Sabalenka v Zheng
This is an interesting one and while Aryna is a strong favourite, not having even lost a set so far, Zheng has shown some real quality. How they both handle this moment mentally will make the difference in my view. There is a different kind of pressure on both with the favourite maybe feeling the expectation of "I should win" and the underdog if she does get a head start to think about and possibly fear the idea of winning a slam? The weight of the nation may feel heavy being only the 2nd ever Chinese player since Li Na who won the women's singles in 2014.
Let's hope for a good match as the women's event hasn't had so many classics that the men's has produced.

Sinner v Medvedev
Sinner has lost only one set and didn't concede even one break point against Novak in the semi final! That stat alone tells us so much about the level that Jannik is playing at. And he has now beaten Novak 3 times since November!! However, Medvedev keeps managing to pull rabbits out of the hat and continues to find a way to win. Zverev had 80% 1st serves with an average speed over 200kph and still lost!

I picked Sinner from the start and I will stick with that as I think he is the best player on the planet at the moment, but Daniil has great character so cannot be written off. The great unknown for Sinner is how he will react mentally to being in a slam final where Medvedev has much more experience.
I'd love Sinner to win for him as a person and also as a role model for kids plus for Italian tennis which hasn't had a male slam winner since Adriano Panatta in 1976 at the French Open. This made a huge impact on tennis participation in Italy at the time and continued to boom until the early 80's. Time for another boost.
​
Great of Sinner to mention in his post match interview that Bolelli & Vavassori have made the men's doubles final (both Italians). Italy just recently beat Serbia in the Davis Cup final so they are on a roll!

Another example of Novak the BOAT and not the GOAT!
Sure in the first 2 sets he was poor but played really well in the 3rd and was outplayed in the 4th.
The classy GOAT thing to have done would have been to give total credit to Sinner and take it on the chin.
(https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2jpVNdNGXY/?igsh=MXdsdnpmZTVnMTd3cw==)

Looking forward to all the finals singles and doubles too!

Forza Jannick!

All comments welcome,
Ian
[email protected]
www.tuscantennis.com

​Australian Open Comments

​Is Andy Murray finished? 
I certainly hope not even if his Oz open performance was extremely poor. Some of his other recent performances against Dimitrov and de Minaur where he lost in tight 3 sets showed a level of tennis not too far away from a top 10 player. Dimitrov went on to win the tournament and de Minaur has since beaten Djokovic and become a top 10 player himself! Andy has stated that he is searching for a calmer mentality but I'm not sure that's the answer to his problems. 
     
My solutions for Andy Murray to get back on track are as follows:
1/ Take on the forehand more even if he misses - get used to hitting it harder in practice and take this conviction on to the match court. I remember when Federer finally agreed to change racquet and a slight grip change which allowed him to come over the backhand more often instead of slicing all the time. Initially he made a lot of errors, but eventually it paid off when he beat Rafa in the Oz Open final of 2017. A tough thing to do but he felt it was necessary to compete at the highest level and run less when playing Rafa! Novak hits his forehand harder now than 10 years ago (the recorded stats don't lie!). It may well be a slight technical change, more conviction or a mix of both which could make the difference.

2/ A difficult one but find a solution to more 1st serves going in the box - a mix of safe ones and going for the boomer at certain times. An improvement in first serve percentage could help enormously.
Attack the 2nd serve more too and use the slider wide on deuce court and t ball on ad more often like Novak does as Andy's kick isn't always good enough. His slice 2nd serve is more effective.

3/ If the loss to Etcheverry is anything to go by then being calm isn't the solution - Murray has always used negative energy and changed it to positive energy - it doesn't need to be pretty as he has spent a lifetime of being a pain in the butt on court but used this energy to compete well.

Murray needs to look at areas he can be better/braver in, or the ever developing game will go by him. He doesn't have the quickness anymore to defend like he used to so I see no option other than being more pro active.
I would imagine that he is well aware of this but would love to know what the goals are as he seemed a bit lost in the post match conference. Tennis is such a difficult game which just keeps evolving and is the reason why Novak, Federer and Nadal have done so well as they kept improving throughout their career. 

I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts on how Andy can improve on the match court?

Kyrgios commentating plus spat with Becker
Who would have thought that one of the game's most unpredictable and emotionally erratic players would turn up on Eurosport wearing a jacket and come across as a mild mannered, intelligent pundit/commentator? It certainly is interesting to hear from a player's perspective what it's like to play these guys and I'm looking forward to hearing more of mild mannered Nick in the commentary box.

However, his recent online spat with Boris Becker maybe shows his true colours and the other less intelligent side. Nick states that Becker would lose badly to Novak and therefore has less credibility as a legend. This is just a nonsense argument in my view. The greats of any era are just that, the greats of their time. In athletics, records get broken all the time but it doesn't detract from the greats of another era like Jesse Owens and many others. The legends of any era arrive at the top of the pack using the cards that are dealt at that point in history. Athletes continue to evolve in all sports due to advancements in sports science, technique and equipment plus a greater understanding of the mental skills required to even attempt to compete at the highest level.

If Becker had been born in the current era his serve would be even bigger as would the rest of his game, but his ability to focus and compete in the important moments would stand him in good stead in any era. Even though Kyrgios has had some great moments, the ability to dedicate himself to the sport and overcome mental frailties have always escaped him. He is like the many talented footballers in Scotland's history who had the raw talent but were never able to dedicate themselves to the sport like the greats of Pele, Ronaldo or Messi. (Apart from King Kenny of course and one or two others). Dalglish for the non football fans.

Good luck to Nick in his new pundit life but I only hope he gets challenged by Wilander or Henman if he strays too far from a real understanding of tennis greats or any other not so clever comments.

Mirra Andreeva - the new one to watch
We mentioned her as one to watch for 2024 but her 6-2 6-0 destruction of Jabeur has really put her on the map and is the first 16 year old since Gauff to win a round in all the slams. Now she is to face Sabalenka who may well be stressed into even louder grunts than normal? Certainly a match to watch.

Raducanu v Boulter possible 3rd round match
Now this would be very interesting if they get through their next round as a battle of the Brits which has been rare in recent times with British girls at this level.

Draper v Tommy Paul and hopefully v Alcaraz later?
Really looking forward to this one and a possible match with Carlito later on but one match at a time I know! Best of luck to Jack and hopefully no more projectile vomiting. No need for that really.

Ostapenko v Tomljanovic 

2021 Wimbledon spat! - click HERE

This could be very interesting after the match at Wimbledon in 2021 when they totally fell out. Ostapenko is an extremely fiery competitor and not everyone's favourite player on the tour so let's see what happens?

Sinner - the man to beat in my opinion
Not a huge gamble I know but I'm taking Sinner to make his slam breakthrough and win the Oz Open. Novak has already had 2 tough matches and Jannik is cruising so far. He is ready and good enough to beat anyone.

The GOAT discussion continues....
I'm just loving it that Rafa is getting involved in the GOAT discussion (greatest of all time) backed by the oracle, Mats Wilander, who is calling Novak the BOAT (best of all time). It would appear that they both agree that the influence Federer has had in the promotion of tennis qualifies him as the GOAT and they would say that Djokovic is no question the BOAT. Strangely enough, I can't imagine that Novak will be so comfortable with this idea?? Rafa sticking out his neck like this only makes for an even better French open final in 2024 between the two of them! 

All comments welcome, Ian
[email protected]

​Men’s Highlights of 2023
Whether you love him or hate him as he can be a bit marmite for many, you have to say that Djokovic had a quite incredible year, winning three of the four slams plus the ATP tour finals. Losing from triple match point up against Sinner in the Davis Cup semi-finals may give the other players some hope for 2024. even though, it was due in the main to some quite fantastic play by Sinner more than Novak choking.

The GOAT discussion has pretty much been put to bed for the vast majority of tennis
commentators and it really is a futile argument if looking at his record plus head to head etc. And he's not finished yet!

Personally I have found it difficult to warm to Novak, but I absolutely admire his discipline, determination, perseverance and ability to keep improving throughout such a long career. I still find it difficult to not include Rafa, Roger and even Andy Murray in the GOAT discussion for the influence they have had on the game of tennis in a global sense. On results Novak wins hands down but on raising the popularity of the sport throughout the globe so many other players have played their part in different generations. From Bill Tilden in the 1920's to an icon like Borg in the 70's/80's plus so many others like Connors, McEnroe, Nastase, Laver, Sampras, Agassi etc etc. We could all name many players over the history of the game who were legends of their generation. Without these players Novak wouldn't have had the possibility to enjoy such a wonderful career in the world's greatest sport (my opinion) made popular by all of these tennis icons.

Women’s Highlights of 2023
Three women won their maiden grand slams, Sabalenka at the Oz Open, Vondrousova at Wimbledon and Gauff at the US Open. I was particularly pleased with Gauff’s achievement as I feel that she will become a great role model for many young black girls throughout the US and the rest of the world. Gauff has also put Brad Gilbert back on the coaching map due to the immediate impact that he has had on her game. Gauff is unusual in that she always enters the doubles as well as the singles, which is great for that aspect of tennis.

Great to see so many female players who are back on tour or coming back in 2024 after becoming mothers like Svitolina, Wozniacki, Osaka and Kerber.

The biggest disappointment of the year for me was Ons Jabeur’s performance in the final of Wimbledon. She is such a great character and so good for the women’s game that I hope she makes it third time lucky next year. She is not the first nor will be the last to find it difficult to win a first grand slam title.

The most exciting young player to look out for in the women’s game is surely Mirra
Andreeva, a 16 year old Russian player.

What to expect in 2024?
Obviously Alcaraz, Sinner and Rune are the top 3 contenders to knock the Serbian
maestro off his perch and it will be very interesting to see which of these young guys will rise to the challenge. Carlito already has I suppose, but will he find a way to keep 
improving now that other players would appear to be less afraid of him? Sinner has
certainly finished the year looking like the main man to challenge for slams but the game just keeps developing and who knows if someone else will make the improvements necessary to get to the top? The influence of Darren Cahill on Sinner should not go unnoticed with the improvements that Jannik has made. 

My dream for 2024 would be to see Rafa back in the final of the French playing Novak and hopefully coming out on top! Am I biased? Yes, very much so as the impact he has made on the current game in terms of humility can be seen with players like Ruud, Auger-Aliassime plus the majority of Spanish players who I feel have all adopted the Rafa way of competing with great humility and no excuses.

A big hope for 2024 will also be an improvement in the way the WTA is run and hopefully with a female at the top of the chain of command. The end of season event in Cancun was by all accounts a shambles.

And finally best wishes to Chris Evert in her battle with cancer.

Prime to Sky Sports for 2024
You may have heard that tennis will be viewed mainly on Sky Sports in 2024. This will be a big change, especially in terms of cost for the British public which I feel is a shame as it will exclude many people from seeing tennis who cannot afford Sky Sports! Now TV looks like being the cheapest way to get access as they have an arrangement with Sky.

The pundits on Sky will be headed up by Gigi Salmon alongside Tim Henman, Laura Robson, and Martina Navratilova. Also appearing will be Jo Konta, Feliciano Lopez, Marion Bartoli, Jordanne Whiley, Jamie Murray, Karthi Gnanasegaram, Emma Paton and Jonathan Overend. I will seriously miss Mark Petchey in particular who adds an enormous amount to my enjoyment of any match with his expert analysis, humour and insight into the world of tennis. I also hope that Colin Fleming returns as a quietly spoken, but extremely knowledgeable pundit.

What’s happening with Tuscan Tennis in 2024?
Lots of options for you to come and join us on a special hosted trip including Rome to improve your game on beautiful clay courts and see the world’s best perform in the Italian Open and all within walking distance of the hotel!
Be quick though as only 2 spaces are left for the 8th to 12th May and still 16 spaces for 12th to 16th May.

Click HERE for Rome details.

If you would like to come on one of our classic week-long trips to Tuscany then you can choose from Lucca or Florence below.

Click HERE for Lucca & HERE for Florence
​
New for 2024!
To celebrate our 30th year of Tuscan Tennis we have decided to set up a new tennis and padel tennis format which will take place at the end of September in Sicily. When we have all the details this will be announced before the end of this year or early January 2024.
We are very excited about this new offer and can’t wait to return to Sicily which was always one of our most popular destinations.

Women's Singles Final
What a shame that Jabeur wasn't able to sort out her emotional control to be able to perform on the biggest stage in tennis. As Billie Jean King said "she needed to focus on the process and anyone who can't do so will find tennis very difficult." I do hope that she recovers from this and uses this painful experience to come back stronger next time. She seems to be a lovely person and an important role model for women in Tunisia and Africa.
It really was a psychological car crash, but to be fair Vondrousova held her nerve and played well when she must have been aware of the meltdown on the other side of the net. Closing the roof was a definite advantage for her as she loves playing indoors as was demonstrated in previous rounds when it was closed for rain. Not sure about the all England club's decision to close the roof for wind as this is supposed to be an outdoor event and surely wind is a part of playing tennis? (Strangely enough they didn't ask my opinion but more importantly the players weren't consulted either!) This definitely wasn't in Jabeur's favour.

Men's Singles Final
It's difficult to know where to begin when trying to sum up this match and it's importance. Before I begin to eulogise over King Carlos I have to say that Novak handled himself extremely well in defeat and gave a lovely speech.
The match itself just grew in quality after the 1st set when Alcaraz had a bit of a nervous start and Novak made only 2 unforced errors. The 2nd set was the key to the match and Novak will be upset at missing the 2 backhands at the end of the set which he just never does. This allowed Carlos the chance to get into the match which he took full advantage of in the 3rd set when he also made some tactical changes by slicing more and changing the height and speed of his forehand. The use of the drop shot certainly worked better as the match went on and became crucial at the end. These 2 players showed why they are number 1 & 2 in the world and I only hope we have the pleasure of seeing them in a few more finals before the joker retires.
At the start of the 4th set Alcaraz took his foot off the pedal after an early break and Novak made him pay for that with a ruthless exhibition of consistent, hard hitting tennis. At the beginning of the 5th set it really was difficult to predict who was going to win as they were such gladiators, trading mental and physical blows like heavyweight boxers. The point Carlos won to break for 2-1 was quite incredible which was when Novak smashed his racket. The level of athleticism from both players at this late stage was amazing and I think that Alcaraz helped Novak to appreciate what all the other players have felt playing him over all these years in terms of his retrieval skills. Just how do you beat this guy?
And finally it came to King Carlos having to serve out the match at 5-4. It felt a bit like when Andy Murray had to serve out for his 1st Wimbledon title (just a little bit - did you see Andy Murray in the crowd?). Apart from the 1st point when he played a poor dropshot Carlos stayed so cool to finish off the match as Novak commented upon in his speech. The hardest part of any close tennis match is finishing it off and our new King did so in style.
As you may have gathered I am a huge Alcaraz fan and not only for his tennis playing ability and swashbuckling style. This guy is a fantastic role model for kids throughout the world and adults too. In fact anyone who competes at tennis at any level could learn so much from this young man's humility, ability to enjoy the tense moments and his wonderful smile when in the heat of the battle. If you watched him walk through the Wimbledon corridor after the match he said hello to everyone as apparently he always does! I have seen him up close when the cameras are not on and he is just so much fun, friendly and charming with everyone he comes across.
Yes, all hail the new King! He is still the world number 1 ranked player and the first player in 20 years to break the dominance of Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Murray at Wimbledon! Looking forward to the US Open already.

Other Wimbledon news
Huge congrats also to Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski in winning the men's doubles, plus Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewitt winning their 5th Wimbledon crown which was their 18th grand slam title in total. What an amazing effort! The AELTC did get the scheduling right in the wheelchair event, especially in the semis when they put the match on court 1 at a time when it was jam packed. Well done Jamie Baker who I believe was instrumental in arranging this and helping to raise the profile of these great players.
And we also have the first boys under junior Wimbledon winner since 1962. Unseeded 17 year old Henry Searle with a 134mph serve beat the Russian Yaroslav Demin 6-4 6-4 on court number 1 in front of a buoyant crowd. Only four players who won the boys singles title have gone on to win the men's - Federer, Borg, Cash and Edberg.
In the boys' under-14 singles there was victory for Mark Ceban, who beat Slovenian Svit Suljic 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 before Britain's Hollie Smart missed out on the girls' under-14 title in a 6-3 6-1 defeat by Serb Luna Vujovic.
Later, Hannah Klugman and Isabelle Lacy missed out on the chance to become the first all-British pairing to win the girls' doubles title at Wimbledon, losing 6-4 7-5 to Czech pair Alena Kovackova and Laura Samsonova.
All comments welcome!

Photos courtesy of June Campbell & Fiona Fraser

It's been a difficult week for the players and spectators with all the rain delays but that's all part of any British tennis event - Maybe they will consider covering court 2 as well?
Highlights/Talking Points of the Week
1/ Andy Murray's match with Tsitsipas for me was the highlight of the week. It's such a shame that Andy couldn't get over the line and we can see how gutted he was. However, I believe that this was one of the greatest efforts of his entire career if you are to consider all that he has been through.
The mental resilience he demonstrated in the first 3 sets of the match was quite incredible when you consider the level of tennis that Tsitsipas was playing. It's a pity that the match wasn't able to continue but even more of a pity that Andy didn't challenge with Stefanos serving at 4-4 15-30 in the 4th set when the umpire convinced him not to! (and the ball was in!) That could have made all the difference in a match of such small margins? Time for electronic scoring?
Andy continues to be an inspiration to so many tennis fans throughout the world and the game will be a much poorer place without him. Obviously, he will need to decide if the pain is worth the gain in terms of continuing for another year but selfishly, I really hope that he does and has one more go at Wimbledon.
2/ Stan is still the man! Wawrinka showed once again that his A game tennis is too good even for Novak as it was in the past. Yes, I know he lost but in the 3rd set he began to show that his best tennis was always better than anyone else including Roger, Rafa and Novak. It was great to see and I hope that he can also continue for at least one more year.
3/Jabeur is a joy to watch - Her variety of play and wonderful personality make her a crowd favourite. It's also good to see Andreescu back on form as the women's game needs players with her exciting type of tennis and courageous play.
4/ Who saw Rublev's squash shot after diving against Bublik in one of the biggest points of the match? He said it was lucky but I reckon it showed his determination to get the ball back and great hand skills. Have a look if you didn't see it - an incredible shot.
5/ Look out for Mirra Andreeva from Russia who is a real talent and only 16 years old. She lost, after being a set and 4-1 up against Keys, who has been playing so well and such a clean striker of the ball. Keys could play Sabalenka in the quarters.
6/ Novak certainly looks like the best player in the men's draw but his bottom half of the draw is perhaps easier than the top half for Alcaraz. Carlos has already had a tough one with Jarry and now has to play Berrettini. His potential opponent in the quarters could be Rune and then Medvedev or Tsitsipas unless there is an upset. Novak has Rublev in the quarters (if he beats Hurkacz) and then likely to be Sinner which is a tough one but overall an easier run to the final.
7/ A great match between Svitolina and Azarenka last night spoiled a bit by some elements of the crowd booing Azarenka as she left the court. It was most unfortunate that they didn't realise that she was trying to avoid any awkwardness with Svitolina as she knew that there would be no hand shake. The pimms brigade had maybe one too many as suggested by Azarenka? I'd love to see Svitolina go far, but she will now have to overcome Swiatek.
8/ Doubles - well done to so many of the British doubles players led as ever by Jamie Murray. So many great victories and in particular Glasgow's Maia Lumsden and her partner Bains who are now in the 3rd round. Connor Thomson and Jacob Fearnley also from Scotland have both won matches, losing today in a good match to the experienced pair of Bopanna and Ebden. Jonny O'Mara is still in the mixed. The influence of Jamie Murray and the doubles coaching guru Louis Cayer have made a huge impact on the progress and self belief of many of our players. And we shouldn't forget the work done by Toby Smith (of the fabulous Smith brothers - Leon, Gary & Toby), who works hard behind the scenes to help many of these aspiring young tennis players. So many lesser known coaches don't get the recognition they deserve, like Toby.
9/ Looking forward to seeing how Eubanks will do against Tsitsipas. So good to see a player developing his game relatively late in his career especially with such a great game to watch and a lovely personality.
10/ What's happened to "Today at Wimbledon"? No more studio comments from McEnroe, Navratilova etc which was always so much fun and informative at the same time. Be interesting to see if it stays like that next year?
So, who is going to win the singles events?
For the men I suppose we should ask who is going to win if Novak breaks his leg on the slippy grass. (Not out of the question and a discussion for another day)
So, leaving aside the Serbian terminator, I would take the winner of Alcaraz and Berrettini to take the title. Matteo's best chance would be if the roof is closed as it then becomes an absolute server's court and his serve is ridiculous! The same could be said of Hurkacz last night but he didn't have Berrettini's forehand to finish off the match!
In the women's event I'd be surprised if Rybakina doesn't win again as she is just too strong on the grass. Apart from her, my heart wants Svitolina or Jabeur to win but my head says Pegula. Grass suits ball strikers like Pegula who hit the ball clean and early. Having said that Swiatek may now have more self belief on grass after saving match points last night with Bencic?
Looking forward to week 2 and hope it stays dry!

The draw for Wimbledon has just been made and I'm so excited about this year's event especially as Andy Murray is still playing , Alcaraz is looking like a threat to Novak and the mens doubles has now gone to best of 3 sets! (more on that later)
Andy Murray
I think Andy Murray has a decent draw as he is up against the popular Brit Ryan Peniston (wildcard - 267 in the world) in the 1st round and he could play Tsitsipas in the 2nd round, but only if Stefanos beats Dominic Thiem. I'm hoping that Tsitsipas may also be distracted by his new relationship with Paula Badosa?
At the beginning of the tournament when the courts will still be green I don't think that anyone would like to play Andy Murray and I'd love to see him in the 2nd week, fully warmed up and ready to show these upstarts how to play on the Wimbledon grass!
Will Novak win Grand Slam number 24?
The pressure is on Novak obviously because if he wins he will tie with Margaret Court at 24 Slams. and he will be only one Slam away from doing the calendar Grand Slam again! He could at the same time put a bit of distance between himself and Rafael Nadal to come after him and actually threaten his [Slam] record,
On grass I can't see too many players comfortable enough on the surface to beat Novak ,but I do think that if Alcaraz can get into the 2nd week on a firmer, slower grass (hard) court he might be the only player to challenge the Serbian. I would hope that Carlos has learned a lot from his defeat in Paris thereby reducing the possibility of cramping again.
Tennis needs the best 2 players in the world battling it out in the Grand Slam finals.
Men's/ Women's Doubles
So pleased that it is now best of 3 sets which will keep it in line with all the other slams and maybe help people stay more involved with the doubles world. Lots of Brits in the dubs but look out for the Scot Jacob Fearnley who together with his partner Johannus Monday,they recently won an ATP tour doubles event and have been given a wild card. Good luck to them plus of course Jonny O'Mara from Scotland who is playing with Liam Broady. And not that I'm in any way biased but I really hope that Jamie Murray and Michael Venus can make a good run. They were so close in Rome on clay and I think that the grass courts will suit both of them even more plus they won't have the lottery of the 10 point match tie break decider!
In the women's doubles we have yet another Scot, Ali Collins who is now 110 in the world and is at the bottom end of the draw who could play the no 2 seeds Gauff & Pegula if she can win her 1st round match together with her partner Freya Christie (GB) against the experienced Alize Cornet (France) & Udvardy (Hungary) We seem to be quite good at doubles in Scotland and in the UK in general - We just need to work on our singles players!
Women's Draw
Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina starts her defence of the women's singles title against American Shelby Rogers.
Rybakina, 23, is seeded third and goes into the same half of the draw as Belarusian second seed Aryna Sabalenka, meaning they could face in the semi-finals.
Rybakina and Sabalenka, who first plays Hungary's Panna Udvardy, have been put into the bottom half of the draw.
This half is filled with players who have excellent an record on grass courts, including last year's finalist Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, Czech two-time champion Petra Kvitova, and the Czech 2021 runner-up Karolina Pliskova
Top seed Iga Swiatek has never gone past the fourth round at Wimbledon and starts against the highest-ranked opponent she could have faced. The 22-year-old opens against China's world number 33 Lin Zhu but, otherwise, has a favourable looking draw as she aims for a fifth major title.
American seventh seed Coco Gauff - a prospective quarter-final opponent for Swiatek - faces 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, who came through qualifying after falling down the rankings.
A standout match in the first round pits American five-time champion Venus Williams, 43, against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina, who was a semi-finalist in 2019.It's great to see Venus continuing to compete and she will no doubt have the crowd behind her.
All comments appreciated, Ian
[email protected]