Today was a day of disaster which started off with a litany of injuries. Steve Darcis, who beat Rafael Nadal, had a shoulder injury and could not play his second round. Isner managed two games, but then retired in his match against Mannarino. Cilic did not play his match against Kenny de Schepper. Tsonga retired
Even though it's about a week before Wimbledon, folks like to speculate who will win. Let's look at each of the "big four" (Djokovic, Federer, Murray, Nadal). Technically, Ferrer is number 4, and where Nadal lands will greatly impact the chances the rest have. Rafael Nadal Rafa has had the hottest season in his career,
Two of the "big four" have decided to forgo grass tennis prior to Wimbledon. In particular, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have chose not to play any tournaments heading into Wimbledon. However, the other two, Roger Federer and Andy Murray both decided to play. Roger Federer managed to get his match first because he didn't
Before we get started with how two of the top four players did today, let's review what happened this week. The grass season is among the shortest in the tennis calendar. There's the week after the French Open where Queen's Club (officially, the Aegon Championships) and Halle (officially, the Gerry Weber Open) are played. There's
Yes, yes, Rafa made the semis, but technically, he's the number 5 player in the world. And what a match. Despite the best start of his career, Rafa would tell you that he's not playing his best tennis, and he started off poorly against David Ferrer who was only too happy to take advantage. Most
There's no particular reason why Murray or Simon can't be better on clay. Simon, at the very least, has won tournaments on clay, despite a style that is relatively flat. One reason Simon has won titles on the red dirt--he plays the smaller events. Murray's clay season is 4 titles long. Once Wimbledon is over,
Baby anything is a hard thing to live up to. Baby Jordan? Remember him? Harold Miner. Yeah, not much of a career. Certainly not even close to Baby Jordan. You could put 100 players between Harold Miner and Michael Jordan and that wouldn't scratch the surface of how far apart these two players were. Grigor
Andy Murray has always said clay is his weakest surface. He plays on the surface anywhere from 3-4 tournaments a year, and he didn't grow up on the surface. Prior to his work with Lendl, the clay didn't support his flatter, less aggressive style. Although Murray has been classified as a counterpuncher, he doesn't spin
Although the French Open title is more prestigious, and thus where Rafa Nadal has secured the moniker "king of clay", it's Monte Carlo where his dominance has reached epic proportions. Monte Carlo is a strange Masters 1000. Of the Masters 1000 titles, it's the only considered "optional". You aren't penalized for skipping the event with
Sometimes, when we see players, we think of their game as fully formed. If you watch years of Jimmy Connors, his game doesn't seem that much different, though maybe he did things at 39 he didn't do at 29. But a player's game is always a work in progress, from technical changes to strategic changes.
