Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Between the Wimbledon and the US Open!

In tennis, there is practically no off season. But there are peaks and then not so happening times. Grand Slams of course are the ones where the greatest drama lies and right now we are somewhat in the middle of two Grand Slams; so one may call it a lull.

Wimbledon 2013 had all the ingredients like upsets, close matches, emotional new champions leading to a perfect recipe for an unpredictable two weeks of play. As Marion Bartoli and Andy Murray lifted the trophy's at the Centre Court and as former champions tumbled on course, a peek of the new world of tennis was there. Going forward, the things only get more interesting.

That is why precisely the 'lull' we talked earlier is not really dull. There is lots that is happening in the world of tennis even in these times, and players are doing their best to get ready for the US Open at the end of August. Let's have a glimpse of the current events.

The run up to the US Open is still nearly two weeks away when two back to back Masters 1000 tournaments are scheduled. Before this, you will seldom find a top four or five player in any of the lesser tournaments. As Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne acknowledges many a times, "Rest is a weapon, don't forget that." So, this is when the best players hone this weapon.

On the contrary this year, the frontrunners of major championships Serena Williams and Roger Federer are out on court, and that too on clay. Roger Federer is making the biggest waves in the off season for several reasons. He is currently World No. 5 and is in the middle of a storm as far his form is concerned; and to top that he is playing with a new racquet. Till now, he had been using a 90" square frame racket when his competitors in Nadal, Djokovic use a 100" sq frame and Murray a 98".

Federer played in Hamburg with a black framed Wilson prototype of 98 inch sq frame which is a huge shift in the racquet size. It's never easy for a tennis player to change his or her stick and even if they do, the shift is very small or gradual like adding weight to the head, changing strings, small upgrade/change in size. Considering this and that Roger Federer is already 32, the change is mammoth. Also, to let go of the wand that has won him 17 GS titles (more than anyone else on ATP) is a great 'let go'.

To add on to the mixed responses he was getting, he lost to Frederick Delbonis (another player ranked outside top 100) in the semis at Hamburg and now almost every nook and cranny of tennis is out with a piece of advice for one of the greatest player tennis has seen. Federer also hasn't committed yet to use this racket at the US Open and he'll make that decision after having some more feel at Gstaad and maybe at even the Masters 1000's.

A bigger racket is supposed to add on more power and pop to his shots while compromising on the precision somewhat. It is also supposed to give him more options to keep the ball in play while returning. One thing that comes out positive is that - Federer is still willing to play till Rio Olympics 2016 (as he said earlier) and his early loss at Wimbledon this year has not vanquished the flame. Rather, he's willing to do whatever it takes (Racquet, Play) to hang around. Right now, the critics and some fans alike are advising him to retire while on top, leaving his legacy intact. Roger Federer so far is defying all, and wants to keep playing for his love for the game, even if he slips in rankings.

Another great champion Serena Williams won the Swedish Open couple of days back to find back the lost confidence after losing to Sabine Lisicki at Wimbledon. She's good for now and will most likely be the favourite at USO. Serena's favourite bunny to beat, Maria Sharapova is also on the change road alike Federer. Maria though isn't playing due to hamstring but has let go of her former coach (with whom she has been on a good run winning the French last year, going deep in GS and holding rank 2 currently) and hired Jimmy Conners. Yeah, the legendary Jimmy Connors! The one who coached Andy Roddick when he took Federer to five sets in 2009 Wimby Final and looked like winning it all along...till he lost. Connors would hope to do for Maria what Lendl has done for Murray.

And talking of Andy Murray, his roller coaster ride has reached to the top and he's now not only a challenger - he's winning the big ones too. His earlier nemesis' Federer and Nadal are on the low and even Djokovic isn't right at the top. Murray is resting and enjoying his Wimbledon success and will return to play the tune ups for the US Open in the quest for defending his title.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are also on the rest mode for now (actually practising their butt out) to get ready for the US hard court challenge. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic is ready for sharing the nutrition tips in his book called 'Serve to Win' which is a 'nutrition based performance guide'. It'll be launched before the USO. It'll share how changing his diet in late 2010 made him a formidable player from 2011.

Rafa, the biggest loser of Djokovic's new diet is happy fishing, playing poker and playstation in his home town Majorca for now. It'll be interesting to see how Rafa's knees hold up on faster hard courts and how Nole finds the motivation to keep Nadal and Murray away from taking the top spot.

In the current scheme of things, Federer seem to really struggle against the top three guys; Rafa surely against Nole, and Nole against Murray to a great extent. Yet, that concludes nothing. And there is one more guy, who can potentially blast off anybody, and who is more lethal on the fast hard courts and who is also a Grand Slam Champion. Yes, Juan Martin Del Potro! 

Del Potro fell short to Djokovic in the Wimbledon Semi but took enough out of him emotionally and physically to help Murray win easier than expected. Having said that, grass is his worst surface and US Open the most preferred. He's in good form and if he really wants to get back into the mix of top guys and the form of 2009; this probably is the best time and the best surface.

Federer is currently playing in his home town Gstaad and all the other big names return (well practised and rested) in the second week of August for the tune ups. The drama continues....!

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Wimbledon '13: The Grand Finale!

It's time for the Men's Singles final at the Weirdest Wimbledon/Grand Slam we have seen in a while. Yet, the weirdness ends here. It's the top two seeds fighting for the right to hold the trophy. The final, does not have a Federer or Nadal in the final but it only shows that in current form Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are better than them and rightly hold the top rankings.

What to expect on Sunday? It's very very difficult to choose between these two. Nole and Muzz, as they are fondly called, are not just close in the rankings but similar in so many other aspects. They are separated by only a week in birth; they are both extremely extremely fit; they both have very similar styles of play; both like to stay at the back of the court and hit the ball hard, retrieve every ball, quickly turning defence to offence; they both practically have no 'weak spot' in the game; they have been playing each other since the age of 11 in Juniors knowing each others game like their own; they will both have their lovely girlfriends cheering up from their respective boxes, tense as ever; they have had some epic contests in the past on all surfaces - their matches almost always going the distance.... let me stop at this...phew!

In their Juniors, Murray was the one who started dominating earlier. As they turned pro, Djokovic handled the transition better and won his first Grand Slam 4 years before Murray. But now, Murray too has won one of his own at the US Open last year. Also, this late blooming of Murray can also be attributed to the humongous pressure and expectations he was under from a entire Great Britain. Andy has that monkey off his back now and he'll be playing freely with almost all of the crowd support behind him today. Novak sure is seasoned in these kind of moments, already having six Grand Slam singles titles under his belt and he won't be easy to put away at all.

Expecting all the possible celebs and royals today again at the Centre Court Royal Box; we're certain to have a long long match. Five sets maybe, but nonetheless lengthy in nature. I believe, for the first time in a Grand Slam encounter Nole and Muzz are on an equal footing in the combination of things. The only difference of GS titles 6 to 1 is nullified by the excessive crowd support and the fact that Muzz has his first by beating Nole and an Olympic Gold beating Federer. So, now he also knows how to do it.

A definite action packed match is on the cards, no matter who wins it. A few crucial points are going to make all the difference in the world. I don't want to make a pick on this one; it's so bloody damn close from how i see it. Yet, however difficult i may find it to bet against the ever consistent World No.1....maybe just, it's time for Britain to be happy! 

Pick: Murray in Five!

Marion Bartoli - the new Wimbledon Champion!

Wimbledon has a new women's champion and a first time Grand Slam winner, in Marion Bartoli. In spite of no big names being there, the final was like a wave of fresh air. Though, it wasn't any sort of an epic as Sabine Lisicki was extremely overwhelmed by the occasion. Marion Bartoli, surely benefited from her appearance in Wimbledon 2007 final where she lost to Venus Williams, took the game to her opponent with intense demeanour and shot making winning 6-1, 6-4 fending off a late fightback by Lisicki.

It was more like a blink and miss final yesterday. Many experts believed and favoured Sabine Lisicki to take up this title. That too had good reasons. Sabine Lisicki has been very consistent on grass; She has come out winning the tough three setters against quality players even while trailing; and her list of casualties on the way were opponents like Francesca Schiavone, Samantha Stosur, Serena Williams (all Grand Slam winners), Aga Radwanska (the world no. 4). On the opposite, Marion Bartoli hasn't faced a top ten opponent on her way to the Final and not even dropped a set.

Yet, Bartoli had a comfortable win. It's not about the speculations and how well one did before the Final but also the day itself that matters. Experience plays a big role at a big occasion and Baroli being there once purely made good use of Lisicki's jitters to finish the match much before she could settle herself down.

There were tears, on both ends, for different reasons. Marion Bartoli now is a Wimbledon Champion and Sabine Lisicki will surely give herself another shot at least on grass, as she's just 23 and has a lot of tennis up her sleeve. There is only one Champion but they are both winners in what they did this year at Wimbledon. Both of them can be proud of the fortnight they had at the All England Club.

Friday, July 5, 2013

Men's Semifinals Wimbledon'13: Favourites vs Giants

Wimbledon '13 is in its final lap. The Men's semifinals are already on at the Centre Court with Djokovic and Del Potro battling right now and Murray and Janowicz next. This Wimbledon has been very different from the Grand Slams we have been used to in the last 5 years or so. But in the Men's draw, at this stage, it doesn't seem that much turbulent.

The top two seeds are yet in the draw and on course to meet in the finals as per the seedings. But, who they are contesting the semifinals against is somewhat different. Djokovic playing Del Potro instead of David Ferrer in the semi's is very understandable considering the explosive nature of play the big giant has. Del Potro's win over Ferrer is no great surprise and would not even be called an upset by any standards. So, in this half we can say, we got what we were expecting, more or less.

The other half, has British hope Andy Murray as the top seed and one of the semi finalists. He has held is game and temper to come back from two sets to love down against the resurgent Fernando Verdasco. And he faces Polish Jerzy Janowicz, instead of a speculated Nadal or Federer here. The heavyweight bottom half has lightened up to quite a great extent with Federer Nadal going out early. Murray, for sure, is the biggest beneficiary here. Let's see what to expect today as they battle for a place in the finals.

(1) Novak Djokovic vs Juan Martin Del Potro

The ever consistent World No. 1 has been meticulous in his run up to this point. He has fended off challengers like Tommy Haas and Tomas Berdych without even dropping a set. He knows he can win it, and he really wants it. But still, he would have been happier to see Ferrer on the other side than Del Potro, even if he's the favourite going in. Del Potro, has also done well and he's also here without dropping a set. He isn't in quite the form he was when he won US Open in 2009, smashing Nadal and overcoming Federer in consecutive matches, but he's nevertheless dangerous. Standing at 6'6", he's the sort of player who on his day can win over absolutely anybody...and yes, anybody it is. But he's also carrying an injured knee which did not hamper him much against Ferrer but as we all know, Djokovic is no Ferrer.
Djokovic will look to play consistent and move around Del Potro as much as possible. He'll also look to return well as JMDP has been serving very well this tournament. Del Potro will again have to serve extremely well (as Djokovic is the best returner we have) and fire his booming forehand to gain advantage.

Del Potro can in no way outplay Djokovic but he sure can out-hit anybody off the court. Only, if that rocket of a forehand is up and running today, he may just have a chance. Djokovic has advantage to get into rallies; Del Potro in finishing the point early.
Pick: Djokovic in Five! -if Del Potro's knee holds.

(2) Andy Murray vs Jerzy Janowicz

This seems like a no-contest to many. But, that surely isn't the case. Jerzy Janowicz might have benefited from not having to face Federer or Nadal but he's still come out as the best player in the quarter. He is not too popular but he has a lot of potential and whatever happens today, he's still most likely a future top 8 player. Janowicz stands at 6'8" and his serve is like a cannon down the barrel. Yet, he's not only all serve and no play. He has a very good forehand and a solid backhand to boast off. Despite all this, what he's facing is no petty task. Janowicz faces - (a) Andy Murray who's been a hell of a player (only improved further under the great Ivan Lendl); (b) who's seasoned for such big occasions and has won the US Open last year and the Olympics Gold to get the monkey off his back; (c) the overwhelming occasion of playing the Wimbledon Semifinals on the centre court with a lot of royalty and celebs to be expected; (d) the British crowd who wants Murray to win at any cost and who'll back him to the hilt.

Jerzy Janowicz has to hold his nerve and focus on his game (much easier said than done) and hope Andy Murray goes into the slump like he did against Verdasco. Murray needs to play solid and ride the support wave without thinking ahead about the Finals; and thank the Gods for giving him Jerzy instead of a more experienced player as expected.
Pick: Murray in Four! 

Monday, July 1, 2013

Serena too bites the dust! - Wimbledon'13

No expert has picked anybody other than Serena Williams to lift the trophy at SW19 this year. She has been on a 34 match unbeaten run, has been far ahead of her competitors this year and was coming off a French Open victory recently. However, this Wimbledon hasn't been kind to these kind of statistics.

Come Sabine Lisicki, No. 23 ranked German from the lands of legendary Steffi Graf but nowhere close to Graf in terms of tennis success, and sweeps past the 16 time Grand Slam Champion Serena to reach the Quarter Finals this year. Lisicki still is no novice when it comes to play at the grass.

I like her game because she's aggressive, has a big serve and ground strokes and has been a Semi and Quarter Finalist in the past couple of years at Wimbledon. But that itself does not suffice to beat Serena Williams on the green courts where she is a five time champion.

But as we all know very well by now, Wimbledon '13 is different and unkind to past champions (Novak is still there). Lisicki caught Serena off guard with her power game to win the first set 6-2 in almost three quarters of an hour. Serena demolished Lisicki in the second 6 games to 1 in mere 27 minutes to ward off any hopes of the upset. Nobody thought otherwise when Serena went a break up in the third to lead 3-1. But, i guess, the upsets have raised the belief quotients of the underdogs like never before. Sabine Lisicki produced some scintillating 'boom boom' game of her own and romped off to take the set 6-4 and thus, the match.

She outplayed Williams in terms of hitting winners and saved a lot of break points (11 out of 16) while breaking 5 times in 8 opportunities. She did what nobody has done to Serena in last 34 matches...register a win!

But looking at the upset brigade this year, the next round results hasn't been anything close even when the opponents are no big guns. Steve Darcis after beating Nadal couldn't play due to a shoulder injury; Sergiy Stakhovsky coming from his win over Roger Federer gets straight setted by Jurgen Melzer and Sharapova conqueror De Brito lost to another unseeded player Karin Knapp in two sets.

One of the reasons for this is the emotional fatigue to overcome a champion, along with the attention and limelight that come along with it. It shows how great players become great. They do it day in and day out...never going away! Still, Sabine Lisicki will be looking to change this 'pattern' and go deep in the draw. Maybe, even make a title run. She sure has the game, but does she has it in the head? That is to be seen. That, in tennis, is the difference between a good player and a great player. That, is the difference between the top 8 player and a 100th ranked player.

For Serena, she sure joins the elite club this year, with Sharapova, Azarenka, Federer, Nadal and many more...unwillingly though!