Archive for the ‘ATP News’ Category

Rafael Nadal Relaxing at Home Before French Open 2012

Rafael Nadal is enjoying his week off before the French Open 2012 at home in Mallorca.

Novak Djokovic Signs Clothing Deal with Uniqlo

Wild Cards For Queen’s

Two WildCards for this years tournament have been announced.

Last year’s surprise semi finalist James Ward has been handed direct entry into the Main Draw. A well deserved award after his excellent run last year.

“Reaching the semi-finals last year was a fantastic experience, the best of my career so far,” said the 25-year-old.

“I’m going to give it everything I’ve got to try to make the most of what is a great opportunity.”

The second WC has been handed to 4 time champion Lleyton Hewitt as he continues his comeback after toe surgery.

“It’s been one of my favourite tournaments throughout my career and to be alongside John McEnroe, Boris Becker and Andy Roddick in having won the title four times is a thrill,” said Hewitt.

“It’s going to be great to come back after my injury and go straight out onto the best grass courts in the world and then hopefully have Wimbledon to look forward to after that. I can’t wait.”

Robin Soderling to be a Father in September

Robin Soderling has announced that he is to be a father. Robin and wife Jenni are expecting their first child together in September.

Soderling took to Twitter to make the announcement: Hi everyone. I have the best news. Jenni an I are becoming parents in late September. We are both very happy and excited

Novak Djokovic Logo

Novak Djokovhas created his own logo. Obviously this is great branding and he has noticed how well Roger Federer has been doing from his branding. The video below shows how the logo was developed.

Rafael Nadal Wins Rome Clay Court Title Against Novak Djokovic

Rafael Nadal is still by far the king of clay. Nadal has just captured the Rome Masters title over Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-3.

Roger Federer with Francesco Totti and Kaka

It seems like Roger Federer has been enjoying himself lately as he has been meeting some of the worlds best footballers.

Roger Federer with Francesco Totti.

Roger Federer with Kaka

Novak Djokovic Meets Alberto Tomba

Novak Djokovic was lucky enough to spend some time with his childhood idol over the weekend, Alberto Tomba. Tomba is one of the best skiers of all time!

Lleyton Hewitt Talks about His Preparation for the French Open 2012

Lleyton Hewitt has been lucky enough to receive a wildcard into the French Open 2012. He sat down to talk about the French Open 2012 and how he is going to prepare.

Eurosport To Broadcast In 3D

For those of you with a 3D TV you will be able to enjoy the French Open from Eurosport in 3D.

Once again their coverage from Centre Court will be available in the format. The coverage is a joint venture between Eurosport & Sky.

Both companies made comments on the broadcast.

Eurosport:

“Eurosport was the first broadcaster to present live tennis in 3D with the French Open in 2010 and this agreements with Sky will give the British public an opportunity to experience live Grand Slam tennis in 3D. Eurosport has already committed to broadcast over 100 hours of 3D content from the London Olympic Games this summer ensuring an even wider variety of sports can also be viewed in this innovative way. In January 2012 Eurosport extended its relationship with the French Tennis Federation for a further three years to reinforce its position as the leading live tennis channel in Europe.”

Sky:

“We’re delighted to be partnering with Eurosport and bringing our customers live action from the French Open, as well as the first 3D Olympics this summer. By working with channel partners and continuing to invest heavily in our own 3D sports coverage, we’re able to offer our customers a fantastic array of sport in 3D this summer, with football, rugby, cricket and tennis all available in immersive 3D over the next few months. Thanks to our ongoing commitment to 3D, Sky 3D customers can look forward to a monumental summer of sport.”

Twitter War Between Players

There were some interesting exchanges between players a few days ago.

The “row” started after recently retired Croat Ivan Ljubicic posted the following Tweet.

“Wonder how our tour would look if European players were skipping American tourneys the way Americans are skipping European Tournaments”

This understandly provoked responses from American’s including Mardy Fish who has missed the two clay Masters due to an undisclosed illness.

“Some of us aren’t skipping tournaments bc we want to do ur homework before u make dumb generalized comments,”

John Isner & Andy Roddick spoke out in defense of their countryman with their own Tweets

Roddick

“I know for a fact that @mardyfish is going through some serious physical issues right now. … Irresponsible tweet by @ivanljubicic1. … also I definitely always respect the choices of ATP tour veterans because I know all of us do what’s in the best interest of our health and our careers. … I expect the same in return “

Isner

“Pretty sure Mardy Fish is sick,”

A short while after Ljubicic posted another comment to help diffuse the row.

“My tweet regarding american &european players was to open the discussion rather than offend somebody. But I see some people got offended. And I am sorry for that. Wasn’t the plan. And I definitely wish @MardyFish fast recovery!!!”

Hopefully players will think before hitting the “Tweet” button.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in Forbes most powerful celebs list

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal has both made the Forbes’ 2012 list of the world’s most powerful celebrities.

Federer was the highest-ranked tennis players at No. 31, followed by Nadal (47), Maria Sharapova (71), Serena Williams (77) and Li Na (87)

Roger Federer Breaks $70 Million in Career Prize Money Earnings

Its really hard to keep Roger Federer out of the headlines at the moment. Roger has just surpassed more than $70 million in Career Prize Money on the ATP Tour.

Federer has won 74 singles crowns on ATP World Tour, including 16 Grand Slams and 20 Masters 1000 series and earned $3,082,343 so far in this season.

Is there any chance of him breaking the $100 million mark? Only time will tell.

Language Barrier In Tennis

An interesting topic has surfaced in Rome, the language barrier.

Andy Murray has commented that English speaking players are more likely to be punished for swearing on court.

Murray was warned during his 2nd Round match against David Nalbandian despite the fact that on several occasions during the match Nalbandian was guilty of using obscene language.

“I swear on court regularly.

“I try not to but sometimes you forget where you are and what’s going on. It’s a mistake and something I try not to do.”

“I understood a lot of the stuff he was saying from the time I spent in Spain.

“But because what I say is in English we’re always the ones to get the warnings.

“I don’t think what came out of my mouth was anywhere near as bad as the translation of the things he said.

“But it’s not right to do it and I deserved a warning.”

Roger Federer has joined in the debate. Though he is Swiss, Roger regularly speaks on court on English.

“I guess the English speakers are more likely to be understood so I probably agree with Andy.

“It shouldn’t matter what language it is, the umpire should be consistent.”

A side topic that arose from this conversation is that old chestnut, coaching. Roger commented that it may also be easier for non-English speakers to be coached during a match.

“It’s like the coaches who speak to their players while they are out on court. It’s an advantage to be able to communicate in their native language to their player and no one understands.”

Roger Federer Keeps It Rolling at Italian Open 2012

Roger Federer has started strong at the Italian Open in Rome. Roger defeated Carlos Berlocq 6-3 6-4. This is a great start for Roger as he now finds himself as the number 2 ranked player in the world.

Looking forward to seeing if he can keep this form rolling on at the French Open which starts in 9 days time.

Birthday Boy Murray Progresses in Rome

World number 4 Andy Murray moved into the third round of the Rome masters after being taken to 3 sets thrilling sets by David Nalbandian, eventually prevailing 6-1 4-6 7-5.

The Brit made a roaring start racing to a 4 love lead, taking no time to wrap up the first set! The second set required a lot more work from Murray as Nalbandian started finding his deadly range and pushing the Brit behind the baseline before executing some impressive drop shots, while they were evenly matched throughout Andy slipped up serving to stay in the second set and handed it to the Argentian.

Andy had us worried in the final set going a break down early on and making some uncharacteristic backhand errors, but through hard grinding points he broke back to love and turned the tide of the match, leaving Nalbandian startled and very tight! The British number 1 was forced to serve to stay in the match, but he held his nerve and forced a break in the 11th game to earn a chance to serve the match out. While it looked to be decided by a tiebreak as Nalbandian had 2 break back points, Andy rallied his way back to serve the match out, moving into the third round.

It is Andy Murrays 25th Birthday today so happy birthday and best wishes to him as he continues his Rome 2012 Campaign!

Novak Djokovic: Red Clay Seems Like Paradise!

Novak Djokovic commented that the red clay courts of the Italian Open “seems like parade” compared to the blue clay in Madrid.

Djokovic says that in Rome “you can actually be on the ball and slide well, where there you were slipping and falling down.”

Roger Reigns Again

And with the victory in Madrid he has claimed the Number 2 spot from Rafa.

A very productive afternoon for Roger Federer in Madrid. Not only is he #2 but he now holds the record for the number of Masters Titles, 20.

It was not all plain sailing for Federer, he had to work to get his hands on the rather unusual Mutua Madrid Open trophy.

It took a fightback from a set down to beat against Tomas Berdych 3-6, 7-5, 7-5. Is this the first step towards reclaiming the coveted World Number One spot and break Pete Sampras’ record?

Naturally Roger was very pleased with his afternoon’s work.

It is amazing to win here again,”
“It has been a tough tournament. Tough to move, but you’ve got to try to make the most of it. Here there was some good tennis and some bad tennis, but you see that in all tournaments.”

Berdych was understandably disappointed

“I would just say that it was a very close game,”
“You sometimes need to make those small adjustments to win a match like this, but it wasn’t my case today.

“The week was great until the last day, right now I am really upset and I am sad because of how I finished it. I lost the final but in a couple of hours I am going to see it in a more positive way. I had a great week, I beat a lot of great guys and made it to the finals.”

Let’s see how Rafa responds and if Novak can build on his lead as Number One. It is going to be tense over the next month in Rome & Paris.

Groth Hits The Fastest Recorded Serve

Australian Samual Groth has broke the record for the fastest serve.

He not only broke the record held by Ivo Karlovic, he smashed it THREE times! Karlovic’s previous record was 156mph, Groth registered serves at 158mph, 159mph and the current record serve of 163mph!!

Although serve speed records are not official due to variation with radar machines, the ATP “confirmed that the event used approved equipment, and that other data gathered appeared within a normal range.”

The match in which the record was set took place during the Busan Challenger Tournament held in South Korea. Despite the huge serves Groth was beaten in straight sets by Uladzimir Ignatik of Belarus 6-4 6-3.

Blue Row Rolls On

Novak was fuming yesterday in his press conference.

“I want to forget this week as soon as possible and move on to the real clay courts,”

“It took me at least a week to try to get used to this surface and somehow find a way to win matches and play a decent level of tennis,”

“There is no discussion in my eyes, it’s very simple. No blue clay for me.”

The courts were not his only target:

“I don’t blame the new president (Australian former player Brad Drewett),”

“He came to the job in January. It was the last president. He was going away and knew his contract was not renewed. He made the decision on his own.

“Something was going on behind closed doors. He (Helfant) didn’t care about tennis and what the players thought. He was only interested in himself and his interests.”

“The losers this week are the players and their opinions. They (ATP) made the decision without players agreeing on it. This is a rule that has to be changed immediately.

“The tournament has done its job and represented its own interests,” he said of the blue courts, which have proved to be successful for television viewing.

“I can’t blame the event for fighting for its own rights. The fault is from the people who gave them permission. We discussed this in 2011 – we were more than clear we didn’t want it. “

Roger had added his thoughts that are very different from Novak and Rafa.

“If you want to be a good claycourt player, you must be able to play everywhere,”

This of course is true. To be the best you should be able to adapt to a variety of surfaces. Is this where Rafa & Novak fall down with their argument? We saw with the Raonic v Federer that attacking, entertaining tennis can be played. The tour is currently too defensive so those at the top who have “less variety” in their game are going to be hardest hit.

But the tour is not only about Rafa & Novak, it is about 100+ players who have different styles & talent. The sooner the tour reflects this the better the game will be.