Break Points: December 30, 2013

Break Points is a roundup of tennis news, videos, links, and tweets. If you have something you think we should include, email us at feedback@changeovertennis.com.

Notable results:

Exhibitions

  • Abu Dhabi (SF): David Ferrer d. Rafael Nadal, 6-4, 6-4
  • Abu Dhabi (QF?): Jo-Wilfried Tsonga d. Andy Murray, 7-5, 6-3
  • Abu Dhabi (F): Novak Djokovic d. David Ferrer, 7-5, 6-2
  • Hopman Cup (RR): Eugenie Bouchard d. Sam Stosur 4-6 6-2 6-3
  • Hopman Cup (RR): Grzegorz Panfil d. Milos Raonic 7-6 (1) 6-3

Official Events

  • Auckland: Garbiñe Muguruza d. Christina McHale, 6-4, 6-3
  • Brisbane: Stefanie Voegele d. Madison Keys, 6-4, 6-3
  • Brisbane: Ashleigh Barty d. Daniela Hantuchova, 6-3, 7-5
  • Brisbane: Jelena Jankovic d. Francesca Schiavone, 6-2, 7-6 (6)
  • Doha: Ivo Karlovic d. Tomas Berdych, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4)

News and Links:

Roger Federer hires Stefan Edberg for “at least” 10 weeks of work during 2014:

“Stefan was my childhood hero, and I am really looking forward to spending time and learning from him.”

Here are Juan José’s thoughts on the newly minted Fedberg pairing, as well as on Novak Djokovic hiring Boris Becker.

From Andy Taylor (“The Voice of the US Open”), an amusing look at the behind-the-scenes of the Doha players party:

“The highlights of tonight’s Player Dinner Gala for me…the human moments:

…like watching Nikolay Davydenko and his wife chase their daughter around the room. She spent a healthy chunk of time hiding behind my legs to avoid her mom, and we had some fun with the raffle tickets in the fish bowl.”

Hopman Cup has a neat YouTube channel, so you might want to check that out. Here’s a fun interview with Petra Kvitova:

From ESPNW, apparently Venus and Serena were in Jamaica over the break:

“Tennis is seen as an elite sport,” said Lockett McGregor, a longtime coach and the tournament director for the highly anticipated Jamaica National Open. “Track and field, football, cricket and netball are mass sports. Every school has a track program. So for corporate Jamaica to support track, it’s a lot easier. And track has always been able to have a star, somebody that you can link your brand to. Look at Usain Bolt. But for tennis it’s a building process.”

Our friend Josh Meiseles wrote a nice profile on one of last year’s revelations on the ATP tour, Pablo Carreño Busta:

For Pablo Carreno Busta, a seven-month hiatus following surgery to repair a herniated disc yielded a period of self-discovery, and the 22 year old’s response in 2013 was nothing short of extraordinary: 92 combined wins between the Futures circuit, ATP Challenger Tour and ATP World Tour, 11 titles, a 39-match win streak from mid-January to early April, and a semi-final charge in just his fourth tour-level tournament, in Oeiras.

Tennis on Twitter:

Andy Murray also hosted an #askAndy Twitter session…due to boredom, apparently. Head over to his feed for some dry wit.

https://twitter.com/tumcarayol/status/417700240787910657

https://twitter.com/AmyFetherolf/status/417028444312961024

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