Watch the moment Martina Navratilova received a standing ovation from the Wimbledon crowd as she began her final singles campaign in 1994.
Nadal is battle ready ahead of Wimbledon
Rafael Nadal has been practising at full throttle in the build up to Wimbledon. The Spaniard has set himself a goal of playing his best tennis at Wimbledon, something he hasn’t been able to do in the past five years for various reasons, and was to be found on Thursday morning engaged in a high intensity two-hour practice with Alexander Zverev.
“In 2014 I made the fourth round and it was my best year since reaching the final in 2011,” said Nadal. “Since then I’ve had many problems with my knees. In 2012 and 2013 it was really bad and then in 2015, my knees were fine, but I felt bad for many other reasons. Last year unfortunately I broke my wrist right before Wimbledon. It’s been a few years that I haven’t been able to compete well and that is a disadvantage compared to those who arrive here having done well year after year.”
To give himself the best possible preparation for Wimbledon, Nadal trained for a week in Mallorca and then doubled the intensity of his sessions in London, where he arrived on Monday.
Visit Official Website
His coach and uncle, Toni Nadal, said, “We’ve been training quite well every day. Every day he has played quite well with all his opponents. The idea is to try to make his game a little more aggressive, going forwards and avoiding moving back. On the grass the best points are three or four shots, so you have to be very aggressive with the serve and after the return.”
Carlos Moya, who also coaches Nadal, added, “The movement is different. You have to get down lower and be a little more aggressive. You also have to accept that the points are going to be shorter than on the clay as it’s a faster surface. Anyway, I’m sure that we’re going to see a great version of Rafa.”
Since stepping onto the grass, Nadal’s training has consisted of: working on being aggressive, sharpening his serve and winners and practising his volley. The Mallorcan, aware of what is needed to make the transition from clay to grass, has given everything to implement those fundamental changes to be competitive on grass.
Francis Roig, who completes Nadal’s coaching team, remarked, “The training has been really positive. He came from a week of practice in Mallorca and the first day that I was with him in London I saw straight away that he was hitting the ball very well. He has adapted quite well to the grass and is ready mentally.”
Nadal had barely shaken the clay out of his shoes after winning La Decima at Roland Garros before he was thinking about Wimbledon, where he reached five straight finals from 2006-11 and where he has twice won the title in 2008 and 2010.
“It’s a little bit like the feeling he had at Roland Garros,” said Toni Nadal. “He had gone three years without winning a Grand Slam title and he was hungry and extremely motivated to win another. For different reasons, Rafael hasn’t been able to play well on grass in the past five years and he wants more than anything to be able to do that. When his body allowed him, he was a very good grass-court player. He made five straight finals at Wimbledon. Not many players have done that. He thinks he can win again.”
“The clay-court season was exhausting, especially mentally,” admitted Moya, a former World No. 1. “Rafa was listening to his body and his health is his priority, even though he badly wanted to play at Queen’s. We know he’s not going to have matches under his belt, but he’ll arrive mentally and physically fresh at Wimbledon. He has made a great transition to the grass.”
“I know that my knees have hindered me a lot on grass in the past few years,” said Nadal. “They stopped me from competing at the maximum level. The switch to grass has been progressing well and the test will come later, but I am confident that my knees are going to hold up. Then the results as always depend on many factors.”
Among these factors will be his knees, but also getting through the first few matches of the tournament and being able to maintain a high level on the grass when he has to switch practice for competition. Nadal is in the top half of the draw with defending champion and top seed Andy Murray and will open his campaign against John Millman.
“There are a lot of changes if you make it through the first week,” said Toni Nadal. “The bounce of the ball is much lower in the first week and the ball skids more. Your shots cause less damage. During the second week the court is worn out and you can move better. We have always played better during the second week.”
Roig agreed. “It is important to play on worn out grass, so he can be used to playing on this surface. He’s in a better frame of mind than in other years, he is very pumped up. He can’t wait to play, and he’s been like that since the end of Roland Garros. That’s very important also.”
“For me it’s important to have a good preparation, be in good shape for the first match, and remember it’s a special surface for everyone,” said Nadal. “It will be key to get through the first couple of matches and then everything feels more normal.”
Said Toni Nadal, “Rafael has one thing better than everyone else, which is the intensity of his game. Of course there are some players with a better serve or with more powerful shots, but if he is healthy he can play at a high intensity with few errors. He also has the peace of mind of having just won a Grand Slam. If the season were to end now it wouldn’t be bad for us, it would be very good.
“He has won a 500-level tournament, two Masters 1000s and Roland Garros. When you win you have an important sense of calm. Before starting to play at Wimbledon, these feelings are very good.”
| Eastbourne 2017 |
|---|
| Venue: Devonshire Park, Eastbourne Date: 26 June-1 July |
| Coverage: Live across BBC Two, Red Button, Connected TVs and online. Click here for times |
Heather Watson’s fine run at the Aegon International in Eastbourne came to an end when she was beaten 6-2 3-6 7-5 by Caroline Wozniacki in the semi-finals.
The Briton, ranked 126 after a disappointing year, had her serve broken three three times by the world number six in a nervous first set.
Watson, 25, fought back well to take the Dane to a third set.
But Wozniacki, the 2009 champion, won the key points in a tight decider to secure her place in Saturday’s final.
Wozniacki, 26, will play third seed Karolina Pliskova for the title after the Czech had a walkover victory over Johanna Konta.
British number one Konta withdrew from her semi-final against Pliskova because of a back injury picked up in her quarter-final win over world number one Angelique Kerber of Germany.
The Guernsey player last won a tournament in March 2016 and appeared nervous in the first set.
However, she played more aggressively in the second, breaking former world number one Wozniacki to lead 4-2.
Wozniacki called for the trainer because of an abdominal strain after the next game – but Watson kept her focus to level the match.
The British number three maintained her positive approach to break Wozniacki’s serve early in the third set but the Dane, who seemed unaffected by her injury, broke back straight away.
Wozniacki kept plugging away and had two match points in the 12th game, taking the second after Watson hit a forehand into the net.
ATPWorldTour.com breaks down the draw for the second Grand Slam championship of 2017
Defending champion Andy Murray has been drawn in the same half of the Wimbledon draw as Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka, who, depending on their performances at The Championships, could usurp Murray at No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Novak Djokovic, who is also in contention for a return to the top spot, is in the bottom half of the 128-man draw with Roger Federer and Milos Raonic.
Murray could meet Wawrinka, a 2014 and 2015 quarter-finalist, in the last eight, whilst Nadal – seeking a third Roland Garros-Wimbledon title double – may face Marin Cilic, the runner-up at the recent Aegon Championships. Last year’s finalist Raonic could potentially challenge Federer in the quarter-finals, whilst Dominic Thiem is projected to meet Djokovic.
View Draw
Top seed and two-time champion Murray, who has a 53-9 record at the All England Club, will meet a qualifier or lucky loser in the first round. The Scot could potentially face No. 20 seed Nick Kyrgios or No. 14 seed Lucas Pouille, a quarter-finalist in 2016, in the fourth round, prior to a potential quarter-final against fifth seed Wawrinka or No. 12 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Wawrinka, who has brought on board Paul Annacone for the grass-court swing, has been drawn to meet #NextGenATP Russian Daniil Medvedev in the first round.
Fourth seed Nadal will compete at The Championships (40-9 record) for the first time since 2015 against John Millman in the first round. Gilles Muller and Ivo Karlovic, who contested the recent Ricoh Open final, are potential fourth-round opponents for Nadal, who previously reached the Last 16 in 2014. Seventh seed Cilic, who has reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the past three years, opens against Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Second seed Djokovic, who is attempting to capture his fourth crown at the All England Club (54-9 record), faces Martin Klizan in the first round. The Serbian is seeking to capture his first Grand Slam championship since completing the career Grand Slam with his first Roland Garros title in 2016 (d. Murray). Djokovic, who is competing at this week’s Aegon International, could potentially meet No. 29 seed Juan Martin del Potro in the third round. Del Porto won their London 2012 Olympics bronze medal match at Wimbledon, but Djokovic got the better of the Argentine in the 2013 Wimbledon semi-finals. Feliciano Lopez, the No. 19 seed and Aegon Championships winner, may meet Djokovic in the fourth round.
Third seed Federer, vying to clinch his 19th Grand Slam championship title to add to the Australian Open trophy he won in January, has been drawn to meet Alexandr Dolgopolov in the first round. Federer, who won his ninth Gerry Weber Open title last week, may meet No. 27 seed Mischa Zverev or Bernard Tomic in the third round. The Swiss star has been drawn in the same quarter or the draw as No. 13 seed Grigor Dimitrov (a potential fourth-round opponent), No. 10 seed Alexander Zverev, who opens against Evgeny Donskoy, or last year’s finalist Milos Raonic, the No. 6 seed, who will play Jan-Lennard Struff.
Eighth seed Thiem, who advanced to the Roland Garros semi-finals for the second year running, has been placed in Djokovic’s bottom quarter of the draw. Thiem will face Vasek Pospisil in the first round, with a potential fourth-round match against No. 11 seed and 2010 finalist Tomas Berdych or 2007 and 2015 semi-finalist Richard Gasquet, the No. 22 seed. Berdych must first get past Jeremy Chardy, while Gasquet meets David Ferrer.
Some of your information will be collected when you play this quiz. Click here to find out more.
As the BBC celebrates 90 years of covering Wimbledon, seven-time champion Pete Sampras discusses his favourite memories of the competition.
Police reportedly think the tennis star was at fault in the Florida collision, which killed a 78-year-old.
Four #NextGenATP players prevail on Thursday
#NextGenATP player Stefanos Tsitsipas is through to his first main draw at Wimbledon after surviving a marathon final-round qualifying match on Thursday against Joris De Loore of Belgium 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. Three other #NextGenATP players also qualified, including American Taylor Fritz, Andrey Rublev of Russia and Christian Garin of Chile.
“I’ve never felt so happy before in my life. I’m really tired right now, but this happiness is something I can’t describe,” said Tsitsipas. “It’s been my dream since childhood to compete at Wimbledon. I had my family here supporting me the whole match, so it felt like I was playing at home.”
The 18 year old, currently No. 190 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, qualified for his first Grand Slam main draw last month at Roland Garros. He also successfully came through qualifying at an ATP World Tour event for the first time this April in Istanbul.
Fritz, seeded 21st, stormed past Vincent Millot of France 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. The 19 year old didn’t face a break point in the contest and won 86 per cent of his first-serve points to prevail in one hour and 33 minutes.
“I feel great. It’s one of the best matches I’ve played in a long time and I’m really happy to get through it,” said Fritz. “I get another chance to win a main draw match at a Grand Slam. I’ve had a lot of chances and I truly want to win one.”
Fritz has enjoyed success in 2017, scoring his first win over a player inside the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings by defeating Marin Cilic at the BNP Paribas Open.
Rublev, seeded fifth, came through a lengthy tussle against former Top 15 player and 20th seed Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(11), 6-4. The 19 year old saved three set points in the third-set tie-break. Rublev has been in top form on grass this season, reaching his first ATP World Tour quarter-final last week in Halle. He also came through qualifying and reached the second round at the Australian Open before losing to World No. 1 Andy Murray.
Garin won the longest match on Thursday, outlasting Aussie John-Patrick Smith 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-4, 4-6, 12-10 in three hours 39 minutes. The win puts the 21 year old into his first Grand Slam main draw.
Two notorious Wimbledon upset stories, 11th seed Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine and Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic, also qualified. Stakhovsky, who defeated Roger Federer in 2013, defeated Tatsuma Ito of Japan 6-3, 6-7(1), 6-7(6), 6-4, 8-6. Rosol, who stunned Rafael Nadal in 2012, moved past eighth seed Darian King of Barbados 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Other players who also reached their first Grand Slam main draw on Thursday include Sebastian Ofner of Austria and Stefano Travaglia of Italy.
The qualifiers will find out their fate in the main draw when the singles and doubles draw ceremony is held on Friday at 10 a.m. local time.
Top seeds storm into semi-finals
Top seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan kept their status as the most dominant brother doubles duo on the ATP World Tour, defeating local favourites Ken Skupski and Neal Skupski 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday to reach the semi-finals at the Aegon International in Eastbourne.
The Bryan brothers saved all five break points they faced and won 82 per cent of their first-serve points to advance in 51 minutes. They’re seeking their first ATP World Tour doubles title of the season.
Next up for them are Andre Begemann and Andres Molteni, who defeated Diego Schwartzman and Jiri Vesely 6-3, 7-6(6). Schwartzman/Vesely saved two match points at 4/6 in the tie-break but Begemann/Molteni hung tough for the win.
Rohan Bopanna and Andre Sa moved into the final four by defeating Marcin Matkowski and Max Mirnyi 6-2, 6-7(2), 10-3. Bopanna/Sa also won a first-round match earlier in the day over Thomas Fabbiano and Luke Saville 6-3, 6-4.
Awaiting them in the next round are Robin Haase and Dominic Inglot, who took out Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Matt Reid 7-6(3), 6-1. Haase/Inglot started the day with a first-round victory over Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos 6-4, 6-4.
Watch Live On TennisTV
Watch Full Match Replays
Gasquet, #NextGenATP Medvedev round out semi-final lineup
Second seed Gael Monfils picked up two emphatic wins on Thursday at the Aegon International on Eastbourne, closing out his day with a 7-6(4), 6-0 victory over Bernard Tomic to reach the semi-finals.
Monfils prevailed earlier in the day over local wild card Cameron Norrie and Tomic upset sixth seed Mischa Zverev. But after Monfils prevailed in a tight first-set, the Australian ran out of gas and the Frenchman found a new gear to storm through the remainder of the match. Monfils has dropped just 11 games in two matches.
Awaiting him in the semi-finals is fellow seventh seed Richard Gasquet, who broke serve four times to cruise past third seed John Isner 6-3, 6-2 in 54 minutes. The Frenchman started the day with a straight-sets win over Kevin Anderson. Gasquet improves his FedEx ATP Head2Head against Isner to 3-2.
Monfils leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head with Gasquet 8-7. They’ve already played three times this year, with Gasquet winning last week in Halle and in February on home soil in Marseille. Monfils prevailed over his fellow Frenchman via retirement at Roland Garros.
#NextGenATP Russian Daniil Medvedev overcame a mid-match surge from fourth seed Steve Johnson to score a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 upset. Both men played six sets on Thursday, with Medvedev scoring a three-set win over Robin Haase and Johnson doing the same against Thomas Fabbiano. In a match punctuated by big serving and short rallies, Medvedev lost only two points on his serve in the final set to advance in 76 minutes.
The 21 year old began the year by reaching his first ATP World Tour final in Chennai. Medvedev currently sits at a career-high of No. 52 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. He’s also fifth in the Emirates ATP Race to Milan, which determines who will qualify for the season-ending Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan from 7-11 November.
Next up for Medvedev is top seed Novak Djokovic, a winner earlier in the day over Donald Young. Djokovic won their lone FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting when Medvedev was forced to retire due to injury this February during a World Group first-round Davis Cup tie in Serbia.
Watch Live On TennisTV
Watch Full Match Replays