Archive for the ‘Male Players’ Category
French Open Predictions
After the Australian Open has finished, what can we learn to carry forward to French Open? Are there any early predictions that can be made?
The biggest shift from the Australian Open to Rolland Garros is, of course, the move from hard court to clay. Playing on clay requires a different kind of player, and few make a smooth transition from one surface to the other (even Roger and Rafa have found difficulties in moving between the two). Spanish players are particularly good at the clay, with European courts having a high number of courts of this surface for the young players to grow up on.
So, it’s a no-brainer that Rafa will be transferring well to the clay. That is, if he has time to fully recover from his leg injuries. The current estimates for the time it will take is about 10 days, but with Rafa and his propensity for dodgy knees, who knows if this might become a more long-term problem. Nadal is staying tight-lipped about the injury, which hopefully is a good sign that it is just a quick annoyance that he does not want to dwell on.
So, if Nadal is back to fighting form then he will definitely be a contender. What about the winner of the slam Rafa missed out on on Sunday? Novak Djokovic doesn’t typically do well on the clay, although he has been getting better and better year by year. And, after proving that he has on a pretty impressive streak of form, maybe this will be the year that he really threatens on the clay.
Of course, there are the host of other pla more »
Tennis stars come together for another good cause
Sport is always a great way to bring awareness and knowledge to wide range of issues. Over the years it has been used to promote understanding about health, fitness, social injustice, and issues of race and ethnicity. It is also a great tool for helping people in moments of crisis. With the power of sport and its celebrity players, a lot of money and awareness can be raised to benefit so many people.
With tennis players now playing in Australia at the first Grand Slam event of the year, the devastating floods that have wreaked havoc across Australia are suddenly brought home to many tennis stars.
Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic were amongst other tennis stars who played exhibition matches at Melbourne Park on Sunday 16th to try to do their bit in helping to relieve the devastating affects of the floods. With communities and lives washed away, tennis players did what they have done many times before, and came together for a good cause.
The “Rally for Relief” event was held at the Rod Laver stadium in Melbourne, a place that will be the scene of so many more matches over the fortnight, but for one Sunday was used for the good of a crisis-stricken nation. Of course for some players, the affects of the floods don’t need to be brought home. Australian players like Lleyton Hewitt and Samantha Stosur were at the heart of the Rally for Relief matches, and were eager to put their sporting talents to good use in helping their fellow Aussies in a tim more »
ATP World Tour Finals 2010
Like last year, I was lucky enough to grab some tickets for the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 in London. The top eight players in the world pitted against each other in a round robin format, and on a chilly Sunday evening I schlecked my way down the country to be one of the 17500 to fill the stadium to the gills. Any day is a special day at the ATP World Tour Finals, but my specific tickets were for the very first Sunday evening session. That afternoon, Andy Murray had kick-started British confidence by beating tricky Robin Soderling in straight sets, so the O2 was humming with the idea of a Federer/Murray clash later on in the week.
But there was still the evening session to attend, and I had a pressing engagement to attend to; finding where either Roger Federer or David Ferrer would be playing, and get right up against the fence to take 100+ photos. Unfortunately, the players remained elusive. Instead of just the one practice court, the O2 had installed a ‘Fan Zone’, where two more practice courts were set up with a stand of seats for spectators. Neither Federer nor Ferrer made an appearance, I am sad to say, and I expended a lot of energy running from the original practice court to the brand new ones, camera clutched in my hands, praying my luck from last year would reach onto this year.
It wasn’t to be. Although that may be a good thing; if I went weak at the knees at seeing Novak Djokovic up close last year, then I would probably have to be stretchered out of the more »
Brilliant Picks I Didn’t Make
It’s early, but a few things are already obvious about what picks have the potential to look very smart at the end of the tournament.
Rafa’s R16 opponent will be one of three people: #15 Ivan Ljubicic, #23 Feliciano Lopez and unseeded Sergiy Stakhovsky. Personally, I think this will not be Ivan. So whichever of Lopez and Stakhovsky comes through to R16 will prove to be a brilliant pick. I don’t have those guys.
Unseeded Jeremy Chardy, with a nice win over Ernsts Gulbis, has an easy match before facing David Ferrer in R3. Likewise, unseeded Thiemo de Bakker has an easy R2, but then Soderling. In addition, unseeded Tommy Robredo has a winnable R2 match against Benneteau, then Berdych. Stakhovsky has a reasonably tough first match, then #15 Ljubicic and then probably Lopez in R3, but at least those are all matches he could win, and if he does, he’ll be the pick everyone will wish they made. But I don’t have ANY of those guys.
#19 Mardy Fish was obviously a good pick going in — except for having Baghdatis in the third round and Djokovic in the fourth. Not any more, as Bags went out to Arnaud Clement! Now Fish turns out to be an excellent pick, especially with the Djoker having trouble breathing and serving. But I don’t have Fish, either.
Another good pick, #22 Juan Carlos Ferrero has an easy second round and then #13 Jurgen Melzer and should be favored, then — oops — Federer. Still, that’s R16, which isn’t bad for #22. Obviously, no Ferrero either. more »
Men’s Draw Surprises
First, let’s admit it: Aiur probably has it right: the four semi-finalists are going to be Nadal, Murray, Roddick and Federer. And, yes, probably it will be Murray and Federer in the final. I think Murray wins that one if it happens.
But let’s assume that conventional wisdom is wrong for a moment and consider the possibilities. Rafa will probably have little trouble with Denis Istomin, or with the Simon/Kohlschreiber winner in the third, though both matches contain elements of danger for Rafa. If Rafa wins those two, he has a virtual walkover in R16. That’s when it gets tricky, friends. He gets whoever comes through of Verdasco, Ferrer and Nalbandian. No problem, you may say: Rafa owns the other Spaniards. True enough, but Nalbandian is Argentine, and I think he makes it through to the quarters with a nearly even shot against Rafa.
Murray will waltz through to the quarters, where the only thing that can keep him from meeting Berdych would be a miracle recovery by John Isner followed by a great serving day in R16. Personally, I’m hoping that occurs, but I’m not exactly holding my breath. In all likelihood, it’s Murray over Berdych in four sets, but if Murray were having an off day serving and Berdych were able to overcome his nerves, an upset could occur.
Roddick will roll over Monfils in R3. He has only the Davydenko/Gasquet winner to worry about before the quarters. Once again, there it gets dicey. He will meet the winner of Djokovic/Fish. This is abs more »
