Former Top 20 American Vince Spadea had already managed to parlay success on the tennis court into success in the business world. But his star is truly on the rise after his pivotal role in 'Battle Of The Sexes,' Hollywood's take on the 1973 epic showdown between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. In addition to his role as advisor to Oscar winner Emma Stone, who plays Billie Jean King, and actor/producer Steve Carell, who plays Bobby Riggs, Spadea also doubled as Riggs during on-court scenes. During one such scene, Spadea traded shots with Stone’s stunt double dressed as Riggs one minute, and fed balls to Stone in ball boy attire the next. “There was a scene where the ball...
Carlos Taberner, a semi-finalist this week at the BFD Challenger event in Rome, knew what he was getting himself into even before the 2017 season began. The #NextGenATP star entered the season with the goal of playing as many events on the ATP Challenger Tour as possible. After what he admitted weren't ideal results, Taberner has now reached at least the semi-finals in each of the past three weeks, including appearances in the title match in both Banja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Sibiu, Romania. "My goal at the beginning of the year was to compete full-time on the Challenger Tour," Taberner said. "I've been working really [hard] from the beginning of the season. "I would come through qualifiers and...
Second seed David Goffin cruised to his fourth ATP World Tour semi-final of the season with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over eighth-seeded Donald Young at the Shenzhen Open on Friday, advancing in 64 minutes. “I was moving really well. I served also really well from the start. I was really aggressive. And I finished really well,” Goffin said. “I’m really happy the way I played today.” Goffin set the tone early, breaking Young in the opening game of the match for what would be the first of five times on the day. The Belgian reached at least deuce in all but two of the American’s service games, winning 68 per cent of second-serve return points. The biggest moment of tension...
Fifth seed Yuichi Sugita advanced to the semi-finals of the Chengdu Open on Friday as he defeated Dusan Lajovic 6-2, 6-4 in 64 minutes. It is another step forward in what has been a career year for the Japanese player. The 29-year-old Sugita won his first ATP World Tour title in Antalya on grass in June (d. Mannarino) and reached his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final in Cincinnati (l. to Dimitrov). Earlier this month, the right-hander hit a new career-high at No. 42 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. [ALSO LIKE] Sugita made short work of Lajovic, converting four of his six break points and winning 70 per cent of his service points in the pair’s first meeting. “I...
