Tennis Frontier

Author: Susan DePalma

  • Nadal Takes Madrid Title as Nishikori Retires

    Nadal Takes Madrid Title as Nishikori Retires

    Rafael-Nadal

    In a stunning turn of events at the Mutua Madrid Open, Kei Nishikori went from dominating the defending champion Rafael Nadal, to struggling to serve or even walk, and finally throwing in the towel in the third set. Nadal was rather gifted over the title, 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 Ret.

    Nishikori, who will become the first Japanese man ever in the men’s Top 10 when the rankings come out tomorrow, had a game plan against the world No. 1, and he was executing it for a full set and a half. Nadal, for his part, was helping his opponent’s cause with a rash of uncharacteristic errors. After having won the first set, and up a break in the second, before serving at 4-2 up, Nishikori called for the trainer. He’d been seen by the trainer for his back in the long semifinal yesterday against Ferrer. After that, he clearly struggled on serve and was broken by Nadal to even the set at 4-4. Nadal won the second, but Nishikori was clearly not the player he had been, and in the third set, he could hardly move, and had to concede the match. The win is Nadal’s fourth in Madrid, and third since it has been contested on clay.

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    Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Marianne Bevis

  • Sharapova Takes Madrid Title

    Sharapova Takes Madrid Title

    Maria Sharapova

    Maria Sharapova recovered from a first set loss to beat the fourth-seeded Romanian, Simona Halep, and take the Mutua Madrid Open championship, a WTA Premiere mandatory event.

    Halep came out strong, but Sharapova found her timing and confidence early in the second set to win the match in the third, 1-6, 6-2, 6-3. This was Sharapova’s 11th straight win on clay. For Halep, it was her first final at this level.

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    Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Yann Caradec

  • Aegon International, Eastbourne, UK, 2014

    Aegon International, Eastbourne, UK, 2014

    Photos courtesy of Dave Rubenstein.

  • Elena Baltacha, British Tennis Player, Dies at 30

    Elena Baltacha, British Tennis Player, Dies at 30

    Elena Baltacha

    Elena Baltacha (14 August 1983 – 4 May 1914)

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    Elena Baltacha, the former British Women’s No. 1, has died of liver cancer, just months after announcing her diagnosis. Born in the Ukraine and raised in Scotland, Baltacha was the top women’s tennis player in Britain for nearly three years. She reached a career high of 49. Her cancer diagnosis came in January of this year. Baltacha had retired in November of last year. She is survived by her husband, Nino Severino, who was her long-term coach, and whom she married in December of last year.

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    Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Dave Rubenstein

     

  • Nishikori Takes Barcelona

    Nishikori Takes Barcelona

    Kei Nishikori

    Kei Nishikori of Japan has beaten Santiago Giraldo of Colombia to become the first non-Spaniard to win in Barcelona since Gaston Gaudio of Argentina won it in 2002. This was the first final at the Conde de Godó to have no Spaniard in the final since 1996.

    After dropping his first service game of the match Nishikori dominated Giraldo, thereafter, winning 6-2, 6-2, to take his fifth career title, and first ever on clay for the 24-year-old Japanese superstar. Giraldo, 26, was in his second ATP final, though he has yet to take a trophy.

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    Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Marianne Bevis

  • Dimitrov Wins in Bucharest

    Dimitrov Wins in Bucharest

    Grigor Dimitrov

    Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria defeated Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic 7-6(2), 6-1 to win the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy. This is Dimitrov’s second title of the year, and third of his career. Rosol was defending the trophy.  The men traded breaks in the first set, which was very competitive and decided in a tiebreak, that was less so.  Rosol won only two points. Dimitrov took over the match from there, running away with the second set. When the rankings come out tomorrow, the Bulgarian will regain his previous career-high mark at No. 14.

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    Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Marianne Bevis

  • Sharapova Drives Away with Title in Stuttgart

    Sharapova Drives Away with Title in Stuttgart

    Maria Sharapova

    Maria Sharapova retains her title at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, besting Ana Ivanovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, in a match that featured a dramatic shift in momentum at the midway point. Ivanovic came out strong and played at a very high level, seeming to be about to take out the defending champion, leading by a set and up 3-1 in the second. The Russian, with her back nearly to the wall, at risk of not only losing this title which she’d won the last two years, but also of dropping out of the Top 10, raised her level of play dramatically, and left the Serbian suddenly more confounded than confident. Sharapova won four games in a row, and then the set.

    In the third, Sharapova broke Ivanovic in the first game, from which she never recovered. Both women are former world No. 1 players, with Sharapova currently at No. 9 and Ivanovic at No. 12, but this win brings Sharapova’s record in their head-to-head match-up to 10-3.

    And she gets to keep the car, too.

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    Also in women’s tennis today, Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor, a 21-year-old Spaniard, overcame Romina Oprandi of Switzerland to take the title at the Grand Prix De SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem in Marrakesh, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

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    Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Francisco Carbajal

  • Wawrinka Reigns in Monte Carlo

    Wawrinka Reigns in Monte Carlo

    AO ATP Winner - Stan 2

    Backing up his first Major title in Australia in January, Stanislas Wawrinka, of Switzerland, beat his countryman Roger Federer to win his first Masters 1000 title in Monaco today, 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2.

    As the two men are friends, Davis Cup teammates, and co-winners of the 2008 Olympic gold medal in doubles, the match started a little tentatively, and rather lacking in kill shots. Federer took the first set on the strength of one early break. In the second, Wawrinka drew the first break, but Federer broke back immediately, and so it was decided in a tiebreak, which Stan took hold of with the first mini-break and never relinquished control from there. He carried that aggressive attitude into the third set, going up two breaks immediately, for a 4-0 lead before Federer held serve. Wawrinka served it out at 5-2.

    With the win, Wawrinka retains the No. 3 slot in the world rankings, as well as his claim to the Swiss No. 1 spot.

  • Nadal Ousted in Monte Carlo

    Nadal Ousted in Monte Carlo

    AO ATP Winner - Nadal 1

    David Ferrer did what is one of the tougher tasks in tennis today by handing Rafael Nadal a loss in Monte Carlo. Only yesterday, Nadal marked his 50th win in the principality, as well as his 300th win overall on clay. Nadal lost to Guillermo Coria in 2003 when he was 16 years old, then went on to win the title here a record eight times consecutively, before having his streak snapped last year in the final by Novak Djokovic.

    Today the world No. 1 was uncharacteristically error-prone (27 in the first set, 44 total unforced errors), while his fellow Spaniard was focused and committed to attacking the Nadal backhand. The first set was long and hard-fought, with breaks of serve traded, but Nadal lost the tiebreak at 1, after an 85 minute first set. Ferrer was up by two service breaks in the second set before Rafa got one back, but couldn’t fight off Ferrer on his next attempt to serve out the match, which he did to win 7-6 (1), 6-4.  Ferrer next faces Stan Wawrinka and will be looking to win his second Masters 1000 title.

  • Luxilon Borg’s Davis Cup Photos – US v. GB 2014

    Luxilon Borg’s Davis Cup Photos – US v. GB 2014

    Luxilon Borg was in attendance when Great Britain beat the US team 3-1 in San Diego this year.  He offered these photos:

    MurrayMurray2Murray3Murray4MurrayserveQuerryCourierWideshotCourierCourier1CourierMurrayDonaldyoungMurrayMurray3Murray4Murray5Murray6Murray7Murray8MurrayCU.jpg.MurrayinterviewMurrayserve1MurraywatchingQuerrey2CourierQuerryQuerryservingScoreboardteambritainCourierCourier1CourierMurrayDonaldyoungDonaldyoung1