A new concept Tie Break Tens where players play only tie breaks first to 10 points is being trialled in Madrid and the TV channel Dave is showing it from 6.30 pm tonight(Thursday). Stan Warwrinka, Jo Konta and Maria Sharapova are amongst those taking part.
sounds a familiar concept but a different sport...
Bouchard v Sharapova in round 2 of Madrid should be interesting given Bouchard's comments about Maria
Sharapova not given a wildcard for Qualifying or direct entry for French Open
sounds like French Open's loss to me
a win over Katie Boulter 6-3, 6-4 for Laura Robson at $60K Kurume tournament adding to Quarter Finals at $80K Gifu & $60K Fukuoka tournaments has propelled her inside top 200 at 169 and finally after 3 years of injuries especially with her left wrist seems to be getting back to somewhere close to where she was pre injury
Alexander Zverev has beaten Novak Djokovic 6-4 6-3 to claim the Rome Masters title.
Novak Djokovic is likely to work with Andre Agassi
^^ Novak appointing Andre has come just in time for the French Open with the clay court slam starting tomorrow. Interesting partnership - Agassi said before that he felt he wouldn't be able to agree to a coaching role with his commitments to charity work and his tennis academies, not to mention his wife and children.
However it could be just what Novak needs at Roland Garros - Agassi was the best returner of serve ever in the game for me. Djokovic could benefit from his expertise, particularly on the clay - the Serb is desperate to get his form together after a patchy year so far by his standards. Towards the later stages of his career, Agassi made an excellent come back at the end of the 1990s, winning 5 more majors and reaching another three finals. There are similarities with the way Djokovic's major performance record has tailed off slightly since winning the French last year, and this could be the right fit to get him back on track.
The ultimate challenge as always on the red dirt though for every player is beating Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard is trying to win a staggering 10th French Open title and it would take a brave person to bet against him lifting the Coupe des Mousquetaires again on 11th June. Nadal stands alone in 2017 for most tournament finals reached, and only Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev have matched him for number of titles won - and with Federer again skipping Roland Garros, I have to think that the stage is probably set for a Nadal-Djokovic blockbuster in the later stages.
Nice to see Petra Kvitova is to return to action at the French Open a month ahead of schedule after recovering from being stabbed in her left hand by a burglar at her home in December which required a 4 hour operation to repair