Maria Sharapova to play World Team Tennis, set to miss Olympics

Maria Sharapova announced she will play the World Team Tennis at Orange County Breakers in the United States from 28 to 29 July 2020, during the same week as the Olympic Games in Tokyo. The Russian is set to miss The Games. In a statement, the five-time Grand Slam winner said: "I’m excited to be back with the Breakers again. The competition in World Team Tennis is always strong and I am looking forward to playing in the team format again."

Sharapova is playing several exhibition matches as she is committed to the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi later this month, then the Hawaii Open and the Kooyong Classic prior to the Australian Open. Sharapova is also set to take a wild card to play the Brisbane International.

Goran Ivanisevic assured the 16-time Major winner Novak Djokovic is fully focused on delivering his best game next year. The Croat said: "Nole will be even more motivated in 2020 as he lost the No. 1 rankings spot. For him, losing in the final sometimes is a failure."

On the next generation of players, Ivanisevic added: "There are Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Shapovalov, Coric, Zverev, Thiem, Rublev, Khachanov. Big Three will have something to show but there will be lights from the next generation too."

Lionel Messi has been honored as the soccer player of the year for the sixth time in his career. The 52-year-old Boris Becker did not agree with Messi receiving this honor. The six-time Major winner and two-time German Davis Cup winner, who is a soccer fan believes FC Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk should have received the Ballon d'Or.

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from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/36bkSuC