Let’s rewind a few months back when Rafael Nadal was still the king of clay. At the time, he had won the Australian Open in five sets over Roger Federer who had a meltdown in the fifth set. Nadal was number 1 by a comfortable margin. The clay season had gone pretty well. Novak Djokovic,
Sam Querrey has been leading a charmed life this summer. Last year, Querrey had reached the semifinals at Del Ray Beach where he came lost to Kei Nishikori in the semifinals. Nishikori would eventually beat James Blake in the finals. Querrey would then score his only tournament victory of 2008, a title in Las Vegas,
John Isner isn't all that young. He's 24 years old. When players like Nadal started winning in his teens, Isner looks like a veteran. Isner took the college route playing tennis for the Georgia Bulldogs. He never won the NCAA Championships, but was runner-up. Perhaps like Querrey who was runner-up to Donald Young, Querrey's career
26 years ago it was called the ATP Championships. Quite the grand name for a solid tournament held near Kings Island, an amusement park. The year was 1983. Mats Wilander had just served notice that he was the new Swede. Bjorn Borg announced he was taking time off in 1981 shortly after his loss to
A year and a half ago, Andy Murray was in a situation very much like Juan Martin del Potro. Although he was seen as a talented player, he often struggled finishing matches. Most tennis players are quite fit as athletes, but you need to be at a different level of fitness to win in today's
When Serena Williams captured Wimbledon and became the holders of 3 of 4 Slams (everything besides the French), she wondered aloud why she wasn't number 1. The main reason is her lack of any other titles other than the Slams. The Williams sisters seem to ignore any tournament that isn't a slam. How do they
Sometimes, two players are completely mismatched. One player is clearly more capable than the other, and the win is based on technical skills. The better player could even be nervous and the less good player quite confident, but the physical barrier too significant to overcome with mental goodwill. But sometimes, the match is mental, with
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, most would tell you, is a talented tennis player. In the Australian Open in 2008, he marked a surprising debut by defeating Andy Murray in the opening round. While that loss was surprising, at least to Andy Murray, Murray would not become the player he is today until the US Open in 2008.
Seedings generally approximate how the tournament unfolds. If you have 16 seeds, then those 16 players are expected to make the final 16. However, seedings are only an approximation. Different players have strengths or weaknesses that match up well or poorly against others. So it's rare when the top seeds all make their destined round.
You had to be disappointed if you went to last night's evening session at the Rogers Cup. On the one hand, Rafael Nadal was back after two months of rest and recovery playing singles against his buddy David Ferrer (a good thing), and on the other, it was Ferrer who had knee problems causing him
