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Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: Roland Garros Week 1

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This Week’s Tournament:
Roland Garros – Paris, France

Last Week’s Winners:
Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open– Stan Wawrinka
Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon– Jo-Wilfred Tsonga

Roland Garros 101
Where to Watch: Tennis Channel and NBC
Tournament Dates:  May 28 – June 11
Time:  Play starts daily at 5am EST
Social Media: #RG17 @RolandGarros

Stefanos Tsitsipas Qualifies for 1st Slam Main Draw
The 18-year old Greek player turned pro at the start of 2017 after an outstanding junior career.  Stefanos played through the qualifying draw at Roland Garros to earn a spot in the main draw of a slam for the first time in his career.  He played a close match against Ivo Karlovic in the 1st round, losing 6-7, 5-7, 4-6.

Sascha Zverev Upset in 1st Round
Sascha’s outstanding clay court season, capped off by winning his first Masters 1000 Title in Rome, came to an end early in Paris. Sascha fell in the first round to Fernando Verdasco in 4 sets.  He did land the cover of an Italian magazine!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUtxZABA0l5/?tagged=zverev

Gael Monfils Wins 400th Career Match
Gael Monfils won the 400th match of his pro career at Roland Garros.  Gael faced the equally flashy Dustin Brown in the most entertaining first round match of the tournament, with one hot shot after another.

Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: News Roundup

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

Last Week’s Winner:
BNP Paribas Open – Roger Federer

Introducing the (One-Handed) Backhand Boys
Roger Federer may have won the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells over the weekend, but he also won the internet and the hearts of fangirls around the world with the return of the Backhand Boys.  Federer joined fellow one-handed backhanders Grigor Dimitrov and Tommy Haas for a singalong of Chicago’s “Hard to Say I’m Sorry.”  You might recall the trio singing  together back at the Australian Open, and this new video shows they’ve been working on their moves and their vocals.  Tour soon?

As much as we love the Backhand Boys, we think they could use a couple of extra members to make up the classic 5 member boyband!   We’d love to see Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Thiem, Richard Gasquet or Feliciano Lopez join the lineup.  Auditions in Miami?

The Backhand Boys could use a rival boyband just to keep things fresh.  May we present *NSYDE OUT led by some of the best forehands on the ATP Tour: Juan Martin del Potro, Jack Sock, and Rafael Nadal with Vasek Pospisil (he so needs/wants to be in a boyband) and Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Denis Shapovalov Wins 1st Challenger Title
#NextGenATP player Denis Shapovalov won his first challenger title over the weekend in his native Canada at the Challenger Banque Nationale Drummondville.  At 17-years-old, Denis is the youngest ATP Challenger winner so far this year and now the youngest player in the top 200.  Denis defeated his friend and countryman Felix Auger-Aliassme in the semi-finals en route to the title.

Gael Monfils Out With Injury
Gael Monfils is one of the most entertaining players in tennis, with an explosive game and incredible athleticism.   Unfortunately, his big game has led to quite a few injuries over the years, and Gael’s latest setback is a tear in his Achilles’ heel and chondropathy Patella.  He is out of the Miami Open and will start rehab.  We hope to see Gael back on court soon!  (so we can see more shots like this)

ATP University Class of 2017 Graduate in Miami
Every year in Miami, the ATP World Tour hosts “ATP University” for the youngest players on tour.  The 3-day program teaches the players about life on tour including player relations, social media, nutrition, and finance.  It also gives the new players a chance to get to know each other and adjust to their hectic new schedule.  This year’s class included young Americans Reilly Opelka, Noah Rubin, Michael Mmoh, and Stefan Kozlov.

Roger Federer Covers GQ‘s April Issue
Things can be rough for a tennis fan in the off-season.  It’s hard to fill the time normally spent with following scores and matches across the globe with some non-tennis related activities.  Which is how back in December, with no brackets to fill out, tennis fans made it their priority to vote Roger Federer as the Best Dressed Man in GQ‘s Most Stylish Man poll.   Federer won the poll in a landslide, taking out Kanye West, Ryan Gosling, and more in the process.  With his new honor, Federer is on the cover of GQ‘s April issue.  Read the story here!

Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: ATP News Roundup

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This Week’s Tournament:
Rogers Cup – Toronto, ON Canada

Monfils Wins Citi Open in D.C.
Frenchman Gael Monfils won his biggest title to date, the 500 series Citi Open in Washington, D.C.!   Monfils had to battle the extreme heat (on-court temperatures exceeded 130 degrees) and the tough serving Ivo Karlovic in the final, saving 1 match point in the process.  We hope Monfils can carry his momentum throughout the Summer!


World Team Tennis Kicks Off This Weekend
WTT action starts this Sunday, with matches in New York, Springfield, and San Diego!  We can’t wait to see Mardy Fish and the Washington Kastles take on the New York Empire at the legendary Forest Hills Stadium in Queens!  Visit WTT.com for the full schedule & team rosters.

Rogers Cup Doubles Draw
If you haven’t taken a look at the Rogers Cup doubles draw, go check it out!  There are lots of fun and/or random teams pairing up this week, like Grigor Dimitrov and Stan Wawrinka; Nick Kyrgios and Jack Sock; and John Isner and Sascha Zverev.

Roger Federer Ends 2016 Season Early
World #3 Roger Federer announced today that he will be ending his 2016 season early in order to fully recover from his knee surgery earlier this year.  He will miss the Olympics in Rio as well as the remainder of the season.  Roger promises fans that he will come back stronger next year and reflects on his injury-free career thus far.

Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: Wimbledon

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Wimbledon 101
Where to watch:  ESPN and WatchESPN.com
Main draw play runs daily through the finals on Sunday, July 10th
Social Media: #Wimbledon @Wimbledon

Marcus Willis’ Dream Run
If you’ve been following Wimbledon coverage at all, no doubt you’ve heard about Marcus Willis.  The British tennis instructor, ranked 772 in the world, played his way through pre-qualifying AND qualifying, and won his 1st round main draw match.  Willis had been on the brink of quitting tennis earlier this year, and was once nicknamed “Cartman” for being so out of shape.  With the win, Willis has earned £50,000 in prize money and the right to face Roger Federer in the 2nd round on Centre Court.  Anything is possible!

Seeds Out on Day 1
While there were some dramatic wins, there weren’t too many upsets on day 1.  Of the seeded players: #20 seed Kevin Anderson, lost a tough 5 set match to Denis Istomin.  Gael Monfils, playing his first match since Rome, lost to countryman Jeremy Chardy.    Pierre-Hugues Herbert took out the #21 seed Phillip Kohlschreiber in 4 sets.  Pablo Cuevas lost in 5 sets to the Russian Andrey Kuznetsov.

State of the Union
American men went 3 for 6 on Monday, with Jack Sock, Sam Querrey and Stevie Johnson advancing to the 2nd round.  Taylor Fritz, the youngest player in the men’s draw, takes on Stan Wawrinka today while the top American John Isner faces Marcos Baghdatis.  Donald Young, Dennis Novikov, and Rajeev Ram are also in action.

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😏 #SW19

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Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: ATP News Roundup

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This Week’s Tournament:
Internazionali BNL d’Italia – Rome, Italy

Portland To Host USA vs Croatia Davis Cup Tie
After much anticipation the USTA announced that Portland, Oregon will be the site of the next Davis Cup tie in July.  Portland is where USA won the cup in 2007, and we’re hoping for another victory against Croatia in July!  Stay tuned to the USTA website for ticket info!

Novak Djokovic Wins Record 29th Masters 1000 Title
Djokovic defeated Andy Murray in the Mutua Madrid Open final to capture his 3rd Masters title of 2016, and his 29th overall.

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😍😍😍 @djokernole 😍😍😍 #MMOPEN

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Why We Love Gael Monfils
If you’ve seen a Monfils match, you know that anything is possible.  He’s an incredible athlete who will jump, dive and go for every ball.  How does he jump so high?  In practice, he leaped over Davia Gavrilova.

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: World Tennis Day

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Tennis in 2016 has gotten off to an um, interesting, start.  And it’s only March!  Which means two of the biggest tournaments in the US are coming up, with Indian Wells starting on Wednesday and the Miami Open at the end of the month.    Here’s our roundup of the news of the week.  Happy World Tennis Day!

This Week’s Tournaments
BNP Paribas Open – Indian Wells, CA

Davis Cup Quarterfinals Set
After a drama filled weekend and some great matches, the Davis Cup quarterfinals are set!  The next round takes place July 15-17, just after Wimbledon.  We’re thrilled the US is back in the quarters after a 3 year absence (and are hoping the tie will take place somewhere near NYC so we can go!)   John Isner was impressive in his 2 wins, even hitting one of the fastest serves on record (157mph).

USA* vs Croatia
France vs Czech Republic*
Italy* vs Argentina
Serbia* vs Great Britain
*host country

World Tennis Day
Today is World Tennis Day!  Celebrations are happening all over the world, including the BNP Paribas Showdown tonight at Madison Square Garden.  The event features Gael Monfils vs Stan Wawrinka and Serena Williams vs Caroline Wozniacki in an exhibition match.  Tickets are available here.  The event kicks off a month of fun activities hosted by the USTA.   Visit their website for more info.

bnp--paribas-showdown2016

Maria Sharapova Announcment
Rumors started flying as soon as Maria gave notice of a press conference on Monday, with a “major announcement.”  Would she be announcing her retirement?  A new Sugarpova flavor?  It turned out to be neither.  Maria tested positive for a banned substance at the Australian Open, taking full responsibility in her press conference which you can watch below.  One thing is for sure, when she does announce her retirement, it will not be in a place with ugly carpet.

ATP World Tour Announces “Next Gen”
The ATP announced their “Next Generation” Campaign for 2016, featuring 14 of the hottest young stars under 21.  The list includes Americans Taylor Fritz, Jared Donaldson, and Frances Tiafoe, along with Borna Coric, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Nick Kyrgios and more.  Get to know the “next gen” here!  (side note: that Nike kit is almost the official uniform of the #nextgen)

ATP_NextGen_2016

Jack Sock Signs with Nike
Speaking of that next gen Nike kit, Jack Sock will also be sporting the look starting with Indian Wells!  He just signed a new deal with Nike, leaving old sponsor Adidas.