TENNIS BITS & PIECES – Rod Laver turns 76 years old. Rubin is the new under 18 US Champion. Jamie Hampton out for the rest of the season. Kyrgios out of Cincinnati and on Tuesday Nadal will know if he can compete in New York.
Noah Rubin is the new Under 18 USA Champion
18 year old Noah Rubin, already winner of the Wimbledon Boys tournament, has become the new American national champion. The final was played on Sunday 10th of August in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where Rubin defeated the defending champion Collin Altamirano 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. With this win Rubin will receive a Wild Card for the upcoming US Open. The 18 year old American will also play in the US Open doubles tournament with 16 year old Stefan Kozlov, together the pair won the Under 18 doubles championship on Saturday.
Jamie Hampton out for the rest of the season
24 year old Jamie Hampton announced that she will miss the rest of the season as she tries to recover from her hip operation earlier in the year. The American managed to play just one tournament in 2014, at Auckland where she reached the semifinals, but had to withdraw before her match against Venus Williams. At the moment she is ranked 147 in the world, but at the beginning of the year she was 27th after an excellent 2013.
Nick Kyrgios to miss Cincinnati
The young Australian has decided to skip the Cincinnati Master 1000 tournament that will start on Monday 11th of August because of of bone stress on his left arm. He announced this yesterday through twitter adding that the MRI scan showed this injury, but it’s nothing serious and that he should be back for the US Open.
Happy Birthday Rod Laver
The Australian legend was born on the 9th of August 1938 in Rockhampton and later he became one of the best players this sport has ever seen. Laver is the only male player to have completed the Grand Slam, and he did it twice, first in 1962 as an amateur and then in 1969 as a professional. Laver was number 1 in the world from 1964 to 1970 and in his career he won 181 titles, 11 Majors and 5 Davis Cups with Australia. Happy 76th birthday Rod!
Rafael Nadal will decide on Tuesday whether to go to the US
The Spanish champion has started training following his wrist injury that prevented him from defending his titles at the Rogers Cup and at Cincinnati. On Tuesday Nadal will travel to Barcelona for a check up with Doctor Cotorro. Rafa is training with a bandaged right wrist and at the moment he cannot hit his two-handed backhand. If the Doctor agrees Rafa will travel immediately to New York to train, otherwise he will have to skip the US Open as well.
