Tennis Frontier

Tag: novak djokovic

2015 ATP World Tour Finals Preview

‘The end is here’ ‘The Final showdown’ ‘The Stage Is Set’ ‘Insert overdramatic cliché’. Yes, ATP overkill at its finest. But cynicism aside, I am of course looking forward to the season ending shindig in London. It is a pleasure to see the best players in the world battle it out for a colossal sum of money and ranking points. Not bad for a week’s work, that’s for sure.

There is little change in the line-up since last year’s event, with Nadal and Ferrer replacing Milos Raonic and Marin Cilic in the eight man field, although Ferrer was an alternate last year. The event is a great yardstick of both season long consistency, but even more so of longevity. This shall be Berdych’s sixth straight year of qualification, Ferrer’s fifth, Djokovic’s ninth and one Mr Roger Federer’s fifteenth. The other four meanwhile have all made multiple appearances, again a testament to the depth and quality atop the men’s game.

On the subject of depth and quality, Novak Djokovic stands a head higher than even his closest competitors at the event, and as I breakdown the draws and offer my thoughts, it becomes clear: All roads pass through Novak in the quest to haul in the trophy a week from Sunday.

Group A

This group, consisting of Djokovic, Federer, Berdych and Nishikori, is for me the more likely of the two to see the big names advancing.

Novak leads Berdych a lopsided 20-2 in their head to head, never having lost to the Czech on a hard court. Berdych has enjoyed some form this autumn, but even his biggest shots seem to make little indentations in the Serb’s defences. Nishikori has enjoyed a bit more success against Djokovic, winning two of their six matches, including at the US Open last year. In addition, Nishikori pushed Novak at the World Tour Finals last year in one of the few matches that weren’t duds. With Kei’s lack of matches lately though, and Djokovic’s imperious form, I suspect Djokovic to come through these two hassle free.

Federer, although not as dominant over the afore mentioned pair as Djokovic, still enjoys healthy head to heads against both. Against Berdych the Swiss leads 14-6. Berdych does not seem to have as big a block against Roger compared to the more defensive members of the ‘big four’, his big game when clicking can overcome him, including twice in Slams. Federer has not lost to Tomas though since an injury plagued 2013, winning the last three matches. I think Berdych could trouble the Swiss, especially when one looks at his recent loss to the big hitting Isner in Paris, but the court in London has in recent years yielded a slower bounce, which should aid Federer in nullifying Berdych’s power.

What of the marquee matchup between the two most successful players of the season? It seems strange for Novak and Roger to meet in the round robin stage of the tournament, but that is the nature of rolling rankings and contributes towards the excitement of this unique event. There is little to choose between the pair going into the tournament, Federer triumphing in Basel, Djokovic a week later in Paris. Both are in fine fettle, and play some of their best indoors. Based on his sheer dominance in the last few months, Novak for me edges their encounter.

Group Winner: Djokovic

Group Runner Up: Federer

Group B

The other group, consisting of Murray, Wawrinka, Nadal and Ferrer, offers more in the way of unpredictability and intrigue than the first.

Murray is in a rich vein of form, reaching the Paris Masters final before falling tamely to Djokovic. He will benefit from home crowd support, and is a fine indoor player. Although trailing Nadal 6-15 in their head to head, this is not the same Nadal of late, Murray beating him on the home clay of Madrid in their last meeting this year. Murray has had a better season, and I think in terms of speed, fitness and form the Scot starts out as favourite against Rafa. In his last meeting with Ferrer, recently in Paris, he overcame him in two straight forward sets, and leads their series 11-5, as well as having won their last three indoor meetings. Ferrer has enjoyed a successful autumn, but Murray would start as a clear favourite. Murray’s match with Wawrinka should prove to be the hardest. While he leads the Swiss 8-4, Stan won their last two encounters in 2013, and they have not met since in a period where he became a two time slam winner. I would not be surprised to see Wawrinka power through the Scot, as he did last time they met.

Stan Wawrinka comes to London having enjoyed the best year of his career. Nadal was long a nemesis for him, leading their head to head 13-3. Stan has put things to rights in recent years however, winning three of their last four meetings, including on Nadal’s beloved clay earlier this year, and then in two pulsating sets in Paris in similar conditions to London last week. If Wawrinka hits his offensive stride, I see him edging the Spaniard. Against Ferrer meanwhile, Stan, whilst trailing 6-7, he has won their last three meetings. Ferrer can certainly hang in there with the more powerful Swiss, still prone to bouts of inconsistency, but Stan remains the favourite.

Nadal has done well in making the finals in London, having a rather modest year by his lofty standards, winning just three minor titles. He has qualified the hard way, but qualified all the same. He has shown some good form in the indoor season, stretching Federer, perhaps the greatest indoor player in history, to three sets in the Basel Final, before falling in a tight quarterfinal last week in Paris. I have already above given two opponents an edge over Nadal in his group, and I struggle to see him making the semi-finals this year. All the same, it would be a great end to the year for Nadal to score a win against his friend and rival, the dogged David Ferrer. Rafa enjoys a 23-6 lead in their matches, and won their sole meeting this year in Monte Carlo. Ferrer is nevertheless an effective indoor player, coming into London with two trophies at indoor events. Furthermore, four of his six wins against his compatriot were on hard courts, two of them indoors. This match represents both men’s best chances of a win in London, and the accompanying $167,000 and 200 ranking points. Expect an entertaining slugfest in their final encounter of the year.

Group Winner: Murray

Group Runner Up: Wawrinka

Semi-Finals

Federer Defeats Murray

Djokovic Defeats Wawrinka

Final

Djokovic Defeats Federer

[divider]

Link to author Daniel Edwards’ blog

Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Marianne Bevis

November 13, 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
2015 Paris Masters Final Preview

Novak Djokovic increasingly looks as if he has this rivalry with Andy Murray by the scruff of the neck. The Serb leads their head to head series 20-9, and has won nine of their last ten matches since Murray triumphed over him at Wimbledon in 2013. It was looking increasingly like one way traffic until the Scot stopped the rot with a win last August in the title match of the Rogers Cup. Make no mistake though; Djokovic seemingly has Andy’s number nowadays.

I think when these two contest best of three matches; they are as a rule higher quality affairs compared to their best of five encounters. Both men play pretty similar games, predicated on defence, drawing the error and creating openings for more aggressive plays. I have noticed that in some of their Slam encounters, in Australia or at Flushing Meadows in particular, the buffer created by a finish line that is farther away can lull both into a defensive complacency, leading neither in the early stages to take charge and resulting instead in rallying affairs. In contrast, the three set matches seem to inject in both men a sense of urgency, and thus willingness to be the aggressor and forced the issue. Two of the best matches the pair have contested were contested in the three set format, their 2012 encounters at The Olympics and Shanghai were high octane matches where both players came out guns blazing, eager to put away each other.

It remains to be seen whether today’s clash in the final of the Paris Masters shall deliver the same quality. In their last meeting, the semi-finals of Shanghai, Murray surrendered rather tamely to Djokovic in two lopsided sets. In addition, Novak likes these courts, medium paced for an indoor event; he is the two time defending champion. I will always give Novak an edge on a medium to slow hard court against Murray, especially in controlled indoor conditions. One wonders as well what motivation Murray will have to go all out, what with the World Tour Finals looming, not to mention the Davis Cup final, an event he is prioritising.

I believe two key shots of Murray’s will lead to a Djokovic victory this afternoon. The Scot’s forehand is liable to landing in the middle of the court, and I think Novak will waste little time in taking charge of the rally when this inevitably happens. In addition, whilst Murray possesses a good first serve, it is not a high percentage shot, thus he will have to hit a fair number of second serves. This shot is arguably the Scots weakest, often only hit at around 80 miles per hour. Against the greatest returner in the world, and perhaps in the history of the sport, he is more often than not punished when attempting the second delivery. All is not lost for the second seed though. He won his semi-final against Ferrer in routine fashion, earlier in the day than when Novak beat Wawrinka in three sets. He should be fresh for this encounter. Nevertheless, I expect Novak to continue in his rich vein of form and make it three Paris titles in a row.

Djokovic to win in straight sets.

[divider]

Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Marianne Bevis

November 8, 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!

[divider]

Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Marianne Bevis.

November 1, 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!

[divider]

Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): kulitat

September 14, 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.

[divider]

Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): mirsasha

August 23, 2015
2015 Rogers Cup Review

One week ago, as the men began play in Montreal and the women started play in Toronto, the main talking points were about the performances of Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams and how they would start their preparation for the upcoming U.S. Open, as well as the performances of the Canadian stars playing in their home country’s Masters/Premier event. But the tennis fans were treated to a whole lot more than they ever expected this week.

Finally, At Long Last, About Time!
The numbers were repeated over and over again. Andy Murray had not beaten Novak Djokovic since his dramatic win at Wimbledon in 2013. The losing streak had built up to eight consecutive losses. Murray would play outstanding tennis in a tournament, only to be turned away time and again by Djokovic. Even when Murray demolished Kei Nishikori in the semifinals, there was still the feeling that Murray may challenge Djokovic but in the end fall short as always. The turning point came in the fifth game of the third set. The 18-minute game went to deuce 10 times and Djokovic had six break points, but on this day Murray refused to surrender. Somehow, he held on to that game. Still, Djokovic fought off three match points serving at 2-5, and then had his own chance to get back on serve in the next game but Murray finally sealed the 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win on his fifth championship point. A big old monkey jumped off Murray’s back and the upcoming U.S. Open just got a whole lot more interesting.

A New Star Arrives
We have another Swiss Superstar coming onto the scene. This may not have been a Grand Slam, but when you defeat the home crowd’s darling and former Wimbledon finalist in round one, a former World No. 1 and the current No. 5 in round two, another former Wimbledon finalist in round three, another former World No. 1 and the current No. 6 in the quarterfinals, the World No. 1 and the holder of all four Grand Slams in the semifinals, and finally a former French Open finalist and World No. 3 in the final, people are going to notice. Belinda Bencic won her second title of the year and will move up to No. 12 in the new rankings. There is no doubt all eyes will be on her at the U.S. Open. Bencic could be the real deal.

World No. 1’s Denied
Most expected Djokovic and Serena to come away with the titles this week, but shockingly, both were denied. Djokovic just couldn’t finish off Murray in his usual style, and Serena let Bencic back into the match after dictating things through most of the first set. Still, even though they left town without a title, you get the feeling that they will fine tune their tennis in Cincinnati, and will be raring to go when the year’s last Grand Slam rolls around. They are still the ones to beat and that’s not going to change any time soon.

Home-Ain’t-So-Sweet Home
Clicking on the website of the Rogers Cup last week, tennis fans’ computer screens were immediately covered with huge pictures of Milos Raonic and Eugenie Bouchard. Along with Vasek Pospisil and six other wild cards to represent Canada, expectations were there despite Raonic’s recent struggles and Bouchard’s dismal season. Raonic was upset by Ivo Karlovic in his first match, Bouchard lost to eventual champion Bencic in the first round, and the only Canadian wildcard to win a match, Vasek Pospisil, lost in the third round to John Isner. It was a tournament to forget for the Canadians.

The Walking Wounded
We’re only halfway through August but there are a disturbing number of absences, dropouts, retirements, and injuries. Both World No. 2’s Roger Federer (cutting back on schedule) and Maria Sharapova (injury) were absent. Simona Halep had to retire in the final set of the women’s final. Kei Nishikori was clearly hampered in his one-sided loss to Murray in the semifinals. Raonic still does not seem to be fully recovered from his foot injury. Stan Wawrinka retired during his infamous match with Nick Kyrgios. Caroline Wozniacki was also struggling with an injury in her early round loss. The hard-court season only gets tougher from here so this could be a chance for some young players to break out of the early rounds and even score some upsets, just as Bencic did in Toronto.

The Sledge
How many people really knew what “sledge” meant before this tournament? Everyone has seen multiple reports of what happened whether they wanted to or not. In one of the ugliest matches in recent memory, Kyrgios managed to insult Stan Wawrinka, fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis, a young WTA player from Croatia, and pretty much the entire tennis community. He was fined $10,000, and still could be suspended by the ATP. There are some serious problems with Kyrgios, and it appears that no one really knows what to do with him. Tennis Australia has asked fellow Australian and veteran Lleyton Hewitt to act as an advisor for the young Australian, but boy does Hewitt have his work cut out for him.

In the End, It’s All About Tennis
Despite all of the media storm over one comment made by a misguided player, tennis proved to be a sport that wipes away the sludge and the sledges with inspiring performances. With Murray’s spirited effort to finally break through Djokovic and Bencic’s fantastic string of wins, the hard-court season finally seems like it’s here — and it’s only going to get more interesting.

[divider]

Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): kulitat / mirsasha

August 17, 2015
National Tennis Careers – Part Six: Summing Up

After surveying Open Era tennis through the five nations with the highest Slam totals, we’re left with a few questions and unexplored areas which I’ll try to tackle in this concluding segment.

[divider]

Click here to discuss National Tennis Careers – Part Six: Summing Up in the discussion forum.

[divider]

Who’s left?
The “big five” tennis nations include many, even most, of the all-time greats of the Open Era. Let’s take a look at the other nations and their players by Slam count:

Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic (12): Ivan Lendl (8), Jan Kodes (3), Petr Korda (1).
Serbia (9): Novak Djokovic (9)
Germany/West Germany (7): Boris Becker (6), Michael Stich (1)
Argentina (6): Guillermo Vilas (4), Gaston Gaudio (1), Juan Martin del Potro (1)
Russia (4): Yevgeny Kafelnikov (2), Marat Safin (2)
Brazil (3): Gustavo Kuerten (3)
Croatia (2): Goran Ivanisevic (1), Marin Cilic (1)
Romania (2): Ilie Nastase (2)
South Africa (2): Johan Kriek (2)
United Kingdom (2): Andy Murray (2)
Austria (1): Thomas Muster (1)
Ecuador (1): Andres Gomez (1)
France (1): Yannick Noah (1)
Italy (1): Adriano Panatta (1)
Netherlands (1): Richard Krajicek (1)

Before Djokovic is through, Serbia’s Slam count should surpass that of the Czechs as a whole.

Slavic Surge?
I almost titled this last part “Slavic Surge!” because it would seem that the tennis from Slavic countries has been on the rise. But it wasn’t quite as extreme as I thought. There are some strong Slavic players currently in their peaks, namely Djokovic, Berdych, Cilic, and Karlovic. There are some younger players with some upside, including Damir Dzumhur (23, No. 100), Grigor Dimitrov (24, No. 16), and Jiri Vesely (22, No. 45). But there is only one player that looks like a potential future star, and that is the 18-year-old Croatian Borna Coric, who is currently ranked No. 37. So while Slavic tennis is strong, it is hardly dominant (Novak aside).

Possible Future Slam Winning Countries
So who might the next Slam winners be? Specifically, which countries have the most possible future Slam winners? Well, that is for a future study that I’m working on. But I will say that as we’ve seen in the previous segments, there isn’t much on the horizon for Spain or Switzerland, and only really the Ymer brothers in Sweden; in the US there are a few prospects, and Australia at least has “K&K”: Kyrgios and Kokkinakis.

All in all there doesn’t seem to be a central location for tennis right now or the foreseeable future. We can sum up the Open Era by looking at early dominance by Australians, namely Ken Rosewall, Rod Laver, and John Newcombe, then the rise of Americans in Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, and Sweden in Bjorn Borg, Mats Wilander, and Stefan Edberg. Along with German Boris Becker and Czech Ivan Lendl, Americans and Swedes dominated tennis from the mid-70s into the early 90s, with Sweden dropping off as Edberg retired, but the United States remained dominant into the 21st century, led by Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. But then the US dropped off precipitously, and Switzerland and Spain took up the rulership of men’s tennis, with Serbia playing its part.

What the future will bring, well, it is a truly global world out there. There’s no sign of any of the five great tennis nations regaining their dominance. There are some glimmerings of improvement in Australia, and a bit in the US, but nothing substantial or worthy of the term “future dominance.” We’re going to see a shared effort, it would seem.

[divider]

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

July 24, 2015
Wimbledon Review 2015

Wimbledon has always been a tournament steeped in history and tradition. Every year, a little more history is added to the legend and charm to the greatest tournament in the world. This year was no different, with the top players fighting off challenges and establishing their positions as the greatest in the world.

Manic Monday: One of the Best Days of the Tennis Year. The middle Sunday of Wimbledon is almost a bit of a downer, with no action and an extra day when we are forced to anticipate and wait for the upcoming fourth round matches. But the crazy, non-stop action of eight men’s and eight women’s matches all crammed into one day makes for one of the most exciting and exhausting days in tennis. On the men’s side, No. 1 seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic almost got an early vacation when Kevin Anderson took the first two sets, but after winning the next two sets to tie it up, thanks to the English curfew, the last set was played on Tuesday, and Djokovic quickly finished the match to move on. Thomas Berdych, however, fell a round early before his anticipated match with Roger Federer. On the women’s side, the marquee match was between the two players who have won eleven of the last sixteen Wimbledon titles. Venus Williams was playing extremely well this tournament and there were some experts saying that she just might be the one to beat Serena Williams and end her sister’s chance for a Grand Slam. But after that close encounter with Heather Watson, Serena was in no mood to fool around. Serena defeated Venus for the 15^th time in 26 matches to advance. The biggest surprise was French Open finalist and No. 6 seed Lucie Safarova being upset by American Coco Vandeweghe. That left three American women (Serena, Vandeweghe, and Madison Keys) in the quarterfinals.

Nick Kyrgios and Vasek Pospisil: The Good and the Ugly. After Milos Raonic went down in the 3^rd round, fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil took up the banner and surprised everyone, probably even himself. The 2014 Wimbledon doubles champion came back from two sets down to shock No. 22 Viktor Troicki in the fourth round and advance to his first ever Grand Slam quarterfinal. With his doubles matches going the distance as well, he didn’t have much left against Andy Murray but it was an encouraging result for Pospisil and Canada’s future Davis Cup hopes. Meanwhile, a player who went the extra mile to make a fool out of himself was Nick Kyrgios. In his 4^th round match against No. 21 Richard Gasquet, Kyrgios clearly tanked during the second set; sat down during a game to change his socks, and got into an argument with the umpire; was almost disqualified when the racket he flung bounced into the stands, narrowly missing hitting someone; and finally hugged a ball boy in a desperate attempt to grab a laugh. His post-match interview was just as embarrassing. After kicking Bernard Tomic off the Davis Cup team, now Tennis Australia is going to have to figure out how to teach their young players on- and off-court manners. It’s a shame, because they have a group of young men who could bring Australia back to the top. But right now an implosion seems just as likely.

Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka: The Invisible Champions. They are both Grand Slam champions. They have both been ranked No. 1. And they are a combined five wins and thirty-five losses against Serena. In Grand Slam tournaments alone, they are a combined one win and sixteen losses. Watching their matches, you get the impression that Maria Sharapova no longer has any chance against Serena, but with Victoria Azarenka, there is some hope that someday she will finally beat Serena on the big stage and a true rivalry will be born. But as it stands, their failure to beat Serena — or, depending on your point of view, Serena’s brilliance against these two — are big reasons for Serena’s march through the tour during the last few years.

Andy Murray: A Whole Lot of Questions Are Answered. It looked so good for Andy Murray. His successful clay court season and his fourth Queen’s Club title had everyone thinking that Wimbledon would be the place where he would finally find the success he was enjoying before his back surgery. He even got lucky in avoiding his nemesis Djokovic until the final. But then he ran into Federer. The level of tennis between Federer and Murray was not bad, but Federer had a answer for everything Murray threw at him. He played the big points better, and shut down Murray in a rather shocking straight-set match. At this point, it’s obvious that while Murray is a great player, he is nowhere near the level of Djokovic or Federer. Several things would have to work in his favor if he is going to have a chance to beat them and win another Slam. Murray may have another major or two left in him before his career is over, but luck will have to play a part. He may prove that assumption wrong in the upcoming U.S. Open, but after this Wimbledon match, he is starting to look more and more like the ATP version of Sharapova.

Doubles: Twice the Stories, Twice the Fun! The doubles draws had a lot of interesting stories this year as well. Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova had won the first two Slams of the year, and were going for a calendar Slam of their own, but they were defeated in the quarterfinals. The title was won by none other than 34-year-old Martina Hingis and India’s Sania Mirza. They teamed up earlier this year and after taking several titles, they finally won their first slam together. This was Hingis’s 18^th overall Slam title (5 singles, 10 doubles, 3 mixed) but perhaps the even bigger story was Mirza. She became the first female Slam winner from India. On the men’s side, Andy Murray’s older brother, Jamie, made it to the men’s doubles final with teammate John Peers. Murray was going for his second Wimbledon title after winning the mixed doubles with Jelena Jankovic back in 2007. With Andy watching from the stands, Jamie and Peers went down in straight sets to Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau.

Garbine Muguruza: Gutsy Garbi’s Grand Slam Breakthrough. When Garbine Muguruza defeated Serena and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2014 French Open, it looked like she was getting ready to bust out of the lower ranks of young players and come right up to the Top 10. She stalled a bit after that and struggled the first half of the year, but thanks to the bottom half of the draw opening up, she took advantage of the opportunity and defeated a revitalized Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals to reach her first Grand Slam final. She had a lead in the first but let Serena pull away. However, after falling behind 4-6, 1-5, she pulled out all the stops and broke Serena twice to pull within 4-5 before Serena was finally able to finish the match. If Garbi had won that game to get to 5-5, who knows what could have happened? But tennis fans everywhere were impressed with her big game and mental strength on the biggest stage in the world of tennis. She will be ranked in the Top 10 when the new rankings are released Monday. Instead of Simona Halep or Eugenie Bouchard, Muguruza could be the one who challenges Serena in the next few years.

Roger Federer: Denied No. 8 and No. 18 — Once Again. Like Murray, Roger Federer had a perfect grass court season. He won his eighth Halle title in Germany and then went through the early rounds of Wimbledon without much fuss. His serve wasn’t broken until Giles Simon managed to do it once in the quarterfinals. Before the semifinals, six out of 10 experts were predicting a Murray win, but Federer once again went on to show us how far Murray has to go before he can start winning Slams again. It was a well-contested match and Murray did everything he could, but Federer stepped up when he had to and broke Murray at the end of each set to grab his fourth straight win over the Scot. In the final, Federer did not have the same level he brought to the Murray match. But that could also be blamed on the fact that Djokovic was a much better opponent. Federer had two set points on Djokovic’s serve in the first set, but ended up losing a tiebreak badly to fall behind. In the second, Federer fought off an amazing seven set points to take the second set tiebreak. But that was all he had left in him. A short rain delay wasn’t long enough for Federer to find a second wind and Djokovic seemed to have no fuss in grabbing the final two sets. At the age of 33, what Federer has accomplished is amazing, but you get the feeling that his chances of winning Grand Slams are beyond him now. Nevertheless, he is still No. 2 in the world, and if Djokovic trips up somewhere, Roger could definitely take a surprise Slam in the way Pete Sampras took the U.S. Open in 2002.

Serena Williams: Wins Second “Serena Slam” Twelve Years After the First. Twenty-first Grand Slam. Sixth Wimbledon. Thirty-nine wins and one loss for the year. Twenty-eight straight Grand Slam wins. The list goes on and on. What Serena is doing at the age of 33 boggles the mind. She has gone up against long-time rivals, new rivals, her sister, and anyone else tennis can throw at her — and she just keeps finding ways to win. If her win over Timea Bacsinszky in last month’s French Open wasn’t proof enough, Serena’s third round win over Heather Watson was a true showcase of just how tough she is when the chips are down. Serena is very aware of what is at stake and she now has New York squarely in her sights. This is a player we will be telling our grandkids about someday, and it is a privilege to watch her go for the first calendar Grand Slam since 1988. She may make it; she may not — but every tennis player on the planet will be watching to see if history will be made at the U.S. Open.

Novak Djokovic: Supremacy Reestablished. After being shocked at the French Open by Stan Wawrinka, and being denied again his first title at Roland Garros, everyone wondered what sort of state Djokovic would be in when he came to London. He skipped the pre-Wimbledon tournaments and only took part in an exhibition where he was beaten by youngster Alexander Zverev. He came into Wimbledon and after three easy matches was almost ousted by Kevin Anderson but somehow he was able to come back after dropping the first two sets. After that close call, he took care of Marin Cilic and surprise semifinalist Gasquet in straight sets. Against Federer, he seemed to be in control the entire match, even after dropping the second set tiebreak. Djokovic now has nine Grand Slams, good for sixth place on the all-time list. With Rafael Nadal struggling to regain his form, Federer showing his age, and Murray failing to find another level, Djokovic could very well be ruling the tour for the next couple of years and adding to his Grand Slam trophies until the next generation of players such as Thanasi Kokkinakis and Borna Coric come up to take his place.

Wimbledon: The Grandest of Grand Slams. While each Grand Slam tournament has its own history, traditions, and charms, every year Wimbledon comes around to prove once again that there is no tournament like it. With the strengthened grass court season this year, it made its position even stronger. Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams solidified their positions as the No. 1 players in the world, and Wimbledon did the same, reminding everyone that it truly is the greatest tournament, of the greatest sport, in the world.

[divider]

Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Si:robi / Marianne Bevis / Si:robi / Carine06

July 12, 2015
Wimbledon Final: A Rematch of 2014

The 2015 men’s singles Wimbledon final will be contested between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, like last year. The World No. 1 and defending champion, Djokovic, has won his matches comfortably in three sets with the exception of the five-setter in the Round of 16 against Kevin Anderson. The World No. 2, Federer, has been impressive so far; he has dropped only one set, against Sam Groth, in the Round of 32, and the only time his serve was broken was in the quarterfinal against Gilles Simon.

Federer comes to the final after an impressive semifinal win against Andy Murray. Federer was rock-solid in his service games. He served 20 aces and won 84% of points on his first serve and in the second set he won all of those.

[divider]

Click here to discuss “Wimbledon Final: A Rematch of 2014” in the discussion forum.

[divider]

Djokovic had big trouble against Kevin Anderson in the Round of 16. Anderson had played a good grass season, making the final at the Queen’s Club, so his good performance wasn’t quite so surprising. Anderson, with his big serve and net play, took the first two sets and was able to trouble Djokovic till the end of the match.

Great serving (in a different way to Anderson) and net play are also Federer’s strengths, so I think he has the tools to beat Djokovic. And Anderson showed Djokovic is vulnerable. So did Stan Wawrinka in the French Open final, although on clay. Both matches showed offensive game puts Djokovic in trouble. Of course, Djokovic returns well and has a great defense but so does Murray, too, whom Federer just impressively beat. If Federer serves like today, he will be very hard to break and Djokovic can’t afford bad service games.

The head-to-head is 20-19 to Federer. He used to be a difficult match-up for Djokovic; for example, he was the first to defeat Djokovic in 2011, in the French Open semifinal. Later Djokovic got good wins over Federer, such as the World Tour Finals final in 2012 and the Wimbledon final last year. Since 2014 the head-to-head is 5-4 to Djokovic, including Federer’s withdrawal from the World Tour Finals final. But on faster surfaces (Dubai, Wimbledon, Shanghai), Federer has fared well against Djokovic; matches 3-1 and sets 8-4 to Federer. So this is surely a great chance for Federer.

Djokovic came to Wimbledon as the runner-up of the French Open. He had finally beaten Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros but got outplayed in the final against Stan Wawrinka. Being denied the French Open title once again may have hurt him but I don’t think it’s hurting his self-confidence here. He didn’t throw a win away; he simply got outplayed. He got outplayed by Anderson for two sets, yet he didn’t fold but won in five. That sort of consistency can pay dividends in best-of-five. Still, those Wawrinka and Anderson matches have showed he can get outplayed, and Federer surely can do that for an entire match. Also, Djokovic’s Grand Slam final record isn’t particularly great for a player of his caliber: 8-8. Playing all but two of those finals against a non-Big Four opponent partly explains that, but also shows some vulnerability; after all he isn’t so dominant.

Federer is playing for a record eighth Wimbledon title, currently sharing the record of seven with Pete Sampras and William Renshaw. While he looked ageless in the semifinal against Murray, he’ll be 34 in a month and he’s the oldest Wimbledon finalist in 41 years. He won’t have many more chances to break the threeway tie, plus get to 18 total Grand Slam titles, furthering himself one more from Nadal, who has 14. But I don’t think pressure from that will be a factor on Sunday; Federer knows how to win, especially at Wimbledon.

I think this is on Federer’s racquet. If he plays his best tennis, he will outplay Djokovic. He must serve well against Djokovic’s great return, be aggressive, and avoid getting into long baseline rallies where Djokovic is too solid. Djokovic must defend well against Federer’s offensive game but he must not be too passive, otherwise he’s giving the keys to victory to Federer and can only hope Federer starts missing his shots.

Of course, Djokovic beat Federer last year in the Wimbledon final and Federer is probably the one facing the effects of aging faster now. But still, I think Federer is better prepared for the final this year. He had been coached by Stefan Edberg only since the start of the last season and I think his game reached its peak later that year when he won the Shanghai Masters, defeating Djokovic in two sets in the semifinal. Federer can still be the best player on fast surfaces; on Sunday he must be that to win the Wimbledon final.

[divider]

Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Marianne Bevis

July 10, 2015