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#NextGenATP Rule The Day In Delray

  • Posted: Feb 22, 2018

#NextGenATP Rule The Day In Delray

Canadian will face #NextGenATP Fritz in QF

#NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov doesn’t want to leave the Delray Beach Open and its hundreds of Canadian tennis fans just yet.

The 18-year-old left-hander advanced to his first quarter-final of the season on Thursday, beating 21-year-old Jared Donaldson 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 25 minutes.

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Shapovalov, the youngest player in the draw, has toughed his way through two tricky matches in Delray Beach. The Canadian prevailed past the big-serving Ivo Karlovic in his opener.

“I definitely picked up my serve in the second and third set… It was an really even match. We were both playing extremely well,” Shapovalov said. “I’ve been in this position before. Last year I was coming up with a lot of ‘W’s in late third sets but it’s definitely a big confidence booster for me. I’m starting to get a little bit of momentum, getting a lot of matches under my belt so I’m happy.”

Shapovalov will next meet #NextGenATP Taylor Fritz of the U.S., who prevailed past Russian veteran Mikhail Youzhny 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. Fritz hit 13 aces and won 77 per cent of his first-serve points.

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Detective Bryans Try To Solve 'Case Of Stuck Ball'

  • Posted: Feb 22, 2018

Detective Bryans Try To Solve ‘Case Of Stuck Ball’

Bryans and Kozlov/Fritz have some fun in Delray Beach

It was a case of the stuck ball. At 7-5, 4-0, Stefan Kozlov and Taylor Fritz were trying to rally their way into their first-round match against Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan at the Delray Beach Open.

Then the ball became stuck. Kozlov had tried to hit the ball back to the Bryans but the ball wedged itself perfectly into the neck of his racquet.

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Instead of getting upset, though, Kozlov had to laugh. He tossed his racquet to Mike Bryan, who tried to loosen the trapped ball and then threw the racquet back before play continued.

The Bryan brothers, four-time Delray Beach Open champions (2009, 2010, 2014, 2015), will next meet compatriots Jack Sock and Jackson Withrow.

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Dubai Duty Free Championships: Garbine Muguruza through to semi-finals

  • Posted: Feb 22, 2018

Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza beat Caroline Garcia, her second match in 24 hours, to reach the semi-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Championships.

Muguruza, who finished her quarter-final the night before at 02:00 local time, beat the Frenchwoman 7-5 6-2.

The Spanish second seed, 24, will play Russia’s Daria Kasatkina next.

Germany’s former world number one Angelique Kerber will play reigning champion and top seed Elina Svitolina in Friday’s other semi-final.

Two-time Grand Slam champion Muguruza is hoping to reach her second straight final, having lost to Petra Kvitova in the Doha final last week.

Speaking about her quick turnaround between matches, the world number three said: “I was a little bit upset because, I had to play late and went to bed at 4am. There’s nothing to do about that.

“It’s tough. I was thinking about going straight to breakfast after I finished last night’s match. Today I somehow fought with a little bit of the tiredness of yesterday.”

Ukraine’s world number four Svitolina brushed aside Japan’s Naomi Osaka 6-2, 6-4 while sixth seed Kerber won a rematch of the 2016 US Open final, beating Czech Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-3.

Kasatkina beat fellow Russian Elena Vesnina 7-6 (7-5) 6-1.

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Khachanov, Krajinovic Cruise In Marseille

  • Posted: Feb 22, 2018

Khachanov, Krajinovic Cruise In Marseille

Wawrinka and 2013 finalist Berdych compete during the night session

Ninth-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov required just 50 minutes and lost just nine of his service points to defeat Mischa Zverev of Germany 6-2, 6-1 on Thursday at the Open 13 Provence. Khachanov won the first three games in each set and goes on to challenge France’s Julien Benneteau, the 2010 runner-up, who overcame fifth seed Roberto Bautista Agut on Tuesday night.

Eighth seed Filip Krajinovic, on the comeback trail from left Achilles and ankle injuries, booked a spot in his first ATP World Tour quarter-final since reaching the Rolex Paris Masters final (l. to Sock) in November 2017. The Serbian knocked out France’s Gilles Simon, the 2007 and 2015 champion, 6-3, 6-3 in 82 minutes. He’ll now to prepare to face another local, Lucas Pouille, the third seed and last year’s finalist.

Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych, the 2013 finalist (l. to Tsonga), begin their Marseille campaigns during Thursday’s night session.

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Ivan Ljubicic: Coaching A Top Player

  • Posted: Feb 22, 2018

Ivan Ljubicic: Coaching A Top Player

Former World No. 3 gives an insight into working with top players

When Ivan Ljubicic ended his playing career in April 2012 he made a seamless transition into the television commentary booth. However, the highly respected and consummate professional both on and off the court was soon in high demand by current ATP World Tour stars.

“My view is that if you want to do anything in tennis you have to be ready to travel,” Ljubicic exclusively told ATPWorldTour.com in Rotterdam. “The sport’s the way it is, you can’t just sit at home. The biggest difference now is that when I am at home, I am at home. I don’t need to train or anything. I therefore spend quality time with my wife and kids.”

As a former World No. 3, who worked under the guidance of Riccardo Piatti, the only coach of his 15-season professional career, Ljubicic competed at the very highest level and barely one year after retiring he found himself in the corner of Canada’s Milos Raonic (2013-2015).

The Croatian has travelled as part of team Roger Federer since early 2016 and last week at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, Ljubicic gave ATPWorldTour.com an insight into his coaching methods. On Monday this week, at 36 years of age, Federer rose back to No. 1 in the ATP Rankings for the first time since 4 November 2012.

“When you talk about coaching at the highest level, you have to listen a lot,” said Ljubicic in Rotterdam, where Federer lifted his 97th tour-level trophy. “The most important thing is to understand a player. Listen at the beginning, but then listening in general to understand and ultimately help a player.

“When you start with a player in the middle of a season, such as Milos, you can’t step in and say, ‘I want to change everything, because this is how I did it.’ I feel that it doesn’t work like that.

“You see, if you are coaching a player, who has been around for a while, he has his own patterns and ideas. His own opinions on a lot of stuff, and you have to pick your fights on what you think will have the biggest impact on a game or the result.”

Since Ljubicic joined Severin Luthi, Federer’s coach since 2008, the Swiss superstar has won nine titles – including three Grand Slam championships and three ATP World Tour Masters 1000s – from 11 finals and taken a six-month lay-off in 2016 to recover from knee surgery.

“The biggest difference between coaching and playing is that the player is the boss,” said Ljubicic. “The player has to be mentally strong, a leader, because on the court, he makes all of the decisions. Then, as a coach, you have to put your ego aside and make sure you do everything the player needs to compete better and be a better person.

“In coaching Milos or Roger, I never thought about short and long-term impacts. I think about how do I improve a player? How can this be better? What can be done? The truth is if you don’t make a quick impact, there might not be any long-term goals. That’s the tricky part. There is a fair amount of luck also, because you need to get results at the beginning and the confidence of a player. No matter how sure the player is in his confidence of a coach, if the results aren’t there after a while, then all sorts of problems arise.”

As a player, Ljubicic captured 10 ATP World Tour trophies during his career, highlighted by a title run to the 2010 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells that saw him beat Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick. Naturally, being in the competitive cauldron garnered respect when he started coaching.

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“As a player you do whatever you want,” said Ljubicic. “As a coach you have to standby a lot of the time. Coaching is the closest thing to playing tennis. I love it and the adrenaline. The emotions are sometimes very strong, but they won’t ever be as they are as a player, when you win or you lose. You can’t compare it. The emotions are similar, but it’s a lower intensity.

“As a coach, you have to have the respect of a player. Experience can be something you personally went through or you watched on TV. It is two different things. I’m not saying myself or a player who didn’t compete at the highest level are saying two different things.

“But I always try to make a point, I try to make an impact. I don’t talk a lot and the players that I have coached can confirm this. If I do say something, I will stand by it.”

In beginning his transition from being a player to a coach, Ljubicic relied on Piatti, but also one of Federer’s former coaches.

The 38-year-old Ljubicic recalled, “I remember speaking to Paul Annacone when I was still playing and asking him ‘What’s it like to coach?’ I was just curious and he told me that the most important thing was to listen. You have to keep improving yourself as a coach, you have to listen, study, look around as you never know what information may be useful to yourself.”

So what’s the toughest part of the job?

“The toughest part is to know where there is the line,” said Ljubicic. “When to let go or step in and say something. That’s probably the most complex part of the job.

“As a coach, you can’t be selfish. It just doesn’t work. You have to understand, and it’s even better for a player to make a mistake by doing something that’s contrary to what you think. A player steps onto court and wins matches. I’ve had many different hats in my career, but I’ll always think players run the show.”

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Monfils Barely Raises A Sweat In Four-Point Cliffhanger

  • Posted: Feb 22, 2018

Monfils Barely Raises A Sweat In Four-Point Cliffhanger

Frenchman survives set point to complete rain-interrupted win over top seed

A little frustration from Gael Monfils would be no surprise after rain postponed overnight the completion of his second-round victory over top seed Marin Cilic at the Rio Open presented by Claro. The unseeded Frenchman had already let a match point slip the day before against the Croat and faced a set point after the resumption of play on Thursday.

Fortunately for Monfils, however, the pair returned to court for just four more points, as he completed the upset on his second match point, 6-3, 7-6(8). The win extends Monfils’ FedEx ATP Head2Head record against the Australian Open finalist to 3-0. He had beaten Cilic once before in Rio de Janeiro at the 2016 Olympic Games.

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Next up, he faces Argentine sixth seed Diego Schwartzman for a semi-final berth. Monfils won the pair’s only prior clash at Roland Garros three years ago.

“I don’t think I feel very good, it’s not about numbers,” Monfils said. “I think I’m not in my best shape yet, I’m fighting for every point.  Tomorrow will be a great match, Schwartzman is a very fast player. I will have to play more aggressive.”

Second seed and defending champion Dominic Thiem was earlier handed a comfortable passage through to the quarter-finals when his opponent, Spain’s Pablo Andujar, retired trailing 2-4 with a right shoulder injury. The Austrian will take on another Spaniard in the quarter-finals after Fernando Verdasco rebounded strongly for a 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-0 win over Argentine Nicolas Kicker.

“Never played him on clay, only on grass and fast hard court last year at Bercy [Paris],” Thiem said. “It’s going to be very tough. He’s fit and he’s fresh as we saw today. He played a long match…  I have to watch out that I am the one dictating the game because once you let him dictate with his forehand, the point is almost over.”

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The 2015 runner-up and No. 5 seed Fabio Fognini prevailed in a three-set thriller against American Tennys Sandgren 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(6). The Italian will next meet Slovenia’s Aljaz Bedene, a player he owns a perfect 7-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against.

Watch Hot Shot: Fognini Scrambles For Winning Lob

Bedene continued his impressive form of late with an upset of No. 3 seed Pablo Carreno-Busta, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. The World No. 43 reached his third ATP World Tour final last week in Buenos Aires where he fell to Thiem.

“Never easy to face someone that defeated you in all seven matches,” Bedene said of facing Fognini. “But this time I’m playing better. I have been playing some really good tennis and now I have my best ranking on ATP … so, yes, I consider this the best moment of my career.”

Seventh seed and 2016 champion Pablo Cuevas booked an all-South American quarter-final against Chilean Nicolas Jarry. The Uruguayan saw off lucky loser Gastao Elias of Portugal 7-5, 6-1.

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