JC Tennis Travel Adventures: atp 500

Showing posts with label atp 500. Show all posts

Basil - Railways to Roger Pt. 2

Roger's Town - Basel, Switzerland

Back in Europe for the clay-court season, I was returning back to the USA after meeting Rafael Nadal at his hometown and academy.

To make the journey complete I decided to book a detour to see Switzerland again, after the great holiday experience the previous Spring at the Sechseläuten or Sächsilüüte weekend festival.

Read Railways to Roger - Part 1: Zurich, Switzerland

Visiting Basel via train from Zurich

To complete this European tennis tour, let's go make a tennis pitstop to visit Roger Federer's hometown in Basel!

From here, you can see both Germany and France at the same time!

This is an all-important city for loyal fans of Mr. Roger Federer. Between tournaments, he often flies home to Switzerland to practice and spend time with his family.

Basel Bridge Seal

Just before Madrid, he spent some time prepping with his team to prepare his body for the clay season.

Maestro's Magic

His peers describe him as a funny/silly guy who's still a child at heart. More importantly, he's a very decent, humble human being.

Switzerland's shining superstar - the role model for tennis.

Just like Kei Nishikori from Japan, Roger is a global brand ambassador for Uniqlo.

Swiss Indoors - ATP 500 Event

If you can come here in the Autumn, around October, you can also visit the Swiss Indoor 500 Championships. Roger was once even a ball kid here!

The architecture and history of this city are amazing. You will see a lot of German influences around the town center.

Swiss-German is the language most commonly spoken here. But one can get by with English easily here, too - the Swiss are very multi-lingual!

Laver Cup

Later in the year, Roger welcomed the world to Geneva. Just one of many beautiful cities to visit and explore while in Switzerland.

To lend his support in America, he was nice enough to come by during his recovery to support his friends here in the USA for 2021. Flying to Boston unannounced, he surprised everyone during that Laver Cup.

In his final pro match, he played doubles with his greatest rival and friend, Rafael Nadal.

It was a very emotional ending, filled with tears of joy and sadness. But Roger could go out on his own terms, in his own time, in his own way. Tennis will always remember his career and personality fondly.

At the London 2022 Laver Cup, the Big 4 played together for the last time

See Switzerland and Travel with Tennis

I encourage tennis fans to plan a trip to Europe.
Witness the beauty of the country and explore new continents.
Combine your love of tennis and travel together! I show the way.

Why should we make our cages bigger?
When we can make this world smaller.

Perhaps you, too will meet Mr. Federer in the Swiss Alps!
Hope to see you at the mountaintop. Bon Voyage!

Tennis and Travel:
'Tis not the mountain we conquered, but ourselves.

Top tennis stars in Washington DC at 2015 Citi Open

Capital Tennis action comes back to DC for 1 week only

Written and Edited by Tennis-Bargains.com Staff (Nik and JC):

After a placid June, DC summer temperatures are steadily rising again for the 2015 Citi Open in the heart of DC. The US tennis hard court season gets ready to roll next weekend, beginning on Saturday Aug. 1 at the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center. Get your tickets at Citi Open with this 25% USTA promo code

Media: Highlight Videos | HD Photos

The 2015 ATP men’s draw has three former US Open winners: Andy Murray, Marin Cilic and Lleyton Hewitt.

Andy has been playing his past tennis since the start of the year, with excellent showings at all the grand slams (Finals of the Australian, Semis at the French, Semis at Wimbledon) plus a stellar clay court season.

US Open fans:
Subscribe here for 2-for-1 ticket promo codes and alerts

A fresh and rejuvenated Murray is our pick to win this year. Marin Cilic has made a steady comeback from elbow and shoulder problems since his US Open triumph last year. After his Wimbledon QF loss to Djokovic, he believes he is peaking at the right time for the summer hard court season again.

Grigor Dimitrov (aka Baby Fed and Sharapova's bf), after a split with coach Roger Rasheed will be looking to make amends. While coach Rasheed was instrumental in getting Grigor’s fitness levels to tour-worthy levels, Dimitrov probably feels like he needs more match-specific strategy to make that elusive deep run for an ATP 1000 or Grand Slam title. Dimitrov is a treat to watch when he’s playing well; definitely a fan favorite at the Citi Open.

The Big Men

Ivo Karlovic is in the form of his 36-year-old life. Recently predicted via Twitter that he thinks he can play until 40 with the way he’s serving. Ivo’s also barely short of 400 aces from stealing the all-time ATP aces record off of his buddy Goran Ivanisevic. Ivo’s doppelganger is another super-tall server, John Isner, the top American seed in the draw and John’s always a title contender in any tournament he enters.

American Pride

Fellow Americans Jack Sock and Steve Johnson will also be at hand - Jack recently made waves when his forehand was measured to produce more RPMs i.e. rotation on his topspin than Rafa Nadal’s, Jack took a set of Nadal on route to a 3R loss French Open but only after topping Grigor Dimitrov in Round 2. He also won the US Clay court championships earlier this year. Lots of potential for Jack, if he's firing on all cylinders.

Next Wave of Young Tennis Prodigies

There’s also a strong contingent of up and comers in the draw - 19-year-old Thanassi Kokkinakis isn’t the main Australian player making headlines yet (20-year-old Nick Krygios gets that honor) and Bernard Tomic at 22 seems almost like the veteran of the lot.

Also up and coming is the young 18-year-old German 6’ 6” tall Alexander Zverev - he’s been under the gun for being too intense and some tour players including Fernando Verdasco recently questioned his on-court tennis etiquette and behavior but Alex says it all only to fire himself up.

Asian Stars on the rise

Kei Nishikori will make another appearance as the Top 5 Ranked Men's player in the world. Look for amazing backhands and flawless footwork from this guy. Hopefully, Coach Michael Chang will also be here to support his young pupil.

Hyeon Chung from South Korea is another young Asian prospect (#79 in the world) who’s been posting great results on the Challenger tour. At the Miami Open in March, I watched him take a set off Tomas Berdych. He's a very steady baseline player with some impressive shot selection maturity well beyond his years.

Strongest Women's Field in DC ever

The women’s draw this year features the strongest WTA draw we’ve seen in the city (pun). Led by Sam Stosur, Sloane Stephens, Belinda Bencic, and Svetlana Kuznetsova - there is a lot of powerhouse women players coming back to DC this year.

While all 3 of them are in somewhat a slump lately, hard courts are their best surface so they’ll be looking to kick into high gear. Sloane Stephens leads the American charge. While she hasn’t played her best tennis her in the past, she’s a fan favorite here in DC so look for her to have a strong run in the tournament.

Other American Women include Madison Brengle (with her success on the WTT Washington Kastles team), plus Coco Vandeweghe and Christina McHale returning to DC again.

Citi Open Photo Archives: 2014 | 2013

Citi Open - Early Round Highlights

Grigor Dimitrov aka. "Baby Fed"

Early Round Recap by Nikhil S.

An action packed Tuesday evening at the Citi Open in Washington DC - lot of great matches and young talent on display. If you still haven't visited this year, today and tomorrow (Thursday) are going to be great days to visit (click here for tickets and tournament info)

Somdev Devvarman (UVa Alum)

Upset of the day (Tuesday)

Somdev Devvarman (yes that two "dev's" in one name) taking out defending champ Alex Dolgopolov. Alexander has been affected by health issues this year nad he looked out of sorts but Devvarman showed incredible foot speed and great touch to pull this one out.

Matches of the day

Sam Querry vs Denis Istomin - 3rd Set Tie-breaker

In terms of drama, Sam Querrey's Houdini-esque escape after saving multiple points against Denis Istomin probably stands out. Both players seemed tentative in the final set tie-break with Istomin throwing in two double faults, to let Sam squeak through.

In terms of quality of tennis, the late night match between Marcos Baghdatis and Lukas Lacko on Court 1 might be hard to beat this week. Baghdatis moved like a cat counterpunching while Lacko glided around the court dictating play, as both guys traded clean flat groundies in this pulsating encounter. After winning a close 1st set tie-break Lacko looked drain a Baghdatis entered the zone clocking winners on the run to the delight of the gasping crowd. "Bag" as some of his inebriated fans nicknamed him last night, got the early break in the 3rd set and coasted along to close it out 6-4 in three tight sets.

Ryan Harrison - focused, tanned and ready

Other highlights: Young talents Jack Sock, Bernard Tomic and Grigor Dimitrov posted routine wins while young American Ryan Harrison notched an impressive scalp in ousting Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets. In the press room, Grigor Dimitrov handled the press with panache, skillfully deflecting questions about his "off court" media scrutiny. You can see a clip of his interview here.

Wednesday promises to be another action-packed day with top seeds Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro, Tommy Haas and John Isner all taking the court.

Make sure you get your Citi Open tickets here. See you there!

DC's Citi Open Wrap-up and US Open Series update

Special Thanks:
1) To the media crew from Sage Communications / Steve Winters' team was very helpful to my staff this week. Even though it was the first year for the Citi Open group, all the facilities at the media center were run like clockwork and food was excellent. For new photographers and reporters, it was a welcoming experience to provide promotional coverage for Citi Open.

2) To the volunteers (purple shirts) who were very friendly and helpful for getting this event coordinated even with all the rain delay and late nights there.

3) For the athletes to come to DC and compete in this first ever ATP/WTA combined event in Washington. Their willingness to speak with us and offer the post-game interviews was invaluable.

4) Last but not least, to my crew Mikhail Bezruchko - senior photographer for his photography contributions and my lead ATP consultant/blog writer Nikhil Subramanian for his insights and match previews throughout the week.

Great experience for us at Citi Open 2012, and hope to see everyone out there again next year!

Looking ahead - 3 more weeks until NYC and the US Open 2012

US Open Series Bonus Challenge Standings (8/5/12)

Position	Player	Country	Total Points
1	Sam Querrey	USA	95
T-2	Alexandr Dolgopolov	UKR	70
	Andy Roddick	USA	70
T-4	Ricardas Berankis	LTU	45
	Tommy Haas	GER	45
	Gilles Muller	LUX	45
T-7	Xavier Malisse	BEL	30
	Michael Russell	USA	30
T-9	Mardy Fish	USA	25
	John Isner	USA	25
	Marinko Matosevic	AUS	25
	Rajeev Ram	USA	25
	Go Soeda	JPN	25

ATP Final: Alex Dolgopolov vs Tommy Haas

Post-Olympic tennis tonight on American Hard courts in DC - US Open less than 4 weeks away!

A new contender vs the seasoned veteran.

Hot vs cold, Erratic vs calm, Young vs Old.

Tommy Haas - ATP Veteran
Photo by Mikhail Bezruchko. COPYRIGHT Tennis-Bargains.com

Tommy Haas

Tommy has already beaten Federer on grass in Germany just weeks ago. Although he did not get on the German Olympic team, this ATP 500 title would be a great sense of redemption and achievement.

He is playing his best tennis in recent history. Entering the "Agassi 2nd career" phase now at 34, Tommy looks very hungry for another title.

Well conditioned for the heat in his semi-finals match against Fish, last night he came back out to do a bit of scouting against his younger opponent. Let's see how mentally tough he will be against the flash and dazzle of Dolg.

Dolgopolov serving up 1st ATP 500 Final
Photo by Mikhail Bezruchko. COPYRIGHT Tennis-Bargains.com

Alexandr "The Dog" Dolgopolov

At 24, he will be the young pup in this fight, but brings some amazing shot-making ability to the table. His serve can a double-edged sword. Either excellent and unreadable, or backfire and give him some trouble even when 40-0 up in his service game.

It will be Alex's first ever ATP 500 Final - but he has handled the pressure very well this week...up until today. Let's see if nerves hold or if this hot/humid DC afternoon will change anything with his game plan. Handling his emotions and playing aggressively on the return will again be keys to this match for him.

Interesting note: Apparently Alex uses the same Luxilon Ace 18 strings as me.

My prediction

Both are great competitors. I've seen Haas here for years and would be nice him to finally break through. He looks more hungry of the two. Dolg has the higher ranking and building more confidence with each win. If he brings his "A" game and step up to the next gear against Haas, it will be a great match!

It will either be Haas in 2 sets, or Dolgopolov in 3 - with at least one tie-break set. Should be a great ATP final in Washington, DC tonight.

From London back to DC - ATP Men's Final

Welcome back from London to our nation's capital DC at the Citi Open ATP 500 Men's Final.

Watch it on ESPN2 @ 4PM EST live!