#2018 Wimbledon Championships

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Know Your Talents: 2024 ATP NextGen Finals Introductory Post

The 2024 ATP NextGen Finals Class of 2024 (📸 NextGen Finals' official Twitter)

It is that time of the year again when the 8 best under-20 players of the 2024 season battle it out at the 2024 NextGen Finals, which will be held in Jeddah starting today (December 18). However, in contrast to being the season-ending campaign for them, it could be treated as one of their preparations to start the next season, as it is organized in transition between the end of the 2024 season and the beginning of the 2025 season (December 18-22, 2024), the timing when other exhibition tournaments take place.

Interestingly, the qualification window for this year's NextGen Finals ended at the end of the 2024 ATP Challenger Tour season (December 1) according to the rulebook, allowing the lower end of the Race to slightly heighten up, while no wild card is awarded due to no U-20 player standing out from the region, which meant all 8 players qualified through the Race. As a result, the last few names were attained at the end of November after several other names nearby got eliminated early in their pursuit to qualify for this event. As a reminder, they will play in best-of-five mini-sets (first to 4 games), with a tie-break to be played at 3-3, deciding points (servers' choice) every deuce without let on serve.

Featuring 4 players in the Top 50 for the first time since 2018 despite being U-20 only, hereby introducing this year's NextGen Finalists and their #JourneytoJeddah according to their seedings and respective groups:

Blue Group

1. Arthur Fils

Arthur Fils with his Hamburg 500 title (📸 Univers Tennis)

Arthur Fils' points to 6-5* 40-ad (latest set point) in Estoril (250) R1 (top left), to save a match point to 6-6(6-6), 2nd set in Tokyo (500) finals (top right), and his breakthrough highlights of 2024 (bottom) (📸📝BeIN Sports ID, ATP official website, and Tennis TV via Tennis Channel)

One of the front-runners of this year’s NextGen Finals, A. Fils enjoyed his further breakthrough after becoming the runner-up to Hamad Medjedovic in last year’s iteration 1-4, 2-4, 4-3(9), 1-4. Despite the slow start to the season, especially as he tried his hands in the Golden Swing (including a straight-set loss to Joao Fonseca in the first-round match of the Rio de Janeiro (500)) instead of his favorite European indoor-Middle Eastern swing, it steadily paid off as he won the Bordeaux (175) title rather than defending his Lyon (250) title, defeating Pedro Martinez 6-2, 6-3 thanks to a dominant play. Before that, he retired Joao Sousa 7-5, 6-4 in the Estoril (250) first round before bowing out to Cristian Garin 6-2, 4-6, 4-6 in the second round.

Performing even better in the second half of the season, A. Fils defeated Dominic Stricker, Hubert Hurkacz, and Roman Safiullin in the first three rounds of the Wimbledon Championships before being defeated by Alex de Minaur 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6 in the fourth round. He went on to reach his maiden 500-level final in Hamburg (500), defeating Alexander Zverev 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(1) for his first 500-level title. Not long after, he won his second 500-level title in Tokyo (500), snapping Ugo Humbert's perfect finals record after saving a match point, turning the match around with a final scoreline of 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-3 in 3 hours and 4 minutes. Followed by a semifinal appearance in Vienna (500) (l. Ben Shelton 3-6, 6-7(9)) and being eliminated in the third round of Paris M1000 (l. A. Zverev 4-6, 6-3, 3-6), A. Fils enjoyed a career-high ranking of 20 to close his stellar 2024 season, qualifying him for this tournament right away.

4. Jakub Mensik

Jakub Mensik (right) as the Doha (250) runner-up to Karen Khachanov (left) (📸 El Mundo Deportivo via EFE)

Jakub Mensik's points to hold 3-3 in the 1st set of his Doha (250) final (top left), to 2-1* 15-15 in the 2nd set of his Rome M1000 1st round match (top right), and to break 3-0 in the 2nd set of his Vienna (500) second round match (bottom) (📸 ATP Tour's official Twitter via TennisTV)

After notably ending his season with his maiden Challenger-level quarterfinal appearance in Danderyd (d. Hamad Medjedovic 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(8) in the second round only to be defeated by his fellow #NextGenATP Alexander Blockx 0-6, 3-6 in the quarterfinals), J. Mensik began his season by becoming the runner-up of the Canberra Challenger (l. Dominik Koepfer 3-6, 2-6) before advancing to the second round of the Australian Open as a qualifier (l. Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(9), 1-6, 7-5, 1-6, 3-6). He then continued by reaching the semifinals of the Manama Challenger (l. Mikhail Kukushkin 3-6, 2-6), boldening his breakthrough by becoming the runner-up of Doha (250) the week after to Karen Khachanov 6-7(12), 4-6. However, he was sidelined due to an elbow injury, trying to come back in Madrid Masters 1000 only to retire at the start of the second set against Felix Auger-Aliassime 1-6, 0-1, forcing him to be sidelined for the rest of the clay season. He cited that the biomechanics of his serve caused the injury, making necessary adjustments for the rest of the season (apart from taking his final exams at school, where he got 4 As).

The Czech youngster then came back stronger during the grass season, reaching the quarterfinals of Mallorca (250) (l. Alejandro Tabilo 4-6, 4-6) before exiting early in the first round of Wimbledon to Alexander Bublik 6-4, 7-6(3), 4-6, 4-6, 2-6. Adding to his breakthrough year, he became the semifinalist of Umag (250) (l. Lorenzo Musetti 4-6, 1-6), partaking in his first Summer Olympics as he got eliminated against Tommy Paul 3-6, 1-6 in the second round. His progress became more evident in the other hard-court season, where he reached the third round of the US Open (l. Nuno Borges 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-3, 6-7(6), 0-6), as well as reaching the quarterfinals of the Shanghai M1000 (l. Novak Djokovic 7-6(4), 1-6, 4-6). He then concluded his season with a stellar showing in Vienna (500), being a quarterfinalist to Alex de Minaur 7-6(2), 3-6, 4-6 before retiring against Corentin Moutet upon the conclusion of the first set in the second qualifying round of Paris M1000 (6-7(3), ret.) due to fatigue,  considering his Vienna run. He ended his season with a career-high ranking of 48, actually setting his goal to “stay injury-free,” considering the physical issues that often appeared from some thrilling matches. To top it off, he is deservingly being voted by his fellow players as the "Newcomer of the Year," announced right before the NextGen Finals.

6. Joao Fonseca

Joao Fonseca celebrating his victory in the Rio de Janeiro (500), where he reached his maiden ATP-level quarterfinals (📸 Tennis.com)

Joao Fonseca's points to 4-2, 2nd set, in his Asuncion Challenger final match (top left), to break back 5-5 in the 2nd set in his Lexington Challenger second-round match (top right), and setting up his latest set point before taking the 2nd set 7-6(8) in his Brest Challenger quarterfinal match (bottom) (📸 ATP official website, BeIN Sports ID)

J. Fonseca’s big raw potential was spotted in the South American Challenger circuit as early as 2022, reaching his first Challenger-level quarterfinal in Sao Leopoldo at that time after stunning Mariano Navone 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(9) in the second round, bowing out to Facundo Bagnis 3-6, 4-6 in the quarterfinals. Since then, he has taken the world by storm, peaking through winning the 2023 US Open Junior Boys' Singles by defeating his fellow #NextGenATP Learner Tien 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 after a rain delay interrupted the match. The Brazilian then started the year by winning the Buenos Aires 2 (Argentino) Challenger title with Pedro Sakamoto (d. Jakob Schnaitter/Mark Wallner 6-2, 6-2 as alternates), preceding his bigger breakthrough in Rio de Janeiro (500) as a wild card as he knocked out Arthur Fils in straight sets in a talent-off and Cristian Garin in the round after, setting up a rematch of his second-round Sao Leopoldo Challenger from 2 years ago despite the loss against Mariano Navone 6-2, 3-6, 3-6 in his maiden ATP-level quarterfinals.

Afterward, J. Fonseca, who already enrolled at the University of Virginia at the end of 2023, forewent his eligibility and turned pro, enjoying notable milestones along the way despite the rollercoasters. He went on to reach his maiden Challenger-level final in Asuncion after saving 2 match points in the quarterfinals against Orlando Luz 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 before Gustavo Heide got the best out of him in the finals 5-7, 7-6(6), 1-6 in a battle for their maiden Challenger title. He reaped his rewards when he received wild cards to Estoril (250), Bucharest (250), and Madrid M1000, racking up experience despite the early exits. His moment then finally came as he won the Lexington Challenger, defeating Li Tu 6-1, 6-4 in the finals, followed by advancing to the US Open third qualifying round as he lost the tight match against University of Texas alumnus Eliot Spizzirri 6-7(8), 7-6(5), 4-6. Continuing his season indoors, he notably saved 10 match points across the second and the third sets before being defeated by eventual runner-up Benjamin Bonzi 4-6, 7-6(8), 4-6 in the Brest Challenger quarterfinals, surviving a talent-off by defeating Martin Landaluce 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(9) in the Lyon (Décines-Charpieu) Challenger quarterfinals before bowing out to one of the indoor goats Calvin Hemery 6-7(5), 4-6 in the semifinals. From here alone, he attained his career-high ranking of 145 by November 18, 2024, securing his qualification to the NextGen Finals thanks to his powerful play, crediting the Challenger Tour for his development.

7. Learner Tien

Learner Tien won his maiden Challenger-level title in the Bloomfield Hills Challenger (📸 Shankar Iyer/Cranbrook Tennis Classic via Tennis TourTalk)

Learner Tien's points to *2-2 15-15 in the 1st set of his Bloomfield Hills Challenger second-round match (top left), to break 5-3 in the second set of his Tiburon Challenger second-round match (top right), and to start the second game of the first set of his famous Fairfield Challenger final match (bottom) (📸 ATP official website)

Former junior World No. 4 (attained in 2023) Learner Tien, who is named after his mother's profession as a teacher, took the world by storm starting his runner-up to Alexander Blockx in the 2023 Australian Open Junior Boys' Singles, winning the U-18 National Championships in the United States two consecutive times (2022-23), which qualified him for the US Open Main Draw wild card. To add, he became the runner-up to Joao Fonseca in the 2023 US Open Junior Boys' Singles (with the final scoreline of 4-6, 6-3, 3-6), whom he will face in this group as well. He attended the University of Southern California in 2022/23, where he earned the All-Pac-12 honorable mention in a shortened season, going 3-0 in singles at the No. 2 position, and 6-3 in doubles at the No. 1 spot.

While his professional journey has had its ups and downs, Learner started to gain more attention in the middle of 2024, kickstarting what would be his 28-match winning streak by winning titles in ITF M15 San Diego (May 27 and Jun 3) before continuing with another title in ITF M15 Rancho Santa Fe (Jun 17). The streak did not stop as he won his maiden Challenger title in the Bloomfield Hills Challenger, defeating Nishesh Basavareddy 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in an extremely dynamic affair, surviving all his previous rounds in 3 sets. It did not end from here as he went on to win the ITF M15 Lakewood (Jul 8) by defeating Govind Nanda 6-3, 6-3, but his winning streak was snapped by Yunchaokete Bu 4-6, 5-7 in the semifinals of the Chicago Challenger before reaching his maiden ATP-level quarterfinal as a qualifier in Winston-Salem (250) (l. Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6, 2-6). Learner then won the Las Vegas Challenger by defeating Tristan Boyer 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 before crushing Bernard Tomic 6-0, 6-1 to win the Fairfield Challenger title in 39 minutes, setting the record for the all-time fastest Challenger final both in game (13 games) and duration (39 minutes), as well as becoming the fourth American to win 3 Challenger titles before turning 19 right behind Taylor Fritz, Andy Roddick, and Sam Querrey. Learner then closed the season with a runner-up in the Knoxville Challenger to Christopher Eubanks 5-7, 6-7(9), reaching a career-high ranking of 114 to open up a possibility for a Top 100 ascension apart from qualifying for the NextGen Finals, inducting himself to the ITF Class of 2024 thanks to his rapid rise.

Red Group

2. Alex Michelsen

Alex Michelsen (right) before contesting his 2024 Newport (250) final against Marcos Giron (left) (📸 Tennis TV)

Alex Michelsen's point to 1-0* 0-15 (2nd set) in his Newport (250) semifinal match (left) and to 6-6(3-0) (1st set tie-break) at his Winston-Salem (250) first-round match (right) (📸 Tennis Channel and Tennis TV)

Also a repeater from the 2023 NextGen Finals (eliminated in the group stage) thanks to his rise that peaked with the Knoxville Challenger title last year, A. Michelsen became a direct entrant to the 2024 Australian Open, qualified for the third round before being eliminated to Alexander Zverev 2-6, 6-7(4), 2-6. He also notably forced the issue when he saved 3 match points before being defeated by Jordan Thompson 6-0, 6-7(1), 5-7 in the quarterfinals after recording one of his biggest victories by knocking out Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-1 the round before in Los Cabos (250). After a decent start to the hard-court season, the American accustomed himself to the red-clay season by partaking in the Oeiras 3 Challenger, defeating home favorite Henrique Rocha 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round before Dennis Novak knocked him out 6-7(3), 4-6 in the second round, but he ended his subpar clay season with an early exit to Alex de Minaur 1-6, 0-6, 2-6 in the first round of Roland Garros.

A. Michelsen then bounced back in the grass and hard-court seasons. Despite kicking off his grass season with a straight-set loss to a resurgent Paul Jubb, he continued by reaching another quarterfinal in Mallorca (250), where Alejandro Tabilo won 6-4, 6-4, but exited early in a 5-set first-round Wimbledon match against Lloyd Harris. The American then closed the grass season by retaining his runner-up position in Newport (250), where Marcos Giron got the best out of him 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-5 in the finals. He then became the runner-up of Winston-Salem (250) to Lorenzo Sonego 0-6, 3-6, but notably defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the first round of Tokyo (500) before losing to Tomas Machac 6-7(2), 3-6 in the second round. Indoors, he confidently knocked out Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 6-1 in the first round of Paris M1000 before being eliminated in the round after, becoming the Metz (250) semifinalist by knocking out the likes of Richard Gasquet and Harold Mayot before a comeback Benjamin Bonzi bettered him with the final scoreline of 6-4, 0-6, 5-7. By November 11, 2024, he reached his career-high ranking of 48, qualifying himself for the NextGen Finals alongside his junior buddies (in his batch) Learner Tien and Nishesh Basavareddy.

3. Juncheng Shang

Juncheng Shang with his maiden ATP title in Chengdu (250) (📸 CFP via CGTN)

Juncheng Shang's point to save the second match point to 6-6(8-8) in his Hong Kong (250) first-round match (left) and to break 6-5 (1st set) in his Chengdu (250) final match (right) (📸 Tennis TV, ATP official website)

Also having immense potential to his name, Jerry became the first Chinese man to win the Australian Open main draw match in 2023 by defeating Oscar Otte 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5 in the first round. Since then, despite some fitness-questioning moments, Jerry continued to make his mark, which was just the beginning of what could be a career. Fast-forward to the start of the 2024 season, Jerry qualified for the Hong Kong (250) semifinal as a wild card before bowing out to Andrey Rublev 6-4, 2-6, 3-6, also receiving a wild card to the Australian Open, where he knocked out Mackenzie McDonald and Sumit Nagal before retiring against Carlos Alcaraz 1-6, 1-6, 0-1 in the third round. He continued his strides in the Sunshine Double, where he notably reached the second round of the Indian Wells M1000 as a qualifier (d. Jordan Thompson 6-2, 6-3 in the first round before being eliminated to Alexander Bublik 4-6, 1-6). On the clay-court season, he notably partook in the Madrid Challenger, defeating Alejandro Moro Canas 7-5, 6-2 in a tight match before being eliminated in the next round against Marc-Andrea Huesler 4-6, 6-3, 5-7 in a classic encounter. Right after, he reached the second round of Barcelona (500) and Madrid M1000 (l. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 5-7, 3-6 in a match famous for its double-bounce incident midway), ending his clay season with a semifinal appearance in Bordeaux Challenger (l. Pedro Martinez 5-7, 2-6) before suffering an early exit in the first qualifying round of the Roland Garros to Roman Andres Burruchaga 4-6, 6-7(5).

Furthermore, Jerry also shone during the grass season, having a competitive showing despite the loss against a rising Jacob Fearnley 5-7, 5-7 at the Nottingham (grass) Challenger quarterfinals, reaching the Eastbourne (250) quarterfinals as well, being eliminated to Taylor Fritz 6-7(5), 6-7(5) as it came down to some crucial points. He ended the grass season by going out of the Wimbledon Championships’ second round against Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 7-6(4), 4-6, 2-6, 4-6, peaking during the other hard-court swing by reaching the semifinals of Atlanta (250) as a qualifier (l. Jordan Thompson 6-3, 4-6, 3-6) despite the two walk-overs that occurred back in Washington (500) (retiring 2-3 down in the first set to Arthur Rinderknech in the second round due to his lower back injury) and Winston-Salem (250) (withdrew from his third-round match) and the first-round loss to Casper Ruud in another 5-set chaos (final scoreline: 7-6(1), 6-3, 0-6, 3-6, 1-6), before winning his maiden ATP-level title in Chengdu (250) (d. Lorenzo Musetti 7-6(4), 6-1, notably defeating Kei Nishikori (R1), Roman Safiullin (R2), and Alexander Bublik (QF) midway). Jerry ended his season Indoors by qualifying for the Paris M1000, bowing out to Marcos Giron 6-7(6), 6-7(6) in another competitive showing. Reaching his career-high ranking of 47 back on October 21, 2024, Jerry is looking forward to competing in the NextGen Finals, trying to stay happy on the court while maintaining his continuous learning spirit.

5. Luca van Assche

Luca van Assche after winning against Cameron Norrie in his Roanne Challenger quarterfinal match (📸 TennisActu via Roanne Challenger's official Instagram)

Luca van Assche's point to 5-2* 30-30 (2nd set) in his second-round Heilbronn Challenger match (left) and to *1-2 0-15 in his Roanne Challenger quarterfinal match (right) (📸 ATP official website)

Compared to his steady rise that qualified him for the 2023 NextGen Finals, Luca van Assche struggled to maintain his form, trying to balance his tennis journey with his undergraduate studies, currently majoring in Mathematics at Paris-Dauphine University. He kicked off this season with a second-round exit to Cameron Norrie 3-6, 7-6(5), 1-6 before notably recording back-to-back 5-set wins in his first two rounds of the Australian Open, bowing out to Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 0-6, 4-6 in the third round. Trying to find his form upon appointing Vicenzo Santopadre (Matteo Berrettini’s coach for 13 years), it was a rocky road for him for some parts of the year: suffering quit exits from the first rounds of Marseille (250) and Rotterdam (250), as well as the first qualifying round of Doha (250) before qualifying for Dubai (500), where Karen Khachanov got the best out of him 2-6, 3-6 in the first round. To continue, he reached the semifinal of the Phoenix Challenger (l. Nuno Borges 4-6, 6-4, 2-6), but another set of early exits occurred, reaching the second round at best in Miami M1000 (l. Casper Ruud 6-7(5), 6-1, 1-6), Barcelona (500) (retiring against Fabian Marozsan 0-6, 2-3), and Madrid M1000 (l. Sebastian Baez 4-6, 7-6(2), 3-6), topping it off with a loss to a comeback Denis Shapovalov 3-6, 4-6, 4-6 in Roland Garros, continuing with 3 consecutive three-set victories in the Heilbronn Challenger the week after before bowing out to eventual champion Sumit Nagal 2-6, 6-7(5) in the semifinals, continuing with a quarterfinal showing in Lyon (clay) Challenger (l. Raphael Collignon 5-7, 3-6) and second-round loss to Tristan Boyer (2-6, 5-7) in the Sassuolo Challenger.

L. van Assche was one of the Wimbledon lucky losers, after being eliminated in the third qualifying round against Lucas Pouille 6-7(4), 5-7, 2-6 in a French generational affair, but he was defeated by Fabio Fognini 1-6, 3-6, 5-7 in the first round despite stepping up late in the third set. Among the other quick eliminations occurring during the other hard-court season, he went out to Paul Jubb 3-6, 1-6 in the second round of the Lincoln Challenger, Gabriel Diallo 4-6, 3-6 in the Cary Challenger second round, Radu Albot 2-6, 6-0, 4-6 in the second qualifying round of the US Open, as well as to the eventual champion Gijs Brouwer 3-6, 2-6 in the first round of the Saint-Tropez Challenger. Seeing his Top 100 ranking is on the line, L. van Assche survived the season thanks to some tumultuous runs, starting from a second-round loss in Villena Challenger to another #NextGenATP in Justin Engel 6-3, 4-6, 0-6, followed by a semifinal showing in the Roanne Challenger (l. Benjamin Bonzi 4-6, 1-6 despite coming back from a set and a break down in the quarterfinals against Cameron Norrie 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, being a quarterfinalist of the Brest Challenger (l. Otto Virtanen 6-7(1), 4-6), had an epic loss after Jozef Kovalik came back and forth from the brink in the first round of the Bratislava 2 Challenger 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(0), then becoming a lucky loser in Metz (250) despite his first-qualifying-round loss to Gregoire Barrere 3-6, 4-6 as Cameron Norrie asserted his revenge in the first round 3-6, 6-3, 1-6. This resulted in the Frenchman being ranked 128 at the end of the season, but he is looking to end 2024 with a bang with a run in the NextGen Finals, taking the court first today against Juncheng Shang to start his campaign in this tournament as he drew from his last year’s experience, where he lost in the semifinals against Arthur Fils.

8. Nishesh Basavareddy

Nishesh Basavareddy with his maiden Challenger-level title in Tiburon (📸 ATP official website via Natalie Kim Photography)

Nishesh Basavareddy's points to 5-1* 30-40 (1st set) in his Tiburon Challenger final match (top left), to 0-0* 40-ad (2nd set) to set up one of his break points in his second-round Knoxville Challenger match (top right), and to *3-3 30-15 (bottom) in an exciting sequence at his Puerto Vallarta Challenger final match (bottom) (📸 ATP official website)

Notably a former junior World No. 3 (attained on January 3, 2023), Nishesh Basavareddy attends Stanford University, majoring in Data Science, where he also was awarded ITA Scholar-Athlete twice for his outstanding academic achievement before foregoing his remaining eligibility thanks to a standout season. Back in college, he was a two-time All-American and the ITA Fall National Champion in 2022, leading the Stanford Cardinals to a Pac-12 Championship earlier in 2024, as well as being an All-Pac two-time honoree, having a 41-11 record in singles (14-1 at the top position) and 29-14 doubles record, reaching a career-high collegiate ranking of No. 6 in singles. In addition, while still actively playing in college, apart from attaining his first ATP points in 2022, he also won his first professional doubles title in ITF M15 Vero Beach (Apr 25) with Ricardo Rodriguez-Pace, defeating Liam Draxl/Millen Hurrion 6-4, 6-3 in the finals and becoming the singles runner-up of the 2023 Fairfield Challenger (l. Zachary Svajda 4-6, 1-6) at his maiden Challenger-level singles final.

However, the Carmel, Indiana native started another rise, beginning with his ITF M25 Calabasas (Mar 18) runner-up when Trevor Svajda got the best out of him 4-6, 1-6. Since then, he had a tear in the North American Challenger circuit in general, starting from becoming the runner-up to Learner Tien 6-4, 3-6, 4-6 in the Bloomfield Hills Challenger (in singles) and partnering Ozan Baris, in doubles (l. Ryan Seggerman/Patrick Trhac 6-4, 3-6, [6-10] in the finals). He then reached the semifinal of the Lincoln Challenger (l. Coleman Wong 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 0-6) before reaching the third qualifying round of the US Open, where Hamad Medjedovic won 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1, with fitness being the main question of this stretch, including in his Columbus Challenger loss to James Kent Trotter 7-6(4), 1-6, 0-6 in the semifinals. However, Nishesh came back stronger with other final stretches, starting with a runner-up to Edas Butvilas 4-6, 3-6 in the Charleston Challenger in a battle for their maiden Challenger title, finally winning his maiden Challenger title in Tiburon as he double-breadsticked (6-1, 6-1) University of Texas alumnus Eliot Spizzirri as they contested for their maiden Challenger title as well. Somehow, within 2 months, Nishesh became a runner-up in 2 different Challenger-level tournaments, starting the Charlottesville Challenger (l. James Kent Trotter 3-6, 4-6), followed by the Champaign Challenger a fortnight later (l. Ethan Quinn 3-6, 1-6) while surviving various classics along the way, including the quarterfinal match against University of Virginia alumnus Chris Rodesch 6-4, 6-7(6), 7-6(5) in the quarterfinals back in Charlottesville. Despite the injury scare to end the season, Nishesh closed the season in the Puerto Vallarta Challenger with a title, defeating Liam Draxl 6-3, 7-6(4) after not being able to serve it out in the second set, thus achieving a career-high ranking of 138 on December 2, 2024, securing the last spot to the NextGen Finals, as well as becoming the basis of him turning professional by the end of this year thanks to the immense development in his point construction as reflected in some above samples.

[rafole]

Iga Świątek lifting her trophy after defeating Leonie Küng in the 2018 Wimbledon Championships Girls' Singles final.

[ … ] I'm one of those people who achieve success but can quickly forget about it. If I don't actually focus on reminding myself from time to time how much I have already achieved and get satisfaction from it, I can simply focus on the next goal. And certainly in the first years, when I started winning the biggest tournaments, I was a little disappointed, because I couldn't fully enjoy it all. Even though I worked so hard for everything. [x]

[rwrbmovie]

BTS of #RWRBMovie: costuming for the Royal ladies

From Newsweek:

Another royal wedding nod is there in the movie with the choice of tiara the fictional Princess Martha wore for her nuptials. The diamond headdress, styled by costume designer Keith Madden, was a replica of the art-deco diamond tiara worn by Meghan Markle on her 2018 wedding day. Queen Mary's bandeau tiara (as it is officially known) was made for Queen Elizabeth II's grandmother in 1932 and was loaned by Elizabeth to Meghan for the duchess' walk down the aisle of St George's Chapel, Berkshire, England, on May 19, 2018.

A stylistic Easter egg hidden by Red, White & Royal Blue's creative team was an item of costume, which has taken on legendary status within the royal fashion sphere as the must-have "princess dress." Designed by British fashion brand, Beulah London, the "Ahana" mid-length dress with statement pleated details, covered buttons and a matching covered belt has been worn by a number of major world royals including Kate, the Princess of Wales. Kate first wore a pale pink version of the dress at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London in 2021, and she rewore it in July 2023 to attend the opening of a new museum. In the movie, the dress is worn by Prince Henry's sister, Princess Beatrice (Ellie Bamber).

>> post on costuming for the Royal men

[ifreakingloveroyals]

14 July 2018 | Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends day twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, England. (c) Clive Mason/Getty Images

[justforbooks]

John Motson: The unmistakable voice of football known simply as ‘Motty’

John Motson, who has died aged 77, was BBC television’s “voice” of football for almost half a century, commentating for Match of the Day from 1971 until his retirement in 2018 and becoming affectionately known as “Motty”.

“I remember my first game, Liverpool against Chelsea,” he recalled. “They kicked off and my heart sank because I thought, ‘What do I say now?’ I still remember the feeling. I realised I had a lot of work to do.”

Alongside the energy and passion he brought to the game, that work was evident in his trademark style of reeling off statistics written on an A4 sheet of card in felt-tip pen for each match. Motson put this “obsession” for facts and figures down to being “terrified of not knowing enough or making a mistake” in his early days. He admitted to “overdosing” on it, and gradually used less background information in his commentaries.

Nevertheless, his filing system continued to grow – as did his library of more than 500 football record books. On top of the stats, he displayed an eloquence for describing the occasion. When Liverpool were beaten 0-1 in the 1988 FA Cup final by the unfancied Wimbledon – known for the eccentric behaviour of their players and fans – he spontaneously summed up: “The Crazy Gang has beaten the Culture Club.”

Earlier, at the end of the 1977 FA Cup final, when Manchester United – captained by Martin Buchan – beat Liverpool 2-1, Motson must have been silently thrilled that it enabled him to put his research into action and say: “How fitting that a man called Buchan should be the first to ascend the 39 steps to the royal box”, recalling “ The Thirty-Nine Steps” celebrated spy novel by John Buchan.

His ability to remember every detail of each game he covered also made Motson ideal company away from the pitch. If, for example, he was asked about a Division One Southampton v Birmingham City match at the Dell in the 1973-74 season, he would not only recall the result and those booked, but describe in detail Peter Osgood’s perm and the pattern made by a set of studs on a shin.

However, he was not averse to the occasional “Colemanballs”, emulating the verbal gaffes of his fellow football commentator David Coleman, who was presenter of Match of the Day by the time he started on it himself. Among Motson’s were: “The World Cup is truly an international event”, “The goals made such a difference to the way this game went”, and “For those of you watching in black-and-white, Spurs are in the yellow strip”.

In his long career commentating on more than 2,500 televised games, Motson covered nine World Cups (1974-2006), 29 FA Cup finals (1977-2007, missing just two) and nine European Championships (1976-2008).

He stepped back from his position as the BBC’s lead commentator in 2008, saying he had thought about the forthcoming World Cup in South Africa two years later and “just didn’t feel quite up for it”. His last live commentary was the Euro 2008 final, with Spain beating Germany 1-0 in Vienna.

However, he continued commentating both for football highlights on Match of the Day and for BBC Radio 5 Live until 2018. His final TV commentary was for the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion.

Motson’s standing meant that he became part of the impersonator Rory Bremner’s repertoire of characters, complete with the sheepskin coats that became another of his trademarks on screen after he reached for one when horizontal sleet started falling during an FA Cup tie at Wycombe Wanderers’ ground in 1990.

He had them made to measure in Savile Row, central London, able to afford them on an income that he said gave him security after growing up in a family where his father’s income was “very modest”.

John was born in Salford, which was then in Lancashire, to Gwendoline (nee Harrison) and William Motson, a Methodist minister, brought up in London and educated at Culford school, near Bury St Edmonds, in Suffolk.

His father took him to a Charlton Athletic football match when he was six and, spending childhood holidays in Lincolnshire, his mother’s home county, he supported the non-League team Boston United.

As a teenager, Motson played the game himself in the Barnet Sunday League, as well as becoming a Barnet and Potters Bar youth table-tennis champion.

On leaving school, he began his career in journalism as a reporter on the Barnet Press in 1963. He then moved to the Sheffield Morning Telegraph (1967-68), where he started covering football, qualified as an FA preliminary coach and freelanced for BBC Radio Sheffield.

In 1968, he moved to BBC Radio Sport in London and was first heard nationally as presenter of Radio 4’s Saturday-evening after-match Sports Session (1969-70) before commentating on live matches for Radio 2 (1969-71).

He switched to television and Match of the Day in 1971 following Kenneth Wolstenholme’s departure – becoming TV’s youngest football commentator, aged 26.

Motson found himself describing the disaster at the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield for the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool, which resulted in the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans.

During three seasons from 2001 when the BBC lost rights to Premier League highlights to ITV, Motson commentated for Radio 5 Live. On leaving the BBC in 2018, Motson commentated for talkSPORT, as well as appearing regularly as a pundit on the commercial radio station’s football shows.

Ten years earlier, reflecting on the influence of money in football, he had observed: “It’s true that the game has changed so much, and in many ways not for the better, but it is still the game. It is still beautiful and it still has the power, as few others things, to move nations and continents and, every four years, the world.”

Motson, whose autobiography, Motty: 40 Years in the Commentary Box, was published in 2009, was named the Royal Television Society’s commentator of the year in 2004 and won a Bafta special award in 2018. He was made OBE in 2001.

In 1976 he married Anne Jobling, and she survives him, with their son, Frederick.

🔔 John Walker Motson, football commentator, born 10 July 1945; died 23 February 2023

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[a2zsportsnews]

Wimbledon 2024: Raducanu, Osaka awarded main draw wild cards

A trio of former world number ones in Angelique Kerber, Naomi Osaka and Caroline Wozniacki have been handed wild cards into the main draw of next month’s Wimbledon championship, the tournament organisers said on Wednesday. Kerber, down at 224th in the world rankings after 18 months on maternity leave, won the tournament in 2018 and finished runner-up in 2016. Osaka and Wozniacki, who both also…

[sportworldtone]

Olga Danilovic

Olga Danilovic is an international Serbian tennis player. Danilovic, a Serbian professional tennis player, has a height of approximately 6 feet 0 inches and a weight of around 143 pounds. Olga comes from an athletic family, with her father being an Olympic medalist in basketball.

She has achieved notable success in her tennis career, including winning the Girls’ Singles title at the 2018 Wimbledon Championships. You'll get here Olga Danilovic WTA Career, Net Worth, Husband, and Family

[jayaacharya]

Who is Alex de Minaur's girlfriend in 2023? How long they have beeen dating?

Katie Boulter is Alex de Minaur's girlfriend. Katie Boulter is 27 years old. She is a renowned Tennis player.

Katie is basically from England. She has ranked 50 in tennis tournament which was organised last September. She also played famous Wimbledon championship. She first played Wimbledon in the year 2014 when she was 17 years old. After practicing a lot she finally reached grand slam main draw all England club in 2017.

Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur have been dating since March 2022. They came close while playing at the Gland Slams championship. Afterwards they diverge with their different respective tournaments. Alex de Minaur was the first player of the decade to win the Acapulco title. With this win, the team received more than $630000 price money. Tag Heuer, Asics and Swisse are the sponsor brands of Alex de Minaur. He was the brand ambassador of these brands during World Vision Australia- A probono membership. They say that it is a long way to tie up with such membership. Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur team up the tennis power couple tournament. This couple is considered one of the challenging couples. In 2018, Katie Boulter won her first match against Veronica Cepede Royg. This was a Wimbledon championship. The performance of Boulter has been increasing day by day. In 2023, she reached the 3rd round at the Canberra International tournament. Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur's relationship came into highlight in March 2022. They paired with each other in the Wimbledon mix double tournament which was organised in 2023. They won the first match but unfortunately lost the second round.

The duo did not play with each other at the United Cup with Australia in mixed doubles. There is an opportunity in 2024 that they can collaborate together in the Olympics and give a strong competition for their respective countries in the tournament.As per the reports, Alex de Minaur is considered as World's number 10 rank in men's single tennis ranking. According to the ATP forum, Alex has taken approx 11 lakh USD in tournament winnings (the sum includes both tournaments single and double). Alex is very fond of having a tattoo. He has a total number of 109 tattoos on his chest. The reason behind 109 tattoos is that he was the 109th representative of the David Cup Australian Tournament.

[latestinbollywood]

Does Frances Tiafoe wife have cancer? Girlfriend, Ethnicity, Age, Girlfriend, Wiki, Biography, Net Worth 2023, Career & More

Does Frances Tiafoe wife have cancer? Girlfriend:- Frances Tiafoe is an American professional tennis player. Francis Tiafoe's best world ranking as of 2 May 2022 is No. 25 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP); and No. 160 in doubles on November 1, 2021. These days people are searching for Does Frances Tiafoe wife have cancer? Girlfriend, Ethnicity, Age, Girlfriend, Wiki, Biography, Net Worth 2023, Career & More.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Frances Tiafoe (@bigfoe1998)

Does Frances Tiafoe wife have cancer? Girlfriend

Frances Tiafoe's marital status is Single and her relationship status is committed. His girlfriend's name is Ayan Broomfield. There are some rumors doing rounds on the web about his girlfriend's health but she is fit and healthy.

Frances Tiafoe Wiki, Biography, Early-Life, Career

Frances Tiafoe was born on January 20, 1998, in Hyattsville, Maryland, United States. Tiafoe's full name is Francis Tiafoe. He completed his schooling at Dematha Catholic High School. He completed his graduation from Salisbury University. Frances Tiafoe was 25 years old. His zodiac sign is Aquarius. Tiafoe's religion is Christian. He resides in Orlando, Florida, US. He plays tennis sport as Right-handed and two-handed backhand. He turned in pro in 2015. He got the training from Wayne Ferreira.  Francis won the third round of the men's singles event at the US Open Championships on 4 August 2021 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium with opponent A Rublev tennis player. He will compete in the Round of 16 at the US Open Championships on 5 August 2021. Francis Tiafoe's singles career record is 92–113 (44.9%). His career title in singles is 1. His highest singles ranking is No. 1. 29 which was created on February 11, 2019. He does not have a current ranking in singles. 50 which was created on September 4, 2021. His doubles career record is 20–30 (40.0%). His doubles career title is 0. His highest ranking in doubles is no. 166 which was made on 23 August 2021. His current ranking in doubles is No. 1. 166 which was created on 23 Aug 2021.

  Frances  Grand Slam Singles Results are given below: Australian Open            QF (2019) French Open                  1R (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) Wimbledon                    3R (2018, 2021) US Open                          4R (2020, 2021) Tiafoe Grand Slam Doubles Results are given below: Australian Open              3R (2021) French Open                    2R (2021) Wimbledon                      1R (2017, 2018) US Open                            2R (2014)

Frances Tiafoe Age

Frances Tiafoe Jr. was born on the 20 January 1998 and he is twenty-five years old as of 2022.

Frances Tiafoe Ethnicity, Nationality

Frances Tiafoe's ethnicity is African-American. Frances Tiafoe holds American nationality.

Frances Tiafoe Net Worth 2023

Francis has a net worth of around $7 million. His prize money is $4 million. He earns $2 million annually from his business and endorsements. He was the brand ambassador for Adidas, Nike, and Yonex.

Social Media

Instagram FAQ About Frances Tiafoe Q.1 Who is Frances Tiafoe? Ans. Frances Tiafoe is an American professional tennis player. Q.2 Who are Frances Tiafoe's parents? Ans. Frances Tiafoe is born to Constant Tiafoe ( Father ) and Alphina Kamara ( Mother ). Q.3 Who is Frances Tiafoe's girlfriend? Ans. His girlfriend's name is Ayan Broomfield. Read also:- Former Prisons Boss Isaiah Osugo Biography, Wiki Read the full article

[stateofsport211]

Wimbledon MS Q3: Meet Your Qualifiers (1/2)

Wimbledon qualifying rounds, illustration (📸 CNN)

The condensed version in a Twitter thread can be found here.

After a grueling competition spanning 2 rounds, the Wimbledon Championships' qualifying rounds in Roehampton wrapped up with 16 best-of-five matches playing simultaneously. These qualifiers might be dangerous, but before the draw is made, it is not proper if the qualifiers are yet to be met. Therefore, before freaking out "Who are they and what are they doing to the favorites" yet again, here are some summaries from the last qualification round.

They are written in the order they advance. Beware, this is probably another long read.

Section 3: Zizou Bergs [3] def. Denis Yevseyev 6-1, 6-2, 6-2

Zizou Bergs' point to 5-1* 15-30, 1st set (left) and to break for the match at 6-2 in the 3rd set (right) (📸 Wimbledon qualifications feed)

One of the most in-form seeds, third seed Zizou Bergs, advanced to the third qualifying round after defeating Omar Jasika and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, the latter in the most scenic route possible (6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4). He faced Denis Yevseyev, who stunned 28th seed Titouan Droguet 6-4, 7-6(3) in the second qualifying round, as well as defeating Matteo Martineau in three tight sets. This match turned out to be a masterclass from Z. Bergs, where he scored an almost flawless performance throughout the match.

The third seed began this match with an early break, followed by a running forehand to generate his one-point lead before serving the first-set breadstick (6-1). His dominance continued through the second set as he took it 6-2, and somehow found his way breaking for the match thanks to his forehand winner as D. Yevseyev's balance went completely off, also taking the third set 6-2 to confirm his spot in the main draw.

Section 4: Mark Lajal def. James Duckworth [4] 6-4, 6-4, 6-4

Mark Lajal's point to *3-3 40-40 (1st deuce), 1st set (📸 Wimbledon qualifications feed)

One of the notable fast-court/indoor goats, Mark Lajal, despite having a questionable hard-court form back in the first portion of the Asian Challenger swing earlier this year, the Estonian had a decent grass-court season as he made it through the second qualifying rounds of the Surbiton and Nottingham Challengers, but he could not make it to the main draw, somehow finding himself defeating Francesco Passaro and Henrique Rocha in the two qualifying rounds. In contrast, fourth seed James Duckworth had more experience as he qualified for Halle (500) despite the loss to Hubert Hurkacz in the second round.

While this match was expected to be a tough, possible servefest at best, it turned out to come down to several crucial rallies. For instance, after a preceding unforced error, M. Lajal's forehand down-the-line error secured an important deuce before the Estonian broke to 4-3, followed by a consolidation to 5-3. While M. Lajal took the first set 6-4, J. Duckworth took a medical timeout midway, but despite his best efforts to stay competitive, he fell short in the exemplified said moments. As a result, M. Lajal became the first Estonian to qualify for a Grand Slam main draw since Jurgen Zopp became the lucky loser in the Roland Garros 2018, where he was eliminated in the third round against Maximilian Marterer.

Section 7: Quentin Halys def. Beibit Zhukayev 6-3, 6-4, 6-4

Quentin Halys' point to 3-3* 30-40, 2nd set (📸 Wimbledon qualifications feed)

Quentin Halys might have had a questionable form within the past year, but he tried to salvage it in the Wimbledon qualifying rounds a year after taking a set off Jannik Sinner (in the third round) as he defeated seventh seed Gregoire Barrere 6-3, 6-4 and survived a three-setter against wild card Jay Clarke 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, and faced a decent test in Beibit Zhukayev, who stunned Jurij Rodionov 7-6(5), 7-6(7) and 17th seed Hamad Medjedovic 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-4 in the second qualifying round. Staying aggressive on return while maintaining service game consistency became important in this match, and it proved itself as the match progressed.

After taking the first set 6-3, the Frenchman tried to stay consistent as he was spotted finishing his shots down the line: a forehand one that got B. Zhukayev ran over from his forehand side to minimize the gap, followed by a timely backhand down-the-line winner before he broke due to another unforced error from the unseeded Kazakh. By then, Q. Halys broke to 4-3 and strengthened his position with a service game hold straight away, where he successfully took the second set 6-4 right after, with a similar process from his groundstrokes neutralized B. Zhukayev's usually effective first serve to take the third set 6-4, securing his spot once again in the main draw as a result.

Section 14: Elias Ymer def. Sho Shimabukuro 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-1

Elias Ymer's point to force another deuce at *0-0, 2nd set (left) and to set up his set point to 5-3* 15-40, also in the 2nd set (right) (📸 Wimbledon qualification feed)

Despite struggling to find his form back, Elias Ymer started to rebuild his form by reaching the Oeiras 4 Challenger final back on clay (l. Jaime Faria) and has tried to maintain his form since. He defeated Lukas Neumayer in straight sets in the first two qualifying rounds before fighting thick and thin to defeat Marco Trungelliti 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2 in an entertaining encounter. E. Ymer then faced Sho Shimabukuro, who also made the cut last year and notably made it to the second round of the Surbiton Challenger (l. Leandro Riedi), as well as having a competitive first-round exit against Cameron Norrie in the Nottingham (grass) Challenger as a qualifier before stunning 14th seed Jozef Kovalik and recent Sassuolo Challenger champion Jesper de Jong in both qualifying rounds.

E. Ymer initially had a neat start to the match as he brought S. Shimabukuro to the tie-breaker, ultimately taking the first set 7-6(4) despite starting the tie-breaker in an unideal manner (with a double fault), recovering the mini-break deficit through his groundstrokes (mostly through his forehand side) before setting up the mini-break through S. Shimabukuro's forehand mishit. The Swede had not looked back since, taking the first set 7-6(5) before scoring a backhand down-the-line winner to force another deuce before breaking early to 1-0 to start the second set. Eventually, E. Ymer outhit S. Shimabukuro through his occasional slices in between his forehands, breaking for the second set 6-3 before dominating the third set that ended with a breadstick (6-1) to secure his third Wimbledon main draw qualification after 2015 & 2022.

Section 10: Alejandro Moro Canas def. Damir Dzumhur 7-6(6), 6-4, 0-1 ret.

Alejandro Moro Canas' point to create his break points in the first game of the second set, with the earlier (left) and the later (right) attempts (📸 Wimbledon qualification feed)

Alejandro Moro Canas started to prove himself to be an all-around player (outside of his usual clay and occasionally hard-court prowess), continuing his form after winning the Rome (Italy) Challenger during the clay season, followed by qualifying for the main draw of Roland Garros (d. Mattia Bellucci). For the Challenger-level grass season, he made it as far as the second qualifying round of the Ilkley Challenger (l. M. Tomas Barrios Vera) before stunning Joao Fonseca 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(10) in a topsy-turvy match, followed by 29th Matteo Gigante 7-5, 6-2 in the first two qualifying rounds. On the other hand, 10th seed Damir Dzumhur defeated Tristan Schoolkate and Nick Hardt to make it to the third qualifying round despite his first-round loss to Joris de Loore back in Ilkley.

However, the likely physical first two sets already took a toll on the 10th seed throughout the match. A. Moro Canas then successfully took the first set 7-6(5) despite being comebacked when he should have served for the first set at 5-3, ultimately mini-breaking for the set thanks to his timely forehand winner. A working volley to Dzumhur's drop shot also secured A. Moro Canas' earlier break point to start the second set, but even though it was foiled, the Spaniard created another one through a forehand winner, which was successfully converted, and he had not looked back since. There was several close-call-related chaos midway, but the physicality of this game prompted Dzumhur to retire despite holding the first game to start the third set (1-0), sending A. Moro Canas to another Grand Slam main draw appearance.

Section 6: Lucas Pouille def. Luca van Assche [6] 7-6(4), 7-5, 6-2

Lucas Pouille's point to *5-2 40-40 (break point save) in the third set as he served for the match (📸 Wimbledon qualifications feed)

Despite some questions surrounding his comeback and inability to catch a break, Lucas Pouille got himself together in this year's Wimbledon qualification rounds and convincingly defeated British sensation Jack Pinnington Jones 6-0, 6-3 in the first qualifying rounds before stunning Jiri Vesely 7-6(6), 6-2 in a classic encounter. The third qualifying round became an all-French generational battle as he faced sixth seed Luca van Assche, who defeated both Jules Marie and Li Tu in three sets, with the third set being brought into a (match) tie-breaker.

This match turned out to test their range consistency, which became evident toward the end of the match.

Section 12: Cristian Garin [12] def. Timofey Skatov 6-2, 7-5, 6-3

Cristian Garin's point to break 4-2 in the 1st set (📸 Wimbledon qualifications feed)

Having to miss last year's Wimbledon due to his injuries, 12th seed and 2022 quarterfinalist Cristian Garin was determined to be back on track despite his questionable form throughout the past few years. Here, he defeated Enzo Couacaud 7-6(5), 7-5 in the first qualifying round before defeating M. Tomas Barrios Vera 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 in an all-Chilean battle, facing Timofey Skatov in the final qualifying round as the latter defeated Andrea Pellegrino 6-3, 6-3 and stunned 26th seed Lukas Klein 7-6(6), 7-6(5) in the first two qualifying rounds.

Somehow, although this match was thought to be slightly more competitive, C. Garin turned out to dominate from his forehand side as he capitalized on T. Skatov's previous second-serve errors, utilizing his cross-court forehand to break 4-2 before he held his serves to 5-2. The Chilean ultimately broke for the first set 6-2, and even though T. Skatov tried to raise his level in the second set, C. Garin cleaned up his act to finally take the second set 7-5 and continued his form as he took the third set 6-3 to secure his main draw qualification round for another occasion.

Section 1: Maxime Janvier def. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard [1] 6-7(10), 7-5, 7-6(4), 7-6(5)

Maxime Janvier's points to 6-6(6-4, first set point save) in the first set and to *4-2 40-ad to create a break point in the second set (📸 Wimbledon qualification feed)

After his Stuttgart (250) and Queen's Club (500) breakthrough, both eliminated in the first and second round as a qualifier, respectively, first seed Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard carried on his breakthrough season with straight-set victories over Ugo Blanchet and Antoine Escoffier. Somehow, he found himself facing another, more experienced Frenchman in Maxime Janvier, who defeated Yu-Hsiou Hsu 7-5, 6-3 and knocked out 30th seed Emilio Nava 7-6(1), 6-3 to secure the third qualifying round appearance.

Interestingly, this match became another rollercoaster coming down to Gio's second serves and some follow-up returns. M. Janvier tried to exert more pressure through his passes to prolong the first set even if the first seed took it 7-6(10), but the former managed to come back from 1-4 down in the second set as he brought Gio off-balance thanks to his slightly deep returns, passing the latter through his forehand (and a forehand return ace beforehand) before breaking back to 4-3 several games later. Ultimately, frequent double faults and a forehand error resulted in M. Janvier taking the second set 7-5, and he started nailing these moments for the next two sets, nailing the thinnest margins as he took the third set 7-6(4) due to Gio's failed drop shot, and generating his match point through the first seed's +1 backhand error before finally taking the whole match, securing his maiden Grand Slam-level qualification for the main draw after receiving a wild card to compete in Roland Garros' first rounds between 2018-2020.

[gruntsandtopspin]

Angelique Kerber | 2018 Wimbledon Women’s Singles Champion

[tomhiddleslove]

Tom Hiddleston at the men's singles final on day thirteen of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 15, 2018 in London, England.

Bonus:

With Eddie Redmayne and Hugh Grant.

[ifreakingloveroyals]

14 July 2018 | Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Gill Brook react after Novak Djokovic of Serbia beat Rafael Nadal of Spain in the Men's Singles semi-final on day twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, England. (c) Clive Mason/Getty Images

[rfederer2]

Roger Federer with his boys at Wimbledon, 2018. 😍❤❤

[love-her-fashion-style]

A Royal Recycling (part 81)

Kate Moss for Topshop

[thesunbest]

Wimbledon 2018 Weather – Latest Forecast For The All England Club Championship Which Continues Today

Wimbledon 2018 Weather – Latest Forecast For The All England Club Championship Which Continues Today

WIMBLEDON 2018 is on TODAY and carries on until July 15 with some fine weather set for the historic tennis championship.

It looks as if things are lining up for it to be a spectacular fortnight of tennis, but what does the weather have in store for us?

AP:Associated Press Roger Federer celebrated another win last year

When does Wimbledon 2018 take place?

The prestigious grass tournament takes…