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Braunschweig Venue Steeped In Centuries Of History

  • Posted: Jul 10, 2018

Braunschweig Venue Steeped In Centuries Of History

The Sparkassen Open in Braunschweig celebrates its 25th edition on the ATP Challenger Tour this week

This week, the Sparkassen Open in Braunschweig, Germany, welcomes players and fans for the 25th time. Last year, Spanish teen Nicola Kuhn lifted his first ATP Challenger Tour trophy, joining Alexander Zverev as recent 17-year-old champions.

The prestigious event has set the standard on the circuit for years and is celebrating a fourth straight Tournament of the Year award. The honour is representative of the clay-court event’s steadfast commitment to growing the game in a world-class environment.

Under the watchful eye of tournament director Volker Jäcke, the tournament has greatly evolved and is considered a top destination for players and fans. The Sparkassen Open founded the concept of ‘Tennistainment’, which refers to the notion that premier tennis and off-court entertainment create a first-rate experience with a festive atmosphere. It continues to be the soul of the tournament, with nightly concerts on the grounds.

The event began with a small Centre Court and one catering tent, and the main stadium has since been upgraded to hold a capacity crowd of 2,000 patrons, with a big stage for the concerts and over 50 concession tents for catering and exhibitions. But while the tournament’s famous entertainment scene has garnered much attention, it is its rich and storied history that is arguably its most intriguing aspect.

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The Sparkassen Open is played at the Braunschweiger Tennis und Hockey Club on the grounds of the Bürgerpark. Today, it is a large expanse of public land, but many centuries ago, it was the sprawling home of Duchess Augusta, wife of Duke Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand. The estate included the duchess’ residence, known as Schloss Richmond (Richmond Castle) and the tennis courts. The wall that enclosed the city was removed and in 1901, the park opened to the citizens of Braunschweig and the tennis club was officially founded.

“This was the missing link at the time, to open the city and make the Burgerpark for all the citizens of the city to come and rest,” said club president Ralf Hinrichs. “It’s an open space with different flowers and trees. They took different types of trees from all over the world and brought them here. They make it a very special place for the citizens of Braunschweig. It’s a gift to the people here. That was in 1900 and the club was founded a year later.”

During World War II, Braunschweig became a stronghold for the Nazis and the city was destroyed. The club partially survived the bombings, as the front gate, two small cabins on either side of the gate and many stone statues that lie around the main entrance and inside the club remain. So does the front facade of the former castle, with a series of Roman-style columns left undamaged from the time of the duke and duchess. The unique rococo style of the 1700s remains a constant reminder of pre-war Germany, when an architecture movement swept through the country.

Braunschweig

After the war ended, for more than 50 years, the German National Championships were hosted at the Braunschweiger Tennis und Hockey Club, featuring a teenage Boris Becker and Steffi Graf, before the ATP Challenger Tour staked its claim to the historic venue in 1994. The Sparkassen Open was born.

“I don’t feel like it’s a Challenger, it’s more like an ATP World Tour event,” said Germany’s Oscar Otte, No. 166 in the ATP Rankings. “The hotel is not that far and it’s amazing. You walk through the park to get there. The Centre Court gives you a nice feeling playing in front of many people from your country.”

In its 25-year history, the tournament has boasted Top 10 players Gaston Gaudio, Tomas Berdych and Zverev as champions, with former World No. 2 Michael Stich serving as tournament director in the early 2010s.

“What makes the tournament so special is that after the tennis there are a lot of activities there,” Zverev told ATPWorldTour.com after winning in 2014. “It’s like the [ATP World Tour] events in Umag and Bastad where there’s a lot of nightlife and the players really like it. It’s great fun for the players and the fans.”

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Jamie Murray into men's and mixed doubles quarter-finals

  • Posted: Jul 10, 2018
Wimbledon 2018 on the BBC
Venue: All England Club, Wimbledon Dates: 2-15 July
Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button, Connected TVs and the BBC Sport website and app; Live Radio 5 live and 5 live sports extra commentary; Text commentary online.

Britain’s Jamie Murray and Brazilian Bruno Soares are through to the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles at Wimbledon.

They comfortably beat British brothers Ken and Neal Skupski 6-3 6-4 6-4.

Murray and Belarusian partner Victoria Azarenka later reached the mixed doubles third round with a thrilling late-night 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (6-8) 7-5 win over Anna-Lena Gronefeld and Robert Farah under the roof on Centre Court.

They had trailed 5-1 in the final set.

Murray and Soares, the 2016 Australian Open and US Open champions, are yet to win a Wimbledon men’s doubles title but reached the final in 2015.

They will face 13th seeds Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus next.

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Britain’s Joe Salisbury and partner Frederik Nielsen of Denmark booked their place in the last eight with victory over Farah and his fellow Colombian Juan Sebastian Cabal.

Salisbury and Nielsen lost the first set but fought back to beat the sixth seeds 5-7 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 7-6 (7-1).

In the women’s doubles, Britain’s Heather Watson and German Tatjana Maria are through to the last eight after a walkover against Jelena Ostapenko and Christina McHale.

Ostapenko withdrew to concentrate on her quarter-final in the singles.

Top seeds Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic clinched a 6-3 6-4 win over Kirsten Flipkens and Monica Niculescu.

Second seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Barbora Strycova were knocked out 2-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 by Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova, who have won five Grand Slam titles together but are yet to triumph at Wimbledon.

Watson and Finland’s Henri Kontinen – who are seeded 16th – triumphed 6-2 5-7 7-5 in their mixed doubles second-round match against Marcin Matkowski and Mihaela Buzarnescu.

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As the top 10 seeds depart, who are the Wimbledon women's quarter-finalists?

  • Posted: Jul 09, 2018
Wimbledon 2018 on the BBC
Venue: All England Club, Wimbledon Dates: 2-15 July
Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button, Connected TVs and the BBC Sport website and app; Live Radio 5 live and 5 live sports extra commentary; Text commentary online.

The top 10 seeds are all out and Serena Williams has been grabbing all the headlines, but who stands between her and an eighth Wimbledon singles title?

The highest-ranked player to reach Tuesday’s quarter-finals is 11th seed Angelique Kerber – who Williams was quick to point out is actually the world number 10. Kerber, Williams and Jelena Ostapenko are the only Grand Slam champions left.

This is the first time since seedings were introduced in 1927 that none of the top eight women has made it through to the quarter-finals here.

Here we look at who’s who in the last eight.

Angelique Kerber v Daria Kasatkina

Kerber, the 2016 Australian Open and US Open champion, says she is “not feeling the pressure” of being the top seed left.

The German former world number one has played Kasatkina six times, winning half of them, but has lost twice to the Russian this year – including in last month’s Eastbourne quarter-finals.

A left-hander, the 30-year-old – who reached the Wimbledon final in 2016 – is appearing in the last eight at the All England Club for a fourth time.

Kasatkina, 21, is into her first Wimbledon quarter-final but is much more relaxed than when she reached the same stage at Roland Garros this year.

“This is what I call experience,” she said. “You’re getting used to these things. It’s really good because I will go on the court with the feeling that it’s just the next match, it’s not like something huge. I will be not that stressed, for sure.”

Asked how she would describe herself to people who did not know much about her, Kasatkina replied: “I’m just like an artist and I’m playing with the heart.”

Jelena Ostapenko v Dominika Cibulkova

Cibulkova would have been seeded, had it not been for the decision by the All England Club to give a seeding to Williams despite her world ranking of 181.

The Slovak, 29, was vocal about how it was “not fair” and has been playing at this tournament as if fired up by a sense of injustice.

The 2014 Australian Open runner-up is in the opposite side of the draw to Williams, so could still get a chance to make her point across the net in the final.

Cibulkova, who knocked out Britain’s Johanna Konta in the second round, has yet to drop a set here.

She faces Ostapenko, who became Latvia’s first Grand Slam champion when she won the French Open in 2017 as an unseeded 20-year-old.

Her title defence ended in the first round this year but she says she is playing more freely because the pressure of defending a title has gone.

“I’m just not afraid to miss,” she said. “I think I’m serving very well this tournament. In general, I think my level is much better than in the last Grand Slam.”

Kiki Bertens v Julia Gorges

Twentieth seed Bertens and 13th seed Gorges will be appearing in their first Wimbledon quarter-final.

The pair are friends, and have played doubles together.

A French Open semi-finalist in 2016, Dutchwoman Bertens’ five WTA titles have come on clay and she says she is “surprised” to have made it this far at the grass-court Grand Slam.

On her way to the last eight she beat five-time champion Venus Williams and seventh seed Karolina Pliskova, the latter of whom was the only top-10 seed to reach the fourth round.

“It’s going to be tough. We know each other so well,” Bertens, 26, said. “It’s going to be really exciting.

German 29-year-old Gorges lost the Charleston final to Bertens 6-2 6-1 earlier this year.

Serena Williams v Camila Giorgi

Asked what she most liked about what she had seen of Williams over the years, world number 52 Camila Giorgi replied: “I don’t follow tennis.”

But even if you do not follow the sport, you probably know all about the 23-time Grand Slam champion, who is on a comeback from having a baby last September.

With the seeds tumbling at a rapid rate, Williams is many peoples’ favourite for the title and is yet to drop a set, though she is also yet to face a top-50 player.

Giorgi, who has one WTA title to her name, is appearing in her first Grand Slam quarter-final and is the first Italian to reach the last eight at Wimbledon since Francesca Schiavone in 2009.

She describes herself as an “aggressive” player, and is likely to need to be just that on Centre Court on Tuesday.

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