Archive of posts tagged great player

Scottie Scheffler praises J.J. Spaun’s talent and grinding mentality

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Courier, Postal, Air Freight & Land-based Logistics (NEC)

Scottie Scheffler had a strong showing at the last tournament, the FedEx St. Jude Championship 2025, finishing in third place with a total score of 15 shots under par. The 29-year-old golfer played 3 under par (67 shots) in the final round, but he failed to celebrate this time. 

Justin Rose celebrated in a dramatic playoff against J.J. Spaun. 

In an interview with the media, Scheffler reflected on his performance. 

The world number 1 pointed out that he was satisfied with the game this week, but there were some moments where Scottie expected more from himself.

"Yeah, did a lot of good stuff, fought pretty hard most of the week. Like I said, today was a day where I executed really well, hit my lines on the greens, hit a lot of good shots going into the greens. Just ball wasn't going in. Just a little bit off, I guess.."- he said.

Scottie Scheffler on J.J. Spaun

J.J. Spaun is having a dream season. While the seasoned golfer hasn't been a dominant figure on the PGA Tour in recent years, he seems to be an unstoppable enigma to many this year. 

Scheffler had nothing but praise for him, praising various aspects of Spaun's game. 

There are many things that make this golfer so superior and great, and it looks like he could continue to be just as strong in the future.

"Yeah, he's a great player. He's got a ton of talent. He hits it really, really solid. To win a U.S. Open you've got to grind really hard, and he's a guy that he gets the ball in play, hits it really solid and he holes a lot of putts. He's a tough guy to beat.

You love seeing guys like that have success, guys that work hard and get the most out of their games, and J.J. is definitely one of those guys that's a grinder out here. You always see him practicing, see him in the gym. Definitely happy to see him having the success that he has.."

Another Match Point Miracle for Keys, Who Advances in Montreal

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Madison Keys is having the year of her life, and she’s overcoming hurdles at seemingly every tour stop. Today in Montreal, another shining example as the American saved a pair of match points to get past Karolina Muchova, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, to book a quarterfinal spot at the Omnium Banque Nationale. 

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“Definitely really happy to get that win,” Keys said. “She’s such a great player, and she’s always such a tough opponent to go against. To be able to, after losing the first set, get back into the match, even being match points down, to be able to figure it out is always a good day.” 

2016 finalist Keys has now won from match points down three times this season – against Iga Swiatek at the Australian Open, against Sofia Kenin at Roland-Garros, and now Montreal, where either Swiatek or Clara Tauson will be her next opponent. 

Muchova had a pair of match points with Keys serving at 4-5 in the third. Previously, Keys, who improved to 35-10 on the season with her win, dropped the opening set before hitting back to take the middle set without surrendering a break. 

In the third Muchova and Keys traded breaks, then the Czech saved three break points while serving at 2-2 to stay on serve. She then had the opportunities with Keys serving at 4-5, 30-40, and six points later at ad-out. 

Keys held her nerve and serve, then converted her third break point for 6-5. She converted her second match point to clinch the hard-earned win in two hours and 21 minutes. 

Anastasija Sevastova

Osaka Routs Sevastova 

Naomi Osaka powered past Anastasija Sevastova 6-1, 6-0 in the second round of four women’s singles round of 16 encounters on Saturday, the Japanese recording her 20th win of the season to match her entire 2024 total.

Osaka got the win in 48 minutes as 386-ranked Sevastova had very little left after winning three three-setters to reach the round of 16.

She will face either Amanda Anisimova or Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals.

Bouchard Tastes Pain, Savors Success in Montreal Farewell

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By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, July 28, 2025
Photo credit: Robert Prange/Getty

A hometown farewell ignite fire in Genie Bouchard.

Playing the final tournament of her career before her home fans in Montreal, Bouchard turned back time with a rousing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 win over world No. 82 Emiliana Arango.

Attacking relentlessly, the Canadian wild card rode a wave of energy from Montreal fans to score her first main-draw Tour-level win in more than two years.

“I always knew, of course, if I lost, it would be the last one be, but as soon as I got on the court, I really tried to take it like a regular match and really emphasize, like, the focus and just telling myself
what I wanted to do each point,” Bouchard said afterward. “I’m blocking out all the kind of consequences, and I’m, like, Okay, I’ll deal with all that stuff after, let me just play tennis and enjoy the toughness of what playing a WTA match is, because it’s tough out there.”

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A physical three-set win required resilience from Bouchard, who handed Arango her first three-set defeat of the season.

Former world No. 5 Bouchard said her performance was a balancing act of savoring the physical pain while drawing on the pleasure and inspiration of Montreal fans exhorting her on nearly every point.

“You know, you have to kind of enjoy that pain, and so I did,” Bouchard said. “Then the crowd really was helpful in terms of motivating me and giving me energy, but at the same time, it’s almost– it can be a point where it’s almost so much that it can help me — it can make me lose my focus or I don’t want to
get kind of too kind of excited or too high because you still have the rest of the match to play.
So there were definitely moments where I had to kind of almost block out the noise and just pretend it was a normal point that just happened and just keep going because the crowd was very loud out there, and I really, really appreciated it.”

Refusing to surrender, Bouchard extended her career for at least one more match. The former Wimbledon finalist will face 2025 Wimbledon semifinalist and 2015 Canadian Masters champion Belinda Bencic next.

“She’s obviously a great player. It’s funny, I played here in Toronto ten years ago, and then she
ended up winning the tournament,” Bouchard said of Bencic. “So, yeah, I know it will be a crazy tough match. I’ll probably do stuff in practice tomorrow, kind of thinking about playing against her. She loves to take it early, change direction. So I’ve had some battles against her, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Toni Nadal: "Exceptional" Alcaraz Has Skills to Surpass Rafa Nadal's Career

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"I am not a fortune teller, but he has the [skills] to surpass [Rafa Nadal]," Toni Nadal said.Carlos Alcaraz

By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Friday, June 13, 2025
Photo credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty

Toni Nadal has spent his coaching career focused on the tennis ball not a crystal ball.

Still, watching an "exceptional" Carlos Alcaraz out-duel world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the longest Roland Garros final in history compels Toni Nadal to a powerful conclusion: Alcaraz has the skills to match—and perhaps surpass—King of Clay Rafael Nadal's career.

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Toni Nadal, uncle and original coach of Rafa Nadal, met Spanish media at "The Battle Of Stars" celebrity golf pro-am in Mallorca on Thursday.

Uncle Toni cites a few reasons why he believes Alcaraz can achieve a career similar to 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal: the reigning Roland Garros and Wimbledon winner is exceptionally skilled, an explosive athlete—and for now the 22-year-old Spaniard's primary rival is Sinner whereas Rafa Nadal had to confront two fellow legends in Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

"[Carlitos] is an exceptional player who has all the [skills] in the world," Toni Nadal told Spanish media in comments published by AS.com. He's the fastest, he hits it very hard, he hits it well with a drive, with a backhand, the serve has improved a lot…

"I see him as a great player and on top of that I think he has an advantage, today he doesn't have the best Federer or the best Djokovic as rivals. He has a very good one which is Jannik Sinner, but I think the others for him are quite [manageable]."

During the record-setting five hour, 29-minute Roland Garros final on Sunday, TNT analyst and Hall of Famer John McEnroe created controversy—and sparked some backlash from Rafa Nation— declaring the stratospheric level both Alcaraz and Sinner produced would beat prime Nadal in a hypothetical RG final.

"You took a look at them bringing their A-game right now — I'm saying Sinner and Alcaraz against Nadal on clay — you would make a serious argument with both guys that they would be favored to beat Nadal, at his best," McEnroe said. "Do I think they're going to reach, 20, 24 titles either one of them?

"No. Because I think that plateau is so hard it's almost impossible; there's more depth in the game, bigger hitters, and more things happen."

Toni Nadal took his analysis a step further than McEnroe saying Alcaraz, if healthy, can match and perhaps "surpass" his Olympic doubles partner's career.

"I am not a fortune teller, but he has the [skills] to surpass [Rafa Nadal]," Toni Nadal said.

Swiatek: Comeback Win Pressure Proving Ground

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“I needed that kind of win to feel these feelings that I’m able to win under pressure, and even if it’s not going the right way, still turn the match around,” Iga Swiatek said.Chrissie Evert

By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Sunday, June 1, 2025
Photo credit: Antoine Couvercelle-ROLEX

Dropping eight of nine games would leave most feeling terror tremors on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Facing a 1-6, 0-2 deficit to Elena Rybakina today, Iga Swiatek skipped shivers adopting simple mind set: Fight for every ball.

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Reigning Roland Garros champion Swiatek pulled off a spirited comeback edging Rybakina 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 to advance to the Roland Garros quarterfinals for the sixth straight year.

Swiatek said this comeback is confirmation she can perform under pressure after a subpar season.

“It’s a great confirmation for me that I can handle the pressure and everything, but honestly, I wasn’t expecting to have an easy score against Elena,” Swiatek said. “I also had an easy score against her, but losing, you know, because she’s a great player. So for sure that wasn’t something that I even considered today.

“Yeah, no matter what the score is, I’m going to just try to play the best tennis possible any minute. It doesn’t really matter, honestly, but for sure, as I said, it’s great to overcome some challenges during the match.”

It is Swiatek’s 25th straight Roland Garros win, equaling Hall of Famer Monica Seles for second-longest Paris Open Era women’s win streak behind Chrissie Evert (29).

Swiatek said spacing out helped her turn the match around.

Backing up further behind the baseline gave Swiatek more time to return Rybakina’s second serve as the match progressed.

Rybakina won just nine of 21 second-serve points and did not hit an ace in the final set.

“[Coach] Wim, it was his plan to kind of convince me sometimes to try it out, but I wasn’t sure if that’s my thing,” Swiatek said. “Because I remember a few years back, when I started being more aggressive, I started winning more.

“I think girls are serving faster now, and everybody is developing.

“There are some limits to what you can react to, you know. I think the coaching actually really helped me today, because I wouldn’t come up with this myself. Even though I practice it a little bit, it’s still like a weird thing for me to do.

“But for sure it helped. Yeah, as I said, it gave me more time to just play back some balls.”

Next up for Swiatek is a quarterfinal clash vs. 30-year-old Ukrainian veteran Elina Svitolina who saved three match points upsetting 2024 finalist Jasmine Paolini.

“It means a lot. I think I needed that kind of win to like feel these feelings that I’m able to win under pressure, and even if it’s not going the right way, you know, still turn the match around to win it,” Swiatek said. “For sure it’s a great confirmation for me. Yeah, I for sure wanted to have a match like that.

“Obviously, it’s great to also have full control over the match, but against great players, it’s not always going to be possible. I’m happy that I fought, and I also problem-solved on court.”