TENNIS BITS & PIECES – Nadal will miss the US Open. Raonic wins the US Open Series. Mousley banned for testing positive for ecstacy and the ice bucket challenge has taken over the US Open. Joshua Bosco
Nadal pulls out of US Open
Rafael Nadal took to Facebook last Monday to announce he won’t be competing at this year’s US Open due to his right wrist injury.
Nadal injured his wrist while training this summer ahead of the American hard court swing. “I am very sorry to announce I won’t be able to play at this year’s US Open a tournament on which I’ve played 3 consecutive finals in my last participations. […] Not much more I can do right now, other than accept the situation and, as always in my case, work hard in order to be able to compete at the highest level once I am back” read his Facebook post.
The Spaniard, who won’t be able to defend his 2013 title at Flushing Meadows, will lose 2000 points in the rankings and could drop to World No.3 if Federer manages to win his 18th Grand Slam.
Raonic wins US Open Series
Milos Raonic clinched the 2014 US Open series with 280 points after John Isner withdrew from his quarter-final match against Lukas Rosol at the Winston-Salem Open. The American finished second in the race – for the second consecutive year – with 200 points, ahead of Roger Federer who was third with 170 points.
The Canadian now has the chance to bag a $4 million cheque at the US Open, should he win the tournament.
Australian No.1 junior banned
Brad Mousley, Australia’s top ranked junior tennis player, has been banned after testing positive for ecstasy in March.
The eighteen year old was facing a two year suspension but after he admitted to taking the drug at a party and not for performance enhancement the youngster was relieved to see his suspension reduced to just one year.
The 12-month ban was backdated to May 30th, when he accepted a provisional suspension.
On the way to the US Open
In the week leading up to the US Open, the top tennis players have been busy getting themselves noticed around New York.
Many top players took part in the ASL Ice Bucket Challenge, to raise awareness about the neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Many of them took to Twitter with their videos, including Djokovic, Ana Ivanovic, Raonic, Dimitrov, Federer, Nadal, Stephens, Wozniacki, Azarenka and Chris Evert.
On Tuesday Novak Djokovic appeared on the David Letterman Show and, not to be outdone, on Thursday Serena Williams didn’t just appear on the show but also hit a few balls with the host on the street in front of the theatre.
World No.7 Thomas Berdych, along with USTA top dogs, rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday morning and on Friday Sabine Lisicki was presented with the Guinness World Record certificate for the fastest ever serve in women’s tennis. She hit the 131mph serve during her match against Ana Ivanovic last month at Stanford.
