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Andy Murray starts to believe he can beat Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal & Novak Djokovic again

  • Posted: Nov 12, 2019

Andy Murray believes he is closer to beating Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic than he was “seven or eight” weeks ago, leaving him feeling “excited” about his future.

Murray, 32, won the European Open title last month, only his seventh singles tournament since January’s hip surgery.

“I know if I played against the top players tomorrow there would be a very small chance of me winning that match,” the ex-world number one told BBC Sport.

“But I do feel I could win.”

  • Cake & new baby made Murray ‘heaviest’

Briton Murray feared he might have to retire after the hip resurfacing operation, but capped a remarkable return to singles action by beating fellow three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka in Antwerp to win his first title since March 2017.

“That’s one of the performance goals I want – when I go out on court against all of the players I want to feel like I have a chance of winning,” Murray said.

“Seven or eight weeks ago I wouldn’t have felt that was the case. Before Antwerp the conversations I was having with my team were ‘I’m not sure where I can get to’.

“If I continued along that path then I wouldn’t continue playing.

“It has been an up and down few years but I feel like I’m coming through the other side of it and excited to see what I can do over the next couple of years.

“It’s difficult to say exactly where I am. I’m not where I was when I was 25 but I don’t expect to be and I don’t need to be [in order] to be competitive at the highest level and that’s why I’m excited.

“I’m not going to set a target of top 10 or trying to make the semis of a Grand Slam because I’ve done all of that before and I don’t need that.

“I’m happy just being pain free, healthy and love what I’m doing.”

Murray on his doubts and almost not playing in Antwerp

After a successful doubles comeback where he won the Queen’s title, the two-time Wimbledon champion lost the opening two singles matches of his return and then continued his comeback out of the spotlight on the ATP Challenger Tour in Majorca while the world’s leading players were competing at the US Open.

Two straightforward wins on the Spanish island were followed by another defeat, this time by 240th-ranked Italian Matteo Viola, before he started to show signs of improvement on the Asian circuit, including a win over US Open semi-finalist Matteo Berrettini in Beijing.

“I watched videos of myself in Majorca and I looked a bit slow and I didn’t really like what I was seeing when I was watching myself,” added Murray, who has risen to 125th in the world rankings.

“From the beginning of the trip to Asia when I played the first tournament there, after the first day of practice, I was saying to my team ‘I’m not feeling this’.

“But once I started playing matches again I started to move a little bit better and stopped thinking about my hip during the matches. That was quite a big step for me to take.

“I almost didn’t go to Antwerp, I had a problem with my elbow which I had in Shanghai and I left Sunday afternoon on the train there and I didn’t know if I was going to play.

“Obviously, I’m thankful I did and ended up getting the title. It was completely unexpected.”

Murray on his return to Australia

After spending a few weeks at home in London following the arrival of his third child, Murray goes to Madrid on Wednesday to link up with the Great Britain squad for the inaugural Davis Cup week-long finals.

Then he will continue to build his fitness during the off-season before returning to the ATP Tour at the start of the 2020 season in Australia.

Murray has used a protected injury ranking to ensure his nation can play in the new ATP Cup, where he had been set to face Swiss great Federer in the group stage.

However, the 20-time Grand Slam champion pulled out of the tournament and Murray says it is “unfortunate” their meeting will not happen.

Murray hopes it will not be too long before he gets the chance to test himself against Federer, plus the other ‘big three’ players Djokovic and Nadal who are among the world’s top eight playing at the ATP Finals in London this week.

That could happen when he hopes to return to Melbourne, 12 months after Australian Open organisers played a farewell video following his first-round defeat by Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut.

“I genuinely did feel there was more chance of that being the last time I played in Australia than the position I’m in now,” said Murray, who was speaking to the BBC at the launch of his new clothing range with sportswear brand Castore.

“I’m very lucky I get that chance again in January if I stay fit in the next couple of months and it’ll be fun to see what I can do.”

Murray on the arrival of his third child

Murray’s wife Kim gave birth to their third child at the end of October, a boy named Teddy to join their two daughters, Sophia, who was born in 2016, and Edie, born in 2017.

“It’s been good so far, a bit hectic at times but for the most part it has been good. It has been nice to be at home for the last few weeks,” Murray said.

“Before our first daughter was born I wanted a boy and was convinced it was going to be a boy first time round and then we had two girls.

“I would have been more than happy with another girl as well, but it is nice and the kids have been excited to have a brother.”

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Federer Up & Running In London

  • Posted: Nov 12, 2019

Federer Up & Running In London

Nov122019

Swiss defeats Berrettini on Tuesday Group Bjorn Borg

Roger Federer declared that he’s “not allowed to lose anymore” after dropping his opening match to Dominic Thiem at the Nitto ATP Finals. The Swiss stuck to his rule on Tuesday, prevailing 7-6(2), 6-3 against Italian Matteo Berrettini in Group Bjorn Borg.

”It’s unusual to lose and then come back to play again, but I did it last year, so I have some experience,” Federer joked. “I’m very happy with how I played today. Matteo was always going to be difficult with his big serve… I was pretty clean in my own service games and I think that helped today. I hope I can keep it up and maybe even play a bit better in the next match.”

The 38-year-old Federer improved to 2-0 against Berrettini their FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting rivalry, including a straight-sets victory this year at Wimbledon. The Swiss has more match wins (58) and titles (6) than any player in tournament history. Federer, who fell to Dominic Thiem on Sunday, is 17-0 lifetime in his second round-robin match at this event.

”There’s no reason to be too down [after losing to Thiem]. We came here to play three matches and give it all we have. It was the big goal of the season to qualify here, which we did,” Federer said. “I had a day off and there’s plenty of ways to get rid of that loss. Hanging out with my kids will do that for me. I was ready and prepared today. That’s what matters the most right now.”

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The match result also impacts Dominic Thiem’s chances at advancing out of round-robin action. He’ll qualify for the semi-finals if he defeats Novak Djokovic in Tuesday’s night session. Thiem is bidding to become the first Austrian semi-finalist at the year-end championships since the event added semi-finals and finals in 1972.

Berrettini, who lost to Djokovic on Sunday, is still looking to become the first Italian to win a match at the season-ending championships.

Federer earned the lone break point of the set at 6-5, but Berrettini erased it with a forehand winner. The Swiss drew first blood in the tie-break and earned a 2/1 mini-break advantage after Berrettini overcooked a forehand. Federer raced through the final three points of the set to grab the early lead after 42 minutes. The six-time champion is 21-7 in tie-breaks this season. 

He continued to ride the momentum and broke the Italian to love in the opening game of the second set. Berrettini had a chance to level the match with Federer serving 4-3, but couldn’t convert three break points. A slice forehand from Berrettini found the net in the next game and wrapped up play after 78 minutes.

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Britain's Salisbury keeps alive semi-finals hopes

  • Posted: Nov 12, 2019
2019 Nitto ATP Finals
Venue: O2 Arena, London Dates: 10-17 November
Coverage: Watch live coverage of one match per day on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer and online; Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra; Live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website and app. Click here for Live Guide.

Britain’s Joe Salisbury and American partner Rajeev Ram kept alive their men’s doubles semi-final hopes with victory over Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek at the ATP Tour Finals.

The fourth seeds won 3-6 6-3 10-6 after losing Sunday’s opener to Marcelo Melo and Lukasz Kubot in London.

Salisbury, playing at the ATP Finals for the first time, said: “We needed to win to stay in it.”

He is the only Briton competing at the season-ending event at the O2 Arena.

“I think we will have to win the next one as well, but we’re feeling better. The crowd’s support was incredible,” Salisbury, 27, added.

The top two pairs in both of the two groups after the round-robin stage progress to the semi-finals on Saturday.

In the singles event, 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer is in action against Italy’s Matteo Berrettini before Novak Djokovic takes on Dominic Thiem later on Tuesday.

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Hawkeye Analysis: How Zverev Earned His First Win Against Nadal

  • Posted: Nov 12, 2019

Hawkeye Analysis: How Zverev Earned His First Win Against Nadal

Nov112019

Learn which part of the 2018 champ’s game proved key against the Spaniard

Alexander Zverev walked on court Monday at the Nitto ATP Finals in London having never defeated World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in five previous tries. But the German believed in his own game, and executed flawlessly in a 6-2, 6-4 victory.

“When I play this aggressive tennis, when I play this way, I have now beaten all three guys on this court, [the] Big Three,” Zverev said. “It shows that I can play very well and beat the top players.”

In a way, Zverev beat Nadal at his own game. Entering this tournament, Nadal led the ATP Tour by a substantial margin in first-serve return points won. The Spaniard had won 35.7 per cent of those points, with his nearest rival in that category, Novak Djokovic, at 33.9 per cent.

But on Monday, the lefty managed to win just 12 per cent of his first-serve return points against Zverev, the reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion. In their five previous meetings, Zverev had never won more than 71 per cent of his first-serve points.

According to Hawkeye, Zverev won 88 per cent of his first-serve points against the 84-time tour-level champion by peppering Nadal’s backhand.

That was especially the case on the ad side, where the German directed all but two of his first serves to Nadal’s backhand. The top seed managed to put only 44 per cent of his first-serve returns in play. 

Zverev First-Serve Placement vs. NadalZverev First-Serve Placement

“He served huge. Very, very fast,” Nadal said. “[It was] difficult to read [his] first [and] second [serves], no doubt about that, about how good he is and how good he is able to serve.”

Zverev averaged 136 mph on his first delivery, 18 mph faster than Nadal. Even with that discrepancy, Zverev landed 69 per cent of his first serves compared to 62 per cent for Nadal, striking 11 aces.

With that high first-serve percentage, Zverev was able to play eight fewer second-serve points than his opponent. But when he did have to hit a second serve, he held his own, winning a higher rate of second-serve points (47%) than Nadal (43%). Zverev mostly targeted Nadal’s backhand in the deuce court and body in the ad court.

Zverev Second-Serve Placement vs. NadalZverev Second-Serve Placement

From the baseline, Zverev attacked the 33-year-old’s backhand. He hit a majority of his shots to that wing (54%).

Zverev went after Nadal’s backhand the most with his forehand, doing so 62 per cent of the time. With his backhand, the 22-year-old hit to both Nadal’s forehand and backhand at a rate of 38 per cent.

Zverev Shot Placement vs. NadalZverev Shot Placement

Nadal took the opposite strategy, focussing on Zverev’s forehand, much like Stefanos Tsitsipas did against Daniil Medvedev earlier in the day.

Nadal Shot Placement vs. ZverevNadal Shot Placement

Even with Zverev’s dominant serving, Nadal tried to push forward. He hit 82 per cent of his shots either within two metres of the baseline or inside the court. Zverev struck only 60 per cent of his shots within those parametres.

But Nadal’s aggression did not pay dividends. The Spaniard made 24 unforced errors to Zverev’s 19, and hit eight fewer winners (8) than the German (17).

Nadal Rally Contact Point vs. ZverevNadal Rally Contact

Zverev Rally Contact Point vs. NadalZverev Rally Contact

“Obviously when I’m here, I want to use the opportunity as much as I can and do the best as I can,” Zverev said. “Today was definitely a great match, and I’m super happy to kind of have this match the first day that I play.”

– Hawkeye data and visuals courtesy of ATP Media

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Tuesday Preview: Federer Looks To Bounce Back, Djokovic Continues No. 1 Push

  • Posted: Nov 12, 2019

Tuesday Preview: Federer Looks To Bounce Back, Djokovic Continues No. 1 Push

Nov112019

Djokovic or Thiem could potentially earn a semi-final spot Tuesday

Roger Federer has failed to advance to the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals just once in 16 previous appearances. But if the Swiss wants to avoid putting in jeopardy his hopes this year, he will have to put forth a strong performance on Tuesday against first-time qualifier Matteo Berrettini. In the evening singles match, Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem battle to stay undefeated in Group Bjorn Borg play.

Federer, who lost his opening round-robin match at The O2 for the second consecutive year on Sunday, knows there is little margin for error now. The Swiss needs to bounce back after dropping his third straight match against Thiem.

“It’s a normal tournament from here on forward. Not allowed to lose anymore,” Federer said. “That’s how it is every week of the year for the past 20 years, so from that standpoint there is nothing new there.”

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Federer played Berrettini for the first time in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series at Wimbledon this year, losing just five games in a 74-minute victory in the fourth round. But the Italian has since cracked the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings for the first time, reaching the semi-finals at the US Open, Shanghai and Vienna.

“Matteo, with his serve, with what he can do, obviously any opponent is dangerous here. He didn’t obviously have the best match against Novak. It’s probably also the toughest way to start off the [Nitto ATP] Finals, playing Novak on the indoors, because he rarely has hiccups as well early on in tournaments,” Federer said. “But, yeah, I’ve got to recover, I’ve got to make sure I play better than today, and hopefully I can win that match.”

Djokovic defeated Berrettini 6-2, 6-1 in 64 minutes in the first match of Group Bjorn Borg action. And as the only member of the group who had never competed on this stage before, Berrettini will hope to put his debut behind him and play his best tennis against Federer, a six-time season finale champion.

“For sure I was nervous. First time in the Finals after a great year, so, yeah, I was nervous, but not in a bad way,” Berrettini said. “Normally when I step on the court and I don’t feel nervous, something is wrong. I have to feel nervous to play my best tennis… So just accepting the loss, and for sure I’m looking forward to play the next matches.”

Djokovic Thiem

Djokovic and Thiem will look to maintain the momentum from their opening wins, with the potential of clinching a spot in the semi-finals. The Serbian, with Rafael Nadal’s loss to Alexander Zverev Monday evening, now controls his destiny in the battle for year-end No. 1. He is trying to tie Pete Sampras for the most year-end No. 1 finishes with six.

The second seed is also pursuing a record-tying sixth Nitto ATP Finals title. He leads Thiem 6-3 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

“We know how good of a player he is on clay. He’s been proving that he can play equally well on other surfaces,” Djokovic said. “He’s already established [himself as a] Top 5, Top 10 player. We don’t need to talk about his qualities. Quality is great. His dedication and professionalism and hard work ethics is fantastic, and he’s a really nice guy. So all positive things about him.”

Scenarios For Semi-final Qualification In Group Bjorn Borg

 Novak Djokovic qualifies Tuesday if…

 – He defeats Thiem and Berrettini beats Federer.
 – He defeats Thiem in two sets and Federer beats Berrettini in three sets.
 Dominic Thiem qualifies Tuesday if…  – He defeats Djokovic and Federer beats Berrettini.
 – He defeats Djokovic in two sets and Berrettini beats Federer in three sets.

Djokovic defeated Thiem here three years ago, overcoming the disappointment of losing a 22-point first-set tie-break to win the next two sets with the loss of just two games. But the Austrian star won their most recent meeting in five sets at Roland Garros earlier this year.

“I think he’s the best right now. He proved that also in Bercy where he didn’t somehow play his best tennis, but still won the title pretty easy, so that’s how good his level is.” Thiem said. “I will watch that match in Roland Garros a little bit, because it was very good, of course. Was also, most of the time, the right tactics I played. Of course it’s not the same here. Was clay outdoor back then and now indoor. But some things I can use, for sure, in the match on Tuesday

“Probably right now it’s the biggest challenge you can face, to play Novak.”

Thiem has proven he can compete on hard courts, winning an ATP Masters 1000 title on the surface this year in Indian Wells and then capturing ATP 500 trophies in Beijing and Vienna. After defeating Federer in two sets Sunday evening, Thiem will have plenty of confidence. But the 26-year-old knows his pursuit of reaching a maiden semi-final at the Nitto ATP Finals on his fourth appearance is far from over.

“The system is pretty brutal, I would say, because I had an amazing victory today. I’m feeling great. I’m feeling now that I have a good chance to reach the semis. But if I lose on Tuesday, for example, everything is completely open again, and I have to worry about everything on the next match on Thursday,” Thiem said. “So the only thing I can do is to rest well tomorrow, practise well, and be fully focussed again on Tuesday.”

Did You Know?
Federer is undefeated in his second round-robin match at the Nitto ATP Finals (16-0). The Swiss has lost a set in those matches five times, but has battled through on each occasion.

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Nadal: 'I Was Not Good Enough'

  • Posted: Nov 12, 2019

Nadal: ‘I Was Not Good Enough’

Nov112019

Spaniard falls to 0-1 in Group Andre Agassi

Rafael Nadal found one big positive to take away from his surprise 6-2, 6-4 defeat to Alexander Zverev on Monday night at the Nitto ATP Finals: The Spaniard is pain-free.

The World No. 1 pulled out of his Rolex Paris Masters semi-final on 2 November after feeling a strain in his abdominal while serving in the warm-up. But Nadal said he didn’t feel any such pain during his first match at The O2 since 2017.

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“No complaint about the physical condition. No pain in abdominal. That’s the only positive thing, honestly. That’s all. Happy the way that [the] abdominal [felt], and hopefully I can continue like this, because it’s true that I was not able to create a lot of practice and a lot of effort on that part of the body since last Saturday,” Nadal said.

“The physical issue was not an excuse at all. The only excuse is I was not good enough tonight.”

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Nadal fell to 5-1 against Zverev in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series and was unable to get much going against the offencive-minded German, who is trying to become the first player to win back-to-back Nitto ATP Finals titles since Novak Djokovic in 2014-15.

Zverev, with 28 winners, more than doubled Nadal’s total (13).

“I stay positive. I stay competitive, something that today I was not,” Nadal said. “That’s the thing that I am more disappointed [with], because knowing that I will not be at my 100 per cent in terms of feelings, in terms of movement, in terms of confidence or hitting the ball, I needed my best competitive spirit this afternoon, and I was not there in that way.”

Nadal is looking to finish year-end No. 1 for the fifth time and draw even with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. The top seed currently leads Novak Djokovic by 440 points in the battle for year-end No. 1.

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ATP Finals: Rafael Nadal loses to Alexander Zverev in opener

  • Posted: Nov 11, 2019
2019 Nitto ATP Finals
Venue: O2 Arena, London Dates: 10-17 November
Coverage: Watch live coverage of one match per day on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer and online; Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra; Live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website and app. Click here for Live Guide.

Rafael Nadal’s bid to end the year as world number one faltered with a straight-set loss to defending champion Alexander Zverev at the ATP Finals.

The Spaniard, a fitness doubt before the season-ending event in London with an abdominal injury, was beaten 6-2 6-4 in their opening round-robin match.

Nadal, who has not completed a tournament since September’s US Open, was out of sorts and error prone.

Earlier, sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas beat fellow debutant Daniil Medvedev.

The Greek 21-year-old beat the Russian 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 at the O2 Arena.

Novak Djokovic, who can overtake Nadal at the top of the world rankings this week, leads the other group after winning on Sunday.

The top two players in each group after the round-robin stage progress to the semi-finals on Saturday.

The men’s season-ending event, which is taking place in London for the penultimate year, features the top eight players of the year.

Nadal struggles after injury-hit build-up

Nadal had never lost to Zverev in five previous meetings but against the German on Monday he was comprehensively outplayed.

The Spaniard had not completed a tournament since September’s US Open, withdrawing from Shanghai (left hand) and the Paris semi-finals (abdominal), and he had only started serving “very slowly” on Thursday.

He was broken in the fifth game of the first set, netting a routine forehand, and then lost the next five games as Zverev took charge with Nadal failing to carve out a single break point in the entire match.

Nadal has never won the end-of-season showpiece, with injuries often plaguing his attempts. He did not play last year and pulled out after his first match in 2017, with the Spaniard having been unable to participate fully in seven editions of the event.

Djokovic will finish the year as world number one if he wins the tournament and Nadal does not reach the semi-finals.

Alternatively, if the Spaniard fails to win a round-robin match, the Serb will overtake him if he wins two group-stage matches and reaches the final.

‘We won’t go for dinner together’ – Tsitsipas on Medvedev rivalry

Tsitsipas, the youngest player in the tournament, had lost all five of his previous meetings with US Open runner-up Medvedev and the pair have had a difficult relationship since a row over a net cord in Miami last year.

Tsitsipas then called the Russian’s playing style “boring” after a defeat at the Shanghai Masters last month.

The pair are two of the most highly-rated young players in the game – two of four singles players aged 24 or under at this year’s championships – but Tsitsipas was rewarded for being the more aggressive of the two players in a match that featured just one break of serve.

Asked whether beating Medvedev meant extra to him, the Greek said: “It means more than extra.

“It’s a victory that I’ve craved for a long time now and it’s great that it came in this moment.

“Our chemistry definitely isn’t the best that you can find on the tour. It just happens with people that it’s not that you can just like everyone.

“It’s not that I hate him. I guess, as he said, we will not go to dinner together.”

There were no breaks in the first set but Tsitsipas played better in the tie-break, earning the crucial mini-break to move 6-5 ahead by winning a gruelling point at the net with a volley.

The second set was similarly tight but Tsitsipas remained immaculate on serve – he did not face a break point in the match – and eventually broke serve to go 5-4 in front, helped by the Russian choosing not to volley a return at 30-30 that landed in.

Tsitsipas served out the match in the following game, and celebrated enthusiastically after the final point as he moved top of the early group table.

Tsitsipas, who beat Federer en route to the semi-finals of this year’s Australian Open, won the Next Gen event a year ago – the season-ending tournament for players aged 21 or under.

He said he had “goosebumps” when making his debut in London.

“I watched this event for the first time in 2010, I used to watch on TV dreaming of potentially playing on these courts,” he said.

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Zverev Upsets Nadal With Inspired Performance

  • Posted: Nov 11, 2019

Zverev Upsets Nadal With Inspired Performance

Nov112019

German looking to retain his Nitto ATP Finals crown

When at the Nitto ATP Finals, Alexander Zverev brings his best.

The defending champion upset the World No. 1 at The O2 for the second consecutive year on Monday, beating top seed Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-4 for his first win against the Spaniard (1-5).

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The 22-year-old German controlled the Group Andre Agassi matchup throughout, showing signs of the level that brought him his biggest title to date last year in London, when he became the first player to beat Roger Federer and then-No. 1 Novak Djokovic in tournament history.

“This means so much, playing here again after winning my biggest title so far in my career here last year. This means everything to me,” Zverev said.

“I was looking forward to this match, and thanks a lot for all the support, everybody who came out… The atmosphere is the reason why everybody is trying, the goal of the beginning of the season is to make London. Because playing here, playing in front of you all, playing in The O2 is something that we don’t have during the year, and this is so special.”

Zverev took advantage of the quick indoor conditions and played attacking tennis against Nadal, who was playing his first match since withdrawing from his Rolex Paris Masters semi-final on 2 November (abdominal tear).

The German won 88 per cent (30/34) of his first-serve points and never faced a break point.

“I did not feel pain in the abdominal at all,” Nadal said. “Sascha, well played, and me, [badly] played, honestly. We can find reasons or excuses, but at the end of the day, [all that] really matters is I need to play much better in two days after tomorrow. That’s the only thing.”

Zverev, after taking the opener and an early break, handed Nadal a window of opportunity with two double faults, falling behind 0/30. But the seventh seed composed himself to escape and never faced such trouble again on his racquet.

Nadal, meanwhile, struggled to find his best tennis. He was broken twice in the first set, both times missing forehands, and in the opening game of the second set, after a lengthy back-and-forth rally, Zverev finished off the break with a forehand volley. Zverev won 75 per cent (6/8) of his net forays.

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The Spaniard particularly struggled to return Zverev’s first serve, let alone win the point to make inroads in the German’s service games.

“The whole thing was about the serve,” Zverev said. “Obviously when I play this aggressive tennis, when I play this way, I have now beaten all three guys on this court, Big 3, so it shows that I can play very well and beat the top players.”

The 33-year-old Nadal is looking to finish year-end No. 1 for the fifth time and currently leads second-seeded Djokovic by 440 points in the battle for year-end No. 1. Djokovic faces fifth seed Dominic Thiem on Tuesday night.

Did You Know?
Zverev improved to 3-0 in opening group matches at the Nitto ATP Finals. He beat Marin Cilic in 2017 and 2018.

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