Category Archives: Tennis

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Tennis Tuesday: Australian Open Week 2

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This Week’s Tournament:
Australian Open – Melbourne, Australia

Where to Watch: ESPN and WatchESPN
Tournament Dates: January 16 – January 29
Time:  Play starts at 7pm EST
Social Media: #AusOpen @AustralianOpen

Upsets Down Under
It has been an eventful first week at the Australian Open!  It’s everything we could have asked for in the first slam of the year, and we hope it’s a good sign for the rest of the season.  Both of last year’s finalists, #1 Andy Murray and #2 Novak Djokovic, lost before the Quarterfinals.  Murray, a 5-time Australian Open finalist, was defeated by Mischa Zverev in the 4th round.  Novak Djokovic, a 6-time Australian Open champion, lost to Denis Istomin in the 2nd round.  It’s great to see other players breaking through along with some familiar favorites back from injury:  Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

 

Andy Roddick & Kim Clijsters Elected to Tennis Hall of Fame
The International Tennis Hall of Fame announced the Class of 2017 today!   Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters will be inducted in the recent player category, along with Paralympic medalist and wheelchair tennis champion Monique Kalkman-van den Bosch, journalist Steve Flink, and instructor Vic Braden.  We are so thrilled for Andy Roddick – he is 100% the reason we started watching and playing tennis, and we can’t thank him enough.  He may only have 1 slam title to his name, but he stayed consistently at the top of the game for over a decade, and never stopped working.  The induction ceremony will take place on July 22nd, during the International Tennis Hall of Fame Championships in Newport, Rhode Island.  We can’t wait for Andy’s speech!

https://twitter.com/andyroddick/status/823625616176115713

Bryan Brothers Announce Retirement from Davis Cup
Bob and Mike Bryan announced via Instagram that they will be stepping down as active members of the US Davis Cup team.  The Bryan Brothers have a 24-5 record in Davis Cup ties, and received the ITF’s Davis Cup Commitment Award for participating in over 20 ties.  This announcement means that Captain Jim Courier will need to pick a new team ahead of the USA-Switzerland tie in the first round, February 3-5.  Lucky for us, we have lots of great doubles players to pick from including Jack Sock, John Isner, Sam Querrey, and Stevie Johnson.

 

The World Needs an ATP Boyband
Grigor Dimitrov, Roger Federer, and Tommy Haas formed the hottest new boyband, #NOTNSYNC.  We’ve been saying for ages that there needs to be a boyband made up of ATP World Tour players.  Maybe just work a little more on the harmonies?

Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: Australian Open Week 1

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This Week’s Tournament:
Australian Open – Melbourne, Australia

Last Week’s Winners:
ASB Classic – Jack Sock
Apia International Sydney – Gilles Mueller

We love how the tennis season starts off with a bang – it’s just the third week of January but it’s already time for the first slam of the year!

Where to Watch: ESPN and WatchESPN
Tournament Dates: January 16 – January 29
Time:  Play nightly starts at 7pm EST
Social Media: #AusOpen @AustralianOpen

Jack Sock Wins 2nd Career Title in Auckland
Jack had a strong end to 2016, reaching the finals in Stockholm (where he lost to Juan Martin del Potro), and the Quarterfinals of the Masters tournaments in Paris and Shanghai.  He’s been working hard in the off-season and it shows!  Jack was impressive in his run to a second career title in Auckland, where he defeated Joao Sousa in a high quality final.  We’re excited to see how he’ll fare at the Australian Open!

Reilly Opelka Qualifies for First Grand Slam
Part of the #NextGen of young American players, Reilly Opelka qualified for the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in Melbourne.  Reilly was the only player to go through qualifying without dropping a set – or dropping serve.  He’ll face David Goffin in the first round.  Other American qualifiers include Frances Tiafoe, Noah Rubin, Bjorn Frantangelo, and Ernesto Escobedo.  Let’s go USA!

Sasha Bublik Interviews “Rafa”
It’s been an awesome week in Melbourne so far for the Sasha Bublik – he qualified for the main draw of a grand slam for a first time AND managed to grab Rafael Nadal for a quick interview.   Wait a minute, for sure this is Rafa, no?

https://twitter.com/AlexanderBublik/status/819750031259406336

Lleyton Hewitt & Andy Roddick Join BNP Paribas Showdown
As if we weren’t already hype enough for the BNP Paribas Showdown coming up at Madison Square Garden on March 6th, it just got even better with the announcement that Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick are joining the lineup!   We’re pretty sure that we filled out the “Who do you want to see at the BNP Paribas Showdown?” survey last year with “ANDY VS LLEYTON WOULD BE EPIC” so thank you tennis gods for making this happen!   The new format for the showdown, the 10th anniversary of the event, will be Team Americas Vs. Team World.   That means Andy Roddick, Jack Sock, Juan Martin del Potro, and Venus Williams will be taking on Lleyton Hewitt, Nick Kyrgios, Kei Nishikori, and Garbine Mugaruza.    Tickets are on sale now!

Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: News Roundup

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This Week’s Tournaments:
ASB Classic – Auckland, New Zealand
Apia International Sydney – Sydney, Australia

Last Week’s Winners:
Brisbane International – Grigor Dimitrov
Qatar ExxonMobil Open – Novak Djokovic
Aircel Chennai Open – Roberto Bautista Agut
Hopman Cup – France (Richard Gasquet & Kiki Mladenovic)

Grigor Dimitrov Wins First Title Since 2014
It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly 3 years since Grigor Dimitrov won his last title, at Queen’s Club in 2014.  That same year he reached the top 10 for the first time, and made it to the semi-finals a at Wimbledon.  It’s been a tough couple of years for Grigor, who has been working hard to get back in top form.  He started 2017 in commanding fashion, taking out 3 top 10 players (Dominic Thiem, Milos Raonic, Kei Nishikori) on his way to the Brisbane title.  He also took one of the cutest and most excited trophy winning photos of all time.  More of this in 2017, please!


Dominic Thiem Hits The Beach
One of the hardest working men in tennis, Dominic Thiem, hit the “beach” in Sydney ahead of the tournament there this week.   Our dream job would be planning and supervising these ATP player field trips during tournaments.  Where can we sign up?   (Also someone please take Grigor back to a zoo while he’s in Australia so we get more of this)

James Blake Wins 2016 Powershares Season Finale in Brooklyn
Professional tennis made it’s return to Brooklyn for the first time since  1935 on a snowy Saturday night at the Barclays Center.   James Blake won the Powershares QQQ Cup, the last event on the 2016 Champions Tour.  James defeated Andy Roddick in the first semi-final, breaking Andy in the final game of the set.   (Andy’s serve is still on point in case you were wondering).  John McEnroe beat Jim Courier 6-3, before losing to James in the final.   The final set was an entertaining battle of the New Yorkers, with an energetic crowd cheering on both players.

Taylor Fritz Expecting First Child
Tennis Channel just casually mentioned that Taylor Fritz is expecting his first child any day now!   Fritz wed his longtime girlfriend Raquel Pedraza over the Summer.   Congrats Taylor and Raquel!

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