Roger Federer vs. Andy Murray I am not sure what to think about this match. Roger has looked razor sharp in his first two wins. He also has beaten Murray both times they have played in 2014 (winning 5 of 6 sets). Murray has won 3 titles since the US Open concluded and needs a…
Category: World Tour Finals
World Tour Finals 2014: Nishikori vs. Raonic Prediction
Kei Nishikori vs. Milos Raonic This is sort of like George Foreman vs. Floyd Mayweather. One player hits heavy shots and blasts away with punishing power generated by a powerful frame. The other player generates power through exquisite timing. In a boxing match, I would take Foreman over Mayweather because no one in boxing can…
World Tour Finals 2014: Grading the First 2/3 of Round Robin Play
A Progress Report for the World Tour Finals A+ Novak Djokovic – He sits at 2-0 in matches, 4-0 in sets and has surrendered only 6 games. I think he wants to finish the year at #1 and send a message for 2015. Maybe becoming a father has unleashed an inner fire. A Roger Federer…
World Tour Finals 2014: Djokovic vs. Wawrinka Prediction
Novak Djokovic vs. Stanislas Wawrinka These two have posted a lot of great matches over the past two years. Djokovic has an incredibly ability to return serve and go from defense to offense in a single point. Wawrinka can play old fashioned bullying tennis around the court. He can at times hit through Novak’s counter-punching…
World Tour Finals 2014: Berdych vs. Cilic Prediction
Tomas Berdych vs. Marin Cilic Each man took a standing 8 count on Monday. Losing 6-1, 6-1 in a battle of tennis elites is humbling, but in round robin play, one need not go undefeated to advance. Each man came in with some momentum given recent titles in Moscow for Cilic and Stockholm for Berdych….
World Tour Finals 2014: Murray vs. Raonic Prediction
Andy Murray vs. Milos Raonic Milos just reached his second ever Masters 1000 final. Andy Murray won 3 titles after the US Open. Oddly, both come into this match giving a vibe that they need to prove something. Raonic leads their head-to-head series 3-1. I don’t think this data means a lot. If Murray is…
World Tour Finals 2014: Federer vs. Nishikori Prediction
Roger Federer vs. Kei Nishikori This match is hard to call. Nishikori reached the US Open final, won Tokyo and just took out Andy Murray in straight sets. Roger Federer has played well throughout 2014, but did lose to Kei in Miami. Kei fell to Federer at Halle. Nishikori’s ability to take the ball early…
World Tour Finals 2014: Djokovic vs. Cilic Prediction
Novak Djokovic vs. Marin Cilic This match has it all. Here are some of the plot lines featured: The two most recent male Grand Slam champions square off The player with the most and the least qualifying points face one another Croatia vs. Serbia A rematch of a 5 set quarterfinal match at Wimbledon The…
World Tour Finals 2014: Berdych vs. Wawrinka Prediction
Stanislas Wawrinka vs. Tomas Berdych Their 4 set collision in Melbourne was a key aspect of Wawrinka’s breakthrough even if Stan’s championship win over Nadal and quarterfinal win over Nole got more attention. Berdych has been more consistent than Wawrinka in 2014, but Wawrinka’s Australian Open and Monte Carlo titles along with his quarterfinal finishes…
World Tour Finals 2014: Federer vs. Raonic Prediction
Roger Federer vs. Milos Raonic This match is more interesting than I would have imagined prior to Paris. Milos beat Roger for the first time in their most recent meeting. At Cincinnati and Wimbledon, Federer dominated Milos. I think the match-up favors Roger in almost every category with the exceptions of service prowess and brute…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 