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Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: News Roundup

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This Week’s Tournaments:
BB&T Atlanta Open – Atlanta, GA, USA
Swiss Open Gstaad – Gstaad, Switzerland
German Tennis Championships – Hamburg, Germany

Last Week’s Winners:
Tennis Hall of Fame Championships – John Isner
SkiStar Swedish Open – David Ferrer
Plava Laguna Croatia Open – Andrey Rublev

Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters Inducted Into Tennis Hall of Fame
Andy Roddick was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame over the weekend in Newport, Rhode Island along with Kim Clijsters, Steve Flink, and Vic Braden.  As expected, Andy’s induction speech was equal parts poignant, charming, reflective, and funny, and reminded  us why we fell in love with tennis in the first place (and how much we miss Andy on tour!)   We loved Andy’s stories about how much he loved tennis from a young age and what a fan he was of all the players that came before him.  We’ll always be grateful to our tennis hero, Andy Roddick!  Watch Andy’s full speech below and have some tissues ready.

Jack Sock Goes Esquire
The latest issue of Esquire features a story on Jack Sock.  He mentions looking up to newly minted Hall of Famer, Andy Roddick.  “Sock grew up a Roddick fan (“being from Nebraska, it was hard not to be, plus I liked the Reebok Pumps and visor and the Backstreet Boys frosted tips”)”  We think Jack should bring this look back.  Check out the story here!

US Open Series Is Underway!
It’s hard to believe that the US Open starts in just over a month.  The US Open Series kicked off yesterday in Atlanta, with several tournaments coming up throughout the US & Canada leading up to the last slam of the year at the end of August.  Lots of young American players are in action in Atlanta this week.

Andrey Rublev Wins First Title in Croatia
19-year-old Russian Andrey Rublev won his first title over the weekend in Croatia.  Rublev entered the tournament as a lucky loser, having lost in the last round of qualifying, and played his way to the title.  Don’t forget that Rublev used to be in a One Direction cover band, Summer Afternoon.

Roger Federer Joins Arthur Ashe Kids Day Lineup
Big news!  Roger Federer will be joining the stadium show at Arthur Ashe Kids Day this year.  The show, on August 26th, will feature some of your favorite players along with performances by Sofia Carson, New Hope Club, Alex Aiono and more.   Tickets are on sale now!  Get all the details here.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BW-YQ_WhoF4/?taken-by=aakidsday

Sports, Tennis

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!

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?

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!

View this post on Instagram

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A post shared by Grigor Dimitrov (@grigordimitrov) on


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: Monte Carlo Roundup

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Tennis players are always chasing the sun and now that the weather is getting nicer in NYC, we can’t wait to play outside this Summer! It’s been a busy week in the tennis world so let’s get right to our Tennis Tuesday round up.

This Week’s Tournaments:
Barcelona Open BancSabadell – Barcelona, Spain
BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy – Bucharest, Romania

Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut Win Monte Carlo
The French duo won their 3rd straight Masters 1000 title of the season, securing themselves the #1 ranking in doubles in the process.  We love watching these two play and are thrilled to see them playing so well.  Also, see below one of the cutest post-match photos ever taken.

Rafael Nadal Reclaims Monte Carlo Title
The King of Monte Carlo won the title for the 9th time, defeating Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray on the way to the finals.  The final between Rafa and Gael Monfils was one of the best matches of the year so far.  We hope both of them can carry the momentum to Roland Garros!

World Team Tennis Schedule Announced
The WTT schedule was announced last week, including matches with marquee players Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish, and Caroline Wozniacki.  We can’t wait to catch the New York Empires at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, including a match with both Andy and March August 9th!  Check out the full schedule at WTT.com.  Check with your local team as tickets go on sale this week!  And remember…Don’t fall asleep on a plane with Andy Roddick or Mardy Fish.

Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: Welcome to Miami

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This week the tour moves to the East Coast, with Miami Open action starting on Wednesday.  Enjoy this last hardcourt tournament in North America before the tour moves to Europe for the clay season!

This Week’s Tournament
Miami Open – Miami, FL USA

Novak Djokovic Wins BNP Paribas Open
Djokovic captured a record 5th title in Indian Wells.  It was one-way traffic in the men’s final, mostly due to opponent Milos Raonic’s recurring injury, but also due to Djokovic’s outstanding play.

 

Pierre-Hugues Herbert & Nicolas Mahut Win Indian Wells Doubles
P2Hugz and Nico had an incredible week, winning their first Masters 1000 title as a team.  (yes team, not squad ahem tennis commentators…)  They defeated “Team North America” in the finals, AKA American Jack Sock and Canadian Vasek Pospisil.  We’re big fans of both these teams and happy to see them continue to do well!

 

World Team Tennis Draw March 25
We already know that Andy Roddick will be leading the New York Empires in WTT this Summer in Forest Hills (best news ever).  The WTT draw on Friday will reveal the rosters for all of the teams in the league.  Stay tuned to WTT.com!

WTT_draftday2016

header photo via the Miami Open

Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: ATP News of the Week

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It was an unpredictable week on the ATP World Tour, with unseeded players taking home trophies in Delray Beach, Marseille and Rio.  We were especially thrilled to see American Sam Querrey take home his 8th career title.  Here’s our tennis news of the week.

This Week’s Tournaments:
Acapulco, Mexico
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Sao Paulo, Brazil

Nick Kyrgios Wins 1st Title in Marseille
It’s nice to see everyone talking about Kyrgios for his stellar on-court performance, rather than his antics.  Kyrgios was impressive in taking out Richard Gasquet, Tomas Berdych and Marin Cilic in route to his first ATP World Tour Title.  The win put Kyrgios, 20, among the youngest first time title winners in tour history.

NickKyrgiosTitleMarseille

World Team Tennis Back in NYC
We literally screamed out loud when we read that World Team Tennis is coming back to NYC this year, with Andy Roddick leading the newly formed New York Empire team!  Home matches will be played at Forest Hills Stadium at the West Side Tennis Club in Queens (AKA the original site of the US Open.)   It doesn’t get much cooler than that.  Needless to say we can’t wait for the season to kickoff in July!

NYEmpire_WTT

USA Davis Cup Team Announced
The US Davis Cup team is heading back to Australia March 4-6 for first round World Group play.  We’re just glad they’re not playing against last year’s champions Great Britain (again!).  This time around the squad is John Isner, Jack Sock, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan squaring off against Nick Kyrgios, Bernard Tomic, Sam Groth and John Peers.  While we will obviously be cheering for #MERICA, we’re also looking forward to Lleyton Hewitt’s first tie as Davis Cup captain!

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World Tennis Day Coming March 8th
We are just a couple weeks away from the annual World Tennis Day on March 8th, with special events happening all over the world.   In New York you can celebrate at the BNP Paribas Showdown at Madison Square Garden.  This year the exhibition will feature Serena Williams vs Caroline Wozniacki and Gael Monfils vs Stan Wawrinka.   Tickets are on sale now!

bnp--paribas-showdown2016

Friday Five, Tennis

The Friday Five: Our Favorite Tennis Players

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Changing things up for this week’s Friday Five!  This week we’re looking at our favorite tennis players.  If there is anything we like more than music, it’s tennis.  We’ve previously discussed how tennis is the ultimate fangirl sport.  Not only are these athletes extremely fit and excellent at what they do, but it seems like there is a requirement to be good looking to play in the ATP tournaments.

1. Grigor Dimitrov – @grigordimitrov
We like to call Grigor our “Bulgarian bon-bon” (sort of like Viktor Krum to Hermione Granger). It’s not surprising that his nickname is “baby Fed” because of his skill and precision during the game. Dimitrov’s one handed back hand is something to envy, as well!  He isn’t just good at tennis, he’s also really entertaining on Twitter. Grigor likes to share adorable photos of himself with puppies, enjoying the flowers, as well as this gem:

2. Richard Gasquet – @richardgasquet1
Here is another player with a really beautiful backhand (yes, backhand…..that’s all we’re implying….no innuendos here!!) Gasquet is French and plays the sport with an elegant flair.   Simply put, he’s just a beautiful player to watch.  When he gets frustrated, he throws his sweaty socks on the court because he can.  (At least he’s not smashing racquets?)  Sadly he doesn’t use Instagram as much as Dimitrov.

Richard Gasquet backhand gif

3. Rafa Nadal – @rafaelnadal
“For me, it will be a tough match for sure, no?”  Rafa is so humble about his game, even in first round matches where he is sure to bagel his opponents.  Rafa always fights his hardest and plays like it’s the final of a grand slam. He also gives the best acceptance speeches and press conferences, for sure.  And then there’s that Armani commercial where he just takes off his suit and puts on some jeans, because why not, no?

4. Ryan Harrison – @ryanharrison92
This kid is the next Andy Roddick, at least we think he has the potential! He needs to bring Andy back to be his coach (but it seems like Ryan is taking cues from Andy already). It also kind of freaks us out how much Harrison looks like Ryan Atwood from The O.C., or as We like to call him, Chino.  Can you tell who’s who?

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5. John Isner – @johnisner
JOOHNNYYYY!!!  At nearly 6’10”, we love that he plays tennis and didn’t go into basketball. John is super loveable and watching him play is always a joy, even during stressful tie-breakers.  Which he tends to play.  A lot.  During on court interviews, he literally dwarfs any other player and interviewer. We love when he teams up with fellow American & BFF Sam Querrey for doubles!  Go Quisner!

quisner

The Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters is happening right now – visit ATP World Tour for the latest scores, news & updates on your favorite players.

Boys We Like

Tennis: The Ultimate Secret Fangirl Sport

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We aren’t big on sports, but we do LOVE tennis!  The first grand slam of the year kicked off last week in Melbourne, Australia in record-high temperatures of 107F and up.  Now that’s HOT but not nearly as hot as some of the men that play tennis.

We could tell you all the reasons why we love the sport, but instead just enjoy some photos of our favorite young players.  And if you aren’t a secret fangirl of tennis yet, this just might be enough to convince you to tune in for week 2 of the Australian Open.

1.  Grigor Dmitrov
The 22 year old Bulgarian, dating Maria Sharapova, just made it to the 4th round of a slam for the 1st time in his career.  We’re hoping to see more of Grigor in the 2nd week, especially if it means him sharing more photos like this:
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2. Ryan Harrison
Or, as we like to call him “Chino,”  thanks to his uncanny resemblance to one Ryan Atwood of The OC.  The 21-year old Louisiana native, is also really great at Twitter and has a self-confessed love of the song “Call Me Maybe.”  He can call us anytime.
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3. Milos Raonic
Hypothetically, Milos would be the Seth Cohen to Ryan “Chino” Harrison, but technically he is not.  The 6-foot-5 Canadian does have a fast serve to rival Cohen’s quick wit.
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4.  Jack Sock
The 21-year old American has on edge over his fellow players – he an already call himself a Grand Slam champion, after winning the Mixed Doubles trophy with Melanie Oudin in 2011.  He also has an awesome name – “Advantage, Sock.”
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5.  Quisner
Just look at these lovable dorks and occasional doubles team.  Americans John Isner and Sam Querrey are bearing the flag of US Men’s tennis, following Andy Roddick’s retirement in 2012. (WE MISS YOU ANDY!!)
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The Australian Open is airing now on ESPN and the Tennis Channel nightly from 7pm EST, with Men’s Quarterfinal action in play today.   The Men’s Singles Final will be played on Sunday, January 26th.