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Toughest Wimbledon Mixed Draw Ever?
The Williams sisters could square off in the Wimbledon mixed doubles field.
The newly-minuted SerMur dream team of former world No. 1 superstars Serena Williams and Andy Murray may well be the most highly-anticipated mixed doubles pair in Wimbledon history.
They aren't the only former Wimbledon champions in a loaded mixed field that some are calling the toughest mixed doubles field in Wimbledon history.
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Reigning US Open mixed doubles champions Jamie Murray and Bethanie Mattek-Sands and five-time Wimbledon singles champion Venus Williams and Australian Open quarterfinalist Frances Tiafoe are among the other notable teams in the field.
Henri Kontinen and Britain's Heather Watson, the 2016 Wimbledon mixed doubles champion, are another prominent team in a field that features Great Britain's Jay Clarke partnering 15-year-old Coco Gauff, who stunned the 39-year-old Venus Williams in her singles opener. Clarke and Gauff face veteran Robert Lindstedt and 2017 Roland Garros singles champion Jelena Ostapenko.
Buzz is already building for perhaps the most-highly anticipated mixed tandem since John McEnroe and Steffi Graf joined forces at Wimbledon.
"Yeah, it's brilliant," Watson said. "Doubles I'd say is a completely different sport to singles. It's a very different game. That's why you see so many doubles specialists.
"It's great that (Andy Murray is) playing, in general. That's so positive for the game. I think it will be really exciting to watch him play with Serena."
Milos Raonic suggests anything short of a SerMur title run could be deflating for fans.
"I think it's one of those things that's either going to turn out incredibly well and be very exciting or it might sort of come up short," Raonic said. "I think people are expecting a lot from the two of them, especially with Andy already winning Queen's, playing well in the doubles matches.
"Serena, I believe, has won all the doubles with her sister and has won I believe most, maybe she's just missing one in the mixed in Australia. But she's won here before in mixed. So I think there is a lot expected of them. I think anything short of them winning, people might feel like they came up short."
While the Andy Murray and Serena Williams team will attract world-wide attention, Jamie Murray and Mattek-Sands, whose also covering Wimbledon as an analyst for ESPN, may well be the team to beat. Jamie Murray partnered Jelena Jankovic to the 2007 Wimbledon mixed title then repeated the feat a decade later joining forces with Hall of Famer Martina Hingis.
"We had good success at the US Open last year," Jamie Murray told British GQ. "In the last two Wimbledons I’ve won it with Martina Hingis and reached the final with Victoria Azarenka, so it’s obviously an event I’ve done well in.
"It’s always fun to play mixed; it’s a bit less stressful than the men’s doubles. But everyone that enters always wants to do well and I’ve been fortunate enough to play with some really good partners in the last couple of years, and again this year."
Anybody fancy some mixed doubles at #Wimbledon this year 🤔 pic.twitter.com/2uRL76Syv5
— TennisNow (@Tennis_Now) July 3, 2019
Dear Andy,
Your gran is so disappointed. But she concedes that Serena may just have the edge on her.
Love from Mum x https://t.co/ztPxE7T73F— judy murray (@JudyMurray) July 2, 2019
Asked if he's given brother and sometime doubles partner Andy Murray any advice, Jamie Murray told GQ: "Not really. Sometimes I’ll give him some pointers if I feel that he needs it, but whether he listens or not is a different story."
In January, Tiafoe joined forces with Serena Williams in a high-profile Hopman Cup mixed doubles showdown vs. Switzerland's Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic that gained global attention bringing two of the greatest players of all-time together.
Mixed doubles should have a major spotlight at Wimbledon this month.
Given 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams' quest to equal 24-time major winner Margaret Court's all-time Grand Slam singles record and the fact Andy Murray is partnering Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the men's doubles draw, it's unclear how much time Serena and Andy will have to practice together.
Still, the fact seven-time singles champion Serena and two-time men's champion Andy Murray have combined to claim nine Wimbledon singles crowns should provide the pair a comfort level.
Additionally, given the pair's popularity it is likely their matches will be staged on either Centre Court or Court No. 1, which can be unnerving for opponents who typically play mixed matches on the outer courts.
Serena Williams won the 1998 Wimbledon mixed crown with the beast of Belarus Max Mirnyi.
Fourteen years later, Mirnyi and Victoria Azarenka defeated Andy Murray and Laura Robson, 2-6, 6-3, 10-8, to capture the Olympic mixed doubles gold medal at the 2012 Olympic tennis tournament staged at Wimbledon.
Photo credit: Getty
Wimbledon Day 3 Schedule
Second round action begins on Wednesday at the AELTC. THE CHAMPIONSHIPS, WIMBLEDON 2019
INTENDED ORDER OF PLAY FOR DAY 3 WEDNESDAY 3 JULY
CENTRE COURT – 1:00PM
1. Monica Puig v Karolina Pliskova
2. Kyle Edmund v Fernando Verdasco
3. Novak Djokovic v Denis Kudla
NO.1 COURT – 1:00PM
1. Heather Watson v Anett Kontaveit
2. Karen Khachanov v Feliciano Lopez
3. Caroline Wozniacki v Veronika Kudermetova
NO.2 COURT – 11:00AM
1. Stan Wawrinka v Reilly Opelka
2. Simona Halep v Mihaela Buzarnescu
3. Kevin Anderson v Janko Tipsarevic
4. Cori Gauff v Magdalena Rybarikova
NO.3 COURT – 11:00AM
1. Elina Svitolina v Margarita Gasparyan
2. Robin Haase v Milos Raonic
3. Felix Auger-Aliassime v Corentin Moutet
4. Madison Keys v Polona Hercog
COURT 12 – 11:00AM
1. Victoria Azarenka v Ajla Tomljanovic
2. Daniil Medvedev v Alexei Popyrin
3. Andreas Seppi v Guido Pella
Not Before: 6:00pm
4. Danielle Collins v Anastasija Sevastova
COURT 18 – 11:00AM
1. Su-Wei Hsieh v Kirsten Flipkens
2. Jeremy Chardy v David Goffin
3. Sofia Kenin v Dayana Yastremska
Not Before: 5:30pm
4. Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan / Purav Raja v Lleyton Hewitt / Jordan Thompson
COURT 4 – 11:00AM
1. Shuai Peng / Zhaoxuan Yang v Anna-Lena Friedsam / Laura Siegemund
2. Desirae Krawczyk / Giuliana Olmos v Alexa Guarachi / Sabrina Santamaria
3. Ricardas Berankis / Marton Fucsovics v Nikola Mektic / Franko Skugor
4. Jonathan Erlich / Artem Sitak v Maximo Gonzalez / Horacio Zeballos
COURT 5 – 11:00AM
1. Freya Christie / Katie Swan v Greet Minnen / Alison Van Uytvanck
2. Naiktha Bains / Naomi Broady v Barbora Krejcikova / Katerina Siniakova
3. Oliver Marach / Jurgen Melzer v Cheng-Peng Hsieh / Christopher Rungkat
4. Luke Bambridge / Jonny O'Mara v Raven Klaasen / Michael Venus
COURT 6 – 11:00AM
1. Sorana Cirstea / Galina Voskoboeva v Sarah Beth Grey / Eden Silva
2. Alex De Minaur / Matt Reid v Federico Delbonis / Andres Molteni
3. Kirsten Flipkens / Johanna Larsson v Belinda Bencic / Viktoria Kuzmova
COURT 7 – 11:00AM
1. Timea Babos / Kristina Mladenovic v Jessica Pegula / Maria Sanchez
2. Lukasz Kubot / Marcelo Melo v Ben McLachlan / Jan-Lennard Struff
3. Kateryna Kozlova / Arina Rodionova v Darija Jurak / Katarina Srebotnik
COURT 8 – 11:00AM
1. Hao-Ching Chan / Latisha Chan v Harriet Dart / Katy Dunne
2. Jaume Munar / Cameron Norrie v Dominic Inglot / Austin Krajicek
3. Filip Krajinovic / Dusan Lajovic v Matthew Ebden / Vasek Pospisil
4. Timea Bacsinszky / Bernarda Pera v Aliaksandra Sasnovich / Lesia Tsurenko
COURT 9 – 11:00AM
1. Irina Bara / Magda Linette v Nicole Melichar / Kveta Peschke
2. Ons Jabeur / Fanny Stollar v Gabriela Dabrowski / Yifan Xu
3. Radu Albot / Malek Jaziri v Rajeev Ram / Joe Salisbury
4. Sander Gille / Joran Vliegen v Guillermo Duran / Juan Ignacio Londero
COURT 11 – 11:00AM
1. Anna Blinkova / Yafan Wang v Nao Hibino / Miyu Kato
2. Natela Dzalamidze / Cornelia Lister v Elise Mertens / Aryna Sabalenka
3. Jack Draper / Paul Jubb v Juan Sebastian Cabal / Robert Farah
4. Mate Pavic / Bruno Soares v Sander Arends / Matwe Middelkoop
COURT 14 – 11:00AM
1. Marie Bouzkova v Maria Sakkari
2. Ivo Karlovic v Thomas Fabbiano
3. Marcel Granollers v Ugo Humbert
4. Anna-Lena Groenefeld / Demi Schuurs v Monique Adamczak / Ellen Perez
COURT 15 – 11:00AM
1. Benoit Paire v Miomir Kecmanovic
2. Viktorija Golubic v Yulia Putintseva
3. Ken Skupski / John-Patrick Smith v Jay Clarke / James Ward
COURT 16 – 11:00AM
1. Pablo Cuevas v Jiri Vesely
2. Steve Darcis v Roberto Bautista Agut
3. Yanina Wickmayer v Shuai Zhang
Not Before: 6:00pm
4. Petra Martic v Anastasia Potapova
COURT 17 – 11:00AM
1. Madison Brengle v Karolina Muchova
2. Leonardo Mayer v Hubert Hurkacz
3. Lidziya Marozava / Storm Sanders v Victoria Azarenka / Ashleigh Barty
4. Marcelo Demoliner / Divij Sharan v Kevin Krawietz / Andreas Mies
TO BE ARRANGED
Not Before: 5:30pm
1. Lloyd Harris / Casper Ruud v Marcelo Arevalo / Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela
Not Before: 5:30pm
2. Leander Paes / Benoit Paire v Alexander Bublik / Mikhail Kukushkin
Wawrinka Finding Form on Wimbledon’s Grass in 2019
The Swiss says he's feeling better than ever on the surface.
Stan Wawrinka isn’t exactly known for his grass prowess, but the two-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist isn’t exactly a slouch on the surface either. That said, he hasn’t been past the second round at Wimbledon since 2015.
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But a few years removed from his double knee surgery, Wawrinka could be ready to make some big strides on grass. The World No.19 eased past Ruben Bemelmans in straight sets on Monday to book a second-round clash with American Reilly Opelka.
Afterwards Wawrinka talked about the subtle adaptations he has to make in order to become a better player on the grass.
“I think it's more adaptation,” he said. “You need to make quicker decision on the grass. You need to play not more risky, but you cannot just take your time like I can do on the clay court, really put my shot there, make some long rallies.”
Wawrinka, who has hired Dani Vallverdu to work alongside his longtime coach Magnus Norman for the grass season, says that part of the process is accepting that things move faster on the grass.
“You need to accept and get through the frustration of going a little bit against my [normal] style or the way I want to play,” he said. “That's the little things we are doing. There is some small exercise for the technique, for the games that you play more on the grass court.”
He added: “At the end of the day, it's not a lot of big change technique-wise,” he said. “It's just about the way or the shot selection you are taking on the grass court.”
Wimbledon is the only major that Wawrinka has yet to win, but he believes he can be headed for a deep run in 2019.
“I do believe that this year I'm playing well, I playing the best I ever played on grass court. For sure I am having a tough next match. Every match is difficult. I can go out the next round. But I believe if I enter the court, I can beat anybody.”
Wimbledon Day 2 Schedule
The quarter of death on the top half of the women's side gets it rolling on Day 2 of Wimbledon.
THE CHAMPIONSHIPS, WIMBLEDON 2019
INTENDED ORDER OF PLAY FOR DAY 2 TUESDAY 2 JULY
CENTRE COURT – 1:00PM
1. Tatjana Maria v Angelique Kerber
2. Lloyd Harris v Roger Federer
3. Serena Williams v Giulia Gatto-Monticone
NO.1 COURT – 1:00PM
1. Ashleigh Barty v Saisai Zheng
2. Ana Bogdan v Johanna Konta
3. Yuichi Sugita v Rafael Nadal
NO.2 COURT 11:00 AM
1. Sloane Stephens v Timea Bacsinszky
2. Dominic Thiem v Sam Querrey
3. Maria Sharapova v Pauline Parmentier
4. Casper Ruud v John Isner
NO.3 COURT – 11:00AM
1. Nick Kyrgios v Jordan Thompson
2. Beatriz Haddad Maia v Garbine Muguruza
3. Ons Jabeur v Petra Kvitova
4. Marin Cilic v Adrian Mannarino
COURT 12 – 11:00AM
1. Kei Nishikori v Thiago Monteiro
2. Laura Siegemund v Katie Swan
3. Bernard Tomic v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Not Before: 6:00pm
4. Kiki Bertens v Mandy Minella
COURT 18 – 11:00AM
1. Federico Delbonis v Daniel Evans
2. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Belinda Bencic
3. Carla Suarez Navarro v Samantha Stosur
4. Frances Tiafoe v Fabio Fognini
COURT 4 – 11:00AM
1. Ekaterina Alexandrova v Katerina Siniakova
2. Gilles Simon v Salvatore Caruso
3. Jan-Lennard Struff v Radu Albot
COURT 5 – 11:00AM
1. Barbora Strycova v Lesia Tsurenko
2. Kateryna Kozlova v Lauren Davis
3. Dominik Koepfer v Filip Krajinovic
4. Pablo Andujar v Mikhail Kukushkin
COURT 6 – 11:00AM
1. Svetlana Kuznetsova v Alison Van Uytvanck
2. Magda Linette v Anna Kalinskaya
3. Yasutaka Uchiyama v Tennys Sandgren
4. Guido Andreozzi v Laslo Djere
COURT 7 – 11:00AM
1. Steve Johnson v Albert Ramos-Vinolas
2. Yafan Wang v Tereza Martincova
3. Lesley Kerkhove v Ivana Jorovic
4. Hugo Dellien v John Millman
COURT 8 – 11:00AM
1. Elise Mertens v Fiona Ferro
2. Brayden Schnur v Marcos Baghdatis
3. Jay Clarke v Noah Rubin
4. Arina Rodionova v Taylor Townsend
COURT 9 – 11:00AM
1. Stefanie Voegele v Kaia Kanepi
2. Cristian Garin v Andrey Rublev
3. Kaja Juvan v Kristyna Pliskova
4. Marton Fucsovics v Dennis Novak
COURT 10 – 11:00AM
1. Vera Lapko v Qiang Wang
2. Matteo Berrettini v Aljaz Bedene
3. Paula Badosa v Varvara Flink
4. Alexander Bublik v Gregoire Barrere
COURT 14 – 11:00AM
1. Harriet Dart v Christina McHale
2. Tamara Zidansek v Eugenie Bouchard
3. Denis Shapovalov v Ricardas Berankis
Not Before: 5:30pm
4. Lucas Pouille v Richard Gasquet
COURT 15 – 11:00AM
1. Marco Cecchinato v Alex De Minaur
2. Vitalia Diatchenko v Kristina Mladenovic
3. Matthew Ebden v Diego Schwartzman
Not Before: 6:00pm
4. Donna Vekic v Alison Riske
COURT 16 – 11:00AM
1. Andrea Petkovic v Monica Niculescu
2. Denis Istomin v Cameron Norrie
3. Taylor Fritz v Tomas Berdych
COURT 17 – 11:00AM
1. James Ward v Nikoloz Basilashvili
2. Amanda Anisimova v Sorana Cirstea
3. Elena-Gabriela Ruse v Julia Goerges
4. Joao Sousa v Paul Jubb
Wimbledon Day 1 Schedule
The top half of the men's draw and the bottom half of the women's draw are in play on Day 1 of Wimbledon THE CHAMPIONSHIPS, WIMBLEDON 2019
INTENDED ORDER OF PLAY FOR DAY 1 MONDAY 1 JULY
Centre Court – 1:00 PM
1. Novak Djokovic v Philipp Kohlschreiber
2. Yulia Putintseva v Naomi Osaka
3. Kyle Edmund v Jaume Munar
NO.1 COURT – 1:00PM
1. Simona Halep v Aliaksandra Sasnovich
2. Jiri Vesely v Alexander Zverev
3. Venus Williams v Cori Gauff
NO.2 COURT – 11:00AM
1. Stan Wawrinka v Ruben Bemelmans
2. Lin Zhu v Karolina Pliskova
3. Thomas Fabbiano v Stefanos Tsitsipas
4. Caroline Wozniacki v Sara Sorribes Tormo
NO.3 COURT – 11:00AM
1. Kevin Anderson v Pierre-Hugues Herbert
2. Magdalena Rybarikova v Aryna Sabalenka
3. Kristie Ahn v Anastasija Sevastova
4. Ugo Humbert v Gael Monfils
COURT 12 – 11:00AM 1
1. Caty McNally v Heather Watson
2. Felix Auger-Aliassime v Vasek Pospisil
3. Prajnesh Gunneswaran v Milos Raonic
4. Alize Cornet v Victoria Azarenka
COURT 18 – 11:00AM
1. Elina Svitolina v Daria Gavrilova
2. Karen Khachanov v Soonwoo Kwon
3. Daniil Medvedev v Paolo Lorenzi
Not Before: 6:00pm
4. Su-Wei Hsieh v Jelena Ostapenko
COURT 4 – 11:00AM
1. Peter Gojowczyk v Roberto Bautista Agut
2. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova v Monica Puig
3. Danielle Collins v Zarina Diyas
4. Lorenzo Sonego v Marcel Granollers
COURT 6 – 11:00AM
1. Polona Hercog v Viktoria Kuzmova
2. Mihaela Buzarnescu v Jessica Pegula
3. Hubert Hurkacz v Dusan Lajovic
4. Roberto Carballes Baena v Miomir Kecmanovic
COURT 7 – 11:00AM
1. Cedrik-Marcel Stebe v Reilly Opelka
2. Karolina Muchova v Aleksandra Krunic
3. Andrea Arnaboldi v Ivo Karlovic
4. Dalila Jakupovic v Kirsten Flipkens
COURT 8 – 11:00AM
1. Dayana Yastremska v Camila Giorgi
2. Ernests Gulbis v Leonardo Mayer
3. Pablo Carreno Busta v Alexei Popyrin
COURT 9 – 11:00AM
1. Marie Bouzkova v Mona Barthel
2. Steve Darcis v Mischa Zverev
3. Veronika Kudermetova v Ysaline Bonaventure
4. Jeremy Chardy v Martin Klizan
COURT 10 – 11:00AM
1. Margarita Gasparyan v Anna-Lena Friedsam
2. Denis Kudla v Malek Jaziri
3. Anastasia Potapova v Jil Teichmann
4. Rebecca Peterson v Yanina Wickmayer
COURT 11 – 11:00AM
1. Marcos Giron v Feliciano Lopez
2. Iga Swiatek v Viktorija Golubic
3. Pablo Cuevas v Damir Dzumhur
COURT 14 – 11:00AM
1. Sofia Kenin v Astra Sharma
2. Shelby Rogers v Anett Kontaveit
3. Jozef Kovalik v Robin Haase
4. Benoit Paire v Juan Ignacio Londero
COURT 15 – 11:00AM
1. Janko Tipsarevic v Yoshihito Nishioka
2. Marketa Vondrousova v Madison Brengle
3. Grigor Dimitrov v Corentin Moutet
Not Before: 6:00pm
4. Shuai Zhang v Caroline Garcia
COURT 16 – 11:00AM
1. Bernarda Pera v Maria Sakkari
2. Andreas Seppi v Nicolas Jarry
3. Kamil Majchrzak v Fernando Verdasco
4. Ajla Tomljanovic v Daria Kasatkina
COURT 17 – 11:00AM
1. Madison Keys v Luksika Kumkhum
2. Petra Martic v Jennifer Brady
3. Marius Copil v Guido Pella
Not Before: 5:30pm
4. Bradley Klahn v David Goffin
Lucky Letcord Podcast: What Have We Learned from Two Weeks of Grass Court Tennis?
Tennis Now editor Richard Pagliaro joins the podcast to talk about the first two weeks of grass season.
Today on the Lucky Letcord Podcast Tennis Now editor Richard Pagliaro joins to discuss the first two weeks of grass-court season.
How amazing was Andy Murray's doubles performance at Queen's club and wasn't it cool how 37-year-old Feliciano Lopez stole the show?
What are Ash Barty's chances at Wimbledon now that she's riding hot with a 12-match winning streak and is the WTA's new No.1? Who will spend more weeks at No.1 when it's all said and done, Naomi Osaka or Barty?
We know 20-year-old Sofia Kenin is one heck of a fighter, but there must be more to her game than just that, right?
Father timeless Roger Federer won his 10th Halle title and looked pretty solid in the process. What is it that makes him so special on the grass?
Felix-Auger Aliassime may have Stefanos Tsitsipas' number but that does not mean the Greek isn't a threat to go deep at Wimbledon. Come for the chatter, stay for the passion (or vice versa!) Thanks to all for listening, and thanks to our sponsors, Tennis Express.
Del Potro Will Have Surgery Saturday in Barcelona
The Tower of Tandil recorded a message to fans to update them on his situation. Juan Martin del Potro will undergo surgery in Barcelona on Saturday to repair his fractured patella. The Tower of Tandil took to Instagram to share the news with fans and to share his feelings.
“It’s sad to go through all this again,” says Del Potro in Spanish (translated by Team Delpo). “I didn’t expect this at all.”
Del Potro, who originally injured the knee last October in Shanghai, was happy that he was able to complete his rehab without surgery. He returned to tennis in February and then took another few months off before resuming his season on the clay. He injured the knee Wednesday during his victory over Denis Shapovalov.
“I don’t know what will happen next,” he said. “Hopefully I will have a good recovery. I hope my knee can heal properly.”
He added: “If that match was the last one of my career, that I don’t know. During rehab I will be able to think clearly. I will know what my body is able to do.”
Federer to Face Millman First in Halle
The nine-time champion will have to be on his toes early at Halle.
Roger Federer will get a chance to avenge one of his toughest defeats of the last few years at this year's Noventi Open in Halle. The Swiss opens up his bid for a 10th title at Germany's biggest grass-court event with a first-round clash with Aussie John Millman. Millman dealt the Swiss one of his most difficult losses of 2018 when he knocked off Federer in four grueling sets in the round of 16 at last year’s U.S. Open.
See the full Noventi Open draw below:
Roger Federer starts his grass season with a first-round battle with John Millman at @ATPHalle — full draw below. pic.twitter.com/m0wF0DKnVD
— TennisNow (@Tennis_Now) June 15, 2019
Federer could face Benoit Paire or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round if he is able to get past Millman. Paire held two match points against Federer last season at Halle before falling 6-3 3-6 7-6(7). Tsonga owns six wins against Federer, including a five-set win over Federer at Wimbledon in 2011 in their only previous grass meeting.
Second-seeded Alexander Zverev opens with Robin Haase in the first round and could face Philipp Kohlschreiber next.
Kei Nishikori and Dominic Thiem have withdrawn from the event.
Defending champion Borna Coric is in Federer’s half of the draw this year. The Croatian will face Spain’s Jaume Munar in first-round action.
WTA Rankings: Barty Top 2 and Anisimova and Voundrova Milestones
Ash Barty is closing in one No.1 and teenagers are surging in the post #RG19 WTA Singles rankings.
Welcome to the Top 2, Ashleigh Barty!
The 23-year-old Aussie celebrates her first Roland Garros title and her first ever week in the WTA’s Top 2 on Monday, and Barty isn’t the only player that makes a splash in this weeks’ rankings.
Marketa Vondrousova rises 22 spots to No.16—a new career-high for the 19-year-old Czech, while Johanna Konta rises to No.18 and takes her spot back in the WTA’s Top 20 for the first time since last March.
Croatia’s Petra Martic cracks a career-high at No.24 as a result of her quarter-final at Roland Garros, while 17-year-old Amanda Anisimova climbs 25 spots to No.26—the American isn’t just the only 17-year-old in the Top 100 she’s now the only one inside the Top 30.
Meet Amanda Anisimova.
◾️ Upset No. 3 seed and defending champion Simona Halep at #RG19
◾️ Rose to No. 26 in this week's @WTA world rankings, a career-high
◾️ Only 17 years old🇺🇸 @AnisimovaAmanda pic.twitter.com/gpqCJvqgIw
— USTA (@usta) June 10, 2019
Another American who made some noise at Roland Garros was Sonya Kenin—she rises from 35 to 30 for her Top 30 debut after upsetting Serena Williams and reaching the second week in Paris.
And not to be outdone, Poland’s Iga Swiatek is the Top 100’s second biggest biggest riser in this week’s rankings. She surges 37 spots to No.67, making her Top 70 debut as a result of a quarter-final appearance in Paris.
.@iga_swiatek advances to the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time at @rolandgarros!
The Pole comes back to defeat Puig, 0-6, 6-3, 6-3–> https://t.co/80K8TkNONu pic.twitter.com/ik1XdTZnDr
— WTA (@WTA) June 1, 2019
Swiatek is one of six teenagers in the WTA’s Top 100 and one of four players 18 or younger in the top 75 (also Anisimova, Andreescu and Potapova).
Making a Top 100 debut this is Aliona Bolsova, who rises 47 spots from 137 to 90 as a result of her round of 16 appearance at Roland Garros.
Yeah so you should probably read @LIVAUDAIS‘s feature on Spanish qualifier Aliona Bolsova who is into the Round of 16 in her Slam MD debut @rolandgarros. https://t.co/RzLbcAmsg3
— Courtney Nguyen (@FortyDeuceTwits) June 1, 2019
Nadal on Chasing Federer: “It’s Motivation–Not Obsession”
The King of Clay doesn't need to own the biggest house on the block or the most Grand Slam titles in tennis history.
Forget about keeping up with the Joneses and worry about what quenches your soul says Rafael Nadal after winning his 12th Roland Garros title on Sunday in Paris.
It’s not a quest for titles or a march towards history for the King of Clay. He may be motivated by the achievements of his rivals but at the end of the day he’s happy carving his own path on the tennis court.
“Of course we push each other,” Nadal said of 20-time major champion Roger Federer, before going on to explain exactly what it is that has made him tick all these years. “I never tried to think about, ‘Well, I gonna catch Roger or not?’ Being honest, I am not very worried about this stuff, no?”
Rafa wins his 12th @rolandgarros and Twitter blows up…
See the tweets: https://t.co/5W9xABL6KK pic.twitter.com/WCaYTMvCYC
— TennisNow (@Tennis_Now) June 9, 2019
The Grand Slam arms race may be important to the punditry, but Nadal isn’t overly concerned by the raw numbers.
“You can't be frustrated all the time because the neighbor has a bigger house than you or a bigger TV or better garden,” he said. “That's not the way that I see the life, you know.And I just try to do my way. I feel very lucky about all the things that are happening to me. And if, at the end of my career, I am able to win a couple of more Grand Slams and be closer to Roger, will be unbelievable. If not, for me, still unbelievable, no?”
It doesn’t mean Nadal wouldn’t like to catch Federer and maybe even pass him in major titles someday. It just means that the King of Clay doesn’t get caught up in the externals.
“Well, it's a motivation, but it's not my obsession,” he told reporters. “If you ask me whether I would like it, of course. If that's a goal in my career, no. It's not what makes me get up every morning or go and train and play. It's not the way in which I view the sport, and it's not the way in which I consider my sports career.
“But I don't think my future will be worth any more if I equal Federer's record or if I do something like Djokovic or whatever. I consider that I'm going much further than I dreamt about in my career.”
He added, in closing: “I just value my playing and having this beautiful career more than anything.”
