Vasek Pospisil

[Lucas]

Comeback Player of the Year: The player who has overcome serious injury in re-establishing himself as one of the top players on the ATP Tour.

Kevin Anderson
Andrey Kuznetsov
Vasek Pospisil
Milos Raonic

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/atp-awa ... s-nominees

[Damian]

Meet The 2020 Comeback Nominees: Anderson, Kuznetsov, Pospisil & Raonic

Spoiler:

Nominees re-established themselves on the ATP Tour following injury layoffs

The Comeback Player of the Year award in the 2020 ATP Awards goes to the player who has overcome injury to re-establish himself as one of the top players on Tour. This year's nominees are Kevin Anderson, Andrey Kuznetsov, Vasek Pospisil and Milos Raonic. The winner, as selected by the players, will be announced later this month.

Player Career-High
Before Comeback Lowest Ranking
In 2020 Highest Ranking
In 2020 (Difference)
Kevin Anderson No. 4 No. 147 No.81 (+66)
Andrey Kuznetsov No. 39 Unranked No. 509 (+509)
Vasek Pospisil No. 25 No. 148 No. 61 (+87)
Milos Raonic No. 3 No. 37 No. 14 (+23)
Kevin Anderson
The South African player started the 2019 season with a World No. 6 FedEx ATP Ranking, but plummeted to No. 147 after struggling elbow and knee injuries. Anderson was sidelined again in 2020 after undergoing knee surgery in February, and has made his way back to the ATP Top 100 after reaching semi-finals in Vienna and the third round at Roland Garros.

The 34-year-old finished the year ranked No. 81. He played eight tournaments since the ATP Tour’s resumption, with the goal of playing a complete schedule in 2021.

You May Also Like: Vote For Your Favourite Player & Team In 2020 ATP Awards
“It’s an ongoing project given where I’m at, my age and everything, but I feel like my motivation and what I’m trying to still do in this sport, there’s still a lot that I want to accomplish,” Anderson told press ahead of the Rolex Paris Masters. “I need my knee to give me that opportunity for the next several years, so that’s how we go along each week...

“I’ve set big goals for myself. It’s a process to get there, but my motivation is definitely as high as it’s ever been.”


Andrey Kuznetsov
The 29-year-old Russian’s last full competitive season was in 2017, before a lifelong hip injury forced him to walk away from the game. During his time away, the former World No. 39 did everything from dabbling in coaching - he worked with countryman Evgeny Donskoy in 2019 - to doing commentary for Eurosport, as well as getting married and welcoming a son with wife Darya. But he still had more tennis left, and Kuznetsov slowly worked his way back to fitness before embarking on his comeback in 2020 after the ATP Tour’s resumption.

He made a big statement at the US Open, reaching the second round in just his second tournament back, where he became the first unranked player to win a Grand Slam match since Nicolas Kiefer at 2007 Wimbledon. Rising as high as No. 509 in the FedEx ATP Rankings as a result, Kuznetsov is looking forward to settling back into the rhythm of the Tour.

“I was pretty sure I would come back. I wasn’t sure how long it would take. I thought it might take even longer than three years, that maybe it would take five years,” Kuznetsov told ATPTour.com ahead of the US Open. “I was not sure if after five years I would have motivation to come back because so much time would have passed. Somewhere inside I was hoping and I believed I would be able to come back and it was a question of time.”


Vasek Pospisil
Pospisil was sidelined during the first half of 2019 and ended the year as World No. 149 after undergoing back surgery to repair a herniated disk. But by the end of the season, the Canadian was already showing flashes of his vintage form, and he kept the momentum going in 2020 as he surged back into the Top 100.

Pospisil reached two ATP Tour finals in Sofia and Montpellier, and made a statement run to the fourth round of the US Open, defeating back-to-back Top 20 players - Roberto Bautista Agut (11) and countryman Milos Raonic (18) - along the way. It was the 30-year-old’s best Grand Slam result since his 2015 run to Wimbledon quarter-finals.

“I feel like I’m getting back in the right direction,” Pospisil told ATPTour.com in Montpellier. “I haven’t been able to go consecutive weeks and months like this for a very long time. I didn’t realise it, but I feel like I’m on the right track physically.”

“I am not putting pressure on myself over ranking, but I would ultimately like to get back to the Top 30 and a career-high ranking,” he added. “If I didn’t think I could do that, I don’t think I’d still be playing. I am trying not to put too much pressure on myself, but I’m pretty ambitious.”


Milos Raonic
Former Wimbledon finalist Raonic was sidelined for a large portion of the 2019 season due to injury, missing Roland Garros and the US Open in a career-long struggle to stay healthy. But he’s bounced back higher in 2020, starting the year with a run to the quarter-finals at the Australian Open.

The Canadian also made his mark at the ATP Masters 1000 level, reaching the final in Cincinnati and semi-finals in Paris. Raonic ended the year inside the Top 20 for the seventh time in his career as a result.

“I wish things were different but I have to work my way back up,” Raonic said after Melbourne. “I feel like my tennis is there but I have to stay healthy and give myself a chance to compete week in and week out… I think I can find a level above what I had before.”


More Stories Like This In: Awards 2020

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/anderso ... -nomineees

[arti]

Best Slam Upsets Of 2020

3. Vasek Pospisil d. Milos Raonic, US Open, R2, 3 September 2020

Spoiler:

Perhaps it shouldn’t be considered an upset any time a man whose motto is “Anything is Pospisil” wins a match, but we believe the Canadian belongs here by virtue of a pair of stunning upsets he pulled off at the US Open against his countryman Milos Raonic and the Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.

Pospisil’s 2020 breakout came at the US Open, but for Canadians, it felt like the Canadian Open too. After all, it was the first time four Canadian men made the second round of a Grand Slam event since five players advanced out of the first round of the 1959 US Championships. Pospisil’s opponent was a very familiar face. He and Raonic, born just six months apart but on opposite sides of the country—Pospisil is from Vancouver, Raonic from Ontario—have been playing each other since their junior days.

"I think (Vasek) won pretty much of all them through our junior career, then I won pretty much all of them except the last one through our professional careers," Raonic said before the match.

In fact, Pospisil beat Raonic at three ITF Futures tournaments before Raonic beat Pospisil at an ATP Challenger Tour event. At the tour level, Raonic won two of their three meetings.

World No. 94 Pospisil was enjoying a bit of a resurgence since returning from surgery for a herniated disc in 2019. He helped Canada reach the 2019 Davis Cup final and reached his second career final in February in Montpellier, France. But Milos had just reached the final of the Western & Southern Open, where he lost to Novak Djokovic, and entered the match as the clear favourite.

The result that appeared most pospisil after Raonic blitzed him 7/1 in the first set tie-break was a straight-sets win for Milos, the No. 25 seed. Raonic’s serve can be like an extremely difficult language to learn—some will never do it, others might be able to get by perhaps, but it takes time.

It took Pospisil a good set to reacquaint himself with the hell that is his old friend’s serve, but once he did so, he began to cruise, serving a lot like his old friend, and painting lines with forehand winners. On the strength of 20 aces and 40 winners, he took the next three sets and the match, 6-3 7-6(4), 6-3.

“Playing a Canadian is always tricky, especially someone like Milos who I've know for my whole tennis career," said Pospisil, who saved all five break points he faced in the match.

It was a great win for the comeback kid from Vancouver, but he wasn’t done yet. In the next round, he stunned the tournament’s red-hot No. 8 seed, Bautista Agut, 7-5, 2-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in a three hour, 40 minute marathon of contrasting styles, the Canadian attacker defeating the Spanish defender. Pospisil seemed to find another level in the match, mashing 70 winners en route to a berth in the tournament’s fourth round for the first time where Alex de Minaur brought his Cinderella run to a screeching halt.

“Any time you can get wins like this against top players of the sport is huge,” said Pospisil after beating Bautista Agut. “To do it on a big stage like this and make the fourth round of a Grand Slam is a really big deal.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/best-gr ... ets-5-to-3

[Kamileki]

2020 w liczbach:

Ranking: 61
Bilans meczów: 16-10
Tytuły: 0
Finały: 2 (Sofia, Montpellier)
Zarobki: $591,785

[Damian]

Watch: Novak Djokovic, Vasek Pospisil & Malek Jaziri take a break from tennis training to play a football game

Spoiler:

Novak Djokovic has been in Belgrade for a while, training with his compatriots at the Novak Tennis Center.
The players decided to change up their practice schedule recently, throwing in a friendly game of football.
Advertisement

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic recently took part in a friendly game of football in Belgrade, along with several other players - including Canada's Vasek Pospisil and Tunisia's Malek Jaziri.

Jaziri uploaded a video on his social media account, which showed the players taking a break from tennis training and turning to soccer for a bit. He also tagged Novak Djokovic, Vasek Pospisil and Viktor Troicki in the post.


Djokovic has been in Belgrade for a while, practicing at the Novak Tennis Center ahead of the start of the 2021 season. The facility has several indoor courts and is located within a tennis club in the capital city.

Jaziri and Pospisil have joined a whole host of Serbian players - including Filip Krajinovic, Laslo Djere, Damir Dzumhur, Viktor Troicki, Olga Danilovic and Ivana Jorovic - in training at Djokovic's property.

Novak Djokovic eyeing his 18th Major at the Australian Open in FebruaryNovak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
The 33-year-old Novak Djokovic will be able to plan his schedule now that the ATP tour has released its much-awaited calendar for the first two months of the 2021 season.


Advertisement

In 2020, Novak Djokovic won the ATP Cup for Serbia and followed it up with his 17th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. But it is not yet confirmed whether he will play both tournaments this year.

As per the latest reports, all Australian Open participants will need to quarantine for two weeks in a hotel, starting mid-January. During this time, they will be able to train and practice for a total of five hours a day.

Novak Djokovic has the option of playing the ATP Cup or any of the other ATP 250 events scheduled in Melbourne, before the Australian Open. The first Grand Slam of the year will now begin on 8 February.

Novak Djokovic will aim to win the 18th Grand Slam of his career in Melbourne, where he has already won a record eight titles. He is currently three behind Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal overall, both of whom have 20 Majors.

Djokovic ended the 2020 season as the World No. 1 for a record-tying sixth time. He also won the Cincinnati Masters and the Rome Masters, but went down to Nadal in the French Open final.

https://www.sportskeeda.com/tennis/nova ... tennispage

[Damian]

[arti]

2020 ATP Awards Winners

Comeback Player of the Year

Vasek Pospisil: Former World No. 25 Pospisil was sidelined for much of 2019 after undergoing back surgery to repair a herniated disk, and started the year ranked outside the Top 100. But the Canadian cut his FedEx ATP Ranking by more than half after a statement comeback season, jumping 89 spots to sit at No. 61. He made the biggest jump in the year-end Top 100 from 2019. Pospisil, 30, reached his first ATP Tour final since 2014 at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier, and backed it up with a run to the Sofia Open final – the second and third ATP Tour finals of his career. Pospisil also reached the fourth round of the US Open, defeating back-to-back Top 20 players – Roberto Bautista Agut (No. 11) and countryman Milos Raonic (No. 18) – along the way to his best Grand Slam result since his 2015 Wimbledon quarter-final. Kevin Anderson, Andrey Kuznetsov and Raonic were also nominated in this category.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/atp-awa ... -announced

[Barty]

Novak Djokovic's academy gave me the best training experience of my career: Vasek Pospisil

Spoiler:

Vasek Pospisil recently talked about his experience at the Novak Djokovic Tennis Center in Belgrade.
In addition to Pospisil, several other players were also invited to the facility for the pre-season training block.
Vasek Pospisil recently thanked World No. 1 Novak Djokovic for inviting him to be part of the pre-season training block at the Novak Tennis Center in Belgrade. Pospisil expressed his gratitude via his social media accounts, calling it the 'best training experience of his career'.

Pospisil mentioned in his post that while he always expected Novak Djokovic's academy to be top-notch, he was taken aback by the level of care and attention to detail provided at the venue.


The World No. 61 also highlighted the state-of-the-art facilities and the overall positive energy in the camp. After thanking the entire team for their hospitality, Pospisil promised to visit the center again in the future.

Pospisil and Djokovic have, of course, famously collaborated on even bigger issues in the recent past. The two took the lead in setting up the Professional Tennis Players Association earlier this year, an initiative to represent tennis players more fairly.

Novak Djokovic invited several Serbian players to be part of the pre-season training blockNovak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Besides Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil, many other Serbian players also participated in the pre-season training block. Those include Filip Krajinovic, Laslo Djere, Damir Dzumhur, Viktor Troicki, Olga Danilovic and Ivana Jorovic, as well as several Serbian juniors.

36-year-old Malek Jaziri of Tunisia, who is currently ranked No. 249 in the world, was also part of the training camp.

Novak Djokovic himself posted an update from the training camp on his Instagram handle recently.


Novak Djokovic has stated in the past that the academy in Belgrade is one of his pet projects and that he has big plans for it in the future.

"One of the greatest projects in my life is the Academy," Djokovic told Sport Klub in August. "At the moment we have a mini academy, a tennis club actually, and through that club I am testing certain things which are supposed to be incorporated within a big system of the academy in the future. There are a lot of factors that affect the growth of a professional athlete."
Novak Djokovic is expected to begin his 2021 campaign at the ATP Cup in the first week of February. That would be followed by the Australian Open, where Djokovic will be aiming to bag his 18th Grand Slam title.

The Serb is the odds-on favorite with the bookmakers to win the title in Melbourne for a record ninth time.

https://www.sportskeeda.com/tennis/news ... f=homepage

[Kamileki]

[Kamileki]

[arti]

[Lucas]

Why Pospisil Is 'Grateful' To Earn Comeback Player Of The Year

Spoiler:

The Canadian finished 2020 at World No. 61
One year on from undergoing back surgery to repair a herniated disk, Canadian Vasek Pospisil was named Comeback Player of the Year in the 2020 ATP Awards.

“It really means a lot to me, so I just want to give a big thank you to all my fellow ATP players on the Tour who voted for me to win this award and also a big thanks to my team that really did a great job,” Pospisil said. “My ranking plummeted and I had surgery, so very grateful to be here and hoping to have a great year next year.”

Pospisil climbed more spots in the FedEx ATP Rankings this year than any other player in the Top 100. The 30-year-old jumped 88 spots to No. 61 to continue his push back towards his career-high of No. 25, which he reached in 2014.

..
The Canadian made his first ATP Tour final since 2014 at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier, and he backed it up with a run to the Sofia Open championship match. Those were the second and third ATP Tour finals of his career. Pospisil also reached the fourth round of the US Open, defeating back-to-back Top 20 players – Roberto Bautista Agut (No. 11) and countryman Milos Raonic (No. 18) – along the way to earn his best Grand Slam result since making the 2015 Wimbledon quarter-finals.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/pospisi ... -year-2020

[Kamileki]

[Damian]

Elsewhere, Vasek Pospisil will play fellow Canadian and fourth seed Denis Shapovalov after defeating Australian qualifier Christopher O'Connell 6-3, 6-4 in 83 minutes.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/wawrink ... 21-tuesday

[Damian]

‘If you want to default me, I will gladly sue’: Vasek Pospisil apologises for expletive-laden rant

Spoiler:

Canadian’s outburst followed a fractious meeting with the ATP hierarchy

Tom Kershaw
@trlkershaw
1 hour ago
comments

Vasek Pospisil of Canada winds up to smash his racquet
Vasek Pospisil of Canada winds up to smash his racquet (Getty Images)

Vasek Pospisil has issued an apology after launching into an expletive-laden outburst in the first round of the Miami Open, during which he threatened to sue the sport’s governing body.

The world No 67’s tirade followed a fractious meeting with the ATP hierarchy on Tuesday during which Pospisil was allegedly subjected to personal insults by ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi.

On set point in the first set, Pospisil was given a point penalty for verbal abuse and said: “An hour and a half the chair of the ATP f****** screaming at me in a player meeting for trying to unite the players,” Pospisil shouted. “For an hour and a half... the leader of the ATP... f****** a*******. If you want to default me, I’ll gladly sue this whole organisation.”

In a statement on Thursday, Pospilil admitted to being “unnerved” by the meeting

“I want to sincerely apologise for my behaviour on the court in Miami earlier today,” he wrote. “I underestimated the toll those emotions took on me until I stepped onto the court today. Again, I am sorry for my on-court behaviour and the language I used.”


Along with world No 1 Novak Djokovic, Pospisil has been leading an attempted breakaway from the ATP Players’ Council in a bid to give more power to players - although their move has not been united in support.

Tempers are said to have flared over a reduction in prize money at the Miami Open along with the continued bubble environments at tournaments, with John Isner citing the less strict measures golf’s PGA Tour have successfully used.

A lost generation of future footballers
Lewis Hamilton ‘being used’ by Black Lives Matter, claims Bernie Ecclestone
Rio Ferdinand identifies Frank Lampard’s key mistake that led to Chelsea sacking
‘It’s nice that it’s just the norm for us’: Life in the most gender equal sport on the planet
Candian website Open Court alleged that Pospisil had been rounded on in the meeting by chairman Gaudenzi.

“They called him things like “ignorant”, “uneducated” – lovely stuff like that,” it claimed. “We’re told that he was in tears. And that even just before he took the court today to play his match, he was still shaken up.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/ten ... 1616680441

[Bombardiero]

Ciekawe od czego te wakacje. XD

[Bombardiero]

[Bombardiero]

[Bombardiero]

[Damian]