Leading the charge: Andy Murray's recent run of success has helped spark Britain's renewed interest in tennis. AFP-JIJIAndy Murray's U.S. Open victory, the country's first men's major since Fred Perry took time off from squiring Hollywood sirens Marlene Dietrich and Jean Harlow to triumph in New York in 1936, led the way.Then, on Sunday, Heather Watson clinched the Japan Open, the first British winner of a women's tour title since Sara Gomer at Aptos in 1988.Add Murray's London Olympic gold into the mix as well as 18-year-old Laura Robson making the Guangzhou final last month — the first such run by a British player since 1990 — then it's hardly surprising that tennis is enjoying a mini-boom.Figures released by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the game's ruling body in the country, show that almost 100,000 under-18s play at a LTA-registered club — an increase of 17 percent on last year."I know from speaking to Laura and Heather how passionate they are about getting more young girls into tennis," LTA chief executive Roger Draper told the Guardian."They play with a smile on their faces and that enjoyment also comes through in what they do off the court. When we want girls to see tennis as a fun, social sport, what better advert for that than them?"Social media also plays a role.Watson, a former U.S. Open junior champion, has over 35,000 followers on Twitter while Robson, the 2008 Wimbledon girls winner, teamed up with Canadian youngster Eugenie Bouchard to make a Gangnam Style parody video, even enlisting the help of Maria Sharapova along the way.Robson also enjoyed a fine run to the U.S. Open fourth round this year, sending former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters into retirement and defeating 2011 French Open winner Li Na.Now, both Watson and Robson are expected to be in the top 50 by the end of the year.Watson, born in Guernsey but based at the same Bollettieri academy in Florida which nurtured Sharapova, said her title in Osaka was the reward for years of sweat and toil."I've worked so hard for this moment my whole career — that's why I practiced so hard, ran all those miles and lifted all those weights, for moments like this," she said."Britain has been breaking quite a few records recently, so I'm happy I could break another one. I'm proud to do this for my country."Murray, the world No. 3, has long been Britain's standout performer, and 2012 has been a year to remember for the Scot.Murray insists there is a healthy future for the sport in Britain for both men and women players, pointing to Liam Broady's runnerup spot at the U.S. Open juniors, a tournament that the Scot won himself in 2004."It's in a very good place in the U.K. right now. I hope it stays that way," said Murray.
Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Britain basks in unprecedented tennis success
PARIS — Having waited 76 years for a men's Grand Slam champion and 24 years to celebrate a women's tour winner, Britain, once tennis' cash-heavy running joke, is suddenly a serious player.Leading the charge: Andy Murray's recent run of success has helped spark Britain's renewed interest in tennis. AFP-JIJIAndy Murray's U.S. Open victory, the country's first men's major since Fred Perry took time off from squiring Hollywood sirens Marlene Dietrich and Jean Harlow to triumph in New York in 1936, led the way.Then, on Sunday, Heather Watson clinched the Japan Open, the first British winner of a women's tour title since Sara Gomer at Aptos in 1988.Add Murray's London Olympic gold into the mix as well as 18-year-old Laura Robson making the Guangzhou final last month — the first such run by a British player since 1990 — then it's hardly surprising that tennis is enjoying a mini-boom.Figures released by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the game's ruling body in the country, show that almost 100,000 under-18s play at a LTA-registered club — an increase of 17 percent on last year."I know from speaking to Laura and Heather how passionate they are about getting more young girls into tennis," LTA chief executive Roger Draper told the Guardian."They play with a smile on their faces and that enjoyment also comes through in what they do off the court. When we want girls to see tennis as a fun, social sport, what better advert for that than them?"Social media also plays a role.Watson, a former U.S. Open junior champion, has over 35,000 followers on Twitter while Robson, the 2008 Wimbledon girls winner, teamed up with Canadian youngster Eugenie Bouchard to make a Gangnam Style parody video, even enlisting the help of Maria Sharapova along the way.Robson also enjoyed a fine run to the U.S. Open fourth round this year, sending former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters into retirement and defeating 2011 French Open winner Li Na.Now, both Watson and Robson are expected to be in the top 50 by the end of the year.Watson, born in Guernsey but based at the same Bollettieri academy in Florida which nurtured Sharapova, said her title in Osaka was the reward for years of sweat and toil."I've worked so hard for this moment my whole career — that's why I practiced so hard, ran all those miles and lifted all those weights, for moments like this," she said."Britain has been breaking quite a few records recently, so I'm happy I could break another one. I'm proud to do this for my country."Murray, the world No. 3, has long been Britain's standout performer, and 2012 has been a year to remember for the Scot.Murray insists there is a healthy future for the sport in Britain for both men and women players, pointing to Liam Broady's runnerup spot at the U.S. Open juniors, a tournament that the Scot won himself in 2004."It's in a very good place in the U.K. right now. I hope it stays that way," said Murray.
Leading the charge: Andy Murray's recent run of success has helped spark Britain's renewed interest in tennis. AFP-JIJIAndy Murray's U.S. Open victory, the country's first men's major since Fred Perry took time off from squiring Hollywood sirens Marlene Dietrich and Jean Harlow to triumph in New York in 1936, led the way.Then, on Sunday, Heather Watson clinched the Japan Open, the first British winner of a women's tour title since Sara Gomer at Aptos in 1988.Add Murray's London Olympic gold into the mix as well as 18-year-old Laura Robson making the Guangzhou final last month — the first such run by a British player since 1990 — then it's hardly surprising that tennis is enjoying a mini-boom.Figures released by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the game's ruling body in the country, show that almost 100,000 under-18s play at a LTA-registered club — an increase of 17 percent on last year."I know from speaking to Laura and Heather how passionate they are about getting more young girls into tennis," LTA chief executive Roger Draper told the Guardian."They play with a smile on their faces and that enjoyment also comes through in what they do off the court. When we want girls to see tennis as a fun, social sport, what better advert for that than them?"Social media also plays a role.Watson, a former U.S. Open junior champion, has over 35,000 followers on Twitter while Robson, the 2008 Wimbledon girls winner, teamed up with Canadian youngster Eugenie Bouchard to make a Gangnam Style parody video, even enlisting the help of Maria Sharapova along the way.Robson also enjoyed a fine run to the U.S. Open fourth round this year, sending former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters into retirement and defeating 2011 French Open winner Li Na.Now, both Watson and Robson are expected to be in the top 50 by the end of the year.Watson, born in Guernsey but based at the same Bollettieri academy in Florida which nurtured Sharapova, said her title in Osaka was the reward for years of sweat and toil."I've worked so hard for this moment my whole career — that's why I practiced so hard, ran all those miles and lifted all those weights, for moments like this," she said."Britain has been breaking quite a few records recently, so I'm happy I could break another one. I'm proud to do this for my country."Murray, the world No. 3, has long been Britain's standout performer, and 2012 has been a year to remember for the Scot.Murray insists there is a healthy future for the sport in Britain for both men and women players, pointing to Liam Broady's runnerup spot at the U.S. Open juniors, a tournament that the Scot won himself in 2004."It's in a very good place in the U.K. right now. I hope it stays that way," said Murray.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Hingis nominated for Tennis Hall
NEWPORT, Rhode Island — Five-time major champion Martina Hingis, 1991 Wimbledon winner Michael Stich and doubles star Helena Sukova are among the nominees for the International Tennis Hall of Fame.Hingis, the youngest woman to be ranked No. 1, retired for the second time in 2007, when she was given a two-year suspension for testing positive for cocaine at Wimbledon. Hingis denied taking the drug but did not appeal the ruling.Others nominees for the hall's class of 2013 announced on Thursday are Thelma Coyne Long, a Grand Slam champion in the 1930s to 1950s, and three nominees in the contributor category: ESPN broadcaster Cliff Drysdale, Charlie Pasarell and Ion Tiriac.Voting for the hall's class of 2013 will take place over the next several months. The induction ceremony is on July 13.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Yoshimura captures table tennis title
Eighteen-year-old Maharu Yoshimura beat Jun Mizutani on Sunday in a thrilling final on Sunday to win the men's singles title at the national table tennis championships.Yoshimura won 11-9, 11-6, 6-11, 6-11, 11-9, 5-11, 12-10 at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, denying Mizutani a sixth consecutive crown and becoming only the second player after his opponent to win the title while still in high school."I can't believe it," said Yoshimura, who won five straight points to clinch victory after trailing 10-7 in the final game."Mizutani-san is a quality player and I just wanted to play without any regrets," he saidHiroko Fujii and Misako Wakamiya won the women's doubles title for the third year in a row.Table tennis icon Ai Fukuhara finally won a national singles title by defeating 2011 champion Kasumi Ishikawa four games to one in the women's final on Saturday.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Djokovic's mastery top story of 2011 in tennis
LONDON — Novak Djokovic is about to find out what it takes to follow up on a nearly unbeatable season.
Gold standard: Novak Djokovic captured three of the four Grand Slam titles this season. APThe 24-year-old Serb won three of the four Grand Slams titles, lifted seven other trophies and wrested the No. 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal. His 70-6 record included a staggering 41-match winning streak to begin the season."It was incredible," Djokovic said. "I made so many wins in a row that I really didn't count any more. I was just trying to play one match at the time and trying to think how long the streak will go on, not when it will end."Djokovic eventually fell one short of matching John McEnroe's record of 42 straight wins to begin the 1985 season. Despite that, the American great said the tougher competition and greater athleticism in today's game made the Serb's feat "more impressive."The run also included four wins over Nadal, all in finals. Two of them came on the Spaniard's favorite clay surface.Djokovic, who won the Australian Open early in the season, finally lost in June when Roger Federer prevailed in the French Open semifinals. But the Serb quickly picked himself up and swept the Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles.In New York, Federer seemed certain to repeat his Roland Garros success. He held two match points on serve in the fifth set of their semifinal match, but Djokovic saved both — the first with a blistering forehand return winner that was one of the year's most memorable moments.It was also the perfect demonstration of the belief that Djokovic says was the key to his dramatic improvement in 2011 after a three-year gap since his first Grand Slam title in 2008."The truth is that this year, mentally I am more mature and a stronger player," he said. "I believe on the court more in my qualities, more that I can win against Federer and Nadal and all the top players."While Djokovic's confidence soared, Nadal's seemed to drain away a little more with each loss.Spain's Davis Cup win — its fifth since 2000 — at least provided a silver lining to a difficult season, but Nadal said dropping the team competition from his schedule in 2012 would be part of his mission to turn around his fortunes."My goal is always the same, be a better player in 2012 than I was in 2011," Nadal said.The 10-time Grand Slam champion went through a season without a major for the first time since 2002. The failure of women's No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki to capture one of the big four tournaments was another of the season's talking points.The 21-year-old Dane, whose boyfriend Rory McIlroy won his first golf major in 2011, finished the year as the top-ranked player thanks to six WTA Tour titles even though she didn't even reach a single Grand Slam final.Kim Clijsters won her fourth Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, while Li Na of China won her first at the French Open to become Asia's first major singles champion.For Serena Williams, a 13-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1, being on court at all was an achievement in itself after life-threatening blood clots on her lungs.She returned after nearly a year away in June with what she called a "new perspective on life," but the 30-year-old American showed she had lost none of her fierce competitive spirit when she clashed with the umpire during the U.S. Open final, calling her "a hater" and "unattractive inside."
Gold standard: Novak Djokovic captured three of the four Grand Slam titles this season. APThe 24-year-old Serb won three of the four Grand Slams titles, lifted seven other trophies and wrested the No. 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal. His 70-6 record included a staggering 41-match winning streak to begin the season."It was incredible," Djokovic said. "I made so many wins in a row that I really didn't count any more. I was just trying to play one match at the time and trying to think how long the streak will go on, not when it will end."Djokovic eventually fell one short of matching John McEnroe's record of 42 straight wins to begin the 1985 season. Despite that, the American great said the tougher competition and greater athleticism in today's game made the Serb's feat "more impressive."The run also included four wins over Nadal, all in finals. Two of them came on the Spaniard's favorite clay surface.Djokovic, who won the Australian Open early in the season, finally lost in June when Roger Federer prevailed in the French Open semifinals. But the Serb quickly picked himself up and swept the Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles.In New York, Federer seemed certain to repeat his Roland Garros success. He held two match points on serve in the fifth set of their semifinal match, but Djokovic saved both — the first with a blistering forehand return winner that was one of the year's most memorable moments.It was also the perfect demonstration of the belief that Djokovic says was the key to his dramatic improvement in 2011 after a three-year gap since his first Grand Slam title in 2008."The truth is that this year, mentally I am more mature and a stronger player," he said. "I believe on the court more in my qualities, more that I can win against Federer and Nadal and all the top players."While Djokovic's confidence soared, Nadal's seemed to drain away a little more with each loss.Spain's Davis Cup win — its fifth since 2000 — at least provided a silver lining to a difficult season, but Nadal said dropping the team competition from his schedule in 2012 would be part of his mission to turn around his fortunes."My goal is always the same, be a better player in 2012 than I was in 2011," Nadal said.The 10-time Grand Slam champion went through a season without a major for the first time since 2002. The failure of women's No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki to capture one of the big four tournaments was another of the season's talking points.The 21-year-old Dane, whose boyfriend Rory McIlroy won his first golf major in 2011, finished the year as the top-ranked player thanks to six WTA Tour titles even though she didn't even reach a single Grand Slam final.Kim Clijsters won her fourth Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, while Li Na of China won her first at the French Open to become Asia's first major singles champion.For Serena Williams, a 13-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1, being on court at all was an achievement in itself after life-threatening blood clots on her lungs.She returned after nearly a year away in June with what she called a "new perspective on life," but the 30-year-old American showed she had lost none of her fierce competitive spirit when she clashed with the umpire during the U.S. Open final, calling her "a hater" and "unattractive inside."Friday, June 3, 2011
Tennis player receives lifetime ban
London — Austria's Daniel Koellerer became the first tennis player Tuesday to be banned for life for attempting to fix matches.Koellerer, a former Davis Cup player who once reached No. 55 in the world rankings, was found guilty of three violations of the sport's anti-corruption rules, including "contriving or attempting to contrive the outcome of an event."The violations occurred between October 2009 and July 2010.The Tennis Integrity Unit, an anti-corruption group, launched an investigation on behalf of the International Tennis Federation and the ATP and WTA tours.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Djokovic's strong play has tennis world talking
Incredible run: Serbia's Novak Djokovic is 37-0 this season after his straight-sets victory over Rafael Nadal in the Italian Open final on Sunday in Rome. APNEW YORK — It's tough to decide what's most impressive about Novak Djokovic's 37-0 record in 2011, the best start in men's tennis in more than a quarter-century.Djokovic has won all seven tournaments he's entered, including the Australian Open; he had never collected more than five titles in a full season. He's a combined 7-0 against Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, two men who dominated him and the sport the past several years.He's 13-0 against all top-10 players. He leads the ATP in return games won and is second in service games won.The No. 1-ranked Nadal summed it up simply, saying: "He is doing amazing things."Nadal should know.He is 0-4 against the second-ranked Djokovic this season, including straight-set losses in the finals on clay at Madrid and Rome this month. Those matches—and Djokovic's body of work all year—completely change the dynamic heading to the French Open, the clay-court Grand Slam tournament that begins next weekend."Nadal doesn't seem to know what to do against him, and quite honestly, if Nadal is baffled by playing him, then that just shows you how great he's playing on clay," seven-time major champion John McEnroe said in a telephone interview Monday. "You're looking at a guy who's the best player in the world right now."McEnroe owns the Open era mark for best start to a season, 42-0 in 1984, which Djokovic would surpass by reaching the final in Paris. McEnroe will be there as an NBC analyst, including for the June 5 men's final."It's probably the one record—or one of the few, if any—I have left. That would be the bad part. But at the same time, the good part is it's given quite a real shot in the arm to tennis, which I'm quite happy about," McEnroe said. "There's some excitement going into the French. There's something really to talk about."Nadal has won five of the past six titles at Roland Garros; Djokovic has never made it past the semifinals there. But Djokovic, who turns 24 the day the French Open starts, has the momentum and mental edge at the moment, including this tidbit: He is the first player to beat Nadal twice on clay in one season."Let us be clear: He is the 'King of Clay,' and he is the best player ever to play on this surface," Djokovic said after beating Nadal 6-4, 6-4 in Sunday's Italian Open final. "I have won against him twice in the last eight days, which I think is incredible, an incredible achievement for me, and has given me a lot of confidence for the French Open."
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