The hunt for an elusive Emirates ATP Rankings point — a goal shared by every aspiring professional tennis player — can be tough and costly. But once attained, the location and year of the achievement will be indelibly marked. Twenty years ago today, on Monday, 22 September 1997, page nine of the weekly rankings list contained this entry: 803T Federer, Roger. The entry didn't attract much attention back then, nor did that of another future World No. 1, '808 Hewitt, Lleyton', just a few lines down. But Federer had taken his first step on the ladder following a four-week series of Swiss clay-court satellite tournaments in Bossonnens — culminating in eight victories and two semi-final runs (l. to Daniele Balducci and...
Rafael Nadal turned up the heat on rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in their domination of the ‘Big Titles’ leaderboard by winning his third US Open trophy – and 16th major overall – last Sunday in New York. In defeating Kevin Anderson to capture the final major of the season, Nadal earned his fourth ‘Big Title’ of 2017, having already won his 10th titles at Roland Garros and the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters as well as his fifth Mutua Madrid Open. The Spaniard now has a combined 46 ‘Big Titles’ — a collection of Grand Slams, Masters 1000 events and Nitto ATP Finals — putting him one behind Novak Djokovic’s 47 and within five of leader Roger Federer, who holds...
Wimbledon champions Pat Cash and Michael Stich, along with Anders Jarryd, Tom Okker and Helena Sukova have been named candidates for induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2018. Induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame is the ultimate honour in the sport of tennis, recognising the sum of one’s achievements at the highest possible level. The five individuals are candidates in the Player Category. There are no candidates for 2018 in the Contributor or Wheelchair Tennis Categories. “Among this year’s Hall of Fame candidates, we have Wimbledon champions, Olympic medalists, fierce competitors, and athletes who consistently maintained rankings at the top of our sport over long durations of time. The Class of 2018 candidates hail from...
