Roger Federer Inspired Shapovalov Growing Up And Now The Two Will Lock Horns In Miami - UBITENNIS
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Roger Federer Inspired Shapovalov Growing Up And Now The Two Will Lock Horns In Miami

It will be a clash between the veteran and the rising star in the semi-finals of the Miami Open.

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4 months ago

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Roger Federer (photo by Chryslène Caillaud, copyright @Sport Vision)

On a day where the rain wrecked havoc, Roger Federer kept his momentum going with a straightforward 6-4, 6-0, win over Kevin Anderson.

 

The 20-time grand slam champion took to the court much later than expected due to mother nature, but experienced little difficulty throughout his quarter-final match. Taking on Anderson, who recently missed nine weeks of the tour due to an elbow injury, Federer broke his opponent five times as he claimed 80% of his first service points. Avenging his loss to the South African at last year’s Wimbledon Championships.

“I played a really solid first set and got a good read on his serve,” said Federer.
“It was tough because I know he keeps going and if you get passive you need to come up with a good passing shot.
“Maybe I got a bit lucky at the end, but I am just pleased to get through.”

Federer has progressed to the semi-finals of a Masters tournament for the 65th time in his career. Awaiting him will be rising star Denis Shapovalov, who was born six months after Federer scored his first win on the ATP Tour at the 1998 Grand Prix de Tennis de Toulouse. Shapovalov battled back from a set down to defeat Frances Tiafoe 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-2. Reaching the last four of a Masters event for only the third time in his career.

The upcoming match will be the clash of the generations. Federer is 18 years older than Shapovalov and have played in 68 more grand slam tournaments. Despite the disparity, the seemingly ageless world No.5 is relishing the challenge.

“It doesn’t feel that different to when I played Rafa when he was super young, or anybody. Any teenager you play, once I think you’re 23, feels different to playing anybody else, because you know they come out there and they might not know all the plays down to the T yet, but they don’t have to, because they just free-swing sometimes, and that makes it particularly dangerous.” Federer explained during his post-match press conference.

Whilst the two are yet to lock horns on the court, Federer is already fully aware of the Canadian’s potential. The two have previously practised together with Shapovalov leaving a good impression on the former world No.1.

“I think he warmed me up for a match in Toronto,” he recounted. “He might have been 16, 17, and similar to today, he was just hitting big. I was, like, ‘Wow, it’s unbelievable. How old is he? How good is he gonna get?’”
“He was very impressive. Same with the serve. He has that beautiful swinger going. It just felt like he belonged there.”

The Federer effect

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Shapovalov is currently ranked 23rd in the world, but he is set to crack the top 20 next week following his run in Miami. The 19-year-old is yet to win an ATP title, but he is the second youngest top 100 player after compatriot Felix Auger-Aliassime. Auger-Aliassime will play John Isner in the other Miami semi-final.

“In terms of playing Roger, it’s definitely a matchup I have been looking forward to, I think, my whole life” Shapovalov said. “It’s going to be a dream come true to play him in such a big event over here, and the stakes are so high, semifinal match of a Masters 1000 against your idol. It’s just a dream come true.”

Growing up, Shapovalov said the 37-year-old was one of the players that he would mould his tennis after. Citing the one-handed backhand of the Swiss player as one of his biggest inspirations.

“I was always looking at his backhand, the way he hits it. I always tried to kind of copy him. Really just build my game and play like he does.” The world No.23 explained.
“Aggressive, coming in. He was always not afraid to kind of go for his shots and close the point at the net. I feel like that, just watching him do that so much kind of built my personality on the court, and I try to do the same.”

Federer isn’t the only one who inspired the rising star. Shapovalov also said he used to study Novak Djokovic’s return game and Rafael Nadal’s ‘fighting spirit.’

“I feel like those three guys have helped me learn so much in the game. It’s three great guys to kind of look up to when you’re young.” He concluded.

Federer will play Shapovalov in Miami on Friday.

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ATP

Entry Lists For Hamburg, Atlanta, Gstaad LIVE

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2 days ago

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19/07/2019

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The ATP summer tour continues with the tournaments of Hamburg and Gstaad in Europe and Atlanta in USA. 

 

The Hamburg European Open is an ATP 500 event (former Masters) played on the red clay courts of the Rothenbaum Tennis Center. In this year’s field, Dominic Thiem will be the first seed, followed by Alexander Zverev, who received a Wild-Card, Fabio Fognini and the defending champion Nikoloz Basilashvili. Richard Gasquet, Benoit Paire and Philipp Kohlschreiber will compete as well.

Two ATP 250 events will take place in Atlanta and Gstaad. The BB&T Atlanta Open in Georgia (USA) has been played on hard courts since 2010, when Mardy Fish captured the first edition’s title. Australia’s Nick Kyrgios has been the only non-American winner, in 2016. Five-time former champion John Isner leads the entry list; Alex De Minaur, Taylor Fritz and Pierre-Hugues Herbert have committed to play as well.

The Swiss Open Gstaad, held in the red clay courts of the Roy Emerson Arena, has one of the most beautiful views in the tour, inside the Swiss Alps. Roberto Bautista-Agut, Fernando Verdasco and Dusan Lajovic will be among the favourites, while the defending champion Matteo Berrettini will not play due to injury.

NEWS: Grigor Dimitrov has accepted a Wild-Card into Atlanta.

 

ATP 500 Hamburg (GER, Red Clay), entry list:
Thiem, Dominic (AUT)
Fognini, Fabio (ITA)
Basilashvili, Nikoloz (GEO)
Djere, Laslo (SRB)
Paire, Benoit (FRA)
Garin, Cristian (CHI)
Struff, Jan-Lennard (GER)
Cecchinato, Marco (ITA)
Gasquet, Richard (FRA)
Cuevas, Pablo (URU)
Mayer, Leonardo (ARG)
Chardy, Jeremy (FRA)
Kohlschreiber, Philipp (GER)
Fucsovics, Marton (HUN)
Krajinovic, Filip (SRB)
Klizan, Martin (SVK)
Carreno Busta, Pablo (ESP)
Londero, Juan Ignacio (ARG)
Ruud, Casper (NOR)
Jarry, Nicolas (CHI)
Haase, Robin (NED)
Delbonis, Federico (ARG)
Rublev, Andrey (RUS)
SE Caruso, Salvatore (ITA)
WC Zverev, Alexander (GER)
WC Zverev, Mischa (GER)
(WC)
(WC)
Alternates:
1. Kovalik, Jozef (SVK)
2. Bedene, Aljaz (SLO)
3. Dellien, Hugo (BOL)

 

ATP 500 Hamburg, qualifying:
Dellien, Hugo (BOL)
Bedene, Aljaz (SLO)
OUT Maden, Yannick (GER)
Travaglia, Stefano (ITA)
Monteiro, Thiago (BRA)
Martinez, Pedro (ESP)
Davidovich Fokina, Alejandro (ESP)
Ofner, Sebastian (AUT)
Mager, Gianluca (ITA)
OUT Coppejans, Kimmer (GER)
OUT Molleker, Rudolf (GER)
OUT Brown, Dustin (GER)
OUT Otte, Oscar (GER)
(WC)
(WC)
(WC)
Alternates:
IN Kovalik, Jozef (SVK)
IN Domingues, Joao (POR)
OUT Marterer, Maximilian (GER)
IN Berlocq, Carlos (ARG)
IN Vatutin, Alexey (RUS)
IN Nagal, Sumit (IND)
OUT Marcora, Roberto (ITA)
OUT Benchetrit, Elliot (FRA)
1. Arnaboldi, Andrea (ITA)
2. Miedler, Lucas (AUT)

 

 

ATP 250 Atlanta (USA, Hard), entry list:
Isner, John (USA)
OUT Auger-Aliassime, Felix (CAN)
OUT Schwartzman, Diego (ARG)
De Minaur, Alex (AUS)
Tiafoe, Frances (USA)
Albot, Radu (MDA)
Fritz, Taylor (USA)
Herbert, Pierre-Hugues (FRA)
Norrie, Cameron (GBR)
OUT Hurkacz, Hubert (POL)
OUT Millman, John (AUS)
Opelka, Reilly (USA)
Thompson, Jordan (AUS)
Humbert, Ugo (FRA)
Ebden, Matthew (AUS)
Evans, Daniel (GBR)
Copil, Marius (ROU)
Kecmanovic, Miomir (SRB)
Kudla, Denis (USA)
(SE)
(SE)
WC Dimitrov, Grigor (BUL)
(WC)
(WC)
Alternates:
IN Bublik, Alexander (KAZ)
OUT Karlovic, Ivo (CRO)
OUT Harris, Lloyd (RSA)
IN Tomic, Bernard (AUS)
IN Klahn, Bradley (USA)
IN Gunneswaran, Prajnesh (IND)
IN Sandgren, Tennys (USA)
IN Popyrin, Alexei (AUS)
OUT Schnur, Brayden (CAN)

 

ATP 250 Atlanta, qualifying:
OUT Bublik, Alexander (KAZ)
OUT Klahn, Bradley (USA)
OUT Gunneswaran, Prajnesh (IND)
OUT Sandgren, Tennys (USA)
OUT Tomic, Bernard (AUS)
OUT Popyrin, Alexei (AUS)
Majchrzak, Kamil (POL)
Andreozzi, Guido (ARG)
Jung, Jason (TPE)
Gojowczyk, Peter (GER)
Kwon, Sun-Woo (KOR)
Harrison, Ryan (USA)
Koepfer, Dominik (GER)
OUT Fratangelo, Bjorn (USA)
(WC)
(WC)
Alternates:
IN Paul, Tommy (USA)
OUT Stakhovsky, Sergiy (UKR)
IN Ivashka, Ilya (BLR)
IN Bolt, Alex (AUS)
IN Mmoh, Michael (USA)
IN (Alternate)
IN (Alternate)
IN (Alternate)
OUT Giron, Marcos (USA)
OUT Halys, Quentin (FRA)
1. Troicki, Viktor (SRB)
2. Torpegaard, Mikael (DEN)
3. Eubanks, Christopher (USA)
4. Young, Donald (USA)
5. Smith, John-Patrick (AUS)

 

 

ATP 250 Gstaad (SUI, Red Clay), entry list:
Bautista-Agut, Roberto (ESP)
OUT Pella, Guido (ARG)
OUT Berrettini, Matteo (ITA)
Lajovic, Dusan (ITA)
Verdasco, Fernando (ESP)
Sousa, Joao (POR)
Carballes Baena, Roberto (ESP)
Munar, Jaume (ESP)
Sonego, Lorenzo (ITA)
Andujar, Pablo (ESP)
Gulbis, Ernests (LAT)
Darcis, Steve (BEL) PR
Laaksonen, Henri (SUI)
Stebe, Cedrik-Marcel (GER)
Istomin, Denis (UZB)
Lorenzi, Paolo (ITA)
Jaziri, Malek (TUN)
Ramos-Vinolas, Albert (ESP)
Moutet, Corentin (FRA)
(SE)
(SE)
WC Robredo, Tommy (ESP)
(WC)
(WC)
Alternates:
IN Fabbiano, Thomas (ITA)
IN Vesely, Jiri (CZE)
IN Daniel, Taro (JPN)
IN Travaglia, Stefano (ITA)

 

ATP 250 Gstaad, qualifying:
Novak, Dennis (AUT)
OUT Daniel, Taro (JPN)
OUT Bachinger, Matthias (GER)
OUT Vesely, Jiri (CZE)
Hanfmann, Yannick (GER) PR
Baldi, Filippo (ITA)
OUT Bagnis, Facundo (ARG)
Trungelliti, Marco (ARG)
Garcia-Lopez, Guillermo (ESP)
OUT Robredo, Tommy (ESP)
Napolitano, Stefano (ITA)
Arguello, Facundo (ARG)
Galan, Daniel-Elahi (COL)
Galovic, Viktor (CRO)
(WC)
(WC)
Alternates:
OUT Vatutin, Alexey (RUS)
OUT Nagal, Sumit (IND)
OUT Marcora, Roberto (ITA)
IN Benchetrit, Elliot (FRA)
IN Arnaboldi, Andrea (ITA)
OUT Masur, Daniel (GER)
OUT Weintraub, Amir (ISR)
OUT Kamke, Tobias (GER)
OUT Rodionov, Jurij (AUT)
IN Moroni, Gian Marco (ITA)
IN Robert, Stephane (FRA)
IN (Alternate)
1. Escobar, Gonzalo (ECU)
2. Pavlasek, Adam (CZE)

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The 22 Matches That Roger Federer Lost After Having Match Point

Ubitennis looks back at the times where the Swiss maestro was on the verge of victory before going out.

Published

3 days ago

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18/07/2019

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On Sunday Roger Federer was twice a point away from winning his 21st grand slam title at Wimbledon. Taking on world No.1 Novak Djokovic, the Swiss player failed to convert two match points. Resulting in him eventually losing in the final set tiebreaker after five hours of play on Center Court.

 

It was the 22nd time Federer has lost after having match point opportunities and the sixth time he has done so in a grand slam tournament. 13 out of those 22 matches saw him have more than one chance to seal victory. The most notable of those took place back in 2010 at the Paris Masters. Playing France’s Gael Monfils, Federer failed to convert five match point opportunities as he lost 7-6(7), 6-7(1), 7-6(4).

The unfortunate outcome has happened to the 37-year-old at least once every year since 2013. Furthermore, since 2017 he has failed to win after having match points twice each season.

Djokovic is the only person to fight back against Federer on multiple occasions at grand slam level. Besides his recent triumph at Wimbledon, the Serbian also saved two match points to beat Federer in their US Open clashes in 2010 and 2011. Djokovic is the only player to have ever done this against Federer on three separate occasions.

Looking at the overall picture, those 22 matches represents only 0.83% of his total losses on the ATP Tour since turning pro (22 out of 265). Federer’s current win-loss record stands at 1222-265. Claiming a total of 102 titles, which is the second highest in the Open Era. Jimmy Connors is currently first with 1274 wins and 109 titles.

Since 2000, there has been five seasons where the former world No.1 hasn’t lost a match after being in prime position. They were in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012.

Here is a breakdown of those 22 matches:-

YEAR TOURNAMENT ROUND OPONENT
 MATCH POINTS  WASTED
2019 Wimbledon Final Novak Djokovic 2
2019 Madrid Quarter-final Dominic Thiem 2
2018 Wimbledon Quarter-final Kevin Anderson 1
2018 Indian Wells Final Juan Del Potro 3
2017 Stuttgart Two Tommy Haas 1
2017 Dubai Two Evgeny Donskoi 3
2016 Stuttgart Semi-final Dominic Thiem 2
2015 Madrid Two Nick Kyrgios 2
2014 Rome Two Jeremy Chardy 1
2013 Dubai Semi-final Tomas Berdych 3
2011 US Open Semi-final Novak Djokovic 2
2010 Paris-Bercy Semi-final Gael Monfils 5
2010 US Open Semi-final Novak Djokovic 2
2010 Miami Two Tomas Berdych 1
2010 Indian Wells Third Marcos Baghdatis 3
2006 Rome Final Rafael Nadal 2
2005 Monte Carlo Quarter-final Richard Gasquet 3
2005 Aust. Open Semi-final Marat Safin 1
2003 Miami Quarter-final Albert Costa 3
2002 Rotterdam Quarter-final Nicolas Escudé 1
2002 Aust. Open Two Tommy Haas 1
2001 Paris-Bercy Two Jiri Novak 1
2001 Halle Quarter-final Pat Rafter 1
2000 Wien Semi-final Tim Henman  2

source of data – Simon Graf/derbund.ch

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Albert Ramos Vinolas beats Fernando Verdasco in all-Spanish clash in Bastad

Published

3 days ago

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18/07/2019

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Albert Ramos Vinolas beat his compatriot Fernando Verdasco 6-2 6-4 in one hour and 46 minutes to secure his spot in the quarter final at the Swedish Open in Bastad.

 

Ramos Vinolas fended off eight of the nine break points he faced. Verdasco broke for the first time in the match at 2-5 in the second set. Ramos Vinolas broke serve four times to build up a 6-2 5-2 lead and converted his seventh match point in the 10th game to secure his spot in his fourth quarter final in 2019.

Ramos Vinolas will take on his compatriot Roberto Carballes Baena, who knocked out Damir Dzumhur 6-1 7-6 (7-4). Carballes Baena saved eight of the ten break points and broke three times a row.

Dzumhur came back from 3-5 down in the second set to set up a tie-break, which Carballes Baena sealed 7-4.

Frenchman Jeremy Chardy beat top seed Christian Garin 6-4 6-4 after 1 hour and 44 minutes. Chardy broke in the fifth game of the first set after a double fault from Garin. Chardy served well in the next three service games to seal the first set 6-4 with a service winner in the 10th game. Garin broke serve at the beginning of the second set with a forehand down the line winner, but he was broken back at 3-1 when he hit his forehand into the net.

Chardy got another break in the seventh game with a forehand. The Frenchman sealed the win with a forehand winner at 5-4 to secure his spot in the quarter final.

Nicolas Jarry beat Mikael Ymer 7-5 6-3 after 1 hour and 41 minutes. Jarry wasted three set points at 5-4 before sealing the first set with a break in the 12th game. Both players traded breaks at the beginning of the second set. Jary dropped three points in the last four service games and broke serve at love in the eighth game. The Chilean player reeled off 12 of the final 15 points to reach his fourth quarter final of the season.

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