The last time Roger Federer played Stockholm, almost ten years to the day, he was looking forward. Never one to be overly modest, Federer knew he was talented, but could he win a Slam? Could he win Wimbledon? A few years later, he would embark on a journey to become the most prolific Slam winner,
Roger Federer rarely plays ATP 250 events. Most of the times, he does it because it's a tuneup for a major. He might play, Doha, for instance, just before the Australian Open. He might play Estoril, a few weeks before the French Open. He might play Halle, just before Wimbledon. Roger Federer is the top
Andy Murray is a chameleon. Most of the times, he plays a steady form of tennis, getting crosscourt angles. Early in his career, he fell in love with the drop shot and his slices and his change of pace and incredible speed and anticipation made for a deadly combination. Players would find themselves making errors
Last year, tennis was starting to get interesting at the end of the year. Juan Martin del Potro had become the second player in recent memory that had won a Slam who wasn't named Nadal or Federer (the other was Novak Djokovic in the 2008 Australian Open). Nikolay Davydenko was having a resurgence late in
Both men's semifinals were played today and both were somewhat easier than expected. Well, OK, most folks probably gave Monaco little chance to beat Andy Murray. Murray got an early break against Monaco and was threatening a second break. However, it never came and indeed, Monaco broke Murray to tie the match up, but Murray
Robin Soderling has a peculiar kind of game. The rangy Swede doesn't have a lot of variety in his game. He hits some of the hardest shots in the game. He doesn't play the ball to conventional spots on the court. He's got a huge serve. He's not fast, but he's not exactly slow. If
It's almost unheard of. Nadal is almost always good to the quarterfinals of every event he plays. Hot off the heels of his win in Tokyo, Nadal faced veteran Jurgen Melzer, a lefty that Nadal last beat at Roland Garros. One could argue that Nadal's toughest match came against Melzer who pushed him to a
What a difference a few months make. Nikolay Davydenko, the defending champ at Shanghai, has been out of sorts ever since his return to tour. Last year, in 2009, Davydenko had injury issues. He returned just before the French Open, and lost to Robin Soderling. Davydenko hit his stride just after the US Open winning
When you're called the best player ever, and your resume includes 16 Slams, a career Grand Slam, and three times you've won 3 Slams in a calendar year, you may forgiven delusions of grandeur. Roger Federer still believes. Still believes his game is good enough to win Slams. Still believes it's his match to win
For Novak Djokovic, it was Groundhog Day, a day that kept repeating itself year after year with the same result. In 2007, Novak Djokovic had had a breakout year. He reached the semis of the French Open and Wimbledon. He rushed up the ranks and entrenched himself at number 3. Then, at the US Open,
