The Tennis Times » atp http://thetennistimes.com Your Look Inside The World Of Tennis From a Players Perspective Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:41:49 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 Rafael Nadal Pushing for Two Year ATP Tour Ranking System http://thetennistimes.com/rafael-nadal-pushing-for-two-year-atp-tour-ranking-system/ http://thetennistimes.com/rafael-nadal-pushing-for-two-year-atp-tour-ranking-system/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:41:49 +0000 The Insider http://thetennistimes.com/?p=6218 Rafael Nadal seems to be pushing for a change in the ATP ranking system. At the moment the ATP rankings take in 1 year of results, but Nadal wants to see 2 years used instead (which is used in Golf). Nadal has said the change would lengthen careers by allowing big names to play less often and better protecting injured players. This all makes sense, but there are a lot of downsides. If players want to play less and earn as much money, the only person to lose out is the fans. Fans will only have limited opportunities to see their favourite players play, which I think will drive fans away from tennis and towards more active top player sports (such as Football).

Ohh.. and did I mention that Rafael Nadal would be the main player to benifit from the change. He would becoming world number 1 again!

p.s. Is it about time someone else started a new tour?

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]]> http://thetennistimes.com/rafael-nadal-pushing-for-two-year-atp-tour-ranking-system/feed/ 0 Bob and Mike Bryan Finish Number 1 Doubles Pair in 2011 http://thetennistimes.com/bob-and-mike-bryan-finish-number-1-doubles-pair-in-2011/ http://thetennistimes.com/bob-and-mike-bryan-finish-number-1-doubles-pair-in-2011/#comments Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:31:56 +0000 The Insider http://thetennistimes.com/?p=5286

Bob and Mike Bryan are going to finish 2011 the number 1 doubles pair in the world. This a record seventh time they will finish the number 1 pair in the world.

Since 2003, the Bryans have only twice failed to finish No. 1—in 2004 and 2008.

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]]> http://thetennistimes.com/bob-and-mike-bryan-finish-number-1-doubles-pair-in-2011/feed/ 0 ATP Tour 2010 Finals – Funny Questions http://thetennistimes.com/atp-tour-2010-finals-funny-questions/ http://thetennistimes.com/atp-tour-2010-finals-funny-questions/#comments Fri, 21 Oct 2011 08:57:54 +0000 The Insider http://thetennistimes.com/?p=5215 Here is a little clip from the 2010 ATP year end finals in London. I love it when they ask players funny and embarrassing questions.. makes them a little bit more human and you can relate.


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]]> http://thetennistimes.com/atp-tour-2010-finals-funny-questions/feed/ 0 Roger Federer Fourth Player to Qualify for Barclays ATP World Tour Finals http://thetennistimes.com/roger-federer-fourth-player-to-qualify-for-barclays-atp-world-tour-finals/ http://thetennistimes.com/roger-federer-fourth-player-to-qualify-for-barclays-atp-world-tour-finals/#comments Wed, 07 Sep 2011 18:12:43 +0000 The Insider http://thetennistimes.com/?p=4855 There are now four who have qualified for the year ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Roger Federer has joined Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.

(Based on Year-to-Date 2011 ATP Rankings points as of Monday, 29 August, 2011)

1. N. Djokovic (SRB) 11,295
2. R. Nadal (ESP) 7,785
3. A. Murray (GBR) 4,730
4. R. Federer (SUI) 4,450
5. D. Ferrer (ESP) 3,420
6. M. Fish (USA) 2,505
7. N. Almagro (ESP) 2,270
8. T. Berdych (CZE) 2,260
9. R. Soderling (SWE) 2,080
10. J. Tsonga (FRA) 2,080

1. Bryan (USA)/Bryan (USA) 9,120
2. Llodra (FRA)/Zimonjic (SRB) 5,340
3. Mirnyi (BLR)/Nestor (CAN) 4,990
4. Bhupathi (IND)/Paes (IND) 3,970
5. Lindstedt (SWE)/Tecau (ROU) 3,165
6. Bopanna (IND)/Qureshi (PAK) 2,590
7. Butorac (USA)/Rojer (AHO) 2,340
8. Melzer (AUT)/Petzschner (GER) 1,920
9. Isner (USA)/Querrey (USA) 1,780
10. Kas (GER)/Peya (AUT) 1,575

Bold denotes qualification

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]]> http://thetennistimes.com/roger-federer-fourth-player-to-qualify-for-barclays-atp-world-tour-finals/feed/ 0 The State of Men’s Tennis in America http://thetennistimes.com/the-state-of-mens-tennis-in-america/ http://thetennistimes.com/the-state-of-mens-tennis-in-america/#comments Tue, 23 Aug 2011 07:46:51 +0000 Nick Nemeroff http://thetennistimes.com/?p=4616 If you were to ask the casual tennis fan to name as many American male tennis players off of the top of their head as possible, most would easily name Mardy Fish, Andy Roddick, and John Isner.  After these three, a blank would be drawn.  The lack of resurgence from American male players since the end of the Sampras-Agassi era has been disappointing in the eyes of many fans to say the least.  The only two American players to have reached a Grand Slam semifinal since 2003 are Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick.  In the defense of American players, the male game has become very top heavy in recent years with Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic becoming fixtures in the final four of majors.

The letdown of American male tennis players in the last 5-7 years is often viewed the wrong way.  Many have been led to believe that there simply has been a lag in American talent.  This statement is easily falsifiable.   Currently, there are 10 Americans in the top 100 in the world.   This is the most of any country apart from Spain, which has 13 men ranked in the top 100.

Now this begs question of has there actually been a letdown of talent or a failure of high expectations?   I think undoubtedly the latter is the answer.  Following the legacies of greats such as Agassi, Sampras,  and Courier is no short task.  It would be unreasonable to expect any group of any players from any country during any time period to achieve on the same level as these Americans did during the 80s’ and 90s.

If you go back in history, the only county since the beginning of the open era (1968) to achieve something comparable to what the Americans of the 1990′s achieved were Swedes in the 70s and 80s.  Wilander, Borg, and Edberg combined for 24 grand slams over an 18 year period.  The combination of Agassi, Sampras, Courier, collected 27 grandslams in 13 years.

A prime example of a player that has “failed” in the eyes of many Americans is Donald Young.  When Donald Young was 15 people were sighting him as the next big star and a shoe in as a future number one based on his success at Junior National Championships in Kalamazoo which he was winning.    Currently ranked 89th in the world, Young is 22 and already considered a bust.  It is extremely premature to declare the career of a 22 year old a disappointment.   Recently, many players have enjoyed their greatest successes near the end of their careers.  Two examples of this are Mardy Fish, who has surged to a career high ranking of number 7 at age 29 and Jurgen Melzer, a journeymen Austrian who made his deepest career run in every single major coincidentally at the age of 29.

With players on the rise such as  Mardy Fish, Ryan Harrison, Sam Querrey, Donald Young, John Isner, Alex Bogomolov Jr. , and Ryan Sweeting the future of American tennis appears to be very promising.  And while this group of players will unlikely achieve the greatness of those in the 1990s, it would be wise to hold off on the bust word for a while.

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]]> http://thetennistimes.com/the-state-of-mens-tennis-in-america/feed/ 1 Robin Haase Wins First ATP Tour Title in Kitzbuhel http://thetennistimes.com/robin-haase-wins-first-atp-tour-title-in-kitzbuhel/ http://thetennistimes.com/robin-haase-wins-first-atp-tour-title-in-kitzbuhel/#comments Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:10:21 +0000 The Insider http://thetennistimes.com/?p=4389

Robin Haase has had the week of his life! Haase won his first ATP tour title defeating Albert Montanes 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 in Kitzbuhel in Austria. Haase beat some great players in Kitzbuel such as Feliciano Lopez and Andreas Seppi.

After battling for two hours a disapointed Montanes said; “After winning the second set I started feeling a bit tired. The last few days were very intense; I played two matches during one day and against Juan  it was a hard match too. I couldn’t maintain my rhythm in the end and I have to congratulate Robin for a spectacular week here in Kitzbühel. I wish him the best for the future.”

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]]> http://thetennistimes.com/robin-haase-wins-first-atp-tour-title-in-kitzbuhel/feed/ 0 ATP Tour August 1st 2011 http://thetennistimes.com/atp-tour-august-1st-2011/ http://thetennistimes.com/atp-tour-august-1st-2011/#comments Tue, 02 Aug 2011 09:26:37 +0000 The Insider http://thetennistimes.com/?p=4262 Here are the updated ATP Tour rankings as at the 1st August 2011. There seems to be a growing gap between Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Rank Player & Nationality Pts This Week Rank Diff # Of Trn
1 Djokovic, Novak (SRB) 13,155 0 18
2 Nadal, Rafael (ESP) 11,270 0 22
3 Federer, Roger (SUI) 9,530 0 20
4 Murray, Andy (GBR) 6,705 0 19
5 Soderling, Robin (SWE) 4,325 0 25
6 Ferrer, David (ESP) 4,210 0 24
7 Monfils, Gael (FRA) 2,695 0 22
8 Fish, Mardy (USA) 2,550 1 21
9 Berdych, Tomas (CZE) 2,470 -1 27
10 Almagro, Nicolas (ESP) 2,165 0 26
11 Simon, Gilles (FRA) 2,155 0 29
12 Roddick, Andy (USA) 2,110 0 20
13 Gasquet, Richard (FRA) 2,000 0 24
14 Youzhny, Mikhail (RUS) 1,990 0 26
15 Troicki, Viktor (SRB) 1,970 0 26
16 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried (FRA) 1,945 0 23
17 Wawrinka, Stanislas (SUI) 1,935 0 23
18 Melzer, Jurgen (AUT) 1,875 0 22
19 Verdasco, Fernando (ESP) 1,705 1 27
20 Del Potro, Juan Martin (ARG) 1,670 -1 23
21 Dolgopolov, Alexandr (UKR) 1,575 5 29
22 Mayer, Florian (GER) 1,465 0 28
23 Chela, Juan Ignacio (ARG) 1,440 -2 25
24 Cilic, Marin (CRO) 1,395 7 27
25 Tipsarevic, Janko (SRB) 1,390 -2 25
26 Baghdatis, Marcos (CYP) 1,375 -1 27
27 Nalbandian, David (ARG) 1,365 1 21
28 Lopez, Feliciano (ESP) 1,345 -4 27
29 Raonic, Milos (CAN) 1,344 -2 21
30 Davydenko, Nikolay (RUS) 1,295 -1 26

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]]> http://thetennistimes.com/atp-tour-august-1st-2011/feed/ 0 Australia Lead Davis Cup Tie Against China: Hewitt and Guccione Win the Doubles http://thetennistimes.com/australia-lead-davis-cup-tie-against-china-hewitt-and-guccione-win-the-doubles/ http://thetennistimes.com/australia-lead-davis-cup-tie-against-china-hewitt-and-guccione-win-the-doubles/#comments Sat, 09 Jul 2011 10:49:11 +0000 The Insider http://thetennistimes.com/?p=3762

Lleyton Hewitt and Chris Guccione have been able to push Australia ahead in their Davis Cup tie against China. The pair defeated Maoxin Gong and Zhe Li 6-4 6-4 6-4.

Australia now lead the tie 2-1.

Friday’s Results:

Bernard Tomic d Zhang Ze 6-3 5-7 6-4 6-4.
Di Wu d Marinko Matosevic 4-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-4

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]]> http://thetennistimes.com/australia-lead-davis-cup-tie-against-china-hewitt-and-guccione-win-the-doubles/feed/ 0 ATP Tour Prizemoney To Increase to Over $90 Million Per Year http://thetennistimes.com/atp-tour-prizemoney-to-increase-to-over-90-million-per-year/ http://thetennistimes.com/atp-tour-prizemoney-to-increase-to-over-90-million-per-year/#comments Wed, 06 Jul 2011 10:18:28 +0000 The Insider http://thetennistimes.com/?p=3657

The ATP have announced that they will be raising their prizemoney for tournament by 30 percent over the next three years. The tour will be offering over $90 million in prizemoney per year.

Prize money at the World Tour Finals will go up from $5 million to $6.5 million.

“We are privileged to be experiencing a golden era in men’s professional tennis and it is fitting that the commitment and excellence of the players is recognized and rewarded in this way,” ATP executive chairman and president Adam Helfant said.

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]]> http://thetennistimes.com/atp-tour-prizemoney-to-increase-to-over-90-million-per-year/feed/ 0 What is it Like to be a Stringer at a Grand Slam or Roland Garros http://thetennistimes.com/what-is-it-like-to-be-a-stringer-at-a-grand-slam-or-roland-garros/ http://thetennistimes.com/what-is-it-like-to-be-a-stringer-at-a-grand-slam-or-roland-garros/#comments Mon, 30 May 2011 21:11:49 +0000 The Insider http://thetennistimes.com/?p=3372 Here is a quick look inside the stringers world at a Grand Slam event. At Roland Garros and other Grand Slam events stringers have to do at the very least 38 racquets per day and they all need to be perfect.


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