Another day came and went at the US Open. What were the main talking points in the men's game?
One of the first matches of the day was the match between Djokovic and Dolgopolov. Djokovic was obviously the overwhelming favourite but with Dolgopolov's arkward game and the wind blowing maybe there was a slight chance of an upset.
The match started suprisingly with Djokovic and Dolgopolov all square sending the first set to a tie-break. An eppic tie-break saw Djokovic manage to close it out 16-14! From then on Djokovic found his task easier and won the next two sets 6-4 and 6-2.
Another match that was highly anticipated was a contest between Janko Tipsarevic and Juan Carlos Ferrero. Both men were in good form coming into the match and even though there is an 85 rankings position gap it was difficult to pick a favourite.
in the first set there was good play from both men but Tipsarevic looked slightly in control and won it 7-5. The second set was even more competetive and after a long set it would go to a tie-break. The former world number 1 Ferrero found a way to win it 7-3.
The third set was very close as well but again Tipsarevic edged it 7-5. In the fourth set Tipsarevic managed to distance himself from Ferrero and won it comfortably 6-2. The next match was a much anticipated duel between Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and Mardy Fish.
Many believed this was the match to watch for the day. The players are close in rankings and both have played great tennis throughout the summer. The first set started with both men playing well but Tsonga broke Fish and won it 6-4. The second was extremely competitive and Fish somehow won it on the tie-break 7-5.
After this set Fish had the momentum and won the third 6-3. The fourth saw Tsonga find his feet and his best tennis as he won it 6-4. In the fifth Tsonga had the momentum and Fish was tiring. Tsonga took the set confidently 6-2. He reached the quarter finals in flushing meadows for the first time.
The final match of the day between the No3 seed Roger Federer and Argentine Juan Monaco. Because of the five set epic between Mardy Fish and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga the match started at midnight! That didn't stop Federer though as he dismissed Monaco in an hour and twenty minutes with a score of 6-1 6-2 6-0.
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Monday, 5 September 2011
US Open Diary Day 7
As another day at the big apple ends what thrills and spills happened?
One of the first matches of the day was a largely anticipated match between the former world number 1; Rafael Nadal and former number three David Nalbandian. Although Rafa was the favourite we had seen in the past that Nalbandian’s game could definitely trouble the Spaniard.
The match started off with Nalbandian playing world class tennis. He had obviously come out to try and blast Nadal of the court. Nalbandian had his chances in the first set but Nadal managed to claw his way back playing top tennis and won the set on the tie-break. He carried on playing top tennis throughout the match and won the match 7-6 6-1 7-5.
Young American hopeful Donald Young had the tough task of backing up his terrific victory against Stanislas Wawrinka against the 24th seed Juan Ignacio Chela.
Donald Young dismissed all critics by destroying the 24th seed in straight sets. Donald Young’s next opponent will be the British No1 Andy Murray. Speaking of the 4th seed Murray had the potential problem of the Spaniard Feliciano Lopez who famously was tweeted by Murray’s mother, Judy, “Deliciano”.
Murray started strongly with 14 straight points. It was a fine performance by the Brit and in less than two hours Murray beat Lopez 6-1 6-4 6-2. A very welcome win for nervous fans. Another piece of good news for Murray is that Juan Martin Del Potro, the 2009 champion, was defeated by the Frenchman Gilles Simon.
The first set was reasonably close but the Argentine managed to grind it out 6-4. But Gilles Simon is the 8th best player at coming back to win from a set down and he won the second and third 7-6 and 6-2. With Simon being one of the fittest men on tour and Del Potro still not quite at his best Simon won the final set 7-6 to reach the fourth round for the first time.
The last interesting fact from me, it is the first time since 2003 that 4 Americans have reached the fourth round of the US Open.
Sunday, 4 September 2011
Has Federer lost his touch?
As Federer reaches the milestone age of 30 is his career coming to an end?
Federer turned 30 on the 8th of August this year and instead of saying that he is nearing the end of his career he believes he has a few years left in him and that he isn’t finished yet. 30 years is the age known today as the age players start to go down in the rankings.
Federer hasn’t won a grand slam since last year’s Australian Open the longest wait for a grand slam since he won his first back in 2003. He still has belief in himself that he can win another but with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray on the prowl it is becoming increasingly harder to do so.
Federer still believes that he is playing world class tennis. Federer also says that “his love for tennis has not dimmed”. Federer has only won one title this year which is the lowest total for him since 2001.
For the past year it has been evident that Federer has become transfixed on hitting winners. Some believe that this is because he feels the longer the point goes on the less chance he has to win against Nadal or Djokovic because they are younger, fitter and are more consistent.
Federer has been very understanding and has always been the first to praise whoever is playing well, if it’s Djokovic, Nadal or Murray. He has always been gracious in victory and defeat and he is “a great figure for the game” and is a great idol for young tennis fans and players.
Today, even though he has lost his reputation as the world’s best he is still a living legend of the game and is still the 3rd best player in the world! Whatever anybody says they truly want to see him back on top of the game and with Federer doing well at the US Open that could be sooner rather than later. Also Pete Sampras having one more week at the top maybe that’s the motivation to push himself to his limit for that one week.
Saturday, 3 September 2011
Andy Murray’s run-up to the US Open
After a good tournament in Cincinnati is it Murray’s time to win his first Major?
Murray finished off Wimbledon by losing to Rafael Nadal in the semis, another decent Wimbledon appearance for the Scot. Murray felt disappointed after a “tough” four set match. He admitted that he “needed to work harder” and “work on his professionalism”.
He then decided to play for Great Britain against Luxembourg to the delight of British tennis fans. He demolished Laurent Bram to achieve his first ever triple bagel allowing the man than doesn’t even have an ATP Ranking only 15 points. He also beat Gilles Muller with ease and won the doubles with brother, Jamie.
After Davis Cup success he moved out to the US to Miami and had his hard-earned rest until the American hard court swing.
The Scot’s first opportunity to impress came at the hands of big serving South African Kevin Anderson who was having the year of his life. Murray started the match sluggishly after a lack of match fitness and Anderson was playing world class tennis. Murray was a step slow throughout the entire match and was beaten comfortably by the 32nd seed, 6-3 6-1. A disappointing attempt at becoming the first man in history to win the Rogers Cup three years running.
He spent the rest of the week training making sure that he was completely match fit for Cincinnati.
Cincinnati is always a very important tournament for the Scot as it was the first Masters tournament that he won. This year he said he was “trying to conserve his energy so that he could come into the US Open in “optimum condition and form”. His first match was against David Nalbandian. The Argentine was certainly a potential danger to the Brit but Andy Murray likes to play against him and he overcame a potentially tricky hurdle in straight sets. Andy’s third round match would be against Alex Bogomolov Jr who managed to deter Murray from meeting Jo-Wilfred Tsonga with a great victory of the Frenchman. Murray bulldozed through him to reach the quarters.
He was then faced with his first real challenge of the competition. This obstacle came in the shape of 10th seed Gilles Simon who has been creeping back up the rankings after slipping down them because of an injury.
The Frenchman was in good form leading into the match but the first set was a cagy affair but Murray came through it 6-3. He then pushed it up a gear and confidently put Simon away in the second 6-3.
Murray went into the semi-final favourite against Mardy Fish but only just about. Fish had a terrific lead up to the match with a win at Atlanta and finals at Los Angeles and Montréal where he pushed Novak Djokovic to the end in a thrilling final.
Murray looked in control of Mardy Fish who was slightly out of sorts and won the first set 6-3. The second set was tough and was much tighter with both men breaking each other to send the set to a tie-break. Fish was looking in control of it with the mini break but Murray clawed his way back. When the tie-break score was at 8-7 Murray thought he had done it. The ball seemed to cling on to the outside of the line.
Murray gave a fist pump and the umpire said the final words. “Game, Set, Match Murray”. But, Fish challenged and the result was that the ball was out by a few millimetres. Murray eventually managed to scrape the tiebreak 10-8 to make his way to the final of Cincinnati to face Novak Djokovic for a rematch of the 2008 final against the World No1 who had lost only once this year.
Murray went into the match in reasonably good form but knew that he would have to play better in the final against the man who already had 57 wins under his belt. The Brit started the match quickly looking to attack Djokovic. Murray took advantage of a slow starting Serbian to break early and advance 3-0 lead in the opening set.
Djokovic picked up his game though and fought back to get to 3-3 in the opener. Everyone thought that Novak would now be ruthless and take out Murray but Murray kept strong and broke Djokovic again. It was the first time we saw a sign of the Serb in any pain. His serves were slow and not penetrating. The Scot went on to win the first set 6-4.
The second set didn’t last very long. Djokovic was giving Murray errors due to his lack of power because of his shoulder injury and Murray led Djokovic 3-0 before the Serb said enough was enough and retired from the match. It was Murray’s second tournament win of the year and first Master’s tournament.
Murray wanted to have a week without complications so he could come into the US Open feeling good. But that would be too good to be true. Earthquake and Hurricane struck and Murray stayed indoors for most of the week. John McEnroe said leading up to the 2011 US Open that “this is the best opportunity he is ever going to get”. He believes this because Djokovic has a slight shoulder problem and was suffering from fatigue, Nadal had poor performances in Montréal and Cincinnati and Federer to. Murray dismissed the claims, “It's a silly thing to say. It will be Federer is not playing well and Rafa is struggling and Djokovic's shoulder is sore. But I know come Monday they'll all be fine,”
Murray is looking forward to the final major of the year. Murray has a descent draw and he is in the same half of the draw as Rafael Nadal. His first match is Wednesday against India’s number 1, Somdev Devarrman. Is this Andy’s year?
Has the serve taken control of the game?
Has the serve taken away the fun in men’s tennis?
Without any doubt, today, the serve is one of the most important shots in Tennis. Has the increase in the importance of the serve been a benefit for Tennis or has it taken away its fun?Every player in the top 10 of the world today has a big serve. It is a huge weapon. This serve carries them through in matches when maybe the other components of their game are lacking authority.
Now think to the women’s game. Most women lack the same amount of power as the men. Hence their serve is nowhere near as powerful as the men’s. To prove this the fastest ever serve by a women was 129 mph whereas the fastest by a man was 156 mph.
Now think how many more upsets are there in the women’s game rather than in the men’s.
In the women’s game since 2006 there have been 11 different winners of grand slams but in the men’s game since 2006 there have only been 4 different winners. What sounds more exciting? If you look at those four they all had big serves but in the women’s game 6 out of those 11 had average serves.
So that proves that the slower the serve the more chance of an upset which makes everything more fun.
Let’s have a look at Ivo Karlovic. The 6 foot 8, huge serving Croatian is starting to get a bit older now (32) but no-one believes he is anywhere near retiring and why should he. As long as his shoulder keeps going he can keep serving himself into the top 100 easily.
Karlovic, no disrespect to him, has no other assets apart from his serve. But because nobody can break him he will almost always hold his serve.
Now surely that’s just boring. Thanks to the development of the rackets they are feeding this type of playing meaning a lack of exciting tennis in some people’s opinion.
On the other hand the Serve is a skill in tennis and if you have mastered it then why shouldn’t you be rewarded? Karlovic has mastered the serve and should now get the rewards.
People have different solutions to this “problem”. Some say change the rules. John McEnroe a few years ago said to make the service box smaller others say change the foot fault law, make sure the players have one foot on the ground at all times during the serve and others even going to the extent of bringing the game back to small wooden rackets! What’s your view on it?
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