Andy Murray Crashes out of Indian Wells

World no.2, british Andy Murray is out of ATP BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells) 2016. Murray got
defeated by argentinian Federico Delbonis in three sets (4-6; 6-4; 6-7). That was Andy Murray's first defeat to a left-hander not named Nadal since 2011, ending a 39-match win streak.

Murray Races Through Opener; Coric Sets Berdych Clash

Andy Murray cruised into the third round of the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden as he defeated Marcel Granollers 6-4, 7-6(3).
"It was very different conditions to what I have been practicing and playing in in the past five weeks, against a tough, unorthodox player," said Murray. "He's got quite a different game. He's very smart player, as well, intelligent player, and often makes the right decisions. He made it tough for me."
Murray and his wife, Kim Sears, became parents to Sophia Olivia on 7 February, just one week after the Scot finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final. He returned to action last week to lead Great Britain through the first round of the Davis Cup against Japan.
The 28-year-old Murray reached the final of this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in 2009 (l. to Nadal) and notched his 25th win in the desert as he broke serve twice from 10 opportunities to clinch victory in one hour and 41 minutes.
#NextGen star Borna Coric set a third-round clash with sixth seed Tomas Berdych as he dismissed 29th seed Thomaz Bellucci 6-2, 6-2 in 87 minutes. The 19-year-old Coric reached his first ATP World Tour final in the first week of the season in Chennai (l. to Wawrinka).
Bernard Tomic will face Milos Raonic after defeating Rajeev Ram 6-4, 7-5. The 23-year-old Tomic has enjoyed a strong start to the season, highlighted by reaching his first ATP World Tour 500 final in Acapulco (l. to Thiem). He will look to get revenge over Raonic for the defeat he suffered when they met in the Brisbane semi-finals in January.
Third seed Stan Wawrinka raced to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Illya Marchenko. The Swiss won 74 per cent of his service points and broke Marchenko three times to prevail in 66 minutes on Stadium 1.

The 30-year-old Wawrinka is already a winner of two ATP World Tour titles this year, lifting the trophies in Chennai (d. Coric) and Dubai (d. Baghdatis).

American wild card Frances Tiafoe almost pulled off the biggest win of his young career against 15^th seed David Goffin. The 18 year old, part of the ATP’s #NextGen campaign, held two match points in the 10^th game of the third set, but ultimately fell 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(2) in two hours and 14 minutes.
Marin Cilic ended the hopes of another young American, beating qualifier Ryan Harrison 6-4, 6-3. 

Source: BNP Paribas Open

ATP Rankings 7 March 2016

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have maintained a stranglehold on the No. 1 and No. 2 rankings after they each guided their Davis Cup teams to victory following memorable five-set, five-hour heroics.

Meanwhile, in top 20 rankings movements this week, Dominic Thiem has continued his steady rise towards the top 10, climbing another spot to No. 13 at the expense of injured Canadian Milos Raonic. Thiem led Austria to a 4-1 Group 1 opening round win over Portugal this weekend, defeating both Gastao Elias and Joao Sousa in his singles matches, while also combing with veteran Alexander Peya to win a five-set doubles marathon. Raonic meanwhile missed Canada’s loss to France as he continues to recover from an injury sustained against Murray in the Australian Open semi-finals in January.

David Goffin meanwhile dropped two spots to No. 18 despite winning both of his singles matches as last year’s Davis Cup finalists Belgium crashed out in the first round to Croatia. Goffin posted superb victories over Borna Coric and Marin Cilic but it wasn’t enough for Belgium to advance to the quarter-finals, with Coric defeating Kimmer Coppejans in straight sets in the live fifth rubber to hand Croatia a 3-2 win.

The ATP Tour moves on to one of it’s busiest stretches of the season over the course of the next month, with back-to-back Masters 1000 events taking place in Indian Wells and Miami. Indian Wells begins later this week, with Novak Djokovic the defending champion.

The full list of the ATP Top 20 as of Monday March 7, ahead of Indian Wells coming up later this week:

1. Novak Djokovic

2. Andy Murray

3. Roger Federer

4. Stan Wawrinka

5. Rafael Nadal

6. Kei Nishikori

7. Tomas Berdych

8. David Ferrer

9. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

10. Richard Gasquet

11. John Isner

12. Marin Cilic

13. Dominic Thiem (+1)

14. Milos Raonic (-1)

15. Kevin Anderson

16. Gael Monfils (+1)

17. Roberto Bautista Agut (+1)

18. David Goffin (-2)

19. Gilles Simon

20. Bernard Tomic

Murray Wins Five-Set Epic to Send Great Britain Through

BIRMINGHAM, GREAT BRITAIN: Andy Murray sealed a third successive Davis Cup by BNP Paribas quarterfinal and a 150th tie win for Great Britain as the world No. 2 staved off a comeback from Japan’s Kei Nishikori in a five-set thriler to clinch victory for the hosts.
Murray showed his trademark fight and determination to overcome Nishikori 75 76(6) 36 46 63 in a tense match lasting four hours and 54 minutes. It further extends his unbeaten streak in Davis Cup singles and doubles rubbers to 14.
Taking on world No. 6 Nishikori was, by ranking, Murray’s toughest test yet in Davis Cup as this was the first time he had taken on a top-10 player. Although Nishikori was on an 11-match singles win streak himself in the competition, Murray did have the psychological advantage of a 5-1 head-to-head record against the Japanese.
After being distracted by a balloon popping amongst the crowd at the Barclaycard Arena, Murray had to save a break point in a tense opening game before then claiming the break himself for 3-1 with a deep backhand return which forced the error from Nishikori.
Murray started to show signs of frustration as Nishikori reeled off three games in a row to level at 44. But Murray dug deep in the face of repeated clean ball striking from his opponent and broke for the opening set on his third set point as Nishikori dumped a forehand into the net at the end of a lengthy rally.
Nishikori looked despondent as he walked off court for a toilet break but produced the perfect response upon his return as he immediately broke in the first game of the second set. Murray broke back for 2-2 with a stunning backhand winner down the line and a tight set ensued as it went to the tiebreak.
Murray looked good for a two-set lead as he raced to a 4-0 lead but Nishikori fought back and moved 5-4 ahead with two serves for the set. Murray saved one set point with an ace out wide and then took the set himself thanks to some terrific defence which saw Nishikori net with a backhand.
Nishikori gave some hope to the Japanese fans of a comeback, though, in a quickfire 33-minute third set as he broke for 5-3 and then sealed the set with a stretch backhand winner which flew past an incoming Murray. It was only the third set in 15 that Nishikori had won against Murray in his career.
He did not have to wait too long for another either. Murray failed to take two break points in the early stages of the fourth set and Nishikori made him pay with the double break for 5-2. He could not serve out the set at the first time of asking but made no mistake the second time, taking the match to a deciding set with Murray looking fatigued.
Murray had only once in his career lost in the 134 times he had been two sets up in a best-of-five set match – at the age of 18 against David Nalbandian at Wimbledon in 2005 – but the British support were understandably quiet as Nishikori broke in the opening game of the fifth set with a forehand drive volley.
But despite lumbering around the court in between points, Murray often somehow finds a way and he fought back despite struggling on serve as Nishikori also found it difficult to hold with a total of five breaks in the first six games of the set, the last crucially being claimed by Murray as he hit a forehand winner to go 42 ahead and then held to move to within one game of victory.
Murray failed to convert two match points on the Nishikori serve but he then served out the victory to maintain his record of having never lost a Davis Cup singles match on a hard court (13-0).

Source: DavisCup.com

Murrays Continue Unbeaten Streak for 2-1 Lead

Jamie Murray (GBR) and Andy Murray (GBR)

Andy and Jamie Murray maintained their unbeaten record together in Davis Cup by BNP Paribas as the Great Britain pair won the doubles rubber in straight sets to put the hosts one win away from a third successive quarterfinal.
Andy and Jamie had no issue in winning their fifth match in the competition, not facing a single break point in a 63 62 64 win against Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka and Yasutaka Uchiyama in one hour and 53 minutes.
A hassle-free win was ideal for Andy as the world No. 2 bids to secure victory for Great Britain against Kei Nishikori in the first of Sunday’s reverse singles rubbers. If world No. 6 Nishikori was to inflict Andy’s first ever Davis Cup singles defeat on a hard court, the World Group first-round tie would come down to a decider between Dan Evans and Taro Daniel.
It was no surprise when it was announced that Dominic Inglot had been replaced by Andy in the British doubles nomination. Japan opted, however, to rest Nishikori for the final day, sticking with their original pairing of Nishioka and Uchiyama.
Although an unheralded pair, both had reached finals on the ATP Challenger circuit last week, Nishioka in Cherbourg and Uchiyama in Kyoto. Uchiyama was also considered to be far better and more experienced than his doubles ranking of No. 317 suggested, having won two of the six Davis Cup doubles rubbers he had played previously.
But despite a solid start, holding their first four service games, this was a tough ask against an established British pair who broke for 53 in the first set courtesy of a trademark backhand return winner down the line by Andy. The world No. 2 then served out the set in 34 minutes.
The Murrays kept the momentum going with an immediate break at the start of the second set courtesy of another Andy backhand return winner. Uchiyama gifted the double break for 52 to the Brits as he misfired a smash wide and Jamie served out to seal a two-set lead.
Nishioka and Uchiyama fought to the end but a crucial break for 54 gave Andy the chance to clinch victory on his serve and he did so in style with an ace out wide.

Source: DavisCup.com

Davis Cup: Andy Murray Gives Great Britain Lead Over Japan

Andy Murray returned to action with a comfortable win over Taro Daniel to give holders Britain an early lead against Japan in the Davis Cup.

Murray, playing for the first time since becoming a father last month, beat the world number 87 6-1 6-3 6-1.
Victory in the best-of-five tie in Birmingham will secure a quarter-final place and World Group status in 2017.
British number three Dan Evans plays world number six Kei Nishikori in Friday's second singles match.
The home side are defending the title they regained for the first time in 79 years with victory against Belgium last November.
"It was amazing," Murray said of the reception he received after needing only one hour 30 minutes to see off Daniel.
There were signs of rustiness - four double faults and 25 unforced errors slowing his progress at times - but the Scot broke serve six times and saved both break points he faced in a one-sided win.
Murray, 28, won the opening 11 points in his first match since losing to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final 33 days ago.
He wrapped up the first set in 28 minutes and took hold of a more competitive second after a double fault at 3-3 from Daniel, the US-born 23-year-old with just five ATP wins to his name.
Two blistering returns gave Murray the decisive break at the start of the third and he wrapped up the 28th Davis Cup singles win of his career in style.
"The last few weeks have been the best of my life, really special," Murray said of becoming a father to Sophia.
"It has been tough the last few days being away from her for the first time but it had to happen to some stage, and it is a pleasure to represent my country and be with team-mates that we won with last year.
"The second set was tough - a lot of close games and some tough points, which was good for me.
"I was getting a little out of breath but I played a good match, served well, missed a few second serves but the first serve went extremely well, so it was a nice start."

Source: BBC

Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Great Britain Nominated For Prestigious Laureus World Sports Award

Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Great Britain have all been nominated for a Laureus World Sports Award, which will take place in April.

Novak Djokovic Nominated for Sportsman of the Year

Novak Djokovic had a near perfect 2015 season. He lost only six times in the whole of the season, while going on to win three Grand Slam titles and 6 Masters 1000 titles. He won a staggering 82 matches Roland Garros where he lost to Stan Wawrinka in four sets. His losses came to Ivo Karlovic in Doha at the start of the season, Roger Federer at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Western and Southern Open and in the Round Robin stage at the ATP World Tour Finals and Andy Murray at the Coupe Rogers.
throughout the year and finished with a 93.18% win-loss ratio. His biggest dissapointment came at
Djokovic will go head-to-head with NBA star Stephen Curry, three-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton, six-time Olympic Gold medalist Usain Bolt, world number one golfer Jordan Speith and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi.

Serena Williams Nominated for Sportswoman of the Year

2015 was dominated by Serena Williams as she won three Grand Slam titles and two WTA Premier Mandatory events in Miami Open and Western and Southern Open. Williams won 53 matches and lost only three times during the season. The world number one lost to Petra Kvitova in Madrid, Belinda Bencic in the semifinal of the Rogers Cup and the biggest shock in tennis happened at the US Open, where she lost to Roberta Vinci 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 and falling just three sets short of the Calendar Grand Slam. Serena also withdrew in Indian Wells against Simona Halep in the semifinal, Christina McHale at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia and and Klara Koukalova in the second round at the Swedish Open. Williams also chose to withdraw at the WTA Finals due to elbow and knee injuries.
Serena's main rivals are Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, US swimmer Katie Ledecky, US Women's World Cup Soccer-winning captain Carli Lloyd, long distance runner Tirunesh Dibaba and Alpine Ski racer Anna Fenninger.
Justine Henin and Jennifer Capriati are the only other tennis players to take home the Sportswoman of the year award in 2008 and 2002, respectively.

Great Britain Nominated for Team of the Year

Great Britain had not won the Davis Cup since 1936, but last November, the wait for the trophy ended as they beat Belgium 3-1 in the final in Ghent on indoor clay. In the opening round against the United , James Ward came back from two sets down win 15-13 in the fifith and deciding set to give Great Britain a two rubbers to none lead. They won 3-2 against USA and faced number one seed France at home in London, at the Queens Club. Even with the home crowd behind them, the British boys were not favourites to win and they relied heavily on Andy Murray, who the week before was facing Roger Federer in the semifinal at Wimbledon. The standout performance was the  Murray brothers who defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Nicolas Mahut in four sets. They won that tie 3-1 with Andy involved in winning each match. In the semifinal, Great Britain defeated Australia 3-2 in Glasgow, with the forth rubber ultimately sealing the fate. They later went on to defeat Belgium to write their names in the history books forever.
States
Great Britain face tough competition from Rugby World Cup winners New Zealand, treble winners FC Barcelona, the Golden State Warriors, the Mercedes AMG Petronas and the United States Women's World Cup-winning team.

Source: vavel.com

 

 

 

Thiem, Suarez Navarro Make Strong Impressions this Weekend

Perhaps the biggest news of the past week was the sudden retirement of Novak Djokovic in Dubai. The world No. 1, already down a set to Feliciano Lopez, quit in the second, citing an eye infection that had plagued him all week.
Djokovic expects to be ready for Indian Wells late next week.
Here's what else was on our writers' minds in the latest edition of Racket Response.

@CarlBialik: The Big Four are idle or ailing. Novak Djokovic has an eye infection, Roger Federer has delayed a return from knee surgery, Andy Murray is getting to know his 3-week-old daughter, Sophia, and Rafael Nadal has failed to reach the final of six of his past eight clay-court tournaments.
With the men who follow the game's elite foundering as well, tennis is ripe for a takeover by youngsters.
Dominic Thiem, a 22-year-old from Austria, is leading the charge -- the same Thiem who beat Nadal at the Argentina Open two weeks ago.
You haven't heard much from Thiem if you're mostly paying attention to the Grand Slams. He has reached the fourth round of a major just once. Perhaps Thiem's shortcomings in majors are because he usually plays the week before Slams instead of resting and practicing. But in little-known tour stops in between, Thiem has been thriving.
This past weekend, he won his second title this month, on Acapulco's hard courts, his first trophy on a surface on which he hadn't even reached a semi until last September. Thiem entered the month with one top-10 win -- now he has three. He is ranked 14th, higher than anyone else under age 25 and closer in ranking points to No. 10 than to No. 15. And he is third in the race to year-end No. 1.

@ptbodo: Carla Suarez-Navarro is a human laundry list of all the things you wouldn't want in contemporary pro player. She's short (5-foot-4) and slightly built, not particularly fast, and fond of the volley. She plays a one-handed backhand with frequent use of slice.
Add it all up and Suarez-Navarro takes on the dimensions of a novelty in today's game. But it in winning Doha last week, the 27-year-old Canary Islander once again demonstrated that size, great athleticism and powerful strokes can be neutralized, and don't always shape the outcome of a match.
Some thought it a fluke, or certainly a once-in-a-career run, when Suarez-Navarro won on the red clay at Estoril in 2014 and ultimately climbed over to tops of all those tall, powerful, baseline bangers to rank as high as No. 8. But in the interim, she's demonstrated that she's a top-10 thoroughbred.
Doha represent the second title of her career, and it was Suarez-Navarro's most impressive performance to date. She sliced and diced her way through a succession of opponents, including No. 3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska. Thanks to the win over rising star Jelena Ostapenko in final, Suarez-Navarro has shot to a career-high No. 6.

@natkinESPN: Andy Murray and Great Britain step out as defending Davis Cup champions Friday, but captain Leon Smith says they're "not here to celebrate."
After winning the trophy for the first time in 79 years with a victory over Belgium in November, Britain faces Japan in a first-round tie in Birmingham, England.
Smith warned against complacency.
"It's great we've got another home tie," Smith told Press Association Sport. "We've had a lot of them, but it's great to come out as defending champions.
"At the same time, we've all been around long enough to know that it starts again, and we're not here to celebrate; we're here to win.
"We can enjoy going out there with confidence because we are defending champions, but we're very much back to business as usual. We can't underestimate what is a very good Japanese team."
Murray will lead Britain once more as he returns to the court for the first time since his Australian Open final defeat to Novak Djokovic and subsequent birth of the Scot's daughter, Sophia.

@goitiatenis: Now 30 years old, Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay has grown into a mature player. He missed two years on the ATP Tour with injuries, which saw his ranking plummet to below 1,000 by mid-2013.
Cuevas added two titles to his résumé this season, in Brazil and Sao Paulo, to take his care total to five, all of them on clay. At the latter, he successfully defended his crown.
Cuevas also achieved a rare feat with seven successive victories against left-handed players -- five in Rio and then two in Sao Paulo.
Beyond his two titles, Cuevas can also boast of his first victory against clay master Rafael Nadal. Coached by former top-10 player Alberto Mancini of Argentina, Cuevas is showing he is now ready to battle successfully against the elite of tennis.

He is now No. 25 on tour, the best Latin American, and ready for the next move: to move into the top 20, something he was very close to achieving last year.

Source: ESPN