Danil Medvedev recalls his first ATP title in Sydney 2018 - UBITENNIS
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Danil Medvedev recalls his first ATP title in Sydney 2018

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Danil Medvedev made a major breakthrough during the 2019 summer season, when he won his first Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati before finishing runner-up to Rafael Nadal in five sets in his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open. After winning his second Masters 1000 trophy in Shanghai last October he lost all his three round-robin matches at the ATP Finals in London. The Russian player lost to Stan Wawrinka in the fourth round at the Australian Open last January. Medvedev won 59 ATP matches in 2019 and reached the final in six consecutive tournaments. 

 

“The past two and a half years I tried to be really professional in everything I do. I dedicated my life to tennis, the small details. I want to be better. I want to play better. I want to win more matches than I win even now. That’s my goal and that’s what I am working for”, said Medvedev. 

Medvedev won his first ATP title in Sydney in January 2018 beating Alex De Minaur in the final. The Russian player led 4-0 in the third set and served for the match at 5-4, but he let both leads slip. De Minaur clawed his way back both times but Medvedev earned another break to win the match 1-6 6-4 7-5. 

Medvedev remembered his first ATP title in Sydney in an interview to ATP Uncovered. 

“Probably two years before that I would have just said: “I don’t want this anymore”, and I would lose 7-5, but I managed to win it, my first title”. 

Since the start of the 2018 season Medvedev has won 110 ATP matches. The Russian star won two more titles in Winston Salem against Steve Johnson and in Tokyo against Kei Nishikori. Medvedev arrived in Sydney two years ago as World Number 84 and improved his ranking to world number 48. In Tokyo Medvedev dropped only five service points against Nishikori. 

“I managed to win my first title and I think it gave me a big push in the year. The push was not straight away, but I think this meant a lot for the season”, said Medvedev. 

Medvedev will defend his Cincinnati title in New York at the end of August when the ATP Tour resumes after the five-month break. He wants to show that his win was not just luck.

Medvedev is one of the 16 top 20 players on the entry list at the Western and Southern Open, which will be held from 20 to 28 August at the Billie Jean King in New York. Last year Medvedev beat Novak Djokovic in the semifinal and David Goffin in the final. 

“Winning so many matches is not just luck. If I would have won one tournament in Cincinnati and then I lost everything in the first round, then we can say: “Okay maybe I was just lucky to be in good shape in Cincinnati. I am happy to maintain my level and hopefully I can do it for many more months and years”, said Medvedev. 

The entry list of this year’s Western and Southern Open features more former tournament champions like Rafael Nadal (2013), Marin Cilic (2016) and Grigor Dimitrov (2017) and Novak Djokovic (2018), world number 3 Dominik Thiem, last year’s US Open semifinalist Matteo Berrettini, 2019 ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, Felix Auger Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov, 2018 ATP Finals champion and three-time Masters 1000 winner Alexander Zverev. 

The women’s Premier 5 tournament will feature two-time Cincinnati champion Serena Williams (2014, 2015), Karolina Pliskova (2016), Garbine Muguruza (2017), Kiki Bertens (2018) and Madison Keys (2019). 

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Rafael Nadal Announces First Tournament Since Injury

Rafael Nadal will make his ATP tour comeback in Brisbane.

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Rafael Nadal (@WeAreTennis - Twitter)

Rafael Nadal has confirmed the date for his comeback to the ATP tour as he looks to add more Grand Slam titles to his collection before his potential retirement.

 

The 22-time Grand Slam champion has announced that his comeback will take place on the first week of the calendar as he will play the ATP 250 tournament in Brisbane which starts on the 31st of December.

It will be Nadal’s first tournament since last year’s Australian Open after he suffered a hip injury at the event.

In a video on social media Nadal announced his return to the tour as he looks to make an impact in Brisbane, “After a year away from competition, it’s time to come back. It will be in Brisbane the first week of January,” Nadal stated.

https://twitter.com/RafaelNadal/status/1730557525097885909

January’s event will be a welcome sight to Nadal as he had initially been expected to return during the clay court season but the hip injury was much worse than expected.

That lead to Nadal doing a press conference in Mallorca where he not only said that he was withdrawing from Roland Garros but also hinted that 2024 could be his last year, “My idea and my motivation is to try to enjoy and try to say goodbye to all the tournaments that have been important for me in my tennis career during [next] year, and just try to enjoy that, being competitive and enjoying being on the court, something that today is not possible,” Nadal was quoted by The News as saying.

There is a high level of motivation for Nadal next year as he will want to win the Olympics at Roland Garros in Paris.

However before Nadal can think about the end of his career, the Spaniard will be determined to make an impact in Australia as he looks to stop Novak Djokovic’s dominance.

The tournament in Brisbane starts on the 31st of December while the Australian Open takes place on the 14th of January.

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Nick Kyrgios Opens Up About His Self-Harm Battle And Murray’s Support

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Nick Kyrgios (AUS) playing against Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) in the third round of the Gentlemen's Singles on No.1 Court at The Championships 2021. Held at The All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon. Day 6 Saturday 03/07/2021. Credit: AELTC/Jonathan Nackstrand

Nick Kyrgios says he became addicted to pain during his battle with self-harm that lasted between 18 and 24 months.

 

In an exclusive interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored on TalkTV, the former Wimbledon finalist spoke about his mental health issues. Kyrgios has previously spoken publically about the topic but has now revealed further details about the extent he went through and the role Andy Murray played in supporting him. He was admitted to a psychiatric ward in London and contemplated suicide following the 2019 Wimbledon Championships.

“It was pretty dark to be honest,” Kyrgios told Morgan. “I won tournaments on the professional tour, drinking every night, self-harming, burning things on my arm, cutting myself for fun. It became an addiction of pain. I hated myself. I hated waking up and being Nick Kyrgios.”

One of those who tried to help the Australian address his self-harm problem was three-time Grand Slam champion Murray who noticed cuts on Kyrgios’ arms during one of their practice sessions four years ago. According to The Times, the former world No.1 then alerted Kyrgios’ manager John Morris about the cuts.

Paying tribute to the Brit, Kyrgios says Murray has supported him throughout his career. The 28-year-old has been ranked as high as 13th in the world and has won seven ATP titles. Besides his run to the Wimbledon final last year, he has also reached the quarter-final stage of a major on three other occasions.

“Andy was always a big supporter of me,” Kyrgios said. “As soon as I came on the tour, he kind of saw a work in progress and took me under his wing. Then he realised later in my career that I don’t think I was coachable or I was on my own path, but he was always someone that was looking out for me.
“He saw it [the self-harm] and he said, ‘What’s that on your arm?’ It was pretty bad at that stage. Andy obviously was trying to give me advice on it. But I was just so stuck in my ways at that time that I didn’t listen. Obviously I’m very thankful. I thank him a lot.”

Kyrgios, who has only played one match on the Tour this season due to injury, hopes that he can help others by speaking publicly about his mental health battle. Something he describes as ‘the most powerful thing in his career.’

“I feel like I’ve helped so many people after I opened up about it and put it on social media,” Kyrgios said.
“I’ve almost been a beacon for people who are struggling. When they feel like they’re overwhelmed and they’re going towards drinking, drugs and stuff, they open up and they feel like I’m relatable.
“That’s been the most powerful thing in my career; people coming to me with genuine issues.
“They send me photos in my Instagram, direct messages, self-harming and genuinely wanting to commit suicide.
“I have conversations with these people. Sometimes I’ve had phone calls with these people. That’s making a real difference and I’m just really proud.”

Kyrgios recently had a stint in broadcasting after working for The Tennis channel during the ATP Finals in Milan. He is continuing his rehab from injury but it is unclear as to when he will make his return to professional tennis.

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Hamad Medjedovic earns first place in Red Group at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah

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Hamad Medjedovic beat Abdullah Shelbayh 3-4 (6-8) 4-2 4-3 (7-5) 4-2 to earn first place in the Red Group with a perfect 3-0 record at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah. 

 

Medjedovic needed to win at least one set to reach the semifinals, while Shelbayh needed to win the match in three or four sets. Luca Van Assche qualified as the second-placed player from the Red Group.

Medjedovic will face Dominic Stricker in the semifinal, while Van Assche takes on Arthur Fils.  

Medjedovic fired 18 aces and won 88 % of his first-serve points. He saved all three break points against Shelbayh. 

Medjedovic fired a tournament-leading 45 aces and was broken twice. 

Medjedovic saved three break points to hold serve in the fourth game of the first set. Shelbayh went up a mini-break twice, but Medjedovic pulled back on serve both times. Shelbayh won the final three points to clinch the tie-break 8-6. Both players went on serve in the first five games before Medjedovic earned the break to win the second set 4-2. 

The third set went on serve with no break points en route to the tie-break. Shelbayh earned the first mini-break to take a 3-2 lead. Medjedovic pulled back on serve to draw level to 3-3. The Serbian player earned a second mini-break to close out the tie-break 7-5. 

Medjedovic started the fourth set with an early break in the first game. He held on his next service games and sealed the win on his first match point. 

Medjedovic set up a semifinal match against Dominic Stricker. Luc Van Assche will face Arthur Fils in an all-French semifinal.“It was a great match. I played really good after the first set He is a very good friend of mine. He is a very good player and obviously the crowd here loves him and I respect that. It was a pleasure to play in front of the crowd”, said Medjedovic. 

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