BOODLES TENNIS UPDATE • NICK KYRGIOS AND SASCHA ZVEREV SHINE ON DAY 3

Written by: on 29th June 2017
The Boodles Tennis Event
BOODLES TENNIS UPDATE • NICK KYRGIOS AND SASCHA ZVEREV SHINE ON DAY 3

STOKE POGES, ENGLAND - JUNE 29: Nick Kyrgios of Australia serves during his match against Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany during day three of The Boodles Tennis Event at Stoke Park on June 29, 2017 in Stoke Poges, England. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Nick Kyrgios  |
STOKE POGES, ENGLAND – JUNE 29: Nick Kyrgios of Australia serves during his match against Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany during day three of The Boodles Tennis Event at Stoke Park on June 29, 2017 in Stoke Poges, England. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)

 

 

Kyrgios and Zverev shine on Day 3 at The Boodles

 

Australian star Nick Kyrgios and world no. 12 Alexander Zverev headlined an all-star line-up on Thursday at The Boodles, and both emerged victorious from their respective clashes on a day when home player James Ward also claimed a win.

 

JAMES WARD (GBR) d. ALBERT RAMOS-VINOLAS (ESP) 9-6

Great Britain’s Ward recorded his first victory of the 2017 grass-court season at Stoke Park on Thursday, outdoing world no. 22 Ramos-Vinolas to win a first-to-nine-games set. The Wimbledon wild card says he will take confidence from beating the man who will be seeded no. 25 at Wimbledon.

“It was a tough match, but you always get a lot of great players here and I’m happy to be part of the event,” Ward said. “And obviously I got the win, so I’ll take that. Now I’ll see if I can take this confidence over into next week.”

Of his hopes for Wimbledon, the Londoner said: “Hopefully I won’t draw Djokovic again! But we’ll see. Obviously everyone plays well there, and I look forward to doing the best I can. It’s tough to gauge exactly where I’m at, but the best I can do is keep playing these tournaments and matches.”

The Davis Cup star has been enjoying his stay at Stoke Park – one of the most stunning sites for tennis in the world.

Ward said: “It’s a beautiful venue, it’s a lovely day to come out here. It’s something a bit different, away from Wimbledon. You see the same guys every day practicing, and obviously you get to play some matches as well. So it’s perfect preparation.”

Ramos-Vinolas was playing his second match of The Boodles 2017 after narrowly losing out to Philipp Kohlschreiber on Wednesday.

 

NICK KYRGIOS (AUS) d. PHILIPP KOHLSCHREIBER (GER) 64 64

World no. 20 and crowd favourite Kyrgios returned to The Boodles with a victory, drawing laughs from the spectators during an entertaining 6-4 6-4 defeat of Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber.

“Obviously it’s a lot of fun,” the Aussie said. “I think it’s great for me to come here and sort of have a laid-back vibe, but also play some good tennis as well.”

The 22-year-old was forced to retire during his first round match at the Queen’s Club last week, but says that he is now feeling good.

“I took some time off after Queen’s and really have been looked after,” Kyrgios shared. “I had this hip injury pretty much for the last six, seven months. It’s been giving me grief, but hopefully it’ll settle down a little bit. And yeah, I’m looking forward to playing Wimbledon.”

Kyrgios first came to the world’s attention as a Wild Card who shocked Rafael Nadal in the 2014 Wimbledon fourth round.

“I don’t really think about wins like that one too much,” Kyrgios said. “But I know I can produce that standard of tennis, so obviously I carry that confidence over to matches whenever I go out on court.”

As for this season’s Championships, the no. 20 seed says: “Some would say I’m probably not in the best shape to go in this year and expect something. But you know, I feel like if I’m serving well and I’m playing the right style of tennis, the sky’s the limit at Wimbledon. Anyone with a big game, they’re pretty favourable on that surface.”

He added: “I honestly do think I can win it. Might need a bit of luck, and everything to fall into place. But I do believe I can win.”

 

ALEXANDER ZVEREV (GER) d. THANASI KOKKINAKIS (AUS) 7-6(4) 6-7(4) 10-2

The jokes were continuous and the power-hitting on full display as 20-year-old Zverev and fellow youngster Kokkinakis put on the show of the tournament so far – the world no. 12 eventually triumphing after a tight battle.

“It was great,” Zverev said after his win. “Obviously before it gets all serious at Wimbledon it’s great to come out here, enjoy your time on court with a great crowd, and with Thanasi who’s a great friend of mine. So it was an enjoyable match.”

Kokkinakis – the subject of much of Zverev’s bantering – shared the sentiment.

“It’s good fun playing a close mate,” the 21-year-old said. “I’ve known Alex for a long time now, and he’s been doing some great things in the sport, it’s always fun to play him. I think the match went on a bit longer than most of us were expecting, but yeah, it’s good to get another match on the grass.”

The rising star – still on the comeback trail after two years of injury – now turns his attention to Wimbledon.

“I have cool memories,” he shared. “I played junior doubles with another close mate, Nick [Kyrgios]. I’ve grown up playing with him for so long and then to win that junior doubles with him, that was great.”

“Wimbledon is so classy, an unreal atmosphere to play in. I think the fans are pretty knowledgeable as well there, which helps. And there’s so much history, so it’s cool. Obviously you’ve got the strawberries and stuff, too!”

“I’m trying not to now, but I know when I go out there I will put a lot of pressure on myself,” the NextGen star admitted. “I say there’s no pressure on me, but when I go out there I’m going to go and fight hard, just take it day by day. And hopefully I’ll come out healthy.”

Zverev reached the third round at SW19 last season and will be seeded no. 10 this year, but is being cautious about his expectations.

“I have to look at the draw first,” he stated. “Before the French Open I won the Rome Masters. But then played against Fernando Verdasco in the first round, who was a very tough opponent, and I lost. Now I feel very comfortable, very confident on grass. So hopefully I can do well at Wimbledon, as well.”

Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff and Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut wrapped up the day with a competitive match late into the evening. Struff eventually prevailed 26 76(7) 10-4.

 

Order of Play – Friday 30 June

12.30 – Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) v Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS)

14.30 – Nick Kyrgios (AUS) v Viktor Troicki (SRB)

followed by – Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) v Benoit Paire (FRA)

followed by (not before 5pm) – Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) v Denis Shapovalov (CAN)

 

About The Boodles:

The Boodles is an intimate, luxury world-class tennis event which takes place the week prior to the Championships, Wimbledon, from 27th June – 1st July 2017 at Stoke Park Country Club, Spa & Hotel, Buckinghamshire. No seat in the 2,000 seater stadium is further than 12 metres from the court, putting The Boodles guests right at the heart of the action on court while entertaining them in a relaxed, garden party atmosphere. Previous players at The Boodles include Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Andre Agassi and Tim Henman. www.theboodles.com

 

The Boodles on Social Media

TWITTER / TheBoodles

INSTAGRAM / theboodlestennis

FACEBOOK / TheBoodles

 

STOKE POGES, ENGLAND – JUNE 29: Alexander Zverev of Germany plays a backhand during his match against Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia during day three of The Boodles Tennis Event at Stoke Park on June 29, 2017 in Stoke Poges, England. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)

 

Topics: , , , , ,








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.