Newport : Dancevic en demi

Rédaction Sport365 - vendredi 11 juillet 2008 - 07h43

Frank Dancevic a décroché son billet pour les demi-finales du tournoi de Newport en s'imposant face au Russe Igor Kunitsyn (7-5, 6-3), jeudi. Le Canadien affrontera l'Indien Prakash Amitraj au prochain tour.

www.sport365.fr

Newport: Dancevic pour Santoro en finale

13/07/2008 - 10:54

Fabrice Santoro, tenant du titre à Newport, remettra son trophée en jeu face à Frank Dancevic, tombeur samedi de l'Indien Prakash Amritraj en trois sets (7-6, 4-6, 6-3). Le Français partira légèrement favori de la rencontre puisqu'il a remporté les deux matches qui l'ont opposé au Canadien, le dernier en date l'année dernière, dans ce même tournoi de Newport.

www.sports.fr

Dancevic éliminé en demi-finale

L’Ontarien Frank Dancevic n’a pas été en mesure d’atteindre la finale d’un tournoi ATP pour la première de la saison, alors qu’il a baissé pavillon en trois manches de 7-6 (4), 4-6 et 6-3 face à l’Indien Prakash Amritraj, samedi en demi-finale du tournoi de Newport.

Amritraj, 305e raquette mondiale, va se mesurer en finale au Français Fabrice Santoro (2e tête de série), qui a vaincu l’Américain Vincent Spadea 7-6 (4), 6-1.

Dancevic (7e) a joué sur les talons pendant pratiquement toute la durée de cette bataille épique de 2h18, concédant 14 balles de bris à son adversaire. Le fils de l’ancienne gloire du tennis indien Vijay Amritraj n’a toutefois su profiter que d’une seule d’entre elles.

En revanche, Amritraj a été beaucoup plus efficace au service, n’ouvrant la porte qu’à trois reprises au Canadien. Dancevic a toutefois a réussi à briser l’Indien au début de la deuxième manche.

Dancevic va maintenant mettre le cap sur le tournoi d’Indianapolis, où il s’était incliné en finale contre le Russe Dmitry Tursunov en 2007. Il va affronter au premier tour l’Américain Bobby Reynolds, qui a éliminé Dancevic au deuxième tour à Wimbledon plus tôt cette année.

http://www.rds.ca/tennis/chroniques/255569.html

Coupe Rogers: Dancevic, Niemeyer, Polansky et Safin reçoivent des invitations

TORONTO — Les Canadiens Frank Dancevic, Frederic Niemeyer et Peter Polansky ont reçu jeudi, en même temps que le Russe Marat Safin, une invitation pour prendre part au volet masculin de la Coupe Rogers, présenté à Toronto, du 19 au 27 juillet.

Safin, qui a remporté le tournoi en 2000, joue du bon tennis par les temps qui courent. L'ancien numéro 1 mondial a notamment atteint les demi-finales de Wimbledon en éliminant deux joueurs parmi les 10 meilleures raquettes au monde, Novak Djokovic et Stanislas Wawrinka.
Le Russe a d'ailleurs déclaré être très excité à l'idée de retourner à Toronto, où son éclosion sur le circuit de l'ATP s'est produite. Il a remercié Tennis Canada de lui offrir cette invitation. Il estime qu'après sa performance sur le gazon londonien, il sera un compétiteur coriace à Toronto.

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5h1sEQwkZcE6H3huzafq8gkuxm0xw

An interview with Frank Dancevic

F. Dancevic / M. Ancic
Monday, July 21, 2008
6‑3, 6‑4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.


Q. Does it take you right back to Montreal?
FRANK DANCEVIC: Yeah, actually it brought a couple memories back. You know, it's great playing at home. It only happens once a year, a tournament like this, a Masters.
And, you know, I'm happy to be back. It was my second match this year or hard courts since the grass court season, and actually since Australia since I got hurt. I wasn't quite sure exactly how I was going to be moving and feeling the ball out there.
I was a little bit nervous before the match not knowing exactly where my game was. It seemed like from the first ball when I started playing I felt the ball right away and I felt pretty confident out there.


Q. First service break. What did you see there that you were able to see to take advantage of?
FRANK DANCEVIC: Yeah, I had an opportunity. I think that today's match was who was going to take the first ball and try to be the most aggressive on it.
I took my chances on some of his second serves and, you know, I hit a couple good returns quick at him and kind of caught him by surprise early in the match and got up a break.
You know, I was trying to stay ahead in the first set. Obviously not to get broken back, just try to stay ahead and finish the first set off to get an early lead.
So I'm happy to worked out for me.


Q. Just comment or your injury. It was your back. How much time did it knock you out?
FRANK DANCEVIC: Yeah, I hurt my back early this year in the Australian Open. I tore some muscles and my rib attachment to my spine. I was out for about three and a half months this year.
It was a tough road back. A lot of fitness and a lot of strengthening in that area in my back not to reinjure it. It was crucial for me to get it strong and not be in the same shoes again where I'm injured and not able to play 100%.
Really happy to be back the last couple months and playing strong.


Q. Looking ahead to tomorrow, talk about the third seed.
FRANK DANCEVIC: Yeah, I mean, absolutely I'm looking forward to it. Novak is a champion and a great player. Basically there's no messing around. I'm going to have to go after it tomorrow and do the same thing I did today.
The guy's three in the world. I'm going to have to try to keep my focus throughout the whole match and not have any lapses. I've never played the guy before, so it's exciting for me. We'll see what happens.


Q. Your approach on his second serve, as you mentioned, it was key. I think it was 71% of the points you won off his second serve.
FRANK DANCEVIC: Sorry, what was the percent?


Q. 71%.
FRANK DANCEVIC: Really? Wow, that's pretty good stats. I just took chances on the second serves. I knew that putting the ball back in the middle of the court wasn't going to do much because he was just going to run me to the other side.
So basically when I had my chances on his second serves I just went for it. I was feeling the ball today. I was seeing it ball pretty good. I happened to hit some good returns at the right times and that's what got me ahead.


Q. Crowd help out a little bit?
FRANK DANCEVIC: Absolutely. They were great out there. It's my first time playing in front of a big crowd here in Toronto. I had a wild card a few times back, but it was my first feature match here tonight. I was really impressed with the crowd and the show‑up tonight. It was just really fun to play.


Q. After the run you had in Montreal last year, did you feel greater expectations on yourself from maybe the Canadian tennis fans when you came to play this year?
FRANK DANCEVIC: Yeah, for me I always want to do well here and play well for myself and for everybody, the fans and everybody. I try to prepare to be 100% at this event.
Last year I had an awesome run in Montreal, and it was almost like a dream run because I made the finals the week before and then quarters in Montreal and had an awesome match against Nadal.
This year is another year. All I can do is do everything I can to prepare 100% and see what happens. Today was the first day and I felt great out there. I was striking the ball well.
Tomorrow is another day, so we'll see what happens.

Q. Playing in front of the home crowd can be a double edged sword. You seem to thrive on the home court. Why do you think that is?
FRANK DANCEVIC: I just‑‑ I mean, I love playing on Centre Court. I feel at home today. I really felt at home today. You know, the crowd yelling out, Frank the Tank. I like that one.
It was kind of funny. I had a couple giggles. But, no, it was fun today playing, and everybody ‑‑ sort of felt like everybody was holding me under their arms. I really felt the support out there today. It was a really nice feeling.


Q. You seemed patient at the baseline all match. You seemed to time your approach to the net really well. Was that part of your game plan?
FRANK DANCEVIC: Yeah, you know, I was trying to play as smart as I could out there and try to come in when he was off balance. I was trying not to give him a chance to step into the ball and hit passing shots past me.
He hit a couple, but I was trying to just open the court up and stay aggressive and make him hit passing shots on me when he was off balance today, and it seemed to work for me a little bit.


Site Officiel
http://www3.rogerscup.com/men/english/interview/monday/FrankDancevic.doc

An interview with Frank Dancevic

N. Djokovic / F. Dancevic
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
6‑4, 6‑4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. The crowd was really supporting you, but at such a close time when you were really close, did that ever have a negative effect and turn into pressure that you didn't want?
FRANK DANCEVIC: No, not really. I think that the crowd was really awesome tonight. I really felt the support throughout the whole match. No, didn't hinder me in any way.
In fact, it made me break back in the second set and be back into the match.


Q. Is there any sense of disappointment that you have that you're the only Canadian in the top 100, or is it not a really big concern of yours?
FRANK DANCEVIC: Well, I think that Canadian tennis was struggling a little bit in the last, you know, five to ten or so years.
We've got a whole new development restructured. In the last couple years we got a new president. Michael Downey came in a few years back. He's really brought some experts in from all over and made an awesome structure for junior tennis.
I think that moving on in the future we're going to see a lot more top 100 players in the future. It's a little bit disappointing that I'm the only one now, but I think in the near future we're going to have quite a few more.


Q. Because you're the only Canadian ranked so high in this tournament, do you feel added pressure when you come here to Toronto to play?
FRANK DANCEVIC: Not really. I just always feel at home here and I always play well here. I look forward to coming back every year. You know, it's only one time of the year that I get to be at home and feel relaxed and feel full support from everyone.
So it's always a warm feeling to come back and to play here.


Q. Your doubles partner thinks that all of Canada should cheer for him now because he's Canadian born. What do you think about him?
FRANK DANCEVIC: Jesse is a good kid. Yeah, he came here and he got through the quallies and won his first round today. I think he's a great player. I think he was born in Ottawa. I'm not sure exactly where. Yeah, he's Canadian and lives down in Florida and plays down there down south.
But, yeah, we teamed up here to play doubles together and we'll see what happens.


Q. Who is the tougher player to play against: Djokovic or Nadal?
FRANK DANCEVIC: That's a tough question. I mean, Novak, today it felt like he was just on top of his game from the first ball it felt like. His returns were getting better and better as the match went on.
Usually I get a lot of free points on my first serve, and today it felt like a lot of balls and returns were coming back. So it put a little added pressure on my side of the court and made it a little more difficult to play.


Q. You were at the net quite a bit. Do you enjoy playing at the net, or do you only approach it when obviously the ball is dropped short and you have to?
FRANK DANCEVIC: I try to make it part of my game to take advantage of shorter balls and take advantage of opportunities, sort of finish the balls off at the net, finish the points off.
That's sort of my what game plan is sort of structured around. I try to do it as much as possible.


Q. That first game you had a couple of chances to break him. If that goes different, do you think this is a different result?
FRANK DANCEVIC: Yeah, I mean, it's tough to look back on those things to look at one or two points here or there. Yeah, I'm sure it would have made a difference. I would have been up a break and it could have gone 5‑All or a tiebreaker first set, and then it could've gone either way, too.
We can't really look at those things ever. I had some chances, but that's the way the match turned out and that's it.


Q. When the crowd started chanting, Go Frank, it started to sound like a hockey game, didn't it?
FRANK DANCEVIC: Yeah. It was really awesome. I don't think you could fit a pin in that crowd. It was awesome, and the ambience was awesome. I could hear that the people were yelling at the top of their lungs at the end.
It was really fun to be out there and a really fun experience. It was cool. I really felt the support out there.


Q. Some of the top players put pressure on you in different ways. How did you feel pressure from Novak? What was part of his game that was toughest for you?
FRANK DANCEVIC: Well, I was extremely impressed with the way he moved for a tall guy. I felt like he was really on balance and ready for every ball that I hit. He never seemed like he was surprised or off balance.
You know, he just put a lot of the pressure on me and was returning a lot balls back and he was taking advantage of every opportunity he had. You know, and made it more difficult on my side.
He put pressure on me to go for bigger shots and to go closer for the lines. You know, that's what made my miss a little bit today.


Q. The crowd obviously loved you tonight and you were feeding off of it. When the wave is going on and the chants are going on, does etiquette play into your mind, or is that all positive for you?
FRANK DANCEVIC: Oh, it's all positive. I love fans, and that's what make tennis. I think that the fans were awesome tonight. I really wasn't sure what to expect. I have never played in front of a big crowd like that here in Toronto. It was really cool to see that, you know, to have that much appearance an hour away from my house. I live in Niagara.
I think that, you know, it's fun for the people too when it's a full crowd like that and it's really loud. It's just really cool for everyone.


Q. You mentioned doubles. You move on to doubles now tomorrow. Are you able to still put as much focus on doubles? Do you try to set this aside now?
FRANK DANCEVIC: Yeah, I mean, singles is ‑‑ I can say that singles is my main focus on the tour, to try to do well and stuff.
You know, doubles is sort of like I still focus and try to do great at it. It's not my main focus, but this is a really big tournament and I'm playing in Canada and in front of my home people. I want to do well here, and I'm going to do everything I can to prepare with Jesse and play well here and see what happens.

Q. How far are you from the level of playing of a guy like Djokovic ?
FRANK DANCEVIC: I don't know. I don't know if I can answer that question. I really couldn't tell you.
I mean, you know, it only takes a couple good tournaments a year to make sort of a breakthrough and then you gain confidence. You don't know from there where you can go.
Sort of little breakthroughs have happened in my career where I made finals and quarters last year, so maybe this year I might have a breakthrough like that and gain some confidence. We'll see what can happen from there.
I think the Top 3 guys, Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic, they're sort of dominating the game right now and on a different level than everybody else. To get up there you need a lot of work and a lot of consistency in your wins.
You need to consistently do well in Masters Series and Grand Slams. That's a really tough thing to do. So, I mean, you got to respect that and you got to respect those guys that they're able to stay up there to get the ranking to be Top 3.

Site Officiel
http://www3.rogerscup.com/men/english/interview/tuesday/FrankDancevic.doc

Tennis (H) : Déjà fini pour Dancevic



Sports | Lundi 11 aoû 2008 | 04:47

(Corus Sports)- Le Canadien Frank Dancevic a été éliminé dès le premier tour du tournoi de tennis olympique, s'inclinant en trois manches de 4-6, 6-3 et 6-2 contre le Suisse Stanislas Wawrinka, 9e favori.

Le match, qui a duré 1h52, avait pourtant commencé en force pour Dancevic, qui a dominé le match au filet. Wawrinka a forcé Dancevic à se compromettre en une quarantaine d'erreurs non-provoquées lors des deux dernières manches pour l'emporter.

SOURCE

Dancevic : «Pitoyable»

Frank Dancevic, battu par Nicolas Almagro à Flushing Meadows (6/3 6/4 7/5) a été très critique... envers lui-même.

Belle auto-critique de la part du Canadien Frank Dancevic, battu par Nicolas Almagro à Flushing Meadows (6/3 6/4 7/5) : «J’ai été pitoyable, il n’y a pas d’excuses. Il n’y a pas de mots pour décrire à quel point j’ai mal joué.»

www.sport24.com

La chance sourit à Dancevic

Samedi 17 janvier 2009
RDS.ca


Frank Dancevic (Photo Getty)

L’Ontarien Frank Dancevic, qui s’est incliné au troisième tour des qualifications des Internationaux d’Australie vendredi, participera néanmoins au premier tournoi majeur de la saison après qu’un des joueurs inscrits au tableau principal se soit désisté, samedi.

Le 131e joueur mondial se mesura l’Américain James Blake, neuvième tête de série, qui a remporté l’unique duel disputé entre les deux hommes à Stockholm en 2007.

Dancevic en sera à une troisième participation aux Internationaux d’Australie. Il avait atteint le deuxième tour à sa première présence en 2007.

Par ailleurs, l’Allemand Nicolas Kiefer a dû déclarer forfait en raison d’une blessure à la cheville gauche subie à la Coupe Hopman. Il sera remplacé par son compatriote Dieter Kindlmann.

SOURCE

La surprise Dancevic

Le Canadien Frank Dancevic a crée un petit exploit en éliminant l'Allemand Philipp Kohlschreiber au 1er tour du Masters Series de Miami en deux sets dont un tie-break. Il aura le privilège de retrouver le N.3 mondial serbe, Novak Djokovic, au tour suivant.

Eurosport

Dancevic à court

Samedi 17 janvier 2009
RDS.ca


La Presse Canadienne /AP Photo/Gareth Fuller
Frank Dancevic

Frank Dancevic n'a pu compléter son tour de force, mais quitte quand même Eastbourne sur une impression convaincante.

Le Canadien a baissé pavillon 6-3 et 7-6 (7/5) contre le Russe Dmitry Tursunov, samedi, en finale de la classique anglaise, dernière répétition sur gazon avant Wimbledon.

Malgré la défaite, Dancevic aura perturbé l'ordre établi depuis son entrée en matière, comme en font foi ses victoires sur le Russe Igor Andreev et le Français Fabrice Santoro plus tôt cette semaine.

Les choses avaient pourtant très mal débuté pour l'athlète de Niagara Falls. Il s'était blessé à la hanche à son tout premier match de qualification et avait même pensé déclarer forfait.

Dancevic, 126e raquette mondiale, n'a toujours pas remporté de titre depuis ses débuts professionnels. Tursunov avait pris sa mesure à Indianapolis en 2007, dans la seule autre finale qu'il ait atteinte.

Sa bête noire fait quant à elle le plein de confiance à l'aube de Wimbledon, où elle a atteint les huitièmes de finale à deux reprises (2005 et 2006). Une blessure à la cheville gauche, qui a refait surface en fin de match, pourrait toutefois ralentir ses ardeurs.

« C'est un sentiment fantastique, a déclaré Tursunov. J'ai un peu souffert dans la deuxième manche, mais je me sens bien. L'an passé, je n'avais pas disputé autant de matchs sur gazon avant Wimbledon. »

SOURCE

Dancevic se défait de Becker

Jeudi 23 juillet 2009
RDS.ca


Frank Dancevic (Photo Getty)

Le Canadien Frank Dancevic a éliminé la cinquième tête de série Benjamin Becker en deux manches de 6-2 et 7-5 au tournoi d’Indianapolis.

Dancevic s’est défait de son adversaire en cinquante-sept minutes.

Au troisième tour, le Canadien affrontera Dmitry Tursunov qui a vaincu Marcos Daniel en deux manches de 6-3.

SOURCE

Dancevic a raison de sa bête noire

Vendredi 24 juillet 2009
RDS.ca


Frank Dancevic (Photo Getty)

Cette fois, si quelqu’un empêche Frank Dancevic de remporter son premier tournoi sur le circuit ATP, ce ne sera pas Dmitry Tursunov.

Deux ans après avoir vu le joueur russe lui voler un premier triomphe sur le circuit ATP sur la surface dure d’Indianapolis, Dancevic a pris sa revanche en signant une victoire de 3-6, 7-6 et 6-2 sur le favori de la compétition, vendredi après-midi en quarts de finale.

C’est la première fois en quatre affrontements que le Canadien a raison de Tursunov, qui l’avait également battu en finale du tournoi sur gazon d’Eastbourne il y a quelques semaines.

Dancevic, qui avait également défait la cinquième tête de série, l’Allemand Benjamin Becker, jeudi, se frottera en demi-finale à l’Américain Sam Querrey (3e), vainqueur du Français Marc Gicquel (7e).

L'autre demi-finale opposera Robby Ginepri à John Isner.

SOURCE