Breaking News: More Updates from the World of Tennis
John Isner and Nicolas Mahut to meet once again at the Hopman Cup
Professional tennis players John Isner and Nicolas Mahut broke a number of records this year at Wimbledon, when they played the longest match ever held in the history of professional tennis (it lasted over eleven hours). These
two players have not had a chance to face each other once again since their epic battle on the All England Club grass, but the draw for the Hopman Cup in January has announced that they will be meeting in their first rematch.
Nicolas Mahut was called upon to replace Gael Monfils for the event’s mixed doubles after the French Number 1 dropped out of the tournament due to knee injury. He will pair up with French-Serbian player Kristina Mladenovic instead.
Meanwhile, John Isner has already been selected to represent the United States in the Hopman Cup, and the two players will fight it out on January 3. It remains to be seen whether this meeting will be as surprisingly eventful as
the last one, which lasted 183 games.
New Haven event moves to Winston-Salem
The ATP warm-up before the US Open, usually held at New Haven in Connecticut, has been shifted to Winston-Salem in North Carolina. This will be effective from August 2011.
The United States Tennis Association, or the USTA, made the announcement in collaboration with the ATP World Tour. The two organizations stated that the event, which consists of 48 players, will be held in a newly-constructed tennis
facility on the Wake Forest campus. The event will be held from 21 to 27 August, and it will be the last tune-up before the year’s last Grand Slam event at Flushing Meadows in Queens, New York. It is a replacement of the New Haven event, which was also known
as the Pilot Pen.
The new facility on Wake Forest campus will have a capacity of 3500 spectators at centre court, along with two show courts, which will seat at least 1500 fans. Several Davis Cup events have been hosted by Winston-Salem in the past.
Germany pulls out of ATP World Team Cup host duties
Dusseldorf, Germany, has pulled out of its duties as the host of the Association of Tennis Professionals World Team Cup after successfully holding the eight-team event for the past 30 years since 1978. It was played a week before
Roland Garros and was considered a major warm up event for the French Open. However, this time, Dusseldorf has been unable to find sponsors for the May 2011 event.
The organizers in Germany have confirmed that since the withdrawal of the ARAG insurance group, they have been unable to find another sponsor for the title. Since legends Boris Becker and Steffi Graf left the game, tennis has been
on a downward spiral in the country.
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