A few hours ago, Rafael Nadal saddened his fans by announcing his withdrawal from the 2024 edition of the Australian Open due to an injury suffered at the Brisbane Open, in the match against Jordan Thompson. The Spaniard decided to give up the Melbourne Slam as a preventative measure, in order to make the best of his beloved clay-season.

And in the last few hours some news has arrived that will make the Spaniard’s fans happy. At the moment, Nadal is officially registered in the Entry List of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. The ATP 500 tournament in Barcelona will also see the Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz among the participants.

 

The youngest No.1 in the history of tennis will try to defend the title won in the 2023 edition, when he overcame the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.

Nadal© Alex Caparros / Stringer Getty Images Sport
Carlitos participated in 2021, 2022 and 2023 in the competition held in the capital of Catalonia.

During his first appearance he lost to American tennis player Frances Tiafoe in the first round. The second time he won the title by beating coutryman Pablo Carreno Busta, while last year he defended the title, confirming himself as champion.

This year, the tournament will begin on April 13, the week following the ATP Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo and preceding the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid in which Alcaraz is defending champion. The Barcelona Open Bamc Sabadell will end on April 21, 2024.

 

The 2023 Wimbledon champion is the second participant announced by the promoters after Nadal. The winner of 22 Slams returned to the circuit in Brisbane, after a year’s absence following the injury suffered during the Australian Opem 2023, in which he was defending the title of the previous edition, and will compete on the clay courts of Barcelona in which he won 12 times.

Nadal’s last success in the Spanish ATP 500 tournament dates back to 2021, when he defeated Stefanios Tsitsipas. It should also be remembered that, in 2017, the organizers of the tournament dedicated the central court to the legendary Spanish champion, naming it Pista Rafael Nadal.

For Alcaraz, however, this is the fourth seasonal event on clay, as the young player registered in February for the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires and the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro and at the beginning of April for the Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo.

Serena Williams’ ex-coach Rennae Stubbs questions whether Jelena Ostapenko “knows what a double bounce is” and remarked that chair umpire Julie Kjendlie will probably have a hard time when she gets selected as the umpire for an Ostapenko match again.

World No. 12 Ostapenko had a stunning meltdown on Friday at the Brisbane International, calling chair umpire Kjendlie “blind” and telling her multiple times that she does not want her ever officiating her match since she always “ruins” her matches. The incident happened after Ostapenko thought that the ball bounced off the surface twice before Victoria Azarenka returned it late in the third set.

 

“You are blind, it is impossible to play when you make so many mistakes. I never want you at my match again, you will never be at my match. You ruin my matches,” Ostapenko ranted at Kjendlie.

Jelena Ostapenko
Jelena Ostapenko© Getty Images Sport – Bradley Kanaris

Stubbs: Does Ostapenko know what a double bounce actually is?
Stubbs, who worked with Williams during the American’s farewell at the 2022 US Open, wasn’t impressed with Ostapenko’s latest antics.

“Umpire Julie Kjendlie must just look at her schedule when she gets Ostapenko and say ‘oh bloody hell’… seriously does she know what a double bounce actually is?????” Stubbs wrote on X.

 

In the ninth game of the third set, Azarenka had an advantage on her serve when Ostapenko thought that the ball hit the surface twice and the point was automatically over. But Azarenka returned the ball to Ostapenko’s court, and since chair umpire Kjendlie didn’t make any calls, the Belarusian won the point and took a 5-4 lead.

Jelena Ostapenko
Jelena Ostapenko© Getty Images Sport – Bradley Kanaris

In the game after the incident, Ostapenko managed to hold on to her serve despite being 0-30 down early in the game. But Ostapenko still lost the match after Azarenka served out the 11th game and then broke the Latvian in the following game to complete a three-set win.

Emma Raducanu is reportedly set to be joined by childhood coach Nick Cavaday for the upcoming Australian Open, via The Daily Mail.

After being sidelined for eight months due to surgeries on both wrists and her right ankle, Raducanu returned to competitive action this week in Auckland, where she lost in the round-of-16 after a big battle against Elina Svitolina. In her first tournament back, Raducanu was reportedly joined by Jane O’Donoghue, who worked with the Briton during her junior days.

Following a pretty solid comeback in Auckland, Raducanu has turned her focus to the Australian Open. According to a report from The Daily Mail, “coach Cavaday is believed to have flown out to Melbourne” to accompany the 21-year-old for the first Grand Slam of the new season.

 

Raducanu worked with Cavaday during the offseason
When Raducanu ramped up her preparation to return to tennis at the start of 2024, British media were reporting that she was spotted training with coach Cavaday at the National Tennis Centre in London. Raducanu and Cavaday go a long way back as he was one of the 2021 US Open champion’s childhood coaches. They developed a good relationship several years ago and British media were also reporting in late 2023 that coach Cavaday is well-respected by the Raducanu family.

A month after having multiple surgeries, Raducanu announced her decision to split with coach Sebastian Sachs. Raducanu has returned to tennis since but she hasn’t yet announced a new full-time coach for 2024. However, it is still very early in the new season and Raducanu may be waiting to see how she will do at the Australian Open before making any big coaching moves.

This week, Raducanu officially learned that there would be no need for her to play in the Australian Open qualifying after several players withdrew, placing above the main draw cut. In Melbourne, Raducanu will be making her third Australian Open appearance. Previously, Raducanu suffered back-to-back Australian Open second-round losses in 2022 and 2023. It remains to be seen if Raducanu can do at least a bit better at Melbourne Park this year.

Coco Gauff won the ASB Classic, WTA tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, by beating Elina Svitolina in a hard-fought final, with the final score of 6-7 6-3 6-3. The young American tennis player has started the 2024 hard-courts Oceanic campaign in the right way, following up on the excellent performances she has shown since her super summer 2023 on the North American hard-courts.

The young US Open winner managed to beat the Ukrainian tennis player despite having lost the first set in the tie-break, once again showing her considerable improvements on this surface. Svitolina also did well and, after maternity leave and her comeback, is finding continuity in performances and positive results.

 

 

Speaking after the win, Coco Gauff shared her feelings, explaining what it was like to defend a title for the first time in her career. “It’s the first time I had to defend a title, so I’m very happy that I did it today.

This year the tournament was very different. Last year it rained almost every single match and we played indoors, with few people around. watch, so it’s really nice to play in front of a packed house almost every game,” explained the US star.

Gauff and Svitolina© Hannah Peters / Staff Getty Images Sport
Svitolina, who played for the first time in Auckland, congratulated Gauff. “It was a great experience playing here for the first time. I want to congratulate Coco and her team on a great start to the year.

Good luck at the Australian Open. I had fun here, playing great matches. Today is It was a tough defeat, obviously.”

 

 

Gauff had to work hard to overcome Svitolina in the final and win the title.

The first, balanced set was decided in a tie-break. Ahead 3-2, Svitolina earned 4 set points, conceding nothing else to her opponent The young American responded in the next set by obtaining three breaks overall and closing 6-3.

In the decisive set both allowed very few service chances. At 4-3, Svitolina gave Gauff the opportunity to serve for the match, which she took despite a counter-break point conceded, closing the third set with another 6-3.

World no. 1 Novak Djokovic will not lead Serbia in the Davis Cup Qualifiers first round against Slovakia at the beginning of February. The Davis Cup tie comes right after the Australian Open, and Djokovic opted to skip it, unwilling to travel across the globe and play on clay.

Novak played three matches for Serbia at the United Cup in Perth, scoring two wins but experiencing a right wrist injury. Djokovic ousted Zhizhen Zhang in the first match before feeling the pain against Jiri Lehecka. The Serb overpowered the young gun in sets one and three, emerging over the top and setting the quarter-final clash versus Alex de Minaur.

 

 

The home favorite proved too strong for Novak, beating him 6-4, 6-4 and sending his country in front against Serbia. Djokovic required constant massages on his troubled wrist, struggling with his serve and forehand and never facing a break point.

Novak will try to fix the issue with his hand by the Australian Open, seeking his 11th crown at Melbourne Park.

As was expected, the Davis Cup is outside Novak’s focus, focusing on a Major event.

Djokovic set his eyes on the Davis Cup trophy in the season behind us, leading Serbia in three singles rubbers but failing to send his country into the final. Novak led Spain right after the US Open and beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets.

 

The Serb faced Cameron Norrie in the quarter-final tie and earned a 6-4, 6-4 victory in an hour and 41 minutes, helping Serbia reach the semi-final. Novak celebrated his 44th Davis Cup win, writing history and becoming Serbia’s most decorated player.

Djokovic served well, losing eight points in his games and sending the pressure to the other side. Norrie denied ten out of 12 break points, giving his best but getting broken once in each set to push Djokovic over the top.

Novak grabbed a break at 2-2 in the opening set, landing a volley winner and forging the advantage.

Novak Djokovic will not compete for Serbia at the Davis Cup vs. Slovakia.
Cameron saved four break points at 1-4, staying within one break deficit before Novak wrapped up the set with a volley winner in game ten for 6-4 and a boost.

Norrie sprayed a forehand error at the beginning of the second set, getting broken at love and facing more issues at 1-3. Djokovic squandered five break points that could have sent him over the top earlier. However, the Serb served well and fired an ace in the tenth game for a comfortable win.

Novak had a massive chance to push his team into the title clash, facing Jannik Sinner in the second rubber and earning three match points in the final set’s tenth game. The Italian denied them and prevailed 6-2, 2-6, 7-5, keeping his country in contention ahead of the doubles rubber.

Jannik produced his A-game in the opening set, serving well and outplaying Novak on the return. Djokovic missed a volley in the third game, falling 2-1 behind and facing more issues at 1-3. Sinner tamed Djokovic’s initial shot on an indoor court and fired a backhand down the line winner for his second consecutive break and a 4-1 advantage.

Jannik served for the opener at 5-2 and produced a hold at love with an ace, wrapping up the opener after 37 minutes. Novak raised his level in the second set, losing four points in his games and challenging Jannik to repeat those numbers.

 

The veteran broke the young gun two times and forced a decider. Djokovic forged the lead with a break in game four after Sinner’s costly double fault. Novak produced a hold at love in game five after Jannik’s loose backhand, controlling the pace and holding after deuce with an ace down the T line in game seven for 5-2.

Djokovic forced Sinner’s mistake on the return in game eight for set points. The Italian denied them and squandered a game point that could have prolonged the set. Djokovic earned the third set point and seized it after Sinner’s forehand error, wrapping up the set and forcing a decider after 80 minutes.

Novak Djokovic, 2023 Davis Cup© Clive Brunskill / Staff – Getty Images Sport
They fought nicely in the second game, embracing seven deuces and a break point for Novak. Jannik denied it with a booming serve and brought the game home with another for a vital hold and 1-1.

Djokovic kept everything under control in his games, holding at 15 in game seven for 4-3. Sinner netted a forehand in the eighth game, offering Djokovic a break point. The Italian denied it with a forehand drive-volley winner, producing another vital hold to boost his chances.

The Serb left that chance behind and held at love in game nine with a powerful forehand. Jannik served to stay in the match at 4-5 and offered Novak three match points after a volley error at the net. Standing one point from propelling Serbia into the final, Djokovic squandered the first with a backhand slice error.

The young gun defended the next two with winners, getting out of jail and firing two service winners for a crucial hold and 5-5. Novak netted a routine backhand in the 11th game and experienced a break point. Sinner landed a forehand down the line winner, securing a break and serving for the victory at 6-5.

Jannik created two match points with an ace down the T line and seized the first with a service winner, celebrating one of his career-best triumphs.

The WTA Ranking has been updated for the first week of the new season albeit with minimal changes aside from in the case of Elena Rybakina after winning Brisbane.

Rybakina is back inside the World’s top three in the WTA Ranking after defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the Brisbane International emphatically. This is due to Coco Gauff defending her Auckland title so her points remain the same.

 

Iga Swiatek after a superb week at the United Cup continues to build her lead to 9880 points and has an even further comfortable lead over Aryna Sabalenka on 8905 points. The rest of the top 10 remains the same. It is Qinwen Zheng who is the other big mover going up one spot to a new career high of World No.13. Jelena Ostapenko also sits again on the verge of the top 10 in 12th.

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