Tennis Frontier

Category: ATP Tour

Tennis Frontier News from the ATP Tour.

Djokovic Claims Thirteenth Major Title At Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic put a torrid couple of years behind him to secure his fourth Wimbledon title with a 6-2 6-2 7-6(3) over South African Kevin Anderson. It was his first major since the 2016 French Open. It marked the end of a road back to form having struggled with elbow issues, confidence problems and multiple changes to his coaching entourage.

With his young son Stefan watching from the stands, Djokovic put on businesslike performance, dominating all aspects of the encounter. It was a contrast to the battle royale he faced with Rafael Nadal in the Semi-finals on Friday.

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Anderson threatened to extend the match in the third set with five game points but Djokovic’s will prevailed under pressure and Anderson pushed a forehand return into the net to bring an end to proceedings.

Photo by Carine06

July 16, 2018
Federer Wins 98th Title In Stuttgart

Roger Federer secured his 98th ATP title in Stuttgart with an impressive straight-sets victory over Milos Raonic of Canada 6-4 7-6(3).

It was a first title on the grass courts of Stuttgart for Federer, who had been beaten here by Tommy Haas (2017) and Dominic Thiem (2016).

Federer, who turns 37 in August will now travel to Halle to defend his title at the Gerry Weber Open before launching his Wimbledon campaign.

Match Highlights:

Post Match Interview:

The veteran Swiss also returns to Number One in the World Rankings and spoke with the media after the match.

It’s been a lot of fun this week. I played great in the in the big moments. I was there especially against Kyrgios and Raonic so I’m very pleased you know.

The fans were absolutely amazing – they came up in big numbers and really supported me all week and at the end.

I played some of my best tennis already right away you know on my comeback so it’s a great feeling.

I’m first of all very pleased that I can go as a world number one to Halle, a place where I’ve enjoyed so much success and where I have such a close relationship to the tournament and the family and the fans over there. So I’ll be travelling there tomorrow and then get ready for my match. I think I’m playing already on Tuesday so only one day off with the travelling so it’s gonna be quite hectic you know from now till then. But no problem, I signed up for it and I can’t I can’t wait to play again actually.

Federer was presented with a Mercedes-Benz CLS 450 4MATIC Coupe in addition to his prize money.

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Click to discuss the Stuttgart Open in the Forum.

June 17, 2018
Mercedes Cup, Stuttgart Open

Credit: Mercedes Cup

Known locally as the “Cradle of the automobile”, Stuttgart is home to Daimler, Porsche, primary sponsor Mercedes-Benz and of course, the Stuttgart Open – an ATP 250 event to herald the beginning of the grass court season.

The tournament made the switch from clay to grass from 2015, primarily as a move to extend the grass court season. The first edition of the tournament in Stuttgart was held in 1898, with Mercedes-Benz assuming the role of title sponsor in 1979.

An added incentive for ATP World Tour players to win the tournament? The champion takes home a new Mercedes-Benz.

The city is the capital of the German state of Baden-Württemberg and ranks as the country’s sixth largest.

The winner of the Stuttgart Open won’t be getting a bus home. Mercedes Benz will be giving the winner a new car. Pictured is Lucas Pouille, the 2017 winner with a nice little sporting tourer – a Mercedes-Benz E 400.

Who’s playing?

Roger Federer is the name in highlights. The Swiss makes his return to the pro tour after skipping the clay season for the second year running.
Federer will be joined by 2017 winner Lucas Pouille, Nick Kyrgios, and Milos Raonic as the big contenders. Exciting youngster Denis Shapovalov and veterans Philip Kohlschreiber, Tomas Berdych and Mischa Zverev add to a strong field.

Fact Flash

Grass court king Roger Federer hasn’t enjoyed too much success in Stuttgart since it’s return to the grass court format. He lost in the 2016 semi-final against Dominic Thiem and was a first-round casualty last year against veteran Tommy Haas.

Click to Discuss the tournament in the Tennis Frontier Forum.

June 12, 2018
Nadal Wins Record 11th French Open Title

Rafael Nadal’s unprecedented domination of the French Open continues with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 win over Austrian Dominic Thiem.

Thiem, playing his first major final had the toughest assignment in tennis – beating Nadal on the hallowed dirt of Roland Garros over five sets. The Austrian entered the match with 3 previous wins on clay over Nadal, and while still a heavy underdog, was regarded as the best available contender.

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The 25 year old Austrian made a valiant attempt but was ultimately second best in all departments as Nadal extended his grip on the Roland Garros to 11 wins.

Nadal leaped out to a 2-0 lead before Thiem battled back with a break of his own to level the score at 2-2. The set stayed on serve until Thiem was serving at 4-5. A poor game littered with unforced errors handed Nadal the first set. Losing the first set was not a good omen for the Austrian. Nadal has a 95-0 record when capturing the opener on clay in a best of five format.

With the first set in the bag, Nadal loosened up and won the second set fairly convincingly. The biggest test for him came early in the third set with the onset of cramp in the left thumb. A massage and a salt pill helped put him back on track to see out the match and claim another historic title. The Spaniard wrapped proceedings up in two hours and 42 minutes.

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The win meant Nadal matched Margaret Court’s record of majors at a single event but the Spaniard’s is the more impressive. Court’s major title wins took place at the Australian Open in an era where some of the top players elected not to travel Down Under.

The title gives Nadal a total of 17 majors, moving to within 3 of long-time rival Roger Federer. The Swiss elected to miss the clay court season and hostilities will be renewed at Wimbledon.

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Featured Image Photo by Marianne Bevis

June 12, 2018
Rafael Nadal discusses the Barcelona Open (Interview)

Photo by y.caradec

Rafa, welcome back to Barcelona. You arrived here straight off the back of yet another win in Monte Carlo how much of a high are you one right now?

Well, thank you very much. Yes very happy with what happened last week of course. It’s been a great week and I enjoyed a lot the way that I played Monte Carlo and always playing in Monte Carlo is special and pleasure you know?

So, yeah – here I am at Barcelona again. It’s a tournament I know very well and I feel a little bit like home even if my home is Majorca. I am from this club and I enjoyed the fact that I can play here in front of my people.

You say you feel like home here you turn up here you get ready to play on a court which has your name. Is there much
more homely feeling anywhere else on the tour?

Well this part of the season all the events are so special for me now so I really enjoy playing every week and this week is not an exception and now having two weeks in a row at home – Barcelona and Madrid, this is a special two weeks back to back, so happy for everything and I’m just trying to to be ready for the tournament again.

…and of course here last year you did “La Decima”, what are your memories of winning a tenth title here and how great a feeling was it?

Yeah was fantastic now and was an unforgettable moment when I received a present on the on the centre court with a video after winning the tenth. Yeah was so special and just can say thanks to all the members here of the
club. It made me feel like this last year – victory against a very tough opponent in the final. It was a great final …so yeah

A great moment and you’ve already had it last week and you’ve got it again this week. You turn up here needing to perform to keep hold of the number one spot. Is that extra motivation for you now?

No, for me that the extra motivation is justing playing the tournament. If I’m playing Monte Carlo, for me like a love story and here almost the same and yes… My real motivation is just playing Monte Carlo last week, now playing Barcelona. That’s a tournament that I had a lot of success that I really feel the passion for playing on it so that’s all.

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Click for Tournament Draws, Scores, Updates and Discussion in the Forum.

April 23, 2018
Nadal reflects on win over Nishikori to set more records in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo: Rafael Nadal powered to a straight sets 6-3, 6-2 victory over Kei Nishikori in 93 minutes to lift a record eleventh Monte Carlo crown.

The Spaniard bettered his own records in the following categories:
- Most consecutive sets won on clay (36)
- Most titles on clay in the Open Era (54)
- Most Masters Final Appearances (47) – tied with Roger Federer
- Most Masters Final Titles (31) – overtaking Novak Djokovic
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He reflected on his record-breaking day during an interview with Sky Sports:

Nadal: “It’s so special no? and yeah it doesn’t matter if it’s the 11th. Every year is different feelings, and yeah especially coming back from injury it is so special for me. The history of this tournament with me is something difficult to describe now since the first time that I came here in 2003 it was so special.”

“So very happy with everything and the great news that I have had the chance to finish a week and playing so well during the whole week.”

It was a very special day for you today. The first three games were pretty tight and you were down a break in that first. How did you completely take control of the match?

Nadal: “From there yeah I had an opportunity to be 2-0 in the first – but I miss a forehand on the line and yeah I think I have it but you know that game – always I make few mistakes tactically now and then he had the break.”

“But mainly I think I changed it a little bit. Now I try to start to move him more than and what I was doing was opening the court and then I see more space. I open up the court with the backhand and then the match completely changes now it opened full possibilities for me and then yeah…”

“It was important to close that first set I had the tough game in at 5-3 and then in the second I started with advantage so that was big for confidence.”

You are now on your 54th clay court title. How does this set things up for you for the rest of the clay court season and how excited are you for things up ahead?

Nadal: “Well today is the moment to enjoy Monte Carlo, no? and then tomorrow we’re going to start thinking about Barcelona. I have a very difficult draw so I’ll just enjoy this day and of course it is a great feeling to start the clay court season in this way – winning five straight matches here and two last week in the Davis Cup so yeah, great feelings but it’s day by day and today the only thing that matters is to have this trophy with me again”

Match Highlights:

Highlights: Nadal Clinches 11th Monte-Carlo Crown

Watch as Rafael Nadal defeats Kei Nishikori to win his 11th Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters title and a record 31st overall ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown. Photo: Realis/Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com. Watch matches live at http://tnn.is/streamlive.

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April 22, 2018
Another record breaking opportunity for Nadal in Monte Carlo.

Kei Nishikori has his work cut out on Sunday when he faces off against Rafael Nadal on the red clay of Monte Carlo. A foregone conclusion? Not quite, but a huge ask of the Japanese ball striker.

Nishikori might take some heart from the fact that he beat Nadal in their last encounter (a third-place playoff match in the 2016 Olympics) but that was on hard court and Nadal was playing through injury. Another positive he might take comes from a performance on clay back in 2014 where he won a set in Madrid before retiring injured in the deciding stanza.

Aside from that, the omens aren’t good. Nadal has been imperious all week. In particular, the 6-0, 6-2 thrashing of Dominic Thiem sent a huge statement to the locker room.

“He’s been playing amazing, dominating all the matches” was Nishikori’s blunt assessment of Nadal’s progress. The Spaniard has only lost here once in the last twelve years.

Another finals victory would extend a record Nadal already owns. Last year in Monte Carlo, he became the first male player in Open era tennis to win the same tournament ten times. The smart money says he makes it eleven.

Who was Nadal texting after the match?

Some of you might have caught Nadal texting on his mobile phone straight after the Dimitrov match. The recipient?

“I was texting Carlos to tell him that we need to book a court quick, I just wanted to hit some forehands winners that I think I need for tomorrow” Nadal explained.

The Historical Head to Head

Nadal leads 9-2

2016 Olympic Tennis 0 Hard Kei Nishikori Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-7(1) 6-3
2016 Barcelona F Clay Rafael Nadal Kei Nishikori 6-4 7-5
2016 Indian Wells Masters QF Hard Rafael Nadal Kei Nishikori 6-4 6-3
2015 Canadian Masters QF Hard Kei Nishikori Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-4
2014 Madrid Masters F Clay Rafael Nadal Kei Nishikori 2-6 6-4 3-0 Ret’d
2014 Australian Open R16 Hard Rafael Nadal Kei Nishikori 7-6(3) 7-5 7-6(3)
2013 FO – RG R16 Clay Rafael Nadal Kei Nishikori 6-4 6-1 6-3
2012 Miami Masters R16 Hard Rafael Nadal Kei Nishikori 6-4 6-4
2011 Miami Masters R64 Hard Rafael Nadal Kei Nishikori 6-4 6-4
2010 Wimbledon R128 Grass Rafael Nadal Kei Nishikori 6-2 6-4 6-4
2008 Queen’s R16 Grass Rafael Nadal Kei Nishikori 6-4 3-6 6-3

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April 21, 2018
Barcelona Tennis Open 2018

Photo by SuiteLife Barcelona (www.SuiteLife.com)

“I had this perfect dream, This dream was me and you, I want all the world to see, A miracle sensation” – so begins the song “Barcelona” performed by Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé. Based on the lyrics, it could have been penned by Rafael Nadal talking about his place in Barcelona tennis folklore.

The King of Clay will roll into the Catalan capital campaigning for a record eleventh title at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona.

Who else is playing?

The field has been boosted by the late entry of former world number one Novak Djokovic. Djokovic decided to enter the tournament following his the third round Monte Carlo exit at the hands of Dominic Thiem. The Serb will be seeded six at a tournament he last played in 2006 at the tender age of 18 years old.

Dominic Thiem arrives in Barcelona licking his wounds after being on the wrong end of a drubbing administered by Nadal in Monte Carlo. The Austrian won only 2 games during the match and was ushered out of the facilities in less than 68 minutes. Still, Thiem is one of only a few players to have beaten Nadal on the red dirt in the past.

Grigor Dimitrov, David Goffin, and Pablo Carreno Busta will also hope to make an impression.

Flying under the radar is Kei Nishikori. Nishikori is seeded a lowly 14th this year on the back of a series of injury timeouts that ravaged his ranking but he has won twice here before in 2014 and 2015.

More Than Tennis

The tournament is more than just a sporting event in the Barcelona calendar, it’s also an esteemed social event that plays host to various activities and events around the village complex.

Fact Flash

Barcelona nearly became home to the Eiffel Tower. If everything had gone according to Gustave Eiffel’s initial plan, Paris’ most famous landmark would now be in Barcelona. Unfortunately, Spain rejected the architect’s project, deciding that it was too “radical” and did not fit the city’s aesthetics.

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April 21, 2018
The Top 10 Social Media Followings in Men’s Tennis

Swiss superstar Roger Federer is deemed by many to be greatest of all time when it comes to tennis records and accolades, but can he add the title of King of Social Media to his list of achievements?

Tennis Frontier went on a fact-finding mission to see which players were rocking the realm of Cyberspace with social media followings. We checked out the Twitter, Facebook and Instagram followings of the major players. Overall figures are shown in brackets.

No.10 David Ferrer (Followers: 1,562,114)

The diminutive Spanish baseliner, David Ferrer has utilised Twitter well, engaging the public and boasts a whopping 1.15 million followers on that channel (down from a high of 1.4 million). Ferrer has also tapped into Facebook but his numbers are negated by a pretty meagre Instagram footprint.

Facebook: 399,414
Twitter: 1,150,000
Instagram: 12,700

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No.9 Kei Nishikori (1,905,105)

Nishikori is a huge name in Japan and the likelihood is that he has his own huge following on Japanese social media channels, but in terms of Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, he weighs in at Number 9 on the list with just under 2 million followers.

Facebook: 682,105
Twitter: 888,000
Instagram: 335,000

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No.8 Grigor Dimitrov (1,923,449)

Baby Fed has never quite lived up to his strapline on the court, but Grigor Dimitrov boasts the 8th largest social media following in men’s tennis. Dimitrov didn’t have an Instagram presence a couple of years ago but made up for lost time and now boasts a healthy following of 768,000 followers on that medium alone.

Facebook: 698,449
Twitter: 457,000
Instagram: 768, 000

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No.7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2,294,956)

Tsonga is a likable fellow and this is reflected in his social media statistics. Good followings on Facebook and Twitter didn’t stop the Frenchman tapping into Instagram to boost his online profile.

Facebook: 824,956
Twitter: 989,000
Instagram: 481,000

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No.6 Stan Wawrinka (3,338,388)

The Swiss star and three-time major winner has leveraged his success into building a social media following approaching three and a half million followers. Wawrinka has successfully tapped into the younger demographic, boasting a healthy 847,000 followers on Instagram.

Facebook: 751,388
Twitter: 1,740,000
Instagram: 847,000

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No.5 Juan Martin Del Potro (7,005,616)

Del Potro wasn’t in the Top 10 two years ago when it came to social media followings. Either his PR team is doing something well, or fans are piggybacking his resurgence to relevance. The truth is likely somewhere in between. Either way, Delpo has over 7 million followers – more than twice the number of Stan Wawrinka, who is only one place further back.

Facebook: 2,085,616
Twitter: 3,320,000
Instagram: 1,600,000

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No.4 Andy Murray (8,872,243)

Murray was an early advocate of social media, particularly Twitter, and now boasts a healthy 8.8 million+ followers across the major channels.

Facebook: 3,752,243
Twitter: 3,720,000
Instagram: 1,400,000

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No.3 Novak Djokovic (19,447,035)

Photo by Marianne Bevis

Former World Number One and iconic Serb, Novak Djokovic boats a staggering 19 million+ following, a huge increase on #4 Andy Murray.

Facebook: 7,157,035
Twitter: 8,490,000
Instagram: 3,800,000

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No.2 Roger Federer (32,294,374)

Photo by Marianne Bevis

Arguably, the greatest player to pick up a tennis racquet, Roger Federer ranks #2 on our social media list with a whopping 32 million+ followers. Federer leads the sport on Instagram and Facebook followers. Despite joining Twitter less than two years ago, he has amassed a staggering 12.4 million fans. Such figures transcend the sport, yet he still falls marginally short of his long-term rival, Rafael Nadal

Facebook: 15,094,374
Twitter: 12,400,000
Instagram: 4,800,000

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No.1 Rafael Nadal (34,745,623)

Photo by Marianne Bevis

The Spanish Bull boasts a staggering following of nearly 35 million and ranks #1 among active male tennis players. Nadal was an early advocate of Twitter but took to Facebook fairly late. He is second to Federer on Facebook and Instagram but his Twitter following propels him above the Swiss in the overall count. Nadal holds the GOAT title of social media.

Facebook: 14,645,623
Twitter: 15,600,000
Instagram: 4,500,000

Photo by Marianne Bevis

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April 13, 2018
Monte Carlo Masters 2018

Photo by Fabio Pani

If awards were given out for the most picturesque venue among ATP tournaments, then the Monte-Carlo Country Club would have few contenders with its stunning views over the Mediterranean.

Monte Carlo hasn’t been a mandatory masters event since 2009 but still retains it’s allure in attracting top players with good prize money, a fantastic location and rich storied history. Rafael Nadal has won here a record ten times and returns as the defending champion and overwhelming favourite.

Novak Djokovic, one of only two active players other than Nadal to have won here (Wawrinka being the other) has reunited with longtime coach Marian Vajda and will hope it sparks an upturn in form.

Dominic Thiem already has seven clay court titles to his name but is yet to win a Masters crown. He’s well placed to start making an impression on the European clay swing but the question mark for him at Monte Carlo is that hasn’t played since injuring an ankle at Indian Wells.

Grigor Dimitrov, Sascha Zverev, and David Goffin are other contenders who will be looking for a good start to the European clay season. Lucas Pouille will be the primary French flag bearer.

Strange But True…

The Monte Carlo Country Club is not actually in Monte Carlo or even Monaco. It’s situated in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, a French commune bordering the city-state.

One to Watch…

All eyes will be on Djokovic. The former #1 is in the most turbulent phase of his illustrious career with injuries and coaching changes. Will the real Novak Djokovic stand up?

Singles Field: 56
Prize Money: €4,872,105

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April 12, 2018