A to Z of tennis for February: A ‘disrespectful’ Nick Kyrgios and an ‘inhuman’ Novak Djokovic

Shahida Jacobs
March 3, 2019

You may have missed some of important things that happened in the world of tennis during February, so here is your A to Z of tennis snapshot.

A is for Andy Murray ‘morphing into’ John McEnroe: Is Andy Murray starting to look like John McEnroe? His mother Judy thinks so.
Andy Murray shouting

B is for brilliant Belinda Bencic: Swiss player Belinda Bencic returned to title-winning ways when she beat Petra Kvitova in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final.

C is for contenders to win a Slam from the Big Three: Who are most likely to win a Grand Slam in 2019 outside of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal?

D is for a ‘disrespectful’ Nick Kyrgios: Rafael Nadal’s views on Nick Kyrgios after the heated encounter in Acapulco: “He lacks respect for the public, the rival and towards himself.”

E is for an emotional Laslo Djere: Laslo Djere won his maiden ATP title and he dedicated the trophy to his parents, whom he both lost to cancer.

F is for favourable home draw after fantastic Fed Cup run: Great Britain are into the Fed Cup World Group II play-offs after a brilliant run in Bath. Next up are Kazakhstan at home.

G is for Gael Monfils: It was a glorious run for Gael Monfils in the Netherlands as he won the Rotterdam Open.

H is for hug-a-thon: Just about everyone got a hug from David Ferrer during his appearance at the Argentina Open.

I is for ‘inhuman’ Novak Djokovic: WTA legends Chris Evert and Lindsay Davenport believes Novak Djokovic is the greatest of all time.
Novak Djokovic pumped up

J is for Johnny Nic on match-fixing: Tennis needs to be as corrupt as the corrupters, says our features writer Johnny Nicholson.

K is for Kiki Bertens: Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens beat Donna Vekic in the St Petersburg final to win her eighth WTA Tour title.

L is for a Laureus World Sports Awards: Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka flew the tennis flag at this year’s Laureus World Sports Awards as they both walked away with gongs.

L is also for Lionel Messi the tennis fan: Football star and tennis fan Lionel Messi is an investor in the revamped Davis Cup.

M is for massive coup for Madrid Open: Roger Federer will make his long-awaited clay return at the Madrid Open.

N is for new Nike ad: Just Serena Williams staring in the new ‘Dream Crazier’ Nike ad.

O is for online abuse: Naomi Osaka revealed she has been the victim of online abuse following her split from her coach Sascha Bajin.

P is for playing the piano poorly: Roger Federer’s piano playing skills came in for some stick.

Q is for quiz: Can you identify these ATP250 tournaments by logo alone?
See if you can ace our ATP Tour ace quiz.

R is for Roger Federer’s ‘bizarre’ doubles title with Marat Safin: We all know Roger Federer won an Olympic doubles gold medal, but did you know he won a doubles title with Marat Safin?

S is for shock split: World No 1 Naomi Osaka stunned the tennis world when she announced a shock split from coach Sascha Bajin.
Sascha Bajin and Naomi Osaka talking

S is also for a small procedure on the shoulder: Maria Sharapova will miss the Indian Wells Masters and the Miami Open as she has undergone a small op.

T is for top 10 players with most singles titles: Where do Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal rank?

U is for unseeded Elise Mertens: The unseeded Elise Mertens won the biggest title of her career when she beat Simona Halep in the Qatar Open final.

V is for video bomb: Yes, Roger Federer is the type of guy who video bombs Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina’s Instagram videos.

W is for wretched luck: Juan Martin del Potro just can’t catch a break as he was forced to withdraw from the Indian Wells Masters.

X is for eXclusive: Jeremy Bates believes the current Fed Cup stars could inspire a rise of British women’s tennis.

Y is for youth development in tennis: Rob Hemingway takes a look at the many coaching roads that lead to the top of the tree.

Z is for zero to hero: Juan Ignacio Londero started the Cordoba Open with zero ATP Tour match win to his name, but the Argentine finished the tournament by lifting the trophy.

Nick Kyrgios Roger Federer