Category: Tennis

Gil Reyes is a strength and conditioning coach who is well-known for his work with former World No. 1 Andre Agassi. How does he believe the American legend would have handled the five-month suspension of play due to COVID-19?

“Unconditionally Andre would have handled this and solved this as well as anyone,” Reyes told ATPTour.com. “[He would have done it] just by thinking it out, talking it out and counting backwards. ‘Right now it looks like the next tournament is going to be this, that leaves us this amount of time, here’s what we’re going to do during that time.’

“It was a thing of beauty listening to him say, ‘When I play this guy I find myself needing more of this, I need to work on that for that guy. I need to prepare my craft and my game now that we have time off.’”

According to Reyes, Agassi … Read the rest

Patrick McEnroe has seen it all during his life in tennis, from his career on the ATP Tour to analysing the sport from a commentator’s perspective for more than two decades. Although this week’s return to tennis at the Western & Southern Open is unprecedented after more than five months off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the American believes there is one thing fans can be confident in.

“The best players are going to be the best players,” McEnroe told ATPTour.com. “The cream will rise to the top.”

McEnroe believes it was important for players to arrive early at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, where Cincinnati’s ATP Masters 1000 event and the US Open are both being held this year, in order to get as much rhythm as possible.

“Get there as early as you can and obviously the people who play ‘Cincinnati’, you’ve … Read the rest

Stan Wawrinka was made to work, but the former World No. 3 completed a successful return to competition at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Prague. Wawrinka resumed his 2020 campaign with a gritty 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 win over Roman Safiullin on Monday afternoon.

In his first competitive match since the professional circuit was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Swiss needed one hour and 51 minutes to move past Safiullin. He converted six of 13 break chances and fired five aces to prevail.

After nearly six months on the sidelines, Wawrinka acknowledged that while it wasn’t easy, he’s happy with his performance in the deciding set.

“It was as expected, after six months being out,” said Wawrinka. “I came here to find some rhythm and check where I am. I’m happy for the victory for sure. There’s a lot of work to do, but the most important thing … Read the rest

This week, as the ATP Challenger Tour kicks off its long-awaited restart, players have descended on the scenic town of Todi in central Italy. After a two-year hiatus, the Internazionali Di Tennis Citta Di Todi is back for a 12th edition.

The Challenger 100 event is one of two stops on the circuit, as professional tennis returns on the clay of Todi and Prague. Located in the Umbria region, the Tennis Club Todi 1971 is nestled at the base of the hilltop town and offers stunning panoramic views of the surrounding municipality.

View Todi Draw

This week, seven players in the Top 150 of the FedEx ATP Rankings are competing in Todi, led by top seed Roberto Carballes Baena. Three-time ATP Tour champion and former World No. 16 Marco Cecchinato leads the Italian charge along with third seed Federico Gaio.

Carballes Baena opens against 21-year-old Jurij Rodionov, while Cecchinato faces … Read the rest

Editor’s Note: ATPTour.com is resurfacing features to bring fans closer to their favourite players and tournaments during the current suspension in tournament play. This story was originally published on 4 July 2016.

Novak Djokovic knows the Roger Cup Centre Court inside and out. The Serbian returned to those familiar confines in 2016, but in a different context.

“It was a unique opportunity to share an experience with [NHL players] in their environment,” said Djokovic, who traded his tennis racquet for a hockey stick in joining the annual exhibition ball hockey game alongside professional hockey players Connor McDavid, Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza and other NHL stars. ATP Tour players competing at the event were Denis Kudla, John Millman, Andrey Kuznetsov and the young Canadian trio of Denis Shapovalov, Felix Auger Aliassime and Benjamin Sigouin. “At the same time, it was not an ice rink, so it allowed me and the other tennis … Read the rest

After 13 years on Tour, Kevin Anderson still has plenty of first-time moments that he wants to accomplish.

The former No. 5 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings is back to full strength after a challenging 20-month stretch in which injuries and the suspension of play due to the COVID-19 pandemic have limited him to eight tournaments. He’ll resume competing this month in New York at the Western & Southern Open and US Open, where he hopes to build on the unforgettable memories of his run to the 2017 US Open final.

Anderson spoke with ATPTour.com ahead of the return to tennis about maximising his time at home and how life on Tour will be different.

How are you feeling heading into your first tournament back?
I’m just excited to have an opportunity to get back on the court and compete. It’s going to be a much different experience than … Read the rest

Novak Djokovic will put his unbeaten (18-0) streak in 2020 on the line as he returns to New York this month for the Western & Southern Open and US Open. The latter event will also be held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center due to COVID-19.

”I am happy to confirm that I will participate at the Western & Southern Open and US Open this year. It was not an easy decision to make with all the obstacles and challenges on many sides, but the prospect of competing again makes me really excited,” Djokovic said in a statement on Thursday. “I am ready to get back on court fully committed to playing my best tennis. I respect and appreciate everyone taking time, effort, and energy to organise these two events for the tennis players to be able to go back to their working field.”

Djokovic prevailed at … Read the rest

It turns out that even though Roger Federer is best with a tennis racquet, that’s not the only stick he is effective with.

The Swiss joined fellow ATP Tour players and NHL stars for a hockey exhibition in Toronto at the 2014 Rogers Cup. Some of the hockey stars in attendance were Phil Kessel and Jason Spezza. Federer was clutch under pressure, smacking the ball into the net as time expired.

“This is all about fun and it’s great fun doing this kind of stuff,” Federer said. “Getting hockey and tennis together on a centre court, which they built especially for this hockey promo, I think is great. I had a lot of fun meeting all the guys, they’re so relaxed. That I scored doesn’t matter one bit, but it was definitely a lot of fun.”

Federer has collected NHL jerseys since he was a kid, saying he has “a … Read the rest