When Ivan Ljubicic ended his playing career in April 2012 he made a seamless transition into the television commentary booth. However, the highly respected and consummate professional both on and off the court was soon in high demand by current ATP World Tour stars. “My view is that if you want to do anything in tennis you have to be ready to travel,” Ljubicic exclusively told ATPWorldTour.com in Rotterdam. “The sport's the way it is, you can’t just sit at home. The biggest difference now is that when I am at home, I am at home. I don’t need to train or anything. I therefore spend quality time with my wife and kids.” As a former World No. 3, who...
Without Hyeon Chung's breakout in Milan last November, would the 21-year-old have made South Korean history and reached the Australian Open semi-finals? Before the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, Chung had made only one semi-final in his career (2017 Munich). Winning back-to-back-to-back-to-back matches was not something he did with ease. Then the Next Gen ATP Finals happened, and everything changed, says Neville Godwin, Chung's coach since December. In Milan, Chung blitzed through the draw, winning five consecutive matches for the first time in his career. Sure, the rules were different, but the pressure points were more abundant than ever – deciding deuce points, tie-breaks at three-all, and shorter sets that put an even higher premium on service breaks –...
Kei Nishikori didn’t want to play the 2008 Delray Beach Open for fear of being outclassed, even embarrassed. At 18 years of age, he didn’t think he belonged at tour-level at all. Two weeks earlier, the Japanese teenager had lost in the third round of qualifying at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Dallas against KJ Hippensteel, who won a single tour-level match in his career. So how would Nishikori, World No. 244, make it through qualifying at an ATP World Tour event? “I told my coach I didn’t want to play in Delray because it’s a different level and [there’s] no way I’m going to win those tournaments,” Nishikori told ATPWorldTour.com. “But my coach pushed me to play.” It’s...
The results say he's fully back. Juan Martin del Potro has returned to the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings. It's only mid-February, and he's already reached an ATP World Tour final this year (ASB Classic, l. to Bautista Agut). But does Del Potro feel as if he's back, as good as he was before his often-discussed four wrist surgeries – three on the left and one on the right? To Del Potro, it's less a question about rankings than about one very important thing: his health. “I'm happy to still play tennis after all my problems and I never expected to get to the Top 10 after all my surgeries,” he said on Tuesday, ahead of his Delray Beach...
The demands of a pro tennis player can be omnipresent. The autographs. The media interviews. The travel. And they can arise at any moment, such as when you're standing outside the Silverball Pinball Museum in Delray Beach after playing arcade games, including NBA Hangtime, with Hyeon Chung of South Korea, ahead of the Delray Beach Open. “Denis Shapovalov,” a woman says, walking towards you, “can I get a picture of you with my husband?” Shapovalov kindly obliges, smiling with the gentleman as the woman snaps the photo. The 18-year-old with wavy blonde hair looks as if nothing phases him. But last year, the travel, the media, the autographs, it all was a little overwhelming for the teenager. During the Asian...
