Rolex Master Monte-Carlo: Federer and Nadal stroll to the third round - UBITENNIS
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Rolex Master Monte-Carlo: Federer and Nadal stroll to the third round

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TENNIS – Roger Federer swept aside Radek Stepanek 6-1 6-2 to advance easily into the third round of the Rolex Master Monte-Carlo, the first European Master 1000 Tournament on clay of the year. Rafa Nadal also opened with a straight set win over Teymuraz Gabashvili with 6-4 6-1 but he faced a double break point in the first set. Diego Sampaolo

Federer, who received a wild-card last week to play for the first time in Monte-Carlo since 2011, won his only 2014 match against Stepanek in Dubai with the scoreline of 6-2 6-7 6-3. .

Federer stormed to 3-0. Stepanek failed to convert two break point chances before Federer cruised to 5-0 in just 17 minutes. Stepanek avoided the bagel winning the first game before Federer closed out the first set with 6-1 in just 22 minutes. Federer was very solid on serve winning 90 percent of his first serve points.

Federer capitalized on his first break point of the second set with a forehand pass down the line before holding serve with a overhead backhand smash. Stepanek posed a more serious threat to Federer in the second set but Federer was in full control of the match and took a 3-2 lead.

Federer faced two break points in the sixth game of the second set at 15-40 but he got out of trouble saving them by winning four consecutive points including two winners for 4-2 before closing it out with 6-2 in just 52 minutes to improve his record against the Czech Davis Cup hero to 14-2. The Basel native scored his 25th win this year leading the list of players with most winning matches this year.

The World Number 4 converted all four of his break point chances and hit 14 winners to 9 unforced errors.

Federer is looking to win his first Monte-Carlo title, one of the three Master 1000 Tournaments missing from his trophy cabinet (the other two are Rome and Shanghai). He lost three consecutive finals against Rafa Nadal in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Federer will face another Czech player Lukas Rosol who beat Frenchman Michael Llodra 6-4 6-4.Rosol is teaming up with Stepanek for the doubles where they will face Mike and Bob Bryan.

I am a bit surprised how well it went. I had a good start to both sets. I was solid on my service games. It was a good start to my clay campaign”, said Federer.

I am very happy now that I am doing well. I am just trying to keep up my rhythm. I feel free physically and in my mind. I am no longer afraid that the rally will last long. This was getting in the way of my game last year, whereas now I can really enjoy myself”.

Rafa Nadal faced a tougher test against Teymuraz Gabashvili especially in the first set when he dropped his opening service game and faced a double break point when the Russian player led 3-1 30-40 on Nadal’s serve. but he managed to break back to love in the sixth game. He won nine of his next ten games.to clinch the first set and build up a 4-0 lead in the second set

Nadal faced four consecutive break points in the second set before breaking serve for 5-1. Nadal closed out the match with a forehand winner with 6-1 after one hour and 13 minutes.

It was very important the break point for him at 3-1. I saved it with one good shot and one good volley. After that I felt that was the time to try to push a little bit more and increase the rhythm and the intensity. I played a good game to break back. I felt that I had the match a bit more under control.

Nadal clinched the 680th match of his career which ranks him 12th in the list of players with most match wins ahead of US Brian Gottfried.

Nadal clinched his 49th victory in Monte-Carlo where he won eight consecutive titles between 2005 to 2012.

Nadal will face Italian Andreas Seppi who won a marathon match against another Spanish player Pablo Andujar in three sets with 7-6 (7-5) 5-7 6-4 in two hours and 48 minutes. Seppi has reached the third round in Monte-Carlo for the first time in his career. Seppi rallied from 2-5 to 5-5 without facing a single set point. In the tie-break the Italian took a 4-1 lead but Andujar rallied by winning 4 consecutive points for 5-4. Seppi won the next three points to win the tie-break 7-5. Seppi got two chances to serve out for the match but he failed to convert them. Andujar clinched the second set in the 12th game with 7-5 to force the match to the third set. Seppi wasted two match points but he closed out the match with 6-4 after two hours and 48 minutes.

Nadal leads 4-1 in his head-to-head matches against Seppi but they have not met since 2009.

Seed Number 10 and last year’s Monte-Carlo semifinalist Fabio Fognini won a hard-fought two-set match against Roberto Bautista Agut with 7-6 (8-6) 6-4. Fognini went down 3-5 but he fought back from 15-30 to break back with a backhand pass before drawing level to 5-5 on the fourth deuce. Fognini broke serve to take a 6-5 lead. He failed to convert two set points. In the tie-break Fognini rallied from 2-4 and 4-5 to clinch the first set with 8-6 on the fourth set point.

Fognini built up a 2-0 lead in the second set and looked to be cruising to a easy win but he dropped his serve. The Italian managed to win 12 points to 2 to open up a 5-2 lead but he made too many mistakes enabling Bautista Agut to claw his way back to 4-5. The Spaniard got a point to draw level to 5-5 but Fognini saved it with a couple of forehands before closing out the match with 6-4 after one hour and 43 minutes to claim his 22nd of the year. Fognini has improved his seasonal record to 22-6 and ranks third in the list of most match winners behind Federer (25-4) and Marin Cilic (23-6)

Milos Raonic rallied from a set down to beat Taiwan’s Lu Yen Hun 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-1.

The other young star of the circuit Grigor Dimitrov also dropped the first set but he managed to rally for the second consecutive match to edge Spanish qualifier Albert Ramos with 4-6 6-3 6-4 in just over two hours.

No less than 14600 fans attended the third day filling both the Centre Court and the Court de Princes on a cool and windy day. The Centre Court will remain sold out for the rest of the week.

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Alexander Zverev Deserves More Respect According To Boris Becker

According to Boris Becker, Alexander Zverev deserves more respect from tennis journalists.

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Alexander Zverev (@WeAreTennis - Twitter)

Boris Becker has claimed that Alexander Zverev deserves more respect despite Zverev failing to live up to his potential at Grand Slams.

 

Zverev has only reached one Grand Slam final in his career despite being a regular inside the world’s top ten as well as performing at regular ATP events.

This season Zverev played a limited schedule after recovering from an ankle injury but still managed to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals.

However most critics have been loud when judging Zverev’s career as it was looking likely that he would be a regular Grand Slam champion.

The German has failed to live up to expectations but former Grand Slam champion Boris Becker believes Zverev deserves more respect.

Speaking to Eurosport Becker also said that Zverev’s father being the coach is a more than successful approach when it comes to the former US Open finalist’s career, “In my opinion, he doesn’t get enough respect from the tennis experts internationally,” Becker explained.

“They’re all talking about the young three or four, but don’t give Zverev, Medvedev or Rublev enough respect. He’s playing with his fist in his pocket a little bit, wants everyone show that he is not a thing of the past, but that his best time is yet to come.

“Surely his father knows best what is good for his son, but if you look into the box at the competition, you can also see changes.”

Becker has followed Zverev for most of his career so knows that the best is yet to come from the German.

Alexander Zverev will look to prove himself next season when he starts his 2024 season when he represents Germany at the United Cup.

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Juan Carlos Ferrero Analyses Key Areas For Carlos Alcaraz’s Development

Juan Carlos Ferrero has outlined the next steps in Carlos Alcaraz’s development.

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(@tennisnewsbrazil - Twitter)

Carlos Alcaraz’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero has analysed the key areas for the Spaniard’s development heading into the 2024 season.

 

The former world number one’s season has come to an end after a successful year which saw him win the Wimbledon title as well as winning two Masters 1000 titles.

Alcaraz capped off an incredible season by reaching the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.

However there is a long way for the Spaniard to go if he wants to consistently go toe-to-toe with Novak Djokovic.

Speaking to Marca Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero spoke about the Spaniard’s development and said that Alcaraz is too emotional, “Be more regular in games, not open doors. Sometimes there are mistakes and it is something that we have to improve a lot,” Ferrero commented.

“Although it is true that he opens doors, he always competes well and at the highest level. He knows it, the other day he already said that Novak doesn’t give you one. He has to improve his decision making and he will achieve that with experience. Carlos is very emotional and that sometimes helps him and other times not so much.”

It’s clear Alcaraz’s high-quality is there but to consistently do it against Djokovic is another task altogether as the Spaniard looks to go from strength-to strength next season.

One area that is clearly a priority for Alcaraz is physical conditioning especially considering what happened against Djokovic at Roland Garros earlier in the season.

Ferrero said that will be a clear focus heading into 2024 but couldn’t guarantee that Alcaraz will play a tournament before the Australian Open, “Because of the year and the fatigue he has been in, what he needs is rest and disconnecting for 8-10 days with his friends,” Ferrero stated.

“From there, the thinking must go back to working really hard, strong and well to start very strongly in Australia. One can never be sure of that. Sometimes you play a tournament and it doesn’t go well, you left home too early. There are many ways of thinking.

“This year we haven’t played Australia and he finishes number two. That means there is no urgency to play a tournament early. Carlos is a player who enters competition quickly, you don’t usually see him without rhythm.

“Although it is true that he becomes more dangerous from the round of 16, from the quarter-finals. I am confident that the two exhibition matches and the training sessions will help us play a good tournament.”

Alcaraz will be looking to play the Australian Open which starts on the 15th of January after the Spaniard missed last year’s tournament due to a leg injury.

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Australian Open Chief Confident Nadal Will Play But Kyrgios’ Participation Uncertain

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Nadal RG 2022 by Night (foto @RolandGarros)

The tournament director of the Australian Open says he is ‘certain’ that Rafael Nadal will play at the Grand Slam even though the Spaniard has yet to outline his comeback plans. 

 

Craig Tiley told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday he hopes to receive some clarity over Nadal’s intentions in the next couple of weeks but is confident he will play. However, the tennis official had previously claimed in October that the former world No.1 had already committed to play in the event before his team denied that statement.  

Nadal, who has won 22 Grand Slam titles, hasn’t played a Tour match since his second round defeat at the Australian Open in January due to a hip injury. He was originally expecting to take an eight-week break but the recovery didn’t go to plan and he ended up having surgery. In May he confirmed that he will take an extended break from the sport to heal his body and admitted that retirement next year is a possibility.

“Rafa has been training, I follow him closely, probably every day because he’s a massive drawcard for us,” the Reuters News Agency quoted Tiley as saying. 
“He wants to play, he’s obviously planning on playing. It all depends on how he pulls up.
“Hopefully in the next week or the next two weeks, we get some specific confirmation of that. I’m certain Rafa will be here because he’s not going to want to miss the opportunity to repeat what he did a couple of years ago.”

Earlier this month Nadal confirmed that he intends to return to the Tour but admits that he will continue to experience a degree of pain. Although he has yet to give any information about which tournament he will begin his comeback at. The 2024 season begins during the first week of January.

“I’m well, training, and happy. I’m at a good stage of my life,” atptour.com quoted Nadal as telling reporters in Barcelona.
“Until now I didn’t know if I would play tennis again someday, and now I genuinely believe I will. I’m still not ready to say when, but I’m able to train increasingly longer, and the progress is good.’

Will Kyrgios play?

Another player Tiley is eager to welcome back is home player and former Wimbledon Finalist Nick Kyrgios who has only played one Tour-level match this season due to injury. He underwent knee surgery in January and then tore a ligament in his wrist during the summer. As a result, the Australian currently doesn’t have an ATP ranking due to his inactivity. 

“We have spoken to Nick, and he obviously wants to do the best he possibly can to give him the best chance to play in January,” Tiley said of Kyrgios.
“Whether he’s playing, whether he’s doing something else, Nick will be here in January and to get him to play will be great. But we’ve got to take it as it comes and he’s got to make sure he takes care of his health …” 

Kyrgios recently worked as an analyst for the Tennis Channel during this year’s ATP Finals in Turin and gave a brief update on his ongoing recovery during a segment. 

“After last year, I had such a great year, and I’m so hungry to get back out there,” the 2022 Wimbledon finalist commented.
“So I’m doing everything I can to get back out there. Obviously, you know how injuries are every day, just doing the rehab, doing the gym work.”

The Australian Open will begin on Sunday 14th January. Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka are the defending champions. 

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