-
Petra Kvitova closing in on 2nd Wimbledon title.
Thanks to http://www.bbc.co.uk Petra Kvitova is one match away from doing what she did back in 2011- wining the ladies’ singles Wimbledon title. Her victory over Lucie Safarova saw her dominate her countrywoman 6-1 in the second set as she marched through a draw she has never looked back on since overcoming Venus Williams in their three set third round tussle.
Standing in Kvitova’s way is the 13th seeded Genie Bouchard. The 20 year old overcame an injured Simona Halep in straight sets. The Canadian is certainly dominating the tennis media with regards to the women’s final but she is not expected to dominate the sixth seeded Kvitova whose power game is difficult for any of the women on its day.
Bouchard will not be overwhelmed though. As confident as they come, and when her timing and positioning is on, as big a belter of the ball on the return as they get. She also has, a huge plus in a game that has stagnated at the baseline for far too long, some variety to her game. And on grass, her somewhat unorthodox technique of crouching down as she hits her groundstrokes, will serve her well as she can get to the lowest of balls and hit them back flat.
Still, it is Kvitova who has the game made for grass. Her huge serve which brings back short returns she strides into the court to belt away is a weapon many expected to glean more than just two Wimbledon last eight appearances in SW19 since her run to the 2011 title. There is the ground game, too. When Kvitova hits the ball, it stays hit, and while it may be hit or miss, right now she is veering more towards the hit side, which is bad news for anyone else who fancies their chances of becoming a slam champion.
Not only does Kvitova know what to do and have the tools, she has the added factor of hunger, too. Bouchard has hunger, too, but it is a different sort. It is the fresh-eyed hunger of a player with slam dreams before them. Kvitova’s is somewhat darker. Hers is the hunger of those who have tasted glory and then starved. For Kvitova has been three seasons in the wilderness, not even making a slam final, and suffering painful defeats, such as the one last year in the last eight. Kvitova wants to feast again, is at the table, the food spread out before her. You can see it in her eyes. Best bet for Bouchard is not to look into them.
-
Wimbledon men’s last four a classic clash of old versus new
Thanks to http://www.theepochtimes.com This year’s Wimbledon’s men’s semi-finals will see two clashes of the old guard versus the new as Novak Djokovic takes on Grigor Dimitrov and Roger Federer faces Milos Raonic. It could be that the two veterans Federer and Djokovic will have too much experience or we might see the new guard prove to be too hungry and fresh and force a changing of the guard, or the results might fall somewhere between the two.
Federer and Djokovic, not including today, have 56 grand slam semis between them. Raonic and Dimitrov will compete in their first one this afternoon. But the experience should not be too daunting. Both men have been gradually gaining ground on the ATP tour, making runs into the second week of slams and improving their ranking-Raonic is ranked 9 while Dimitrov will crack the top ten whatever today’s result.
The two young stars, both men are aged 23, have games tailormade for grass. Raonic’s serve might grow into the best the game has ever seen while his backcourt game is built around moving forward and ending the point sooner rather than later. Meanwhile Dimitrov has a huge serve and a game of touch and variety impressive enough to earn him the nickname Babyfed.
This afternoon, tennis fans will find out if Babyfed will be as successful against Djokovic on grass as Daddyfed has been. Dimitrov matches up well against the top seed and has one victory over him on the clay courts of Madrid a year ago. He will also be high on confidence after defeating Murray in straight sets.
As for Raonic, he trails Federer 0-4 in their head to head but he did push him to a final set breaker in Halle last season. Their match could be as close today for Federer has been handing out some serving master classes in SW19 and Raonic struck down 39 aces in his last eight victory over Kyrgios.
But while the two up and comers certainly have their chances, Federer and Djokovic have one factor in their favor. Time. Both in experience and also in the knowledge they are running low on it. Federer, who turns 33 this year, seems to have designed it so he is peaking for the event, while Djokovic, who is 1-5 in his last 6 slam finals, at 27 , will also want to improve that record and be well aware how few chances he may have left as the players below in the rankings hurry up their chase of the game’s elite.
With youth and age about to clash on the grass, today’s semi-finals may see a snatching of the baton, a firm grip on the status quo or set up another similarly themed final clash. Great stuff for tennis fans eager to see who will be the slam winners of the future and just how long the current winners have got at the top.
-
Halep and Bouchard to fight to lead the next generation in Wimbledon semi-final
Thanks to india.com Simona Halep and Genie Bouchard will meet today for a place in the 2014 Wimbledon ladies’ singles final. Halep, the number 3 seed, and Bouchard, the 13th seed, have been here and done that as far as slam semis go, for it is these two young stars who are leading the pack when it comes to the WTA’s next generation.
Bouchard has two slam semi showings to her credit, making the last four at the last two slams in Paris and Melbourne. Each time she has gone down in three to the eventual champs Li Na and Maria Sharapova. Halep has gone one step further than Bouchard in slams, winning her first slam semi against Petkovic last month at Roland Garros. In the final, she produced her very best tennis, getting to 4-4 in the third before Sharapova stepped up a gear as four time slam champs are prone to do in finals against newbies.
The game has waited a while for two young players to step up and compete in the later stages of slams. Young, though, is a relative term in tennis as neither Bouchard or Halep are in their mid-teens like newbies at the business end of slams in women’s tennis used to be. Bouchard, aged 20, and Halep, aged 22, are products of a very different game of tennis than the one that produced 16 year old Capriati and 17 year old Seles fighting to the death in the 1991 US Open semi. Halep and Bouchard are from a different world than the one that saw Steffi Graf complete the golden slam aged 19, the one that saw Seles bag 8 slams at the same age.
This tennis world of 2014 is a more athletic one across the board than that of 1991, played on slower courts, on a circuit which seems to never end. A world both more dangerous with injuries befalling its stars and ending the careers of former no.1s such as Henin and Safina in their mid to late twenties, and more rewarding, with slam winners taking home over a million pounds compared to the hundreds of thousands of a couple of decades ago.
The slower courts allow the older generation to hang around longer if they can stay injury free. Last year’s US Open had 3 players over 30 in Serena, Li Na and Pennetta. Azarenka, at 24, the holder of two slams, was a spring chicken in comparison. It was Azarenka who led the generation of Wozniacki, Radwanska and Kvitova. Between them they have all reached the top 2 and have produced two no.1 players and 3 slams, a generation that produced 3 slamless number 1s, and mostly proved to be something of a letdown.
Now the tennis world waits to see if Halep and Bouchard can step up and produce something more glittering. Behind them, eager to compete for points and prizes are Pavlyuchenkova, Stephens, Muguruza, Svitolona, Giorgi, Nara, Riske, Jovanovski, Garcia, McHale, and Plishkova. All ranked in the top 50 and all under 22. Some have had greater success than others, but all are still fighting for that big breakthrough on a circuit that chews up and spits out its youngsters, one in which only the toughest make it to the top, a circuit where women in their late 20s and early 30s, their bodies broken but their experience rich, immune to the pressures of the tour after already surviving its ills, rule.
Halep and Bouchard have proven to have what it takes to join them. And just how tough they are, and more to the point, just who is tougher than who,who might rule later on, will be decided today as they make a bid for their first Wimbledon final. Neither could ask for a grander scene than the one where the last youngster, and at 17 she was positively a baby, Maria Sharapova, broke out, her generation’s leader, a generation that spawned a total of 6 slams, all won by her and Ana Ivanovic.
Halep and Bouchard have played once before, at this year’s Indian Wells, a battle which Halep won 6-2, 1-6, 6-4. This match should be just as intense as both women are in the kind of form befitting of slam semi-finalists and both women will be hungry to get through to the final. The match could prove to be a fine spectacle as Halep’s range and touch go up against the very 21st century aggressive game of Bouchard. And while it will be a contrast of styles, what will not separate either is guts. Both women go for broke when up or down and while Bouchard’s confidence is more apparent form her off and on-court persona, the sweet, softly spoken, head-down nature of Halep hides a ruthless killer instinct which may be the factor that separates the two later today and sees Halep move into her second consecutive women’ slam final.
There, she or Bouchard, would meet either Kvitova or Safarova, the two Czechs. Kvitova is a proven force on the lawns of SW19 while Safarova has the aggression and devil-may-care attitude of a 27 year old tour veteran peaking on a freak surface that just happens to suit her game down to a tee. Both Bouchard or Halep would fancy their chances against either of them, both Czech women being prone to nerves and erratic natures.
Halep and Bouchard meanwhile have proven to be both mentally tough and calm on the biggest stages. Just who is the toughest and calmest will be seen today in a contest that will determine who is the leader of the pack of the next generation in women’s tennis.
-
Five reasons why Nick Kyrgios’ victory over Nadal is great for tennis
http://www.telegraph.co.uk Nick Kyrgios’s four set victory over Rafael Nadal in the fourth round of Wimbledon is one of the best things to happen in tennis for a while. Here are five reasons why.
1. The game gets a new teen phenom after a lengthy drought
Kyrgios is the first teen to beat a world number One at a Major since 19 year old Nadal beat Roger Federer in the semis of the 2005 French Open. Even Nadal himself was somewhat reassured by Kyrgios’ victory at such a young age, saying in his post match interview that it was odd teenagers were not breaking through.
Teen phenoms used to be part and parcel of tennis. In 1989, Chang won the French Open as a 17 year old. Becker won Wimbledon at 17. Sampras won the US Open at 19. Edberg won the Australian Open at 17. Borg, Connors, Courier, Federer, Agassi, Hewitt, Roddick, Safin,Nalbandian all made the top ten as teens. And in the mid 2000s, Djokovic and Nadal were teenage sensations.
Compare that to now where 19 year old Kyrgios is the highest ranked teen at 144. Why does it matter? This leads us to reason 2.
2. Young kids get a young role model
Even Roger Federer has recently been wondering why there are no teenagers among the game’s elite and worrying about whether or not teens are being drawn to tennis. Well, he has good reason to worry. Today’s teens do not have any tennis star teens to look up to. And with teens doing so well in sports such as football and basketball, those are the sports teens are choosing.
Federer brought up several reasons why it was harder for teens to break through, the most poignant one being the slower courts benefitted the older players. Back when grass courts were lightning fast and hard courts quicker than they are now, faster, fresher teens like Becker could win Wimbledon at 17, or even 20 year old Safin could rip apart 29 year old Pete Sampras in the 2000 US Open final. Those days are long gone now, with players such as Murray winning their first slam at 26, Wawrinka at 28. The only player to break the mould recently has been Del Potro who won the US Open aged 21 in 2009.
But Krygios’s quickness of foot and aggressive game managed to win through against Nadal and prove to teens that teens could win big in tennis.
3. The more aggressive tennis won.
And so it should on grass. Kyrgios hit 37 aces, won 83 percent of the first serves he got in (68 percent), and hit 70 winners to 31 errors compared to Nadal’s 11 aces and 44-18 winner-error ratio. Nadal did serve well himself with a first serve percentage of 73 and winning 77 of those serves, but he was not in Kyrgios’ league, a fact he acknowledged in his post match interview.
Stats like that for Kyrgios bring us back to the days when aggression always trumped defense on grass, or the more aggressive game beat the less aggressive one as witnessed in the 90s, a time when apparantly grass court tennis was boring. Maybe to those who liked clay, or mediunm paced hard courts, but for those who reveled in the art of serving, volleying and point construction that ended in the forecourt, the days when the courts were all over uneven in color compared to the bright green of the service boxes now, Wimbeldon was something to savor.
Now it is the same as everywhere else. But Kyrgios is strong enough to hit through these slower courts, and fearless enough to do it in the big matches. It certainly made a change from what Nadal described as today’s normal game among the top stars, the game of athleticism over variety, of percentages over shotmaking.
This Wimbledon, with the likes of Cilic, Raonic and Kyrgios all in the last eight, the big serving, big hitting game is becoming the norm. And that can only be good if you think variety is the spice of life.
4. Performances like this put tennis in the headlines.
Kyrgios’s performance has hit the front pages the world over, the abnormal nature of his win grabbing people’s attention, getting tennis in the headlines, and waking up those who tuned out after watching the ball go back and forth 30 times from one baseline to another for the 30th time in a row, the point ended by an error, followed by waiting 30 seconds as the ball is bounced 30 times by the server before the grinding starts all over.
There were no such antics in Kyrgios’ victory. Instead we got aces, thumping winners and moments of pure talent. This shot in particular is doing the rounds, being hailed as one of the hot shots of the year.
Kyrgios, with shots like these, has given sports fans something to marvel at, and with his modern look of tram-lined hair and tattoos, something great to look at. And not only that, he is also worth paying attention to when he opens his mouth.
5. He is a real sweetie.
While he may have been accused of being cocky and arrogant on court in his presser, he is nothing like that post match. The teen talks of how his mum drove him on when she said Nadal was too good for him to beat (it made me angry, he said), how he does not know what to say about his wins and how much he loves his fans. He is also a real pro, polite and never short of a smile.
Kyrgios’s victory over Nadal is great for tennis. It’s been a long time coming, let’s enjoy it while we can.
-
Wimbledon Third Round Review
Thanks to http://www.delawareonline.com Performance of the round:
Marin Cilic beat sixth seeded Tomas Berdych 7-6, 6-4, 7-6 in the latest finishing match in Wimbledon history (21:39). The 26th seed hit 20 aces, won 81 percent of his first serves and hit 46 winners to 27 unforced errors as he knocked out the 2010 finalist. The Croatian’s game is big enough to hit through even the slower grass now seen at Wimbledon and if he can hold his nerve as well as he can hold his serve, great things could come his way next Sunday.
Contest of the round:
Grigor Dimitrov and Alexandr Dolgoplov put on a shot-making fiesta in a match that for four sets was as entertaining and close as they get. The fifth set may have been something of a washout as Dimitrov took it 6-1 but he had to produce his best to get the win and his best was quite the spectacle.
Shock of the round:
Serena Williams’ 6-1 impeccable first set against Alize Cornet held no signs at all she would go on to lose the match. But the tide quickly turned as Cornet managed to get Williams on the backfoot and then swung freely to shotmake her way to the win of her career- the first time she had ever beaten any top 20 player in a slam. Williams has failed to go past the fourth round of this year’s three slams and her upcoming events will be much anticipated as talk of her decline increases.
Best turnaround:
Rafael Nadal once again dropped the first set to his opponent as Mikhail Kukushkin stepped inside the court and attacked, but Nadal shrugged of the loss of the first set and dropped just three more games as he revved up his serve- his first serve went in 67 percent of the time and he won 77 percent of the points behind it-and hit 41 winners to 12 errors. He did it under the roof, too.
Slip-up of the round:
Novak Djokovic’s performance against Gilles Simon was note perfect when it came to being aggressive-he came to the net 36 times- but the slip at the start of the third made all the wrong noises as his shoulder dislocated. Though he was able to joke about it after the match was won, fans will hope his shoulder holds up as the 2011 semi-finalist Tsonga waits in the next round.
Biggest upset of the round:
Stanislas Wawrinka’s coach Magnus Norman did not take well to the AELTC’s decision to cancel Wawrinka’s match. Rightly, too. Wawrinka or Istomin and the other players whose match was cancelled, Isner and Lopez, will have to play three days in a row if they want to make it into the semi-finals. And their scheduled opponents, Federer and Nadal, will have to play two consecutive days if they want to make it to the last four, too. Quite unfair, and hard to understand when center court play was done by 6pm and there was plenty of time for another match.
Biggest sense of humour of the round:
Berdych may have kicked up a stink, and with great reason, too, on the court when hawkeye was down in the dark but he still had to play, but he was able to joke about it after. See his tweet below.
Thanks to tennisworldusa.org -
Wimbledon second round review
Thanks to http://www.smh.com.au Match of the round has to go to Nick Kyrgios’s victory over Richard Gasquet. The youngest player in the draw saved nine match points against the 13th seed. His guts in going for his shots when on the brink of defeat paid off with some luck with the net cords and line calls, but the cliche goes fortune favors the brave and the youngster proved it.
The third round is as far as Krygios has gone at a slam, and at aged 19, it is an encouraging sign for his and the game’s future. With a big serve, great athleticism and fight, he joins Raonic, Nishikori, Thiem and Dimitrov as the future of the game.
Most fun match of the round goes to Novak Djokovic versus Radek Stepanek. The third and fourth sets had some of the most entertaining points of the event so far, and while the result was never in doubt, watching the inevitable has rarely been such entertainment.
Upset of the round goes to Andrey Kuznetsov for his win over seventh seed Ferrer. The Russian qualifier ranked 118 hit 77 winners in his five set win.
What a surprise prize to Gulbis for going out in straights. It did not help he was facing Federer’s 2013 conqueror Sergei Stakhovsky but the recent Roland Garros semi-finalist did not help himself either as his serve, return and mind deserted him.
Close shave of the round goes to Rafael Nadal who was a point away from going two sets to love down against his 2012 conqueror Lukas Rosol. Had Rosol not double-faulted, Nadal might very nearly have been on his way out early for the third year in a row.
Tie break of the round was won, not surprisingly, by John Isner 19-17 against Nieminen in the first set of the American’s straight set victory. The tiebreak was two thirds the length the set itself.
Workhorse of the round goes to Tsonga, and his opponent Querrey, who both played for the fourth consecutive day as they finished of their second round match. Tsonga won it 14-12.
Under-the-radar awards go to young guns Dimitrov, Raonic and Nishikori who all swept into the third in three sets each.
-
Wimbledon First Round Review
Thanks to http://www.bbc.co.uk The first round of Wimbledon was business as usual for most of the top seeds. Here is a review of the tennis transactions that went on.
Andy Murray had the center court on their feet as the prospect of 365 years of hurt coming to an end. One by one, as Murray entered the arena, the crowd got to their feet and gave a standing ovation, the likes of which Martina Navratilova said she had never seen given to a defending champion.
The ovation was no surprise. For while Murray may have dropped to 5 in the rankings and not won a title, not even made a final in fact, since his ending 77 years of hurt last year, anyone who knows anything about tennis knows if the draw falls apart, if inexperience gets the better of any opponents at the business end of the fortnight, Murray has the tools, the experience, and the crowd support to take full advantage.
Standing ovation over, it was time for Murray and his opponent, the 2012 French Open Lucky loser David Goffin who made the fourth round, to run each other round the ‘hallowed turf.’ If Goffin had a winner for each time the lawns of SW19 were described as such, he would have done a lot better than trailing 0-3 in the first set.
Goffin tried his best to get some winners of his own, but too often he rushed, went for too much and too often Murray had him sussed and hustled. The first two sets went by in a flash and though Goffin had tied his shoelaces and buttoned up his collar by the third, he could only take it to 5-7 before shaking hands with Murray at the net as the crowd once more got to their feet.
Six rounds to go before the hurt is over. Six more standing ovations?
Grades: Murray: A. Defending a slam is tough. With the injuries and the pressure on him, Murray did well to get it over in straights.
Goffin: C. Earned from his third set effort. Still some way to go before his heyday of 2012 RG, but at 24 there is plenty of time for him to work things out.
Rafael Nadal dropped the first set to KIizan, dropping his serve at 4-4 on a double fault as the pressure of the big returning world no.51 took its toll. Early in the second, with Klizan taking on and breaking down the Nadal forehand with his own impressive weapon on the same side, it looked like Nadal’s trend of early exits at Wimbledon might continue. But the Spaniard fought hard, cut down his errors and benefitted from those of his opponent to take the second and then the outcome never looked in doubt.
Nadal: B-. The world no.1 did very well to avoid another early defeat but looked vulnerable before his second round rematch with his 2012 conqueror Lukas Rosol.
Klizan: C. Did great to take the first set. Put in a good effort the rest of the match, but lost his grip on it in the second.
Viktoria Azarenka, the former no.1 and grand slam champ, won her fist match since the Australian Open. She beat Lucic-Baroni, the 1999 semi-finalist and former phenom, to do it. Lucic threatened at times to run her close, but the consistency and depth of shot Azarenka employed to reach no.1 and win 2 slams proved to be invaluable.
Azararenka- A: Lucic is no pushover in the first round- she knocked out Bartoli in 2012- so a top grade for no.8 seed.
Lucic-B: At times it looked like Lucic was ready to cause another big upset until she lost her way late in the second over a controversial line call.
Maria Kirilenko knocked out Sloane Stephens in round 1 in straights. The former top tenner looked likr she had all the experience in the world under her belt as she survived dropping five match points to close it out in a second set breaker.
Kirilenko-A: Stephens had made the last sixteen of her last six slams, and was adept at beating players ranked below her on the big stage. She was also a quarter-finalist here last year. Quite the upset for Kirilenko.
Stephens- D: Losing to Kirilenko is no shame, but it is quite a step back for Stephens after such a prolonged period of slam success.
-
Wimbledon 2014 Ready For New Champion
Thanks to http://www.cp24.com Since 2003, Wimbledon has been won by only the big four of Federer (7), Nadal (2), Djokovic (1) and Murray (1). But this year the title might be in the hands of someone else as the big four struggle with health, a host of players seem to be getting their games together and climbing the rankings, and a few vets with grass court prowess hover on the sidelines.
The big four have certainly never looked more vulnerable before a slam for sometime. Nadal has knee issues on the grass and has gone out before the second round in his last two visits. Federer has lost before the fourth round in three of the last four slams. Djokivic has an injury and has lost his four of his last five Major finals. Murray has not won an event all year and just had his 19 match grass streak ended in the second round at Queens.Tthe current world no.3 Stan Wawrinka is also out of since his breakout win in Australia and he has a 9-9 record at SW19.While the big four and Wawrinka all have the experience and skills to make the most of a favourable draw, none of them are expected to blitz their way to the title against the strongest possible field which means this Wimbeldon is the first in a long while where a new, or an old, face could make a run for the title. It would be quite welcome,too. Since Wimbledon 2003, only Andy Roddick, Juan Martin Del Potro, Stanislas Wawrinka and Andy Murray have been able to intrude on the slam winning ways of Federer, Nadal and Djokoivic. A new face would bring new dynamics, and add to the depth of future slams.
Tomas Berdych will be among those looking to take advantage of the big four’s issues. He has been to the Wimbledon final in 2010, beating two of the big four in Djokovic and Federer, and he has been playing some of his best tennis this season. A few points here and there in the Melbourne semis against Wawrinka and it could have been Berdych in the final against an injured Nadal and then who knows what might have happened to the Czech’s career.
Behind Berdych, a host of next big things will be itching to get their hands on the trophy. Perhaps the one most ready is Milos Raonic. Ranked world no.8 and with the biggest serve in the game, Raonic is proving to be both consistnent and more of a force from the back of the courts than in previous years. He recently made the French Open quarters, has improved his ground and return game and has the experience and skills to make the next step. He also has a valuable weapon on grass in his serve and has a nice draw with the vulnerable Nadal in his quarter.
Dimitrov, ranked 13, is also getting better and better as each month passes, though his slam results are patchy. But an early loss at the French might pay dividends at SW19. The extra fortnight of grass court practice seemed to have paid off in the form of the Queen’s title and that experience and match play could see him challenge for the title. The world no.13 certainly has the game to go all the way and is widely tipped to make the final.
Another player of whom great things are expectec is Kei Nishikori who made the semis in Halle, pushing Federer to a second set breaker. If he makes it to the second week, his solid ground court game and attacking style could see him go far.
Finally, perhaps the biggest dark horse of the event is Marin Cilic. The big serving aggressive Croat not only has his huge game as a weapon, he has Goran Ivanisevic, too. This year has been a good one for Cilic after the drug ban which saw him miss four months of the year. Two titles and a final in Rotterdam, and some strong performances against Djokovic in Miami and Roland Garros suggest that if he can keep focused, he has as good a chance as anyone to lift the title.
If it is not a new face who takes the title then perhaps this year, the men’s event might see something similar to what occured in last year’s women’s tournament when Marion Bartoli took the title. Players of the quality of Gasquet. Lopez and Stepanek all have fine grass court games and have been around long around to be able to take advantage should the draw fall apart and opportunities knock just as Bartoli did so shockingly a year back. Gasquet in particular could make a serious run. The Frenchman who was widely tipped to challenge Nadal at the top of tennis when both were juniors has been to the semi-finals before and has a beautiful backhand, some of the finest hands in the game and has been through enough in his career to draw on for strength should he find himself in a career-making position at the business end of the fortnight.
With the state of the top four being as shaky as it is, and with the current crop of bright young things creeping up behind them, and some veterans stil hanging around waiting for their chances, this Wimbledon could be the one to see a new face break through, just as Wawrinka did in Australia and Murray at the ’12 US Open, or an old one put a glorious finishing touch to a career. That prospect should certainly be one to keep the tennis world glued to their screens over the next two weeks eager to see just who will rise to the challenge of prizing the greatest prize in tennis from the hands of the elite.
-
French Open 2014 Review
Thanks to online.wsj.com The French Open 2014 is over and the grass court season is already in swing. But before we all settle down to strawberries and cream, let’s review what went on in Paris.
Shot of the tournament:
Rafael Nadal‘s forehand down the line. Time and time again he went to the Djokovic forehand with his most aggressive shot and it paid off to the tune of his ninth French Open title.
Nadal’s improvement in form after a less than stellar clay season was such that he beat Djokovic for the first time in five finals, and his forehand, which won him 22 points on clean winners alone, was the main reason. Djokovic may have helped by hitting an uncharacteristic number of balls into Nadal’s forehand strike zone, but all credit to Nadal for bringing his biggest weapon to the biggest match of his season and firing it with the accuracy and ferocity that gets you your fifth consecutive Roland Garros title.
Heartbreak of the tournament:
Any non-fans who saw Novak Djokovic‘s reaction to the crowd’s standing ovation as he stood on the podium as runner-up is surely now a signed up member of the Serb’s cheering squad.
Djokovic once again set himself up for a French Open title run with a strong season and came up short. But he went leaps and bounds ahead when it came to endearing himself to the Parisian crowd and can count on their support when he turns up next year to try to become the third man to win Roland Garros since 2005. Their support, as it has done for players such as Graf and Federer, may just give him the edge he needs to complete his career grand slam dream.
Runner-up in the heartbreak stakes was the sight of Roger Federer dropping his set and a break lead in the fourth round before going out 3-6 in the fifth. A great start to the season saw the first half end with the kind of performance we had happily forgotten after seeing too much of in ’13. At 32, we may not be seeing too much more of Federer, but we hope when we do that it is in far better, and more befitting, circumstances.
Effort of the tournament:
Maria Sharapova won 4 consecutive three set matches on her title run. It did not look like it would be that way as she thrashed her opponent love and love in the third round, but as she came up against Stosur, Muguruza, Bouchard and then Halep, she had to dig deeper than she ever has in a slam to go the furthest of the women in the draw.
Shock of the tournament:
Serena Williams‘ second round 2-6, 2-6 exit to Garbine Muguruza was as big an upset as they come in tennis. Serena is world no.1 and was the defending champion and heavy favorite to take the title. Muguruza was a 20 year old, greatly acclaimed yes, but considered as the woman who would inflict Serena’s heaviest defeat in a slam, no. She did it though and then went all the way to the quarters where she lost to Sharapova after being two games away from a place in the last four.
Let-downs of the tournament:
Dimitrov, Nishikori and Wawrinka were all anticipated to go deep and challenge the big four, but none could cope with the pressure of being favorites and stumbled in the opening round.
On the women’s side, much was expected from Li Na, the 2011 champion and this year’s Australian Open winner. If anyone was going to be in great form in the final to meet Serena, it was her, the number two seed, and a woman who in her 2 runner up slam placings has always managed to win a set. But she went down tamely and lacklustrely in the second round and all the confidence she seemed to have gained from her win in Melbourne seemed to have disappeared in a baffling and disappointing manner.
Job well done-players who kept up to their promise.
Milos Raonic made the quarters with the kind of consistency which suggests he has no problems being one of the next-big-things in a tournament where the next-big-things mostly went out early and damply in the rain.
Eugenie Bouchard made her second consecutive slam semi and pushed Sharapova all the way to 2-2 in the third before she was overwhelmed by her opponent. Bouchard outdid her seeding and anyone’s expectations and looks set to be both a media darling and one of the tennis elite.
Thanks to http://www.zimbio.com Nice to see you, to see you nice- players who surprised us with how far they went and who we hope to see again.
Garbine Muguruza: Anyone who can thump Serena Williams 2 and 2 in the second round of a slam is going places and with her brand of fearless, now-or-never ball striking we cannot wait to see where this 20 year goes.
Ernests Gulbis had beaten Federer before on clay, but never in a major and never in such dramatic circumstances as he did at this year’s French Open.
In their fourth round encounter, Federer took the first set on a breaker and then served for the second before experiencing something of a collapse. Gulbis grabbed the second set, and the third, Federer took the fourth and we were in for a fifth.
Many thought Gulbis would do what he has so often done throughout his career- flatter to deceive and disappear in the fifth- but it was Federer who went away, in a performance similar to his 2009 Australian Open final loss to Nadal. His serve and his strokes failed him and Gulbis had enough experience and the weapons to successfully take advantage and grab the fifth 6-3.
Federer did not play well, but Gulbis held his game together, put together some beautiful sequences of shotmaking and lived up, somewhat, to the promise he displayed in 2008 when he made his previous last eight of a slam appearance, also in Paris.
Gulbis followed up his Federer win with a straight sets thrashing of Berdych, before going down to Djokovic in a nervy, errror-strewn semi. Afterwards, Gulbis claimed the nerves of being on such a big stage got the better of him, and he felt sure he would do better in future latter stages of slams. We hope he can finally live up to his talk as that forehand and x-factor he possesses is a great sight at the business end of the game’s biggest events.
Simona Halep has been working her way up the WTA rankings, climbing to no. 4 in the world, and taking 6 titles in 2013. But despite her high status, Halep had not had any big results at the slams. A run to the Madrid final where she led Sharapova by a set suggested it might not be too long before she got her name in the record books and she made good on her promise as she made the final of the French, not dropping a set on the way.
In the final, Halep’s footwork, angles, changing of direction and sublime talent saw her take Sharapova to 4-4 in the third before the Russian’s greater experience saw her thump a run of winners that took her to the title.
Halep was rightly proud of her performance in her first slam final and of her new ranking of world no.3. With her game and her innate mental toughness, we look forward to seeing her go for broke in many slam finals to come and take some serious prizes along the way.
-
French Open Men’s Final Review: Nadal Defeats Djokovic
Thanks to http://www.washingtonpost.com Rafael Nadal won his ninth French Open title, beating Novak Djokovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4. The match saw both men fighting ailments- Nadal to his back and Djokivic a cold. More than anything though, they fought each other and the pressure of history in a nervy, error-ridden and emotional contest.
Nadal’s history was not only to break his own record of winning the most number of titles at any slam in men’s tennis history, but to also tie Pete Sampras’ second place record of 14 slams at all four slams. Djokovic, meanwhile, with 6 slams to his name, was trying to complete the career slam, a feat Nadal achieved back at the 2010 U.S Open.
The pressure proved to be more of a handful for Djokovic than Nadal, though. Not that it looked that way from the start of the match. Djokovic played like the unofficial favorite he was. Backed by a large part of the media to win, Djokovic played the aggressive tennis he had employed in his Rome final versus Madrid, returning with his typical bite, and took the first set 6-3.
The second set is where the pressure told. The two stayed close to each other all the way until deep in the set with Djokovic just a couple of games away from taking a two sets to love lead. But, serving to stay in the set, Djokovic’s level dropped, he hit too many balls short allowing Nadal to dictate and win rallies, and he dropped his serve.
The second set slipping from him in such disappointing fashion dwelled in Djokovic’s mind, and Nadal, now into the match and improving as it went on, took control of the final, taking the third set 6-2.
The eight time champion was now all over his opponent, breaking him early in the fourth. Djokovic did dig deep and fought back to level the set and stay with Nadal until serving to stay in the fourth set at 4-5, but an unfortunate incident ocurred and history repeated itself. Playing a tight game to go championship point down, Djokovic missed his first serve. Then, just as he tossed the ball for the second, a call came from the crowd. Djokovic caught the toss and looked in the direction of the call as whistles blew around the stadium. The Serbian then went for his second serve, and went for it too much as it sailed long, a double fault ending his title challenge just as it did in 2012, and Nadal emerged as the history maker, the 2014 French Open Champion.
The magnitude of the loss for Djokovic was not lost on the crowd. As the Serb stood on the podium to receive applause for his runner-up showing, he received the kind of recognition reserved for the Parisian favorites such as Federer and Graf. The crowd took to their feet and clapped long after what would usually be considered polite as Djokovic’s tears fell.
Thanks to http://www.europapress.es Nadal paid credit, too, to his opponent’s attempts to win his first title through vomiting spells, pressure and the unrelenting force that is Nadal on clay. Biting into his trophy with that glint in his eye for the cameras, Nadal held his ninth trophy and one can only imagine more await him no matter whoever or whatever he comes up against in the remainder of his career.
Whether or not Djokovic will get his hands on the trophy is still up in the air, but if the spirit displayed the last fortnight by the world no.2 is anything to go by, it should not be too long before he takes his chance at the title out the air and sends it down the line for a winner in the record books.
Tennis from a fan's point of view
[
[
[
]
]
]
thetennisreview 