Tennis Notes From Ricky & Fred, 10sballs’ Eyes & Ears At The Nitto ATP Finals In London

Photo by 10sBalls

 

 

By Ricky Dimon and J. Fred Sidhu

 

Fred has arrived in London, so the 10sballs team is now fully on board at the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals in London. They will be covering the action the rest of the way, from the matches, to the boat rides, to the food, etc., etc. etc.

 

Fred’s notes

 

Unbreakable Record: Through the history of the ATP Finals, there have been many records set—but one record will probably never be broken. John McEnroe, a three-time singles champion, teamed with fellow American Peter Fleming to capture the ATP Finals doubles title an incredible seven years in a row from 1978 to 1984.

 

Multi-Purpose Venue: This marks the 10th year the Nitto ATP Finals have been played at the O2 Arena. It hosted gymnastics and basketball games during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and the building is the first purpose-built music venue in London since Royal Albert Hall was constructed in 1871.

 

Trivia Question: Heading into the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals, 37-year-old Roger Federer has won 99 career ATP World Tour singles titles. In what city has he won the most singles titles? Answer: Federer has won more singles titles in London (10) than any other city with a record eight Wimbledon championships to go along with titles in the ATP Finals at the O2 Arena in 2010 and 2011.

 

Advanced Sound: The O2 acoustics are designed to provide a state-of-the-art sound experience. The underside of the roof, upper walls, balcony fronts, and seats are treated to absorb sound, making the O2 the most advanced venue in Europe. In addition, the building also features the world’s largest fabric structure and is visible from space.

 

Now You Know: This year marks the second year for Nitto as the title sponsor of the ATP Finals. The company, which is also known as the Nitto Denko Corporation, was founded in Tokyo and celebrated its 100th anniversary this past October. Initially, Nitto produced electrical insulating materials, but today it has developed its business globally and offers various products in fields such as electronics, automobiles, housing, infrastructure, environment, and medicine, based on our core technologies of adhesive and coating technology.

 

Ricky’s addition

 

Speaking of trivia, Fred gave a couple of journalists some questions during dinner on Tuesday night.

 

One was: “who is the only player in Wimbledon history to be allowed to practice on Centre Court?” The answer is David Nalbandian in 2002. Because Nalbandian was low-ranked at the time and a made an unexpected run to the final, he had not played at all on Centre prior to facing Lleyton Hewitt for the title. Thus the tournament let him practice on the most famous ground in tennis on the Saturday preceding the final. Of course, the Argentine lost to the heavily-favored Hewitt anyway.

 

Another was: “who is the only Grand Slam champion who was also a janitor?” The answer is Mark Edmondson, who won the Australian Open in 1976. Edmondson was a lower-ranked player (No. 212 at the time he triumphed Down Under), so he paid for his tennis expenses by occasional taking odd jobs—such as a janitor. He is still the lowest-ranked winner of a slam title since the ATP started ranking players in 1973. He is still the last Aussie to win the Australian Open, as well.

 

Even though I think I know a lot, I’m looking forward to learning some more tennis factoids throughout the week!

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @TennGrand.

Photo by 10sBalls