Tag: Tennis

Novak Djokovic pulls out of Miami Open to spend time with family | Tennis News – Times of India

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World number one Novak Djokovic will delay his comeback to the ATP Tour following a muscle injury after deciding to skip the Miami Open starting next week to spend more time with his family.
Djokovic sustained a muscle tear that hindered him during his successful Australian Open title defence last month and the 33-year-old planned to return at Miami before playing the Monte-Carlo Masters and the ATP 250 Serbia Open.
“Dear fans, I’m very sorry to announce that this year I won’t travel to Miami to compete,” Djokovic tweeted.
“I decided to use this precious time at home to stay with my family. With all restrictions, I need to find balance in my time on tour and at home. I look forward to coming back next year.”

Djokovic, who won his 18th Grand Slam title at Melbourne Park, eclipsed Roger Federer‘s all-time record for most weeks as the men’s world number one on March 8 when he moved past the Swiss to hold the top ranking for the 311th week.
He said at the time that his focus would be on winning more majors, adding he would make necessary adjustments to his playing schedule to achieve that goal.
Rafa Nadal also decided to skip the March 22-April 4 Masters 1000 event to recover from a back injury, while Federer will not be present as he works his way back to full fitness after two knee operations in the past 12 months.
U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem will miss the event and return to the tour during the European claycourt season. World number two Daniil Medvedev is set to lead the field.
Former champion Andy Murray will also feature, having been given a wildcard by the tournament organisers.



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No queue, reduced crowds at Wimbledon as COVID-19 causes ticketing change | Tennis News – Times of India

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Wimbledon’s famous ticket queue will not operate this year and the number of fans inside the grounds at the grasscourt Grand Slam is likely to be reduced, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) said on Thursday.
The queue, which has become part of Wimbledon folklore, with fans lining up from the early hours and even camping overnight to snap up tickets for the showcourts and grounds, will be abandoned for this year’s tournament in favour of online sales.
The Wimbledon Championships were cancelled last year for the first time in the Open era due to the COVID-19 pandemic but the AELTC board hopes to welcome fans back in June-July.
“At this point in time, the most likely outcome for this year’s Championships, as an outdoor venue, is a reduced number of spectators within the grounds,” it said in a statement.
“For this reason, we want to ensure that we can leave decisions on public capacity as late as we can in order to welcome the maximum number of guests, and manage our ticket distribution accordingly.
“Given the likelihood of continued social distancing requirements and with consideration for the health and safety of all the public, there will not be a Queue or Ticket Resale in operation for this year’s Championships.”
The board also said those who were successful in the public ballot last year will have the opportunity to purchase tickets for the 2022 edition for the same day and court.
The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is not holding a ballot for tickets this year, with an online platform in place for ticket sales in June and there will be no reselling within the grounds.
“Both the queue and ticket resale remain much-loved and important traditions and we look forward to their return in 2022,” added the statement.
AELTC chairman Ian Hewitt said that while the promise of a return to a more normal existence was on the horizon, we are not there yet.
“As such, we have taken some key decisions in order to provide us with some certainty in our planning, and yet also to retain flexibility where we need it the most,” he said.
The AELTC also said that any players who wish to participate at the Championships this year must stay at the official hotels to minimise risk and curb the spread of the virus.

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Rohan Bopanna-Aisam ul Haq Qureshi pair loses first match after reunion | Tennis News – Times of India

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ACAPULCO: The ‘Indo-Pak pair’ of Rohan Bopanna and Aisam ul Haq Qureshi lost its first match after rejoining forces, bowing out of the ATP 500 event here on Wednesday.
Up against second seeds Bruno Soares and Jamie Murray, the unseeded Indo-Pak team lost 7-6(4) 2-6 1-10 in the opening round of the USD 1204960 hard court tournament.
After trailing 0-7 in the Super Tie Breaker, it was an enormous task for them to pull back.
The last time Bopanna and Qureshi played together was in 2014 at the an ATP event in Shenzen.
Both the players had made it clear that their reunion was one-off arrangement since their low combined ranking won’t let them enter the bigger tournaments.

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Roger Federer: Roger Federer pulls out of Dubai event | Tennis News – Times of India

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Roger Federer pulled out of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, an ATP 500 Series event, starting Monday, saying he needed to get back to the practice court.
The 20-time major winner, who returned to action after almost 14 months, during which time his knee went under the knife twice, tweeted his withdrawal following his quarterfinal exit in his comeback tournament in Doha this week.
Federer, an eight-time champion in Dubai, said: “It’s been great to be back on the @atptour, loved every minute playing in Doha once again. I’ve decided it’s best to go back to training and as a result, I’ve decided to withdraw from Dubai next week.”

The world No. 6 fell to Nikoloz Basilashvili in Doha on Thursday.
“I’m actually happy that I was able to play back-to-back three-set matches against top players. That’s an important step forward for me,” he said.
Federer aded, “I’m not 100 percent yet. It’s important to be 100 percent by the grass-court season. I’m still building up.”



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Federer ‘pain free’ ahead of Qatar Open, says never eyed retirement | Tennis News – Times of India

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DOHA: Roger Federer said retirement was never really an option during his battle with injury, insisting Sunday the pain was “completely under control” ahead of his return to competitive tennis at this week’s Qatar Open.
The 39-year-old hasn’t played a match since a semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open in January 2020 and acknowledged it was unusual for a player of his age to return after injury.
“I know it’s on the rare side for a 40-year-old to come back after a year out,” he said at a media briefing in the Qatari capital Doha.
“The important thing is I’m pain free and injury free.
“I’m very happy to be back playing a tournament — I never thought it was going to take this long.”
On his rivalry with Rafael Nadal and Djokovic, who this week overtakes his record of 310 weeks as world number one in men’s tennis, Federer said “it’s a great debate to have”.
“I think what Novak and Rafa have done of late is extraordinary – theyre not 25 either,” he said with a smile.
“Novak did it in Australia, Rafa did it at The French — they seem at their peak which is great for tennis and for the debate.
“My concern is my own health, my own game (more) than the record.
“The guys are unreal, I hope they keep on going and can do everything they possibly want — you want to leave the game with no regrets, and in that respect we all sleep very well at night.”
Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam title winner, said that while “expectations are really low” for his campaign in Qatar, he hoped to surprise himself.
“Obviously I’m confident otherwise I wouldn’t put myself in this situation,” he said ahead of his first fixture which will be on either Tuesday or Wednesday.
“In a vision I see myself with the trophy,” he added laughing.
Federer said that the complications that followed his knee surgery motivated him to get back in form.
“What I knew is regardless of whether I came back or not, for my life I wanted to do this rehab anyhow,” he said.
“I feel there is still something — retirement was never really on the cards. I don’t mind doing rehab.”
Looking ahead, Federer said that he was hoping to be back to “100 percent” for Wimbledon in June but had not taken decisions on tournaments before then or the Olympics.
“It’s still building up to being fitter, better, faster,” he said.
“I’ll see about Dubai… then we’ll see about the clay court season.”

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Sania Mirza says Tokyo Olympics medal dream motivated her return | Tennis News – Times of India

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India’s Sania Mirza said the elusive dream of winning a medal at her fourth Olympics in Tokyo this year motivated her to return to the WTA circuit after a year-long gap.
Mirza, paired with Slovenian Andreja Klepac, reached the semi-finals in the women’s doubles at the Qatar Open on Wednesday, her first tournament since Feb. 2020 when she played at the same Doha event.
The 34-year-old, who recovered from COVID-19 in January, said she wanted to avenge the defeat she suffered in the Olympic bronze medal play-off match in 2016 when she lost 6-1, 7-5 in mixed doubles with partner Rohan Bopanna.
“The Tokyo Olympics was definitely one of the reasons (for my comeback),” six-time Grand Slam doubles champion Mirza said.
“We came really, really close to winning that medal last time (when) we lost the bronze medal match.
“I feel when I sort of close this chapter of my life… an Olympic medal is something that I would have loved to win. So I want to give myself another shot at it.
“Whether I can be or will I be able to? Time will tell, but that is something important to me and it was one of the motivations for me to come back.”
Mirza, who became a mother in Oct. 2018, also said she is motivated to inspire women to chase their dreams.
“Women sort of think that once they have a baby, life is over, but it’s not,” she said.
“You don’t have to crush your dreams because you have a child. You can still go after them.”

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