Tennis Frontier

Tag: grass

  • Mercedes Cup, Stuttgart Open

    Mercedes Cup, Stuttgart Open

    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.

    [IMG]

    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.

    roger_federer lucas_pouille nick_kyrgios milos_raonic philip_kohlschreiber denis_shapovalov

    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.

     

  • Hewitt Annexes Newport HOF Titles

    Hewitt Annexes Newport HOF Titles

    Lleyton Hewitt

    Lleyton Hewitt completed a rare double at the Newport Hall of Fame Tennis Championships by winning both singles and doubles events.

    He won the singles event defeating huge serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic in a deciding third set tiebreak to take the match 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(3), then followed up by partnering with fellow Australian Chris Guccione to win the doubles title 7-5, 6-4 over Jonathan Erlich and Rajeev Ram.

    The victory over Karlovic was Hewitt’s 30th career singles title, and propels the 33-year-old up to No. 41 in the ATP world rankings.

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    Cover Photo: Simon Williams (Creative Commons license)

  • Roger Federer Wins the Gerry Weber Open, Halle

    Roger Federer Wins the Gerry Weber Open, Halle

    Roger Federer picked up his 78th career title winning the Gerry Weber Open at Halle for the sixth time.

    The 31-year-old Swiss defeated Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny in a tight three-set encounter, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4.  Youzhny had not beaten Federer in 14 previous attempts, but started brightly by winning the first set tiebreak.

    Federer responded by taking the second and third sets to seal his first title of the year.

    Click here to discuss the Halle Tournament and Federer’s title with fellow tennis fans.

     

  • Defending Champ Cilic Moves Into the semis at Queens

    Defending Champ Cilic Moves Into the semis at Queens

    Latest from Queens… Marin Cilic, the defending champion, defeated the #2 seed Tomas Berdych 7-5, 7-6(4) to reach the semifinals.

    Cilic, who won the title last year when David Nalbandian defaulted by kicking a line judge, faced a break point at 4-4 in the first set. Berdych dumped the return in the net, followed by Cilic failing to convert a brace of set points at 5-4 before Berdych made a forehand error on a third breakpoint at 6-5.

    In the second set, Berdych had break points at 2-2 and another at 4-4. But Cilic once again held off the threat before claiming victory in the tiebreaker.

    Discuss this match and much more in the Tennis Frontier message board forum.