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Serena wins big in Beijing in the Asian Swing
Serena’s desire pulled her through a tough week in Beijing(Thanks to darkroom.baltimoresun.com)
Serena William’s stellar 2013 continued into the Asian Swing of the tour. The world number one made only one appearance but she made it a big one and at the biggest tournament, too, the Premier Mandatory China Open.The American skipped the Tokyo Premier tournament, which in her absence was won by Petra Kvitova. The Czech beat Venus Williams in a third set breaker in the semis, putting an end to Venus’s best week in 2013, one which saw her beat world number 2 Azarenka in straights. The Czech then conquered Angelina Kerber in three sets to win her second title of the year. The win kept the world number 7’s head, once considered most likely to lead the game, above water in a career that seems to go from high to low week in week out.
Kvitova did manage to keep her winning streak going all the way to the semis in Beijing where she led Jankovic by a set before capitulating to her own inconsistency and the tenacity of her opponent and losing the next two sets somewhat tamely.
For Williams though, the last couple of seasons have rescued a career that many thought was as erratic but which may turn out to be considered one of the, if not THE, greatest ever. A year that started out with victory in Brisbane in the first week of the tour has seen 10 tournament wins including two slams. And Beijing made it her third Premier Mandatory after Madrid and Miami.
Facing Jankovic in a big final in ’13 was not a new event for Serena. Jankovic is having somewhat of a renaissance five years after leading the women’s game and took a set of Serena in the Charleston final. But in Beijing, it was not to be as close. In a week when Serena was visibly upset at times, as against Kirilenko who pushed her to two tight sets, and fighting a rumoured back injury, Serena found her best form for the final, gritting her teeth and focusing to pull out the win 6-2 6-2.
While Serena may have proved to be the star of the Asian swing, there was also success for other big names in some of the smaller tournaments. Radwanska won in Seoul and Stosur took the title in Osaka, Zhang won in Quangzhou and Jovanovski won in Ningbo, beating Zhang in the final.
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Stars realign themselves in Asian swing
Nadal gets back to number 1 in Beijing
(Thanks to yahoonewsphotos.tumbler.com)This season’s Asian swing saw three of the game’s biggest stars realign themselves in different ways.
First, and most significantly, Rafael Nadal, in reaching the Beijing final, reclaimed the number one position in the ATP rankings. Leading the race since the first half of the season, the Spaniard’s strong display in his least successful part of the season saw him get back to where he has shown the season he belongs.
He did not win the trophy, though. This, after all, is Djokovic’s territory and the Serb took his fourth title in Beijing. It was an impeccable performance from the tour’s leading player of the last two seasons. Beating the Spaniard in straight sets, the Serbian closed the head to head to 22-16 and won his first title since Monte Carlo.
The win certainly did something for Djokovic’s confidence. He made the final in Shanghai where he defeated Nadal’s conqueror Del Potro in a final set tiebreaker. Djokovic’s desire was all too evident during the match and his very recent dethroning from the number one spot must have given him a wake up call. Two titles on the trot and with the European indoor tournaments coming up, a solid season might turn into yet another great one for the Serb.
Meanwhile, for Nadal, there was no shame losing to Del Potro. The Argentinian won in Tokyo, beating Raonic in two close sets, a final pairing we will get used to seeing. Not only that but the Argentine climbed back into the top five in the world.
The Argentine’s game appears to back to where it was in 2009 and if he can get some lucky breaks in the Majors, some more are sure to come his way.
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Nalbandian, the nearly man
David Nalbandian (Thanks to tennis-players2011.blogspot.com ) David Nalbandian will be remembered for many achievements. Making the Wimbledon final in 2002. Beating Roger Federer to win the WTF in Shanghai 2005. Winning back to back Indoor Masters in 2007, beating Nadal and Federer on the way. But he will be remembered above all for what he did not achieve. He will be remembered for being perhaps the Greatest player to never win a Major title.
He came close. But in Wimbledon 2002 his inexperience was romped all over by a willful Lleyton Hewitt. At the 2003 US Open, a controversial line call saw him lose his lead in the last four. At Roland Garros ’06 an injury put paid to his challenge to Federer at the same stage.
Nalbandian had all the tools but despite his double handed backhand, one of the top three best of all time, overwhelming talent and flair, Nalbandian just never had enough to go the distance when matters got close. And, crucially, as his numerous early round defeats and out of shape body testified, he was often not close to being close enough.
For long periods, he was physically absent, too. Injuries sidelined him. He took to his other, arguably his main, passion rally driving. But he would return, and as at Sydney 2009, often with remarkable form, his talent reminding us what potential he had, winning him fans, and keeping those loyal ones hoping.
But it was not to be. Season after season went by, often with some flourishes, such as his Indian wells contest with Nadal in 09, but the elusive Major remained so. The injuries built up. The dips in form took longer to rise. And finally it was one injury too many which caused the Argentine to announce his retirement last week.
It is a compliment that he will be remembered for what he could have achieved rather than what he did. His fans will always replay some of those wonderful points and marvel at his ability to take the ball on and finish the point at the net or crack a backhand winner out of nothing.
If you are a fan, here are some of those videos.
And if you are not a fan. I bet you are now.
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The US Open review
Stanislas Wawrinka at the US Open 2013 (Thanks to alternet.org)
Tournament: The US Open 2013The tennis review picks the best of the bunch from the US Open.
Player of the tournament: Stanislas Wawrinka.
The tennis review takes whatever chance it gets to give props to Stan but this US Open he really outdid himself. Stan proved he could beat two of the top ten at a Slam when he knocked out an outside favorite in Tomas Berdych and then beat one of the most favored, the defending Champion and Wimbledon Champion Andy Murray. His eventual demise at the hands of Djokovic was one of those matches neither deserved to lose. It was a Major run that proved Stan learns from his lessons on matches with the big guns and bodes well for more props come 2014.Match of the tournament: Djokovic d. Wawrinka, SF, Zheng d. V. Williams, R1.
For drama, both these matches went unequalled. Djokovic and Wawrinka cranked it up to such a degree that spectators gave them a standing ovation mid game in the fifth set. And Venus Williams’ fight against Zheng was a reminder of why she had won two US Open titles and that she is far from gone yet.Performance of the tournament: Wawrinka d. Murray, QF.
Aggressive mindset, check. Flair and panache, check. Belief in oneself. Check. For Wawrinka that last one was the most important. He had been in good form at the Australian Open and in a winnable position only to lose to Djokovic. In Indian Wells, he had led Federer only to choke. In Paris, he beat Gasquet in the match of the year only to flunk out in straights versus Nadal. But on this chance he did not collapse. As each set went by, Wawinka’s class and confidence rose while his Opponent’s game and mind fell apart. Wawrinka took advantage and took his place in his first Major semi.Shock of the tournament: Robredo d. Federer.
Federer’s vulnerability of late has not been quiet. A world ranking of 7, a second round defeat at Wimbledon and a bad back caused great speculation that the Great’s days were numbered. But still many expected the five time winner of the US open to make the last eight against Nadal, especially considering Robredo was considered anything but a stumbling block. A stumbling block he was though. Edging Federer in a tight first set, the Spaniard used his wiles, point construction and forehand to knock a Federer keen to rewrite the defintion of error prone out in straight sets.Run of the tournament: Flavia Pennetta.
The Italians have made the top ten something of a hang out the past few years with Errani and Vinci taking their places. Both women were seeded and riding high this Open but the original Italian top tenner Flavia Pennetta popped by to say hello and then goodbye as she sent both compatriots out the tournament. Employing flair, touch and guile, Pennetta made her first last four appearance in a Major and one we hope to see achieved again.Shot of the tournament: The Nadal forehand.
Inside out, down the line, angled crosscourt, hit from position or on the run, this was the shot to beat this Open. For the first six rounds and the first set of the final, it went unquestioned. Once Djokovic took it on and threatened to better it, the Spaniard went a little passive only to come back in the third from a break down to take the set and then take the fourth to the loss of one game. It was a forehand display of ferocity and belief that would define the Spaniard and, like its wielder did to the tour this year, dominate the highlights reel of this US Open.The US Open lacked the great early matches of the French Open, the shock element of Wimbledon and the controversy of Melbourne but what it did have was champions of consistency and brilliance. The victories of Nadal and Williams proved that there are still some champions capable of adapting and improving their games to adapt to an evermore fragmented and uneven tour.
Grade: B minus.
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US Open sees Greats hold the trophies
Nadal holds his trophy close (Thanks to belfasttelegraph.com) The 2013 US Open finals saw two of the greatest players in the game beat their current closest rivals in tournaments which went some way to closing arguments over their status in the game.
The two winners of the US Open, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams, do not just have that tournament in common in 2013. Both won the French Open and US Hardcourt tournaments. And both suffered early exits at Wimbledon to aggressive risk takers against whom their measured play had no chance. But at The US Open both players cemented themselves as players of the year in their respective tours. Both of them became the only players, men and women, to win 2 slams in 2013, a fitting achievement to add to the consistency they have displayed throughout the year in which both have won more than 9 titles.
Both won the tournaments in similar styles, too. Nadal’s win was the more emphatic by a few whiskers. He lost a set to Philip Kohlchrieber and dropped some service games to Gasquet on his way to the final but that was as ugly as it got. Serena had more of a fight against Bouchard and Na Li threatened to make a go of it in the semis but her quarter-final thrashing of Suarez-Navarro, and on the Spaniard’s birthday no less, was perhaps the most devastating display of the whole tournament. Not even a game on her birthday Serena. That Wimbledon defeat must have hurt bad.
The two Champions had contrasting finals, though. Serena’s was the drama we expected against Azarenka. Breaking away from the Belorussian in the business end of the first set and then running with the momentum to lead 4-1 in the second, this US Open really did look like one of her very best campaigns domination wise. But Azarenka fought back, took the second set to a breaker and then used all her consistency and mental toughness to take the match to a third. Serena though did not get frustrated and simply buckled down to take the third set 6-1 and make this fifth US open title her 17th Major win.
Nadal on the other hand, was not taken the distance but to only four sets. The Spaniard’s forehand was on in the first set and he ran away with it 6-2. Djokovic fought back, and played more aggressively than he had all year to take the second set and lead in the third as the mental edge he had acquired on his three Major streak beating Nadal in finals looked to have taken hold of proceedings. But Nadal upped his aggression and gave a spirited and assured performance to take the match 6-1 in the fourth to win his second US Open title and his 13th Major.
For both players this Major was crucial regarding their status in the running for Greatest Player of all time. Serena is now one Major behind Navratilova and Evert. Meanwhile Nadal is four Majors behind Federer. Considering the head to head advantage Nadal has over the Swiss it woild be difficult to argue against him should he reach 17 which, if his ability to come back after injury and to move on from painful defeats is anything to go by, looks inevitable.
And on a tour on which the slow and high bounce of three of the four Major surfaces reward the style of play Nadal and Serena have made their own, the likelihood of more French Open and US Open doubles for these two the next couple of years is as high as the bleachers in the Arthur Ashe stadium.
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Out with the new, in with the old
Haas reaches the last sixteen of the US Open aged 35 (Thanks to slate.com) Review of the first week of the US Open.
The first week of the 2013 US Open was a case of out with the new and in with the old. Never has the triumph of experience over hope, on a tour more difficult on the body and mind than ever, been more clearly illustrated.
The first few rounds saw the men’s supposed next generation of future Major winners get knocked out one by one; the most high profile casualties being Nishikori, Tomic and Dimitrov. Briton’s Dan Evans took out the first two but at aged 23 this was his first win in the main draw of a Major outside Wimbledon at an age by which most players who are going to make a splash have got everyone pretty soaked. Dimitrov, meanwhile, lost to a Sousa, a 24 year old playing in only his fourth main draw of a Major. Evans and Sousa were new, to the main draws of Slams anyway, while their higher ranked and younger opponents have been winning matches in Majors for a while now. These three men are touted as the next big things but are not ones reflecting the sun of late, vanishing instead in the shadows of lesser-ranked opponents in the early rounds.
One man, the youngest of the current Major winners in the game’s top ten, Juan Martin Del Potro, on the cusp of turning 25, looked like he might be able to repeat his 2009 US Open victory only to be knocked out of the tournament by the 2001 Champion, the 32 year old Lleyton Hewitt. The former world number One proved to be the fitter of the two, taking the final set 6-1 in a match where Del Potro’s fitness issues, his wrist in particular, were all too evident in the never-ending languid slices he limped in on his backhand.
Hewitt went on to beat another up and comer in Donskoy(23) and will play one of his fellow veterans, Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny (31), in the last sixteen. The 2006 and 2010 New York semi-finalist beat Tommy Haas (35) in the last thirty-two. The thirtysomethings were anything but alone in the later stages of a Major. In the last 16 Robredo (31) beat 32 year old Federer (32), Nadal (27), who has been winning Majors for close to a decade, beat Kohlschrieber (29), and Ferrer (31) beat Tipsarevic(29). Meanwhile other last sixteeners such as Djokovic, Murray, Istomin, Berdych and Wawrinka, all aged 26 and 27, have all been professionals for nearly ten years.
The only breath of fresh air in the fourth round was 22 year old Milos Raonic but he was beaten in five sets by the tours oldest up and comer, Richard Gasquet, who, though has grown into a more consistent performer, at 27 looks less and less likely to deliver on the promise of his nickname Baby Fed.
The women’s game is not looking too fresh, either. Serena Williams beat 19 year old Voskoboeva in straights in the second round and thrashed 20 year old Sloane Stephens in the last sixteen. The other great hope of the girls yet to turn 21, Laura Robson (19), was dismissed in straights by 31 year old Li Na, who then beat 28 year old Jankovic in the fourth round. Joining Ni La in the last eight are Pennetta (31), Vinci (30) and Hantuchova (30), Makarova (25) and Suarez-Navarro (25). The youngest of the last eight will either be Ana Ivanovic (25) or Azarenka (24). It is on the former’s shoulders that the future of the game as far as consistent leaders and Major winners rest. Only Azarenka has shown the ability to be consistent and win Majors of her generation and this US Open is a timely opportunity for her to win her first title and establish herself as a middle-aged, tennis wise at least, top player.
Indeed, the days are long gone when, as in 1992, two teenagers fight for a place in the final, as a 14 year old Capriati and 16 year old Seles did, or twenty year olds win the men’s title, as Safin and Hewitt did in ’00 and ’01. On a tour which demands more of the body, the slow hard courts such as those of the US Open taking their toll on the knees and legs, a tour which also asks more of the mind, the media demands and length of the season leaving little time for family or home-life, it is the veterans who are surviving. Their bodies are already broken, the pain already a part of daily life. Their minds are already strengthened by experience and hardened to the loneliness of a life playing for the public. It is a life which rewards them should they go far but a life in which the sacrifices no longer seem to be just their childhoods. For those with the stomach for it, in a game where 28 was once considered over the hill, their final days of youth, in a game where success comes to those who wait, are sacrificed, too.
The spectacle the veterans have provided in a sport once the game of the young in the first week of this year’s open is certainly inspiring and thought-provoking. The sight of the likes of Williams and Robredo making it to the last sixteen leaves no question as to whether tennis can be played at its highest level into your thirties but among the cheers from appreciative spectators can be heard an eerie question which may go unanswered for some time: where have all the young guns gone?
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Robredo writes off Roger in New York
The passion of Robredo on show as he defeats Roger Federer in the last sixteen of the US Open (thanks to ibnlive.in.com)
Tommy Robredo has beaten Roger Federer in the last sixteen of the US Open. It was the pair’s eleventh meeting and the Spaniard’s first victory.The weather, which delayed play by 4 hours and caused the schedule to be changed, seemed not to have merely messed with the schedule but with Federer’s head, too. The Swiss was out of sorts from the get-go, while Robredo was inspired. An upset looked on the cards as Robredo stayed with Roger through the early stages of the set in a match in which, considering Federer’s level the previous rounds, many believed would see the Swiss blow the Spaniard away. The closer the set got though, the more it became apparent that the Swiss was in danger and needed to find some form, and quick, and to separate himself from his hungry opponent.
But Federer was unable to break free from a recently rehabilitated Robredo. The five time US Open champion was only able to convert 2 of 16 break points while his opponent delivered on 4 of 7. One of those came at the business end of the first set when Robredo’s aggression and point construction made the difference between the two competitors. The Spaniard hit his forehand with clarity and purpose to break Federer and take the set.
Not much clarity and purpose was needed in the second and third sets, but Robredo played with it anyway. The Spaniard moved as well as ever but his shots had added bite while his opponent’s were as sorry as attempts toothless baby biting into an apple. The Swiss, who said it himself in his post-match interview, self-destructed, hitting more balls into the net from mid-court in one match than he has done during many of his successful Major campaigns. And his 43 errors did not stop him going for his shots. 45 times he found his mark but at the end of the third set the errors piled on top of of one another. Federer’s muddled mind and play coupled with Robredo’s consistency and heart meant Robredo served for the match at 5-3 in the third set.
The Spaniard did not hesitate. The prospect of a first win over the Greatest player of his generation was a once in a lifetime opportunity he had fought too hard to come back from injury and climb back into the game’s top ranks to let slip. Robredo served out the match with an ease few thought they would ever would see against the likes of Federer, sealing his place in the last eight in New York for the first time in a career that not so long ago many thought was over.
For Federer, it was his second consecutive defeat in a Major before the last eight of a Major. More significantly, the state of his game and his mind raises questions as to whether the current world number 7 is going to add any more slams to his tally or if the rest of his career is going to be one of making up the numbers, and the kind of numbers the 17 times Major Champion likes making.
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Evans ejects Nishikori from US Open
Dan Evans raises his fist after beating Kei Nishikori at the US Open (Thanks to washingtonpost.com) Qualifier Dan Evans from Great Britain has beaten the eleventh seed Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of the US Open.
It was Evans’ first win in the main draw of a Major outside of Wimbledon. Incidentally, Evans was denied a wildcard at his home championships this year, a move that may have spurred him on to a win that ranks as his very best.
Evans’ relentless attack on Nishikori’s vulnerable serve finally broke Nishikori down at 4-5, 15-40 in the first set, a deep return on a weak second serve forcing an error and winning Evans the set.
In the second set, with Nishikori serving at 4-5 30-40, the Japanese hit a backhand volley into the net to gift the a two set lead to Evans.
Evans broke early in the third and never looked back, moving forward whenever the chance came his way. The qualifier, ranked 179, hit 16 winners at the net out of 24 approaches over the course of the match.
A poor serving day for the Japanese, (Nishikori made only 54% of his first serves and won 15 of 40 points on his second serve), culminated in him serving his eighth double fault when match point down.
Evans will next face Tomic in the second round. The 52nd ranked Australian came back from two sets to one down to beat Albert Ramos.
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Azarenka’s first US Open title within reach
Azarenka at the US Open 2012 (Thanks to blog.tenniswarehouse.com)
Vika Azarenka’s chances at the US Open have never looked better than they do this US Open 2013.The World number 2 has won three hard court tournaments this year, with one of them being the Australian Open. There she defended her first Major the first time of asking, withstanding the pressure put on her by Li Na in the final and the backlash from the media and public concerning her controversial injury time out in her semi-final.
Her mental toughness was also proven in her victories in Doha and Cincinnati where she managed to beat World number One Serena Williams in three sets, the match in Cincinnati seeing her come back from a break down in the third.
It could be argued, considering these results and the recent victory over Serena, that Azarenka is the favorite for the title. She is also last year’s US Open finalist and was a service game away from the trophy.
It will not be straightforward though, but Major wins never are. The Belorussian’s draw is filled with potential banana skins, the first one being a possible encounter with Cibulkova in the last sixteen. The Slovakian, a winner in Stanford this season, has run the Belorussian close on hard courts and beaten her at a slam, at Roland Garros ’12. Should Azarenka get through that match she could face either Stosur who beat her in straights in the Stanford final or Kvitova who looked set to achieve what Azarenka achieved in 2012 after a formidable 2011 in which she got the better of Azarenka in big matches.
But Azarenka in a Major against Stosur will be, as demonstrated in last year’s US Open last eight where Azarenka prevailed in a third set breaker, a different beast than in the final of Carlsbad after an injury lay-off. And as for Kvitova, the Czech’s presence in the last eight would be a surprise and her beating Azarenka would be an even bigger one. Vika is experienced to the tune of being a former world number one and a two time Major Champion since Kvitova beat her in ’11, and will be too consistent and stable for the erratic Czech.
In the last four, a meeting with Errani awaits, and it could happen, considering that Errani is a defending semi-finalist. And the Italian’s draw looks most inviting with Vinci, Kuznetsova and Wozniacki the main threats. But the last four will be as far as the Italian gets. Azarenka is arguably the best hard court player on the WTA right now while Errani is one of the weakest ones in the top ten.
In the final, Azarenka will most likely meet Serena. Considering the tricky draw Azarenka might have to negotiate to get there, and her two tough wins over Serena this season, the world number two could pull off the upset and beat the world number One to claim her first US Open title. It will of course be tough, but tough is something which suits Azarenka. And with the way the hard courts suit her game, now looks like the right time for her to step up and be the Champion in New York.
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Nadal’s second US Open on his racket
Nadal practicing at the US Open 2013 (thanks to rafaelnadalfans.com) Rafael Nadal’s second US Open title is as on his racket as it is ever likely to be considering his current form and that of his opponents.
Wins in Montreal and Cincinnati, where he beat Federer and Djokovic along the way, make him the player in the best form going into the tournament. His serve, forehand, aggression and intensity have been at their best and with the confidence three Hard Court Masters title must have given him, it is hard to picture anyone else but him winning the tournament.
To get his hands on the title, he is likely to have to play the world number seven Roger Federer in the last eight. Two hard court wins over Federer this season and the match up advantage Nadal has over the Swiss indicate that Nadal will be the one to move into the semi-final unless the Swiss finds himself inspired at a Major which he has won five times.
In the semi-finals, the likely opponent would be Ferrer or Gasquet. Ferrer though is out of form and Gasquet would need to be having one of his best days to get the better of Nadal in five sets.
In the final, either Djokovic or Murray would await.
Nadal has gotten the better of Djokovic this season. His tough five set win in Paris and his three set win in Cincinnati will give him the edge over a man who seems to be lacking some confidence after hard defeats in Paris and Wimbledon.
Meanwhile, Murray would be a new proposition in a Major final for Nadal, and one which should not pose too many problems. Nadal’s forehand and mental toughness are weapons which overshadow any of Murray’s and should overwhelm him in a best of five sets Major final, a stage Nadal has been the winner 12 times to Murray’s 2.
Tennis from a fan's point of view
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