from Federer in Dubai, Ivo Karlovic is the only player to defeat Djokovic this year. The big serving Croatian was broken just once in a 6-7 7-6 6-4 win in Doha. At 36, Karlovic is closing in on the top 20 with only second round points to defend this week. He begins with a qualifier with 12th seed Gilles Simon likely waiting in round three. He is 2-2 against the Frenchman although their most recent meeting was four years ago. Simon made the round of 16 last week in Indian Wells but lost fairly routinely to Rafael Nadal to exit from the competition.

After a 19-1 run to begin the year, David Ferrer finally ran out of steam at Indian Wells. He was a straight sets loser to Bernard Tomic, an opponent he had dealt with handily in the past. One of Ferrer’s 19 wins on the year was against Karlovic on his way to the Doha title, the first of three so far this year.

With the withdrawal of Roger Federer, a shift in seedings sees Kei Nishikori move into one of the top four spots. If both make the semi finals, he and Novak Djokovic will face each other outdoors for the first time since Nishikori’s shock US Open semi final win. Mikail Youzhny looks to extend a 5-1 head to head over Andrey Golubev with the winner taking on Nishikori. Viktor Troicki squeezes in as the 32 seed for the final bye but Marcos Baghdatis and Simone Bolelli are hardly easy opponents in round two, especially given Troicki was defeated in straights by Albert Ramos last time out.

An intriguing clash between two of the 2014 ATP World Tour Awards winners can play out if both seeds make the third round. Most Improved Player Roberto Bautista Agut plays a qualifier while David Goffin (Comeback Player of the Year) will begin against Borna Coric or Andreas Haider Maurer.

Some notable names complete the rest of the top half, headed by Milos Raonic who will look to reignite his rivalry with Nishikori. It is one that Nishikori leads 5-2 although they have split a pair in 2015 after Nishikori won in Davis Cup action this month, needing 5 sets to do so. Raonic has six losses on the year but only one has come against a player outside the top 10 – Simone Bolelli in Marseille. Raonic is 5-0 against projected 3rd round opponent Jeremy Chardy while the other two potential opponents in Ryan Harrison and Jurgen Melzer both have wins over the Canadian on American hard courts.

John Isner bounced back somewhat at Indian Wells with a run to the 4th round, losing to Djokovic in straight sets. He opens with either Pablo Carreno Busta or Andrey Rublev. Rublev will be taking part in his first Masters 1000 event after an impressive Junior run last year. A win over Carreno Busta may be possible but Isner should be a step too far for the young Russian. In what will be just his fourth match in over a year, Juan Martin Del Potro will face Vasek Pospisil. A mini-comeback in Sydney proved futile and just further put back his return as he was unable to compete in Melbourne without the possibility of pain. 9th seed Grigor Dimitrov plays the winner of this match.

Stanislas Wawrinka has never gone beyond the fourth round in Miami in six attempts but will have his best chance so far as the no.7 seed. Highly rated Aussie wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis made a bit of a splash at Indian Wells with a run to the fourth round but he will have his work cut out in round two assuming he can see off Carlos Berlocq. Adrian Mannarino is another off a fourth round appearance there, having his run ended by Andy Murray.

Mannarino was unseeded last week as a winner over Gulbis and Fabio Fognini who, although unlikely, he could meet in round four. Fognini’s hard court form continues to be poor for a player nearing the top 20 and he could be a target for Jack Sock in round two. Sock won three matches from a set down at Indian Wells, most impressively against Roberto Bautista Agut, before losing to Roger Federer in straight sets. 10th seed Feliciano Lopez picked up an impressive victory over Kei Nishikori before succumbing to Andy Murray at Indian Wells. The Spaniard has a fairly straightforward opener, facing either Dominic Thiem or Diego Schwartzman.

Andy Murray had a fairly easy time on his way to the semi finals at Indian Wells but his struggles against the elite continued, with him still remaining winless against the rest of the Big 4 since Wimbledon 2013. Djokovic being in the opposite side of the draw is a bonus but Murray was still blasted off the court by Wawrinka on the last two occasions they met, winning 12 games over 5 sets. He opens against either Donald Young or Yen-Hsun Lu, the former of which he beat in Davis Cup action very recently.

An all-Brit third round is possible, albeit unlikely, with Kyle Edmund facing a qualifier for the opportunity to play Santiago Giraldo. The Colombian is 8-15 on hard courts over the past year though, which should be a confidence booster for whoever takes him on in round two. 15th seed Kevin Anderson seems the most likely opponent for Murray in round four with Sam Querrey and Leonardo Mayer the expected opponents between him and the World No.4.

The final quarter is headed by Rafael Nadal who looks to bounce back after his quarter final, match-point up loss to Milos Raonic. His road to the final is paved with Spaniards with Nicolas Almagro possibly up first, although on his day Sergiy Stakhovsky can be a tough opponent. Fernando Verdasco awaits in round three if he can defeat a qualifier while the two seeds he could face in round four are either Guillermo Garcia-Lopez or an out of form Ernests Gulbis. Gulbis did manage to win his first match of the year but given he was then sent out in straights by Adrian Mannarino in the next round, it seems to say more about his opponent Daniel Gimeno Traver than suggest any return to form.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will play his first match of the year against a qualifier or Tim Smyczek. Smyczek comes into the tournament in decent form after making the final of a strong Irving Challenger. Gael Monfils could also face a qualifier in round two, with Dusan Lajovic the alternative.

A run to the quarter finals at Indian Wells, including a win over David Ferrer, suggested good things are to come for Bernard Tomic only for him to have to withdraw from the event. He likely should be fine and has a good chance to reach a career high ranking this week if he can win a few matches. Denis Istomin or a qualifier is up first but Tomas Berdych will be a tough ask in round three. The Czech is 3-0 against Tomic although they have never met in a three set format.

Following a week filled with injury woes and a personal tragedy, Simona Halep triumphed at the Indian Wells event, where she won the biggest WTA title of her career with a three-set victory over Jelena Jankovic on Sunday.

While many anticipated smooth sailing for Halep en route to the title, Jankovic proved to be a durable adversary, as she snatched the opening set following two breaks to set the upset. However, Halep eventually worked her way back into the match and overcame a long 62-minute second set to win the match 2-6, 7-5, 6-4.

“First of all I want to congratulate Jelena – you were amazing,” Halep said. “Well done for a great two weeks here. You did a great job, and it was an amazing final. I’m really happy I could win today.

“This is my biggest title and I will never forget it.”

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This week also happened to be an impressive one for Jankovic, who was reborn in the American desert, where she managed to overcome her tempestuous 12-month injury plague to reach the final of the tournament. The past year saw her drop from world No. 6 to No. 21 but she will now return to the Top 20. It will also serve as a confidence boost for the next few months.

“I was limping three days before the tournament started,” Jankovic said, referring to a hip injury she suffered recently in Doha. “I was actually in doubt if I could even play. When I came to these courts, on the first day I hadn’t hit a ball for 10 days. I was hitting, but I was standing. I was not moving.

The Miami Open begins next week as part of back-to-back Masters 1000/Premier Mandatory events following on the back of Indian Wells. The agency IMG owns the tournament which sees the wildcards offered take a different shape to most with few local players recipients. Many of the top young players in the game represented by the company will therefore take part in the event.

Ryan Harrison is the biggest name to get one for the main draw. It will be the fifth occasion in six years that Harrison has received a wildcard despite winning just two matches at the event in that time frame. 20 year-old Brit Kyle Edmund has begun to make an impression on the Challenger Tour at least, winning a title in Hong Kong while most recently making the quarter finals in a strong Irving draw.

At 18, Korea’s Hyeon Chung will make his debut in the main draw. Chung has taken advantage of Challenger events in Asia and Australia to move into the top 130. In February, he made consecutive finals in Burnie and Launceston winning the former before losing in three sets in Launceston to Bjorn Fratangelo.

Junior World No.1 and French Open champion Andrey Rublev rounds off the list. After picking up a number of titles at Futures level, the Russian was a quarter finalist in his first Challenger tournament while also picking up the Doubles title. A win over Dudi Sela in Delray Beach was his first at ATP level but Steve Johnson was a step too far in the following round.

Two of the qualifying wildcards go to junior slam winners in Gianluigi Quinzi (Wimbledon 2013) and Omar Jasika (2014 US Open). Elias Ymer qualified for his first grand slam this year beating the aforementioned Chung while Taro Daniel looks to qualify for his fifth ATP event. He made the quarter finals of Vina Del Mar in 2014 but was a first round loser in the other three attempts. Michael Mmoh is a top 10 junior with wins over Rublev and Jasika last year while also picking up a Futures title in Brownsville, Texas.

The Women’s draw is headed by two notable names in Sorana Cirstea and Nicole Vaidisova. Cirstea has plummeted down the rankings to outside the top 140 from a career high of 21 just over 18 months ago. A two times slam semi finalist in his first career, Vaidisova announced a comeback late last year. She is yet to make much of an impact, her best performance being a semi final of a $100,000 ITF event. Her first WTA level match back was a straight sets loss to Ana Ivanovic as a qualifier in Monterrey.

CiCi Bellis made a name for herself at last year’s US Open with a shock three set win over no.13 Dominika Cibulkova at the age of just 15. Three $25,000 Futures titles show she has had no trouble with moving on up to the next level. She also held the junior no.1 spot but didn’t win a slam in 2014, losing her last attempt at the US Open to Natalia Vikhlyantseva, who is also a main draw wildcard here. The Russian is now inside the top 400 but her best tournament at pro level is only a semi final in a $25k event.

17 year-old Paula Badosa Gibert was a two times quarter finalist in Junior slams last year, contributing to her career high no.8 at that level. The Spaniard’s first attempt at WTA level was a failure to qualify to Antwerp, being defeated by Kateryna Bondarenko. Indy De Vroome had slightly more success in Belgium, qualifying and picking up a shock win over Tsvetana Pironkova in the process. She also troubled Dominika Cibulkova but could not maintain her level throughout in the three set loss.

Canada’s Francoise Abanda is a one time $25k title winner who is currently winless on the WTA Tour. She has competed well against the likes of Sabine Lisicki and Venus Williams while also taking a set from Cibulkova at the Canadian Open.

Laura Robson was supposed to head a list of those with qualifying wildcards but she has chosen to exercise further caution with regards to her comeback. Ranked outside the top 800 in May 2014, Oceane Dodin has risen up the rankings rapidly and showcased her ability with a win in her first Australian Open against Alison Riske while taking a set of Karolina Pliskova in Round 2 looks more impressive by the day.

At 24, Arantxa Rus looks an odd choice given her record in recent time. She is 7-6 at ITF level, with just one match coming at above $25k level. However, two wins in Fed Cup action over Magdalena Rybarikova and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova are impressive. Sachia Vickery has won two $25k events in the US this year while going 3-5 at tour level in the past year, with a 1-1 record in 2015.

Ipek Soylu of Turkey is a Junior Doubles slam champion while also winning seven times at ITF level, taking advantage of the year round events in Turkey and Egypt to rack up titles, although they are all $10,000 level. Hungarian Fanni Stollar was a top 20 junior who has been making her first steps into pro events this year. She was a finalist in Orlando $10k this week but was defeated by an even younger opponent in 14 year-old Claire Liu.