2Hander's Take: Winding Down

It really has been a strange year for tennis, particularly when you've been used to five or so years of domination by The Fed - like three Slams out of four naturally assumed to be 'in the 'bag'. I guess his fallibility started to creep in my mind when Nadal took Fed to five sets in the final of Wimby 2007 .

On a tangent, what makes great sportsmen is their humility. I remember Diego Maradona once being outraged when a fan once said to him that he loves him more than his own parents! Michael Jordan also said on one of the many times he has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show "I go to the bathroom just like any normal person".

Now, our Fed used to be very gracious to his opponent and teary after destroying the opposition with such poetic grace and smooth power and I'm sure that he (as well as us!) got a bit sick of it. Then came the frankness in post-match interviews with comments like "I was serving well", "I'm very happy with that performance" and "I feel strong on this surface". However, more recently or so came remarks like "Well, he hasn't got the strongest serve in the World" when talking about Davydenko and this started coming particularly when Nadal was at his heels with defeats at Roland Garros (RG) and Dubai. The need for a confidence boost, maybe?

2006 also saw the emergence of Djokovic, who had very close battles on the hard with Rafa. The most noticeable aspect to his game was that phenomenal forehand! Where does he get that from?!?! 2007 was much like the rest with Federer bagging three slams but there was sense of a wind of change blowing.

You know the phrase 'It never rains, but it pours', well, this year has seen the maturing of Murray (hooray for us Brits!), the calming-down of Djokovic, the emerging of Tsonga, Simon and Del Potro as potential top 5 regulars in the years to come. Then I think about the likes of Gasquet and Monfils, who have, in comparison been left behind somewhat. Also, let us not forget Ernests Gulbis, who gave Rafa a run for his money at Wimby this year. He has a great serve, solid groundstrokes and a rather understated net game...watch out for him.

I, for one, wanted to see Fed challenged, to prove he's a real great and this has happened, but rather too quickly for those of us who want to see him reach the record 15 Slams. 2009 looks to be a very interesting and exciting year for tennis in that the only slam 'in the bag' for any player is probably Rafa's RG. Roll on January...GAME ON!! Read More...

Almost Done...

Shshshshsh, quiet, QUIET....hear that? That's the sound of the Tennis off season, when tennis blogs either shut down completely or bore you senseless with tales of their own on court escapades.

I'm going to try and continue to post and although I don't promise to always steer clear of my own experience on court, will for the most part be trying to keep it staggeringly real. Real enough to see us through to the new year anyway, which is when Hopman Cup gets under way.

I haven't always followed Hopman Cup; in fact to be honest, I only watched it thoroughly for the first time at the beginning of this year, when Serena and Mardy Fish defeated Djokovic and (it has to be said a rather weary) Jankovic.

This year the line up includes wait for it....the sibling partnership of Marat Safin and Dinara Safina. They're seeded #2. As if that weren't electrifying enough, Serena Williams is returning to defend her title, this time with James Blake. If these number one and two seeded partnerships make it to the final, one can only imagine the atmosphere that's sure to ensue on court. The action gets under way on the 3rd January.

Except we're not quite done with this year yet, are we? There's this small matter of a certain Cup to be won in Argentina. Ever since Nadal announced his withdrawal from the Davis Cup Final, most of the smart money has been on Argentina. But Spain's plight is not as hapless as it might seem.


You have to favour Nalbandian in his singles opener against Ferrer. Ferrer predictably, hasn't been able to follow up on his 'over performance' of last year and Nalbandian, who seems to make a habit of blossoming late in the season, thrives at Davis Cup.

I can't ascribe the same level of confidence to Del Potro, however. I find him somewhat stiff in both movement and temperament and not terribly creative on court: in other words, exactly the kind of player whom Lopez (a leftie and a deft volleyer with an annoying penchant for unpredictable and somewhat inconvenient peaks) will enjoy irritating. Having said that, you don't need me to tell you what kind of dizzying heights Del Potro's form has been reaching recently. I just think things could go horribly awry for him, if he doesn't dominate Lopez from the outset.

One last thing: could someone explain why Federer is playing Abu Dhabi (exhibition), Doha (ATP) and Kooyong (exhibition) in the three weeks leading up to the Aussie Open? I know he'll get a lot of down time before the new year, but surely with his back complaint, that's a little much. Correct me if I'm wrong, but he's played less at this time in previous years and that's when he's been fully fit. It just seems the wrong way to go about launching his Grand Slam bid for 2009 - one which (I would hope) is meant to improve on the slightly lacklustre (by his standards) 2008.

Lopez/Verdasco image by pseudorlaya

Read More...

A Win's a Win....

I'm kind of mixed about this weekend's Masters Cup final and TMC in general (more on that some other time).

On the one hand it allowed Djokovic to reemerge playing something near to his best tennis. But as many have already correctly observed, he won without playing either of the other 3 of the top 4 - and there's just something hollow about that. This is especially poignant as Murray at least, appears to have his number right now.

Without those other three, we might still have had a scintillating final if Tsonga were involved, who's had convincing wins over the Serb in their last three matches - but he was unable to get past even the round robin stages, suggesting to me that although he's the real deal, still has some maturing to do.

Watching the match against Davydenko, it became increasingly clear to me of just how ideal a match up this must have been for Djokovic. If you think about it, the players who've beaten him this year have either blown him off court (Safin, Tsonga) or given him little or no pace to work with (Murray, heck even Simon troubled him that way in the semis).

One of Davydenko's strengths is his rather fanatical aggression, but if his fiercely struck shots start coming back at him, he strikes it harder still. The trouble with this is he possesses none of the might and muscle that allowed Safin and Tsonga to impose themselves so successfully over Djokovic - add in a big serve and you can understand why Nole was left reeling.

But neither can Kolya fall back on the type of 'softer' hand skills that Murray and others use to flummox and just plain irritate their opponents. The result of this was that the final on Sunday ended up, from Djokovic's point of view at least, being little more than a practice session where he was rhythmically fed balls at just the right level of pace, depth and consistency and almost invited to fire winner after winner pretty much wherever he liked.

I'm not going to criticise Novak too much; I did after all (somewhat to my amazement) choose to back him after he showed several promising and much needed improvements in taste and temperament this year (maybe a less successful spell was exactly what he needed), and its not his fault Murray and Federer chose to reenact their very own 'Thrilla in Manilla' (or as close as you could get in three sets). And there can be no doubting he's the real deal; he did after all beat Federer in Montreal, and Nadal in Miami last year - there were no mitigating circumstances there.

So I'm going to hope that in 2009, along with the great tennis we already appreciate, he continues down this road of new found sensibility - just don't get too nice Novak, we'll only bring you down again!

Djokovic image by GavinZ under licence

Read More...

What Now For Roger?

And so the great man's season finally came to an end yesterday with a defeat at the hands of Andy Murray, in what was one of the best matches of the year.

It was perhaps befitting that Federer should go out with a bang, and to one of best performers of the year: can you imagine his last match of the year being a defeat to Gilles Simon or worse still Radek Stepanek!?

So what now for Roger? Can he get back to the top again? Or is he now on a rather ominous slippery slope. Well neither actually.

There is no doubt that the Golden Age of 3 out of 4 Slams a year is well and truly over. We all have our views about whether that was made possible by a lack of competition or not, but its plain too see that there's now a whole swath of young players who (perhaps legitimately) feel they have a chance at toppling the big man at least once in a while. And that's before we even consider the more potent threat posed by Nadal, Djokovic and Murray. Federer too this year, has seemed less confident, nervy and more prone to the forehand errors we thought were just a blip last year when he lost to Canas in back to back events at Indian Wells and Miami.

But does that really indicate the beginning of the end? Have we become so accustomed to seeing him perform so outrageously well that we can't conceive of a middle road?

My point is this: Yes he'll lose occasionally to those other three but there's no reason he can't remain one of a very formidable group of four players ruling the roost. He may even reclaim the number one ranking from time to time - although is likely to hold on to it for considerably less than 237 consecutive weeks! Oh and I fully expect him to bag at least two more Slams before calling it time, thereby surpassing Sampras and ensuring his place in history.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that the last 4 years were almost an anomaly: depending on the view you take, either a once in a lifetime showcase of elegance and unprecedented skill, or a freakish demonstration of what's possible in the face of lesser competition.
Consider the remainder of his career a return to normality: the career of a more conventional high performer.

Here's a prediction for you: Federer will have a great clay court season next year, maybe even winning a Masters title. It pains me to say this but Nadal's ailing knee has to have an effect on his performance and if he wants to perform well at Roland Garros, may not risk injury at the other events. He may in particular, not attend Monte Carlo which won't from next year be a mandatory Masters event, even though it will have the same number of ranking points on offer.

Federer image by James Marvin Phelps

Read More...

Wanting It All...

And so we aren't to have the Federer-Murray final I was hoping for after all. Maybe it's just as well; I wouldn't have thought either of them would have much left in the tank after yesterday's gargantuan effort - Murray certainly looked the worse for wear in his semi final against Davydenko today, and Federer's back was only going to get worse.

The match itself was right up there with the Wimbledon Final as one of the best of the year. I suppose what made it extra special was that both men had reasons not to give it their all. Murray had already booked his spot in the semis and Federer, clearly in trouble with his back, at times looked like he was considering throwing in the towel as he squatted gingerly between points and sat down whilst waiting for Murray to serve.

Murray said after beating Federer yesterday that the win against the former world #1 meant "almost as much as winning the Masters Cup". That's quite a revealing statement - although I'm not quite sure what to make of it: judging by his demeanour today, he was sorely disappointed after the loss to Davydenko; understandable of course - given the year he's had, it would be reasonable of him to expect to go all the way and win the Title here.

But if that's the case, then would it not be prudent to invest a little less of himself against Federer?
I'm not suggesting he should have tanked the match of course, but he must have known that fighting tooth and nail for each point to the extent that he (and indeed Federer) did would cost him going further into the tournament - especially with the way Davyenko has been playing this week. Which is why I can't completely understand equating the win against Federer (at the round robin stage) with winning the Title itself.

On the other hand though, I suppose with his ability it is reasonable for him to expect to have it all. What kind of an aspiring World Number one would he be if he settled for anything less?

Read More...

Is It Too Cosy At The Top?

I've been focusing so much on Murray and Federer these last few days that I failed to mention anything regarding some of the other players I was backing.

Unfortunately one them is already out - with injury in fact. It hasn't been an absolute nightmare for Andy Roddick this year with wins over all of the top three, but not a great one either - the low point being that 2nd round exit at Wimbledon. I was hoping he'd pull out the stops and come up with something special to round off the year, but it wasn't to be.


But how about Davydenko today!? I didn't doubt for a minute that he could beat Del Potro, but didn't expect it to be that one sided either - the sheer brutality of Del Potro's dismissal today must have taken many by surprise, not least Del Potro himself: what a rude awakening to the reality of the top ten! But should we really be that surprised?

Del Potro's had a great season but has only recently entered the top 10. Davydenko's been there since June 05. This year marks the first time he hasn't got to at least the quarter finals of a Slam since 2004. Oh and he also won Miami, wiping out Roddick and Nadal in the process. This guy's clearly not ready to leave the party quite yet...

The good news is that Djokovic, if not quite returning to form, is beginning to show signs of belief again. He's not always been my favourite player - just what was with those Aussie Open chest pumps anyway? But I was then, and continue to be a HUGE fan of his game.

And ever since his recent slippage in form which began with that defeat to Safin at Wimbledon, he's begun to appear more personable, introspective even - dare I say it: more mature?
So in a strange way - and I never thought I'd find myself saying this - I've begun missing his intensity on court! He seems to bring something unique to the top of the game, both in his playing style and in how he conducts himself.

In 1964, Mohammad Ali, in an effort at goading Sonny Liston (whom Ali would call a 'big ugly bear') into agreeing to fight him, parked a large hired green bus on Liston's front lawn, and seated inside taunted him through a bullhorn calling him a 'coward' and a 'bum'. The closest tennis has had to anything vaguely resembling that to my knowledge, is the McEnroe-Lendl rivalry, whose pre-match 'warm ups' would often consist of heavily struck overhead smashes being directed at one another. I'm not advocating a return to anything like that, but don't you sometimes miss aspects of that era?

I've loved the Federer-Nadal rivalry, and appreciated the quality resulting from their unyielding determination, but don't you sometimes find things to be a little too respectful between them - a little too nicey-nicey? I'm not casting Djokovic as the Knave in all of this, but I welcome what he brings to the table.

Maybe Novak should hire a bus too...

Del Potro image by hA.Lai.lai under licence

Read More...

A "Poor Man's Murray"...? I Think Not.

So Federer got through against last minute Shanghai alternate Stepanek today....just.

By the way, can someone explain why we had to go all the way to the 26th player in the Race to find someone willing to attend Shanghai? I can understand the Spaniards or Nalbandian not attending what with Davis Cup coming up, but where were the likes of Cilic, Monfils, Berdych...!?

Stepanek was apparently missing his contact lenses, socks and racquets moments before coming on court - credit to him for making the match as competitive as it was.

It was over in straight sets, but we saw emerging again from Federer some of the frailties of earlier on this year: that unstable forehand and the occasional dumped volley. As mentioned yesterday, I'm still hoping he gets through, so we still have a chance of a Murray-Federer final, but without that forehand you really have to wonder.
It's amazing how vulnerable he can look without his best shot.

As compared to Federer, Murray once again looked the more comfortable in his match against Simon. Simon's been great for the tour this year, but I have to say I disagree with certain quarters casting him as a "poor man's Murray". Yes he defends superbly well and doesn't try to win the point in the first three shots, but there the similarity ends. Murray's got a huge service advantage and mixes play much more effectively with his backhand slice.

Read More...