1.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
2.
Valencia
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Its urban area extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of around 1. 5–1.6 million people. Valencia is Spains third largest metropolitan area, with a population ranging from 1.7 to 2.5 million, the Port of Valencia is the 5th busiest container port in Europe and the busiest container port on the Mediterranean Sea. The city is ranked at Gamma in the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, Valencia was founded as a Roman colony by the consul Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus in 138 BC, and called Valentia Edetanorum. In 1238 the Christian king James I of Aragon reconquered the city and divided the land among the nobles who helped him conquer it and he also created a new law for the city, the Furs of Valencia, which were extended to the rest of the Kingdom of Valencia. In the 18th century Philip V of Spain abolished the privileges as punishment to the kingdom of Valencia for aligning with the Habsburg side in the War of the Spanish Succession, Valencia was the capital of Spain when Joseph Bonaparte moved the Court there in the summer of 1812. It also served as capital between 1936 and 1937, during the Second Spanish Republic, the city is situated on the banks of the Turia, on the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula, fronting the Gulf of Valencia on the Mediterranean Sea. Valencia is integrated into an area on the Costa del Azahar. Valencias main festival is the Falles, the traditional Spanish dish, paella, originated in Valencia. The original Latin name of the city was Valentia, meaning strength, or valour, the Roman historian Livy explains that the founding of Valentia in the 2nd century BC was due to the settling of the Roman soldiers who fought against an Iberian rebel, Viriatus. It is not clear if the term Balansiyya was reserved for the entire Taifa of Valencia or also designated the city, by gradual sound changes, Valentia /waˈlentia/ has become Valencia or in Castilian and València in Valencian. In Valencian, the grave accent <è> /ɛ/ contrasts with the acute accent <é> /e/—but the word València is an exception to this rule and it is spelled according to Catalan etymology, though its pronunciation is closer to Vulgar Latin. Valencia stands on the banks of the Turia River, located on the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, at its founding by the Romans, it stood on a river island in the Turia,6.4 km from the sea. The Albufera, a lagoon and estuary about 11 km south of the city, is one of the largest lakes in Spain. The City Council bought the lake from the Crown of Spain for 1,072,980 pesetas in 1911, in 1986, because of its cultural, historical, and ecological value, the Generalitat Valenciana declared it a natural park. Valencia has a Mediterranean climate with short, very mild winters and long, hot and its average annual temperature is 18.4 °C.23.0 °C during the day and 13.8 °C at night. In the coldest month – January, the temperature typically during the day ranges from 14 to 21 °C. In the warmest month – August, the temperature during the day typically ranges from 28–34 °C. Generally, similar temperatures to those experienced in the part of Europe in summer last about 8 months
3.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
4.
New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
5.
New York (state)
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New York is a state in the northeastern United States, and is the 27th-most extensive, fourth-most populous, and seventh-most densely populated U. S. state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east. With an estimated population of 8.55 million in 2015, New York City is the most populous city in the United States, the New York Metropolitan Area is one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. New York City makes up over 40% of the population of New York State, two-thirds of the states population lives in the New York City Metropolitan Area, and nearly 40% lives on Long Island. Both the state and New York City were named for the 17th-century Duke of York, the next four most populous cities in the state are Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, and Syracuse, while the state capital is Albany. New York has a diverse geography and these more mountainous regions are bisected by two major river valleys—the north-south Hudson River Valley and the east-west Mohawk River Valley, which forms the core of the Erie Canal. Western New York is considered part of the Great Lakes Region and straddles Lake Ontario, between the two lakes lies Niagara Falls. The central part of the state is dominated by the Finger Lakes, New York had been inhabited by tribes of Algonquian and Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans for several hundred years by the time the earliest Europeans came to New York. The first Europeans to arrive were French colonists and Jesuit missionaries who arrived southward from settlements at Montreal for trade, the British annexed the colony from the Dutch in 1664. The borders of the British colony, the Province of New York, were similar to those of the present-day state, New York is home to the Statue of Liberty, a symbol of the United States and its ideals of freedom, democracy, and opportunity. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. On April 17,1524 Verrazanno entered New York Bay, by way of the now called the Narrows into the northern bay which he named Santa Margherita. Verrazzano described it as a vast coastline with a delta in which every kind of ship could pass and he adds. This vast sheet of water swarmed with native boats and he landed on the tip of Manhattan and possibly on the furthest point of Long Island. Verrazannos stay was interrupted by a storm which pushed him north towards Marthas Vineyard, in 1540 French traders from New France built a chateau on Castle Island, within present-day Albany, due to flooding, it was abandoned the next year. In 1614, the Dutch under the command of Hendrick Corstiaensen, rebuilt the French chateau, Fort Nassau was the first Dutch settlement in North America, and was located along the Hudson River, also within present-day Albany. The small fort served as a trading post and warehouse, located on the Hudson River flood plain, the rudimentary fort was washed away by flooding in 1617, and abandoned for good after Fort Orange was built nearby in 1623. Henry Hudsons 1609 voyage marked the beginning of European involvement with the area, sailing for the Dutch East India Company and looking for a passage to Asia, he entered the Upper New York Bay on September 11 of that year
6.
United States dollar
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The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its insular territories per the United States Constitution. It is divided into 100 smaller cent units, the circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars. The U. S. dollar was originally commodity money of silver as enacted by the Coinage Act of 1792 which determined the dollar to be 371 4/16 grain pure or 416 grain standard silver, the currency most used in international transactions, it is the worlds primary reserve currency. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. Besides the United States, it is used as the sole currency in two British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. A few countries use the Federal Reserve Notes for paper money, while the country mints its own coins, or also accepts U. S. coins that can be used as payment in U. S. dollars. After Nixon shock of 1971, USD became fiat currency, Article I, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution provides that the Congress has the power To coin money, laws implementing this power are currently codified at 31 U. S. C. Section 5112 prescribes the forms in which the United States dollars should be issued and these coins are both designated in Section 5112 as legal tender in payment of debts. The Sacagawea dollar is one example of the copper alloy dollar, the pure silver dollar is known as the American Silver Eagle. Section 5112 also provides for the minting and issuance of other coins and these other coins are more fully described in Coins of the United States dollar. The Constitution provides that a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and that provision of the Constitution is made specific by Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code. The sums of money reported in the Statements are currently being expressed in U. S. dollars, the U. S. dollar may therefore be described as the unit of account of the United States. The word dollar is one of the words in the first paragraph of Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution, there, dollars is a reference to the Spanish milled dollar, a coin that had a monetary value of 8 Spanish units of currency, or reales. In 1792 the U. S. Congress passed a Coinage Act, Section 20 of the act provided, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units. And that all accounts in the offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation. In other words, this act designated the United States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States, unlike the Spanish milled dollar the U. S. dollar is based upon a decimal system of values. Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although the form is significantly more common
7.
Association of Tennis Professionals
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The Association of Tennis Professionals was formed in September 1972 by Donald Dell, Bob Briner, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tour for men. In 1990 the organization was called the ATP Tour, which was renamed in 2001 as just ATP, in 2009 the name was changed again and is now known as the ATP World Tour. It is an evolution of the tour competitions previously known as Grand Prix tennis tournaments, the ATPs global headquarters are in London, United Kingdom. ATP Americas is based in Ponte Vedra Beach, United States, ATP Europe is headquartered in Monaco, and ATP International, the counterpart organization in the womens professional game is the Womens Tennis Association. Started in 1972 by Jack Kramer, Donald Dell, and Cliff Drysdale, it was first managed by Jack Kramer, as Executive Director, Jack Kramer created the professional players rankings system, which started the following year and continues to this day. From 1974 to 1989, the circuit was administered by a sub-committee called the Mens International Professional Tennis Council. It was made up of representatives of the International Tennis Federation, the ATP, the ATP requested and got the MIPTC to introduce a drug testing rule, making tennis the first professional sport to institute a drug-testing program. In response the ATP threatened a boycott, stating that if Pilić was not allowed to compete none should, three ATP players, Ilie Năstase, Roger Taylor and Ray Keldie defied the boycott and were fined by the ATPs disciplinary committee. But the tour was run by the tournament directors and the ITF. This re-organisation also ended a lawsuit with Volvo and Donald Dell, on 19 January 1989 the ATP published the Tour calendar for the inaugural 1990 season. By 1991, the men had their first television package to broadcast 19 tournaments to the world, coming on-line with their first website in 1995, was quickly followed by a multi-year agreement with Mercedes-Benz. Lawsuits in 2008, around virtually the same issues, resulted in a restructured tour, the ATP World Tour comprises ATP World Tour Masters 1000, ATP World Tour 500 series, ATP World Tour 250 series and ATP Challenger Tour. The ATP tour also oversees the ATP Champions Tour for seniors, Grand Slams do not fall under the auspices of the ATP. In these events, however, ranking points are awarded, players and doubles teams with the most ranking points play in the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals, which, from 2000-2008, was run jointly with the International Tennis Federation. The week-long introductory level Futures tournaments are ITF events and they count towards ATP Entry Ranking, the four-week ITF Satellite tournaments were discontinued in 2007. Grand Slam tournaments are overseen by the ITF and they count towards the players ATP rankings, the Masters 1000 tournaments are Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Rome, Madrid, Toronto/Montreal, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris. The end-of-year event, the World Tour Finals, moved from Shanghai to London, Hamburg has been displaced by the new clay court event at Madrid, which is a new combined mens and womens tournament
8.
Grand Slam (tennis)
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The Grand Slam tournaments, also called majors, are the four most important annual tennis events. They offer the most ranking points, prize money, public and media attention, the greatest strength and size of field, and greater number of best of sets for men. The Grand Slam itinerary consists of the Australian Open in mid January, the French Open in May and June, Wimbledon in June and July, each tournament is played over a period of two weeks. The Australian and United States tournaments are played on courts, the French on clay. Wimbledon is the oldest, founded in 1877, followed by the US in 1881, the French in 1891, however, of these four, only Wimbledon was a major before 1924/25, the time when all four became designated Grand Slam tournaments. In doubles, one team may accomplish a Grand Slam playing together or one player may achieve it with different partners, the term Grand Slam without qualification refers to winning the four majors in a single calendar year. Winning the gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in addition to the four majors in a one year is known as a Golden Grand Slam or more commonly the Golden Slam. Also, winning the Year-End Championship in the period is known as a Super Slam. Together, all four Majors in all three disciplines are called a set of Grand Slam titles. No male or female player has won all events in one calendar year. The term slam for winning all of the tricks in the whist family card games is attested early in the 17th century. Grand slam for all of the tricks, in contrast to small slam or little slam for all but one and this use was inherited by contract bridge, a modern development of whist defined in 1925 that became very popular in Britain and America by 1930. Grand slam has been used in golf since 1930, when Bobby Jones won the four major championships, before that time only three events, Wimbledon, the World Hard Court Championships and the World Covered Court Championships were considered the premier international tennis events by the ILTF. Tony Wilding of New Zealand won all three of those majors in one year –1913. It has been possible to complete a Grand Slam in most years, phil Dent has pointed out that skipping Grand Slam tournaments—especially the Australian Open—was not unusual then, before counting Grand Slam titles became the norm. Nevertheless, except for the 1969 and 1971 tournaments, many of the best players missed this championship until 1982, because of the remoteness, the inconvenient dates, the tournament was won by Arthur Ashe. The first definitive Grand Slam, of the current four majors, was accomplished when Don Budge won all four mens singles Majors in 1938, to date,17 players have completed a Grand Slam, though only six in the most prestigious singles titles. The four Junior disciplines, boys and girls singles and doubles, Players are only eligible from age 13 to 18, with 18-year-olds likely to hold a physical advantage
9.
Davis Cup
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The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in mens tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format and it is described by the organisers as the World Cup of Tennis, and the winners are referred to as the World Champion team. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Great Britain and the United States, by 2016,135 nations entered teams into the competition. The most successful countries over the history of the tournament are the United States, the present champions are Argentina who beat Croatia to win the title for the first time in 2016. The womens equivalent of the Davis Cup is the Fed Cup, Australia, the Czech Republic, and the United States are the only countries to have held both Davis Cup and Fed Cup titles in the same year. The Hopman Cup, a competition for mixed teams, carries less prestige. The tournament was conceived in 1899 by four members of the Harvard University tennis team who wished to challenge the British to a tennis competition and they in turn commissioned a classically styled design from William B. Durgins of Concord, New Hampshire, crafted by the Englishman Rowland Rhodes, Davis went on to become a prominent politician in the United States in the 1920s, serving as US Secretary of War from 1925 to 1929 and as Governor-General of the Philippines from 1929 to 1932. The first match, between the United States and Britain, was held at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, the American team, of which Dwight Davis was a part, surprised the British by winning the first three matches. The following year the two countries did not compete, but the US won the match in 1902 and Britain won the four matches. By 1905 the tournament expanded to include Belgium, Austria, France, and Australasia, the tournament was initially titled the International Lawn Tennis Challenge although it soon became known as the Davis Cup, after Dwight Davis trophy. The Davis Cup competition was played as a challenge cup. All teams competed against one another for the right to face the previous champion in the final round. Beginning in 1923, the teams were split into two zones, the America Zone and the Europe Zone. The winners of the two met in the Inter-Zonal Zone to decide which national team would challenge the defending champion for the cup. In 1955 a third zone, the Eastern Zone, was added, because there were three zones, the winner of one of the three zones received a bye in the first round of the INZ challenger rounds. In 1966, the Europe Zone was split into two zones, Europe Zone A and Europe Zone B, so the winners of the four competed in the INZ challenger rounds. From 1950 to 1967, Australia dominated the competition, winning the Cup 15 times in 18 years
10.
Australian Open
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The Australian Open is a major tennis tournament held annually over the last fortnight of January in Melbourne, Australia. First held in 1905, the tournament is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events of the year – the other three being the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. It features mens and womens singles, mens, womens and mixed doubles and juniors championships, as well as wheelchair, legends, the Australian Open typically has high attendances, rivalling and occasionally exceeding the US Open. The tournament holds the record for the highest attendance at a Grand Slam event, the Australian Open is managed by Tennis Australia, formerly the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia, and was first played at the Warehousemans Cricket Ground in Melbourne in November 1905. This facility is now known as the Albert Reserve Tennis Centre, the tournament was first known as the Australasian Championships and then became the Australian Championships in 1927 and the Australian Open in 1969. Since 1905, the Australian Open has been staged in five Australian and two New Zealand cities, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Christchurch and Hastings. Though started in 1905, the tournament was not designated as being a championship until 1924. The tournament committee changed the structure of the tournament to include seeding at that time, in 1972, it was decided to stage the tournament in Melbourne each year because it attracted the biggest patronage of any Australian city. The tournament was played at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club from 1972 until the move to the new Melbourne Park complex in 1988, the new facilities at Melbourne Park were envisaged to meet the demands of a tournament that had outgrown Kooyongs capacity. The move to Melbourne Park was an success, with a 90 percent increase in attendance in 1988 on the previous year at Kooyong. Because of Australias geographic remoteness, very few foreign players entered this tournament in the early 20th century, in the 1920s, the trip by ship from Europe to Australia took about 45 days. The first tennis players who came by boats were the US Davis Cup players in November 1946, even inside the country, many players could not travel easily. When the tournament was held in Perth, no one from Victoria or New South Wales crossed by train, in Christchurch in 1906, of a small field of 10 players, only two Australians attended and the tournament was won by a New Zealander. The first tournaments of the Australasian Championships suffered from the competition of the other Australasian tournaments, before 1905, all Australian states and New Zealand had their own championships, the first organised in 1880 in Melbourne and called the Championship of the Colony of Victoria. In those years, the best two players – Australian Norman Brookes and New Zealander Anthony Wilding – almost did not play this tournament, Brookes came once and won in 1911, and Wilding entered and won the competition twice. Their meetings in the Victorian Championships helped to determine the best Australasian players, even when the Australasian Championships were held in Hastings, New Zealand, in 1912, Wilding, though three times Wimbledon champion, did not come back to his home country. It was a problem for all players of the era. Brookes went to Europe only three times, where he reached the Wimbledon Challenge Round once and then won Wimbledon twice
11.
French Open
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The French Open, often referred to as Roland Garros, is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam event held on clay, French spelling rules dictate that in the name of a place or event named after a person, the elements of the name are joined together with a hyphen. Therefore, the names of the stadium and the tournament are hyphenated as Roland-Garros, in 1891 the Championnat de France, which is commonly referred to in English as the French Championships, was begun. It was only open to players who were members of French clubs. The first winner was a Briton—H, the first womens singles tournament, with four entries, was held in 1897. The mixed doubles event was added in 1902 and the doubles in 1907. This French club members only tournament was played until 1924, using four different venues during that period, Île de Puteaux, in Puteaux, the Racing Club de France, played on clay. For one year,1909, it was played at the Société Athlétique de la Villa Primrose in Bordeaux, Tennis Club de Paris, at Auteuil, Paris, played on clay. Another tournament, the World Hard Court Championships, is considered the precursor to the French Open as it was open to international competitors. Winners of this tournament included world no, 1s such as Tony Wilding from New Zealand and Bill Tilden from the US. In 1924 there was no World Hard Court Championships due to tennis being played at the Paris Olympic Games, in 1925, the French Championships became open to all amateurs internationally and was designated a major championship by the ILTF. It was held at the Stade Français in Saint-Cloud in 1925 and 1927, in 1926 the Racing Club de France hosted the event in Paris, site of the previous French club members only Championship, also on clay. In 1928, the Roland Garros stadium was opened and the event has held there ever since. After the Mousquetaires or Philadelphia Four won the Davis Cup on American soil in 1927, the Stade de France had offered the tennis authorities three hectares of land with the condition that the new stadium must be named after the World War I pilot, Roland Garros. The new Stade de Roland Garros, and its Center Court hosted that Davis Cup challenge, during World War II the tournament was held from 1941 through 1945 on the same grounds but these editions are not recognized by the French governing body, Fédération Française de Tennis. From 1946 through 1947, the French Championships were held after Wimbledon, in 1968, the French Championships became the first Grand Slam tournament to go open, allowing both amateurs and professionals to compete. Since 1981, new prizes have been presented, the Prix Orange, the Prix Citron, in another novelty, since 2006 the tournament has begun on a Sunday, featuring 12 singles matches played on the three main courts. Additionally, on the eve of the opening, the traditional Benny Berthet exhibition day takes place
12.
The Championships, Wimbledon
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The Championships, Wimbledon, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and is widely considered the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the others being the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open. Since the Australian Open shifted to hardcourt in 1988, Wimbledon is the only major still played on grass. The tournament takes place two weeks in late June and early July, culminating with the Ladies and Gentlemens Singles Final. Five major, junior, and invitational events are each year. Wimbledon traditions include a dress code for competitors and Royal patronage. The tournament is notable for the absence of sponsor advertising around the courts. In 2009, Wimbledons Centre Court was fitted with a roof to lessen the loss of playing time due to rain. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is a club founded on 23 July 1868. Its first ground was off Worple Road, Wimbledon, in 1876, lawn tennis, a game devised by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield a year or so earlier and originally given the name Sphairistikè, was added to the activities of the club. In spring 1877, the club was renamed The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club, a new code of laws, replacing the code administered by the Marylebone Cricket Club, was drawn up for the event. Todays rules are similar except for such as the height of the net and posts. The inaugural 1877 Wimbledon Championship started on 9 July 1877 and the Gentlemens Singles was the event held. It was won by Spencer Gore, an old Harrovian rackets player, about 200 spectators paid one shilling each to watch the final. The lawns at the ground were arranged so that the court was in the middle with the others arranged around it. The name was retained when the Club moved in 1922 to the present site in Church Road, however, in 1980 four new courts were brought into commission on the north side of the ground, which meant the Centre Court was once more correctly defined. The opening of the new No.1 Court in 1997 emphasised the description, by 1882, activity at the club was almost exclusively confined to lawn tennis and that year the word croquet was dropped from the title. However, for reasons it was restored in 1899
13.
US Open (tennis)
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The United States Open Tennis Championships is a hardcourt tennis tournament. The tournament is the version of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world. The US Open is held annually, starting on the last Monday in August, the main tournament consists of five event championships, mens and womens singles, mens and womens doubles, and mixed doubles, with additional tournaments for senior, junior, and wheelchair players. Since 1978, the tournament has played on acrylic hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens. The US Open is owned and organized by the United States Tennis Association, net proceeds from ticket sales, sponsorships, and television deals are used to promote the development of tennis in the United States. The US Open is the only Grand Slam that employs tiebreakers in every set of a match, the first edition was won by Richard Sears, who went on to win seven consecutive singles titles. In the first years of the U. S. National Championship only men competed and this was followed by the introduction of the U. S. Womens National Doubles Championship in 1899 and the U. S. The womens tournament used a system from 1888 through 1918. This view was opposed by another group of players which included eight former national singles champions, the contentious issue was brought to a vote at the annual USNLTA meeting on February 5,1915 and with 128 votes in favor and 119 against it was decided to relocate. From 1921 through 1923, the tournament was played at the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia and it returned to Forest Hills in 1924 following the completion of the newly constructed 14,000 seat concrete Forest Hills Stadium. Though regarded unofficially by many as a major championship beforehand, the tournament was officially designated as one of the tournaments by the ILTF commencing in 1924. At the 1922 U. S. National Championships the draw for the first time included seeded players in order to avoid leading players drawing against each other in the early rounds. Open era The open era began in 1968 when all five events were merged into the US Open, the 1968 combined tournament was open to professionals for the first time. That year,96 men and 63 women entered the event, from 1970 to 1974 the US Open used a best-of-nine point, sudden death tiebreaker before moving to the ITF best-of-twelve point system. In 1973 the US Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to award equal prize money to men and women with that years singles champions John Newcombe, another US Open innovation came in 1975 when floodlights enabled night play for the first time. In 1978 the tournament moved from the West Side Tennis Club, Forest Hills, Queens to the larger USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens, three miles to the north. In the process, the tournament switched the court surface from clay, jimmy Connors is the only individual to have won US Open singles titles on all three surfaces, while Chris Evert is the only woman to win on two surfaces. The US Open is the only Grand Slam tournament that has played every year since its inception
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Tennis at the Summer Olympics
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After two appearances as a demonstration sport in 1968 and 1984, it returned as a full medal sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics and has been played at every edition of the Games since then. In 1896,1900,1904,1988, and 1992, in all other years, a playoff match for the bronze medal was staged. A player who wins an Olympic gold medal and all four Grand Slam events is said to have won a Golden Slam, the playing surface of the court varies between Olympic Games. It has been on court for every game since 1984 except for the 1992 Olympics. The changing playing surface gives certain players different advantages and disadvantages not seen in most other Olympic sports, = demonstration event List of Olympic venues in tennis Tennis at the Mediterranean Games Tennis at the Pan American Games List of Olympic medalists in tennis Olympic Tennis Event website
15.
Tennis
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Tennis is a racket sport that can be played individually against a single opponent or between two teams of two players each. Each player uses a racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net. The object of the game is to play the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return, the player who is unable to return the ball will not gain a point, while the opposite player will. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society, the sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including wheelchair users. The modern game of tennis originated in Birmingham, England, in the late 19th century as lawn tennis and it had close connections both to various field games such as croquet and bowls as well as to the older racket sport of real tennis. The rules of tennis have changed little since the 1890s, two exceptions are that from 1908 to 1961 the server had to keep one foot on the ground at all times, and the adoption of the tiebreak in the 1970s. Tennis is played by millions of players and is also a popular worldwide spectator sport. Historians believe that the ancient origin lay in 12th century northern France. Louis X of France was a player of jeu de paume, which evolved into real tennis. Louis was unhappy with playing tennis outdoors and accordingly had indoor, in due course this design spread across royal palaces all over Europe. Because of the accounts of his death, Louis X is historys first tennis player known by name. Another of the enthusiasts of the game was King Charles V of France. It wasnt until the 16th century that rackets came into use, and the game began to be called tennis, from the French term tenez, an interjection used as a call from the server to his opponent. It was popular in England and France, although the game was played indoors where the ball could be hit off the wall. Henry VIII of England was a big fan of this game, during the 18th century and early 19th century, as real tennis declined, new racket sports emerged in England. This in turn led to the codification of rules for many sports, including lawn tennis, most football codes, lawn bowls. In 1872, along with two doctors, they founded the worlds first tennis club in Leamington Spa. Evans, turfgrass agronomist, Sports historians all agree that deserves much of the credit for the development of modern tennis, according to Honor Godfrey, museum curator at Wimbledon, Wingfield popularized this game enormously
16.
ATP Challenger Tour
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The ATP Challenger Tour, known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series, is a series of international mens professional tennis tournaments. The ATP Challenger Tour is administered by the Association of Tennis Professionals, players who succeed on the ATP Challenger Tour earn sufficient ranking points to become eligible for main draw or qualifying draw entry at ATP World Tour tournaments. Players on the Challenge Tour are either young players, those who fail to qualify for ATP events, the first challenger events were held in 1978, with eighteen events taking place. Two were held on the week beginning January 8, one in Auckland, events continued after a one-month hiatus with two begun September 24 and 25, one in Tinton Falls, New Jersey and in Lincoln, Nebraska respectively. The following week saw one event played, in Salt Lake City, a final event was played a month later in Kyoto. In comparison, the 2008 schedule saw 178 events played in more than 40 countries. Hospitality bumps the points distribution up one level and the points to the overall range from 80 points for a $40,000 tournament to 125 points for a $220,000 tournament with hospitality. In contrast, the ATP-level tournaments offer total prize money from $400,000 to over $6 million,250 points would get him a ranking just below 200th, while with 100 points he would get to around 425th, and 50 points would put him just below 600th. So rankings points earned in Challengers can help a player to move up in the rankings quickly, players have usually had success at the Futures tournaments of the ATP Tour before competing in Challengers. In February 2007, Tretorn became the ball of the Challenger Series
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Saitama, Saitama
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Saitama is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono. It is a city designated by government ordinance, being in the Greater Tokyo Area and lying 15 to 30 kilometres north of central Tokyo, many of its residents commute into Tokyo. As of 1 February 2016, the city had an population of 1,226,656. Its total area was 217.43 square kilometres, the city was founded on May 1,2001, and was designated on April 1,2003 as a government ordinance. For the histories of Urawa, Ōmiya and Yono before the merger, see, Urawa-ku, Saitama Ōmiya-ku, Saitama and Yono, Saitama, on April 1,2005, Saitama absorbed the city of Iwatsuki to its east, which became a new ward, Iwatsuki-ku. The name Saitama originally comes from the Sakitama district of what is now the city of Gyōda in the part of what is now known as Saitama Prefecture. Sakitama has an ancient history and is mentioned in the famous 8th century poetry anthology Manyōshū, the pronunciation has changed from Sakitama to Saitama over the years. With the merger of Urawa, Ōmiya, and Yono it was decided that a new name, the prefectural name Saitama was changed from kanji into hiragana, thus Saitama City was born. It is the prefectural capital in Japan whose name is always written in hiragana. However, Saitama written in hiragana actually finished in place in public polling to Saitama written in kanji. Despite this, government officials decided to name the new city Saitama in hiragana, in third place in the poll was Ōmiya. In fourth was Saitama, written with a kanji for sai which means colorful. The sai used in the name is a rare form of a common character that means cape or promontory. The city is located 20 to 30 km north of central Tokyo, the western portion of the city lies on the lowland created by the Arakawa River along with those created by small rivers such as the Moto-Arakawa River, Shiba River, and Ayase River. The rest of the area mostly resides on the Ōmiya Plateau lying in the north-south direction, dispersed in this region, major rivers flow southward, almost paralleling to one another. The city is one of commercial centers of the Greater Tokyo area and serves Saitama Prefecture, North Kanto. Saitama is also home to manufacturers, exporting automotive, food, optical, precision
18.
ITF Futures
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The ITF Mens Circuit is a series of professional tennis tournaments held around the world that are organized by the International Tennis Federation. The ITF Mens Circuit represents the lowest rung of the professional tennis ladder. ITF tournaments are incorporated into the ATP rankings, enabling young professionals to progress on to the ATP Challenger Tour, nearly every professional player has spent some time on the ITF Mens Circuit. Originally, the ITF Mens Circuit consisted of satellite tournaments, each of which took place four weeks. Over time, the ratio of Futures tournaments to satellites increased until 2007, Futures tournaments allow for players to win career titles and improve their rankings. Futures are held in both singles and doubles, and last only one week, as of 2017, the prize fund for each tournament is either US$15,000 or US$25,000. Some tournaments also provide housing for participants, Futures usually have sizable qualifying draws, which allow unranked players to enter tournaments and earn ATP ranking points
19.
Bradley Klahn
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Bradley Klahn is an American tennis player from Poway, California. Klahn played collegiate tennis at Stanford University, where he won the 2010 NCAA Singles Championships as a sophomore and his next year as a junior, he was a finalist in the NCAA Doubles Championship. He played at the 2010 US Open, taking a set from 20th seed Sam Querrey before being defeated in four sets, Klahn received a wild card into the 2011 SAP Open. He is coached by Lee Merry and Stanford Boster,30 minutes northeast of San Diego…Growing up, admired countrymen Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick. Achieved his top USTA Boys 18s ranking of No.1 in 2008. He had a ranking in the International Tennis Federation was No.14 and he reached the third round of the 2008 Junior Australian Open, Junior Wimbledon Championships. Klahn was a finalist at the 2008 Kalamazoo B18s doubles and the Optus Nottinghill ITF B18s singles and he won the 2006 USTA Nationals B16s doubles and was a member of the Junior Davis Cup squad that competed in Barcelona that same year. Bradley went to Stanford and was the ITA National Rookie of the Year, Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, Klahn became just the fourth player in school history to claim both the Pac-10 Singles and Doubles Championships in the same year. He led team with an record of 35–9, playing mainly at the top two spots of the lineup. He had the team-best 20–5 in dual matches with a 7–1 mark at the No.1 position and he went 19–8 against nationally ranked opponents and finished with a national ranking of No.32. He had two different 10-match winning streaks on the year, including a season-best 11-match winning streak from Apr 8 to May 8 and his highest-ranked victory was a 6–2, 7–5 win over No.7 Robert Farah of USC on Apr 25. In his first career match, picked up a 6–4, 6–4 win against Kentuckys Brad Cox at the ITA All-American Championships, in double he teamed up with Ryan Thacher for a final No.28 national ranking and an 11–4 record. The duo also claimed its first title, winning the Pac-10 doubles crown, advanced to the round of 32 at the ITA All-American Championships and advanced to the doubles semifinals of the ITA Regional Championships with Clayton. He almost captured the NCAA Doubles crown as well, advancing to the semifinals and he finished season with a national singles ranking of No.4. He reached the title match after knocking off the tournaments top seed. 2-ranked player in Henrique Cunha of Duke 6–2, 6–2 and he notched two different season-best nine-match winning streaks and led team in victories with a 41–8 overall record while also going 17–5 in duals and playing all his matches at the No.1 position. Klahn was 23–8 against nationally ranked opponents, 15–6 against Pac-10 foes, 12–2 in home matches and he posted a 3–2 mark against players ranked in the top-10 at the time of the match. Klahn opened the year by winning 18 of his first 20 matches and he partnered exclusively with Ryan Thacher in doubles and the duo finished 40–8 overall, 17–3 in duals, 14–5 against Pac-10 opponents, 13–6 against nationally ranked foes and 11–0 in home matches
20.
2014 Australian Open
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The 2014 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park between 13–26 January 2014. It was the 102nd edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, the tournament consisted of events for professional players in singles, doubles and mixed doubles play. Junior and wheelchair players competed in singles and doubles tournaments, Li Na won the womens singles, beating Dominika Cibulková in the final. Stanislas Wawrinka defeated Rafael Nadal in the singles final to win his first grand slam title. Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci defended their womens doubles title with a victory over Ekaterina Makarova, Łukasz Kubot and Robert Lindstedt took the mens doubles title with a victory over Eric Butorac and Raven Klaasen. The mixed doubles were won by Kristina Mladenovic and Daniel Nestor, with Sania Mirza, both defending singles champions lost in the quarterfinals, the first time in the open era. Novak Djokovic was the defending champion in the mens singles. Two-time defending champion Victoria Azarenka also failed to defend her title in the womens singles, in addition, the mens doubles defending champions Bob & Mike Bryan also failed to defend their title, while Errani and Vinci managed to retain their title. As in previous years, this tournaments title sponsor was Kia, the 2014 Australian Open was the 102nd edition of the tournament and was held at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The tournament was run by the International Tennis Federation and was part of the 2014 ATP World Tour, the tournament consisted of both mens and womens singles and doubles draws as well as a mixed doubles event. The tournament was played on courts and took place over a series of 16 courts. The latter was undergoing refurbishment, as part of the Melbourne Park Redevelopment project, in Australia, all matches were broadcast live by the Seven Network. The majority of matches were shown on the primary channel Channel Seven, however during news programming nationwide and most night matches in Perth. Lleyton Hewitt, who was competing in the tournament, would become a commentator if he is knocked out, some outside court matches were shown on Fox Sports on Foxtel. Below is a series of tables for each of the showing the ranking points on offer for each event. The Australian Open total prize money for 2014 was increased by three million Australian dollars to tournament record A$33,000,000 and he won his opening round match over Jan Hájek. Frank Dancevic describes the conditions as inhumane, the duo lost to Eric Butorac and Raven Klaasen 6–4, 7–5. Chinese Li Na saved 1 match point at 1-6, 5-6, 30-40 during the match against Lucie Šafářová. It was later revealed that Williams had played through the match with a back injury, the match lasted only 78 minutes, as Butorac and Klaasen won 7–6, 6–4
21.
Thomaz Bellucci
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Thomaz Cocchiarali Bellucci is a Brazilian professional tennis player. He achieved a singles ranking of World No.21 in July 2010. Bellucci used a string of ATP Challenger Tour victories early in 2008 to break into the top 100 rankings of the ATP World Tour as a 20-year-old and he has won 4 ATP World Tour titles and reached the semi-finals of the 2011 Madrid Masters. Thomazs playing style is using the heavy topspin of his big forehand to control points and his two-handed backhand is much more compact than his forehand, and is flatter, which allows him to take balls earlier on his backhand wing and drive the ball for winners. His preferred court is clay, but shows the potential to get much better at faster courts as well. Bellucci reached as high as No.15 in the combined world rankings. 582, but began an ascent in June to finish the year at No.202. The 20-year-old Bellucci continued his rapid rise early in 2008, the first week of the year, ranked No. 202, he made it to the quarterfinals of a Challenger in São Paulo. The following week, he beat No.130 Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo and No.140 Eduardo Schwank en route to his first-ever Challenger title, in Santiago, Chile, the next week, he beat No.162 Dick Norman before losing in a Challenger second round match. In April, Bellucci began a string of Challenger match wins in singles play. First he won a minor Challenger in Florianópolis, Brazil, and those wins got him into the top 100 for the first time at No.100. In late May, he qualified into his first French Open, lost to 3-time defending champion, at Wimbledon, he achieved his first win in a Grand Slam event, defeating Igor Kunitsyn in four sets. Bellucci began the year reaching the Brasil Open final for the first time and he upset the former world No. 1,2003 French Open champion, and 2007 Brasil Open titlist Juan Carlos Ferrero in the Quarterfinals and it was his first ATP Tour final, after a string of Challengers. Ranked No.119 in the world at the time of his victory in Switzerland, in October, Bellucci reached his first hard-court ATP World Tour semifinal. He reached the last 4 at the Stockholm Open, losing to Olivier Rochus in three sets and he then followed his good form to win his second challenger title of the year, at the 2009 Copa Petrobras São Paulo in Brazil. He beat Nicolás Lapentti of Ecuador to win the sixth challenger of his career, and this result bumped Bellucci up to No.37 in the world, the first time that Thomaz was ranked inside the Top 40 in the world in singles
22.
Federico Delbonis
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Federico Delbonis is an Argentine professional tennis player. Delbonis won five Challenger and Futures titles from the time he turned professional in 2009 until 2013 and he qualified at the 2013 International German Open and beat Tommy Robredo, Dmitry Tursunov and Fernando Verdasco. He beat the Spaniard in a tight three-setter to set up a meeting in the semifinals with Roger Federer, here, Delbonis scored by far the biggest win of his career, defeating Federer in two tiebreaks to book his place in his first ATP Tour final. He finished runner-up to Fabio Fognini, squandering a set and 4–1 lead and this performance raised his ranking into the top 100 for the first time in his career. In 2014 he went on to win his first ATP title when he defeated Paolo Lorenzi, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 and it was their first tour level match against each other, however Lorenzi has won against Delbonis in past three Challenger events. The win enabled to reach a new mens singles ranking of 44. Delbonis started his season at the 2016 Apia International Sydney and he beat Sam Groth in the first round in straight sets. In his second round he played Teymuraz Gabashvili losing in straight sets 3-6 3-6, Delbonis then played at the first major of the year at the 2016 Australian Open. In the first round he upset 22nd seed Ivo Karlović after Karlović had to retire in the third set, Delbonis then reached the third round of a major for the first time in his career after beating Renzo Olivo in the second round in five sets. He then lost in straight sets to 14th seed Gilles Simon 3-6 2-6 1-6, Delbonis next played at the 2016 Argentina Open. He beat 6th seed Fabio Fognini in the first round after being a set down and he lost his second round match to eventual finalist Nicolás Almagro 3-6 6-4 4-6. Delbonis played in clay court tournament at the 2016 Rio Open. In his first round he beat 6th seed Jack Sock in straight sets and he followed this up with another win in straight sets in the second round beating Paolo Lorenzi. He then lost in the quarterfinals against eventual champion Pablo Cuevas 4-6 6-7 and he then played in his third straight clay court tournament at the 2016 Brasil Open as the 4th seed. He got a bye pass in the first round, in the second round he beat Diego Schwartzman after being a set down. In the quarterfinals he lost to Íñigo Cervantes 6-76-2 4-6, Delbonis next competed at the first Masters 1000 of the year at the 2016 Indian Wells Masters. In the first round he defeated Santiago Giraldo in straight sets, in the second round he defeated 32nd seed João Sousa also in straight sets. In the third round Delbonis earned his biggest win of his career defeating 2nd seed Andy Murray in three sets 6-4 4-6 7-6 and this was Delboniss third top 10 win
23.
Czech Republic Davis Cup team
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The Czech Republic Davis Cup team represents the Czech Republic in Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Czech Tennis Federation. The Czech team was started in 1993, following the break-up of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic won the Davis Cup in 1980 as Czechoslovakia, and in 2012 and 2013 as the Czech Republic in Prague and Belgrade respectively. The team currently competes in the World Group and it has played in the World Group in all but one year since it was created in 1981, sharing this record with the United States. Jan Šátral Jiří Veselý Zdeněk Kolář Radek Štěpánek The Czech Republic competed in its first Davis Cup in 1921, here is the list of all match-ups since 1981, when the competition started being held in the current World Group format. Davis Cup Czech Republic Fed Cup team Team page on DavisCup. com
24.
Japan Davis Cup team
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The Japan Davis Cup team represents Japan in Davis Cup tennis competition and is governed by the Japan Tennis Association. Japan first competed at the Davis Cup in 1921, where they finished as runners-up and they were an inaugural member of the World Group in 1981 and competed at the top division until 1985 when they were relegated to the second division. They are currently competing in the World Group for the sixth time, france Rankings as of 30 January 2017 Yoshihito Nishioka Taro Daniel Yūichi Sugita Yasutaka Uchiyama The following players have been called up in the last two years. Kei Nishikori Go Soeda Tatsuma Ito Japan competed in its first Davis Cup in 1921 finishing as the runners-up to the United States, Davis Cup Japan Fed Cup team Team page on DavisCup. com
25.
Milos Raonic
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Milos Raonic is a Canadian professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals world No.3 singles ranking on November 21,2016, coupled with his first ATP World Tour title three weeks later, his world ranking rose from No.152 to No.37 in one month. He was awarded the 2011 ATP Newcomer of the Year, and has been ranked continuously inside the top 20 since August 2012. Raonic is the first player born in the 1990s to win an ATP World Tour title, to be ranked in the top 10 and he has eight ATP World Tour titles. Raonic is the most successful Canadian singles player in history and he became the highest-ranked Canadian male ever on February 21,2011, when he reached world No.37. His career-high world No.3 ranking is the highest by a Canadian man or woman and he is the first Canadian male in the Open Era to reach the Australian Open semifinals, the French Open quarterfinals, and the Wimbledon final. He has more ATP World Tour titles and finals appearances in the Open Era than all other Canadian men combined, Raonic is frequently described as having one of the best serves among his contemporaries. Statistically, Raonic is among the strongest servers in the Open Era, aided by his serve, he plays an all-court style with an emphasis on short points. Every one of his singles titles has won on hard courts. Raonic was born on December 27,1990, in Titograd, SFR Yugoslavia, prompted by the political unrest in the Balkans, and seeking more professional opportunities, his family moved to Canada in 1994 when he was three, settling in Brampton, Ontario. His parents are engineers, his father, Dušan, holds a Ph. D. in electrical engineering, while his mother, Vesna, has degrees in mechanical. Raonics uncle, Branimir Gvozdenović, is a politician in the Government of Montenegro, Raonic is fluent in Serbian and English. He moved to nearby Thornhill, Ontario soon after, and one or two years passed before he asked his parents if he could play again and his father sought out coach Casey Curtis at the Blackmore Tennis Club in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Curtis was at first reluctant to take on Raonic, but was convinced after Raonic demonstrated his commitment by working with his father, years later, Raonic said he chose tennis because of its individuality and felt could train more alone and on a ball machine with dad. Raonic and Curtis worked together twice a day, almost every day, provided that he complete his courses, Raonic was allowed to reduce his hours of attendance at Thornhill Elementary School so that he could practice more, which he did both before and after school. His parents and siblings supported his tennis, taking turns driving him to practice and tournaments, rather, they emphasized school throughout, insisting that he maintain academic excellence as a prerequisite to playing tennis. He attended Thornhill Secondary School, and accelerated his course load—achieving an 82 percent average—so that he could graduate a year early, Raonics four favourite sports teams are FC Barcelona, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Toronto Raptors. He played in the 2016 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game held in Toronto and he worked for Rogers Sportsnet as an analyst while recovering from injury for their broadcast of the 2011 Canadian Open
26.
Filippo Volandri
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Filippo Volandri is an Italian professional male tennis player. Volandri is a player who reached a career-high singles ranking of world no.25 in July 2007. He turned pro in 1997 and has earned over $3,000,000 in prize money, Volandri won the second title of his career in September 2006, beating Nicolás Lapentti in the final of the Sicily International in Palermo. At the Rome Masters in 2007 Volandri, having entered as a card, recorded the biggest win of his career by beating the then world no.1 Roger Federer in straight sets 6–2. Volandri celebrated by doing a lap of honour around centre court, for his part Federer offered few excuses for his out-of-character display. The win meant that Volandri would be the first Italian to reach the semifinals since 1978. His run stopped in the semifinals, however, as he lost to Fernando González, in the French Open he was the 29th seed and he made it to the fourth round projecting him up to 25 th in the world, before losing in straight sets to Tommy Robredo. However, since then he has competed on the ATP Challenger Tour. Volandri had earlier come under suspicion for betting and match fixing, in January 2009, Volandri received a three-month ban from the ATP for a doping offence after testing positive for salbutamol during the Indian Wells tournament. Volandri had an exemption from the International Tennis Federation to use salbutamol, an asthma medication. His suspension was to last until 14 April 2009 and required him to forfeit all prize money, in March 2009, the Court of Arbitration for Sport overruled the ATP decision and ruled that Volandri should be reinstated and his forfeited ranking points and earnings returned to him. Volandri stated that he intended to sue the ATP over the incident, current as far as the 2016 Internazionali BNL dItalia. 1 Was played on hardcourt from 2002–2008.2 Held as Hamburg Masters until 2008, current as far as the 2012 US Open. Filippo Volandri at the Association of Tennis Professionals Filippo Volandri at the International Tennis Federation Filippo Volandri at the Davis Cup Official website Volandri world ranking history
Japan
Malek Jaziri
Bradley Klahn
Pablo Carreño Busta
Filippo Volandri
John Millman
Casper Ruud
Chung Hyeon
Leonardo Mayer
Alexander Rumyantsev
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