Pretty useful Dan being seeded and therefore a bye to round 2. Likely means a Wednesday start and a few days off. Although I guess he could have a doubles match on Tuesday.
Lost track of this but that is a very good win on clay for Cam. Well done.
Khachanov will be a slightly harder task but I am not sure what his clay pedigree actually is?
Much the same as his hard-court pedigree. He's 73-51 (59%) on clay and 201-132 (60%) on hard court for his career according to his profile on the ITF website. But those clay-court matches are spread out over several years, with the peak being in 2016 when he won a challenger.
Joe and Rajeev are second up on court 2 and against Garin and Pella. They are followed by Dan and Neal. Play starts at 11.00 local.
KK v. Cam is 5th match so will be in the evening.
Dan does seem to be playing a load of tournaments. Maybe having his GF with him helps them make the hotel home. I remember reading an article about how Kevin Anderson's other half quit her job to travel with him.
-- Edited by stevemcqueen on Tuesday 20th of April 2021 05:39:59 AM
Apparently hes not been home since before January and travelling to Oz. Article I read on the Times said he was enjoying it and there are worse ways to spend your life. As you say, hes got his girlfriend and he mentioned spending time with people like Neal whos obviously a mate as well as his current doubles partner for these past few events .
I didn't realise that Dan was now a resident of Dubai! But you are quite correct re. the ATP site saying as much. But this is for tax reasons, I don't imagine his parents, grandparents and childhood friends live there. It seems that Dan has decided that his home is on the road: Aeroplanes, airport lounges, tennis centres and upmarket hotels. It seems to be working for him! Visiting interesting cities is something most people would like to have as part of their work. I have absolutely no experience on this, but I think it must take an adjustment of mindset. At the end of a trip, don't most people want to come home?
I understand players naming a tax haven as their "home" is common place, but why do I get that sinking feeling every time I read it about a player I like?
We all want white collar and big business's to pay the tax they owe, but continue to cheer on sportsman and musicians when they work around it
-- Edited by Shhh on Tuesday 20th of April 2021 08:28:08 AM
Sorry, yes (to CD). The article just said he hadnt "been home" and I took that to mean the UK and family. But I had seen someone post he was in the UAE (is it Dubai or Abu Dhabi, two different places mentioned above?)(I imagine Dubai as it is a more vibrant place to live/be based, is also where his cousin and some friends are located and seems to be a place other tennis players are also based - Abu Dhabi is fine but more governmental and less touristy if you want that type of thing - I worked a lot in both although it has been 5 or 6 years now).
But, yes he seems to be on the road and enjoying that lifestyle - personally, I would hate it and on your own it is soul destroying , IMO. Having travelled on business, being "away" is no fun if you are away from the people you love. If you are travelling with people you love, though, and it seems Dan is, then I can imagine that really is ok and settles your mind to concentrate on tennis.
Dubai is also a good location geographically as well as tax wise - for Europe and Asia and down to Oz, it is much easier than the UK really, the US doesnt have many events relatively these days and just a couple of swings - so it certainly beats the Bahamas or wherever Kyle finds himself based.