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Tag: ATP Tour

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‘Competitive animal’ Rafael Nadal back for one last hurrah | Tennis News – Times of India

SYDNEY: More than two decades after bursting on the scene, the sun is setting on Rafael Nadal's storied career with the Spanish gladiator hoping his creaking body can hold up long enough to see out the season.The 37-year-old returns to the courts in Brisbane this week, almost a year since he last played professionally before an injury curse that has long plagued him returned with a vengeance.It has been a recurring theme of a record-breaking career which has brought 22 Grand Slam titles and global respect, a painful by-product of his all-action, brutal-hitting style that has led to struggles with serious knee, wrist and foot problems.His most recent setback, at the 2023 Australian Open, resulted in two rounds of hip surgery and fears that he would never grace the courts again.But Nadal ...
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Novak Djokovic falls in first US match since 2021, losing in doubles in Ohio | Tennis News – Times of India

MASON (USA): Novak Djokovic fell in his first match in the United States since 2021, losing in doubles in the Western & Southern Open. Djokovic and Nikola Cacic on Tuesday lost 6-4, 6-2 to Jamie Murray and Michael Venus in the Serbian star's return to the country after missing events because of COVID-19 vaccine restrictions. Djokovic was playing his first competitive match since falling to top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final. The winner of a record 23 Grand Slam singles titles, Djokovic is set to open singles play Wednesday night against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Alcaraz faced Australian qualifier Jordan Thompson in a late match. The defending US Open champion was in position to become the first ATP player to reach 50 wins this season. In women's play, former US Op...
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Watch: Tennis player Yibing Wu collapses on court at Citi Open | Tennis News – Times of India

In a scary incident on Monday, Chinese tennis player Yibing Wu collapsed on court at the Citi Open in Washington, weeks after experiencing a similar health scare at the Wimbledon. The 23-year-old Wu, who was leading 4-1 against Yosuke Watanuki of Japan in their first-round match, was heading towards his corner after the end of the game when he collapsed on the chair. Officials rushed in to help, but Wu was not in shape to get back on his feet and continue, and thus retired.The conditions in Washington have been extremely hot, with the temperature reportedly being 91 degrees Fahrenheit at the time when Wu fainted.The world No. 90 Wu had a similar scare earlier in July at the All England club in his first-round Wimbledon match against Frances Tiafoe. However, on that occasion, he was able...
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Alexei Popyrin stuns Stanislas Wawrinka to win Umag title | Tennis News – Times of India

UMAG (Croatia): Australia's Alexei Popyrin shattered Stan Wawrinka's hopes of a first title in six years by beating the Swiss veteran in three sets to win the Umag clay-court title on Sunday.The 23-year-old Popyrin, ranked at 90 in the world, came through 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-4 after two hours and 36 minutes on court to claim a second career title to add to his 2021 Singapore victory.Three-time major winner Wawrinka, 38, was hoping to capture a 17th career title but first since Geneva in 2017.Wawrinka recovered from 3-5 down in the opening set before claiming the tie-breaker.Popyrin, 15 years Warinka's junior, levelled by pocketing the second set and was a break ahead in the first game of the decider which he immediately handed back.The young Australian twice required assistance from the t...
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Novak Djokovic to skip Canadian Masters due to fatigue | Tennis News – Times of India

Novak Djokovic will not play at next month's Canadian Masters in Toronto due to fatigue, organisers announced on Sunday.The 36-year-old Serbian lost a thrilling five-set Wimbledon final to Spain's world number one Carlos Alcaraz a week ago."I have always enjoyed my time in Canada but after speaking with my team we believe this is the right decision to take," said Djokovic, who has won the tournament four times."I really hope I can return to Canada and Toronto in the coming years to play in front of great fans there."American Christopher Eubanks will replace 23-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic in the main draw.The ATP 1000 event will be played from August 7-13.!(function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) { function loadFBEvents(isFBCampaignActive) { if (!isFBCampaignActive) { retur...
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Nick Kyrgios knocked out in Stuttgart first round | Tennis News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Nick Kyrgios, the Wimbledon finalist, suffered an early exit in the first round of the ATP Stuttgart grass tournament in Germany. In his first tour match since October, Kyrgios was defeated by China's Wu Yibing with a score of 7-5, 6-3. The match lasted 70 minutes and marked Kyrgios' return to the tour after a seven-month absence and a knee procedure following his withdrawal from the Australian Open in January.Yibing, ranked 64th in the world, expressed his delight at playing against Kyrgios in the first round, acknowledging Kyrgios' reputation as one of the best players on grass. Wu faced a significant number of aces from Kyrgios but managed to stay composed and patient, ultimately securing the victory.For Wu, it was his first ATP match on grass since his Wimbledon juniors c...
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Carlos Alcaraz: World number one Carlos Alcaraz knocked out of Italian Open | Tennis News – Times of India

ROME: Carlos Alcaraz crashed to a humbling 6-3 7-6(4) defeat by Hungarian qualifier Fabian Marozsan in the third round of the Italian Open on Monday as his quest for a third straight title on clay before the French Open ended in disappointment.The 20-year-old had come into the tournament on the back of triumphs in Barcelona and Madrid and will replace Novak Djokovic as the world number one for top billing at Roland Garros which begins later this month.But Alcaraz was far from his best and got off to a shaky start in his second match in Rome, dropping serve to love in the fourth game as world number 135 Marozsan built a big lead and dominated the late exchanges to easily win the opening set.Marozsan continued to heap the pressure and broke for a 4-3 lead after Alcaraz saved three breakpo...
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Novak Djokovic ‘feels good’ after injury, hails Carlos Alcaraz as ‘man to beat’ | Tennis News – Times of India

ROME: Novak Djokovic said Thursday that Carlos Alcaraz is the man to beat at the Italian Open, but reassured fans that he "feels good" after his recent elbow injury.Top seed Djokovic comes into the clay-court tournament, where he has been champion six times, braced to lose top spot in the world rankings to Alcaraz.The flamboyant Spaniard, fresh from back-to-back clay titles in Barcelona and Madrid, just needs to play a match in the Italian capital to return to the summit ahead of the French Open which starts later this month."He's going to be number one after this tournament and if it happens it will be deservedly so. He plays very impressive tennis, a great level. He's the player to beat on this surface no doubt," said Djokovic, who starts his title defence against Argentina's Tomas Et...
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Rafael Nadal aiming to make a comeback from injury at Monte Carlo | Tennis News – Times of India

MONACO: Rafael Nadal is aiming to make his comeback from a hip injury at the clay-court Monte Carlo Masters next month, organisers said on Wednesday.The 22-time Grand Slam champion has been sidelined with a left hip flexor injury since the Australian Open, and pulled out of hard-court tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami.The Monte Carlo Masters begins on April 8 and tournament director David Massey is optimistic Nadal will play.“Rafa was the first (player) to be registered," Massey said in statement.“He really wants to play at the Monte Carlo Masters and is giving himself every chance to take part in the tournament he's so fond of.”Nadal has won the tournament a record 11 times, including an Open Era record streak of eight consecutive titles from 2005 to 2012.The 36-year-old Spaniard u...
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Want to reach where I can change tennis in India: Sumit Nagal | Tennis News – Times of India

PUNE: A career-threatening hip injury and the long road to return to action has not dimmed the fire in the belly for Sumit Nagal.Nagal, who has slipped in the rankings to 501 now, still retains the desire to be the best singles player the country has produced in recent times and is ready to go through the grind all over again."The goal stays the same, you know, I want to do something that our last best player did. I want to be at a point where I can change tennis in our country, you know, where we don't play tennis just for fun, but to say 'listen, we can also achieve something, we can also do something," Nagal said after a practice session ahead of the Tata Open Maharashtra men’s tennis event here on Thursday.Nagal, likely to get a wildcard for the ATP 250 event, was referring to his m...