Like all things in life, not everything goes your way in tennis -- even if you're the No.1 player in the world. Rafael Nadal experienced that at the Australian Open last month. The Spaniard was forced to retire in the fifth set of his quarter-final match against eventual finalist Marin Cilic due to a leg injury. But Nadal has a supporter in his corner to lift his spirits. A 92-year-old fan half-way around the world wrote a letter to Rafa, urging the ATP World Tour No.1 to get well soon and wishing him future success on the court. "Dear Rafa, in December, I wrote you a letter and sent it to your Balearic Islands Academy in Spain," wrote the woman...
There is a spring in the step of Grigor Dimitrov as he walks along the corridors of the Rotterdam Ahoy. Nine years on from being awarded a wild card by Tournament Director Richard Krajicek into the 2009 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, much has changed for the amiable Bulgarian. The target on Dimitrov’s chest has magnified since his first steps on the ATP World Tour in February 2009, when he beat Tomas Berdych before falling to World No. 1 Rafael Nadal. Last year’s runs to the Western & Southern Open trophy in Cincinnati, the emotion of winning the Nitto ATP Finals and a career-high year-end No. 3 finish in the ATP Rankings, fuelled the fire of what may be possible....
The numbers defy anyone's logic. In Quito, Victor Estrella Burgos has been unbeatable, literally. The 37-year-old has won all 16 of his matches at the Ecuador Open. That run includes three ATP World Tour titles – the only three of his career and every edition of the Ecuador Open (2015, 2016, 2017) – and his first-round victory on Monday, his fourth win against Thomaz Bellucci in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, all of which have come in Quito. Read More: King of Quito Estrella Burgos Survives Opener But outside of the Ecuadorian capital, Estrella Burgos has struggled to play up to his “King of Quito” label. The Dominican Republic native is 29-59 (.330) in ATP World Tour and Grand Slam...
Ivo Karlovic admits it: For a tennis player, he's old. But, as Karlovic continues to show during the 2018 ATP World Tour season, the Croatian is also still very good. Just last month, the 38-year-old achieved yet another marker for the history books. The 6'11” Karlovic struck 53 aces to beat Japan's Yuichi Sugita 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 7-5, 4-6, 12-10 in four hours and 33 minutes. With the win, Karlovic became the oldest player to compete in the Australian Open third round since Australian Ken Rosewall, aged 44, in 1978, when the draw was 64 players. Karlovic also became the oldest player in the Australian Open third round since the advent of a 128-player draw in 1982. [ALSO LIKE] Then again,...
Daniil Medvedev, who qualified for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan last year, did not get off to the best start in 2018. The Russian began his season at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Playford, Australia, where he lost in the first round against World No. 379 Marinko Matosevic. “It was very disappointing to start the year like this, because I went to the Challenger event to get some matches,” Medvedev told ATPWorldTour.com. “We knew it happens in tennis. The guy played a very good match. There will always be losses. So I just knew I had to be ready for the next one.” The 21-year-old was more than ready, as he cruised through qualifying before winning...