May 24, 2018 | Uncategorized
Your Choices Regarding Cookies on this Site. Cookies are important to the proper functioning of a site. To improve your experience, we use cookies to remember log-in details and provide secure log-in, collect statistics to optimize site functionality and deliver content tailored to your interests. Click Agree and Proceed to accept cookies and go directly to the site. Different types of cookies are explained in our Privacy Policy & Cookie Policy. You can choose whether to accept certain cookies while on the site: cookies levels Required Cookies These cookies are required to enable core site functionality, specifically make sure the website looks consistent. Functional & Advertising Cookies These cookies allow us to analyze site usage so we can measure and improve...
Apr 12, 2016 | ATP, Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a man on a mission at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in Monaco this week. The defending champion has reached the Final of his last eleven Masters 1000 events, winning nine of them including two already in 2016. Will Djokovic be able to successfully defend his title in Monte-Carlo? Djokovic is the world number 1, top seed and defending champion. He also has an unbeaten run in Masters 1000 events that stretches back to the Final of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati last August. He lost to Roger Federer in the Final there but has been a dominant force since then. This season, he has won four of the five tournaments he has played. Injury forced him to withdraw from the one he didn’t win. Having taken a bit of time off in February, he returned to the tour and won the title in Indian Wells in March. He overcame a scare against American Bjorn Fratangelo in the second round to storm through the rest of the tournament without dropping a set. He then moved on to Miami, where he continued his dominance by lifting the trophy without losing a single set. Coming into this tournament, he has won his last eleven matches all in straight sets. The route to another Monte-Carlo Masters 1000 title isn’t going to be easy for the Serbian, although he is a massive betting favourite to lift the trophy once again. On Wednesday, 13th April, he will enter the tournament in the second round to take on 22-year-old Czech world number 55 Jiri Vesely. This will be their...
Feb 25, 2016 | ATP, Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic took just 65 minutes to beat Malek Jaziri in straight sets to record his 700th tour level win. He becomes only the 12th man since 1968 to win 700 singles matches and celebrated on court after his victory. He was given a celebratory cake and posed for pictures as he celebrated this monumental achievement. He now sits just 13 wins behind Boris Becker, in 11th place on the list, and 62 wins behind Pete Sampras in tenth. It also makes him the third current ATP Tour player to reach the milestone, joining Rafael Nadal (775 wins) and Roger Federer (1,067 wins). ATP 700 Club (Open Era) 1) Jimmy Connors 1,254 2) Ivan Lendl 1,071 3) Roger Federer 1,067 4) Guillermo Vilas 929 5) John McEnroe 875 6) Andre Agassi 870 7) Stefan Edberg 801 8) Ilie Nastase 779 9) Rafael Nadal 775 10) Pete Sampras 762 11) Boris Becker 713 12) Novak Djokovic 700 The World number one is aiming for a fifth title in Dubai and will now move on to face Feliciano Lopez in the next round. Djokovic admitted being a little frustrated with his game during the second set against Jaziri but insisted he will raise his game for the next match. He won the tournament here in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013 and is hoping to lift the trophy again this year. It won’t be easy against the Spanish star, who himself is a two-time Finalist here. Djokovic said of Lopez “I know he likes playing here and likes the conditions” but also added that “I’m going to try to prepare for...
Feb 24, 2016 | ATP, Roger Federer
Roger Federer has returned to court for his first training session since sustaining an injury in January. The injury that Federer suffered was a torn meniscus, which then led to the Swiss star requiring surgery on his right knee. The surgery was carried out on February 3rd and was a huge success, with Federer now aiming for a return to the ATP tour by the end of March. The world number 3 tweeted that he has “rarely felt so happy being back on a practice court” along with a picture of his session, which can be seen below. The torn meniscus and resulting surgery forced Federer to miss the whole of February and meant he had to withdraw from the World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship. He is now hoping for a quick return to full fitness and is itching to get back on the tour to challenge Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic at the top of the rankings. Will the Swiss great still be a force to be reckoned with on his return or will this injury slow down the Fed Express? You can stay informed on Mr Federer’s progress by visiting tennis-update.com for regular news updates. We will let you know when the Swiss star will be returning to tournament play and how he gets on when that time finally...
Jan 30, 2016 | Andy Murray, ATP, Australian Open, Grand Slam, Novak Djokovic
NOVAK DJOKOVIC VS ANDY MURRAY AUSTRALIAN OPEN MEN’S SINGLES FINAL SUNDAY 31st JANUARY 2016 – 0830 UK TIME The Australian Open Men’s Singles Final is here, after a tournament that has given fans everything they could have hoped for. The last two players left will do battle for the prize of winning the first Grand Slam tournament of 2016. After two weeks of thrilling action, it is the top two seeds that remain at the end with Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray set to meet each other in the final for the fourth time. Djokovic is the world number one, defending and five time Australian Open and has been simply brilliant in this tournament so far. He will come into this match as favourite, having already beaten Murray in three previous finals, but will know that he must play at his best if he wants to win a sixth title here. Murray has put impending fatherhood and family health issues to the back of his mind this past couple of weeks, in order to reach a fifth Australian Open Men’s Singles Final and give himself the chance of winning the title for the first time in his career. He has played some brilliant Tennis and shown plenty of fighting spirit, but he knows he will need all that and more to overcome one of the greatest players to ever play the game. ROUTE TO THE FINAL DJOKOVIC (1) Round MURRAY (2) Chung 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 1 Zverev 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 Halys 6-1, 6-2, 7-6 2 Groth 6-0, 6-4, 6-1 Seppi (28) 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 3 Sousa (32) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2,...
Jan 29, 2016 | Angelique Kerber, Australian Open, Grand Slam, Serena Williams, WTA
After two weeks of exciting tennis action, 128 players have been whittled down to two as the best of the tournament prepare to face each other in the Women’s Singles Final of the Australian Open.Those two players are American world number one and defending champion Serena Williams and German seventh seed Angelique Kerber, who will be playing in her first ever Grand Slam Final. Here, we will take preview the Final and take a look at how these two great players made it through to the Championship match. Serena Williams came into this tournament nursing a knee injury that had forced her to retire from her first tournament of the season, The Hopman Cup, in the first week of January. The swelling had gone down by the time the first round of the first Grand Slam of the season rolled around but there were still serious concerns over her fitness. She put an end to any doubt quickly by performing brilliantly in her first match and has gone from strength to strength as the tournament has gone on. She comes into this Women’s Singles Final without dropping a set and looking pretty unbeatable as she looks to win her seventh Australian Open title. Her opponent, Angelique Kerber, had never been past the fourth round of this tournament before but has performed as good as ever to reach the Final on her ninth visit to Melbourne. Last year, she went out in the first round and after dropping the first set of her first round match this year, she was in danger of history repeating itself. She showed great mental...
Jan 27, 2016 | Australian Open, Grand Slam, Serena Williams, WTA
The excitement at the Australian Open is hotting up as we reach the Semi Final stage. The first in the Women’s Singles will see defending champion and top seed Serena Williams taking on Polish fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, whilst the second sees unseeded Australian born Brit Johanna Konta take on German seventh seed Angelique Kerber. Here is a look at the four women hoping to book a place in the Final. Serena Williams came into the tournament nursing injuries and with huge concerns over her fitness. Any fears she may have had will be completely gone now after dominating all five of her opponents to reach the last four without dropping a single set. The six-time champion will be most people’s tip to lift the title again, and looks like she is playing better with every match that passes. Agnieszka Radwanska will be playing in the Semi Finals for the second time in her career, after reaching the same stage in 2014. She has only dropped one set during the tournament so far, the first of her fourth round match, but has looked comfortable in the remainder of her matches. She easily brushed aside tenth seed Carla Suarez-Navarro in the Quarter Final and comes into the last four looking in great form. Johanna Konta beat Shuai Zhang in straight sets to become the first British woman to reach a Grand Slam Semi Final since Jo Durie in 1983. The 24-year-old, ranked 47th in the WTA, started the tournament with a straight sets win over eighth seed Venus Williams and has gone from strength to strength since then. She is...
Jan 21, 2016 | Australian Open, Grand Slam
Australian Open – Round Two Round Up After a first round that saw high profile exits in both the men’s and women’s singles, the top seeds were even more determined than ever to keep their Australian Open dreams alive as the tournament entered round two. Men’s Singles Rafael Nadal was the biggest name of the five seeds to fall at the first hurdle but there were no such surprises in the second round. The top four seeds of Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka all booked their places in round three with straight sets victories. The only two seeded players to be knocked out in this round were Jack Sock (#25) and Jeremy Chardy (#30) who realistically weren’t tipped to become Australian Open champion anyway. Fernando Verdasco, conqueror of Nadal in round one, exited the tournament with a whimper as he lost to Israeli Dudi Sela. In fact, of the five players that knocked out seeds in the first round, only Federico Delbonis has made it through to the third round and will take on 14th seed Gilles Simon. The big story on day four of the Australian Open for home fans was former world number one Lleyton Hewitt calling time on his career after a straight sets defeat to eighth seed David Ferrer. The 2005 Finalist fought valiantly until the end but the Spaniard finally got the victory to call game, set and match on a long and successful career for the Australian. Women’s Singles After the first round exits of second seed Simona Halep and eighth seed Venus Williams, as well as the other...
Jan 19, 2016 | Australian Open, Grand Slam
The first round of the first Grand Slam tournament of 2016 is over and for some, their Australian Open dream is gone for at least another year. For others though, it is only just beginning and the excitement is starting to build. Men’s Singles The top four seeds in the men’s singles all came through easily, three of them in straight sets and one thanks to his opponent retiring. Defending champion Novak Djokovic and second seed Andy Murray both beat players tipped as future number one’s in the game, disposing of Hyeon Chung and Alexander Zverev respectively. Roger Federer looked at the top of his game as he made light work of Nikoloz Basilashvili and Stan Wawrinka was cruising at two sets to nil before his opponent called it a day with an injury. Five of the 32 seeded men saw their Australian Open over after one match, with the highest being fifth seed Rafael Nadal. The Spanish former world number one was beaten in a five set thriller by compatriot Fernando Verdasco and says farewell to his title chances for this year. The other seeded men out of the tournament are Kevin Anderson (#11) who was forced to retire, Benoit Paire (#17) who was beaten in three tie break sets by Noah Rubin, Fabio Fognini (#20) also losing in a match where every set went to a tie break and Ivo Karlovic (#22) who was 2-0 down before retiring injured. One of the biggest feel good moments of the first round for Australian fans was home favourite Lleyton Hewitt, the former world number one and 2005 Finalist, making...
Jan 4, 2016 | Andy Murray, Australian Open
Andy Murray has reached the final of the Australian Open four times in his career, but has still never lifted the title. Defeat to Roger Federer in 2010 has been followed by three defeats in the championship match to Novak Djokovic in 2011, 2013 and last year. Will 2016 finally be the year that Murray can win this illusive title or will he remain forever the bridesmaid and never the bride down under? A successful 2015 saw Murray climb to number two in the ATP rankings behind Djokovic, after winning four calendar titles and he also starred for Great Britain in their first Davis Cup triumph for 79 years. Murray was also a beaten finalist in another three tournaments, losing all of them to Djokovic, whilst reaching at least the Semi Final in three of the four Grand Slam events. For all of the good form Murray showed last year, he still seems to fall short against the best players in the game. A 0-2 record against Federer and a 1-6 against Djokovic shows that he may have a psychological disadvantage against those two, which effects his chances of winning the major tournaments. This year he will hope to overcome those disadvantages though and let his off court happiness put him in a better frame of mind ahead of the big games. Marriage and impending fatherhood have obviously given Murray a boost in life that has shown on court and he will be hoping to continue his rise in 2016. His main aim is to dislodge Djokovic at the top of the rankings, starting with what he hopes will...
