Jannik Sinner Battles Past Novak Djokovic In ATP Finals Epic - UBITENNIS
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Jannik Sinner Battles Past Novak Djokovic In ATP Finals Epic

Jannik Sinner recorded the biggest win of his career by beating Novak Djokovic at the Nitto ATP Finals.

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Jannik Sinner (@atptour - Twitter)

Jannik Sinner recorded one of the biggest wins of his career after edging out Novak Djokovic 7-5 6-7(5) 7-6(2) in three hours.

 

The Italian produced one of the best performances of his career after he defeated the world number one in three hours of brutal tennis.

Despite the win Sinner still isn’t qualified for the semi-finals yet as he prepares to face Holger Rune on Thursday.

The start of the match saw a quick tempo from both players as they used the fast conditions to their advantage.

This saw the first three games resulting in love service holds before Djokovic applied the first bit of pressure on return.

However Sinner continued the theme of firing down aces as he survived a tight fourth game.

Djokovic seemed to be the more confident on serve as well as the more consistent on return as the Serb was the one to create the first break points of the match.

The depth of Djokovic’s consistent baseline game was suffocating Sinner’s baseline firepower as the defending champion created break point in the sixth game.

However some world-class point construction saw Sinner survive a tight service game as he held for 3-3.

That seemed to be the energetic spark that the Italian was looking for as he increased the intensity on return and created a break point of his own, which Djokovic saved with authority.

As the end of the set was approaching, it was Djokovic who was more erratic in his decision-making on big points with a poor approach to the net giving Sinner the chance to break in the eleventh game.

An initiative Sinner took, as Djokovic was seemingly frustrated with the crowd disrupting his service motion, and the Italian broke for a 6-5 lead.

There were no signs of nerves from Sinner as he cruised through a decisive service game, holding to love, and sealing the opening set 7-5.

A response was needed from Djokovic in the second and a response was what happened as he elevated his game to new heights after a sizzling start by Sinner.

Both players continued to play dominant tennis on serve as Sinner was starting to come under more pressure but was rising to the occasion in impressive fashion.

The Italian produced a couple of tight holds while Djokovic was easing through his service games even if the Serb needed a medical time-out on a neck injury.

However the intensity in Djokovic’s play never seemed to dip as the Serb had the perfect opportunity to break to level the match at one set all.

That didn’t happen though as Sinner was brave in his tactics and persistent as well as resistant in his approach as the second set went to a tiebreak.

Sinner’s tactical boldness earned the Italian a mini-break advantage on two separate occasions but the fourth seed was too passive when it really mattered.

That cost the Italian the set as Djokovic came back to edge the tiebreak 7-5 and force a deciding set as he demanded a reaction from the passionate Turin crowd.

In the final set, both players brought a high level of play on serve as Sinner remained focused despite the second set setback.

The winner of this match would be defined by small margins and it was Sinner who broke first in the sixth game as the Italian hit two world-class returns to take a 4-2 lead.

However back game Djokovic in this long tug of war for dominance as it was the world number one’s turn to produce world-class returns as he broke back in the next game.

After that the atmosphere and drama continued to unfold between Djokovic and the crowd as both players cruised through their service games with the final set being decided by a tiebreak.

Despite Djokovic’s best efforts throughout the contest, it was Sinner who played an unbelievable tiebreak and claimed seven of the nine points on offer to win his second consecutive group stage match.

Sinner will now look to book place in the semi-finals on Thursday when he takes on Holger Rune while Novak Djokovic will know that a win over alternate Hubert Hurkacz will seal his place in the last four.

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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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