CHARDY LOOKS TO GO ONE BETTER AT SA TENNIS OPEN

DAVIS CUP PLAYERS RETURN TO SOUTH AFRICA

Johannesburg, South Africa – Frenchman Jeremy Chardy has had great success in South Africa over the past couple of years and this time he is hoping to go one better when he contests the R3.5-million SA Open tennis tournament at Montecasino from February 1 to 7, 2010.

In 2008 when the tournament took place in East London, Chardy made the semifinals and this year at Montecasino he won through to the final where he went down to compatriot and top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Due to a hectic schedule Tsonga will not be in South Africa next year to defend his title but Chardy is optimistic he can finally clinch a big win in South Africa

“I am looking forward to returning to South Africa in February. I had a good tournament in 2009 and hopefully I can take it one step further this time. I enjoy playing in front of the big crowds there and they are very supportive of the French players, so hopefully I will be able to enjoy the event along with countryman Gael Monfils,” said the current world No 32.

If the entry list and rankings remain unchanged, Chardy will be seeded No 3 for the tournament behind Monfils (No 13) and Spaniard David Ferrer (No 17) but there are a host of other dangers facing the Frenchman.

Two highly regarded left-handers will be making their first appearance at the SA Open in Spaniard Feliciano Lopez and Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen. Also on the list are Germany’s Nicolas Kiefer and former Wimbledon semifinalist, Xavier Malisse of Belgium.

Lopez is currently ranked 47 but he has been ranked in the top 20. Nieminen has been as high as 13 in 2006 but this year missed out on three months due to a wrist injury and dropped to No 88.

Malisse has had his ups and downs over the year but had his huge breakthrough at Wimbledon in 2002 when beating both Greg Rusedski and Richard Krajicek in five sets and then going down in a rain-delayed semifinal to David Nalbandian, also in five sets. He reached his career-high ranking of 19 after that but is currently at 94.

Kiefer was the hero of the German Davis Cup team when they played South Africa in Johannesburg. He and Wesley Moodie were involved in a tough five-setter, and a victory to Moodie would have given South Africa the tie. Unfortunately Moodie had also been in a five-set thriller in which he beat Tommy Haas and played the doubles rubber and tired at the end of his match against Kiefer.

A brilliant player on his day, Kiefer has been ranked as high as No 4 in the world. But injury has taken its toll over the years. However, the conditions in Johannesburg will be ideal for a player who still serves and volleys with great effectiveness.

Two other players who were involved in Davis Cup ties in South Africa will return for the SA Open. India’s Somdev Devvarman and Slovakian Karel Beck. Devvarman was a catalyst in India’s victory over South Africa in September while Beck, with a dramatic win over Wayne Ferreira, paved the way for Slovakia nearly 10 years ago at the Wanderers.     

Another interesting addition is Israel’s Harel Levy, who was part of their Davis Cup “Dream Team’’ who reached the semifinals of the World Group this year before losing in Spain.

“I think we have an outstanding field here and we look forward to some high quality and competitive tennis at Montecasino next year. The venue is outstanding and each year I believe the entry will get stronger.” said Elliot Themba, Senior Manager Sponsorship and Government Sales of tournament sponsors South African Airways.

Unfortunately none of the South African’s made the cut and all of them will either need to win through the qualifying tournament on January 30 and 31 or rely on a wild card from the SA Tennis Association.

Tickets are now available at all Computicket outlets nationwide and the Montecasino Box Office.

Hospitality will also be available for the following dates:

Friday, February 5 – day and evening for R900

Saturday, February 6 – day for R910

Sunday, February 7 – day for R930

Contact details are:

CIRCA Hospitality (Pty) Ltd

Linda Nhando

Email:Linda@circa.co.za

Direct: 011-3471440

Mobile: 084 682 4076

Office: 0861124722

 SA Open Official Player Acceptance List

Voilà l’apprentissage de Gaël Monfils… Celui qui à 11 ans, savait déjà ce qu’il voulait faire de sa vie…

Décryptage de ce petit bonhomme qui allait devenir un grand…

Tout petit déjà, il avait déjà prévu sa réussite…

A happy post for cheeriness. (Especially after University fail. :’( )

Gael is not having it and neither are those children.

1. Gael Monfils‘ absolute aversion/hatred for small children. He looks suspicious of them. Probably because they’re so small and fidgety. HE DOESN’T KNOW WHAT THOSE FIENDISH SMALL PEOPLE ARE UP TO

2. Roger Federer’s innate uncoolness. Seriously? Seriously, man? This fashion disaster hits particularly close to home as my mother has been desperately trying to get me to wear a long version of Federer’s puffy coat (edit: we don’t actually know how long this coat is…I am legitimately scared that it might be floor length) only less shiny and less lame. And maybe some fur. (WHY YES, I DO ROLL WITH THE FUR.) Um, sorry to say, but this is reallllly not convincing me to wear that coat, Mom. Just, no.

3. Novak Djokovic’s perpetual attention seeking. He is the Lady Gaga of the ATP Tour. He’s quite insane, loves attention, and is really good at what he does. Buut, still insane. I have no idea where the hell he even bought this mask. He probably just packs it in his suitcase for special events like trick-or-treating, ATP slumber parties, and, of course, the occasional masked ball. Because, you know, everyone loves a scary as hell part of a skull.

4. Cheryl Cole gifs.

Whenever someone mentions Pamela~

“Winning back to back titles at this level is a huge achievement for me, and adding to that, beating the World No.1 and No. 2,” Djokovic said. “I really feel that I’m in great form right now.”

Third-seeded Novak Djokovic beats local favorite Gael Monfils 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (3) to win the Paris Masters for the first time.

Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia and Daniel Nestor of Canada defeated Marcel Granollers and Tommy Robredo of Spain for the dubles final.

111509 / BNP Paribas Masters

Novak Djokovic edged local favorite Gael Monfils 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (3) to win the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris earlier today. In a match riddled by momentum swings, the No. 3-seeded Djokovic prevailed in 2 hours and 43 minutes when the No. 15-seeded Frenchman doublefaulted on his opponent’s first match point. Djokovic fell to his knees and screamed in relief. The title was Djokovic’s fifth of the year, tying him with Rafael Nadal for second most on the ATP Tour. Britain’s Andy Murray leads with six. Djokovic, who defeated Roger Federer in the final at Basel last week, improved to a tour best 76-18 on the season. The Serb overpowered No. 2 Nadal in yesterday’s semis to reach his 10th final of the year. “Winning back to back titles at this level is a huge achievement for me, and adding to that, beating the World No. 1 and No. 2,” said Djokovic. “I really feel that I’m in great form right now.” Djokovic won the first set easily and raced to a 3-0 lead in the second before Monfils rebounded to level at 3-3. The Frenchman broke again in the 11th game and held to take the set. Djokovic twice lead by a service break in the final set, but was foiled both times by Monfils who fought his way back to force a tiebreaker. “It was unbelievably difficult,” Djokovic said afterward. “Gael was very unpredictable and he was hitting the ball very good.” The title was the 16th of Djokovic’s career and third in his last four tournaments. Nole also won at Beijing in early October. Monfils, ranked No. 16 coming into the tournament, will improve to No. 13 when the new ATP rankings come out tomorrow. “I didn’t find any solution in the beginning, I was playing too defensive,” Monfils said. “But I didn’t lose faith in my chances and I almost overturned the match.” Based on his current form, Djokovic should be a strong favorite to defend his title at the eight-man ATP World Tour Finals in London next week.

Novak Djokovic destroyed Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and then outlasted Gael Monfils to take the Paris Masters trophy.

I mean, he beat Nadal 62 63 and then played a set and a half of quite brilliant tennis against La Monf, leading 62 30. The local hope took advantage of a few lapses on Nole’s part to fight back and take the second set 75, which ignited the crowd, and the third set was a tense affair with multiple breaks. La Monf showed fantastic fight and did himself properly proud in his first Masters final.

But today was all about Nole, and even when it went to a third-set tiebreak I didn’t honestly feel like he was going to lose. And so it proved, as he took the tiebreak 7-3 for the victory.

Nole came into this tournament in the strongest form out of all the top players, and he’s leaving it as the favourite for London. And he finally has a Masters title after four finals.

And his hair looks amazing.

En un gran partido de la final del ATP – Masters Series París-Bercy, el serbio Novak Djokovic, número tres del ranking ATP, se ha adjudicado el torneo de París-Bercy, el último Masters 1000 de la temporada. Derrotando por 6-2, 5-7 y 7-6 (7-3) en dos horas y 40 minutos al favorito francés Gael Monfils, decimoquinto cabeza de serie.

El serbio rompió 2 veces al francés para ganar facilmente el primer set por 6-2. Pero después de tener ventaja de 3-0 en el segundo set, Djokovic cedió su ventaja cuando Monfils mostró su gran espíritu de lucha, ganando el segundo set y también despertando a todo el público francés que lo alentaba.

En el tercer set intercambiaron breaks, que llevarían a decidir todo en un tie-break, el cual Djokovic lo ganaria 7-3 y así conquistaria su 2º titulo consecutivo, después de ganar en Basilea la semana pasada.

Djokovic desplegó en Bercy su mejor juego para sumar su primer título del año en un Masters Series 1000. Y sigue invicto en sus enfrentamientos contra Gael Monfils 4-0 con esta victoria del día de hoy.

De cara al Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, Novak Djokovic se perfila como el amplio favorito, después de jugar con un gran nivel las últimas 2 semanas, venciendo contundentemente a Roger Federer y a Rafael Nadal.

Ce deuxième week-end de novembre s’annonçait sportif. Le Masters de Paris-Bercy présentait son dernier carré, le XV tricolore recevait les Springboks et les Bleus de Raymond Domenech allait défier les Irlandais à Croke Park. Alors que Gaël Monfils entrera dans l’arène ce soir pour décrocher un titre à Paris, le bilan du sport français, ce week-end, est déjà très bon.

Vendredi soir, Stadium de Toulouse, ambiance folle pour la rencontre entre un XV de France, victorieux des All Black pendant leur test-match d’été, et le XV Sud-Africains, champion du monde en titre. Très vite dominés dans les débats, les Français sont allés chercher une très belle victoire, 20 à 13, en relevant la tête et en inversant la tendance. Après avoir tapé la mythique équipe de Nouvelle-Zélande, les joueurs de Marc Lièvremont se sont payés les champions du monde. On n’est pas prêt de s’arrêter !

L’année dernière Jo-Wilfried Tsonga soulevait le trophée du Masters de Paris-Bercy, un Français triomphait sur ses terres. L’histoire est en passe de se rééditer seulement c’est Gaël Monfils qui pourra inscrire son nom au palmarès du tournoi parisien. Le jeune français, en perpétuelle progression cette année, a choisi le POPB comme dernier rendez-vous avant sa fin de saison et son choix n’a pas été sans conséquences. Après avoir écarté Cilic en quarts de finale, le gamin a battu Stepanek. Il s’offre une chance de décrocher son premier Masters et de soulever un trophée chez lui. Dernier obstacle : Novak Djokovic, mais pour Gaël, rien n’est impossible !

Dans la foulée de la victoire du jeune tennsiman français, les Bleus de Raymond Domenech ont ramené une victoire arrachée en Irlande. Ce match tellement redouté a été d’un ennui terrible mais la fin heureuse permet à la France d’envisager plus sérieusement la Coupe du Monde 2010 en Afrique du Sud. C’est grâce à un tir dévié de Nicolas Anelka que l’équipe de France a pu inscrire ce but à l’extérieur si important en cas d’égalité. Mais il reste un match retour, au Stade de France mercredi soir. Comme dit Raymond, ce match se joue en 180 minutes et hier soir “ce n’était que la première mi-temps” !

Les résultats du sports français sont très satisfaisants. Un titre décroché par Gaël Monfils à Paris-Bercy serait l’apothéose de ce week-end. On attend la cerise sur le gateau. Allez Gaël !

Les statistiques doivent rassurer l’inconscient collectif. Je ne vois pas d’autres explications à tout ce bla-bla journalistique… Gaël Monfils rejoint les 3 Français à être allés en Finale de l’open de Paris Bercy. Alors qu’en soi, il n’y a aucune ressemblance avec ces compatriotes.

Gaël, c’est un style bien à lui, un showman qui a besoin de pas grand chose pour exploser le jeu des ses adversaires. Il peut paraître prétentieux parfois dans ses propos mais il ne l’est pas. Il s’est nourri à la hargne et à la volonté, a choisi de se faire un nom… Une cool attitude qui gêne parfois dans ce milieu si established qu’est le tennis. Mais lui, il s’en fout. Il joue, il aime ca et ca se voit.

Sa nonchalance apparente dissimule grossièrement son désir de perfection en matière de frappe, il punche la balle avec une détermination qui se lit sur son visage. Les gens croient voir un mec qui joue bien au tennis mais non, ils ont tout faux. Il joue divinement au tennis quant il parvient à se relacher , quand il est relax et concentré.

J’aime bien sa grande gueule, aussi. Il cache avec difficulté sa timidité. En fait, c’est un grand sentimental, ce mec… C’est pour cela que ses résultats fonctionnent à des détails : l’amour d’un public, un lieu qui le galvanise, un arbitrage délicat… Et voici notre GI-JOE qui se met en branle… Et quand il est lancé, il est difficilement stoppable.

Demain, ce sera chaud face à Djoko. Je pense qu’il n’aura peut être pas la possibilité d’exploiter son jeu mais son audacieux opportunisme et sa dose de folie me laisse à penser qu’il aura bien des chances de faire le jeu… Même si la tache ne sera pas facile, Gaël est capable de se galvaniser pour un match… Un détail… Et hop c’est parti…

It’ll be Gael Monfils vs. Radek Stepanek in the second semi-final in Paris after both won their quarter-finals earlier today. I didn’t see either match but from watching the highlights on mute, Monfils-Cilic looks like it was very entertaining stuff, with Bambi taking it 64 in the third.

This is the third time Bambi’s been to a Masters semi-final and it’s cool for him to do it on home soil. As for Marin, he’s had an up-and-down season but the last few months have been really strong. Good stuff.

In the other semi-final, Stepanek was leading 4-0 when JMDP was forced to retire with an abdominal strain. Yeah, that’s not good news.

JMDP says that the injury shouldn’t make him doubtful for London, but I’m not sure. Not to mention that if there’s one way to incur the surefire wrath of the fandom, it’s to send Marat Safin into retirement, then have to retire yourself. Silly boy.

Having said that, I’m pleased to see Steps in a Masters semi-final again. The fact that he’s still going strong at 30 is fairly impressive, right? It can’t just be me that thinks that. I can see that match against La Monf being all kinds of fun, not to mention that it’s good for the Czechs to see Steps rounding into strong form ahead of the Davis Cup final.

Bring it on.

I hope you admired my concision in the previous post. What I was trying to say is that the quarterfinals lineup is now set, with the inclusion of the two results I didn’t mention: Gael Monfils beat Julien Benneteau 64 63, and Novak Djokovic rolled over Arnaud Clement 62 62.

So it’ll be Monfils-Cilic, Stepanek-Del Potro (he will lose, and lose badly, I’m telling you right now), Djokovic-Soderling, and Tsonga-Nadal, with Soderling and Tsonga needing to win merely to remain in contention for the WTFs.

Singles – Third Round
[2] R Nadal (ESP) d [14] T Robredo (ESP) 63 36 75
[3] N Djokovic (SRB) d [Q] A Clement (FRA) 62 62
[13] R Stepanek (CZE) d [4] A Murray (GBR) 16 63 64
[10] F Gonzalez (CHI) vs [5] J Del Potro (ARG)
[9] R Soderling (SWE) d [6] N Davydenko (RUS) 63 36 64
[12] M Cilic (CRO) d [7] F Verdasco (ESP) 36 63 64
[8] J Tsonga (FRA) d [11] G Simon (FRA) 62 63
[15] G Monfils (FRA) d J Benneteau (FRA) 64 63

Doubles – Quarter-finals
[8] F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK) d J Kerr (AUS) / T Parrott (USA) 62 64

Doubles – Second Round
[1] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d [WC] A Clement (FRA) / M Llodra (FRA) 63 64
[2] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) d J Benneteau (FRA) / J Tsonga (FRA) w/o – Tsonga (wrist)
C Kas (GER) / P Kohlschreiber (GER) d [6] J Knowle (AUT) / A Ram (ISR) 75 64

It’s been a while since we had a good ridiculous Bambi action picspam. So enjoy the man in action during his straight sets of David Guez.

November 4, 2009

MONFILS HEADS TO MONTECASINO FOR SA TENNIS OPEN

Johannesburg, South Africa, – Current world No 16 Gael Monfils has honoured a commitment he made to the South African Tennis Association (SATA) earlier this year and will be participating in the R3.5-million SA Open to be played at Montecasino in Johannesburg from February 1 to 7 next year.

The flamboyant Frenchman was due to play in this year’s event but a right wrist injury during his fourth-round match at the Australian Open against countryman Gilles Simon forced him to withdraw.

“We are delighted Gael has agreed to come to the SA Tennis Open. He is an exciting and charismatic player who will not only be enjoyed by regular tennis fans but will also attract a host of new tennis enthusiasts to the tournament,” said Elliot Themba, Senior Manager Sponsorship and Government Sales of tournament sponsors South African Airways.

 The injury came at a time when the 23-year-old was on a roll. He began the year by beating the then world No 1 Rafael Nadal to reach the semifinals in Doha and then lost to Andy Roddick in three sets. Monfils broke into the top 10 for the first time at the end of February when he reached the final in Acapulco where he was defeated by Spain’s Nicholas Almagro.

He avenged his loss to Roddick at the French Open but bowed out to eventual champion Roger Federer in the quarter-finals. As Monfils had won through to the semifinals in 2008, the loss of ranking points saw him drop out of the top 10. Unfortunately Monfils injured his left wrist at Queen’s in London and was forced to withdraw from his third-round match with Steve Darcis. The injury kept him sidelined throughout Wimbledon and he made his return in Montreal. He also won through to the fourth round at the US Open where he lost to Nadal.

But later in September the Frenchman captured his second career ATP Wold Tour title in Metz, beating German Phillip Kohlschreiber in the final.

Monfils, who is coached by Australian Roger Rasheed, regards the late Arthur Ashe as his role model. The Frenchman was the world No 1 junior in 2004 where he won three of the four junior Grand Slams – Australian Open, Roland Garris and Wimbledon. He was named ATP Newcomer of the Year in 2005.

At 1.93m it comes as no surprise to learn that he had not been a tennis player Monfils, whose nickname is LaMonf, would have played basketball. His favourite team is the Detroit Piston in the American NBA. He is also a great fan of R&B music and when not playing tennis he can be seen walking around listening to his iPod.

His father, Rufin, a former soccer player, comes from island of Guadeloupe and his mother, Sylvette, comes from island of Martinique and is a nurse.

Tickets for the SA Tennis Open will go on sale mid November. An announcement in this regard will be made shortly.

Just a smattering of photoage I liked coming out of Valencia today …

Boss shows us his sad face.

Ferru and Almagro give us some guy love.

Mandy is not impressed.

Sweaty Bambi gets his game face on.

Not sure what’s going on here, but Kolya in his civvies? Always worth posting.

Absolutely loving the way Valencia is promoting itself, seriously. Loads of promotional activities that don’t look awkward, tons of relaxed practice photos … good work, Boss and Ferru. This is how it should be done … leaving me nothing to do but pass on the cream of the crop.

So today we had the top players being introduced to the new ‘Agora’ building:

Some Spanish chick I should probably recognise cracking on to Boss:

Pico thoughtfully confirming his hotness for us:

La Monf and Jo having a giggle with coaches Roger Rasheed and Eric Winogradsky:

And Gilles Simon, Fernando Verdasco, Feliciano Lopez and Nicolas Almagro doing some Wii Fit:

Ructions and happenings, folks. Ernests Gulbis is actually into the quarter-finals of a tournament, having beaten fourth seed Jeremy Chardy (boo) in straight sets in St Petersburg. He’ll be joined by Bjorn Phau, Victor Hanescu and Horacio Zeballos (Argentina, baby). And Marat Safin beat Richard Gasquet in what was by all accounts a very entertaining match. (I haven’t actually read any accounts.)

In Lyon, everybody’s favourite little slumper, Gilles Simon, ousted Simone Bolelli, and Julien Benneteau and Florent Serra are both into the quarter-finals. And in Vienna, Stepanek, Kohlschreiber and Almagro are all into the quarter-finals, while Gael Monfils won his first round against Garcia-Lopez and Tipsarevic ousted Isner.

Lyon

Singles – Second Round
[5] J Benneteau (FRA) d [Q] K Anderson (RSA) 75 62
F Serra (FRA) d [8] A Montanes (ESP) 75 63

Singles – First Round
[2] G Simon (FRA) d S Bolelli (ITA) 76(5) 76(5)
[6] P Mathieu (FRA) d L Mayer (ARG) 76(5) 62
N Kiefer (GER) d [WC] S Grosjean (FRA) 46 76(7) 76(2) – Saved 2 M.P.
O Rochus (BEL) d [Q] V Millot (FRA) 63 62

Doubles – First Round
[WC] A Clement (FRA) / S Grosjean (FRA) d [2] B Soares (BRA) / K Ullyett (ZIM) 64 76(1)
M Gicquel (FRA) / M Llodra (FRA) d [4] S Aspelin (SWE) / P Hanley (AUS) 63 64
L Arnold Ker (ARG) / J Monaco (ARG) d E Butorac (USA) / R Ram (USA) 63 36 10-8

St Petersburg

Singles – Second Round
[2] V Hanescu (ROU) d I Marchenko (UKR) 63 64
E Gulbis (LAT) d [4] J Chardy (FRA) 76(7) 63
[8] H Zeballos (ARG) d [Q] O Dolgopolov Jr. (UKR) 63 61
B Phau (GER) d K Beck (SVK) 64 21 ret. (respiratory illness)

Singles – First Round
[1] M Youzhny (RUS) d A Golubev (KAZ) 63 62
I Kunitsyn (RUS) d [7] P Cuevas (URU) 64 63
M Safin (RUS) d R Gasquet (FRA) 76(5) 64

Doubles – First Round
J Erlich (ISR) / A Ram (ISR) d [1] F Cermak / M Mertinak (SVK) 63 76(7)
C Fleming (GBR) / K Skupski (GBR) d [3] R Bopanna (IND) / T Parrott (USA) 76(5) 36 10-7

Vienna

Singles – Second Round
[2] R Stepanek (CZE) d F Gil (POR) 62 63
[4] P Kohlschreiber (GER) d V Crivoi (ROU) 62 30 ret. (right shoulder)
[5] N Almagro (ESP) d W Odesnik (USA) 64 64

Singles – First Round
[3] G Monfils (FRA) d G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) 75 64
J Tipsarevic (SRB) d [8] J Isner (SRB) 76(4) 64
D Koellerer (AUT) d J Nieminen (FIN) 61 62
[Q] D Hrbaty (SVK) d R Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP) 63 64

Doubles – First Round
[4] J Knowle (AUT) / J Melzer (AUT) d L Dlouhy (CZE) / P Petzschner (GER) 75 63
M Cilic (CRO) / L Zovko (CRO) d F Lopez (ESP) / M Lopez (ESP) 63 62

Here is the quick list of tennis injuries that have happened in 2009 and what tournament it occured at:

Tennis injuries - is the season to long?

• Roger Federer (fatigue) – after US Open taking a break
• Rafael Nadal (knee, stomach) – US Open
• Andy Roddick (knee injury) – Shanghai Masters – “I think it’s ridiculous to think that you have a professional sport that doesn’t have a legitimate offseason to rest, get healthy, and then train,”
• Andy Murray (wrist injury) – Japan Open
• Venus Williams (knee injury) – US Open
• Serena Williams (thigh injury) - Miami Masters Final - recent quote “It’s just really hard to see how my body is going to be after Doha, (Qatar) — if I am going to be walking or if I am going to be in a wheelchair.”)
• Gael Monfils (back injury) – Shanghai Masters
• Stanislas Wawrinka (abdominal pains) – Shanghai Masters
• Juan Martin del Potro (wrist problem) – Shanghai Masters
• Tommy Haas (injured right shoulder) – Shanghai Masters
• Jose Acasuso (knee) – “”
• Mischa Zverev (wrist)

Notice how their are few women on the list.  They play the best of 3, not 5 sets like men, thus they do nothave the high injury rate.

Even Novak Djokovic has a last word on the tennis injury subject.  `”We will work on doing something that is comfortable to both the players and the tournaments,” Djokovic said. `”The tournaments still understand their job and their obligations better than we understand their job — and vice versa. But the players now are more united than ever. We have to make a compromise. The bottom line is that you don’t want to have injured players. The schedule, in my opinion, is too long, but we have to go step by step and try to solve it.”

Nadal had a beautiful quote about how tennis injuries are so common lately – “When you put the body all the time at the limit, it is difficult. It’s the same as Formula 1. They have the the best cars in the world, but at the same time these cars are broken more than your car. That’s the reason, because the car is always at the limit. So we are the same.”

What do you think the solution is? Is this just a bad stroke of luck?