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Category: Tennis News

Alexander Zverev Apologises After ‘Unacceptable’ Behaviour in Mexico

Posted on by Chirag

Alexander Zverev, the defending Acapulco champion, has been all over the headlines the past couple of days following his interesting week in Mexico. 

After setting the record for the match that ended most late in the day at 4:56 am in his first round, he headlined newspapers after his temper tantrum in Mexico during a tie break in his first round doubles match. Now the German has come out to apologise for this shameful incident and make peace with the tennis world.

“I have privately apologised to the chair umpire because my outburst towards him was wrong and unacceptable.”

As you know I leave everything out on the court,” he wrote.

“Yesterday I left too much. I am going to take the coming days to reflect on my actions and how I can ensure that it will not happen again.”

With stars like Andy Murray, who’s playing in the Dubai Open currently and was taken out of the singles race by Jannik Sinner earlier this week, also commenting on this incident, Zverev has been in deep trouble and under the risk of a heavy fine by ATP. 

Meanwhile stars like Medvedev and Nadal have been cruising past their opponents and are in the quarterfinals in their separate brackets. 

With this disqualification from Acapulco, Zverev missed out on a chance to face either of them and also close the gap to World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev.

Andy Murray Condemns ‘Dangerous’ Zverev Outburst

Posted on by Chirag

Overin Acapulco, amidst the insane amount of tennis being played this week, controversy ensued as defending champion Alexander Zverev was ousted by the tennis organisers after his furious outburst against the umpire.

The German was playing a doubles match with his Brazilian partner Melo and even managed to secure the second set before losing in the tie break. During the tie break is when the controversy started. The umpire made a call and Zverev disagreed. With the tie break at 8-6, the ball was called in, however Zverev saw it bounce outside the line and chaos ensued.

The German, in an offensive and graphic language, ranted about the decision, screaming loudly. “Look where the ball bounced. It’s 8-6 in the tie-break, look where the ball bounced. For f*** sake, it’s your line. It’s f****** your line. You f****** idiot.” Zverev continued his rant, ““You f*****g destroyed the whole f*****g match. The whole f*****g match.”

Zverev was supposed to face the lucky loser Peter Gojowczyk in the singles second round but Peter was given the walkover after Zverev was eliminated entirely from the tournament.

Playing for the first time in five years at the Dubai open, tennis legend Andy Murray condemned the incident and said, ““It was not good. It was dangerous, reckless,” the former world No 1 said after his loss to Sinner.

“I understand athletes across lots of sports can get very frustrated. Certainly me, I’ve not always acted in the way I’d want on the court. I’m certainly not claiming to be an angel. I’m not perfect myself.”

Meanwhile for the other players, Nadal easily passed by opponent Kozlov in straight sets (6-0, 6-3) as he secured the quarter finals spot against Tommy Paul and continued his winning streak of 12 matches since the start of his season in Australia.

Nadal Cruises Past Kudla as Champion Zverev Kicked Out of Acapulco

Posted on by Chirag

Acapulco has seen a lot of tennis the past couple of days with the likes of Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Nadal and Zverev all in action.

The now 21 time grand slam winner Rafael Nadal cruised past his first round opponent Denis Kudla with a score of 6-3, 6-2. The Spaniard showed off his insane banana forehands to his Mexican fans as he made it to round 2.

Meanwhile, Zverev, the defending champion, created history in Acapulco in his first round when he ended and won his match at 4:56 am in the morning. He and Brooksby played  a match that became the match to end most late in the day in Mexican tennis history.

With the defending champion in good spirits, it came as a shock when he was kicked out of the tournament after an incident last night.  The incident took place after Zverev’s double match, in which he partnered Brazilian tennis player Marcelo Melo against the British-Finn pair of Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara.

Following the conclusion of the match, which saw Zverev and his partner lose 6-2 4-6 (10-6), the World no 3 went and smashed his racquet repeatedly on the umpire’s chair, despite official Alessandro Germani seated on it.

“Due to unsportsmanlike conduct at the conclusion of his doubles match on Tuesday night, Alexander Zverev has been withdrawn from the tournament in Acapulco,” the ATP said in a statement.

Zverev was upset with the official over a line call, which took place earlier in the match. He also hurled expletives at Germani.  

Zverev’s second round singles opponent Gojowczyk was also given a walkover following this incident.

Djokovic Returns to On Court Action With A Thrilling Win

Posted on by Chirag

The World No. 1 made a comeback last night in Dubai as he played his first official match of 2022. 

The Serbian took on Italy’s Loreonzo Musetti in a thriller under the burning heat as he defeated him 6-3, 6-3 in straight sets. Novak looked to have not lost a single step as he slid his way across the court for outstanding returns.

Recently Nadal and Novak himself have compared Djokovic’s style to that of the current World No. 2 breathing down Novak’s neck and Australian Open finalist, Daniil Medvedev. Is a 2022 dream match on the cards this year with the likes of Djokovic, Medvedev, Tsitsipas and Nadal all in a tournament at the French Open possibly?

“A pleasant experience,” he said.

After thanking the crowd following his first match of 2022, Djokovic added: “I couldn’t pick a better place to kick start the season – it was the best possible experience tonight.

“All in all, it’s a straight-set win so of course I have to be satisfied, especially after not playing for two and a half, almost three months.”

“It’s always in the heat of battle, the atmosphere where you need to get that energy out. Sometimes you are frustrated with yourself, your game, the things that are happening.”

He later said he had received a “very friendly” welcome back to competition by the “majority” of players.

He added: “I’m very thankful for that because having the kind of an understanding at least, I would say, if not support from my peers and my colleagues, is very important to me because they are the people that I get to see sometimes more than my family.

“I care greatly about the relationships that we have.”

Djokovic Talks About Medvedev Overtaking Him for Number 1 Spot

Posted on by Chirag

The current World No. 1 sits atop a long list of ATP candidates willing to win and take away the spot from the Serbian champion. 

Novak Djokovic has although almost lost his number one spot after being away from tennis due to legally not being allowed to play in Australia due to vaccine mandates. With the World Number 2, Daniil Medvedev reaching the finals in Australia, he jumped up the ratings drastically and is now very close to reach World No. 1

In an interview, Djokovic said, “It’s in his hands. He deserves to be No. 1,” Djokovic said Sunday before his season debut at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. “Eventually it’s going to happen. If it happens this week, I’ll be the first one to congratulate him.”

“The only scenario that I have in my head is to win every match that I play here,” Djokovic said.

“It’s great to be here. I’ve had some wonderful results in this tournament. It’s been a while since I played for the first time in [the] Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships,” Djokovic said. “[I have] many wonderful memories on and off the court.”

“It’s always a very solid, very hard draw and field. Every match you get to play is really on a Grand Slam, ATP Masters 1000 level. It is a 500 category, but it feels that it’s stronger than that definitely with the field of players,” Djokovic said. “I’m excited. I haven’t played a match since Davis Cup in Spain last December. Can’t wait to start an official match tomorrow night.”

“Of course, [my] first match is going to be very important to kind of start off the campaign in this year’s tournament in a positive way,” Djokovic said. “I have a young, very talented, tricky opponent in Lorenzo Musetti, who has had a big win over [Hubert] Hurkacz a few weeks ago in Rotterdam.”

Draws Announced for Acapulco and Dubai Duty Free

Posted on by Chirag

As the two ATP tournaments commence today, the draws were fully announced last night online. Stars like Medvedev and Nadal, Medvedev, Tsitsipas and Zverev all in the Acapulco Open in Mexico.

While over in Dubai, the Duty Free Tournament will play host to players like the returning World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, Rublev, Murray and Cilic. 

This will be Novak’s first tennis tournament in almost 3 months as he missed this year’s first grand slam, the Australian Open after a controversial legal battle over his Anti Vax lifestyle. 

Meanwhile one of his greatest rivals, Rafael Nadal, who returned to tennis in late December after 4 months tending to injuries has been doing great. He did lose in the first round of a friendly tournament in Abu Dhabi on his return but managed to win an ATP title before winning his 21st career grand slam and becoming the first person to reach that incredible milestone. 

Nadal, drawn in the same side as Medvedev will face Riley Opelka in the first round and prediction wise might go toe to toe again with Australian Open 2022 finalist Daniil Medvedev in the semi finals.

While Djokovic has been drawn to face the Italian Musetti as he looks to bounce back to winning ways with an ATP title after a long time in Dubai. He will most probably face Rublev in the finals in Dubai within the next week and a half.

Stan Wawrinka on Nadal’s Miracle in Melbourne

Posted on by Chirag

Stan Wawrinka the Swiss tennis legend and close friend of Roger Federer has been around and on the court for a long time and has seen Nadal’s insane skills from his own point of view.

The Swiss was quick to praise the Spanish Giant’s amazing comeback from 2 sets down to the current World No. 2 to win the match 3 sets to 2 and lift his 21st grand slam trophy ahead of his rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

“Whatever happens we cannot compare Nadal with other tennis players, that’s for sure,” Wawrinka said on L’Equipe’s Air Open podcast. “Nadal has been out for four, five or six months almost every two years of his career, and whether the injuries were serious or not, he always managed to come back.

“And once again at this stage and level, with the difficult last year that he had, of course, it’s exceptional, just like all his career. It was brilliant to watch his win. I wasn’t surprised but I admire that he is still able to do it and as I say I am not surprised because we know that he is well above everyone else.”

“He’s proved that he’s able to do things throughout his career that others can’t. Sometimes, I feel, tennis is all written in advance. Before Australian Open I was talking to my coach, Dani [Vallverdu] and we discussed that Nadal will win Australian Open, because everything is written.”

“We saw what happened to Nadal last year, a year full of injuries and it would have been impossible to say he will win Australian Open last year. But his win is a bit similar to that Federer’s in 2017 and he has written history”.

“There are a lot who forget this when they turn professional—they take tennis too much like work. “What motivates me and pushes me still is I tell myself I’m going to play—that I’m going to have fun.”

Djokovic Arrives in Dubai As Nadal Lands in Acapulco

Posted on by Chirag

The World No. 1 has been on a tennis hiatus since last year’s ATP finals post which he flew to Australia only to be controversially deported back to Serbia amidst an Anti-Vax row.  

The Serb has now been confirmed for the Dubai Duty Free tournament starting next week and arrived in Dubai yesterday. He now will start warming up today ahead of his first round match.

Meanwhile his Spanish counterpart and one of his biggest rivals Rafael Nadal arrived in Mexico.  Nadal, who won this year’s Australian Open to become the only male player with 21 grand slams in the open era leaving behind Djokovic and Federer by 1 insanely amazing comeback in Melbourne.

The two are expected to finally be in the same tournament after nearly a year and might even clash against each other after almost 2 years as both want to make it to the Indian Wells in California. 

“I’m proud to be on this stage,” Djokovic said after his wife Jelena gave a presentation about the foundation’s work with children. The serb seems excited to be back on the court and able to play tennis without any legal issues over his anti-vax opinions. 

“It feels great, it feels great to be here,” said the Serb. “I always loved Dubai, I loved coming here. I had plenty of tennis success [in Dubai] and I’m excited to go out on the tennis court next Monday.

“I miss tennis, honestly, after everything that has happened in the previous couple of months. And of course, the purpose of the visit to the Expo is obviously promoting our foundation’s work. I’m just glad that we managed to combine the schedule and it allowed me to be here with everyone.”

Djokovic Keen On Playing in Dubai Amidst Vaccine Drama

Posted on by Chirag

The World No 1, Novak Djokovic has been quoted to be eager to play in Dubai after a controversial interview where he put his opinions and morales considering the vaccine on a higher level than any grand slam trophy this year. 

“I am excited to go back and play on Monday,” he told the media at Expo. “I miss tennis after all that has happened.”

“Yes, that is the price that I’m willing to pay,” he said.

“I was prepared not to go to Australia. I understand not being vaccinated today, I am unable to travel to most of the tournaments at the moment,” Djokovic added.

“The principles of decision making on my body are more important than any title or anything else,” he said.

“I was never against vaccination,” added Djokovic, who said he had received vaccines as a child. “But I’ve always supported the freedom to choose what you put in your body.”

ANother upcoming tournament is the Indian Wells in California which has only allowed vaccinated players to take part. However, Djokovic’s name has been included so it remains to be seen if the World No. 1 will be given exemption to enter the United States in a matter of three weeks. 

Berrettini on Rafael Nadal and the Big Three

Posted on by cbtfhome

Mateo Berrettini the world no. 6 in the ATP rankings and semi finalist at this year’s Australian Open has made some comments about who he thinks the GOAT is in Tennis. 

The debate is regarding the big three, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Some would argue Rafael Nadal is the true GOAT as he has reached the unfathomable achievement of 21 grand slams.

“I swear, there is no answer,” Berrettini told Pa Repubblica, per Sportskeeda. “After all, I have lost many times against both of them. Nadal is a [left-hander] and takes you wherever he wants, giving you the impression of letting you play more and in the end he beats you.

Djokovic just deactivates you, he’s a great counter-attacker. The two of them, along with Federer, are the greatest tennis players of all time, sublime athletes. This is enough to understand what it means to have them in front of you.”

“It is only a matter of time, it will pass,” Berrettini said. “The same was true with Nadal, at the beginning. People said – ‘But he looks like this, he plays with the (long) capri shorts’.

“I understand people who love myths, I don’t feel bothered on the pitch [by fans supporting the ‘Big Three’ in matches],” Berrettini continued.

“Maybe I too, if I were in the stands, would cheer for them. Because cheering on Nadal, Djokovic or Federer means being together with your memories, it means remaining attached to a part of your heart. I find it romantic.”