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Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: Australian Open Recap

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This Week’s Tournaments:
Davis Cup – Round 1

Last Week’s Winners:
Australian Open:
Roger Federer
Serena Williams
Henri Kontinen & John Peers
Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova
Abigail Spears & Juan Sebastian Cabal

Roger Federer Defeats Rafael Nadal To Win 18th Major Title
We got the dream final we’d all been hoping for since the draw came out:  Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal!   It was the first time they’ve played against each other in a slam final since 2011.   The 5-set match was thrilling from start to finish, with Federer winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.  The surprising final was especially sweet considering both players had been sidelined with injuries just months ago.  It’s wonderful seeing both players back on tour and on top of the game!  We’re looking forward to the rest of the season.

Grigor Dimitrov!
The Bulgarian fans were out in full force throughout the Australian Open, cheering on Grigor Dimitrov through the Semifinals.  Grigor was very impressive in his run to the Semis.  He pushed Nadal to 5 sets in one of the best matches of the tournament.  We’re glad to see Grigor playing at such a high level again, and can only hope this leads to a great season for him!

Mischa Zverev Reaches Career High Ranking
Zverev was a name heard frequently over the last two weeks, but it wasn’t talk of the 19-year-old #NextGen star Sascha Zverev.  His older brother, 29-year-old Mischa Zverev, reached the Quarterfinals of a slam for the first time, defeating current #1 Andy Murray in the process.  He lost to eventual champion Roger Federer in the Quarterfinals, but Mischa is now at a career high ranking of #35.


Davis Cup Round 1 Action
We’re already going through tennis withdrawl with the Australian Open ending.  Lucky for us, the 2017 Davis Cup gets underway this weekend, with first round ties happening around the world February 3-5.   Make sure you tune in and cheer for your favorite teams!
World Group Round 1: (host country in bold)
Argentina vs Italy
USA vs Switzerland
Germany vs Belgium
Australia vs Czech Republic
Japan vs France
Canada vs Great Britain
Serbia vs Russia
Croatia vs Spain

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!

Friday Five, Sports, Tennis

The Friday Five: Australian Open Preview (Fangirl Style)

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The Australian Open kicks off this weekend in Melbourne!  It’s time for our annual bae-watch list. Here are some of the (many) players we’ll be rooting for for the next two weeks.

1. Borna Coric

Coric finished 2015 as the youngest player in the top 100. He is definitely one of the top young guns to watch in 2016 – he already has a win over Rafael Nadal, and played his first ATP World Tour final last week in Chennai. And is it just us or does anyone else get a little Jake Miller vibe from him?

Ice bath after good match!!!!

A photo posted by Borna Coric (@bornacoric) on

2. Jack Sock

The young American has started 2016 with a bang, beating top players Kevin Anderson and David Ferrer en route to the finals in Auckland. Jack has a powerful, aggressive forehand and the game to match. But he’s also known for his great sportsmanship, suggesting his opponent Lleyton Hewitt challenge a call during Hopman Cup last week.

just about sums up the week 🤗😜 #hopmancup

A photo posted by Jack Sock (@jack.sock) on

3. Pierre-Hugues Herbert (AKA P2Hugz)

P2Hugz is p2cute. He teamed up with fellow Frenchman Nicolas Mahut to win the US Open doubles trophy last Fall. The duo also made it to the finals of the 2015 Australian Open, so they will be confident playing on these familiar courts. Pierre-Hugues is also looking to qualify for the singles draw (ALLEZ!!!)

Last round tomorrow against my friend Édouard Roger-Vasselin! #Lacoste #Round3 #Qualifying #Court10 #2ndafter12:30

A photo posted by Pierre Hugues herbert (@pierrehuguesherbert) on

4. Taylor Fritz

Taylor is another young American player on a hot streak. Since winning the US Open Juniors title a few months ago, he has gone on to win 3 ATP Challenger titles and risen to 154 in the rankings. Fritz is also playing qualifying st this years tournament.

5. Benoit Paire

We’re not sure which Benoit will end up at this year’s tournament: the one who beat Nishikori at the US Open or the one who has on court meltdowns. But we can guarantee he’ll be entertaining to watch either way! We also suggest following him on Instagram for heart- eyes worthy photos.

 

😍

A photo posted by Benoit Paire (@benpaire) on

BONUS: Lleyton Hewitt

The Australian Open is sadly Hewitt ‘s last tournament as a professional. We’ll be cheering Aussie Aussie Aussie OY OY OY until the last point. We expect him to go down fighting in some epic 5 set matches.

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:
Screen Shot 2014-01-19 at 9.35.34 PM

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.
Screen Shot 2014-01-19 at 9.37.07 PM

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.
Screen Shot 2014-01-19 at 9.40.02 PM

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.”
Screen Shot 2014-01-19 at 10.10.43 PM

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!!)
quisner

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.