In this week in tennis episode (38), Alex Mann has to mention the Federer retirement one more time. But lots more tennis action of course…
The Federer retirement ended the record numbers at 1,251 career match wins, 310 weeks at world number 1, Olympic Gold medalist, 103 career, and 20 major titles. Not bad!
The Federer Retirement
Please listen to the Tennisnerd podcast episode about Federer’s retirement above or on iTunes/Spotify.
With a game as majestic and magical as a wizard with a wand, with grace and elegance on and off-court and his unequivocal love for the sport. This week in tennis will forever be remembered as the week when Roger Federer announced his retirement.
In a letter posted on social media, Federer expressed it was time to end his ‘competitive career.’ He said that the Laver Cup next week in London would be his final ATP event, but he will still play tennis. In his closing statement, he said, ‘finally, to the game of tennis: I love you and will never leave you.’
Whether this means playing exhibition matches, presenting and commentating, or working behind the scenes, I’m confident we’ll continue to see Roger with or without a racquet in his hand.
Linda Fruhvirtova is great, but her sister might be better
Last week saw 17-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova win her first WTA title at the Chennai Open. The promising Czech came back from a set down to beat third seed Magda Linette 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
With the win, the teenager cracked the top 100 for the first time, reaching world number 74 in the WTA singles rankings.
Linda isn’t the only Fruhvirtova who’s been successful on the tennis circuit. Her younger sister, 15-year-old Brenda, is currently on a 25-match unbeaten streak, having won five consecutive ITF tour events.
The Fruhvirtova sisters are players to look out for in the coming years.
Davis Cup recap
The last group stage of this year’s Davis Cup has ended. We are now at the knockout stage. Here are the teams which have qualified for the quarter-final.
From Group A, Italy and Croatia qualified.
From Group B, Spain and Canada qualified.
From Group C, Germany and Australia qualified.
From Group D, Netherlands and USA qualified.
The quarter-final stage starts on the 22nd November. Here are the draws;
Italy vs USA
Germany vs Canada
Spain vs Croatia
Netherlands vs Australia
Moselle Open (ATP 250)
The city of Metz will host the 19th edition of the Moselle Open. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has won the tournament a record four times. In the past twelve years, there have only been three non-French winners. Alongside Tsonga, the Frenchmen Gael Monfils, Gilles Simon, Lucas Pouille, Jerome Haehnel, and Arnaud Clement have all lifted the trophy since the tournament began in 2003.
Hubert Hurkacz, the defending champion, is competing as is Daniil Medvedev, Lorenzo Musetti and Holger Rune. French hopes of another home win lie with Adrian Mannarino, Richard Gasquet, Hugo Gaston, Benjamin Bonzi and Ugo Humbert.
Prediction – Medvedev to win
San Diego Open (ATP 250)
Dan Evans leads the lineup in San Diego, California, USA on the other side of the world. The defending champion Casper Ruud will not be participating this year as he participates in the Laver Cup. The promising American young
sters, Jenson Brooksby, Brandon Nakashima, J.J. Wolf and Emilio Nava, will threaten Evans.
Prediction – Brooksby to win
This week on the women’s tour, players travel to Asia to compete in the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan and the Korea Open in Seoul, South Korea.
Pan Pacific Open (WTA 500)
The tournament was first held in 1976, and Martina Hingis holds the record for the most titles, winning five between 1997 and 2007. Naomi Osaka won the tournament’s last edition when the event last took place in 2019. The 2020 and 2021 tournaments were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The unseeded Osaka will attempt to defend her title but face some tough competition.
World number 4 Paula Badosa, recent US Open semi-finalist Caroline Garcia, the in-form Beatriz Haddad Maia, Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and former world number 1 and 2018 Pan Pacific champion Karolina Pliskova will also be favorites to lift the trophy.
Prediction – Osaka to win
Korea Open (WTA 250)
Taking place at the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Centre, this year’s Korea Open has increased ranking points, moving from a WTA 125 last year to a WTA 250. Last year’s champion, Zhu Lin defeated Kristina Mladenovic in the final. Jelena Ostapenko is this year’s top seed. The Latvian won one WTA title this year and will be the favorite to add another to her collection.
Fresh off her win in Chennai last week, Linda Fruhvirtova hopes to continue her impressive run for a second week. Magda Linette, who lost out to Fruhvirtova in the Chennai final, is also participating, as is the number 24, world Ekaterina Alexandrova. Last year’s US Open champion, Emma Raducanu, is also in this year’s tournament.
Prediction – Ostapenko to win
