Professional Tennis
At its recent meetings in New York, the ATP Board of Directors approved a rule change and a trial for the 2013 season, both proposed by the new ATP Competition Committee. From 2013, on both the ATP World Tour and ATP Challenger Tour, a time violation between points (25 seconds) will be penalized in the first…
The USTA and U.S. Davis Cup Captain Jim Courier have announced that Jacksonville, Fla. has been selected as the site for the 2013 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas first-round match between the United States and Brazil, set for Feb. 1-3 at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, which will have an expected capacity of approximately 13,000. The event is being organized,…
Venus Williams returned to action in the first round of the 2012 BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open, defeating Belinda Bencic, 6-3, 6-1 in just over an hour, Venus’ first match since the 2012 U.S. Open. Venus was broken once, but apart from that was barely challenged on her serve, maybe a sign the back issues that…
World number one-ranked Victoria Azarenka won her second WTA title in as many weeks at the Generali Ladies Linz, not dropping a set the entire way, defeating the fifth-seeded Julia Goerges 6-3, 6-4. Azarenka is now 13-0 since the U.S. Open where she fell to American Serena Williams in the finals, and is 26-0 in sets, collecting her…
Novak Djokovic saved five match points as he edged two-time defending Shanghai Rolex Masters champion Andy Murray 5-7, 7-6(11), 6-3 in three-plus hours. Since losing to Murray in the 2012 U.S. Open final, Djokovic has compiled a perfect 10-0 record, winning back-to-back titles at the China Open in Beijing and now in Shanghai. Djokovic has an ATP…
Belgian qualifier Kirsten Flipkens won 11 of 12 games from 3-1 down in the first set to score the biggest upset of the Generali Ladies Linz event in Germany, upsetting the second-seeded Ana Ivanovic, 6-4, 6-0. Flipkens now has four career top 20 wins, one in 2010 over Aravane Rezai at Luxembourg, and three in 2012 (Sam…
The USTA has announced that 2012 Olympic Men’s Doubles Gold Medal winners and 12-time Grand Slam doubles champions Bob & Mike Bryan will play a unique exhibition to help kick off the USTA Australian Open Wild Card Playoffs, held Dec.14-16 at Life Time Athletic & Tennis at Peachtree Corners in Norcross, Ga. Five select doubles teams…
Top-seeded Roger Federer will face the number three-seeded and two-time defending champion Andy Murray in the semifinals of the 2012 Shanghai Rolex Masters. Murray leads 9-8 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. Federer hit 27 winners and eight aces past 10th-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia in his quarterfinal match for a 6-3, 6-4 victory in 82…
Victoria Azarenka defeated Arantxa Rus in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2, in her opening round match at the 2012 Generali Ladies Linz event in Germany. Azarenka won the first eight games of the match, defeating Rus in a little over an hour and claiming her WTA-leading 63rd match win of the year. "Linz has been an incredible tournament…
World number three-ranked Andy Murray, seeking his third consecutive Shanghai Rolex Masters title, defeated Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-2, 6-2 in the third round of the event to advance to the quarterfinals. Murray advanced to the semifinals of the recent the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships and improved to a 51-12 match record on the season. Murray had a bye…