Having this week conquered the truest test of real quality and consistency, the ascent to No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, will this year's Barclays ATP World Tour Finals be a glorious homecoming for Andy Murray? The Scot has competed at the prestigious season finale on seven occasions, but only three times has he graced the semi-finals: in 2008 (l. to Davydenko), when the event was held in Shanghai, China, and in 2010 (l. to Nadal) and 2012 (l. to Federer) at The O2 in London. "It’s been a great year and I want to finish as well as I can," said Murray. "I'm not so much thinking about finishing as the World No. 1. I just want to...
Tennis is a sport you can never fully master. As a player, and now as a coach to Andy Murray, I have never stopped learning. At the highest level, you’ll fail as a player if you’re not striving to better yourself, and I now try to approach coaching in the same way. When I was playing, I was always looking for an edge, whether from nutrition, fitness or psychological strength, and I now use everything I can to give Andy an advantage. That includes keeping track of new trends in tennis and also what athletes are doing in other sports. Whether I’m playing or coaching, I’ve always wanted to do my best. I’ll be courtside at the Barclays ATP World...
This year’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals features plenty of regular faces making their annual appearance at the O2, but one of the most popular veterans in tennis is also making his deserved debut at the season finale, which begins at The O2 in London on 13 November. Gael Monfils qualified for the first time after producing a career-best season in 2016. Having started the year at No. 25 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, the 30-year-old Frenchman now sits at a career-high standing of No. 6. Monfils largely attributes the remarkable run of form he’s had this year to his team. “[Coach] Mikael [Tillstrom] helped me a lot, but my fitness coach gets a lot of credit as well. They’ve...
The University of Virginia has set the benchmark for success at the collegiate level and that prosperity is translating to the professional ranks this week at the Charlottesville Challenger. The contingent of talented Cavaliers, led by freshman Carl Soderlund, are sending a message to the established veterans and surging #NextGen stars on the ATP Challenger Tour. Senior Ryan Shane and junior Alexander Ritschard took full advantage of their main draw wild cards in snatching sets from top seeds Frances Tiafoe and Jared Donaldson, respectively. Seniors Thai-Son Kwiatkowski and JC Aragone also forced their first-round opponents - Tim Smyczek and Liam Broady - to go the distance. Shane, who made his tour-level debut at the US Open last year and appeared...
In March of 2015, Mischa Zverev had almost dropped out the Emirates ATP Rankings. After reaching a career-high No. 45 in July 2009, the German fell victim to a catalogue of injuries that saw him drop as far as No. 1067. But, inspired in no small part by his little brother, Sascha, Zverev has staged a remarkable comeback in 2016. As he sat by the side of the court watching his brother practise in Stockholm, Zverev told ATPWorldTour.com, "I'm very, very happy. It's been five years since I've seen myself in the Top 100. It's been a long road with physical and mental injuries, but I've made it back into the Top 100 and I'm going to finish this year...
