Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Rafael Nadal Wins the US Open


Spain's Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic in the finals of the last Grand Slam of the year. The 27-year old won in four sets, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. This is his second US Open singles titles and 13th Grand Slam overall. He also won another Grand Slam in 2013, in Roland Garros. With 13 GS titles, Nadal moves up behind Federer (17) and Sampras (14) on the all-time Grand Slam singles title list.

So far the 2013 season is superb for Nadal, having reached the finals of 12 events, winning 10, including consecutive hard court titles in Montreal and Cincinnati. 

Monday, July 8, 2013

Andy Murray beats Novak Djokovic in Wimbledon


Andy Murray became the first British male tennis player to win in Wimbledon in 77 years, beating world no. 1 Novak Djokovic in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4.

Djokovic interview after the match


Murray's road to the final 

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Wimbledon Day 9 Highlights: Andy Murray v Fernando Verdasco



Quarterfinal match between Andy Murray and Fernando Verdasco in Wimbledon 2013. 

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Federer Out of Wimbledon



In a weird third day of Wimbledon, defending champion Roger Federer lost in his second-round match against a guy who did not even qualify in Eastbourne last week, Sergiy Stakhovsky, losing 6-7, 7-6, 7-5, 7-6.

Federer followed Rafael Nadal's first round exit on Monday, which opened the draw for Andy Murray.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Amazing Rafa


Rafael Nadal made history today by willing his eighth Roland Garros trophy, beating David Ferrer, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. It is the first time that one man has won a Grand Slam event eight times. Nadal now owns an astounding 59-1 record in 9 tournaments of the French Open, his only loss coming from Robin Soderling in 2009.




Nadal defeated rival Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, winning in five sets, while Ferrer reached his first Grand Slam final by defeating Jo-Wilfred Tsonga

In the men's doubles, the Bob and Mike Bryan won their second Roland Garros trophy, defeating the French duo Nicolas Mahut and Michael Llora. It is the Bryan brothers' 14 Grand Slam crown.

[pic]

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Novak Djokovic Vs Tomas Berdych - Australian Open 2013 QF Highlights


Highlights of the quarterfinal match between World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych in the 2013 Australian Open.


Djokovic celebrates by ripping his shirt off after winning the fourth round match vs Stanislas Wawrinka:



Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Andy Murray Wins First Slam



Andy Murray of Great Britain finally won his first Grand Slam, defeating defending champion Novak Djokovic in an epic 2012 US Open final, 7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2. 

Murray is the first Briton to win a Grand Slam since 1936. Aside from Djokovic he defeated Tomas Berdych, Marin Cilic, Milos Raonic, Feliciano Lopez, Ivan Dodig and Alexander Bogomolov en route to the championship.

Murray also won the gold medal in the London Olympics men's singles event. 

Friday, September 7, 2012

Andy Roddick


Andy Roddick is an American professional tennis player. He recently retired, after competing in his last match (fourth round versus Juan Martin del Potro) at the 2012 US Open. 


Roddick won one Grand Slam, at the 2003 US Open, and he also reached the finals of Wimbledon in 2004, 2005 and 2009, as well as the US Open in 2006. He reached the number 1 ranking in November 2003, spending 13 weeks at the top. 

Roddick is married to model Brooklyn Decker.



Born: August 30, 1982 in Omaha, Nebraska 
Height: 6'2" 
Weight: 195 lbs 
Website/Social Media: andyroddick.com, Twitter



Career Highlights: 
  • career prize money: $20,517,390 
  • career singles titles: 32 
  • career doubles titles: 4 
  • career singles win-loss record: 612-212 
  • reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009 
  • Masters Series singles titles: 5 (4 runners-up) 
  • previous holder of fastest serve in professional tennis: 249.4 kph 
  • 2004 ESPY Award for Best Male Tennis Player
  • youngest American to hold the number 1 ranking since 1973
  • first American to finish the year with number 1 ranking since Agassi in 1999

Friday, July 6, 2012

Andy Murray


Andy Murray is a Scottish professional tennis player, currently ranked No. 4 in the world. His highest world ranking is No. 2, which he reached in August 2009. He is also the number one British player.


By winning his semifinal match against Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in 2012 Wimbledon, he became the first British to reach a Wimbledon final since 1938. He  was thrice a finalist at the Australian Open (2010, lost to Federer and 2011, lost to Djokovic) and US Open (2008, lost to Federer).



Born: May 15, 1987 in Glasgow, Scotland
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 190 lbs

Website: Twitter




Achievements/Career Highlights:
  • First British to reach the finals of Wimbledon since Bunny Austin in 1938
  • Career prize money: $20,376,752 (as of July 2012)
  • Career win-loss record: 345-115 (as of July 2012)
  • ATP singles titles: 33, including 8 ATP Masters 1000 titles
  • ATP doubles titles: 2

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Fabio Fognini





Fabio Fognini is an Italian professional tennis player. He is ranked No. 2 in Italy, and has reached a high of no. 32 in the ATP world rankings. He is currently world no. 63. 


His best showing in a Grand Slam event is quarterfinals in 2011 Roland Garros. He lost to Roger Federer in the second round of the 2012 Wimbledon.






Born: May 24, 1987 in San Remo, Italy
Height: 5'10" 
Weight: 160 lbs 
Website: Twitter




Career Highlights: 
  • Career win-loss record: 86-115
  • Career prize money: $2,126,295 (as of June 2012)
  • won one ATP doubles title (with Simone Bolelli) in Umag, Croatia
  • finalist in ATP singles event in Bucharest, lost to Giles Simon
  • finalist in three other ATP doubles events

Monday, June 11, 2012

King of Clay Wins Roland Garros

Rafael Nadal bested Novak Djokovic in four sets, to win his record-breaking 7th French Open title, one more than Bjorn Borg's.



The victory is Nadal's 11th Grand Slam title, and he is now tied with Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver for fourth with the most number of Grand Slams. Only Roger Federer (16), Pete Sampras (13), and Roy Emerson (12) has more.


Nadal also improved his record in Roland Garros to 52-1, with the only loss coming from Robin Sodering in the 2009 French Open 4th round. This is also his 35th title on clay, cementing his moniker as "The King of Clay."



Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga



Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is a French professional tennis player, currently ranked number five in the world, a career high (as of June 7, 2012). He is also the No. 1 ranked French player.


His highest achievement is reaching the finals of the 2008 Australian Open. So far  he has won eight ATP singles titles, including the 2008 Paris Masters, as well as four ATP doubles titles. He recently reached the quarterfinals of the 2012 French Open, losing to Novak Djokovic in five sets.


He turned pro in 2004. Tsonga has French and Congolese parentage.




Born: April 17, 1985 in Le Mans, France 
Height: 6'2" 
Weight: 91 kg
Residence: Gingins, Switzerland



Achievements/Career Highlights:
  • Reached a career high of number 5 on February 27, 2012
  • Career prize money: $9.033 million
  • Career Win-Loss record: 213-97
  • Reached the semifinals of 2011 Winbledon, and quarterfinals of 2011 US Open
  • Reached the finals of the 2011 World Tour Finals, losing to Roger Federer 

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Two in a Row




Rafael Nadal again defeated world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, 7-5, 6-3, for the second time in a row to win the 2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia. The victory is Nadal's sixth title in Rome. He also avenged his loss to Djokovic in the final last year. The title in Foro Italico is also Nadal's 49th overall ATP titles, and his 35th on clay. He will also ascend to number 2 ranking, which he lost to Roger Federer last week.




Djokovic defeated Federer in the semifinals, while Nadal defeated fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in straight sets to reach his 70th final. Nadal now holds a record 21 Masters titles.


The total prize money is € 2,427,975. 

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Feat of Clay


Rafael Nadal set another record when he won the 2012 Barcelona Open last weekend. By beating David Ferrer 7-6, 7-5 in the finals, Nadal now has won the tournament seven times. The victory came at the heels of his record eighth title in Monte Carlo two weeks ago. 


Nadal defeated Fernando Verdasco in the semis, while Ferrer defeated Milos Raonic to book a place in the finals. 





Nadal debuted in professional tennis in the same tournament in 2002, as a 15-year old. Nadal He now has 48 ATP singles titles, 34 of which are in clay. He also became the first tennis player in the open era to win seven straight titles in two tournaments. 

Monday, April 23, 2012

King of Monte Carlo


Rafael Nadal won his eighth consecutive title in Monte Carlo Rolex Masters 2012, drubbing nemesis Novak Djokovic in straight sets 6-1, 6-3. Nadal also broke his Djokovic jinx, where he lost 7 consecutive finals against the Serbian. 


Nadal defeated Giles Simon of France in the semi-finals, Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarters,  Mikhail Kukuskin in the 3rd round and Jarko Nieminem in the 2nd round on his way to the finals. Monte Carlo gave Nadal his 47th ATP singles title.



The Bryan brothers also won in the Monte Carlo doubles events, beating the team of Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor 6-2, 6-3. The win gave the twins their 78th doubles title. 

Robin Soderling


Robin Soderling is a Swede professional tennis player. Soderling, who turned pro in 2001, is currently No. 29 in the world. He reached his highest ranking in November 2010, at No. 4. He has 10 career ATP singles titles and 1 doubles titles to date. 

He beat Rafael Nadal in the 4th round in 2009 French Open Soderling, then won two more matches to reach the finals of the claycourt event. He is the first Swede since Magnus Norman in 2000 to reach the final of a grand slam. He lost it to Roger Federer in 3 sets. He reached the finals of the French Open again in 2010 but lost to Nadal in the championship. 

He missed most of 2011 and the start of the 2012 season due to mononucleosis. 


Born: August 14, 1984 in Tibro, Sweden 
Height: 6'4" 
Weight: 190 lbs 




Achievements/Career Highlights: 
  • career prize money: $10.42 million (as of April 2012) 
  • career win-loss record: 310-170 (as of April 2012) 
  • reached 2 finals in Roland Garros, in 2009 and 2010
  • won the 2010 BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, the first Swede to win a Masters 1000 event since Tomas Enqvist in 2000

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Dmitry Tursunov



Dmitry Tursunov is an American-trained Russian professional tennis player. The right-handed baseliner came to the United States when he was 12 years old to train. He represented his mother country in group competitions, leading his team to win the 2006 Davis Cup and helping it reach the 2007 Davis Cup finals.

He reached the semifinals of the French Open in 2008, his best showing in a Grand Slam. His first ATP singles titles was won in Mumbai in 2006. He has reached a career high of no.20 in the rankings (achieved in October 2, 2006)




Born: December 12, 1982 in Moscow
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 180 lbs
Website: www.dmitrytursunov.com , Twitter


Achievements/Career Highlights
  • Career ATP Tour singles titles: 7
  • Career ATP Tour doubles titles: 5
  • Career prize money: $4,036,893 (as of March 2012)
  • won the Hopman Cup (with Nadia Petrova) in 2007
  • Career win-loss record: 181-153 (as of March 2012)

Friday, March 9, 2012

Bob and Mike Bryan


Robert and Michael Bryan are twins who play professional tennis, specializing in doubles competitions. Together they hold the most number of weeks as no. 1 team in the ATP tour doubles, at 270 weeks. They also hold the record for most doubles titles ever, which stood at 76 (as of March 2012).

The Bryan brothers has competed in 7 straight Grand Slam finals between 2005 and 2006, winning three. In total they both appeared in 20 Grand Slam doubles finals and won 11 trophies: 5 Australian Open, 1 French Open, 2 Wimbledon, and 3 US Open titles.

The Bryans also play in mixed doubles. Bob won 7 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, while Mike won 2. 

Born: April 29, 1978 in Camarillo, California (Mike older by 3 minutes)
Height: 6'4" (Bob), 6'3" (Mike)
Weight: 202 lbs (Bob), 192 lbs (Mike)

Achievements/Career Highlights:
  • named ATP Team of the Decade (2000-2009)
  • won bronze medal in 2008 Beijing Olympics, losing to eventual gold medalists Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka
  • ITF World Champion in doubles, 2003-2007, 2009-2011
  • won 19 ATP Masters 1000 doubles titles
  • reached 118 career doubles finals, winning 76

Monday, March 5, 2012

Fernando Verdasco


Fernando Verdasco is a professional tennis player from Madrid, Spain. Currently no. 22 in the world, he reached his highest ranking in April 20, 2009, at no. 7. He turned pro in 2001, and won his first career ATP title in Valencia, in 2004. 

Verdasco, who plays left-handed, reached the semi-finals of Australian Open  in 2009, losing to Rafael Nadal, who went on to win the title. He also reached the quarterfinals of the US Open in 2009 and 2010. He recently lost to David Ferrer in the finals of Mexican Open  in Acapulco. 


Off court, Verdasco models for Calvin Klein underwear. 



Born: November 15, 1983 in Madrid, Spain
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 179 lbs


Achievements/Career Highlights:
  • Career prize money: $8.07 million (as of Mar 5, 2012)
  • Career win-loss record: 317-217
  • Career ATP singles titles: 5 (12 times finalist)
  • Career ATP doubles titles: 3 (2 times finalist)

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Marat Safin


Marat Safin is a Russian tennis player. He reached the world no. 1 ranking in November 2000, a few weeks after winning his first Grand Slam, the 2000 US Open, where he defeated Pete Sampras. The fiery-tempered Russian held the no. 1 spot for a total of nine weeks.



Safin, who turned pro in 1997, won the Australian Open in 2005 to clinch his second Grand Slam. He also reached the semi-finals of Roland Garros in 2001, and Wimbledon in 2008. He has a total of 15 career titles, including 5 Masters Series tournaments. He plays right-handed.


Safin retired in 2009. He ran for and won a post in the Russian parliament, representing the Nizhny Novgorod region. 


Born: January 27, 1980, in Moscow, Russia
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 195 lbs




Achievements/Career Highlights:
  • Won ~$14.37 million career prize money
  • Career win-loss record: 421-266
  • he and his sister Dinara both held the no. 1 ranking 
  • won his first ATP Tour title at age 19
  • Due to his fiery temper on court, he managed to break 1055 rackets during his entire career