Editor's Note: This feature story first appeared on ATPWorldTour.com in June 2012. Green fees are around $500 per round. Tee times are one-hour apart. Only a handful of guests each day get to play the 7,239-yard Shadow Creek Golf Course, built by business magnate Steve Wynn, in 1989, in northern Las Vegas. Here Andre Agassi came to re-group immediately after his 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 loss to Jim Courier, his former Bollettieri Academy sparring partner, in the 1992 Roland Garros semi-finals. Speaking exclusively to ATPWorldTour.com, Agassi remembers, 20 years on, “When we were playing, Steve asked me, ‘So what is next?’ I said, ‘Wimbledon.’ He asked, ‘Do you think you can win it?’ I told him, ‘Very few people show up...
The battleground for No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings is beginning to take shape. The picture will become clearer over the next two weeks as to whether Andy Murray is to remain in top spot. Here are the key scenarios for the four players in contention for No. 1 on 17 July, the Monday after Wimbledon concludes... Andy Murray will remain No. 1 by reaching his fourth Wimbledon final; Rafael Nadal will return to No. 1 by reaching his sixth Wimbledon final; Stan Wawrinka will debut at No. 1 by winning his first Wimbledon title; Novak Djokovic will return to No. 1 by winning his fourth Wimbledon title, but only if both Murray and Nadal lose before the semi-finals....
Mischa and Alexander Zverev are the first brothers in almost 25 years to concurrently rank in the Top 30 of the Emirates ATP Rankings. Javier and Emilio Sanchez last achieved the feat in August, 1992.
Enduring tough times undoubtedly makes life’s victories that much sweeter. Such was the case as World No. 698 Thanasi Kokkinakis roared in delight at ousting No. 6-ranked Milos Raonic 7-6(5), 7-6(8) on Tuesday in the first round of the Aegon Championships. Few would have picked Kokkinakis to beat Raonic, the third seed, who reached the final of both this ATP World Tour 500 grass-court tournament and Wimbledon last year (l. to Murray both times). In fact, Kokkinakis won two fewer points in the contest than his Canadian opponent, and won only 19 per cent of his return points. But he prevailed in the points that mattered in the two tie-breaks to claim the biggest win of his career as his...
It's not often that a 39 year old beats the World No. 5, but that's precisely what happened when former World No. 2 Tommy Haas upset Roger Federer 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-4 on Wednesday during the second round of the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart. The win, Haas' fourth over the all-time great in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, also marks the German's second victory against Federer on grass in as many matches. Haas also beat Federer in the 2012 Gerry Weber Open final. [ALSO LIKE] Want to know more? Here are seven more things to know about the unexpected result, which Haas called, “obviously one of my career highlights.” 1. Haas is the third player to beat Federer twice on grass, joining Novak...