Category: Tennis News

The former World no. 1 and current World no. 2, Novak Djokovic has had a bad year so far with the whole Australian Open drama and court cases that saw him return to his home as he was not allowed to play and defend his Australian Open title.

He then finally tried his tennis shots and style on court in front of fans in Dubai, however he lost in his 3rd round match up in a shocker.

The Serbian was then finally given the green light to enter the French Open after concerns over vaccination status. France then announced they will be allowing non vaccinated people to enter the country post the 14th of March. This means Djokovic will be at the Roland Garros defending his title and going up against freshly crowned World no. 1 Daniil Medvedev as well as the King of Clay and 21 time grand slam winner, Rafael Nadal. 

With the current war going on in between Russia and Ukraine, the tennis organisations have taken action banning Russian teams and venues, however financially they haven’t he;ped out as much. Djokovic has offered his financial assistance to friend and tour member, the Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky.

After reading about Stakhovsky’s condition and will to fight for Ukraine as well, Djokovic offered him personal help and financial support through some messages on Whatsapp. The Serb might have different opinions when it comes to vaccines but has a kind heart when it comes to humanity. 

The French Open will see the return of the defending champion Novak Djokovic as France has made a vital announcement in terms of the vaccine mandates. 

The French government will drop the vaccine mandate that requires any visiting people to be fully vaccinated on the 14th of March. This means that, unlike what happened in Australia earlier this year, Djokovic will be allowed to play even though unvaccinated in this summer’s French Open.

In Australia, the Serbian was given an exception by the Australian Open committee but then it was announced that Djokovic could not enter Australia and was kept isolated. What followed was an extensive court battle which eventually saw Djokovic pack up his bags and go back to Serbia.

The then World no. 1 played his first match of the year in Dubai where he lost in the third round in a shocker and even dropped from the World no. 1 spot as Daniil Medvedev climbed up and ended the 18 year dominance of the Big Three and short cameos from Andy Murray. 

This means that Djokovic will now be in the same tournament as the 21 time grand slam winner Rafael Nadal and current world no. 1 Daniil Medvedev.

This Ukrainian tennis star returned to his homeland in order to fight the war against Russia. This tennis player didn’t even inform his family that he was back in the country as he didn’t want them to worry.

“I was born here, my grandparents are buried here, and I would like to have a history to tell to my kids,” he said. “Nobody here wants Russia to free them, they have freedom and democracy … and Russia wants to bring despair and poverty,” said Sergiy Stakhovsky

“It’s impossible to make that call without hesitation. I have a wife and three kids,” he said. “If I would stay home, I’d feel guilt that I didn’t come back (to Ukraine), and now I’m here, I feel guilty that I left them at home.”

His wife also is struggling with his decision, he said.

“Of course, she was mad,” he said. “She understood the reason for me, but for her it was a betrayal. And I totally understand why she feels that way.”

He said they haven’t told their kids, all under age 7, who likely believe he’s at a tennis tournament.

“My wife didn’t tell them and I didn’t tell them … where I’m going,” he said. “I guess they’ll figure it out soon.”

The war has seen many Ukrainian athletes join the army to fight the war and stand against Russia. Athletes from MMA, Boxing and now Tennis have all joined in on the fight.

The ATP and WTA in accordance with the International Tennis Federation and the four Grand Slam committees from the French Open, Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon have released a statement condemning the war between Ukraine and Russia. Moreover, to punish the Russian side for starting the war, ATP and WTA have removed Russian events and banned Russia from competing in any and all team events. Meanwhile Russian singles players like Rublev or world no. 1 Medvedev will be allowed to continue playing under a neutral flag. 

The statement said, 

“A deep sense of distress, shock and sadness has been felt across the entire tennis community following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the past week. Our thoughts are with the people of Ukraine, and we commend the many tennis players who have spoken out and taken action against this unacceptable act of aggression. We echo their calls for the violence to end and peace to return.

The safety of the tennis community is our most immediate collective priority. The focus of the WTA and ATP in particular in recent days has been on contacting current and former players, and other members of the tennis community from Ukraine and neighbouring countries, to check on their safety and offer any assistance.

The international governing bodies of tennis stand united in our condemnation of Russia’s actions and, as a result, are in agreement with the following decisions and actions:

• The WTA and ATP Boards have made the decision to suspend the WTA / ATP combined event, scheduled this October in Moscow.
• The ITF Board has made the decision to suspend the Russian Tennis Federation and Belarus Tennis Federation membership and to withdraw their entries from all ITF international team competition until further notice. This action follows the cancellation of all ITF tournaments in Russia and Belarus indefinitely.
• At this time, players from Russia and Belarus will continue to be allowed to compete in international tennis events on Tour and at the Grand Slams. However, they will not compete under the name or flag of Russia or Belarus until further notice.”

The former world no. 1 and current world no. 2 Novak Djokovic has had a bad year so far and looks like the suffering has not ended yet. The Serbian star announced last night that he and his coach who have been together for 20 years will now be splitting up and he will be hiring a new coach.

This will mean some adjustment time for the Serbian as he gets used to his new team. However in a bigger turn of events, Djokovic’s sponsor Peugeot, which has been with him since 2014 will now be calling it a day and cancelling any further partnership with the Serbian. 

Peugeot’s important source told the media that “We anticipate the Peugeot brand will be represented at the tournament in Dubai on Mr. Djokovic’s shirt.” However, post this incident, Peugeot CEO announced that they will be ending the sponsorship deal with Novak Djokovic amidst his anti-vax opinions and current situation. 

“No, we will not continue with the sponsorship of Djokovic,” Carlos Tavares, CEO of the Stellantis group that owns Peugeot confirmed.

With Djokovic staying unvaxxed, it remains to be seen if he’ll be allowed into the United States for the Indian Wells. Rafael Nadal on the other hand has already reached California and started practising at the Indian Wells. 

When asked if he would miss the tennis tournaments in order to stay unvaxxed, he said, “Yes, that is the price that I’m willing to pay because the principles of decision making on my body are more important than any title or anything else,” he recently told the BBC in his first in-depth interview since his saga in Australia.

The ATP and WTA committees alongside the International Tennis Federation, have jointly been served a statement by any and all Ukrainian players on the tennis tour. The statement asks for the committees to ban any and all Russian tournaments without banning any specific Russian players or stars as most of them have come out and condemned the war. 

The tennis world, which was on a high after legendary players like Djokovic returned to the court and lost in a shocker or when the King of Clay, Nadal won his 91st title. The biggest problem in the tennis world was Zvereve’s disagreement with the Acapulco umpire which saw him being eliminated from the tournament. However now, amidst this terrible war Russia has imposed on Ukraine, the tennis world has been rocked as well.

“Our country, Ukraine is under brutal attack by superior nuclear power. The bombs and rockets are hitting our houses, killing our people, destroying our life,” it reads, concluding: “Stop the War. Stop Russian Aggression. Bring Peace to our homes. Be HUMAN.”

Elina Svitolina, the country’s top-ranked star, went a step further by vowing not to play any Russian or Belarusian athletes until appropriate action is taken

“I do not blame any of the Russian athletes,” says Svitolina. “Moreover, I wish to pay tribute to all the players, especially Russians and Belarusians, who bravely stated their position against the war. Their support is essential.”

Meanwhile Russian players like Rublev and Medvedev made a point to give their views against the war. Rublev after a match in Dubai wrote on the camera lens, “No War Please”. While Medvedev made an instagram post saying, 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CaaPTOCoxz9/

“I want to ask for peace in the world, for peace between countries,” he wrote. “Kids are born with inner trust in the world, they believe so much in everything: in people, in love, in safety and justice, in their chances in life. Let’s be together and show them that it’s true.”

The King of Clay or the King of Tennis? Rafael Nadal has seemed to have turned back the clock as he’s found new and improved form at the peak age of 35 years old. 

The Spaniard has been on a winning streak and keeps setting up records with every win now. Reaching a whopping 91 ATP titles, Nadal has now become one of the winningest players in ATP history. He has also equalled Roger Federer as the only players to win each ATP title at least 2 times. The 91 titles also include his incredible feat of 21 grand slams, which he achieved at the end of January in Australia.

Not only is he the only male tennis player in history to win 21 grand slams, but he has also now set a new record. He has made his best start to a season ever. In his almost 20 year career, he has now made a start with 15 consecutive wins reaching 9th place in overall best starts to a season.

Meanwhile on the other side of the spectrum, Novak Djokovic lost to Vesely in a shocking 2 setter match in Dubai last week, dropping down from his coveted no.1 spot. The new No. 1 Daniil Medvedev barely got past him when he was defeated by Nadal in the semi finals in Acapulco.

Even though far below the two, if Nadal has a good year, he could easily give the two right handers some tough competition in terms of ATP rankings. “I went through some very difficult moments during the match that I was able to save, and then I took advantage when I had the chances,”

“Cameron is a very solid player, a tricky player,” Nadal said post-match. “He makes you feel that you cannot play comfortably against him at all.”

The 21 time grand slam winner in an unexpected form has turned back the clock as he cruised past the current and new world no 1, Daniil Medvedev. 

The Russian was favoured over Nadal after his brilliant form and almost winning against the Spaniard in the Australian Open finals, however Nadal dominated right out of the gate.

The King of Clay broke Medvedev’s service early on at 2-1 in the first set and it was Rafael Nadal the entire way since then. Nadal showed off his insane stamina and adaptation as he took everything Medvedev threw at him. 

As he took the first set 6-3, the two started the journey again in the second set as both wanted to break each other’s serve. Unlike any grand slams, these matches are best of 3 sets, which gives players lesser opportunities to equal scores after a major service break. That’s what happened as Nadal broke Medvedev’s serve again in the second set at 3-2 and didn’t give Daniil any chance to get back in the match. 

The Spaniard dominated the World no. 1 with his predictive plays and won the match 6-3, 6-3 as he continued his best opening to a season in his long and legendary career. He now stands at 14 wins with the finals of the Mexican Open next. The finals will be played today as Nadal will face Norrie who beat Tsitsipas in a shocker of a match.

Nadal after his match even mentioned proudly, how he beat the world no. 1 on his favourite surface, which is a sign that things have been going well since the start of his season back in Australia.