Tag Archives: sports

Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: Meet the ATP #NextGen

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Last week marked the official start of the clay season, with Federico Delbonis defeating Borna Corcic in the finals in Marrakech, and Juan Monaco defeating 2015 winner Jack Sock at the Men’s Clay Tournament in Houston.  The Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters is underway, which is one of the most beautiful stops on the tour.  It’s worth tuning in for the views alone!

This Week’s Tournament:
Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters – Monte Carlo, Monaco

ATP #NextGen
Earlier this season, the ATP World Tour announced their roster of #NextGen players.  We thought we’d introduce you to each of the players – Secret Fangirl style.  We highly suggest keeping up with your faves on social media.

Taylor Fritz (USA)
Instagram: @taylor_fritz
Twitter: @taylor_fritz97
Fritz, a California native, has been on a roll since winning the US Open Juniors title in 2015, rising to #69 in the rankings.  He reminds us of a young Pete Sampras, whom Fritz got to practice with on his 18th birthday. #MERICA.


Frances Tiafoe (USA)
Instagram: @bigfoe1998
Twitter: @ftiafoe
Also on the #MERICA squad is Frances Tiafoe, from Maryland.  After a big win over fellow American Taylor Fritz in Indian Wells, Tiafoe got to practice with his idol, Juan Martin del Potro.  Tiafoe’s inspirational story is definitely worth a read.


Borna Coric (CRO)
Instagram: @bornacoric
Twitter: @borna_coric
Coric has made it to 2 finals already in 2016, and is the youngest player in the top 50.  Coric has a tattoo on his forearm that says “there is nothing worse in life than being ordinary” and likes to show off his yoga poses on Instagram.


Alexander Zverev (GER)
Instagram: @alexzverev123
Alexander Zverev, AKA Sasha, had a great week in Indian Wells, taking out Grigor Dimitrov and pushing Rafael Nadal to 3 tough sets.  He also has an adorable dog, Lovik, who gets his own credentials!


Quentin Halys (FRA)
Instagram: @quentinhalys
Twitter: @QuentinHalys
We love all of the French players for their flair and style when they play.


Nick Kyrgios (AUS)
Instagram: @k1ngkyrg1os
Twitter: @NickKyrgios
Love him or hate him, Nick keeps things interesting on the court.  He’s a talented player and you never know what he’ll do next – even take a mid-match selfie.


Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS)
Instagram: @the_kokk1
Twitter: @TKokkinakis
We’ve missed Thanasi out on tour this year, as he’s recovering from shoulder surgery.  He was present at the AUS-USA Davis Cup tie in March, and gets an A+ for cheerleading for his squad all weekend (and rocking some frosted tips).  We hope he’s back on court soon!


Elias Ymer (SWE)
Instagram: @eliasymer
Twitter: @eliasymer
Ymer qualified for all 4 grand slams in 2015.  His father is a professional long-distance runner and while he hoped Elias would follow in his footsteps, he found tennis instead.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDnx6MXLafp/?taken-by=eliasymer&hl=en


Andrey Rublev (RUS)
Instagram: @andreyrublev
Twitter: @AndreyRublev97
When he’s not working on his tennis game, Rublev is also in a boyband.


Karen Khachanov (RUS)
Instagram: @karenkhachanov
Twitter: @karenkhachanov
Another Russian #NextGen player, who has teamed up with Rublev for doubles.  Maybe he can join the band, too?


Yoshihito Nishioka (JAP)
Twitter: @yoshihitotennis
Nishioka has been off to a great start in 2016, reaching the Quarterfinals in Memphis and the 4th round in Miami, taking out Feliciano Lopez on the way.


Hyeon Chung (SKR)
Instagram: @hyeon519
Chung hails from South Korea and trained at the IMG Academy in Florida.  Fun fact: he started tennis because his parents were told it could help his eyesight.  While he’s become one of the top teenagers on the tour, he still rocks glasses!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDO4o2-AoyL/?taken-by=hyeon519


Kyle Edmund (GBR)
Instagram: @kyleedmund8
Twitter: @kyle8edmund
Edmund was part of Great Britain’s winning Davis Cup squad in 2015.

header photo via ATP World Tour

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: Indian Wells

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All eyes are on the California desert as the first Masters 1000 event of the season is taking place this week in Indian Wells.  The BNP Paribas Open is one of our favorite tournaments of the year to watch.

This Week’s Tournament
BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, CA

#MERICA
The Americans have been making a splash at the tournament so far.  18-year-old Francis Tiafoe, one of the ATP World Tour’s #NextGen stars, was impressive in taking out Taylor Fritz and then playing a close match against world #18 David Goffin.  He may have lost but the match proved he could go toe-to-toe with a top 20 player.  Pittsburgh native Bjorn Fratangelo was also impressive in his match against Novak Djokovic, taking the first set 6-2 (no easy task) and fighting until the very end.   Be sure to catch fellow Americans John Isner, Sam Querrey, Stevie Johnson and Jack Sock in action today.

Jack Sock For President
Babolat launched a brilliant new campaign with the rising American star Jack Sock that we can totally rally behind.  Watch his “campaign” video below and make sure you sign up for a “S.O.C.K” at JackSockForPresident.com to show your support for #SockIn16!    We’re looking forward to a showdown between Jack and Dominic Thiem later today.  Let’s rally, America.

Grigor Dimitrov Hot Shot
Grigor lost in the 2nd round to another #NextGen player, Alexander Zrevev.  (We don’t want to talk about it.)  But not before hitting this crazy leaping behind the back shot.   Teach us your skillz.

Nadal vs Verdasco
Verdasco may have beaten Rafa in the 1st round of the Australian Open earlier this year, but there’s no bad blood between the two.  The teamed up for doubles in Indian Wells, loosing to the Bryan Brothers in an entertaining match.  They’ll face off against each other again today, 3rd on Stadium 1.  Will Rafa get revenge?

RAFA_Verdasco_2016_IW

header photo from BNP Paribas Open

Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: Davis Cup Preview

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Of all of the tennis tournaments that happen throughout the year, Davis Cup weekends are always our favorites to watch.  We love the team spirit and camaraderie that happens amongst players, and of course, the loud,energetic crowds that seem to be a Davis Cup tradition.  Here’s a look at the World Group action happening this weekend, March 4-6!

USA vs Australia
Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne Australia
Team USA
John Isner / Jack Sock
Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan

Team Australia
Bernard Tomic / Nick Kyrgios
Sam Groth / John Peers

The US Davis Cup team is looking to advance to the World Group Quarterfinals for the first time since 2013(?) after back to back losses to Great Britain in 2014 and 2015. But they have a tough match up in Australia against Nick Kyrgios, who just won his first title in Marseille, and Acapulco finalist Bernard Tomic.  We’re also excited for Lleyton Hewitt’s first tie as Davis Cup captain!

France vs Canada
Vélodrome Amédée Detraux in Guadeloupe
Team France
Jo-Wilfred Tsonga / Richard Gasquet
Gael Monfils / Gilles Simon

Team Canada
Vasek Pospisil / Frank Dancevic
Phillip Bester /Adil Shamasdin

With the depth of talented French players currently on tour, it’s surprising they haven’t yet had Davis Cup glory. They’ve made it to the finals and lost to eventual champions Great Britain and Switzerland in 2014 and 2015.  With a new captain, Yannick Noah, and a talented team, we’re hoping this is the year they can make it all the way!   Unfortunately Canada’s top player, Milos Raonic, had to withdraw with injury.

Germany vs Czech Republic
TUI Arena in Hannover, Germany
Team Germany
Philipp Kohlschreiber / Alexander Zverev
Dustin Brown / Philipp Petzschner

Team Czech Republic
Tomas Berdych / Lukas Rosol
Jiri Vesely / Radek Stepanek

Radek Stepanek is ready to go with his infamous shirt.

Great Britain vs Japan
Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham, England
Team Great Britain
Andy Murray / Kyle Edmund
Jamie Murray / Dominic Inglot

Team Japan
Kei Nishikori / Taro Daniel
Yoshihito Nishioka / Yasutaka Uchiyama

2015’s Davis Cup champions Great Britain take on Japan in their opening round.  This one should be interesting to watch – if nothing else the British tennis fans always BRING IT.

Belgium vs Croatia
Country Hall du Sart-Tilman in Liège, Belgium
Team Belgium
David Goffin / Kimmer Coppejans
Ruben Bemelmans / Arthur de Greef

Team Croatia
Marin Cilic / Borna Coric
Ivan Dodig / Marin Draganja

Belgium had an impressive run to the final in 2015.  Can they repeat last year’s success?

Poland vs Argentina
Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland
Team Poland
Jerzy Janowicz / Kamil Majchrzak
Lukasz Kubot / Marcin Matkowski

Team Argentina
Leonardo Mayer / Guido Pella
Carlos Berlocq / Renzo Olivo

Italy vs Switzerland
Adriatic Arena in Pessaro, Italy
Team Italy
Andreas Seppi / Paolo Lorenzi
Simone Bolleli / Marco Cecchinato

Team Switzerland
Marco Chiudinelli / Henri Laaksonen
Adrien Bossel / Antoine Bellier

Serbia vs Kazakhstan
Pionir Hall in Belgrade, Serbia
Team Serbia
Novak Djokovic / Viktor Troicki
Filip Krajinovic / Nenad Zimonjic

Team Kazakhstan
Mikhail Kukushkin / Andrey Golubev
Aleksandr Nedovyesov / Dmitry Popko

It’s great to see that Djokovic is back playing for his country. Winning the title in 2010 helped launch one of the greatest years of his career.

Sports, Tennis

Tennis Tuesday: ATP News Roundup

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Last week on the ATP World Tour was an exciting one for us, with several of our favorite players making the finals!   Here’s our roundup of the tennis news of the week.

This Week’s Tournaments:
Delray Beach, FL, USA
Rio de Janiero, Brazil
Marseille, France

Taylor Fritz Makes First Final
The 18-year-old American made his first ATP World Tour Final in just his 3rd event on tour.  To put that in perspective, it took Roger Federer 21 tour events to reach his first tour final.  We were rooting for Fritz all week and are looking forward to more!  Also, the Memphis Open officially has the coolest trophies on tour.

memphisopenkeifritz

DelPotro Back in Action Tonight
Juan Martin Del Potro is making his comeback tonight at the Delray Beach Open against American Denis Kudla.  Vamos Delpo!!

delpodelraybeach

Dominic Thiem Beats Nadal, Wins Argentina Open
Thiem was impressive in beating Nadal (on clay!) and followed it up with a 3 set win over Nicholas Almagro to win the title.  Too often we’ll see players follow up a big win with a loss in the next round, so we’re glad to see Thiem get the win!

THIEM_Argentina

Milos Raonic Plays NBA All Star Game
The 6’5″ Raonic was impressive at the NBA All Star Game in Toronto over the weekend, making a slam dunk look just as easy as one of his (scarily) fast serves.

Andy Grammer, Music, Sports

Andy Grammer To Play New York Mets Postgame Concert June 18th

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The New York Mets just announced the first performer for their postgame concert series for the 2016 season!  Andy Grammer is kicking things off on June 18th following the Mets game against the Atlanta Braves.  The concert is included with your ticket and takes place about 20 minutes following the game from a stage behind second base.  Artist typically play full sets (around 10 songs or more!) and recent performers have included Boyz II Men and Austin Mahone.   Baseball & a concert under the stars sounds like a perfect Summer night to us! Tickets for the game are on-sale now.  Stay tuned for more artist announcements!

New York Mets vs Atlanta Braves
Andy Grammer Postgame Concert
Saturday, June 18th 2016
Citi Field – Flushing, NY
Buy Tickets

andygrammerMETS

Watch Andy Grammer’s video for “Good To Be Alive (Hallelujah)” and pickup a copy of his album “Magazines or Novels” on iTunes now!

Be sure to follow Andy Grammer, New York Mets and Secret Fangirls for more updates!

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?

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.

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!!!)

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.

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.

90s, Sports

Hockey for Fangirls…A Mighty Ducks Sequel in the Works?

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Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs are tonight at Madison Square Garden!  While tennis is generally the only sport we watch (it is the ultimate fangirl sport), we have been known to tune into a hockey game now and then.  Especially when our home team, the New York Rangers, is playing a must-win game against the Los Angeles Kings.   As casual hockey viewers, we like to break things down into terms we can understand.  And as 90s fangirls, this means “The Mighty Ducks” trilogy.  Especially now we hear that there are talks of making a Mighty Ducks 4!  (Check out this amazing Oral History of “The Mighty Ducks” Trilogy on Time.com!)

D3-The-Mighty-Ducks-DI-DI-to-L8
Unfortunately, none of the players are as adorable as Team Captain Charlie Conway or Adam Banks, AKA the original Bansky.  And you generally won’t see many closeups of Coach Gordon Bombay, stressed out and cheering the team on from the bench.  You also won’t be seeing Julie the Cat Gaffney or Connie on either team – men only in the pros!  Most goalies, like Goldberg, will fall down.  A lot.  Don’t be afraid to sub in a new goalie – it just might win you the tournament!

We have some advice for the Rangers:  Try a flying V!   It works every time.  And if you’re in trouble, you can always call in Randy, AKA Kenan Thompson, to hit one of his infamous knuckle pucks!

Just whatever you do, don’t mess with Iceland, they play dirty. (The Kings even have a player with the last name Stoll – look out for him)   Learn from the Bash brothers – it may seem like a great idea to knock out anyone that gets in your way, but that will land you time in the penalty box.

And Remember:  Ducks Fly Together!

Maybe a little “We Will Quack You” will pump up the team?

Watch the Stanley Cup playoffs between the New York Rangers & the Los Angeles Kings tonight on NBC at 8pm EST!   Or you can just rewatch The Mighty Ducks trilogy on Netflix.

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.