CHAOS WINS IN RIO, KYRGIOS IN ATLANTA

This Week In Tennis
​Vol. 31

Nick Kyrgios, Irina-Camelia Begu, and Ying Ying Duan won titles on the ATP and WTA tours last week. The trio of events took place against the backdrop of Olympic tennis getting underway in Rio de Janeiro. By week's end, the tournament saw a host of top seeds in singles and doubles make early exits: Venus Williams, Radwanska, Bacsinszky, Jamie and Andy Murray, Mladenovic/Garcia, and Mahut/Herbert. However, the biggest upset of them all was Juan Martin del Potro's first round defeat of top seed Novak Djokovic. 

​Volume 31 of #ThisWeekInTennis will take a look back at the big winners and losers in tennis last week and get you primed for week two of Olympic tennis. 

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RUNDOWN

• Top seeds upset at the Olympics: Djokovic, V. Williams, Muguruza, Tsonga, Bacsinszky, Radwanska.
• High profile doubles teams losing early: Williams/Williams, Mahut/Herbert, Garcia/Mladenovic, Murray/Murray.
• Novak Djokovic suffered a shock first round loss to Juan Martin del Potro at the Olympics. When the match was over, the two shared an emotional embrace at net, with both players shedding tears before leaving the court. 
• Nick Kyrgios made the most of his decision to skip the Rio Olympics by winning the title in Atlanta last week. Kyrgios dethroned three-time defending champion John Isner in the final. 
• Irina-Camelia Begu won her third WTA title, beating Timea Babos in the  Florianópolis final. 
• Ying Ying Duan scored the first WTA title of her career, overcoming a set and a break deficit to beat Vania King in the Nanchang final.
• John Isner, who opted to try for a four-peat in Atlanta instead of the Olympic Games, reached the finals before losing to Nick Kyrgios in two tiebreak sets. 
• Reilly Opelka jumps 442 spots in the latest ATP rankings after reaching the semifinals in Atlanta. He defeated Kevin Anderson and Donald Young before losing to Isner.
• Denis Shapovalov followed up his second round showing at the Rogers Cup with a quarterfinal run at the Challenger event in Granby. The young Canadian also announced he will no longer play junior events.
• Frances Tiafoe won the Challenger event in Granby, Canada. The title was Tiafoe's first Challenger win of his career; the young American jumps 26 spots in the rankings to #123. 
• Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza have called time on their doubles partnership. 
• Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic lost their opening round doubles match. The pair had to scramble at the last minute to comply with tournament rules stating both players must wear the same colours. Garcia took to Twitter afterward to voice her displeasure with the French Federation for failing to alert the pair of the rules beforehand.
• Rafael Nadal says his wrist is still not fully healed, but he has entered all three events at the Rio Olympics. 
• Venus Williams suffered first round losses in both singles and doubles. The 36-year-old American will partner Rajeev Ram in the Mixed Doubles event. 

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​CLICK BELOW: Rio Olympic Tennis Draws

Olympic Tennis Draws

pic.twitter.com/fxDKj1B7Ci

— Caroline Garcia (@CaroGarcia) August 7, 2016

Wish I was there with you pic.twitter.com/7cItiTCtL5

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) August 6, 2016

@bgtennisnation thanks for the support bg! I'm guessing you won every match in your career that you were supposed to? □□□□

— Jack Sock (@JackSock) August 6, 2016

So just walked by @MichaelPhelps in the athlete resto and was too shy to ask for a pic □□

— Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) August 7, 2016

Hello la #TsongaTeam □□□ #Rio2016 #ClubFrance pic.twitter.com/4oMenNfsek

— Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (@tsonga7) August 4, 2016

¿¿Qué os parece?? What do you think?? #Tenis Equipo Olímpico/Olympic Team □□ #Rio2016 @COE_es ¡¡¡VAMOS!!!! pic.twitter.com/fWpGxQ9GiS

— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) August 4, 2016

Un orgullo poder representar a #España en #Rio2016!!

Proud to represent #Spain in #Rio2016!! pic.twitter.com/CtnmwCem3o

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) August 6, 2016

So excited to support #teamUSA today in the olympics - especially my fellow WTAers!! Watching closely!! □□ #RoadToRio #RioOlympics2016

— Nicole Gibbs (@Gibbsyyyy) August 6, 2016

□□NEWS□□ #newcoach @OfficialGoran pic.twitter.com/x1dMeS9xWb

— Tomáš Berdych (@tomasberdych) August 8, 2016

Need I say more?! Playing tomorrow night and just can't wait! #olympics #dreams pic.twitter.com/XMciaBvGHT

— Venus Williams (@Venuseswilliams) August 5, 2016

The □□-Team is now complete!The Champ just arrived @mhingis □ ! #justthetwoofus #Rio2016 #olympicscannowbegin □□ pic.twitter.com/0SIRLB8xwE

— Timea Bacsinszky (@TimeaOfficial) August 4, 2016

​RANKINGS

• ​WTA: Begu (+6 to #25), Stephens(-6 to #28), Puig (+3 to #34), Makarova (-5 to #35), Lepchenko (-11 to #56), Riske (-9 to #68), Gibbs (-5 to #74), Hibino (+9 to #75), Chirico (-8 to #82), Osaka (+4 to #84), King (+16 to #90), Schiavone (+6 to #98)

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• ​ATP: Raonic (+1 to #6), Nishikori (-1 to #7), Kyrgios (+2 to #16), Isner (-2 to #19), Kohlschreiber (-5 to #28), Young (+4 to #49), Fritz (+4 to #56), Mathieu (-15 to #69), Berankis (-18 to #89), Tiafoe (+26 to #123), Groth (-61 to #229), Shapovalov (+18 to #273), Opelka (+442 to #395)

​ON THE WEB

​No Rain in Sight, but a Closed Roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium Is Welcomed
American Tennis in Black and White
​Learning to Cross the Line in Doubles
​Novak Djokovic Upset in First Round by Juan Martín del Potro
​USTA Names Eric Butorac As Director, Professional Tennis Operations And Player Relations
​Billie Jean King returns to TeamTennis world she helped build
​Mailbag: Tennis is better for Olympics, despite high-profile withdrawalse
​For The Love of the Games: Venus to Play Record Fifth Olympic Tennis Event in Rio
How Gold Helped Save Andre Agassi's Career
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PODCASTS

No Challenges Remaining - Olympian Upset: Delpo Defeats Djokovic​
The Main Draw - We Fix The Olympics
The Main Draw - Oh Canada!   
​The Night Session - Going for Gold in Rio: All the Oil-Covered, Candle-Scented Fun​
​Mind The Racket - Oh, Canada
Break Point Podcast - Episode 39

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