As players continue to rest and recharge following another exhilarating season, the focus is slowly shifting to 2018. The transition is underway, but there are still trophies to be won on the ATP Challenger Tour this week. The nation of India is making the most of its time in the spotlight. The country is rapidly rising in the pro tennis landscape and their national programme has been surging in the final weeks of the season. With a pair of Challengers gaining in popularity and the nation's ATP World Tour event finding a new home in January, enthusiasm for the game is growing. Last week, home hope Yuki Bhambri prevailed at the $50,000 event in Pune and the two-week swing concludes...
Roger Federer has earned many honourifics over the years, from maestro to magician. Now, he can add doctor to that list. The University of Basel awarded seven honourary doctorates on Friday, and Federer was one of the recipients. Federer’s recognition came from the Faculty of Medicine, which bestowed the honour on the 36-year-old for his efforts to boost his home city and nation’s reputation. The Swiss was also lauded for his charitable efforts. The Roger Federer Foundation is spreading sustainability in Southern Africa, where it helps children through support for a variety of educational projects for the disadvantaged. The foundation has reached more than 850,000 children in nearly 14 years. A University of Basel press release states that Federer “claimed that...
FRANCE 1, BELGIUM 1 Lille, France (Hard Indoor) France needed its top-ranked player to come through in the Davis Cup final on Friday, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga certainly did just that. With his country trailing Belgium 0-1, Tsonga upended ATP World Tour veteran Steve Darcis 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 in Lille, France to end the first day of play at Stade Pierre Mauroy. Tsonga, who made a late push in the Emirates ATP Race To London by winning the European Open and reaching the final at the Erste Bank Open 500, beat Darcis in their first meeting in 15 years, which came on the ITF Pro Circuit. It was an important victory for France, which would have faced a daunting 0-2 deficit...
The 2017 Nitto ATP Finals brought a spectacular close to a memorable 2017 season that saw more fans come out and watch the world’s best tennis players on the ATP World Tour than ever before. More than 4.5 million fans attended ATP World Tour events in 2017, an all-time record. The season finale in London attracted a total attendance of 253,642, including six sold-out sessions, making it the ninth successive year that the tournament has broken the 250,000 attendance mark. Cumulative attendance since the tournament moved to London in 2009 stands at more than 2.3 million fans. This year’s tournament saw a host of three set-matches across the eight days of competition in a tournament that pitted established stars such...
Immediately after capturing the Nitto ATP Finals title, Grigor Dimitrov stormed into the stands and embraced Daniel Vallverdu, his coach since midway through 2016 and the man who finally harnessed the potential of Dimitrov and channeled it into the most successful year of his career. No one had ever doubted Dimitrov's talent. The Bulgarian was known worldwide for his must-see groundstrokes and his abundance of skills. But before he and Vallverdu paired up last year, Dimitrov almost had too much talent, too many options. He admits to being unclear about how to approach his game and on the best way forward for his tennis. Enter Vallverdu, who has helped simplify Dimitrov's game and guided the Bulgarian to his best season yet....
