Novak Djokovic may be the undisputed number one player in the world, but he has yet to master clay. Djokovic has won every grand slam on the calendar, except for the French Open. His best performance came in 2012, when he reached the final, only to lose in four sets to Rafael Nadal. With Nadal looking as though he is close to his best form, it will take something very special from Novak to oust the “King of Clay.” Djokovic will have to hit harder, move quicker, and show more patience than his Spanish rival, if he is to have any hope of lifting the title.

Despite never winning the ultimate title at Roland Garros, Djokovic has always fared well in the French Open. He has reached four semi finals in the past six years, and made the final one time. Unfortunately for him, there has always been someone better than him at the tournament. If it is not Nadal, then it is Roger Federer. Djokovic lost an epic 5 hour semi final to Federer in 2011, another year when he was the favorite to win the tournament. Novak will have to put these memories behind him if he is to become French Open champion.
If you get French Open 2013 Tickets, you might get the chance to see Nadal take on Djokovic in the semi finals. It is set up to be one of the greatest matches of the year, so you do not want to miss out!

Djokovic has a very good record so far this season, winning the Australian Open, Dubai Masters, and the Monte Carlo Masters. The Monte Carlo title is the most crucial of them all, as he won it on clay and against Rafael Nadal. That final will have given Djokovic a lot of confidence; it proved that he has the capability to defeat Nadal on clay. However, that match was played in the “best of three sets” format, and was only a few weeks after Nadal returned to action. The Spaniard has improved since, and we know that he is at his deadliest in the “best of five sets” format.

With tennis tickets available online, you could have the chance to watch Novak Djokovic in action at Roland Garros this summer. Tickets are available for the early round action, where you get entrance for all the games happening on a particular day. You can also get tickets for the semi finals, or final, which are held at the Philippe Chatrier court.

The Rome Masters, taking place at the moment, could have been the key to Djokovic’s French Open dream. However rather uncharateristically he was ousted in the quarter final agains Tomas Berdych; the Spaniard again will be the undisputed favorite going into the grand slam event. With Nadal set to be the fourth seed at Roland Garros, it sets up a mouth-watering semi final clash with Novak Djokovic. Will the world number one finally defeat Nadal at Roland Garros, or will the Spaniard continue his incredible comeback from injury?

Well it seemed for the most part of his career that Federer wasnt human, the poise, the elegance the smooth swings. But check out this video which shows that even the great man can hit a fresh air shot!

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He may have sliced through Potito Starace like a knife through butter but Federers tennis wasnt the only thing that caught our eye today.
Check out the new haircut, very stylish Rog!

An interesting photo appeared on Roger Federers facebook page yesterday and it had me wondering what he had up his sleeve!

Turns out this in this humorous clip that Roger made a commercial for Nike and funny it is too.

by Peter Farrell – Tennis Coach Ireland

The United States Tennis Association has announced the results of a study conducted among high school students, which analyzes the educational, behavioural and health benefits to adolescents who participate in tennis. The study compared tennis players to non-athletes and participants in many other sports.

Key findings from the report include:

1. Tennis is a unique catalyst for educational advantage:tennis players spent more time doing homework, and were more likely to report receiving “A” grades. 

2. Tennis players had significantly lower rates of suspension from school and other disciplinary measures than participants in other sports and non-athletes.

3. Adolescent tennis players are well-rounded: participation rates within extracurricular activities and community involvement were higher among adolescent tennis players. Indeed, 82% volunteer in their communities.

4. Tennis contributes to adolescent health: tennis players reported lower rates of unhealthy behavior such as drinking and smoking, and are less likely to be overweight or become obese. 

More report details: http://ulstertennis.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=42f7f9740149b0fcce4c3b9e1&id=81c46f4424&e=b354783bbc

For individual advice on any aspect of tennis, please contact your local Tennis Coach Ireland coach (seehttp://ulstertennis.us5.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=42f7f9740149b0fcce4c3b9e1&id=d5ebf77aed&e=b354783bbc)

So how do you celebrate your biggest win ever? A nice meal, a massage a holiday?
Well Grigor Dimitrov celebrated with a little time with his girlfriend Maria Sharapova! The Bulgarian who up til now had been best known
for being Sharapovas boyfriend was spotted canoodling in Madrid with his Russian lady.

On Wednesday May 8th, it was announced that Singapore will host the WTA Championships, the most prestigious event on the WTA calendar, from 2014 to 2018. Under terms of the record-setting five-year agreement, the Top 8 singles players and – for the first time – the Top 8 doubles teams will compete for a share of a record prize money purse of $6.5 million. The announcement follows an extensive global search and bidding process conducted by the WTA that elicited 43 expressions of interest from international cities that was narrowed down to three finalists – Tianjin, China; Monterrey, México; and Singapore.

Madrid Masters -Dimitrov d Dimitrov

Grigor Dimitrov, the mercurial Bulgarian, for so long touted as the next big thing and nicknamed Baby Federer announced himself on the world stage in La Caja Majica Madrid as he beat Novak Djokovic in 3 incredible sets of tennis. Despite having a match point in the second set and allowing his Serbian opponent back in the game in the breaker. Dimitrov defied the rankings and the odds to come through against the world number 1 and best player in the world right now.

It is fair to say this match wasnt a classic as both players never really reached the heights . It was a cagey affair with Djokovic unable to penetrate the Bulgarian unless he came to the net which he did when he could. Dimitrov was happy to hang well behind the baseline and run down everything but his play was puntuated with flashes of Federesque brilliance with the one handed backhand and running down the line forehand.

Having never taken a set off Djokovic in their two previous meetings, Dimitrov fought off a set point in the first set at 5-4 30-40. He took it to the breaker and went 4-2 up and just about held out for the set. The second set followed a similar pattern as both players seemed to be ailing with various injuries. The wirey Bulgarian is incredibly explosive but needs to improve his conditioning if he truly wishes to challenge the top guys on a regular basis. Djokovic seemingly pulled out the second set breaker out of thin air as he was 4-2 down.

Having showed all his champion qualities in taking the breaker, the Serbs form and confidence deserted him as he missed uncharacteristically from so many positions on court. He was clearly in a little discomfort with a sore ankle but in no way did this effect the result. Dimitrov broke early to lead 2-0 and then 4-2, a tired and weary Djokovic served at 5-2 but any fight he had earlier had simply gone.

The next world number 1?

In the past Madrid has always been a little gimmicky; take the beautiful models doing ball boy duties and even blue clay, Madrid and Ion Tiriac has always strove to be different. This year however there are no such gimmicks as Madrid is set to be the pre Roland Garros tuneup it was always intended to be. The players wont have any excuses this time nor will the owner. He has taken away the models and dumped the blue clay, apart from the altitude this clay event will provide a good barometre for all the potentials for the French Open.
How will Nadal recover from his defeat in Monte Carlo? Will Federers self imposed sabbatical leave him undercooked for the clay? and Will Maria Sharapova be able to overcome the double threat of Serena and Vika? There are so many questions and no doubt the answers will all be revealed in due course.