Day 11 at Roland Garros promises to be the most appetising yet for men's tennis fans. Four quarter-finals. One day. Hours of entertainment. No. 4 Rafael Nadal (ESP) v. No. 20 Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP), 11 a.m. Court Philippe Chatrier FedEx ATP Head2Head: Nadal leads 3-0 Can anyone stop Rafael Nadal? The fourth seed has looked like clear favourite to take home his 10th Roland Garros crown and achieve tennis history on Sunday. No man or woman has won a Grand Slam title 10 times since the Open Era began 49 years ago, in April 1968. This fortnight in Paris, Nadal has yet to drop a set and could hoist the trophy without doing so, as he did in 2008...
Dominic Thiem sensationally beat defending champion Novak Djokovic on Wednesday and will next face nine-time titlist Rafael Nadal in his second straight Roland Garros semi-final appearance. Sixth seed Thiem saved two set points in the first set of his 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-0 victory over second seed Djokovic, who became the eighth player in tennis history to complete the career Grand Slam at Roland Garros last year. The win avenged Thiem’s loss to Djokovic in the recent Internazionali BNL d'Italia semi-finals and last year’s semi-finals at the Paris clay-court major. “It's great for me to be in the semi-finals again, to defend that. And of course, I think on Friday [will be] the toughest opponent ever here in Roland Garros. It's...
The growth of match analytics in tennis provides us with new insights into what actually matters to winning. It also helps us better organise the practise court at all levels of the game. Forehands and backhands typically dominate practice, as shot tolerance and repetition are developed. Serving also gets attention, as does transitioning to the net to finish with volleys and overheads. What gets left behind? The return of serve. The return of serve is without doubt the least practised shot in tennis, but it is a trademark of the best players in the game. There is a disconnect between how often this specific shot is practised, and how obviously important it is to winning tennis matches. [ALSO LIKE] An...