Dominic Thiem, Matteo Berrettini to highlight Rio de Janeiro player field

Dominic Thiem, Matteo Berrettini to highlight Rio de Janeiro player field

Austrian tennis star Dominic Thiem and world No. 7 Matteo Berrettini have signed up to play Rio de Janeiro next year, per Michal Samulski. Thiem, 28, is set to make his sixth appearance on the clay courts of Rio de Janeiro. Thiem’s best Rio de Janeiro result came in 2017, when he won the title after beating Pablo Carreno Busta.

Berrettini, 25, has no previous appearances at the tournament. Casper Ruud, who captured five ATP titles in 2021, as well as Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta and Carlos Alcaraz, have also been confirmed for Rio de Janeiro.

ATP500 Rio Open field incl.

Dominic Thiem

Matteo Berrettini

Casper Ruud

Pablo Carreno Busta

Carlos Alcaraz

*wildcard booked for Juan Martin del Potro — Michal Samulski (@MichalSamulski) December 21, 2021

Ruud won four titles on clay this year and he will be among top favorites to win Rio de Janeiro next year.

Thiem suffers a setback

Thiem, who is set to highlight the Rio de Janeiro player field, decided to pull out of the ATP Cup and Sydney. “After speaking to my team, we have decided to return to Austria, instead of flying directly to Australia.

Unfortunately, I caught a cold (and tested negative for COVID-19) while in Dubai and was unable to practice last week. I will therefore not be in the pysical condition required to be able to play the ATP Cup and Sydney ATP 250,” Thiem said in a statement posted on his Twitter account.

“After not competing for the last six months I can’t take the risk of coming back too soon and picking up a further injury. Overall, the time I spent in Dubai was great as I have increased the intensity and level of practice and my wrist is almost at 100 percent.”

However, Thiem is still hoping to play the Australian Open. “My aim is still to play the Australian Open but we will make a final decision about my participation by the end of December,” Thiem added. “I’d like to take this opportunity to wish my fans, partners and media all the best for the holiday season.”

Berrettini, Shapovalov, Ruud, Coric to land early in Australia

Matteo Berrettini, Denis Shapovalov, Casper Ruud and Borna Coric decided to go to Australia as soon as possible. While this year, the overall situation with the coronavirus is definitely more under control than it was in 2021, it seems that some players do not want to take any chance to go Down Under as early as they can.

According to reports, Denis Shapovalov and Borna Coric are already in Australia. Matteo Berrettini, Casper Road, and Simona Halep are believed to land in Australia on Monday. Then all sorts of charters will bring the other players.

The hotel

According to Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley, they are going to fly in Australia 3,300 people this year. Also, all players competing in Melbourne would stay at Crown accommodation.

Tiley revealed:

“We brought in only 1000 people in 2021 and we’re bringing in 3300 players and their staff. We have qualifying, juniors and wheelchair, so this has been more difficult.

But this is a Melbourne, a Victorian, an Australian effort. We want to bring Australia back in a big way and … hopefully, in January we can feel really proud, as Australians, on all being vaccinated.”

Matteo Berrettini in 2021

Currently the world no.7 (career-high), Berrettini played his last match on the 14th of November when he had to retire when playing against world no.3 Alexander Zverev in the round robin and the scoreline was 7-6(7) 1-0 .

Until now, during this year Matteo has managed to achieve a compiled 41-12 match record. Matteo clinched 2 titles in 2021 in Belgrade and in London. Berrettini was the runner-up in Madrid and in Wimbledon.

Denis Shapovalov in 2021

Currently ranked no.14, Denis played his last match on the 18th of December when he defeated world no.6 Rafael Nadal 6-7(4) 6-3 10-6.

Until now, during this year the Canadian has a compiled 30-23 match record. Denis Shapovalov’s most significant result of the present season was reaching the final in Geneva and Stockholm.

Matteo Berrettini and Denis Shapovalov clashed against each other only twice. Their current record is 2-0 for Shapovalov. Previously, the last time when they played, Denis Shapovalov won 7-6(5) 6-7(3) 7-6(5) in the Rubber 2 in Davis Cup, Finals, Group F (Davis Cup, Finals, Group F) in November 2019.

Casper Ruud in 2021

Currently ranked no.8 (career-high), the Norwegian played his last match on the 27th of November when he defeated world no.220 Sergiy Stakhovsky 4-6 6-3 7-6(4) in the Rubber 4 of the Davis Cup (draw).

Until now, during this year Ruud has a 57-17 record. The Norwegian clinched 5 titles in 2021 in Geneva, in Bastad, in Gstaad, in Kitzbuhel and in San Diego.

Borna Coric in 2021

Borna Coric 6 - 3 win/loss Hard 3 - 2 I Hard 3 - 1 Rank

73 High

12 25 year old L W W W L W L W W 2021 Highlights SF Rotterdam QF Melbourne 2nd Australian Open SEE ALL

Ranked no.73, the Croatian played his last match on the 6th of March when he surrendered to world no.40 Marton Fucsovics 6-4 6-1 in the semifinal in Rotterdam (draw).

Until now, during this year Borna has a 6-3 win-loss record. Borna Coric’s latest run in Rotterdam was the best achievement of his season.

Casper Ruud and Borna Coric played each other once. The head to head is 1-0 for Coric. When they played, Borna Coric won 3-6 7-5 6-3 in the quarter in St. Petersburg (St. Petersburg Open) in September 2019.

La Jornada – Medvedev tops the list of the best tennis players at the 2022 Mexican Open

Four players belonging to higher-10 of classification The competition website reported yesterday that tennis will be present at the 29th edition of the 2022 Mexican Open, which will be held in Acapulco.

The appointment agreed from February 21 to 26 will be headed by Russia’s second-ranked Daniil Medvedev, along with Germany’s Alexander Zverev (third), Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas (fourth) and Italy’s Matteo Berrettini (seventh).

king of US Open From the United States, Medvedev will make his debut at the ATP 500 Championships in Mexico. In his record, he displays 13 titles in the international calendar of a tour Professional tennis.

For his part, German Zverev already knows the Mexican public after his victory in the last edition over Greek Tsitsipas 6-4, 7-6 (3).

Zverev, 24, will intervene for the fifth time in the competition and will arrive after 2021 with successes in Mexico, Madrid and Cincinnati and a coronation in the Tokyo Olympics.

De Berrettini for the first time

Italy’s Berrettini, a Wimbledon finalist with five ring-level crowns, will be another rookie in the show, with Queens and Belgrade being the last wins of the season.

The Mexico Open will open its new home, the GNP Seguros Arena, whose main stadium will be a 10,000-seat hard-court, the largest building in Latin America for the ATP Championship.

Illustrious Ruler, Eagle Prince, Empress Eternal, Sinatra and Royal Aristocrat excel

Illustrious Ruler, Eagle Prince, Empress Eternal, Sinatra and Royal Aristocrat excelled when the horses were exercised here on Wednesday (Dec. 22).

Outer sand

600m: Storm Trigger (Santosh G) 43.5. Semper FII (Ramandeep) 44. Senora Bianca (rb), Sheer Elegance (Shahar Babu) (rb) 44.5.

800m: Valeska (Nikhil Naidu), Glorious Sunlight (C. Brisson) 56.5, 600/42. Former finished four lengths ahead. Proposed (rb), Undeniable (Shahar Babu) 57.5, 600/43. They finished together. Nagada (M. Bhaskar) 1-0, 600/44.5. Moved freely.

1000m: Pense’e (P. Vikram) 1-7.5, 800/55.5, 600/41.5. Responded well to the urgings. Roka (P. Vikram) 1-8, 800/56, 600/42. Strode out well.

Inner sand

600m: Masterpiece (Farhan Alam), Pink Pearl (Koshi Kumar) 45. Latter finished two lengths in front. Lordship (Shahar Babu), Royal Symbol (Mubs Kareem) 42.5. They are in fine shape. Cavallo Vincente (S. Kabdhar) 46. Easy. Durango (Sai Vamsi) 42. Mystical Magician (Inayat), Remediesofspring (Farhan Alam) 43.5. Be Calm (rb), Berrettini (rb) 43. Former better. Beauty Of The Turf (Farid Ansari) 40. Good. Turf Exemplar (Farid Ansari) 42. Innisbrook (Md. Feroze) 47.

800m: Sentosa (rb), Noble Heir (Shaliyar Khan) 1-0, 600/45. They finished together. Chaitanya (rb) 59, 600/45. Kasi Masi (rb) 1-2.5, 600/47.5. Sasakwa (Farid Ansari) 56, 600/38.5. Fit for the fray. Copper Queen (Rajendra Singh) 56.5, 600/42.5. Retains form. Sinatra (Shahar Babu), Cavallo Bonito (Farhan Alam) 54, 600/39.5. Former finished four lengths in front. Sovereign Power (Shyam Kumar) 55, 600/38.5. Extended in the last part. Demerara (A. Ayaz Khan) 1-1, 600/45.5. Succession (S. Kamble) 55.5, 600/41. Slightly urged. Royal Aristocrat (Farid Ansari) 52, 600/37.5. In fine nick. Fada (rb) 1-3, 600/48. Bella Amour (Farid Ansari), Wonderful Era (Rajendra Singh) 1-0, 600/44. Easy. Mister Moonlight (P. Vikram) 56, 600/42. Moved on the bit.

1000m: Eyes Of Falcon (N. Murugan), Star Elegance (Ishwar Singh) 1-10.5, 800/55.5, 600/43. They moved well and finished together. Raisina (rb) 1-16.5, 800/1-2.5, 600/48. Easy. Eagle Prince (Shyam Kumar) 1-8, 800/53.5, 600/40. Moved impressively. Katahdin (rb) 1-11.5, 800/59.5, 600/46. Eased up. Illustrious Ruler (Farid Ansari) 1-6, 800/52, 600/38.5. A good display. Empress Eternal (Farid Ansari) 1-7.5, 800/53.5, 600/38.5. Maintains form. Epistoiary (Koshi Kumar) 1-17, 800/1-0, 600/47.5. Royal Treasure (Farid Ansari) 1-6, 800/53.5, 600/39. Stretched out well. Eagle Bluff (rb) 1-16.5, 800/1-1.5, 600/46.5. Easy. M S G Fantasy (rb) 1-17, 800/1-2, 600/47. Easy. Sirona (P. Vikram) 1-16, 800/1-1, 600/46. Easy. Santamarina Star (M. Bhaskar), Leuba (Shahar Babu) 1-12, 800/57, 600/42.5. They are in good shape. Vulcanic (M.S. Deora), Whiskey Sour (N. Jodha) 1-17, 800/1-1, 600/45. They finished level. Come Calling (R. Manish) 1-10, 800/56, 600/42.5. Well in hand. Salvo (rb) 1-13.5, 800/59, 600/44.5. Easy. That’s My Class (C. Brisson) 1-14, 800/59.5, 600/45. Moved freely. Mezcal (Farhan Alam) 1-14, 800/1-0.5, 600/46.5. Easy.

10 Things To Look Forward To In Tennis In 2022

Tennis, the sport without an off-season, seems to roll on relentlessly from year to year. But in this breather between seasons that passes for an off-season, it is still possible to take stock of the past year and look forward to the year ahead. Here, then, are 10 things to look forward to in tennis in 2022.

1. Djokovic or Nadal Making it 21 in ’22

There would have been a perfect symmetry to Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal making it “21 Majors in ‘21”, but both fell at their respective final hurdles: Djokovic lost to Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final after winning the three previous Majors; and Nadal lost to Djokovic in the spectacular French Open semifinal that may just have been the best clay-court match ever, before missing most of the second half of the season through injuries.

However, although “21 in ‘22” is not quite as numerically perfect, it would still be a historic achievement, breaking the extraordinary three-way tie at the top of the men’s game and ensuring that whoever does it will be regarded, statistically at least, as the greatest male tennis player ever. Of course, the real shame is that it is increasingly difficult to include Roger Federer, who has not won a Major in four years and who has barely played at all for the past two seasons, in that conversation.

Daniil Medvedev (And Perhaps a Few Others) Trying to Stop Nadal and Djokovic Making it 21

If anyone can stop Djokovic and Nadal making it to “21 in ‘22”, it is surely Daniil Medvedev, the world #2, who finally won his first Major when he stopped Djokovic achieving the Calendar Slam in New York. And Medvedev has been pretty much on a roll since then, reaching the final at both the Paris Masters (where Djokovic gained a modicum of revenge by beating him) and the ATP Finals (where he lost to Alexander Zverev), as well as spearheading Russia’s victory at the Davis Cup, to go alongside their victory in the ATP Cup at the start of the season.

Of course there are others who can possibly defeat Djokovic or Nadal at a Major, especially Stefanos Tsitsipas (assuming he recovers fully from the elbow injury that curtailed his 2021 season) and Dominic Thiem (assuming he can regain his 2020 form after the series of injuries that decimated his 2021 season). However, the biggest opponent that Djokovic and Nadal could face, especially in Melbourne, is Covid, with both of them still uncertain to appear at the Australian Open next month, Djokovic because of his vaccination status (or lack of it) and Nadal because he currently has Covid on top of all his injury problems.

The Continuing Competitiveness of Women’s Tennis

Nearly half a century on from the creation of the Women’s Tennis Association in 1973, women’s tennis has become probably the most competitive major professional sport in the world. In 2021, there were four different Major winners and the two maiden Major winners underlined just how extraordinarily deep the pool of talent in women’s tennis has become: Barbora Krejčíková was a former doubles specialist who stunningly reinvented herself as a Singles Champion by winning at Roland Garros; and Emma Raducanu, aged just 18 and ranked outside the top 100, came from nowhere to win the US Open. Long gone are the days when barely a handful of women could win a Major and the trend seems set to continue in ’22, with Aryna Sabalenka, Paula Badosa and Maria Sakkari among the many women who will believe that they, too, can make the step up and become a Grand Slam Champion.

The Continuing Rise of Carlos Alcaraz

As so many headline writers have already proved, there’s no escape from Alcaraz – he really does look like the next megastar of men’s tennis. He had a wonderful 2021, with late-season highlights including his run to the quarterfinal at the US Open and his utterly convincing victory at the NextGen ATP Finals in Milan, when he looked a cut or two above all of his contemporaries of the same age (and those who are a year or two older than him).

He has already risen to 32nd in the world and it is surely not unrealistic to think that he could make the world’s top 10 by the end of 2022. At his compact but free-swinging best, he appears to combine precious elements of The Big Three: the fabulous flair of Federer; the relentless intensity of Nadal; and the sheer resilience of Djokovic. There are obviously still areas to improve upon, especially on serve, but the likelihood is that Alcaraz will enjoy another hugely impressive year in 2022.

Emma Raducanu’s Return to Form

Of course Emma Raducanu has already achieved what Carlos Alcaraz, who is also aged 18, has not yet done or even come close to doing, namely winning a Major. The problem is that after winning in New York, Raducanu’s form almost completely nose-dived, as she endured a succession of early-tournament thrashings at the end of the season.

In one sense, that is entirely understandable, representing the inevitable comedown after the remarkable – indeed unprecedented – high of winning a Grand Slam as a qualifier, and the situation was perhaps made worse by her split from coach Andrew Richardson, who had been alongside her in New York but whose services were dispensed with almost immediately afterwards. Raducanu has now hired the experienced coach she wanted, Germany’s Torben Beltz, who was so instrumental in Angelique Kerber becoming a multiple Major-winner, and she will hope that he can have the same effect on her.

A Make or Break Season for Andy Murray

In addition to Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, Andy Murray surely faces a crucial, even make-or-break, season in 2022. Unlike Nadal or even Federer, Murray has struggled with persistent injury problems for a very long time now, effectively ever since he rose to world #1 right at the end of 2016. There were some encouraging signs in 2021, notably his amazing matches late in the season against Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open (which he lost) and against Frances Tiafoe at the Antwerp Open (which he won).

They showed that at his very best Murray can still compete against, and even beat, anyone, including the best young players on the tour. However, his failure to progress deep into tournaments became a recurring pattern, which he will be anxious to break. Having won Wimbledon twice, as well as the US Open, not to mention winning two Olympic Gold Singles medals and leading Britain to a first Davis Cup victory in over 70 years, Murray’s place in the British tennis pantheon is secure. However, being the ultra-competitive player that he is, he will want to go out on his own terms and ideally after one last attempt at winning a Major or at the very least a Masters 1000.

Night Sessions at Roland Garros

The first ever official night-time sessions at Roland Garros this year were a damp squib, as Covid curfews in Paris meant that they took place without any fans present, much to the disgruntlement of Daniil Medvedev and others who were forced to play in front of empty stands. However, the idea is still a good one. Night-time sessions in Melbourne and New York have become iconic and it is to be hoped that those at Roland Garros will follow suit. Alas, it seems unlikely that there will ever be official night-time sessions at Wimbledon, because of opposition from its wealthy local residents, but the prospect of tennis under lights in the City of Light, and in front of frenzied French tennis fans, is an utterly beguiling one.

The Continuing Rise of Jannik Sinner (and Italian Tennis in General)

Italy enjoyed a great sporting 2021, with its men’s football team winning the delayed Euro 2020 and Lamont Marcell Jacobs (a naturalised American) winning the men’s 100 metres at the delayed Tokyo Olympics. Italian tennis players could not quite make it a sporting hat-trick by winning a Major, but Matteo Berrettini came close at Wimbledon, where he reached the men’s singles final and even won the first set before Novak Djokovic regrouped to win the next three sets.

Of course, Berrettini (ranked #7) is not the only Italian man in the world’s top 10, with Jannik Sinner (ranked #10) earmarked as arguably an even greater long-term prospect. It says everything about Carlos Alcaraz’s astonishing 2021 that he rather overshadowed Sinner in the last 12 months, but the young Italian still made it all the way to the ATP Finals (albeit as an alternate for the injured Berrettini).

And of course he is not the only young Italian man who wields a tennis racket like a wand, as Lorenzo Musetti possibly possesses even more imagination and dexterity, even if he may lack Sinner’s consistency and power, especially on serve. Either way, Italian men’s tennis looks set to prosper in 2022, with Berrettini and Sinner challenging for Majors and leading the charge at the two men’s team tennis events, the ATP Cup and Davis Cup.

The Return – or Swansong – of Serena Williams

Five years after winning her last Major in Melbourne, Serena Williams will not even be present at the 2022 Australian Open after withdrawing because of continuing injury problems. When she won Down Under in 2017, it would have seemed inconceivable that half a decade later she had not won another Major. Equally, when she triumphed in Melbourne in 2017, it was not public knowledge that she was already pregnant and nor could it have been anticipated how giving birth, and experiencing life-threatening complications while doing so, would affect her.

With the benefit of hindsight, it now appears obvious that it has had a profound effect upon her, necessarily reducing her laser-like focus on tennis, which itself was something that she only acquired relatively late in her career after dabbling with fashion, film and many other non-tennis activities before fully committing to the sport.

Even if it remains unlikely that Williams will win a Major in 2022, which would bring her level with Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Major victories, it can only be hoped that she will at least compete at the year’s other three Majors, so that tennis fans can hail and possibly say farewell to the woman who, whatever the statistics may say, is almost certainly the greatest female tennis player of all time.

The 50th Anniversary of the Wimbledon Final Between Smith and Nastase

This may be of most interest to tennis historians. Nevertheless, even non-tennis historians should celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Wimbledon men’s singles final between Stan Smith and Ilie Nastase. It was a genuine five-set epic, which Smith eventually won 4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 4–6, 7–5. Even more importantly, it was arguably the match that really launched the Open Era in tennis (which had formally begun four years earlier), a colour-TV classic that is perhaps comparable to the 1970 World Cup in football for its impact upon a sport. It also set the template for the “Grand Final” between wildly contrasting personalities – the statesmanlike Smith and the controversial “Mr Nasty” – that has been played out ever since, in the form of Borg-McEnroe and even Federer-Nadal. As such, it is completely deserving of celebration by anyone with an interest in tennis.

Main photo:

Embed from Getty Images