Tommy Robredo: "I Want To Say Goodbye To Tennis In Front Of My people" - UBITENNIS
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Tommy Robredo: “I Want To Say Goodbye To Tennis In Front Of My people”

Now close to retiring, former No.5, Tommy Robredo looks back at his career, recalling pleasant memories and a good deal of self-awareness: “Very few players have been more professional than me.”

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Flushing, NY, 2013, 3SEPT2013 US Open Tennis Championships. TOMMY ROBREDO JUBO DANCE

By Pellegrino Dell’Anno, translated by Michele Brusadelli

 

Hostalric is a quaint municipality in Catalonia with less than 3,000 inhabitants. It may not be known to many, but it means everything to Tommy Robredo.

It is the village where he was born almost forty years ago, and he is just as attached to it as he is to the Barcelona tournament, where he triumphed in 2004 and was runner up in 2006. No surprise it is the place he chose to bid his official farewell to tennis next month.

The Spaniard has never really recovered after the elbow injury he suffered at the beginning of 2016, but formally he is still a professional tennis player, and wishes to end his glorious career in front of his family, as he said, opening up to PuntodeBreak:

“I am thrilled about this last challenge, this last tournament I’m going to play in Barcelona, ​​even if I will try to play in Murcia as well, so as to get some pace and match play under my belt. My last flight will be at home, that’s the way I wanted to say goodbye to the tour, even though I’ve been missing for some time. My dream was to bid farewell to the public, to my people… last year could have been an option, but with COVID and everything it involved I didn’t even consider it. I couldn’t imagine saying goodbye without my parents being in the stands, so we decided to wait another year.”

Robredo has always been a man before being a tennis player, a passionate, instinctive, genuine man – many still remember the way he celebrated his win at the Hamburg Masters in 2006, ripping his t-shirt off – and above all, still thoroughly attached and grateful to tennis:

“Tennis gave me a lot, it taught me everything, it raised me, gave me the education and values ​​I still have. In tennis you fall and get back up every week, you learn how to win and how to lose, you rise to fame, you earn amazing money while you’re still very young, you’re constantly striving to reach your goals… What a normal person experiences in 70 years, players experience in 20.”

There were many memorable moments of Robredo’s career. He is considered one of the most important Spanish tennis players of the 21st century with his12 ATP titles and peaked at No.5 in the ATP rankings. Yet, it is curious to see how very often, Robredo’s career was defined more by a famous defeat than a victory: On October 26th, 2014, in the ATP 500 Valencia final on indoor hardcourt, he lost to Andy Murray 6-3 6-7 (7) 6-7 (8) in an epic duel which lasted 3 hours and 20 minutes and also made history with its unique epilogue: Robredo jokingly showing Andy both middle fingers instead of shaking hands, then the two players warmly embracing at the net.

Robredo himself claims this is the match of his life: “It was the cruellest match of my career but, at the same time, it is one of the matches I have the best memories of. That match was spectacular, I’ve seen it several times and I always get goosebumps. We both played at an extraordinary level, as Djokovic and Nadal did at the 2012 Australian Open final. A match with five match points that I missed, and also with Andy, someone I really appreciate. After that we flew together to Paris-Bercy in his private plane: he was celebrating with champagne and I was in the back drinking water. It is a match that I lost but that I really treasure”.

That is only one of the marathons that the Spaniard played throughout his career, thanks to his mentality: “You have to be very strong physically, and then be very tough mentally, never give up until the end. Whenever I reached the fifth set, that always gave me a chance, because that was where I felt that the opponent was not as good as me, and luckily I was able to enjoy high level tennis on many occasions in my career. This is what really counts in that kind of match, the body and the mind.”

In line with his career as a humble, working-class hero who never aimed for fame, he ends the interview taking stock of a career that has spanned over 25 years, from 1998 to 2022 and left him with no great regrets.

And he concludes on a sweet note, recalling his qualities, and making it clear that nothing is born by chance: “I gave my best, this is one of the things I’m very happy with. Even if I talk about making different decisions throughout my career, I can actually blame myself for very few things, very few players have been more professional than me on a tennis court. I remember that my friends used to go to parties in the summer while I went to bed at midnight, but I was very focused on what I wanted, and that kind of effort didn’t mean paying no price. I have always been very disciplined in this respect, my father educated me that way, he taught me to work every day to achieve my goals.”

And those goals, Tommy, rest assured you have achieved them all, especially in the hearts of those who still cherish your memories and ever will.

Barcelona is waiting for you for one last, great battle.

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Alexander Zverev Deserves More Respect According To Boris Becker

According to Boris Becker, Alexander Zverev deserves more respect from tennis journalists.

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Alexander Zverev (@WeAreTennis - Twitter)

Boris Becker has claimed that Alexander Zverev deserves more respect despite Zverev failing to live up to his potential at Grand Slams.

 

Zverev has only reached one Grand Slam final in his career despite being a regular inside the world’s top ten as well as performing at regular ATP events.

This season Zverev played a limited schedule after recovering from an ankle injury but still managed to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals.

However most critics have been loud when judging Zverev’s career as it was looking likely that he would be a regular Grand Slam champion.

The German has failed to live up to expectations but former Grand Slam champion Boris Becker believes Zverev deserves more respect.

Speaking to Eurosport Becker also said that Zverev’s father being the coach is a more than successful approach when it comes to the former US Open finalist’s career, “In my opinion, he doesn’t get enough respect from the tennis experts internationally,” Becker explained.

“They’re all talking about the young three or four, but don’t give Zverev, Medvedev or Rublev enough respect. He’s playing with his fist in his pocket a little bit, wants everyone show that he is not a thing of the past, but that his best time is yet to come.

“Surely his father knows best what is good for his son, but if you look into the box at the competition, you can also see changes.”

Becker has followed Zverev for most of his career so knows that the best is yet to come from the German.

Alexander Zverev will look to prove himself next season when he starts his 2024 season when he represents Germany at the United Cup.

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Juan Carlos Ferrero Analyses Key Areas For Carlos Alcaraz’s Development

Juan Carlos Ferrero has outlined the next steps in Carlos Alcaraz’s development.

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(@tennisnewsbrazil - Twitter)

Carlos Alcaraz’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero has analysed the key areas for the Spaniard’s development heading into the 2024 season.

 

The former world number one’s season has come to an end after a successful year which saw him win the Wimbledon title as well as winning two Masters 1000 titles.

Alcaraz capped off an incredible season by reaching the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.

However there is a long way for the Spaniard to go if he wants to consistently go toe-to-toe with Novak Djokovic.

Speaking to Marca Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero spoke about the Spaniard’s development and said that Alcaraz is too emotional, “Be more regular in games, not open doors. Sometimes there are mistakes and it is something that we have to improve a lot,” Ferrero commented.

“Although it is true that he opens doors, he always competes well and at the highest level. He knows it, the other day he already said that Novak doesn’t give you one. He has to improve his decision making and he will achieve that with experience. Carlos is very emotional and that sometimes helps him and other times not so much.”

It’s clear Alcaraz’s high-quality is there but to consistently do it against Djokovic is another task altogether as the Spaniard looks to go from strength-to strength next season.

One area that is clearly a priority for Alcaraz is physical conditioning especially considering what happened against Djokovic at Roland Garros earlier in the season.

Ferrero said that will be a clear focus heading into 2024 but couldn’t guarantee that Alcaraz will play a tournament before the Australian Open, “Because of the year and the fatigue he has been in, what he needs is rest and disconnecting for 8-10 days with his friends,” Ferrero stated.

“From there, the thinking must go back to working really hard, strong and well to start very strongly in Australia. One can never be sure of that. Sometimes you play a tournament and it doesn’t go well, you left home too early. There are many ways of thinking.

“This year we haven’t played Australia and he finishes number two. That means there is no urgency to play a tournament early. Carlos is a player who enters competition quickly, you don’t usually see him without rhythm.

“Although it is true that he becomes more dangerous from the round of 16, from the quarter-finals. I am confident that the two exhibition matches and the training sessions will help us play a good tournament.”

Alcaraz will be looking to play the Australian Open which starts on the 15th of January after the Spaniard missed last year’s tournament due to a leg injury.

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Australian Open Chief Confident Nadal Will Play But Kyrgios’ Participation Uncertain

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Nadal RG 2022 by Night (foto @RolandGarros)

The tournament director of the Australian Open says he is ‘certain’ that Rafael Nadal will play at the Grand Slam even though the Spaniard has yet to outline his comeback plans. 

 

Craig Tiley told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday he hopes to receive some clarity over Nadal’s intentions in the next couple of weeks but is confident he will play. However, the tennis official had previously claimed in October that the former world No.1 had already committed to play in the event before his team denied that statement.  

Nadal, who has won 22 Grand Slam titles, hasn’t played a Tour match since his second round defeat at the Australian Open in January due to a hip injury. He was originally expecting to take an eight-week break but the recovery didn’t go to plan and he ended up having surgery. In May he confirmed that he will take an extended break from the sport to heal his body and admitted that retirement next year is a possibility.

“Rafa has been training, I follow him closely, probably every day because he’s a massive drawcard for us,” the Reuters News Agency quoted Tiley as saying. 
“He wants to play, he’s obviously planning on playing. It all depends on how he pulls up.
“Hopefully in the next week or the next two weeks, we get some specific confirmation of that. I’m certain Rafa will be here because he’s not going to want to miss the opportunity to repeat what he did a couple of years ago.”

Earlier this month Nadal confirmed that he intends to return to the Tour but admits that he will continue to experience a degree of pain. Although he has yet to give any information about which tournament he will begin his comeback at. The 2024 season begins during the first week of January.

“I’m well, training, and happy. I’m at a good stage of my life,” atptour.com quoted Nadal as telling reporters in Barcelona.
“Until now I didn’t know if I would play tennis again someday, and now I genuinely believe I will. I’m still not ready to say when, but I’m able to train increasingly longer, and the progress is good.’

Will Kyrgios play?

Another player Tiley is eager to welcome back is home player and former Wimbledon Finalist Nick Kyrgios who has only played one Tour-level match this season due to injury. He underwent knee surgery in January and then tore a ligament in his wrist during the summer. As a result, the Australian currently doesn’t have an ATP ranking due to his inactivity. 

“We have spoken to Nick, and he obviously wants to do the best he possibly can to give him the best chance to play in January,” Tiley said of Kyrgios.
“Whether he’s playing, whether he’s doing something else, Nick will be here in January and to get him to play will be great. But we’ve got to take it as it comes and he’s got to make sure he takes care of his health …” 

Kyrgios recently worked as an analyst for the Tennis Channel during this year’s ATP Finals in Turin and gave a brief update on his ongoing recovery during a segment. 

“After last year, I had such a great year, and I’m so hungry to get back out there,” the 2022 Wimbledon finalist commented.
“So I’m doing everything I can to get back out there. Obviously, you know how injuries are every day, just doing the rehab, doing the gym work.”

The Australian Open will begin on Sunday 14th January. Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka are the defending champions. 

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