Rafael Nadal, Marin Cilic and Dominic Thiem headline the nominations for the upcoming round of Davis Cup by BNP Paribas on 14-16 September. World No. 1 Nadal and No. 7 Cilic will lead their nations into battle in semifinal clashes against France and USA, respectively, while No. 9 Thiem will hope to help Austria defeat […]
via NADAL, CILIC AND THIEM HEADLINE DAVIS CUP NOMINATIONS — finixsportsblog
Rafael Nadal will lead Spain’s bid to reach the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas semifinals for the first time since 2012, after Sergi Bruguera named a formidable side to take on Germany in Valencia on 6-8 April. Nadal, who has a 22-1 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers, will join-up with Roberto Bautista Agut, […]
via NADAL, CILIC AND ZVEREV LEAD QUARTERFINAL NOMINATIONS — newfanzoneblog
World Number One Rafael Nadal as tweeted that he would not be taking part in Brisbane as he shifts his focus to the first Grand slam of the year which serves-off in Australia January 2018. The Spaniard who had an incredible 2017 that saw him win two Grand Slam titles and four other titles on […]
via Nadal Pulls Out Of Brisbane, Eyes Australia Open Return — newfanzoneblog
Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal’s uncle and coach will step down as Nadal’s coach after this year’s ATP tours as he has said he wants to focus less on travelling and more on developing young talents. Toni Nadal who is usually credited as the man behind Nadal’s success introduced Nadal to tennis when he was 4 […]
via RAFAEL NADAL TO END PATNERSHIP WITH COACH AND UNCLE TONI NADAL — newfanzoneblog
Rafael Nadal has requested that the International Tennis Federation, ITF release the results of his drug tests amid widespread doping allegations. The current Barcelona Open Champion stated this on Monday via a letter to the ITF saying “It is necessary that our sport becomes a flagship in a world where transparency and honesty are two […]
via Nadal Request His Dug Test Be Made Public — newfanzoneblog
Tennis star Rafael Nadal has filed a lawsuit against former French minister Roselyne Bachelot, who accused him of doping. “I intend to defend my integrity and my image as an athlete but also the values I have defended all my career,” he said in a statement. Last month, former Minister for Health and Sport Bachelot […]
via Rafael Nadal Sues Former French Minister Roselyne Bachelot Over Doping Claims — newfanzoneblog
A total of 576 players from 119 nations contested the 2015 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas in another memorable year for the competition. Great Britain, led by Andy Murray, captured its first title in 79 years and tenth title overall by defeating Belgium 3-1 in the Final in Ghent on 27-29 November.
Davis Cup by BNP Paribas was played in 55 countries in 2015, with a total of 83 home-and-away ties and five group events held in the World Group and three regional zones: Americas, Asia/Oceania and Europe/Africa.
Over 39,000 fans attended the Final in Ghent, bringing the total attendance for Davis Cup by BNP Paribas in 2015 to over 530,000 spectators.
It was another successful year for Davis Cup by BNP Paribas on television, with the Final shown in 154 territories by 37 broadcasters. The British broadcaster BBC TV saw a peak audience of 5 million viewers and peak market share of 34 per cent on Sunday. The two Belgian rights holding broadcasters, VRT and RTBF, enjoyed peak market shares of 43 per cent and 23 per cent respectively. Throughout 2015, Davis Cup was shown in 161 territories by 58 broadcasters.
The Davis Cup websites in English and Spanish have shown a 6 per cent growth in 2015, with a record 6.9 million visits, 3.8 million unique visitors and over 30 million page views achieved by the end of the 2015 Final. The competition’s social media properties in English, Spanish and Chinese have seen a 23 per cent increase in users this year, with a total social media audience of 640,000, including 234,000 Twitter followers and 358,000 Facebook likes. The winning point between Andy Murray and David Goffin has been viewed 1.1 million times on Davis Cup Facebook, with an overall reach of 5.5 million.
It has been a strong year commercially for Davis Cup, with title sponsor BNP Paribas extending its current agreement for a further five years through 2021. The ITF signed a new international sponsorship agreement with Betway, and extended existing agreements with Rolex and Adecco. In addition beIN SPORTS became the Official Global Media Rights Partner for Davis Cup and Fed Cup in a seven-year agreement.
Andy Murray became the first player to win eight live singles rubbers in a calendar year since the introduction of the World Group in 1981, improving his Davis Cup by BNP Paribas singles win-loss record to 27-2. The world’s top five players (Novak Djokovic, Murray, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal) have now all won the Davis Cup, having contested a total of 107 Davis Cup ties and 232 rubbers among them.
A key factor in the success of Davis Cup by BNP Paribas has been the fan-focused campaign Show Your Colours, which promotes Davis Cup and Fed Cup as the world cups of tennis and has been used by all competing nations. Building on the unique team nature of both competitions, Show Your Colours uses branding elements for promotion, in-stadium activities and all of the ITF’s website and social media activity.
ITF President David Haggerty said: “It has been another memorable year for Davis Cup by BNP Paribas, with some outstanding player performances, strong attendance, and increasing TV and online audiences. The competition continues to inspire both players and fans throughout the world in the unique atmosphere of a team environment.”
Davis Cup by BNP Paribas is the World Cup of Tennis. It is the largest annual international team competition in sport, with 119 teams taking part in 2015. The competition is 115 years old having been founded in 1900.
The ITF has announced the official team nominations for the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group semifinals, World Group play-offs and Zone Group ties taking place on 18-20 September. A total of 18 ties will be held next week.
The winners of the two semifinals will contest the 2015 World Group Final on 27-29 November. The winners of the eight World Group play-offs will qualify for the 2016 World Group, while the losers will contest their respective Zone Group I competition in 2016.
The Draw for the 2016 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas will be held during the ITF AGM in Santiago, Chile on Wednesday 23 September at 19:00 local time (22:00 GMT).
Live scoring will be available on the official Davis Cup website throughout the weekend. In addition, the English and Spanish versions of the website will feature a live blog, reports, photographs, audio interviews and live streaming. There will also be a fan zone showing the best social media content on http://www.daviscup.com/showyourcolours
WORLD GROUP SEMIFINALS
GREAT BRITAIN v AUSTRALIA
Venue: Emirates Arena, Glasgow, GBR (hard – indoor)
Great Britain
Andy Murray
Kyle Edmund
Jamie Murray
Dominic Inglot
Captain: Leon Smith
Australia
Bernard Tomic
Sam Groth
Thanasi Kokkinakis
Lleyton Hewitt
Captain: Wally Masur
BELGIUM v ARGENTINA
Venue: Forest National, Brussels, BEL (hard – indoor)
Belgium
David Goffin
Steve Darcis
Ruben Bemelmans
Kimmer Coppejans
Captain: Johan van Herck
Argentina
Leonardo Mayer
Federico Delbonis
Diego Schwartzman
Carlos Berlocq
Captain: Daniel Orsanic
WORLD GROUP PLAY-OFFS
INDIA v CZECH REPUBLIC
Venue: R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium, New Delhi, IND (hard – outdoor)
India
Yuki Bhambri
Somdev Devvarman
Leander Paes
Rohan Bopanna
Captain: Anand Amritraj
Czech Republic
Jiri Vesely
Lukas Rosol
Adam Pavlasek
Radek Stepanek
Captain: Jaroslav Navratil
SWITZERLAND v NETHERLANDS
Venue: Palexpo, Geneva, SUI (hard – indoor)
Switzerland
Roger Federer
Stan Wawrinka
Marco Chiudinelli
Henri Laaksonen
Captain: Severin Luthi
Netherlands
Thiemo de Bakker
Jesse Huta Galung
Matwe Middelkoop
Jean-Julien Rojer
Captain: Jan Siemerink
RUSSIA v ITALY
Venue: Sports Palace ‘Baikal-Arena’, Irkutsk, RUS (hard – indoor)
Russia
Teymuraz Gabashvili
Evgeny Donskoy
Konstantin Kravchuk
Andrey Rublev
Captain: Shamil Tarpischev
Italy
Andreas Seppi
Fabio Fognini
Simone Bolelli
Paolo Lorenzi
Captain: Corrado Barazzutti
UZBEKISTAN v USA
Venue: Olympic Tennis School, Tashkent, UZB (clay – outdoor)
Uzbekistan
Denis Istomin
Farrukh Dustov
Temur Ismailov
Sanjar Fayziev
Captain: Peter Lebed
USA
Jack Sock
Sam Querrey
Steve Johnson
Donald Young
Captain: Jim Courier
COLOMBIA v JAPAN
Venue: Club Campestre, Pereira, COL (clay – outdoor)
Colombia
Santiago Giraldo
Alejandro Gonzalez
Juan-Sebastian Cabal
Robert Farah
Captain: Mauricio Hadad
Japan
Kei Nishikori
Taro Daniel
Yoshihito Nishioka
Yasutaka Uchiyama
Captain: Minoru Ueda
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC v GERMANY
Venue: Centro Nacional de Tenis Parque del Este, Santo Domingo, DOM (hard – outdoor)
Dominican Republic
Victor Estrella Burgos
Jose Hernandez-Fernandez
Roberto Cid
Jose Olivares
Captain: Rafael Moreno
Germany
Philipp Kohlschreiber
Alexander Zverev
Dustin Brown
Philipp Petzschner
Captain: Michael Kohlmann
BRAZIL v CROATIA
Venue: Costao do Santinho Resort, Florianopolis, BRA (clay – outdoor)
Brazil
Thomaz Bellucci
Joao Souza
Marcelo Melo
Bruno Soares
Captain: Joao Zwetsch
Croatia
Marin Cilic
Borna Coric
Ivan Dodig
Franko Skugor
Captain: Zeljko Krajan
POLAND v SLOVAKIA
Venue: Gdynia Arena, Gdynia, POL (hard – indoor)
Poland
Jerzy Janowicz
Michal Przysiezny
Lukasz Kubot
Marcin Matkowski
Captain: Radoslaw Szymanik
Slovakia
Martin Klizan
Norbert Gombos
Andrej Martin
Igor Zelenay
Captain: Miroslav Mecir
AMERICAS ZONE GROUP I 1ST ROUND PLAY-OFF
BARBADOS v ECUADOR
Venue: National Tennis Centre, St. Michael, BAR (hard – outdoor)
Barbados
Darian King
Haydn Lewis
Russell Moseley
Seanon Williams
Captain: Kevin Yarde
Ecuador
Emilio Gomez
Gonzalo Escobar
Ivan Endara
Roberto Quiroz
Captain: Raul Viver
ASIA/OCEANIA ZONE GROUP I 2ND ROUND PLAY-OFF
THAILAND v CHINA, P.R.
Venue: The National Tennis Development Centre, Nonthaburi, THA (hard – outdoor)
Thailand
Pruchya Isarow
Kittiphong Wachiramanowong
Sonchat Ratiwatana
Sanchai Ratiwatana
Captain: Paradorn Srichaphan
China, P.R.
Zhang Ze
Wu Di
Li Zhe
Gong Mao-Xin
Captain: Jiang Hong-Wei
EUROPE/AFRICA ZONE GROUP I 1ST ROUND PLAY-OFF
DENMARK v SPAIN
Venue: Odense Idrætshal, Odense, DEN (hard – indoor)
Denmark
Frederik Nielsen
Mikael Torpegaard
Soren Hess-Olesen
Thomas Kroman
Captain: Kenneth Carlsen
Spain
David Ferrer
Rafael Nadal
Roberto Bautista Agut
Fernando Verdasco
Captain: Conchita Martinez
LITHUANIA v UKRAINE
Venue: Siemens Arena, Vilnius, LTU (hard – indoor)
Lithuania
Ricardas Berankis
Laurynas Grigelis
Lukas Mugevicius
Dovydas Sakinis
Captain: Rimvydas Mugevicius
Ukraine
Illya Marchenko
Denys Molchanov
Vladyslav Manafov
Marat Deviatiarov
Captain: Mikhail Filima
AMERICAS ZONE GROUP II 3RD ROUND
CHILE v VENEZUELA
Venue: Club Palestino, Santiago, CHI (clay – outdoor)
Chile
Hans Podlipnik-Castillo
Nicolas Jarry
Juan Carlos Saez
Christian Garin
Captain: Nicolas Massu
Venezuela
Ricardo Rodriguez
Luis David Martinez
Jordi Munoz-Abreu
Miguel Angel Este
Captain: Jose Antonio de Armas
ASIA/OCEANIA ZONE GROUP II 3RD ROUND
PAKISTAN v CHINESE TAIPEI
Venue: Ulusal Tenis Egitim Merkezi Tennis Club, Izmir, TUR (hard – outdoor)
Pakistan
Aisam Qureshi
Aqeel Khan
Mohammad Abid Ali Khan Akbar
Samir Iftikhar
Captain: Hamid ul Haq
Chinese Taipei
Jimmy Wang
Hung Jui-Chen
Yu Cheng-Yu
Peng Hsien-Yin
Captain: Tsai Chia-Yen
EUROPE/AFRICA ZONE GROUP II 3RD ROUND
PORTUGAL v BELARUS
Venue: Clube de Ténis de Viana, Viana do Castelo, POR (clay – outdoor)
Portugal
Joao Sousa
Gastao Elias
Rui Machado
Frederico Ferreira Silva
Captain: Nuno Marques
Belarus
Uladzimir Ignatik
Egor Gerasimov
Sergey Betov
Max Mirnyi
Captain: Vladimir Voltchkov
BULGARIA v HUNGARY
Venue: Bulgarian National Tennis Center, Sofia, BUL (clay – outdoor)
Bulgaria
Dimitar Kutrovsky
Dimitar Kuzmanov
Aleksandar Lazov
Tihomir Grozdanov
Captain: Todor Enev
Hungary
Marton Fucsovics
Peter Nagy
Gabor Borsos
Levente Godry
Captain: Zoltan Kuharszky
The Final Grand Slam of the year takes place at Flushing Meadows in some couple of hours away. Newfanzone.com takes a look at the chances of the big boys, possible upsets and how it will all go down at the US Open.
MEN’S PREVIEW
Novak Djokovic goes into this one as the favorite but he has lost to both Federer and Murray in the build-up to the US Open. The Serb has a very favourable draw until when he gets to the Quarter-finals where he might face Spaniard Rafael Nadal. Djokovic might not be in blazing hot form,but when it comes to the Grand Slams his mental strength takes him all the way.
World No.2 Roger Federer looks very prepared for this event as he just won the ATP competition in Cincinnati. Federer has a very tough draw where he might be facing big servers in the mode of Ivo Karlovic,John Isner,Philip Kohlschreiber,Bernard Tomic,Tomas Berdych and Richard Gasquet. Expect the Swiss to come through even though he might drop a set or two.
In the last 32 years,only Pete Sampras(2002) and Jimmy Connors (1983) have won the US Open in their 30’s. Federer(34) knows that this is another chance for him to win a Grand Slam title.
Andy Murray is also in great form going into Flushing Meadows. The Scot gets a tricky start with a game against Nick Krygios before games against the likes of Anderson, Belluci and Wawrinka. Even though he is in good form,the Scot making it to the final might be a tough one knowing he has Novak in the Semis. Murray has beaten the Serb this year but Novak just knows how to push himself in the Grand Slams and if the Serb meets Andy in the Semis, that might be end of Murray’s run at Flushing Meadows.
Rafael Nadal has has a season to forget this year but he might as well end it on a high if he wins the US Open title. The 2010,2013 Champion will Open his account against Borna Coric before meeting Novak in the Quarter-finals.
Defending Champion Marin Cilic will also see if he has able to defend his title at Flushing Meadows. Since Roger Federer no player has been able to do that and with Cilic form going into the US Open even a Semi-Final finish will be a good tournament for him.
Other players to watch include;Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, Mon-Fils & Tomas Berdych.
NOTABLE FIRST ROUND DRAWS
N. Djokovic vs J.Souza
A.Murray vs N.Krygios
R.Federer vs L.Mayer
B.Coric vs R.Nadal
F.Mayer vs M.Klizan
S.Wawrinka vs A.Ramos-Vinolas
V.Troicki vs F.Tafoe
K.Anderson vs A.Rublev
T.Berdych vs B.Fratangelo
T.Kokkinakis vs R.Gasquet
J.Isner vs M.Jaziri
P.Kohlschreiber vs A.Zverev
R.Haase vs D.Brown
S.Querrey vs N.Mahut
B.Becker vs D.Istomin
M.Ebden vs G.Dimitrov
J.Chardy vs R.Shane
Y.Lu vs M.Kukushkin
M.Cilic vs G.Pella
J.Tsonga vs J.Nieminen
I.Marchenko vs G.Mon-Fils
K.Nishikori vs B.Paire
STATISTICS (MALE)
PRIZE MONEY: $38,261,760
SURFACE: Hard
VENUE: BILLIE Jean King NTC
MOST SINGLES TITLE:
Bill Larned,Bill Tilden,Richard Sears (7)
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Marin Cilic
NEWFANZONE VERDICT
Federer and Murray go into Flushing Meadows in good form which may eventually land them the title, but Novak Djokovic has to be the Favorite.
WOMEN’S PREVIEW
The woman to beat going into any Grand Slam competition is Serena Williams. The American has won all the three Grand Slam tournament this year and she is also the defending champion of the US Open.
If Serena wins the US Open she will tie Steffi Graph in number of Grand Slam titles(22) and also be the first woman after Steffi Graph to win all the four Grand Slams in a calendar year.
The US Open women Singles final has been sold out before the Men’s for the first time in history of the tournament which means everyone wants to see Serena make history at Flushing Meadows.
After Halep broke into the Scene in 2014, she has been inconsistent with disappointing displays in Australia, Paris and at Wimbledon.
The Romanian has had a relatively good run to Flushing Meadows where she got to the Finals of Two WTA competitions but expect her to struggle again at the US Open where her best finish has been the fourth round in 2013.
Maria Sharapova has won only two WTA titles this year. The Russian had a good start to the year with an appearance in the final of the Australian Open but she couldn’t defend her title in Paris and was knocked out by her nemesis at SW-19. Sharapova is likely to meet Serena at the Semi-Finals which means that might be where she will bow out at Flushing Meadows.
Caroline Wozniacki has also been inconsistent this year especially the Grand Slams where her best finish has been the fourth round of Wimbledon where she lost to finalist Garbine Muguruza.
The former world No1 has been a 2-time finalist at Flushing Meadows and and knowing she won’t face Serena or Sharapova before the Finals might just what Wozniacki needs to win her first ever Grand Slam title.
Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova will still participate even with her under medical condition.
French Open Finalist Lucie Safarova might want to show that getting to the Final in Paris is not a fluke by putting her all in to this. Safarova was a Quarter-finalist at the Cincinnati masters and she may do well enough to go all the way in the competition.
Other players to watch include; Ana Ivanovic, Belinda Bencic, C.S Navarro ,Garbine Muguruza, Madison Keys, Sloane Stephens & Venus Williams.
NOTABLE FIRST ROUND DRAWS
S.Williams vs V Diatchenko
C.Vandeweghe vs S.Stephens
M.Keys vs K.Koukalova
K.Siniakova vs A.Radwanska
B.Bencic vs S.Karatantcheva
M.Puig vs V.Williams
A.Tatishvili vs Ka.Pliskova
M.Sharapova vs D.Gavrilova
E.Svitolina vs E.Kulichkova
T.Pereira vs E.Makarova
C.S.Navarro vs D.Allertova
O.Dodin vs J.Jankovic
D.Cibulkova vs A.Ivanovic
A.Petkovic vs C.Garcia
C.Witthoeft vs G.Muguruza
S.Errani vs M.Hibi
J.Loeb vs C.Wozniacki
L.Safarova vs L.Tsurenko
A.Dulgheru vs A.Kerber
T.Bacsinszky vs B.Strycova
M.Erakovic vs S.Halep
S.Rogers vs S.Vickery.
STATISTICS (Female)
PRIZE MONEY: $38,251,760
SURFACE: Hard
VENUE: Billie Jean King NTC
MOST SINGLES TITLE : M.B.Mallory(8)
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Serena Williams
NEWFANZONE VERDICT
Serena Williams is obviously the favorite as she looks forward to win her fourth Grand Slam of this year barring any injuries .
Ademola Adejuwon
The third and world most prestigious Grand Slam competition takes center stage on Monday and Newfanzone.com takes an in-depth look on the chances of the big names and possible upsets in the competition.
MEN’S PREVIEW
Obviously the favorite going into Wimbledon will have to be Novak Djokovic. The Serb who is the top seed for this competition will look to defend his title following the footstep of Swiss Great Roger Federer who is also in this competition. Novak’s mental strength will push him through again and he will make at least the Semis in this competition.
British No.1 Andy Murray had a good clay court season and just recently won at the Queens. If there is anybody who loves to play in Wimbledon it has to be the Scott Andy Murray.
Since getting married to Kim Sears the third seed has only lost to Novak Djokovic and the Wimbledon title might just be the perfect wedding gift for him.
Second seed and 7 time champion Roger Federer have not been in great form this year with a third round exit in Australia and a loss in the last eight at Roland Garros to compatriot and eventual winner Stanislas Wawrinka.
Even though the Swiss recently won at Halle, the form of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray will be too much for the Swiss to cope and a Semi-final finish will be great for the Swiss.
Spaniard Rafael Nadal has had a bad start to 2015 which has made him slip down to tenth in the rankings. The two time Wimbledon champion recently won the Stuttgart Open but was also disappointing at the Queens.
Rafael Nadal is a big name anytime but I don’t think he has all it takes to win the title this year.
Newfanzone.com player to watch for 2015 Kei Nishikori has had a fairly good season so far by his standards with a Barcelona Open title in the bag.
The 5th seed is good technically but needs to work more on his physical abilities if he wants to win Grand slams in the future.
Other players who can upset the big names and make it to the last four in the competition include; Stanislas Wawrinka, Milos Raonic, Tomas Berdych and Kevin Anderson.
STATISTICS(Male)
PRIZE MONEY: £26,750,000
MOST TITLES: R.Federer (7)
P.Sampras (7)
W. Renshaw (7)
DEFENDING CHAMPION : N.Djokovic
SURFACE: Grass (outdoors)
NEWFANZONE VERDICT
It is going to be a tight one in Wimbledon but Andy Murray might yet win another Wimbledon title and he is our pick for the title.
WOMEN’S PREVIEW
Serena Williams looks like the woman to beat in every Grand Slam competition and going by what we have seen so far this year,there is no doubt that she is the favorite to win the title in Wimbledon even though she is not the defending champion.
Serena has not won on Grass since winning the Olympics title in 2012 in London and she has not gone Past the fourth round of Wimbledon since last winning it in 2012 but trust the American to win this one as she eyes Steffi Graf’s record of winning all four Grand Slams in a year.
World No.4 Maria Sharapova has not really played well this year despite winning titles in Brisbane and Rome.
Winning the title in Wimbledon might be a way to show the world that she is still a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the big stage in women’s tennis.
Defending Champion and second seed Petra Kvitova is one lady that can give Serena a run for her money when it comes to playing on grass.
The Czech has made the quarter-finals in her last 5 Wimbledon tournaments and it seems SW-19 is her favorite when it comes to Grand Slams competition.
French Open finalist Lucie Safarova will be one person to watch after her impressive performance at Roland Garros. The Czech No.2 might have form easy to come by and make two successive Grand Slam finals.
STATISTICS (Female)
PRIZE MONEY : £26,750,000
MOST TITLES: M.Navratilova
DEFENDING CHAMPION : P.Kvitova
SURFACE: Grass (outdoors)
NEWFANZONE VERDICT
Serena Williams looks like the woman to beat in every Grand Slam tournament and she is our pick to win her third Grand Slam title this year.
WTA World Number one Serena Williams and ATP Number Novak Djokovic have both been seeded top of the singles event at Wimbledon.
Djokovic is followed by number two seed Roger Federer while homeboy Andy Murray is seeded third.
below is the list for the top ten seeds at this year’s Wimbledon men’s singles:
1 DJOKOVIC, Novak (SRB)
2 FEDERER, Roger (SUI)
3 MURRAY, Andy (GBR)
4 WAWRINKA, Stan (SUI)
5 NISHIKORI, Kei (JPN)
6 BERDYCH, Tomas (CZE)
7 RAONIC, Milos (CAN)
8 FERRER, David (ESP)
9 CILIC, Marin (CRO)
10 NADAL, Rafael (ESP)
Current French Open and Australian Open holder Serena Williams is seeded as number one for this year’s Wimbledon ahead of defender champion Petra Kvitova at number two followed by Simona Halep who is seeded as number three.
Williams is still in line to complete a clean sweep of all four major’s after securing the Australian And French Open.
If she can pull this off it would make her joint second with with Steffi Graf who also has 22 grand slam’s to her name.
Women Single’s:
1 WILLIAMS, Serena (USA)
2 KVITOVA, Petra (CZE)
3 HALEP, Simona (ROU)
4 SHARAPOVA, Maria (RUS)
5 WOZNIACKI, Caroline (DEN)
6 SAFAROVA, Lucie (CZE)
7 IVANOVIC, Ana (SRB)
8 MAKAROVA, Ekaterina (RUS)
9 SUAREZ NAVARRO, Carla (ESP)
10 KERBER, Angelique (GER)
The second Grand slam of the year takes center stage in France in a couple of hours away. Newfanzone.com takes a look at the chances of the big boys,possible upsets and how it will all go down I’m Roland Garros.
MEN’S PREVIEW
The man of the moment on clay Novak Djokovic goes into Roland Garros as the favorite to win it for the first time in his career.
This is the Serb French Open title to lose as he is playing at a different level now defeating players like Nadal, Federer, Murray and Nishikori in the process.
He is on a 22 match unbeaten streak and 10-0 on clay. If form is anything to go by ,then Novak Djokovic will take home French Open title.
King of clay Rafael Nadal won’t have a shortage of challengers this year as he has not won any European ATP clay court title in the lead up to the French Open for the first time in ten years.
Nadal defeated Djokovic in last year pulsating final but this time he doesn’t look like he might make it into Roland Garros final but never bet against the Madrid born star.
Roger Federer is another player to always look out for in big competitions such as Grand Slam tournaments. The second seed almost won the Rome Masters before succumbing to eventual winner Novak Djokovic in the final. The world No.2 will not be meeting either of Djokovic and Nadal before the final which means the Swiss Master might get to the final once again and might nick the second French Open title of his career.
Newly Married British No. 1 Andy Murray also looks favorite for the Roland Garros title as the Scott has performed well in the Masters competition leading into the competition in Paris. Murray has already defeated earlier this month in Madrid and could defeat any one who underestimate him on clay.
Newfanzone.com Player to watch for 2015 Kei Nishikori will also pose some threat in Paris. The Japanese who won the Barcelona Open can take any of the big boys on and could just get to play in the Final of the French Open.
Other Exciting Players to watch in France include; Stanislas Wawrinka, Thomas Berdych, Gael Monfils, Grigor Dimitrov and David Ferrer.
NOTABLE ABSENTEE
Sixth seed Milos Raonic will miss the French Open tournament due to a lingering foot injury.
NOTABLE FIRST ROUND DRAWS
* Andy Murray vs Qualifier
* Novak Djokovic vs Jarkko Nieminen
* Richard Gasquet vs Qualifier
* Qualifier vs Bernard Tomic
* Tim Smyczek vs Kevin Anderson
* Grigor Dimitrov vs Jack Sock
* Quentin Halys vs Rafael Nadal
* Andreas Seppi vs John Isner
* Kei Nishikori vs Paul-Henri Mathieu
* Jo-Wilfred Tsonga vs Qualifier
* Qualifier vs Fernando Verdasco
* Luckas Lacko vs David Ferrer
* Qualifier vs Tomas Berdych
* Stanislas Wawrinka vs Marsel Ilhan
* Qualifier vs Roger Federer
* Marin Cilic vs Robin Haase
STATISTICS (MALE)
PRIZE MONEY : €1,250,000
TROPHY : Coupe des Mouquetaires
MOST TITLES (AMATEUR ERA) : Max Decugis (8)
MOST TITLES (OPEN ERA) : RAFAEL NADAL (9)
SURFACE : Clay
DEFENDING CHAMPION: RAFAEL NADAL.
NEWFANZONE VERDICT
Rafael Nadal goes into this competition as the defending champion but looking at the form of all the players going into Roland Garros Novak Djokovic has to be the favorite.
WOMEN’S PREVIEW
Serena Williams looks like the woman to beat in every Grand Slam competition as she will go in as favorite in Roland Garros once again.
The American top seed who pulled out of the Italian Open will look to still tell the world that she is the best when it comes to women tennis.
Serena will want to reach the magical 20 milestone but she will need to start well in Paris as she was defeated last year in the early rounds by Garbine Muguruza.
Maria Sharapova is in good form and might well retain her French Open title. The Russian who lost in the Australian Open final to Serena will once again hope the American suffers a shock exit in the hand of one of the exciting youngsters.
As defending champion Sharapova cannot earn any fresh ranking knowing that an early exit might see her drop from her No.2 spot in the world.
Petra Kvitova’s form in Madrid might mean that she is ready to fight when it comes to the Grand Slam for this year. The defending Wimbledon champion form in Paris does not look encouraging as her beat ever finish has been the semis in 2012.
Kvitova will have to bring her Wimbledon form back if she wants to at least get to the semi- final of Roland Garros.
Newfanzone.com player to watch for 2015 Simona Halep continues to improve as she has won three competitions earlier on this year but the world No.3 has been disappointing in the clay ATP competitions leading to the French Open. Simona Halep got to the final of this same competition last year and she might yet again just go a notch higher by winning the coveted prize.
Caroline Wozniacki is another player that has experienced a bit of resurgence since last year that got her to the US Open final. The former world No.1 might have lost to Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka in the build up to Roland Garros but underestimate her at your peril!
Other exciting names to look out for in Paris include; Carla Suarez Navarro, Eugenie Bouchard, Ekaterina Makarova, Agnieska Radwanska, Ana Ivanovic and Svetlana Kuznestova.
NOTABLE FIRST ROUND DRAWS
* Serena Williams vs Qualifier
*Maria Teresa Torro-Flor vs Victoria Azarenka
* Sloane Stephens vs Venus Williams
* Petra Kvitova vs Marina Erakovic
* Alison Riske vs Sara Errani
* Kiki Bertens vs Svetlana Kuznestova
* Kristina Mladenovic vs Eugenie Bouchard
* Agnieszka Radwanska vs Annika Beck
* Kaia Kanepi vs Maria Sharapova
* Evgeniya Rosina vs Simona Halep
* Carla Suarez Navarro vs Monica Niculescu.
STATISTICS (FEMALE)
PRIZE MONEY : €1,120,000
TROPHY: Coupe Suzanne Lenglen
MOST TROPHIES (AMATEUR ERA): Adine Robson (5)
MOST TROPHIES ( OPEN ERA): Chris Evert (7)
SURFACE: Clay
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Maria Sharapova.
NEWFANZONE VERDICT
Serena Williams has won the Australian Open this year but it seems she might not get to win Roland Garros as Maria Sharapova looks sharp and primed to defend her title in Paris.
newfanzone 