Apr 12, 2016 | ATP, Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a man on a mission at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in Monaco this week. The defending champion has reached the Final of his last eleven Masters 1000 events, winning nine of them including two already in 2016. Will Djokovic be able to successfully defend his title in Monte-Carlo? Djokovic is the world number 1, top seed and defending champion. He also has an unbeaten run in Masters 1000 events that stretches back to the Final of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati last August. He lost to Roger Federer in the Final there but has been a dominant force since then. This season, he has won four of the five tournaments he has played. Injury forced him to withdraw from the one he didn’t win. Having taken a bit of time off in February, he returned to the tour and won the title in Indian Wells in March. He overcame a scare against American Bjorn Fratangelo in the second round to storm through the rest of the tournament without dropping a set. He then moved on to Miami, where he continued his dominance by lifting the trophy without losing a single set. Coming into this tournament, he has won his last eleven matches all in straight sets. The route to another Monte-Carlo Masters 1000 title isn’t going to be easy for the Serbian, although he is a massive betting favourite to lift the trophy once again. On Wednesday, 13th April, he will enter the tournament in the second round to take on 22-year-old Czech world number 55 Jiri Vesely. This will be their...
Feb 25, 2016 | ATP, Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic took just 65 minutes to beat Malek Jaziri in straight sets to record his 700th tour level win. He becomes only the 12th man since 1968 to win 700 singles matches and celebrated on court after his victory. He was given a celebratory cake and posed for pictures as he celebrated this monumental achievement. He now sits just 13 wins behind Boris Becker, in 11th place on the list, and 62 wins behind Pete Sampras in tenth. It also makes him the third current ATP Tour player to reach the milestone, joining Rafael Nadal (775 wins) and Roger Federer (1,067 wins). ATP 700 Club (Open Era) 1) Jimmy Connors 1,254 2) Ivan Lendl 1,071 3) Roger Federer 1,067 4) Guillermo Vilas 929 5) John McEnroe 875 6) Andre Agassi 870 7) Stefan Edberg 801 8) Ilie Nastase 779 9) Rafael Nadal 775 10) Pete Sampras 762 11) Boris Becker 713 12) Novak Djokovic 700 The World number one is aiming for a fifth title in Dubai and will now move on to face Feliciano Lopez in the next round. Djokovic admitted being a little frustrated with his game during the second set against Jaziri but insisted he will raise his game for the next match. He won the tournament here in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013 and is hoping to lift the trophy again this year. It won’t be easy against the Spanish star, who himself is a two-time Finalist here. Djokovic said of Lopez “I know he likes playing here and likes the conditions” but also added that “I’m going to try to prepare for...
Feb 24, 2016 | ATP, Roger Federer
Roger Federer has returned to court for his first training session since sustaining an injury in January. The injury that Federer suffered was a torn meniscus, which then led to the Swiss star requiring surgery on his right knee. The surgery was carried out on February 3rd and was a huge success, with Federer now aiming for a return to the ATP tour by the end of March. The world number 3 tweeted that he has “rarely felt so happy being back on a practice court” along with a picture of his session, which can be seen below. The torn meniscus and resulting surgery forced Federer to miss the whole of February and meant he had to withdraw from the World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship. He is now hoping for a quick return to full fitness and is itching to get back on the tour to challenge Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic at the top of the rankings. Will the Swiss great still be a force to be reckoned with on his return or will this injury slow down the Fed Express? You can stay informed on Mr Federer’s progress by visiting tennis-update.com for regular news updates. We will let you know when the Swiss star will be returning to tournament play and how he gets on when that time finally...
Jan 30, 2016 | Andy Murray, ATP, Australian Open, Grand Slam, Novak Djokovic
NOVAK DJOKOVIC VS ANDY MURRAY AUSTRALIAN OPEN MEN’S SINGLES FINAL SUNDAY 31st JANUARY 2016 – 0830 UK TIME The Australian Open Men’s Singles Final is here, after a tournament that has given fans everything they could have hoped for. The last two players left will do battle for the prize of winning the first Grand Slam tournament of 2016. After two weeks of thrilling action, it is the top two seeds that remain at the end with Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray set to meet each other in the final for the fourth time. Djokovic is the world number one, defending and five time Australian Open and has been simply brilliant in this tournament so far. He will come into this match as favourite, having already beaten Murray in three previous finals, but will know that he must play at his best if he wants to win a sixth title here. Murray has put impending fatherhood and family health issues to the back of his mind this past couple of weeks, in order to reach a fifth Australian Open Men’s Singles Final and give himself the chance of winning the title for the first time in his career. He has played some brilliant Tennis and shown plenty of fighting spirit, but he knows he will need all that and more to overcome one of the greatest players to ever play the game. ROUTE TO THE FINAL DJOKOVIC (1) Round MURRAY (2) Chung 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 1 Zverev 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 Halys 6-1, 6-2, 7-6 2 Groth 6-0, 6-4, 6-1 Seppi (28) 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 3 Sousa (32) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2,...
Jan 29, 2016 | Angelique Kerber, Australian Open, Grand Slam, Serena Williams, WTA
After two weeks of exciting tennis action, 128 players have been whittled down to two as the best of the tournament prepare to face each other in the Women’s Singles Final of the Australian Open.Those two players are American world number one and defending champion Serena Williams and German seventh seed Angelique Kerber, who will be playing in her first ever Grand Slam Final. Here, we will take preview the Final and take a look at how these two great players made it through to the Championship match. Serena Williams came into this tournament nursing a knee injury that had forced her to retire from her first tournament of the season, The Hopman Cup, in the first week of January. The swelling had gone down by the time the first round of the first Grand Slam of the season rolled around but there were still serious concerns over her fitness. She put an end to any doubt quickly by performing brilliantly in her first match and has gone from strength to strength as the tournament has gone on. She comes into this Women’s Singles Final without dropping a set and looking pretty unbeatable as she looks to win her seventh Australian Open title. Her opponent, Angelique Kerber, had never been past the fourth round of this tournament before but has performed as good as ever to reach the Final on her ninth visit to Melbourne. Last year, she went out in the first round and after dropping the first set of her first round match this year, she was in danger of history repeating itself. She showed great mental...
