Dan Martin’s 2012 Power Rankings for the Week of April 29 through May 5 1. Novak Djokovic – Novak is the number one player in the world, but he will face challenges to remain number one in 2012. 2. Rafael Nadal – A seventh consecutive Barcelona title have Nadal surging. He is the greatest ever on clay. …
Month: April 2012
Funnies: Madrid Pre-Tourny Videos, Fed Interview
Originally posted on mariposaxprs:
The Madrid tourny, which as we all know is making the change to blue clay this year, has gathered players to publicize the upcoming tournament. Top players such as Rafa, Roger and Djokovic have each spoken out against the change to blue clay. Rafa’s protests were perhaps the loudest and this…
And the Winners Are …
Originally posted on Grand Slam Gurl:
BARCELONA STUTTGART The Nadal-Ferrer match was exciting to be sure. Ferrer played Nadal very well, but alas the King of Clay was able to pull off the victory. The Vika-Masha match, on the other hand was completely lopsided – I do not know if it was that Azarenka was…
Originally posted on Fairways and Forehands:
Maria Sharapova The semifinals of the 2012 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix offered the top 4 ranked players in the world. Fittingly, the final will feature world #1 Victoria Azarenka taking on world #2 Maria Sharapova. Vika punched her ticket to the championship match by overwhelming Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1 6-3.…
Tennis Predictions for 4-29-2012
Projected Winners in BOLD This will be short as Simon has already won. I simply will pick the first seeds in both other finals today. I think Rafael Nadal beats David Ferrer in Barcelona. I think Victoria Azarenka prevails against Maria Sharapova in Stuttgart. I was 5-1 in my picks yesterday. We shall see if…
Barcelona, Stuttgart and Bucharest Semifinal Picks
Projected Winners in BOLD There is a slate of interesting matches for all three events. Here are my picks: Barcelona 1 Rafael Nadal vs. 9 Fernando Verdasco – Rafa should win this match in a fairly straightforward manner. Verdasco did stage a classic with Nadal at the 2009 Australian Open, but I would be shocked…
Wertheim, Raonic and Other Thoughts
Jon Wertheim’s Mailbag Abides Jon Wertheim commented on an observation I made about the possible benefits of Rafael Nadal playing slowly in his weekly mailbag. Here are Jon’s thoughts: I think Nadal’s slow play does benefit him in one key area. Nadal’s ability to concentrate is a comparative advantage against anyone not named Deep Blue….
ATP Book Club
Originally posted on emmasrandomthoughts:
A few days ago Querido Rafa posted a picture of Rafa reading a massive tome. I joked that Rafa was skimming through Mastering the Art of French Cooking, because the book looks text heavy, he is in Monte Carlo. and he does like to cook. (Plus I just reserved that from the…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 