DDF Tennis Diary: Portugal's best can't mix it with Ronaldo

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Joao Sousa lines up against Andy Murray in the second round.

    Portuguese player Joao Sousa, who plays Andy Murray in the second round, is the most successful male tennis player in his country’s history.

    – Croatian starlet Borna Coric pleased to find form in Dubai
    – DDF Tennis: Novak Djokovic eases past Vasek Pospisil in first round

    He is the only Portuguese man in the top-100, his current ranking of 50 is the highest ever achieved by someone from his country in the ATP, and he recently had his best grand slam showing when he made the third round at the Australian Open. 

    When he won his first and only career title in Kuala Lumpur in 2013, he became the first Portuguese to ever win an ATP title.

    But according to the 25-year-old, none of that matters in the face of football fandom in Portugal. 

    “Even in the football off-season. You can have news that (Cristiano) Ronaldo went to the toilet three times a day, and that’s the news. I make semi-finals and nothing. So, yeah. That’s the news,” Sousa said.

    While he may not get a fraction of the attention Real Madrid’s Ronaldo gets, they do share an agent in Jorge Mendes, who has been working with Sousa since 2013.

    In the name of friendship

    Usually the big stars only play doubles when they’re a bit rusty. But for Roger Federer, the decision to play with his countryman Michael Lammer this week in Dubai was all about friendship.

    “When I do play doubles, I’m excited about it. Michael Lammer is one of my best friends on tour and in my life, and he’s a guy I have never played doubles with,” the Swiss legend told us.

    “So I really wanted to do that before he retires because he’s not far off. I have played doubles with Marco (Chiudinelli), with Yves (Allegro), with Stan (Wawrinka), with most of those guys but never with Michael. We go way back. I’m very thankful for the wildcard from the tournament organisers.”

    Meanwhile, Andy Murray revealed how playing doubles with his brother Jamie often puts pressure on him. The brothers were chosen to represent Britain in next week’s Davis Cup first round against the US.

    “I think Davis Cup is easier for me because we aren’t playing for ranking points and money. You’re playing to win for your country,” explained Andy. “I do feel a lot of pressure when I’m playing with my brother in tour events because if we lose in the first round he doesn’t make any money or a living that week, really. He will lose money. So I get nervous in those events.”

    Recommended