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Nadal: Adrenalized Alcaraz Nearly Unstoppable
"Carlos can win perfectly. I don't see any reason why he cannot win," Rafael Nadal said of Carlos Alcaraz's hopes vs. world No. 1.
By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, May 6, 2022
An adrenalized Carlos Alcaraz is practically invincible, says Grand Slam king Rafael Nadal.
A fired-up Alcaraz broke Nadal three times in the first set, suffered a fall to the court and a five-game slide in the second then recharged toppling Nadal 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 to reach his maiden Madrid semifinal.
More: Alcaraz Knocks Nadal Out
In a battle of the ages, the 19-year-old Alcaraz made history as the first teenager to defeat the king of clay on dirt.
The 21-time Grand Slam champion said when Alcaraz is firing on adrenaline fuel he's "unstoppable." Nadal asserts if Alcaraz can ride the adrenaline and minimize sloppy stretches of play he can upset world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in tomorrow's semifinals.
"Carlos can win perfectly. I don't see any reason why he cannot win," Nadal told the media in Madrid. "It's true that he cannot have the downside that he had on the second set, talking about today's match, but, well, it's true that Carlos plays a lot with adrenaline, with momentum. When adrenaline goes up, he's practically unstoppable, but then in some moments he commits errors, but it's logical because he plays with a lot of risk.
"It's his way of playing, and in that sense I think he has the level to be able to win anyone of the world. But what can happen tomorrow, we will see what happens."
World No. 1 Djokovic, who reportedly beat Alcaraz in a practice set earlier this week, praised the teenager's game and rise.
"Well, there is a lot of things that are special about him," Djokovic said of Alcaraz. "I mean, he has broken a lot of records as the youngest player, top 10, obviously in the recent decades, because we had some amazing champions like Michael Chang when he was 16, you know, won a slam and so forth.
"But, you know, nowadays we are not used to seeing somebody who is teenager and already getting to top 10 and playing on such a high level. His growth, his improvement, and his journey particularly the last six months has been amazing."
Photo credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty
Nadal: Alcaraz Is Better Than Me Today
King of clay talks challenge of potentially playing Carlos Alcaraz tomorrow.
By Alberto Amalfi | Thursday, May 5, 2022
Grand Slam king Rafael Nadal touts Carlos Alcaraz as a future Slam champion.
Today, Nadal celebrated Alcaraz's 19th birthday presenting him with a new honor. Nadal says the teenage phenom is now "better than me."
More: Nadal Saves Four Match Points in Madrid Thriller
Miami Open champion Alcaraz beat 2021 Indian Wells champion Cameron Norrie, 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3 to set up a spectacular Spanish blockbuster quarterfinal rematch vs. Nadal in Madrid tomorrow.
Asked about facing Alcaraz for the second straight year in Madrid, Nadal said the Barcelona champion is the better player now.
"Well, it's a very, very tough match, of course. I think that today, he is better than me and he has a good dynamic, a good momentum," Nadal said of Alcaraz. "I am conscious on what we have right now. I think I am a very realistic person, and that doesn't take me to not believe that I can win or that I can do it, but today I think that Alcaraz is in a better physical state of mind, is more fit.
"I came here without playing. He's younger, so he has that extra energy. I'm clear who, from the beginning, has some kind of advantage in tomorrow's match. But in that regard, I will try to do as much as possible to be competitive. Of course tomorrow's match will try to win, but whatever the outcome is, that it's something positive for me in the future."
Last May, a fired-up Nadal won nine of the first 10 games rampaging through Alcaraz's 18th birthday with a 6-1, 6-2 sweep to roar into the Mutua Madrid Open round of 16. They played an epic three-hour semifinal in Indian Wells in March with Nadal prevailing despite suffering a fractured rib.
Nadal knows this is a much more mature and confident Alcaraz from the teenager he toasted in Madrid last spring.
Though five-time Madrid champion Nadal is excited about the prospect of playing Alcaraz again, he said their 16-year age gap mutes the prospect of a rivalry.
"As a supporter of tennis and sportsperson, I think it's great to have a player like Carlos that has been able to reach this level and this strength," Nadal said. "I think he's a player that's going to give us a lot of good moments in the next, I don't know, 10, 12 years, 14. This is reality I'm talking about. Talking about rivalry, well, I don't know. If I had 8 or 10 years less, perhaps if Carlos had reached 10 years ago this moment, we could be talking about a new potential rivalry.
"I think that at this moment he's going to be someone that is going to win a lot of things, in my opinion, or at least he's going to have a lot of options to achieve good things."
Photo credit: Mutua Madrid Open Facebook
Healing Power Helps Muguruza in Madrid
Garbiñe Muguruza cited a simple approach aiding her first Madrid win in four years.
Healing power helped Garbiñe Muguruza earn her first Madrid win in four years.
Playing her first match since Indian Wells, Muguruza saved seven of nine break points overcoming Australian No. 1 Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5, 6-2 in her Mutua Madrid Open opener.
More: Becker Sentenced to Jail
It was Muguruza's first Madrid win since she defeated Donna Vekic en route to the 2018 round of 16, which remains her best performance in seven prior appearances at the Magic Box.
A left shoulder injury pained Muguruza at Indian Wells. She said taking a break to fully heal was the best remedy.
"I felt like I needed it because I was training a lot, and my body was not really taking on the training," Muguruza told the media in Madrid. "It was one pain here, one pain there. It was accumulation of pain.
"So I said, you know what? I told my team, I think we should take 10 days at least off so I get to recover naturally my body."
Putting her racquet down gave her body proper time to repair—and permitted Muguruza to focus on preparing for clay season.
"As soon as I stopped playing, my shoulder start healing, my leg, my back, everything start to be where it should," Muguruza said. "I said, I think we should focus more this year on clay court. It was a natural feeling. You know, also the schedule, it's pretty intense.
"So I felt, you know, nothing's going to happen if I skip one or two tournaments if after I'm gonna come back and feel better."
While Muguruza grew up training on clay, her 2016 Roland Garros crown remains her lone-clay court tile in her collection of 10 career championships.
The seventh-seeded Spaniard faces 37th-ranked Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina, who beat Sloane Stephens, next.
Muguruza concedes self-imposed pressure to perform her best in front of home fans—combined with the city's higher altitude which can pose problems controlling her flat drives—are among the reasons she's struggled in Madrid. After improving to 6-7 lifetime at the Mutua Madrid Open, Muguruza said she's taking a new approach this week.
"I think that I all the time thought that being the only tournament in Spain is, you know, it's a lot of pressure, because you only have one opportunity to really shine," Muguruza said. "You know, this year I said, you know what, the opposite, I'm here, it's a great tournament.
"Just go out there, play your best tennis and whatever happens happens instead of just putting that baggage, you know, in my back all the time."
Photo credit: Mutua Madrid Open Facebook
Gauff Picks Alcaraz to win Roland Garros
Coco Gauff on why she's so high on world No. 9 Carlos Alcaraz.
By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, April 29, 2022
Coco Gauff knows what it takes to make a deep run on Roland Garros' red clay.
In a clash of former French Open girls' champions, Gauff defeated Ons Jabeur 6-3, 6-1 charging into her first career Grand Slam quarterfinal in just her seventh major appearance at the 2021 Roland Garros.
Assessing Roland Garros title contenders, Gauff tabs fellow 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz as "my favorite to win Roland Garros."
In a new interview with AS.com's Jaime Davila, Gauff calls Miami Open and Barcelona champion Alcaraz "an amazing tennis player" and one of her favorites to watch.
"Carlos is an amazing tennis player, I love watching him play," Gauff told AS.com. "I have known him for many years, we coincided in several tournaments while still children. I entered the professional circuit before, and I did well in my first tournaments. Now he's entered the men's circuit and he's doing really well.
"[Carlos is] someone I try to learn from, he's my age and I think even guys have a little harder time getting good results when they're so young. It is more common to see young girls having early success. But Carlos has the potential to go very, very far, and I always support him. In fact, it's my favorite to win Roland Garros."
Gauff and partner Jessica Pegula made a winning doubles start in Madrid today.
After Pegula saved a match point edging Camila Giorgi 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 in singles, she joined forces in doubles with Gauff scoring an emphatic 6-1, 6-4 victory over the formidable team of Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka.
Gauff, who has sharpened her net skills in doubles and applied that aggression to singles, said she plans to keep playing both and reveals her secret to doubles success: She doesn't really practice, or stress, doubles.
"I see myself able to combine it. To be honest, I don't train any doubles," Gauff said. "People think that, since I'm doing well in it, I train a lot. And it's not like that, maybe the day before a match I do something.
"But I focus on preparing for singles, which is my priority. I love playing doubles and the successes are coming luckily, but I don't prepare too much."
Photo credit: Mutua Madrid Open Facebook
Belarusian Tennis Federation Blasts Wimbledon
Wimbledon's ban "only incites hatred and intolerance on the basis of nationality," Belarusian Tennis Federation says.
Belarus has sent a blistering reply to Wimbledon's ban.
Wimbledon announced it has banned Russian and Belarusian players from the 2022 Championships in condemnation of Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
More: Djokovic Does Not Support Wimbledon Ban on Russians
The Belarusian Tennis Federation ripped the ban as as "destructive action" that "in no way contributes to the resolution of conflicts, but only incite hatred and intolerance on the basis of nationality."
Calling out "incompetence" in Wimbledon's decision making, the Belarusian Tennis Federation said in a statement this is a clear case of politics intruding on sport.
The Federation also questioned why players from nations involved in past conflicts were not previously banned from the grass-court Grand Slam.
"Throughout tennis history, the world has experienced armed conflicts – in Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Yugoslavia and other countries, but never until now have tournament organizers excluded athletes from the UNITED STATES, Great Britain and other countries from participating, and other athletes have not pushed the public to divide tennis players on a national basis," the Belarusian Tennis Federation said. "We once again note the policy of double standards applied to the current situation.
"All this only confirms our confidence that world sport and international sports organizations have now been turned into an instrument of political pressure and manipulation and, unfortunately, have nothing to do with the development of sports and its popularization."
Last July, Belarusian No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka reached her maiden major semifinal at Wimbledon.
Pointing out Grand Slam champions including Novak Djokovic and Martina Navratilova have publicly opposed Wimbledon's ban, the BTF said it will take legal action to "neutralize the current situation and assures that it will continue to defend the rights of Belarusian tennis players to participate in international tournaments."
"Absolutely politicized decisions lead our entire sport to global destabilization – the ASIA-Pacific and the WTA have already sharply criticized the decision to suspend athletes from the tournament," the BTF said in its statement. "Famous athletes such as Novak Djokovic and Martina Navratilova also condemned the decision. The decision goes against the joint statement of international tennis organizations, which allowed the players of Belarus and Russia to their personal competitions in a neutral status.
"Obviously, the reason for such a tough decision was the direct pressure of the British government, for example, the statements of the Minister of Sports Nigel Huddleston about the need to allow Belarusian and Russian tennis players to participate in the tournament only after signing a special declaration condemning the special operation and providing guarantees that athletes do not support the current government in their countries and do not receive state funding. Such statements indicate the incompetence and ignorance of officials from the UK of the state system of supporting sports in Belarus and Russia."
Photo credit: Getty
It’s Completely Discrimination Against Us – Rublev Disappointed in Wimbledon Ban
The Russian and his peers had hopes that an alternative decision might be made by Wimbledon organizers.
By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday April 21, 2022
World No.8 Andrey Rublev spoke to reporters about Wimbledon’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from this year’s Championships (and other grass-court events in the U.K. this summer) on Thursday at Belgrade, after he qualified for the quarterfinals with a 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-2 victory over Jiri Lehecka.
Rublev says that he and several other players joined a call with Wimbledon management on Wednesday, and added that the players were committed to donating all their prize money to Ukrainian relief efforts.
“To be honest, the reasons that they gave, there is no even logic [for what] they propose,” Rublev said. “And I understand, for example, if they banned us—if they banned Russian players and Belarusian players—and at least it made like a half-percent or something of change or help. But it’s not gonna do anything and it’s not gonna change anything.
"Because the thing that’s happening now, it’s completely discrimination [against] us.”
Rublev said that he and other players hoped that Wimbledon would give them the chance to play, and added that they were ready to forfeit all of their prize money to do it.
A few notes before I post Rublev’s comment on the Wimbledon decision. 1) He was clearly emotional & expressed that he feels under a lot of pressure. 2) He apologized for not being able to express himself as clearly as he would like (in English). 3) He spoke “from the heart.” pic.twitter.com/dmnUxl7p4P
— Ana Mitrić (@ana_mitric) April 21, 2022
“What we proposed to Wimbledon—and I hope that it will make sense and I hope that they will think about it—is to [give us] a chance to choose if we want to play or we don’t want to play,” he said. “And if there is a statement that we need to sign, on top of that, [we will give] all the prize money to humanitarian help—to the families who are suffering, to the kids who [are] suffering.”
The AELTC’s decision came after high-level meetings between the LTA and the British government. They left room to change the policy if there are signifcant changes in the week’s and months to come.
“If circumstances change materially between now and June, we will consider and respond accordingly,” The AELTC said.
The ban has been criticized by the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as icons Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and others.
Wimbledon says that their goal was to "limit Russia's global influence through the strongest means possible."
"In the circumstances of such unjustified and unprecedented military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players with The Championships,” their statement read.
Photo credit: Serbia Open Facebook
A Dive for the Ages – Tsitsipas Seals Win after Epic Flight in Monte-Carlo
The Greek has a reputation as one who can soar through the air – and he lived up to it on Friday in Monte-Carlo.By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday April 15, 2022
Stefanos Tsitsipas has never been shy to put his body on the line on a tennis court.
He’s put on a masterclass in the art of diving over the course of his blossoming career, and the 23-year-old reminded us all of his diving aptitude again on Friday at Monte-Carlo as he pulled a rabbit out of a hat against Diego Schwartzman in the waning moments of his extraordinary 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-4 triumph.
Setting up match point in STYLE 😲@steftsitsipas #RolexMCMasters pic.twitter.com/KicEIAdv6l
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 15, 2022
Tsitsipas, who trailed 4-0 in the final set, says he didn’t start to believe he could win the match until after he struck that perfect dive on the penultimate point.
“I have to say I think the very last point probably,” Tsitsipas said, when asked when he realized he could win. “It was very close, extremely close. I don't know. I never really felt anything.
“I guess I was really close in the second set serving for the match. Didn't work out for me. That was probably the moment that I thought I had a big chance of closing it out. But Diego is Diego. I had to be Stefanos in the third set.”
Roger Federer Stars with Anne Hathaway in Swiss Tourism Ad
The Swiss Maestro and Les Misérables star make quite a synchronized swimming team.
Roger Federer isn't sinking into couch potato status during time away from tennis.
The Swiss superstar has a new doubles partner—Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway—and is making a splash in a new sport: synchronized swimming.
It's all part of the plot of Federer's latest star turn in "My Switzerland's" ad campaign to promote Swiss tourism.
The Swiss Maestro and Les Misérables star share adventures across Federer’s native Switzerland only to see all their good work—including Roger’s awesome abs—overshadowed by a control-freak director with an affinity for majestic Swiss landscapes.
Federer and Hathaway are left waiting for the close-up that never comes.
It's Federer's latest partnership with an Academy Award winning actor following last year's "My Switzerland" spot with Robert De Niro promoting vacation without drama.
Fed fans remember Roger and Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn peaking with tennis on the glacier in a promotion for Lindt.
Photo credit: Roger Federer Instagram/My Switzerland
Barty Inks New Role
Ash Barty's new career move may surprise you.
Ashleigh Barty rewrote the record book in January.
Former world No. 1 Barty will be a page-turning presence in her new career: children's book author.
The three-time Grand Slam champion signed on with Harper Collins to write a series of children's books.
A six-book "Litle Ash" will focus on the young Barty's adventures as a child growing up in Australia. Barty is co-writing the book series with Jasmin McGaughey. Jade Goodwin is illustrator for the series, which and will go on sale in July.
"Ash can't wait to play tennis with the big kids at school today!" a description of the book on Harper Collins website reads. "But when James's big school project breaks, Ash has to decide whether to help her friend fix his project at lunchtime, or play the game she loves. What will she do?"
In an interview with the Courier-Mail, Barty said she was inspired to write the book series by her five-year-old niece, Lucy.
“The project has been so much fun and something I have always wanted to do,” Barty said. “Lucy was my north star. She is the perfect age to understand stories and storylines and read chapter books.
“Being able to read it to her will be great and to go up to readings to kids in rural areas is something I want to be really hands-on with.”
Barty is engaged to long-time partner Garry Kissick. The couple plans to marry this year.
Last January, Barty battled back from a 1-5 second-set lead defeating Danielle Collins 6-3, 7-6(2) in the Australian Open final becoming the first Aussie—man or woman—to capture the AO singles championship since Chris O’Neil in 1978.
Photo credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty
Mouratoglou on Working with Halep – I Don’t See Any Limits
After getting the okay from Serena Williams, Patrick Mouratoglou embarks on a new coaching journey with Simona HalepBy Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday April 8, 2022
With Serena Williams out of action for the last eight months, coach Patrick Mouratoglou found himself missing his calling in a big way. The Frenchman, who has guided Serena through many triumphs in the second half off her career – ten Grand Slam singles titles if you’re scoring at home – was eager to reconnect with the profession.
He is doing that now, after signing on to coach two-time major champion and former World No.1 Simona Halep, and he would not have done it without Serena’s permission. When the possibility to coach the Romanian arose, Mouratoglou got on a plane to visit Serena. The 23-time major champion told him he was free to work with Halep, at least in the short-term.
“When Simona was in Indian Wells, I decided to go see Serena to discuss the situation and see what was her own situation and what could be mine, if she was still counting on me or not, did she know exactly when she would restart playing, you know, all those things,” he told Tennis Majors in an interview. “So I went there to the US only to speak to her, which I did. And after this discussion, I knew that at least short-term I could start working as a coach with somebody else.”
Patrick Mouratoglou, long-time coach of Serena Williams, begins coaching Simona Halep full time.
So…what does this mean?#TheBreakTC pic.twitter.com/ey2RMbRc3H
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) April 8, 2022
Patrick Mouratoglou, long-time coach of Serena Williams, begins coaching Simona Halep full time.
So…what does this mean?#TheBreakTC pic.twitter.com/ey2RMbRc3H
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) April 8, 2022
Moratoglou says he has instantly clicked with Halep. He praised her legacy, her intelligence, and her work ethic, saying that he feels the possibilities are limitless for the 30-year-old.
“I love to watch her play tennis because it’s such great tennis, she has a very complete game. She can do a lot of things,” he said. “She’s great in defence, she’s great in offense. I don’t see any limit there. And I love working with her because even though we’re not working for a long time yet, what I’ve seen so far is great. Her work ethic is incredible. From the first second she’s on the court, the focus is just total focus, from the first ball to the last one, which is quite rare.”
Mouratoglou says there is plenty that Halep can improve at the moment, but he denied to get into those specifics.
“I think she has achieved a lot already. She has been No 1, she has won Grand Slams, so she’s part of the very, very, very few players who have been able to achieve incredible things. So she’s a champion, but I also feel that she has a big margin for improvement in many aspects, and she’s still very hungry. She feels like she can give more to tennis and she wants to see how far she can go. And I believe she can go very far, so that’s the idea.”
