The grass-court season has arrived on the ATP World Tour and a familiar face is atop the draw at the MercedesCup. Top seed Roger Federer leads the field in Stuttgart, his first tournament since going back-to-back at the Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami two months ago. Federer, who has a first-round bye, opens against either wild card and close friend Tommy Haas or Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert. A potential quarter-final clash against another German veteran, Mischa Zverev, could also await the Swiss. Third seed Tomas Berdych, who faces either Stephane Robert or Bernard Tomic in the second round, is another seeded threat in Federer's half of the draw. If 35-year-old Federer faces 39-year-old Haas, it would be their...
Ahead of his return to the ATP World Tour next week in Stuttgart, Roger Federer recently spent time with Bill Gates in the Microsoft co-founder’s hometown of Seattle. ESPN The Magazine chronicled their enlightening and entertaining weekend together for the World Fame 100 issue, in which Federer came in 4th on the list. Below is an excerpt of the feature. [Roger Federer] is in Seattle because of Bill Gates. A Federer superfan and dedicated rec-level player, Gates watched his favorite player at Indian Wells. They bonded there over tennis and philanthropy. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has spent billions on improving living standards in Africa. Federer's foundation also focuses on Africa, especially education for children. They decided to organize...
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have been named among the world’s Top 10 most famous athletes in new analysis by ESPN. Federer is fourth on ESPN’s World Fame 100 list, Nadal is ninth and Novak Djokovic is close behind at 12th. Federer and Nadal both move up one place from their positions in last year’s inaugural list. Djokovic rises four places from 16th in 2016. Kei Nishikori surges to 20th from 47th last year. Andy Murray slips one spot to 32nd and Stan Wawrinka, at No. 42, is the other ATP World Tour star to make the Top 100 list. Real Madrid footballer Cristiano Ronaldo heads the World Fame 100 list, followed by Cleveland Cavaliers basketballer LeBron James in second...
Roger Federer will return to the ATP World Tour on the grass. The 35-year-old Swiss announced on Monday that he will not play at Roland Garros, as he had initially planned. Federer made the decision with the next few years in mind. “Regrettably, I've decided not to participate in the French Open. I've been working really hard, both on and off the court, during the last month, but in order to try and play on the ATP World Tour for many years to come, I feel it's best to skip the clay-court season this year and prepare for the grass and hard-court seasons,” Federer said in a statement on his website. [ALSO LIKE] The right-hander has had one of his...
Have you ever wondered how Rafael Nadal’s clay record compares to Roger Federer’s grass record or Novak Djokovic's hard-court record? The FedEx ATP Performance Zone sheds some light... Nadal's record on clay - winning 91.69 per cent of matches he plays - eclipses the records of Djokovic on hard courts (84.02 per cent) and Federer on grass courts (86.86 per cent). Incredibly, no player has less than a 75 per cent winning mark on clay, hard or grass courts over the course of their illustrious careers. Visit FedEx ATP Performance Zone Below, ATPWorldTour.com breaks down how Nadal, Djokovic and Federer compare on clay, hard and grass courts. CLAY COLOSSI Nadal, the undisputed 'King of Clay' since 2005, has captured an...