Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPWorldTour.com looks at the third through fifth best Grand Slam matches of the 2017 season. 5. Wawrinka def. Murray, Roland Garros, Semi-finals - 9 June 2017 (Match Stats) Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka have been top contenders at the Grand Slams for years, and you'd expect the same knowing they were the first and third seeds, respectively, at Roland Garros. But neither star was in top form when they arrived on Paris’ terre battue this season. The Scot was just 5-4 on clay heading into the second major of the year, and he was also trying to find his game after dealing with an elbow injury. “I came in playing garbage,” Murray joked after...
Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPWorldTour.com looks at the best ATP World Tour matches in 2017, starting with Nos. 5 to 3. 5) Nadal d. Pouille, China Open, Beijing First Round, 3 October 2017 (Match Stats) Rafael Nadal was on a roll, seven matches unbeaten and at his indomitable best. Against Lucas Pouille, in his first competitive match since lifting his third US Open crown, Nadal found a way to win as he and other great champions so often do when they aren’t quite at their best. The Spanish star avoided an early exit in Beijing by fighting off two match points to beat Pouille 4-6, 7-6(6), 7-5. Read & Watch Highlights “He played well, I think, very aggressive....
Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPWorldTour.com looks at the best two ATP World Tour matches of the 2017 season. 2) Thiem d. Dimitrov, Mutua Madrid Open, Third Round - 11 May 2017 (Match Stats) For power hitting, intensity and momentum shifts, Dominic Thiem and Grigor Dimitrov’s epic third-round clash in Madrid was both thrilling and cruel. Thiem, on his favourite surface, competed with great heart and conviction in saving five match points to edge past Dimitrov, who also owns a devastating single-handed backhand, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(9) over two hours and 34 minutes of intense tennis. Thiem rallied from a 1-3 deficit in the second set, from 2-4 in the third set, then held off match points at 3/6, 6/7...
The school kids circled Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, waving their hands with rapid quivering gestures – the traditional Ugandan greeting for the hearing impaired. The interpreter introduced Qureshi as a professional tennis player and explained that he had arrived in Uganda to offer help. Suddenly, smiles shined bright as the kids grunted their joy while climbing all over Qureshi. Some reached for his hands, others hugged his legs and the littlest ones asked to be picked up and held. Qureshi would soon learn that the hard, baked dirt field full of pebbles, ruts and patches of grass he was standing on was about to become a tennis playground. There were more kids than there were racquets and balls but that did not...
Immediately after capturing the Nitto ATP Finals title, Grigor Dimitrov stormed into the stands and embraced Daniel Vallverdu, his coach since midway through 2016 and the man who finally harnessed the potential of Dimitrov and channeled it into the most successful year of his career. No one had ever doubted Dimitrov's talent. The Bulgarian was known worldwide for his must-see groundstrokes and his abundance of skills. But before he and Vallverdu paired up last year, Dimitrov almost had too much talent, too many options. He admits to being unclear about how to approach his game and on the best way forward for his tennis. Enter Vallverdu, who has helped simplify Dimitrov's game and guided the Bulgarian to his best season yet....
