Djokovic Delights Fan With 'Promposal'
Djokovic Delights Fan With 'Promposal'
Mar242016
| More on tennis equality row |
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| Djokovic tries to cool tennis pay row |
| ‘Equal pay a myth and a minefield’ |
| Men should be paid more – Djokovic |
Former World No. 4 to meet Federer for 21st time
Juan Martin del Potro has locked in a second-round showdown with Swiss No. 3 seed Roger Federer at the Miami Open. The 27-year-old Argentine, playing just his third event since returning to the ATP World Tour from left wrist surgeries, downed his countryman, Guido Pella, 6-0, 7-6(4) on Wednesday night.
Federer leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with del Potro 15-5 (10-5 on hard court) but the Argentine’s lone Grand Slam singles title – the 2009 US Open – came with a defeat of the Swiss great in the final. In his eighth appearance in Miami, del Potro extended his win-loss record to 14-7, with his best result coming in 2009, when he reached the semi-finals (l. Murray).
He raced through the opening set without conceding a game in under half an hour before Pella, No. 39 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, would get on the board for 1-1 in the second set. Del Potro had a match point with Pella serving to stay in the match at 4-5 but would have to wait until the tie-break to seal the deal. He progressed on his second match point, 7/4, after one hour and 29 minutes.
It marked a triumphant return for the Argentine. He bowed out in the opening round last year to Vasek Pospisil in what would be his final match of the season.
In his comeback event at the Delray Beach Open last month, he reached the semi-finals before falling to eventual champion Sam Querrey. He fell in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open last week to Tomas Berdych.
#NextGen qualifier Taylor Fritz continued his run of recent form, seeing off Italian Simone Bolelli 6-4, 6-2. The 18-year-old American thumped down seven aces and did not face a break point in the one-hour, 11-minute affair.
Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas saved a match point with an inside-out forehand winner on his way past Colombian Alejandro Gonzalez 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(3). The pair battled for two hours and 42 minutes before Ramos-Vinolas prevailed. He broke five times and held 75 per cent of first-serve points throughout.
Vasek Pospisil also ground out a third-set tie-break victory. The Canadian held off Argentine Diego Schwartzman 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) on the back of nine aces.
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Top seed has chance to stand alone with most ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles
Records fuel a dominant World No. 1’s ambitions and this week, defending Miami Open champion Novak Djokovic will look to set an impressive new benchmark to pull clear of Rafael Nadal.
The 28-year-old Serb drew level with the Spaniard for the most ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles following his victory at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Sunday. And should he complete his fourth Indian Wells-Miami double he would claim a record 29 titles at that level.
In 2007, Djokovic claimed his first Australian Open crown before going on to land his maiden Masters 1000 title in Miami. Eight years on, he is a heavy favourite to do the same.
“For me Miami represents something special because it was the first big tournament that I won back in 2007, beating Guillermo Cañas in the final,” Djokovic said. “It helped me to believe and build my self-confidence for the rest of my career. I used it as a springboard basically for everything else that was coming up after that.”
This week marks the first time Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer have contested the same event since this year’s Australian Open back in January. It marks Federer’s first tournament back since undergoing knee surgery.
“It’s great to have Roger back,” Novak said. “He hasn’t played a couple of years in Miami.
“He had the injury after the Australian Open that prevented him from playing in Dubai and Indian Wells. But he’s such an important player for our sport, everything that he has achieved in his life, his tennis career.
“I’m very glad that all the top players are taking part in this tournament, I expect some good tennis. I see the fans are already excited, coming in big numbers in the opening days of the tournament.
“So I look forward to it. I’ve had a very successful last couple of years in Miami. The fact that I have five days between Indian Wells final and the first match here gives me enough time to get used to the conditions and get ready for the challenge.”
Djokovic will open his campaign after a first-round bye against Brit Kyle Edmund, a three-set winner over Czech Jiri Vesely. The pair has never met.
“He’s very calm, seems very mature for his age, the way he behaves off the court; he’s very respectful of the game,” Djokovic said. “He’s one of the youngsters everyone is looking up to and expecting to make a breakthrough.”
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Novak Djokovic has apologised to a number of leading female players – and spoken with Andy Murray – following his comments about equal pay in tennis.
The world number one suggested on Sunday that male players should earn more as they generate more income.
But the Serb says he has been in touch with fellow players, including Murray, who criticised his initial stance.
“I never had any intention to offend them or come up with any negative connotations,” he said.
The 28-year-old from Belgrade added: “I don’t make any differences between the genders. I am for equality in the sport.”
Djokovic said he had received a message from Murray on Tuesday and that they had spoken “very openly and frankly” about the issue.
The 11-time Grand Slam champion said he had also sent messages to Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic.
“I feel very sorry if, in any way, I hurt my female colleague tennis players,” he said. “I have a very good relationship with all of them. I have a huge respect for all of them.”
Djokovic had already apologised in a Facebook post on Tuesday to those people who may have been upset by his comments but went further when he faced the media in Miami on Wednesday.
That followed 30 minutes of discussions with Billie Jean King, a former world number one and founder of the Women’s Tennis Association.
Chris Evert also spoke to Djokovic in Miami.
The 18-time Grand Slam champion pointed to his cultural upbringing as a possible reason behind some of his views.
“The Europeans were behind the Americans when it came to accepting equality,” Evert said.
“I doubt you’d hear that as much from the American men players and I’m sort of applauding America for that.”
Evert says the men’s game has benefitted a lot from the rivalry of Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
But the American believes that the popularity of the men’s and women’s games is “cyclical”.
“I know the women were bigger draws in certain eras, especially when we had American women at the top and European men at the top,” she said.
“The last couple of years have been a golden era for the men’s game because you’ve got three of the greatest players of all time.”
| More on tennis equality row |
|---|
| Djokovic tries to cool tennis pay row |
| ‘Equal pay a myth and a minefield’ |
| Men should be paid more – Djokovic |
British hope goes onto meet Novak Djokovic in the second round
Two Next Generation players, Alexander Zverev and Kyle Edmund, were both among early winners on Wednesday at the Miami Open presented by Itau.
Zverev, 18, recorded his 10th match win of the year by beating wild card Michael Mmoh 7-6(3), 7-6(4) in one hour and 54 minutes. It was the first all-teenager matches in Miami since 2007, when Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray for a place in the final.
Edmund, 21, will take on World No. 1 and five-time champion Djokovic in the second round after he recording his first Miami victory by knocking out Jiri Vesely 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(6) in two hours and 32 minutes. Edmund could not convert match points opportunities at 5-4 in the third set, then at 6/4 and 6/5 in the tie-break.
Elsewhere, Inigo Cervantes hit eight aces past 18-year-old wild card Andrey Rublev, who recently won his first ATP Challenger Tour title in Quimper, in a 6-4, 6-2 win.
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Briton Heather Watson took only 47 minutes to book her spot in the Miami Open second round with a 6-1 6-0 win over Petra Cetkovska.
The 23-year-old world number 69 will now play 20th seed Sloane Stephens of the United States.
In the men’s event, British number three Kyle Edmund will face world number one Novak Djokovic after beating Czech Jiri Vesely 6-4 5-7 7-6 (8-6).
Watson won her third WTA Tour title in Monterrey earlier this month.