Behind the Headlines - Catching up on tennis news

Roger Federer

So the US Open is a little more than a week away and there’s plenty of exciting tennis going around. But for tennis nuts like me, there’s so much more than Nadal beating Federer once again or Serena Williams reaching yet another semi-final. Here’s a rundown of some of the tennis news that never makes it to the front pages or hasn’t made it yet..

Federer, Nadal and the Rankings – Roger Federer may have lost to Rafael Nadal once again (the third time this year). But Federer is sure going all out to ensure he ekes the most out of his final years. This week in Cincinnati, Federer moved back to the 90 inch frame he was using earlier and said he will do some more racket testing after the US Open. Also, as per Darren Cahill, Federer has lost six pounds in order to reduce the strain on his back, which has been bothering him for a while now.

Federer will also drop to no. 7 in the world rankings next week, his lowest since 2002 while Nadal has a chance to move back to no. 2 in the world if he wins Cincinnati this weekend. The rankings on Monday take special significance as they determine the US Open seedings. Nadal at no. 2 means we could have a Djokovic-Murray showdown in the semi-finals.

On another ranking note, John Isner will move back into the top 20 next week, ending the absence of American representation after just one week. This was the first time since computerised rankings were introduced in the 1970s that no American male player was in the top 20.

Coaching Changes – – Two top women players have made coaching changes heading into the US Open.

World no. 3 Maria Sharapova has fired Jimmy Connors after working with the tennis legend only for a month. In her only tournament since teaming up, Sharapova lost her first match this week to American Sloane Stephens in three sets. Just last week, Sharapova said how she values the experience that Connors brings but her the brief statement announcing the split said she felt this was not the right fit at this point in her career.

Meanwhile, former US Open champion Samantha Stosur has split from her coach of six years David Taylor. Stosur commented, “After six years working together my coach David Taylor and I have decided to part ways. We’ve had a tremendous working relationship and I owe so much of my success to Dave’s hard work and enduring support. Dave and I started working together during my comeback from Lyme disease, one of the most challenging times of my life.His dedication during the many highs and lows of my career has been unwavering both on and off the court. I wish Dave all the very best for the future. During the US Open I’ll be working with the Tennis Australia team, including Fed Cup captain Alicia Molik, and I’ll start thinking about longer term options after New York.”

Martina Hingis

Hingis comments on other veterans – Martina Hingis is 32 years old and this week in Cincinnati, she was asked to comment on fellow veterans in the game – Kimiko Date-Krumm and the Williams sisters. On the 42 year old Japanese wonder woman, Hingis says, “It’s unbelievable at her age. I mean, yeah. I mean, I’ve been saying that over and over. Like she must really love tennis. I mean, I do too, but sometimes, at some point, you kind of slow down. But she’s like a Duracell bunny, right? She’s unbelievable. Keeps going and going and going.”

When asked if seeing Venus Williams play motivated her to come back in singles, Hingis replied, “No, not really, because, when you lose as a player like her, it’s not really encouraging because she plays well like first or second set and losing to players that she’s not used to losing. So, no, that’s not encouraging at all. Serena, yeah, it’s a different story. She’s got so much willpower, it’s amazing. I really admire how she can still get out there and motivate herself all the time over and over all these years. But they were always ?? like they had many more breaks. I mean, I had my break for three years, but, yeah, I was out there a lot younger. And I don’t have the same body as them too. So it’s a little bit different when you can hit four aces in a game. I mean, I don’t have that weapon.”

Hingis’ results in her latest comeback have been mixed. She and partner Daniela Hantuchova won a round in each of their three tournaments but lost in the second round each time. The pair will also play in New Haven next week and the US Open thereafter before re-assessing their future plans.

US Open pull-outs – The final grand slam of the year will be missing world no. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Croatian Marin Cilic (allegedly under suspension for a doping offence) and Serbian Viktor Troicki (currently serving an 18 month ban for a doping offence)

Fabio pulls a Fognini – There’s never a dull moment when Fabio Fognini is around. The Italian, who went on a 13 match clay court winning streak post Wimbledon, came up with some poor sportsmanship during his loss to Radek Stepanek in the first round at Cincinnati this week. Serving to stay in the match, Fognini double faulted twice, got a point penalty for ball abuse, foot faulted on match point, then purposely foot faulted again to lose the match. It’s no surprise that he was booed off the courts by the fans.

US Open renovations – Monday finishes at the US Open were becoming somewhat of a tradition, with the tournament going into overtime for the last five years in a row. Come 2017 though that would be a things of the past. The USTA has finally bitten the bullet and come up with plans to build a roof over the Arthur Ashe Stadium by possibly 2016 or maximum 2017. There will also be a roof over a new Louis Armstrong Stadium and a new Grandstand court – all part of a $550 million dollar renovation plan.

Post Its – Six time doubles grand slam champion and Olympics mixed doubles gold medal winner Max Mirnyi gets his own stamp from the Belarus Post. Surely, there’s one coming up for Victoria Azarenka.