WC 26.09.22

There are 3 250's on offer this week, after a small break for the DC. Most of the top players were also at the Laver Cup, but a handful have made the journey, including Djokovic, Shapovalov, Cilic and Fritz.

All events are being played indoors, which is the case for most now until the seasons end. In Sofia, Humbert bagged a confidence boosting win. Two weeks ago he clinched a challenger, so he's creeping back to form. Ivashka is looking very consistent and has a game well matched to the surface. Rune could also have a strong week.

In Tel Aviv, Lestienne and Safuillin are making a seamless step up to Tour level. The awful post win run for Mannarino continues. Cressy remains very solid and will be hard to beat this week.

Weekly Review 23.04.2022

I logged into Mens Tennis Forums for the first time in a while last week and hidden away in my profile was a link to Chip & Charge, which miraculously, still works! 

The replays of matches in 2009-2010 look dated, fashions have changed (longer hair and baggier clothes!), and the video quality is comparatively poor. Tennis from 2015 onwards look more in keeping with what we watch now. 

But has the game changed that much? Between 2010-2015 perhaps slightly, but since then, I'm not so sure. The recent comments by Gabriel Jaramillo are interesting, and I would agree there has been a gradual shift away from extreme court speeds. Carpet courts have not been used on the ATP Tour since 2009, and other than Monte Carlo, not too many clay courts play super slow anymore. But I really doubt court speeds would have made an enormous difference given how well as these players move and return.

Either way, last 12 years have indeed been dominated by the same players, with only a handful, including Murray, Wawarinka, Del Potro and Cilic able to make the breakthrough in Grand Slams. More recently it's also been slim pickings, with Medvedev and Thiem collecting one each, with the latter now just returning from injury. Medvedev won't be playing at Wimbledon this year either. 

The playing field in 2022 looks more even, and although Nadal won the Aussie Open in January, there seems a slight sea change. Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz have won maiden Masters titles, and last year we had new winners too, in Cam Norrie and Hubert Hurcacz. Stef Tsitsipas seems to be over his post French Open lull, and playing well again (defending Monte Carlo), and Yannick Sinner continues to impress. It's only a matter of time until he wins biggers titles. I antipipate a couple of new Grand Slam winners this year, with Alcaraz being my top pick. 

In April we have the beloved clay swing - by far my favourite surface. It balances the field significantly, neutralises big servers and makes it harder for good players to win matches. It rewards variety and a solid game plan, and you get plenty of exciting rallies. This week we have Barcelona, rained off for almost two days, but action packed yesterday. The picks were Carreno Busta who won a tight match against Ruud, after playing nearly 3 hours to beat Sonego earlier that day, and Tsitsipas vs Alcaraz - a watershed moment for the young Spaniard, who moved into the top 10, after a brilliant 12 months where he began at around 150 in the world. The match was dominated by Alcaraz, who was unplayable for long periods. A dip in the second set allowed the Greek back in, but Alcaraz regrouped and took the 3rd comfortably. Both these players are looking strong for Roland Garros. A likely final is Alcaraz vs Swartzmann (semis in progress at time of writing). It's hard to look beyond the Spaniard in this one, particukarly given Swartzman's poor finals record.  

The other action is in Belgrade, where we have the return of Djokovic, who's had a decent week, albeit dropping his usual first set. At time of writing he's made the final, expectedly, where he will the face Russian, Andrey Rublev, who's also had a strong week. Rublev had a stern test from youngster Lehecka in round 2, but neither players have otherwise looked in much danger. The clay suits both players well, Rublev has a good record in finals, but not against top players. I see another Djovokic win here. 

Finally, a special mention to Tommy Robredo who bowed out from pro tennis this week. Always a fun watch, a great competitor and a lovely one handed backhand. Happy retirement Sir.

George's 2010 Predictions

It only seems like a few days since London, but the 2010 tennis season is now upon us with the Aussie Open a little over two weeks away.

I always like to make some predictions about which players I think are likely to make an impact, and this year is no exception. I have been closely following some of the players working their way up at Challenger level, and I am sure one or two or these are gonna make a big splash on the ATP tour this season.

Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr.

Good luck pronouncing this one guys. A real tongue twister of a name, but by all accounts, a very talented player. I noticed his steady rise of last year as he started to play a number of clay challenger events (winning 3), beating established top 100 players like Massu, Hernandez and Gabashvilli - players all very adept on clay. He is also improving on hard courts, and beat Yen-Hsun Lu in Tashkent, before qualifying for his first ATP of event of the season in St. Petersburg, reaching the second round. This year he is already hoping to go one better after qualifying for Brisbane, and beating promising youngster Bernard Tomic in the first round. He has a good temperament, moves well around the court and has a strong serve. I'm sure he will use his momentum to push himself firmly into the top 100 and become a consistent performer on the ATP tour by the end of the year.

Thiemo De Bakker

Was tipped for big things after winning the Wimbledon boys chamtionship in 2006, but has since struggled to fulfill his potential and live up to all the hype. 2009 however, showed some real signs of promise, and the young Dutchman clinched 3 Challenger titles on the bounce, leading to many believing that he was beginning to make the step up. Although in comparison to Dolgopolov his wins came against lesser opponents, he was actually the more consistent performer throughout the season, and went on a massive winning streak, taking many of his matches in straight sets. Perhaps his most notable scalp was Gael Monfils, who he beat in 4 sets in a Davis Cup rubber. He then lost to Tsonga in a tight 5 setter. Watching him, he is clearly a very talented player with a number of shots in his arsenal, and he can play on all surfaces very well, despite plying his trade mostly on the clay last year. He's now broken into the top 100. Don't be surprised to see him break the top 50 and push quite far in a couple of ATP events. He is already in the second round of Chennai! Here's Thiemo's Twitter by the way! Good way of keeping up to date with his progress. Anyone speak Dutch?! :-)

Higher up the rankings, spotting the next superstar is a tough ask. I keep coming back to Gael Monfils. His progress each year has been steadily improving. His closely fought MS final in Paris at the end of last season appears to show how far he has come. Only a few elite players really threaten to take MS tounaments because you need to beat the very best to win. Monfils is very very close to being part of this elite few. The Frenchman is a joy to watch as well as being hugely talented. Last year he played much more aggressively than usual and it began to pay dividends. Monfils knows better than anyone that this is his route to success. You only have to take a look at his booming serve and his flat powerful forehand to know that. On his day, Monfils is irresistibly good. If he stays free of injury (big if), then I fancy him to firmly break into the top 10 and stay there for a very long time. Some players peak later in their careers, like Lendl to name just one, and I think Monfils might be one of these rare gems who does exactly the same.

Other guys to watch are Sergiy Stakhovsky, who has hauled himself back into the top 100 (currently 60) and has the game to make some serious inroads this season. He already has good experience at ATP level, and I expect him to have more consistency this year. A great shotmaker with a good temperament. I tipped Jeremy Chardy to make progress last season and he did exactly that by winning his first ATP title in Stuttgart, after reaching his first final in Jonannesburg earlier in the year. He is very strong of both sides (forehand especially which can cause all sorts of damage) and has the talent to break firmly into the top 20. My outside bet is Evgeny Korolev who has taken a while to find his form but again, is now back in the top 100 and could have a real surge in 2010.

Weekly Preview

I definitely think its important to note the action taken by the ATP to impose a record fine on the Dubai organisers for denying Shahar Peer (above) entry into the UAE. It's the right move, but I would have liked to have seen Dubai taken off the calendar altogether. As it happens, the mens tournament is going ahead as well and I really don't think it should - on moral reasons alone. Andy Roddick appears to share my belief and has duly withdrawn from the tournament in protest. Nice one Andy! At least the organisers have salvaged some integrity by granting Andy Ram a visa to compete in the doubles competition.

Along with the absence of the American, Federer, Nadal and Davydenko have also withdrawn through injury, therefore further weakening the field and making Djokovic and Murray clear favourites for the title. Beyond these two, it's a very open field.

In perhaps the most notable upset, Ivo Karlovic bowed out to Swiss qualifier Marco Chiudinelli 7-6(4) 4-6 7-6(7), ranked a lowly 443 in the world - although in 2005 he was in a much more handsome position of 129. Nevertheless, it marks another poor outing for the Croat who is struggling to replicate his strong form of last season, despite serving a whopping 19 aces throughout the course of the match. Much has been noted of him trying to improve his baseline game to compliment his strong serving and volleying skills, but in this case it might be a classic case of "if it's not broke...."

Elsewhere, Marin Cilic survived a scare against Janko Tipsarevic who was a set up 6-2 and going strong on the second. The young Croat however, showed all his fighting qualities and mental fortitude, serving a better percentage than usual, especially at key stages during the match.

A couple of other first round matches are also looking very close, especially Marat Safin against Richard Gasquet. Both will be looking to get their seasons underway after disappointing starts, and the winner will be treated to a match with David Ferrer, who came through in three sets against former world number 3 Ivan Ljubicic, who continues to slip down the rankings. 

Being an admirer of the clay, I am also interested to see how the week in Acapulco pans out, especially with such an interesting field. Tommy Robredo (below) yesterday captured his second title in as many weeks, and was aptly presented with a crowd of beautiful women to celebrate his success! What a lucky boy! Few would count him out of winning yet another title this week, although his possible fatigue may enable a host of other players to mount a serious challenge.

Gael Monfils will surely be a strong contender, and on the red stuff is arguably playing on his best surface. Also prone to injuries the clay should provide a much softer experience than the punishing hard courts of Marseille and Doha. He lines up against qualifier Olivier Patience in the first round, and should enjoy a routine passage into the next. Top seed David Nalbandian and fourth seed and defending champion Nicolas Almagro will also be tough guys to beat.

Lastly, in the only 250 event of the week, San Jose finalist Mardy Fish tops the bill. Sam Querrey, Ernests Gulbis and Jeremy Chardy will also fancy their chances.

Grigor Dimitrov def Thomas Berdych 3-6 6-4 6-3 R1 ABN AMRO Rotterdam - Star in the Making??

Although most would agree that Thomas Berdych is suffering a massive crisis of confidence, I didn't really expect this 17 year old Bulgarian to trouble the burly but talented Czech. But after losing the first set, he stormed back to win 4-6 6-3 6-4 in what I imagine to be in hugely impressive fashion. I say imagine, because I didn't actually see the match. Berdych could have handed it on a plate.

But I don't think he did - the stats might tell the story. Berdych failed to convert 9 of 10 break points which indicates that he was either being painfully wasteful, or Dimitrov has the mental game to resist continual pressure on serve. Probably a combination of the two. Yet I can't think of many players who can save 9 of 10 break points (Rafa who?), no matter badly the other person is playing. Besides, Dimitrov smashed down 10 aces, I'm pretty sure a few of those came on break point.

The fuss over Dimitrov only really gathered pace after he won Wimbledon boys in July last year. Since then he has dabbled on the Challenger tour, rather unsuccessfully I might add, and before that, fell at the first round of qualifying for the Madrid Masters to Florent Serra. A big ask. No doubt the fuss will now escalate. A thread on MensTennisForums is already approaching 50 comments as I speak.

But the hype is immaterial, talent alone is never enough. Just look at Young and Tipsarevic. With Dimitrov I can't help but be I'm impressed by his steely resolve, his fighting spirit at one set down, and his ability to serve out the match after Berdych had just come through one hell of a sketchy service game. Maybe it's a one off. He might struggle to motivate himself for the lower ranking events, but somehow I don't think so. At 478 in the world, he will definitely have to work hard in Future and Challenger events, but don't be surprised to see this ranking reach the 200 mark come the end of the year. Expect too see him at Wimbledon too where he has earned a wilcard for his fruitful expoits last year!

It's definitely worth keeping an eye on this fella. I'm sure the ladies will be! ;-)

Weekly Review!

The ATP calender is pretty unrelenting - even on the spectator. Scarcely after we have had time to absorb splendours of Australia, we are treated to three more ATP events, and while most top ten players are taking some much deserved respite, others are locked-horns and scrambling for points to kickstart their season.

For those players that can't wait for the clay season, Vina del Mar aptly caters for their needs, and it's no surprise to see strugglers like Juan Monaco (above) taking full advantage. The Argentine has made a swift passage into the quarter finals (bt Devilder 6-2 6-4 and Starace 6-3 6-3) where he will face an equally labouring Fernando Gonzalez. The clay has also thrown up a couple of surprises with lowly ranked Paul Capdeville and Pablo Cuevas battling through into the quarters, dispatching Eduardo Schwank and Albert Montanes respectively along the way. Other clay specialists Jose Acasuso and Tommy Robredo will also be in contention.

In Zagreb Igor Andreev buckled under the intense pressure of being the number one seed, meekly succumbing to 425 ranked Ivan Dodig in straight sets, whilst another Russian, Mikhail Youhzny is in freefall after losing to Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-3 6-4. The progress of Serbian, Victor Troiki is also worth a mention after he cruised past Simone Bolelli and Ivan Ljubicic. Dmitrty Tursunov's faltering season also continued as he was ousted 4-6 6-4 6-4 by and hugely promising and rapidly improving Ernests Gulbis. A bad week for Russia!

The first ever ATP event in South Africa has proven to be a historical and cultural exercise as well as a regular event. While Marcos Baghdatis enjoyed a history lesson in Apartheid, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga took time out visit some of the poorest children in Johannesburg's townships. On the tennis side of things, David Ferrer halted his recent decline as he stormed into the quarter finals (bt Sela 6-2 6-0 and Greul 6-3 6-4 ) where he will face an equally revived Baghdatis. Jeremy Chardy and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez have also made positive starts.

Shock of the Week
Without doubt Igor Andreev's inexplicable capitualtion to Ivan Dodig.

Business as Usual
Marin Cilic continued his superb run of form by reaching the quarter finals of Zagreb

Steady Progress
Victor Hanescu won his opening match and has a favourable draw now P.H. Mathieu is out

Lloyd loses patience with Brits on the fringe

John Lloyd's job as Davis Cup Captain must be the most thankless task in the world. I doubt the Ukrainian public demand quite the same high standards we do, despite (with the exception of Murray) their pool of talent being very much the same.

Greg Rusedski's plans for a sensational and ill-advised return were this week rebuffed by an ever polite Mr Lloyd, who is now favouring a new and radical system to select his other two Davis Cup hopefuls. Lloyd plans to hold a six man tournament (supposedly involving Bogdanovic, Goodall, Ward, and as promised, Evans and Fleming, with the others being unsure of even making the tournament) to select his remaining two is perhaps a sign of his last straw with the sarcastically named Alex 'A Bog' Bogdanovic.

It's a fine ploy by Lloyd who has placed himself in a win-win situation. If Boggo comes out on top (presuming he is picked which is not a certainty) then Lloyd can be hailed for challenging the world 181 to produce his best tennis, and if he fails, his move to abolish the ranking entry system will have been wholly vindicated. Unfortunately that might be where the winning ends. Relying on a slowly improving Josh Goodall, a one-hit-wonder Chris Eaton or a faltering Alex Slabinsky will hardly give Lloyd the confidence he needs.

Perhaps 'Party Boy' Dan Evans (pictured above) will make the breakthrough after serving a record LTA ban for repeated misconduct, but at the tender age of 18, the young man from Birmingham is unlikely to show his best yet. Just ask Xavier Malisse what he thinks!

Whatever happens, I will be watching over this tournament with my eagle eye, and I admire John Lloyd for laying down the gauntlet for his perennially underachieving players. Let's see what happens.