Not since Fred Perry in 1936 has there been a male British Wimbledon Champion but that could finally be about to change. Andy Murray, currently the world’s number three, just completed a remarkable tournament at Queens in preparation for Wimbledon in which he didn’t drop a set and the British media have been quick to hype up his chances.

Murray is a player more suited to the hard courts but his grass game seems to have come on a lot over the past year. He pulled out an outstanding array of shots in the Queen’s final against James Blake and made victory look relatively easy. I have great admiration for Blake as a player and the way Murray dealt with him was impressive to say the least, the American seemed to have no response to Murray’s high-tempo game.

Where the Scot has come unstuck in previous Wimbledon Championships has perhaps been his failure to kill a game off, often making sloppy mistakes meaning he has to play a full five sets before he beats his opponent. This has a big effect on his fitness for the following matches and you can often see Murray feeling the effects of fatigue later on in competitions. His displays at Queens demonstrate Murray seems to have overcome this particular problem and he should see off the lesser known players with greater ease meaning he is fresher when he faces the greats such as Roger Federer. Obviously, Rafael Nadal’s absence will make things easier for him (ever so slightly).

A problem that seems to haunt British players at Wimbledon is the expectations of the British media who always put the pressure on the best British representitive to lift the trophy. For some players this helps them, Tim Henman, for example, arguably overachieved by reaching the semi-final stage of the competition four times. Henman never won a Grand Slam and in all fairness never really looked as if he was going to, yet the British media continued to talk up his chances. Similarly Greg Rusedski’s chances were always talked up but in reality it would have been highly unlikely for the big-serve specialist to have gotten much further than the quarter finals in a Grand Slam.

Without a doubt Murray is the best British tennis player in a long time and if anyone is going to end the 73-year wait winner it surely has to be him. However, the player himself remained cautious on his chances of upsetting the tennis odds and lifting the trophy at the end of the tournament.

Speaking after his Queen’s victory Murray said: “I’m a long way from winning Wimbledon.

“I feel confident but I try not to get too far ahead of myself before I’ve played my first match there.”

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After the blitz of the Olympics with Rafael Nadal sweeping away the world no 1 in the men’s game and the Russian triad of Dementieva, Safina and Zvonareva sweeping the women’s contest, the spotlight turns to Flushing Meadows.

Men: The Djoker’s Moment of Truth: 

The US Open will see a new top seed, Nadal eager to become the first man since the peerless Rod Laver to have ever won Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows in the same calendar year. Defending champion Roger Federer meanwhile is more eager than ever to reclaim lost glory and inch closer to the now seemingly distant Sampras fourteen. To pick a winner however, I clearly think Nadal is fatigued after his exertions at Beijing and would not bank on him to go too far. He has so far never progressed beyond the quarters at New York . That said, I do expect some classic performances from the dethroned Federer, but I also think he is running through a serious confidence crisis at the moment, which makes me feel he is likely to stumble towards the end of the first week. If he does make it through to the late stages of the Open, a resurgent Federer is going to stake a sure claim. The pretender here is Novak Djokovic who I would rate as most likely to take home the US Open. However the Djoker has had an indifferent past season and could not play at his best, which might just pave way for young usurpers James Blake or Andy Murray.  So, my predictions are: 1. Djokovic, 2. Blake 3. Federer

Women: The Venus comeback:

The women’s draw these days is far more complex with the seeds changing like lottery standings. The Russians, as demonstrated in the Olympics are a formidable batallion, with Dementieva and Kuznetsova laying claim. The top seeded Serbs Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic need to provide succour for their rankings. What we wont be seeing this year for sure is an all Williams final since the two are on a collision course for the round of eight. I would pick Venus to meet Ivanovic in the final. My predictions are 1. Venus Williams, 2. Ana Ivanovic, 3. Svetlana Kuznetsova 

Having made all these predictions, a change of reign is imminent in both genders of the game. In this interregnum, the US Open as of now is, too close to call.

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This has been considerably tougher than the Men’s list, since I feel there are clearly two planes, one with the each incomparable top four, and the remaining six who seem to have very little to separate each other . I certainly think, this ranking is going to elicit more contradicting opinions, so, bring it on folks!

10.Martina Hingis – When Graf was fading out, the tennis world had gotten used to a single woman dominating the court and it was no surprise that this teenager, who claimed to be named after Navratilova herself, usurped the throne nonchalantly setting in the wake, a series of “youngest ever…” records. But, the early start led to an early demise, when injured and scandalized with drug abuse, Hingis was forced to quit the game prematurely. More than her entry, it was on her exit thus that a void was created at the top, leading to a series of pretenders, none of whom have adequately impressed. The dainty Swiss Miss today is a forgotten star; her countrymen have since then found, Roger Federer.

9. Justine Henin – What can you say about a great player who decided at her very best, that enough was enough? The fragile Belge belied her competence against Serena and Venus with a peanut sized frame. With a perfect backhand, nimble toes reaching out to complete volleys and a harsh, ruthless forehand, Henin was just about to capture the throne, when in the midst of it all, she called it quits. Henin battled personal troubles, injuries, accidents and illness to make it to the top. When she reached there, I suppose she no longer wanted it.

8. Serena Williams – During the interregnum after Graf, Serena Williams has come across as the most impressive women’s player by far. Not only has she won herself all the four majors, she has radically altered the game with her brutal, assaulting style that would easily be competitive even in the men’s game. If ever there was a move to make the women’s game a grueling five set one, it would suit Serena best. However, a complete lack of consistency and apparent fitness problems keep Serena from being at her best in most contests and also keep her eighth in these rankings.

7. Monica Seles – While Graf ascended the throne of women’s tennis with her supreme technique and crisp style, a pint sized double handed pretender from troubled Yugoslavia was grunting her way up with sheer aggressiveness and unmatched agility. Just when Graf’s throne was up for grabs, tragedy struck and Seles became the victim of the most infamous regicide in tennis, effectively “assassinating” her career. An overweight emotionally drained Seles made a return after her backstabbing incident only to feel ill at east on the court and never ever to play at her best. Needless to say, the world never got to see the best of Seles and thus she never achieved what she could have. Despite a short career, her achievements merit a place on this top-ten list.

6. Evonne Goolagong Cawley – It was not easy to notch up 14 grand slams in an era when Margaret Court was ceding way to Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. It was even tougher when key opponents like Billie Jean King and Navratilova were starting to use power and aggression over speed and skill. Evonne Goolagong Cawley was the last of the Aussie greats, winning 14 grand slams across three majors, narrowly missing out, four times in New York.

 5. Billie Jean King – Billie Jean is best remembered for her infamous victory over Bobby Riggs. While Riggs had earlier beaten the top ranked Margaret Court, thus adding to his chauvinism, Billie Jean King’s power and aggression foreshadowed much of what the William’s sisters would do to tennis in the future. Billie Jean amassed twelve grand slams across all majors with forceful ground strokes and  aggressive lobs which allowed her to dominate both in doubles and singles. Billie Jean, rather curiously never won the Australian Open in the Open Era, winning it instead in 1968 when it was still called the Australian Championship.

4. Chris Evert – Chris Evert has the best win-loss record in the history of the game and has a career grand slam to her name. Chris Evert also appeared in the most number of finals ever and never lost in the first round of a tournament. She is best remembered for an intense rivalry with Martina Navratilova, while ruling the clay court, often caving in at the grass of Wimbledon to the left hander.

3. Steffi Graf – Graf reached her peak form rather early, winning her famous Golden Slam way back in 1988, coupling all four majors with the Seoul Olympic Gold. Graf’s effortless game was rarely challenged and she was perhaps the most complete player in recent times, equally at ease across all surfaces. Graf also holds the all time record for maximum time spent as the top ranked player, a record 377 weeks. However, Graf put the game at loss when she decided to call it quits in 1999 when she felt her rankings were slipping although many felt she still had years left in her.

2. Margaret Court-Smith – Margaret Court dominated the game effortlessly for more than a decade, winning all possible majors both in doubles and in singles both before and after the Open Era began. Court also is one of the few mothers to have won a grand slam, US Open 1973. The all time record that still stands in her name is that of 24 grand slam singles titles. Her all pervasive achievements in singles and double, have not ever been equalled either, except by one person.

1. Martina Navratilova –The all start resumes of Margaret Court and Martina Navratilova seem eerily similar, a cut above the rest. Martina Navratilova is the only other player, apart from Court to have dominated both the singles and the doubles games equally, earning her the “boxed” set of Grand Slams, winning all four majors in singles and doubles. She was perhaps the best known serve and volley player in the women’s game.  There are two reasons why I put Navratilova above Court, one is that Navratilova had the fortune of winning on hard court, the other is sheer longevity, playing her last match at nearly fifty, and who can forget that emotional Wimbledon final in 1994 at 37?

Australian Open, French Open, Tennis, US Open, Wimbledon | 5 Comments »

The first grand slam of the year has just started to get into the business end of the event. Here is a quick update of all the action so far:

Best match of the first two rounds: 

2006 runner up Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis beat 2005 champion Marat Safin in a fabulous five setter- 6-4 6-4 2-6 3-6 6-2 in a tough five setter that could have gone either way. Baghdatis now finds himself in a very promising third round match against Lleyton Hewitt.

Biggest Upset: 

We haven’t witnessed too many upsets so far but the biggest one definitely has to be Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s defeat of Andy Murray. Murray has come off a very difficult 2007 and the new year hasn’t started on a very promising note.

Other upsets: 11th seed Tommy Robredo lost to American Mardy Fish and Australia’s Casey Dellacqua defeated Patty Schnyder in three tough sets. (8-6 in the third!)

Some good links:

Why Todd Woodbridge believes Roger Federer is the greatest of all time! (GOAT): Here

The Australian police use pepper spray on fans after racism allegations:  Here

What is an anti-grand slam? Really interesting read and a lot of research! Here

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This year’s Australian Open, could just prove to be the perfect start for a special year for Roger Federer. 2008 is the year of the Beijing Olympic Games and Federer has the best possible chance to achieve a Golden Slam (4 slams plus the Olympic gold medal). Here in Melbourne, the defending champion is not taking things easy. His biggest concern right now is his physical condition; he is recovering from a stomach infection and has arrived at Melbourne without any match practice. He missed playing at the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament.

On the other hand, the draw has been very favorable to Federer. His first real test is a potential fourth round clash against Tomas Berdych, the thirteenth seed. The world no.1 is likely to face last year’s runner-up Fernando Gonzalez or his friend American Davis-cupper James Blake in the quarters. Both Gonzalez and Blake have not been in great form in the tune-up events. Blake lost to Santoro in Sydney International and Gonzalez didn’t fare too well in the Kooyong Classic, losing to Marcos Baghdatis

Novak Djokovic, the current world no.3 is the second favorite for the title. Nole, as he is affectionately called by his fans started the year on a positive note winning 4 matches at the Hopman Cup, in spite of playing with a back problem. He is seeded to face Federer in the semi-finals, but his path is filled with very dangerous opponents and he could face 5th seed, David Ferrer or the hottest player in the 2007 fall- David Nalbandian in the quarters. Nalbandian on his part is fighting his own battle of recovering from his back injury. Djokovic could face Tursunov in round 3 and 2006 finalist Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis or local hope Lleyton Hewitt in round 4.

Nadal heads the bottom half of the draw and would hope to better his last year’s performance, where he reached the quarterfinals. The year has started well for Nadal as the Spanish world no.2 reached the final of the Chennai Open where he was felled by Russian Mikhail Youzhny. The new Plexicushion surface – supposed to be a lot quicker than the Rebound Ace surface previously used – is right now playing slow. It is expected to become faster once sufficient matches are played on it during the first week. If that happens Nadal could have his task cut short. However, he has been presented with a fairly easy draw and his first real challenge could be Andy Roddick, the sixth seed in the quarterfinals – assuming he gets past Carlos Moya or the talented young Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu in round 4.

Fourth seed Nokolay Davydenko is seeded to face Nadal in the semis and the Russian did not have an ideal start for the year (only won a match at the Kooyong Classic) and lost in the semis of the Qatar Open to the eventual tournament winner Andy Murray, the 9^th seed here.

Predictions:

Semi-final 1: Roger Federer Vs Novak Djokovic

Semi-final 2: Andy Roddick Vs Nikolay Davydenko

Final: Federer Vs Roddick

Winner: Federer

Best Outside Chance: Andy Murray

Womens Singles:

Justine Henin arrives at the 2008 Australian Open with the best possible tune-up – she defeated world no.2 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final of the Sydney International – thus establishing herself as the firm favorite for the first slam of the year. Her draw also appears to be easy till the quarterfinal stage, where she is expected to clash with Russian Maria Sharapova, provided the Russian gets past American Lindsay Davenport in round 2. Davenport has been in fine form since her return to tennis last year end, winning three titles- one of them this year at Auckland

Henin is seeded to face defending Champion Serena Williams in the semi-finals. Serena too is coming off a good preparation at the Hopman Cup, where she helped U.S. win the title. Serena would be looking for some serious revenge over the Belgian world no.1, to whom she has lost in the quarterfinals at the last three Grand Slams.

Venus Williams is in the bottom half of the draw and would be looking for her first Australian Open crown. She appeared in the finals once losing to sister Serena Williams in 2003. Venus is likely to face Indian Star Sania Mirza in the third round and in-form Serb Ana Ivanovic in the quarters.

Second-seed Svetlana Kuznetsova had a good 2007, where in spite of winning just one title she has managed to attain the world no.2 ranking. The highlight of her year was her appearance in the finals of the U.S. Open. She is seeded to face compatriot Anna Chakvetadze (6 seed) or 9th seed Daniela Hantuchova in the quarterfinals.

Predictions:

Semi-finals 1: Justin Henin Vs Serena Williams
Semi-finals 2: Venus Williams Vs Svetlana Kuznetsova
Final : Henin Vs Venus

Winner: Henin

Best Outside Chance: Lindsay Davenport

Australian Open | 5 Comments »

Recently, I saw a print ad featuring Vijay Amritraj. It pronounced him the greatest Indian tennis player. This set me thinking. Is he really the greatest: over the Krishnans, over Paes? I set about picking my greatest Indian tennis player of all time.

Ramanathan Krishnan

Learning tennis under the tutelage of his dad, he was Indian tennis’ first star. Growing up in the small town of Tenkasi and later playing on poor facilities in Madras, reaching a ranking of Number 3 in the world must rank as astounding. I have never seen clips of Ramanathan Krishnan play. But from what I have read, he was supposedly a master of angles and great volleyer to boot. Anyone who reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon twice and was reckoned as among the top players he has faced by Rod Laver must’ve been good.

His career record was helped by a number of victories in India which had a more bustling tennis circuit in those days. The inability to win a grand slam will remain a black mark especially in an era when some top players were absent (due to the professional status imbroglio).

Vijay Amritraj

A tall, well-built youngster from Madras was to be the next great flag-bearer of Indian tennis. A strong serve and volleyer and good movement on court were his major strengths. The grainy clippings one sees of the man indicate some grace and speed on court. But the lack of fitness and stamina to play long matches proved to be his undoing in the quest for grand slam glory.

He was the captain of the Indian Davis Cup team that reached two finals and he also has some famous career victories against Bjorn Borg, Connors, and McEnroe. A career high ranking of 16, two Wimbledon singles quarter-finals and some notable performances with brother Anand on the doubles circuit: strong claims to title of greatest Indian tennis player.

Ramesh Krishnan

A player who so flattered to deceive. With victories in the junior circuit at Wimbledon and the French Open, one expected many great things of this man. But the lack of fitness and powerful serve and ground strokes proved to be his undoing. McEnroe once famously remarked: “The guy serves at 10 miles an hour and I still can’t return it”. Ramesh Krishnan also had one of the best lobs in world tennis, a lob that repeatedly flummoxed his training partner Stefan Edberg.

In spite of his short-comings, Ramesh performed well on the pro-circuit reaching a career high mid-20s ranking and the quarterfinals of the US Open and Wimbledon. His performances in the Davis cup were quite impressive too: playing a match in the darkness towards the end of his career on the alien French clay and holding his own to take India to the semifinals of the Davis Cup. His straight sets victory over the wily Australian Wally Masur in the fifth match of the Davis Cup rubber was probably his most famous Davis Cup victory.

Leander Paes

Probably the most famous Indian tennis player. This live-wire on court makes up for a weak serve and lack of powerful ground-strokes with his speed, great reflexes at the net and a “never say die” attitude. His performances on the singles tour has left much to be desired. But then, his game isn’t one for modern power tennis. His success on the doubles tour is explained by the speed, reflexes and the presence of a partner with greater power.

His list of achievements on the Davis Cup needs no recounting: Goran Ivanevisic, Wayne Ferreira, Arnaud Boetsch on clay. Paes also has one of the best individual records of all time in the Davis Cup (81-30) placing him fifth in the all time list (a remarkable feat considering over 4500 players have taken part in the Davis Cup).

The one big achievement that continues to stand out in Paes’s impressive resume is the Olympics Bronze medal in 1996. The true meaning and value of that achievement can be gauged by the fact that this was India’s first individual medal at the Olympics for 44 years.

With an Olympic Bronze medal, this multiple Grand slam winner stakes his claim to being India’s finest tennis player of all time.

Who is India’s finest?

In my opinion, it has to be Paes. The other players while being better singles players don’t have significant tournament victories. Paes has a significantly better doubles record and some awesome Davis Cup performances and the Olympics bronze mean Paes scores over the rest. In my opinion, the closest competitor was probably Ramanathan Krishnan. But he played in an era when tennis was less competitive and took less physical toll on a player. For playing as long as Paes has in this era and giving Indian tennis fans something to cheer about, Paes is my pick.

PS: People might wonder why I haven’t included Bhupathi in this list as his performances on the doubles circuit have been quite impressive too and Leander probably owes some doubles titles to Bhupathi’s serve and volley. But Bhupathi’s performances on the singles circuit and Davis Cup are nothing to write home about and he is clearly not the best Indian player of his era.

India | 6 Comments »

Tennis fans the world over were treated to a three-match exhibition series between the current world no.1 Roger Federer and former world champion and perhaps the greatest serve and volleyer of all-time – Pete Sampras. The matches were thoroughly enjoyable with Sampras relying on his rock-solid serve and an accurate forehand (yes! after all these years, his running forehand is still a great shot to watch) and Federer playing his trademark all-court game with finesse.

In the first match at Seoul, Sampras looked quite rusty and lost to Federer in straight sets 6-4 6-3. At one point Sampras led 4-2 in the first set before allowing Federer to level the score and take the next two games. Sampras did trouble Federer considerably in this match, mainly because Federer has not played a quality serve-and-volleyer in recent times – apart from his friend Tim Henman. Sampras found ample success coming to the net, but was not consistent enough to cause greater damage.

The second leg of the series was held at Kuala Lumpur and the match was a very close affair, Federer winning it with two close tie-breaks 7-6 (6) 7-6 (5). Pete was slowly finding his rhythm and his attacking style forced Federer to go on the defensive. Though coming off a long and grueling season, Federer could still find sufficient ammunition to beat the seven-time Wimbledon Champion by playing a good blend of attacking and defensive tennis. His defensive skills often came to his rescue, by putting a great number of balls back into play.

Sampras beats Federer:

The third and final match was held at Macau and Sampras came out on top this time in straight sets. Sampras took the highly competitive first set in a tie-break (10-8 in the tie-break). Playing smart and quite aggressive tennis, he managed to secure a crucial break at 4-4 in the second set and then held his serve to clinch the victory. Sampras played down the significance of his victory in the third match and said he thoroughly enjoyed playing Federer, an opinion reciprocated by Roger himself. Sampras also denied having any interest in making a comeback to competitive action next year.

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What happens when Roger Federer plays sub-par tennis, makes numerous unforced errors, does not find his form throughout the match and just about manages to play well on the big points? The answer to this lengthy question is “He wins the title, after taming his opponent in straight sets”! This was proved well beyond doubt in the 2007 US Open final when the current world no.1 beats tennis’ new favorite Novak Djokovic 7-6 (7-4), 7-6(7-2) 6-4 to clinch his fourth US Open singles title and 12^th grand slam title. The Swiss star is now just two slams short of Sampras’ slam count of 14 and is quite likely to equal it the next year.

The Sunday’s final though resolved in three straight sets, was never short in entertainment value. The first set was a match by itself with both players hitting some exciting winners and demonstrating their shot-making abilities. Federer saved no less than 5 set points in that set and the pattern repeated in the second when he saved 2 more. Roger showed his class and played strong on the key points, while Djokovic was never the same after failing to capitalize on the set points in the first set set. Novak’s lack of big-stage experience and nerves aided the top seed, who himself was suffering from a stomach problem.

Of all his 12 slam finals, Federer’s performance in this match was the least dominant, as he made 34 unforced errors (a number way above his tournament average of 14!), missed easy volleys and made uncharacteristic errors on his usually sharp forehand side. He did hit 42 winners and his 11 aces came at the most opportune time.

Novak on his part had a great tournament and his reaching the finals was no surprise. The jovial Serb has the third best slam record (19-4) this year after Federer (27-1) and Nadal (20-3) and joins the top two players at the year-end Shanghai Masters Cup.

David Ferrer was a big gainer from the tournament as he reached his first slam semifinals here and then ran out of steam against an ailing Djokovic. Russian Nikolay Davydenko justified his fourth seeding and reached the semifinal stage without dropping a set. He then loses to Federer in straight sets after wasting two set points on his opponents serve in the third set at 5-4.

American Players Disappoint: 

The final slam of the year ended what was a disappointing year for American men at slams. James Blake crashed out to German Tommy Haas in the fourth round after playing in one of the tournament’s most entertaining matches in round-2 against Fabrice Santoro. Robby Ginepri lost to in-form Swiss player Stanislas Wawrinka in round-3 and Mardy Fish squandered a 4-1 lead in the final set to lose to Spaniard Tommy Robredo in round-2. Andy Roddick was the best of the top as he expectedly reached the quarterfinals before losing to Roger in an entertaining three-setter. Future American hope Donald Young won his first grand slam match and reached the third round where he lost to Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in 4 entertaining sets.

Tim Henman played his last US Open match in his round-2 defeat to French hard-hitter Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Henman announced his retirement and would play his last competitive matches in the Davis Cup encounter between Croatia and Great Britain. Andy Murray made an injury-free return to grand slams as he reached the third round before losing to Korean Hyung-Taik Lee.

Find of the tournament

Latvian 20 year-old Ernests Gulbis was the find of the men’s draw as he surprised everyone when he reached the fourth round of the tournament, eventually losing to veteran Carlos Moya). On route, he defeated the 8^th seed Tommy Robredo in straight sets.

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Novak Djokovic is the kind of character that attracts crowds to the game. He is funny, charming, plays attractive tennis and can last 2 weeks in a grand slam. I was quite impressed with the shot-making ability of the Serb. While he did squander his opportunities in the final, his comeback victory over Radek Stepanek showed great reserves of fighting ability. Till an official review of the U.S.Open and more about Djokovic, enjoy the imitations of Roddick, Federer, Nadal, Sharapova from the U.S.Open:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYA_7RUSarU

 

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The U.S. hard court season keeps getting better for India’s Sania Mirza who has now made the third round of the final grand slam of the year in Flushing Meadows. Sania beat Laura Granville of the U.S. in straight sets. Granville is currently ranked 60th in the world; 30 places below the Indian. And Granville is no rookie, she was ranked as high as no.9 in 2003. You have to hand it to Mirza, she is continuing to justify her rank, and beats lower ranked players with regularity these days.

Up next- Anna Chakvetadze, the Russian youngster who has already defeated Sania twice this season. Chakvetadze first beat Sania in the Cincinnati Open semifinals and then again two weeks later in the final at Stanford. After quarterfinal appearences in both the Australian and French Opens, Chakvetadze is looking good for a final four appearence at the U.S. Open. Unless, Sania has something to say about that!

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