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Monte Carlo High Rolling – Nadal Wins 8th (!) Consecutive Shield

22 Apr

Rafael Nadal d. Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-1

This result was huge for a few reasons:

  • Nadal cements his status as the favorite for the French Open in 2012*
  • Nadal exercises some of his demons vs. Djokovic
  • Nadal once again is the sole owner of the most Super 9/Masters Series/Masters 1000 titles
  • Nadal most importantly wins a historically significant title for the 8th consecutive year – I do not see this ever happening again**

2012: Full of Plot Lines

2012 is shaping up to be an interesting year.  Djokovic has won the only slam of 2012 as well as one of the three Masters 1000 events.  Rafael Nadal just reasserted himself.  Roger Federer won three consecutive tournaments.  Andy Murray has hinted at some improvements under Ivan Lendl to only seemingly pull back.***

* – Nadal being the favorite heading into the French Open is not all bad news for Djokovic.  Nole has a real chance to be the reigning champion at all four slams. This would be the greatest achievement in tennis history to my mind.  Going into Paris as an underdog may be good for Djokovic’s stress level.  See the University of Kentucky losing the SEC Tournament Final in New Orleans to only return to New Orleans a few weeks later and cut down the NCAA tournament nets.

** – Even if John Isner won 8 consecutive titles in Atalanta, I can’t see that as being on par with winning such a prestigious clay court title eight consecutive times.

*** – Murray’s initial confidence after bringing Lendl on board may have led to unrealistic expectations on the timeline of what Lendl can do for Murray.  Now that the new car smell has worn off, Murray will have to work through what Lendl is asking of him.  Changing dispositions and habits can and usually does take time.  I think we won’t know the trajectory of Lendl’s coaching until this time in 2013 (unless they part ways before then).

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2012 ATP Power Rankings

26 Feb

This is a new feature in which I will combine the overall flow of the ATP Tour for the past 52 weeks with recent trends to arrive at my own current rankings.  Tomorrow, I will have another Youtube Tennis entry up and my GOAT series will resume this week as well.  Much like college basketball has the RPI as well as human polls, I would treat this like my ballot for a press based poll.

Dan Martin’s 2012 Power Rankings

for the Week of February 26 through March 3

1.  Novak Djokovic – With all of the precincts reporting Novak Djokovic is in clear command of the ATP Tour.

2.  Rafael Nadal – An Australian Open runner-up finish has Nadal holding #2 for now, but a Murray or Federer title in Dubai might tilt against Rafa.

3.  Andy Murray – My first deviation from the ATP rankings.  Murray like Federer has a 250 point title and an Australian Open semifinal loss, but Murray showed strides down under so he’s #3 for now.

4.  Roger Federer – The title in Rotterdam must make Roger wish there were more important indoor events a la the 1990′s.  Fed’s Davis Cup performance vs. the US has placed Federer below Murray for now.

5.  David Ferrer – A title in Argentina over a strong Nicolas Almagro confirms Ferrer’s ATP computer ranking.

6.  Juan Martin del Potro – Delpo has a title, a runner-up finish and a Grand Slam quarterfinal to his name.  Lost in his one-sided loss to Federer down under was that Delpo had reached his first quarter at a major since 2009.  Brick by brick he is rebuilding.

7.  Nicolas Almagro – Almagro has a title and a runner-up finish over the past two weeks.  He is the third best player from Spain, but that is saying something.

8.  J0-Wilfried Tsonga – Tsonga won Qatar and was a semifinalist this week.  A better Aussie Open would have been nice, but Tsonga is still clearly in the tier just below the top four.

9.  Tomas Berdych – He still owes Almagro a handshake, but he has played solidly well in 2012 as well as in late 2011.

10.  Milos Raonic – Raonic came up short in the Memphis final again.  He still has work to do, but his serve gives him a credible weapon around which to build the rest of his game.  Two titles and one runner-up showing in 2012 earn Raonic a top 10 slot.

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2012 Australian Open Day 3: Nalbandian & the Challenge System

18 Jan

6 Quick Hits

  • Caroline Wozniacki did not look sharp yesterday.  She was lucky to not go 3 sets.
  • Rafael Nadal looks healthy; he also looked healthy in round 1
  • Donald Young is not as far along as some hoped
  • Sam Querrey has to feel good about winning a round and taking a set off of Bernard Tomic.  Sam is a long way from where he was in 2010, but he is back to playing meaningful matches.
  • Ivo Karlovic will face a rested Roger Federer
  • Someone needs to tell Alexandr Dolgopolov he is not being paid by the hour

Overhaul the Challenge System

John Isner recorded a huge 5 set win over David Nalbandian.  Still, the outcome is marred by an umpire’s overrule and refusal to allow for a challenge.  Nalbandian had a legitimate complaint.  The fact is some players do take too long to challenge.  Some players use it as a mini-timeout to break momentum and breathe.  These abuses of the system need to be addressed.

However, in a sport where shots are being hit very hard and human error is part of the equation, to not allow a challenge on an over rule is just bad form.  The line of sight the umpire has is worse than the line judge’s.  That is not to say overrules are not often correct, but if ever there was a case for using shot spot this is it.  Yet, the application of the system failed.

I think an umpire should have a limited number of challenges that he or she can issue during each set.  Sometimes people just don’t know on a call.  At a bare minimum, a player with challenges should be able to contest an overrule no questions asked.  I still think the option for a few non-player requested uses of shot checking technology per set only makes sense.  Players make errors, line judges make errors and umpires make errors.  Removing as many of these errors as possible will only help the sport.

PS – Happy internet protest day

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Australian Open Day 1 Thoughts

16 Jan

Youngsters Dig Deep or Tomic is Houdini

Bernard Tomic failed to convert 3 set points, including a forehand sitter, late in the 2nd set of his match vs. Fernando Verdasco.  Tomic looked exhausted and dumped the 2nd set tiebreak.  Darren Cahill was discussing Tomic’s need for more fitness and this being a lesson for the young Aussie.

Instead, Tomic opportunistically stayed close in the 3rd set and won the set on a bad service game from Verdasco.  He even admits to playing dead early in the 3rd set making Verdasco think he had given up.  With the help of the Aussie crowd, Tomic rallied to take the match 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5. He may not be a young Jimmy Connors with such a comeback, but it was a serious escape artist victory.

Similarly, Alexandr Dolgopolov rallied from a 2 set deficit to defeat Greg Jones 1-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2. Grigor Dimitrov also won in 5 sets over Jeremy Chardy. Winning 5 set battles is a big part of growing into a Grand Slam contender.  I think Dimitrov and Tomic can better explain needing 5 sets against talented and/or highly accomplished opponents.  Greg Jones is an unknown to me, but Dolgopolov survived and advanced so good for all 3 of these youngsters.

Delpo, Fish and Young

Sounds like a nice law firm, but all 3 advanced.  Juan Martin del Potro still looks a long way off of his 2009 form, but by advancing he has a chance to play his way into form.  Mardy Fish made short work of Gilles Muller in what had been considered an upset special.  Donald Young won in 5 sets despite dropping his 2 set lead.  Also, Dr. Ivo won in 3 sets over Jurgen Melzer.  Finally, Jarkko Nieminen retired against David Nalbandian.  Jarkko’s tune-up victory had a hint of a nice comeback story.

Post Script

5’6″ Olivier Rochus defeated 5’9″ Bjorn Phau in a match that all parents of athletic yet short of stature children should watch.

Verdasco

Fernando “Hot Sauce” Verdasco’s apparel deserves some thought even if I am the wrong person to consider anything pertaining to fashion.  After tireless research, I uncovered the inspiration for his look.  Check out this link.

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Milos Raonic Leads a New Wave

12 Jan

Historical Waves

Tennis players tend to arrive in waves.  Pete Sampras was so dominant that his generation, including Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Sergi Bruguera, Goran Ivanisevic, Thomas Muster, Michael Chang, and Richard Krajicek, more or less eclipsed the next group of promising players.  To be sure, Gustavo Kuerten, Patrick Rafter and Yevgeny Kafelnikov made marks in the historical records, but most others failed to break through on the biggest stages of tennis.  That led to the New Balls generation taking the reigns starting with Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt’s successes in 2000 and 2001.  Guga could be placed with this group as he was part of the promotional campaign, but he was older than most of the featured players.  Juan Carlos Ferrero and Andy Roddick broke through in 2003, but Roger Federer’s 16 major titles set a benchmark for him as the greatest and last champion of the New Balls Era.

The Nadal-Djokovic Era

Federer has had more Grand Slam successes than Sampras did, but he did not crowd out most of the players 4-6 years his junior.  This is mainly due to the preternatural motor that Rafael Nadal possesses.  Nadal led a post New Balls wave of players into the elite levels of tennis starting in 2005.  Novak Djokovic broke through in 2007 and early 2008.  Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga have all reached at least one major final.  This generation players just now seem to be sinking their collective teeth into the tour.  Federer is the lone hold out from the previous era who is still a plausible threat.

Raonic’s Brood

Still, that does not keep us from looking ahead.  Last week, tennis fans saw Milos Raonic win a title over a top 10 opponent in a tense final.  Milos impressed Pete Sampras during the off season.  Alexandr Dolgopolov was runner-up at another Australian Open tune-up. Bernard Tomic earned Andy Murray’s praise.  Ryan Harrison has some buzz.  It remains to be seen if this next wave will produce a champion of Sampras, Federer or Nadal’s caliber.  This next wave may end up with players more along the lines of Thomas Enqvist.  Perhaps, a tandem of champions similar to Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg will emerge.  I think the window for piling up majors is broader today than it once was because surfaces are much more uniform.  Would Ivan Lendl have more than 8 majors if the Australian Open had been on a slow hard court for his entire career and Wimbledon had been slowed down?  I think so.

However, I also think tennis has become so physically grueling, in large part due to the slower courts, that the youthful breakthrough wins one saw from Mats Wilander, Boris Becker, and Michael Chang are far less likely.  Of the current players in the new wave, only Raonic seems capable at present of making consistent second week runs in majors because he generates so many free points.  I could see Dolgopolov or Tomic pulling an upset of a top gun, but stamina becomes an issue if beating Federer in 5 sets then means playing Nadal or Djokovic.  All of these younger players are developing that physical toughness needed, but by the time it develops and Djokovic, Nadal and Murray are declining it may only leave a 2-4 year window for winning majors.  I don’t mourn for this new generation, but I do think the mountain facing them is steeper than what many previous generations faced.

Post Script – See This Poll

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Should Mixed Doubles be an Olympic Event?

28 Dec

I have not watched mixed doubles in years, but I did watch at the 2011 Wimbledon and saw Jurgen Melzer destroy the doubles specialist male player on the other side of the net.  What do you think about the 2012 Olympics having mixed doubles as a medal sport?

 

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Who Will Finish 2012 #1 in the WTA Rankings?

24 Dec

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Johan Kriek Making a Difference: Past Australian Open Champions Part 1

21 Dec

Past Australian Open Champions Part 1 – Johan Kriek

Note: Leading up to the 2012 Australian Open, I am going to take a look back and some of the Australian Open champions from previous eras and report anything interesting that I find. 

South Africa’s Johan Kriek may be one of the most anonymous tennis players in the Open Era to claim two grand slam titles.  Kriek won the Australian Open in 1981 and 1982 before the Swedes started picking off the Happy Slam.  Kriek reached #7 in the world and won matches against some of the top players from his era.  During the 2011 French Open, John McEnroe mentioned Kriek as one of the fastest players to ever play tennis along side Bjorn Borg, Michael Chang, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils.

Kriek’s career was obviously quite sound.  Still, it has to be said that his Grand Slam titles came at a time when the Australian Open was considered to be a Grand Slam in name only.  Moving the Australian Open to the opening slam of the year in 1987 and to hard courts in 1988 helped revive its Grand Slam credentials.

Kriek Making a Difference

Johan Kriek is one of the founding members of the Global Water Foundation.  GWF’s goals are as follows:

The Global Water Foundation is in the service of humanity: to help make the world a better place, a healthier place, a safer place and ultimately a place of peace and prosperity. All projects and programs funded by the Global Water Foundation have the same goal: to make the world a better place for all.

GWF also has a produced a short but effective video promoting their overall mission.  Tennis as a community has had many strong responses to disease and disaster.  Arthur Ashe’s various endeavors and the 2010 Hit for Haiti are just a few examples of this large scale phenomenon.  Johan Kriek’s work is a more than worthy contribution to this trend.  Kriek is part of the humane side of professional tennis.  For that reason, we should all know a bit more about this two-time Australian Open champion and also figure out ways to impact the world off the court.

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Who will finish 2012 #1? (Tennis Poll)

5 Dec

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Who has the best chance of ending 2012 in the top 8? (Tennis Poll)

30 Nov

I tried to pick players who have never played in a Year End Championship, but who might put together a solid year and get into the season ending event next year.

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