Novak Djokovic is trying to complete ATP history this week at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati. The world No.1 is aiming to become the first man in tennis history to win all the ATP 1000 events in their career. The ATP is calling this potential achievement the ‘Career Golden Masters’. But their is one thing getting in Djokovic’s way. That very same thing that got him within a tournament from creating such history: his game. The Serbian has been rather rusty since coming back to the tour on the back of his twin successes of his Wimbledon victory and his marriage.
That rustiness first showed itself in Toronto. Djokovic went into his second round match against 15th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on an 11 match winning streak against the Frenchman. He was also coming of the back of a Wimbledon win and as the champion of three of the five ATP events played this year. Toronto is also played on the Serbian’s best surface, hard courts. When the two took to the court, many expected Djokovic to get a straightforward win against the man who had not won more than 3 consecutive matches since the knee injury that afflicted him at Wimbledon 2013. The match though was anything but straightforward. What it was was an out and out shock as Tsonga thrashed Djokovic 6-2, 6-2.
Last night in Cincinnati, in his opening match, Djokovic went into another supposedly comfortable contest against Gilles Simon, another Frenchman, who he led 7-1 in their career head to head and came out battered and bruised. While Djokovic did not lose the match, there were moments when defeat looked dangerously close. The Serbian led by a set and 3-1 before Simon won five of six games in a row as his defensive skills got the better of the best baseliner in the game. Djokovic edged the close battle 6-3 in the third, but he came out looking anything but the man on the verge of adding the final ATP 1000 event to his collection.
Djokovic’s ATP 1000 title haul started at the Canadian Open in 2007 when he beat world’s No. 1, 2 and 3, Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick, on his way to the title. Djokovic has won in Canada three times. The other ATP 1000 events played on hard courts, in Miami and Indian Wells in the North American Spring swing, Djokovic has won a combined seven times. Indoors, Djokovic has won both the Paris Open and Shanghai twice each. Finally, on the Clay, which has three ATP 1000 titles in Monte Carlo, Rome and Madrid, Djokovic has one, three and one titles respectively. That makes for a total of 19 ATP 1000 titles. Djokovic has had his chances to add the Cinicinnati title to his haul, but Federer has beaten the Serbian twice in Cincinnati finals while Andy Murray has proved the better player on the day in Djokovic’s two other finals in Ohio.
To finally make it 20, and make ATP history, Novak Djokovic has to first get past either American Sam Querrey or Spaniard 16th seed Tommy Robredo. Djokovic has a 7-1 head to head lead over Querrey, and has beaten Robredo six of the seven times they have met. But with the way the Serbian has been playing the last week and a half, those results mean little. If Djokovic hopes to win big in Cincinnati this year he is going to have to shake the rust out of his game and get back the golden form needed to win the ATP’s ‘Career Golden Masters’.
Day 3 of the ATP 1000 event the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati was a tough one for the big seeds in action with both Wawrinka and Djokovic pushed all the way while recent Toronto champ Tsonga was pushed out.
Third seed Stanislas Wawrinka put in a patchy performance in his opening round 6-3, 7-6 (5) win against the experienced German Benjamin Becker.The Swiss had a match point at 5-4 in the second set which Becker saved with a running forehand cross court winner. Becker went on to break Wawrinka and the two held serve into the tiebreaker with Wawrinka surviving a deuce game serving at 5-6.
In the tiebreak, Wawrinka got the minibreak for 4-2 as Becker made an error but it was Wawrinka who errored on the next point to hand back the break. The two held serve until 5-6, when serving to stay in the breaker and save the match, Becker overhit his forehand off a chipped backhand return and Wawrinka moved through to the third round.
Top seed Novak Djokovic battled past Gilles Simon 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Djokovic’s first serve percentage was high at 71, but his second service was weaker, winning only 44 percent of points behind it, and he was broken three times. At one point, from the middle of the second set to early in the third, Djokovic dropped five consecutive games. However, the best returner in the game broke his opponent four times in all, that extra break proving decisive in the third set.
In other seeded action, 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga suffered a letdown after his title winning week in Toronto. Tsonga lacked the spark he had shown last week, going down in his opening match. He could not have been drawn a trickier opening round opponent than Mikhail Youznhy, however. The pair were tied at 3-3 in their head to head and Youzhny has all the shots and skill you would expect from a former top tenner and US Open semi-finalist. The Russian made light work of the Toronto champion, beating him 6-1, 6-4.
Marin Cilic won what promised to be a tough opening round against Feliciano Lopez. It was tough on paper at least. Lopez was a semi-finalist at last weeek’s event in Toronto, but Cilic beat him 6-3, 6-4 without breaking a sweat.
Other players through were Ernests Gulbis, seeded ninth, who needed two tiebreakers to beat Ivan Dodig. Robby Ginepri overcame Dominic Thiem in three sets. Qualifier James Ward beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. Vasek Pospisil edged Radek Stepanek in a third set tiebreaker and Andreas Seppi took three sets to see off Santiago Girlado.
Jo-Wilfried’s Tsonga win was impressive for many reasons. He was nowhere near the favorite and was not expected to get past his third round meeting with Novak Djokovic. The tennis review looks at five of the factors that made the Frenchman’s trophy-winning week so impressive.
He beat Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, and on a hard court, too
The last time anyone beat Djokivic, reigning Wimbledon champion, and world no.1, and arguably the best hardcourter on the tour, so convincingly on his best surface was Federer in Cincinnati ’12 when he dropped 6 games.
The last time Djokovic was beaten 2 and 2 or worse was against Nadal at Monte Carlo in 2012. Nadal, though, has dished out heavy defeats to his biggest rivals on clay throughout his career, but he has never been at the receiving end of such a thrashing. For Djokovic, with hard courts being his best surface, to be beaten in the manner he was by Tsonga is astounding and speaks volumes about the Frenchman’s form.
His second serve proved the saying you are only as good as your second serve. Tsonga’s was great, and so was he.
Tsonga’s first service stats were never that amazing- ranging from 49- 64 percent in his six matches, but he won 76-94 percent of points behind that delivery so when it went in, his chances of winning the point were high.
His second serve, however, was his strength- he made only 50 percent of his first serves in the final, going for his first deliveries against Federer, but won 64 percent of his second serves. Well, you can afford to go for it on the first serve if you have stats on the second like that.
It was smart serving from the French. Tsonga went for less risks and focused more on placement against the game’s best returners, Murray and Djokovic, but went for more against the others such as Federer and Dimitov who could not do so much damage on his second serve. And by serving so well on the second serve, he reduced their odds of breaking him even further.
He beat Federer in the final
Federer was not playing well but Tsonga did not let it drag him down. Tsonga played the best tennis on the big points. Hitting deep and exploiting his opponent’s off day. Tsonga was the first to say it- the title was made all the more significant by who he beat in the final to earn the right to hold the trophy. That player was Federer, world no.3, two time former champ and two time runner up in Canada, playing on what he described was a faster surface that suited his game, and playing in his 120th career final.
He showed mental strength whem struggling against Murray
One problem with Tsonga is his mentality. His game can desert him when the going gets tough and the big forehand down the line to open the court and the flashy forays to the net can be replaced with baffling shot selection or unforced errors on easy shots. But this week, when up against Murray, Tsonga’s mental toughness stayed with him, and so did his game.
At 4-4 in the second set, with Tsonga leading by a set and holding break points, playing the same impressive brand of tennis he had showcased against Djokovic, Murray worked his way back into their match and then broke Tsonga himself to take the second set 6-4.
Tsonga looked despondent, and few would have been surprised if Murray had built a big lead for himself in the third. Tsonga, however, decided to surprise us- he pulled himself back together, made his service games count, and proved the stronger of the two when the third set got down to the business end. With the going getting tough, Tsonga proved to be the tougher as got the deciding break to take the match 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.
He had not won more than 3 consecutive matches since Wimbledon ’13
At the French Open ’13, on his run which included an upset of Federer in the Quarters, Tsonga won five consecutive matches. But then, when his knee injury occurred at Wimbledon, he struggled for the rest of the season and well into 2014. While he did reach the Marseille final this year, that was indoors and at home, conditions that have always favored him. And though he played well at the French and at Wimbledon, he was not challenging as he did at his peak. So, to come into Toronto, play at his peak ability and beat four top ten players on the way to the title was nothing less than an astonishing, and most welcome, turnaround to his season.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won the ATP 1000 Rogers Cup trophy by beating second seeded Roger Federer 7-5, 7-6. The title was Tsonga’s second ATP 1000 win after his 2008 Paris Open success.
Tsonga and Federer held serves deep into the first set. But with Federer serving to stay in the set at 5-6, the Swiss hit an error on his backhand to go set point down. The two time champion then made another error, this one on his forehand, to concede the first set 7-5 to the Frenchman.
That was Federer fifteenth error of the set. With only 9 winners to his name, that -6 differential was costly against an opponent in the form of Tsonga. The Frenchman hit 12 winners to ten unforced errors, with his forehand down the line easily the stroke of the match.
Federer’s serve kept him in the second set. At 2-3, and at 3-4, Federer saved break points with aces as Tsonga piled on the pressure with his attacking game and the kind of confidence earned from beating Djokovic, Murray and Dimitrov on your run to the final.
At 5-6, Federer saved match point with a forehand winner. Ultimately, though, it was the Federer ground game which let him down and all the goodwill of the crowd could not save him from his own inconsistency. In the second set tiebreaker, Tsonag peppered the Federer backhand and got the error and the minibreak for 4-3. Tsonga, on top of his game, confidently served to reach 6-3, and then hit a deep forehand return once more to the Federer backhand and was rewarded with the Swiss hitting into the net.
Game, set and match Tsonga. The surprise was written all over his face and those of his team as he hugged them in the player’s box. But his game, so clear, strong and aggressive, earned him the win and it was no surprise his game got the better of his struggling opponent. While Federer, who said in his post-match speech, did not play how he had planned, Tsonga could not have executed his game better. Nor could, Tsonga said, he have done so against a better opponent than Federer. The Swiss’ presence in the final, Tsonga said, being as important as the title. A title Tsonga has waited a while for after his inury hit 2013/14, and one which, if he continues to be as effective on the serve and his stepping into the court, will make him a serious contender for the upcoming U.S Open title.
Photo courtesy of http://www.stamfordadvocate.comRoger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga both advanced to the final of the ATP 1000 event The Rogers Cup in Toronto dropping only 7 games each in their respective matches.
Tsonga was up first, and broke Dimitrov 3 times in his 6-4, 6-3 win. Tsonga struggled with his first serve, making only 49 percent of them, but when he did make them, he made them count- the French won 88 percent of points behind his first delivery. And on a day when he needed his second serve to be strong, it did not let him down. He won 63 percent of his second service points, compared to Dimitrov’s 42 percent.
It was not only Tsonga’s game that impressed. Tsonga delivered another aggressive and bold display on his ground and net game to knock out Dimitrov after taking down Djokovic and Murray in the previous rounds. His forehand up the line was hit with the conviction he displayed in his former top ten days when he made two Paris Masters finals. The final will be his third ATP 1000 final.
He will face Roger Federer in the championship match. Federer increased his head to head to 11-0 over Feliciano Lopez after beating him 6-3, 6-4. It was a comfortable victory for the Swiss after his battles with Marin Cilic and David Ferrer. Federer outserved his opponent, making 55 percent of his first serves compared to a woeful 38 percent for his opponent. Federer took advantage of all the second service deliveries coming his way, creating 11 break points, and taking two of them. Lopez, meanwhile, did not get one break point opportunity in the match.
Federer will compete in his fifth Canadian Open final. He has won two titles,(2004, 2006), and been runner up in 2007 and 2010. How he will do in the final against Tsonga will be intriguing- he has lost to the Frenchman twice at the event, in 2009, after being unable to convert match points, and in 2011.
Commentary by Christian Deverille
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Roger Federer celebrated his 33rd birthday by battling past David Ferrer 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to make the semi-finals of the ATP 1000 event The Rogers Cup.
Federer cruised through the first set, breaking Ferrer 3 times, the crucial one coming at 5-3 to take the first set.
Ferrer fought back in the second set and won ten of eleven points to break Federer at 4-4 before holding his serve to take the set 6-4.
With Federer’s errors mounting – he hit 21 of them to 11 winners in the second set- and Ferrer looking confident with a first serve percentage of 68, an upset looked like it might be on the cards, and on Federer’s 33rd birthday, too.
But the Swiss pulled his game back together, and broke Ferrer when leading 3-2 in the third set as his net game and backhand came to his aid, a backhand down the line winner earning him the break-point, and a backhand slice with so much backspin throwing Ferrer off guard and forcing him into error.
Federer did not wait around to celebrate his birthday and eat some cake, serving out for the match to book his place in the semis where he will play Feliciano Lopez who upset Milos Raonic in three sets.
Jo-Wilfriend Tsonga also caused an upset when he knocked out Andy Murray in a topsy turvy contest. Tsonga served at his best to take the first set on a tiebreaker and then had break points on the Murray serve in the second before the Scot upped his level, saved them and then broke Tsonga to take the second set 6-4. A dispirited Tsonga dug deep though, hung with a resurgent Murray and then played some inspired tennis to take the third set 7-5.
His reward will be a meeting with Grigor Dimitrov who edged Kevin Anderson 5-7, 7-6, 7-6.
Commentary by Christian Deverille
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The last sixteen match at the Rogers Cup between Roger Federer (2) and Marin Cilic (15) was expected to be a cracker but just how many fireworks would be lit off by this match no one could have predicted. Federer came through 7-6 (5), 6-7(3), 6-4, but not before letting six match points slip in the second set.
The serve was always going to be the decider in this match. Cilic’s serve is his weapon, while Federer’s serve is one of his many top grade tools. The first set saw great serving from them both, but it was Federer who served the more effectively. He got 62 percent of his first serves in, compared to 51 percent for Cilic, and won 88 percent of those points. He also won 77 percent of his overall service points to 71 percent for Cilic. Those stats made the difference in a set that went the way of Federer 7-5 in the tiebreaker.
In the second set, the serve still proved to be decisive as both men held with ease, but it was Federer who got a look in at the Cilic serve, and just when he needed it. With Cilic serving at 4-5, Federer had 6 match points on the Cilic serve. Cilic held firm though, that big serve and game of his coming through when it really mattered, and he survived an epic 19 minute game.
The set went into a tiebreaker, and Cilic, inspired by his fightback played the more aggressive tennis to grab the mini-break and take the breaker 7-3.
Federer fans the world over may have been having flashbacks to the French Open when Federer let a set and a break lead vanish into a five set defeat at the hands of Ernests Gulbis. But Federer got himself back together in the third set, and leading 5-4, and returning the Cilic serve, he created another chance to break Cilic and took it with a forehand winner.
The win sealed, Federer had 30 minutes to get showered and changed and celebrate his 33rd birthday. It is hard to think of a better present for his fans than edging out such an opponent as Cilic in such a close match.
Federer said after the match how pleased he was to finally win a close one after a few near misses this year. Things should get more straightforward now as he will face David Ferrer who he has beaten 14 times. Ferrer beat Ivan Dodig 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, and while he has the game to beat Federer, with the Swiss serving at his current level, it will be a tough task.
Also through to the last eight were Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who stunned Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-2 and Kevin Anderson who upset Stan Wawrinka. Tomas Berdych was also knocked out by Feliciano Lopez.
Andy Murray moved safely through after Richard Gasquet’s withdrawal, Milos Raonic saw off Julian Benneteau in three sets, and Dimitrov beat Robredo in three, too.
Commentary by Christian Deverille
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Thanks to sportinglife.com
You have to go quite far back to when Djokovic suffered such a heavy defeat as he did in the last sixteen of the Rogers Cup to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
First though, let’s look at this defeat. Djokovic started out fine enough, racing through his first service game. Tsonga held comfortably, too. Then in Djokovic’s service game, two errors at 15-30 and Tsonga had the break.
Just an early bit of rust? But surely Djokovic had gotten that out in his epic match against Monfils. Fatigue from that win? This is Djokovic we are talking about, the fittest man on tour. Tsonga’s play? That was a more likely answer. Tsonga in the last sixteen is a tough ask, and the Canadian Open has been the scene of some of his best wins. He certainly had the depth and aggression to trouble Djokovic early on.
He did more than trouble though. He buried him. Another break at 2-4 and then Tsonga served out for the set and took it 6-2. Surely Djokovic would fight back, beat the man he had been dealing with so comfortably of late- 11 wins in succession since 2010.
It was not to be 12 wins in a row. Djokovic gave up another break, Tsonga convinced in his service games and kept on firing winners, 23 in all, Djokovic could not get a handle on his game, hitting errors. Just over an hour after what was predicted to be a routine match for Djokovic began, Tsonga had the upset.
As for the last time Djokovic suffered such a heavy defeat you have to go back to Cincinnati where Federer beat him in the 2012 final 6-0, 7-6. That event is where Djokovic will head next as he attempts to win the title for the first time in his career.
Tsonga meanwhile goes on to meet Andy Murray. With this victory a sign the injury-ridden Tsonga is back on the mend, his chances against Murray are better than his 1-9 head to head deficit against the Scot suggest. Tsonga has certainly shown he can turn a bad match up on its head, and if everything is clicking for him upstairs and with his racket, tomorrow he might deliver another birthday present to Roger Federer by taking out one of his biggest foes.
Commentary by Christian Deverille
Follow the US Open Series with the tennis review
Photo courtesy of http://www.timeslive.co.za
Two of tennis’ greatest athletes, Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils, put on quite the show in the second round of the ATP 1000 Rogers Cup in Toronto. In what looked at times like try-outs for the world gymnastics finals, Novak Djokovic just had a little more stretch in him as he won 6-2, 6-7, 7-6.
That Gael Monfils should be part of such a show should be no surprise. The Frenchman has occupied the role of tennis’ jester for years now, sometimes a little sadly as he is, bequeathed with all the talent and athleticism you could wish for, the man who could be king. But that title goes to Novak Djokovic. The current world No.1 started the match as if the only show he intended on getting into was one on the TV, and he was in a hurry to do so. He took the first set 6-2.
Monfils dug in though, using all his shotmaking and retrieving to stay with Djokovic, and got under his skin. In the second set tiebreak he sneaked it out from under Djokovic’s nose before racing into a 3-1 lead in the third.
This was not how the script was supposed to read for Djokovic and the way he had fluffed his lines was written all over him. Rattled, he complained about this and that, the crowd, his opponent’s timewasting, but he did break back rightaway for 2-3, dishing out his full array of length and spins and using all the court, the way he does when pushed out of his cruise control comfort zone.
Now it was Monfils turn to get uppity. The Frenchman had already had words with the umpire about being warned for time, and wanted to have his say, too, about timekeeping in the match on the part of the umpire himself who was struggling with a technological fault. Other gripes mounted, and it looked like Monfils might get distracted, but he served like a God, and covered every inch of the court to hang with Djokovic, and was somewhat helped by the Serbs unusual amount of errors, reaching into the 20s on the backhand as the set moved towards a final set tiebreaker.
Djokovic may have been out of sorts, but what he was not was out of guts. As the set went on, he moved in, and every point seemed about taking control and not playing Monfils at his game of stretching out and getting everything back with laserlike strokes no textbook could teach. Watching Monfils on the run then stretching out his arms and legs and sweeping at the ball, the ball moving across the court with absolute mastery for such a desperate shot, is a sight spectators never bore of. But Djokovic wanted none of it. He came forward, ended the points, and felt good about it, too with many a fistpump and roar.
That confidence served him well in the breaker. He broke immediately, held the break, and separated himself from his opponent as a King would from his jester, as he had done in the first set. Djokovic took the breaker and the match, and his roar to the crowd told how much of a bullet he knew he had dodged while the crowd roared back their appreciation at both the skills with which he had evaded it, and the fine but ultimately flawed marksmanship of the gunman.
While that epic encounter held the front page of the event for day 3, there were plenty of other three set thrillers going on: Gasquet over Karlovic, Berdych over Lu, Raonic over Sock, Dimitrov over Young, Cilic over Jaziri, Ferrer over Russel, Dodig over Seppi. It was as if the lull after Wimbledon had to be made up for somehow.
There were some straight-setters though. Murray had a much easier time over Kyrgios than anyone had a right to expect. Benneteau knocked out Gulbis with the kind of efficient and aggressive tennis we did expect. Lopez beat Smyczek, Anderson beat Fognini, Robredo beat Simon, and Tsonga beat Chardy. They all did it in the shadows of the Djokovic-Monfils match, mind, shadows that might be cast over the event for days to come now Monfils is out, but after his performance against Djokovic he might be out of sight, but it will be a while before he is out of mind.
Photo courtesy of http://www.thestar.com Roger’s new racket, Benoit Paire’s third set passing shot and Tomic’s fight were all impressive on day 2 of the Rogers Cup.
The second day of the Rogers Cup fired up tennis fans with two thrilling three settters decided on final set tiebreakers. Stanislas Wawrinka beat good friend Benoit Paire 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2) while Ivo Karlovic just got the better of a recently resurgent Bernard Tomic 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6).
Benoit Paire came back from a break down in the third against Wawrinka to take the match to the deciding breaker. Paire reminded us why his talent and shot-making got us all so excited a couple of years ago. Look at his shot here:
This match showcased just what Paire can bring against the game’s best, and if he can get refocused, who knows, we might be able to get all excited again.
As for Tomic, he had a great start but playing the game’s biggest server on a hard court is a tough task, and the experience veteran Karlovic was just too touch in the tiebreakers. Tomic though showed the fight many have said he lacks and the rest of 2014 looks bright for Bernard.
Meanwhile Roger Federer was still the talk of the day as he debuted his new RF-97 racket and thrashed local wildcard 6-2, 6-0, showing he was back to the top of his game when it comes to putting the lower ranked players in their place and that the new racket is obviously as smooth a move as the ones he pulls off on court.
Richard Gasquet, seeded 12, avenged his defeat to Vasek Pospisil at last week’s Citi Open. Gasquet edged the first set 7-5 against an injured Pospisil who needed treatment on his thigh. In the second set, Gasquet looked to be cruising as he took an early break, but Pospisil broke back and got his homecrowd cheering as hopes of a repeat of his Citi Open fightback rose. But Gasquet did not lose his grip on the match this time, a task he was helped somewhat in by Pospisil who hit a double-fault match point down to concede defeat.
Other seeded winners on day 2 were Fabio Fognini (16), Ernests Gulbis (11), and Tommy Robredo (17). Non-seeded players to move through were Seppi, Young, Simon, Kyrgios, Monfils, Lu, Jazeri and Sock.
Commentary by Christian Deverille
Follow the U.S Open Series with the tennis review
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