Apr 21, 2020 | Andy Murray, GUARDIAN TENNIS, Sport, Tennis
The kid from Dunblane ended Britain’s 76-year wait for a male major tennis champion in one of the great Flushing Meadows finals
“Just take that ball and ride it baby,” said Boris Becker in the commentary booth at Flushing Meadows. The man too good not to win a major, Andy Murray, was leading 7-6, 4-0. The excitement turned Becker’s head and brought a finish line into view that had eluded Murray four times already.
Murray was comfortably ahead but each point had to be torn from Novak Djokovic’s grasp. The US Open’s defending champion would make the Scot fight for four hours and 54 minutes of brutal hitting that left both limping.
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Tue, 21 Apr 2020 11:00:44 GMT
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Apr 20, 2020 | Coronavirus outbreak, GUARDIAN TENNIS, Sport, Tennis
Vittoria, age 13, and 11-year-old Carola became social media sensations after they posted video of their game played between two rooftop terraces in Liguria, north-west Italy. on Saturday. Italy is currently under lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Mon, 20 Apr 2020 12:00:11 GMT
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Apr 19, 2020 | GUARDIAN TENNIS, Sport, Tennis
Lower-ranked professionals were living off scraps even before the pandemic but now their plight may finally be recognised
At the exact moment the International Tennis Federation announced the immediate cancellation of all events in March, Panna Udvardy was deep in battle, breaking serve at a lowly ITF World Tennis Tour event in Olímpia, Brazil. While the sport’s commentariat descended into a collective state of shock, Udvardy was pumping her fist and peering towards her coach. She quickly realised he was not staring back.
“I looked at my coach and he was talking to the supervisor. I was like: ‘Come on, why are you talking to him? Watch the match!’ And then I won, I played like three hours, I came off court. My coach told me that at 3-1 the supervisor had talked to him and cancelled the tournament.”
A lot of players are waking up and saying, ‘Hey, I’m gonna stop. I’m already minus and I don’t think I can make it’
Related: ‘Once tennis is done, I’ll be just fine’: Murray and Djokovic ponder future
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Sun, 19 Apr 2020 19:00:46 GMT
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Apr 16, 2020 | GUARDIAN TENNIS, Sport, US Open tennis, US sports
- USTA hopeful to start US Open on schedule in late August
- Organizers say tournament without fans is ‘highly unlikely’
A decision on whether to postpone or cancel the US Open because of the coronavirus pandemic is expected by June, the US Tennis Association’s new CEO said Thursday, calling the prospect of holding the grand slam tournament without spectators “highly unlikely”.
“Obviously our ambition is to run the tournament. It’s the engine that drives our organization, our governing body. Having said that, that won’t be the driving factor,” Mike Dowse, who took over at the USTA on 1 January, said on a conference call with reporters. “The driving factor will be the health and well-being of the players, the fans and our staff.”
Related: ‘I was just lost’: Coco Gauff says rapid rise and hype led to depression
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Thu, 16 Apr 2020 21:14:45 GMT
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Apr 16, 2020 | Coco Gauff, GUARDIAN TENNIS, Sport, Tennis
- 16-year-old admits talk of her tennis ability added pressure
- Gauff considered taking year off due to ‘dark mindset’
“I’m just a kid who has some pretty big dreams” is how Coco Gauff describes herself on her Instagram handle. Now the American teenager prematurely regarded by many as the eventual successor to the 38-year-old Serena Williams has spoken for the first time about how her life was descending into a nightmare before her career had properly begun.
Gauff, who turned 16 last month, says her doubts about embracing a life in tennis crystallised when she first played at Wimbledon as a junior, a year before her spectacular run to the fourth round in the championships last summer.
Related: Coco Gauff: ‘My generation has just decided it is time to speak up’
Related: Men’s and women’s tennis tours form unlikely alliance amid Covid-19 chaos | Tumaini Carayol
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Thu, 16 Apr 2020 08:00:43 GMT
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Apr 13, 2020 | GUARDIAN TENNIS, Sport, Sport politics, Tennis
The French Open’s decision to move to September has forced the various governing bodies to unite for a coordinated response and has reaffirmed the need for closer cooperation
For the past three weeks of isolation, Stan Wawrinka and Benoît Paire have spent much of their idle time talking on Instagram. They invariably log in with a glass in hand, giggling and trading stories as they drink together and entertain their followers. Wawrinka of Switzerland is much more famous and the superior tennis player, but in this setting Paire, a bearded six feet five inches of sheer eccentricity, is the focal point. During their latest conversation, a fan asked whether they had ever had sex within an hour of a match. As an amused Wawrinka sipped and revealed nothing, Paire shrugged and said: “Yes. It never bothered me.”
In some ways, Paire, a Frenchman currently ranked 22nd, is a reflection of the disruptive, entertaining role that France plays in tennis. As with most male French tennis players, his game is a volatile marriage of flamboyance and self-destruction. Paire is as likely to scythe an opponent to pieces with a million perfect drop shots as he is to be booed off the court at home by his own supporters after another trademark meltdown. Between Paire, Gaël Monfils, Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, French players are agents of chaos on the court.
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Related: Tim Henman insists Andy Murray can still play on at Wimbledon
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Mon, 13 Apr 2020 13:31:04 GMT
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