Tennis News

Former world No. 1 Rafael Nadal will begin his clay court campaign on Tuesday afternoon in Rio de Janeiro when he meets Thomaz Bellucci in the main attraction on Centre Court. This marks the fourth time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Nadal holding an undefeated 3-0 head to head record against the local talent.

Follow the match live here: Nadal v Bellucci Live Stream

The world No. 4 has had a scrutinized start to his 2015 season. He began with an opening round loss to Michael Berrer in Doha before he moved to the Australian Open several weeks later. He reached the quarter-final round in Melbourne before losing to Tomas Berdych in straight sets. Now, he will move over to South America, where he will face a new adversary in the form of extreme heat.

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“I think this heat would affect anybody,” Nadal said. “It’s very difficult with these conditions. The conditions are extreme, with high humidity on top of that. If it doesn’t cool off, I’ll suffer and try to survive any way I can.”

An intriguing second round match-up is scheduled to take place in the opening round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, as Caroline Wozniacki and Sam Stosur will meet for the ninth time on the professional tour. The head-to-head series is tied at 4-4 after Stosur won their most recent encounter last season in Beijing.

Follow the match live here: Stosur v Wozniacki Live Stream

Wozniacki started off her 2015 season in style with an appearance in the final in Auckland, where she lost to the resurgent Venus Williams. However, things took a turn for the worse afterwards, as Wozniacki retired from her opening match in the Sydney, and failed to embark on a strong run in Melbourne at the Aussie Open. She defeated Taylor Townsend in the opening round before losing to Victoria Azarenka in the second round.

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“It’s nice to look around before I get down to the hard work this week. I’m so happy to be back in Dubai, I love this event. I’ve won it in the past and have lots of wonderful memories. We’re heading to the hotel now – we stay in the Jumeirah Creekside Hotel. It’s a great hotel, the staff are all really nice. It’s also right on the grounds of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium so it’s the shortest commute of the season!”

Sam Stosur has had a turbulent start to her 2015 season, as she reached the second round in Brisbane, where she lost to Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, and then fell in the same round in Sydney to Coco Vandeweghe. She then went on to lose in the second round of the Australian Open to Angelique Kerber. She is coming off a win against Australia’s Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in Fed Cup action.

Wozniacki and Stosur have crossed paths on eight different occasions on the WTA tour, with the series tied 4-4. Stosur has proven more efficient on hard courts and leads that series 2-1. Based simply off their more recent performances on the tour, the confident Caroline should route Stosur in straight sets.

Prediction: Caroline Wozniacki in Three Sets

Stan Wawrinka became the latest Swiss player to capture the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament title when he defeated Tomas Berdych on Sunday.

Wawrinka, who was forced to rally from a set down, defeated Berdych to lift the crown in his first appearance at the event in a decade. He won the final 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in exactly two hours of court time. It marked yet another accomplishment in Wawrinka’s career: his first ATP World Tour 500 Indoor Title.

“It’s been an amazing week,” said Wawrinka. “It wasn’t easy, but every match I found my way. It was a great final. Tomas was playing really well, but I’m happy to turn that match for me and win the title.

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“It’s my first [ATP World Tour] 500 title and winning indoors is something special for me personally. It’s always amazing to win a trophy. It’s the best feeling.”

Wawrinka took home €358,540 and 500 Emirates ATP Ranking points for his efforts.

The dejected Berdych was disappointed with his performance, given that he had full control of the match before wilting. As the runner-up, the former defending champion takes home €161,650 and 300 points for his efforts.

“I’m disappointed with the way the match finished,” said Berdych. “There can only be one winner. I had my chances in the beginning of the second set and I didn’t make them so I think that cost me the match.

“I can see some positive things because the last time I played him it went a completely different way. I was in control in the beginning and the small differences decided it today. Next time I need to work harder.”

History was made in Memphis on Sunday afternoon, as Japanese No. 1 Kei Nishikori became the first player to win the Memphis Open title three consecutive times since the tournament’s inception 40 years ago.

Not only did Nishikori achieve what no other competitor has been able to do since the first edition of the tournament in 1975, he withstood 12 aces from Kevin Anderson to defeat the South African in straight sets to lift his first title of the season.

The world No. 5 took part in a turbulent week in Memphis, but managed to conclude it with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Anderson. He surpassed other titleholders like Tommy Haas and Jimmy Connors, who have only won the title twice consecutively.

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“It feels great, of course,” he said. “Today’s match was much different than [the past] couple of matches. I played really solid from the baseline and returned really well.”

In an interesting gesture from the tournament, Nishikori was gifted with a custom-made Gibson Memphis ES-335 Figured Gloss Semi-Hollowbody electric guitar instead of a traditional trophy.

“I love it!” Nishikori said of his prize. “I’ve never done guitar before, but I think I might need to start and get some lessons.”

Anderson, who was chasing his third title on the ATP World Tour, was disappointed with his inability to compete against Nishikori. However, he will now set his sights on another tournament he has done well in historically, Delray Beach.

“Being in that stage a few times now in the finals, obviously you want to take it a little bit further, but it wasn’t there,” he said. “I have a couple of other tournaments coming up now, so I can’t afford to dwell on this.”

While the attention on Sunday was focused on Wawrinka and Nishikori’s title wins, there were various players on the ATP and WTA tours that lifted their first titles of 2015.

On the ATP tour, Pablo Cuevas managed to rally late in the Brasil Open final to defeat qualifier Luca Vanni and lift his first title of 2015. He defeated Vanni 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4) to win his third overall title on the tour, and move to 3-0 in finals.

“We were both very nervous,” said Cuevas. “I think it was the first time I played a final as the favourite. I thought that I couldn’t lose when that happens, but the matches become more difficult. In front of me I had someone that was playing with a lot of confidence and with a great serve. I think we both failed at some moments: a double fault, a volley. There were many mistakes at the end and the winner was the one who fails less than the other.

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“I’m having a great comeback. I dream it will be good, but it’s better than I thought. I’m happy and enjoying the moment. But I’m healthy and I want more. I think I can give more and I thought about it when I could not play.”

Cuevas won $80,850 and 250 ATP Ranking Points, while Vanni won $42,600 and 150 Ranking Points. It was a strong showing for a player who had never previously won a match on the ATP World Tour.

“I’m so happy,” Vanni said. “It was a close match. I fought hard against Cuevas. Tomorrow he will be 28, maybe 27, in the (Emirates ATP Rankings)…I’m so proud of myself.”

On the WTA tour, Daniela Hantuchova rallied from a set down to beat Ajla Tomljanovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and win the PTT Thailand Open. The contest lasted a total of two hours and seven minutes and saw Hantuchova struggle before finally jumping out to a dominant lead in the deciding set.

“Today was very tough because Ajla was playing some great tennis,” Hantuchova said. “I had to really fight for it – at the end I felt maybe I was a little fresher and sharper, and that decided the match.

“But Ajla has a great future ahead of her. She’s also a very nice girl. It’s nice to have somebody like her in the game. And like I said on the court, I’m sure she’ll have many more finals to come.”

Tomljanovic, however, was still satisfied with her performance, as she had never been in a WTA semi-final before, let alone competing for a title in the final.

One of the bright young talents on the professional tour Garbine Muguruza will continue her campaign in Dubai on Wednesday afternoon when she crosses paths with the former Serbian No. 1 Jelena Jankovic for the third time on the tour. Of their two previous encounters, Muguruza and Jankovic have split the series 1-1.

The Spaniard began her week in Dubai against qualifier Jarmila Gajdosova, who gave her a run for her money during the encounter. After dropping the opening set, Muguruza rallied back to earn the victory in three sets 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. She struck 9 aces, won 83% of her first service points and saved eight of nine break points to close out the match in 85 minutes.

World No. 21 Jelena Jankovic got a monkey off her back on Monday afternoon when she defeated Timea Babos to earn her first WTA victory of the season. It was a hard fought victory for the Serb, as she needed three sets to down her opponent. The contest lasted 2 hours and 7 minutes and ended 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Jankovic won 62% of her first service points and converted eight break points to earn the victory.

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“I love playing in Dubai. Playing Dubai is one of my favorite places to play at, and I have done very well here in the past, and, you know, I have my residence here. I come, you know, quite often during the year. I love it here. I love the weather. I love, you know, pretty much everything about it. You know, what can I say? Hopefully I can do well at this tournament.”

This mark the third time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with the series tied at 1-1. This will serve as the rubber match in the series, but it is clearly one that favours the Spaniard. Jankovic has not been her best this season, and only beat Muguruza on clay. This should be a quick straight sets encounter unless Jankovic summons some confidence from her win on Monday.

Prediction: Garbine Muguruza in Straight Sets

Following an entertaining week of matches, Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych will cross paths in the final of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament on Sunday. This marks their 16th meeting on the ATP World Tour, and Wawrinka will look to add to his 10-5 lead in the head-to-head series.

Follow the match live here: Berdych v Wawrinka Live Stream

In one of his better showings this week, Stan Wawrinka squeezed past Canadian no. 1 Milos Raonic in straight sets 7-6(3), 7-6(7) to reach the final in Rotterdam – a tournament he had not participated in in a decade. The Swiss No. 2 struck 25 winners, 10 aces and did not allow any of the six break points he faced to get past him. The contest lasted a total of 98 minutes.

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“In general, I’ve been playing really well,” said Wawrinka. “I’ve been really aggressive and moving well in the rallies. I served well when I was (against) a break point. It’s only one or two points that make the difference and I played a good tie-break.”

Wawrinka will come up against Tomas Berdych, who reached the final with a straightforward victory against Gilles Simon. He defeated the Frenchman 6-2, 6-1 in 58 minutes to put himself just one match away from retaining the indoor title. His service games were solid, and Berdych even converted 4 of 5 break points to add to his 14 winners.

“My game was good and the game plan was even better,” said Berdych. “It was a very good game. I need to keep going as there is still one more match to go. I want to go all the way.”

While Berdych has been a force on the tour so far this season, he will have his work cut out for him against Wawrinka, a player who has dominated their rivalry over the past while. Apart from a 10-5 lead in the head-to-head series, Wawrinka has won eight of their last nine meetings, including a thrashing at the World Tour Finals in London.

“I’ve been improving, but he’s been playing really well at the beginning of the year,” Wawrinka said of Berdych. “He won here last year so he will be very dangerous. I need to play my best game to have a chance to beat him.”

Prediction: Stan Wawrinka in Three Sets

Two-time defending champion Kei Nishikori needed to muster up some of his best tennis to overcome his American adversary and arrive at the final of the Memphis Open. He is now one match away from completing the ‘three peat’ at this tournament, and that final obstacle is world No. 15 Kevin Anderson. This is just the second time these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Nishikori leading the series 1-0.

The Japanese No. 1 withstood some serious service power from Sam Querrey on Saturday to arrive at his third consecutive final in Memphis. Nishikori rallied from a set down to defeat the American 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) in a match that lasted 2 hours and 41 minutes.

“I thought a couple times that I might lose today,” said Nishikori, who will bid for his eighth ATP World Tour crown. “I knew it was going to be tough because I didn’t break any of his serves and he was hitting a lot of aces… It was really tough to make any returns.

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“I’m very happy to come to the final again. I’m a little bit tired from playing three tough matches, but it’s just one more match.”

Nishikori will come up against Kevin Anderson in the final, who is seeded second at the event. The South African No. 1 rallied from a set down against Donald Young to defeat the American 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. It was an impressive showing that served to avenge his loss to Young last season, and put Anderson in the running for a third title on the ATP World Tour.

“I thought it was a really tough match,” said Anderson. “There were parts of the match where I didn’t feel like I maybe played my best tennis, but I was able to hang in there.

“I’ve got a shot at winning the title tomorrow and that’s what I came here to do. It feels good to be in the final. I’ve enjoyed this week… I’m going to treat it like any other match. Obviously it’s a final, but I’m just going to focus on what has worked well for me this week.”

This marks the first time that Nishikor and Anderson will meet on the professional tour since 2010, when they crossed paths at the Washington final. It is just their second meeting overall and could make for a riveting match-up. Nishikori is competing for his third title in Memphis, while Anderson is looking to notch his third overall title on the tour.

Prediction: Kei Nishikori in Three Sets