Hometown Hero: Kei Nishikori Wins in Tokyo

2012-10-09T04:03:55Z

With his three set triumph over Canadian, Milos Raonic, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-0 to win the Japan Open in Tokyo, twenty-two year old, Kei Nishikori, further elevated his star status in Japan. Nishikori became the first Japanese player to win the title in the forty-one year

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At the age of fourteen, Kei left Japan as part of a team of promising juniors sponsored by the CEO of Sony to train at the IMG Bollettieri Academy in Florida. His success on Tour has made him a huge star in Japan and very wealthy before he even cracked the top twenty in the ATP rankings. Nishikori has battled injuries since he joined the Tour including an elbow injury which sidelined him for many months a couple years ago. Nishikori has a powerful forehand, moves well and has the talent to be a top ten player, but he will not only need to be consistent, but also stay healthy if he wants to fully realize his potential. Nishikori, who reached the quarters at the 2012 Australian Open, will also face even higher expectations from the tennis fans in Japan who are eager for a superstar.

Tennis Country's 2012 Third Quarter Highlights - Men

2012-10-06T05:11:12Z

Tennis Country’s snapshot of the memorable moments on the men’s pro tennis tour during the Third Quarter…

•   Greatest Accomplishment:
o   Andy Murray (finally) coming through to win two “majors”, i.e. a Gold Medal on the grass courts at Wimbledon in 2012 London Olympics and the singles title at the 2012 U.S. Open

•   Biggest Disappointment:
o   Rafael Nadal withdrawing from the Olympics and U.S. Open because of a knee injury

•   Major Surprise:
o   Andy Roddick announcing in the middle of the 2012 U.S. Open that it would be his last tournament before he retired

•   Fresh New Face:
o   Twenty-three-year old, left-hander, Martin Klizan, the 2006 French Open Junior Boys’ champion from the Slovak Republic stunned Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the U.S. Open and went on to reach the round of 16. He subsequently won his first title in Russia and reached a career-high ranking of 33rd.

Tennis Country's 2012 Third Quarter Highlights - Women

2012-10-01T21:43:49Z

Tennis Country’s snapshot of the memorable moments on the women’s pro tennis tour during the Third Quarter…

•   Greatest Accomplishment:
o   Serena Williams winning Wimbledon, a Gold Medal in singles and doubles with sister, Venus Williams, as well as the 2012 U.S. Open title

•   Biggest Disappointment:
o   2011 French Open champion, Li Na, 2011 Wimbledon champion, Petra Kvitova, and 2011 U.S. Open champion, Samantha Stosur, did not reach a Grand Slam final in 2012

•   Major Surprise:
o   Kim Clijsters losing early in singles, doubles AND mixed doubles (with partner Bob Bryan) in her final U.S. Open/tournament before retiring for the last time

•   Fresh New Face:
o   British hope, left-handed eighteen-year-old, Laura Robson, a former Wimbledon Junior Girls’ Champion won the Silver Medal in Mixed Doubles at the 2012 London Olympics with Andy Murray, upset Kim Clijsters and Li Na at the U.S. Open reaching the round of 16 and then reached her first final in Asia

Where is the Swiss Tennis Boom?

2012-09-27T03:51:55Z

Switzerland has had two players ranked Number One in the past couple decades, i.e. Martina Hingis and Roger Federer, but yet their success does not appear to have sparked a tennis boom in their country. There is only one woman, i.e. Romina Oprandi, ranked in the

]]> American men and women in the top ten and the fears about the lack of an American superstar on the horizon, one has to look at Switzerland and wonder where is their tennis “gold rush”?

When Bjorn Borg became a tennis superstar, interest in tennis seemed to rise in Sweden leading to a series of top players in his wake, e.g. Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander, as well as many talented Swedes ranked lower. The success of Novak Djokovic, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic seems to be raising the profile of tennis in Serbia and time will tell how many future tennis stars emerge from there. Clearly, the presence of a tennis superstar garnering lots of press coverage increases interest in tennis in a country. However, there still needs to be the tennis federation infrastructure and support to nurture promising players. At the same time, most of the top players in various countries have followed their own paths to greatness rather than emerging from “the system”. Nonetheless, a strong tennis federation can launch the careers of many promising top 20 and top 50 players as has been seen in Spain, France, Germany, Argentina, etc., and which is what other countries are trying to develop.

Tennis Players Are Wealthiest Athletes in Many Countries

2012-09-24T17:24:33Z

A recent article in ESPN magazine which listed the top-earning athletes by country illustrated yet again that tennis pros earn a lot of money. For example, as the following highlights from the list reflect, tennis pros are also often the top-earning athletes in their
]]> respective countries, especially the top female pros since women’s professional tennis is the most lucrative global sport for women. The figures below from the ESPN magazine article include prize money earned in 2011, but do not reflect off-court earnings from endorsements, appearance fees and exhibitions.

Australia:         Samantha Stosur       $3,476,153
Belarus:           Victoria Azarenka       $3,771,032
Belgium:          Kim Clijsters                  $2,325,741
China:              Li Na                             $3,709,139
Cyprus:            Marcos Baghdatis           $603,356
Denmark:        Caroline Wozniacki          $4,065,581
France:            Marion Bartoli                 $1,757,863
Germany:        Andrea Petkovic              $1,652,271
India:    Sania Mirza                    $548,834
Israel:             Shahar Peer                   $475,249
Italy:               Francesca Schiavone       $1,782,351
Kazakhstan:    Yaroslava Shvedova        $512,475
Pakistan:        Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi    $434,430
Poland:           Agnieszka Radwanska    $2,456,568
Russia:          Maria Sharapova   $2,899,148
Serbia:            Novak Djokovic               $12,619,803
Serbia:            Jelena Jankovic               $1,078,418
Slovakia:        Daniela Hantuchova        $809,682
Slovenia:        Katarina Srebotnik           $842,365
Switzerland: Roger Federer       $6,369,576
Ukraine:          Elena Vesnina                 $718,980

Maria Sharapova Launches Sugarpova Line of Candy

2012-09-17T19:21:11Z

Maria Sharapova, the highest-paid female athlete in the world, will now be known by another name… Sugarpova! Maria recently launched her new line of candy, i.e. Sugarpova. The line, which was designed and launched with the help of Jeff Rubin, who also helped

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Roger Federer has endorsed Lindt Swiss chocolates for years with some rather amusing TV ads and Serena Williams and Venus Williams had a deal with Oreos cookies a couple years ago, but it seems that Sugarpova is the first candy line launched by a pro tennis player. The Sugarpova line was launched at Henri Bendel in New York City just prior to the start of the 2012 U.S. Open and will be featured by specialty retailer, IT’SUGAR, as well as in minibars at certain luxury hotels. Sounds like Sugarpova will be a “sweet find”…

2012 Davis Cup Semis Preview

2012-09-14T08:05:59Z

Barely four days after the men’s final at the 2012 U.S. Open, the semifinals of the 2012 Davis Cup are being played. On outdoor clay courts in Gijon, Spain, David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro take on Americans, John Isner, Sam Querrey and the Bryan Brothers. Spain

]]> Argentina, Juan Martin del Potro and Juan Monaco host the Czech team led by Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek. The Czech team leads the rivalry with Argentina 3-1 overall and 2-1 on clay courts, but the teams have not played since 2009 indoors on carpet, which was won by the Czech Republic.

In a World Group playoff Tie in the Netherlands to determine which team advances to the World Group in 2013, Roger Federer is playing for Switzerland along with teammate, Stan Wawrinka… outdoors on red clay! Federer has never won the Davis Cup for Switzerland. Many other players are competing in the World Group Playoffs including Milos Raonic for Canada, Kei Nishikori for Japan, as well as Bernard Tomic and Lleyton Hewitt for Australia. It is really impressive how all of these players switch surfaces so quickly because clay and hard stress their bodies in different ways and there is a higher risk of injuries from so many surface changes with so little rest/prep time between tournaments.

Predictions: Spain will defeat the United States and Argentina will beat the Czech Republic. Switzerland will advance to the World Group in 2013.

Tennis Country's Top Ten Memories from the 2012 U.S. Open

2012-09-14T01:28:37Z

What will stay with us from the 2012 U.S. Open…

•   Laura Robson beating Kim Clijsters in Kim’s final singles match
•   The fight and fitness of former U.S. Open champion, Lleyton Hewitt, to come back and win in five sets
•   Andy Roddick announcing he was retiring and then going out and playing to win
•   All the bright-colored tennis outfits brightening a sometimes rainy U.S. Open
•   Tomas Berdych powering his way past Roger Federer to reach the semis
•   The Bryan Brothers, Bob and Mike, setting a Grand Slam record with their twelfth doubles title edging out the Woodies, i.e. Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge, who have 11 Slam titles together
•   Serena Williams recovering to win the last four games in the final to defeat Victoria Azarenka and win the singles title
•   Andy Murray overcoming a fatigued Novak Djokovic, and challenging windy conditions to win his first Grand Slam title
•   The men’s final on a Monday night because of rain… again…
•   The dearth of Americans in the later stages of the U.S. Open tennis tournament

RECAP: Tennis Country 2012 U.S. Open Predictions

2012-09-12T18:37:15Z

As 2012 U.S. Open fades into the sunset, we review our prognostications for the tournament just finished…

• Rain will interrupt play… several times…

o Unfortunately rain caused the men’s final to be postponed until Monday for the fifth straight year

• Four seeds will lose on the first day

o Three seeds lost in the women’s singles on the first day, i.e. Sabine Lisicki, Julia Goerges, Anabel Medina Garrigues

• A qualifier will reach the round of 16

o Olga Puchkova of Russia reached the third round and Grega Zemlja of Slovenia also reached the third round

• Venus Williams’ first dress will attract a LOT of attention

o It was not the most memorable year for Venus Williams’ tennis outfits…

• Three American men and three American women will reach the round of sixteen

o Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick reached the fourth round and Serena Williams was the only American woman to reach the fourth round

• Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova will reach the second week, but not win the title

o Maria and Serena both reached the later round and Serena won the title

• There will be two lefties in the round of sixteen

o Angelique Kerber and Laura Robson reached the fourth round, as did lefty, Martin Klizan

• Only half the top eight seeds will reach the quarters

o Seven of the top eight men’s seeds reached the quarters, but only four of the top eight women’s seeds reached the last eight

• Either Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic will reach the final, but not both

o Novak Djokovic reached the final losing to Andy Murray in five sets

• Both the men’s and women’s finals will have a first-time U.S. Open finalist

o Victoria Azarenka was a first-time finalist, but both Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic have been in the U.S. Open final in the past

We can definitely play better… and we are already looking forward to the 2013 Australian Open!

2012 U.S. Open Tennis Trophy Count

2012-09-11T21:19:12Z

We salute the champions of the 2012 U.S. Open tennis tournament…

For the fifth straight year, the U.S. Open ended late on a Monday evening and again history was made. Andy Murray won his first Grand Slam title at his favorite Slam and became the first British man to win a Grand Slam title since Fred Perry in 1936 when he defeated Novak Djokovic 7-6 (10), 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 to win the Men’s Singles title. A day earlier, Serena Williams won her fourth U.S. Open and fifteenth Grand Slam singles title when she defeated Victoria Azarenka, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 to win the Women’s Singles title. In Men’s Doubles, Bob and Mike Bryan made history by beating Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-4 to win their fourth U.S. Open title and record-setting twelfth Grand Slam doubles title, the most in the Open era. It was their first Grand Slam title of the year. In Women’s Doubles, the French Open champions, Italians, Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, defeated Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, of the Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-2, who had beaten them in three of four previous matches this year. In Mixed Doubles, the random, last-minute duo of Russian, Ekaterina Makarova, and Brazilian, Bruno Soares, defeated Kveta Peschke and Marcin Matkowski 6-7 (8), 6-1, 12-10 tiebreak, surviving a championship point, to win the title. On the road to the title, Makarova and Soares defeated the second-seeded team of Lisa Raymond and Mike Bryan, as well as Bob Bryan and Kim Clijsters. Canadian, Filip Peliwo, reached the final of all four Junior Grand Slams, winning the Wimbledon title and now he has also won the U.S. Open Junior Boys title over Brit, Liam Broady, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5. It was the first time since 1984 that a junior boy had reached all four Slam finals. In the Junior Girls, seventeen year old six foot two inch American wildcard, Samantha Crawford, defeated Estonian, Anett Kontaveit, 7-5, 6-3 to claim the title. Crawford also qualified for the singles main draw losing to rising British teenager and former Wimbledon Junior Girls’ winner, Laura Robson, in the first round.

Six different countries are represented in the list of champions below...

THE CHAMPIONS
Ladies’ Singles – Serena Williams (United States)
Gentlemen’s Singles – Andy Murray (Great Britain)
Ladies’ Doubles – Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci (Italy)
Gentlemen’s Doubles - Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (United States)
Mixed Doubles – Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) and Bruno Soares (Brazil)
Junior Boys’ – Filip Peliwo (Canada)
Junior Girls’ – Samantha Crawford (United States)

Andy Murray Wins First Grand Slam Title at the 2012 U.S. Open

2012-09-11T04:03:15Z

Andy Murray has always said that the U.S. Open in New York City was his favorite Grand Slam and so it seems only fitting that he should win his first Grand Slam singles title in New York at the 2012 U.S. Open. After four hours and fifty-four minutes (tied for the longest

]]> Novak Djokovic 7-6 (10), 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2. With the title, Murray also made history as the first British man to win a Grand Slam since Fred Perry won the U.S. Championships in 1936. It has been a remarkable summer run for Murray from reaching the Wimbledon final where he lost to Roger Federer, to then defeating Federer a month later on Centre Court at Wimbledon to win the Gold Medal at the 2012 London Olympics to now… finally… winning a Grand Slam title.

The final had lots of ups and downs and the tennis ball swirled around the court in the high winds, which made precision tennis and strong serving near impossible at times. The serving stats tell part of the picture of this final, i.e. Djokovic only made 45% of his first serves in the fifth set, winning only 38% of those points compared to Murray’s 70% first serve percentage and 71% winning percentage. However, Boris Becker once said, “the fifth set is all about the mind” and this “battle” was as much, if not mostly, a mental fight of attrition and fitness for both players. In the end, Murray, who also handled the even windier conditions against Tomas Berdych in the semis better than Djokovic did against David Ferrer, seemed to handle the challenges in this final slightly better than Djokovic, who did not seem as mentally strong or physically fit as he was a year ago when he won the title.

Ivan Lendl, stoic in Murray’s player box to the end, will receive credit for helping Murray finally win a Slam. It’s tough to know exactly how much was a result of Lendl’s input versus Murray simply putting it together in a final. Nonetheless, it’s clear that Lendl’s belief in Murray seemed to help Murray “believe”, which was definitely critical to Murray’s summer success.

Given Murray’s Olympic Gold and U.S. Open title, he is now definitely a part of the “top four”, as well as also even “in the conversation” for the year-end Number One ranking, depending upon how everyone finishes the year this fall. What will be even more fascinating is to see where these major victories take Murray moving forward into 2013 and beyond since he’s still only twenty-five…

Serena Williams Comes Through To Win U.S. Open

2012-09-10T20:33:55Z

Serena Williams, with a little help from Victoria Azarenka, proved again why she is a Champion with a capital C. In the most exciting U.S. Open women's final in decades and first three set final since 1995, Serena Williams defeated top seed and current Number One

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The match was fascinating because it illustrated Serena's strength, as well as her weakness. Serena started the match strongly and dominated the first set, but Victoria hung in there and started to get more balls back and play better as the second set started. At the same time, Serena started to press and her footwork disappeared - she seemed to get tight. Azarenka played her way to a 5-3 lead in the third set and then she got tight while Serena started to make key first serves and stopped missing her groundstrokes. Serena won four straight games to clinch the title 7-5 in the third. Overall, Vika has 13 winners and 28 unforced errors while Serena had 44 winners and 45 unforced errors. However, in the end, you have to play your best tennis when it matters most to won major titles. Serena did that again and proved why she is a Champion.

Tennis Country Preview - 2012 U.S. Open Men's Singles Final

2012-09-09T23:26:15Z

On Monday afternoon in New York, second-seeded/ranked, Novak Djokovic, of Serbia will face Andy Murray of Scotland/Great Britain in the 2012 U.S. Open Men’s Final. Djokovic, who was born a week later than Murray twenty-five years ago, has an 8-6 career record

]]> Australian Open. Djokovic is hoping to defend his U.S. Open title from last year while Murray is playing in his fifth Grand Slam final and second U.S. Open final (he also reached the final back in 2008). Andy, who won the 2004 U.S. Open Junior Boys’ title, is playing for his first Grand Slam singles title and Djokovic is going for his sixth. A victory by Djokovic would most likely ensure he has the year-end Number One ranking having won two Grand Slam titles.

We present our analysis of the players below:

           Novak Djokovic                Andy Murray

Form               Only lost one set                Struggled at times

Fitness            Seems fit and fresh            Logged a few miles

Experience      Defending champion           Finalist in 2008

Pressure       Playing for #1 ranking        Trying to win 1st Slam

Intangible      Keeping emotions in check Needs a strong start

Prediction: Djokovic in four sets

Tennis Country Preview - 2012 U.S. Open Women's Singles Final

2012-09-08T05:03:50Z

On Saturday night under the lights in “Prime Time”, top seed and Number One ranked, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus will face fourth ranked/seeded, Serena Williams in the 2012 U.S. Open Women's Final. Victoria Azarenka started off the year by winning her first Grand

]]> Australian Open. This summer, Serena Williams captured another Wimbledon singles title, as well as a Gold Medal in singles at the 2012 London Olympics. Serena has won the U.S. Open three times, but her last title in New York was in 2008. Victoria is playing in her first U.S. Open singles final, but she won the Junior Girls' title in 2005. Serena leads their head-to-head series 9-1 including victories over Azarenka on grass at Wimbledon and the London Olympics this summer, as well as at the 2011 U.S. Open. The winner will definitely be considered the Number One player for 2012 regardless of the year-end rankings.

We present our analysis of the players below:

                             Victoria Azarenka          Serena Williams

Form                     Strong when it counts                Dominating

Fitness                  Long, tough semi                       Fit and rested

Experience            First U.S. Open final                   Three-time champion

Pressure               Thrilled to be in the final             Feels she should win

Intangible             Must start strongly                     Can she control her emotions

Prediction: Victoria Azarenka in straight sets

Tennis Country 2012 U.S. Open Tennis - Men's Semifinals Preview

2012-09-08T01:37:22Z

On Super Saturday at the 2012 U.S. Open, Olympic Gold Medalist, Andy Murray, will face Tomas Berdych in one semifinal while defending champion, Novak Djokovic, will play Spaniard, David Ferrer, in the other semi. Berdych is playing in his first U.S. Open semi and

]]> Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Spain.

Tomas Berdych has a 4-2 head-to-head record against Andy Murray and has won four of their last five matches including their only Grand Slam match in the quarters at the 2010 French Open. In the other semi, Novak Djokovic has an 8-5 head-to-head advantage over David Ferrer including a 7-2 advantage on hard courts. Djokovic won their three Grand Slam matches in straight sets at the Australian Open and U.S. Open including in Melbourne earlier this year.

Predictions: Tomas Berdych will play Novak Djokovic in the final