Most players find the time after the US Open difficult. They've given their best up to the US Open, but lag afterwards. There are some exceptions. Roger Federer generally plays decently well after the US Open, though he does schedule a fair bit of rest before Shanghai. The other big exception is Novak Djokovic. Nearly
Back in 2009, the biggest ask in men's tennis was beating both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in a Slam, The two had such divergent styles, and yet both were huge winners. It was a daunting task for anyone to beat both. Ask Robin Soderling, still the only man to beat Rafael Nadal at Roland
If there's anyone who understands what Nadal went through when he took 7 months off the tour, it has to be Juan Martin del Potro. At the end of 2009, del Potro looked like he might be the man to crack the triumvirate of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic. He had won the US Open by
Of the two, John Isner generally has the more straight-forward strategy. He knows his liabilities: he doesn't return particularly well, and he doesn't run particularly fast. These two constraints dictate his style of play. Hit big serves, hope for weak returns, and go for big shots on the forehand. On the return of serve, take
When Djokovic was on his epic win streak in 2011, the tennis media was in a frenzy by the time the French Open rolled around. Djokovic had finally beaten Nadal on clay. He had not lost a match up to that point. Djokovic would eventually lose to Federer in the semis of the French, but
For the first time in a long while, I watched the finals of a match while simultaneously in a chat room filled with fans of tennis. Fans of tennis really want close matches. Perhaps this explains the popularity of basketball. In basketball, it's difficult, by and large, to dominate another team. The scores are usually
Let's summarize Montreal so far. First news, Federer chose to skip this event. He had added Hamburg and Gstaad to his schedule partly to compensate for losing early at Wimbledon, and partly to give himself time to get accustomed to his new, larger racquet. Andy Murray lost early. In a way, no surprise. In 2009
Federer certainly wasn't favored reaching the final. He played better in Rome than he did in Madrid, but struggled a bit against Paire in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Nadal had upped the level of aggression in his own game. While Nadal would never admit that he looks past Federer, he knows the kind of game to
Even though many have said Djokovic-Nadal or even Djokovic-Murray has replaced the rivalry of Federer-Nadal, people still get excited about the prospect of the two meeting. Admittedly, clay is Rafa's best surface, having lost fewer matches on the surface than anyone who has played as long as Rafa has played. The rivalry has lost its
Stan Wawirnka had come into the finals playing some of the best tennis in his life. But there were signs that maybe he wasn't ready to take on the king of clay. Wawrinka won Portugal last week, so he's been playing almost two consecutive weeks of tennis. Once upon a time, a player like Guillermo
