After a stellar end to 2017 and a breakthrough performance at this year’s Australian Open, Maximilian Marterer looks set to be the next German tennis star to break through on the ATP World Tour. The 22-year-old German won 21 of his 23 matches on the ATP Challenger Tour in September and October to secure three titles, before announcing himself on the world stage with a run to the third round at this year’s Australian Open. Currently at a career-high No. 82 in the ATP Rankings, Marterer made his intentions clear when asked, ahead of his first-round match against Malek Jaziri at this week’s Diema Xtra Sofia Open, whether he had any goals after breaking into the Top 100 of the...
No one ever said coming back from knee surgery would be easy, but Stan Wawrinka knows he’s moving in the right direction. After shutting down what had been a successful 2017 season due to a knee injury, which would ultimately require surgery and months of rehabilitation, Wawrinka made his return to competition at the Australian Open, winning one round before succumbing to Tennys Sandgren in the second. With his feet back on the ground – both literally and figuratively – the Swiss heads to the DIEMA XTRA Sofia Open in search of his next step. “I am feeling much better. Since the first day I came back from Australia I was working really hard physically and also for my tennis....
Touching down in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito to play the Ecuador Open for the first time in his career, there was something different about Gael Monfils. Having started off his 2018 campaign with a title at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open and pushing Novak Djokovic to four sets in a grueling second-round encounter at the Australian Open, there’s reason to believe Monfils has turned the page on an injury-marred 2017 and is approaching the new season with renewed determination and focus. Oh, and a new hairstyle. [ALSO LIKE] The Frenchman, who is known for both his showmanship on court and his vibrancy off it, met the press ahead of his first tournament appearance in Quito, debuting his new golden locks....
If Kei Nishikori wishes to return to the Top 10 in the ATP Rankings, only hard work on- and off-the-court will satisfy his coaches Michael Chang and Dante Bottini. Last week, in his return to competitive play for the first time in five months, Nishikori lost to Dennis Novikov on the ATP Challenger Tour in Newport Beach, but there are already signs of progress. The Japanese star has bounced back this week in Dallas, returning to the Challenger circuit to exact immediate revenge on Novikov, and now finds himself in the quarter-finals after a three-set win over Matthias Bachinger. Chang and Bottini, who both coach Nishikori, shared their thoughts with ATPWorldTour.com on the return of the 2014 US Open finalist....
It was 2003 Wimbledon when a talented 21-year-old named Roger Federer — who had not advanced past the quarter-finals at the Grand Slams in 14 tries — finally broke through to win his first major title. The Swiss sobbed with joy. “To lift the trophy is something you don't expect. But when it happens, it's, for me, very tough with the emotions,” Federer told the media 15 years ago. “I'm just happy to be on the board. It's so nice, if I look at all the players who have won here, a lot have been idols to me. Just to be on the board with [Bjorn] Borg and these people, it's just nice, to be a part of history at...
