Andy Murray wasn’t impressed at all after reading about a column questioning whether it’s time for him to walk away from pro tennis and if he is starting to damage his legacy by continuing to play while his results are far from great.

Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion, is 0-3 to start the new season, having suffered first-round exits at the Brisbane International, Australian Open, and Montpellier. This week, Murray suffered a 2-6 7-6 (5) 6-3 loss to world No. 112 Benoit Paire.

After Murray sustained his ninth loss in the last 10 matches, BBC columnist Kheredine Idessane wondered if Murray’s latest loss and recent results are a clear signal that the end is near for the former world No. 1. Also, Idessane suggested that Murray continuing like this could potentially start to do “more harm than good.”

“Tarnishing my legacy? Do me a favour. I’m in a terrible moment right now I’ll give you that. Most people would quit and give up in my situation right now. But I’m not most people and my mind works differently. I won’t quit. I will keep fighting and working to produce the performances I know I’m capable of,” Murray wrote on X.

Andy Roddick comes to Murray’s defense

Andy Roddick, a former world No. 1 and the 2003 US Open champion, agreed with Murray’s reaction.

“Preach!  Imagine telling an accomplished iconic adult your opinion on what they should choose for work and when they should do it …. This is such a dumb, thirsty article. Can’t take a legacy away. Accomplishment lives forever,” Roddick wrote on X.

In the remainder of his February schedule, Murray has an ATP 250 event in Doha and an ATP 500 tournament in Dubai. After starting the season with three defeats, there is no doubt that Murray will be looking to get some momentum and wins in Doha and Dubai ahead of the Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami.

Viktor Troicki reveals Novak Djokovic is currently in Spain with his family as the Serbian team captain does not expect the world No. 1 to be with the Serbian team during this week’s Davis Cup weekend.

Last Friday, Djokovic concluded his Australian Open run following a 6-1 6-2 6-7 (6) 6-3 loss to Jannik Sinner in the semifinal. After playing what was in his own words “one of my worst Grand Slam matches,” Djokovic made an interesting decision and went to Spain instead of returning to Serbia.

On Friday and Saturday, Serbia will be hosting Slovakia in the Davis Cup qualifiers. Djokovic, who previously confirmed he would not be available for the tie, also isn’t expected to make an appearance as a guest.

“I don’t think he will come, he is in Spain with his family,” Troicki told Sportal.

Recently, Djokovic hinted that he plans to make some “interesting choices.”

“We haven’t spoken on that topic,” Troicki revealed.

Troicki: We can do a lot with Djokovic on the team

Against Slovakia, Serbia will be represented by Miomir Kecmanovic, Laslo Djere, Dusan Lajovic, and Nikola Cacic. Hamad Medjedovic, the 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals champion, withdrew from the tie due to illness.

“Same story again. We have a great team, but everything depends on Novak, of course. If he is in the team, we can really do a lot,” Troicki said.

In late November, Serbia was 1-0 up on Italy in their Davis Cup semifinal tie and Djokovic had a chance to seal a final spot for Serbia by beating Sinner. Unfortunately for Djokovic, he failed to get the job done after missing out on three consecutive match points before Sinner sealed a 6-2 2-6 7-5 win.

Later, Djokovic and Kecmanovic also lost to Sinner and Lorenzo Sonego in the deciding mixed doubles match and Serbia exited the Davis Cup in the semifinal.

When asked about Sinner’s win over Djokovic in Melbourne, Troicki acknowledged that the Davis Cup win probably helped the Italian to play more freely in their Australian Open match. However, Troicki also highlighted that Djokovic was not playing his best throughout the entire tournament and underlined that the world No. 1 is “just a person and not a machine.”

 

Paula Badosa is again dealing with a back injury as the Spaniard was forced to retire mid-match in her Hua Hin round-of-16 clash.

On Wednesday, former world No. 2 Badosa was down by a set but up 4-3 in the second set when she went to the net and shook Diana Shnaider’s hand. In the last few games, Badosa was evidently struggling with something as she was limping on the court.

Last May in Rome, Badosa suffered a spinal stress fracture and appeared in just one more tournament in the remainder of 2023. After basically missing the entire second half of the 2023 season, Badosa returned to action at the start of this season. Unfortunately, a month into her comeback and Badosa is again dealing with a back injury.

“Unfortunately, Paula Badosa had to retire due to a lower back injury. Get well soon, @paulabadosa!” the tournament posted on its Instagram account.

Badosa was down by a set when she retired to Shnaider

Badosa, who was unseeded in Hua Hin, routinely served out her opening two games and led 2-1 through the first three games of the match. After two routine service games, Badosa suffered back-to-back breaks in the fifth and seventh games as Shnaider took a 5-2 lead.

Down by a double break, Badosa had her first break point in the eighth game – but didn’t convert it. After saving Badosa’s break point, Shnaider earned her first set point and realized it to win the opener with a 6-2 scoreline.

After losing the first set, Badosa saved a total of two break points in the first and third games of the second set. Then, Badosa collected her first break of the match to open a 3-1 lead before saving another break point in the fifth game to go 4-1 up in the second set.

Shnaider responded by winning the next two games and that was the moment when Badosa – limping on the court – decided that was it.

It remains to be seen if this is something serious and when Badosa will be able to return to action.

 

No.2 Stanford University women’s tennis team beat Maryland 4-0 at the ITA Kickoff Weekend, earning a spot at the ITA National Championships in February, which will be held in Seattle.

Stanford, which has won 103 of its last 109 matches at Taube Family Tennis Stadium, secured its third consecutive appearance at the ITA Indoors and will seek its first tournament title since 2011

Cardinals won five first sets in singles and its lead jumped from 1-0 to 3-0 in short order, with Yepifanova winning 6-1, 6-0 on three and Hui winning 6-0, 6 -2 out of five. Needing just one more win to close out the match, Alexis Blokhina played on court four, resulting in a 6-3, 6-2 victory.

Stanford defeated Terps in doubles, with Connie Ma and Alexandra Yepifanova winning on court two, 6-0, and Katherine Hui and Valenxia Xu on court three, 6-1.

Women’s singles

1) Minorka Miranda (UMD) led the no. 48 Angelica Blake (STAN) 7-5, 2-2, disqualified
2) No. 11 Connie Ma (STAN) beat Kallista Liu (UMD) 6-2, 3-3, disqualified
3) No. 49 Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) d. Mary Brumfield (UMD) 6-1, 6-0
4) No. 64 Alexis Blokhina (STAN) d. Maria Budin (UMD) 6-3, 6-2
5) Katherine Hui (STAN) d. Diya Challa (UMD) 6-3, 6-2
6) Number 50 Valencia Xu (STAN) preceded Ela Platenikova (UMD) 6-2, 5-2, disqualified

Women’s doubles

1) Number 27 Angelica Blake/Alexis Blokhina (STAN) preceded Maria Budin/Minorka Miranda (UMD) 4-3, disqualified
2) No. 28 Connie Ma/Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) d. Ela Platenikova/Diya Challa 6-0
3) Katherine Hui/Valencia Xu (STAN) d. Mary Brumfield/Kallista Liu 6-1

We recall Stanford is a private university located in California, in the county of Santa Clara, about sixty kilometers south of San Francisco, close to the city of Palo Alto. Stanford University opened its doors in 1891, after six years of planning, by the will of benefactors Jane and Leland Stanford who had decided to found a university to educate California boys in memory of their son, who died of typhus in Florence.The university is also home to the SLAC particle accelerator.
Stanford hosts Stanford Stadium on its campus and has sports teams, called Varsity.