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Federer, Sharapova to Lead Brisbane International 2015 Draws in January

Federer, Sharapova to Lead Brisbane International 2015 Draws in January

  • Posted: Nov 28, 2014

Roger Federer16 Federer, Sharapova to Lead Brisbane International 2015 Draws in January

 

In what is expected to be a fantastic kickoff to the 2015 season, eight Grand Slam champions are scheduled to commence their seasons at the Brisbane International this coming year.

17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, Kei Nishikori, Milos Raonic , reigning US Open champion Marin Cilic and Grigor Dimitrov lead the men’s draw, while Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic , Sam Stosur and Victoria Azarenka will be the main attractions in the women’s draw.

Defending champion Lleyton Hewitt will also return in front of his fellow countrymen.

“We’re thrilled with the calibre of the fields we have assembled for this summer’s event, the tournament continues to grow each year and 2015 is shaping up as one of our best yet,” he said. “It’s fantastic to welcome Roger Federer back to Brisbane as well as our men’s defending champion Lleyton Hewitt, newly-crowned Grand Slam champion Marin Cilic and crowd favourites Grigor Dimitrov and Bernard Tomic.

“Each year the event attracts many of the world’s top women and 2015 will be no exception, with Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Sam Stosur, Victoria Azarenka and many more big names set to compete.”

The official fields are as follows:

Men

[2] Roger Federer (SUI)*
[5] Kei Nishikori (JPN)
[7] Juan Martin del Potro (ARG)* – Injury protected ranking
[8] Milos Raonic (CAN)
[9] Marin Cilic (CRO)*
[11] Grigor Dimitrov (BUL)
[16] Kevin Anderson (RSA)
[21] Gilles Simon (FRA)
[23] Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR)
[25] Julien Benneteau (FRA)
[27] Jurgen Melzer (AUT) – Injury protected ranking
[29] Jeremy Chardy (FRA)
[34] Martin Klizan (SVK)
[35] Sam Querrey (USA)
[37] Steve Johnson (USA)
[50] Lleyton Hewitt (SA)*
[56] Bernard Tomic (Qld)
[57] Donald Young (USA)
[70] Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ)
[72] Carlos Berlocq (ARG)
[73] Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)

Women

[2] Maria Sharapova (RUS)*
[5] Ana Ivanovic (SRB)*
[9] Angelique Kerber (GER)
[10] Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)
[13] Andrea Petkovic (GER)
[15] Jelena Jankovic (SRB)
[17] Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP)
[20] Garbine Muguruza (ESP)
[22] Sam Stosur (Qld)*
[23] Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
[26] Sabine Lisicki (GER)
[28] Elina Svitolina (UKR)
[30] Madison Keys (USA)
[31] Victoria Azarenka (BLR)*
[34] Camila Giorgi (ITA)
[35] Varvara Lepchenko (USA)
[37] Caroline Garcia (FRA)
[38] Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL)
[43] Alison Riske (USA)
[50] Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK)
[51] Kaia Kanepi (EST)
[52] Christina McHale (USA)

* denotes Grand Slam champion
All rankings as at 24 November 2014

The Brisbane International begins Sunday 4 January at the Queensland Tennis Centre.

Murray, Williams, Bouchard and Others Prepare for IPTL Debut on Friday

Murray, Williams, Bouchard and Others Prepare for IPTL Debut on Friday

  • Posted: Nov 28, 2014

Andy Murray4 Murray, Williams, Bouchard and Others Prepare for IPTL Debut on Friday

 

According to the latest press release, the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL), the inaugural international city-based professional tennis league will begin this Friday in Manila, Philippines with matches available for live viewing via TV and on-line pay-per-view in the United States by Integrated Sports Media.

Friday’s matches feature Maria Sharapova, Andy Murray and the host Manila Mavericks taking on Marin Cilic, Genie Bouchard and the UAE Royals while Serena Williams, Tomas Berdych and the Singapore Slammers will play Gael Monfils and Ana Ivanovic and the Indian Aces. Each IPTL match will consist of five sets played by different players that will include men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles and former champions singles.

“There has been a lot of anticipation and curiosity about the inaugural season of the IPTL and we are thrilled to provide it for American audiences to view via pay-per-view on TV along with access online,” said Integrated Sports Media President Doug Jacobs. “This is an event that no tennis fan is going to want to miss.”

Full IPTL team rosters are as follows:

Manila Mavericks – Maria Sharapova, Andy Murray, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Kristen Flipkens, Daniel Nestor, Carlos Moya, Treat Huey

Singapore Slammers – Serena Williams, Andre Agassi, Thomas Berdych, Lleyton Hewitt, Nick Krygios, Daniela Hantuchova, Patrick Rafter, Bruno Soares

Micromax Indian Aces – Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, Gael Monfils, Ana Ivanovic, Sania Mirza, Rohan Bopanna, Fabrice Santoro

UAE Royals – Novak Djokovic, Marin Cilic, Caroline Wozniacki, Goran Ivanisevic, Genie Bouchard, Malek Jaziri, Nenad Zimonjic

The November 28-30 IPTL matches will be played in Manila, Philippines. The December 2-4 matches will be played in Singapore. The December 6-8 matches will be played in New Delhi, India and the December 11-13 matches will be played in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The full schedule of matches (with US TV times) are as follows:

Dates and times from Manila, Philippines:

November 28th
Aces vs. Slammers (3:00 am ET/12:00 Midnight PT) Mavericks vs. Royals (6:30 am ET/3:00 am PT)

November 29th
Royals v Slammers (3:00 am ET/12:00 Midnight PT) Mavericks vs. Aces (6:30 am ET/3:00 am PT)

November 30th
Royals vs. Aces (3:00 am ET/12:00 Midnight PT) Mavericks vs. Slammers (6:30 am ET/3:00 am PT)

Dates and times from Singapore:

December 2nd
Aces v Royals (3:00 am ET/12:00 Midnight PT) Slammers v Mavericks (6:30 am ET/3:30 am PT)

December 3rd
Mavericks v Royals (3:00 am ET/12:00 Midnight PT) Slammers v Aces (6:30 am ET/3:30 am PT)

December 4th
Mavericks v Aces (3:00 am ET/12:00 Midnight PT) Slammers v Royals (6:30 am ET/3:30 am PT)

Dates and times from India:

December 6th
Royals v Slammers (5:30 am ET/2:30 am PT) Aces v. Mavericks (9:00 am ET/6:00 am PT)

December 7th
Aces v Slammers (5:30 am ET/2:30 am PT)
Mavericks v. Royals (9:00 am ET/6:00 am PT)

December 8th
Mavericks v. Slammers (5:30 am ET/2:30 am PT) Aces v. Royals (9:00 am ET/6:00 am PT)

Dates and times from UAE:

December 11th
Aces v Slammers (7:00 am ET/4:00 am PT)
Royals v Mavericks (10:30 am ET/7:30 am PT)

December 12th
Mavericks v Slammers (7:00 am ET/4:00 am PT) Royals v Aces (10:30 am ET/7:30 am PT)

December 13th
Mavericks v Aces (7:00 am ET/4:00 am PT) Royals v Slammers (10:30 am ET/7:30 am PT)

Each game won in an IPTL team match counts as one point for the team points total and the team that wins the most games overall across the five sets wins the match. The IPTL matches will feature live entertainment, a running shot clock and many more features to ’Break the Code’ of the traditional etiquette of tennis to attract a new audience to the sport across the world. The team with the most accumulated points during the season are declared league champions and are awarded the IPTL Challenge Trophy in Dubai on December 13.

All 24 matches of the highly anticipated inaugural season, that runs through December 13, will be available on both cable and satellite pay-per-view – live and for replay – via iN DEMAND, DirecTV, DISH and Vubiquity and online at www.GFL.TV starting at $9.95 per match and $69.95 for packages.

Report: Stan Wawrinka, French Davis Cup Members involved in Bathroom Confrontation

Report: Stan Wawrinka, French Davis Cup Members involved in Bathroom Confrontation

  • Posted: Nov 26, 2014

Stanislas Wawrinka9 Report: Stan Wawrinka, French Davis Cup Members involved in Bathroom Confrontation

 

Following a turbulent week that culminated in a historic first title for Switzerland, it appears the drama is far from over. It is being reported that shortly after the title celebration on Sunday, Stan Wawrinka and members of the French Davis Cup team were involved in a heated quarrel in the bathroom.

Notable French sports daily newspaper l’Équipe reported that six members of the French team – Julien Benneteau, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet, Gilles Simon, and two other staff members – confronted Stan Wawrinka in the bathroom and explained their feelings regarding some comments he had made to the media ahead of the final.

While Wawrinka’s remarks were not particularly insulting, he said things along the lines of “I thought I was the stronger player on the court. I’m not No. 4 for nothing.”

“The boys told him they didn’t appreciate his statements. There was five minutes of explanations, man to man. They never raised their tone, but it was direct, and frank,” Benneteau told l’Équipe.

It appears the tone remained moderate and respectful but Richard Gasquet, the unfortunate player who had to take part in the losing fourth rubber against Roger Federer, was particularly aggressive. This came as quite a surprise considering he was generally described as a timid and reserved member of the team.

Gael Monfils seemingly interfered, squashed the beef and made room for Wawrinka to apologize.

Marcos Baghdatis: In 4-5 years, I’ll finish in the Top 10

Marcos Baghdatis: In 4-5 years, I’ll finish in the Top 10

  • Posted: Nov 26, 2014

marcos baghdatis1 Marcos Baghdatis: In 4 5 years, I’ll finish in the Top 10

 

Following his relatively impressive year on the tour, Marcos Baghdatis did not shy away from the suggestion that he is capable of returning to the ATP Word Tour’s Top 10 within the next 4-5 years.

Speaking to Indian newspaper The Asian Age, Baghdatis explained that his main deterrent over the past couple of years was his health issue and injuries. The Cypriot was troubled by a shoulder injury recently but claims to be feeling much better about it now.

“This year, towards the end of the year I am feeling better. I think I can finish the next year in the top 50 and in 4-5 years try and finish in the top 10”.

With no nagging injuries to pester his performances, Baghdatis believes still has several years of tennis left in him.

“I think I have another 4-5 years (of tennis) in my body. The last two years I have been struggling with health problems and injuries so it’s been tough”.

The 29-year-old also explained that he wants to be “more aggressive” in his game and find confidence against the top players. As a former Australian Open finalist, Baghdatis has no intention of retiring before he claws his way back to the upper echelon of the tour.

“ I need to start being more aggressive again and start finding confidence. Because of the injury I lost a lot of confidence so it is tough to be aggressive when your body is letting you down a bit. I am going to try to get to the top 10. That’s the main goal for me so I can finally retire.”

Andy Murray impressed with IPTL format, excited to feel like part of a team again

Andy Murray impressed with IPTL format, excited to feel like part of a team again

  • Posted: Nov 26, 2014

Andy Murray pic1 Andy Murray impressed with IPTL format, excited to feel like part of a team again

 

After plodding his way through the first half of the year with little to show for it, world No. 8 Andy Murray appeared to have gotten over his injuries late in the season, after he took part in a cramped six week run on the tour that included title wins in Shenzhen, Valencia and Vienna in order to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Final.

While the year-end championships proved to be a painful experience for Murray, he vowed to spend the majority of his off-season in training to prepare himself for 2015. He also agreed to take part in the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) in the event’s debut year.

The event is being promoted as a groundbreaking team tennis tournament that will also air on Pay-Per-View (PPV).

“I like the format. Tennis is an individual sport and you don’t get to interact with others during your matches that much. When I was younger I used to play a lot of football, and I always enjoyed being part of a team, so being able to have that feeling of being part of a team again will be good,” Murray said.

“Attracting new fans to the sport is important and I’m looking forward to helping take tennis somewhere new. The IPTL format is something that has never been done before and there are many different aspects that make it interesting,” added Murray.

Murray will compete for the Manila ‘Mavericks’, alongside Maria Sharapova, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Kirsten Flipkens, Daniel Nestor and Carlos Moya.

“Playing in Manila will be fun. The fans there don’t get to see a lot of live tennis, so that will be good. With the season being so busy, it can be difficult to take a holiday so you don’t often get to travel anywhere different to the countries on the tour,”

Serena Williams Calls Michael Brown Ruling in Ferguson ‘Shameful’

Serena Williams Calls Michael Brown Ruling in Ferguson ‘Shameful’

  • Posted: Nov 26, 2014

Serena Williams9 Serena Williams Calls Michael Brown Ruling in Ferguson ‘Shameful’

 

On Monday evening, a grand jury opted not to indict Darren Wilson, a Ferguson police officer who was responsible for the fatal shooting of unarmed African American youngster Michael Brown.

The shooting itself led to violent protests and clashes on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, and the grand jury’s decision only rekindled the anger. Even notable celebrities and athletes have come forward publicly on twitter to condemn the decision, including world No. 1 Serena Williams.

Williams concluded her 2014 season with her third consecutive WTA Finals title win in Singapore. Her win guaranteed her the year-end No. 1 ranking. The 18-time Grand Slam champion won seven titles overall this season, including the US Open title. She was awarded the WTA Player of the Year award for her accomplishments.

“It’s been a really difficult year for me. I don’t think I’ve had such an up and down year,” she said. “I started out well with Brisbane; then didn’t do well in Australia; then I did well again in Miami. It was really up and down. I ended the year well.”

Rafael Nadal to Open Tennis Academy in 2016

Rafael Nadal to Open Tennis Academy in 2016

  • Posted: Nov 25, 2014

Rafael Nadal20 Rafael Nadal to Open Tennis Academy in 2016

 

Former world No. 1 Rafael Nadal announced that he would open a tennis academy in Malorca in 2016.

The Associated Press first announced the news after Nadal held a ceremony to commemorate the occasion in his hometown of Manacor.

While the academy will not begin until 2016, it was also announced that the promising talents enrolled with get to complete their regular studies in a built-in school at the academy.

“This is a special day for me, this project that we have been working on for many years is finally a reality.” said Nadal.

Nadal was diagnosed with appendicitis during the Shanghai Rolex Masters in September and did not end his 2014 season until a quarter-final loss to 17-year-old Borna Coric in Basel. He eventually withdrew from the Paris Bercy and the ATP World Tour Finals and underwent successful surgery to rectify the problem.

Having already kicked off his training, Nadal also revealed that he is scheduled to take part in the Mubadala World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi.

Martina Hingis Beats Agnieszka Radwanska at Champions Tennis League

Martina Hingis Beats Agnieszka Radwanska at Champions Tennis League

  • Posted: Nov 25, 2014

Agnieszka Radwanska WTA111 Martina Hingis Beats Agnieszka Radwanska at Champions Tennis League

 

While the regular season came to an end last month, world No. 6 Agnieszka Radwanska took part in an exhibition match against former world No. 1 Martina Hingis in a singles match at the Champions Tennis League.

It was a pivotal contest that would determine whether Radwanksa’s Pune Marathas or Hingis’ Hyderbad Aces would make it to the final to play Delhi Dreams. Hingis broke three times in the match –once more than her Polish adversary – to defeat her 6-4 and give the edge to the Hyderbad.

Earlier in the day, Mark Philippoussis beat Pat Cash 6-3, while Radwanska and Marcos Baghdatis defeated Hingis and Mihail Youzhny 6-3 I the doubles match.

One of the most heartwarming stories that took place during the US Open took place when the unseeded pairing of Hingis and Pennetta, who defeated two of the biggest seeds at the tournament, No.5 seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik and No.3 seeds Cara Black and Sania Mirza, to reach the final of the tournament – Hingis’ first doubles final since 1998.

The former No. 1 won 9 Grand Slam titles in doubles throughout her career.

Eugenie Bouchard Parts Ways with Longtime Coach Nick Saviano

Eugenie Bouchard Parts Ways with Longtime Coach Nick Saviano

  • Posted: Nov 25, 2014

Eugenie Bouchard22 Eugenie Bouchard Parts Ways with Longtime Coach Nick Saviano

 

World No. 6 Eugenie Bouchard has officially parted ways with her coach of eight years Nick Saviano, according to a press release posted on his tennis academy’s website.

“Genie and I have decided that it is best for us to end our player-coach relationship and to move in different directions for 2015,”

The decision to part ways comes after Bouchard took part in a breakthrough season on the WTA tour – one that saw her win the Most Improved Player award at the end of the season. She reached the semi-final round of three of the four Grand Slam this year, and peaked with her first appearance at the Wimbledon final in July.

Bouchard is also the first Canadian to reach the Wimbledon final and the first to reach a career-high No. 5 in the rankings. While she also managed to qualify for the WTA finals in Singapore, she failed to win a single match at the event.

While Saviano did not specify a reason for the split, but it appears that it was a civil and mutual one.

“This past year travelling with Genie to all of the majors has been a wonderful experience with memories I will cherish for a lifetime,” Saviano said.”I have no doubt that Genie will accomplish great things.”

The Trophy Cabinet: A Quick Analysis of Roger Federer’s Career Achievements

The Trophy Cabinet: A Quick Analysis of Roger Federer’s Career Achievements

  • Posted: Nov 25, 2014

Federer US Open The Trophy Cabinet: A Quick Analysis of Roger Federer’s Career Achievements

 

After spending the last 15 years of his career collecting trophies and gradually adding to his undeniable legacy, Roger Federer secured the only title that has eluded him throughout that illustrious career: the Davis Cup title.

The achievement is a remarkable one considering Switzerland has only been in the final on two occasions in the tournament’s 115-year history. Their first was in 1992, where John McEnroe’s US team defeated the Swiss team 3-1 – the same result that the Swiss team handed the French on home soil this time around.

With the Davis Cup title added to his mantle, Federer can breath a sigh of relief and know that his accomplishments in tennis are unlikely to be matched again.

However, what exactly are his achievements? Here is a quick breakdown of all that the world No. 2 has accomplished over his career.

–302 weeks as World No. 1
No other competitor in ATP history has spent as many weeks atop the mountain as Roger Federer has during his tenure as world No. 1. With 302 weeks on top, Federer is ahead of Connors (268), Lendl (270) and Sampras (286).

–996 Match Wins
Roger Federer is four wins away from reaching the 1000 wins milestone on the professional tour – an achievement that few can have the pleasure of accomplishing it.

–82 Titles
The world No. 2 is the only player apart from Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendel to win over 80 titles throughout his career.

–23 Masters 1000 titles
Federer is behind only Rafael Nadal in Masters 1000 events won, as the Swiss star is four titles behind Nadal (27) for 1st place. He is also just three titles ahead of Novak Djokovic (20) and one ahead of Ivan Lendel (22).

-17 Grand Slam Titles
Federer stands alone as the only male player to have achieved 17 Grand Slam titles over the span of his career. While he has not added to that record since his Wimbledon title in 2012, Federer did reach the final at SW19 again this season and will certainly be on the hunt for more titles in 2015.

He is also the first ever men’s singles player to have reached 10 consecutive grand slam finals and a total of 25 grand slam finals.

–2 Olympic Medals
While Federer is yet to win Olympic Gold in singles competition, he managed to win Gold in the doubles competition with partner Stan Wawrinka in the 2008 Beijing Games. While he participated in the final in the 2012 London Games at Wimbledon, he lost to Andy Murray, who would go on to win his maiden Grand Slam at the US Open a month later.

–Davis Cup
Finally, Federer was able to add the one title missing from his illustrious mantle and cement his spot as arguably the greatest male competitor to ever step on a tennis court. Whoever is ambitious enough to attempt to overtake Federer will have quite the treacherous journey ahead of them.

*All mentioned statistic apply to the ATP tour solely.