Novak Djokovic - Andy Murray QF Will Give 2014 US Open Its 1st Great Men's Match - UBITENNIS
Connect with us

ATP

Novak Djokovic – Andy Murray QF Will Give 2014 US Open Its 1st Great Men's Match

Published

on

TENNIS US OPEN — Now it gets serious. Now the men’s game, existing almost in a vacuum while the ladies battered each other and the seedings—joyful confusion, you could call it—grabs its rightful place at the U.S. Open. Art Spander for bleacherreport.com

US Open: All the interviews, results, draws and OoP

Now the big names display what they hope are their big games.

Rafael Nadal isn’t here, true—another of his multiple injuries, a wrist this time. But Roger Federer is. Novak Djokovic is. Andy Murray is. And in the quarterfinals we get Djokovic, a former Open champ, No. 1 in the rankings, against Murray, also a former Open champ.

Such different personalities: Djokovic is upbeat, Murray is dour. Such similar qualities, both able to make the shot when the shot needs to be made. Able to ignore the incidentals—“Yeah, it was humid,” said Murray about the typical New York late summer weather. Able to concentrate on the essentials.

Murray, after an operation on his back last winter and a layoff, has slipped from No. 4 in the rankings to No. 9. That has an effect in the seedings, which is why he’s facing Djokovic in the quarters, the fifth round. But it has no effect on Murray’s thinking.

I think that’s really why we play matches,” Murray said when asked if he gets fired up about facing a star such as Djokovic. “That’s what you put in the work for, so that when you come to these events and do have to play the best players, you’re ready.

“Playing against the No. 1 player in the world is exciting.”

Murray’s tumble in the standings has no effect on Djokovic’s thinking. On Labor Day, with the thermometer near 90 degrees, Murray methodically won his fourth-round match, 7-5, 7-5, 6-4, over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who beat Djokovic three weeks ago in Toronto.

Andy, we all know his quality,” said Djokovic, who advanced to the quarters with a 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 win over Philipp Kohlschreiber. “He already has been Grand Slam champion, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, Olympic Games.” (And beating Djokovic in the final of each, by the way.)

“He has a lot of success. He knows how to play center court U.S. Open, where he’s played some great tennis, and we had some great matches.”

Which is exactly what this 2014 Open needs on the men’s side, a great match. It’s had humidity. It’s had rain. It’s had Americans tumbling by the wayside as usual (Thanks for stopping by, Mr. Querrey; appreciate the visit, Mr. Isner). It hasn’t had anything memorable from Djokovic, Federer or Murray. So far.

I don’t think it would be nice to say it’s the start of the U.S. Open now,” Djokovic said in response to a sarcastic but legitimate question. “Totally disrespect all of my opponents I played against in the opening rounds. But it’s normal to expect that I’m going to have tougher opponents as the tournament goes on.”

Djokovic and Murray are both 27, born seven days apart in 1987. They have played 20 times, beginning in 2006. The Joker, as he is nicknamed, has won 12 of those 20, but the margin shrinks to one—three to two—in Grand Slams. And two of the last three times they’ve met in a Slam (the Wimbledon final of 2013, the Australian Open final of 2013 and the U.S. Open final of 2012) Murray the Scotsman beat Djokovic the Serb.

I don’t know how well he’ll play,” Tsonga said when queried about Murray’s chances, “but for sure he was better than me.

The match will be important but not seminal, not something that will mark either as a success. Or a failure. This isn’t comparable to when Vitas Gerulaitis ended his 0-16 streak against Jimmy Connors and proclaimed, “Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 in row.”

What’s important is the winner advances to the semifinals. “I feel good about my game,” said Djokovic, who edged Federer in the Wimbledon final some two months ago.

This the 22nd consecutive time Djokovic has made the quarters in a Slam. “It says,” he pointed out, “I do value these tournaments the most. It motivates me for the future to continue that streak.”

In this situation, after so many meetings, familiarity breeds not contempt but contemplation. Both understand how to go about the task.

I would say we play a fairly similar style, and that’s why a lot of the matches have been long games, long rallies, because we do a lot of things well,” agreed Murray. “I mean obviously there’s tactics that you go into the match with, and then there’s things that you make adjustments when the match starts.”

Said Djokovic: “Andy performs his best in the Slams. Even though he had back surgery last year that kept him off the tour the last few months of the (2013) season, he’s been on and off this year. But in the big matches, as the tournament progresses, he’s still fit. He still plays very high-quality tennis.

“That’s what I expect him to do.”

That’s what all of us expect both Djokovic and Murray to do. Finally, at the Open, the men’s game gets a match it deserves. And we deserve.

Original article on bleacherreport.com

ATP

Alcaraz Halts Sinner’s Winning Streak To Reach The Final In Indian Wells

Carlos Alcaraz earns the right to defend his title at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells fending off Jannik Sinner’s assault to his ATP no. 2 spot

Published

on

Jannik Sinner (left) and Carlos Alcaraz (right) - Indian Wells 2024 (photo Twitter X @BNPPARIBASOPEN)

All good things come to an end. Jannik Sinner was on a 19-match winning streak since his loss to Novak Djokovic in the final of the Nitto ATP Finals that included his first Grand Slam win in Australia last January, and appeared as the most in-form player at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the first Masters 1000 tournament of the season. But as he faced Carlos Alcaraz in an eagerly-awaited semifinal, he was unable to continue his quest for the third consecutive title of the season, succumbing to the Spaniard 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.

The match was a face-off for the no. 2 spot in the ATP ranking that Alcaraz will still occupy next Monday regardless of the result of Sunday’s final, and this is a much-needed confidence boost for him after a disappointing start of the season where he was handily beaten in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open by Zverev and did not win any tournament during the South American clay court swing where he was ousted by Nicolas Jarry in Buenos Aires and had to retire for an ankle injury at the Rio Open.

The match, originally scheduled for 1.30 pm Pacific Time, had to be suspended for over three hours after only three games because of an unusual downpour. As the match resumed, Sinner appeared once again the perfectly-tuned machine that had been crushing opponents with metronomic regularity for the past weeks while Alcaraz was struggling to keep up with his opponent’s pace from the baseline.

The first set was smooth sailing for the Italian who cruised to a comprehensive 6-1 in 27 minutes: Alcaraz was tentative from the baseline and could not find the right position to fire his screamers and change the tactical discourse of the match. “Then at the beginning of the second set, as I saw he was making a lot of mistakes, I tried to be as solid as possible when I should have kept pushing instead – Sinner said during his press conference – and that’s what cost me the match in the end”.

While serving at 1-2 in the second set, a few uncharacteristic forehand mistakes started to dot his thus far spotless game, and that cost him the break that sent Alcaraz flying to a 4-1 advantage. The Spaniard then found the confidence to change his return position and make Sinner work a lot more on his service games, as the Italian struggled to find a countermeasure to the tactical shift in the match: “I kept doing the same thing over and over again”, Sinner stressed, and forehand unforced errors started to pile up to reach the burdensome number of 27 at the end of the match.

Sinner had the chance to find his way back into the second set while Alcaraz was serving at 3-5, but Carlos cancelled his break point with a laser backhand down the line that had the 15,000-strong crowd cheering on their feet.

The third set ran away very quickly from the Italian, who started touching repeatedly the back of his left leg around his knee. Sinner got broken again during the third game, and while going for a last-ditch attempt to recover a short volley by Alcaraz he tumbled to the ground slightly injuring his right elbow and arm. From there onwards it was just more mistakes by Sinner and a clinical execution by Alcaraz on how to take home a match.

Continue Reading

ATP

“It Feels Great’ – Novak Djokovic Marks Indian Wells Return With Milestone Win

Published

on

Novak Djokovic - Indian Wells 2024 (foto Ubitennis)

Novak Djokovic says he still has a ‘great feeling’ in Indian Wells after playing his first match at the event for five years. 

The world No.1 battled to a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, win over Aleksandar Vukic in what was his first taste of competitive tennis since losing in the semi-finals of the Australian Open. It was a far from smooth encounter for Djokovic, who hit 23 winners and won 83% of his first service points. In the second set, he was broken twice with the second of those occurring when he was serving at 5-6. Nevertheless, he battled back in the decider to win. 

This year is the first time Djokovic has been able to play in the Masters 1000 event since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the 2020 tournament was cancelled, he was unable to play the next three editions due to restrictions placed on unvaccinated foreign visitors to America. Despite the absence, the five-time champion states that his love for the event is as strong as ever.

“It feels great to come back with the win. It’s been five years and the great feeling is still there. I enjoyed myself very much. Beautiful stadium. Great atmosphere.” Djokovic said during his press conference. 
“I was a bit nervous at the beginning. I haven’t played a match in more than five weeks. I thought the start was good. Then I think he upped his game.
“I probably lost a little bit of the momentum. We got into the third set, I thought the level of the tennis was pretty good in the third. Great points. He made me produce some really important points in games in order to prevail in this match. I’m glad that I was pushed, as well, which is important.”

Djokovic’s latest victory is his 400th in a Masters 1000 tournament. He is only the second player in history to have reached this milestone since the tournament category was introduced in 1990. The first to do so was Rafael Nadal who currently has 406 wins to his name. 

He could create more history in Indian Wells should the Serbian go on to claim the title this year. If he does, he would become the first man to have won it for a sixth time. Although Djokovic is refusing to get too far ahead of himself. 

“I would love to,” he said of trying to claim a sixth title. “Obviously there is still a long way to get to the title match, but it’s a good start.’
“I know I can always produce better tennis. Obviously very self-critical, and I think some extent it’s also important because then it puts you in the right mindset of wanting to work more and being engaged in the process of improving on a daily basis, or trying to perfect your game and right the wrongs that you’ve done in a previous match or previous practice session.
“So that’s what I’m going to keep doing and hopefully building my game as this tournament is played over 10 to 14 days, so it allows you to have the practice days also between matches, which then allows you to work on certain specifics in the game.”

Djokovic will play Italy’s Luca Nardi in the next round. 

Continue Reading

ATP

Carlos Alcaraz Brushes Aside Injury Doubts To Reach Indian Wells Third Round

Carlos Alcaraz is into the third round at Indian Wells after a three set win over Matteo Arnaldi.

Published

on

(@BNPPARIBASOPEN - Twitter)

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz overcame injury doubts to edge past Matteo Arnaldi 6-7(5) 6-0 6-1 at Indian Wells.

The world number two had to endure an aggressive opening set from the in-form Italian to reach the third round.

After a tight opening set, Alcaraz raced through the last two sets as he set up a third round showdown with Felix Auger-Aliassime.

The Spaniard had entered this match with injury doubts after retiring from his match with Thiago Monteiro in Rio De Janeiro.

However Alcaraz was very pleased with how his ankle held up as he moved on in California, “Honestly it surprised me. I felt great, moving normally without thinking about it,” Alcaraz told the ATP website.

“It was a really good match to realise that I am better than I thought. I think I played great tennis because of that. I had to change just a few things. I made a few mistakes in the first set… I had to put in more first serves in the second and third set, and I think that was a big key to improving my level a little bit, to be in the rallies — long rallies as well, to get the rhythm, and I’m really happy to get it at the end.

“But right now I’m getting better and feeling really, really well. But I think I have to get a good rhythm step by step. I think that’s the big difference between last year and this one. This [is a] really special tournament for me. I want to do it well. This is the first match playing high intensity and I didn’t know how it’s going respond, the ankle.

“I have to deal with it, but I didn’t deal with the nerves very well in the first set, moving differently, hitting the ball differently. My game is playing aggressive all the time. And try to stay calm and wait for my chances.

“When you get nervous, you don’t think about it. You don’t hit the ball as good as you want. You don’t move as good as you want. I think that’s the big difference.”

Alcaraz will hope for a good week this week as he defends the Indian Wells title as he aims to win a first title since Wimbledon this week.

Next for the Spaniard will be Felix Auger-Aliassime, who defeated Constant Lestienne in straight sets.

Auger-Aliassime currently leads the head-to-head 3-1 but Alcaraz won their last meeting in Indian Wells last year.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending