Tennis News

One of the scintillating rivalries in tennis today will get another chapter in its storied tale, as world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and former world No. 2 Andy Murray cross paths in the final of the Mubadala World Tennis Championships on Saturday afternoon. This marks the 24th time that these two competitors will meet on the tour, with Djokovic leading the head-to-head series 15-8.

Top seed Novak Djokovic put on an entertaining showing in his first match of 2015. The Serbian star stormed through his encounter against Stan Wawrinka, as he won 10 of 11 games to lead 6-1, 4-0 without even breaking a sweat. He would drop just two more games in the entire match to defeat his rival 6-1, 6-2 and secure his spot in the final against another one of his noted adversaries.

Following his surprisingly close three-set victory over Feliciano Lopez on Thursday afternoon in Abu Dhabi, British No. 1 Andy Murray bludgeoned top-ranked Spaniard Rafael Nadal in straight sets to reach the final of the exhibition tournament in the UAE. The Scot, who barley made any mistakes during the match, saved nine break points to defeat the world No. 3 6-2, 6-0 in a little over an hour of competition.

Yet even though the scoreline suggests a thrashing, Murray believes the match was far more competitive than the score suggests. Nadal was clearly showing signs of rust after his extended absence from the tour with a slew of injuries and few expected him to return in top form.

“It was closer than the score suggests. While he had a lot of break points I won the important ones.”

This marks the 24th time that these two competitors will cross path on the tour, and while this remains an exhibition event, it is clear that both men are keen to lift the title before setting off on their pre-Australian Open warm up events. Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 15-8 and will look to exploit his recent dominance over Murray on Saturday.

Prediction: Novak Djokovic in Three Sets

One of the young American prospects on the WTA tour, Sloane Stephens, has hired Eugenie Bouchard’s former coach Nick Saviano to help guide her through the coming year on the tour.

TENNIS.com, who revealed that Saviano will begin working with the American at Hobart and will be present at the Australian Open, was first to announce the news. They began working with each other in early December.

After reaching her career-high ranking of No. 11 the previous year, 2014 was a mostly forgettable season for Stephens. Since losing in the first round of the Wimbledon Championships to Maria Kirilenko, she began her hard court season with a loss to Christina McHale in Washington, before rebounding with slightly better showings in Montreal and Cincinnati, where she reached the second and third round respectively. She has accumulated a 3-3 record during the US Open Series and then lost her second round match at the US Open to Sweden’s Johanna Larsson.

Much of the trouble in 2014 was due to a wrist injury in the summer portion of the season, and closed out the year with a 21-20 record in singles action.

The youngster will now begin her new season at the ASB Classic in Auckland. She will then join with her new coach the following week in Australia, where she reached the semi-finals in 2013. 23 of the tour’s Top 60 women are expected to compete at this event.

Less than 48 hours into the New Year, top adversaries Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka will write another chapter in their ever-growing rivalry, as they meet for the 20th time on the tour at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships.

In 2014, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic won seven titles, and compiled a 61-8 record throughout the season. He won the Wimbledon Championships for the second time in his career, as well as the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Considering his dominance over the past few months, it is hard to imagine a drop in standard over the coming while. The Serb presents the toughest challenge on the tour’s immediate future, and it will be interesting to see whether he can maintain his momentum early in the season – especially against the Swiss star in his opening match.

“Abu Dhabi has built a reputation for pulling together the most formidable lineups of players. All of the potential opponents are going to test me so I will have to be at my best. I’ll start the season with a match against Stan Wawrinka so from the moment we’re out there it’s going to be intense competition. The fans will be in fine form I’m sure so it’s going to be the perfect start to the new season.”

Stan Wawrinka needed just 61 minutes to dispatch Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-2. It was a no-nonsense performance from the world No. 4, as he served with sublime accuracy and had no issues with his one-handed backhand on this occasion. However, it was far from a poor showing from Almagro, who won several love-games and remained competitive through the early portions of each set before giving away a break point in each to eventually lose the match.

This marks the third time in the last 12-months that Djokovic and Wawrinka will cross paths on the tour. They split those two meetings, with Wawrinka winning the former en route to his first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open, and Djokovic the second in the Round Robin stage of the ATP World Tour Finals.

Prediction: Novak Djokovic in Three Sets

After it appeared that there was a glimmer of hope that he was yet to compete, Marin Cilic officially withdrew from the Brisbane Open several days ago to deal with a shoulder injury sustained during the off-season.

Cilic revealed the news via his official twitter account:

“Very sad I had to withdraw from @BrisbaneTennis tournament. At least happy for my friend #matosevic who got in instead of me.”

The US Open champion’s untimely exit opens the doors for world No. 75 Marinko Matosevic to join the field, according to Brisbane International Tournament Director Cameron Pearson.

“It’s unfortunate Marin won’t be fit to compete in Brisbane and we wish him all the best for his recovery,” he said. “Matosevic will now gain direct entry into the field, joining fellow Aussies Lleyton Hewitt, Bernard Tomic and Thanasi Kokkinakis in the men’s draw. With a strong local contingent and some of the biggest international stars all coming to Brisbane, it’s certainly shaping up to be another great tournament.”

While Cilic would have made a fantastic addition to the draw, the expected attendees this year make it one of the most anticipated Brisbane International events since its inception. In the men’s draw, the tournament features the likes of champion Lleyton Hewitt, runner-up Roger Federer, Kei Nishikori, Grigor Dimitrov, Bernard Tomic and the returning Juan Martin del Potro.

The Brisbane International begins Jan. 4.

Following a nine-month absence from professional competition due to a wrist injury, Juan Martin del Potro recently announced that he would return to professional competition at the Brisbane International. However, just before the New Year, the Argentine withdrew from the Brisbane International and delayed his comeback indefinitely.

It appears del Potro is still suffering from the persistent wrist injury and is not prepared to risk an premature return.

“I love playing in Sydney. The city and the fans are great and I can’t wait to come back and defend my title,” said del Potro ahead of his withdrawal. “Last year I played some of my best tennis there and it is the perfect way to start the year. I am looking forward to being back in Sydney as it is one of my favourite cities to play. I remember there were a lot of Argentine fans who came out to support me which was amazing.”

Del Potro, who is currently ranked No. 138 but will use a protected ranking of 7 in 2015, prepared his training both on and off the court in Argentina. He has not played a match since February. He managed to win the Apia international in Sydney at the start of the season, then struggled from then on and eventually opted for surgery after failed bids in Rotterdam and Dubai. Del Potro has since recovered and begun his pre-season training.

Following a fantastic season on the professional tour, where he won the Wimbledon title, several Masters 1000 events, and the ATP World Tour Finals, Novak Djokovic has his sights on more success in 2015.

However, prior to his submergence into the new season, which will officially begin in Doha, Djokovic will head to Abu Dhabi for the Mubadala World Tennis Championships for a quick quasi-exhibition events during the New Year Celebrations. The event will feature the likes of Andy Murray and Feliciano Lopez and is a traditional event for Djokovic ahead of the new season.

Prior to that, he stopped by in Dubai beforehand to show off some Football skills at the Dubai Football Challenge between Real Madrid and AC Milan.

Dressed in a blazer and trousers, Djokovic juggled the football in front of Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema. The Sevens Stadium was clearly impressed with the world No. 1’s prowess off court and celebrated his impressive attempt ahead of the game.

Watch the video below.