Rod Laver: Roger, Rafa and Novak are three of my biggest champions. What Roger does on and off the court makes him a complete champion. He likes the game, this is how I feel when I see him competing. His amazing shot is the back. It’s unbelievale to see him play for such a long time.
Earlier this summer, a few ATP stars tried out for a new James Bond movie. Tomas Berdych, Diego Schwartzman, Denis Shapovalov and Karen Khachanov all took part with Outside the Ball taking them through the audition.
Schwartzman and Shapovalov both chose villain roles, while Berdych wanted to be the good guy. Fans learned that Shapovalov likes both skydiving and scuba diving, and can throw a hat with great accuracy.
The world’s greatest tennis players will be competing for record paydays when they visit New York City for the US Open beginning August 26. Both the men’s and women’s singles champions will receive a check for $3,850,000, while the men’s and women’s champion doubles teams will each receive $740,000. Both totals represent not just the richest in US Open history, but also in the history of Grand Slam tournaments.
Held each year at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, the US Open is an event unlike any other. The players represent over 40 countries and almost 700,000 fans from all over the world come to experience the electric atmosphere. However, the majority of fans don’t come solely for the tennis. Most opt to take a few extra days to experience the sights and sounds of Manhattan. After all, the “city that never sleeps” boasts a never-ending menu of iconic attractions along with legendary cuisine that only the Big Apple offers.
All in all, the US Open Tournament is a “must see” event for both ardent and casual fans of the sport who not only come to see some of the world’s best athletes compete against each other, but who also desire to get a little taste of the Big Apple in the process.
Read more at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogersands/2019/08/01/visiting-this-years-us-open-means-more-than-tennis/#1a5138ae5391
Wimbledon champion Simona Halep is set to be the Romanian flag-bearer at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and has been awarded the Steaua României, the highest distinction of the Romanian state, in the wake of her second Slam triumph.
Read more at: https://www.wtatennis.com/news/halep-set-be-olympic-flag-bearer-awarded-order-star-romania
Roger Federer became the first man in the open era to win 100 singles matches at a grand slam when he battled past Kei Nishikori to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals.
The Swiss great lost in the opening round on his first two attempts at main-draw success at SW19 before coming good in style, landing five titles in a row from 2003 to 2007.
Further trophy triumphs followed in 2009, 2012 and 2017, seeing him go past Pete Sampras to become the most prolific winner of the men’s singles at the championships.
After bringing up a century of wins, we look at five of Federer’s most memorable triumphs at the All England Club.
2001: SENDING PETE PACKING
Result: Federer beat Pete Sampras (fourth round) – 7-6 (9-7) 5-7 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 7-5
Fed said: “Sometimes it was weird. I looked on the other side of the net, I saw him. Sometimes I was like, it’s just true that this is happening now, that I’m playing against him. But then it just goes away, this feeling. You think about your serve, where you’re going to go, then it’s like playing against maybe some other player, you know. But obviously it was something special for me to play Pete.”
2007: FIVE IN A ROW
Result: Federer beat Rafael Nadal (final) – 7-6 (9-7) 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 6-2
Fed said: “I haven’t lost many best-of-five-set matches lately. I knew that was a big occasion, maybe the biggest occasion of my life so far on a big stage. I was very happy to come through as the stronger.”
2009: RODDICK ROCKED
Result: Federer beat Andy Roddick (final) – 5-7 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 16-14
Fed said: “It was difficult, because I thought Andy played great. It was frustrating at times because I couldn’t break Andy until the very, very end. So the satisfaction is maybe bigger this time around to come through, because I couldn’t control the match at all.”
2010: ROGER HOUDINI
Result: Federer beat Alejandro Falla (first round) – 5-7 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7/1) 6-0
Fed said: “I wasn’t able to read his serve. That really rattled me. So I had to look for that for a long time. Thank God I found it eventually. I definitely got lucky. But that’s how it goes sometimes.”
2012: KEEPING MURRAY WAITING
Result: Federer beat Andy Murray (final) – 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4
Fed said: “I know the occasion and how big it was for Andy and myself. I’m happy I got a victory today, but obviously it was very, very special. Today I’m sure he got another step closer to a grand slam title.”
Read more at: https://sports.yahoo.com/roger-federer-swiss-centurion-apos-195708568.html
Althea Gibson was the first black player to win a tennis Grand Slam.
First, she won the French championships in 1956, followed by Wimbledon in 1957 and the US Open. She also won both Wimbledon and the US Open twice.
Cori Gauff and Serena Williams have both cited her as their inspirations.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-48933457/the-woman-who-inspired-serena-williams-and-cori-gauff#
John McEnroe believes Roger Federer’s remarkable consistency is the reason why he will go down as the greatest player of all time ahead of Rafael Nadal as the pair cruised into the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
They are the two most successful male players in tennis history and the debate over who is the GOAT has raged for a long time, but McEnroe – himself a seven-time Slam winner – believes Federer just has the edge.
‘Why he gets the nod over Rafa is consistency. He’s putting himself on the line consistently and getting deep into majors consistently,’ McEnroe explained during commentary for the BBC.
