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  • Jannik Sinner explains shock decision to part ways with two team members

    Jannik Sinner dropped a bombshell on the eve of Wimbledon, and the world No 1 has given his first public explanation for the major decision.

    Just nine months after hiring physiotherapist Marco Panichi and fitness trainer Ulises Badio, Sinner has parted company with the pair as he insisted the move won’t have a negative impact at the grass-court Grand Slam.

    Panichi and Badio joined the Italian’s team in September last year as they replaced Umberto Ferrara and Giacomo Naldi, who left following the failed doping test saga in March 2024.

    Both came with impressive CVs as Panichi and Badio had previously worked with all-time great Novak Djokovic while they were also in the Sinner camp when he successfully defended his Australian Open title at the start of the year.

    Sinner, who lost the French Open final against Carlos Alcaraz in five sets with the match lasting five hours and 29 minutes, also worked with the pair at the Halle Open after Roland Garros before the shock move came just days before the start of Wimbledon.

    When asked about the decision ahead of the third major of the year, the three-time Grand Slam winner replied: “No, nothing major happened. Nothing big happened. I parted ways not long ago, but it’s not affecting me. I feel ready to compete. I feel free. I feel me and my team, we are ready to do the best we can.

    “So I’m here to play good tennis. I think that’s my main goal, the main reason why I’m here. We’ve reached incredible results in the past with them, so obviously huge thanks to them. We made some great job, but I decided to do something different.”

    When asked about the reason for the split, he again didn’t go into much detail, simply stating: “As I said, there’s not one specific thing. Nothing crazy happened. That’s for sure not.

    “We made some great work. For me the final in Roland Garros was an amazing achievement. That’s it. Look, in this sport things can happen. There is nothing incredible, no, because sometimes a player feels something different, and that’s my case.

    “But again, I’m here to play tennis. I’m here to show that I can play some good tennis also on grass.”

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    After losing the Roland Garros final against Alcaraz at the beginning of June, the 23-year-old played only one grass-court tournament and that was Halle, winning one match before losing in the round of 16.

    But there is no dwelling on his French Open heartbreak.

    “Honestly, I feel ready to play. I feel ready. We are practicing very well. What happened in the past is in the past already,” he said.

    “I feel good. I feel especially mentally I feel in a very good spot. Halle was a little bit different, because before I haven’t had so much time to cut that off. Now it’s gone, and I see also the reactions of other players and people, they talked the level is very, very high. Just privileged to be in this position.

    “We are working very hard. I feel like that I’m playing great, great tennis on grass. Hopefully I can show this also in the match court.”

    The post Jannik Sinner explains shock decision to part ways with two team members appeared first on Tennis365.

  • Emma Raducanu facing rankings collapse after daunting Wimbledon draw

    Emma Raducanu is back in the top 50 of the WTA Rankings after a year of progress, but the 2021 US Open champion could face a slide after she was handed a challenging Wimbledon draw.

    Raducanu reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, with the 240 points she collected from that run set to drop off her ranking heading into this year’s tournament at the All England Club.

    If she fails to match her performance from last year at Wimbledon, the 22-year-old will slide backwards in the rankings and she may lose her status as British No 1 to Katie Boulter.

    Raducanu will be a strong favourite to beat British teenager Mimi Xu in her opening match at Wimbledon, but she could then be in line to face 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in round two.

    Vondrousova confirmed she is in red-hot form heading into Wimbledon after winning a WTA 500 tournament on grass in Berlin last week.

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    If Raducanu got through those two matches, she would be in line to face world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka and that would be a match she would be a big outsider to win.

    The draw means Raducanu is likely to slide outside of the top 50 once again after Wimbledon and she is downplaying her hopes heading into the tournament with a back injury.

    “Truthfully I don’t expect much from myself this year,” said Raducanu. “I know I’ve just been dealing with certain things.

    “I just want to go out there and embrace the moment. I want to embrace the occasion. I know there’s not many opportunities to be playing at Wimbledon. You get it once a year and for a finite amount of time. I’m just looking forward to going out there and feeling the surroundings and the atmosphere.

    “I just feel like the way that I’m going to do that is putting more time on the court.

    “Maybe in the short term I feel a little bit more tired, but I know I’m going to improve in the long run doing it. Even if I don’t see the results straightaway, they will come.

    “For me, I love working, and I think that’s the stage I’m at right now is just to work, put the hours in, and get better.”

    Raducanu also commented on her status as British No 1, as she insisted the rivalry with Katie Boulter for that domestic itle is all friendly.

    “It’s a great honor to be British No. 1. It’s been a long time, but Katie is hot on my heels, a couple places behind me. I know she’s such a great grass court player, such a great player in general,” she added.

    “It’s going to be a really difficult battle in the next few months, the rest of the season. For us, we have a really healthy, good relationship. I think it’s nice to have, but it isn’t everything to me.”

    READ NEXT: Points and money earned by Maya Joint, Alex Eala, Emma Raducanu at Eastbourne

    The post Emma Raducanu facing rankings collapse after daunting Wimbledon draw appeared first on Tennis365.

  • Alexander Zverev admits he suffered a ‘burnout’ after Jannik Sinner hammering

    Alexander Zverev admits he suffered a ‘burnout’ after Jannik Sinner hammering

    Alexander Zverev has revealed he needed to take some time to recover from his defeat against Jannik Sinner in this year’s Australian Open final, as he conceded he ‘made some mistakes’ in the aftermath of his loss against the world No 1.

    Zverev’s drive to win a Grand Slam title has seen him knock on the door of glory on three occasions, as he has reached the final of the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open.

    That elusive first major is still his ultimate dream and in an exclusive interview with Tennis365 at an Adidas event in London, 28-year-old Zverev has opened up about his emotions after he was comprehensively beaten by Sinner in Melbourne.

    The German was emotional on the court after his loss and he has conceded it took time for him to come to terms with his latest Grand Slam near miss.

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    “It did take me a while to get over it because I really went into the match and I thought, I can win this, I’m going to win,” Zverev told Tennis365.

    “Then very quickly, I felt like, well, he’s out playing me on every single aspect. So I felt a bit lost out there at times.

    “Jannik was above everyone else the entire tournament and there was nothing else to say, but after that, I made some mistakes.”

    Zverev was back in action quickly after his defeat against Sinner in Melbourne as he signed up to play in the South American clay court swing in February, but he admits that was a mistake.

    “I think I overplayed,” he continued. “I didn’t give myself, my body and my mind time to accept what happened. I just carried on playing and kind of had a little bit of a burnout in the middle of the season.

    “It was too much. Some stupid decisions from my end and I paid the price for them, but that is in the past now. I’m at Wimbledon now, I’m feeling good and I’m looking forward to this tournament.”

    Alexander Zverev

    Alexander Zverev spoke exclusively to Tennis365 at the launch of the new Adidas The London Originals Collection

    Zverev has not got past the fourth round at Wimbledon and admits he has struggled to find his best form on grass, but he believes that could change this year.

    “I didn’t particularly love grass before, but I do feel like the last few years I’ve been playing well on the surface, especially last year we said I felt like I was playing my best tennis at Wimbledon, but then I got injured, unfortunately, in the third round against Cam Norrie,” he added.

    “I hope this year is going to be no different and hopefully without injury and we’ll see how far I can go and what I can do at this time.

    “I feel I feel confident, I feel confident that, you know, it can work out well. People probably wouldn’t think Wimbledon is the Slam I will win, but I’m feeling confident.

    “Maybe it’s the one that nobody expects me to win. No one is thinking of me going into the tournament, but I feel I can do well.”

    Zverev is the best player in the modern game not to win a Grand Slam and while Wimbledon has not always been his best hunting ground, his huge serve and powerful game could click on grass if he finds his confidence over the next two weeks.

    READ NEXT: Novak Djokovic gets ‘undeserved hate’ according to one of his biggest rivals

    The post Alexander Zverev admits he suffered a ‘burnout’ after Jannik Sinner hammering appeared first on Tennis365.

  • Points and money earned by Maya Joint, Alex Eala, Emma Raducanu at Eastbourne

    Maya Joint won the final warm-up tournament before Wimbledon as she beat fellow rising star Alex Eala in the final of the Eastbourne Open, but how many points and prize money did the two finalists earn?

    The 19-year-old Joint saved four match points to beat Eala, who came through qualifying, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (12-10) in two hours and 28 minutes.

    “I’m very happy right now,” the Australian said. “It was a very difficult match. That third set, I’m proud of myself for coming back and staying in the match.”

    The teenager has now won two WTA singles titles following her success at the Moroccan Open in May.

    Her incredible run at Eastbourne saw her beat three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur in the first round and she followed it up with a win over 2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu while she also overcame 2021 French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the semi-final.

    Eala, meanwhile, reached her maiden WTA final following her breakthrough at the Miami Open in March.

    Both, of course, earned a healthy amount of ranking points and prize money for the efforts at the WTA 250 event.

    WTA Points Earned At Eastbourne

    WTA 250 tournament winners earn 250 points while the runners-up receive 163, but of course players have to defend points from corresponding events 12 months ago so they don’t always go home with the full haul.

    Title winner Joint, for instance, collected 230 points as she was dropped 20 points from a tournament in 2024, and she increased her overall points tally in the WTA Rankings to 1,319, which will result in a 10-place jump to a new career high of No 43.

    Eala is also set to reach a new high as she went home with 166 points and will rise 18 places to No 56.

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    Semi-finalists earn 98 points and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova nearly went home with the full total as she picked up 97 points while Varvara Gracheva earned 86 points.

    Second seed Barbora Krejcikova withdrew from her quarter-final match against Gracheva and she earned 53 points.

    Third seed Jelena Opstaneko and seventh seed Emma Raducanu exited in the second round (30 points) and the former dropped 30 points as she lost at the same stage last year while Raducanu was -78 as she was a quarter-finalist in 2024.

    The 2024 Eastbourne Open was a WTA 500 tournament and the defending champion Daria Kasatkina was the biggest loser as she dropped 440 points after losing in the first round.

    WTA Prize Money Earned At Eastbourne

    Winner Joint collected £29,323 (about $39,00) for her efforts at Devonshire Park the past week and she took her career prize-money earnings to $769,092 while the 20-year-old Eala earned £17,355 ($23,000).

    Filipina Eala won $332,160 for reaching the semi-final at the Miami Open earlier this year and her career tally has been boosted to $1,050,013.

    Pavlyuchenkova and Gracheva reached £9,669 (($13,00) while the quarter-finalists earned £5,505 ($7,500).

    Raducanu, meanwhile, who has earned more than $5m in career prize money, picked up £3,360 ($4,600).

    The post Points and money earned by Maya Joint, Alex Eala, Emma Raducanu at Eastbourne appeared first on Tennis365.

  • Coco Gauff admits ‘temptation’ to fire back at Aryna Sabalenka after controversial comments

    Coco Gauff conceded she felt a “temptation” to fire back at Aryna Sabalenka after the Belarusian dismissed Gauff’s achievement following the French Open final.

    The American won two sets to one in Paris earlier this month but rather than focus on the second Grand Slam win of her career, the story afterwards was instead on what Sabalenka had said.

    While Sabalenka agreed that Gauff was a deserving champion, she went on to suggest the primary reason for the American winning was her poor performance. 

    The world No 1 later apologised but speaking ahead of the next slam in Wimbledon, Gauff admitted that the initial delay did tempt her to reply.

    “It was very weird,” Gauff admitted. “I’m transparent. At first it was a little tempting just because the apology did come a little bit later. I thought it was going to come pretty quick.

    “There’s obviously temptation. I wouldn’t be lying, but I don’t know, I just want us to be kumbaya, live happily, hakuna matata, and be happy here.

    “I didn’t want to fuel more hate. I’m not the person that will fuel hate in the world. I think people were taking it too far. It wasn’t even more holding someone accountable. It was just really like targeting and saying a lot of things that I felt like were not nice. I
    didn’t want to fuel that more.

    “In general and immediately after in my press conference, I didn’t know what was exactly said. I was going based off what someone was saying in the press conference. I didn’t want to say anything unless I saw exactly what was said, too.”

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    Any possibility of bad blood still being there between the two was put to bed this week when the pair were spotted filming social media videos together on Centre Court.

    The 21-year-old Gauff said that while she cannot promise to always get it right in the future, she aims to be someone her brothers can be proud of.

    “In general, I’m someone I preach love, I preach light. I feel like I just practice what I preach. If someone were to say something, I feel like most of the time I’m always going to try my best to take the high road.

    “I can’t promise in the future I won’t, but I try to just because that’s what I would want someone to look up to. If I’m thinking about my brothers watching me, that’s what I would want them to do.”

    Read next: The 9 best Round 1 matches to watch at Wimbledon: ft. Raducanu, Eala, Gauff & Fonseca

    The post Coco Gauff admits ‘temptation’ to fire back at Aryna Sabalenka after controversial comments appeared first on Tennis365.

  • Novak Djokovic says ‘last dance’ Wimbledon his ‘best chance’ at final Grand Slam success

    Novak Djokovic has conceded this summer’s Wimbledon could be his “last dance” in tennis and that it may well be his final shot at a 25th grand slam title.

    The Serb arrives in SW19 as a seven-time Wimbledon champion but has been unsuccessful in his last six slams as age finally catches up with him.

    With Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner the favourites, Djokovic is an outside bet for the title this year and asked whether the British tournament could be his “last dance”, the 38-year-old was hesitant to say so but admitted it was his best chance at number 25.

    “Whether it could be my last dance, I’m not sure, as I’m not sure about Roland Garros or any other slam that I play next,” he told media at Wimbledon.

    “My wish is to play for several more years. I would love to be healthy physically and also mentally motivated to keep on playing at the highest level. That’s the goal, but you never know at this stage.

    “And yes, I would probably agree that Wimbledon could be the best chance because of the results I had, because of how I feel, how I play in Wimbledon, just getting that extra push mentally and motivation to, yeah, perform the best tennis at the highest level.”

    Despite a crowd that was initially cold to him, Wimbledon has become Djokovic’s favourite slam of the year and he said he had a great “emotional and mental relationship” with the tournament.

    “It’s great to be back. I love Wimbledon. I’ve always loved it. Always dreamt of playing the Centre Court and winning it,” he recalled.

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    “I think in the last six editions, I had six finals. Been for one reason or several reasons playing very well in Wimbledon, maybe most consistently successful Grand Slam for me in the last 10 years.

    “It’s definitely connected to that emotional and mental relationship that I have with Wimbledon since the earliest stages of my tennis career where, as I said, I always dreamed of winning it.

    “When I come here, I feel extra inspired to deliver the best tennis. We all know the tradition and the heritage and the culture of this wonderful tournament that has sustained that for so many years.

    “It’s so impressive every single time you walk into this premises. You feel that beautiful tradition.”

    Read next: The 9 best Round 1 matches to watch at Wimbledon: ft. Raducanu, Eala, Gauff & Fonseca

    The post Novak Djokovic says ‘last dance’ Wimbledon his ‘best chance’ at final Grand Slam success appeared first on Tennis365.

  • Stefanos Tsitsipas answers Novak Djokovic question as he opens up on Goran Ivanisevic partnership

    Stefanos Tsitsipas has discussed the value of the vast coaching experience that Goran Ivanisevic brings to his team as he addressed the Croatian’s hugely successful partnership with Novak Djokovic.

    The Greek star prepared for Wimbledon by playing two grass-court exhibition matches at the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic at the Hurlingham Club this week.

    After beating world No 12 Frances Tiafoe 7-6(9), 6-7(4), 10-7 on Tuesday, Tsitsipas lost 4-6, 6-2, 5-10 to 53rd-ranked Tomas Martin Etcheverry on Tuesday.

    Tsitsipas was originally due to play Lorenzo Musetti in his second match at Hurlingham, but Etcheverry took his place after the 23-year-old Italian pulled out.

    Musetti, the world No 7, has not played since a thigh injury forced him to retire in the fourth set of his French Open semi-final clash with Carlos Alcaraz at the start of the month.

    Tsitsipas, whose struggles have seen him fall to 26th in the rankings, hired Ivanisevic as his coach at the start of the grass season. The former world No 3 lost to Alex Michelsen in the second round of the ATP 500 in Halle in his first event with Ivanisevic in his box.

    Ivanisevic, a Wimbledon champion in 2001 and former world No 2, has built the reputation of being one of the leading coaches in the sport.

    The Croatian helped tennis legend Djokovic win nine Grand Slam titles between 2019 and 2024, while he coached compatriot Marin Cilic to his only major victory at the 2014 US Open. He has also worked with Tomas Berdych, Milos Raonic and Elena Rybakina.

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    Following his match with Etcheverry at Hurlingham, Tennis365 asked Tsitsipas if Ivanisevic has passed on any lessons from his time working with Djokovic.

    “Absolutely, yes. We have daily discussions. I wouldn’t say he just has experience with Novak, like it would be unfair to just say with Novak,” said the 26-year-old.

    “Of course, Novak is one of the greatest that our game has seen, but he has also worked with other players too, and I think there comes experience too.

    “Also, I feel like it’s important for him that he has worked with different types of players because he gets to really see what works best for me, knowing how these different profiles of players have adapted and have done certain things.

    “I think he can see more of a variation in his coaching skills and in his coaching expertise and apply that selectively to me in ways that… obviously, I can’t play exactly like Novak.

    “I have certain characteristics in my game that stand out a little bit more and certain [things] that need to get improved and get better over time.

    “But he can definitely give me a clear direction of where I’m lacking and where I should be focusing on when it comes to my strengths.”

    Tsitsipas will face world No 112 Valentin Royer in the opening round at Wimbledon.

    READ NEXT: Novak Djokovic gets ‘undeserved hate’ according to one of his biggest rivals

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  • Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz take centre stage as Wimbledon Order of Play is revealed

    The opening day of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships is upon us, with the order of play for day one now confirmed, with Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu set to steal a lot of the spotlight.

    Carlos Alcaraz will have the honour of opening proceedings on Centre Court, with the defending champion taking on Italian veteran Fabio Fognini in what should be an entertaining match.

    The second match on Centre Court will see Britain’s Katie Boulter take on No 9 seed Paula Badosa, yet there are doubts over whether the Spaniard will play amid ongoing injury problems.

    The final match on Centre Court for day one will feature No 3 seed Alexander Zverev and the dangerous Arthur Rinderknech, in a match that could see the Germna pushed all the way on a surface he has not excelled on in the past.

    The opening day at Wimbledon is loaded with high-quality matches, with Emma Raducanu opening her campaign in an all-British contest against teenager Mimi Xu on Court 1.

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    That will be the third match on the second show court the All England Club, with world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka opening up against Carson Branstine, before Britain’s Jacob Fearnley clashes with Brazil’s Joao Fonseca in a thrilling first round match.

    The match-ups on display on the outside courts are mouth-watering, with No 9 seed Daniil Medvedev set for an 11am start on Court 2 as he takes on France’s Benjamin Bonzi.

    Australian Open champion Madison Keys is next up on that court as hse takes on Elena-Gabriela Ruse before Jasmine Paolini takes on Anastasija Sevastova, with the No 4 seed defending a huge number of points after her run to the final last year.

    Holger Rune, Matteo Berrettini, Taylor Fritz and Stefanos Tsitsipas are also in action on the minor show courts at Wimbledon, while British teenager Hannah Klugman will take on 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez on Court 12.

    Tennis365 spoke to 16-year-old Klugman as she played her first senior exhibition event at The Boodles earlier this week and she is eager to sample Grand Slam main draw tennis for the first time.

    “I don’t think anyone wants to play a Brit a Wimbledon. The British youngsters have nothing to lose. So no matter what happens out there, just enjoy it.

    “And it’s an opportunity that not many people get to experience. So, you know, I’m not going to forget that. Hopefully it’s one of many as well. So kind of trying to take it in my stride and enjoy the moment.”

    Klugman has pieced together an impressive junior career, but she admits the challenge of making a step up to the senior ranks will be a big task.

    She has played in some LTA grass court tournaments this month and admits the step up in quality is a big challenge.

    “The tournaments I played were very strong and it is different for sure,” she continued. “Juniors is obviously this amazing little stepping stone and you’ve got to level up a little bit

    “Sometimes I feel like a bit out of place. I still feel a bit like a junior, and the atmosphere if a bit different at the senior events.

    “So I think that’s kind of, kind of getting my head around that. You need to feel you belong here and you earned it.

    “Sometimes it’s a bit stressed, it’s a women’s event and, it’s a bit different, but I think all these opportunities are amazing.”

    Klugman, Stojsavljevic and Xu will get plenty of media attention in Britain as they step on the hallowed turf in the main draw at Wimbledon for the first time and she admits the success of British No 1 Emma Raducanu is a source of inspiration.

    Raducanu leapt from the junior ranks in Britain to win the 2021 US Open and Klugman suggests that was a snapshot of what can happen when you step onto the biggest stage of them all in tennis.

    “What Emma did was amazing and I think she’s also pushed a lot of the British players as well, like the seniors,” he added.

    “I think everyone you know, (Katie) Boulter is doing amazing, Sonay (Kartal) as well. I think when players are doing better, it pushes you to be better.”

    Klugman will also play the junior event at Wimbledon this year, assuming she is not in the fourth round in the main draw and if she gets that far, the hype that is already circling around this teenager will see her world transformed for all the right reasons.

    READ NEXT: Emma Raducanu invited Mimi Xu onto court and now she will face her at Wimbledon

    The post Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz take centre stage as Wimbledon Order of Play is revealed appeared first on Tennis365.

  • Novak Djokovic gets ‘undeserved hate’ according to one of his biggest rivals

    Novak Djokovic gets ‘undeserved hate’ according to one of his biggest rivals

    Novak Djokovic has struggled to win over a bulk of tennis fans for most of his career, yet world No 3 Alexander Zverev has told Tennis35 that the most successful player of all-time has been forced to deal with ‘undeserved hate’ over the course of his career.

    Speaking to this website at an exclusive Adidas event as they launched The London Originals Collection, Zverev revealed that Djokovic is one of the most generous players on the men’s tour, with his advice forthcoming for rivals as well as those emerging through the ranks.

    Despite the respect he commands in the locker room, Djokovic has been lambasted by tennis fans over the years, with boos as common as cheers for the most successful male player of all-time.

    Djokovic has been booed at Wimbledon, at the US Open and most recently following his withdrawal against Zverev at this year’s Australian Open, where he was forced to quit their semi-final after the first set due to a leg injury.

    Zverev suggested that the reaction from the Melbourne crowd was misplaced, as he argued the 24-time Grand Slam champion deserves more respect than he gets from tennis fans.

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    “People in the crowd paid for tickets and they want to see a battle probably between us with four hours, five hours, you know, going to distance,” Zverev told Tennis365 in an exclusive interview, as he looked back on a day that saw Djokovic booed as he left the court in Melbourne.

    “But at the end of the day, he won that tournament 10 times. He won it with injury, he won a term on different occasions, with different problems.

    “If he said that he can’t play a semi-final with Grand Slam, that means he can’t play a semi-final with Grand Slam.

    “So I think he gets a lot of undeserved hate. Obviously, Roger and Rafa are probably two of the most loved athletes of all time, right? They’re probably both in the top 10 of the most-loved athletes of all time.

    “
And Novak was spoiling the party a lot for the fans. But you know, all I can is Novak is genuinely a good guy.”

    Zverev went on to reveal Djokovic’s eagerness to offer advice, with that generosity on display as Zverev practiced with the seven-time champion at the All England Club ahead of his latest bid to win a first Wimbledon title.

    “Yesterday I practiced with him and I was asking him questions about my service and I was asking questions about the return and what he was focusing on.

    “You might think he is five or six in the world and I’m No 3 in the world and we might be competing at Wimbledon at some point, so he might not want to answer my questions.

    “But he is so generous and he took his time to answer and to give me suggestions. I’m not sure anybody else in the world will do that to a direct competitor of his.

    “He’s so generous when his answers. He actually takes his time and thinks about everything before he gives you an honest answer. 
I’m not sure anyone else in that world would do that.”

    Alexander Zverev

    Alexander Zverev spoke exclusively to Tennis365 at the launch of the new Adidas The London Originals Collection

    Plenty of tennis experts have written off Djokovic’s chances of winning a 25th Grand Slam title and moving ahead of Australia’s Margaret Court in the all-time list of major winners.

    That theory was crushed as he Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open and Zverev at the French Open, but the German believes stringing match wins together against the game’s top players may be tough at the age of 28.

    “I do believe that playing goes back-to-back maches will be more difficult for him, but having a one-off for him is okay,” he added.

    “I mean, he beat Carlos in Australia, he beat me at the French. I think we’re both quite good players on those surfaces still. I think backing it up is maybe a bit more difficult.

    “You saw it in Australia, you pulled out against me to set and then against Jannik, maybe he didn’t play his best tennis, apart for the third set. In a one-off match, he can still beat anyone in the world. And I’m sure about that.”

    We have lots more from our exclusive interview with Alexander Zverev in the coming days.

    READ MORE: Wimbledon men’s singles draw: Djokovic, Sinner, Draper all in top half, Alcaraz handed kinder draw

    The post Novak Djokovic gets ‘undeserved hate’ according to one of his biggest rivals appeared first on Tennis365.

  • Stefanos Tsitsipas makes surprising Carlos Alcaraz claim as Rafael Nadal debate is reignited

    Tennis legend John McEnroe created a big stir when he suggested Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner could have beaten a prime Rafael Nadal at the French Open, but Stefanos Tsitsipas has suggested that comment was not misplaced.

    McEnroe admiration for Alcaraz and Sinner saw him claim the duo may have had a chance to dethrone the 14-time Roland Garros champion on a court he made his own, in comments that sparked a huge debate among tennis fans.

    “You would make a serious argument with both guys that they would be favoured to beat Nadal, at his best,” the American said on TNT Sports. “The tennis level right now is higher than I’ve ever seen.”

    The notion that the greatest clay court player of all-time would have met his match against Alcaraz and Sinner was given some credence when the two young guns at the top of the men’s game contested an epic Roland Garros final earlier this month.

    Yet the idea that Nadal’s Roland Garros levels have already been bettered by the players currently holding the top two positions in men’s tennis is hard to imagine when we are talking about a player who has a statue to mark his greatness at the Paris venue.

    More Tennis News

    Patrick Mouratoglou issues verdict on whether Alcaraz or Sinner would beat Nadal at his peak

    John McEnroe offers an intriguing take as he answers Carlos Alcaraz question

    Several leading names have dismissed McEnroe’s comments, but former French Open finalist Tsitsipas has told Tennis365 that they carry plenty of weight.

    Having played against Nadal, Alcaraz and Sinner on clay court, the Greek star is in a great position to evaluate McEnroe’s statement and his verdict may be seen as a surprise.

    Speaking exclusively to Tennis365 at the launch of Adidas’ The London Originals Collection at a lavish pre-Wimbledon barbecue in London, he joined the debate on the level being produced by Alcaraz and Sinner as he compared them to the most successful clay court player of all-time.

    “I have played both of them,” Tsitsipas told Tennis365 as he spoke about Alcaraz and Sinner. “Both of them are great ball strikers, both on clay and hard, but I would favour, as a creative player more, more of a creative player on clay, I would favour Carlos.

    “I feel like he has way more options when he plays and it’s quite evident and clear. I mean, it’s not something absurd. And I would favour obviously Sinner on hard courts.

    “So I would give Carlos more chances on Nadal on clay. If I have to bet my money somewhere.”

    He went on to add: “I feel like Carlos would have chances against prime Nadal on clay. I think so. I’m not saying he would have beaten him, but he would have had chances to create something special against him.”

    Tsitsipas went on to suggest the emergence of Alcaraz and Sinner should not be a surprise as he predicts more names will join them at the top of the game in the coming years.

    “It’s not annoying that these two guys are playing so well,” he added. “This is what you expect. It’s going to keep happening that we have new champions, new stars. It’s going to keep happening.

    “It’s part of the circle of the game and how things work. I’m telling you, in the next five years, we’ll see more superstars enter the game and more players that have a different identity from those that are playing now.”

    READ NEXT: Wimbledon men’s singles draw: Djokovic, Sinner, Draper all in top half, Alcaraz handed kinder draw

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