2017 Men's World Cup Tennis Quarterfinals: Spain vs. Croatia

SPAIN - 5
Rafael Nadal
Pablo Carreno Busta
Robert Bautista Agut

vs.

CROATIA - 3
Marin Cilic
Borna Coric
Ivo Karlovic

******************************************************
Spain goes to the semi-finals.

2017 Men's World Cup Tennis Quarterfinals: France vs. Serbia

FRANCE - 5
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Lucas Pouille
Adrian Mannarino

vs.

SERBIA - 4
Novak Djokovic
Viktor Troicki
Janko Tipsarevic

********************************************************
France goes to the semifinals.

Top 32 Teams for the 2017 Men's World Cup

Here are the top 48 men's teams vying for the 32 slots in the 2017 Men's World Cup Tennis.

#1 SPAIN 31
Rafael Nadal 1
Pablo Carreno Busta 10
Roberto Bautista Agut 20

#2 UNITED STATES 38
Jack Sock 8
Sam Querrey 13
John Isner 17

#3 FRANCE 61
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 15
Lucas Pouille 18
Adrian Mannarino 28

#4 GERMANY  66
Alexander Zverev 4
Philipp Kohlschreiber 29
Mischa Zverev 33

#5 ARGENTINA 89
Juan Martin del Potro 11
Diego Schwartzman 26
Leonardo Mayer 52

#6 SERBIA 104
Novak Djokovic 12
Viktor Troicki 34
Janko Tipsarevic 56

#7 SWITZERLAND 132
Roger Federer 2
Stan Wawrinka 9
Henri Laaksonen 121

#8 CROATIA 134
Marin Cilic 6
Borna Coric 48
Ivo Karlovic 80

#9 ITALY 143
Fabio Fognini 27
Paolo Lorenzi 43

Thomas Fabbiano 73

#10 RUSSIA 149
Andrey Rublev 39
Karen Khachanov 45
Daniil Medvedev 65

#11 JAPAN 161
Kei Nishikori 22
Yuichi Sugita 40

Taro Daniel 99

#12 GREAT BRITAIN 180
Andy Murray 16
Kyle Edmund 50

Cameron Norrie 114

#13 CANADA 183
Milos Raonic 24
Denis Shapovalov 51

Vasek Pospisil 108

#14 AUSTRALIA 191
Nick Kyrgios 21
Matthew Ebden 76
Jordan Thompson 94

#15 BELGIUM 201
David Goffin 7
Steve Darcis 77
Ruben Bemelmans 117

#16 AUSTRIA 248
Dominic Thiem 5
Gerald Melzer 100
Sebastian Ofner 143

#17 CZECH REPUBLIC 283
Tomas Berdych 19
Jiri Vesely 62

Adam Pavlasek 202

#18 PORTUGAL 298
Joao Sousa 57
Gastao Elias 115
Pedro Sousa 126

#19 BRAZIL 337
Rogerio Dutra Silva 101
Thomaz Bellucci 112
Thiago Monteiro 124

#20 BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA 347
Damir Dzumhur 30
Mirza Basic 138
Aldin Setkic 179

#21 SLOVENIA 352
Aljaz Bedene 49
Blaz Kavcic 97
Blaz Rola 206

#22 UKRAINE 356
Alexandr Dolgopolov 38
Sergiy Stakhovsky 122
Illya Marchenko 196

#23 SLOVAKIA 365
Lukas Lacko 92
Norbert Gombos 132
Martin Klizan 141

#24 KAZAKHSTAN 414
Mikhail Kukushkin 74
Alexander Bublik 116
Dmitry Popko 224

#25 SOUTH KOREA 425
Hyeon Chung 58
Soonwoo Kwon 172
Duckhee Lee 195

#26 INDIA 489
Yuki Bhambri 118
Ramkumar Ramanathan 148
Sumit Nagal 223

#27 BELARUS 524
Uladzimir Ignatik 145
Egor Gerasimov 149
Ilya Ivashka 

#28 POLAND 558
Jerzy Janowicz 123
Kamil Majchrzak 197
Hubert Hurkacz 238

#29 CHINESE-TAIPEI 575
Yen Hsun-Lu 71
Jason Jung 239
Tsung-Hua Yang 265

#30 NETHERLANDS 624
Robin Haase 42
Tallon Griekspoor 232
Scott Griekspoor 350

#31 SOUTH AFRICA 632
Kevin Anderson 14
Lloyd Harris 291
Nicolaas Scholtz 327

#32 CHINA 706
Zhang Ze 192
Di Wu 244

Li Zhe 270

2017 Men's World Cup Tennis Round of 16: Italy vs. Argentina

ITALY - 0
Fabio Fognini
Paolo Lorenzi
Thomas Fabbiano

vs.

ARGENTINA - 5
Juan Martin del Potro
Diego Schwartzmann
Leonardo Mayer

********************************************************
Argentina goes to the quarterfinals

2017 Men's World Cup Tennis Round of 16: United States vs. Belgium

UNITED STATES - 5
Jack Sock
Sam Querrey
John Isner

vs. 

BELGIUM - 3
David Goffin
Steve Darcis
Ruben Bemelmans

********************************************************
The United States goes to the quarterfinals.

2017 Men's World Cup Tennis Round of 16: Japan vs. Switzerland

JAPAN - 5
Kei Nishikori
Yuichi Sugita
Taro Daniel

vs.

SWITZERLAND - 4
Roger Federer
Stan Wawrinka
Henri Laaksonen

*****************************************************
Japan goes to the quarterfinals

2017 Men's World Cup Tennis Round of 16: Germany vs. Canada

GERMANY - 5
Alexander Zverev
Philipp Kohlschreiber
Mischa Zverev

vs.

CANADA - 4
Milos Raonic
Denis Shapovalov
Vasek Pospisil

******************************************************
Germany goes into the quarterfinals.

2017 Men's World Cup Tennis Round of 16: Russia vs. Croatia

RUSSIA - 2
Andrey Rublev
Karen Khachanov
Daniil Medvedev

vs. 

CROATIA - 5
Marin Cilic
Borna Coric
Ivo Karlovic

*****************************************************

Croatia goes to the quarterfinals.

2017 Men's World Cup Tennis Round of 16: Spain vs. Austria

SPAIN - 5
Rafael Nadal
Pablo Carreno Busta
Roberto Bautista Agut

vs.

AUSTRIA
Dominic Thiem
Gerald Melzer
Sebastian Ofner

*****************************************************
Spain goes into the quarterfinals.

2017 Men's World Cup Tennis Round of 16: Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Serbia

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA - 3
Damir Dzumhur
Mirza Basic
Aldin Setkic

vs.

SERBIA - 5
Novak Djokovic
Viktor Troicki
Janko Tipsarevic

*********************************************************
Serbia goes into the quarterfinals

2017 Men's World Cup Tennis Round of 16: France vs. Australia

FRANCE - 5
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Lucas Pouille
Adrian Mannarino

vs.

AUSTRALIA - 4
Nick Kyrgios
Matthew Ebden
Jordan Thompson

********************************************************
France barely makes it into the quarterfinals.

2017 Men's World Cup Tennis Round 1: Netherlands vs. Argentina

NETHERLANDS - 1
Robin Haase
Tallon Griekspoor
Scott Griekspoor

vs.

ARGENTINA - 5
Juan Martin del Potro
Diego Schwartzmann
Leonard Mayer

******************************************************
Argentina goes to the second round

2017 Men's World Cup Tennis Round 1: Brazil vs. Italy

BRAZIL - 3
Rogerio Dutra Silva
Thomaz Bellucci
Thiago Monteiro

vs.

ITALY - 5
Fabio Fognini
Paolo Lorenzi
Thomas Fabbiano

*******************************************************
Italy goes to the second round.

2017 Men's World Cup Tennis Round 1: Belgium vs. Kazakhstan

BELGIUM - 5
David Goffin
Steve Darcis
Ruben Bemelmans

vs.

KAZAKHSTAN - 3
Mikhail Kukushkin
Alexander Bublik
Dmitry Popko

*******************************************************
Belgium goes to the second round.

2017 Men's World Cup Tennis Round 1: United States vs. Poland

UNITED STATES - 5
Jack Sock
Sam Querrey
John Isner

vs.

POLAND - 0
Jerzy Janowicz
Kamil Majchrzak
Hubert Hurkacz

*******************************************************************************
The United States goes to the second round.

2017 Men's World Cup Tennis Round 1: South Africa vs. Switzerland

SOUTH AFRICA - 1
Kevin Anderson
Lloyd Harris
Nicolaas Scholtz

vs.

SWITZERLAND - 5
Roger Federer
Stan Wawrinka
Henri Laaksonen

*********************************************************
Switzerland goes to the second round.

2017 Men's World Cup Tennis Round 1: Portugal vs. Japan

PORTUGAL - 2
Joao Sousa
Gastao Elias
Pedro Sousa

vs.

JAPAN - 5
Kei Nishikori
Yuichi Sugita
Taro Daniel

*********************************************************
 Japan goes to the second round.

2017 Men's World Cup Tennis Round 1: Canada vs. Ukraine

CANADA - 5
Milos Raonic
Denis Shapovalov
Vasek Pospisil

vs.

UKRAINE - 0
Alexandr Dolgopolov
Sergiy Stakhovsky
Illya Marchenko

********************************************************
Canada goes to the second round.

Wimbledon 2018: Serena and Angie Square Off Again

I'm sure all athletic and still-competitive Moms (in tennis and all other sports) are waiting with bated breath to see if Serena gets her eighth Wimbledon singles title ( a new record for women) against Angelique Kerber.

Although not a precedent, as other tennis Moms have won a grand slam after having children (Kim Clijsters), what makes Serena extra special is that she won her Australian Open when she was already pregnant, and if she wins this, the window she gave herself to 'heal' after her pregnancy could be a record of sorts, since she just gave birth September last year!

I am not an OB-gyne, but my God that is just so impressive! Women's tennis is so freaking competitive sport now compared to ten years ago so to reach a final when you are pregnant and again just after giving birth, is mind-boggling!

Also, it would give a lot of the younger girls in the game a chance to plan their lives way after becoming mothers. At least they can have time to fall in love, get married, have a baby and then play a bit if they still have that competitive fire in them. If Serena can do it, it is possible for everyone else in the women's tour.

And Serena is already 36 years old.

If Serena wins, she will pocket an equivalent 158 million pesos. Not a bad payday for Mommy. Olympia can now have a trust fund. Now, she and Alexis can have another baby. Joke!

Well, it does help too if your husband is a billionaire and you get invited to royal weddings and the prince's wife is your posse.

As for Angie, game-wise, she does have a chance of spoiling Serena's party. She has won over Serena before in a grand slam and she has had her share of grand slam finals so, she knows what it takes to get that title.

I wouldn't be surprised if this final turns out to be a tight three-setter.

Wimbledon 2018: The Men's Final Four Square Off

Watching matches at dawn is a habit Filipino tennis fans have to deal with as tennis enters its European swing during the grand slams. It's four weeks of changing one's sleeping habits if one wants to watch certain matches live due to the difference in time zones, especially in the men's matches which can last up to 4 hours.

So Wednesday night, I was just watching Federer vs. Anderson and when Roger won the first two sets, I thought it was a done deal already, and I decided to just sleep a bit so I could catch a bit of Nadal and Novak later.

So just imagine the shock I felt when I turned on the TV again and Kevin was still playing Roger and they were in the fifth set way beyond the 75 normal score for a win! Anderson has been a top ten player for sometime and he did make a breakthrough in the slams last year, reaching the US Open final so like many others who were watching, we were thinking maybe an upset is possible.

And it did happen, so just great kudos to him for dismantling Roger right in his kingdom.

With Roger out of the equation, all four guys in the semi's have a chance to win Wimbledon this year as each has their own pluses as well as question marks regarding where they are now in their game and if the occasion gets to them (in John Isner's case).

I am just happy that the draw puts Isner and Anderson together so that at least one of them gets to a Wimbledon singles final for the very first time! Always exciting to watch matches like that since you get to be very happy for the winner.

The other side is the battle of the titans, with two big questions regarding their performance. Is Novak really ready to make a comeback now? Rafa, who has been battle ready since winning RG, has all the arrows pointing to him as the favorite to win because of his amazing streak of wins. A very confident Rafa is a scary Rafa to play against.

Wimbledon 2018: An All-German Final in Wimbledon Women's Singles?

Although Germany exited this year's World Cup early, there is a slim possibility that an all-German final will happen in Wimbledon 2018 in the women's singles. Yes, it has happened before, well, in 1931 in Hitler's era.

And of course, Steffi Graf has won here five times in the 90s. I am actually rooting for both of them. Angie Kerber and Julia Goerges have been my favorite players even when they were ranked in the 70s and 80s. You just knew that if they tweaked parts of their game, they could be in the top 10.

It happened to Angie,and now, Julia Goerges, has a chance of making it to a Wimbledon final.

I am writing cautiously because both Teutonic women are battling two grand slam champions in the semi's, so the route to the final is not easy.

Julia will face off with Mommie Serena and I think she has a sliver of a chance to win, since Serena is not moving very well, but since Mommie Serena relies heavily on her serve and her booming return of serve, she can afford not to move too much. So Julia and her team has to find a way to neutralize Serena's powerful shots.

Angie has a better chance over Jelena Ostapenko, but she also has to really bring her A game because Jelena is so tenacious on court and her self-belief is amazing, she's really fearless when she's on the zone. And I think here, she's really playing well and enjoying herself.

Anyhow, I am always rooting for the underdog but whatever combination will come up, it will be a great final on the women's side.

Wimbledon 2018: Julia Goerges Has to Take Her Chances from This Point On

With Venus Williams exit from Wimbledon 2018, Julia Goerges finds herself as the player with the best head-to-head on her side of the draw.

Although Goerges has reached the 4th round in all the other grand slams, she reaches it here for the first time. Can she go all the way to the semi's?

Well, she has to beat Donna Vekic first, who I feel is in high spirits, and has the game to defeat Goerges. Then there is Karolina Pliskova, the only top 10 player left. On paper, she should be the one in the semi's but Goerges has a better head to head.

In fact, it will most likely be a free for all for all four women, including Bertens, who eliminated Venus Williams out of the equation.

Let's see how it all pans out and if Goerges takes advantage of the situation.

Wimbledon 2018: A Window of Opportunity Opens for Jelena Ostapenko

With Halep's ouster from the Wimbledon 2018 tournament yesterday, her French Open nemesis, Jelena Ostapenko, now becomes the best bet to reach the semi-finals on their side of the draw.

However, it is not yet a done deal because Ostapenko is an unknown quantity on grass and this is the year she may have to prove to everyone, she can play here as well as on clay.

Dominika Cibulkova may possibly be her most imposing opponent, but Ostapenko has to go through Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus first, who is herself, having a great tournament.

Cibulkova, a former WTA year-end champion has been inconsistent lately, but it is possible that she completes a run here to the semi's, She is an Australian Open finalist, so she has been there.

Elite Women's Team Award for WIMBLEDON

Russia, led by Daria Kasatkina, wins this year's Elite Women's Team award for Wimbledon 2018.  Three Russian players reached the fourth round of this grand slam this year, the other two being Ekaterina Makarova and Evgeniya Rodina.

This award is given by this blog to the country that puts the most number of players into the fourth round of the specified grand slam.

This is the 8th time the Russians have taken home this award.

2018 - RUSSIA - Daria Kasatkina, Ekaterina Makarova, Evgeniya Rodina

2017 - UNITED STATES - Coco Vandeweghe, Venus Williams

2016 - UNITED STATES - Madison Keys, Coco Vandeweghe, Serena Williams, Venus Williams

2015 - UNITED STATES - Madison Keys, Coco Vandeweghe, Serena Williams, Venus Williams

2014 - CZECH REPUBLIC - Petra Kvitova, Lucie Safarova, Tereza Smitkova, Barbora Zahlavova Strycova

2013 - ITALY - Karin Knapp, Flavia Pennetta, Roberta Vinci

2012 - ITALY - Camila Giorgi, Francesca Schiavone, Roberta Vinci

2011 - RUSSIA - Ksenia Pervak, Nadia Petrova, Maria Sharapova

2010 - UNITED STATES - Serena Williams, Venus Williams

2009 - RUSSIA - Elena Dementieva, Nadia Petrova, Dinara Safina, Elena Vesnina

2008 - RUSSIA - Anna Chakvetadze, Elena Dementieva, Alisa Kleybanova, Alla Kudryavtseva, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova, 

2007 - RUSSIA - Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova, Maria Sharapova

2006 - RUSSIA - Elena Dementieva, Anastasia Myskina, Maria Sharapova

2005 - RUSSIA - Elena Dementieva, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Likhovtseva, Anastasia Myskina, Nadia Petrova, Maria Sharapova

2004 - UNITED STATES - Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport, Amy Frazier, Serena Williams

2003 - RUSSIA - Elena Dementieva, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anastasia Myskina, Maria Sharapova, Vera Zvonareva

2002 - UNITED STATES - Jennifer Capriati, Laura Granville, Lisa Raymond, Chanda Rubin, Monica Seles, Serena Williams, Venus Williams

2001 - UNITED STATES - Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport, Meghan Shaughnessy, Serena Williams, Venus Williams

2000 - UNITED STATES - Kristina Brandi, Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport, Lilia Osterloh, Lisa Raymond, Monica Seles, Serena Williams,  Venus Williams

1999 - UNITED STATES - Lindsay Davenport, Lisa Raymond, Alexandra Stevenson, Venus Williams, 

1998 - UNITED STATES - Lindsay Davenport, Monica Seles, Venus Williams

1997 - CZECH REPUBLIC - Denisa Chladkova, Jana Novotna, Helena Sukova, 

1996 - UNITED STATES - Mary Joe Fernandez, Amy Frazier, Meredith McGrath,

1995 - UNITED STATES - Lindsay Davenport, Gigi Fernandez, Lisa Raymond

1994 - UNITED STATES - Lindsay Davenport, Gigi Fernandez, Zina Garrison-Jackson, Lori McNeil, Martina Navratilova

1993 - UNITED STATES - Jennifer Capriati, Zina Garrison-Jackson, Meredith McGrath, Martina Navratilova, Lisa Raymond

1992 - UNITED STATES - Jennifer Capriati, Patty Fendick, Gigi Fernandez, Amy Frazier, Zina Garrison-Jackson, Martina Navratilova

1991 - UNITED STATES - Jennifer Capriati, Mary Joe Fernandez, Amy Frazier, Zina Garrison, Martina Navratilova

1990 - UNITED STATES - Jennifer Capriati, Patty Fendick, Zina Garrison-Jackson, Ann Henricksson, Martina Navratilova,

1989 - UNITED STATES - Chris Evert, Patty Fendick, Mary Joe Fernandez, Gretchen Magers, Lori McNeil, Martina Navratilova

1988 - UNITED STATES - Katrina Adams, Chris Evert, Mary Joe Fernandez, Zina Garrison, Martina Navratilova, Barbara Potter, Pam Shriver 

1987 - UNITED STATES - Chris Evert, Gigi Fernandez, Mary Joe Fernandez, Martina Navratilova, Pam Shriver

1986 - UNITED STATES - Chris Evert, Kathy Jordan, Lori McNeil, Betsy Nagelsen, Martina Navratilova, Robin White

1985 - UNITED STATES - Chris Evert, Zina Garrison, Martina Navratilova, Molly Van Nostrand,  Barbara Potter, Kathy Rinaldi, Pam Shriver, Anne Smith

1984 - UNITED STATES - Kathy Jordan, Chris Evert-Lloyd, Martina Navratilova, Barbara Potter, Pam Shriver, 

1983 - UNITED STATES - Lisa Bonder, Andrea Jaeger, Kathy Jordan, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Barbara Potter, Kathy Rinaldi

Elite Men's Team Award for WIMBLEDON

France, led by Adrian Mannarino, wins the Elite Men's Team Award for Wimbledon 2018. Three French players reached the 4th round this year including Gael Monfils and Gilles Simon.

This award is given by this blog to the country who has the most number of players in the fourth round of that specific grand slam.

This is France's sixth time to win this title.  They put in four players in the fourth round of Wimbledon 2016.

2018 - FRANCE - Adrian Mannarino, Gael Monfils, Gilles Simon

2017 - SPAIN - Rafael Nadal, Roberto Bautista Agut

2016 - FRANCE - Richard Gasquet, Nicolas Mahut, Lucas Pouille, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

2015 - SWITZERLAND - Stan Wawrinka, Roger Federer

2014 - SPAIN - Rafael Nadal, Tommy Robredo and Feliciano Lopez

2013 - SPAIN - David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco

2012 - FRANCE - Richard Gasquet, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

2011 - FRANCE - Richard Gasquet, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Michael Llodra

2010 - FRANCE - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Julien Bennetteau

*********************************************************

2009 - SWITZERLAND - Stan Wawrinka, Roger Federer

2008 - SPAIN - Rafael Nadal, Fernando Verdasco, Feliciano Lopez

2007 - FRANCE - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Richard Gasquet

2006 - SPAIN - Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco

2005 - UNITED STATES - Andy Roddick, Taylor Dent

2004 - UNITED STATES - Andy Roddick, Vincent Spadea, Robby Ginepri

2003 - UNITED STATES - Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi

2002 - AUSTRALIA - Wayne Arthurs, Lleyton Hewitt, Michael Philippoussis

2001 - UNITED STATES - Andre Agassi, Todd Martin, Pete Sampras

2000 - UNITED STATES - Andre Agassi, Jan-Michael Gambill, Pete Sampras

*********************************************************
1999 - UNITED STATES - Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, Todd Martin

1998 - AUSTRALIA - Patrick Rafter, Jason Stoltenberg, Mark Philippoussis

1997 - AUSTRALIA - Patrick Rafter, Todd Woodbridge, Mark Woodforde

1996 - UNITED STATES - Pete Sampras, Todd Martin, MaliVai Washington

1995 - UNITED STATES - Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Todd Martin, Michael Joyce, Aaron Krickstein

1994 - UNITED STATES - Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Todd Martin, Bryan Shelton, Michael Chang

1993 - UNITED STATES - Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Richard Matuszewski, Jim Courier, Todd Martin, David Wheaton
1992 - UNITED STATES - Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe
1991 - UNITED STATES - Tim Mayotte, David Wheaton, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Derrick Rostagno, John McEnroe
1990 - UNITED STATES - David Wheaton, Brad Gilbert, Kevin Curren, Michael Chang, Brad Pearce

*********************************************************

1989 - UNITED STATES - Mayotte, Chang, McEnroe, Chamberlin, Shiras, Kriekstein, Goldie
1988 - AUSTRALIA - Masur, Youl, Cash, Woodforde
1987 - SWEDEN - Edberg, Jarryd, Wilander, Pernfors
1986 - UNITED STATES - Gilbert, Mayotte, Anger1985 - UNITED STATES - Mayotte, Seguso, Connors, Giammalva, Curren, McEnroe
1984 - UNITED STATES - Davis, Arias, Mayotte, Connors, Annacone, Kriek, Moor, Gerulaitis, Sadri, McEnroe, Scanlon
1983 - UNITED STATES - McEnroe, Scanlon, Leach, Mayer, Tanner, Van't Hof, Purcell, Gottfried, Mayotte, Connors