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Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: News Roundup

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This Week’s Tournament:
Davis Cup

Last Week’s Winner:
Miami Open – Roger Federer

Roger Federer Wins Sunshine Double
Roger Federer’s incredible comeback continues!  He pulled off the “sunshine double” (aka winning both Indian Wells and Miami) for just the 3rd time in his career, defeating Rafael Nadal in the Miami Open final 6-3, 6-4.   It’s Federer’s 3rd title of the 2017, and the 3rd time he’s played and defeated Nadal this year.  2017 has been a fun year for tennis, hasn’t it?   Federer did say on court that he’d be sitting out most of the clay season and his next tournament would be Roland Garros.

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Davis Cup Quarterfinals This Weekend
The Davis Cup is back April 7-9!  The World Group Quarterfinals are taking place in venues across Europe and Australia.  We’re looking forward to the tie between the US and Australia as John Isner, Jack Sock, Sam Querrey & Stevie Johnson take on Nick Kyrgios, Jordan Thompson, Sam Groth & John Peers.

Australia (host) vs USA
France (host) vs Great Britain
Belgium (host) vs Italy
Serbia (host) vs Spain

The #NextGen is Coming
#NextGen ATP stars Sascha Zverev and Jared Donaldson were both impressive in Miami.  Sascha defeated John Isner (saving 3 match points) and Stan Wawrinka en route to the Quarterfinals, where he fell to Nick Kyrgios in one of the best matches of the Miami Open.  Jared Donaldson played his way through qualifying and made it to the 4th round.  He eventually lost to Jack Sock, but his run in Miami brings him to a career high of 75 in the ATP rankings.

Tennis Watching Etiquette
We’ve covered concert etiquette before, and after watching the match between Nick Kyrgios and Roger Federer last week, we feel the need to address tennis watching etiquette as well.  If you’re lucky enough to be watching a professional tennis match in person, here are some things to keep in mind.
1. Cheering in support of your favorite player is fine, but show some respect for the other player.  Calling out against them, cheering negative things, or playing linesman and calling close balls “out” is rude and distracting to both players.
2. Learn when to cheer and when to be quiet.  Generally speaking, if the ball is in play, that’s your cue to sit and watch.   Between points, cheering is welcome and encouraged!   But please do not applaud double faults and do not call out in between 1st and 2nd serves.
3. Wait for the changeovers to enter or leave your seats.  It’s distracting to both the players and the other fans in the stadium to have people constantly going in and out.
4. Enjoy points like this!

Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: News Roundup

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

Rafael Nadal Plays 1000th Career ATP Match
Nadal played the 1000th match of his career at the ATP World Tour Level at the Miami Open over the weekend.   He defeated Phillip Kohlschreiber 0-6, 6-2, 6-3 to gain his 822nd victory on tour.  The match was just the 3rd time in Rafa’s career that he’s come back to win the match after getting “bageled” in the first.  Nadal takes on Nicolas Mahut in the 4th round in Miami today.   Vamos!

Shania Twain Meets Stan The Man
Our fangirl worlds collided over the weekend when one of our favorite artists, Shania Twain, posted a photo with one of our favorite players, Stan Wawrinka!

Iggy The Iguana Takes Over Miami
Tommy Haas also posted a photo with the now famous “Iggy” the Iguana at the Miami Open.  Haas captured the selfie mid-match, after a giant iguana came onto the court, halting play as linesmen scrambled to catch him.  (He’s a fast one!)

Linesman Frankie Melendez, who eventually caught the iguana, is the real hero.

Jo-Wilfred Tsonga Welcomes First Child
Tsonga announced the birth of his son on social media.  We hope he gets his dad’s amazing hair (and tennis skills!)

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: Let The Clay Season Begin

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The clay season is officially underway, with the tennis world shifting to the red dirt until the big finale at Roland Garros in June.

This Week’s Tournaments:
US Men’s Clay Court Championship – Houston, TX USA
Grand Prix Hassan II – Marrakech, Morocco

Americans In Action In Houston
The US Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston is the only ATP clay court event in North America.  Most of the US men are in action this week – John Isner, Jack Sock, Stevie Johnson, Sam Querrey lead the pack along with rising stars Francis Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, and Reilly Opelka.

Indian Wells-Miami Double Winners
Winning the Indian Wells and Miami double is one of the toughest tasks in tennis.  This year,  5 of the 6 champions in Indian Wells also took home titles in Miami.  Novak Djokovic won the double for a record 3rd year in a row.  Victoria Azarenka was the first women’s singles player to pull off the double since Kim Clijsters in 2005.  The French duo Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut continue to impress and added the 2 Masters 1000 titles to their growing list.  American Bethany Mattek-Sands teamed up with Lucie Safarova this time to win Miami.

Davis Cup Venue Announcements
We’ve been (im)patiently waiting for news on where the next Team USA tie will be since they booked their spot in the quarterfinals in March.   Per the Davis Cup Twitter, the venue for the USA vs Croatia tie happening in July will be announced on April 25th! (fingers crossed for an East Coast spot!)

John Isner Splits with Coach Justin Gimelstob
Justin Gimelstob announced in a statement on his website he will no longer be working with top American John Isner for personal reasons.  The pair worked together for just over a year.  We’re looking forward to seeing who John adds to his team.

Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: Miami Open

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We’re about halfway through the Miami Open, the last hardcourt tournament before the tour heads to the clay season.   It’s been quite an interesting tournament already (who said March Madness was just for basketball?!).  So far we’ve seen quite a few seeded players fall:  Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, David Ferrer, Stan Wawrinka, John Isner, Andy Murray & more are all already out of the tournament before the 4th round.

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

4th Round Matches to Watch
Men’s fourth round action takes place today.  We’re looking forward to watch Dominic Thiem, who has had an outstanding 2016 so far, take on Novak Djokovic.  Grigor Dimitrov had his biggest win of the year so far, taking out Andy Murray in 3 sets.  He takes on Gael Monfils in what is guaranteed to be an entertaining match!

grigor-dimitrov-miami-open

Tennis + Puppies = Love
Two of our favorite things collided this weekend, when Manny the Frenchie took over the Miami Open and hung out with some of our favorite tennis players for the day.

 

World Team Tennis Draft Announced
The WTT player draft was held last week, with all of the teams picking their marquee and roster players.  In addition to the previously announced Andy Roddick on the New York Empires, this season will also see former players James Blake on the San Diego Aviators and Mardy Fish on the Washington Kastles.  John Isner, the Bryan Brothers, Donald Young, Caroline Wozniacki and more complete the 2016 lineup. Head over to WTT.com for the full draft results!   The season schedule will be released in April.

wozniackiWTT

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!

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header photo via the Miami Open