RF Tennis News 2017

qrhuei wrote:Hello guys...

Roger at practice today with Raphael Baltensperger (via baltibalti IG) #hey pic.twitter.com/xEQxCKmBm3

— Lisa (BEL19VED) (@lisawawrinka) September 28, 2017

Andy Murray back in practice as he eyes exhibition comeback match
against Roger Federer



Andy Murray tried and failed to make a comeback at the US Open Credit: Getty Images


By Simon Briggs,  Tennis Correspondent
The Telegraph
12 October 2017 • 10:30pm  


Andy Murray is back hitting balls again at the All England Club, sources have confirmed, after a four-week period of rest and rehabilitation in the wake of his failed attempt to participate in the US Open.

The practices are not understood to be too intense at the moment, but there is a date in mind: Nov 7, when Murray is due to face Roger Federer in an exhibition match – Andy Murray Live – at Glasgow’s SSE Hyrdo.

Normally, such an unofficial showcase would be a bit of a hit-and-giggle, with both players trying to set each other up for eye-catching shots. Yet this is likely to be different - a telling moment for Murray, who has not played on the ATP tour since he broke down physically in his Wimbledon quarter-final against Sam Querrey.

In all probability, he will approach the exhibition with intensity. That way, he can use Andy Murray Live as a barometer of where his body is, ahead of his planned comeback at Brisbane in the first week of the New Year.

It is not so much his performance that will concern him, more the way he recovers from the exertion. Backing your performances up, day after day, is the usually the hardest thing for any ageing tennis player to do – although Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal appear to be bucking that long-established rule.


Read more about Murray's recovery here: telegraph.co.uk

FEDERER REIGNS IN SHANGHAI


October 15th, 2017
Shanghai Rolex Masters




When Roger Federer won his first Shanghai Rolex Masters title in 2014 he was the oldest champion to lift the trophy at this prestigious event. On Sunday, Federer kept that oldest distinction, but just changed the age on that record to 36-years-old after beating world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in a confident 6-4, 6-3 win under the roof on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

The second-seeded Federer, who never faced a break point in the 72-minute match, was on fire from the moment he stepped out on court, and never allowed Nadal to get his footing in the match.





“I don’t know what my expectations were going in,” Federer said. “I thought I might struggle early on because it was a late finish last night.

“I had no nerves before the match, surprisingly. I think I was pretty clear about how I wanted to play the match. I started off very well and relaxed from then on.”

Federer has now won 94 career titles and is tied with Ivan Lendl in second place for titles won in the Open Era.

These two frequent rivals have a very long and storied history. They’ve now played on 38 occasions with Nadal still leading their encounters 23-15. That said, it’s been Federer doing the winning all four times they’ve played this season.

Federer’s won their last five meetings dating back to the 2015 Basel, Switzerland tournament, which marks the first time that the Swiss has beaten Nadal five-straight matches. Nadal’s actually achieved five consecutive wins over Federer three different times in his career.

Sunday’s victory ended Nadal’s 16-match winning streak, which included his win at the China Open last week.

Overall, Federer broke Nadal’s serve three times in the match – in the first game, the fifth game of the second set and the last game, to send Nadal home without the Shanghai title. This marks the second time in Nadal’s career he’s featured in the Shanghai Rolex Masters final – the other time was in the inaugural 2009 event – when he also failed to grab the winner’s trophy.

“Have been a very difficult match for me,” Nadal said. “He played very fast and he played well.

“Of course was not the best match for me of the week. When somebody plays better than you, sport is not very difficult. That’s the real thing, no? When you play against somebody that is better than you in most of the things that really matters in this sport, in this kind of surface, then it’s tougher.”






Nadal had under his right knee wrapped during the match, but didn’t want to comment about whether he was injured following the match.

Sunday was the second consecutive year that top seeds Henri Kontinen of Finland and John Peers of Australia played for the Shanghai Rolex Masters doubles title.

This time around they hoisted the winner’s trophy with a 6-4, 6-2 win over second seeds Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Marcelo Melo of Brazil.

The Kontinen and Peers duo, who won last week’s China Open title as well, were on the wrong side of the final decision last year when they lost out to Americans John Isner and Jack Sock.

“Winning matches one by one and then, obviously, in the end winning the title, that’s great, to do it back to back, last week in Beijing and then here,” Kontinen said. “Losing the final last year and now getting it, yeah, that’s the most pleasing part for me.”

This was the fourth time these two teams have played and Kontinen and Peers now hold a 3-1 winning edge. All four of their matches took place this season.

If there’s one thing that is a given, it’s that each year the Shanghai Rolex Masters attracts a vibrant crowd. The stadium was filled to capacity on Sunday as history was made at Qi Zhong stadium.

This year marked the first time that the top two seeds in the singles and doubles draw squared off in the final.

For now, all the tennis at the Shanghai Rolex Masters has been played for 2017. So it’s time to say, until next year Shanghai, and thanks — xiexie — for a great week of tennis.

How Roger Federer Can End 2017 as the World #1

By Jed Jones -  lastwordonTennis.com
October 16, 2017




Roger Federer is playing some of the best tennis of his entire career at the age of 36. What is even more remarkable is the way he destroyed world #1 Rafael Nadal in the Shanghai Masters final. The Swiss great has always performed impeccably at this stage of the season, so could he finish the year as the world’s best?


The Numbers

The demolition job that was the Shanghai final has certainly kept Federer’s hopes alive of ending a season as #1 for the sixth time in his career. The gap between Nadal and Federer in the 2017 rankings is 1,960 points – which is definitely possible to catch, given the tennis that Federer has played all year. There are still some big events left in the calendar and the Swiss will be hoping to replicate his recent performances to give himself the best chance of overtaking Nadal.

3,000 points are still to play for in both of these players’ schedules; therefore, a lot can happen. The battle still remains in the US Open champion’s hands, but as we saw in Shanghai, Federer has the ability to wrestle control off of the Spaniard. However, Nadal still remains in a healthy position and if he reaches the final of his last three events he will finish the season on top – regardless of if Federer defeats him in all three finals.


Last Few Events
 
The two tennis legends are playing the same three tournaments to end their outstanding seasons. They will be playing in Basel, Paris, and at the Nitto ATP Finals, where they qualified way before anyone else. Federer is a seven-time champion in Basel and a six-time champion at the ATP Finals although he has one solitary title in Paris. His numbers read very differently than Nadal’s; the Spaniard has never won in any of these three events, so the stars seem to be aligning for the Swiss. To add to this, Federer has won an astonishing twenty-two indoor titles, compared to just two from his rival.

Federer has played down his intentions of regaining the top spot as he said, “I’ll figure out my schedule regardless of #1 or not. When I’m prepared and ready, good things happen”.  Of course the Swiss star wants to prioritise his health, especially after being on the sidelines for six months in 2016, but can he resist the temptation of ending the year as #1 for the first time since 2009? We are almost certain that we will see Federer in Basel; it is his home tournament after all, and he has enjoyed so much success there. The big question mark is Paris. If Federer manages to win in Basel then surely he will want to play in Bercy to gain some more ground on Nadal. We will just have to wait and see.


Will Nadal Play in Basel?

An additional boost to the the Wimbledon champion’s campaign is that we actually do not know if Nadal will even attend the ATP 500 event in Basel. After the Shanghai final Nadal explained, “I don’t know about Basel. I need to think about it. I cannot tell you now”. For the first time in a long time we saw strapping over the fragile knees of the Spaniard. Before the final he was on a 16-match winning streak on hard courts and maybe this surface is beginning to take its toll. The World #1 needs to decide whether to play Basel and gain even more points, or take time off and end the year fully fit.


Federer Has Turned This Rivalry Around

One of the main shocks of the year is how Federer has somehow got the better of his nemesis, Rafael Nadal. It is not just the results that are surprising but it is the manner in which the Swiss is dismissing his great rival. Federer has now won his last five meetings with the Spaniard and has not lost to him since 2014–nearly four years ago. In fact, the last time the Swiss was broken by Nadal was in the fifth set of the Australian Open final. Federer has won his last seven sets against Nadal, which beats his previous best streak against him of three.

The sudden change in their rivalry was on display in the Shanghai final where Federer absolutely destroyed Nadal to end the Spaniard’s 16-match winning streak. Federer will be a firm favorite if the pair are to meet again this year. They could be contesting a final or two in the next few weeks and if Federer can replicate his recent performance against Nadal, then he may give himself a shot of claiming the year end #1 ranking. Of course, if Nadal is to make three finals then it is impossible, but given the way he has historically performed at this stage of the season, this seems unlikely.


Can He Do It?

The power remains in Rafael Nadal’s hands but one early exit could open the doors for Federer. The Swiss is now a heavy favorite in each of the remaining three tournaments of the year and there is no doubt he will be eager to put himself in a good position. Essentially, the Wimbledon champion will have to win all three tournaments, but who can stop him at the moment? He has got the better of Nadal so many times at this stage of the season. Six of their seven post-US Open matches have gone to Federer, and this statistic is often overlooked. The next few weeks will be dramatic as Roger Federer will attempt to make become the second man ever (after Pete Sampras) to finish a season #1 six times.

StrongerThanAll wrote:but if he needs to skip Paris to rest for WTF he should do it.