Erratic Wawrinka sees off teenager Fritz

By Pravin Char LONDON, June 28 (Reuters)

Stan Wawrinka met stiff resistance from American teenager Taylor Fritz before he finally asserted his dominance in a 7-6(4) 6-1 6-7(2) 6-4 first-round victory at Wimbledon on Tuesday.

The Swiss fourth seed was far from his best, with his groundstrokes uncharacteristically erratic, but his fearsome one-handed backhand and experience were enough to see off the 18-year-old making his tournament debut.Wawrinka, who will play Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro in the next round, said he and other players needed to get used to grasscourt conditions.”I know if I can start to win few matches, I can be dangerous to go far,” he told reporters.

Fritz, the youngest man in the draw, showed few nerves in the first set as he matched the twice grand slam champion shot-for-shot in a punishing baseline battle on Number One Court.But his confidence seemed to evaporate after he lost the tiebreak. He won just one game in the second set as Wawrinka found his range and bossed the exchanges

.Wawrinka struggled for concentration in a scrappy third set in which he made a string of unforced errors and he lost the tiebreak. Visibly angry with himself, the 31-year-old stepped up his game to close out the match in the fourth.He had encouraging words for Fritz.”He has a big potential,” Wawrinka said. “For sure he is the future of tennis.”

(Editing by Ed Osmond)

No sentiment as Murray beats fellow Brit Broady

By Martyn Herman LONDON, June 28 (Reuters)

Second seed Andy Murray showed no mercy to fellow Britain Liam Broady as he launched his Wimbledon challenge with a straightforward 6-2 6-3 6-4 victory on Tuesday.

The day after British qualifier Marcus Willis, the world number 772, made the front and back pages by reaching the second round, 235th-ranked Broady was given the Centre Court spotlight but played a subservient role as Murray gave a masterclass.Murray, the 2013 champion, had not faced a fellow Britain in 56 previous Wimbledon matches while two home players had not squared off at the All England Club for 15 years.

The 29-year-old admitted beforehand that it had felt “weird” but it was business as usual once play began as he broke twice to pocket the opening set in 25 minutes.Broady, still sporting the beard that caused a stir when he won a round last year, contributed to some eye-catching rallies but landed few telling blows as Murray raced away.

Murray did not have things all his own way in the third set but as dark clouds closed in, he was clearly keen to finish the match off and he did so with a cute dropshot.”I hit the ball pretty clean today. I think offensively I was good. Felt like I could have moved a little bit better. I didn’t defend as well as usual,” Murray, who has never lost to a player ranked lower than Broady, told reporters.”For a first match, to get it done in three sets is good.”

Murray’s next opponent, Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan, might be a little tougher, according to the Scot.”He’s played the three grasscourt challengers in the buildup. He’s won two of them and lost in the final of one,” Murray warned. “He’s made the quarters at this event before, beat (Andy) Roddick once. He plays well on the grass.”

(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)

The records of Wimbledon

Today, Monday the 27ª the 130ª edition of Wimbledon starts, the oldest and prestigious tournament of the profesional circuit, disputed since 1877 with the only interruptions during the periods of 1915-1918 and 1940-1945 which correspond to the two world wars that destroyed Europe.

Wimbledon is tradition, grass, strawberries with champagne, it is the Henman Hill, the pure white of the clothing of the players, the old scoreboard of lights on every court, is the British royalty and aristocracy, it´s even the Brexit. But, above all, Wimbledon is history and tennis, the biggest monument of this sport in the whole world.

The tournament is organized, as it has always been done since the first edition, the All England Tennis and Croquet Club, an exclusive institution which only has 375 members of right plenary session. The All England Club, as it´s commonly called, they give all the profit of the tournament to the Lawn Tennis Association for the development of tennis in the United Kingdom. They look also to maintain an adequate balance of the tradition and innovation, and in this way, like in many others, the tournament is Wimbledon is unique.

The first edition of the tournament was disputed on 1877, only on the men’s singles categories, and with a draw of 22 players, all of them British amateurs. Spencer Gore won the tournament, a local player which was 27 years old that drived him on to history- he could not imagine this- as the first champion of Wimbledon. He didn´t defend his title and didn´t play again in this tournament.

The tournament was a success and it slowly started to incorporate to the British tradition. In 1884 two new categories were added to the tournament :Women singles and men´s doubles. Maud Watson was the first woman to be crowned champion- repeating victory the year after- and the Renshaw brothers the first pair to win the title. The women double and the mix doubles started later on in 1913.

All the greatest players of all time have played on the grass of Wimbledon, and nearly all of them have succeeded. From the top-20 of all time according to thetennisbase ranking, only three of them couldn´t raise the golden Challenge Cup: Ken Rosewall, four time finalist, Ivan Lendl, who reached the final on 1986 and 1987, and Pancho Gonzales who only participated 5 times. Rosewall and Gonzales lost lots of opportunities as they dedicated a big part of their career to the professional circuit which excluded the Grand Slam tournaments. For sure, their luck would have changed if they had participated on the Grand Slams in the best years of their carreer.

Three players share the London throne with seven victories each. William Renshaw, a British born in 1861, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer share the honour of being the players with more titles in the Cathedral of tennis. Furthermore, Federer is the player with more finals played, ten, as we have to add to his seven trophies the finals lost against Nadal in 2008 and against Djokovic the last two years. Wimbledon table of records

Talking about the number of victories, Jimmy Connors is the king, that with his 21 participations he achieved 84 victories. Below him we find Federer with 79 victories, and if the Swiss is able to reach the semi-finals this year he would reach the record of the American. Following them we have Boris Becker, with 71 victories, Arthur Gore, another British of the heroic times, three times champion of the tournament, with 64 victories and Pete Sampras with 63. Connors is also the players with more games played over the grass of the All England Tennis with 102 games played, the only male player with over 100 games played on Wimbledon.

Another interesting record is the one of the best percentage of victories, considering at least ten games played. In this section there is a clear American predominance with Ellsworth Vines in first position with 13 victories from 14 games played (92,46%). They follow him Bjorn Borg with the stratospheric record of 51 victories in 55 games with a percentage of the 92,73%. Don Budge (92,31%, 24 from 26), Dick Savitt (91,67%) and Bill Tilden (91,18%) complete the quintet of major effectiveness on the history of the tournament.

Some winning strikes are impressive. William Renshaw won the tournament from 1881 to 1886, six consecutive wins. With 5 consecutive titles we find Laurence Doherty (1902-1906), Bjorn Borg (1976-1980) and Roger Federer (2003-2007). Furthermore, the Swiss has the record of consecutive finals with 7 finals played, from 2003 to 2009. Doherty is also the player with more titles in total, as we have to add to his five individual titles eight doubles, for a total of thirteen titles.

Borg is the player that has won more games consecutively, 41 from 1976 to 1981. Federer with 40 has remained one away of drawing with the Swedish; the walkover of Tommy Haas in the round of 16 in 2007 made it impossible for the Swiss to lead this classification.

The final with more games played, was the one of 2009, disputed between Federer and Roddick with a total of 77 games played. Federer also played on the both finals that follow, the remembered against Nadal in 2008 with 62 games (and the longest on time played ever) and the one of 2014 against Djokovic with 58 games played, the same as the one o 1954 between Jaroslav Drobny and Ken Rosewall. Quite far away from the record of the tournament between Isner and Mahut in the first round of 2010, 1813 games played and 11 hours and 5 minutes of game duration. On the other hand, the shortest finals were the ones of 1936, Fred Perry defeating Gottfried VonCramm 6-1 6-1 6-0 and the one of 1881, William Renshaw defeating John Hartley 6-0 6-1 6-1.

Boris Becker is the youngest player to become a champion of the tournament with 17 years and 222 days when he won on 1985. The oldest is Arthur Gore who was 41 years old and 182 days when he was champions in 1090. In addition, Gore is the player with more participations on the tournament, 31. The British didn´t miss an edition between 1822 and 1922, a record that is very likely to remain indefinitely in the book of Wimbledon.

The same as other records, which seem impossible to break now a day. Josiah Ritchie, one of the best players of the world on the early 20º century, played his last men´s individuals with 55 years and 247 days. Jean Borotra, the legendary French musketeer, went even further and in 1963 participated in the category of men doubles, with Mustapha Belkhodja, at the age of 65 years and 320 days.

William Renshaw, Joshua Pim, Laurence Doherty, Anthony Wilding, Don Budge, Tony Trabert, Chuck McKinley and Njon Borg in 1976 have been the only men to be able to win the tournament without losing a set. However, it has been Jack Kramer the player that, playing the seven matches, has conceded less games in one edition. The patriarch of the professional tennis won on 1947 conceding only 37 games, despite losing the second set on the semi-finals against Dinny Pails.

Martina Navratilova stands out between the women with nine individual titles, six of them consecutive and 20 in total, the same as Billie Jean King. Navratilova also has the major number of consecutive individual finals, with nine, although the best total record is from Blanche Bingley Hillyard who played 13 finals between 1886 and 1901, which from those 13 she lost seven, the same as Chris Evert.

The youngest champion was Lottie Dod, winner in 1888 with only 15 years and 285 days. The oldest was Charlotte Cooper, with 37 years and 282 days in 1908. The names of the biggest champions are heard in every corner of the All England; Maud Watson, the first of all, Dorothea Douglass, the first seven-time champion, Suzanne Lenglen, six time champion, the first great media phenomenon because of tennis, Helen Wilis, the invencible American, eight-time champions, Dorothy Round, Louise Brough, Maureen Conolly, Althea Gibson, the first black person winner of a Grand Slam, Maria Bueno, Margareth Smith, Evonne Gooalgong, Virginia Wade, Steffi Graff and the Williams sisters Venus and Serena. The history of women tennis also rests in the central court of Wimbledon.

The world changes quicker each time, but Wimbledon still remains, attached to its traditions, not because of stagnation or stubbornness, but because of respect to history, to their champions and to some values which have always been the essence of sport. Someone had to make sure that some things never totally disappear and Wimbledon is the guardian . To be like this forever.

Gabriel García / thetennisbase.com

Willis in double dreamland as Federer looms

By Alison Williams LONDON, June 27 (Reuters)

For a man whose singles prize money this year had not topped $300, to have won in the first round at Wimbledon is nothing short of a miracle. For him to face Roger Federer in the next round is pure dreamland.

British world 772 Marcus Willis earned himself a place in Wimbledon folklore and a spot in fans’ hearts by beating Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis, ranked 718 places above him, 6-3 6-3 6-4, sending the Court 17 crowd into utter delirium.

On a day with little to cheer for home fans, Willis, who had to come through two rounds of qualifying, took to the court against the world number 54 like he owned it.

The 25-year-old saved 19 out of 20 break points and won 72 percent of points on his first serve.This from a man who described himself as a “loser” and a “fat boy” who had to get himself in shape, who coaches at 30 pounds an hour to pay the bills and had to be persuaded by his girlfriend not to jack it all in.

As the cheers were still ringing around the rowdy crowd, British number one and 2013 champion Andy Murray, who starts his campaign on Tuesday as second seed, tweeted: “Marcus Willis, how good is that!” Congratulations also came from Goran Ivanisevic, who won Wimbledon as a wildcard in 2001.

“Goran just came around and shook my hand. He’s my hero. I’m a bit…,” Willis told reporters, trailing off in grinning disbelief.

He is now guaranteed to win at least 50,000 pounds ($66,000) and next up his Swiss master Federer, who defeated Argentina’s Guido Pella in straight sets.

“Obviously, it’s an amazing dream come true. I get to play on a stadium court. This is what I dreamed of when I was younger,” Willis said. “I’m going to go out there and try to win the tennis match. I probably won’t. I might not. But I’m going to give everything, as I have the last seven matches.”

Federer was equally captivated by the Willis fairytale.”I think it’s one of the best stories in a long time in our sport. This is the kind of stories we need in our sport. It’s a great, great story,” said the 17-times grand slam champion.

“I’m very excited to be playing him. It’s not something that I get to do very often. I’m looking forward to that.”

Willis is the lowest-ranked qualifier in round two of a major since No. 923 Jared Palmer at the 1988 U.S. Open. Bookmakers Ladbrokes are offering odds of 8-1 that he reaches the world top 100 by the end of this year.

Federer sees off Pella in Wimbledon first round

LONDON, June 27 (Reuters)

Roger Federer began his 18th consecutive Wimbledon challenge with a straight-sets win over Argentina’s Guido Pella on Monday — but it was never straightforward for the Swiss as he won 7-6(5) 7-6(3) 6-3.

The third seed, bidding for an eighth Wimbledon title at the age of 34, struggled to shake off a gutsy opponent before his class prevailed.

More importantly, he showed no sign of the back injury that forced him to miss the French Open, ending his run of 65 consecutive appearances at grand slam tournaments.

“I worked so hard to be here,” Federer told reporters.”My hope was to be here fully fit. No one knows, not even myself. But we’ll see.”Federer next plays world number 772 Marcus Willis of Britain.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond)

Djokovic makes solid start to Wimbledon title defence

LONDON, June 27 (Reuters)

It was not quite the triple bagel that Novak Djokovic was aiming for during the opening 41 minutes of his first-round match but the Serbian is unlikely to be too disappointed after he beat Britain’s James Ward 6-0 7-6(3) 6-4 at Wimbledon on Monday.

The holder of all four grand slam titles appeared to be hurtling towards his 29th successive win at a major when he opened his Wimbledon defence by jumping out to a 6-0 3-0 lead.

But Ward, the son of a London black cab driver, did not want to make a quick getaway on his Centre Court debut and held both arms aloft after finally getting a game against his name on the scoreboard.

The 177th-ranked wildcard went on a roll as he won three games on the trot but despite his fightback, he simply did not have enough weapons to stop Djokovic from setting up a second- round showdown with Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.

(Reporting by Pritha Sarkar, editing by Ed Osmond)

The Weekly Data. Everything ready for Wimbledon

The North-American Steve Johnson opened up his record of ATP titles after defeating the Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas for 7-6(5) 7-5 in the final of the ATP 250 of Nottingham, last tournament played on grass before the great date of Wimbledon.

It was the second final for the American who was defeated last year in the ATP 500 of Vienna by David Ferrer. A great achievement for Johnson who turns the third player to unveil his record of ATP titles this season after Nick Kyrgios, who won his first title in Marseille last February, and Diego Schwartzman who did the same in the tournament of Istanbul in May.

Very prominent was as wellthe performance done by Cuevas. The Uruguayan, a specialist on clay, had only appeared before on 5 tournaments played on grass and his record on this surface was of two victories and five losses, being his best result the round of 16 reached on this same tournament last year. However, Cuevas showed that he can play at a high level over grass, as some of his victories as an underdog show against Marco Baghdatis and, especially, against a specialist as Gilles Muller who came on a great winning strike-8 victories on grass out of 10 games played- to the semi-finals that played against the Uruguayan. Pablo Cuevas grass activity

Precisely, was Muller who lead the statistics of aces of the tournament with 71, followed by Cuevas who´s 65 aces are his best record all time on a tournament. Nottingham 2016 stats

The Uruguayan, after defeating Muller, improved his record this season against left-handed players to 12-1, five of them being on the tournament of Rio de Janeiro, which is the only time in the history of the ATP in which the winner of a tournament plays all his games against left-handed players. Pablo Cuevas vs. lefthanders 2016

Whilst the tournament of Nottingham was being disputed, some of the top-world players were starting to heat up in exhibitions: Djokovic, Goffin, Isner, Del Potro, Zverev and others played on The Boodles, where the world´s number one was defeated by David Goffin(6-3, 7-5) and then decided to retire from the tournament due to schedule problems. The Serbian will play his first game on Wimbledon, against the local player James Ward, without having played a single official match on grass this season.

Federer and Murray rested this week. But while the chances of the British on Wimbledon have increased after his convincing victory in Queen´s, the case of the Swiss is full of uncertainty and even there were rumours about a possibility of Federer retiring. These aren´t good times for Federer who is being hardly punished this year by injuries as never before they had done so. With only two months to go for him to turn 35 years old, it looks like that the continuity of the Swiss on the competition go through overcome definitely his back problems and return to be competitive. And everyone knows which two events are the ones the Swiss is whiling to play this season: Wimbledon and the Olympics of Rio.

Wimbledon´s draw was sorted on Friday. On the side of the Serbian, apart from Federer who he would face with on Semi-finals, there are some players that have made him suffer the most on Grand Slams on the last years, as Kevin Anderson, who he could face with in the Quarter-finals who last year started winning 2-0, forcing the Serbian to an amazing comeback. Or as well Gilles Simon, although he could only face against him on semi-finals, if he defeats Federer, who also took Djokovic to the fifth set on Australia this year. Other threats for the Serbian are Sam Querrey, although the American is a long way away of his best version, Nicolas Mahut, always a challenging player over grass, David Goffin and Milos Raonic. For the semis, apart from Federer and Simon, the principal threats are Kei Nishikori, Gilles Muller, Gael Monfils, Marin Cilic and the unpredictable Ivo Karlovic, a name who no one likes to see on their horizon.

On the other side of the draw, the favourite is Andy Murray who has a lot of specialist servers in his way. For the round of 16, Nick Kyrgios, Feliciano Lopez and Dustin Brown are his biggest threats. On the Quarter-finals he could face against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet or John Isner and for the semi-finals, apart from the favourite to reach this round, Stan Wawrinka, he could face up against Dominic Thiem, one of the surprises so far of the season, Alexander Zverev, Tomas Berdych and Bernard Tomic, not forgetting Juan Martin del Potro who faces Wawrinka on the second round.

The oldest and most prestigious tournament of the world starts on Monday and everything is ready for it. Djokovic against everyone, has the objective to win his fifth consecutive Grand Slam, threatening Budge´s record and continue to aspire to that Golden Slam which will place him even higher on the Olympus of all time tennis. Wimbledon table of records

Gabriel García / thetennisbase.com

American Johnson wins in Nottingham for first ATP title

June 25 (Reuters)

American Steve Johnson sealed a first career ATP title by defeating Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas 7-6(5) 7-5 to win the Nottingham Open grasscourt title on Saturday.

In only his second final, 38th-ranked Johnson edged a tight contest, dropping serve just once.

“It feels really good, I’m not going to lie,” said Johnson, who reached the quarter-finals at Queen’s Club last week and will move inside the world’s top 30 for the first time.

“I had some ups and downs so far this year. To find my groove on the grass is fantastic. I had a good week at Queen’s Club and felt pretty comfortable on the grass.Once I got here and played my first couple of matches, I knew I was definitely a contender to win this.”

Johnson joins Australian Nick Kyrgios and Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman as first-time winners this year.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)

The Australian tennis future. By Mark Woodforde

The future looks bright don’t it for men’s tennis in Australia!

We have three young players who are making a definite name for themselves on the Tennis Tour and keeping the flag flying as far as tradition goes in our country.

Bernard Tomic – 23 yrs old, 6ft 5, highest ATP ranking #17, best Slam is ¼ final Wimbledon, 3 ATP titles, 1 of 2 wins vs top 10 in 2016.

Nick Kyrgios – 21 yrs old, 6 ft 4, highest ATP ranking #19, best Slam is ¼ final Wimbledon & Aust Open, 1 ATP title, 5 of 10 wins vs top 10 in 2016.

Thanasi Kokkinakis – 20 yrs old, 6ft 5, highest ATP ranking #69, best Slam is 3rd round Roland Garros, 0 ATP titles, 0 wins over top 10 in 2015.

Credential strong they are.Solid results.Making headlines not always based on their tennis ability.

Tomic seems older than his 23yrs given he burst on to the scene quite early on, posting results at Slams in 2009.His relaxed languid style has caused concern at times for those who follow him, wondering if he actually aspires to shake hands as the winner.

A player who manages to carve the ball in to several pieces when the current landscape prioritizes power with a hint of topspin.

With his height advantage, his serve is a definite obstacle to deal with but perhaps a lack of aggression when returning an opponents serve and apply constant pressure with firm hitting in rally mode makes him less of a threat to the very best in our game today.

Moving the ball around in to corners is a wonderful asset but it also necessitates patience & precision plus a good deal of fitness to last in longer rallies.

Fitness might not (yet) be one of Tomic’s strongest assets and the buildup of court time in a Masters Series/Grand Slam is a hurdle that proves to be daunting for BT.

Daylight does beckon if he can punish balls from the ground with zing ending the point instead of massaging it over extensive rallies.

For now – Tomic might be maxing out as far as ranking goes until the complete use of his height & power game can be more effective vs the top 10.

Bernard Tomic defeats Brian Baker in the first round.

Kyrgios never seemed to doubt that he would transition from junior ranks up to ATP level.

The X factor was evident to Pat Cash when he was in charge of Australia’s Jr Davis Cup effort a few years ago. He hoped that Tennis Australia would carry on nurturing Kyrios to fulfill his destiny that Cashy could see.

The assets of Kyrios are clear……..standing 6ft 4 he takes charge early with a devastating serve to corners of the service box that is a powerful punch which sends an opponent on the back foot immediately.

If the return is made………standing 6ft 4 he is able to take a swing from either wing to signal his intent of remaining in control of the rally. His goal is not to drift too far behind the baseline. Take charge young man!!!

His ability to move swiftly between each point on serve must feel like a tidal wave that keeps coming down gathering in speed & looking more troublesome to deal with. Relief comes when a change of ends arrives!

Dare you extend the game by keeping the ball in play……..standing 6ft 4 he has the option to move forward with akeenness to volley& displaying a fine feel & sense at net displaying another weapon of choice if needed.

Standing 6ft 4 does have it’s setbacks. A problem area has been the movement of this gifted young player, none more so when recovering from end range out of the deuce court or even pushed at end range to the deuce court.

His f/hand becomes trigger happy at times and recovery a little untidy.

Yet in 2016 his continual & almost silent rise up the rankings, starting at #30 and nowis sitting inside the top 20 thanks to winning his first ATP Tour title and dedication to working on his game –physical & mental side.

This too has brought victories, five of them over top 10 players in 2016 – impressive.

That elite circle of top 10 beckons and learning to handle the associated pressures of being a marquee player, the ups & downs, good days & bad days will perhaps decide if this occurs in 2017 or beyond.

My hometown of Adelaide has batted above average with players on the ATP Tour in recent times.
Brod Dyke – ranked 35th
John Fitzgerald – ranked 25th
Darren Cahill – ranked 22nd
Mark Woodforde – ranked 19th
Lleyton Hewitt –ranked #1

Next in line is Thanasi Kokkinakis and you can spot the trend.
TK has so many assets that could allow him to land comfortably inside the top 20 if not higher.

XXX of ZZZZ plays a forehand in his/her first round match against XXXX of ZZZZZ during day one of the 2015 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 19, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia.

The bonus for Thanasi has been the jet stream behind Tomic&Kyrios and building a game that initially had pundits (myself included) thinking he could eventually outshine both.

However the physical impact has affected TK and undergone surgeries to repair weakened parts of his growing 20yr old frame.

The 2015 season was looking bright but some niggles appeared at the back end of the year and compromised his chance to build further his reputation & ranking. An announcement came early in 2016 that shoulder surgery was required and a nasty bout of rehab necessary at a time when he had hoped to be slamming f/hands by many opponent.

Roland Garros has ended and Kokkinakis has not yet reappeared.Word is afloat the grass season will welcome him back but this is on a surface that he has spoken about as not one he finds amiable.

The new wave of Australian players don’t embrace grass in the way the generations before did, their games not always built to athletically move forward to net and often find themselves bewildered on the surface.

TK will volley but he prefers to move forward when in control of the point. His volley becomes questionable when drawn in under suffered enough and forgets to close the court down i.e. reaching the service line but then not hunting for the next volley.

TK’s b/hand is still a work in progress as his movement around the court.

Missing the first 6 months of the season………returning to the ATP Touron a surface he isn’t comfortable with………..where the serving stats need to be of a high standard which will quickly test out his repaired shoulder – it might be till mid-2017 before we see the true Kokkinakis.

The Weekly Data. Murray breaks a historic record

The number 2 in the world, British Andy Murray clinched the title of Queen’s last Sunday by defeating Canadian´s Milos Raonic 6-7 (5) 6-4 6-3. It is the fifth victory of Murray in the London tournament – the second most ancient of the world (if its predecessor London Athletic Club is included), along with the US Open, just behind Wimbledon -which becomes the player with most titles in the tournament, breaking the tie to four titles he kept with other nine players: Harry Barlow, Ernest Wool Lewis, Tony Wilding, Josiah Ritchie, Roy Emerson, John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick. Great names of all time that the Scottish has surpassed in the 124th edition of the prestigious London tournament, a true tennis monument. Queen’s table of records

And he did not have it easy at all. Raonic was ahead 7-6 3-0 so he almost had in his hand the match and the title, bearing in mind that the Canadian until then had not lost a single game with his service throughout the tournament and in the four previous matches he only had faced seven break balls. But an impressive backhand cross from Murray in the fifth game of the second set broke the immunity of Raonic´s serve, who from that moment collapsed in his game and Murray taking advantage of that situation got other three breaks more to clearly win the match. Queen’s 2016 stats

For Murray, it is the second title of the season, 37th of his career and seventh on grass. With this victory the number 2 consolidates his position in the ranking, moving away to Roger Federer, and he presents his candidature for Wimbledon, a tournament he already won three years ago. The Scottish season is being extraordinary, with 33 wins and six losses, second best percentage of the season, eclipsed only by the number one in the world, Novak Djokovic, who has beaten him in the finals of the Australian Open, Madrid and Roland Garros. 2016 wins standings

In London, John Isner was eliminated for the fifth time this season without losing a single service. This time he took little further his particular record, since Gilles Muller eliminated him after saving a whopping 10 match points. The last player who achieved such feat was Rainer Schuettler who saved the same number of match points against Andreas Seppi in the second round of Kitzbühel 2004.

In Halle, Roger Federer had the intention of conquering his ninth title on the grass of the German tournament. However, the genius of Basel is unable to find his best form in a season in which injuries are preventing him from playing with continuity. The young Alexander Zverev eliminated him in a very tight semi-final in which Federer could not seize his opportunities. Federer comes into Wimbledon not only without any title in his saddlebags, something that has not happened since 2000, but also with his status of favourite seriously devalued. The Swiss did not suffer two defeats on grass in the same season since 2012, but that year he won Wimbledon and was finalist in Halle and in the Olympic Games. Halle table of records

The winner of the tournament was the German Florian Mayer, a different and original player who this week has shown that in tennis it is possible to succeed without having a great physical or be a puncher. Mayer beat Zverev 6-2 5-7 6-3 showing a tennis full of imagination and talent, where drops shots, lobs, angles, and mastery when it comes to placing the ball in the right place abounded to the despair of the young Zverev who is still unable to inaugurate his ATP record; something that it would not take long for that to happen.

For Mayer this title, the second and most important of his career, is a compensation for the two years in which injuries have slaughtered him. Since Miami 2014 the German has been undergoing an ordeal that has hardly allowed him to play 24 matches in the last 27 months.

In Halle also highlighted the prodigious Thiem, who went through to the semi-finals after defeating João Sousa with clarity and Teymuraz Gabashvili – whit that victory he led to six the winning streak on grass – and overcome the quarterfinals thanks to the Kohlschreiber loss, thereby avoiding what would have been their third clash in less than two months. In the semi-final he was not able, however, to fight against the particular game of Mayer, being defeated 6-3 6-4. However, his title in Stuttgart and his positive balance of 6-1 allow him to present at Wimbledon with well-founded hopes for a good result.

Gabriel Garcia / thetennisbase.com