Andy Murray

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More Starpower Added @CitiOpen as @AndyMurray Join Doubles Field With @Jamie_Murray

Posted by Admin on July 24, 2019
Posted in: ATP, Citi Open, Washington. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

More Starpower Added @CitiOpen as @AndyMurray Join Doubles Field With @Jamie_Murray

Andy Murray (Photo: Mike Renz for Tennis Atlantic)

Andy Murray (Photo: Mike Renz for Tennis Atlantic)

Another deep and talented doubles field will descend on D.C. next week with all 10 of the ATP World Tour’s Top-10 doubles players set to compete at the Citi Open.

Former world No.1 Andy Murray is also among the headliners in the men’s doubles field as Murray returns to Washington for a rare chance to partner with his brother Jamie.

While the Murray brothers have teamed up in the past, those occasions have primarily come during international competitions such as the Olympics or the Davis Cup.

Andy Murray, Citi Open

Andy Murray, Citi Open

But with Andy Murray primarily playing doubles this year as he continues his comeback from hip surgery, the Citi Open presents a rare opportunity for the Murray brothers to partner in an ATP event. Jamie is ranked No. 8 in doubles and is a six-time Grand Slam champion in doubles competition.

Jamie, 15 months Andy’s senior, won the Citi Open doubles crown last summer with then-partner Bruno Soares. Soares, who is fresh off competing for the Washington Kastles, is back this year as well with partner Mate Pavic of Croatia.

–CitiOpen

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Sir Andy Murray is once again aiming for the summit of world tennis

Posted by Admin on July 22, 2019
Posted in: ATP. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

It feels strange to be saying that Andy Murray is looking to make a sensational return to the top of the summit of world tennis but that is exactly what he is aiming to do. To say that the Scotsman cut a forlorn figure at a press conference at the Australian Open would be grossly downplaying it. The 32-year-old had to leave the room as he made what can only be described as a spur of the moment retirement decision given that he was overcome with emotion.

You sat there saying to yourself, “don’t say it, don’t say it”, but after an excruciating warm-up at the year’s first Grand Slam, the Scotsman could no longer hide his disappointment at the fact he was still being severely hampered by serious injury. Who could blame him as well for bringing the curtain down on his career at a time that seemed a little premature given there wasn’t any guarantee that his hip would get better?

If it was his last hurrah, it was certainly an entertaining one as he crashed out to Bautista Agut in a five-set thriller but there was one last medical avenue Murray hadn’t explored. His last option in the pursuit of making a return was to undergo hip resurfacing surgery in London. Here we are during the month of Wimbledon and Murray seems to be enjoying a new lease of life in the doubles category.

He was initially dumped out the men’s doubles in the first week of the event but he has been doing well alongside Serena Williams in the mixed doubles. Whilst Murray has enjoyed competing in the doubles category throughout his career, this is purely to get him back to some sort of match fitness as he attempts to get back to the top. That’s right, once Murray finishes his rehab, the two-time Wimbledon champion is determined to get back to mixing it with the elite in the men’s game again.

Whether he feels up to playing in the US Open or not remains to be seen but interestingly enough, Murray is at 12/1 in tennis betting to win the men’s category at Flushing Meadows. Read into that what you like but professional sport is full of fairytale comebacks and there is just a feeling that the world is yet to see the last of the superb Scot – which is truly wonderful news.

There are few things as devastating for a sportsman or woman as being stopped in their prime and Murray would have had to dig deep to get through the disappointment of missing out on two years of what should have been the best years of his career. The positive is that Murray is not looking to weep over lost time but make the most of the time he still has left in front of him, now that he says he is pain-free again after so many years of suffering.

Despite enduring a fierce rivalry with the likes of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, Murray will take inspiration from them as they continue to dominate the tour long after their supposed best days were behind them. In a weird way, even though the Big Three have stood in Murray’s way in terms of winning more Grand Slams, it is their presence on the tour now that may play the biggest role in Murray’s recovery and quest to carry on.

Andy Murray set for Emotional Return at Queen’s Club

Posted by Admin on June 28, 2019
Posted in: ATP. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Tennis fans from all over the world will delight at the sight of Britain’s Andy Murray stepping out into a competitive arena for this first time since undergoing hip resurfacing surgery back in January.

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The former world No. 1 will line up alongside Feliciano Lopez in the doubles event at the Fever-Tree Championships at Queen’s. How he performs on the grass in London will play a big part in helping him decide whether to return to singles action this summer.

Back to the scene of first ATP win

The three-time Grand Slam winner won his first-ever ATP title at Queen’s Club and it has proved to be his most successful tournament with five wins, the last coming against Milos Raonic in 2016. The Briton announced he had been pain-free since recovering from the operation and has made good progress on the practice courts.

The doubles event will give him a chance to return to competitive action without putting himself through the strain of the singles event which features a strong line-up this year. Defending champion Marin Cilic will be joined by Juan Martin del Potro, Kevin Anderson, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic and Denis Shapovalov at the men’s ATP World Tour 500 series event.

Wimbledon singles return unlikely

Murray is expected to play more doubles tennis at Eastbourne and Wimbledon but is unlikely to return to singles action until after the US Open. Despite that, some bookies still have him the listed in the Wimbledon odds for the singles events with prices of around 33/1 available.

Age no barrier

With no exact time scale set for his singles return, it will be a case of watching and waiting for fans of the 32-year-old. However, if he can remain pain-free, there is no reason he cannot compete at the top level again. Rafa Nadal has just won his 18th Grand Slam aged 33 after coming back from injury and Roger Federer was 36 when he won the 2018 Australian Open, his 20th major title. Meanwhile, 2019 Australian Open champion, Novak Djokovic, is just a week younger than Murray and still ranked No. 1 in the world.

Six months out

Murray last played a singles match at the Australian Open in January and many believed that would be his last ever match as a top-level pro – especially in light of the emotional speech he gave when he bowed out of the tournament. However, having decided to undergo surgery, the popular Scot could have added years to his career.

Andy Murray Looks To Find Form @ATPShenzhenOpen 2018

Posted by Admin on September 24, 2018
Posted in: ATP, Shenzen, Steen Kirby. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Andy Murray Looks To Find Form at the 2018 Shenzhen Open ATP 250
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The ATP Asian swing features a 250 in Shenzhen, China on hard courts this week, the more notable of the two ATP events in China for the week. Here is your preview with predictions.

Top Half:

David Goffin will be hoping to continue his good form in round 2 against either Andy Murray or Zhizhen Zhang. Goffin should be favored against Murray, but I’ll back the upset, a focused Murray should rise up and knock off Goffin. I’ll also back Murray to get revenge on Fernando Verdasco after Verdasco beat him at the US Open. Verdasco’s both to the quarterfinals is Jason Jung, followed by Taro Daniel/Tatsuma Ito, he’ll be favored in both matches.

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St. Petersburg quarterfinalist Denis Shapovalov should ease past Ilya Ivashka and Yoshihito Nishioka or Denis Kudla in round 2 before running into Borna Coric in a tough quarterfinal match. Coric opens with Di Wu or Cam Norrie, I have him as the favorite to take this section over Shapovalov.

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Bottom Half:

Stefanos Tsitsipas was upset early in his last tournament but I don’t see Dusan Lajovic or Pierre-Hugues Herbert being able to repeat that feat in round 2. This is a weak section, with the winner of Andreas Seppi/Albert Ramos probably favored against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez or VIktor Troicki. Tsitsipas over Seppi is my pick here.

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Damir Dzhumur should get past Jiri Vesely/Ramkumar Ramanathan before facing off with Alex De Minaur in the quarters. The young Aussie opens with Yuichi Sugita, Mackenzie McDonald or Lukas Lacko are set to follow. De Minaur will be the favorite against Dzhumur in the quarters and has a real shot at this title.

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Predictions

Semis
Coric d. Murray
De Minaur d. Tsitsipas

Final
Coric d. De Minaur

American @MackieMackster McDonald to Face “Rusty” @Andy_Murray Tonight @CitiOpen; Interview

Posted by Admin on July 30, 2018
Posted in: ATP, Citi Open, College Tennis, Washington. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

American @MackieMackster McDonald to Face “Rusty” @Andy_Murray Tonight @CitiOpen; Interview
Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic

Mackenzie McDonald is loving the hard courts summer. And he had some confidence headed into tonight’s showdown with two-time grand slam champion Andy Murray when we spoke with him on Sunday afternoon at the Citi Open in Washington.

“I love that (hard court season) is in the states so we get a good crowd cheering on all the Americans,” he said. “I definitely grew up on hard courts and I love hardcourts and I think it suits my game. It’s definitely a good time to be in the States during the Summer.”

mcdonald ucla

As far as battling Murray in his next match, McDonald said, “He’s obviously a great player, has had a great career so far. He’s a grand slam champion so it’s gonna be pretty cool sharing the court with him.”

McDonald seems to like his chances against Murray. “He’s a little rusty. I think there are definitely some positives for me going into the match. I think I’m playing really good tennis so it should be a good match.”

Yosuke Watanuki Reaches 1st @ATPWorldTour Main Draw as Top Seeds Stumble @CitiOpen

Posted by Admin on July 29, 2018
Posted in: ATP, ATP Qualifying, Citi Open, Washington. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Yosuke Watanuki, 2018 Citi Open

Yosuke Watanuki, 2018 Citi Open

Yosuke Watanuki Reaches 1st @ATPWorldTour Main Draw as Top Seeds Stumble @CitiOpen
Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic
 
Patience paid off for Japan’s Yosuke Watanuki on Sunday as he advanced to the main draw of the first ATP World Tour event in his career after a 6-4, 6-4 victory over top qualifying seed Jason Kubler at the Citi Open in Washington.

“I am so happy for the first time for the main draw in the ATP tour. I am so happy now,” he told me after the win. “This is a first time, because I played (in qualifiers) two times in Tokyo,” he added.

Yosuke Watanuki, 2018 Citi Open
Yosuke Watanuki, 2018 Citi Open

Despite having played yesterday, while his opponent had a bye, he believed it gave him the upper hand. “That was good for me,” he said. “It’s especially for the ball and the court. In the beginning, I could play much more relaxed.”

We got lots of twitter activity when we mentioned Watanuki yesterday and asked him about it. “For the fans, thank you so much for every time that you support me.”

The 20-year-old will face wild card Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday.

The four top seeds received a Bye in the qualifying tournament’s first round, meaning they only had to win a single match to qualify. That turned out to be a bridge too far.

It wasn’t just the number one seed going down today, but the 2 and 3 seeds as well. American Donald Young worked through 3 seed Jason Jung in just under two hours with Jung going down in retirement. Young’s prize for qualifying is a prize-fight against Stan Wawrinka Monday on Stadium Court.

The 2 seed wasn’t safe, either, with American Mitch Krueger making the main draw here in his second attempt. Krueger routined 2nd seed Ramkumar Ramanthan, a finalist in Newport, and was never broken in the match. After the match, Krueger also agreed that playing yesterday was a plus.

Mitchell Krueger, 2018 Citi Open

Mitchell Krueger, 2018 Citi Open

“I definitely think getting a match under my belt yesterday was really helpful, because you can practice all you want, but it’s hard to simulate match conditions in practice,” he said. “I was lucky because I played on the same court (Grandstand 1) as yesterday, so I was more comfortable and knew what to expect. It’s always great to qualify and earn your way in.”

Krueger’s first round match is against Pierre Hugues-Herbert.

Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and Cilic All Ready to Roll at Wimbledon 2018

Posted by Admin on June 30, 2018
Posted in: ATP, Steen Kirby, Wimbledon. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and Cilic All Ready to Roll at Wimbledon 2018
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

Wimbledon has arrived and for fans of men’s tennis it’s a great time to tune in as most of the ATP’s best are on hand to compete. Here is your full preview, with predictions.

Federer’s Quarter

Roger Federer, 8 times a Wimbledon champion, should ease into the second week. Dusan Lajovic, Lukas Lacko and one of Leonardo Mayer/J.L. Struff/Mikhail Youzhny/Ivo Karlovic look set to be his first three opponents. On a good day they could trouble Federer but in best 5 Federer should advance into the second week.

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I’ll back Borna Coric to make a run. The young Croat met Federer in a recent final (defeating him) and presuming he beats Daniil Medvedev I also have him getting past Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Adrian Mannarino to reach the second week. Mannarino can be great on grass but Coric has the most upside.

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Richard Gasquet and Sam Querrey highlight the third section. Gasquet will have to get past his talented countryman Gael Monfils in round 1, but presuming he does that (and beats Laslo Djere), he’ll draw Querrey, another solid grass court player, in the third round. Querrey has to beat Jordan Thomson and Sergiy Stakhovsky/Joao Sousa. While Querrey is a trendy pick I’ll back the veteran Gasquet to win this section.

The fourth section of the draw features a host of veterans. Kevin Anderson is perhaps the favorite against Norbert Gombos, J.P. Smith/Andreas Seppi,  and either Gilles Muller or Philipp Kohlschreiber. Kohli has also had some success on grass but beating Evgeny Donskoy and a struggling but competitive Muller is a tough task. Overall Anderson should survive.

Cilic’s Quarter

A finalist last year, Marin Cilic could win it all this year. Yoshihito Nisihoka, Guido Pella/Jason Kubler, and most likely MacKenzie McDonald in round 3 are not difficult opponents in the early going (McDonald should surprise and get past Ricardas Berankis and Nicolas Jarry/Filip Krajinovic). The challenge will come for Cilic in later rounds.

Milos Raonic played great in the warm up to Wimbledon and presuming he’s fit he should ease past Liam Broady, John Millman, and the Lucas Pouille/Denis Kudla winner in round 3. Kudla is in great form but Pouille should have enough to get past him. Raonic should win the section.

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With Pablo Carreno Busta struggling, the section should open for John Isner. Yannick Maden, Steve Johnson/Ruben Bemelmans, and either Cam Norrie or Radu Albot/Carreno Busta should be his first three opponents. I have the Brit Norrie making a run but Isner coming out ahead in round 3.

Grigor Dimitrov is a solid grass court player and should get past Stan Wawrinka in round 1, Wawrinka is in terrible form. However I have Stefanos Tsitsipas, the rising young gun, winning this section. Tsitsipas opens with Gregoire Barrere, Jared Donaldson should follow, while Dimitrov should win his first 2 matches before falling to Tsitsipas in round 3.

Zverev’s Quarter

Alexander Zverev is struggling, and although he’ll probably beat James Duckworth, Lorenzi Sonego/Taylor Fritz, and most likely recent grass court titlist Damir Dzumhur to reach the fourth round. Dzumhur faces Max Marterer, and Ernests Gulbis/Jay Clarke to reach round 3.

Nick Kyrgios is in good form and always a threat on grass, I’ll back him to serve past Denis Istomin, Marius Copil, and Kei Nishikori. Nishikori needs to beat Bernard Tomic in round 2 in an interesting match. Nishikori could win the section but on this surface Kyrgios should be favored.

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Novak Djokovic started slow coming back from injury earlier this season. That said, he’s rounding into form now just in time for Wimbledon and he should defeat Tennys Sandgren, Guido Andreozzi/Horacio Zeballos, and Kyle Edmund (or Yuichi Sugita) to reach the second week.

Dominic Thiem has never been a factor on grass, but he has a decent section if he can get past David Ferrer or Karen Khachanov in round 2 (Marcos Baghdatis is up in round 1). Fernando Verdasco is in the same section and will face a tough test against Frances Tiafoe before running into Julien Benneteau or Marton Fucsovics. Thiem should win the section but not get further.

Nadal’s Quarter

Rafael Nadal hasn’t gone very far at Wimbledon in quite some time, but perhaps this will be the year he’s a factor on grass again. Rafa opens with Dudi Sela, Mikhail Kukushkin/Vasek Pospisil will be up in round 2, with rising star Alex De Minaur likely to feature in round 3. De Minaur is in great form on grass and should defeat Marco Cecchinato, and Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Mischa Zverev before getting his crack at stunning Nadal. I’ll back Rafa but not with confidence.

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The section above Rafa is rather weak, Fabio Fognini likely reaches round 3 with wins over Taro Daniel and Pablo Cuevas/Alexandr Dolgopolov. I have Jiri Vesely winning the section over Florian Mayer and Diego Schwartzman, then past Fognini. Schwartzman has never won a match at Wimbledon and Vesely is good enough on grass to make it through.

David Goffin and Jack Sock are the seeds in the next section, but Sock is in terrible form and Goffin isn’t doing so great either. I’ll back the in-form Matt Ebden to surprise Goffin in round 1, then get past Albert Ramos and Nikoloz Basilashvili to claim his best ever result in a major. Basilashvili takes on Gilles Simon, then Sock or Matteo Berrettini and could also win the section.

With Andy Murray out, a lucky loser will meet with Benoit Paire in round 1, Jeremy Chardy or Denis Shapovalov are in decent form and should follow. Chardy should take advantage of the section before falling to big hitter Juan Martin Del Potro though. JMDP faces Peter Gojowczyk, and Feliciano Lopez, a solid grass court player, in round 2.

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Predictions

Round of 16
Federer d. Coric
Gasquet d. Anderson
Cilic d. Raonic
Tsitsipas d. Isner
Djokovic d. Thiem
Kyrgios d. A. Zverev
Del Potro d. Ebden
Nadal d. Vesely

The bottom half is far weaker than the top. Cilic vs. Raonic should be a great match, while I have Tsitsipas surprising into the quarters and Kyrgios doing the same. Federer should get revenge in best of 5 against Coric.

Quarters
Federer d. Gasquet
Cilic d. Tsitsipas
Djokovic d. Kyrgios
Del Potro d. Nadal

These 4 look like four of the top five contenders in the draw. Djokovic is back in form enough to do damage while Del Potro on grass should be better than Rafa.

Semis
Federer d. Cilic
Djokovic d. Del Potro

Cilic and Del Potro will have chances, but Djokovic and Federer should be the favorites to reach the final. At this time I’ll back Federer to win again, until proven wrong he’s a smart choice.

Final
Federer d. Djokovic