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Lopez, Santana Share Messages Following Madrid Cancellation

  • Posted: Mar 19, 2020

Lopez, Santana Share Messages Following Madrid Cancellation

Event to return in 2021 from 2-9 May

Due to the continuing outbreak of COVID-19, the entire professional tennis season is now suspended through 7 June 2020. As a consequence, the 2020 Mutua Madrid Open will not be held.

“We are very disappointed about the cancellation of the tournament, but the health of the fans, players and employees are the most important thing at this time,” said Feliciano Lopez, Tournament Director of the Mutua Madrid Open.

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“We have worked very hard in recent months, together with our sponsors to prepare the best event possible, as we do every year, but our priority is the safety of all those that were going to come to the Caja Magica in May. I hope we can overcome this challenge as soon as possible and celebrate our 20th anniversary in 2021.”

“The situation is, without a doubt, the saddest we have experienced during the 19 years of the tournament,” said Manuel Santana, the Mutua Madrid Open’s Honorary President. “These are difficult times and all we can do is ask everyone to be responsible and strong so that we can hope the situation returns to normal as soon as possible”.

Anyone who purchased tickets for the tournament through the Mutua Madrid Open’s official sales channels may request a refund for this year’s event or maintain their seats (identical location and session) for the 2021 tournament at no additional cost or expense.

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Why Nadal Is Even Better On Hard Courts Than You Think

  • Posted: Mar 19, 2020

Why Nadal Is Even Better On Hard Courts Than You Think

The ATP Performance Zone examines the Spaniard’s hard-court improvement

World No. 2 Rafael Nadal has long been lauded for his clay success. But not only has the Spaniard compiled one of the best hard-court records in history; the lefty is performing significantly better than his career average.

According to the ATP Performance Zone, Nadal leads the ATP Tour over the past 52 weeks with a 90.5 winning percentage on hard courts. That puts him well ahead of World No. 1 Novak Djokovic (86%), Roger Federer (81.1%), Daniil Medvedev (75.5%) and Andrey Rublev (75.4%).

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Hard-Court Winning Percentage — Past 52 Weeks

 Player  Winning Percentage
 1. Rafael Nadal  90.5% 
 2. Novak Djokovic  86%
 3. Roger Federer  81.1%
 4. Daniil Medvedev  75.5%
 5. Andrey Rublev  75.4%

Nadal has won 38 of his 42 hard-court matches over the past year. Not only is he winning at a high rate, but he’s doing so against highly-ranked players. The 33-year-old has earned 11 of those 38 victories against Top 20 opponents, with seven of those triumphs coming in straight sets. The lowest-ranked opponent Nadal has lost to on hard courts since the start of the 2019 BNP Paribas Open was then-World No. 11 David Goffin at this year’s ATP Cup.

The Mallorcan’s efforts on the surface might always be compared to his spectacular efforts on clay, on which he has a career winning percentage of 91.8 per cent, but his career numbers stack up well in the history books. Nadal currently ranks 11th in career winning percentage on hard courts at 78.1 per cent, ahead of former World No. 1s Boris Becker, Bjorn Borg, Jim Courier, Mats Wilander and more.

Career Winning Percentage On Hard Courts (Active Players)

 Player (all-time rank)  Winning Percentage
 1. Novak Djokovic (1st)  84.3%
 2. Roger Federer (3rd)  83.5%
 3. Andy Murray (10th)  78.2%
 4. Rafael Nadal (11th)  78.1% 
 5. Juan Martin del Potro (21st)  72.3%

The only active players whom Nadal trails in the category are the other members of the Big Four: Djokovic, Federer and Andy Murray. The Spaniard is also eight-hundredths of a percentage point away from passing Murray and cracking the Top 10.

Perhaps what is most impressive is how much Nadal has improved on hard courts. His performance over the past 52 weeks is more than 12 percentage points better than his career average. Last year he triumphed at the Coupe Rogers, an ATP Masters 1000 event held in Montreal, and the US Open. Last month, he was victorious at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, an ATP 500 in Acapulco.

In every season starting in 2017, Nadal has won more than 80 per cent of his hard-court matches per year. He had not eclipsed that mark in the three seasons before that. From 2017 until today, Nadal’s hard-court winning percentage is 84.8 per cent. 

Did You Know?
According to the ATP Performance Zone, Nadal owns the highest career winning percentage on record at 83.2 per cent. He is followed by Djokovic at 83 per cent.

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Latest FedEx ATP Rankings Released

  • Posted: Mar 19, 2020

Latest FedEx ATP Rankings Released

Points earned at 2019 Indian Wells included

ATP has published the latest FedEx ATP Rankings effective 16 March that will remain unchanged for entry purposes through the extended ATP Tour suspension period.

The new FedEx ATP Rankings, available now on ATPTour.com, include the following:

  • FedEx ATP Rankings of 9 March 2020, counting results from the previous 52 weeks, including the 2019 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells
  • Challenger results including Nur-Sultan and Potchefstroom
  • ITF World Tennis Tour results from the weeks of 2 March 2020 and 9 March 2020

The FedEx ATP Rankings will be frozen for entry purposes throughout this period and until further notice, with further details to be announced in due course.

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Corretja: “Indian Wells Gave Me Back My Self-Esteem In 2000”

  • Posted: Mar 19, 2020

Corretja: “Indian Wells Gave Me Back My Self-Esteem In 2000”

Spaniard reflects on 20th anniversary of title run

“It’s the start of the end of my problems”.

These were the words of Alex Corretja shortly after being proclaimed champion of the 2000 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. At the time, winning on hard courts was unheard of for Spaniards, who had historically dominated on clay courts, where they had learnt the game. But that season he broke down a barrier in the Coachella Valley that only one of his compatriots — Jose Higueras (1983) — had overcome before him.

The truth is that for Corretja, success away from the red dirt was not unchartered territory. While his cabinet included another ATP Masters 1000 trophy from the 1997 Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, in 1998 he triumphed on hard courts at the season-ending championships in Hannover. His ability to produce his A-game on all surfaces was well known on the ATP Tour.

So, what was worrying the Spaniard before Indian Wells? What were the ‘problems’ he was referring to after winning the trophy on Sunday, 19 March 2000? The man himself answered that question for ATPTour.com 20 years after his achievement.

“It really was very important because it helped me believe in myself again,” said Corretja.

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The Catalan, who just a year earlier had been on the verge of becoming World No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, arrived at Indian Wells unseeded.

“It was very important to demonstrate to myself that 1998 was a great year and that I was able to have more great success,” said Corretja. “So being able to aspire to win another big title again made me feel that I was on the right track. Indian Wells gave me back my self-esteem.”

Corretja ended 1999 as the World No. 26 and a few months later he fell outside the Top 30 for the first time in five seasons. As if that was not enough, his morale took a heavy blow in January. When he thought he was heading in the right direction after reaching the semi-finals in the first tournament of the year in Sydney (l. to Hewitt), the same rival steamrollered him at the Australian Open 0-6, 0-6, 1-6.

“I had started the year 2000 full of hope, recovering after suffering a lull the previous season, both physically and mentally, after a push to be the World No. 1,” said Corretja. “I went to Australia after completing a good pre-season, but I took a heavy blow against Hewitt. I got there feeling that I was recovering, but that match made me think I was not as good as I’d thought.”

It was a resounding blow, but not a knock-out one. Nowhere near.

Corretja made use of the Davis Cup to recharge his confidence alongside the rest of his teammates in his nation’s first-round tie against Italy (4-1). As well as sealing the second singles point for Spain, he closed out the tie with a doubles win alongside Joan Balcells. But, above all, the ATP Tour event in Scottsdale, Arizona proved crucial in rediscovering some harmony with his racquet.

“It’s true that I lost 8/6 in the third-set tie-break against Albert Costa in the quarter-finals, but I was feeling great as I did that,” said Corretja. “I got to Indian Wells thinking that I could do something big, because I was starting to play very good tennis.”

Corretja was feeling increasingly more like the player who had made an assault on the elite a year before, who could look any opponent in the eyes to fight for the biggest titles on the ATP Tour. However, before embarking on his venture at the first ATP Masters 1000 event of the year, he would suffer another setback.

“The day before starting, I remember in one training session I was on the receiving end of a 6-1 [set]. I was devastated,” said Corretja. “I thought I was ready to play and suddenly I took a beating that lowered my expectations a little, but at the same time it made me start the tournament playing well, without stressing myself too much.”

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Between 13 and 20 March, the Spaniard put together one of his best weeks in tennis. From start to finish, he left big names in his wake in every round. The Spaniard claimed a 6-2, 6-2 win against Slovakian Karol Kucera in his opening match, but it was his 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-2 second-round victory against Patrick Rafter that marked a turning point.

“The Australian was very uncomfortable and after winning that match, I started to feel good in my legs,” said Corretja. “Indian Wells is very dry. The court is very fast, but at the same time the ball bounces very high. [It is] something that suited me very well and I felt very comfortable.”

In the Round of 16, Corretja saw off Frenchman Fabrice Santoro 7-6(6), 6-1, before the bar was raised from the quarter-final stage. Each of his remaining three opponents were members of the Top 10. Corretja defeated No. 5 Magnus Norman 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 and No. 8 Nicolas Lapentti 6-3, 6-4 to reach the championship match, where he overcame No. 10 Thomas Enqvist 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.

“The final was excellent. I won three sets without any difficulty against Enqvist, I was really feeling the ball,” said Corretja, who became the first Spaniard to win an ATP Masters 1000 event on hard courts (since the category was established in 1990).

“Maybe we weren’t the ideal types of players for that tournament, but looking back at these things with hindsight, I think that in my career I won tournaments that were unusual for the Spaniards,” said Corretja. “I was a player with Spanish style and character, but sometimes I produced these different things.”

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