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.
Carlos Alcaraz
Benoît Paire
