Nadal & Marc Lopez Win the Men’s Doubles Gold in Tennis at the 2016 Rio Games

Posted on August 13, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Rafael Nadal has taken full advantage of a golden opportunity…

The 30-year-old Spanish tennis star has added a second Olympic tennis gold medal to all of his Grand Slam trophies, teaming with childhood friend Marc Lopez to win the men’s doubles championship for Spain at the 2016 Rio Games.

Nadal and Lopez came back from a break down in the third set and claimed the last three games to beat Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau of Romania 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in the final Friday.

Nadal, a 14-time champion at major tournaments, also won an Olympic title in singles at the 2008 Beijing Games after defeating Chile’s Fernando González. This is the first medal for Lopez.

The silver for Mergea and Tecau is the first tennis medal for Romania in Olympic history.

The bronze went to Steve Johnson and Jack Sock of the United States. They beat the Canadian team of Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 6-4 earlier Friday.

It was another busy day for Nadal, who won his singles quarterfinal in three sets earlier Friday.

Nadal does not play doubles often on tour, focusing on a singles career that has included stints at No. 1 in the rankings and a record nine French Open titles.

Of his nine previous doubles championships, four came with Lopez as his partner, although they hadn’t played even one match together this year until arriving in Brazil.

Lopez won his first Grand Slam doubles title at the French Open in June, pairing with Feliciano Lopez to beat American twins Bob and Mike Bryan in that final.

Puig Beats Garbine Muguruza to Reach Quarterfinals at the 2016 Rio Games

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Monica Puig is one step closer to gold…

The 22-year-old Puerto Rican tennis player, competing in her first Olympics, routed French Open champion Garbine Muguruza 6-1, 6-1 on Tuesday to reach the 2016 Rio Games quarterfinals, notching the biggest win of her career.

“You just go in shock,” she said.

Even with the big lead, keeping it together through those last couple of games was tricky.

“You start getting emotional, and there’s no hiding it,” Puig said. “You start feeling those butterflies, those nerves. It’s all of that coming out.

Ranked 34th in the world, Puig has never reached the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam. Now she’s two wins from an Olympic medal.

She’ll face a player with a similar ranking for a spot in the semifinals: No. 32 Laura Siegemund, a 28-year-old German who is having a career year. Siegemund won her first WTA title at the Swedish Open last month.

At the 2013 French Open, Puig became the first woman representing Puerto Rico to reach the third round at a major in the Open era, which began in 1968. But at her first Olympics, her nationality takes on much more resonance.

“When I’m playing in the WTA, it’s more like I’m playing for myself — my job, let’s say,” she said. “Here, it’s not really my job. It’s for my country, and I think nothing in the world can compare to that. It’s the most special feeling when you put on your colors of your country and you’re walking around the Olympic Village and everybody looks to see your country on the back of your shirt.”

Muguruza is already a major champion. But after beating Serena Williams in the final at Roland Garros for her first Grand Slam title, the Spaniard lost in the second round at Wimbledon. She had 29 unforced errors to 15 winners on Tuesday.

del Potro Knocks Out World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the First Round at the 2016 Rio Games

Posted on August 8, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Juan Martin del Potro is proving to be Novak Djokovic’s Olympic curse…

For the second Olympics in a row, the 27-year-old Argentine player has taken down Djokovic.

del Potro, who beat the current ATP World No. 1 in the bronze-medal play-off at 2012 London Games, again overpowered Djokovic, taking down the Serb tennis star in the first round at the 2016 Rio Games 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-2).

Djokovic was in tears as he left the court after the match, which lasted two and a half hours.

“This is one of the toughest losses in my career,” said Djokovic, who was trying to win his first Olympic title.

Djokovic became the first man for 47 years to hold all four Grand Slam titles by winning the French Open in June.

He suffered a shock third-round loss to American Sam Querrey at Wimbledon but won his 30th Masters title in Toronto last week.

“It’s not easy to handle, especially now, just after the wounds are still fresh,” he added after failing to improve on the bronze he won at the 2008 Beijing Games.

“But you have to deal with it. It’s not the first or the last time that I have lost a tennis match. But the Olympic Games, yeah, it’s completely different.”

del Potro will face Portugal’s Joao Sousa in the second round on Monday.

The former US Open winner has dropped to 141st in the world after two years of injury problems but did not face a single break point on his serve against the 12-time Grand Slam champion.

“It was a wonderful evening from the beginning,” said del Potro.

“After all the effort I’ve put in to get back to playing tennis, I’ve defeated the number one. It was a dream night.”

Nadal On Course to Play at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

It’s Rio or bust for Rafael Nadal…

The 28-year-old Spanish tennis star, a former World No. 1, looks to be on course to play at the 2016 Summer Olympics after an encouraging update on his fitness.

Nadal is due to be Spain’s flag-bearer at the 2016 Rio Games but is battling a wrist problem — he previously missed out on the honor due to injury in London four years ago.

Teammate David Ferrer said on Thursday that the 14-time Grand Slam winner will definitely travel to Brazil, while Nadal’s coach and uncle Toni was encouraged by Wednesday’s hit-out with Wimbledon champion Andy Murray.

Ferrer told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser: “I will travel with Rafa on Sunday to Rio.

“His situation is more delicate. It’s never easy to come back after an injury. He will see how he feels.”

Nadal is scheduled to play singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles in Rio.

And Toni Nadal said: “We began to intensify his training in order to be ready be in time for the first round.

“Training with Andy Murray was a really hard first time with another top player and we are happy. Things worked out well.

“In Rio, we will start training with the maximum-level players and see how Rafael will respond to the difficulty of the competition.

“There are doubts about his game. I believe that is normal – these are the same questions we’ve always had after a period of inactivity. Starting with the Olympics is not easy but if we are lucky in the draw, he can improve step by step.”

Nadal to Compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio

Posted on July 15, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

It appears Rafael Nadal will be swinging for gold this summer…

The 30-year-old Spanish tennis star’s name appears on the final entry list for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.

Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam tournament champion hasn’t played since pulling out of the French Open because of an injured left wrist and needed the International Tennis Federation‘s Olympic Committee to approve his appeal because he hasn’t played Davis Cup.

Nadal won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games.

But Nadal isn’t the only Latino player set to compete at the 2016 Rio Games.

Twelve Latino players, including 2012 London Games bronze medalist Juan Martin del Potro, will compete in the men’s singles tournament.

In the women’s draw, six Latinas will be competing in singles, including French Open champion Garbine Muguruza, who will also compete in the doubles draw.

Half-Spanish tennis star Caroline Garcia, who won the women’s doubles title at this year’s French Open, will also compete in singles and doubles for France.

In all, here will be 64 players in the singles draws and 32 in doubles. Singles entries were based off the top 56 players in the June 6 rankings, with other ways to qualify for the final eight spots.

Each country is allowed a maximum of four singles players and two doubles teams for six players total on the men’s and women’s sides. Sixteen mixed doubles teams will be determined in Rio from players already in the Olympics.

Here’s the list of Latino players expected to compete:

MEN’S SINGLES ENTRY LIST

Argentina
Juan Martin del Potro, Federico Delbonis, Juan Monaco, Guido Pella

Brazil
Thomaz Bellucci, Rogerio Dutra Silva

Dominican Republic
Victor Estrella Burgos

Spain
Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Roberto Bautista Agut, Albert Ramos-Vinolas

Uruguay
Pablo Cuevas

WOMEN’S SINGLES ENTRY LIST

Brazil
Teliana Pereira (ITF)

France
Caroline Garcia

Paraguay
Veronica Cepede Royg (TRI)

Puerto Rico
Monica Puig

Spain
Garbine Muguruza, Carla Suarez Navarro

MEN’S DOUBLES ENTRY LIST

Argentina
Juan Martin del Potro/Maximo Gonzalez, Federico Delbonis/Guillermo Duran

Brazil
Marcelo Melo/Bruno Soares, Thomaz Bellucci/Andre Sa (ITF)

Chile
Julio Peralta/Hans Podlipnik (ITF)

Colombia
Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah

Spain
Marc Lopez/Rafael Nadal, Roberto Bautista Agut/David Ferrer

WOMEN’S DOUBLES ENTRY LIST

Brazil
Paula Cristina Goncalves/Teliana Pereira (ITF)

France
Caroline Garcia [paired with Kristina Mladenovic]

Spain
Garbine Muguruza/Carla Suarez Navarro, Anabel Medina Garrigues/Arantxa Parra-Santonja

del Potro Upsets No. 4 Seed Stan Wawrinka at Wimbledon

Posted on July 2, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Juan Martin del Potro is back and feeling alive…

The 27-year-old Argentine tennis player registered a shock second-round win to knock fourth seed Stan Wawrinka out of the men’s singles at Wimbledon.

del Potro, a former US Open champion, secured a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 win over Wawrinka.

He’s currently ranked No. 165 in the world after missing more than two years because of injury problems.

del Potro, who is in the same half of the draw as Britain’s Andy Murray, will next play France’s 32nd seed Lucas Pouille.

del Potro reached the semifinals at the All-England Club in 2013 but the former world number four is playing in his first Grand Slam since the Australian Open in 2014 after having three wrist operations.

He struggled early on as Wawrinka claimed an early break before comfortably taking the opening set, but del Potro fought back well to take the second.

Both players broke serve twice in the opening four games of a thrilling third set, which del Potro won in a tie-break, before taking the fourth set to wrap up victory.

“It feels amazing,” del Potro told BBC Sport. “I beat one of the guys who is playing great tennis this season and I couldn’t have expected this before today.

“I enjoyed the crowd, they were incredible and I’m very happy.

“It is my second or third career now after all the injuries. I was sad for the last two years and now I am enjoying playing tennis again. I feel alive.”

Muguruza: The Higest-Seeded Latina at This Year’s Wimbledon

Posted on June 23, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

If all goes her way, Garbine Muguruza will most certainly get a rematch with Serena Williams in the Wimbledon finals…

The 22-year-old Spanish-Venezuelan professional tennis player, who lost to the World No. 1 tennis player 4-6, 4-6 in last year’s final, is seeded No. 2 for this year’s tournament at the All-England Club.

Muguruza, who bested Williams at the French Open to win the first Grand Slam title of her career, cannot face Serena, seeded No.1, until the final at Wimbledon, since they’re both in separate halves of the draw.

Seedings were based on the current world rankings but rearranged to reflect players’ grass-court achievements.

Muguruza is the highest-seeded Hispanic player on the women’s and men’s side. She’s followed by Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro at No. 13 and Caroline Garcia, who recently won her first-ever title on grass at the Mallorca Open, at No. 31.

Spain’s David Ferrer is the highest-seeded player on the men’s side at No. 13. He’s followed by Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut at No. 14, Spain’s Feliciano Lopez at No. 22 and Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas at No. 29.

Play at the third Grand Slam of the year starts Monday.

GENTLEMEN’S SINGLES
1 DJOKOVIC, Novak (SRB)
2 MURRAY, Andy (GBR)
3 FEDERER, Roger (SUI)
4 WAWRINKA, Stan (SUI)
5 NISHIKORI, Kei (JPN)
6 RAONIC, Milos (CAN)
7 GASQUET, Richard (FRA)
8 THIEM, Dominic (AUT)
9 CILIC, Marin (CRO)
10 BERDYCH, Tomas (CZE)
11 GOFFIN, David (BEL)
12 TSONGA, Jo-Wilfried (FRA)
13 FERRER, David (ESP)
14 BAUTISTA AGUT, Roberto (ESP)
15 KYRGIOS, Nick (AUS)
16 SIMON, Gilles (FRA)
17 MONFILS, Gael (FRA)
18 ISNER, John (USA)
19 TOMIC, Bernard (AUS)
20 ANDERSON, Kevin (RSA)
21 KOHLSCHREIBER, Philipp (GER)
22 LOPEZ, Feliciano (ESP)
23 KARLOVIC, Ivo (CRO)
24 ZVEREV, Alexander (GER)
25 TROICKI, Viktor (SRB)
26 PAIRE, Benoit (FRA)
27 SOCK, Jack (USA)
28 QUERREY, Sam (USA)
29 CUEVAS, Pablo (URU)
30 DOLGOPOLOV, Alexandr (UKR)
31 SOUSA, Joao (POR)
32 POUILLE, Lucas (FRA)

LADIES’ SINGLES
1 WILLIAMS, Serena (USA)
2 MUGURUZA, Garbine (ESP)
3 RADWANSKA, Agnieszka (POL)
4 KERBER, Angelique (GER)
5 HALEP, Simona (ROU)
6 AZARENKA, Victoria (BLR)
7 VINCI, Roberta (ITA)
8 BENCIC, Belinda (SUI)
9 WILLIAMS, Venus (USA)
10 KEYS, Madison (USA)
11 KVITOVA, Petra (CZE)
12 BACSINSZKY, Timea (SUI)
13 SUAREZ NAVARRO, Carla (ESP)
14 KUZNETSOVA, Svetlana (RUS)
15 STOSUR, Samantha (AUS)
16 PLISKOVA, Karolina (CZE)
17 KONTA, Johanna (GBR)
18 SVITOLINA, Elina (UKR)
19 STEPHENS, Sloane (USA)
20 CIBULKOVA, Dominika (SVK)
21 ERRANI, Sara (ITA)
22 PAVLYUCHENKOVA, Anastasia (RUS)
23 JANKOVIC, Jelena (SRB)
24 IVANOVIC, Ana (SRB)
25 STRYCOVA, Barbora (CZE)
26 BEGU, Irina-Camelia (ROU)
27 BERTENS, Kiki (NED)
28 VANDEWEGHE, Coco (USA)
29 SAFAROVA, Lucie (CZE)
30 KASATKINA, Daria (RUS)
31 GARCIA, Caroline (FRA)
32 MLADENOVIC, Kristina (FRA)

Garcia Reaches Her First Career Grass-Court Final at the Mallorca Open

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a new first for Caroline Garcia…

The 22-year-old part-Spanish tennis player advanced to her first grass-court final by beating Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 on Saturday at the Mallorca Open.

Garcia, the tournament’s No. 6 seed, had seven aces and won 84 percent of first-service points against Flipkens, a 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist.

In the final, Garcia will face Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia, who defeated second-seeded Jelena Jankovic in the other semifinal, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Garcia has been on a roll in recent weeks, winning her first title of the year on clay at Strasbourg and then teaming with Kristina Mladenovic to capture the French Open doubles title, her first Grand Slam title.

Marc Lopez & Feliciano Lopez Win Their First-Ever Grand Slam Doubles Title at the French Open

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

The third time’s the charm for Marc López…

The 33-year-old Spanish tennis player and his compatriot Feliciano Lopez won the French Open on Saturday for their first Grand Slam doubles title, denying Bob and Mike Bryan a 17th major trophy.

It was Marc Lopez’s third Grand Slam final appearance, having finished runner-up at Roland Garros and at the US Open two years ago alongside Marcel Granollers. It was Feliciano Lopez’s first Grand Slam doubles final.

The duo became the first Spanish pair to win at Roland Garros in 26 years with a 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3 victory over their American rivals.

The No. 15 seeds played together only once before at a major tournament and had to struggle to get to the final.

They saved six match points in their quarterfinal win over 2014 champions Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. They went to three sets before downing defending champions Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo in the semifinals.

The Bryans, the most successful pairing of all time, were seeking a third title on the red clay following victories in 2003 and 2013.

“The tough thing about us is that if we don’t leave with the big trophy it’s devastating,” Bob Bryan said. “We have high standards, and sometimes that makes it not fun, because we can’t get any kind of enjoyment out of a final or semi like maybe some other players.

“You know, that’s the burden that we carry. We’re feeling that pain right now. We don’t take any solace out of leaving with the square plate.”

Feliciano Lopez sealed the Spaniards’ win with an ace, and both partners fell on their backs in jubilation.

“You can’t imagine what it means to win a Grand Slam for the first time, against the best players in the sport,” Feliciano Lopez said.

The fifth-seeded Bryans saved a match point in the tiebreaker before evening it 1-1 in sets, but their rivals returned better in the decider and converted two of three break points.

“Winning a Grand Slam is something amazing, and I didn’t have a Grand Slam victory on my résumé,” Marc Lopez said. “Roland Garros is my favorite tournament. It has been the case for quite a long time. When I was a kid, I was watching the matches of great champions, the Spanish champions.”

The previous Spanish doubles team to win the French Open was Sergio Casal and Emilio Sanchez in 1990.

Muguruza Beats Serena Williams to Claim the French Open Title

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Garbiñe Muguruza has officially arrived…

The 22-year-old Spanish/Venezuelan tennis player defeated World No. 1 Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4 at the French Open on Saturday to claim her first-ever Grand Slam title.

Muguruza’s win prevented Williams from tying Steffi Graf‘s Open-era record of 22 Grand Slam titles for the third straight Grand Slam event.

In winning her first major, Muguruza used her powerful groundstrokes to keep Williams off-balance and overcame signs of nerves in the form of nine double-faults to pull off the upset win.

Muguruza also managed to deal with Williams’ dangerous serve, breaking three consecutive times from late in the first set to early in the second en route to beating Williams for the second time in three years at Roland Garros. In 2014, she handed Williams the worst loss of her Grand Slam career with a 6-2, 6-2 victory in the second round.

After letting four match points slip away in the penultimate game, Muguruza served out the match at love, punctuated by a high lob that caught the baseline as Williams watched.

The winning shot drew a smile from Williams’ face and she applauded Muguruza, who put her face in her hands and fell on her back in the red clay of Court Philippe Chatrier as her coach Sam Sumyk jumped from his chair and raised both arms in the air.

“She has a bright future, obviously,” said Williams, who at 34 is 12 years older than her Spanish opponent. “She knows how to play on the big stage and … clearly, she knows how to win Grand Slams.”

Muguruza, who lost to Williams in the 2015 final at Wimbledon, became the first Spanish woman to win a Grand Slam title since Arantxa Sanchez Vicario won the last of her three French Open crowns in 1998.

“I can’t explain with words what this day means to me,” Muguruza said after the match. “You work all your life to get here.”

Muguruza became just the fifth different woman to defeat Williams in a Grand Slam final, joining Angelique Kerber, Samantha Stosur, Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams — who beat her sister twice.

This year’s visit to Paris hardly could have started off more inauspiciously for Muguruza: She lost the very first set she played in the tournament, against 38th-ranked Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.

But Muguruza turned things around from there. She won the next 14 sets she played, displaying the deep groundstrokes and take-the-ball-early aggressiveness that flustered Williams.

“I have grown up playing on clay,” Muguruza said during the trophy ceremony, “so for Spain, and for me, this is amazing.”

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

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