French Open 2017

Make it 10 French Open titles for Rafael Nadal, the undisputed king of Clay. Nadal wrapped up his record 10^th French Open title and claimed his 15^th Grand Slam title by battering third seeded Stan Wawrinka in straight sets 6-2, 6-3, 6-1. It took the fourth seeded Nadal just over two hours to win, with the Spaniard sealing it on his second match point when Wawrinka sliced a backhand volley into the net.

Nadal did not drop a set all tournament on his way to his 15th Grand Slam title overall. Wawrinka smashed his racket after giving up two set points and the fourth-seeded Nadal sealed it on his first, when the Swiss player returned long.  It was the Swiss player's 17th unforced error. Nadal, who had taken the first set 6-2, broke early in the second and stretched his winning run of games to seven before Wawrinka managed to get on the board again. Nadal dominance at Roland Garros remains unmatched.

In Saturday's women's final,  unseeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia used bold strokes and an unbending will to come back and stun No. 3 Simona Halep 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in an enthralling French Open final for the first title of her career. Ostapenko, ranked only 47th and just two days past her 20th birthday, became one of the most unlikely Grand Slam champions in tennis history. She also denied Halep what would have been her first major championship and the No. 1 ranking.

R. Harrison and M. Venus won Men’s doubles trophy. L. Safarova and B. Mattek-Sands won Women’s doubles trophy. G. Dabrowski and R. Bopanna won Mixed doubles trophy at French Open 2017. Next major tournament of Tennis is Wimbledon which will start from 3 July 2017 and will last till 17 July 2017.

US Open 2016

Stan Wawrinka’s US Open triumph over world number one Novak Djokovic gave him a third Grand Slam title in as many finals. Wawrinka did shaking off the loss of the first set to post a 6-7 (1/7), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 victory over 12 times Grand Slam Champion Djokovic. He denied Djokovic a second straight US Open Title, and for the third time beat a reigning number one in a major final.

Wawrinka had already been pushed to the limit in reaching the final. Wawrinka has now won all three Grand Slam finals he has played and his last 11 finals in a row, and has become the oldest male winner of the US Open since 35 years old Ken Rosewall in 1970. Djokovic, 29, was the defending champion and trying to win his third Grand Slam title of 2016 and 13^th of his career.

Angelique Kerber won the Women’s singles title of US Open 2016. This was Kerber second Grand Slam title win of this year after Australian Open 2016. She also reached this year’s Wimbledon Final, where she lost to Williams, and she also secured a silver medal in Singles at the Summer Olympics in Rio.

Men’s Double section is won by James Murray and B. Soares. Women’s double section is won by B. Mattek and L. Safarova. Mixed double title is won by L. Siegemund and M. Pavic. It was the 136^th edition of the US Open, the fourth and final Grand Slam event of the year. 

Australian Open 2016: The Contenders

Novak Djokovic, World No 1 and had won 10 Grand Slam Titles. He was virtually unstoppable in 2015, when he put together one of the best seasons even seen: three grand slam titles among 11 tournament victories and a win loss record of 82-6. As the season closed, it was only the rapier backhand of Wawrinka in the French Open final that had stopped Novak Djokovic from completing the first men’s calendar year Grand Slam.

Andy Murray, World No 2 and had won 2 Grand Slam Titles. Murray has contested four Australian Open finals without winning any. Murray won four tournaments last season, including two Masters Titles, and finished the year as World No 2 for the first time. But his runner-up finish behind Djokovic in last year Australian Open final turned out to be his best performance in a major tournament.

Roger Federer, World No 3 and had won 17 Grand Slam titles. Federer lost to Djokovic in the Wimbledon and US Open Finals last year, and piercing the armour of the World No 1 is a key challenge as he looks to add to his collection of major titles. Federer, the oldest man in the top 10, and without a Grand Slam title since 2012, has not had a trouble free build up to the year first Grand Slam as he lost to Raonic in the Final.

Stan Wawrinka, World No 4 and had won 2 Grand Slam Titles. One of the few men to trouble Djokovic in recent times will be watched warily by rivals in the men’s draw. Wawrinka stunned Djokovic on his way to winning his first Grand Slam title in the Australian Open in 2014 breaking a four year stranglehold over the Grand Slam Titles by the men’s “Big Four”. In 2015 he won four titles including French Open title.

Rafael Nadal, World No 5 and had won 14 Grand Slam Titles. A wretched spell last year prompted Nadal to wonder whether his Grand Slam winning days were over as the oft injured Spaniard looked a busted flush. Nadal failed to win a major tournament last year for the first time in a decade, and saw his ranking drop to 10^th before he clawed his way back up late in the season. Runner-up finishes in Beijing and Basel and victories over Wawrinka, Murray and David Ferrer at the World Tour Finals.

Singapore Slammers is new IPTL Champion

In an anticlimactic result for the Indian Aces, who had topped the table coming into the final, the Indian team lost the champions crowns to hosts Singapore Slammers, who prevailed 26-21 in the final. Indian Aces were easily the most dominant side this season, losing only three matches and winning 54.1% of the games they played in their campaign.

Carlos Moya handed slammers a two point lead with his 6-4 win over Fabrice Santoro in the Legend Singles. Belinda Bencic extended her team’s lead after she beat Kuznetsova 6-4 in a grueling women singles that lasted 42 minutes. The Indian aces roared back with a 6-2 win in the mixed doubles as Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna teamed up for an impressive win over Dustin Brown and Karolina Pliskova.

Two-time grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka then beat Bernard Tomic 6-3 in the men’s singles to help Slammers maintain slight edge. The men’s doubles, this season last set, turned into a title deciding contest and it was Slammers pair of Wawrinka and Marcelo Melo that prevailed 6-3 against Bopanna and Ivan Dodig to give Singapore a 26-21 win. The Slammers, coached by India’s double specialist Purav Raja, claimed a prize pursed of $1 Million while Indian Aces got $500,000.

Ivan Dodig was adjudged the most valuable player (male) while Slammers Belinda Bencic was adjudged the most valuable player (female) for their superlative performances through the season. They got $50,000 each for the dominant tennis they played all throughout the season. Bhupathi said they will continue with five teams in the next season.