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Alexander Zverev Shocks Novak Djokovic To Win ATP Finals In London

November 18, 2018 by TennisGrandstand

Alexander Zverev became the youngest champion ever at the year-end ATP Finals in a decade with his comprehensive upset of world No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 in the final.

The title marked the biggest career win for the 21-year-old German, who began working with tennis legend Ivan Lendl in late August.

Zverev became the youngest player to win at the ATP’s season finale since Djokovic in 2008. He was the first German to win the title since Boris Becker in 1995.

“This is the biggest title of my career so far. This trophy means a lot, everything, to all the players. I mean, you only have so many chances of winning it. You play against the best players only,” Zverev said. “How I played today, how I won it, for me it’s just amazing.”

One year ago, Zverev made his debut at elite eight-player event in London, falling short of reaching the semifinals. The 10-time ATP tournament title champion beat six-time champion Roger Federer in straight sets on Saturday in the semifinals. It’s the first time a player has beaten both Djokovic and Federer at the same Nitto ATP Finals. Zverev’s the first player to beat the Top 2 seeds in the semifinals and final of the event since Andre Agassi in 1990.

“It’s quite astonishing, winning this title, beating two such players back-to-back, Roger and Novak, in semi-finals and final,” Zverev said. “It means so much. I’m incredibly happy and incredibly proud of this moment right now.”

Alexander Zverev
Alexander Zverev

Filed Under: Blogs, Featured Columns, Latest News, Lead Story Tagged With: Alexander Zverev, ATP, london, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer

Suffering Too Much For Rafael Nadal In ATP World Tour Finals

November 14, 2017 by TennisGrandstand

Perhaps the signature theme of the book “The Secrets of Spanish Tennis” is how the Spanish – in sports and in life – almost relish in “suffering.” As famed Spanish tennis coach said Pato Alvarez, “In order for a player to play well he or she needs to suffer.”

Rafael Nadal of Spain was doing much “suffering” in his opening round-robin match at the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals in London. However, after suffering through a 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 loss to David Goffin, Nadal decided the suffering was too much and withdrew from the competition to rest his ailing knee.

“My season is finished,” Nadal said following the loss. “I tried hard. I did the thing that I had to do to try to be ready to play, but I am really not ready to play. I really fought a lot during the match, but knew there was a big chance that it would be the last match of the season.”

Nadal’s withdrawal makes Roger Federer the overwhelming favorite to win the title, according to NetBetSport

“The good thing is that this is nothing new,” said Nadal. “Everybody on my team, we have the right experience with this thing. We hope to manage it well, to have the right rest, the right work, and try to be ready for the beginning of next season.”

The year-end ATP World Tour Finals is the one glaring omission on Nadal’s career resume. Nadal has qualified for the season-ending finals 13 years in a row, but has only actually played seven previous times, only reaching the final twice, losing to Roger Federer in 2010 and Novak Djokovic in 2013. He also lost in the semifinals three times, losing to Federer in 2006 and 2007 and Djokovic in 2015, the last time Nadal played the year-end championships. In 2009 and 2011, Nadal failed to emerge from round-robin play. Incredibly, Nadal has been injured and not able to participate in the event five times, including last year.

“This is an event I missed too many times in my career,” he said. “But at the same that’s how it works, my career. I can’t complain. I feel very lucky about all the things that are happening to me, but on the other hand it is true that I am probably the top player who has had more injuries and more troubles in the careers of anyone.

“I really believed that I didn’t deserve after this great season to spend two more days on court with these terrible feelings. Of course I am disappointed, but I am not going to cry. I had a great season. I really appreciate all the things that happened to me during the whole season.”

Suffering Rafael Nadal
Suffering Rafael Nadal

Filed Under: Archives, Blogs, Featured Columns, Latest News, Lead Story Tagged With: atp world tour finals, david goffin, london, Rafael Nadal, Secrets of Spanish Tennis

Andy Murray Could Overtake Djokovic To Become No. 1

November 1, 2016 by TennisGrandstand

Who would have thought that Andy Murray would get this close to becoming the Number one Tennis Player in the world? The online tennis odds of Murray reaching the summit were never high.

His rivals were simply too good; however, it looks like Murray has overcome all obstacles to finally come within striking distance of the top spot. A long time ago, seven years ago to be exact, Andy Murray reached the No.2 spot in the rankings.

And that lit a fire in him, a desire to climb over opponents like Roger Federer to finally make it to the top. And the fact that he has come so close is nothing to scoff at; because Murray can literally touch his objective considering just how close he is to the top.

And with rivals like Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, it says a lot about Murray that he has climbed so far up the rankings. The only thing standing in his way is the Paris Masters. If Murray can win there and Djokovic fails to reach the final, then Murray will become the top-ranked Tennis player in the World for the first time in his career.

Of course, with the sort of pressure such a prospect can attract, Murray cannot afford to dwell on it, and he said as much in a recent interview. He cannot think about it too much, not when he has matches to prepare for in the immediate future.

Murray is right in thinking that he has no control over whether or not he becomes the Top-Ranked player. As things stand, Murray could win all his matches and still fail to become No.1.

Novak still holds all the cards; he can still waylay Murray’s journey to the top. Luckily for Murray, he hasn’t made becoming No.1 an obsession, which can happen sometimes. He has simply focused on doing his best in each and every game. He has no intention of acting any different from what he has done for the last couple of weeks.

That isn’t to say that Murray is completely brushing aside the idea of actually becoming No.1. Even if Andy were to strive to become the Top-Ranked player in the world, he doesn’t think he can achieve that goal before early 2017 at best. The prospect of reaching that goal this week seems unlikely for Murray.

This season has been good to Murray, allowing him to exceed many of his own records by winning seven titles; however, Novak has also performed astoundingly in 2016. If Murray does become Number one, he would be the oldest person to do so (at age 29) since John Newcombe who took the spot in 1974 when he was 30.

Murray is confident in his abilities and definitely, believes that he deserves the top spot. The last few months have seen Murray perform at his absolute best.

Last year’s Paris Masters didn’t end well for Murray who lost to Novak in the final; now, Murray will face Fernando Verdasco in the second round. Even with his victories at the Olympics and in Vienna, there is no way of telling whether or not Murray will end 2016 as the top-ranked player in tennis.

Andy Murray
Andy Murray

Filed Under: Archives, Blogs, Featured Columns, Latest News, Lead Story Tagged With: Andy Murray, ATP, london, Novak Djokokic, Paris

Novak Djokovic wins memorable season finale over Roger Federer

November 13, 2012 by TennisGrandstand

Novak Djokovic wns his second title at the ATP World Tour Finals

By Melissa Boyd

Novak Djokovic followed up his historic 2011 season with another stellar campaign in 2012 which he capped on Monday with a 7-6(6), 7-5 victory over Roger Federer to capture his second title at the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 in London and finish as the World No. 1 for the second consecutive year.
In a fitting season finale between the top two players in the world, Djokovic and Federer both had moments of brilliance throughout the tightly contested affair including a brilliant backhand down the line winner from the Serbian on match point. The Swiss, who was looking for a record seventh title in eight final appearances at the Final Showdown, led by a break in both sets and appeared to be on his way to a comfortable win. However, Djokovic once again showcased his trademark resiliency and mental toughness to earn a straight sets triumph.
With his 13th career victory over Federer, Djokovic collects his sixth title of the season as well as his ATP-leading 75th match win. He also appeared in 11 finals this year at 14 of the top events on Tour and went undefeated for the first time at the Final Showdown which warranted him a $1,760,000 winner’s cheque and a 2,000 point lead over Federer in the world rankings.
This concludes another memorable season on the ATP World Tour. Just when it seemed like they couldn’t raise the excellence bar any higher, the “big four” of men’s tennis once again out did themselves. Despite coming up short in London, Federer added to his legendary legacy and proved that age is just a number, reviving his career with one his best seasons at the age of 31. He won his 17th Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, an Olympic silver medal, and broke Pete Sampras’ record for number of weeks at no. 1, a milestone many felt was out of his reach. Andy Murray finally broke through in 2012, re-wrote the British tennis history books, and took the proverbial monkey off his back. He became the first British man in 76 years to win a Grand Slam singles title when he was crowned champion at the U.S. Open. The Scot also won the Olympic gold medal on his home court in London. Rafael Nadal may have only played the first half of the year, but the Spaniard still broke Bjorn Borg’s record by winning his seventh Roland-Garros crown. The game will be that much better when he returns healthy and rejuvenated in 2013. The “big four” won 14 of the 15 biggest tournaments this season with the exception being world no. 5 David Ferrer capturing his maiden Masters 1000 title in Paris. Add in names like Juan Martin Del Potro, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Milos Raonic, and Kei Nishikori and 2012 will be remembered as unforgettable.
With so much excitement surrounding 2013 before the dust even has time to settle on the season that was, the good news for tennis fans is that the Australian Open is only 50 days away.

Filed Under: Lead Story, Melissa Boyd Tagged With: Andy Murray, ATP, Final Showdown, finale, london, Novak Djokovic, O2, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Tennis

Andy Murray Immortalized In…LEGO

August 11, 2012 by TennisGrandstand

Andy Murray is likely to be knighted one day for his Olympic gold medal-winning performance at the 2012 London Games, defeating seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer on Centre Court at the All England Club.
However, until the Scotsman becomes “Sir” Andy Murray, he will have to settle for being immortalized….in LEGO.

Andy Murray....in Lego
Andy Murray...in Lego

All Olympic champions from Team GB at the London 2012 Games are being honored with a LEGO “minifig” replica of themselves. Britain’s Daily Telegraph shows photos of some of the other LEGO minifigs here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/picturegalleries/9464974/London-2012-Olympics-LEGO-minifigs-of-Team-GB-gold-medal-winners.html?frame=2305352
Four weeks after losing a heart-breaking Wimbledon singles final to Federer, Murray turned the tables on the Swiss maestro, easily defeating winning Olympic gold by a 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 margin. Winless in four major singles finals, including his 2012 Wimbledon loss and three previous major singles finals to Federer, Murray was finally able break through and win on one of the grandest stages in all of sport. While not as famous as the 76-year drought since the last British man, Fred Perry, won the men’s singles title at Wimbledon in 1936, the last British man to win Olympic singles gold was 104 years ago in 1908 when Josiah Ritchie was the Olympic champion. Curiously, the 1908 Olympic tennis event was also played at the All England Club at Wimbledon, although the event was staged down the road at the former Worple Road facility just down the road from the present location of the club.
The No. 4 ranked Murray is still in search for his first major tournament victory. He has his next chance later this month at the US Open, a tournament that he has called his favorite.
 

Filed Under: Lead Story Tagged With: Andy Murray, Lego, london, Olympics, Roger Federer, Wimbledon

Olympic Tennis History Documented in New Kindle EBook

July 20, 2012 by TennisGrandstand

The history of the tennis competition at the Olympic Games is documented in a new KINDLE ebook “Olympic Tennis: An Historical Snapshot” released by TennisGrandstand, LLC. The book provides readers with a compilation of anecdotes, summaries, scores, medalists and records from all of the Olympic tennis competitions from 1896 to 1924 and from 1988 to 2008. The 2012 Olympic tennis competition will be held at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, the site of the annual Championships at Wimbledon, where Roger Federer and Serena Williams just claimed singles titles.
“Olympic Tennis: An Historical Snapshot” serves as an excellent “program-like” guide for spectators planning to attend the Olympic tennis competition, where Federer, Williams, Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal, Victroria Azarenka, Andy Murray and Agnieszka Radwanska are among the favorites. Readers will learn of such interesting facts as which U.S. President had medal-winning relatives in the tennis competition, what tennis player has played in the most Olympic tennis events, what were the longest – and shortest – matches ever played in the Olympic tennis competition and much more information include an Olympic tennis record book and a day-by-day summary of Olympic tennis happenings through the years.
The book is available for American readers here for a price of $2.99:
http://www.mailermailer.com/rd?http://www.amazon.com/Olympic-Tennis-Historical-Snapshot-ebook/dp/B008EOXW40/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1342541193&sr=1-1&keywords=Olympic+Tennis+Randy+Walker
For residents of the United Kingdom, the book can be downloaded here: http://www.mailermailer.com/rd?http://www.amazon.co.uk/Olympic-Tennis-Historical-Snapshot-ebook/dp/B008EOXW40/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1342542285&sr=8-3
TennisGrandstand, LLC is a publishing company that runs the popular tennis websites www.TennisGrandstand.com and www.WorldTennisMagazine.com. It has also published the book “The Yoga Guide To Diet and Peace of Mind,” available here: http://www.mailermailer.com/rd?http://www.amazon.com/Yoga-Guide-Diet-Peace-ebook/dp/B008AYME0C/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1342541363&sr=1-1&keywords=yoga+diet+peace+of+mind
 

Roger Federer
Roger Federer

Filed Under: Lead Story Tagged With: london, olympic tennis, Wimbledon

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