León García Has Been Appointed as Captain of Spain’s Davis Cup Team

Posted on September 23, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Gala León García is breaking down barriers while making history.

The 40-year-old Spanish former professional tennis player has been appointed as captain of Spain’s Davis Cup team by La Federación Internacional de Tenis, becoming the first-ever female coach of a Davis Cup team.

In a statement, the federation says León García will replace Carlos Moya, who stepped down as captain after Spain fell out of the World Group.

Without Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer, Spain lost to Brazil in the playoffs, dropping the five-time champions to the zonal groups for the first time since 1996. The team also lost to Germany earlier this year.

Andy Murray, who is currently coached by Amelie Mauresmo, tweeted his congratulations to León García.

“congrats to Gala Leon Garcia for becoming first female Spanish Davis cup captain today…” tweeted Murray, adding, “hopefully first of many!”

More details are expected in the coming days.

León García turned pro in 1990 and retired in 2004. She achieved her highest ranking of No. 27 in September 2000. She earned one WTA title and 6 ITF titles.

Ferrer Defeats Julien Benneteau to Reach the Western & Southern Open Final

Posted on August 17, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

The third time has proven to be the charm for David Ferrer…

Playing in his third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semifinal of the year, the 32-year-old Spanish tennis player soundly defeated France’s Julien Benneteau to advance to the Western & Southern Open final, his first Masters 1000 final in 2014.

Ferrer, the sixth seed, was a comprehensive winner as against Benneteau, losing just five games.He needed just an hour and 11 minutes to complete a 6-3 6-2 win over his French opponent, who was playing in a Masters 1000 semifinal for the first time in his career.

The unseeded Benneteau managed to keep pace with Ferrer for the first six games before dumping a backhand into the net to give the Spaniard a break of serve.

Ferrer held his own serve then broke Benneteau again to wrap up the set, finishing things off with a backhand winner down the line.

Unforced errors continued to flow from Benneteau’s racquet at the start of the second set and Ferrer went a break up again in the fourth game.

The Frenchman did manage one more service hold and then showed admirable spirit to save four match points in the eighth game before finally succumbing on the fifth.

Ferrer, who was forced to save two match points in his opening clash with Philipp Kohlschreiber earlier this week, said afterwards: “I’m going step by step. Tennis is always a surprise. When I looked in my quarter of the draw and saw Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga there, I knew it was not easy.

“But as they lost, I took my chance and got into the final. I’m trying to improve my game every day. Watching the top 10 guys is a great inspiration to improve also. I’m feeling very comfortable on hard courts. On those I can play more with my timing than with power.”

Ferrer will now face former World No. 1 Roger Federer in the men’s final, his first in 11 tries at the Cincinnati Masters 1000 event.

Ferrer Defeats Tommy Robredo to Reach Western & Southern Open Semifinals

Posted on August 16, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

David Ferrer is hoping to advance to his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final in 2014.

The 32-year-old Spanish tennis star outlasted his compatriot Tommy Robredo in a hard-fought match on Friday to reach his first Western & Southern Open semifinal in 11 trips to Cincinnati.

It’s Ferrer’s third semifinal at the Masters 1000 level in 2014. He lost in the semifinals in Monte Carlo to Stanislas Wawrinka; and he lost to Kei Nishikori in the semifinals in Madrid.

With his 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory, Ferrer denied Robredo – who had defeated World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the round of 16 – his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semifinal in eight years.

Ferrer is also closing in on the 600-win plateau, improving to 590-285 with his win.

Currently ranked No. 6 in the world, Ferrer claimed the 10th encounter (8-2) with the 16th-seeded Robredo in two hours and six minutes, winning 74 per cent of first serve points and breaking serve on four of 11 chances.

Robredo was unable to overcome 51 unforced errors and 19 forehand winners by Ferrer.

“Well, it’s not easy play against a friend,” said Ferrer. “Tommy and I have played a lot of times in our careers. I wish him the best luck for the next tournaments.”

Lopez Defeats Milos Raonic to Reach the Rogers Cup Semifinals

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Feliciano López is the last Latino standing at the Rogers Cup…

The 32-year-old Spanish tennis player downed Canada’s Milos Raonic in Friday’s heated quarterfinal match, winning 6-4, 6-7, 6-3.

The unseeded Lopez broke the home favorite to love to secure the lone break in the first set, but squandered two mini-break leads in the second-set tiebreaker to keep alive Raonic’s bid for a second consecutive Rogers Cup semi-final.

The left-handed Lopez stayed with Raonic in the decider, saving the only nine break points he faced in the match while serving at 2-all.

This week, the World No. 25 has saved 27 of 29 break points faced.

He would later break the Raonic serve to go up 5-3 before comfortably holding to close out victory in one hour and 57 minutes.

He’ll next face Roger Federer in the semifinals, after the former World No. 1 defeated Lopez’s compatriot David Ferrer in three sets.

Mayer Upsets David Ferrer at the Hamburg Open to Win His First-Ever ATP Title

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Leonardo Mayer is officially a titleholder… And, he did it by taking down the top seed.

The 27-year-old Argentine tenista upset David Ferrer 6-7 (3), 6-1, 7-6 (4) in the Hamburg Open final on Sunday to claim his first ATP title.

The 46th-ranked Mayer saved five of the eight break points he faced and converted five of his seven chances to beat Ferrer, who is ranked No. 7 in the world, in the clay-court tournament.

“I can’t believe it,” said Mayer. “I was able to do it against Ferrer, who is one of the best players on this surface. I’m really happy and it still hasn’t sunk in that I won.”

Mayer had not dropped a set in five matches to reach the final, while Ferrer was bidding for his 22nd title.

“He was better in the match,” said Ferrer. “I think I was little bit nervous in the important moments and he played more aggressive than me, and nothing else.”

Berlocq Defeats David Ferrer to Reach Swedish Open Semifinals

Posted on July 12, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Berlocq has taken down the No. 1 seed…

The 31-year-old Argentine tenista and defending champion upset top-seeded David Ferrer in a 6-3, 6-3 victory at the Swedish Open quarterfinals on Friday.

Berlocq, the seventh-seed who happened to win his first ATP world tour at this tournament in Bastad last year, defeated Ferrer in 85 minutes.

Third-seeded Fernando Verdasco reached the semifinals with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta.

On Saturday, the 30-year-old Verdasco faces 111th-ranked Pablo Cuevasof Uruguay, who beat Reno Olivo of Argentina 6-2, 6-4.

In the other semifinal, Berlocq faces fifth-seeded Joao Sousa of Portugal, who ousted Serbian Dusan Lajovic 6-4, 6-4.

Bautista Agut Defeats Benjamin Becker to Claim First Ever ATP Title

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a hard-fought first ATP title for Roberto Bautista Agut…

The 26-year-old Spanish tennis player mounted an impressive rally to claim his maiden World Tour crown on Saturday, beating Benjamin Becker in the Topshelf Open final.

Bautista Agut captured his first title with a 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 victory, overcoming 13 aces and a 32-minute first set in favor of his German counterpart.

One of the ATP World Tour’s rising stars in 2014, the Spaniard has soared from World No. 73 in the ATP rankings at the beginning of the year to a new career-high of No. 23 with his title in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

Bautista Agut, the tournament’s third-seed becomes the second first-time champion this year after Federico Delbonis won in Sao Paulo. He was competing in just his second final, having previously fallen in the 2013 Aircel Chennai Open title match to Janko Tipsarevic.

Becker raced to a 4-1 lead in the first set behind a pair of early breaks. Bautista Agut was unable to counter Becker’s pace and guile in the baseline rallies as the German veteran needed just 32 minutes to take the opener.

Bautista Agut’s game would gain traction as the match progressed, however, and he would snatch the second set in a tiebreaker and surge to an early lead in the third set behind a break in the fifth game. As Becker pressed for a break back, Bautista Agut held steady, and he would hold on for the title in exactly two hours.

He’s the fifth different Spanish winner this year, withRafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Guillermo Garcia-Lopezand Fernando Verdasco also bringing home trophies to the Iberian nation. He’s also the second different Spaniard to triumph in Den Bosch after Ferrer prevailed in 2008 and 2012.

“It took me a while to recover from a very long match yesterday and I was getting better and better after the first set,” said Bautista Agut, who earns $77,350 and 250 ATP rankings points with the win.

“I was more focused and started to feel better physically. I was trying to not think too much and play my game point by point. It was the same nervousness as every match. I played calm and aggressive in the last game. I had to celebrate hard (after match point) and enjoy the moment.”

Nadal Leads a Strong Spanish Charge at This Year’s Wimbledon

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Rafael Nadal is ready to kick some grass at the All England Club… And, he’s leading a strong charge of seeded Latino players competing at Wimbledon.

Despite winning his ninth French Open title and maintaining his World No. 1 ranking, the 28-year-old Spanish tennis superstar has been seeded No. 2 at this year’s Grand Slam tournament.

Nadal was relegated to the No. 2 spot when his French Open final foe Novak Djokovic, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, was given the top seeding by the All England Club ahead of him. Tournament officials take a player’s grass-court record into account when assigning the men’s seedings.

Defending men’s champion Andy Murray, who last year became the first British player to win the Wimbledon men’s title since 1936, was bumped up two spots above his world ranking to No. 3.

Seven-time champion Roger Federer is No. 4, while Australian Open winner Stan Wawrinka is down two spots from his world ranking at No. 5.

But Nadal isn’t the only Hispanic tenista earning a seed at this year’s event…

In all, there are nine Latinos among the 32 seeded players – all hailing from Spain – including David Ferrer at No. 7, Fernando Verdasco at No. 18 and Feliciano Lopez at No. 19.

Here’s the complete list of seeds (with their world ranking in parenthesis):

Men

1. Novak Djokovic, Serbia (2)
2. Rafael Nadal, Spain (1)
3. Andy Murray, Britain (5)
4. Roger Federer, Switzerland (4)
5. Stan Wawrinka, Switzerland (3)
6. Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic (6)
7. David Ferrer, Spain (7)
8. Milos Raonic, Canada (9)
9. John Isner, United States (11)
10. Kei Nishikori, Japan (12)
11. Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgaria (13)
12. Ernests Gulbis, Latvia (10)
13. Richard Gasquet, France (14)
14. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France (17)
15. Jerzy Janowicz, Poland (24)
16. Fabio Fognini, Italy (15)
17. Mikhail Youzhny, Russia (16)
18. Fernando Verdasco, Spain (23)
19. Feliciano Lopez, Spain (25)
20. Kevin Anderson, South Africa (18)
21. Alexandr Dolgopolov, Ukraine, (19)
22. Philipp Kohlschreiber, Germany (27)
23. Tommy Robredo, Spain (22)
24. Gael Monfils, France (21)
25. Nicolas Almagro, Spain (26)
26. Andreas Seppi, Italy (34)
27. Marin Cilic, Croatia (29)
28. Roberto Bautista Agut, Spain (28)
29. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Spain (31)
30. Ivo Karlovic, Croatia (33)
31. Marcel Ganollers, Spain, (30)
32. Dmitry Tursunov, Russia (32)

Nadal Defeats Novak Djokovic to Claim Ninth French Open Title…

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Rafael Nadal is still the King of Clay…

The 28-year-old Spanish tennis star won an unprecedented ninth title at the French Open, defeating Novak Djokovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4, in the men’s final at Roland Garros.

Their match couldn’t compare to last year’s five-set classic in the semifinals or their six-hour duel at the Australian Open in 2012 but the final outcome has allowed Nadal to tie Pete Sampras with 14 major titles, three behind the all-time leader Roger Federer.

Djokovic’s victory over Nadal in the Rome final in May, his fourth straight overall against the left-hander, gave his fans greater hope.

“My best wasn’t (like it was) against him in Rome,” Djokovic told reporters.

Nadal stormed into this year’s finale in record time — for him — playing a near flawless three final sets against 2013 finalist David Ferrer, crushing Andy Murray in the semis and lifting his game when it mattered against Djokovic, minus a rare hiccup late in the fourth set.

“Mentally I was so strong,” said Nadal. “I really wanted to defeat him. When there were problems cropping up, I managed to find the solutions.”

With the win, Nadal is now 66-1 at the French Open, with those nine titles alongside.

Nadal Defeats David Ferrer to Advance to the French Open Semifinals

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Despite a slight hiccup, Rafael Nadal is still the King of Clay at Roland Garros.

For the first time at this year’s French Open, the 28-year-old Spanish tennis star, an eight-time champion at the tournament, dropped a set during his quarterfinal match.

His opponent: David Ferrer, who was not only the runner-up to Nadal at Roland Garros a year ago, but he also beat Nadal on red clay the last time they played each other.

And even though he lost the first set, Nadal rallied to come back and beat Ferrer 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1, setting up a semifinal Friday against Wimbledon champion Andy Murray.

“At the beginning,” Nadal acknowledged, “David was playing with a higher intensity than me.”

But once Nadal made a key adjustment, deciding to dispense with backhands and hit forehands as much as possible, he took over. After committing 28 unforced errors across the first two sets, Nadal had zero in the third and only three in the last.

Ferrer, for his part, said that in the latter stages, “I lost my concentration, my focus.”

It was Nadal’s 33rd consecutive win at the French Open, improving his record at Roland Garros to 64-1.

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