Rafael Nadal Claims ATP’s Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for Third Straight Year

Posted on December 22, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Rafael Nadal is true sportsman…

The 34-year-old Spanish tennis star has been named one of the winners of the ATP‘s top awards for 2020.

Nadal received the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the third year straight and fourth time overall after winning a 13th Roland Garros crown.

But he isn’t the only Latino to earn an award…

Bruno Soares and his partner Mate Pavic were named the No. 1 doubles team.

The 38-year-old Brazilian tennis player and Pavic were the champions at this year’s US Open.

Carlos Alcaraz was the Newcomer of the Year.

The 17-year-old Spanish tennis player won the award after claiming three Challengers titles.

Novak Djokovic was the year-end No. 1 for a record-equaling sixth time after winning four titles including a record eighth Australian Open.

Roger Federer, who played only six singles all year, was the singles fans’ favorite for a record-extending 18th straight year, and Andrey Rublev of Russia was the most improved in rising from No. 23 to a career-high 8 after winning five titles, more than anyone else on the tour.

Frances Tiafoe was given the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award for his social activism. The American auctioned signed memorabilia to Athletes for COVID-19 Relief and posted a video that united the Black tennis community in the wake of George Floyd‘s killing.

Vasek Pospisil is the Comeback Player of the Year after undergoing back surgery in 2019. The Canadian reached two finals and rose to No. 61 after dropping to No. 150 in 2019.

Bruno Soares Wins Men’s Doubles Title at US Open with New Partner Mate Pavic

Posted on September 10, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Bruno Soares is back in the winner’s circle at Flushing Meadows.

The 38-year-old Brazilian tennis player and Mate Pavic won their first Grand Slam championship as a team on Thursday, beating Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic 7-5, 6-3 to take home the US Open trophy.

“It means a lot. That’s what we practice for. That’s what we were trying to do in these five months off, working for this moment,” Soares said on court after the match. “Extremely happy. Tough year for everyone. Really glad the work that everyone put into this event to give us the opportunity to get back on the court. To start with a Grand Slam title, I think it’s a very positive way to come back for us.”

Pavic and Soares lost in the first round of the Western & Southern Open, the first tournament since the ATP Tour resumed. But they battled past four former US Open champions en route to earning the title at the same venue, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Both men had previously captured Grand Slam glory, with Soares winning the 2016 Australian Open and US Open with Jamie Murray, while Pavic triumphed at the 2018 Australian Open with Oliver Marach.

This is their second tour-level victory together after winning last year’s Shanghai Masters.

Pavic and Soares were both the more dynamic and solid team inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. Pavic wreaked havoc with his big serve and flashy shotmaking, while Soares made few mistakes and forced their opponents to hit difficult shots.

Bruno Soares & Jamie Murray Claim Cincinnati Masters Men’s Doubles Title

Posted on August 20, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

It’s turning out to be a winning month for Bruno Soares…

The 36-year-old Brazilian tennis player and his partner, Britain’s Jamie Murray, won their second doubles title of August with victory in the Cincinnati Masters final.

Soares and Murray beat Colombia’s Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 4-6 6-3 10-6 in one hour and 25 minutes.

It was their first ATP Masters 1000 title as a pair.

Soares and Murray won the Washington Open two weeks ago for their third victory this year, having defended their Acapulco title in March.

Soares and Murray have won nine titles since they joined forces in 2016, including the Australian Open and US Open.

Soares & Jamie Murray Win Men’s Doubles Title at the US Open

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

It’s proving to be a banner year for Bruno Soares…

The 34-year-old Brazilian tennis player and his doubles partner, Jamie Murray, have won the US Open men’s doubles title.

Soares and Murray, seeded fourth, beat Spain’s unseeded Pablo Carreno Busta and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-2 6-3.

It gives Soares and Murray a second major title after they won their first Grand Slam together at the Australian Open in January.

Soares becomes the first Brazilian to win more than one Grand Slam doubles title.

Murray and Soares went into the final in a confident mood after beating defending champions and top seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut in the semifinals, and they outclassed surprise finalists Carreno Busta and Garcia-Lopez.

The Spaniards broke serve in the opening game but Murray and Soares levelled immediately and went on a run of seven straight games to take a grip on the contest.

There was some concern for Murray when he called the trainer to work on his neck midway through the first set, but it did not have any visible effect on his performance.

An interception volley at the net by the British Davis Cup winner earned an early break in the second set and, with Soares dictating matters from the back of the court, they left little for Carreno Busta and Garcia-Lopez to attack.

Murray had failed to serve out the match at this year’s Australian Open, but he showed no nerves this time as he wrapped up victory after only 78 minutes.

“I am glad we got together,” said Soares. “It is our first season. To win in Australia and here is extremely special.”

Soares Makes History After Winning Two Australian Open Doubles Titles

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Bruno Soares is seeing double…

The 33-year-old Brazilian tennis player made history at this year’s Australian Open by winning two doubles championship matches.

On Sunday afternoon, Soares added the mixed doubles title with Elena Vesnina to the men’s doubles championship he won with Jamie Murray.

Vesnina and Soares won the final four points of the match tiebreaker to take the mixed doubles title with a 6-4, 4-6, 10-5 win over American Coco Vandeweghe and Horia Tecau of Romania.

A little more than 16 hours earlier — after 1 a.m. Sunday — Soares and Murray defeated Daniel Nestor and Radek Stepanek 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, also at Rod Laver Arena.

A Brazilian player had never won any title at the Australian Open. Now the country has two.

Soares said he didn’t finish media commitments at Melbourne Park until 2 a.m. Sunday then had to do some Brazilian press requests from his hotel room.

“I went to bed at 5, set my alarm for 11, woke up at 8:30 … been living on coffee ever since,” Soares said. “So I had 22 coffees already.”

Vesnina interjected, laughing: “I got a [text] message from him at 4:30 [a.m.], ‘I’m ready, partner.'”

It was all worth it, Soares said.

“I knew I had another important day today. You don’t get a chance to play many Grand Slam finals,” he said. “I mean, I got two in the same day.”

Soares said the level of excitement in Brazil over his achievements was high.

“It’s the first time a Brazilian guy competes in two Grand Slam finals in the same event,” he said. “They were talking a lot about that. And winning both makes it even more special.

“It’s tough to compare or relate anything to Guga [the nickname for Gustavo Kuerten, who won three French Open singles titles]. He’s such a hero for us. He’s so above the sport and everything else. But for me it’s a massive achievement. It doesn’t get much better than that. I came here to play two events, and I won both.”

Soares said he hopes his win will give tennis a boost in his home country ahead of the Olympics in August. He visited the tennis complex in Rio in December and gave it the thumbs-up.

“You guys hear a lot of things about Brazil … not all the time that good,” he said. “We’re famous for hosting well, for welcoming. We’re a very warm country. I hope it’s going to be an amazing Games.”

Soares & Partner Sania Mirza Claim Mixed Doubles Crown at the U.S. Open

Posted on September 6, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Bruno Soares has returned to the winner’s circle at the U.S. Open…

The 32-year-old Brazilian tennis player clinched his second mixed doubles title at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Soares and his partner Sania Mirza overcame a few anxious moments in the match tie break to win the title.

The top seeded pair squandered five straight championship points before scoring a 6-1 2-6 11-9 win over Abigail Spears of the USA and Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico in exactly 60 minutes.

Spears sent a backhand volley long after making it 9-9 from 4-9, as Soares and Mirza heaved a big sigh of relief.

It was first time that the two were playing together as a pair.

“Playing with him is a lot of fun. He did not play with me all these years not sure why?” gushed Mirza after the win and confirmed that the pairing will continue for the Australian Open.

Soares had previously won the Mixed Doubles title at the U.S. Open in 2012 with Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova.

Soares and Makarova won the title after defeating fourth-seeded Květa Peschke and Marcin Matkowski in the final 6–7^(8–10), 6–1, [12–10].

Soares Elected to the ATP Player Council

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Bruno Soares has soared into a leadership position with the Association of Tennis Professionals.

The 32-year-old Brazilian tennis player, primarily a doubles specialist, has been elected to the ATP Player Council.

The 12-member council delivers advisory decisions to the ATP Board of Directors, which has the power to accept or reject the Council’s suggestions.

Soares won the mixed doubles title at the 2012 U.S. Open with Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova. In all, he has 17 career men’s doubles titles.

But Soares isn’t the only Latino to join the group…

André Sá will also serve on the ATP Players Council.

Sá, a Wimbledon men’s singles quarterfinalist in 2012, turned pro in 1996. He has seven career titles in doubles; his most recent coming in September 2011 at the Open de Moselle.

Along with Soares and Sa, other players elected to the council include Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka, American John Isner, Kevin Anderson, Gilles Simon, Jurgen Melzer, Sergiy Stakhovsky, Raven Klaasen and Eric Butorac. They will serve two-year terms.

Roger Federer is stepping down after serving as council president since 2008.

“Clearly we made big strides in prize money. … I think we were able to calm things down a little bit, because things were quite hectic when I came onto the council,” said Federer of his involvement on the council.

The new council’s first meeting will be in New York before the U.S. Open in August, when it will elect a president and vice president.

Marrero & Verdasco Reach the Doubles Final at the ATP World Tour Finals

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

David Marrero and Fernando Verdasco have the chance to end the year with a bang…

The 33-year-old and 29-year-old Spanish tennis players beat Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo 7-6 (10), 7-5 to reach the doubles final at the ATP World Tour Finals.

It’s only their first time competing at the season-ending championships of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour, featuring the top eight singles players and doubles teams of the ATP rankings.

Dodig and Melo had won all three of their matches in the round robin stage of the tournament, while the sixth-seeded Spaniards lost one match in round robin play.

Marrero and Verdasco will next face three-time champions Bob and Mike Bryan, who advanced to the final after defeating No. 2 Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares 4-6, 6-4, 10-8.

Earlier this year, Marrero and Verdasco won the St. Petersburg Open, their first and only ATP World Tour team title of the season.

Tenistas Melo & Soares Make Olympic History at the London Games

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares still have to win three matches to win the gold medal in men’s doubles tennis at the London Games… But they’ve already made Olympic history.

The 28-year-old and 30-year-old Brazilian tennis players set two Olympic tennis records on Wednesday when they defeated fifth-seeded Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic, 1-6, 6-4, 24-22, at the 2012 Olympic Games.

The second-round match at Wimbledon had the most games – 63 – in a best-of-three-set match in men’s doubles in the Olympics. The previous record was 59 games, set at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Meanwhile, Melo and Soares’ third set, with 46 games, was the longest set in men’s doubles at the Olympics. The previous record was 36 games in a 19-17 final set at the same match in 2008.

The match between the Brazilians and the Czechs was played over two days. It lasted four hours, 21 minutes.

On Tuesday, the longest set in Olympic history – 48 – was played when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France defeated Milos Raonic of Canada 6-3, 3-6, 25-23 in the second round.

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