Tennis Frontier

Author: Tim Board

2015 Davis Cup Final: Belgium vs. Great Britain Preview

This year has been a strange one for the Davis Cup. The usual contestants all disappeared early as France, the Czech Republic, and defending champion Switzerland all lost before the semifinals. As the dust settles, we are left with an unlikely matchup of unseeded teams in the final. Both Great Britain and Belgium upset several higher-ranked teams to get where they are. For Great Britain, it is their first final since 1978; if they win, it will be their first Davis Cup title since 1936. For Belgium, it is their first final since 1904; if they win, it will be their first-ever Davis Cup title.

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Click here to discuss the Davis Cup Final in the discussion forum.

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The Great Britain team starts and ends with Andy Murray. He has won all five singles matches, as well as the two doubles matches he has played this year. James Ward was the hero in the first round when he defeated John Isner 15-13 in the 5^th set to give Great Britain a 2-0 lead. In the final, the No. 2 spot will be between Ward and Kyle Edmund. It’s pretty obvious that the Murray brothers will be teaming up for the doubles after their heroics against France and Australia.
In a similar way, David Goffin is the center of the Belgian team. They need two wins from their star player if they hope to take home one of the best trophies in all of sports. Steve Darcis may be more important in the No. 2 singles slot than their doubles team.

The Davis Cup Trophy

How They Got Here:
Great Britain defeated the United States 3-2, and then upset top-seed France in the quarterfinals. After tying it up with a win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on clay, the Murray brothers fought out a tough four-set doubles win over Tsonga and Nicolas Mahut. Murray’s amazing determination to get a comeback win over Gilles Simon seemed to be the turning point for the British team. It was suddenly from this point that a Davis Cup championship for Great Britain didn’t seem like such a crazy idea. I still don’t know how Murray won that match, but that was the pivotal point of the season for this team.
In the semifinals, Great Britain may have been lucky with all the hoopla surrounding Bernard Tomic (on the team, off the team, on the team) and Nicholas Kyrgios (timeout for you!). With Kyrgios excused from the team, Murray took care of Tomic and Kokkinakis, and in the doubles teamed up with Jamie to come from a set down to get the win. That five-set doubles match may have been the match that decided the 2015 Davis Cup champion. Lleyton Hewitt was playing in his final Davis Cup, and alongside Sam Groth, threw everything they had at the Murray Brothers, but the Murrays came from behind to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4.

As for Belgium, they were also the underdogs in every round. They were fortunate to draw a Federer/Wawrinka-less No. 2 Swiss team in the first round but still barely won 3-2. In the quarterfinals against the No. 8 team, Canada, they were again fortunate in that Raonic and Pospisil were out with injuries, so they won easily 5-0.
Against the No. 5 team, the favored Argentina, Goffin won both of his singles matches, but they dropped the doubles and it looked over, but somehow Darcis came through for the Belgians and defeated the higher-ranked Federico Delbonis and sent the Belgians to the final for the first time in 111 years.

Both teams have been fortunate in getting to the final but here they are. There is no mistaking that this is Murray’s and Goffin’s teams. Each team has needed their unlikely heroes (Ward and Darcis), but whether they win or not depends on the performances of their star players.

Predictions:
Singles: Andy Murray (2) vs. David Goffin (16)
Murray leads the head-to-head 2-0. Goffin has yet to win a set off Murray. We all saw the beat down that Murray put on Goffin at the Paris Masters where he allowed Goffin only one game. Murray is definitely the favorite here. The things Belgium must count on are the clay court, Murray’s fatigue from the World Tour Finals, and the home-court advantage. That probably won’t be enough for Goffin to be able to upset a determined Murray. Great Britain 1-0 Belgium

Singles: Steve Darcis (84) vs. Kyle Edmund (100) or James Ward (159)
Darcis has to win here to give Belgium a chance. Neither Edmund nor Ward have played Darcis before, but just from Davis Cup experience and ranking, you would have to give the edge to Darcis. But it’s a small edge. Tied 1-1

Doubles: Andy and Jaime Murray vs. Rueben Bemelmans and Kimmer Coppejans (or Steve Darcis)
After their heroics in the last two rounds, you have to expect Great Britain will go with the Murray Brothers. Belgium has gone with a different team each time. Bemelmans (doubles ranking No. 160) had three different partners in the first three rounds, so it’s tough to guess with whom he will team up. Coppejans (doubles ranking No. 501) might be our best bet but the Belgian team might go with Darcis (doubles ranking No. 596). Still, Great Britain has Jamie Murray, one of the best doubles players at the moment, so the British look good here. Great Britain leads 2-1

Singles: Andy Murray vs. Steve Darcis
This is their first meeting but it’s difficult to imagine Murray going down to Darcis after the solid, consistent season he had and with so much riding on the line. Great Britain leads 3-1

Singles: David Goffin vs. Kyle Edmund or James Ward
Goffin has never met either British player, but he would have to be favored in this one. That is to say, if there is a fifth match. Great Britain leads 3-2

Past Records:
Great Britain will be playing in its first final since 1978, and they will be trying to win their first Davis Cup title since 1936 (their 10th overall). Belgium is in its first final since 1904, and it would be their first title if they win. The two countries have met in Davis Cup competition 11 times. Great Britain has won seven of the meetings, but Belgium won their most recent meeting in 2012.

Fun Fact:
Team Great Britain has defeated the top three teams with the most Davis Cup championships to get to the final: United States (32), France (9), and Australia (28).

Prediction:
Great Britain wins 3-2 on the strength of three Murray wins for its first Davis Cup championship in 79 years.

Request:
If Great Britain does win, they better give Judy Murray a Davis Cup trophy of her own!

Prayer:
May there be no terrorism and may all the players, fans, and people working at the venues be safe.

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Marianne Bevis (Andy Murray), Tatiana (David Goffin) and elPadawan (Davis Cup trophy).

November 24, 2015
Tennis Frontier Weekly Update: November 9, 2015

Djokovic Wins 6th Masters and 10th Title of 2015

Venus Climbs Back into the Top Ten after a Four-Year Absence

Historical Smash Shots 1: Generational Diversity in the 1974-75 Rankings

2015 ATP World Tour Finals

2015: Review

November 10, 2015
Hot on the Frontier: When will Djokovic lose the #1 ranking (and can he surpass Federer’s 302 weeks at #1)?

This Week’s “Hot on the Frontier” topic is “When will Novak lose the #1 ranking (and can he surpass Roger’s 302 weeks at #1)?” This topic was started by Tennis Frontier member El Dude. It certainly got a lot of fans thinking about how long Novak Djokovic would hang on to the No. 1 ranking and if were possible for him to break Roger Federer’s record. Come on in and take a look to see what the Frontier crowd had to say about Djokovic’s stay at No. 1! And thanks to El Dude for starting a great topic!

El Dude
Tennis Frontier Member since: April 2013

Some questions for El Dude:

1. Who is your all-time favorite tennis player?
Answer: Roger Federer. Has there ever been a player who played with such grace, elegance and beauty?

2. What is your biggest tennis pet-peeve?
Answer: I dislike the homogenization of courts, namely the slowing down of courts. I’d like to see a greater diversity of court types, which would in turn broaden the spectrum of players. I’m kind of tired of the dominance of “war of attrition tennis.”

3. If you could go watch any Grand Slam tournament, which one would you like to go to?
Answer: Wimbledon, of course! The US Open is closer and would be easier, but Wimbledon is–and likely always will be–the premier tennis tournament.

4. If you could slip back in time and see one match in tennis’ history, which match would it be?
Answer: Two things come to mind. First of all, one of the great Borg-McEnroe matches – maybe 1981 Wimbledon. Secondly, I would have loved to see a classic matchup of Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall, or maybe Pancho Gonzales and Rosewall.

5. Which two players would you like to see playing doubles together?
Answer: Rafa and Roger! Can you imagine that?!

6. Describe your affection for tennis in one word.
Answer: Impossible to do that. But a few words come to mind: elegance, brilliance, skill.

7. Your opponent bounces the ball 20+ times before serving. You would:
Answer: I would yell, “Vamos, Rafa!”

A message for everyone on Tennis Frontier (if you have one):
This is a great little community that is open to a diverse number of viewpoints. It has its share of generally minor squabbles, but there’s an underlying sense of camaraderie and community that makes it worth coming back to, again and again. Its like a parlor in which friends come and go and return again, and the conversation keeps going. Thank you all for making Tennis Frontier such a great place to hang out and talk tennis!

Thanks to everyone who always contributes to Tennis Frontier! Keep the topics coming and hopefully you’ll put the hottest topic on the Frontier out!

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Marianne Bevis.

November 1, 2015
Hot on the Frontier: Is This the Beginning of the Incline?

Our hottest new topic in our discussion forum this week: “Is This the Beginning of The Incline?“

Nobody can dispute the fact that Rafael has had, by his own lofty standards, a rough year. He lost his French Open crown, lost several times to lower ranked players, saw his 10-year streak of at least one Grand Slam title end, and saw his ranking slip down to No. 8. Many were predicting that Nadal was finished, that he would soon retire, or at least get a new coach. So far none of that has happened. And during the Asian Tour, we saw Nadal get to the finals in Beijing and the semifinals in Shanghai. From these results, many fans think he is on the rise and will take his place back in the Top Three of Four soon. Our member GameSetAndMath started this week’s Hot Topic that got everyone debating over Nadal’s future. Congratulations to GameSetAndMath for starting this week’s Hot Topic on the Frontier, “Is This the Beginning of the Incline?” Come check it out!

GameSetAndMath
Tennis Frontier Member since: July 2013

Some questions for GameSetAndMath!

1. Who is your all-time favorite tennis player?

Answer: Roger Federer

2. If you could attend any Grand Slam tournament, which one would you like to go to?

Answer: Wimbledon

3. If you could slip back in time and see one match, which would it be?

Answer: Bjorn Borg vs. John McEnroe 1980 Wimbledon final

4. Which two players would you like to see playing doubles together?

Answer: Fedal

Check back for next week’s Hot Topic on the Frontier!

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Marianne Bevis

October 25, 2015
Tennis Quiz: WTA Finals Champions

The WTA Finals are set to played in Singapore from October 25th to November 1st. The tournament has gone through many different names, formats and venues, but it has consistently crowned a year-end champion every year since 1972 (twice in 1986!). While most of the winners are the well-known greats, there have been some surprises here and there. See how many of the 44 champions you can name in five minutes!

WTA FINALS WINNERS (1972-2014)

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): VOXSPORTS VOXER

October 23, 2015
Hot on the Frontier: Is This the Beginning of The Decline?
Our hottest new topic in our discussion forum: “This Is the Beginning of The Decline“

Roger Federer, the Shanghai Masters defending champion, suffered a shocking second-round upset at the hands of Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas. One of our members, Luxilon Borg, started this week’s hot topic about the status of Roger Federer, and the question as to whether or not he is nearing the end of his career. It started an interesting debate on one of the greatest players of all-time. Come check it out!

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Luxilon Borg
Tennis Frontier Member since: July 2013

Some questions for Luxilon Borg!
1. Who is your all-time favorite tennis player?
  Bjorn Borg, followed by Jimmy Connors.
2. If you could have one professional tennis player’s ability or stroke, what would it be?
  The ability of Roger Federer to stay amazingly calm. Stress is a killer.
3. What is your favorite food to eat while watching a tennis match?
  Tacos or Burritos.
4. Which tennis player do you think you could really get along with if you could hang out with him/her?
  Novak Djokovic. Great sense of humor.
5. What is your biggest tennis pet-peeve?
  Too much toweling off.
6. If you could attend any Grand Slam tournament, which one would you like to go to?
  Roland Garros for sure. Clay is real tennis.
7. If you could slip back in time and see one match, which would it be?
  Easy. Battle of the 18-16 Tie Break, Borg vs McEnroe, Wimbledon Final, 1980.
8. Which two players would you like to see playing doubles together?
  Fedal.
9. Describe your affection for tennis in one word.
  Life.
10. Your opponent bounces the ball 20+ times before serving. You would:
  1. Wait patiently (To a point)
  2. Curse under your breath
  3. Complain to the umpire
  4. Tell the player to shove the ball up where the sun doesn’t shine.
A message for everyone on Tennis Frontier (if you have one):

This is amazing forum filled with very passionate followers. Tennis is like no other sport. It requires skill sets, both mental and physical, far beyond any other. The level of intelligence and character required eliminates a good part of the population from being involved. We should be proud that we are absorbed and consumed by a sport that has such high standards and is 100% merit based.

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Check back for next week’s Hot Topic on the Frontier!

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License: Marianne Bevis.
October 18, 2015
2015 US Open Review

As the 2015 U.S. Open approached, there were two questions that tennis fans wanted answered: Would Serena Williams achieve the first Calendar-Year Grand Slam in 27 years, and who would challenge Novak Djokovic for the men’s title? The tournament gave us the answers in some very unexpected ways.

Embracing the Role of the Villain. Djokovic came into this year’s tournament as the frontrunner, but after losing the Montreal and Cincinnati Masters titles to his two closest rivals, he looked a bit more vulnerable than in recent Majors. He was rarely challenged before the final, and his demolition of last year’s champion Marin Cilic was brutal. In the final against crowd-favorite Roger Federer, he was clearly the villain, the top dog that everyone wanted to see defeated. It is a testament to Djokovic’s mental strength how he handled the adversity from the stands and the threat of Federer’s new “SABR” attack. He fought off repeated attempts to be broken, refusing to let Federer take the match from him. Everyone loves a veteran champion — and Djokovic may be in Federer’s position someday — but for now he will have to wait to be embraced by the public. With this U.S. Open title, Djokovic now has 10 Grand Slam titles, a mark only seven others have achieved in the history of tennis. And he isn’t done yet.

The Dream of a Calendar-Year Grand Slam Vanishes. The pressure on Serena must have been immense. So close to tennis immortality. The first Calendar-Year Grand Slam in 27 years. After she got through a brief challenge from Bethany Mattek-Sands, she fought off Madison Keys and Venus Williams to advance to the semifinals. Two matches away. And with so many rivals falling by the wayside in earlier rounds, it looked almost inevitable that Serena would be lifting her fourth consecutive (and seventh overall) U.S. Open trophy on Saturday. And then Roberta Vinci happened. No one, not even Vinci herself, expected the veteran Italian to pull off the upset. There is no doubt that Serena played tight and was clearly mentally stressed in the semifinal, but Vinci played the best tennis of her career, pulling off one of the greatest upsets in tennis history. Vinci said it best during the interview. When asked, “When did you believe that you could beat Serena?”, Vinci’s responded, “No.”

Mamma Mia! No one — not a single person on earth — predicted an all-Italian women’s final. It still doesn’t sound right, but that’s what we got with the 26^th seed Flavia Pennetta and the unseeded Vinci. After Serena lost, tickets for the women’s final dropped in value by over 80%. Fans were expecting to see history made; instead, they were treated to two women playing in the first Grand Slam final of their careers. After a few nervous games and a first set tiebreak, Pennetta asserted herself and won her first Grand Slam title. And then she shocked everyone by announcing that she would “say goodbye to tennis” at the end of the season. Mamma Mia, indeed.

The Lack of a True Rival. Who is going to step up to challenge Djokovic for the Grand Slam titles next year? This year, we saw Stan Wawrinka take the French Open, but so far he has failed to follow it up in any of the other Majors or Masters. Roger Federer and Andy Murray seemed ready to make a challenge, but Murray didn’t even make the fourth round in New York, while Federer again seemed to be outmatched by Djokovic in another major final. Nadal failed even to make the final four of a single Slam this year. It looks like the Djokovic era will continue for another couple of years until one of the younger players steps up.

Five-Set Matches Are tough! The number of retirements in the men’s draw was ridiculous. There were 14 before the quarterfinals. A lot of factors were involved but there were even retirements by players who were winning when they had to drop out. The humidity certainly played a factor, but this could add some momentum to the debate about changing the men’s Majors to best-of-three set matches like the women. Mamma Mia.

Wanted: A New Female Star. As this tournament proved, there is a big flux after Serena. She was so dominant and winning everything that is was hard to notice, but the performances by the Top 10 women were abysmal. Seven of the Top 10 were gone after the second round. Petra Kvitova ran out of gas against Pennetta in the quarters, and Simona Halep was blown off the court by Pennetta in the semis. New rising stars Garbine Muguruza and Belinda Bencic were gone by the third round. Here’s to hoping that someone will rise up and be more than a one-time wonder in 2016.

Doubles Dominance. Martina Hingis’s collection of doubles titles in 2015 is truly impressive. After getting warmed up with a mixed doubles title with Leander Paes at the Australian Open, she then teamed up with Sania Mirza and took the two doubles titles at Wimbledon and did the same thing again at the U.S. Open. She now has 20 Grand Slam titles and doesn’t look like she’ll retire again any time soon. On a side note, the French team of Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, seeded a lowly 12^th, took home the men’s doubles title. It’s always nice to see two players who have come so close in the past finally win a big one.

A Final Look Across the Frontier… So the final Slam of the year is over. We saw a No. 1 reassert his dominance and enter the top-level of greats, we saw the dream of a Calendar-Year Grand Slam destroyed by a perky Italian nobody gave a chance of winning, we saw a Hall-of-Fame member take all the doubles titles, we saw a pair of unheralded Frenchmen take home a Grand Slam title, and we saw the final rain delay at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The Australian Open is only four months away!

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): kulitat

September 14, 2015
TENNIS QUIZ: US Open Champions

Test your knowledge of the US Open! See if you can name every Open Era champion — in order!

US Open Men’s Champions

US Open Women’s Champions

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Kiu Kaffi / mirsasha

August 31, 2015
2015 Western & Southern Open – Cincinnati Review

The Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati was a relatively calm and orderly affair compared to the Rogers Cup the week before. There were no sledges made, very few rain delays, and no newcomers making major breakthroughs. But there is always plenty of history and positioning for the upcoming U.S. Open on the line, so the W&S Open is one of the most important tournaments on the tennis calendar, and this year was no different.

The Unbreakable Maestro
Before the summer started, Roger Federer announced that he would skip the Rogers Cup, stunning tennis fans from Albania to Zimbabwe. Surely he would lose his World No. 2 ranking and the No. 2 seed at the U.S. Open for this foolish decision. And sure enough, Federer fell to No. 3 after Andy Murray’s victory in Montreal, and when Murray made the semifinals at Cincinnati, the only way for Federer to get the No. 2 ranking back was to win the tournament. What Federer did in this tournament surprised pretty much everybody. He was never broken once in the tournament, did not drop a set, and played a style of tennis that was bold, majestic, and age-defying. The man is 34 years old yet just beat the No. 1 and 2 players in the world successively for the first time in his career. He never dropped his serve in 44 service games. He practically returned serves from the service line. His volleys were Edbergesque. And he now has seven Cincinnati flower vases sitting on his mantle. With Murray’s Montreal win and Federer’s in Cincinnati, the upcoming U.S. Open has become a lot more interesting and unpredictable.

Survival of the Strongest
Watching Serena Williams march through a tournament to another title brings back the scene when Scarlet O’Hara was stepping through the wounded soldiers in Atlanta as she looked for someone. Will anyone be fit, healthy, and ready to challenge Serena in New York? Simona Halep seems to be back on track after early losses at Roland Garros and Wimbledon but with her incredibly hard schedule, one has to wonder when she will break down again like she did in the Toronto final against Belinda Bencic. The fact remains that the only person who can beat Serena is Serena herself. The mounting pressure must be incredible, but if anyone can do it, it’s Ms. Williams. And she gets another Cincinnati vase to put on her very crowed mantlepiece.

Another Record Denied
Back in June, Novak Djokovic was one win away from completing his career Grand Slam at the French Open. It seemed like it was destiny after finally beating Rafael Nadal for the first time in seven tries. But Stan Wawrinka stood in his way and denied him a record only a few have accomplished. This week, Djokovic was going for another record: a Masters 1000 box set. No one has ever won all nine Masters 1000 tournaments. Federer lacks Rome and Monte Carlo, Nadal has never won Miami and Paris (Bercy), and Andre Agassi is also two titles short of a set. Amazingly, Djokovic has never won in Cincinnati but after his defeat in the Montreal final last week, most thought he would make a statement before the U.S. Open started. But a new and improved Federer, on one of his favorite courts, once again kept Djokovic from making history. Djokovic is at a special place in his career right now. Every time he wins, he takes one more step to glory, but the other side of the coin is that every time he loses, he is denied another record of some sort. It’s an enviable place to be in, and it’s tough to win everything. Djokovic will definitely be looking to make a statement in New York now.

The Walking Wounded of the WTA
The number of players who have been injured, dropped out of the tournament, or retired from their matches is becoming alarming. Maria Sharapova (leg injury), Petra Kvitova (mono), Caroline Wozniacki (leg), Belinda Bencic (wrist), Victoria Azarenka (leg), and Venus Williams (illness) are some of the top players who have been struggling with injuries or health during the summer months. At this rate, there won’t be anyone to challenge Serena Williams as she marches full steam ahead to her calendar Grand Slam at the U.S. Open. It’s been disappointing to see and leaving a whole lot of questions for the final Grand Slam of the year.

Nadal’s Struggles
For the last 10 years, Rafael Nadal has won at least one Grand Slam every year. Since 2004, when he won his first French Open, he has left his teeth marks on one of the major titles’ trophies, but his record run is in serious jeopardy. After going out in the second round of Wimbledon, Nadal went over to Hamburg and won a tournament on his beloved clay and then was destroyed by Nishikori in the quarterfinals in Montreal, and defeated in the third round in Cincinnati by compatriot Feliciano Lopez. The Nadal we know and expect has just not appeared this year and it looks like his record run of major titles is finally over.

SledgeGate Continues
The tournament changed but the uproar over the brash Nick Kyrgios refuses to go away. He said he had apologized to Stan Wawrinka in person, but then Wawrinka said that no such thing happened. He said, he said. After giving out a $10,000 fine, the ATP has been quiet, but Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic condemned the remarks. Kyrgios has really isolated himself from the tennis community and will have to really work hard to gain some trust and acceptance on the tour. He was very quiet in Cincinnati this week, taking only three games from Richard Gasquet.

Fasten Your Seatbelts Because Here Come the U.S. Open
There are two more warm-up tournaments in Connecticut and North Carolina this week, and then the final Grand Slam tournament finally comes. The two weeks in Canada and Ohio have given us more questions than clues or answers about what is going to happen on the men’s side, while on the women’s side, the results thus far look like a dress rehearsal. But as is so often the case with the greatest sport on earth, it hasn’t been boring.

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): mirsasha

August 23, 2015
TENNIS QUIZ: Western & Southern Cincinnati Champions

Test your knowledge of the Western & Southern Open! See if you can name every Open Era champion!

Western & Southern Men’s Champions

Western & Southern Women’s Champions

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Henrik Gustavsson/ SweTennis / kulitat

August 18, 2015