#tennis-performance

#tennis-performance

On two pivotal points in his Indian Wells fourth-round match against Novak Djokovic, at 4-4 in the tie-break and then on match point at 6-6, Draper forced himself inside the baseline and unleashed two backhands, those shots driving him to victory. It would have been understandable for Draper to have played passive tennis in those decisive moments.

According to the Lawn Tennis Association, only 15,000 British players picked up a padel racket in 2019 but by the end of 2024, that figure was more than 400,000. Of those, about 399,000 are probably mispronouncing it: think pah-dell rather than paddle.

Pedro Martinez is ranked No. 113 and faces Daniel Altmaier, who is ranked No. 55, in the Round of 32 at the Tiriac Open.

The match is currently even, with Bencic and Gauff both having -110 odds to win, indicating a competitive matchup.

On a Wednesday in the desert last March, Reilly Opelka, the American with a cannon of a serve, was grinding out a tough match against French number one Arthur Rinderknech. Nearby, former US Open men's finalist Kei Nishikori beat Luca Nardi, part of the new wave of Italian talent, while Brazilian phenom Joao Fonseca closed out Pavel Kotov, who reached number 50 in the world in 2024.

Alexander Bublik, the resident eccentric of professional men's tennis, has the lyrics to two different Eminem songs tattooed on his arm. Doubles specialists, he's said, aren't "real athletes," though Bublik himself reached the doubles final of the 2021 French Open. The 28-year-old Kazakh has quoted Kung Fu Panda to cast doubt on Jannik Sinner's doping status, and called the tennis exhibited by greats like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal "boring."

Australian Open organizers instituted their extreme heat policy as temperatures soared at Melbourne Park on Tuesday. It prompted the suspension of play on outer courts and the closure of roofs on the main showcourts. The protocol, introduced in 2019, was developed to minimize the risk of heat-related illness and provide consistency for all players. It considers air temperature, radiant heat, wind speed humidity to assess playing conditions, and sets thresholds for cooling interventions.

In the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament Round of 32 on Tuesday, we have a matchup of No. 84-ranked Jan-Lennard Struff versus No. 189 Hugo Grenier. Struff has -250 odds to earn a win versus Grenier (+190). ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament Info Tournament: The ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament Round: Round of 32 Date: Tuesday, February 10 Venue: Rotterdam Ahoy Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands Court Surface: Hard