Roger Federer began his quest to return to No.1 in the ATP Rankings for the first time in over five years with a 6-1, 6-2 win over qualifier Ruben Bemelmans at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. Federer, who will overtake Rafael Nadal at the top of the ATP Rankings if he reaches the semi-finals, moved to within just two wins of the achievement after his 47-minute, first-round win over the World No. 116. Watch Highlights: Roger's Having Fun Chasing No. 1 In Rotterdam “[It was] very surprising how good things went today,” admitted Federer. “I think the key was to start off well and put Ruben (Bemelmans) under pressure right away and make him feel like he...
Watch Hot Shot as Yuichi Sugita turns the tables on Grigor Dimitrov, with great court coverage, before flooring the Nitto ATP Finals champion to earn Hot Shot honours in Rotterdam. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com. Photo: Henk Koster
Grigor Dimitrov began his campaign for a first ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament title with a hard-fought 6-4, 7-6(5) win over Yuichi Sugita on Wednesday. Watch Hot Shot As Sugita Floors Dimitrov The 2013 semi-finalist was made to work hard throughout the one-hour, 46-minute encounter against Sugita, but found his best level at the tail-end of both sets to secure the win. In the first set, Dimitrov broke his Japanese opponent at the perfect time, in a marathon tenth game, to take a one-set advantage. Sugita, who was making his debut in Rotterdam at the age of 29, served to force a deciding set at 5-4, but Dimitrov once again showed his quality in the crucial moments to break serve....
The ‘Beast’ is largely remembered these days, in his 25th season as a professional, as one of the finest doubles players of his generation, capable of aggressive, tactically adept play both from the baseline and at the net. But just like every player who aspires to make a living from the sport, you begin your life as a singles player. Max Mirnyi, initially, competed in both singles and doubles competition, his appetite whetted at Nick Bollettieri’s Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida, with the likes of Tommy Haas and Andre Sa on tennis and basketball courts. “My singles career and wins I earned, got me to a combined 1,000 match wins recently,” Mirnyi told ATPWorldTour.com. “A big reason why I was...
