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Sydney International: Johanna Konta into semi-finals & Dan Evans reaches third round

  • Posted: Jan 11, 2017

British number one Johanna Konta reached the Sydney International semi-finals, while men’s number three Dan Evans also progressed on Wednesday.

World number 10 Konta triumphed 6-3 7-5 against Russian 19-year-old Daria Kasatkina, who beat world number one Angelique Kerber in the previous round.

The 25-year-old will face Canadian Eugenie Bouchard in the last four.

Evans, 26, beat Spanish eighth seed Marcel Granollers 1-6 6-3 6-3 to reach the third round.

He will face the winner of the match between top seed Dominic Thiem of Austria and Portuguese qualifier Gastao Elias.

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How Murray's Time On Court Compares To The Top 10

  • Posted: Jan 11, 2017

How Murray's Time On Court Compares To The Top 10

Jan102017

Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers investigates the link between time on court and a player’s ranking

Time is one of the most precious commodities a tennis player has to manage. Time on court is invaluable, but then again, so is limiting that time to avoid injuries and stay fresh. The big picture clearly dictates that improvement is predicated on playing more matches, which means more time on court in the cauldron of competition.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the 2016 season showed Andy Murray’s ascension to the No. 1 Emirates ATP Ranking was built on spending substantially more time on court than anyone else in the Top 10.

Murray spent 162 hours on court in 2016, which was up from 151 hours in 2015. Murray’s average set time in 2015 was 44 minutes, and that rose to 46 minutes last year as he climbed to take the No. 1 ranking.

Time Spent On Court During The 2016 Season

No.  Player   Hours On Court Average Set Time In Minutes
 1 Andy Murray 162 46
 2   Novak Djokovic 130 44
 3  Milos Raonic 127 42
4  Stan Wawrinka 121 42
5  Kei Nishikori 129 42
6   Gael Monfils 90 39
7 Marin Cilic 109 43
8  Dominic Thiem 136 40
9  Rafael Nadal 89 47
10  Tomas Berdych 107 43
—  AVERAGE 120 43

It’s interesting to note that there is no link between hours on court and ranking spots, as eighth-ranked Dominic Thiem spent the second most amount of time on court of the Top 10 at 136 hours. Rafael Nadal spent the least amount of time on court of the Top 10 in 2016 at just 89 hours.

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He played only 53 matches as injury took him away from the tour. Nadal completed a full workload in 2015, spending 152 hours on court.

Even though the Spaniard racked up the least amount of match hours in 2016, his average set time was the longest, at 47 minutes. Murray was next highest at 46 minutes, with Gael Monfils being the quickest per set at 39 minutes.

The Top 10 average of 120 hours on court for the season is a valuable number for players to know and prepare for with their off-court training regimens. The average time per set is more of a reflection of playing styles and shot tolerance.

As players rise up the Emirates ATP Rankings to the coveted Top 10, they now have a clearer understanding of the on-court workload that is required, and the off-court preparation that must fuel it.

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Alexandru-Daniel Carpen banned from tennis for life for match-fixing

  • Posted: Jan 10, 2017

Romanian player Alexandru-Daniel Carpen has been banned from tennis for life after admitting to match-fixing.

A Tennis Integrity Unit investigation found the 30-year-old made a corrupt approach to another player, who has not been named, in October 2013.

He admitted the charge in 2015, but has only now learnt the extent of his ban after the hearing officer was given time to consider his sentence.

Carpen achieved a career-high singles ranking of 1,088 in 2007.

Earlier on Tuesday, Australia’s Nick Lindahl was banned for seven years and fined £28,000 for plotting to throw a match at a minor Australian tournament in 2013.

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Lu Battles Past Khachanov, Saves 2 M.P.

  • Posted: Jan 10, 2017

Lu Battles Past Khachanov, Saves 2 M.P.

Jan102017

Baghdatis advances to second round

Yen-Hsun Lu held his nerve to beat #NextGen ATP star Karen Khachanov, who recovered from a 3-5 deficit in the deciding set and held two match points, in a thrilling 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(9) victory on Tuesday at the ASB Classic. Lu, the 2014 finalist, could not convert two match point opportunities at 5-4 in the third set, and at 6/5 and 8/7 in the tie-break. He saved match points at 6/7 and 8/9 before completing a memorable win, over two hours and 39 minutes, with a forehand winner. He will next play seventh seed Steve Johnson.

Joao Sousa started his 2017 with a 6-1, 7-5 victory against fifth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sousa won 55 per cent of his second-serve points in the 88-minute win. He’ll next meet 27-year-old qualifier Brydan Klein, who saved one match point to outlast Facundo Bagnis 6-1, 6-7(6), 7-6(3). Klein could not convert four match point opportunities at 6/2 in the second set tie-break, while Bagnis held one match point chance at 5-3 in the deciding set.

Eighth seed Marcos Baghdatis, in his third appearance in Auckland, will hope to improve on his 3-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against wild card Dustin Brown in the second round after he beat 2015 finalist Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 6-4. Jeremy Chardy won the final match of the day 6-4, 6-2 over local wild card Artem Sitak and now challenges sixth seed Feliciano Lopez. Chardy and fellow Frenchman Fabrice Martin won the Qatar ExxonMobil Open doubles title last week.

Matkowski/Qureshi Reach Doubles QFs
Fourth seeds Marcin Matkowski and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi lost just three of their first service points and struck eight aces past Ryan Harrison and John Isner in a 7-6(4), 6-1 victory over 67 minutes for a place in the last eight.

Bagnis and Diego Schwartzman edged past Ramos-Vinolas and Jiri Vesely 6-3, 6-7(5), 10-7 in one hour and 52 minutes. The Argentines could not convert one match point chance – on a deciding point at 5-4 in the second set and then minutes later saw a 5/3 lead vanish in the subsequent tie-break.

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Australian Open – BBC coverage times for live radio and TV highlights

  • Posted: Jan 10, 2017
Australian Open 2017
Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne Dates: 16-29 Jan
Coverage: Radio commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and TV highlights on BBC Two; live text commentary on selected matches on the BBC Sport website and mobile app.

The first Grand Slam of the 2017 season begins with the Australian Open from 16-29 January in Melbourne.

Defending men’s and women’s champions Novak Djokovic and Angelique Kerber will be in action alongside world number one Andy Murray, who is seeking his first Australian Open title.

BBC Radio 5 live sports extra is live from Melbourne Park with commentary from each day of the tournament.

BBC Two rounds up the day with a daily highlights programme from 21 January.

There’s also live text commentary on selected matches, including every time Andy Murray or Johanna Konta play, on the BBC Sport website and mobile app.

Schedule

All times GMT.

Monday 16 January

07:00-14:00 – BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

Tuesday 17 January

07:00-14:00 – BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

Wednesday 18 January

07:00-14:00 – BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

Thursday 19 January

07:00-07:45 – BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

Friday 20 January

07:00-14:00 – BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

Saturday 21 January

07:00-12:55 – BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

15:00-16:30 – Highlights, BBC Two

Sunday 22 January

08:30-13:15 – BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

17:15-18:15 – Highlights, BBC Two

Monday 23 January

07:00-14:00 – BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

16:30-17:30 – Highlights, BBC Two

Tuesday 24 January

07:00-14:00 – BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

16:30-17:30 – Highlights, BBC Two

Wednesday 25 January

07:00-14:00 – BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

16:30-17:30 – Highlights, BBC Two

Thursday 26 January

08:30-13:15 – BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

17:00-18:00 – Highlights, BBC Two

Friday 27 January

08:30-12:30 – BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

17:00-18:00 – Highlights, BBC Two

Saturday 28 January

Women’s final

08:30-12:30 – BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

13:15-14:30 – Highlights, BBC One

Sunday 29 January

Men’s final

08:30-12:30 – BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

13:00-14:30 – Highlights, BBC Two

Late changes

Matches and coverage times are subject to late changes. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made.

Catch-up

You can view BBC Sport output as well as listen to our radio sports programming on the BBC iPlayer.

The BBC Sport website is available via desktop, mobile, tablet and app, giving fast and easy access to the live stream, text commentaries, news, reports and schedules. The BBC Sport app is available free on Apple and Android devices.

National and regional variations

National and regional variations have been included in this list where possible, but please check your local listings for more detailed information.

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Maria Sharapova to return from doping ban in April in Stuttgart

  • Posted: Jan 10, 2017

Maria Sharapova will make her professional comeback at the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart on 26 April after her 15-month doping suspension.

The 29-year-old former world number one was given a two-year ban in March after testing positive for meldonium.

Her suspension was then reduced in October following an appeal.

The tournament in Germany starts two days before the Russian’s suspension runs out and she will not be allowed to attend until the day of her match.

Sharapova, whose main sponsor is Porsche, will return to tennis without a ranking and needs a wild card to enter the tournament.

“I could not be happier to have my first match back on tour at one of my favourite tournaments,” she said.

“I can’t wait to see all my great fans and to be back doing what I love.”

The five-time Grand Slam champion won the Stuttgart title for three years in a row from 2012 to 2014.

She last played a professional tournament at the Australian Open 12 months ago, where she failed the doping test.

Sharapova was a long-time user of meldonium and says she was unaware it had been added to the banned list at the start of 2016.

She has already taken part in two exhibition events since her ban was reduced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

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