BIG FOUR RETURN TO MIXED RESULTS

This Week In Tennis
​Season 2, Vol 8

​#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, player tweets, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.

Photo credit: Getty Images

RUNDOWN

• Andy Murray  won for the first time in Dubai, in his first event since the Australian Open. Murray saved seven match points in a quarterfinal against Philipp Kohlschreiber before beating Fernando Verdasco in the final.  The world #1 also told reporters he battled shingles during his absence from the tour.
• Sam Querrey scored the biggest title of his career, overcoming Rafael Nadal in the Acapulco final. Querrey beat four top 20 players en route to wearing the Champion's sombrero at tournament's end: Goffin, Thiem, Kyrgios, and the aforementioned Nadal. 
• Lesia Tsurenko won the third WTA title of her career, beating Kristina Mladenovic in the Acapulco final. The Ukrainian jumps nine spots to #41 in the new WTA rankings. 
• Ashleigh Barty had the biggest week of her career, winning her first WTA title as well as the doubles cown in Kuala Lumpur. The 20-year-old Australian left tennis after the 2014 U.S. Open, eventually trying her hand at professional cricket, before making her return last year. 
• Pablo Cuevas  won his third consecutive title at the Brazil Open, beating Albert Ramos-Vinolas in a rain-delayed final. Cuevas created a stir on social media when he utilized an underhand serve on a winning match point.
• Rafael Nadal made his third trip to the Acapulco final in three tries. Unlike his two prior appearances, Nadal came up one match short of the title, losing to Sam Querrey.
• Fernando ​Verdasco's resurgent 2017 campaign (SF, Doha) continued last week in Dubai, reaching the final before losing to Andy Murray. The Spaniard's new ranking of #29 is his highest since July 7. 2014. 
• Kristina Mladenovic appeared in tennis headlines for two reasons last week: reaching the finals in Acapulco, and announcing her successful doubles partnership with Caroline Garcia has ended. 
• Roger Federer suffered a shock loss to Evgeny Donskoy in Dubai. In his first appearance since winning an 18th Grand Slam title in Australia, Federer beat Benoit Paire in his opening match before losing three match points in the second set and a 5-1 lead in the deciding tiebreak to the world #116.
• Novak Djokovic appeared to regain form in beating Juan Martin del Potro in a three-set Acapulco second round match. However, the world #2 would go on to lose in straight sets his next time out to Nick Kyrgios. The Australian has now beaten each of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic in his first meeting with all three.

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A post shared by Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) on Mar 6, 2017 at 9:15pm PST

"And than what happened??" "Gurllllllll" @venuswilliams

A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Feb 28, 2017 at 6:42am PST

Stan, my BH is better than yours-TH,my BH is better than yours-Stan,i have a winning H2H record against you,my BH is better than yours-TH, i am a 3x Slam Champion,my BH is better than yours-Stan,like i said,your BH is better than mine :) @stanwawrinka85 @bnpparibasopen #bnppo17 #indianwells

A post shared by tommy haas (@tommyhaasofficial) on Mar 5, 2017 at 11:57am PST

Campeones!! □ □ @ Abierto Mexicano de Tenis https://t.co/sSLgHXl3Rx

— Jamie Murray (@jamie_murray) March 5, 2017

pic.twitter.com/UXIc9O9QsA

— Kristina Mladenovic (@KikiMladenovic) March 5, 2017

pic.twitter.com/s1olIiHOK1

— Caroline Garcia (@CaroGarcia) March 6, 2017

Amazing amazing amazing!!! ?#1 and ?#3
Unforgettable week ? pic.twitter.com/3JdfkPVijB

— Ash Barty (@ashbar96) March 5, 2017

Really excited to see what these two amazing players have in store for us next week at the first #atpmasters1000 @bnpparibasopen @grigordimitrov @alexzverev123 What do you guys think? #indianwellstennisgarden #iwtg #darkhorses #rolemodels #whoscoming

A post shared by tommy haas (@tommyhaasofficial) on Mar 1, 2017 at 12:10pm PST

Is this me? I'm just going to selfishly assume it's me. Regardless this is so cool. pic.twitter.com/bWFS6xGxYX

— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@Naomi_Osaka_) March 5, 2017

Mi chicos.....□□ https://t.co/cOm0ExIJCa

— judy murray (@JudyMurray) March 5, 2017

We miss you amigo. pic.twitter.com/jmfwkXlgs9

— Juan M. del Potro (@delpotrojuan) March 6, 2017

RANKINGS WATCH

• ATP: Querrey (+14 to #26), Verdasco (+6 to #29), Ferrer (-4 to #32), del Potro (-3 to #35), Troicki (-5 to #39), Haase (+19 to #47), Delbonis (+5 to #49), Coric (+5 to #59), Dzumhur (+10 to #67), Nishioka (+16 to #70), Tiafoe (+3 to #86), Garcia-Lopez (+8 to #89),  ​Donskoy (+17 to #99) 

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• ​WTA​​:​ Mladenovic (+4 to #26), Lucic-Baroni (+4 to #30), Tsurenko (+9 to #41), Bouchard (-7 to #53), Rogers (+4 to #59), Ostapenko (+7 to #64), Linette (+13 to #80), Hibino (+25 to #81), Kucova (-7 to #82), Vekic (+4 to #86), Flipkens (-11 to #87), Barty (+66 to #92), Gibbs (-10 to #94)

ON THE WEB

​For CiCi Bellis, a Rising Teenage Star, What a Difference a Year Makes
​Mailbag: Novak Djokovic's return and what to make of Milos Raonic's recent form
​Serena Williams & Patrick Mouratoglou prepare for March Madness in Indian Wells & Miami
​Rising teens Naomi Osaka and Ana Konjuh discuss challenges of life on tour
​Djokovic Influence At Heart Of Serbian Challenger Success
​Maria Sharapova may not get French Open wild card
​Defying Tennis Tradition, a Product of Public Courts Is on the Rise
Shahar Peer Talks Legacy, Politics, and the Power of Sport
​Venus Williams: Tennis star dreams of playing into her 40s
​Venus Joins Her Retired Peers in Exhibition—Except She’s Not Retired
​Unlike Bernard Tomic, at least there's hope for Nick Kyrgios

PODCASTS

The Body Serve - Farewell Frantic February, Hello Indian Wells
No Challenges Remaining - ​Gulf Claps with Reem Abulleil
Realz Tenis Fanz - The Boyz Are Back In Town​
​The Tennis Podcast - ​Murray Back and Bouncing...
​WTA Insider - Israel's Shahar Peer reflects on her groundbreaking career
Tennis With An Accent -Becker Edberg Debate