Tennis Newsletter

Wimbledon organisers in favour of Stuttgart switch to grass

by Todd Thomas | Follow Thinking Tennis on Twitter

The gap between the French Open and Wimbledon will be extended to three weeks in 2015, and it looks like this can only be a good thing for grass court tennis.

Wimbledon will be moved back a week in the 2015 tennis calendar, allowing space for another grass court tournament to fill the gap between the action at Roland Garros and the start of main draw play at the All-England Club. It has recently been announced that the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart will be rescheduled to become the newest addition to the grass swing.

The Mercedes Cup had previously been played on clay, but the organisers in Stuttgart showed plenty of enthusiasm for a change of surface. Working in close co-operation with some of Wimbledon’s grass court experts, the turf will be laid in Stuttgart in anticipation of a landmark year for the tournament.

Richard Lewis, Chief Executive of the All-England Club, seems excited about the development. Speaking about the changes in Stuttgart, he remarked: “The three-week gap will create a longer grass court season between the French Open and Wimbledon, allowing the players more time to recover from the demands of playing at Roland Garros and then to prepare for The Championships. We are delighted to welcome the MercedesCup as a very important first step in building this exciting new extension to the grass court game. It is a highly respected tournament with a fine history and with whom we have a great relationship, and we look forward to working closely with them as we develop the opportunities for top class grass court tennis.”

Many requested a longer break between the two summer slams, and it looks like it can only be a good thing that this request has been heeded. The schedule is dominated by hardcourt and clay competitions, and an extended lawn season, in fitting with the origins of the game, should be a real crowd pleaser.

Written by Ian Horne from Wimbledon-Live.com

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Chris Evert backs Rafa by calling for fewer hard court events

by Todd Thomas | Follow Thinking Tennis on Twitter

5748090647 312ded3c5a Chris Evert backs Rafa by calling for fewer hard court events

Rafa Nadal has been a man on a mission since he returned to the tour last month and not just on the court. Rafa is a member of the ATP Players Council and during his run in South America, the Spaniard spoke out about the need for fewer hard court tournaments on the schedule as he believes they’re too rough on the body and result in more injuries. It’s clear that Nadal blames his chronic knee tendonitis problems on years of pounding the cement of Australia and North America.

Not everyone agrees with Rafa, some perhaps cynically wondering if he’s hoping to increase the number of clay-court events on the schedule which would undoubtedly benefit him. Some players such as Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky, have argued that so-called ‘natural surfaces’ such as clay and grass are just as rough on the body but just in different ways. The length of the rallies on clay and the heavier balls puts greater strain on the elbows and wrists and grass is known for putting more stress on the hip joint due to all the bending as the bounce is lower.

Plus leading biomechanics have argued that there is currently no scientific evidence beyond anecdotes and speculation to prove that hard courts are any more demanding than the other surfaces on the tour.

However Nadal has found himself a few powerful allies. Serena Williams is believed to be among those that feel that the predominance of hard court events on the schedule, results in more injuries these days. And he’s also received messages of support from former players with former world number one and multiple Grand Slam champion Chris Evert adding her opinion to the mix this week.

Evert believes that we need more clay and grass tournaments on the tour. Currently the grass-court season lasts a mere four weeks and many pundits have long expressed a wish for more grass events on the calendar. Evert also believes that the relentless pounding on cement leads to more feet, shin, knee and hip problems. However she conceded that the problem may not just be the courts, saying that the standard these days is some much higher than when she was competing and perhaps players are also practising too much and not allowing themselves enough rest.

AUTHOR:
David Cox writes for Live-Tennis.com an award-winning tennis, news and live stream website.

Image by Mbevis on Flickr

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Roland Garros 2012 – The French Open Roundup

by Todd Thomas | Follow Thinking Tennis on Twitter

We’ve entered the last week of the tournament and so far the competition has been amazing. Of course. I wouldn’t expect anything different from the French Open. French Open1 150x150 Roland Garros 2012 The French Open Roundup

I haven’t posted many updates lately. Let’s make a quick recap of Roland Garros 2012.

Men’s Singles

Roland Garros 2012 Mens singles Roland Garros 2012 The French Open Roundup

Novak Djokovic vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

World’s No.1 against the local player, who is trying to be first French winner of a major tournament since Yannick Noah’s title at Roland Garros in 1983. Djokovic is definitely favorite to advance to the next round.

Roger Federer vs. Juan Martin del Potro

Del Potro is playing with a left knee injury. Federer has reached the French Open semifinals in six of the last seven years. Even though Del Potro knows how to beat Federer (US Open final 2009), Roger is -as always- the favorite to win this match.

David Ferrer vs. Andy Murray

I’m looking forward to this match. It’s difficult to pick a winner.
The Spaniard, sixth seed, who is trying to make the semi-finals at Roland Garros for the first time will not have an easy match against Murray, who’s having back problems.
“It’s a little bit stiff, but it’s much better than it was a few days ago,” Murray said. “So, hopefully the conditions will warm up a little bit in the next few days.” (Read more here)

Nicolás Almagro vs. Rafael Nadal

Not much to say. Almagro defeated superior seeded Janko Tipsarevich to reach Quaterfinals, but it’s highly unlikely he will beat the King of Clay and defending champion, Nadal.

Women’s Singles

Roland Garros 2012 womens Roland Garros 2012 The French Open Roundup

Samantha Stosur vs. Dominika Cibulkova

Stosur should be favorite, however she’s not been very regular this year. In addition, Cibulkova ousted No.1 Azarenka and that is always a boost in confidence for any player.

Angelique Kerber vs. Sara Errani

Another difficult pick.

Kerber is in a Top 10 player while Errani is No.21.

However she ousted Kuznetsova and Ana Ivanovic and she’s a clay court specialist.

Yaroslava Shvedova vs. Petra Kvitova

If previous picks were hard, this one is at least peculiar. Petra Kvitova, Wimbledon Champion and 4th seed will face 142nd-ranked qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova, a doubles specialist who upset defending champion Li Na on Monday.

Kaia Kanepi vs. Maria Sharapova

Again, not much to say. Sharapova wants to win her first Roland Garros and Kaia Kanepi doesn’t seem a tough rival to avoid it.

One thing is for sure. Whoever conquers Roland Garros this year, there will be a new name in the list of winners of the French Open, since none of these women has won the tournament before.

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No doubt, Nadal is The No.1 on Claycourt

Rafa Nadal scored a new record winning his sixth Italian Open title and 35th clay-court crown. To do so, he defeated the No.1, Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-3 on Monday, after the rain delayed the match on Sunday. “He is always the favorite even if I win against him seven times,” Djokovic said. “He is the best player [...]

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Andy Murray and Victoria Azarenka leave Rome Masters

Victoria Azarenka pulled out the Rome Masters yesterday due to a shoulder injury. Azarenka complained about the WTA rules. She said the only reason why she entered the tournament in Rome was to avoid a zero pointer that would have made difficult for her to protect her No.1 ranking. “I was conflicted and disappointed to [...]

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Federer Highest- Paid Tennis Player

Roger Federer might be struggling to keep his recently reclaimed ATP No.2 but there’s one ranking where nobody has beaten him yet. Federer is the highest-paid tennis player, like he has been for the last few years. No matter how he’s ranking on the ATP. Actually, Federer is the World’s 4th Highest Paid Athlete in 2012. [...]

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Top 3 Highest Paid Tennis Players (Men and Women)

Roger Federer is the highest paid tennis player, including his career prize and his sponsor income. For more detail check our previous article Federer Highest- Paid Tennis Player.  But who are the other two the players in the Top 3? Number 3 might surprise you… Number 2: Rafa Nadal Rafael Nadal  has 20 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments [...]

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Monday Roundup – Roger Federer and Serena Williams King and Queen of the Blue Clay

Federer defeated Czech Tomas Berdych to win Mutua Madrid Open on Sunday (3-6, 7-5, 7-5) and reclaimed No. 2 in ATP Rankings. This victory means Federer’s 20th Masters – to equal Rafa Nadal’s all-time record- and 3rd Madrid Masters. The Swiss maestro was awarded a framed “Men in Black” suit from Will Smith, who is currently promoting his upcoming movie “Men in [...]

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Bye Djokovic. Farewell Sharapova

Yesterday Rafa Nadal said farewell to Madrid and while the Spaniard was fishing in Mallorca (here’s a picture from his Facebook fan page ), World #1 Djokovic and women’s #2 Maria Sharapova were eliminated from the tournament. Nole was beaten by fellow Serbian Janko Tipsarevic  (7-6 6-3), who will play Federer or Ferrer in the semifinals. [...]

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Will Nadal lose ATP No.2 ranking to Federer before Roland Garros?

Yesterday we were speculating about the possibility that Federer beats Nadal at Roland Garros. Today we are calculating the chances that the Swiss player has to become world number 2. It could happen and it sadly happened. The hate-relationship between Nadal and the blue clay of the Madrid Masters has ended with the current world [...]

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