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Quarterfinal Friday – Quotes And Notes

The Noventi Open provides a backdrop for much more than what is taking place on the courts.

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5 years ago

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Roger Federer (@ATPHalle - Twitter)

With a tennis championships like the Noventi Open, there are always points of interest that give a better feel for what is taking place than the actual matches being played. Today, quarterfinal Friday, the fans witnessed riveting action. But leading up to it, there were a number of overlooked “happenings”, during the week, that are worth a mention. As a group, they include player insights, along with on-court and off-court goings-on that showcase why the ATP 500 tournament, played in Halle, Germany, is truly inimitable.

After being on tour for a while, players grow tired of responding to the same questions again and again. In press conferences, some seem to go into a trance and become R2-D2 (actually Artoo-Detoo seems better) facsimiles. Their responses become “bricks”, which are so robotic, that it makes it impossible to build a story foundation.

Roger Federer, as with many other segments imbedded in his career, is an exception. He can be thoughtfully expressive when asked for the hundredth time about a particular subject. He is regularly insightful, sometimes to the point where journalists are allowed to “touch his soul” when he answers a thought provoking question. Simply put (lifetime contract aside) he is the tournament’s “Spokesman.”

Beginning in late May, Federer played Roland Garros for the first time in four years. Rafael Nadal dispatched him in straight sets in the semifinals. Moving to grass, he had to recalibrate his game.

Stating the obvious, “It’s a huge change”. He then added,  “Playing on grass can be very frustrating. You are looking for rhythm, but you can’t control everything because the ball bounces low and there are also bad bounces. You don’t have a real chance to get into rallies and build points like you can on clay. One good return or one good shot can really make a difference on this surface.” 

He continued, “I look for ways to finish points quickly by going to the net. The (backhand) slice is always a good shot on grass because it skids and bounces low, so your opponent has to really get down to the ball and try to lift his shot to get it over the net.” 

Because of the surface, it is easier to take a “mental” break on clay than it is on grass, Federer pointed out,  “If you are a little bit lazy on grass, you pay the price. On clay, playing from the baseline, you can get into a good rhythm because you have time, time that you don’t normally have on grass.”  

His analysis of the future of the “grass game” was telling. “I don’t see extreme progress at the moment,” he said. “For me, real progress would be when players start playing serve and volley. That would mean doing a lot more training, and not just during the grass season. I really don’t think that will happen.” 

He added, “In the end, it’s the results that count. That’s what a lot of players see. They don’t have serve and volley in their DNA.” 

Participants stay at the SportsPark Hotel which is on the tournament grounds. From some of the rooms, it is as easy as looking out the window to watch the action. “Here you can see matches on Court 1,” the nine-time champion pointed out. “I find it really cool to watch from the room. It’s perfect for a tennis fan (and for a player) which I am. It’s really nice when our friends are here. They can’t grasp that there is such a hotel with rooms with such a view.”

Jan-Lennard Struff, the 6’5” German from Warstein, has had a breakthrough year. He began 2019 ranked No. 54 and entered the Noventi Open at No. 35. He turned professional ten years ago and struggled until reaching the Top 100 in 2016.

He had played Halle six times before winning his first match, stopping Laslo Djere of Serbia, 6-4, 6-4 in the first round. Unfortunately, his seventh appearance good fortune was ended by Russian Karen Khachanov in his next outing, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

Following the loss, he said, “I have had a very good season. I have never played this well before. I am very happy with Stuttgart where I reached the semifinals. But, more important, I broke the curse here. I had never won a round before. Though I lost today, I can build on the win.”

In its twenty-six year history, a global village of players have taken part at Halle. They have used the spectacular setting and rain-protection conditions as a lead-up to Wimbledon. When Matteo Berrettini faced Andreas Seppi in the second round, I wondered how many Italians had taken part in the tournament. As it turns out, only twelve have participated. Even more interesting, Seppi is the leader of the All-Italian clashes. In 2006, he defeated Davide Sanguinetti, 7-6, 7-5 in the first round. Thirteen years later, Berrettini was his straight-set victim, and yesterday the triumphs were reversed when Berrettini escaped with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win.

In the match between Ukrainian qualifier Sergiy Stakhovsky and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, there was a “I’ve never seen it before” occurrence. With Herbert serving at 40-0 and Stakhovsky leading 5-1, the Frenchman hit what appeared to be an ace, but the serve was called a fault. Herbert approached the chair umpire and asked for an overrule, but the official informed him that he didn’t have any more challenges. Unable to “officially” contest the call he asked Stakhovsky what he thought. His opponent said the ball was good, but to give Herbert the point, Stakhovsky had to challenge the call. He did and the video replay proved the “fault call” was incorrect Herbert had, indeed, hit an ace to win the game.

Stakhovsky challenged himself; lost the point; gave Herbert the game; but won the first set, serving it out, 6-2. In the end, being honest didn’t lead to a victory. Herbert claimed the second round match, 2-6, 7-6, 6-4.

In another second round match, one that was a perfect exhibition of French flair, countrymen Benoit Paire and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga played “football”. While serving Paire, ranked No. 28, let the racquet slip from his hand, but continued to play the point with his foot, kicking the ball over the net. Not to be outdone, Tsonga trapped the ball on his chest then kicked it over the net. The exchanges continued until Paire’s pseudo bicycle kick failed, bringing an end to the “kickball rally.” It is fair to say, based on the near standing ovation that the players received it was likely the best point played in Tsonga’s 6-4, 7-5 win.

As good as play was in the quarterfinals, there is an even better story to close this feature. It is about Franziska Froehlich, the daughter of Martin Froehlich, the esteemed Bielefeld newspaper reporter. Yesterday, following Alexander Zverev’s match, Franziska waited behind the barrier outside the players locker room. She was waiting for “Sascha.”

Unfortunately, Zverev had already returned to the SportsPark Hotel. Learning this she was very disappointed. But Daniel Dormann came to her rescue. He explained, “I am an uncle and have a combination of seven nephews and nieces. I know what a sad look is, and I saw it in her eyes.”

As it happens, Dormann is a close friend of the Zverev family. In fact, he is the founder of “Team Zverev”,  a support group. Truth be told, he is not a paid PR specialist. He has known the family for fifteen years and initially set-up a webpage for Mischa. When Sascha saw it, he was around seven at the time, he asked if he could have one too.

Dormann, the creator of “Zverev Brothers Fan Page” on Facebook (and the “teamzverevofficial” Instagram account) told Franziska that he may be able to find a ticket so that she could attend Zverev’s match today against David Goffin of Belgium. He checked with Irina Zvereva, the boys’ mother who deals with such requests, and just before midnight last night, he received a thumbs up emoji.

This morning, Martin Froehlich learned that Dormann had been “successful” and would meet them at the tournament’s front gate to give Franziska the ticket.

Though disappointed that he lost, she had a memorable day at the Noventi Open. One that will always be unmatched for her and all those who attended Quarterfinal Friday.

 

 

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Daniil Medvedev Targets French Open Breakthrough After Rome Disappointment

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5 days ago

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15/05/2024

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Credit Francesca Micheli/Ubitennis

Daniil Medvedev believes there will be more title contenders at the French Open than previous editions with the Russian hoping to be one of them. 

The world No.4 heads into the Grand Slam after what has been a mixed clay swing. Medvedev suffered a third round defeat in Monte Carlo before bouncing back in Madrid where he reached the quarter-finals before retiring from his match with a minor injury. Meanwhile, at this week’s Italian Open, his title defence came to an end in the fourth round on Tuesday when he fell 6-1, 6-4, to Tommy Paul. 

“Mentally I had to be much better,” Medvedev said of his latest performance.
“I started to calm myself down and focus on the match only at the end of the match, and it was too late. I had to do better. I was expecting myself to play better.’
“It’s disappointing, but that’s how sport is. You lose and you go for the next tournament, which is a pretty important one.” He added. 

28-year-old Medvedev recently stated that he is seeing improvements in his game when it comes to playing on the clay. A surface which he has struggled on during stages of his career. Out of the 38 ATP Finals he has contested, only two of those were on the clay. Barcelona in 2019 when he finished runner-up and Rome last year which he won. 

As for the French Open, he has lost in the first round on five out of seven appearances. But did reach the quarter-finals in 2021 and the last 16 the following year. So could 2024 be his year?

“Now it’s maybe a little bit more open than it was ever before,” he said of this year’s event. 
“Good for me, too, because usually in Roland Garros I don’t play that well. The more open it is, the better it is for me.”

All of the top three players on the men’s tour are currently experiencing problems. Novak Djokovic crashed out of the Italian Open and recently underwent a medical assessment after getting hit in the head by a bottle in a freak accident. Jannik Sinner is reportedly on the verge of withdrawing from the French Open due to a hip issue and Carlos Alcaraz has been hindered by a forearm injury in recent weeks. 

“I’m feeling much better on clay,” Medvedev commented. “What is tough for me on clay sometimes is getting used to conditions. Every court – in every tournament in the world – is a bit different.
“On hard courts it’s the same: every court is different. On hard courts I have this ability to kind of quite fast get used to it. On clay, I need more time.”

Medvedev aims to become only the second Russian man in history to win the French Open after Yevgeny Kafelnikov in 1996. The tournament will begin a week on Sunday. 

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Stefanos Tsitsipas Says Expanded Masters Events ‘Playing A Massive Role’ In Player Injuries

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1 week ago

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13/05/2024

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Credit Francesca Micheli/Ubitennis

Stefanos Tsitsipas has slammed the decision to extend the length of Masters 1000 tournaments to two weeks by warning that more injuries could occur in the future as a result. 

This week’s Rome Masters is taking place without two out of the world’s top three players. Jannik Sinner pulled out of his home event due to a hip injury and Carlos Alcaraz has been troubled by a forearm issue in recent weeks. Other players missing from the draw include Tomas Machac (Illness), Ugo Humbert (Left Knee) and Stan Wawrinka (Right Wrist). 

The tournament is taking place immediately after the Madrid Open which is also a Masters event that has been expanded to a two-week format in recent years. Supporters of the move argue that a bigger draw provides lower-ranked players with more opportunities to play in these events whilst others will have a day off between matches. 

However, world No.8 Tsitsipas isn’t completely happy with the schedule which he openly criticised on Monday following his 6-2, 7-6(1), win over Cameron Norrie. The Greek has won 12 out of 14 matches played on clay so far this season. 

“It’s a type of thing that hurt the sport a little bit, to have these types of things happen to the highest of the players,” Tsitsipas commented on his rival’s injuries.
“Without them, the show is not kind of the same. You have obviously the guys behind them (in the rankings). These kinds of tournaments deserve names like this to be playing and have the opportunity to play in front of these big stadiums and crowds.
“I’ve spoken about the fact that the schedule has a big toll on our bodies. It starts from the mental side, and it follows to the physical side. The extension of the days in the Masters 1000s I think plays a massive role and contributes a lot to the fact that these players are getting injured.”

The ATP’s extended format is set to be applied to seven out of the nine Masters 1000 tournaments from 2025. The only two yet to make or plan for such changes are Monte Carlo and Paris. However, Tsitsipas has called for changes to be made to the schedule.

“It was perhaps already a lot the way it was before with the seven-day events. Adding more days to that, well, you got to be some type of superhero to be consistent back-to-back 10 days in each event getting to the very end of it.” He commented.
“It’s not a very easy thing to do. Some people need to try it first to get an understanding and how it is to pull that off. Then they should make decisions based on that.
“I think this is not going to be the first time we see these types of things (player injuries). If these types of things continue with the same schedule not being adjusted or customized to the needs of the players, we might see more of these things occur in the future.”

It is not the first time a player has raised concerns about the extended format. Alexander Zverev previously said that the schedule is a disadvantage for the top players. Meanwhile, on the women’s Tour Caroline Garcia has criticised the move to expand WTA 1000 tournaments whilst Maria Sakkari said achieving the Madrid-Rome double has become harder to do. 

On the other hand, Daniil Medvedev has spoken in favour of the new format and describes injuries on the Tour as ‘part of the sport.’ The former US Open believes the issue is related to the quick surface changes players face and not the duration of tournaments. 

Tsitsipas will play Alex de Minaur in the fourth round of the Italian Open on Tuesday. 

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Novak Djokovic To Undergo Medical Check After Rome Thrashing, Bottle Incident

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1 week ago

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12/05/2024

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Novak Djokovic – ATP Roma 2024 (foto: Francesca Micheli/Ubitennis)

Novak Djokovic has indicated that he will speak to doctors following his lacklustre performance at the Italian Open where he crashed out in straight sets. 

The five-time champion was far from his best against Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo as he struggled to generate any rhythm in his tennis or a single break point opportunity. Djokovic’s below-par performance caught many off guard, including the tennis player himself who admitted afterwards that he was ‘completely off’ his game. 

Trying to find the reason behind his latest performance, the world No.1 isn’t ruling out the possibility that it might be linked to an incident that took place at the tournament two days ago. Following his win over France’s Corentin Moutet, Djokovic suffered a blow to his head after a fan accidentally dropped a metal bottle from the stands. Immediately afterwards, he experienced nausea, dizziness and bleeding for up to an hour but was checked by medical officials.

“I don’t know, to be honest. I have to check that.” Djokovic replied when asked if the incident affected his form on Sunday.
“Training was different. I was going for kind of easy training yesterday. I didn’t feel anything, but I also didn’t feel the same.
“Today under high stress, it was quite bad – not in terms of pain, but in terms of this balance. Just no coordination. Completely different player from what it was two nights ago.
“It could be. I don’t know. I have to do medical checkups and see what’s going on. “

The tennis star said he managed to sleep fine after his head blow but did experience headaches. He looked to be in good spirits the day after it happened and even turned up to practice in Rome wearing a safety helmet.

Djokovic’s concerns come two weeks before the start of the French Open where he is seeking a record 25th Major title. He will undoubtedly be one of the contenders for glory but admits there is a lot of work that needs to be done in the coming days. 

“Everything needs to be better in order for me to have at least a chance to win it,” he said.
“The way I felt on the court today was just completely like a different player entered into my shoes. Just no rhythm, no tempo, and no balance whatsoever on any shot.
“It’s a bit concerning.”

The French Open will begin on Sunday 26th May. 

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