Michael Venus targets Rome return after a rough start of clay season
The 31-year-old Michael Venus has established himself as one of the best doubles players in the world in the last couple of seasons, entering the top-30 in June 2017 and settling inside the top-20 since the previous summer. The Auckland native has won eight ATP doubles titles from 20 finals, including Roland Garros with Ryan Harrison in 2017, and he found a perfect partner in the experienced South African Raven Klaasen last year, sharing the chemistry on the court and seeking big goals in 2019. Michael and Raven kicked off the year with the final run in Auckland, defeating the Bryan brothers before losing to Jan-Lennard Struff and Ben McLachlan to finish runner-up. Leonardo Mayer and Joao Sousa halted them in the quarter-final of the Australian Open and Venus flew back to Auckland where he trained before heading to Europe, entering the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam together with Raven as the third seeds.
After that, the team will travel to Marseille, Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami, hoping for good results and the place in the top-10 at some point this season. Competing with Tim Puetz in Marrakech, Venus suffered a huge blow in the second set when he rolled his ankle, retiring and not playing since then. After a few weeks off, Michael is ready to return in Rome and some smaller event before Roland Garros, eager to pick up the form before the second Grand Slam of the season where he won the title with Ryan Harrison two years ago.
"Things are going well and I am out of the moon boot and was on the court practicing a little bit towards the end of last week," Venus said. "I will see the doctor on Tuesday and will potentially be able to play Rome next week but will see what they say. I went to slide, there was no clay at all and it was almost like mud and it got stuck. I know in these tournaments the French Open, Rome, the quality of their courts are different level and I won't have to worry about that. Down the road where we live there's a club I am a member at and while they are not clay courts you can slide on them and it simulates the clay in terms of the movement on it."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2JqtjdB
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