Dominic Thiem Gets Indian Wells Campaign Underway With Victory Over Jeremy Chardy - UBITENNIS
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Dominic Thiem Gets Indian Wells Campaign Underway With Victory Over Jeremy Chardy

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Dominic Thiem booked his place in the third round in Indian Wells after seeing off Jeremy Chardy in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and 14 minutes.

 

In this, their first meeting, the Austrian made the perfect start as his opponent attempted to go toe to toe with him from the back of the court. Upon an adjustment in tactics, Chardy found more joy and got involved in the contest but could not break the 23-year-old’s serve in set number one. An early break in the second gave the Frenchman real belief, but that advantage did not last long and a poor conversion rate on break point chances proved to be the 30-year-old’s undoing in this encounter.

In the opening game Chardy allowed a 40-15 advantage on serve to slip as he threw in a couple of double faults to hand his opponent an immediate break of serve. After a tough beginning to the match the Frenchman quickly acknowledged that trading from the back of the court was going to be a losing tactic against the Austrian.

In the fourth game Chardy began to mix his game up, approaching the net frequently. Thiem struggled to deal with the shift in play and found himself having to save two break back points. He saved the first with a fierce forehand down the line winner before the Frenchman went after the second serve and missed his return to squander the second opportunity. An erratic forehand from the Austrian spurned a chance to hold before he had to face a third break point. In the rally which ensued it was Chardy who broke down first, failing to get down low enough to return one of the Austrian’s trademark one-handed backhands into court. Thiem managed to come through and hold to move 3-1 in front.

The tactic of coming to the net was proving to be effective for the Frenchman, winning six out of the eight points over the course of the first set as he moved to 0-30 on the Austrian’s serve once again. This time Thiem was able to reel off four points in a row, closing with aces to extend his lead. The missed chances for Chardy came back to bite him as his opponent, seeded eight at this event, struck a stunning backhand cross court passing shot on the run to secure a double break.

The 23-year-old had no trouble closing out the first set, making just four unforced errors compared to Chardy’s 13, as he held to love to seal it 6-2.

The start to the second set was a complete contrast to the first, with Chardy holding with ease before racing to a 0-40 advantage on the Austrian’s serve. In an error-strewn game from the eighth seed, Thiem netted yet another forehand to relinquish his serve for the first time in the match.

After making such a positive start to the set, all Chardy’s good work was undone as Thiem came bouncing right back. At break point down the 30-year-old looked out of ideas as he attempted a forehand down the line winner off a rallying ball. The Frenchman missed the mark by a considerable margin and dropped serve before the Austrian quickly levelled things up at two games all.

After a series of routine service holds from both players, it was Chardy whose serve broke down first at a crucial time in the ninth game. Thiem stepped up further into the court to go after the Frenchman’s serve and it worked as he brought up two break points. After deciding to retreat when presented with the first chance he was punished, but the Austrian drew an error from his opponent in the following extended rally to earn the chance to serve for the match.

The tenth game was a tough battle and Thiem had to rely on firing down aces down the middle when down 15-30 and at break point. The 23-year-old had to face another break point, but once again found a timely first serve which Chardy could not return. After that scare the Austrian only needed one chance to secure victory, hitting another first serve, which went unreturned, to seal a 6-2, 6-4 win.

The eighth seed advances to the third round and now awaits the winner of the match between 29th seed Mischa Zverev and Joao Sousa.

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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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