At least two top 10 players will be in action next week at the fourth Ultimate Tennis Showdown as they tune up their games ahead of the next Grand Slam.
Daniil Medvedev and Diego Schwartzman have confirmed that they will be playing in the two-day event which was created by Patrick Mouratoglou. The coach of Serena Williams who has also worked with the likes of Mario Ancic, Marcos Baghdatis and Grigor Dimitrov. The unique event will take place at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy which is located near Paris.
The latest edition of the UTS will also feature Fabio Fognini, Alexander Bublik and Corentin Moutet with each player having their own nickname in the tournament. For example Medvedev has been called ‘The Chessmaster’ due to his ‘unorthodox shot-making and out-of-the-ordinary personality.’ Schwartzman will have his usual nickname of ‘El Peque’ which is a Spanish term for the word shorty.
Nicknames:-
-Daniil Medvedev, aka “The Chessmaster”
-Diego Schwartzman, aka “El Peque”
-Fabio Fognini aka “Fogna”
-Alexander Bublik aka “The Bublik Enemy”
-Corentin Moutet aka “The Tornado”
Unlike traditional tennis, the UTS has its own unique format which makes it stand out compared to any other tournament. Each match consists of four 10-minute quarters, live coaching is permitted, players will be interviewed during matches and the code of conduct is slightly relaxed in order to allow those on court to express themselves more. Furthermore, there are also UTS Cards which players can use during matches such as triple points or taking a serve off their opponent. Players must choose their cards before each quarter.
Unlike previous editions, UTS4 is the first to take place on clay. Past winners include Matteo Berrettini (UTS1), Alexander Zverev (UTS2 men), Anastasia Pavlychenkova (UTS2 women) and Alex de Minaur (UTS3 in Vienna).
The event had originally been scheduled to take place between April 5-7 but was postponed due to health and safety guidelines related to the COVID-19 pandemic in France. Instead, it will take place between May 24-25.
A total of eight players will be participating in next week’s event. The Organisers will announce the other three entrants over the coming days.
All of the UTS4 matches will be streamed around the world on https://watch.utslive.tv. The event will also be broadcast by Eurosport, who have secured the rights to all of UTS season 2 events on a pan-European basis (except France), as well as in India this year.
