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Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: Let The Season Begin!

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The 2017 tennis season has officially begun!   Nearly all the top players are back in action this week, in tournaments in Australia, Qatar, and India in the lead up to the Australian Open.   We love how tennis starts the year off strong – first slam of the year is less than two weeks away!

This Week’s Tournaments:
Brisbane International – Brisbane, Australia
Qatar ExxonMobil Open – Doha, Qatar
Aircel Chennai Open – Chennai, India
Hopman Cup – Perth, Australia

Nadal and Federer are Back in Action
Fans around the world are thrilled that both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are back after a short hiatus.  Before this week, Federer had not played since losing to Milos Raonic in the Wimbledon semi-finals in July and dealing with a lingering knee injury.  How excited are people to see him?  Over 6,000 showed up just to watch him practice in Perth.   Nadal has been looking strong so far, with wins over David Goffin and Milos Raonic in an exhibition in Abu Dhabi.   Rafa’s playing in the Brisbane Open, which means hanging out with koalas!

 

Make That Sir Andy Murray
Andy Murray ended 2016 by becoming the #1 tennis player in the world, and he just started 2017 by being given a knighthood in Queen Elizabeth II’s New Year’s Honours List.

New Season, New Coaches
Lots of coaching changes happened in the off season.  Novak Djokovic announced he would no longer be working with Boris Becker.  Rafael Nadal added Carlos Moya to his team, while Milos Raonic’s new head coach is Richard Krajicek.

Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: 2016 Season Comes To An End

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This Week’s Tournaments:
Davis Cup Finals – Zagreb, Croatia

Andy Murray Is Year End #1
For the first time in history, the battle for the year end #1 ranking came down to the final match in the last tournament of the year.  Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray fought for the #1 spot in the ATP World Tour Finals, with Murray  winning 6-3, 6-4.


Davis Cup Finals November 25-27
If you thought the tennis season was officially over, not yet!  The Davis Cup Finals are happening this weekend.  Argentina will take on Croatia at the Arena Zagreb.   Argentina has never won Davis Cup, but have come close as 4 time runners up.   Croatia won their only Davis Cup title in 2005.   With Delpo in action (remember his 5-set epic win over Andy Murray in the semi-finals?)  and a strong Croatian team, it should be an exciting final.

Argentina: Juan Martin del Potro, Guido Pella, Federico Delbonis, Leonardo Mayer

Croatia: Marin Cilic, Borna Coric, Ivo Karlovic, Ivan Dodig


ATP #NextGen Finals Launching in 2017
The ATP announced that Milan will host a season-ending final tournament for the top players under 21 starting next year.  The format will be similar to the ATP World Tour Finals, with the top 7 players under 21 qualifying based on ranking points earned throughout the season.  The 8th spot will be awarded via wildcard.  We love this idea and if anyone would like to send us to Milan next year, we are so there.

The tournament will feature “rule changes and innovations,” to make tennis more appealing to “the millennials,” to which we must again say please, please leave the format and rules of the game alone.

If the tournament existed in 2016, the players would have been: Nick Kyrgios, Sascha Zverev, Kyle Edmund, Borna Coric, Karen Khachanov, Taylor Fritz, Yoshihito Nishioka, Hyeon Chung


It’s The Off Season!
For everyone not participating in Davis Cup this week that is.  That means vacation Instagrams from your favorite players for the next month or so.  Also a reminder the Australian Open is in 55 days!

Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: News Roundup

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This Week’s Tournament:
NONE! 😦

It’s hard to believe the regular ATP World Tour season has come to an end.  While we’re trying to adjust to life without live scores and results to check everyday, we still have a couple of big events left to look forward to in 2016!  The ATP World Tour Finals kick off on Sunday in London and the Davis Cup Final between Argentina and Croatia is November 25-27.

Andy Murray Reaches #1 Ranking
Andy Murray captured the BNP Paribas Masters title in Paris, securing the #1 ranking in the process.  The #1 spot has been a long time coming for Murray, who has spent significant time as #2.  It’s a fitting end for a year that has seen Murray win 8 titles, including Wimbledon, along with an Olympic gold.

 

Draw Revealed for ATP World Tour Finals
The ATP World Tour Finals start on Sunday, November 13th from the O2 Arena in London.  Novak Djokovic will take on Dominic Thiem and Milos Raonic will take on Gael Monfils on Day 1.

Singles Group John McEnroe
Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, Marin Cilic

Singles Group Ivan Lendl
Novak Djokovic, Milos Raonic, Gael Monfils, Dominic Thiem

Doubles – Group Fleming/McEnroe
Pierre-Hugues Herbert & Nicolas Mahut; Marc Lopez & Feliciano Lopez; Henri Kontinen & John Peers; Raven Klassen & Rajeev Ram

Doubles – Group Edberg/Jarryd
Jamie Murray & Bruno Soares; Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan; Ivan Dodig & Marcelo Melo; Treat Huey & Max Mirnyi

 

Reilly Opelka Wins Charlottesville Challenger
2016 has been a great year for the next generation of young American players.  Reilly Opelka just won his first pro title over the weekend at the ATP Challenger event in Charlottesville, VA.   Opelka joins fellow American teens Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe, who also won challenger titles this year.   USA!  USA!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMfMDdmgTq9/?taken-by=reillyopelka

 

Juan Monaco Trends Worldwide on Twitter
We were surprised to see Juan Monaco, AKA Pico, trending worldwide on Twitter on Sunday night.  Turns out he was a guest on a talk show in Argentina (hello, off season!)  In case anyone needs advice on “selling tennis to the millennials,” we suggest going this route instead of trying to find ways to re-invent and shorten the game.

Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: News Roundup

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This Week’s Tournament:
BNP Paribas Masters – Paris, France

It’s hard to believe we’ve already made it to the last tournament of the regular season of the ATP World Tour!   The tour wraps up this week in Paris, with 2 more spots on the line for a spot in the World Tour Finals happening later this month in London.  Marin Cilic moved up to the 9th position after winning the title in Basel Last week, with Dominic Thiem just ahead at #8.  The year end #1 ranking is also on the line in Paris as Andy Murray closed in on current #1 Novak Djokovic by winning the title in Vienna last week.

 

Jack Sock Wins Doubles in Basel
American Jack Sock won his 2nd doubles title of the year, this time with partner Marcel Granollers.  This was Jack’s 4th final (singles and doubles) since the end of the US Open.  Jack Sock for President!

 

BNP Paribas Showdown 2017 Lineup Announced
2017 marks the 10 year anniversary of the BNP Paribas Showdown.  The annual event, held at Madison Square Garden, features the top names in tennis facing off in an exhibition match in celebration of World Tennis Day.  This year’s event features Venus Williams vs Garbine Mugaruza, Jack Sock vs Nick Kyrgios, and Kei Nishikori vs Juan Martin del Potro.  The showdown is March 6th 2017 at MSG and tickets are on sale now!

Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: News Roundup

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This Week’s Tournaments:
Erste Bank Open 500 – Vienna, Austria
Swiss Indoors Basel – Basel, Switzerland

Juan Martin del Potro Wins First Title Since 2014
Delpo won the first title of his 2016  comeback at the If Stockholm Open in Sweden.  He defeated Jack Sock in the final 7-5, 6-1.  With the win, Delpo is back in the top 50 (where he belongs!).   Impressive considering Delpo started 2016 ranked 1041.  Welcome back!

 

Richard Gasquet Wins Inaugural European Open
Gasquet won his 14th career title at the new 250 ATP tournament in Antwerp, Belgium.   2016 has been an up and down year for Gasquet, who battled some injuries.  The title is his second of the year and puts him up to #18 in the race to London.

 

Thiem Dominates Tie Break Tens in Vienna
Homeboy Dominic Thiem won the Tie Break Tens exhibition in Vienna, kicking off the Erste Bank Open.  The event featured round robin play, with each “match” consisting of one 10-point tiebreak.  Thiem defeated Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, Tommy Haas, and Goran Ivanisevic en route to the final, where he played against Andy Murray in a winner-take-all tiebreak.  Wimbledon hero Marcus Willis was also in lineup, playing entertaining tiebreaks against Murray and Ivanisevic.

 

Rafael Nadal Ends 2016 Season Early
After struggling with a wrist injury for the second half of the season, Rafa officially shut down his 2016 season last week.  We’re looking forward to a well rested and healthy Rafa next year!

Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: News Roundup

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This Week’s Tournaments:
Shanghai Rolex Masters – Shanghai, China

Kyrgios Wins 3rd Title Of 2016
Nick Kyrgios won the biggest title of his career so far at the Rakuten Japan Open in Tokyo!  The title is Kyrgios’ 3rd of the season, and his first 500 level trophy.

 

Murray Defeats Dimitrov in Beijing
Andy Murray won the 40th title of his career in Beijing, defeating Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 7-6(2) in the finals.

 

Frances Tiafoe Enters Top 100
#NextGen American Frances Tiafoe won the challenger title in Stockton, defeating fellow American Noah Rubin 6-4, 6-2 in the final.  The win puts Tiafoe into the top 100 for the first time in his career.

 

The Return of Tommy’s Pumpkin
It’s that time of year again, Tommy’s pumpkin is back!  If you have no idea what we’re talking about, you need to be following Reilly Opelka and Tommy Paul on social media.  Trust us, just do it.

https://twitter.com/ReillyOpelka/status/784951620421332992

In case you missed it, the OG pumpkin of 2015:

https://twitter.com/ReillyOpelka/status/650835110854430720

Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: News Roundup

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This Week’s Tournaments:
China Open – Beijing, China
Rakuten Japan Open – Tokyo, Japan

Karen Khachanov Wins 1st Title in Chengdu
The 20-year-old Russian became the 3rd #NextGen player to win a title this year, after Nick Kyrgios (Marseille, Atlanta) and Sascha Zverev (St. Petersburg).   Khachanov defeated Feliciano Lopez, Victor Troicki and Albert Ramos-Vinolas en route to his maiden title.

 

Berdych Defends Title In Shenzhen
Tomas Berdych, in his second tournament back following a diagnosis of appendicitis that made him miss the US Open, defended his title at the Shenzhen Open.  Berdych defeated Richard Gasquet, also on the comeback, 7-6(5), 6-7(2), 6-3 in the finals.

 

Maria Sharapova Can Return in April 2017
The ruling for Maria Sharapova’s appeal of her 2 year ban was announced this morning.   Maria’s sentence was shortened to a 15 month ban, making her eligible to return to the tour on April 25, 2017.

 

Sascha vs Domi
We love the friendship between Dominic Thiem and Sascha Zverev.   Zverev beat Thiem for the first time this year today at the Beijing Open, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, after having lost to Thiem 3 times previously this year.  He also did this.  We can’t wait for Domi to get revenge! (on and off the court)

Thiem_Zverev

Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: News Roundup

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This Week’s Tournaments:
Chengdu Open – Chengdu, China
Shenzhen Open – Shenzhen, China

Lucas Pouille Wins 1st Title in Metz
Pouille has had a terrific year so far – he reached the quarterfinals of both Wimbledon and the US Open, where he defeated Rafael Nadal.  The 22-year-old Frenchman just hit another milestone and won his first ATP World Tour Title at the Moselle Open in Metz, France, defeating #1 seed Dominic Thiem in the final 7-6(5), 6-2.  Pouille is now #16 in the rankings and on the rise.  Allez!

Alexander Zverev Wins St. Petersburg Open
19-year-old Sascha Zverev became the first teenager to win an ATP title since Marin Cilic in 2008.   Zverev defeated Stan Wawrinka to win his first title in St. Petersburg 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.  It’s fun to see another #NextGen player on the rise and we’re looking forward to seeing much more from him in the future!

2017 Davis Cup Draw Revealed
The draw for the 2017 Davis Cup was held last week in London.  First round action will take place from February 3-5, with some intriguing matchups.  Stay tuned for site selection announcements in the coming weeks.  (We’re hoping we can make it to USA vs. Switzerland!)

Argentina vs Italy
Germany vs Belgium
Australia vs Czech Republic
USA vs Switzerland
Japan vs France
Canada vs Great Britain
Serbia vs Russia
Croatia vs Spain

In the meantime, we still have the Davis Cup Finals coming up November 25-27, with Argentina taking on Croatia in Zagreb.

Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: News Roundup

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This Week’s Tournaments:
Moselle Open – Metz, France
St. Petersburg Open – St. Petersburg, Russia

2016 Davis Cup Final Set
After a drama filled weekend, it will be Argentina taking on Croatia in the Davis Cup Final in November!   Juan Martin del Potro defeated Andy Murray in the 1st rubber in Argentina’s tie against Great Britain, in a match that lasted over 5 hours.  (And Delpo made us cry.  Again).  The tie went to a decisive 5th rubber, with Leonardo Mayer defeating Dan Evans to win the tie for Argentina (and Delpo).  Marin Cilic was Croatia’s MVP, winning his 2 singles matches and the doubles against the French #1s, Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut.

2017 Davis Cup Draw on September 22nd
Since this year’s final is set, it’s time to get excited about next year!  The World Group playoffs were also completed over the weekend, with 16 nations in the draw.  Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain and the USA will be drawn against the 8 seeded nations below:
1. Argentina
2. Croatia
3. Great Britian
4. Czech Republic
5. Switzerland
6. France
7. Belgium
8. Serbia

Dominic Thiem Leads Moselle Open Field
The #1 seed and #1 in our hearts, Dominic Thiem, is back in action this week at the Moselle Open in Metz, France.  We last saw Thiem forced to retire in his match against Del Potro at the US Open with a knee injury, so we’re hoping he’s fully recovered and fit to play.  Other players in action in Metz include Benoit Paire, Dustin Brown, Nicolas Mahut, and Gilles Simon.

 

Stan The Man Returns in St. Petersburg
Stan Wawrinka is playing his first tournament since winning the US Open in New York.  He leads a strong field in St. Petersburg that includes Milos Raonic, Sascha Zverev, and Tomas Berdych.

Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: US Open

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After a busy two weeks at the US Open, we’re back to your regularly scheduled posting.  We had a blast seeing so many of our favorite players up close, and caught some incredible matches.  We’re already counting down until next year!

Stan The Man
Stan Wawrinka proved he most definitely is the man, defeating Novak Djokovic in the final to win his 3rd major title at the US Open.  Stan had a tough path to the finals – he was down match points in the 3rd round to Dan Evans – but was able to win with his excellent shot making (that backhand!) and mental toughness.

Juan Martin del Potro Is Back
Delpo’s comeback to tennis has been incredible and inspiring, and he brought us all to tears yet again at this year’s US Open.  Delpo made it all the way to the Quaterfinals before losing to eventual champion Stan Wawrinka.  Ole, ole, ole, ole, Delpo Delpo!

Kerber is #1
Angelique Kerber was impressive in her run to the final, winning her first US Open and her second major of the year.   Kerber also is the new world #1!

The #NextGen Is Coming
We tried to catch as many of the #NextGen players as we could at the US Open this year.   Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz were impressive in taking the more experienced Americans, John Isner and Jack Sock, to 5 sets in the first round.  Jared Donaldson made it through qualifying and to the third round, and entered the top 100 for the first time.   Kyle Edmund took out 2 of our favorite players (Isner and Richard Gasquet) before falling to Novak Djokovic.

Davis Cup Semi-Finals This Weekend
We’re in that weird post-slam state where there isn’t even a 250 event to get excited about this week.  Lucky for us, the Davis Cup Semi-Finals and World Group Playoffs kick off on Friday!   Great Britain will host Argentina and Croatia will host France in the Semis.  We’re excited to see Juan Martin Del Potro play again for Argentina, and are hoping Team France will make it all the way!