According to Forbes, Roger Federer has  86 million reasons to continue playing tennis. Federer placed fifth among all athletes on the money list. The standings were topped by soccer player Lionel Messi, who earned $127 million. Only 5 tennis players earned more than $25 million in 2018. Federer earned a total of $93.4 in 2018, with $86 million coming from endorsements and the rest coming from on-court earnings.  His off-court income was considerably boosted by his new sponsorship with Uniqlo which reportedly earns him $30 million a year. Federer's endorsement earnings were $65 million in 2017. Novak Djokovic earned a total of $50.6 million with only $30 million coming from endorsements.  Djokovic's biggest sponsor is Lacoste. To me, the surprise on that list is Kei Nishikori.  The Japanese star earned  $37.3 million with $33 million coming from off court earnings. Nishikori makes more money in endorsements than Djokovic.  Let that sink in for a moment. Nishikori is very popular in Japan and brands have rushed to sign him up. Rafael Nadal earned $35 million with $26 million coming from endorsements. Serena Williams earned 29.2 million, of which $25 million came from endorsements.

King of Clay Wins 12th Grand Slam Rafael Nadal won his 12th French Open title and 18th Grand Slam beating Dominic Thiem 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1. With his win, Nadal has a 93-2 record at Roland Garros, including a 24-0 record in semi finals and finals. https://twitter.com/RafaelNadal/status/1137758799945748485 Nadal didn't look particularly strong in the early part of the clay-court season. He didn't win Madrid or Barcelona, but won Rome. But Nadal was dominant throughout the tournament at Roland Garros. Thiem had to finish his match against Novak Djokovic on Saturday, and did't have much rest before the final. Thiem had a brief moment of hope winning the second set but Nadal raised his game a couple of notches in the last two sets. Thiem could not make any impact on the Nadal serve and had difficulty holding his own serve. They say, all records in sports will be eventually broken. I don't see anyone breaking Nadal's 12 French Opens anytime soon. This record may stand the test of time. Barty Wins First Grandslam Ashleigh Barty won the women's title beating 19-year Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic . Vondrousova had a great tournament but could not find her groove in the final. Barty easily won 6-1, 6-3 to win the first grand slam title of her career. https://twitter.com/ashbar96/status/1137536821607501824 Barty briefly left tennis to try her hand at cricket. Returning to tennis has clearly been a good decision. She only beat one seeded player (Madison Keys, 14th seed) on her way to the title. It's not her fault that other seeded players didn't make it through the early rounds. This didn't get a lot of traction in the news. Barty follows the footsteps Evonne Goolagong Cawley who won the French Open 48 years ago. Evonne Goolagong Cawley's win inspired a generation of young Aboriginal Australian girls and boys to pursue the sport of tennis. Indigenous athletes inspire all of us and make the sport better for everyone. Congrats Ash! Federer Wins By Reaching Semis No one expected Federer to get to the semis. And he did.  He lost to Rafa in windy conditions but looks good for Wimbledon and beyond.  Fans were cheering at the stadium well after he lost.  That says something. The only change he needs to make going forward is to get rid of his UPS uniform.  https://twitter.com/PseudoFed/status/1136624922015481858 Young Guns Struggle Stefanos Tsitsipas put a good fight against Stan Wawrinka in the 4th round but couldn't win it against the veteran. Though Tsitsipas lost, there were a lot of good things to take away from the match and I am sure he will come back strong. Sascha Zverev has struggled since the beginning of the year. Though he battled to the quarterfinals winning a couple of 5-setters and long matches, he was no match for Novak Djokovic. All things considered, not a bad tournament for Sascha. There are huge expectations for him wherever he goes, so he needs to step up his game, especially in the early rounds.…