Missed something? Read it again? Find First Ball Forehand posts below. Enjoy!
-
Miami: Grigor Dimitrov tops Brandon Nakashima, reaches QF
Last year’s Miami Open finalist Grigor Dimitrov is the first player to reach the quarter-final in Florida this week. Grigor faced the 31sd seed Brandon Nakashima in the fourth round and earned a 6-4, 7-5 victory in an hour and 23 minutes. The more experienced player took five points more than his opponent. They embraced…
-
Iga Swiatek gets real on why it is hard for her to overtake Aryna Sabalenka at No. 1
Iga Swiatek highlights she wants to be world No. 1 again but admits that is looking like a long shot at the moment, considering that she has a ton of points to defend. Following last year’s US Open quarterfinal exit, the Pole also automatically lost the top spot to Aryna Sabalenka. Then, she was hit…
-
Naomi Osaka shares message after promising Miami run ends in heartbreaking loss
Naomi Osaka maybe didn’t have a desired ending to her Miami Open run but it doesn’t change the fact that she still absolutely enjoyed her time at the tournament. On Monday, the Japanese was aiming to get her fourth consecutive win but also register her first top-10 victory in 2025. And after winning the opening…
-
Stan Wawrinka makes winning start in Naples
World no. 168 Stan Wawrinka is back at Challengers for the first time since October last year. The oldest player in top-200 has yet to score a win on the ATP level in 2025. The Swiss decided to step down to Challengers, starting his clay swing in Naples. The former Roland Garros champion faced a…
-
Miami: Taylor Fritz downs Denis Shapovalov, remains on title course
Taylor Fritz is through to the last 16 at the home Miami Open. The top-ranked American faced Denis Shapovalov in the third round and scored a 7-5, 6-3 victory in an hour and 26 minutes. Thus, the American defeated the Canadian for the third time in the previous four encounters. The 3rd seed claimed 19…
-
Novak Djokovic enters Madrid Masters, seeks fourth Caja Magica title
Novak Djokovic will return to the Madrid Masters next month. The three-time Caja Magica champion will compete in the Spanish capital for the first time since 2022 and only the second after 2019. Thus, Novak should enter the opening four Masters 1000 events of the season, making a change in comparison to 2024 and playing much…
-
Elena Rybakina being spotted with Stefano Vukov on practice court leaves fans baffled
Elena Rybakina has been spotted practicing with Stefano Vukov at a private tennis club ahead of the upcoming clay season, but while some fans are surprised, they aren’t breaching any rules since the Croatian is only not allowed to accompany the Kazakh on official tournament sites. After the Australian Open finished, the WTA confirmed that…
-
Boris Becker rips into Novak Djokovic’s PTPA lawsuit against ATP, WTA
Boris Becker isn’t a supporter of the PTPA suing the governing bodies of tennis as the German tennis legend has stated that he “cannot take it seriously” when one of the main faces behind the lawsuit is a person who doesn’t have a tennis background. A week ago, the Novak Djokovic-led PTPA announced it was…
-
Sabalenka on PTPA lawsuit: Players deserve a bigger slice of the prize money!
In a recent comment on the PTPA lawsuit against the ATP, WTA, ITF, and ITIA, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka shared her thoughts on the ongoing legal battle, acknowledging the need for a greater share of tournament revenue for players. However, she made it clear that she has kept her focus on tennis and didn’t…
-
Jakub Mensik, Giant Killer
Watch out On Saturday, Jakub Mensik did it again. Jack Draper was coming off an Indian Wells title, the fortnight of his career, but Mensik was a little bit better. Both sets went to tiebreaks, and twice, at six-all, the 19-year-old Czech took his serving to a new level. He won 14 of 19 tiebreak…
-
Iga Swiatek had great message after getting job done late vs Elina Svitolina in Miami
Iga Swiatek seemingly had one thing in mind after completing a late-night 7-6 (5) 6-3 Miami win over Elina Svitolina as the Pole couldn’t wait to crawl into her bed and get some sleep. On Monday, the Pole and Ukrainian saw the start of their match pushed back for two hours. When they got to…
-
Miami: Alex de Minaur edges valiant Joao Fonseca
Alex de Minaur battled against the young gun Joao Fonseca and his partisan Brazilian crowd at Miami Open’s Stadium. The 10th seed prevailed over a teenager 5-7, 7-5 6-3 in two hours and 31 minutes for a place in the last 16. Joao had a chance to notch another notable victory during his brilliant Miami…
-
Alexander Zverev hails Jannik Sinner’s brilliance: ‘He outplayed me in every aspect’
Alexander Zverev entered the Australian Open as one of the favorites. World no. 2 passed six obstacles and reached his third Major final. However, the defending champion Jannik Sinner proved too strong, sealing the deal in straight sets and extending his reign. Speaking about the Melbourne final following his win at the Miami Open, Alexander…
-
Iga Swiatek explains message she wanted to send to Polish people with viral letter
Iga Swiatek reveals her recent social media letter was mostly directed at Polish people as she wanted to point out some things and hopefully see a change in how she gets treated and supported back home. After failing to end her title drought during the Middle East swing – which has usually been a happy…
-
Taylor Fritz has major advantage over all his rivals in Miami
Taylor Fritz knows he has a very significant chance at the Miami Open this year. The American ace has not shined in this first segment of the season, partly due to a knee injury that forced him to miss the Acapulco ATP 500 and did not allow him to be at his best at the…
-
Nick Kyrgios says it is true that Rafael Nadal was ‘horrible practice partner’
Nick Kyrgios says John Isner was telling the truth when the former American tennis star described Rafael Nadal as “a horrible practice partner.” The American, who launched a tennis podcast last summer along with Jack Sock, Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson, decided to tell one interesting story from the 2017 China Open on his show’s…
-
Watch: Obsessed hater comes to Iga Swiatek’s Miami practice, shouts personal insults
Iga Swiatek went through a very unpleasant situation before her Miami Open third-round match as a person described as an obsessed critic and hater came to her practice session and hurled some pretty disgusting and personal insults. Before beating Elise Mertens 7-6 (2) 6-1, the five-time Grand Slam champion hit the practice court to do…
-
Viktor Hovland returns to winning ways on Pga
Viktor Hovland returned to success on the PGA Tour, winning the 2025 Valspar Championship with a stunning performance that ended a drought of almost two years of victories. On the difficult Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort, the Norwegian closed the tournament at -11 (273 total shots: 70-67-69-67), beating his American rival Justin Thomas by just…
-
Miami: Jessica Pegula ousts No. 23 seed, sets up Emma Raducanu QF showdown
No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula has reached the Miami Open quarterfinal for the fourth successive year after routing 23rd-seeded Marta Kostyuk 6-2 6-3 in an hour and 23 minutes of play. Throughout the entire match, the American tennis star was putting major pressure on the Ukrainian’s serve and that resulted in 19 break point opportunities…
-
Miami: Coco Gauff blasts stunning 45 unforced in shock loss, while Emma Raducanu wins
Coco Gauff has failed to turn the page at the Miami Open after picking up yet another shock and disappointing loss, while Emma Raducanu continues her fine form and has been through to her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal. Against unseeded Magda Linette, the third-seeded sprayed 12 double faults, 45 unforced errors, and lost her serve…