Talk Tennis Blog

Stefanki teams up with Andy Roddick

2008-12-02T15:58:45Z

Andy Roddick has announced that he will receive the coaching services of Larry Stefanki before the start of the 2009 tennis season.

Roddick, who is twenty-six years of age, ended this season ranked number eight in the world but he has endured a slightly disappointing season, which culminated in a forced withdrawal from the Masters Cup as a result of an unfortunate ankle injury.

On the brighter side, he did manage to reach the quarter-final stages of the US Open earlier this year but the American tennis player is now looking forward to teaming up with fellow American, Larry Stefanki.

Stefanki has previously coached the legendary tennis player, John McEnroe, as well as British tennis favourite, Tim Henman. He was recently employed by Fernando Gonzalez and, in the past, he managed to guide Yevgeny Kafelnikov to the top of the world rankings.

Although he played tennis professionally for several years before becoming a coach, he only reached a top ranking of thirty fifth in the world and Stefanki did not really start to make a name for himself until he entered the world of coaching.

Until relatively recently, Andy Roddick was being coached by Jimmy Connors. The famous pair started working together in the summer of 2006 but decided to split earlier in the tennis season. The American player is hoping that teaming up with such a legend in the world of coaching will spur him on to another impressive Grand Slam win at some point during the 2009 tennis season.

Djokovic beats Davydenko to win in Shanghai

2008-11-18T15:36:42Z

For British fans of Andy Murray, who was knocked out of the Masters Cup by Nikolay Davydenko in the semi-finals, the final of the competition may have held little excitement.

The final saw Davydenko meet Novak Djokovic, who had shown mixed form throughout the tournament and was perhaps lucky to be in the final. However, in reality the match was a thrilling one and was ultimately dominated by the Serb, who was also successful in the Australian Open earlier this year.

Djokovic won the match 6-1, 7-5, and his performance was a far cry from the ones seen in last year’s competition. In the 2007 Masters Cup, Djokovic lost all his matches and paled into insignificance in the face of tougher competition.

This year though, the Serb, who is still only twenty-one years of age, was truly ecstatic after the final point was played. He revealed that the victory is a “great achievement” and he also believes the event is on a par with a Grand Slam tournament, since the best eight tennis players compete against each other for glory.

The forehand which had proved to be lethal in the Australian Open was once again on show for Djokovic, and Davydenko was simply unable to cope with its power and accuracy. Davydenko remained rooted to the baseline for large parts of the match and seemed unable to hit with any accuracy from this point on the court.

This remained the pattern of the match throughout the opening set and it certainly seemed as if Davydenko was going to be taught a lesson in powerful tennis during the second set as well.

However, he eventually managed to find some kind of form and Djokovic started to become visibly nervous. Davydenko did enough to bring the score to 5-5, but a series of unforced errors handed the advantage to the Serb once again. Djokovic took full advantage of the opportunity to win the match and claim an impressive title.

Injured Nadal to Miss Davis Cup Final

2008-11-17T09:06:11Z

Rafael Nadal has pulled out of Spain’s Davis Cup final against Argentina. The world number one has been nursing a knee injury for months and has already seen both the Paris and Shanghai Masters tournaments slip away from him. Nadal’s doctor has warned the Spaniard that he could be out for at least another six weeks.

Nadal was forced to abandon his Masters Cup match against Nikolay Davydenko at the end of October amid fears that prolonged activity could exacerbate the tendinitis in his right knee. His rival, Roger Federer, also succumbed to injury during the Paris Masters but returned to action shortly afterwards.

Emilio Sanchez Vicario, the captain of the Spanish Davis Cup team, was disappointed to hear that Nadal had withdrawn from the match but remained adamant that his team could still be successful in the city of Mar del Plata. “We should not talk about Nadal anymore” he was quoted as saying. The captain continued to state that everyone should be trying to do their "best for Spain”.

Antoni Nadal, Rafael’s uncle and coach, was the first to express concern about his nephew’s fitness, and wrote off his chances as early as last week. ‘Uncle Toni’ told reporters that Rafael is still in a great deal of pain and had been training “very badly.”

Marcel Granollers has been chosen to replace Nadal in Argentina despite being ranked 56th in the ATP world rankings. Tommy Robredo – usually the most likely substitute for Nadal – is too unfit to play. Granollers is expected to make an appearance in the doubles matches but his involvement in other events may be limited.

The Davis Cup final begins on the 21st of November 2008 and lasts until the 23rd of that month.

Nalbandian defeated by Tsonga

2008-11-03T14:40:43Z

David Nalbandian, who shockingly managed to knock Andy Murray out of the Paris Masters tournament, has been surprisingly defeated by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final. The Frenchman beat Nalbandian 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 and managed to qualify for the Masters Cup.

The title was only Tsonga’s second in his career and he was visibly pleased with the result. He stated that the match was the perfect end to “a great season for me” and he was also pleased at the prospect of travelling to Shanghai.

The Masters Cup will be held in Shanghai in the middle of November and Tsonga will compete against seven other tennis players.

The Frenchman dominated the match by serving extremely well. He served 25 aces, whilst Nalbandian managed only four. Nalbandian was quick to praise Tsonga after the match, stating that he fully deserved his victory. In winning the title, Tsonga became the first Frenchman since 2001 (when Sebastien Grosjean was victorious) to win the tournament.

Nalbandian’s gracious attitude was not apparent on the court, with the player showing visible signs of frustration. The eighth game saw him smash his racket on the ground in anger.

However, he managed to briefly put these emotions behind him and held serve in the following game. Furthermore, the tenth game saw Nalbandian leading 0-40. However, Tsonga managed to save these break points and the player struck a majestic ace to take the game to match point. The final rally was won by the Frenchman and the French crowd were truly ecstatic with the result.

Nalbandian stops Murray's superb run

2008-11-03T09:45:32Z

Andy Murray’s impressive winning streak was brought to an end by a superb performance by David Nalbandian in the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters.

The Argentine won the match 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 to remain one of the few top players in the world yet to succumb to the skills of the young Scot. To be fair to Andy Murray, this was only the second time he has come up against Nalbandian. The first time was during Wimbledon in 2005, when Murray was half the player he is today.

The British player was keen to succeed in the Paris Masters and he started the match confident of extending his amazing 14-match winning streak. However, Nalbandian was in truly fine form and dominated the tie-break of the first set.

After the match, Murray spoke of his disappointment at losing the match and exiting the Paris Masters but he revealed his satisfaction at his general performance. Furthermore, he was full of praise for his opponent, stating that the Argentine “played really well”.

Nalbandian agreed with Murray’s praise, stating that he played "almost” perfectly and managed to return the ball very well throughout the match.

After an extremely impressive year, Murray has started to show signs of fatigue recently. This comes as no surprise given his exploits in recent tournaments including the US Open.

This fatigue appeared to impact upon his usually reliable service game. Murray was quick to point out “the one thing I didn’t do, that I have done well in the last few weeks, is to serve well”.

Safin reveals he may quit tennis

2008-10-31T09:09:06Z

Russian tennis player Marat Safin has revealed that he may retire from the sport. The announcement came following a disappointing exit in just the first round of the Paris Masters.

The defeat was the latest in a series of shocking results for the tennis player, who is only 28 years of age. Juan Monaco beat the former world number one 6-0, 7-6 (7-4).

Safin has previously won the US Open and the Australian Open but has not won a title since 2005. He is ranked 31st in the world, but earlier this year he slipped as low as 90th.

The player’s confidence has been knocked by disappointing results against players including Igor Kunitsyn, who beat Safin in Moscow earlier this month.

The Russian tennis player has now expressed his desire to “sit down and relax” and attempt to live a life without “any tennis” for at least a few months.

After this break, Safin will reconsider his position but it is possible that he will never return to the sport which has brought him so much happiness.

Safin was keen to point out that he is under no pressure to make any immediate decision, since he has nothing “to prove or show” to anyone. He spoke of injuries which have blighted his career and left him “struggling” to find any kind of form.

However, physical problems have been joined by psychological problems. The Russian has revealed the “uncomfortable position” of finding himself ranked “70 and 30 and 50” when he used to dominate the top places.