Tennis world en n 47

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The Federer Paradox Federico Mariani

The matter of Roger Federer presents us with some problems. How do we interpret his success? This question is not as easy to answer as one would imagine. But let us start with the facts: the latest incarnation of the Swiss, version 3.0, is a formidable beast. It is impossible to deny that Federer is today playing as well as he was a decade ago, when he was at the very height of

his dominance. During the period 2004-2007, he won 11 of the 16 Slams on offer, winning three Major trophies in three of those years. Of course, Federer is not the same player today that he was then, but that does not mean he is any less brilliant. In some ways, he is

arguably even better. His backhand has improved tremendously, and he now possesses a fully matured all court game that he simply did not have in those years. Then again, his dominance was such that he did not need it, and its development was a reaction to the fact that his old style was no longer working too well. But develop it he did, and the results have been spectacular. How does a man play as well at 36 as when he was 26? Especially since, when he was 26, he was already arguably the

greatest player ever. This question is further complicated by the ease with which he just won Wimbledon. Looking back, it seems almost inevitable that he would win at SW19, that nobody would be able to challenge him on those hallowed courts. Djokovic is a mere shell


of his former self, Nadal was clearly exhausted from his clay exploits and Murray suffered an unfortunate combination of poor form and poor health. In the end, Federer’s road to triumph was almost trivial – he didn’t drop a set, something he had never managed before at Wimbledon. The only other time he had accomplished that feat was at the 2007 Australian Open. It seems crazy in retrospect to think that Cilic would be able to give him a run for his money in the final. You could even say it seems crazy that Cilic should be in the final at all.

season where he has traditionally struggled. 2017 was supposed to be a season of transition, where the young guns come up to challenge the older players for dominance. Yet with the season more than half over, it is the same two players who dominated tennis ten years ago, Federer and Nadal, who again have the Tour in a stranglehold. Except for Rome, they have utterly dominated all the major events.

And in conceding the strangeness of seeing Cilic in the final, one stumbles upon a possible explanation for Federer’s success: a lack of competition. Apart from Nadal, his old rivals are struggling both physically and mentally, and Nadal himself is now entering the part of the

Federer of 2006 is that he chooses his battles more carefully. He did not feel he had much chance at Roland Garros, and nothing to gain except potential injuries from the rest of the clay court season. So he decided to rest up and let Nadal loose on his peers, as he rested up for the

Of course, one of the biggest differences between the Federer of now and the


grass swing. The result? So far, Federer has won 32 matches in 2017 and lost only 2, with those two defeats coming against Donskoy in Dubai and Haas in Stuttgart. In both those matches he had big leads and should have won. They are more examples of mental lapses than of Federer being bested by an opponent. So is it lack of competition that has allowed Federer this renewed dominance? Or is it simply that he has, through a series of well-considered decisions, evolved his game to the point where it is again allowing him to fully express his talent? It’s probably a combination of both, and how much weight either factor carries likely says more about the person considering the question than about Federer’s situation itself. Whatever the origin of Federer’s renaissance, the reality at the moment is that he has a very real chance of ending the year as world number one. Murray is defending a mountain of points in the coming months, and there is almost no chance of him defending even a fraction of those. Could Federer go from 17 in the world to the top spot in the rankings in one season? A year ago it would have seemed laughably ridiculous. But right now, it seems more likely than not, and at the end of the year we might look back to this time and think that it was inevitable all along.



Roger Federer Vs Rafael Nadal: 3 Unique Facts of their Rivalry! Akshay

The greatest rivalry in Tennis between the perfectionist Roger Federer and the bulldozer from Spain Rafael Nadal has been epitomized by the power packed punches the duo has thrown on each other ever since they met for the first time in the round of 32 in the scenic locales of the Miami Masters in 2004. TennisWorldUSA traces their journey as the two vicious challengers and brings to you three distinctive facts about their fierce rivalry. Have a look at some of the interesting essentials of the two of a kind. Federer is the only man who has bageled Nadal on all three surfaces The magician is the only player on the men’s circuit who has bagged a 6-0 set against the mighty Majorcan on all three facades – hard, grass and clay. The fascinating feat kicked-off at what Federer calls his ‘first home’ – the sacred lawn of the Centre Court at the All England Club in 2006. After losing the French Open final to the left-hander, Federer got his chance for an immediate revenge as the tenacious Capri wearing muscular boy surprised

everyone by making it to the championship clash at the ‘Big W’. Roger played picture perfect tennis in the opening set as he showed that his was the emperor of the lush green grass as he reeled off six straight games in 25 minutes. The 18 times Major victor then stunned the King of Clay a year later on his preferred red brickish veneer in the final at Hamburg, when he routed the then World No.2 to claim his 13th Masters crown. The maestro completed his trifecta of bagels over the southpaw when he steamrolled him 6-3, 6-0 at the yearend Barclays World Tour Finals in


triumphs over the present World No.2 have been on the cemented courts, with most of them coming at the prestigious 8 man Masters Cup in either China or London at the tail-end of the season. Federer has never beaten Nadal three times in a row. With wins at Basel in 2015 and the Australian Open this year, this is the third time Federer has had back-toback wins over Nadal - he did it once in 2006 and once in 2007. But he’s never made it three in a row… can he pull that off on Wednesday?

London in 2011. Federer is the sole guy who has defeated Nadal at least twice on clay, grass and hard courts Mr. Tennis’ remains to be the only bloke that has nailed the 26 year old no less than two times on the three different types of surfaces currently in use in tennis. While, the superlative grasscourter had trounced him in back to back finals at SW19, he had annihilated the man from Spain in trophy clashes on the slow bouncy clay of Hamburg in 2006 and again in front of Rafa’s home fans in Madrid in 2009. Federer’s eight other

The Two have faced each other before the Quarterfinals just 3 times out of their 37 meetings The first time the two played was in Miami all the way back in 2004 (Nadal won the Third Round match, 6-3 6-3). The Second Match came at the ATP World Tour Finals in 2011 (with Federer winning a round robin match, 6-3 6-0). The most recent meeting before the Quarterfinals came this year at the Indian Wells Masters with the two facing off in the Round of 16 (Federer won this encounter 6-2 6-3). This is also the first time that Federer has managed winning more than two back to back matches against Nadal (is 4 matches unbeaten against the Spaniard at the moment).




Old Rivals, New Rivals Giorgio Perri Beauty vs. brawn. Elegance vs. effectiveness. These have been the neverending debates when discussing the rivalry between Federer and Nadal. Of course, the very nature of the debate is somewhat pointless and serves more to lessen the experience of the rivalry rather than to add to or clarify it. To compare these two giants in those onedimensional terms does not do justice to their brilliance, but instead oversimplifies and cheapens it. Yes, theirs has been a clash of contrasts, as every great rivalry is, but there is nothing to be gained by trying to determine which quality – Federer’s grace or Nadal’s brutality – is the “best.” Regardless of their merit, these sorts of questions

and comparisons have crawled back into the tennis consciousness because Federer and Nadal are once again the two best players on the Tour. By all accounts they seem to be completely on par as well, with neither man visibly better than the other. This naturally which makes the debate even juicier in most eyes. All of this in a year which was supposed to be very different. Murray was supposed to add to his new empire, solidifying his position at number

one. Djokovic was supposed to make a fresh assault on the top spot, which he was so unceremoniously removed from a few short months ago. But fate had other plans in store. Instead, it has been the two old-timers, both coming off significant injuries and layoffs, who have reconquered old ground, once again dominating the men’s Tour with their irresistible duopoly. The only difference between now and a decade ago is that the


two men are conquering the tennis world without ever trespassing in the other player’s domain. They clashed during the hard court season at the beginning of the year, but since parting at the start of the clay swing they have left each other in peace. Federer did not even set foot on the clay at all, leaving Nadal to his rampaging ways with no Swiss interference. The Spaniard made good use of the opportunity, winning all but one of the major clay events. He was particularly brutal in Paris, losing only 35

games en route to the title. That’s even better than his previous record, which was 41 games in 2008. And when the grass season started, Nadal returned the favor. He did not participate in his normal warmup events, and was consigned to the other side of the Wimbledon draw. He lost early there as well, never even coming close to the possibility of a matchup against Federer. For his part, Federer picked up where he left off on the hard courts, losing just

one match in the whole grass season and winning his 8th Wimbledon title without dropping a set, just as Nadal did at Roland Garros. And so we head into the final part of the season with both men just about even in the Race Rankings. With Djokovic out for the rest of the year and Murray reeling, it’s essentially guaranteed that one of these old rivals will clinch yet another year-end number one ranking. Who will it be? Trying to answer that question is as futile as trying to determine who is the best just by looking at their numbers. Federer has more Slams in total, that is true, but Nadal has 10 Roland Garros titles to Federer’s 8 Wimbledon trophies. Then you add Nadal’s domination of their headto-head clashes and end up with…well, it all seems to balance out.


For every tit there is a tat in these arguments. Separating the two men is now as impossible as ever, especially when arguing about the numbers by themselves. But as we said at the start, these direct comparisons are counterproductive. They simply serve to distract us from the beauty of what is unfolding on the Tour, of these two old warriors playing like they are as old as the young bucks who were supposed to usurp them in 2017. It’s not so much about Federer versus Nadal anymore, but about Federer and Nadal against the world. And we can’t wait to see how it plays out as we head into the year’s last Slam.



Nadal's taboo at Wimbledon Gatto Luigi

Rafael Nadal and the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, an achievement that has been a taboo since 2012. This year it seemed really that Rafa could go far in the third Grand Slam event of the season where he reached fourth round only twice in the last five years. The match against Gilles Muller was strange for Rafa at least in terms of stats: he won seven more points in total than his opponent and hit

just 17 unforced errors. Rafa didn't have the killer instinct in the key moments, where he was too tense and almost afraid, which had already happened in five of six matches lost in the fifth set in the last 21 months. The three losses - to Fognini at the 2015 US Open, Fernando Verdasco at the 2016 Australian Open, Lucas Pouille at the 2016 US Open -

could not be compared to Nadal's current shape of form, which is much better. The final lost to Federer in five sets in Melbourne has some similitudes with the seventh loss of the year. Nadal's game is mostly about his game from the baseline, but he should have tried to return inside the court. Andy Murray does it very well, and as a matter of fact when he is at his best he always wins against best servers. Here below you can see an interesting comparison, Nadal's position on the return side against Muller, and the one against Rosol in 2012, Kyrgios in 2014

and Brown in 2015. If against the Luxembourger Rafa never tried to take the ball early, against the other three big servers, despite he lost, he always tried to return on the baseline. Muller's 14 break points saved on 16, four of them on 9-9 in the fifth set, were really the key for this loss. But Rafa can look at


the positive side as well: Nadal is able to play his tennis again and not only on clay: 23 aces, which is his personal record (the previous one was 19 against Rosol in 2012) and especially a solid physical condition. Rafa will have time to accept this loss, and he will definitely approach the second half of the season with more certainties and less doubts than the first one where he started with many question marks, anxiety and hopes. Motivations won't lack: by now until the end of the year he will have to defend only 405 points, which allows him to fight for the No. 1 position in the ATP Rankings. However he won't make changes in his schedule, that's why he will come back to compete only in the North American hard-

court season with a 'clear goal in mind', he said looking to the future. If in the previous years Rafa wasn't close to his best level at all, now his losses are against players who have some of their best days ever in matches where it's all about details. This year three losses against one of the best Roger Federer versions ever, one against an inspired Sam Querrey in Acapulco, and other two ones against Dominic Thiem and Milos Raonic. 46 wins on 53 matches played, four titles, three finals: Nadal needs to restart from these great things.


Best Andy Murray’s Moments Akshay Andy Murray has been one of the most consistent performers over the last 2 seasons and the Scot has deservedly become the World No.1. Here are some of the best Andy Murray moments Olympic Gold, 2012 Murray’s first big win! Though not a Grand Slam title, it was equally important for Murray, who won the Gold in London, in front of his home crowd. The Event was played at Wimbledon and he defeated Novak Djokovic in the semis and Roger Federer in the final. Both in straight sets. It finally ended the spat over whether Murray had what it takes to win one of tennis's big honours. It came only weeks after another gut-wrenching Grand Slam final defeat on the same court, to the same opponent, in the Wimbledon

final. US Open 2012 The First Slam is always special and though it was not Wimbledon, Murray’s win at Flushing Meadows backed his Olympic Gold in London. Andy Murray ended Britain's 76-year wait for a male Grand Slam singles champion with an epic victory over Novak Djokovic in the US Open final. Murray emulated Fred Perry's 1936

achievement, winning 7-6 (12-10) 7-5 2-6 3-6 6-2 in four hours 54 minutes in the Arthur Ashe Stadium. "When I realised I had won, I was a little bit shocked, I was very relieved and I was very emotional," said Murray. Surely he would be following his heartbreaking losses in his previous 4 slam finals where he was the second best!


Wimbledon Champion, 2013 Seventy seven years had passed since the last British man had won Wimbledon. On the seventh day of the seventh month, in gloriously hot Wimbledon sunshine, Murray finally banished the ghost of Fred Perry from the All England Club! A year earlier, he'd lost in the final to Roger Federer. Since then, the Olympics and his maiden

Grand Slam title at the US Open had been claimed, all under the watchful eye of new coach Ivan Lendl. Having fought off several match points, on the final one, a back-hand from Djokovic hits the net. Centre Court creates a noise we've never heard before. Murray lets his racquet drop to the ground. Davis Cup Champion, 2015

One thing that was left for Murray to win for his nation was the Davis Cup. Spearheading the Great Britain team throughout the Davis Cup tie, Murray had been the main stay in not just singles but doubles as well. James Ward miraculously beat John Isner and gave Britain the chance to beat United States in the first round. Then the Aussies came calling in the semifinal, where Murray played the protagonist role and along with his brother Jamie, the pair defeated Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Groth in an epic five-set doubles rubber before Andy sealed the deal the next day. The final took place on clay in Ghent, Belgium with extra security as the hunt continued for the Paris terror-attack suspects, but the tennis went ahead. The Murray brothers won the doubles - again - before Britain's first Davis Cup since 1936 was duly delivered by its best player since that era.


Sam Querrey, The Quiet American

Alessandro Mastroluca "It was a fun adventure." One of those throwaway comments people say about going hiking or skiing. That Sam Querrey used it when referring to reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon says volumes about his personality. Humble and understated, he has often been overshadowed by other players in his career, but his results over the past

year have spoken louder than he has been willing to. His last two performances at Wimbledon in particular have been nothing short of spectacular. Last year he beat world number one Novak Djokovic, and this year he beat another world number one in the form of Andy Murray. He also defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Kevin Anderson en route to the semi-finals. He became the first American man since Andy Roddick in 2009 to reach the final four of a Grand Slam. Even though he had played several five-set

matches to reach the semis, he maintains that fatigue played no part in his loss to Marin Cilic. That match saw 212 of the 217 points end within four shots, a testament to the tremendous power of both players. In all, Querrey had to wait 42 Grand Slams before reaching his first semi-final. He shares that distinction with David Ferrer, who had to wait the same amount of time before he broke through to that level. Together they share the longest wait for a semi-final appearance in the Open


said recently about the state of the sport. “I hope the kids can gain confidence from my semi-finals, and maybe that's how we can get more and more US players in the semi-finals of Slams.”

Era. But thanks to his tremendous persistence and the help of coach Craig Boynton, he is now closing in on his careerbest ranking of 17 (reached after the Australian Open in 2011. He is currently ranked 23). It’s a difficult time for American tennis, but Querrey feels positive about the overall direction of the sport in the US. “We have three players in the Top 30 (and Johnson is just outside, at number 34) and a good group of young people,” Querrey

In fact, Querrey is already inspiring young people with his performances, starting with the 2016 girls’ doubles Wimbledon champion, Claire Liu. She is currently training at California State University just outside of Los Angeles, and considers him a role model. But whether Querrey will be able to fix the sport all by himself is another question. The United States, which once dominated tennis, is now a mere afterthought in the sport. “I think in other countries, the best athletes play tennis before it happens here,” John McEnroe recently told CNN. “We must be able to attract little kids who are playing basketball or football. We need to make this sport

more accessible and cheaper.” This, unfortunately, is easier said than done. “In high school, if you play basketball or baseball, the university pays travel and expenses at the end of the season. If you play tennis you have to go it alone,” Nick Bollettieri has said of the problem. Of course, there are scholarship programs for tennis, but it is not enough to address the issue in of itself. “Today there are a lot more people playing tennis,” Bolletieri added. "But not enough to create champions. When teenagers reach 13 and 14 and show potential, the cost factor comes into play and many are blinded by what they see every day.” Tennis has also become more demanding than in the past, which adds to the problem. The sport is now more physical than ever, meaning that junior players have to spend extra time on their fitness in addition to their tennis


training. Add to that the fact that the pro circuit can only comfortably support about 150 professionals, and the math just doesn’t add up for many families. Internationalization has also marginalized the position of the United States. “In the seventies, eighties and nineties, American fans became accustomed to seeing these great champions,” John Isner admitted some time ago. “Today, however, tennis is a very tough sport, with so many strong European players dominating the game.” But there is some hope for the future. Yes, Roddick’s US Open victory in 2003 seems very far away now, and the incredible amount of American players in the Top 30 in 1990 will likely never be repeated. Currently, however, the US still has three players in the Top 30, not a bad number at all. They also have two teenagers in top 100, once of whom is Frances Tiafoe. Tiafoe’s story is an interesting one, and starts

with his father, Constant, who moved to the United States from Sierra Leone. He found a job working on the construction of the Junior Tennis Champions Center (JTCC) in Maryland, and later worked there as a custodian. Frances started playing tennis at the JTCC at the age of four, and won the Orange Bowl in 2013. “There are players who won the Orange Bowl and then disappeared,” Frances said of his victory. “I do not want to be one of those.” To that end, he started working with Juan Todero and then Jose Higueras, the latter of which turned

Michael Chang into the youngest Slam champion ever. A large part of Tiafoe’s training will be to learn how to play on clay. This is thanks to a push from the USTA to get more of their young players accustomed to the surface that rules the roost at most European events. Their approach has already paid off, with Whitney Osuigwe winning the junior French Open in 2017. They are hoping that the future American champions will be better than their predecessors on all surfaces, not just the hard court and grass tournaments where the likes of Sampras once


dominated. Another teenager in the Top 100 is Ernesto Escobedo. Escobedo was born in Jerez, and has an aunt who played for Mexico in Seoul in 1988. The fact that two of the top American prospects hail directly or indirectly from foreign nations says a lot about the USTA’s new approach and their embracing of internationalism. Tennis is a global sport, and their thinking is now also

global. “Friendship and team spirit in this group of players seems to have a positive effect,” Brian Boland, the head of the men’s USTA Player Development program said of his current crop of young players. The program’s headquarters recently moved to Orlando, where he hopes they will hone themselves into find Tour-level players. “I would like this to become the second home of all players, where we work together

with our national coaches to maximize our players' potential.” These initiatives are, of course, playing out behind the scenes, so its impact will not be felt for quite some time. Fans will likely continue to think of US tennis as on the outs. But something positive is happening in American tennis, and Sam Querrey might have more to do with it than he thinks.


Venus Williams – An Unlikely Comeback Marco Di Nardo On August 31, 2011, Venus Williams withdrew from her second round match at the US Open without ever setting foot on court. She was scheduled to play Sabine Lisicki. The reason, as everyone would soon know, was an autoimmune disease known as “Sjogren's Syndrome.” Its symptoms include extreme fatigue, which is obviously a massive problem for a professional athlete, seeing as they cannot train and compete effectively while they are constantly exhausted. In the same season, Serena Williams also suffered a blow when she sustained a hip injury, which limited her to just three tournaments on the year heading into Flushing Meadows. But while Serena’s hip soon healed, allowing her to return to and dominate the WTA Tour, Venus was not so lucky. As Venus herself put it in an interview, Sjogren’s Syndrome is the disease that never seems to end. For the first time in her career, she failed to reached the quarter final of a Slam in an entire season. She had not won a Grand Slam title since 2008, and at 31, her tennis future seemed murky. It was widely assumed she would soon retire. But Venus had faced adversity in her life and career before, and was not so easily persuaded to give up. In 2012, she returned to the courts in Miami,

immediately reaching the quarter-finals. Though it would be another challenging year from a physical perspective, she did end the season by winning the title in Luxembourg, her first WTA triumph since 2010. Yet while she displayed flashes of brilliance, her body would often simply not let her compete. Indeed, often she was not even able to train due to the extreme fatigue brought on by her condition. In 2013, she failed to even reach a final. It was in many ways the lowest point for Venus, and her days as a legitimate contender on the Tour seemed all but over. When 2014 rolled around, few people expected anything at all from the American, but she quietly started working her way back into the upper echelons of the game. She reached four finals and


won a title, a massive step up from the dismal 2013 season, though not quite yet the results she was used to in her prime. 2015 ultimately proved to be the real turning point for Venus, and her comeback became undeniable. She once again returned to a Slam quarter-final, reaching the last eight both the Australian Open and US Open. She also won the WTA Elite trophy, and finally returned to the Top 10, ending the year ranked number 7 in the world. The following year, though her physical struggles were ever-present, Venus managed to again reach a Grand Slam semi-final. The feat came at her favorite tournament, Wimbledon, where she was eventually defeated by Angelique Kerber, who would end the year as the world number one. It marked the first time since

2010 that Venus had gone that far in a Major. At 36, reaching a Grand Slam semi-final is no mean feat, but it seemed doubtful that she could do any better than that at such an advanced age. Then again, tennis these days is good to older players, with both the men and women’s Tours at the mercy of contenders deep into their thirties. Taking heart both from that fact and her performance at Wimbledon, Venus continued to work hard and, at the Australian Open in 2017, it finally paid off. Almost a decade since her last appearance in a Grand Slam final, the American reached the Championship round Down Under. In the men's final it was also a showdown of the old guys, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who had been the number one and two


ranked players all the way back in 2005. But on the women’s side the statistics were even more incredible: It had been 14 years since, in 2003, Serena and Venus Williams played their first Australian Open final against each other. Unfortunately for Venus, the 2017 final ultimately ended the same way the 2003 final did, in a victory for Serena. But it did not feel like a loss, given all that she had been through. Reaching the final was a massive achievement in itself, seeing as she was the second oldest woman to ever reach a Slam final, behind Martina

short months later, she was in a similar position at Wimbledon, though her opponent was very different. Instead of her sister’s familiar face, she found herself opposite Garbine Muguruza, the 23 year-old Spaniard who won the French Open in 2016. Had she won, all the record books would have had to be more or less thrown out, but it was not to be. The young Spaniard was obviously fresher, and after putting up a big fight in the first set, fatigue caught up with Venus.

Navratilova, who was a finalist at Wimbledon in 1994 at the age of 37.

At this point, we have no idea what to expect from the American, who turned 37 just before Wimbledon started. We have a hunch, however, that she is not quite done yet, and we wouldn’t be surprised if she added at least one more Slam trophy to her cabinet before it was all over.

Having returned to the final of a Major, Venus appears to now have rediscovered her knack for reaching the final round of important events. A few



Karolina Pliskova – The Summer Queen Valerio Carriero

“Winter is coming.” Yes, it might be a tired phrase often given to overuse, but it is just too apt for today’s discussion not to employ it. We are, of course, heading towards the end of the European summer, which means that three of the four Grand Slams are now over. We can already get a pretty clear picture of how the race for the year-end top spot in the WTA rankings is shaping up. This year will be a closer race than usual, with Queen Serena having abdicated her throne of her own accord. Naturally, there are several contenders for the position, and the first to ascend in her absence is, to the great surprise of many, Karolina Pliskova. The 25 year-old sits atop the WTA rankings at the moment, but her claim to the throne is, to put it mildly, dubious. Like Safina, Wozniacki and Jankovic before her, she has risen to the top of the tennis world without ever having won a Grand Slam. In fact, she has only reached one Grand Slam final in her career (2016 US Open), and is ranked world number one despite losing in the second round at Wimbledon. So how has Pliskova managed to sneak into such a prestigious spot entirely under the radar? Well, her ranking is built on the back of a year’s worth of solid, if not

spectacular results. She reached the US Open final, the Australian Open quarterfinals and the French Open semi-finals. She also won four tournaments in Cincinnati, Brisbane, Doha and Eastbourne. “Thanks to everyone who believed in me, as well as to those who doubted,” Pliskova wrote on Instagram soon after becoming world number one. “Being the world number one is also a big responsibility for me. I’m aware of that and I can promise I will do my best not to disappoint in this role.”


usually are, and prefers to keep it that way. "I'm an introvert and phlegmatic so I don't show my joy,” she has said of herself. “I know the world is mean, that there is so much suffering on the planet that none of us can imagine. I often think of those who have nothing, who have to suffer every day, so a winner, a game, set, match will never give me immense joy, only satisfaction. The world won't change.” This is certainly a new attitude to what we are used to from the queen of the WTA. Serena Williams may not be a diva, but she is not afraid to express her opinion of herself and her peers. It has been a long time since the world number one has been this relaxed and humble.

But anyone who wants to claim a throne needs a weapon, and Pliskova has a very powerful one: her serve. The Czech currently leads the Tour in aces, aided in no small part by her 1.86m height. So potent is her serve, in fact, that it even helps her dominate matches on clay, a surface on which she already has a title (Prague, 2015). When the new rankings were announced on 17 July, many people’s reaction was “but I’ve never heard of her!” That is, in large part, by design. Pliskova is not as flashy as many world number ones

But one thing is certain, it does seem as if Pliskova is fulfilling some sort of prophecy. She has been playing tennis since the age of four, and never liked school or academic pursuits. Tennis is what she what she loves, and what she wants to be doing. Now she is the queen of the sport she enjoys so much, but the big question is how long her reign will be. If this is truly a Game Of Thrones comparison, it can’t be a long one. Luckily for her, however, she is the author of her own destiny, not George R. R. Martin.


MUGURUZA: UN TRIONFO, UN SEGNO DEL DESTINO Alessandro Mastroluca Conchita Martinez e Garbiñe Muguruza sono uscite dalla stessa porta, nello stesso ordine, per due settimane. Perché la storia si scrive, e si ripete, anche con i piccoli gesti. Perché le grandi vittorie sono segni del destino. Non aveva ancora un anno Garbiñe quando Martinez, a 22 anni, batteva Martina Navratilova, che di anni ne aveva 37, a Roma e alla sua ultima partita in singolare a Wimbledon. Piangevano tutti, Martina e l'ambasciatore Usa in Gran Bretagna, con gli occhi rossi e il cappello in mano mentre finiva un capitolo di storia, mentre Martinez diventava la prima spagnola a trionfare ai Championships. Al fianco di Muguruza per l'assenza di Sumyk, rimasto con sua moglie per la nascita del figlio, oggi come allora Martinez è tornata ad allenarsi sul campo 11 dell'All England Club. Ha guidato una nuova campionessa spagnola di 22 anni, l'ha vista battere una leggenda di 37, una



Venus Williams poetica nel superare le 100 partite a Church Road e celebrare la ventesima partecipazione con la nona finale, che aveva sconfitto già al Foro Italico due mesi prima. Così, con accanto una figura che l'ha aiutata a gestire lo stress, Muguruza ha allontanato quei grumi di dubbi, quelle esplosioni di incertezza, nervosismo e confusione che hanno scandito tutti i suoi ultimi dodici mesi, dalla finale del Roland Garros 2016. Ha abbandonato l'abito di giocatrice in mezzo al guado, fra una strada vecchia, conosciuta ma stretta per le sue ambizioni, e un progetto nuovo, verso un'identità di gioco più matura, completa e consapevole, nel quale però non sembrava ancora coltivare la necessaria auto-convinzione. “Sono sempre molto motivata negli Slam, e qui a Wimbledon ogni giorno ho giocato meglio” ha detto dopo essere diventata seconda spagnola nell'albo d'oro dei Championships e la seconda dopo Martina Hingis ad aver affrontato entrambe le sorelle Williams in due finali di uno stesso Slam. “Avevo già provato il sentimento della sconfitta in una finale di Wimbledon due anni fa, e volevo assolutamente non si ripetesse. Volevo il mio nome scritto sul muro insieme agli altri vincitori; fare parte della storia del torneo”. A Wimbledon è diventata la sesta nell'era

Open a infilare un 6-0 in finale, ha fatto la differenza con la fiducia nei colpi forti e la conseguente possibilità di mascherare i punti deboli. Ha tirato quasi il doppio dei vincenti di rovescio rispetto al dritto, ha alimentato un tennis più aggressivo, più verticale. È riuscita a tenere in mano il gioco, si è presa più rischi da fondo ma in questo modo ha fatto in modo che le avversarie restassero sulla difensiva, senza metterle pressione. Il punto che di fatto ha deciso la finale, con cui ha annullato il primo set point nel parziale d'apertura, sintetizza e racchiude lo spirito di un percorso, la direzione di un'evoluzione. In una sfida di potenza e controllo da 19 colpi in cui controbatte alle accelerazioni di dritto di Venus con


tempo e anticipo sulla palla, sempre più profondo, sempre più forte. In questa stagione in transizione fluida fra vecchie appartenenze, nuove famiglie che nascono e gerarchie da ridefinire, Muguruza guarda al numero 1, è l'occhiata gettata al futuro della stagione e del circuito. Un futuro che la vedrà assecondare un intuito naturale nella lettura del gioco e nello spostamento in diagonale, non così comune. La presa del campo non procede solo per spostamenti verticali, ma si snoda fluida, anche nella terra di nessuno, a metà fra riga di fondo e rettangolo di battuta, una qualità che ha scandito anche le fasi migliori della

carriera di Victoria Azarenka. E qui torna Sam Sumyk, che quella stagione ha vissuto e comunque determinato da coach e che adesso si ritrova a dover tracciare un percorso futuro da osservato speciale, con una giocatrice che ha dato il massimo quando il contatto con lui si è limitato a quotidiane telefonate. “Non sono sorpreso del suo livello di gioco” ha detto in un'intervista al Mundo, celebrando anche il lavoro del fisioterapista Alicia Cebrián e del preparatore Laurent Lafitte. “Il lavoro progressivo che stiamo portando avanti da mesi ha generato una evoluzione nel suo gioco e i risultati si stanno vedendo. È cambiata anche la sua disposizione mentale. Adesso si tratta di mantenere un


piano che le permetta di raggiungere gli obiettivi”. La strada, iniziata nel marzo 2012, con la wild card a Miami ottenuta tramite la IMG (la società che aveva in comune sia la gestione del torneo che quella della stessa Garbiñe), e sfruttata con le vittorie sulla numero 9 del mondo Vera Zvonareva e la numero 26 Flavia Pennetta, prima di cedere su Agnieszka Radwanska, ha preso inattese deviazioni e regalato momenti di gloria nemmeno troppo fugaci. “All’inizio giocavo solamente lob, ma dopo il mio fisico è cambiato: le mie braccia sono diventate più lunghe e mi sono adattata” ha spiegato dopo la finale. “E poi si gioca tanto sul cemento, per cui sono dovuta diventare più aggressiva”. Si è scoperta giocatrice da grandi palcoscenici, stimolata dalle sfide che aumentano l'adrenalina, che danno il senso di una vita, di una storia, motivata dalle luci accecanti dei trionfi che possono anche nascondere, ma senza mettere in secondo piano, le ombre dei dubbi, delle sconfitte, della paura della mediocrità da cui solo puà nascere un campione. “Quando sono su un campo importante come il Centre Court mi sento bene” ha spiegato. “Sento di essere dove dovrei essere: è per quello che mi impegno e mi alleno. Per essere lì, giocare bene, e farlo contro le migliori giocatrici”.

E non a caso ha giocato la miglior partita del torneo contro una delle più brillanti versioni attuali di Angelique Kerber, che ha recuperato il meglio del suo vigore difensivo nel timore, poi realizzato, di perdere il posto da numero 1, una responsabilità che pesa ma poi logora se non ce l'hai. Contro la tedesca ha perso l'unico set del torneo, ma non ha mai perso di vista l'obiettiva. È rimasta la stessa Garbiñe di sempre. Ha cambiato la storia.



Occasions Wimbledon' s Middle Sunday has been used! Akshay

Serena Williams says that The Championships are special because the preeminent tennis tournament continues to keep the first Sunday of the 14 day event free of any sort of action on the courts. In the last 131 years of Wimbledon the organizers have been

forced to break with this tradition only four times in 1991, 1997, 2004 and 2016 when heavy rains persisted for a couple of days and played spoilsport to the schedule, leaving the All England Lawn Tennis Committee with no choice but to open up its gates for live tennis on the Middle Sunday. The year 1991 was unique for Wimbledon because not only the biggest crowd-puller of that era American superstar Andre Agassi returned to action on the hallowed greens of

SW19 after boycotting the tourney for 3 years in a row, but it was the first occasion in the history of Wimbledon when the Middle Sunday was utilized to fill-in for the lost time during the initial four days of the competition. Chris Gorrings, the Chief Executive of the Club during that time, in his book Holding Court had mentioned about “the best and worst day of his life” – The First Middle Sunday. He said: “It had been an absolutely dreadful start to the tournament. We had no


play on the first Monday, and intermittent rain throughout Tuesday.” “Wednesday was even worse with just 18 matches played, and by the end of Thursday, things were dire. For the players, it was a terrible ordeal. It took Stefan Edberg, the defending champion, 73 hours to finish the first round match, who claimed: "Thank God it’s over. I haven’t even been able to eat a decent lunch for four days." Gorrings further added, “And he was one of the lucky ones – at least he had made it onto court. We were almost a third of the way through the tournament and yet had completed only 52 out of 240 scheduled matches.” “It was no surprise then, to find myself, chairman John Curry, Michael Hann, chairman of the order of play subcommittee, referee Alan Mills and Richard Grier, Championships director, gathered together during

yet another rain delay, looking at the feasibility of play on Sunday – something that had never been done before.” Afterwards, there were three more instances when the Middle Sunday was put to use – in 1997, 2004 and then again in 2016. In 2004, the players who were forced to play on the People’s Sunday were former British No.1 Tim Henman, ladies’ top seed Serena Williams and the then men’s no.1 Roger Federer. Moreover, the men’s doubles were cut to size

from best of five sets to best of three until the quarterfinals, while the start of play on all the courts barring the Centre and Court No.1 was changed to begin at 11 am rather than the customary 12 pm. Last year, persistent rain throughout the week saw play being forced on the Middle Sunday with a number of matches left to be completed. Also known as ‘People’s Sunday’, Wimbledon has had many more interesting instances by play on Sunday is surely one of the special ones.


Wimbledon By The Numbers Marco Di Nardo The 2017 edition of Wimbledon ended as most fans would probably have wanted it to. On the men’s side, Roger Federer returned to the winner’s circle for the first time in five years. He beat Marin Cilic in the final, who was contesting his first Wimbledon final, and first Slam final since winning the US Open in 2014. The women’s final saw the return of another

old favorite in the form of Venus Williams, who played against former French Open champion Garbine Muguruza. Williams had not reached the Wimbledon final since 2008 and was expected to have a decent chance to take the title, but in the end the youngster prevailed.

Statistics mean a lot in tennis, especially when it comes to Wimbledon, and this year’s tournament was a feast of numbers and records. Federer, for example, became the first man to ever win the title eight times, and also became the oldest champion in the Open Era. Venus could have become the oldest female champion of the Open Era had she prevailed. Today we’re having a look at some of the records that have defined Wimbledon over the years. There are a lot of them, seeing as there have been 131 editions

of the tournament, the first being contested in 1877. The women’s competition started in 1884.

Men’s singles records Most titles: Roger Federer (8). With this


year's success, Roger Federer surpassed Pete Sampras and William Renshaw (7) in the category of total titles won. He now stands alone at 8, with Bjorn Borg and Lawrence Doherty in joint third place with 5 titles each. Consecutive match wins: Bjorn Borg (41). With 41 consecutive victories between 1976 and 1981, Bjorn Borg has the longest winning streak of the Open Era. Federer won 40 matches in a row between 2003 and 2008.

Consecutive sets won: Roger Federer (34). Between 2005 and 2006, Federer won 34 consecutive sets at Wimbledon. A truly incredible streak, but it was not enough to win either of the tournaments the streak spanned without dropping a set. 2017 was the only year in which

Federer won Wimbledon without dropping a single set. Consecutive titles won: Williams Renshaw (6). William Renshaw holds the record for most consecutive Wimbledon titles. He won six times in a row between 1881 and 1886, but those victories carry an asterisk. In those years, the challenge round was in place, which meant that the winner of Wimbledon automatically qualified for the final of the following year. The rest of the field competed for the right to challenge the previous champion.

The “real� record is usually considered as being jointly held by Federer and Borg, who each won the title five years in a row. Most finals: Roger Federer (11). Having reached 11 finals, Federer is clearly the greatest player the All England Club has


ever seen. He is miles ahead of William Renshaw and Arthur Gore (8), as well as Boris Becker and Pete Sampras (7).

1996. In order to win his first 7 titles, Federer needed 10 seasons (2003-2012), while Renshaw needed nine (1881-1889).

Consecutive finals: Roger Federer (7). Between 2003 and 2009, Federer reached the final each year, winning six times and losing only in 2009 to Rafael Nadal.

Most matches won: Roger Federer (91). Federer is also untouchable when it comes to the most match wins at Wimbledon. Jimmy Connors lingers behind at 84.

Most titles over eight seasons: Pete Sampras (7). While Federer has eclipsed nearly all of Sampras’ records at Wimbledon, it’s still worth remembering how dominant the American once was. Between 1993 and 2000, he won the title seven times and lost only once, to Richard Krajicek in the quarter-finals in

Highest winning percentage: Bjorn Borg (92.73%). With 51 wins and just 4 losses, no one can approach Borg in terms of overall winning percentage at Wimbledon. Consecutive finals reached while having missed intervening


tournaments: Rafael Nadal (5). Although in recent years Rafa has struggled to even reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, he played incredibly well over the period from 2006-2011. During that time, he won twice (2008 And 2010) and lost three times (2006, 2007 and 2011). In 2009, he did not play due to injury.

Women’s singles records

Most games won in a final: Andy Roddick (39). Even though he lost the final in 2009, Andy Roddick holds the record for the most games won in the championship match. Federer won the match 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14, but Roddick managed to win 39 games to Federer's 38.

Moody (50) Lowest ranked winner: Venus Williams (number 31)

Most titles: Martina Navratilova (9) Most consecutive titles: Martina Navratilova (6) Most finals: Dorothea Douglass and Martina Navratilova (12) Most matches won: Martina Navratilova (121) Consecutive match wins: Helen Wills


Why Tennis Players Pose Exposed? Akshay When athletes who can show off their years of hard work get the opportunity to leave their comfort zone, hesitant at first, they jump on to the bandwagon of celebrities who have done it and not faltered. Caroline Wozniacki recently posed nude for the ESPN Magazine and the Dane hasn’t been the first tennis player to do so. But why should an athlete hide his/ her hard work? Athletes, who work rigorously long hours to endure the brunt of the sports they play, know what it feels like to take their bodies for granted. Spending hours in the gym with their trainers and physiotherapists in the long run pays dividends when their game and fitness is idolized by many. So when you have it, why not flaunt it? It has been a trend, not specifically in recent years, but for quite some time now amongst film stars, models, athletes and other well-known people to pose nude for magazines, advertisements, campaigns, etc. Some do it for a cause like promoting vegetarianism through PETA


(People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), for selling products like lingerie for big companies and some for health magazines. With the hours that are put in bringing the body to a shape like that, athletes do not refrain from going all out and posing in the nude. So, why this over-indulgence in sexuality in sport, beauty or health magazines like ESPN’s Body Issue, Maxim or Playboy? All the athletes who pose for such magazines are role models for the youth, young men and women alike, yet by posing nude for magazines, do their heroics diminish? The truth is: everyone is conscious of the way they look and are objectified by the society.

When athletes who can ‘show off’ their years of hard work get the opportunity to leave their comfort zone, hesitant at first, they jump on to the bandwagon of celebrities who have done it and not faltered. The reason being that their image isn’t underplayed, they, on the contrary inspire the young generation to appreciate what their bodies are capable of doing. The magazines highlight the fact that the women and men, who are not only brilliant at what they do but are also proud of what their bodies can do. Seeing sexualized images of men and women over and over again can be a little disgruntling initially but the fact


remains that athletes who want to show off their bodies to claim that they have worked hard on them can never be a turn-off. One can argue that when women are projected as sexual objects in totality, these magazines do not help that fact; in fact they reiterate that thought. Many tennis greats have never been shy to back off such sporting (literally) opportunities. The likes of Ana Ivanovic, Serena Williams, Vera Zvonareva, Daniela Hantuchova, James Blake and the wheelchair star Esther Vergeer all have posed for the annual issues of ESPN’s Body Issue, Playboy and the likes. Recently, Agnieska Radwanska and John Isner flaunted their naked bodies for ESPN’s Body Issue which was released in 2013. At their peaks, Radwanska, the petite World No.4 knew what it felt like to not be as big as her peers during her junior years. When she was young, she was rather small but was never intimidated by older girls. Focussing entirely on her game, she is one of the top players on tour today. She believes that she has physically become stronger every year that she has been on the circuit. After being slammed by the Catholic group called ‘ Youth Crusade ’she retorted by quite rightly saying, “I’m not ashamed of Jesus” proving the fact that apart from being a great athlete she isn’t shamed of


her body and isn’t worried about how people would react. John Isner too, at 6 foot 10 inches, wasn’t scared to bare it all in the issue either. Being awkwardly tall as compared to the rest of his friends when he was in school, Isner would be conscious of his height and slouch all the time. But now quite aware of his height and great game play, the former World No.9 gives his big stature most of the credit for the player he is today. On him posing nude for the magazine Isner stated that, “This is something I would have never imagined myself doing. Tennis players aren’t jacked like football players, but we are certainly in good shape and if my photo shoot shows that in any way, that will be good.” Staying healthy eating right and working on the body has become a fad now and these athletes who dare to bare all inspire us to do so. Critics will be critical but appreciation is also a part and parcel of criticism. These athletes should be saluted for bringing about the healthier versions of us out in the open.




How Wawrinka had a panic attack & won the US Open Federico Coppini We tend to believe that if we can control our inner life - meaning our thoughts, feelings and emotions - then we have the opportunity to perform well. We tend to believe that if we think positively, we will be able to deal with cheaters, if we are high in selfconfidence, we can use our forehand aggressively as a weapon, and if we have the perfect tension level, we can stay close to the baseline and take away time from our opponent. There is absolutely no doubt that when you are having positive thoughts and emotions, it is easier to perform well. But there are two reasons why you cannot depend on having the right emotions and thoughts while performing First of all, thoughts and feelings are not easily controllable. Second, you will use a lot of energy simply trying to reshape the thoughts and feelings. In the following paragraph, you will see how 3-time Grand Slam Winner Stanislas

Wawrinka describes the time right before he went out on court for the US Open Final and beat the World No. 1 Novak Djokovic to secure his 3rd Grand Slam Title. “A lot of people are asking me how I was able to take the court, nonchalantly, when five minutes prior to that I had a stress attack and I was trying to hold back tears. I tried, but I wasn’t able to.” “So, how did I do it? I’ll tell you. I hurt myself. I tried to extend rallies as much as possible — one more shot, and then another — to make the legs churn and


execute successfully even though he had an immense amount of unpleasant thoughts and emotions inside of him. In other words, even when we are doubting ourselves and are without confidence, following our game plan and our values will very often lead to positive emotions. But we should never just go for that forehand winner down the line to achieve that positive feeling. As long as you are acting in accordance with your plan and values, you are doing the right thing.

not the head. I pushed myself until I ran out of breath.” “I’m telling you this with a smile today, but you can’t imagine to what extent those voices can sometimes be overwhelming.” The lesson here is that sometimes we simply need to do what is important for us no matter our internal condition. Stan managed to follow his game plan and stay close to the baseline keeping Djokovic under extreme pressure with his groundstrokes. He focused on moving his feet as much as possible whenever he was under pressure, and he was able to

It is a huge myth that you can’t be nervous and perform well at the same time. Being nervous is not necessarily a problem in itself, but if you, as a consequence of nerves, act in a different way and do not follow your game plan or live out your values, then it becomes a problem. The point here is that you want to accept the fact that you are nervous. But only to the extent to which you can still focus on executing your game plan and hitting the shots necessary to perform well. As Wawrinka demonstrated, you can be nervous but still do all of the right things maximizing your opportunity to perform well.


COACH K’S RULES Federico Coppini

Mike Krzyzewski, the biggest winner in American college basketball, reveals how to be a leader. On the court and in life. 1. “Honesty is the most important

ingredient in leadership”, declares Krzyzewski. “To develop it, you necessarily have to invest on others and on yourself. E-mails and social networks can create ‘virtual’ relationships that are only a façade. Therefore, prefer direct contacts and try to converse always face to face with your interlocutor. The more you will do it, the more you will be able to strengthen a bond” says Coach K. But most of all, be honest to yourself. Coach K. reveals that he refused several times invitations, from NBA and other colleges, to leave the eminent University of north Carolina to move to their side; he got to this conclusion: “You cannot always surrender to flattery of money and fame”. So, one year later, our protagonist put always more faith in Duke. 2. With so many victories behind him,

what difference does one more or one less make? “It makes a big difference”, affirms Krzyzewski. “It’s not a matter of collecting victories: the beginning of every championship,

every match is a different matter, a challenge that renews itself. It’s not about you and your experience, it’s about the team. Each player deserves to be taken to victory. If you cannot give them what they expect from a leader, you should not even get involved in such an adventure”. Coach K. also says: “I must offer my players, year after year, the same passion, competence and competitiveness. If I run into a defeat,


I always look ahead. In basketball and in life, failure has never to be a goal”. 3. In his glorious career, Mike

Krzyzewski broke the record of his former coach at West Point, Bobby Knight. “I attended the best school in the world for those who want to learn leadership”, he says. Discipline, determination and character – a boss’ main features, that Coach K.

has learnt from Knight and other academy officials – have led him to his very personal victory, in sport and in life.


Dominating the playing area Massimiliano Grancini

The orange zone If you find yourself in this area, it is because your opponent has played a very good shot to get you out of position. It is a very tricky position to be in, since you can’t just put the ball back into play. Doing so will give your opponent an easy shot for a winner, since so much of the court has been left vulnerable.

So what are your options? Well, it depends on how hard you are able to hit the ball from your position. If you can give it a fair amount of energy, it is best to hit a cross-court top-spin shot. Hopefully, this will create enough of an angle to make your opponent think twice about

going for a risky winner. If you are in a more compromised, defensive position, hitting a high lob is your best option. If you execute the shot correctly, it will land very deep and force your opponent back to the baseline.

The bright green zone This situation is always nice and inviting. Your opponent has given you a nice short ball, and it is begging to be hit. The worst thing you can do in this situation is to not take the initiative that

you have been given. You need to dominate the point and play aggressively. If the ball is very short, you can go for a winner directly, or hit a powerful shot and move to the net for the easy volley. Your


volley will be a winner almost all the time.

The blue zone Blue is the color of freedom. Here you are at the net and will try to reap the fruits of your earlier actions by hitting an easy volley winner or smash. Note: The last two areas (bright green and blue) are areas with variable height. If you arrive at the ball early, it will still be relatively high and you will more easily be

able to put it away. If you arrive late, the hitting zone will be lower, and you will need to be more cautious. Exercising the areas Once you understand the different areas of the court and how to play on them, you

can start practising how to execute the right strategies. An easy way to do this is to have a friend hit a ball in the desired area, and then systematically practice hitting it in the right place with the right depth. This method can be applied to all the areas of the court, along with all the relevant strategies. --Massimiliano Grancini Federal master of tennis, player B series

from 1988 to 2003. He was No. 500 in the ATP rankings in doubles in 1990. He is currently working at the Tennis Club of Milan Lombardo, where he heads the competitive division.





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