TENNIS BITS & PIECES – Troicki is on his way back. Ivanovic and Kyrgios split with their coaches. Djokovic gets married. Petra Kvitova receives threats. Serena pulls out of Bastad and who is playing where this week. Joshua Bosco
Threats to Kvitova
Czech police announced on Friday they had arrested an unidentified man who allegedly made threats to 2014 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.
According to Police spokeswoman Gabriela Holcakova the man made threats against “a publicly known person” who the media reports to be the famous tennis player and the Police considered the threat to be serious.
The incident happened in the wake of criticism against Kvitova for moving from her home country to Monte Carlo to avoid higher taxation.
Troicki comeback
Former World No.12 Viktor Troicki, who missed the last twelve months on the tour while serving a suspension for doping, is eligible to play from tomorrow 15th July 2014.
Troicki was banned from playing tennis for 18 months after failing to provide a blood sample at the Monte Carlo Masters in 2013; he then appealed the ban and the suspension was reduced to 12 months.
With a statement on his official website the Serb announced he will make his comeback in Umag at the Vegeta Croatia Open which starts on 21st July 2014. Troicki has applied for a wildcard but stated that he is ready to play the qualification event, if necessary.
Ivanovic & Kyrgios split with coaches
Just when it looked like things were going the right way for Ana Ivanovic, the former World No.1 released a statement on her website announcing that she and coach Nemanja Kontic had split on mutual agreement.
The two started working together last year after Wimbledon and the new partnership helped Ivanovic to get back to No.11 in the WTA rankings. She now has the next few weeks to appoint a new coach before the start of the summer hard court season.
In another shock split Australian rising star Nick Kyrgios split from coach Simon Rea, two weeks after stunning Rafael Nadal in the 4th round at Wimbledon.
Kyrgios announced on his website that he has switched to two new Australian coaches, Todd Larkham and Josh Eagle, in order to spend more time at his home in Canberra.
Money money money
The ATP has announced Lacoste will continue to sponsor the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals until 2015, after a two-year renewal of their partnership. This means that the ATP staff will wear Lacoste at all ATP events during the season and Lacoste will continue to receive advertising space on the ATP official website.
The USTA announced a 11.7% increase for the 2014 US Open prize money, bringing the grand total to $38.3 million. The raise is part of a five-year agreement made in 2012, which will bring the total grand prize to an astounding $50 million by 2017. This year singles winners will take home an incredible $3 million.
Djokovic ties the knot
Four days after winning his second Wimbledon title, Novak Djokovic married his long-time girlfriend Jelena Ristic in a private ceremony in Montenegro.
The wedding took place in a luxurious resort on the Adriatic Coast, away from the public eye, and the local media report it was attended by family and close friends.
Congratulations Novak & Jelena!
Serena still under the weather
World No.1 Serena Williams, who was forced to pull out of her doubles match at Wimbledon last week after serving four double faults in a game and clearly struggling on court, has withdrawn from this week’s Swedish Open in Bastad.
“This is of course a hard blow to the tournament” said Nina Wennerstrom, the tournament director. Serena was the defending champion at the event and she is now scheduled to play at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California, which starts on 28th July.
Who’s playing where
Both the ATP and the WTA have two tournaments in schedule for this week.
Many top men will keep playing on clay and travel to Hamburg for the 2014 International German Open. Fabio Fognini, who failed to defend his 2013 title at the Mercedes Cup last week, is the defending champion here in Hamburg too but he will have to battle against some great players like David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo, Alexander Dolgopolov, Roberto Bautista Agut, Philipp Kohlschreiber and Fernando Verdasco to try and retain his title. Jeremy Chardy and Jurgen Melzer are among the players who have withdrawn before the start.
Some other players will make their transition to hard courts in Bogotá for the 2014 Claro Open Colombia, where big server Ivo Karlovic is the defending champion. He will try to retain a title for the second time in his career, but he’s going to face some tough competition from top seed Richard Gasquet, Vasek Pospisil, Radek Stepanek and wildcard Bernard Tomic. Dmitry Tursunov has withdrawn before the start of the tournament.
It’s the women’s turn in Bastad this week and with defending champion Serena Williams out of the picture, everyone will have a shot at the title, starting with top seed Alize Cornet and continuing with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Camila Giorgi, Yaroslava Shvedova, Annika Beck and Maria Teresa Torro-Flor. Vania King, Flavia Pennetta and Carla Suarez Navarro are among the players who withdrew before the start.
After a three-year hiatus because of the WTA Tour Championships, the Istanbul Cup makes its return in the WTA calendar and the field is very competitive right from the start. With 2010 champion Pavlyuchenkova in Bastad, the tournament will have a new champion and it will probably be one of the top seeds; Caroline Wozniacki, Roberta Vinci, Klara Koukalova, Elina Svitolina, Magdalena Rybarikova, Kurumi Nara, Bojana Jovanovski and Karolina Pliskova.
