Tennis News

17-time Grand Slam great Roger Federer is through to another final in 2015, his first on clay this season, at the inaugural TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open. He will complete his first-time campaign in Turkey against Pablo Cuevas, who also had a solid week in the Mediterranean. This marks the first time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour.

Federer secured his spot in the final of the tournament when he rallied from a set down to defeat Diego Schwartzman 2-6, 6-2, 7-5. He struck six aces and secured three break point to close out the match in one hour and 55 minutes. Overall, it was a valiant effort against an inspired opponent.

“I think what was important in the third set was to keep working hard,” said Federer. “I needed to put in a lot of effort to stay with Diego.

“Cuevas is playing very, very well… I think it’s going to be a tough match. Cuevas has obviously played a lot on clay.”

In one of the bigger surprises of the day, Pablo Cuevas thrashed Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets to oust the Bulgarian and secure his spot in the final of the tournament. He managed to secure five of six break points to close out the match 6-2, 6-4 in 65 minutes.

“I come from a small country, and I’m used to having the crowd against me,” said Cuevas. “Playing Roger tomorrow will be like playing Roger in his hometown.”

This is the first time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, yet it is still one that will likely favour the vastly more experienced Federer. The Grand Slam great is poised to secure another title for his collection but will need to topple a player who is a perfect 3-0 in ATP World Tour finals.

While he may have preferred some time off to watch the boxing superfight on Saturday, Andy Murray instead fended off two separate opponents that afternoon to secure a spot in his first clay court final. The Briton will come up against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, whom he has met on three previous occasions, including once this season already. Murray leads the head-to-head series 2-1.

The British No. 1 advanced to the final on Saturday following two separate matches that he was forced to contest back-to-back following a rain delay that washed away Friday play. First, he rallied to defeated Lukas Rosol 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 before beating Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets 6-4, 6-4.

“It was a tough, long day,” reflected Murray. “The first match was tough and in the second one there were some long rallies but I managed to serve quite well. Winning matches helps on any surface in building confidence and this was my first week of play since (Roland Garros) last year. It’s been 11 months since I’ve played on the surface. With each match I’ll feel a little more comfortable. Tomorrow will be a tough one. Hopefully we can both recover well and play a good match.”
The German was also forced to play two matches on Saturday. First, he beat David Goffin 2-6, 6-3 6-4 and followed up by rallying back against Gerald Melzer 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.

This is just the fourth time these two competitors will cross paths on the tour, and will not be an easy contest for the British No. 1. He has been dealt no favours against his German adversary, who holds a win over Murray back in 2010 on this same surface. While Murray is capable of overcoming the tough battle, he will need to play a clean match-up and remain focused for what could be a long, grueling battle.

While Andy Murray may be busy at the BMW Munich Open this week, he will still find the time to focus some attention on Saturday for the ‘Fight of the Century’ between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

An avid boxing fan himself, Murray showed a keen interest in the fight and was unable to come to a quick decision with regards to a prediction.

“Well, it’s a tough one to predict,” Murray said with a smile. “I would say that Mayweather, for me, would be the favorite. I think he’s a more consistent performer. And also in Vegas, that’s his hometown. He’s spoken a little bit about how much he means to the economy of the city. So, yeah, if it goes to the scorecards, I would think it would be tough for Pacquiao to win.”

While many fans and pundits have suggested that Pacquiao’s route to victory requires him to KO Mayweather in the first four rounds of the fight, Murray believes the smart bet still lies on the undefeated Mayweather.

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“I think Pacquiao has a very good chance of winning,” Murray said. “If I was betting, I’d probably bet for Mayweather.”

In all scenarios, the British No. 1 is still believes the fight is a once-in-a-generation spectacle, even though he will not be able to watch it himself.

“The fight, that should be a great fight, a great spectacle,” Murray said. “Everyone is talking about it. Everyone has been waiting, you know, for a few years for it to happen. I would have loved to have gone to watch it, but I’m going to be playing a tournament that week so I won’t be able to, unfortunately.”

Transcription taken from Tennisnow.com

Yet to begin his clay court season, Andy Murray took some time off to get married to longtime girlfriend Kim Sears. Now happily hitched, Murray will step onto the courts in Munich as a rejuvenated spirit looking to capitalize on the opportunities ahead. He most recently reached the semi-final stage in Indian Wells and the final in Miami, both times losing to world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. It will be interesting to see if Murray’s strong performances on hard courts can transition onto clay, where he has historically played well, albeit inconsistently.

In another interesting note, Murray has already gotten some practice on this court, as he, along with Jean-Julien Rojer, eliminated third seeds Raven Klaasen and Lukas Rosol 7-5, 6-2 in an entertaining doubles action.

His first challenge in Munich will be Mischa Zverev, who defeated Jan-Lennard Struff in three sets to secure his spot in the second round. He beat his fellow countryman 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-4 in a match where he struck four aces, won 61 percent of his first service points, and saved seven break points to finish it off in two hours and four minutes.

This marks the first time that these two competitors will cross paths on the ATP World Tour. Murray is undoubtedly the more experienced competitor and will look to impose his dominance on his German adversary en route to a straight sets victory before reaching the quarter-final round. It will mark Murray’s first clay court appearance of the season but that should not stop him from completing a reasonably straightforward encounter.

17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer will make his debut in Istanbul on Wednesday evening when he takes to the courts for his second round encounter against Jarkko Nieminen. Federer has played Nieminen on 14 previous occasions on the tour and is yet to drop more than a set against him. Check out the Federer vs Nieminen Head to Head.

Following a successful run to the Dubai title and the Indian Wells final, Roger Federer suffered a second round loss to Gael Monfils in Monte Carlo. It was the second time he lost to the Frenchman in such decisive fashion. With that behind him, he will prepare to prepare himself for the French Open.

“The French Open clearly is a big goal of mine, but to play well at the French Open I need confidence and I need to play well, and I hope I can pick that up here in Istanbul and really win a lot of matches,

“It’s about getting used to the sliding and just wanting to decide how aggressive I want to play,” he said. “Clearly I play on hard court for 7-8 months like all the other players. It just takes some adjustments. For that, I’m trying to put up as many hours as I can on the clay and I think my game is going to get better and better as we move along.”

While the local crowd wanted to see Federer face Marsel Ilhan in the second round, it will be Jarkko Nieminen who will meet the Swiss star instead. He defeated the Turkish No. 1 in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 to secure his spot in the second round.

Dating back to their first encounter in 2002, Federer has compiled a 14-0 h2h record against Nieminen and will likely extend that lead further tomorrow evening. Federer has an impeccable record against the Finish player and holds two clay court wins against him already. Wednesday evening will likely mark his third overall against Nieminen.