(EXCLUSIVE) Stan Smith: "Some People Still Think I'm A Shoe" - UBITENNIS
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(EXCLUSIVE) Stan Smith: “Some People Still Think I’m A Shoe”

Despite being “Mr.100 million pairs”, Smith has been at the top of the rankings (albeit without the computerized system to certify the achievement), has won two Slams on his way to over 100 titles, and has been part of a record-breaking seven winning Davis Cup teams. He’s the current president of the Hall of Fame.

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Stan Smith, the 6-foot-4 American champion, was born in Pasadena on December 14, 1946, and is considered by some to have been the best player in the world between 1971 and 1972, before the ATP Rankings as we know them were introduced. But how many tournaments did he actually win?

According to the ATP website, Smith has 36 titles in singles and 54 in doubles under his belt… but that’s without adding the pre-ATP victories to the haul. To be honest, though, he doesn’t seem certain of the definitive amount himself. However, as Bud Collins said, “Stan is a bona fide Centennial.” A couple Slams are part of his resumé, and they could have been more, while he also won five in doubles (when doubles were still “a serious business,” in his own words), out of a grand total of 17 finals. To be precise, he reached 13 showdowns in the men’s doubles (10 with Bob Lutz, with 5 victories, and 3 more, all losses, with either Van Dillen or Gorman), one in the mixed doubles, which he won partnering Rosie Casals, and three in the singles (he lost at Wimbledon in ’71 against Newcombe, but won a couple months later at Forest Hills against Kodes before triumphing a year later at SW19 versus Nastase).

He also won the first year-end Masters event, surviving a round-robin tournament in Tokyo, in 1970, and, more importantly, he is the only seven-time winner of the Davis Cup, along with Bill Tilden. This chat will feature some unbelievable anecdotes, such as the two years he spent without talking to Ion Tiriac after what happened in the Davis Cup final in 1972, or the heart-breaking losses against Kodes and Rosewall in two Slam semis, matches he lost after squandering match points. Stan will also show us the trophies he won in Tokyo, New York, and London. Finally, he’ll show us some of his eponymous shoes (which have sold over 100 million pairs), and everything will be topped off with same trademark banter with me and Steve Flink.

VIDEO SCHEDULE:

Minute 00: How many tournaments has Stan Smith won, and why was he unlucky?

02:50: Playing mixed doubles with the diminutive Rosie Casals

03:32: All the best players used to play both singles and doubles, up to Connors and Borg…

04:21: The NCAA tennis tournament (the university championships in the US) and all the great champions who won it in the past, from Ashe to Smith himself to McEnroe, who did it after reaching the Wimbledon semifinals as a qualifier. Who are the collegiate players that have found pro success in the last few years? Stan, the last graduate to win his maiden Slam (although the last graduate to win is Arthur Ashe). When Ubaldo beat an NCAA champion – to Stan’s utter amazement!

11:56: “I realised I’d be among the world’s best when I beat Laver and Rosewall in Tokyo…” What Rosewall said about him… Here’s trophy #1!

13:56: Trophy #2, the US Open. Stan reminisces on that tournament and on his defeat at Newcombe’s hands in the 1971 Wimbledon final.

18:17: Some unexpected tactical advice from Pancho Segura, who also coached Connors and Chang, propelled him to beat Jan Kodes at Forest Hills… What kind of player was Segura?

21:05: Boycotting Wimbledon in 1973 for a guy who wasn’t particularly liked by his peers…

22:47: The WCT win against Ashe in 1973, in front of… Ben Hur! A hallmark event in Ubaldo’s career.

25:26: Lamar Hunt’s party in Dallas where Ubaldo met Stan’s future wife. A very shy teenager called John McEnroe and the likenesses between him and Nastase…

29:14: The 1972 Wimbledon final against the Romanian, one of the greatest matches of all time. His Davis Cup record against Nastase, who still thinks Smith was lucky against him. That with Billie Jean King before the final, a good omen?

33:41: The Davis Cup final in Bucharest and Tiriac’s concocting ploys to cheat the trophy out of the Americans’ hands… How to deal with security and guns after the terrorist attack against the Israeli team at the 1972 Olympics – two members of the American Davis Cup team were Jewish. Smith had won at SW19, Nastase at Forest Hills. Tiriac’s 100th tie: “Should I shake hands with him after what he’s done?”

40:58: That tie was remembered with a 30th anniversary party in Bucharest, culminating in a doubles exhibition match between the same four players. Remembering when Stan stopped talking to Tiriac, who now has a private jet…

44:05: Smith shows us the replica of the Renshaw Cup, Trophy #3!

44:51: Those two semifinal matches he lost after having match points in his favour, one against Kodes at Forest Hills (1973) and one against Rosewall at Wimbledon (1974): “Had I beaten Ken…”

49:27: The new Davis Cup versus the ATP Cup and the Laver Cup.

57:00: Smith is the current president of the International Hall of Fame. He tells us how hard it was to promote the whole endeavour, both as a concept and from a financial standpoint…

1:02:56: Stan’s Top 6 ever in the men’s game: “One of them is the current GOAT, another will overtake him. When Borg won his 6th French Open title…”

1:07:02: More GOAT debate. Head-to-head comparison versus years spent at N.1. The role of the crowd.

1:08:00: Was anybody ever cherished as much as Federer? The sport’s greatest personalities.

1:10:47: Does Stan agree with Patrick Mouratoglou, who thinks that there are no more huge personalities in tennis?

1:13:01: Ubaldo’s children’s Stan Smith shoes, and some very special shoe models…

1:15:26: Some people wore the crocodile without knowing who Lacoste was, then it happened with Fred Perry and his laurel: “That’s why the title of my book was ‘Stan Smith, some people think I am a shoe’!”

1:16:53: Stan’s four children and his Tennis Academy.

Article written by Tommaso Villa

 

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Danil Medvedev could meet Jannik Sinner in the semifinal at the Miami Open

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The Miami Open Main Draw ceremony was held on Monday afternoon. 

Danil Medvedev could face Jannik Sinner in the semifinal of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami in a possible re-match of this year’s Australian Open. Both Medvedev and Sinner have been placed in the bottom half of the draw. 

Medvedev is aiming to win the same tournament twice for the first time. The Russian player beat Sinner in the final of last year’s Miami Open. 

Medvedev will start his campaign against either Max Purcell or Marton Fucsovics in the second round. Medvedev could face either Ugo Humbert or Sebastian Baez in a potential fourth round clash. Humbert won two titles in Marseille and Dubai this year. Baez also claimed two trophies in Santiago and Rio de Janeiro this year. 

Medvedev is projected to face either 2022 Miami finalist Casper Ruud or Taylor Fritz in the quarter final. 

Jannik Sinner will take on either Pedro Cachin or a qualifier. The 22-year-old Italian player could face a fourth round match Tommy Paul, who lost to Medvedev in the semifinal of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. 

Sinner is seeded to play against either Hubert Hurkacz or Andrey Rublev. Hurkacz beat Sinner in the Miami Open final in 2021. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Frances Tiafoe are the other players who have been drawn in this quarter. This section of the draw also feature two blockbuster first round matches: Andy Murray vs Matteo Berrettini and Arthur Fils vs Matteo Arnaldi. 

Carlos Alcaraz is aiming to become the first player to complete the “Sunshine Double” since Roger Federer in 2017. Alcaraz beat Sinner in the semifinal and Medvedev in the final at last week’s Indian Wells Masters 1000 tournament. Top seed Alcaraz has been drawn on the opposite side from number 3 Danil Medvedev. 

As both Sinner and Medvedev are in the bottom half and could go head-to-head in the semifinal if they reach this stage, Alcaraz can face only one of those two rivals. 

Alcaraz will face either Alexander Vukic or Roberto Carballes Baena in the second round. The Spaniard could face a blockbuster fourth round match against Ben Shelton, who is the second best US player in the ATP Ranking behind Taylor Fritz. Alcaraz beat Shelton in their only head-to-head match in Toronto last year. Shelton was beaten by Sinner 7-6 6-1 in Indian Wells last week. The US player will face either Los Cabos champion Jordan Thompson or Nino Borges, who beat Matteo Berrettini in the final of the Challenger Tour in Phoenix last week. 

Alcaraz is projected to face a semifinal clash against 2021 Olympic champion Alexander Zverev. 

Zverev, who reached the final in Miami in 2018, will face Felix Auger Aliassime or a qualifier. Zverev’s section of the draw features Holger Rune, two-time Acapulco champion Alex De Minaur, this year’s Doha champion Karen Khachanov, Indian Wells quarter finalist Jiri lehecka, Francisco Cerundolo, who reached the semifinal in 2022 and the quarter final in 2023 in his past two editions of the Miami Open, and unseeded players Kei Nishikori, Lorenzo Sonego and Fabian Maroszan. 

Nishikori, who reached the Miami Open final in 2016, will play his come-back match against Sebastian Ofner. The Japanese player has not played since the Atlanta Open last July due to injury. 

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Nuno Borges beats Matteo Berrettini to win his second consecutive title at the Arizona Classic in Phoenix

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Nuno Borges battled past 2021 Wimbledon champion Matteo Berrettini 7-5 7-6 (7-4) to win his second consecutive title at the Arizona Classic in Phoenix, an ATP Challenger Tour 175 title. 

Borges won 78% of his first serve points in the final and sealed the win on his third match point. 

Berrettini earned an early break to open up a 2-0 lead. Borges broke back at love in the eighth game to draw level to 4-4. Borges saved a break point in the ninth game before breaking serve to 30 in the 12th game to seal the first set 7-5.  

Borges broke serve in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead in the eighth game with a double fault from Berrettini earning his chance to serve for the match. Berrettini broke straight back for 4-5 and saved a match point in the 11th game. 

Berrettini did not convert two break points in the 11th game. The Italian player saved a match point with a service winner. Berrettini went up a 3-0 lead, but Borges won seven of the next eight points and sealed the win on his third match point, as Berrettini hit his forehand into the net. 

“I could not believe it. I still can’t believe it. It’s an amazing week. I started the week with not the greatest practices. I was not feeling my best. Then I started getting confidence throughout the tournament with the matches and really just impressed myself with how I dealt with all the adversity. One night finishing past midnight. Just stayed really hungry, motivated and pushed myself. I stayed really hungry, motivated and pushed myself. I stayed positive all throughout and all the hard work I put in the week. I am just surprised and happy I am able to celebrate another title here. I am cloud nine”, said Borges. 

Berrettini who was making his come-back following a six-match injury line-off. 

“I thank all fans, who came to support me. It was a crazy week. I did not achieve the result that I would have wanted, but I am happy that I have come back. It was a very tough match. Nuno Borges is playing well. He deserved the win”, said Berrettini. 

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Iga Swiatek is aiming to complete the Sunshine Double for the second time in her career

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The Main Draw of the 2024 Miami Open was unveiled on Sunday. The singles draw features 96 players and the top 32 seeds receive first-round byes. The Miami Open will be held at the Hard Rock Stadium from 19 to 31 March. 

World number 1 Iga Swiatek is aiming to become the second player to complete the Sunshine Double twice after beating Maria Sakkari 6-4 6-0 in the Indian Wells final on Sunday. Swiatek won Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back sweeping the Sunshine Double. Stefanie Graf was the other player, who was able to win the Sunshine Double twice in 1994 and 1996. 

Swiatek won two WTA 1000 titles in Doha and Indian Wells this year and holds a 20-2 record this year. The Polish player won her second Indian Wells trophy without dropping a set in the whole tournament against Danielle Collins in the Round of 64, Linda Noskova in the Round of 32, Yulia Putintseva in the Round of 16, Caroline Wozniacki in the quarter finals, Marta Kostyuk in the semifinal and Maria Sakkari in the final. 

Swiatek will make her debut at the Miami Open against either Magdalena Frech or Camila Giorgi in the second round. The Polish could face Czech rising star Linda Noskova in the third round for the second consecutive Sunshine Double tournament. Noskova beat Swiatek in the third round at the Australian Open. Swiatek avenged his defeat by beating Noskova in Indian Wells. 

Swiatek could meet world number 14 Ekaterina Alexandrova in the fourth round. Alexandrova has been drawn in a tough section which includes Karolina Pliskova, Donna Vekic, Anastasya Pavlyuchenkova and Czech teenager Linda Fruhuvirtova. Pliskova will take on Vekic in the opening round. Pliskova made her successful come-back by winning her first title since 2020 in Cluj Napoca. 

Swiatek is projected to face a potential quarter final match against Jessica Pegula, who won the doubles title with Coco Gauff and reached the semifinal in the singles tournament at last year’s edition of the Miami Open. Pegula started the 2024 season with a win-loss record of 5-3 and is still chasing her first final this year. 

Pegula could meet Leylah Fernandez in the third round and either Jasmine Paolini or Emma Navarro in the fourth round. Paolini won her first WTA 1000 title in Dubai and reached the Round of 16 at last January’s Australian Open. Navarro won in Hobart, reached the semifinals in Auckland and in San Diego and lost to eventual finalist Maria Sakkari in Indian Wells this year.  Navarro will face either Martina Trevisan or a qualifier. 

Coco Gauff leads the second quarter of the draw. The 20-year-old US player will start her campaign against either Ashlyn Krueger or a qualifier and could meet this year’s Indian Wells semifinalist Marta Kostyuk and four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in the round of 16. Gauff won her first Grand Slam at the 2023 US Open and reached the semifinal at last year’s Australian Open. Gauff lost to eventual finalist Maria Sakkari in the Indian Wells semifinal last week.

Osaka will open her campaign against Elisabetta Cocciaretto, who won the WTA 125 in Charleston last week. The Japanese player could play against 16th seed Elina Svitolina in the second round and Caroline Garcia in the third round. Osaka leads 2-1 in her career head-to-head matches against Garcia and have drawn 1-1 this year. Garcia beat Osaka 6-4 7-6 (7-2) at the 2024 Australian Open, but the Japanese player avenged this defeat by defeating her French rival at the Qatar Open in Doha.

Sixth seed Ons Jabeur and Daria Kasatkina are the top 10 seeds in the second quarter. 

Jabeur could face either Indian Wells Anastasia Potapova or former Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins, and either 10th seed Daria Kasatkina or Sorana Cirstea. 

This section of the draw features a first round match against former Grand Slam champions 2018 Miami Open champion Sloane Stephens and Angelique Kerber. Stephens leads 5-2 in her seven head-to-head matches against Kerber. 

Elena Rybakina leads the line-up in the third quarter. The 2023 Indian Wells champion was not able to defend her title last week due to illness. The Kazah player will face either Caroline Dolehide or a qualifier in the first round. The 2022 Wimbledon champion could meet Elise Mertens in the third round and Veronika Kudemertova or Madison Keys in the round of 16. Wild card Venus Williams, who won the Miami Open for the first time in 1998, will take on this year’s Thailand Open champion and last week’s Charleston finalist Diana Schnaider in the first round. The winner of this match will face Keys in the second round.  

Maria Sakkari from Greece has been drawn at the other end of this quarter. Sakkari, who lost the Indian Wells final against Swiatek last Sunday, will face Yue Yuan (winner at the Atlanta Open and Indian Wells quarter finalist) or Anna Blinkova, who won the longest tie-break in a Grand Slam tournament against Rybakina at last January’s Australian Open. Sakkari is projected to face this year’s Australian Open semifinalist Dayana Yastremska in the third round and this year’s Dubai WTA 1000 finalist Anna Kalinskaya. 

Emma Raducanu, who won the US Open title in 2021, will take on China’s Xiyu Wang in the first round. The winner of this match will face Kalinskaya. 

Number 2 seed and two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka will face the winner of the first round match between former number 2 Paula Badosa (winner at Indian Wells in 2021) and former world number 1 Simona Halep, who is playing her first tournament since the 2022 US Open. Halep leads 2-0 in her head-to-head matches against Badosa and never dropped more than three games in a set. 

If Sabalenka beats the winner of the match between Halep and Badosa, she could face Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina. The Ukrainian player could meet either Caroline Wozniaki or France’s Clara Burel. 

Sabalenka is projected to face a fourth round match between either Liudmila Samsonova or Barbora Krejcikova and Qinwen Zheng in the quarter final, which could be a re-match of this year’s Australian Open. Zheng could face former world 1 Victoria Azarenka in the third round and Beatriz Haddad Maia and Katie Boulter in the round of 16. 

Petra Kvitova, who beat Rybakina in last year’s final of the Miami Open, will miss this year’s decision because she in a maternity leave. 

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