French Open Special: Tennis stars and their quirky nicknames

Some people and communities are known for their penchant for doling out nicknames to their near and dear ones Then there are those like former American President George W Bush perhaps the most casual president in US history who was famous for using nicknames to refer to journalists colleagues and even counterparts like lsquoPootiePootrsquo for Russian President Vladimir PutinBut itrsquos not just politicians and regular citizens who use monikers but even sports personalities Journalists and fans use monikers to sometimes describe sports stars or highlight one of their lsquospecialrsquo aspectsThe French Open has come to its business end and here are some of the stars who are as famous and wellknown by their monikers as their actual namesNovak Djokovic the current favourite to lift the trophy after defeating Rafael Nadal in the quarters is known as lsquoNolersquo which is a short form for Novak in Serbian Hersquos also known by lsquoThe Serbinatorrsquo lsquoThe Jokerrsquo and lsquoDjokerrsquoNovak Djokovic PicAFPNadal who is a ninetime French Open champion goes by lsquoRafirsquo lsquoRafarsquo lsquoEl Ninorsquo lsquoSpains Raging Bullrsquo and lsquoKing of Clayrsquo The first two are clearly gleaned from his name Nadals 81 clay court win streak in 2005ndash07 ndash the longest in the Open era in mens singles ndash clearly demonstrates that he has earned the last threeSemifinalist Andy Murray is called lsquoMuzzarsquo in some quarters UK specifically for lsquoMuzzarsquo is a nickname used in the UK for someone whorsquos called MurraySecond seed and 2009 champion Roger Federer who was knocked out of the French Open in the quarterfinals is called lsquoFedExrsquo lsquoJesusFedrsquo lsquoKing Rogerrsquo lsquoThe Swiss Maestrorsquo lsquoFederer Expressrsquo lsquoThe Mighty Federerrsquo and lsquoNinjaFedrsquo His Swiss compatriot Stanislas Wawrinkas nickname in the press after his triumph at the Australian Open in 2014 was lsquoStan the Manrsquo He was also called lsquoStan the Teenage Farmhandrsquo having grown up working on his parents farm in Lausanne Switzerland Then there is lsquoStanimalrsquo According to the ATP Media Guide another nickname for Wawrinka is not quite imaginatively StanJoWilfried Tsonga left andStanislas Wawrinka pose ahead of their2015 French Open mens semifinal matchat Roland Garrosin Paris on Friday PicAFP Frenchman JoWilfried Tsonga who scrapped past Kei Nishikori in five sets to reach the French Open semifinals is also called lsquoTsunamirsquo lsquoSmokin Jo Willyrsquo and lsquoMuhammad Ali of TennisrsquoHis compatriot Gaeumll Monfils who was dispatched out of the clay court tournament by lsquoFedExrsquo in the prequarters is known by some as lsquoSlidermanrsquo and also lsquoLa MonfrsquoMaria Sharapovarsquos Bulgarian boyfriend Grigor Dimitrov a Wimbledon semifinalist last year and seeded 10th in Paris may have been stunned in the first round at Roland Garros by Jack Sock but his pet name lsquoPrime Timersquo suggests itrsquos an anomalyDimitrovrsquos American vanquisher ndash Sock ndash may be just 22 years old but if he can live up to his nicknames ndash lsquoJSizzlersquo and Showtimersquo ndash then hersquos set for big deeds in the futureRafael Nadal PicAFPAnother tennis star from the US John Isner is a huge figure standing at 6 feet and 10 inches and is known by lsquoBig John His record of long matches also has him described as lsquoMarathon Manrsquo Interestingly his offcourt manners earned him a unique nickname in college lsquoGrandparsquoHere are some other pet names according to rolandgarroscomNicolas Almagro is NicoRoberto Bautista Agut is BatiAndreas Beck is BeckesBenjamin Becker is BenniJulien Benneteau is BennetCarlos Berlocq is CharlyDustin Brown is Dreddy because of his hairMarin Cilic is ChilaAlexandr Dolgpolov is DolgoFabio Fognini is FognaGuillermo GarciaLopez is Guille or WillyDavid Goffin is La GoffAlejandro Gonzalez is GonzoSam Groth is GrothyDenis Istomin is DeniMalek Jaziri is JazzSteve Johnson is StevieMartin Klizan is KlizkoThanasi Kokkinakis is KokkAndrey Kuznetsov is AndreeekMarc Lopez is BoletYenHsun Lu is RendyPaulHenri Mathieu is PauloFlorian Mayer is FloLeonardo Mayer is LeoMarcelo Melo is GirafaJuan Monaco is PicoGilles Muller is MullesBenoit Paire is La TigeEdouard RogerVasselin is DoudAndreas Seppi is SeppiaGilles Simon is GilouJoao Souza is FeijaoDominic Thiem is Dominator