The Racket

News: Murray brothers battle past British duo

2012-03-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

Andy and Jamie Murray saved two match points before beating fellow Britons Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins 3-6 6-2 13-11 in the opening round of the Indian Wells Masters in California.

Fleming and Hutchins came into the match asthe newly crowned Delray Beach champions,their second ATP title together as a partnership.

After exchanging sets, the two pairs faced a first-to-10 tie-break, with the winner needing two clear points, to clinch their place in round two.

The Murrays had led 8-3 in the decider of a match played before a capacity crowd on Court 7.

But they lost six points in a row as Fleming and Hutchins, Britain's two highest-ranked doubles players, fought back to lead 9-8.

Younger brother Andy saved the first match point with a huge first serve and smiled with relief as he swigged from his water bottle at the changeover.

The brothers then had a match point at 10-9, saved by good work at the net by Hutchins, before the world number four netted a forehand from the back of the court to fall match point down once more.

The Murrays must have thought they had lost it when they dramatically clashed racquets when going for the same volley in the centre of the court.

But they recovered to win the point and moments later they added another to seal the match.

Videos: Tennis fan gets nailed during Federer match

2012-03-12T18:42:00.000-07:00

News: Djokovic rockets into the 4th

2012-03-12T18:32:00.002-07:00

Defending champion Novak Djokovic progressed safely into the fourth round at Indian Wells with a 6-2 6-3 win over South African Kevin Anderson.

The world number one, who beat Spain's Rafael Nadal in last year's final, took both his break-point opportunities in a tight first set.

He broke once in the second to secure victory in one hour and 37 minutes.

"It was a very close match. The scoreline does not reflect how close it was," said the 24-year-old.

Djokovic is aiming for a third career title at the BNP Paribas Open.

"This is one of my most successful tournaments. I love coming back to the desert," added the Serb.

News: Murray and Tsonga ready for battle

2012-03-12T15:17:00.000-07:00

France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will return to Queen's Club in June to try and go one step further than last year's run to the Aegon Championships final.

The world number five lost to Andy Murray in last year's final.

Tsonga went on to beat Roger Federer on his way to the Wimbledon semis, and hopes for similar success in 2012.

"I know that I can beat everybody on grass, so why not?" he said. "I know on grass that I am a good player. I go to the net and I serve well."

Murray is likely to be the top seed when the tournament begins on 11 June, with Tsonga currently in line to be the highest-ranked player in the opposite half of the draw.

"I had an incredible year in 2011, and it all started there," said Tsonga, who went on to reach the final of the ATP World Tour Finals at the end of the year.

News: Nadal and Federer breeze through

2012-03-12T15:05:00.001-07:00

Nadal, in his first tournament since his epic match at the Australian Open final against Djokovic, flew past Argentine Leonardo Mayer 6-1 6-3.

Federer eased past American Denis Kudla, to make the third round in Indian Wells, winning 6-4 6-1.

Federer has been struggling with a flu bug and slight temperature but saw off 19-year-old Ukraine-born American Kudla in just 57 minutes.

"I'm always relieved and happy when I am able to find my way into a tournament," said Federer, who should face a tougher test against Canadian 27th seed Milos Raonic in round three. "It's a good start for me. I didn't know Kudla very much, or at all, really, so it was a good win for me."

Nadal showed no ill effects on his return to competitive action as he dominated Mayer to set up a meeting with fellow Spaniard Marcel Granollers, a 6-3 2-6 6-3 winner over Tommy Haas.

World number two Nadal, who took February off to rest his shoulder, said: "Very happy to be back in competition, that's the first thing. This is a tournament that I love. I really enjoy playing this tournament. Always in my career, I had good success here. I played very good matches.

Video: Amazing Catch By Ball Boy

2012-03-12T14:37:00.000-07:00

News: Nadal Loses, Federer injured

2012-01-06T14:10:00.000-08:00

Roger Federer has withdrawn from the Qatar Open ahead of his semi-final match with Frenchman Gael Monfils. Rafael Nadal has lost to Frenchman Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in the semi-finals, despite the loss Nadal remained upbeat and said that he was feeling positive about his performance this week.
Nadal lost in straight sets to the Frenchman 6-3 6-4 but remains positive and in good shape ahead of the Australian Open this month. Federer withdrew before his semi-final clash due to a back injury. Federer said "I've played through two matches in pain and I don't think it's the right thing to risk anything more now." With his withdrawal Federer ends his streak of 20 wins in a row. The final of the Qatar Open is between to Frenchmen Tsonga and Monflis with Tsonga leading the head-to-head 2-1.

News: Murray flying high as he smashes into the semis

2012-01-06T03:21:00.000-08:00

There were no signs of the aches and pains suffered from the first two matches as Britain's Andy Murray flew past Marcos Baghdatis in the quarter finals of the Brisbane International. Final score was 6-2 6-2.
Murray raced, ahead almost catching Baghdatis by surprise, as he took the first 4 games it what turned out to be a comfortable set. The second set was a bit more evenly matched with Murray having to wait until the fifth game to break the Cyprian's serve.
Murray will now face the 19 year old Australian Bernard Tomic, who defeated Uzbekistan's Dennis Istomin 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

News: Federer and Nadal make semis

2012-01-05T16:20:00.000-08:00

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have both gone through to the semi finals of the Qatar Open. Federer didn't have the easiest ride on his way through, dropping the second set to Italian Andreas Seppi. Nadal had an excellent quarter final beating Russian Mikhail Youxhny in straight sets.

Federer won is match 6-3 5-7 6-4 and now goes on to play Tsonga of France. The Frenchman beat Federer in the last eight at Wimbledon in 2011 and lost in the final of the ATP World Tour Finals in November. Federer said that he is looking forward to the match and hopes that they both have a good season. The quarter final win was Federer's 20th win in a row.
Nadal won his match 6-4 6-4 and goes through to play another Frenchman Gael Monflis. Monflis beat Viktor Troicki to guarantee a Frenchman in the final of the Qatar Open.

Video: Andy Roddick greatest serve ever

2012-01-05T15:45:00.000-08:00

Review: TRX Suspension Trainer

2012-01-05T07:16:00.000-08:00

TRX is a seven year old company dedicated to selling high performance product to athletes, fitness professionals, physical therapists and all branches of the US military. Their products look at a whole new style of fitness training with the aid of bodyweight-based training products. The TRX Suspension Trainer is one of these products and is becoming more and more popular with fitness professionals and has started to make its way in to the tennis world.

The TRX Suspension Trainer focuses on developing strength, balance, flexibility and core stability all at the same time. It is super portable and has been a favourite of the US military for some time due to its train anywhere nature. The Trainer consists of two handles connected to what can only be described as adjustable seat belts; these are then suspended, by a carabineer at a point above the owner. Then by using their own bodyweight, thousands of exercises can be achieved just by letting the trainer take your own weight. The beauty of the Suspension Trainer is that the more bodyweight you allow the trainer to take the harder the work out will be. Therefore this piece of equipment can be used by anybody.

I am relatively new to TRX and their Suspension Trainer but what I have found is that with the exercises I have found on the web and within the TRX handbook I can really focus on working individual areas that are specific for tennis. The design is so simple and before I started using the product properly I thought that I could easily re-create my own version. However after some time with the product I found that it is very specialised and extremely well made. I feel safe letting the product take my weight and I am not nervous about trying new exercises because I believe in the ability of the product. I have been using the Trainer with the kids I teach in my performance groups and have found that the low intensity exercises are really helping with their general fitness, they are really enjoying about the TRX Suspension Trainer on court in their lessons as it’s something different to their usual workouts.

The exercises I have been focusing on are to do with core stability, balance and speed, three areas that are very important to tennis. I have started to notice a difference; my shots seem to be more fluid and easier to play. I don’t seem to picking up any small injuries anymore and I have found that I have much better movement around the court. If you are thinking of getting one of these Trainers, which I highly recommend you do, browse the web before using it for specific exercises to your particular sports, as the wrong exercises can hinder in some sports and help in others. Another things I have found from the Trainer is that I can train indoors at home. No more dragging myself out into the rain to go to the gym. The Trainer comes with a simple door anchor that can be attached to any door without damaging it. The Trainer can hold up to 560kg so unless you are weight in at about half tons, then I recommend it to anyone looking to get fit in the New Year. TRX Suspension Trainer $199.95 trxtraining.com

Video: Hilarious point between Nadal,Federer and Novak !

2012-01-05T06:02:00.000-08:00

Video: Amazing Roger Federer trickshot on Gillette ad shoot

2012-01-05T05:36:00.000-08:00

Video: Best Shots of Tennis Season 2011

2012-01-05T05:29:00.000-08:00

News: Nadal and Federer ease into the quarters

2012-01-05T04:09:00.000-08:00

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer made light weight of their opponents today with both of the pair easing through to the quarter finals of the Qatar Open.
Federer, who is the defending champion, played Slovenia's Grega Zemlja in which he won 6-2 6-3 he now faces the Italian Andreas Seppi
World number 2 Rafael Nadal beat the German Dennis Gremelmayr 6-2 6-2 and now faces Mikhail Youzhny
Federer's win what his 19th in a row with his last defeat coming way back at the US Open semi-finals to the hands of Novak Djokovic.

Article: LTA vs PTR

2012-01-04T13:24:00.000-08:00

If you are ever looking to become a tennis coach in the UK and do a little research on courses. Then two organisations that will keep cropping up are LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) and PTR (Professional Tennis Registry). Both these organisations offer a full coaching licence, required in order to teach in the UK, but which is better. Both have their pros and cons, I have been on both sets of courses and this is what I think....

The LTA is the leading governing body of British tennis, it is quite an old organisation based in the UK. I have always described it as “old school.” To become a coach with the LTA you must complete the first 3 levels of the 5 level coaching qualification awards. These qualifications take a long time to do. The first level is 3 days long separated over a month costing about £200; this level has to be done on a course hosted by an external company. Level 1 allows you to assist in a coaching lesson within the Mini tennis system. If this seems too basic it’s probably because it is. During the level 1 course you learn about mainly how to hold your own with children on a tennis course. This is vital information to an aspiring coach but not worth £200. Level 2 still must be done with an external company, this looks more on technique and being able to develop the ability of a player. There is however not a lot on how to spot the mistakes that they have made. But once again this is all very important information; your pupils are always going to be looking to you for answers. This course cost about £380 lasting 5 days over 2.5-3 months. Ok so now you have spent nearly £600 and unfortunately you are still not a coach and you are not trusted to coach in a club without a fully licensed coach and you are still at junior coaching level. Level 3 extremely important course looks at the science behind tennis, why things react in different ways and teaches you how to develop your players so that they can become talented. It also goes through the business side of being a tennis coach which is very useful. Level 3 is 19 days over a course of 5-6 months costing £550 and is hosted by the LTA themselves. So depending on the course dates you could become a fully licensed LTA coach within a year and it will cost you about £1030. Perfect a grand down and nearly a month of the year without pay.

PTR is a relatively new organisation compared to the LTA, set up in 1976 it is based in Hilton Head Island, USA. The difference with PTR is that in order to become a licensed coach you must complete the first level at minimum grade. The course is 5 days long over the course of 5 days and costs around £600. The course consists of 5 modules each must be passed at minimum level or result in immediate failure. The course is very intense and is around 50 – 60 hours on court. There are play tests, written exams, error detection tests, drills tests and lesson tests. I found that during this course I learnt everything I needed to know in order to pass the final exams; however when I went to teach in the real world found that everything was very different to what I had been taught in those 5 days. The grades that you can pass the course are Associate Instructor, Instructor and Professional. In order to be award a pass you must complete all modules to the minimum grade and you lowest score is taken as your final qualification. For example if you get four Professional grades and one instructor grade you will finish with an instructor grade, harsh I know but it does mean you push yourself. PTR also do a second course, PTR 2 funnily enough. PTR 2 is a chance to really build on your skills from the previous course and from what you have learnt whilst teaching in the real world. PTR 2 is about £300 and is 3 days long.

So there you go a small insight into each of these organisations. So which should you chose? Certainly the fastest and cheapest way to become a licensed coach is through PTR however the PTR course although a widely excepted governing body is seen as a lower qualification than the LTA and many regard the PTR method as “a licence that has not been earned.“ However I took PTR before the LTA qualifications and found that within 6 months of full time work that I had “earned” my qualification and that still less time than it takes to complete the LTA course. PTR doesn’t have any annual licence requirement meaning that you don’t have to keep on training to hold on to your licence. This can be viewed in two way, either good because you don’t have to go on any boring courses every year or bad because you are no longer up to scratch with the latest techniques. The LTA requires you to do at least 15 hours of training a year in order to renew your annual licence. Plus being the main governing body in the UK you are much more likely to pick up work with and LTA qualification.

So what should you do? If you are 18 or younger and looking for some summer work in between school or something part time at University. Then go with the PTR course as a quick fix qualification. With the basic qualification you can earn up to £15ph, not bad for a student. If you wish to pursue tennis coaching as a career then go with the LTA, you are much more likely to end up with a half decent position and the workshop dates tend to be at non working times beside any club will understand if you have to go away on a course as it is necessary to your qualification. Yes the LTA system costs a lot more and takes far longer, but if you think about it should your education be cheap and rushed!

News: Murray battles in Brisbane

2012-01-04T06:48:00.000-08:00

Andy Murray battled back against Gilles Muller to progress to the quarter finals where he will face Marcos Baghdatis.
Muller won the first set as the pair traded serves only to break Murray in the final game. The pair went on to battle all the way into a second set tie-break, which Murray won in convincing fashion. From there one Murray took control and the match ended 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-0 to Murray. The didn't seem to be any signs of the back problems Murray experienced in the first round and certainly his game picked up during the 3rd set.

Review: Adidas: Barricade 7.0 vs Barricade 6.0

2012-01-04T06:14:00.000-08:00

Adidas have released the brand new Barricade 7s, just in time for the new season. They are expected to be on the feet of some of the world top players including world number 4 Andy Murray. As usual these are the best shoes around and they are second to none for grip, comfort, stability and durability. The new Barricades are excellent they seem to adapt well and react well to all surfaces. There is not a single element of them slipping on your feet as you move around the court. Once you have worn for a week and moulded them past the discomfort of wearing new shoes they are extremely comfortable. But this is what we were talking about last year when the Barricade 6s were released, so what has changed.....?

In short nothing!

This is one of the things that really winds me up in the world of tennis. Every season all the big brands bring out their years must have products, but 90% of the time nothing about them has changed since last season and if it has changed its normally the colour or design. I can’t believe people are still falling into this trap and if you want my advice have a look at both this season and last season’s products and work out whether the difference in price can be justified.

Back to Adidas, once again they have produced an almost identical shoe to last season in boasts exactly the same features and characteristics as before. I went on to a number of popular tennis sites and looked at both the product descriptions for this seasons Barricades and last. To be completely honest with you it looked like the vast majority of this seasons description was copy and pasted from last. So unless you are buying the new Barricades because you what to look exactly like the top players, then save your money and get last seasons, there is no difference in the performance and in my opinion they are a lot more aesthetically pleasing.

Adidas Barricade 7.0 £94.99

Adidas Barricade 6.0 £76.49

Available from pwp.com

Article: 2012 & Australian Open Preview

2012-01-04T04:14:00.000-08:00

Once again it’s that time of year. New Years has come and gone and the Christmas decorations are starting to make their way back into the boxes, and what does all this mean, must be time for the Australian open. In a sense we like to think that the Ausie open sets the scene for the rest of the tennis year. But it’s just the same as any other Grand Slam and, as we have seen before, the tennis calendar can deliver many surprises....

So how is this Australian Open going to shape up? We are graced, as always with the appearance of the top four, Djokovick, Nadal, Federer and Murray. Along with many others considered to be the second division of tennis. However as we have seen before it can be the second division players delivering the final blow.

If we look back on the last major tournament we are taken to the ATP world tour finals in London, UK. Wow what a tournament that was, we had injuries, upsets and a very worthy champion. Federer for a record 6^th time came out on top, but it was the group stages that caught the world’s attention. Murray withdrew due to injury after defeat from Ferrer, Nadal was toppled by the hugely powerful Tsonga and Djokovick suffered twice as he was beaten by Ferrer and Berdych. So we got to the semi-finals with only one of the top four (division 1) remaining, what a year.

So 2012 what can we expect is it going to be the year of one man, much like 2011 was or is it going to be the year of some one new, (Andy Murray... not likely). Or is it going to be once again one of those years where we simple just don’t know.

In a way I do hope that this divide between the top ten is broken this year, it would be brilliant to know that one of 10 players could win going into a single tournament rather than the usual four. So who is your money on?

Federer is the last winner of a major tournament, winning in London in November. But has he still got the game to complete with the younger generation of tennis player? Is he fit enough? Is he strong enough? Of course he is, he’s the greatest tennis player ever to walk this earth and has a very good chance, as always, of winning this year.

Djokovick had an outstanding year in 2011, reaching world number one and wining 10 singles titles, including 3 Grand Slams. Djokovick also has a very good track record at the Australian open having won it twice in recent years.

Nadal, the quickest man in tennis, specialises in clay courts but has become over the years one of the greatest all round players and is widely seen as the greatest competitor in tennis history. But it is the Australian open that Nadal has struggled with over all the other Grand Slams with only one win and no runner-ups. Can Nadal win again? Who knows this is tennis.

Murray, the plucky brit. British when he is winning, Scottish when he is losing. Is this his chance? He has never won a Grand Slam before and this has been the talk over the player for many years. The Australian Open has been a strange tournament for Murray over the years with some terrible results up until two years ago where he reach the finals in both 2010 and 2011. It seems that at the start of each year he has this huge hype put over him and never seems to come through. Although Murray is closer to a Grand Slam than ever before and surely something has to give some time.

Finally, the one man really banging at the door of the top four, one of the most exciting players in recent history, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga. He made the world tour finals a few months ago, he shocked the world in the 2008 Australian Open beating Murray in the first round and making it all the way to the final only to lose in a tough final to Djokovick. Tsonga is very unpredictable and if he is having a good day then he is incredibly difficult to stop.

So in summery who is going to win the Australian Open? I don’t know, my guess is as good as your, but what I can say is that I am very happy that it is not just the top four in the running any more. The game seems to be opening up.

News: Worries for Serena as she falls heavily in the Brisbane Open

2012-01-04T02:45:00.000-08:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/16408338.stm

A heavy fall nearly cost Serena her second round match. The American fell heavily onto her ankle during a long rally with Serbia's Bojana Jovanovski. Brave Williams managed to recover enough to close out the match but later confirmed she would not be playing Daniela Hantuchova on Thursday.

News: Britain name their Federation Cup team

2012-01-03T23:14:00.000-08:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/16391408.stm

Heather Watson, Laura Robson, Elena and Anne Keothavong have all be selected to play for the GB Fed Cup team. Judy Murray will finally get the chance to captain the team after she what given the position last month. The GB team play in the Europe/Africa Zone Group One event with 15 other teams, a finish in the top two with send them to the World Group II play-offs in April. The team our also joined by world number 317 Tara Moore as a travelling reserve.

News: Murray get 2012 off to a good start

2012-01-03T23:03:00.000-08:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/16391778.stm

A good day for Britain's number one as he starts 2012 with a win. Andy Murray, who started the match with some concerns over his fitness, came back from one set down to beat Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin 5-7 6-3 6-2. Kukushkin who is said to be playing very well at the moment managed to break the Scot's serve three time but failed to covert this into a win.