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Rafael Nadal's sister Maribel reacted to the Spaniard's clay-court training session at the Barcelona Open ahead of the former's potential comeback, while, Nick Kyrgios expressed his admiration for Roger Federer's elegant playing style.
Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka showcased her New York shopping haul ahead of Japan's tie against Kazakhstan in the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers. Novak Djokovic mocked the booing crowd in Monte-Carlo with an orchestral gesture during the third-round match against Lorenzo Musetti.
Also, Simona Halep admitted to feeling nervous on her tennis comeback at the 2024 Miami Open following her doping ban reduction.
On that note, here's a recap of today's top tennis stories:
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Rafael Nadal's sister Maribel reacts to Spaniard's latest practice session at the Barcelona Open
Rafael Nadal's sister Maribel reacts to her brother's training session as he gears up for a potential comeback at the 2024 Barcelona Open.
Nadal suffered an injury during his quarterfinal match at the Brisbane International earlier this year, leading to his withdrawal from subsequent tournaments. Nadal, who most recently withdrew from the Monte-Carlo Masters, is now training for the Barcelona Open, though he expressed uncertainty about his participation.
"Hello from Barcelona 👋🏻 First training session... excited to be here these days leading up to the tournament. I'm here to see how you doing.. looking forward to trying to play. I'll go tell you. Important to say that I don't want to confirm that I will play, hopefully I will. We shall see 🤞🏻," Rafael Nadal captioned his Instagram post (as translated from Spanish).
Nadal's sister Maribel showed support with heart-eye and muscle emojis.
😍😍💪🏻," Maribel Nadal commented.
Nick Kyrgios praises Roger Federer's elegant playing style
Nick Kyrgios expressed admiration for the 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer’s playing style. The Swiss is renowned for his distinctive one-handed backhand, inside-in forehand shots, and graceful footwork, which have contributed to his impressive tally of 103 titles, including 20 Grand Slam titles.
Kyrgios recently shared a video on X (formerly Twitter), where Federer can be seen showcasing his forehand and backhand shots during a rally.
"Smoothest to ever do it," Kyrgios wrote.
Naomi Osaka shows off her New York shopping haul
Naomi Osaka shared her New York shopping spree ahead of Japan's 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers match against Kazakhstan.
In a video on Instagram, Osaka flaunted chic bow platform sandals from Melitta Baumeister's Fall 2024 collection, priced at $600. She also highlighted a $460 Bape camo crochet hoodie and draped herself in a Landscape jacket by Issey Miyake, priced at $1,120. Additionally, she showcased a Katsuragi ring coat from Kapital, costing $4,913.
"Ummmmm NY shopping haul 😖😖," Osaka captioned her post.
Novak Djokovic counters Monte-Carlo crowd’s boos with mock orchestrating during 3R battle against Lorenzo Musetti
Novak Djokovic encountered a dramatic moment with the crowd during his third-round match against Lorenzo Musetti at the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters.
The match commenced with Musetti breaking Djokovic’s serve in the first game and maintaining a lead until 4-3. However, a disputed line call in Musetti's favor provoked Djokovic, who contested the decision with the umpire, leading to boos from the crowd.
The Serb then responded with a playful imitation of an orchestra conductor rather than verbal retorts.
Novak Djokovic went on to win the match 7-5, 6-3 against Musetti in one hour and 58 minutes. The Serb will now face 11th seed Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals.
Simona Halep admits to feeling nervous about her tennis comeback following doping ban reduction
Simona Halep admitted feeling nervous on her return to tennis at the 2024 Miami Open after her doping ban was lifted.
The Romanian tested positive for Roxadustat at the 2022 US Open, leading to a four-year ban in September 2023. However, her ban was reduced to nine months after an appeal to the Council of Arbitration for Sports. On her comeback, Halep lost in the first round to Paula Badosa at the Miami Open.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Halep mentioned confiding in her mother and feeling unfamiliar with the routine upon her return.
“I’m very nervous, I felt like I don’t know what to expect from people (in Miami). How it’s going to be — to be in the locker room again. Players’ dining (area). All this routine that I didn’t do for almost two years, it looked new for me,” Simona Halep said.
Halep expressed delight in returning to her beloved sport, now fueled with motivation to excel.
“So it was a great feeling, a great energy, and I was really happy deep down that I am, again, part of tennis and part of this sport that I love. So for me, it was a great experience, much better than I expected. And this made me feel that, OK, now I want to go back and do my best and see how good I can be, still,” Halep added
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