# The Official Tennis Channel.



## ashs1 (Jan 21, 2014)

I think i haven't seen a tennis channel here in this forum yet..( IF there is one, feel free to close this one mods.  )

I'll be posting mainly about Mens Tennis matches ( singles )
So, Basics first : Tennis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ATP conducts 3 levels of Tournaments : 
ATP 250 ( winner gets 250 ranking points )
ATP 500 ( winner gets 500 ranking points ) & 
ATP 1000( also known as masters, where winner gets 1000 ranking points. )

For more, info on ATP ( : Association of Tennis Professionals - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia )

The Grandslams comes under ITF tournaments. The grandslams are alson known as Majors. These are the most Important & most popular tennis tournaments during the year. There are 4 Grandslams held : 

Australian Open ( january ) ( hardcourt )
French Open ( May) ( Clay )
Wimbledon ( June end ) ( Grass )
US OPEN ( september ) ( hardcourt )

For more info on Grandslams : ( Grand Slam (tennis) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia )

Currently, these are the current top 100 ranked male players ( Active players )
: Singles Rankings - Tennis - ATP World Tour

Rafa is ranked at No.1 presently, Novak at no.2, Murray is at No.4 while Federer is at No.6.
These 4 Players are collectively known as the Big 4 as these 4 players have usually dominated the top 4 rankings for many years.

Roger Federer is widely Considered the Greatest player ever to play the game. Often referred as GOAT ( Greatest Of All Time ), Federer was almost Unbeatable in his Prime years ( 2004-2008 ). His records at grandslams is impressive. Currently, he is said to be in a bit of a slump.
His arch nemesis, Rafael Nadal, is one of the best players in the open era & could soon catch up with roger's records, provided he maintains his fitness.

Enough about basics, lets get down to business..

Australian open is into its 2nd week & it just got better..
The QFs were as follows : 
Ferrer vs Berdych ( Berdych wins in 4 sets )
Novak vs Stanislas Wawrinka ( Stan won in an Epic 5 setter )
Federer vs Murray 
Nadal vs Dimitrov 

Federer & nadal's Respective QF is scheduled in tomorow's Order of play. 
Aus open is broadcasted on star sports4 & star sports HD2 in india.

Today's QF between Novak & Wawrinka was an Epic. They had an similar Epic 5 setter match at australian open & us open last year.

Here's more info on Novak's loss today : 



> A 28-match winning streak and a three-year reign as Australian Open champion ended tonight, and so did a string of heartbreaking defeats for Stanislas Wawrinka. The eighth-seeded Swiss, who lost two five-setters to Novak Djokovic in 2013—including a 12-10 fifth set in Melbourne—finally solved the superb Serb, winning 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 9-7.
> 
> The only elements of their latest classic that shouldn’t be immortalized are the two points you’re most likely to remember: Djokovic’s painfully costly errors at 30-30 and 30-40 of the final game. Serving to stay in the match for the fourth time, Djokovic was pushed to 30-all and then pushed a sliding volley wide after Wawrinka fought off a strong body serve. The shock of both Wawrinka’s return and Djokovic’s reply was exceeded only by the final mishap, a botched serve-and-volley attempt that sent the defeated champ racing to the locker room.
> 
> ...



Source : tennis.com - Australian Open: Wawrinka d. Djokovic

If any members can contribute to this thread regularly with any tennis- related news, it would be awesome.

sorry for the long introductory post.


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## sksundram (Jan 21, 2014)

Stans's win was epic today...


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## ashs1 (Jan 21, 2014)

indeed an epic win, sksundram..

do you also follow tennis regularly ?? who's your fav. player ??
& what are your thoughts on tomorow's QF ??


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## sksundram (Jan 22, 2014)

Well, I don't get a chance to see it live (busy schedule) but I do follow it (along with chess, poker) . I am a big Rafa fan but have immense respect for Federer. Nadal's going to win tomorrow but can't say about Federer vs Murray match as Federer's perfo in big matches is dwindling lately.


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## ashs1 (Jan 22, 2014)

Wonderful day of tennis today !! 
*cdn.tennis.com/uploads/img/2014/01/22/rr/article.jpg
Nadal defeated Dimitrov in a good 4 setter match, while Federer continued with his fine form. Although, he faltered a bit towards the end of the 3rd set, he was playing very well. 

Fed Defeated Murray in 4 sets. :  6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3.
Nadal def. Dimitrov in 4 sets : 3-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (7), 6-2.
Radwanska defeated azarenka in 3 sets : 6-1, 5-7, 6-0 
Cibulkova def. Halep in str8 sets :  6-3, 6-0.

*www.ausopen.com/images/pics/misc/f_federer_day10_94.jpg
The mens semis are set as follows : 
Wawrinka vs Berdych ( Thursday )
Federer vs Nadal ( Friday )

Federer will resume his long rivalry with his rival, Nadal, on Friday when the two will fight it off for a place in finals. 
If federer wins the semis & then the finals, Federer will jump from his No.6 position to No.3 Position.
If he loses the semis, he's probably gonna drop to No.8.

My prediction : 

Wawrinka has a good chance against berdych & can beat him..
Federer will continue with his abysmal H2H with Nadal & will be defeated by nadal in 4 sets. ( i hope fed wins though ).


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## sksundram (Jan 22, 2014)

Told you..


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## ashs1 (Jan 23, 2014)

*www.ausopen.com/images/pics/misc/f_wawrinka_day12_92.jpg
Stan the man is now into the Finals for his first time..he defeated berdych ( birdman ) in the semis  :6-3 6-7(1) 7-6(3) 7-6(4).

In the Women's draw, Li na will face Cibulkova in the finals on saturday..Both of them had a easy semifinal match.. 

Can't wait for tomorow's blockbuster semifinal match between rafa & roger !!!
Hopefully, we can have a sweet swiss finals !! 
*www.ausopen.com/images/pics/misc/f_federer_nadal.jpg


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## sksundram (Jan 23, 2014)

Go Rafa Go.. Vamooosss...


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## SunE (Jan 23, 2014)

Good luck to Mr.peRFect


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## ashs1 (Jan 23, 2014)

getting a bit difficult to predict the winner tomorow..

Roger : 
Strength : renewed energy & style of play, has been in tremendous form this week.
Weakness : stamina (age), mental barrier against rafa..those high topspin ( moonballing, i'd say  ) shots to his Backhand has always been brutal.

Fingers crossed for a federer win.

Nadal : 
Strength : good form, incredible willpower & stamina..in short, he's rafa. ( nuff said  ).
Weakness : Rafa has some bad blisters on his left palm which is causing him trouble while serving..it might also cause some trouble with his Forehand..
*resources0.news.com.au/images/2014/01/22/1226808/014752-d3b8dad0-8350-11e3-b1b1-85050cfe11b5.jpg


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## ashs1 (Jan 25, 2014)

Yet another crushing defeat for roger at the hands of Nadal...apart from the first set, Fed's level of tennis was pretty much average..had no chance against the awesome power of nadal.. 
*a.espncdn.com/media/motion/2014/0124/dm_140124_ten_fed_nadal_highlight/dm_140124_ten_fed_nadal_highlight.jpg

Sara Errani & roberta vinci won the womens Double finals !! They defeated Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova in a wonderful 3setter match !! 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 !!
*www.abc.net.au/news/image/5218400-3x2-700x467.jpg

News : 

Li na won her first Aus open Grandslam title today !!this is her 2nd GS title ( previous was French open 2012)..  
She defeated Cibulkova in straight sets: 7-6 6-0 !!   Congrats to her !!
*fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/t1/999230_10152220869958615_1232794560_n.jpg

Her post match prestation cermony speech was funny ! 


Also, congrats to Robert Lindstedt and Lukasz Kubot on their men's doubles win tonight! 
They defeated Eric Butorac and Raven Klaasen in straight sets : 6-3 6-3 !! 
*fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/t31/1614455_10152221026418615_795617836_o.jpg


THE big mens Singles finals between stanislas Wawrinka & rafa Nadal is scheduled tomorow .It will start at 2 PM ( IST ).

Prediction : Nadal in 3 tight sets or 4 sets. !!


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## dashing.sujay (Jan 25, 2014)

I was really hoping for Federer to come back and break the jinx   Come'on it hurts when he gets beaten like this 

PS: Don't you guys feel he has become too thin as compared to his golden days 

PPS: Weren't bryan bros playing this time ?


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## ashs1 (Jan 25, 2014)

He is a bit Thinner when compared to his golden days( not really noticeable though )..but he's been like this for the past 3-4 years..Most say its because he got mono in 2008... :O

Bryan bros were defeated in the third round..They were defending champions at aus open and easily the most successful team in men’s tennis..
shocking straight sets defeat at the hands of unseeded players : Eric Butorac and Raven Klaasen : 7-6 (9), 6-4..
i think the match didn't even last 90 mins..


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## dashing.sujay (Jan 25, 2014)

Actually I got habituated and eventually bored of seeing them winning


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## sksundram (Jan 25, 2014)

It will be a 5 setter match for sure..


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## ashs1 (Jan 26, 2014)

@sksundaram : I sure hope so..a thrilling 5 setter win for stanislas.. 
but, i think nadal won't let him play for 5 sets..  he's too good from the baseline..unless, he's having a bad day or stan's having a extraordinarily good day, i don't see this going beyond 4 sets ( rafa winning, ofcourse ) 

Finals start in about 30 mins !!!  

*
NEWS UPDATE : *
wtf ?? :-X  looks like rafa is in some kind of pain.. :/.. wawrinka leads by 2 sets !! :O


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## vijju6091 (Jan 26, 2014)

[IMGG][/IMGG]What is the current update mate i can not see  as i at office

Edit:- I got it so Stanislas Wawrinka  wins maiden Grand slam of his career feeling really very sorry for RAFA.
He is injured or something like that


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## sksundram (Jan 26, 2014)

I can't believe it. To go down like 3-6 twice in a final is unbelievable . What happened to him?


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## ashs1 (Jan 26, 2014)

So, Stanislas Wawrinka defeats Rafael Nadal : 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3

@sksundaram - it looks like he strained his back when he was training before the finals.. he was feeling a bit sore earlier, but by the end of 1st set, the back started paining a lot more. Its really unlucky that he encountered this during a final.. I don't know how stan feels atm, but If i was stan, i don't think this victory would be justified..Fanboys have already started saying that stan couldn't have won this match if rafa wasn't injured.. 

but, overall, i felt that stan deserved the cup !! he played extremely well in this tournament !!!
Full credit to Rafa Nadal for finishing the match. For not handing the trophy away.

List of Winners of Australian open 2014 : 

Men's Singles - Stanislas Wawrinka
Women's Singles - Li Na
Men's Doubles - Łukasz Kubot / Sweden Robert Lindstedt
Women's Doubles - Sara Errani / Roberta Vinci
Mixed Doubles - Kristina Mladenovic / Daniel Nestor
Boys' Singles - Alexander Zverev
Girls' Singles - Elizaveta Kulichkova
Boys' Doubles - Lucas Miedler / Bradley Mousley
Girls' Doubles - Anhelina Kalinina / Elizaveta Kulichkova
Wheelchair Men's Doubles - Stéphane Houdet / Shingo Kunieda
Wheelchair Women's Doubles - Yui Kamiji / Jordanne Whiley
Wheelchair Men's Singles - Shingo Kunieda
Wheelchair Women's Singles - Sabine Ellerbrock
Wheelchair Quad Singles - States David Wagner
Wheelchair Quad Doubles - Andrew Lapthorne / David Wagner
Legends Men's Doubles - Todd Woodbridge / Mark Woodforde
Women's Legends Doubles - Nicole Bradtke / Rennae Stubbs


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## SunE (Jan 26, 2014)

I was kinda rooting for Stan since my Dad's a Rafa fan & it wouldn't be fun if we both supported the same guy 

But honestly Stan was the better man today. In the 1st set where Rafa was playing normally, Stan did win fair & square. But it was disappointing that his injury kicked in at the wrong time. Would've loved to see a great battle.


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## sksundram (Jan 27, 2014)

Well, a win is a win. Congrats to Stan.


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## ashs1 (Feb 26, 2014)

Dubai Championships is Underway !!

Initial Thoughts : 
For Roger I think this draw is a great one, he gets to face a solid opponent in Becker first up, then should have a fairly nice time against Stepanek before likely facing either Brands, Tursunov or Rosol. All 3 of those guys should be suited to this quick court as they have big games; that definitely means there’s a fun match on the cards should he make the Quarters.
The semis is of course where it would get interesting should Roger make it as he’d face off against Djokovic. Both Roger and Novak have dominated in Dubai over the last 10 years and the Serb is trying to equal Roger’s 5 titles by winning it. These 2 only met twice in 2013 right at the end of the season so I’m really looking forward to seeing how they match up on a quick court when they are both fresh and healthy.
As for Djokovic he could meet Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round who beat Juan Martin del Potro at the Australian Open so that won’t be the easiest encounter as he can rip his groundstrokes.
Speaking of the Tower of Tandil, Del Potro opens up against Somdev Devvarman and he could meet last year’s runner up, Berdych, in the semi-finals which would be an explosive match as the Czech will be very confident after winning Rotterdam earlier this month.
Finally James Ward has also got a wildcard probably due to helping Team GB get a Davic Cup victory over the United States, it’s definitely good for him to get a match on the main tour for once although I’m not sure he can get out of the first round but we’ll see.


Predictions :


I’m pretty confident Roger makes the semi finals here and after that it’s a real coin flip. Djokovic hasn’t played since losing in Australia but he’s definitely going to be tough to beat and I’d imagine he’s been training hard since then. The same goes for Fed too to be honest and I think he should be sharp, I believe he went straight to Dubai after the Nadal loss so he should be very used to the conditions.
There’s also quite a lot to play for as he can stop Djoker equalling his Dubai title record and take down a 6th title himself which would be a fantastic achievement. I personally want to see him play like he did 2 years ago here, 2012 was a great tournament for him beating Murray in the final but 2013 ended a little disappointingly as he limped out against Berdych in the semis so I hope he can at least go one step further this time around.
In terms of pre tournament favourite I actually pick Berdych just because he’s made a good start to the year and is coming in off the back of winning Rotterdam. Quick courts definitely suit his power game it’s just a matter of whether if he met Djokovic in the final he could keep it together mentally. It’d be nice if Fed could play him too and get the Win against him after last years defeat. Fed vs. Berdych is also a good barometer of assessing Roger’s overall level so it would give us an idea of how the season may or may not pan out.
Either way I’m excited to watch some tennis for the first time in a while and hopefully seeing Roger put in some solid performances to mount a big to break back into the top 4.

Update : 

* Delpotro had retired from his match yesterday against Devvarman. He had lost the first set in a tiebreak.
*  Tomas Berdych knocked out Sergiy Stakhovsky to reach the Quarterfinals. He will now face Jo-Wilfred Tsonga.
* Roger Federer will face Radek Stepanek & top seed Djokovic plays Roberto Bautista Agut for a place in QFs today.


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## ico (Feb 27, 2014)

Go Wawrinka Go.


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## ashs1 (Feb 28, 2014)

ico said:


> Go Wawrinka Go.



Another stan-fan !!  Wawrinka will return after a long break at the first Masters 1000 Tournament of the year - BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells !!
I can't wait to see his post-Ausopen Performance ! 


*Roger Federer Defeats Novak Djokovic in a 3-Setter Semifinal !!*

 Federer produced high quality tennis to beat Novak Djokovic 3-6 6-3 6-2 in Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships semi-final. 

It was the 1st win of the Swiss maestro against the world number two since august 2012( cincinnati 2012 finals ) !!

Tomorow, he faces another top 10 opponent in finals : Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic !!
Berdych has been in red hot form Post Australian Open & has a good chance of defeating Federer as Roger has played 2 consecutive 3-setter match ( first Stepanek , now Novak).

More on Roger's Victory later.


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## ashs1 (Mar 1, 2014)

*Roger Federer is the Champion at Dubai !!!!! *

*fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/t1/1920279_10152268568078701_1194755117_n.jpg

Roger Federer owns a home in Dubai, but looked like a man locked out of the house, wandering around the baseline in frustration while Tomas Berdych displaced the Swiss with deep drives and disruptive returns.

Down a set and a break, Federer found his serve, reclaimed the real estate in the center of the court and roared back in issuing a rousing eviction notice to the third-seed Czech. Federer reeled off 10 of the final 14 games in rallying for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory to capture his sixth career Dubai title.

It is Federer’s first championship since he claimed his sixth Halle title last June and stands as a milestone moment: The former No. 1 won his 78th career title to surpass John McEnroe for third-place on the all-time list behind Jimmy Connors (109) and Ivan Lendl (94).

A shared strategy was evident in the early stages: Both men tried to punish the opponent’s backhand. Federer drove a deep return down the middle, handcuffing the Czech for triple break point. When Berdych netted a forehand, Federer broke at love for a 2-1 lead. Undaunted, Berdych applied pressure with his forehand, breaking back immediately when Federer’s forehand down the line strayed wide. Jamming a backhand return into the body for double-break point, Berdych blasted a diagonal forehand return that forced Federer to net an off-balance backhand off his backfoot, securing a second break for 4-2.  He backed up the break, winning his fourth straight game to extend the lead to 5-2 before closing the first set in 33 minutes as Federer suffered a double whammy of misery: He landed just 35 percent of his first serves and won only four of 13 points on his second serve.

Summoning flashes of magic, Federer curled a running forehand winner down the line in the third game of second set and ripped a pair of aces to save break points in the fifth game. But Berdych continued to torment the 17-time Grand Slam champion’s second serve and when the Swiss scattered an inside-out forehand wide, Berdych broke for 3-2. Wife Mirka clapped encouragingly from the support box as Federer threw down a leaping smash to reach double break point in the ensuing game and the crowd erupted in chants of “Roger! Roger!” when Federer broke back for 3-3.

The fourth seed answered the call, picking up a slick half-volley drop shot winner with the ease of a man plucking a flower from a garden. That dazzling shot sealed a 74-second love hold as Federer nosed in front 4-3. Sliding another ace, he extended the lead to 5-4 then escalated his attack. A backhand volley winner brought him to triple set point and Federer sealed the 39-minute second set winning his eighth straight point to level the match.

Tension ratcheted up in the decider as both men earned early break points. When Federer followed a forehand forward to knock off a volley, he had won 15 of the last 16 points to earn triple break point. Big Berd denied the threat, erasing all three break points and eventually firing a forehand winner for 1-all. Moving more fluidly and stepping into the court more frequently, Federer, who won 12 of 16 trips to net, seized a 15-shot rally to break for 3-1 in the decider as Berdych’s shoulder sagged. Berdych, who saved three match points in subduing Federer in the 2013 Dubai semifinals, fought off two championship points to hold for 3-5 and force Federer to serve it out. He finished with a fist pump while fans traded high-fives in celebration. Snapping Berdych’s winning streak of 11 matches to raise his record to 4-1 against Top 10 opponents this year, Federer has already matched his total Top 10 wins of 2013 (4-10) and the father of twins — with another child on the way —  is looking right at home on court these days.

“I train a lot here throughout the last few years; it’s definitely helped me become heat-tough over the years because summer can be brutal,” Federer told TennisTV.com's David Mercer afterward. “It’s always nice to be here and to do something very significant. I couldn’t be more happy that this week turned out the way it did.”

Source : Tennis.com
*fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/t1/1966799_560625720700448_1538215235_n.jpg


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## ssk_the_gr8 (Mar 2, 2014)

subscribing... we needed a tennis channel


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## ashs1 (Mar 3, 2014)

*IPTL 2014 Draft Results : *

*www.tennispanorama.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/iptl-300x210.png

World No.1 Rafael Nadal will represent Mumbai in the inaugural edition of Mahesh Bhupathi-promoted International Premier Tennis League (IPTL), an Asian inter-city team tournament to be played on a home-and-away basis in November-December. 

In a close-door auction held in the desert city on Sunday, tennis' biggest names -- Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray -- went for undisclosed figures believed to be upwards of $2 million for the November 28 to December 14 affair. The only figure Bhupathi was willing to dish out was that the entire purse of $24 million, the allocated figure for the buying of players, was spent in an afternoon of big-money deals. 

The others members in the Mumbai outfit outside of the Spaniard is Frenchman Gael Monfils, gorgeous Serb Ana Ivanovic, American legend Pete Sampras, Indian doubles stars Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna and Frenchman Fabrice Santoro. What's especially exciting for Indians and Mumbaikars in particular is that they will get to see the best players in action in their city. 

While the Serbian world No.2 Novak Djokovic, Dane Caroline Wozniacki and Croat Goran Ivanisevic went to Dubai; reigning Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, Belarusian Victoria Azarenka and Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was picked by Bangkok; American superstars Andre Agassi and Serena Williams, and Czech hunk Tomas Berdych went to Singapore in a first-of-a-kind auction seen in tennis. 

The IPTL said the owners would name their teams, pick their colours and introduce themselves to the media shortly. Bhupathi was tight-lipped on the owner of the Mumbai team, only going so far as to say that the city-based celebrity's profile was perfect for the league. 

Bhupathi said, "As an Indian and the owner of the tournament I'm delighted that the world No.1 Rafa Nadal is playing for an Indian city. I think the teams are evenly balanced, I'm happy for the players who have been picked, but in a four team playoff there was always going to be some players who were not going to be picked." 

Bhupathi added that the over the next few weeks the teams would pick their cast of support staff after which the league will form a reserve bench of players in case of injuries or pull outs. 

Teams were allowed to draft between six to ten players. The salaries each team will pay its players is estimated to be between $4 and 10 million. Every tie will consist of five matches -- men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, mixed doubles and legends singles. 

The matches will be one-set affairs, played with the no-ad rule with the entire tie to be completed in three hours. The competition will be played in a round-robin format.

Source : TOI


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## ashs1 (Mar 13, 2014)

*2014 BNP PARIBAS OPEN, Indian Wells, U.S.A. *

The first Masters 1000 Tournament of the year is already Halfway !! The quarterfinals are set after a week long schedule of matches in this 96 player draw Tourny ! 

News :
1. Rafael Nadal was defeated by Alexander Dolgopolov( The Dog) in a 3rd Round Upset ! Dolgopolov's play was Extremely Aggressive and Risky, but it paid off in the end. Score : 6-3 3-6 7-6(5)
2.  Other Early Upsets include :  
    a. Berdych lost to Roberto Bautista-Agut (Round 2 )
    b. Tsonga lost to Julien Benneteau ( Round 2)
    c. Dimitrov lost to Ernests Gulbis (Round 3) ..Not exactly an Upset, but Had more hopes from Dimitrov.
    d. Janowicz lost to Alejandro Falla ( Round 2)
    e. Delpotro withdrew before his Round2 match due to wrist Injury.
    f. Gilles simon lost to Dominic Thiem in Round2.
    g. Kohlschreiber lost to Lu Yen-hsun in Round2.

3. Today's 4th Round Matches Results :

Djokovic defeats Cilic	1-6 6-2 6-3	
Raonic	defeats	  Murray	4-6 7-5 6-3	
Anderson	defeats	  Wawrinka	7-6(1) 4-6 6-1
Federer	defeats	  Haas	6-4 6-4	
Gulbis	defeats	 Bautista Agut	7-6(0) 4-6 6-2	
Dolgopolov	defeats	 Fognini	6-2 6-4	
Benneteau	defeats	 Lopez	6-3 7-6(4)	
J Isner	defeats	  Verdasco	7-6(3) 3-6 6-3

Today's main Upsets were Murray & Wawrinka's defeat . . 
Wawrinka is still in the Mens Doubles Event though. He has Paired up with Roger Federer & They have been Extremely Formidable !!! They defeated the Indo-pak Express in the first Round, Gulbis/Raonic in the second Round & Today, they defeated the no.4 Seeds - Paes & Stepanek. They now face Peya & Soares in the Quarterfinals. 


Among the Top ten seeds, Only Federer , Djokovic & Raonic remain. A lot of Upsets in this Tournament.
Among these 3 seeds, Only Federer seems to have been in a good form. Raonic is somewhat ok & Djokovic has been very Edgy.
Federer was at his Best against the German Tommy Haas & got him in straight sets. Roger now faces, Kevin Anderson, who advanced to QFs after defeating Wawrinka.


Djokovic , on the other hand, has been a bit inconsistent in this tournament & was almost *bageled* in the first set against marin cilic today. But, He got the Croat in 3 sets Ultimately.


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## ashs1 (Mar 18, 2014)

*DJOKOVIC Edges FEDERER in a Thriller !!*  

After Having a somewhat easy lineup till the semis, Roger Federer came out on to the court guns Blazing. In just a little above 30 mins, federer pocketed the first set with Ease. Just when it seemed like, its gonna be another str8 sets victory for roger, Novak Djokovic roared back into the match. He started finding rythm on his serve & his Forehand. With his forehand back on track, Novak dictated most of the rallies which gradually lead to winning the 2nd set. The third set was a roller coaster. Novak broke early in the third set & maintained his lead. However, when he came to serve it out for championships at 5-4, Fed broke back quickly & then quickly got to a 6-5 lead. Djokovic maintained his cool, won his service game to 6-6 & then, came the dreaded tie-breaker. Unlike the rest of the match, which was brilliant & high quality stuff, The tie-breaker was a complete cr@p ! Fed lost the TB in a lame manner at 7-3. 



> Three thoughts on what may very well be the best best-of-three-set match of 2014:
> 
> 1. In today’s chat, someone asked me who Indian Wells tournament owner and money magnet Larry Ellison wanted to win. I said that Ellison would prefer the match to go as long as possible, so that both men would be forced to pull out of next week's Miami Masters, a la Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal after their 2006 war in Rome. Not only would that hurt his rival tournament out east, but it would further enhance the image of the BNP Paribas Open, which he's built into an event that matches the Grand Slams in everything except the points on offer.
> 
> ...



Source : Tennis.com

- - - Updated - - -

*MIAMI DRAW is OUT !!!*



> World No. 1 Rafael Nadal leads the 96-man field at the Sony Open Tennis, where 19 of the Top 20 players in the Emirates ATP Rankings are competing, including last week’s Indian Wells champion Novak Djokovic, runner-up Roger Federer and defending Miami champion Andy Murray.
> *www.rado.com/tl_files/news/News-of-2013/03_march/03_andy_murray_won_sony_miami_open/Andy%20Murray%20-%20Miami%20Masters%20winner.jpg
> Nadal is looking to add the elusive Miami crown to his collection of a record 26 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophies. He is a three-time runner-up at the Crandon Park Tennis Center, most recently in 2011 (l. to Djokovic).
> 
> ...



Draw is here : *www.atpworldtour.com/share/event-draws.aspx?Year=2014&EventId=403&Draw=ms

Who do you think will win at the 2nd Masters 1000 Tournament of 2014 ??


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## ashs1 (Mar 25, 2014)

*Miami Masters Halfway Review *

So, the 2nd Masters 1000 tournament of the year-  Sony Open 2014 is halfway now. The Fourth Round Matches will take place today & the Schedule is packed up as all the players will be in action today !! 
So far, there has been no top10 upsets ( Juan Martin Del-potro has withdrawn prior to his second round match due to wrist Injury ).  However, some of the notable upsets so far are : Dimitrov, Anderson ( both lost in 3rd Round), Gulbis, Cilic ( both lost in 2nd Round)...

The big4 have, so far, played flawlessly ( maybe except murray in round1 ) with special mention to Federer, who seems to be actually having fun on court. It almost looks like he's playing Exhibition match in every round. .

Today's schedule is Packed with Exciting match..

You can check out today's play schedule here : ATP World Tour Order Of Play - Tennis - ATP World Tour

&  ALSO, The ticket sale for the ATP BARCLAYS WORLD TOUR FINALS has started. ( for those who don't know, ATP BARCLAYS WORLD TOUR FINALS is the final tournament of the year, where the top 8 players participate & fight it out for the Final Trophy. As there are only 8 players, Instead of the traditional Draw format, The Round Robin Draw Format is followed. )

If anyone is planning on visiting london ( During Nov 9-16 2014), You can witness the majestic tournament held at the O2 Arena in London.
Tickets can be purchased here : Tickets | Barclays ATP World Tour Finals


P.S : 
I hope Star sports improves its services in the future. Despite having 6 channels ( 4 SD & 2 HD Channels ), They haven't shown all the matches properly this week. 
For example, take today's schedule. The play starts from 8.30 PM( IST), but the LIVE broadcast from starsports starts from 3:15 AM ( for 1 hour 15 mins ) & then again resumes LIVE broadcast from 6.30 AM 
Instead of showing LIVE matches this past week, they often show highlights of T20 worldcup, Barclays premier league, some boring masterclass episodes in which Arun Lal, Mahesh Manjrekar gives tips (WTF ??  ) & motogp re-runs.

& i though Ten sports was Bad !!

Why can't we have a Dedicated 24x7 Tennis Channel ( like the one in USA and Canada ) ? 

ciao.

- - - Updated - - -

okay, it looks like the schedule uploaded on starsports website is not latest.
They are, indeed, showing the 4th round matches today on both Star sports 4 & star sports HD2.

Good job !! 
*
Novak Djokovic Trounces Nadal !*

Nole wins the Miami open in stellar fashion !! In a highly anticipated final, Novak surprised everyone with his extraordinary all-round abilities during the final. With the last important NA hardcourt tournament, Novak easily defeated rafa in str8 sets 6-3 6-3.


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## ashs1 (Mar 29, 2014)

*The Finals are SET..Who's your BET ??? *


Fans who went to Key Biscane to witness the power packed semifinal Clashes between Djokovic vs Nishikori & Nadal vs Berdych were in for a big shock/disappointment as both Nishikori & Berdych gave walkovers to their opponents.
Nishikori who played some Inspirational tennis in this tournament by beating Dimitrov in 2 tight sets, then ferrer in 3 sets & finally edging out Federer in 3 sets. Nishikori stated that due to a groin Injury he would be unable to play the semifinals against Nole.( which automatically gave him a ticket to finals ).

& just when we thought this day couldn't get any worse for the tournament organisers, Another Bad News struck upon them like lightning.
Apparently, Tomas Berdych - (the Birdman) who was supposed to play Nadal later on the day, also withdrew before his match due to gastroenteritis.

This is actually the first time in open era that both Finalists received a walkover in the SFs.

The Tournament organisers, though a bit disappointed, still managed to put a smile on  their faces as they had a dream mens final ahead of them - top seed vs 2nd seed !
Hopefully, The match should be a cracker as the last 4 matches of these 2 players on hardcourt were equally distributed between them. ( rafa won the Montreal & us open while nole won the beijing & world tour finals ).

Earlier in the quarterfinals, there was major Controversy regarding a particular point in the 12th game of the first set between Novak & Murray.  With Murray serving at 5-6 in the first set, Djokovic hit a volley to win the first point of the game. Replays clearly showed that Djokovic had reached over the net to hit the ball, which is against the rules.

Murray argued with the umpire after no call was made, and also questioned Djokovic, who said little. After losing the point, Murray dropped his serve at love to give Djokovic the first set. Murray would go on to lose the match, 7-5, 6-3.

The umpire told Murray that in his view, Djokovic had been in line with the net, but did not reach over it.
Djokovic later said he had reached over the net, but indicated that he thought he had been within the rules. 






> Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will contest the Sony Open Tennis final for the second time after both received walkovers through the semi-finals on Friday in Miami.
> 
> Nadal and Djokovic clashed in the 2011 title match at Crandon Park, with Djokovic prevailing in a third-set tie-break. The pair will meet for the first time this season. Nadal leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 22-17, but has lost his past two meetings with Djokovic, losing in the finals in Beijing and at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.
> 
> ...


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## ashs1 (Mar 31, 2014)

*The Djoker Wins @Miami !!!*
*www.tennisnow.com/Files/novak-djokovic-miami-2014-0317.aspx
One word that can describe Novak's performance today : Flawless ( peRFect is for fed  ).
Despite windy Conditions, Djokovic's performance was Outstanding. While everyone was hoping for a Cracking 3set thriller, what they got was, a cold Ruthless devastating yet dazzling game of tennis from the World No.2 Novak Djokovic. With Nadal struggling to get a proper hold in the match, One of the Best point of the match came at the Ultimate point- The Championship Point !! Check it out ! 




With Back to back wins at Indian Wells & Miami, Djokovic has now Closed the gap between himself & the no.1 position by less than 2000 points. Stanislas Wawrinka remains at No.3 Despite Average Performance at both Masters While, Roger Jumped up to No.4. David Ferrer Dropped to No.6 position, while Murray plummeted to No.8 .




> Novak Djokovic won the Indian Wells-Miami double for the second time on Sunday as he defeated Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-3 in the Sony Open Tennis final.
> 
> Djokovic becomes just the second player to achieve the feat, following in the footsteps of Roger Federer (2005-06), whom he beat two weeks ago in the final of the BNP Paribas Open. Djokovic first clinched the back-to-back March ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments during a record-breaking run at the start of 2011, when he went undefeated in 41 straight matches before losing in the Roland Garros semi-finals.
> 
> ...



With the End of Miami Masters, The First Hardcourt Season comes to an End. The Next 2 Months are Clay Court Season &  with the King of clay,Nadal, playing without any injuries, it will be interesting to see his performance in the coming weeks.

Also, the Davis Cup's WORLD GROUP QUARTERFINALS will be held during this weekend. ( 4-6 APR 2014 )

Japan v Czech Rep. ( held at Tokyo, Japan )
France v Germany    (@ Nancy, France )
Italy v Great Britain  (@ Naples, Italy )
Switzerland v Kazakhstan (@ Geneva, Switzerland )

The Next Masters will be held at the beautiful city of Monte-carlo( Monaco ). The Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters is the first of three Clay court Masters tournament & it will start from 13th April.


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## dashing.sujay (Mar 31, 2014)

The match point was fabulous, a perfect ending ! But the moment I realised who the opponent was, I had been rendered totally speechless.


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## ashs1 (May 23, 2014)

*Clay Court Season Review !!*

To be honest, I usually don't follow clay court season very much due to two main reasons : 

1. My exams are held between Apr-May end..thats practically the whole clay court season. 

2. Rafael Nadal usually wins Most of the clay tournaments. 

I'll do short summary of all the major clay court tournaments quickly..

*1. Monte-Carlo Masters *: Held at the beautiful city of Monte Carlo ( Monaco ), this Tournament has one of the most spectacular views. The Courts are surrounded by Hills on the one side & beautiful water bodies on the other. This tournament should have been named Rafa Nadal masters as he has literally been ruling here until 2013 when Djokovic defeated Rafa in the finals. Federer took a last minute wild card entry to this tournament. To everyone's surprise, Nadal, for the first time since 2004, was ousted before finals by David Ferrer ( Quarterfinals )..Neither Nadal nor djokovic reached the finals this year. It was the 2014 Aus open Champ "Stanislas Wawrinka" ,who against all odds, reached the finals after defeating Ferrer in the semifinals. On the other half, Federer faced the in-form Djokovic in the semis. Again to everybody's surprise, federer successfully dissected the serb's game & defeated him in straight sets.
In the finals, Stan survived a scare-defeat & went on to defeat his fellow countryman, Federer in a 3-setter finals. 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–2.

*2. Barcelona open*  - i won't go into much details about this tournament as i hardly saw 4-5 matches. Nadal, who has won this tournament 8 times ( !!!!! ) again lost to his country-player Nicolas Almagro 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the quarterfinals. Kei Nishikori won the Tournament in a emphatic fashion !!

*3. Madrid Masters* - Doubts have started coming over Nadal's form. The guy who has a stellar record on clay had started losing matches to players he rarely loses to.. The aura of invincibility around Nadal seemed to disappear. He seemed unbothered by these doubts as he said over a press conference that he's not concerned with these doubts."Clay season is yet to finish."
Novak Djokovic withdrew from the tournament due to right arm Injury.
Roger Federer withdrew as his wife's due date was nearing.
With Novak & federer's withdrawl, more gloom arrived after a series of upsets..Murray & wawrinka lost in 3rd round, tsonga in 2nd Round.
Nadal, who seemed focused in the press conferences, reached the finals & faced Kei Nishikori ( Winner of Barcelona ). But here too, luck seem to desert the fans as Nishikori after playing 2 good sets, withdrew during the third due to Back Injury. Nadal was crowned the Winner !


*4. Rome Masters* - The Most Important Clay-court Masters. The Clay used in these courts are very similar to the ones in Roland Garros & the conditions are somewhat similar too. Considered as the Mini French open, Intense pressure was there on every player to perform well. 
Djokovic returned to the tour injury-free.
Nadal seemed to be back on track.
Federer, who once again became a dad ( they got another set of twins..this time it was boys-  Lenny & Leo ), surprised everyone by joining the tournament.

The first major upset was the 2nd round exit of federer ( thnx to Chardy ). Berdych, Stanislas wawrinka & Tsonga too went out in the 3rd Round.
To everyone's relief, Andy Murray returned to his form & had a glorious classic match with rafa in the QF. Despite his loss, he seemed pretty optimistic about his chances at RG.
Youngsters - Raonic & dimitrov reached the semis but they fell to the top seeds-rafa & Nole. Both the top seeds had a patchy path to the finals.

In a highly physically straining Finals, Djokovic was able to stop Nadal in 3 sets - 6–4, 3–6, 3–6.


*FRENCH OPEN DRAW IS OUT !!!*

I'll try to post a small review in a couple of days. 
Rafa,ferrer, wawrinka & Murray are in same half while Federer,Berdych, Raonic & Djokovic are in second half.
As of Initial reactions, it seems like Federer has received the easiest Quarter. 

*Top half of the draw : *
*fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t31.0-8/10273267_558685424250124_8703662695061829654_o.png

*Bottom half of the Draw : *
*fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t31.0-8/10379902_558685420916791_4960134450482498659_o.png

More on French open later..


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## ashs1 (Jun 1, 2014)

*French open 1st week review : *

The first week @ Roland Garros is almost over !! The first week wasn't as chaotic as the Wimbledon 2013, but it had its share of upsets. 
Tommy Haas, Nicolas Almagro, Grigor Dimitrov, *  Stan Wawrinka, kei Nishikori, * were the 1st round victims at RG2014. on the Womens side, the top three seeds are already out. Serena Williams, Li Na & agnieska Radwanska were unable to reach the further rounds along with Venus williams. with the top seeds defeated & Azarenka's withdrawal from Paris, Maria Sharapova is automatically the favourite to win the cup.

The big four - Nadal, federer, djokovic & murray had a smooth sailing to round 2. Djokovic( round 3), Federer( round 3) & murray ( round 1)were however tested a bit. 
Despite a lingering minor back injury, Nadal hasn't lost a set yet so far & is now through to Round 4.

*SUPER SUNDAY !!*

Murray and kohlschreiber were battling it out at 7-7 in the fifth set when the play was suspended due to bad lights. They will resume their play today at Court Suzanne Lenglen after the first match finishes. ( 6-3 3-6 3-6 6-4 7-7 )
Richard gasquet is also on the verge of exiting from french open as he is trailing by 2 sets against verdasco. (6-3 6-2 2-2 )

Apart from these incomplete matches, we have a exciting day ahead !!

Bouchard vs Kerber in the 1st match at phillip chatrier.
Federer faces Gulbis in the 3rd match at phillip chatrier.
Tsonga faces Djokovic in the 4th match at phillip chatrier.

Berdych vs Isner at Suzanne Lenglen ( 1st match )
Stosur vs Sharapova at Suzanne Lenglen ( last match )


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## powerhoney (Jun 1, 2014)

Did you watch Sharapova yesterday???  Double bagel demolition!!!


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## ashs1 (Jul 6, 2014)

whoa !! forgot to update this thread... :/
Too late to post about french open finals i guess.. 
*French open Winner : Rafael Nadal !! *

Today's the Final day at Wimbledon !!
The mens singles finals & the Mixed Doubles final will take place on Centre Court today.
The play starts at 2 PM ( IST : 6:30 PM).
My 2 Fav. players will face each other in the finals today : *Roger Federer vs Novak Djokovic.*

Judging by the form of the players in the previous rounds, Roger Federer is the clear favourite to win this match. He has dropped just one set ( to wawrinka in the quarterfinals ) & has been broken only once ( to wawrinka ), whereas djokovic has been struggling in most rounds. Federer had completely demolished Raonic in the semifinals ( 6-4 6-4 6-4 ), while Djokovic struggled & just managed to restrict dimitrov to four sets ( 6-4 3-6 7-6 7-6 )

But, judging by their recent rivalry, Djokovic has won 3 of their last 5 grandslam meetings.

Its too close for me to call..

but, My mind says djokovic in 4 sets
but my heart says Federer in 4 sets.


*GO ROGER !!!!*


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## powerhoney (Jul 6, 2014)

I was banking on a Dimitrov vs Federer final... Would have been a great watch... Baby Federer vs the real deal!!! 
Sadly, the evil Djoker had other plans... Am rooting for Federer tonight...


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## powerhoney (Jul 6, 2014)

What a final... Roller coaster ride throughout... 
Good game to both and congrats Novak...


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## SunE (Jul 6, 2014)

Sad to see Roger lose. He had some great streaks today.


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## ashs1 (Jul 7, 2014)

oh god !! what a final !! one of the best finals in the recent history...it was hard to predict the winner the whole time.. .. 

Heartbreak for roger.. 
I am glad he didn't give up in the 4th set..

**I am gonna go & cry in a lonely corner.. **


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## ashs1 (Aug 25, 2014)

*THE FINAL GRAND SLAM OF THE YEAR STARTS TODAY !!*

The us open is all set to rumble from today. The draws are set and the schedule are made. 

Post Wimbldon Scenario : 

*Novak Djokovic* has married his gf (jelena) after wimbledon.
His performance in the toronto and cincinnati masters were dismal. He failed to even reach the quarterfinals in both the events.

*Andy Murray* has also not tasted much success post wimbledon. He reached the quarterfinals in both events ( eventually lost to Tsonga in toronto and federer in cincinnati ).
His new coaching agreement with  Mauresmo is supposed to be till US OPEN finishes.

*Rafael Nadal* has been out of action due to wrist injury. He has not participated in toronto and cincinnati masters.
_Nadal* HAS* withdrawn from the upcoming US-OPEN as well._

*Roger Federer* has shown definite signs of returning to his Earlier form. He reached the toronto masters final ( lost to tsonga ) and won the cincinnati masters ( defeating ferrer ).
He has now reached 4 consecutive finals ( Halle, Wimbledon, toronto, cincinnati ). Expectations at US-open are HIGH !!!

Others : Raonic, Dimitrov and Wawrinka are expected to make a run at us-open.
*
US OPEN : *

Draw : 
Men's Singles | Draws | 2014 US Open Official Site - A USTA Event

Prediction : 



> There have been hints, and hopes, of vulnerability at the top of the men’s game in 2014. But so far the Big 3, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer, haven’t yielded much. Between them, they’ve filled every spot in this year's Grand Slam finals except one—Stan Wawrinka’s in Melbourne. And they’ve won five of the seven Masters events played so far.
> 
> But as the last major, the U.S. Open, begins on Monday, the vulnerability has become undeniable. One member of the top tier, Nadal, has pulled out with a wrist injury. Another, Djokovic, looked listless at best in the Open’s two tune-ups this month. And the man who once made the Big 3 a Big 4, Andy Murray, hasn’t won a tournament since last year at Wimbledon, and hasn’t reached a final in 2014. That leaves—33-year-old Roger Federer as your U.S. Open favorite?
> 
> ...


Source : tennis.com


DAY 1 schedule : Schedule of Play | Schedule | 2014 US Open Official Site - A USTA Event
Match of the day : 

Maria Sharapova vs. Maria Kirilenko 

P.S : 



Spoiler



Incase, you're planning to watch some matches,Remember, Indian time is 9 hours 30 mins ahead of NY.


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