Tennis Tips, Tricks And Gear
Evert: Sabalenka Will Win Multiple Majors
18-time major champion is very high on 20-year-old Aryna Sabalenka
“I have no reason to believe that Sabalenka will not win more than one Grand Slam,” said Evert in a conference call to promote ESPN's television coverage of the 2019 Australian Open. “Why? I see two things. I see hunger and I see boldness. Whether that’s fearlessness or what. It’s tied up, the boldness, fearlessness, confidence. That’s her swagger, I see that. I also see hunger. Like this girl wants it. You can see it in her eyes. She’s pretty intense.”
The WTA has seen eight different Slam winners over the last two seasons, marking the first time the WTA has seen four different Slam winners in back-to-back seasons since 1938.
Evert things that in Sabalenka, who is still just 20 years old and currently ranked 11 in the world, the WTA may have a new dominant force.
“To me, those ingredients, the fact that she has the skill set and the talent she does, she will win more than one Grand Slam in the next few years,” Evert said. “That’s my take on her.”
Kyrgios: Biggest Career Moment Coming In Oz
Nick Kyrgios kicks off all-star partnership.
Nick Kyrgios kicks a career peak at next week's Australian Open.
In a mash of hardcourt and hardwood, Kyrgios will take the court armed with an NBA all-star on the tip of his tongue.
Boston Celtics superstar Kyrie Irving, who was born in Melbourne and is Kyrgios' favorite player, has collaborated with the 23-year-old Aussie on the new Nike Vapor X Kyrie 5 tennis shoe.
Kyrgios will wear the shoe throughout the Australian Open.
"Yeah, it’s arguably the biggest moment of my career," Kyrgios told Complex. "I’m going to go out in front of my home crowd wearing the tennis shoes that share the name with my favorite basketball player. Representing Kyrie and myself at the same time, in front of such a big stage, is pretty crazy."
Kyrie Irving's logo is embedded on the NikeCourt logo on the shoe's tongue.
The Swoosh brand aims to "brings basketball performance to tennis and blends the innovations and styles," Alex Restivo, NikeCourt footwear product director, told Complex.
The shoe recalls another flamboyant Nike shotmaker—Andre Agassi—putting pops of the "hot lava" that made pink a power color when Agassi wore it at the 1990 Roland Garros on the shoe's heel.
A 2015 Australian Open quarterfinalist, Kyrgios reached the fourth round at his home Slam last year, bowing to Grigor Dimitrov.
The 51st-ranked Kyrgios, who will be unseeded in Melbourne, explained his custom of walking on court wearing Air Jordans before changing into his tennis shoes.
Kicks can reveal character, according to Kyrgios.
"It started when I was young," Kyrgios told Complex of his shoe-changing habit. "I had this superstition that I couldn’t wear my tennis shoes before or after a match. I feel like you can kind of gauge someone’s personality by the kicks they wear. That was a little bit of a sneak preview of what I was about before I started playing."
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve
Muguruza In Awe of Ferrer’s Fighting Spirit
The two-time Slam champion was thrilled to partner with the legendary Spaniard at Hopman Cup Garbiñe Muguruza has high praise for her teammate David Ferrer after spending the week with the soon to be retired Spaniard.
“I was so excited to play with David. In Spain we all admire his fighting spirit,” said Muguruza. “Actually I’m learning so much this week. I’m just like staring at him and talking to him—I think he’s a great mentor.”
.@DavidFerrer87 will now play his last singles match in Australia.@GarbiMuguruza offers a tribute to her teammate 🇪🇸 #HopmanCup pic.twitter.com/qgXY4NMIEc
— Hopman Cup (@hopmancup) January 4, 2019
Ferrer capped off an entertaining week with a win over Lucas Pouille in three sets on Friday. He is expected to retire at home, at the Madrid Masters this season.
“It’s going to be the last matches in my career and I try to enjoy every point that I play,” said the Spaniard.
Muguruza went 1-2 in singles at Perth, losing in three sets to Angelique Kerber and falling to Ashleigh Barty in straight sets before defeating Alizé Cornet on Friday. The good news for the Spaniard is that her leg injury appears to be nothing serious.
She left the court after three games during her win over Cornet on Friday and returned to win the match.
"I work hard, as well with matches and the whole week. So, today I was a little bit tired. I just felt a little pain in my quad and I thought, you know what, protect it a little bit," she said. "I kept fighting and kept playing."
Unseeded at Sydney, Muguruza is slated to face Carla Suarez Navarro in the first round.
Federer, Tsitsipas, Jazzed to Face the Legend Serena Williams at Hopman Cup
For the first time in a long time, Roger Federer is set to face a player with more major titles than him.
The first ever meeting of Roger Federer and Serena Williams is set to take place on New Year’s Day in Perth, and Federer is jazzed to have the opportunity to face a player with more Grand Slam titles than him for the first time in a long time.
"I think it's very exciting for both of us,” Federer said (full video above) after he defeated Cameron Norrie in men’s singles action on Saturday at the Hopman Cup, adding: “I hope that a lot of tennis fans are going to tune in and also watch it because it's gonna be one time and probably never again.”
Federer told reporters that he really doesn’t know Williams all that well despite the fact that the pair have been on tour for more than 20 years together. He says the both have busy lives, and rarely have time to sit down and do a deep dive into each other’s personal life.
But that fact has not deterred Federer’s admiration for his fellow legend.
“I admire everything she has done on and off the court. We can relate to one another now also being parents even more so. Besides the fact that we won a lot and we are both fierce competitors and we always want to win—we try our best.”
“She’s obviously one of the biggest champions ever in our sport—men and women combined—so it’s great to be playing against her.”
Before Federer and Williams lock horns on January 1st, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Greece will take a shot at Team USA on the lone New Year’s Eve tilt. Tsitsipas, like Federer, is looking forward to the experience of facing the legendary American.
“A great experience, I can’t say anything more,” the Greek said when asked to give his thoughts on facing Williams. “Playing against her would be a big lesson for me and for Maria [Tsitsipas’ teammate Maria Sakkari] as well. I’ll try to play my best game because it would be great to get a win against her.”
Serena Williams Featured in New Gatorade Spot
The 23-time champion joins a few sporting luminaries in Gatorade's latest campaign.
Serena Williams is ready to fuel up for the 2019 season with Gatorade.
The 23-time major champion is featured prominently in Gatorade’s “You Fuel Us, We Fuel You,” campaign, which also features NBA star Jayson Tatum, cyclist Lionel Sanders and footballer Christian Pulisic.
Here’s what Gatorade has to say about the campaign:
“Realizing that customization and personalization are the next frontier of sports nutrition, this campaign showcases how Gatorade combines science-backed products with newly designed equipment and tracking technologies to provide fueling recommendations specific to an individual athlete. The Gatorade products featured in the You Fuel Us, We Fuel You creative are just a sampling of the sports fuel portfolio, from G Zero to Gx, to G Endurance, G ESSNTL and more.”
Angelique Kerber Wins Sportswoman of the Year in Germany
The World No.2 praised cycling star Kristina Vogel in her emotional speech. Angelique Kerber has been named Germany’s Sportswoman of the Year for 2018. The World No.2 completes another fantastic season, winning her third major title and first at Wimbledon, while going 46-19.
Kerber also won the award in 2016, when she won two major titles and finished the year No.1.
Patrick Lange, professional duathlete and triathlete, won the award for the men.
In her acceptance speech Kerber paid tribute to track cycling World Champion Kristina Vogel, who became a paraplegic after a training crash in June.
"You are a role model for so many people. You have shown so much willpower," Kerber told Vogel at the ceremony on Sunday evening.
Ganz große und tolle Worte von @AngeliqueKerber an @KristinaVogel . Bewegender und emotionaler Moment!! pic.twitter.com/qDfWZ5WTdM
— Marco Hagemann (@Marco_Hagemann) December 16, 2018
Federer and Nadal Commit to Join Forces at Laver Cup 2019
The pair of rivals will take to the same side of the court again in Geneva in 2019.Reunited—and it feels so good.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have both committed to the third installment of Laver Cup, to be held next September in Geneva.
@RafaelNadal and @RogerFederer have confirmed they will reunite for Team Europe’s 2019 Laver Cup campaign in Geneva https://t.co/Ecxqitp6L7
Tickets will go on sale in early February. Register to receive updates https://t.co/cRx3rnYEqB
— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) December 13, 2018
Federer and Nadal joined forces for the inaugural Laver Cup in Prague in 2017, and ended up playing and winning a doubles rubber together.
“It doesn’t get much better for a captain than naming both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the Laver Cup in Geneva,” Team Europe Captain Bjorn Borg said. “Bringing together two of the greatest players, and rivals, the sport has ever seen together on one team is very exciting for our sport – and will give us the best possible chance to win the Laver Cup three years in a row.”
Wimbledon Purchases Wimbledon Golf Club, Adding 73 Acres to its Holdings
The Club plans to move its qualifying event over to Wimbledon in the not too distant future. Wimbledon has added 73 pristine acres to its territory.
The club announced on Thursday that the members of Wimbledon Park Golf Club voted in favour of the AELTC’s offer to acquire the Club. Rumors have circulated that Wimbledon was offering about £ 50 million.
The Golf Club will stay open through 2021 as an 18-hole course, with at least one more year as a nine-hole course.
The AELTC welcomes the decision of Wimbledon Park Golf Club’s members to vote in favour of the AELTC’s offer to acquire the Club. Full statement ➡️ https://t.co/o2lZbBE1qK
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) December 13, 2018
Wimbledon plans to move its qualifying tournament to this site from Roehampton as soon as it is feasible.
Wimbledon Chairman Philip Brook gave his thoughts in a statement published on the tournament’s website.
“The decision of the Wimbledon Park Golf Club members to vote in favour of the acquisition offer is a hugely significant moment for the AELTC and The Championships. We have achieved what we set out to do many months ago in having certainty in our planning for the future. In many ways, it will be business as usual for the Wimbledon Park Golf Course during the next couple of years, but the AELTC will use this time to give careful consideration to our next steps.
“We have been open in our long-term ambition to move the Qualifying Competition from its current home in Roehampton to the AELTC Grounds as part of our mission to continue to maintain the position of The Championships as the pinnacle of the sport. Furthermore, we have the ambition to open the land up to increased public use in the future.
“We will work with the local authorities and other interested parties as these plans are developed and I would like to emphasize that we have no intention of applying for change of use, planning permission or other approval to use the land that would be completely out of character for the AELTC and The Championships.”
Coco Gauff Becomes Youngest Orange Bowl 18s Champ in 15 Years
The 14-year-old American may have played her last junior tennis match. 14-year-old American Coco Gauff became the youngest Orange Bowl 18s champion since Nicole Vaidisova in 1995 on Sunday in Plantation, Florida, defeating China’s Qinwen Zheng, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
Your 2018 Orange Bowl girls’ 18s champ: @CocoGauff. She beats Qinwen Zheng, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, to become, at 14 years old, the youngest Orange Bowl girls’ champion since Anna Kournikova in 1995. pic.twitter.com/lzEo6UyLdD
— USTA (@usta) December 9, 2018
Top-seeded Gauff didn’t drop a set until the final when she rallied back from 4-2 down in the decider after a prolonged rain delay in Florida.
“I remembered saying this in my head: ‘All these people are here, and they are still rooting for you, and you’re down 4-2. Then you should start rooting for yourself, too,’ and I think that helped turn the match around,” Gauff said after the final.
The American went 31-5 in junior singles matches and won the Roland Garros Girls Singles title this year, becoming the youngest player to win that title since 1993.
Great way to finish the season 🍊#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/0ueWKcpUet
— Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) December 9, 2018
Finland’s Otto Virtanen defeated American Zane Kahn in the Boys’ 18s singles final, 7-5, 6-4.
Kei Nishikori and Naomi Osaka Join Forces for Nissin Charity in Japan
The two megastars played mixed doubles and singles for charity in NagoyaKei Nishikori and Naomi Osaka joined forced with other Asian tennis stars on Sunday to raise money for the Nissin Food Dream Tennis event in Nagoya, Japan.
It gave fans a chance to celebrate Japan’s two Top 10 year-end players—Osaka finished at No.5 while Nishikori closed his campaign at No.9—and enjoy some light-hearted tennis for a good cause.
Osaka and Nishikori joined each other in a doubles match and even though things didn’t go well for the pair of megastars on the scoreboard it appears as though they had tons of fun.
We won the breaker!
— Kei Nishikori (@keinishikori) November 27, 2018
Taro Daniel, Hyeon Chung, Kurumi Nara, Yosuke Watanuke, Kaichi Uchida, Shuzo Matsuoka and Michael Chang also took part in the event.
