Evolution of the Court

On September 9th, 2013, Rafael Nadal was ahead of Novak Djokovic 5-1 in the fourth set at Ashe Stadium in New York City for the U.S. Open. Djokovic had started the match with an aggressive push to overcome Nadal by pure force, but the resolute Spaniard quickly made it clear he was the dominant tennis player on the court. Light bulbs from cameras flashed incessantly throughout the stadium as Nadal went to serve the final serve. The crowd had been getting rather raucous all night, considering the strict silence policies enacted by officials during matches. When the winning point had been delivered, Nadal took the victory in the most gentlemanly of manners as do all the great tennis players: he was completely diffused of all energy, and despite his win, appeared almost defeated with relief from the sheer emotional and physical toil of the match.

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The two men had squared off against one another 36 times in the past, and to see some kind of closure in the competition is surely a breath of fresh air for the both of them. But then that is what makes the game such an enticing and alluring one. Though they shall part ways for now, the fact that these two could be looking across the court at one another next year is still an exciting prospect for anyone who follows the sport.

Tennis has always been a mental and physical game. The internal focus needed to endure hours of play is vital, and when two players go head-to-head and are readily aware of how the other will counteract certain modes of play, then the game becomes that much more engaging and exciting. Players are constantly required to adapt and readapt to the changing styles of their opponents, going through months and months of training before ever setting out to win titles. Artistry has always been a defining character for greats of the game, yet the match between Nadal and Djokovic revealed two players who had seemed to have lost the aesthetic of tennis, and were instead determined to crush one another with brute forehands and dizzying serves. Even Nadal’s fingers were all taped up, resembling more a prizefighter than a tennis player.

The game has definitely evolved since the days of Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg. They were heated and exciting, of course, but there seemed to be more of a graceful, acrobatic-like air to the way the veterans played the game. The players of today are taking the sport of tennis to new levels of intensity, and judging by the atmosphere at Ashe Stadium that night, people love it.

For more information on the evolving nature of tennis, take a look at the homepage of Tom Phanco.

REPOST: What to Watch for in January

Are you an avid fan of tennis? Discover the must watch tennis tournaments in 2014. Find out more in this article from ATPWorldTour.com 

 January Action Heats Up 
There are five tournaments on the ATP World Tour in January in addition to the Australian Open. Overall, eight of the Top 10 players in the Emirates ATP Rankings will be in action in the first two weeks of the season. The 2014 ATP World Tour season begins this Sunday in Brisbane, where Roger Federer will make his tournament debut as top seed. Play begins Monday in Chennai, where World No. 8 Stanislas Wawrinka is the top seed and in Doha, where World No. 1 Rafael Nadal and World No. 4 Andy Murray are in action. World No. 3 David Ferrer, who led the ATP World Tour with the most singles matches played (84) last season, is playing both weeks before the Australian Open. (Doha, Auckland).

January Title Winners
Getting off to a quick start in the opening month of the season is common place for the Big Four, led by Roger Federer with seven titles in January. Here is a look at the players with multiple titles in the opening month:

Player	No.	Titles
Roger Federer	7*	’11, ’05-06 Doha; ’06-07 Aus. Open; ’02 Sydney
Lleyton Hewitt	6	’00-01, ’04-05 Sydney; ’98, ’00 Adelaide
Novak Djokovic	5	’08, ’11-13 Aus. Open; ’07 Adelaide
David Ferrer	4	’07, 11-13 Auckland
Andy Murray	4	’12-13 Brisbane; ’08-09 Doha
Nikolay Davydenko	3	’10 Doha; ’03, ’07 Adelaide
Marin Cilic	2	2009-10 Chennai
Jarkko Nieminen	2	’12 Sydney, ’06 Auckland

*One title (’04 Aust. Open) came on Feb. 1 and not included in total

Top 10 Start Strong
In the past four years, 16 of the 24 tournaments (67%) in the month of January have been won by a Top 10 player, including five of six last season. Here is a look at the Top 10 winners since 2010:

2013 – Brisbane Andy Murray (3)     
           Chennai Janko Tipsarevic (9)          
           Doha Richard Gasquet (10)     
           Auckland David Ferrer (5)                           
   Australian Open Novak Djokovic (1)

2012 – Brisbane Andy Murray (4)                               
           Doha Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (6)   
   Auckland David Ferrer (5)                    
           Australian Open Novak Djokovic (1) 

2011 – Brisbane Robin Soderling (5)    
           Doha Roger Federer (2)    
           Auckland David Ferrer (7)    
           Australian Open Novak Djokovic (3)

2010 – Brisbane Andy Roddick (7)                  
           Doha Nikolay Davydenko (6)                               
   Australian Open Roger Federer (1)

January Winning Streak
Novak Djokovic has a 21-match winning streak in the month of January, having won the past three Australian Open titles (2011-12-13). His last loss in January came in five sets in the quarter-finals in 2010 to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Coaching Carousel
Four of the Top 20 in the 2013 year-end Emirates ATP Rankings have new coaches going into the 2014 season:

Player	New Coach
(2) Novak Djokovic	Boris Becker, also w/Marian Vajda
(3) David Ferrer	Jose Francisco Altur
(9) Richard Gasquet	Sergi Bruguera
(17) Kei Nishikori	Michael Chang, also w/Dante Bottini

Also: No. 37 Marin Cilic (w/Goran Ivanisevic) and No. 42 Juan Monaco(w/Jose Clavet and Diego Junqueira)

Tom Phanco is a sports enthusiast with a passion for tennis. For more tennis news, visit this Facebook page.

Tom Phanco on the History of Tennis

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Your first memory of tennis might only go as far back as the classic 70's match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, but actually the history of tennis goes back much, much farther.

There is some evidence that the ancient Egyptians invented tennis, but most historians believe the game dates back to the 11^th or 12^th century.  It is thought that French monks began playing the game, using a crude ball made of cork or other material wrapped in cloth or leather, and a rope to represent the net.  At that time, rackets weren't used – they didn't appear until around 1500 – the monks used their hands instead.

By the 1300s the game had spread, and it became so popular that even the French nobility embraced it as a past time.  Not to be outdone, the English nobility soon joined the game, and thousands of tennis courts began to spring up throughout France and England.  At that time, tennis courts were built indoors, and were quite narrow and tricky to maneuver around – especially while trying to hit a ball!

For a time, interest in the sport waned.  Then, in the mid-1800s, rubber became easy and cheap to produce, and everyone discovered that tennis with a rubber ball was much more fun than playing with some cloth-covered ball that just didn't bounce very high.

The 1870s saw new, modern rules, outdoor courts, and tennis becoming popular in not only Europe, but in the United States, Canada, Russia, India, and China.  By 1877, the first Wimbledon tournament was held, and the game started looking much like it does today.

As you can see, tennis is such a popular sport that it has endured for centuries, and has undergone many changes to become the game we love today.

For more information on the history of tennis, take a look at the homepage of Tom Phanco.

Tom Phanco on Tennis for Kids

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If you have ever tried to play tennis and found yourself discouraged at trying to keep up with everything – the scoring, the rules, trying to hold up your racket and hit that ball that's speeding your way – then think how frustrating it must be if you are a kid!

Luckily, if you love tennis, there is now hope if you want to get your kids interested in the game. Kid's tennis groups are popping up all over the country, making it easy to start this great sport at a young age. So what's the difference between kid's tennis and adult's tennis?

• Age appropriate court sizes. For instance, kids 8 years old and younger play on a court that is 36'x18', whereas kids 11 and up play on a court that is either 78'x27' (for singles) or 78'x36' (for doubles). This means kids have a better chance at hitting the ball, without having to cover a regular-sized court.

• Age-appropriate tennis balls, with lower bouncing balls for younger kids, which means they are easier to hit.

• Smaller racquets so that small hands can grip them more easily.

• Modified rules that still challenge kids, but make the game more fun and easier to learn. All of these changes mean that your kids will have more fun and success when playing, which means they'll be less likely to quit the sport.

Tennis can improve hand-eye coordination, balance, and agility, and it's a great way to build self confidence. If you love tennis, you know that it's also a great workout, a great way to get out of the house, and a great way to have some family fun. Getting your kids involved at a young age means they'll soon love it too.

For more information on tennis for kids, take a look at the homepage of Tom Phanco.

The Emergence of Victoria Duval

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Victoria Duval has been the subject of an understandably huge influx of attention in the world of women's tennis. The young woman entered the U.S. Open ranked 298^th and was a virtual nobody – she was not expected to win, and had been picked to be eliminated early. Duval, however, proved that she is a future face of women’s tennis during a two and a half hour match against Samantha Stosur.

The tennis world already knows the outcome of the match, as Duval rocked the stadium by upsetting the 11^th ranked Stosur 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.  Duval became an instant celebrity for that weekend, receiving press from across the country, and a strove of tennis reporters attempting to track her down and dissect the match. Her win was shocking and impressive, as Duval entered the Open at only 17 years old, and been written off by the tennis world.

While some tennis experts see a young woman with a wealth of inexperience and the need to learn how to deal with the tennis world, part of Duval’s charm is her attitude and that she has been untainted by celebrity status until this point. Her mantra is one of positivity, playing for a love of the sport, and wanting to compete due a desire to play, not a desire for wealth or fame. While she went on to lose against the 2^nd ranked Daniela Hatuchhova, it seems unlikely that her new fame will affect her much. While the Open may have been her second Grand Slam tournament, it was the first that she realized she could win, and expected to do so. Furthermore, her loss will teach her the need to adapt to the pressure of Grand Slam tournaments, one that is foreign to her.

Victoria Duval has permanently entered the professional tennis world, and she will likely stay for a long time. While the young woman has plenty to learn, she has the time to and skill to improve. Fans of tennis should expect to see more of Duval in the future, and expect to see great things out of the young athlete. For more information on Victoria Duval and upcoming tennis tournaments, visit the website of Tom Phanco for a professional discussion.