Day 8, Wimbledon: Women’s Quarterfinals and Men QF Preview

Yesterday, the entire round of 16 was played for both men and women. Today, it was only the women playing their quarterfinal matches.

Most had predicted the Williams sisters would be plowing their way to the final. The only other names that were generally given (other than, say, Azarenka) were Dinara Safina, the number 1 seed, and Elena Dementieva. In that respect, the semifinals are mostly as many had predicted.

Despite numerous double faults, Safina won in three sets over the hard-hitting German, Sabine Lisicki. This is as far as Lisicki has ever gone in a major, so she was naturally thrilled with her progress, despite her loss. Safina felt she fought hard despite giving away so many points on double faults.

Venus Williams, not surprisingly, overpowered Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-1, 6-2. She had tape on her legs, and is apparently somewhat injured but fighting through it because it’s Wimbledon. Serena has a similarly easy time against a player that has given her trouble, namely, Belarus’s Victoria Azarenka. Score: 6-2, 6-3.

Elena Dementieva had an easy time beating Italy’s Francesca Schiavone, 6-2, 6-2. Dementieva feels confident that she can give Serena a difficult time. She said she had been improving her game overall.

Tomorrow, all four men’s quarterfinals are played. Roger Federer plays Ivo Karlovic on Centre Court, followed by Andy Murray vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero. On Court 1, Tommy Haas plays Novak Djokovic, followed by Lleyton Hewitt vs. Andy Roddick.

A preview.

Karlovic has never reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam before. You would think he would have had success on grass, up to now, but just as he beats players by getting them to tiebreaks, he can also lose to them. At age 30, he’s actually the second oldest player remaining in the draw (Fabrice Santoro is in his mid 30s, and would be the oldest player left) behind Tommy Haas. Federer has to be very careful. Karlovic will likely give Federer few opportunities to break. Federer has, at least, played a hard server in Ivo Karlovic, and had success against players like Andy Roddick, but Karlovic is in a league of his own. Still, it’s hard to deny Federer. He must play the tiebreaks well when they come and not play loose games on his own serve.

Andy Murray has only met Juan Carlos Ferrero once. Alas, it was only two weeks ago at Queen’s where he dismissed him handily. The one advantage Ferrero has is the ease of his win in the round of 16. While Murray was pushed to five sets by hitting partner Stan Wawrinka, and appearing to suffer from fatigue, Murray has apparently been recovering, eating food, getting hydrated, and back to his routine. We’ll see how quick Murray recovers. Still, given his general level of fitness, expect Murray to advance.

Djokovic has only lost one set so far, and that was the very first set he played against Frenchman, Julien Benneteau, and that, in a tiebreak, 10-8. Since then, he has won 12 consecutive sets. His toughest opponent so far has been Mardy Fish. He now faces Tommy Haas. The two just met a little over a week before Wimbledon in the finals of Halle. Haas won in three sets taking the third set, 6-1. Haas and Djokovic have always played close matches, and if there’s an upset, this is probably the most likely one. However, Djokovic feels he has a lot to prove, given his poor French performance. I expect him to pull through in four sets.

Finally, Lleyton Hewitt plays Andy Roddick. These two also played recently. Roddick beat Hewitt at Queen’s in two close tiebreak sets. This means Hewitt can keep even with Roddick. Like Murray, Hewitt was also pushed to five sets against Radek Stepanek. Unlike Murray, his final three sets were pretty easy. If there’s an upset possible, Hewitt might be the guy to do it. Roddick should be favored slightly.

Day 7, Wimbledon: Country for Old Men

Today was the first day the roof has been used. Wimbledon, so famous for its rains, has been remarkably dry this fortnight.

After the traditional day off, everyone was on tap to play their round of 16.

While tennis is often perceived as a game for the young, especially, with players like Murray, Djokovic, Nadal, Cilic, and del Potro storming their way up the ranks, there are times when age and experience find a way.

Hewitt, now back in full force, since his recovery from hip surgery some nine months ago, looked to be on his way out. If there was one reason to favor Hewitt, it’s that he’s always such a dogged competitor. Intensity is his middle name. Even so, Radek Stepanek took a two sets to love lead and it looked like Hewitt might bow out. Suddenly a light clicked on, and Hewitt took the next three sets easily. Final score: 4-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.

Three other players from Hewitt’s generation had easier victories. Roddick beat Berdych in straight sets. Federer also beat Soderling in straight sets. Juan Carlos Ferrero beat Gilles Simon in straight sets. What do all four winners have in common? Each has won a Grand Slam major. Each has been number 1.

Haas, who barely squeaked to this round with late fifth set heroics over Cilic, had a comfortable straight set win over Russian, Igor Andreev, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4. At 31, Haas is the oldest of the winners today. He credits his injuries, ironically enough, for his longevity, since it forced him off the tour and therefore, he hasn’t had the wear and tear of other players his age.

And although you wouldn’t think it, Ivo Karlovic is 30 years old. He beat the resurgent Fernando Verdasco and shows that his serve hasn’t slowed down one bit as he hits his third decade around the Sun.

The other two matches (Wawrinka vs Murray, Sela vs Djokovic) involve players under 25.

Sometimes the old dog has a couple of tricks after all. This is a partial celebration of tennis champions from 6-7 years ago making their stand before the new generation takes over.

Day 7, Wimbledon: Destiny Calling

Every player that borders on greatness probably imagines this. If a certain player hadn’t been playing at the same time, maybe they could have done so much more.

For Andy Roddick, his nemesis was Roger Federer who stood in his way in two Wimbledon finals. To be fair, Andy winning Wimbledon might be like Goran winning Wimbledon. Andy might not have the game of a dominant number 1, but getting to two Grand Slam titles offers a bit more legitimacy to near-greatness than one title. He’s in the realm of Michael Chang who won one major, and reached the finals of 3 more.

For Ivan Lendl, he had many nemesis. Early in his career, it was the triumvirate of Borg, Connors, and McEnroe. Soon, Borg retired, and Lendl figured out how to play Connors (junkball him and hit a few winners), and eventually, he found ways to beat McEnroe. But by then, Wilander, Becker, and Edberg were on the rise. As strong a player as he was, these other players played well too, and the final legacy is that Lendl has one of the worst won-loss record of any player, putting him in the tier of nearly great players. Had he won a few more titles, he might have been like Jack Nicklaus, the golfer, who was runner up nearly as often as he was winner (of course, that being a hugely more significant accomplishment in golf).

For Federer, who is already being talked of as the best ever, that nemesis is Rafael Nadal. Without Nadal, Federer may have won the French Open 3-4 times in a row. He may have secured a double Grand Slam in 2005 and 2006. Then, there would be no question at all. No comparisions to Laver, no comparisons to Sampras. He would stand alone.

This Wimbledon, Roger gets to live that dream world for a tournament. There’s no Nadal in the draw, in particular, no healthy Nadal. In 2007 and 2008, Federer struggled mightily to break Nadal and had huge problems doing so.

If you look at the draw, Federer’s section looks to be the toughest. To win Wimbledon for a sixth time, he may have to go through Soderling (done), Karlovic or Verdasco, Djokovic, and Murray. That’s a lot of heavy lifting.

But Federer is Federer. He has done what few men of his talent have done. No, not win a boatload of major titles. He has made himself into a mental giant. This is no small feat. Federer was considered something of an underachiever. Admittedly, Federer had to work on his fitness, his balance, his health, but just as important was his work on his mental strength.

These days, Federer’s mental toughness is nearly unrivalled. He did have a mental hiccup from 2008 and parts of 2009, but it may have had to do with his physical form, i.e., his mono and his back.

Against players he should beat, Federer typically beats them. And even when he loses, it’s usually a very tight match where he’s in it to the end, much like his rival, Nadal. Federer said that he hasn’t despaired because he rarely has lopsided losses. The only one in recent memory was against Nadal in the 2008 French Open, and he came back at Wimbledon to play a hugely entertaining five setter. Against Murray and Djokovic, two players that have had success against him lately, he almost never loses to them in straight sets, and when he loses, it’s usually because his game goes awry for a few points.

Today, Federer played Robin Soderling for an 11th time. Whether Soderling won or lost, this fourth round appearance validates the progress he made in the French. So often, a player (like Fernando Verdasco) does well in a major, but it is a bit of a fluke, and they struggle to match their lofty play. To lose in the fourth round to Roger Federer, well, that ain’t so bad.

Soderling for his part, played a typical match for him early on. That is, Federer made him play worse than he normally does. Soderling made a few too many errors. He tightened his play in the second and third set and forced a tiebreak in both cases. Indeed, playing Soderling is probably good practice for whoever he faces next (currently, Verdasco and Karlovic have split, surprise, surprise, two tiebreak sets). Soderling has a big serve and a big game.

If Federer gets past his next opponent, he’ll face the winner of Djokovic-Haas. Djokovic has been flying so under the radar, he’s practically subterranean. How rare is it for the fourth ranked player to receive less attention than Andy Roddick? And yet, Djokovic has two wins against Federer. He is not lacking for confidence to play Federer, and this could be one of the more exciting matches of the fortnight. Or it could be Tommy Haas, the guy that pushed Federer to five sets. Haas has a recent victory over Djokovic, as Djokovic has mental lapses and loses to players he shouldn’t. Haas has always given Djokovic trouble, even as Djokovic has a narrow 2-1 head-to-head.

Haas had a pretty straightforward win over Russian, Igor Andreev, 7-6(8), 6-4, 6-4.

By the way, although this is the 8th day since the start of Wimbledon, it is considered Day 7 because there was no play on Sunday.

EARLY RESULTS
Today was the first day the roof has been used. Tour News is doing pretty good in the prediciotn department, but Hewitt was a scare. Hewitt went down two sets to love against Stepanek, but has roared back to win the last three sets easily. Federer won as expected. Haas had an easy win.

Tour News also rolled the dice with Karlovic, who has beaten Verdasco in four sets. Again, not surprisingly, Karlovic has played three tiebreak sets, and won two. He took the fourth set 11-9 in the tiebreak. Up next for Karlovic is Roger Federer. Expect more tiebreak sets or close sets with the big serving Croat.

Day 7, Wimbledon: Can Djokovic Win?

What a difference a few weeks make. Going into the French Open, there were many guesses who would win. Due to Nadal’s dominance at Roland Garros, and his hot streak entering Paris (winning 3 of 4 clay events), it was hard to pick against Nadal.

The guy who had been giving Nadal the toughest time had seen his ranking slip from 3 to 4. In Madrid, Djokovic played outstandingly well and still lost.

Finally, Federer played well enough to get to the final and for once, beat his longtime nemesis, Rafael Nadal. People were thinking that maybe, this year, he could find a way to beat Rafael in the finals.

Everyone knew, as number 1 and 2 seeds, that Federer and Nadal couldn’t meet each other until the finals. That meant, it would come down to which side of the draw Djokovic would fall on. Djokovic had beaten Federer in their last 2 meetings, one on clay, one on hard courts. He had been playing so well against Nadal that some felt he would give Federer trouble too.

Except things didn’t go according to script. Djokovic lost in the 3rd round to Philipp Kohlscreiber of Germany, and Nadal lost in the following round to Robin Soderling.

Due to this early loss and to a loss in the finals at Halle to Tommy Haas, people began ignoring Novak Djokovic. Djokovic, for his part, has been happy to be ignored. But realize this was the number 3 player in the world, and still the number 4 player. When he is playing well, he is still tough to beat.

Indeed, almost no one is discussing a possibility of Djokovic winning the whole thing. Djokovic has played Federer twice this year and won twice. Admittedly, the last time they played in a Slam, namely, last year’s US Open, Federer looked very solid against Djokovic. Although Federer still looked shaky playing Djokovic, which may have been Federer, or the booing Djokovic received for saying how he didn’t care for Andy Roddick’s comments that he was faking an injury.

In other circumstances, people may have been sympathetic to a player who felt his integrity was being questioned, but whether it was because everyone felt Roddick was just joking, or that Novak was being critical of an American, the boos rained down, and it seemed to unsettle Djokovic for many months afterwards. Indeed, he’s cut back on his impersonations, only trotting it out in Italy after being begged to do one for the crowd.

Now Djokovic has to actually reach Federer (and for that matter, Federer’s road to the semis isn’t so easy either). However, he has a favorable record against the remaining folks in his section which include Sela, Haas, and Andreev. Haas has given him the most trouble historically, and Djokovic has owned Andreev. His section should be pretty reasonable.

Federer, meanwhile, has to face the hard hitting Swede, Robin Soderling. Admittedly, Soderling has never beaten Federer, and it’s hard to imagine that he’s figured anything new to try against Federer in a few weeks. However, his big game ought to be better suited to grass. The bad news? Federer’s game is also better suited to grass.

After that, Federer plays the winner of Verdasco and Karlovic. Karlovic actually has a winning record against Verdasco, and if he serves big, it can be hard to beat him. Even Federer has lost to the big serving Croat. Karlovic has just enough of a game that he can occasionally get a break here or there, and that can be enough for him to win.

Djokovic had a tough opening round, but both Federer and Murray have each dropped a set. And Djokovic played a tough Mardy Fish and beat him in straight sets.

Everyone is pointing to Murray-Federer, but there’s still one top notch player left that may have a lot to say about who wins this year’s Wimbledon.

Day 6, Wimbledon: Week in Review

Wimbledon is the only one major that gives a day of rest in the middle Sunday. Most majors find Sunday a great opportunity for the public to watch top-flight tennis, but then Wimbledon has always been about tradition, hasn’t it.

As Wimbledon takes this day off, let’s look at the draw and how things currently stand.

When Wimbledon started, the buzz was about Nadal. Nadal’s knee bothered him enough that he decided not to defend his title. Then, the talk focused on two other players: Federer and Murray. Federer, because he finally won the French Open, and was looking to his favorite surface and a chance to break Sampras’s Grand Slam record of 14 majors. Murray, because he’s been the Brit most likely to win Wimbledon, well, since Tim Henman. Murray doesn’t look like a typical grass court player, but the last few years have shown that the typical grass court player is now an aggressive baseliner.

Let’s work down the men’s quarterfinals.

Hewitt vs. Stepanek. Hewitt had hip surgery last year, and was only starting to feel good about everything prior to the French Open. His big win was over top ten, Juan Martin del Potro. Perhaps, like Djokovic looked up to Safin and lost to him last year, del Potro looked up to Hewitt and lost to him this year. Stepanek is a guy who hits somewhat classically. He has a flatter style than most, so it might not be so surprising that he has made it this far. Still, I’m leaning to Hewitt to get through.

Berdych vs. Roddick. Berdych has a powerful game. If you were to look at the head to head between Berdych and Davydenko, you’ll see that Davydenko has never lost to Berdych. But they’ve also never played on grass. Roddick played a tough lefty in Melzer, and is looking to get deep into Wimbledon. Roddick should be favored. Head-to-head is tied, and the matches have generally been close.

Wawrinka vs. Murray. Murray leads their head to head, 4-3, but two of Wawrinka’s victories have been on clay. The two practice a lot, but given Murray’s exemplary play, you have to favor Murray.

Ferrero vs. Simon. A bit of a surprise for both. Ferrero has just been playing better recently, even on grass. For him to come through over the hard hitting Gonzalez is a great victory. Simon has had a down year compared to his fabulous 2008, but has been doing pretty well at Wimbledon. I give a slight edge to Simon. The two have never met, and it kinda depends on whether Simon’s game is getting back on track or not.

Andreev vs. Haas. Andreev, a steady and quick baseliner, has benefitted from a friendly draw. Haas is coming off a five setter. But with the day rest, I’ll give the edge to Haas with better experience and a recent grass court title to his name. Andreev has a 1-0 head to head lead, but the match was played on clay.

Sela vs. Djokovic. A nice win for the Israeli. Has to be his best Wimbledon ever. But surely the end of the Wimbledon road. Djokovic is sneaking under the radar, but expect him to win. Djokovic hasn’t played Sela since 2006, but beat him then.

Verdasco vs. Karlovic. Verdasco has a big serve, but not as big as Karlovic. As much trouble as Karlovic has had, I’m thinking he’s due for a break. I give him the edge, in a few tiebreak sets. Karlovic leads the head to head 2-1.

Soderling vs. Federer. Soderling has done quite well at Wimbledon. Too bad his draw ended up against Federer. Gotta favor the Fed who has been playing better on grass than he was on clay. Soderling is dangerous, no doubt, but I don’t think Soderling has figured out how to beat Federer.

The matches will now get tougher. Federer, in particular, has a couple of tough matches upcoming, and will need to work hard to win Wimbledon. If he beats Soderling, he may have to face the big serving Karlovic, and then possibly Djokovic, and then possibly Murray. The top half is a bit easier.

If anything, the first week favors players with “bigger” games, with the possible exception of Hewitt who beat the “bigger” del Potro.

Perhaps because Nadal isn’t in the tournament, but this year’s tournament doesn’t quite have the same edge. Maybe the second week will have more sizzle.

Day 5, Wimbledon; Soldiering Along

Who is Robin Soderling? Sometimes you see a player that plays pretty well, and you know that it was something of a fluke, and the likelihood that is he’ll not be able to repeat such an accomplishment again. That might be someone like Malivai Washington who worked his way to a finals of Wimbledon only to lose to Richard Krajicek (neither ever made it to a finals of a major afterwards).

For some reason, Robin Soderling is being given a second look. But it’s not hard to see why.

Soderling beat Nadal a few weeks ago in Paris in what has to be the biggest upset at Roland Garros since, well, maybe ever. Nadal had never lost at Roland Garros. He had won 3 of 4 clay events coming into Paris. He had been winning his early rounds handily. And no one had ever heard of Robin Soderling. No one except possibly his Davis Cup teammates.

Mats Wilander, himself a former number 1, would tell folks that Soderling was a stalwart Davis Cup player, a guy who came through in the clutch. Still, Soderling doesn’t fit the profile of an up-and-coming player. New players are supposed to catch fire when they are 17, make the world take notice. They aren’t supposed to wait until 24 to do this.

It wasn’t Nadal’s victory that made people sit and take notice, although certainly, they took notice. It was his next two victories. In 2001, Federer had an auspicious start, knocking off the 7 time Wimbledon champ in the fourth round. He lost in the quarterfinals to Tim Henman, although in all honesty, that match was pretty close. But it follows the typical pattern of a big upset. You get the big upset, you’re happy, you lose in the next round.

Soderling followed up his victory with a crushing of Nikolay Davydenko who had easily dispatched Fernando Verdasco. Many felt Davydenko, former world number 4, would be favored to reach his first French Open final. Who knew that, of all the players left in the draw, Soderling had a winning record against Davydenko?

More importantly, he followed up that match with a completely improbable victory over Fernando Gonzalez. Down 4-1 and a break and having lost the previous two sets after being up two sets to love, Soderling won the next 5 games, to prevent an embarassing loss and take him to his first major final.

That was a key victory for Soderling, because he played a tough opponent, and showed the steely reserve to come back. Although Soderling would go out somewhat tamely against Roger Federer, he did tighten the match forcing the second set to a tiebreak and playing the final set 6-4.

Lately, players who have had big games but have struggled on the mental part have begun to bloom at a later age. Before Soderling, Fernando Verdasco was that player. At age 25, he was a a hard-hitting player that was generally ranked between 10 and 20, perhaps much like another Fernando, Fernando Gonzalez. Verdasco’s jump came during the Australian Open where he beat an ailing Andy Murray, then pushed Nadal to five gruelling sets. His work with Gil Reyes, famous for being Agassi’s strength trainer, spiritual advisor, and part time mentor, lead to a better frame of mind.

Soderling has been working with former Swedish French Open finalist, Magnus Norman, to improve his game. He’s always had a big serve, nice flattish groundstrokes. When he has time to set up, he can hit as hard as anyone in the game. And with the mental coolness he showed at the French, many felt he could make trouble at Wimbledon, especially considering clay isn’t Soderling’s best surface. It may indeed be grass.

Soderling has followed up his performance at the French by getting to the fourth round of Wimbledon. He beat Spain’s Nicolas Almagro in straight sets: 7-6(7), 6-4, 6-4. He nearly gave away the first set tiebreak after going up 5-0, then watching Almagro tie it at 5-all. Soderling held tough enough to win that first set, which was key because he took the next two sets.

Remember the finals of the French Open. McEnroe had said that Soderling was not well-liked amongst players, but few others knew much about Soderling. He not only seemed like an easy-going guy, but he was very gracious to Roger Federer, calling him the best ever. He said that he had joked (“yoked” in Swedish English) that no one beats Robin Soderling 10 times in a row (popularized by Vitas Gerulaitis who said no one beats Gerulaitis 17 times in a row, when he finally won a match against Connors, who had beaten him 16 times in a row (records seem to show Connors never beat Gerulaitis 16 times in a row–13 was more like it, but perhaps Vitas wasn’t keeping count).

Soderling went on to say that he and his coach were wrong then declared no one beats Soderling 11 times in a row.

Well, Soderling is about to put this theory to the test. Federer had been cruising against Philipp Kohlschreiber, who had never taken a set of Roger. He was up 6-3, 6-2. In the third set, Federer fell and appeared to twist his knee in a game where he had a chance to break Kohlschreiber. Although Federer looked fine, it seemed to rattle his game. Kohlschreiber, who had been playing better in the third, eventually took the third set in a tiebreak. Federer, seemingly disgusted with losing a set, rolled in the fourth, taking it easily, 6-1.

It’s unlucky that Soderling has to play Federer in the next round. He might have made it further in the tournament. But then, Soderling was a giant killer once, beating the king of clay on clay. Does he have it in him to beat Federer? Soderling says Federer is a bad matchup for him, and makes him play suboptimal tennis. But grass is also one of Soderling’s better surfaces.

Currently, Karlovic and Tsonga are in a fourth set. Karlovic took sets 1 and 3. Tsonga took the second set. Brad Gilbert predicted Dr. Ivo (a riff on Austin Powers, Dr Evil) woudl upset Tsonga. And honestly, it could happen. Karlovic has a huge serve. Grass ought to be his best surface. At some point, he has to capability to string together a few good games.

Verdasco and Montanes also in the fourth set. Montanes took the opening set. Verdasco took sets 2 and 3. Robredo and Sela have just started.

Up later, Djokovic against Fish. Fish is playing well and could upset Novak. However, Djokovic has a lot to prove to keep himself in the elite. Haas will play Cilic. Can the wily veteran defeat the up-and-comer?

Day 4, Wimbledon: The Fed Generation

Last week, Rafael Nadal put his hopes on defending his Wimbledon title on two exhibitions. He had arranged to play two exhibitions at Hurlingham Club in London. The first exhibition was against Lleyton Hewitt.

About nine months ago, Hewitt had hip surgery. It took several months of recovery including playing a small tournament in Houston, an ATP 250 event (this is a tier below ATP 500), something he would not have to do if his ranking hadn’t dropped. He wanted to move it high enough to avoid qualifying for bigger tournaments down the road.

Hewitt says he hasn’t been playing solid until about the French Open where he had the misfortune of meeting Rafael Nadal. While Nadal would go on to lose for the first time in the Paris clay to Robin Sodering, he had no problems disposing of the Australian. While Hewitt plays a solid baseline game, he’s always been more of a hard court and grass court player. Witness his two Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon and at the US Open.

Last year, Novak Djokovic entered the second round of Wimbledon to face Marat Safin. Safin had beaten Djokovic some years earlier back when Djokovic had yet to rise in the rankings and back when Safin’s game was still formidable. Since then, Safin had come back from injury and he had had spotty results. Most people lamented the underachieving Safin, feeling that this Wimbledon, a tournament Safin had historically performed poorly at, was not going to be anything different from the tournaments he had played recently.

But for two weeks, Safin managed to muster enough of his old self and play well on the surface he likes least, starting with the startling upset of Novak Djokovic.

Fast forward to this year. Safin exited tamely in the first round to Jesse Levine. Levine is known for having practiced with Roger Federer, owing to his lefty demeanor. But Levine’s ranking is a lowly 133 that puts him behind a great number of other Americans including, say, John Isner.

And back up one week. There was Hewitt playing Nadal, knowing the results of this exhibition and the next might very well push Nadal out of the tournament. There was a huge incentive for Hewitt to win the match and not play it like a conventional match. If his win could convince Nadal not to play Wimbledon, that would be one less headache for Hewitt to deal with. Combined with his loss to Hewitt and Wawrinka, Nadal elected to return back to Mallorca and heal up, hopefully in time for the US Open.

When the draw came out, Hewitt would, surprisingly, be scheduled to meet Nadal early, but due to Nadal’s withdrawal, the Wimbledon committee juggled the seeds to prevent a hole from where Nadal was located, a hole that might benefit his quarter of the draw. Rather than insert a lucky loser, which they would have had to do if Nadal had withdrawn after the tournament had started, they moved a few players around.

del Potro, the 5th seed, took Nadal’s spot. He had been in Djokovic’s quarter. This probably made both Djokovic and Federer happy. James Blake took del Potro’s spot. Nicholas Kiefer took James Blake’s spot and was promoted to 33rd seed. All of these players that were moved have consequently lost. Blake lost in the first round Andreas Seppi. Kiefer lost in the first round to Fabrice Santoro.

del Potro, on the other hand, the guy whose star seemed most on the rise, had an easy first round. But he had to face Hewitt.

Everyone says Hewitt is an intense guy. He’s also the kind of player who doesn’t want to play average all his life. Commentators speculated that if he really got clocked by del Potro, he might retire.

del Potro, for his part, had yet to prove his prowess on grass. In the past two years, he had fallen to the Olympic gold medalist in doubles. Last year, he lost in the 2nd round in straight sets to Stan Wawrinka. The year before, Roger Federer also rolled over him in straight sets in the 2nd round. However, since last year, del Potro has gone on a tear.

His ranking is firmly in the top 10. He beat Nadal back in Miami. He beat Murray in Madrid. He pushed Federer to five sets at Roland Garros. He had an easy straight set win in the first round of Wimbledon.

And unlike Safin, who many felt was as talented as Federer, most people believe Hewitt to be a workmanlike winner, perhaps in the mold of Jimmy Connors. Inspired not by the Aussies, but by Mats Wilander, Hewitt plays a baseline game, not the chip and charge that characterized many an Aussie including Patrick Rafter and Pat Cash. (Coincidentally enough, Wilander was inspired not by fellow countryman, Bjorn Borg, but by brash American, Jimmy Connors).

Hewitt’s game seemed like a holdover from the 1990s. He was like Chang or Wilander. Quick player. Unlike Chang, he hit deep, and he had a visible intensity to win. But Hewitt’s best results were pre-Federer.

So when del Potro was to face Hewitt, it wasn’t exactly like Djokovic facing Safin. Djokovic was considered the overwhelming favorite, but only because Safin’s game was a shell of its old lustrous self. On the other hand, del Potro, while a formidable player, had yet to prove he could win on grass, and Hewitt, while lacking the wild talent of Safin, had still done well to beat Nadal, and claimed he was feeling great.

And if there were those paying attention, del Potro was actually ill the week after the French. He recovered in Argentina, and then trained on the few grass courts available in Argentina. McEnroe thought this might not be enough. With all the players in London, who could del Potro play against?

The match itself was a bit surprising. Hewitt served well, moved well, and del Potro looked irritated throughout. Hewitt played a lot of shots up the middle and del Potro responded mostly in kind. Hewitt was playing so well that he only dropped serve once, and that was serving for the match. He had had 8 break points against him, but del Potro only converted once. When del Potro broke, Hewitt immediately broke back and held for the match.

This is a good time to look at players like Safin and Hewitt.

In tennis, one can point to certain “generations” of players. There is the Sampras generation which might be better titled the Agassi generation. These were perhaps the most successful group of Americans in the Open Era. When reporters wondered who would replace McEnroe and Connors, few expected the replacement to include Sampras, Agassi, Chang, Martin, Washington, and Courier.

When Sampras was on the decline, basically after 2000, he left a bit of a vacuum. Already, players from the next generation were asserting themselves. Sampras himself had lost to both Hewitt and Safin at the US Open.

Roger Federer, for his part, was a late bloomer. Although he had a huge win against Sampras in 2001, he would not begin to play his best until later in 2003. In the meanwhile, players who bloomed earlier were jockeying for number 1.

In this period, there were a plethora of number 1′s: Safin, Kuerten, Hewitt, Ferrero, and Roddick. Indeed, Federer seems to have an affinity for this group of players, each of whom has won at least one Grand Slam title. When Federer looks at the new generation: Nadal, Murray, Djokovic, del Potro, he sees a group of people he doesn’t yet relate to.

The Fed generation may have been dominated by Federer, but Roger is always quick to defend these players, in particular, Andy Roddick. Federer believes in consistency, and with Roddick, he sees a guy that’s worked really hard to stay in the top 10.

So Federer perhaps has to smile when Lleyton Hewitt scores a victory over Juan Martin del Potro. The group of guys he played with when he came up the ranks were not a pushover bunch. They played good tennis and still have a few surprises left in them.

Day 3, Wimbledon: Little Big Man

Sam Querrey has won one title in his career, the Tennis Channel Open. Here he is pictured accepting his trophy over runner-up Kevin Anderson (supporting the Illini, his alma mater).

Querrey is the fourth ranked American player behind Andy Roddick, James Blake, and Mardy Fish. Ranked 47th in the world, he is only one spot behind Israeli, Dudi Sela.

Querrey has occasionally pushed top players, taking the occasional set from Rafael Nadal, but not yet beating a few of the really big players.

Today was an opportunity for Sam. He faced 11th seeded, Marin Cilic. It’s probably rare for the 6’6″ Querrey to meet players his height, though the number of tall players are quite numerous. They include Ivo Karlovic, John Isner, Kevin Anderson, Marin Cilic, Juan Martin del Potro. Once upon a time, it was rare to see a tall player that played the baseline. If you were tall, you were considered lumbering, and needed to come to net to prevent jackrabbit players from beating you.

Perhaps Todd Martin was the first to really break that mold. Here was a guy also 6’6″ that played from the baseline. Sure, he also served and volleyed, as did fellow American Pete Sampras, but he had enough game to slug it from the baseline too. Prior to that, 6’4″, Yannick Noah would mix it up, coming to net as well as playing from the baseline.

On a day like today, when Querrey pushed Cilic to a fifth set, you begin to realize a lot of tennis is mental. When people look at a player like Roger Federer, they marvel at the grace of his movement, the ferocity of his forehand, the squash shots he hits to save points, the deftness of his drop shots. There’s no doubt Federer has a lot of physical attributes that lead to a successful game.

But time and again, Federer has shown a mental tenacity to win points even when he is struggling. Some of that has to do with adjustments he makes in his game as he reacts to what his opponent is doing well. These are tactical changes. But sometimes, it’s a matter of going for shots even when they aren’t all dropping in. In the French Open, there was a key point, 30-40 in the third set. If Federer loses that point, he goes a break down, and he’s already down two sets to love.

Nadal shows an incredible mental tenacity. He hits big shots when he needs to. In one of the best played matches of the year, Nadal was fighting Djokovic in the Madrid semifinals. Even match point down, he was able to dig deep and hit huge shots when it mattered.

These mental struggles don’t only occur at the very top of the game. They occur in many matches. If you ever look at the age of the lesser known players playing in the Grand Slam, they are generally much older than you’d imagine. The ATP Tour is not filled with 19 year old wunderkinds. Despite the proliferation of players like Murray, Nadal, Cilic, and del Potro, more likely, you’ll find players that are closer in age to Federer.

These older players, which in any real life job would be considered young, have been on the tour for many years, and they’ve dealt with many situations. They know how to cope. Younger players haven’t had as much experience. So a player like Querrey may struggle against players that are veterans that he should beat if he expects to take the next step up.

He might take solace in players like James Blake and Mardy Fish who were late bloomers, players that didn’t have fantastic junior careers, but honed their games over many years, filling holes in their games.

Even so, here was an opportunity for Querrey to make a breakthough. While Cilic isn’t top ten, he’s close enough, and with Mario Ancic not playing Wimbledon, Cilic has been pegged as a dark horse favorite. In the end, Querrey didn’t have enough, and lost 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4. Marat Safin, another tall player, has pointed out that winning begets winning. Safin says he feels as physically fit now as he’s ever been, but the victories aren’t coming.

Occasionally, however, two players meet, and for some reason, one player’s strengths are overwhelming, even though the two players are similar in ranking. So it was today with Dudi Sela and last year’s semifinalist, Rainer Scheuttler. On paper, you might give the edge to Scheuttler. He’s experienced. He’s reached the Australian Open final before. But in the only two meetings they’ve had, Sela has won both, and often with lopsided set scores.

Last year in Beijing, Sela won 6-3, 6-3. This year at the Australian Open, he won 1-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4.

Some quick updates. Roger Federer had little problems beating Garcia-Lopez who made the semis of Eastbourne last week. He won in straight sets. Tommy Haas had an easier time when Michael Llodra retired. Djokovic, who has been flying under the radar, a place he happens to enjoy, also won in straight sets.

Djokovic will now face Mardy Fish in the third round. Fish beat a Serbian in Janko Tipsarevic, in four sets. They’ve only met twice, but Djokovic has prevailed both times. By the way, it’s worth reading Mardy Fish’s inteviews (see here). He has more interesting things to say then, say, Roger Federer, who always seems a bit catty with the press, as if he’s vaguely annoyed with their questions.

A quintet of Spaniards had tough wins. Verdasco played three tiebreak sets, plus a 6-4 to win over unheralded Vliegen of Belgium. Robredo needed five sets to win over Koubek of Austria. Almagro needed five sets to beat Karol Beck, a lucky loser who beat Feliciano Lopez in the first round. The fifth set went 7-5. Gimeno-Traver also took five sets to beat American, Taylor Dent. Montanes had a four set win over Canas.

Not ever Spaniard won today (and there are many of them playing). French Open finalist, Robin Soderling, struggled a bit to a four set win over Granollers.

Kohlschreiber (who beat Djokovic at the French) needed five sets and 8-6 in the fifth to beat Czech, Ivo Minar. Andreev however won in straight sets over Spadea. Karlovic also won in straight sets; his victory was over Darcis. Tsonga got a gift. He won in a walkover over Italian Simone Bolleli.

A couple of very interesting matches on slate for tomorrow. del Potro plays Hewitt. Hewitt says he’s feeling pretty good after having to deal with surgery from last year. He’s been feeling good since about the French Open. Murray plays Gulbis. Gulbis, much like Murray, had been on a fitness/training regime. He felt the work he had put in to become stronger had affected the consistency of his game, but that his game is coming around, and improving a lot. In Americans sports, this is considered a “trap” match, because Gulbis hasn’t been playing well but is capable of hitting very well. Murray has beaten Gulbis twice.

Is Leonardo Mayer for real? He plays fellow South American, Fernando Gonzalez.

Finally, is there more magic for the magic man? Fabrice Santoro plays former number 1, Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Day 3, Wimbledon: In One Year, Out the Other

People look at Wimbledon and marvel at the predictability of the finals. Rarely does an unseeded player win the tournament. In recent memory, there have been two examples: Boris Becker, who won Wimbledon in his second tournament ever (he won Queen’s), and Goran Ivanisevic who won as a wildcard, but clearly was capable of producing a big game on the grass.
Even if the finals have produced three consecutive meetings between the game’s best two players, the others who make it far are often a bit surprising.

Let’s wind the clock back a year and revisit last year’s quarterfinalist. The two that were expected to be there, Federer and Nadal, were there. Andy Murray was just starting to take that next step forward having won a five setter against a solid grass court player in Richard Gasquet. The other five quarterfinalists were: Feliciano Lopez, Marat Safin, Arnaud Clement, Rainer Scheuttler, and Mario Ancic.

Mario Ancic got injured, so he didn’t even make Wimbledon this year. Feliciano Lopez fell in five sets to Karol Beck, a lucky loser, in the first round. Marat Safin, given a 14th seed primarily on the basis of his semifinal appearance last year, went out tamely to Federer practice partner, Jesse Levine in four sets, in the first round. Arnaud Clement lost in the first round to Juan Martin del Potro in three easy sets. Indeed, both Clement and Lopez suffered due to Nadal’s withdrawal (though Clement would have faced Nadal otherwise, so he’d probably take his chances with del Potro). Rainer Scheuttler was the only one to make it to the second round, and he lost in straight sets to Dudi Sela of Israel.

What this means is a much different looking quarterfinals. Some familiar faces are hoping to make it that far including Andy Roddick and Novak Djokovic.

Day 2, Wimbledon: Is del Potro the new Djokovic?

2007 was the year of Djokovic. As the epic battle of Federer vs Nadal raged on at the French and at Wimbledon, few noticed that a Serb, one Novak Djokovic, had made the semifinals of both events. He made a breakthrough of sorts by making the finals of the US Open, then winning the Australian Open in 2008.

2008 did not have one particular standout player. You could say it was the year of Murray, or the year of Tsonga, or the year of Simon, but as time passes, it may be the year of del Potro. del Potro came into the US Open in 2008 having won four titles in row, albeit nothing major.

Since then, he has continued to improve. Despite a weak start to his clay court season, he powered his way to the semifinals against Roger Federer, and despite never having taken a set of Federer, proceeded to push Federer to five sets, one of several matches that Federer felt was like a finals.

There were doubts whether the tall Argentine could play well on grass. The low bounce might not suit the lanky player from Tandil. However, he has two requisite weapons that every top male pro seems to have: a big serve and a big forehand.

del Potro inherited Nadal’s position in the draw when Nadal (who del Potro beat for the first time earlier in the year) withdrew. Nadal’s draw was expected to be tough. He would meet veteran player and last year’s quarterfinalist, Arnaud Clement. In the second round, Nadal would have faced the man who beat him in an exhibition only a few days earlier, former world number 1, Lleyton Hewitt. But Nadal’s problems have become del Potro’s problems.

del Potro continued at Wimbledon where he left off at Paris: pummeling early round opponents. del Potro won 6-3, 6-1, 6-2. Up next is Hewitt, who is always a tough competitor, and will be a better measure of where del Potro’s game is on grass.

If you look at who del Potro has lost to this year: Federer, Djokovic, Ljubicic, Murray, Nadal, Stepanek, and Fish, you see that, for the most part, del Potro loses only to better players. He’s made a breakthrough of sorts, beating Andy Murray in Madrid and beating Nadal in Miami. He’s yet to beat Roger Federer, however.

Other winners today. Roddick in 4 sets over Chardy. Probably means his ankle his fine. Ferrero in straight sets over Youzhny, which is normally a tough first round. Ferrero has been playing better as of late. Hewitt with a crushing win over Ginepri. Hewitt is up for del Potro next.

Santoro beat Kiefer the 33rd seed (added when Nadal withdrew) easily in straight sets. The magician still has a few tricks up his sleeve. Haas, the number 24 seed (also courtesy of Nadal’s withdrawal), won in four sets. Stepanek, a player whose flatter style is better suited to the grass, won in straight sets. The new talent, Grigor Dmitrov, however retired to Russian, Kunitsyn.

Benjamin Becker, who won a grass event just before Wimbledon (and last guy to beat Agassi before he retired, won in straight sets. Alves, the lucky loser, who benefitted from the Nadal withdrawal, beat Andrei Pavel in straight sets. The other surprising Argentine, Leonardo Mayer, had an easy 6-0, 6-0, 6-3 win over Oscar Hernandez. Mayer may be one to look out for.

Wawrinka had a straight set win over Schwank. Mathieu needed four sets to beat Gil. Tursunov, who won a grass event last week but like Roddick, a victim of twisted ankles, had to retire against Zverev.

Late results: Simon in straight sets over American Bobby Reynolds. Safin looks like he may bow out in the first round against American Jesse Levine. Finally, Britain’s hope, Andy Murray, needed four sets to beat big-serving American Robert Kendrick.

Djokovic and Federer are the top players playing tomorrow.