Stefanos Tsitsipas: Why the charismatic, gangly Greek likened to Bjorn Borg is the man most likely to challenge Federer, Nadal and Djokovic November 18, 2019 It’s a question that feels almost as old as the old guard themselves: is [insert name of young buck here] the man to break Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic’s stranglehold on men’s tennis? Grigor Dimitrov, Milos Raonic, Nick Kyrgios and Alexander Zverev have all been touted as saviours, yet none has managed to [...]
It’s the Davis Cup, but not as we know it: the lowdown on the ‘world cup of tennis’ taking place in Madrid November 17, 2019 After 118 years of the Davis Cup being played over the duration of the tennis season, this week it is replaced by a new version that is decided over just seven days. The revamp will some of the world’s best players compete for 18 countries in Madrid in a format designed to equate to a [...]
ATP Finals 2019: The battle for world No1 ranking and four more things to watch at the O2 this week November 10, 2019 Winning the final and biggest ATP Tour event of the year will be enough motivation for the eight taking centre stage at London’s O2 Arena this week, but for Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic the world No1 spot is also on the line. Nadal currently leads Djokovic in the rankings by 640 points, but the [...]
Kyle Edmund out to rediscover form at US Open after stuttering 2019 August 27, 2019 As Andy Murray’s hip injury has taken him to the brink of retirement during the last two years, the weight of being Britain’s best male singles player has come to rest on Kyle Edmund. Edmund, who begins his US Open campaign against Spain’s Pablo Andujar today, has been the national No1 since March 2018 but [...]
Naomi Osaka getting back to her best as she bids to retain US Open title after ‘worst months of her life’ August 22, 2019 A relatively unknown entity outside of the tennis circuit at the turn of 2018, Naomi Osaka was still to crack the world top 40. She made that breakthrough in March of last year but it was at the US Open 12 months ago that she announced herself to a much wider audience. Having previously only [...]
How 15-year-old American tennis star Cori Gauff can avoid the pitfalls of being a child prodigy July 21, 2019 A month ago few people knew who 15-year-old Cori Gauff was – and with good reason. Although she had caused a stir on the junior tennis circuit, Gauff was ranked No313 in the world before the offer of a wild card into Wimbledon qualifying, in her own words, “literally changed my life in seconds”. Gauff [...]
Wimbledon 2019: Novak Djokovic outlasts Roger Federer in titanic final and closes in on his tally of grand slam titles July 14, 2019 They came in their thousands to watch the man likely to hold the record for the most grand slam titles for years to come add another to his tally – and they did, although perhaps not the man they had in mind. By outlasting Roger Federer in a colossal, almost five-hour final – the longest [...]
Why Roger Federer’s Laver Cup should be a smash hit with brands keen to engage with a tennis audience July 11, 2019 Late in 2016, tennis legends including Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer and John McEnroe unveiled one of the most innovative concepts in the game’s modern age, the Laver Cup. Created by 20-time grand slam champion Federer, the tournament pits Europe’s top six male tennis players against counterparts from the rest of the world over three days [...]
Pressure tells as Johanna Konta feels the heat of Centre Court to exit Wimbledon in the quarter-finals to Barbora Strycova July 9, 2019 Professional sport is an unforgiving environment. When you’re playing well Centre Court feels like a hospitable stage, the points coming at a steady pace, but when you’re struggling suddenly the crowd feels oppressive and the ball unrelenting. To see a sportsperson wither under the pressure is not an enjoyable sight – yet that’s exactly what [...]
Wimbledon 2019: Believe it or not, tennis is a sport in decline July 1, 2019 Wimbledon is once again nearly upon us. And despite the munificence of the championships and inspirational successes of Andy Murray, it is a staggering indictment that the long-term trend is a declining sport, turning over £1.5bn per annum. Read more: Wimbledon men’s tennis is still finding its titanic trio hard to replace In its latest [...]