A superstar has bidden farewell to the tennis world, or at least shifted away from a vocation some observers treated over the years as a sacred calling.
We who follow him, reveling in his work, may wonder about his future plans.
On that topic he keeps his own counsel, leaving us to cherish our memories of him as a shooting star in the professional tennis firmament.
To be clear I am not paying tribute to Roger Federer, the most graceful player ever to take up a tennis racquet, trend-setter who raised the global profile of tennis and changed its aesthetic landscape forever, and trailblazer of the sport’s golden “Big 3 Era.”
Rather, I focus here on Twitter’s @PseudoFed, a/k/a/ “Not Roger Federer,” who may be the GOAT of social media parodies, and whose real-life identity remains obscure.
PseudoFed has been kind enough to sit (remotely) for a Q&A session, a transcript of which is posted below.
But first things first – a journey through highlights of PseudoFed’s sparkling Twitter career.
From the start, the Federer phenomenon warped the world of tennis much as a black hole distorts the fabric of space.
One of the wealthiest players ever, and a conscious fashion icon, Federer drew unmatched attention and prestige from the world’s elite.
Tennis writers, almost to a person, were so enamored of young Federer’s balletic form (having never seen anyone float across a tennis court) that they seemed never recover their objectivity.
At times, it appeared to some fans of the game that the sport’s establishment had aligned itself with Federer. Tournaments seemed to favor him with court assignments and scheduling, governing bodies adjusted rule enforcement in accordance with his concerns, and the men’s tour went so far as to retroactively classify previous years’ editions of an exhibition co-owned by Federer as official competitions.
Hype and hagiography from the tennis commentariat made Federer into a figure of legend – graceful, suave, polyglot, and rich, but also (we were told) humble and classy.
He became a tempting target for parody.
It was in the heady days near the peak of the Big 3 era, on 17 September 2010, that PseudoFed introduced himself to the world.
About time I got on Twitter. Murky has been on at me for ages about it. HI fans!
I hate parody accounts. Look at this one trying to make fun of Me. It's like he's trying to suggest I want My presence acknowledged on Men's Final day. Of course, I would never do such a thing as the #GOAT is too #humble – I have reported him to Twitter https://t.co/64dX4TU63P
PseudoFed frequently opined to and about his ‘countryman’ Stanislas “Stanford” Wawrinka,
Dear Stanford @stanwawrinka would you like to come to My house to watch the Switzerland World Cup match? Staff have prepared snacks. You can watch it in the basement, on your phone. #yourewelcome xx
Could someone get a message to Rafaello please and advise he shouldn't try so hard. He could win 100 Slams and Matts Winglander still would find the moaning to do. #RG18#EurosportTENNIS
and in recent years the larger-than-life tennis “bad boy,” Nick Kyrgios.
Hello Nick Curious. Nice to see Me. If you could not wish Me any luck before a final again, that'd be great. Thanks Hun x #GOAT 🐐 https://t.co/oev59u6oXZ
I have a #small gift for you. Same as one a few years ago An appreciation of your #small loyalty. This racquet is about as big as My hand. pic.twitter.com/ejFvry9S7R
Through to the Quarter-Final tweetings: I bet any money (and I've got more than all of you put together) that I won't get asked if I deserved to be on Centre Court today, in My presser, like Rafa did. 😉 #journosgottalovethem
I've just gone outside to acclimatize Myself to playing during the day times and noticed this orange ball in the sky that's glowing. Does anybody know what it is? #curious#AusOpen
Good morning everybody fans from a sunny Wimbledon. Waiting for Chef to bring Me a little breakfast. I may even stir the coffee Myself. Little things like this keep Me #humble#Wimbledon
Dear Charly @Charlymoya please tell Rafaello that I have been passed an advanced copy of the order of play for Friday on Philippe Chatrier. There will be 18 matches and Rafa is on last, not before 2am. Thanks x
To paraphrase a bromide, “All tennis, all day, might have made PseudoFed a dull boy. ”
So he dabbled in current events –
In the United Kingdoms they are having some political problems during these moments. There is a small gentleman called John Bercow who is in charge of the politicians and last night he was kind enough to mention My name. Hello little fellow, I am sending you a small wave xx 👋 https://t.co/SQm8V4KG8j
Dear Charly @Charlymoya I have been reading about The Great Reset where they want to reset Rafaello's slams back to zero. Please tell him I am sorry but it is for the good of humanity x pic.twitter.com/TFaRMSQ0Ms
Staff have just noticed @theresa_may in the Royal Box. She has told officials she will leave at the end of the first set, but she told the Chairman she's leaving at the end of the match. Fears in Centre Court are that she will never leave.
Then the rest was silence – or at least a lengthy silence during Federer’s rest – for most of 2020 through 2022, as Federer struggled to recover from a series of knee surgeries.
Happily, PseudoFed returned from hiatus to post a few choice observations in advance of Federer’s retirement do in London at the swanky exhibition-turned-competition known as the Laver Cup –
Excited about tonight! Thank you @LaverCup for setting the ticket prices so only My sponsors can attend. See you later for a special evening of tweetings x
Courtside Tweetings: The Court is in black and white for those that cannot afford color television sets, who certainly had no hope of buying a ticket. I'll be on soon btw! #excited x
Before embarking on his next adventure, PseudoFed sat down for a (long-distance and words-only) interview about his whimsical career.
PseudoFed, take us out —
To begin with, I would like to address a popular theory about PseudoFed’s identity, to wit, that PseudoFed is a woman in France.
Is there any truth to this rumor? Hello Cynthia fan, lovely to hear from Me. Staff and I have heard these rumifications. Although nowadays the boundaries between boys and girls appears to be making the blurry faces, I am definitely a boy. As for living in France, it is definitely a non, at least while they have clay.
What, if anything, would you like PseudoFed’s fans to know about the place PseudoFed calls home? My home has many rooms, and it is in each and every one of you.
Does PseudoFed have a favorite Federer match? Mais oui, all the ones where I choose to win.
A least-favorite? The ones I chose to lose. 😦
What have been your favorite and/or most memorable of PseudoFed’s interactions with fans? I like all staff and treat them equally. Certainly, the most touching are the people that have gone through difficult times in their life and said PseudoFed was the only thing that made them smile during those moments.
Which tennis player/personality do you interact the most with on twitter? Myself.
Who are PseudoFed’s favorite commentators and writers? Too many to do the mentionings, in no particular order: Mr Bradlings, Jo Durie, Darren Cahills, Robbie Koenig, Carole Bouchard, Caro Paquin and many more.
Have you watched Federer play in person? Yes, though he’s PseudoFed in reality.
Have you watched any matches at Wimbledon Centre Court? If so, which ones? Too many to mention.
Have you ever sat in the Royal Box? No, but have used their bathroom.
Have you met any players in person? Question is incorrect, have any players asked to meet Me. Yes, on both accounts.
Do you like dogs? Snoopy and Scooby-Doo. Anybody that doesn’t love animals should unfollow Me, now.
How has the tennis world changed over the course of your career (players, journos, equipment, governance, surfaces, PR, officiating, fans, coaches — however you would like to address it)?
This is a very good question. Things have gone downhill. Novak and Rafaello should have chosen different careers. Why couldn’t they have started an office cleaning empire and beat everybody at that?
Aside from this, not much has changed, the journos have only improved in their own heads. The surfraces could have all evolved to grass, this would have pleased Greta, and Me. I think coaches have improved significantly, nowadays they are far more comfortable and even offer wifi, air conditionisations and toilet restrooms.
I am forever indebted to Mr. Grass for the cover x
Will PseudoFed retire now that Federer has retired? I am looking at property in Florida for the relaxing faces.
What tennis rule (or two, or three) do you believe should be changed? 1. Tennis should be reduced to Aces only. If the opponent can return My serve, then I chose to lose the point, if not, I win the point. No running around making My little legs tired. Nobody wants to see that.
2. Seeded players should never face unseeded players until the final. Mr Wimbledon has been trying to introduce this rule for Me for years.
3. No players should be allowed to play if their names rhyme with Cabal or Prozac.
What precious nuggets of advice would PseudoFed offer today to:
Nadal Please retire.
Djokovic Please retire.
Murray Hello Andrew fan.
Wawrinka Stanford, please bring Me more chocolates.
Del Potro Juan, te amamos y te extrañamos.
Cilic Staff love your cleaning products.
Tsitsipas Hello little one.
Zverev – Medvedev Why are your names similar? Have you ever been in the same room at the same time?
Berrettini Forza azzurri.
Rublev Do you know Zverev and Medvedev?
Kyrgios Focus on your tennis young man.
Barbara Schett Hello Barbara fan. Please lose that strange cube thing.
Mats Wilander Thanks for your continued support.
Brad Gilbert Love to Mrs Bradlings. x
Darren Cahill As always, rather large props to you, Darren fan. x
Others in the tennis world? I hope you get to see Me soon.
Special thanks to: Sir Billy – Chief Chariot Pusher and Senior Staff Member Small fan Leanne Lister fan Wallace fan Super One fan Lana fan Julie Britannia fan Greek fan Bindi fan Alejandro fan Lucia fan Laura fan Melissa fan Woofy fan Little doggy fan Rose Kay fan Ajda fan Jane fan Farming fan Divir fan Hillyard fan Jimmy Scott fan Maria fan KC Johnson and Sunshine Band fan Juana fan Tim Malone fan Jimmy Scott fan Rajeev Kumar fan Conty fan Rea fan Taylor Quick fan Deep Fried Lard fan Leo fan Apoorva fan Francesca fan Lucy fan Guy Vernon fan Nick A fan TheDogHouse fan
What follows is a revised and updated edition of Red Dirt Ballet…, originally published in 2016. I hope you enjoy it!
In April, professional tennis players change their shoes.
Gone are the standard smooth “tennies” designed for comfort on hard courts. In their place are textured soles optimized for traction on loose red powder.
A whirlwind of travel that carries players through the summer heat of Australia and South America, and sets them down in March on the hard courts of North America, delivers them in April to the “red dirt.” There they contest a series of clay court tournaments that culminates in the French Open.
Over the course of seven weeks, in nine countries, on three continents, players are tested in what many fans consider the purest form of tennis – where the surface imparts no advantage to raw power, where players must be proficient at every aspect of the game (serve, return, groundstrokes, volleys, and defense), and where players face the greatest physical and mental demands of the year.
What is the “clay”?
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The “clay” in a modern clay court is typically crushed brick layered upon a gravel base to improve drainage. The court’s top layer is a fine red powder.
Much as an ice rink is smoothed periodically by a Zamboni, a clay court is swept to rid the surface of footprints, skid marks, gouges, and ball marks. Usually, a clay court is swept after every set and sprayed with water as needed to prevent the top surface dust from blowing.
What makes clay court tennis special?
The key characteristics of a clay court, from a player’s perspective:
It is slippery.
Movement on a clay court is night-and-day different from movement on the hard courts on which professionals spend most of the year. Stopping, starting, and changing direction are all made more difficult by the court’s dusty top layer. Balance becomes especially critical.
The slipperiness influences tactics (for example, it’s especially profitable on clay to aim a shot behind a moving opponent) and profoundly affects a player’s timing. The most adept claycourters learn to slide into their shots.
The ball’s bounce is relatively high.
Clay rewards players who use heavy topspin (i.e., forward spin), because it gives topspin shots a high bounce. (By contrast, on grass courts and many indoor hard courts, top-spinning balls tend to say low.)
The high bounce can throw off an opponent’s timing and/or place the ball above an his optimal “strike zone,” in either case making it difficult for an opponent to return a topspin ball with power and accuracy.
When the ball strikes a clay court surface, it always leaves a mark.
At clay tournaments, players cannot ask for computerized “Hawkeye” challenges, because every shot leaves a mark. Instead, players can summon umpires out of their chairs to check ball marks.
In rare cases, a player might compel a cameraman to photograph a mark.
Play continues on a clay court in light rain.
Clay is the only outdoor tennis surface for which light rain does not suspend matches. (Heavy rain, such as that which interfered with the 2012 French Open men’s final, makes play impossible.)
In rainy conditions, a clay court becomes soggy. Bounces slow down. Balls become waterlogged and heavy, coated with mud. The dry-slippery court surface becomes sloppy, forcing players to modify their footwork.
Clay court tennis requires players to adapt to a wider range of conditions than they would ever encounter during matches on either grass or hard courts.
The surface is “slow.”
When the ball strikes a clay court surface, the friction between the ball and the clay grips the ball for an instant, providing the opponent an extra fraction of a second to reach the ball. (By contrast, grass courts and many hard courts are “fast.”)
(from news.bbc.co.uk)
Consequently, it is much more difficult on clay than on a hard or grass court for a player to hit an unreturnable shot. Matches are both physically and mentally arduous on clay.
Clay rewards players with good defensive skills (i.e., the ability to chase down opponents’ shots and keep a ball in play). Some of the tour’s most proficient claycourters, including Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, David Ferrer, and Diego Schwartzman, excel at forcing their opponents to hit “one more shot” and eventually miss.
Defense alone, though, is not sufficient to guarantee wins. Those who succeed on clay know when and how to hit an aggressive shot that either takes control of a rally or wins a point outright.
Clay rewards decision-making, shot-selection, problem-solving, patience, and the vanishing art of point construction – the chess match wherein each player tries to think several shots ahead and outmaneuver his opponent to make space on the court for a winning shot.
Executed well, clay court tennis offers both breathtaking athleticism and fascinating drama.
The Spring Clay Court Season
The marquee event of the clay court season is the French Open, second of the year’s four Major tournaments, held at Roland Garros in Paris. To ensure that players reach Roland Garros in optimal clay court form, the tennis tour devotes seven weeks to warm-up tournaments in the U.S., North Africa, and Europe.
Week 1: Houston and Marrakech
The men’s clay tennis season opened in the week of April 8 with 250-level (i.e., fourth tier, if the Majors are first-tier) tournaments in Houston and Marrakech. Since most of the top players sit this week out to train for more prestigious events to come, young rising stars and experienced middle-ranked journeymen dominate the draws.
Tournament: Grand Prix Hassan II (Marrakech) Category: 250 Singles field: 32 Top seed: Alexander Zverev (current ranking: #3) Defending champion: Pablo Andujar Trivia: Contested in Casablanca until 2016, this tournament is the only ATP event held in Africa.
Tournament: Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Clay Court Championship (Houston) Category: 250 Singles field: 28 Top seed: Steve Johnson (#39) Defending champion: Steve Johnson Trivia: This is the only ATP clay court event held in the U.S.
Some members of the hosting tennis club open their homes for the week to players.
Week 2: Monte Carlo
Leading off the European series is the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters tournament. First played in 1897, this Masters 1000 event (one tier below the Majors) offers fans and players alike the most beautiful venue of the year.
Rafael Nadal won eight consecutive titles in Monte Carlo, from 2005 through 2012, a feat that might never be equaled. Currently, Nadal owns a record 11 Monte Carlo titles.
Tournament category: Masters 1000 Singles players: 56 Top seed: Novak Djokovic (#1) Defending champion: Rafael Nadal Trivia: A club restaurant overlooks the spectacular center court. Players must tune out a din of conversation and the clinks of porcelain and glassware during their matches.
Week 3: Barcelona and Budapest
During the week of April 22, some players who did not qualify for Monte Carlo will begin their French Open preparations at a smaller event Budapest.
Tournament: Hungarian Open Category: 250 Singles field: 28 Top seed: Borna Coric (#13) Defending champion: Marco Cecchinato Trivia: Five weeks after winning his first-ever career title in Budapest last year, Marco Cecchinato upset Novak Djokovic at the French Open.
Most higher-ranked players will either sit this week out or contest a 500 (i.e., third-tier) event held at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona – 1899, one of the oldest tennis clubs in Spain.
Barcelona’s crowds are the most polite of the tennis season.
Because Barcelona’s Open Banc Sabadell serves as the Spanish national championship, nearly every healthy Spanish player is in the field. Thirty-seven-year-old David Ferrer has said that a Barcelona title would mean as much to him as winning a Major.
Tournament: Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell Category: 500 Singles players: 48 Top seed: Rafael Nadal Defending champion: Rafael Nadal Trivia: After hoisting one of the the heaviest trophies of the season, the tournament’s singles champion traditionally jumps into the club’s swimming pool.
(The trophy is no longer quite as formidable as in this 2013 photo, but it is still hefty.)
Week 4: Munich and Estoril
Week 4 serves as a break for most the top players and therefore offers opportunities for lower-ranked players to shine at 250s in Munich and Estoril.
Tournament: BMW Open by FWU (Munich) Category: 250 Singles field: 28 Top seed: Alexander Zverev (#3) Defending champion: Alexander Zverev Trivia: By tradition, the singles champion dons Lederhosen before the trophy ceremony.
Tournament: Millennium Estoril Open Category: 250 Top seed: Kevin Anderson Defending champion: João Sousa Trivia: Last year, João Sousa became the first Portuguese to win either this event or its pre-2015 predecessor, the Portugal Open.
Week 5: Madrid
Since the early 2000s, the lead-up to the French Open has included three Masters 1000 tournaments. Two of those three are the events in Monte Carlo and Rome. Until 2008, the third Masters 1000 on clay was held in Hamburg. Because of Hamburg’s inclement weather (and, most likely, some behind-the-scenes politics), the third clay Masters 1000 was moved to Madrid in 2009.
The Madrid tournament poses a unique challenge during the pre-Roland Garros swing: high altitude. The ball travels faster through the air in Madrid than at the sea-level events, and Madrid’s relatively dry air makes the court both faster and more slippery.
As a joint men’s and women’s event with limited court space, the Madrid tournament is known for its long competition days. Nearly every year there are matches that begin after 11 p.m.
Highlighting the 2019 Madrid tournament are a return and a farewell featuring two 37-year-olds: Roger Federer will use the event to return to clay for the first time since 2016, while Spanish veteran David Ferrer will close his career in Madrid in front of the partisan home crowd.
Tournament: Mutua Madrid Open Category: Masters 1000 Singles field: 56 Top seed: Novak Djokovic (#1) Defending champion: Alexander Zverev Trivia: In 2012, the tournament used blue clay instead of traditional red clay. Although the contrast between yellow balls and the blue background was wonderful for television, the bleached-then-dyed clay particles created a treacherously slippery surface. Several players, including Djokovic and Nadal, announced that they would refuse to play the event again on blue clay.
Week 6: Rome
The week after Madrid takes the players back to sea level for the season’s third and final Masters 1000 event on clay.
Tournament: Internazionali BNL d’Italia Category: 1000 Singles field: 56 Top seed: Novak Djokovic (#1) Defending champion: Rafael Nadal Trivia:The tournament grounds feature a steeply raked stadium surrounded by classically-styled statues and located atop the site of the swimming venue for the 1960 Summer Olympics.
Week 7: Lyon and Geneva
The week before the French Open will find most of the top-ranked players in Paris practicing at Roland Garros, speaking to the media, and appearing at sponsor events. Meanwhile, 250-level events in Nice and Geneva offer final tune-up opportunities for middle-ranked players as well as a few hometown stars.
Tournament: Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes (Lyon) Category: 250 Singles field: 28 Top seed: John Isner (#9) 2018 champion: Dominic Thiem Trivia: France, with five events including the Lyon tournament, hosts more ATP tournaments than any other nation in Europe.
Tournament: Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open Category: 250 Singles field: 28 Top seed: Fabio Fognini (#18) Defending champion: Marton Fucsovics Trivia: Novak Djokovic’s coach, Marian Vajda, won the event in 1988.
Weeks 8 and 9: The French Open, Roland Garros, Paris
On 26 May, 128 men will begin the quest for the year’s second Major singles title at the French Open at Roland Garros. Fifteen days later, one man will hoist aloft the tournament’s storied trophy, the Coupe des Mousquetaires.
Because Roland Garros is the only Major site with no lighting for night matches, and since clay matches tend to be long, the French Open is the only Major whose first contests are held on a Sunday.
Every Major tournament offers compelling drama from the start. It is fascinating to watch players ranked 70 or 80 in the world, with no hope of winning the title, battle tooth-and-nail for the right to advance to the next round. Every day of the first week promises valor, heart, and sportsmanship.
One of my favorite tales of Roland Garros valor took place in 2013 and starred then-31-year-old Spaniard Tommy Robredo. Known as a tenacious fighter, and expert like many of his countrymen in the art of tennis on clay, Robredo outdid himself by coming back from two-sets-to-none deficits to win five-set matches in three consecutive rounds, a feat unmatched in the previous 86 years. After his third comeback, Robredo collapsed the court in tears as the stadium crowd chanted his name.
More drama, of the “never-a-dull-moment” variety, erupted later in the same event, when flare-wielding political protestors crashed the men’s final between Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer, spooking both contestants.
In addition to the French crowd’s perennial hope for a homegrown champion, the intrigue at Roland Garros 2019 features a cast of both veteran contenders and talented rising starsm, many of whom have fascinating storylines.
Tournament: French Open Category: Major Singles field: 128 Top seed: Novak Djokovic (#1) Defending champion: Rafael Nadal Trivia: The “footprint” of space around Court Philippe Chatrier, the main stadium court, is the largest of any tournament court in the world. The consequent extra running room is a great boon for players during baseline rallies.
The Contenders
It is highly probable that the man left holding the Coupe des Mousquetaires on June 9 will be one of a short list of favorites.
The King of Clay – Rafael Nadal
Thirty-two-year-old Spaniard Rafael Nadal is the greatest clay court player in the history of men’s tennis. Regardless of how the 2019 season unfolds, he is the undisputed King of Clay.
Nadal leads all men in the Open Era with a staggering 90 percent of matches won on clay.
In Best-of-5-Set matches on clay, his win-loss record is 106 – 2. 106, and 2.
He won a record 81 consecutive matches on clay from 2006 to 2008.
He won in excess of 50 consecutive semifinal matches on clay from 2008 to 2015.
In 2017 – 18, at the age of 31, he set a record for consecutive sets won on any single surface with 50 straight sets won on clay.
The only male player to have won 10 or more titles at any event, Nadal owns 11 trophies at each of *three* clay tournaments of different tiers: Barcelona (500), Monte Carlo (1000), and Roland Garros (Major).
Several attributes of Nadal’s unique playing style are especially well suited to the red dirt.
The unmatched topspin he applies to his shots, especially to his forehand with the distinctive “lariat” follow-through.
Excellent footwork, both relentless and precise.
A deep understanding of tennis tactics and point construction.
Formidable problem-solving skills.
Great competitive intensity that wears down many opponents as Nadal plays every point as though it were his last.
In addition to his three “Undecimas,” Nadal has won four Madrid titles on clay (and one when the tournament was played on an indoor hard court) and eight Romes.
Nadal is no slouch on surfaces other than clay. He owns four titles, including two Wimbledons, on grass (which, fast and low-bouncing, is essentially the opposite of clay). On hardcourts, he has won nineteen titles, include three US Opens and one Australian Open.
Nadal’s career has been plagued by injuries. Custom arch supports he adopted in 2006 to protect a congenitally deformed bone in his left foot have wreaked havoc on both of his knees. He suffers from chronic patellar tendonitis and often plays in pain.
Over his 16 years in the ATP Top 100, Nadal has missed more than 24 months of competition and nine Major tournaments due to injuries. Notwithstanding, he has remained in the ATP Top 10 every week since he joined in the Top 10 in the spring of 2005.
Today, in the words of Nadal’s characteristically blunt uncle and first coach, Toni Nadal, “Rafael is not a tennis player but an injured person who plays tennis.”
At hard court events, which comprise two-thirds of the ATP tour, Nadal seems almost a tragic figure – equipped at age 32 with some of the tactically smartest tennis of his career, eager and determined to play, but much of the time thwarted by his body. Of the 21 hard court events he has been scheduled to contest since September of 2017, Nadal completed five tournaments (winning two and finishing two as runner-up), retired injured from five, and withdrew in advance due to injury from eleven. Sudden stops and violent accelerations on concrete are brutal for chronically injured knees.
Clay, with its forgiving, powdered softness, is blessedly different.
Nadal opened 2019 by reaching the Australian Open final without dropping a set only eleven weeks after pre-season ankle surgery. In March, he played well through four rounds on the Indian Wells hard courts before being forced to withdraw injured (again) before his semifinal match. He skipped the Miami hardcourts to recover and commence training on clay.
What can one expect from Nadal on the clay his year?
As is his wont, he will respect every opponent he faces.
We can count on him to play every point as though his life depended upon it.
Along the way, he may well win some titles.
The “Prince of Clay” – Dominic Thiem
Twenty-five-year-old Austrian Dominic Thiem has a powerful, aggressive game ideally suited to clay. Thiem imparts speed and blinding spin to both his his forehand and his gorgeous one-handed backhand, enabling him to push his opponents back even when he himself is well behind the baseline.
Many fans view Thiem, the 2018 French Open runner-up, as Nadal’s heir apparent on clay, because Thiem has won eight of his 12 career titles on the red dirt, and because Thiem is the only player to have beaten Nadal on clay in the last two years (in Rome in 2017, and in Madrid in 2018).
After struggling to adapt his big strokes to faster surfaces, Thiem has finally realized his potential on hard courts in the last six months. His match against Nadal on at the 2018 U.S. Open – in which Thiem blew through the first set 6-0 and finally succumbed by only a whisker in a fifth-set tiebreak – was voted by fans the best match of the year.
In March, Thiem confirmed his ability to fight toe-to-toe with the best on a hard court by coming back from a one-set deficit to beat Roger Federer in the Indian Wells final.
As long as Thiem stays healthy, the question of his hoisting the Roland Garros trophy is one of “when” rather than “if.” He is a title threat at every clay court tournament he enters.
The Reigning World #1- Novak Djokovic
When in late January 31-year-old Serb and World #1 Novak Djokovic won the 2019 Australian Open final in straight sets over Rafael Nadal, speculation among tennis’ talkers coalesced around a new narrative: would Djokovic be able to win his second French Open in 2019, enabling him to capture four consecutive Major titles for the second time in his career? Fashionable wisdom screamed, “Yes!” Typically hyperbolic commentary from the likes of Tennis Channel’s Mary Carillo declared there was no reason to think Djokovic wouldn’t win every tournament he entered for the rest of the season.
Then, in early March, Djokovic returned to competition, on his favorite surface, and proceeded to lose early – to #39-ranked Philipp Kohlschreiber in the Round of 32 in Indian Wells, and to #25 Roberto Bautista Agut in the Round of 16 in Miami. By all accounts, Djokovic was healthy and thus could not account for his unexpectedly weak performances with physical disability.
Because of his poor results in Indian Wells and Miami, Djokovic is not the current betting favorite for the French Open. He has titles from Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome as well as from Roland Garros, so he is capable of performing well enough to win. To do so, he would need more consistent focus and intensity that he exhibited on the hard courts in March.
Alexander Zverev
Twenty-one-year-old German Alexander Zverev plays with a well rounded game blessed with power he can summon from his 6’6″ frame. He has a big serve, decent returns, and strong groundstrokes from both wings. The only weakness in his game becomes clear when he plays at the net. (If/when he becomes a proficient volleyer, watch out!)
Zverev has already won three Masters 1000 titles, including clay titles in Rome and Madrid. Last year, he upset Djokovic on an indoor hard court to claim the year-end Tour Finals trophy. With multiple wins over both Djokovic and Federer (but none yet over Nadal on any surface), Zverev has been hailed by the press as a future star.
That said, Zverev has yet to perform well at a Major. He has reached only one Major quarterfinal, at the 2018 French Open.
Whether Zverev’s collapses at Majors have stemmed from nerves, from fitness problems, or from bad luck, it seems inevitable in light of his prodigious skills and talent that he will break through at a Major sooner or later. The 2019 French Open could be his time.
The 2015 Roland Garros Champion – Stan Wawrinka
Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka, a thirty-four-year old veteran, is always a threat when healthy. Fueled by power in his serve, his forehand, and his lethal one-handed backhanded, Wawrinka’s game has carried him to two French Open finals and Major titles from Australia, Roland Garros, and the U.S. Open.
Wawrinka is on a comeback trail after two knee surgeries that sidelined him for half of 2017 and most of 2018. He might not yet be back to his best, but after six weeks of competition in April and May he could be ready for Roland Garros.
The Wildcards
It is unlikely that any of these players will be able to win the French Open, but each of them is skillful enough on clay to spice up the draw with upsets.
Roger Federer
Of the “Wildcards,” Roger Federer is the only player who might actually have the game to win the French Open (his second, after hoisting his first trophy in 2009).
Federer is vulnerable on clay for several reasons: because he completely skipped the clay in 2017 and 2018 and thus hasn’t played a clay match in nearly three years; because his one handed backhand is susceptible to attack from an opponent who adds heavy topspin to his groundstrokes; and because, though his shot variety is a rich as ever, at 37 he doesn’t move as well as he did when he was in his prime.
I would not pick Federer to beat a healthy Nadal, a healthy Djokovic, or a healthy Thiem, or any combination thereof, on clay. However, if Federer were to catch some “lucky” breaks – if Nadal, Djokovic, and/or Thiem were disabled, and if other dangerous opponents lost early – Federer could conceivably hoist the Coupe.
Kei Nishikori
With a playing style similar to Djokovic’s, Japan’s Kei Nishikori established himself solidly among the game’s Top 10 before suffering a series of injuries in the last two years. When he is healthy, Nishikori’s easy power and precise ball striking can carry him past any player. He has notched wins over Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic.
Two of Nishikori’s twelve titles have come on clay, both in Barcelona.
Like Wawrinka, Nishikori is on a comeback trail from injury. He is unlikely to have the physical resilience necessary to win one of the big clay titles this year, but if he stays healthy he could cause some early-round upsets.
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Twenty-year-old Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas made a big splash in Barcelona last year, when he beat several strong clay-courters (including Dominic Thiem) en route to the final, where he lost to Nadal. Three months later, he made an even bigger noise at the hardcourt Masters 1000 event in Toronto, defeating four Top-10 players, including Djokovic and Zverev, en route to the final (where again he lost to Nadal).
In Australia this year, he riveted the attention of the tennis world by defeating Roger Federer in the Round of 16.
Tsitsipas has a well-rounded, aesthetically pleasing game and a cockiness that serves him well on big stages. He may not yet have the physical stamina necessary to win seven best-of-five-set matches over two weeks in Roland Garros, but no one will be eager to see him across the net.
Roberto Bautista Agut
Thirty-year-old Roberto Bautista Agut is the rare Spanish player whose best surface is hard court rather than clay. Consistent, hard-working, and highly competitive, “RBA” (as he’s called in the tennis press) has steadily improved his game to a point where he can compete with the best. Two of his three career wins over #1 Djokovic have come in 2019 (in Doha in January, and in Miami in March).
Bautista Agut’s clean, well-rounded game is probably not strong enough to carry him to the trophy stand at any of the spring’s clay events, but he could serve as a spoiler.
Nick Kyrgios
Twenty-three-year-old Nick Kyrgios has three wins over Nadal (none on clay), two over Djokovic (both on hard court), and one over Federer (on clay in Madrid). The brutal efficacy of his unreadable serve is somewhat diminished on clay, but he can still be dangerous to anyone in the field if he plays well.
Diego Schwartzman
Both of Diego Schwartzman’s titles, including a 500 trophy in Rio in 2018, have come on clay. The twenty-six-year-old Argentine is one of the fastest movers and most skillful defenders on the ATP tour, and he can deliver remarkable power from his 5’7″ frame.
Schwartzman was one of only four players to take even a set from Nadal on clay last year (along with Thiem, Zverev, and Fabio Fognini). No one will want to have to face him this April and May.
Gaël Monfils
France’s best hope for a homegrown Roland Garros title is also an almost universally loved player on the ATP tour, the highly entertaining 32-year-old Gaël Monfils. Blessed with prodigious talent and staggering physical abilities, Monfils has reached the final at Monte Carlo and the quarterfinals at Roland Garros.
It is unlikely that he can win any of this year’s big titles, but he could produce impressive runs to please both his coaches and the crowds.
Karen Khachanov
Twenty-two-year-old Karen Khachanov of Russia can be a joy to watch on a tennis court if one is not rooting for his opponent. Khachanov’s blistering power and big serve have garnered him some impressive results. Two of Nadal’s closest and hardest fought matches over the last eighteen months have come against Khachanov (at the 2018 U.S. Open and last month in Indian Wells). Against Djokovic, Khachanov scored an upset on an indoor hardcourt to win the Paris Masters title last November.
In part because he has struggled with health issues, Khachanov opened 2019 with relatively weak results. If he is healthy for the clay season, he could pose a stiff challenge to any opponent.
Nikoloz Basilashvili
Twenty-seven-year-old Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili currently sits at a career-high ranking of 17, after a year in which he won his first two titles. Both titles came at 500-level tournaments. One was on clay (in Hamburg last July).
Playing with a bazooka-hitting style similar to Khachanov’s, Basilashvili is capable of playing wonderful matches en route to a Round of 16 finish or perhaps even a quarterfinal. If he gets a top player on a down day, he could pull an upset.
The Youngsters: Borna Coric, Alex de Minaur, Frances Tiafoe, Denis Shapovalov, Félix Auger-Aliassime
Gallons of ink have been spilt about these five rising stars. Instead of detailing and extolling the achievements and virtues of each, I will note that they have all earned special mention. Individually and as a group, they are better than any generation in men’s tennis since Nadal/Murray/Djokovic. None of them is likely to hoist a big trophy between now and early June, but within three years it is they who will contest Major finals.
He paces. He bounces. He hurls himself at an opponent’s serve. He sprints. He swats a shot with all the power he can muster. He pivots and hits again. And again. And again. When at last a point ends — more often than not over the years in his favor — he slows down. And returns to pacing, back and forth, back and forth.
Nicknamed the Energizer Bunny, the Little Beast, the Wall, and “Ferru,” 36-year-old Ferrer is renowned on the men’s professional tennis tour for his tenacity, his stamina, his competitive intensity, and his work ethic.
Over the course of his 18-year professional career, Ferrer has earned 27 tour-level singles titles, including a prestigious Masters 1000 level trophy (in 2012, indoors, at Paris – Bercy). He reached the quarterfinals or better at all four Majors, reached the semifinals at three (not Wimbledon), and reached the final of the 2013 French Open (losing to countryman and “King of Clay” Rafael Nadal). From the beginning of 2012 through mid-2014, he reached the quarterfinals or better at ten consecutive Majors.
Ferrer is the most decorated man playing entirely in the Open Era (1968 – present) never to have won a Major title.
He spent 15 years in the ATP Top 100 and over five-and-a-half years in the Top 10. He qualified five times among the Top 8 for the year-end World Tour Finals. In 2013, he finished the year ranked #3 behind Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic (and ahead of Roger Federer).
All of this he has achieved in the “Big Four Era,” the most competitive period in the history of men’s tennis.
Against the Big Four, Ferrer has notched 17 wins: he is 5-16 against Novak Djokovic, 6-14 against Andy Murray, and 6-24 against Rafael Nadal. The only member of the Big Four against whom he is winless (in 17 tries) is Roger Federer.
Since he has never managed to beat Federer, some tennis writers are at times tempted to downgrade Ferrer in favor of other Big Four Era also-rans, such as big hitters Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tomas Berdych, both of whom have wins over Federer at Majors.
In terms of overall career stats, Ferrer ranks well above both Tsonga (16 singles titles, two Masters 1000 titles, one Major final) and Berdych (13 singles titles, one Masters 1000 title, one Major final).
Why might Ferrer, for all of his success, have been unable even once to solve the puzzle of Roger Federer, while the less accomplished Tsonga and Berdych have managed six wins over Federer apiece?
The answers are simple: height, and the advantage height confers in shot power and court coverage.
Federer is 6’1″. Tsonga is 6’2″. Berdych is 6’5″.
Ferrer is only 5’9″.
In spite of Ferrer’s tremendous skills and dogged determination, Federer was an unfortunate match-up for Ferrer.
How Ferrer has been able to create such a wildly successful tennis style with his limited stature is a classic story of optimization. Lacking in power, Ferrer specialized in pinpoint accuracy. Ferrer could place his forehand anywhere in the court on a dime. He compensated for his relatively soft service delivery by befuddling his opponents with serve placement.
Lacking the wingspan to prevail consistently at the net, Ferrer instead wore his opponents down with a tactically sound baseline game. Groundstroke after groundstroke flew from Ferrer’s racquet to locations over the net that made his opponents uncomfortable. Compensating for his lack of reach with lightning footspeed, Ferrer ran down every ball, sent shots back to awkward locations, and — at times through lengthy and arduous battles — wore his opponents down.
Ferrer also excelled at reading and returning his opponents’ serves – a talent that bought him great advantages against the 6’5″ and taller “servebot” players he encountered with increasing frequency late in his career.
One of the best matches I ever saw him play was a win over 6’10” American John Isner on the fast, dry clay in Madrid. Again and again, Ferrer launched himself at Isner’s fast, high-bouncing serves, often making contact with the ball while airborne himself, and nearly always getting the ball back into play.
Another of Ferrer’s trademark skills is his uncanny ability to break an opponent’s serve when his opponent is serving for a set. (Among some of his fans, earning a crucial set-saving service break is known as “pulling a Ferrer.”)
Ferrer’s most ardent fans might disagree on this point, but for me the match that best exemplified Ferrer’s dogged fight and determination was the 2013 Australian Open quarterfinal against hard-serving countryman Nicolas Almagro. After winning the first two sets 6-4 6-4, Almagro served for the match three times. Each time, Ferrer managed to break. Ferrer eked out the third set 7-5 and the fourth set in a tiebreak before he crushed Almagro’s spirit and cruised to a 6-2 win in the fifth.
Even after a signature win such as that one, he never bragged. Reserved, soft-spoken, and thoughtful, Ferrer, who early in his career described himself as “the worst player in the Top 100,” remains to this day humble and unassuming (in spite of a very respectable $30 million career prize money total). He lives in Valencia in his home country of Spain rather than in a tax haven. He is close to his family and loyal to his friends.
Ferrer played for Spain at three Olympics — 2008, 2012, and 2016 — coming closest to a medal (heartbreakingly close) in the 2012 doubles competition, when he and partner Feliciano Lopez finished fourth.
He loves playing for his country. He has said that early in his career he would have handed out water bottles just to have a chance to participate in Davis Cup. By his own reckoning (as reported in several interviews), his best and most important performances have come in that team competition.
In 2008, he helped Spain to its third Davis Cup trophy (a/k/a “salad bowl”) in nine years.
In 2009, he came back from two sets down to defeat the tricky and unpredictable Radek Stepanek in the final as Spain won its fourth trophy in ten years.
In 2011, he played what he himself calls the best match of his career in a five-set win over 6’5″ Argentine rocket-launcher Juan Martin del Potro. The match was a dogfight. Ferrer was so often behind on his serve that one of the U.S. commentators quipped, “to save time, Ferrer should begin every service game 0-15.” In the end, Ferrer’s defense and stamina prevailed over del Potro’s power, helping Spain to another Davis Cup trophy.
In 2012, with Rafael Nadal sidelined with knee injuries and Ferrer playing some of the best tennis of his career, Ferrer led Spain’s Davis Cup team to the final against the Czech Republic, where he did all he could for the team by winning both of his singles matches, in front of a hostile crowd, over Berdych and Stepanek.
Perhaps it is fitting in light of Ferrer’s many years as a Davis Cup star that his last great performance delivered a crucial point for Spain in this years Davis Cup quarterfinals.
Ferrer arrived at the tie, held on a clay court in the bullring in his hometown of Valencia, riding a years-long decline in form. After a decade without what he termed “important injuries,” Ferrer started suffering pain in his Achilles tendons in 2015. Recovery time away from the tour cost him shot precision and endurance. The consistency that had been the hallmark of his game left him, sapping his confidence. No longer able to rely on his groundstrokes and the accuracy of his serves, Ferrer saw his form and ranking decline.
Notwithstanding those set-backs, Ferrer never lost his love for tennis or his desire to compete. He even won a title in the summer of 2017 on the claycourts of Båstad, Sweden.
By the time of the Germany/Spain Davis Cup tie in April of 2018, Ferrer had recovered his game sufficiently to play for the Spanish team in his hometown and in front of his family, his wife, and his friends.
“The Armada,” as the Spanish team calls itself, was the oldest team contesting this year’s Davis Cup quarterfinals. Its opponent, Germany, fielded the youngest. Throughout the weekend, Germany’s youngsters pushed Spain to the brink.
Over five hours and seven minutes, Kohlschreiber and Ferrer scrapped and battled. More than once, Kohlschreiber appeared to have the match in hand, only to have Ferrer seize the initiative by (as is his wont) breaking when Kohlschreiber attempted to serve for a set.
On the match point, after Ferrer hit his final blistering, crosscourt backhand, he stood and waited, unsure whether his shot had landed in. After Kohlschreiber had viewed the ball mark and slumped in resignation, Ferrer collapsed to the ground in relief. Hero of the weekend, Ferrer had ensured that his team would play this coming September in another Davis Cup semifinal.
That valiant and emotional victory will stand as one of the last, if not the last, of Ferrer’s landmark wins.
In the weeks after his Davis Cup triumph, Ferrer withdrew of four tournaments in order to be home with his wife, Marta, when his son, Leo, was born. When he finally returned to competition in May, Ferrer was a shadow of his best. He has since won a few matches but never two in a row. Ferrer admits today that the physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion of having a new baby has worn him down. He no longer has either the physical consistency or the mental focus crucial to the success of his game.
In July, he announced his plans to retire. He said he would play the North American summer hard court events. For the rest of 2018 and the start of 2019, he plans to play events if he is invited to. He hopes to retire at home in the spring on clay, in either Barcelona or Madrid.
This week, for the first time since 2003, Ferrer has dropped out of the Top 100. He arrives at the U.S. Open eager to play (declaring that he “loves tennis”) but far below his best. He plays for the joy of it now, even though at times his Achilles tendons hurt so much that he can barely walk down stairs. With Marta and Leo at his side, he says he plans to “live” the U.S. Open as his last Major.
He will walk onto court for his first-round match on Monday night against teammate, rival, friend — and World #1, and defending U.S. Open champion! — Rafael Nadal. On paper, Nadal is a terrible draw for Ferrer, but Ferrer says he views the match as “a gift.” Facing Nadal enables him to play what may well be his last U.S. Open match in tennis’ biggest arena, Arthur Ashe Stadium.
When Nadal and Ferrer last met at the U.S. Open — in the 2007 Round of 16 — Ferrer prevailed in four hard-fought sets. Ferrer is not as strong a player today as he was then, and Nadal for his part has improved. Although it is possible the Ferrer will beat Nadal on Monday — he has, after all, beaten Nadal six times — the most likely ending will see Ferrer waving good-bye to the crowd as he exits the court for the last time.
Ferrer reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals three times and the semifinals twice. As the Ashe night session crowd watches what may be his final effort at a Major, I hope they remember his shining moments in Flushing Meadows.
– His 2007 victory over then-#2 Nadal, which helped propel Ferrer to a Top-8 finish for the year.
– His riveting win over Janko Tipsarevic in the 2012 quarterfinals, which came down to a fifth-set tiebreak.
– The first-set of his 2012 semifinal against Novak Djokovic, in which Ferrer adapted beautifully to windy conditions while Djokovic struggled. (The match was called because of a threatened storm, which never materialized. When the pair resumed play on the following day in still conditions, Djokovic won. Had the match continued in the wind, Ferrer might well have prevailed. This was certainly the closest Ferrer came to a U.S. Open final. It might have been his closest brush with a Major title.)
– His 2013 rematch against Janko Tipsarevic in the Round of 16, which Ferrer won in four sets, and in which Ferrer characteristically broke serve at least once while his opponent was serving for a set.
I hope the crowd on Monday night bestows upon Ferrer the respect and admiration he deserves. Ferrer always gave his all and fought until the last ball had bounced twice.
Ferrer’s career ranks him among the sport’s all-time best, possibly (as some fans suggest) meriting a place one day in the Tennis Hall of Fame.
The ATP World Tour will be much poorer without Ferrer’s fight, his heart, his humility, his work ethic, and his soft-spoken wisdom.
The men’s tennis World #1, Rafael Nadal of Spain, was derailed in his attempt to win a second Australian Open title by an injury that forced him out of his quarterfinal against Croatia’s Marin Cilic.
Injury, and specifically injury in Australia, is familiar territory for Nadal and his fans. On three previous occasions – during his quarterfinal against Andy Murray in 2010, during his quarterfinal against David Ferrer in 2011, and during the final against Stan Wawrinka in 2014 – Nadal suffered injuries that stopped him in his tracks (knee, thigh, and back, respectively).
This year’s setback, though, differed from the others. During his previous Australia injury losses, Nadal was never in a winning position. He lost in 2010 and in 2011 in straight sets, and he won a set in 2014 only because Wawrinka played execrably for a half-hour. Against Cilic in 2018, however, Nadal was up in the score by two sets to one and playing well enough to win when, in the fourth game of the fourth set, he pulled a right hip flexor muscle on a sprint to the net.
Had the injury not occurred, Nadal might well have won the match. His record against the semifinal opponent, Kyle Edmund, suggests that absent the injury, Nadal would probably have reached the final.
While Nadal’s fans gnash their teeth and grumble about the Spaniard’s rotten luck in Australia since his 2009 title run, his serendipitous absence from this year’s final cast a spotlight onto two unpleasant facts that would have remained sub rosa had Nadal played for the trophy.
Roger Federer is not the infallible box office draw that journalists, commentators, and others in the tennis establishment assert that he is.
Midway through the tournament’s second week, ESPN’s John McEnroe declared, “Roger Federer is the player people come to see!”
This rang false when he said it. The 2017 Wimbledon final between Federer and Cilic garnered poor television ratings in the United States, while the most-watched stream from that Wimbledon tournament was a match featuring Nadal, not Federer.
Because about 90 percent of tennis commentators and writers are Federer zealots, it is understandable that McEnroe, who seems rarely to step outside the tennis media bubble, might be under the impression that Federer sells the most tickets. Evidence from this year’s Australian Open final suggests otherwise.
Hundreds of AO Men’s Finals Tickets UNSOLD at Face Value. Unheard of in years! 😧 1) Part-Time Fed Fans – won’t cough up $400 to see RF20 2) Neutral fans bored of Fed 3) AO 2018 Men’s Draw has been so unexciting after 2017 height 4) Karma for AO for protecting Fed only #AusOpen
4:00pm AO Men’s Final Ticket Update. 3.5 hours to Final; – Ticketek: have ALL Categories on sale at original prices for RLA – AO Fan Marketplace: 130 Tickets available at original prices for RLA – Viagogo: 300 Tickets RLA avail from $130 and dropping!! #federerwho#nodemandpic.twitter.com/t3QULcxYqo
Here was Roger Federer, treated as a god by many in the sporting media, reputed to be the most graceful athlete ever to don gym shoes, attempting to win an historic 20th Major title in a sparkling career.
And there were still tickets available at full price (or at discounts!) a scant four hours before the match was to begin?
Had Nadal played in the final, the match would have sold out; his sizable and enthusiastic local fan base would have snapped the tickets up.
Nadal’s absence from the final made it all too evident that Federer is not McEnroe’s “player people come to see.”
The tennis establishment – commentators, writers, governing bodies, and tournament managers – does itself a disservice with its worshipful focus on Federer. Data from Wimbledon 2017 and Australia 2018 suggest that if the sport continues to promote Federer at the expense of other players, it does so at its peril.
2. The tennis establishment is willing to “grease the skids” for Federer.
Throughout the Australian Open fortnight, Federer played essentially a different tournament from everyone else. Daytime temperatures soared above 105 degrees Fahrenheit, reaching at court level in the “heat bowls” of the stadia up to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Federer’s potential opponents for later rounds, including his most recent vanquisher, World #7 David Goffin, sweltered through afternoon matches and lost. Federer, meanwhile, was generously scheduled for the cooler evenings in five of his first six rounds. (The sole exception was a gimme fourth-round contest with world #80 Marton Fucsovics.)
Fans complained mightily and with justification as six-time former champion Novak Djokovic was forced to play the highly entertaining, and box office gold, Gael Monfils in oven-like conditions on the same day as one of Federer’s evening matches. (On the other half of the draw, the box office stars Nadal and Grigor Dimitrov alternated in the daytime and evening slots during the five rounds they both played.)
That Federer’s salubrious scheduling throughout the tournament smacked of favoritism all observers agreed, but no one could identify clear bias on the part of the tournament until the final.
Conditions were forecast to be hot for the 7 p.m. final on Sunday, 28 January, with temperatures in the high 30s C (above 95 degrees Fahrenheit). Cilic warmed up for the match on an outdoor court in order to become acclimated to the conditions. Presumably, he set his string tensions, which are sensitive to temperature and humidity, accordingly.
Meanwhile, Federer made the puzzling decision to prepare for the contest on an indoor court.
Shortly before match time, the tournament announced its decision to close the roof of Rod Laver Arena and turn on the air conditioning. Cilic had been given no warning. His string tensions were all wrong. Unsurprisingly, he started slowly. Cilic lost the first four games of the match and, although he pushed the match to five sets, he never recovered.
According to the tournament’s own Extreme Heat Policy (which had not been invoked a day before, when the women’s finalists fought so hard over nearly three hours that one was sent to the hospital with dehydration), the stadium roof is to be closed only when both the following criteria obtain: ambient air temperature over 40 C, and a humidity measure called “wet bulb” above a specific threshold. Although the wet bulb reading on the evening of the men’s final was slightly above threshold, the air temperature was never over 37 C.
From the tournament’s official media guide:
This is the Extreme Heat Policy. Says that ambient temperature must exceed 40C AND wet bulb reading must exceed 32.5C. Ambient temperature has not been above 40 all day… pic.twitter.com/DhCZxYfinc
Closing the stadium roof changes court conditions profoundly. Indoor courts are windless and more humid than outdoor courts. Tennis balls tend to bounce lower indoors than outdoors.
All four of the Grand Slams are supposed to be outdoor tournaments at which players are tested against the elements. Only two men’s Slam finals have ever been played under roofs: the 2012 Australian Open, and 2012 Wimbledon. In both cases, the matches started in the open air, and the roofs were closed only because of rain. The 2018 Australian Open final is the first men’s Slam final to have been played entirely indoors.
Not coincidentally, Roger Federer is one of the best indoor players in the history of tennis. Wind is his adversary, neutering his aggressive attacking style. A closed roof suits him to perfection.
Had Cilic been warned that the roof was to be closed for the final, he would have had a chance. He would have prepared himself and his racquets for the conditions he would face. But he was not told in advance.
And Federer is quite candid about the fact that he was told.
So the Australian Open violated its own heat rules to close the roof for the men’s final, thus handing the better indoor player (Federer) an advantage. They told Federer in advance, enabling him to prepare himself and his string tensions for the cooler air. They did not warn Cilic.
In the long and colorful history of sports malfeasance, I think medals and trophies have been stripped for less.
Of course, it is not Federer’s responsibility to keep his opponent informed. He might not have known that the tournament was leaving Cilic in the dark.
That said, the tournament’s cheating on Federer’s behalf rather than Federer’s cheating himself does not render his title any more legitimate.
Only the appearance of corruption is necessary in order to ruin a sport and thus destroy the livelihoods of many.
As writer Andrew Prochnow pointed out, “Had Nadal been in [the] final, blowback from roof closure would have made that act impossible.” The tournament would not have dared pull the same trick.
Had #Nadal been in final, blowback from roof closure would have made that act impossible, which tells you just how unfair it was for #Cilic
Tennis fans have long suspected tournaments and the sport’s governing bodies of taking subtle steps to favor Federer, from unfair scheduling decisions, to selective rule enforcement (such as a disproportionate focus on the Time Rule during Nadal’s matches in 2015), to selective rule non-enforcement (e.g., in Montreal in 2017, when Federer should have been called for both ball abuse and audible obscenity and thus lost a penalty point against Ferrer but was not cited for either infraction), to ad hoc rule changes (e.g., requiring players to stand for the coin toss within 60 seconds of walking onto court, which affects Nadal more than any other player).
Even the Slams’ dropping from 32 seeds to 16 seeds in 2019, which appears to be favored only by a handful of bored journalists, would have the effect of knocking out the player(s) who make(s) slow and/or nervous starts in the Slams. This is usually Nadal.
Until now, tennis fans have been unable to prove structural favoritism toward Federer. With the 2018 Australian Open final, everything has changed. It is now demonstrably clear that the tennis establishment, if given the opportunity, will cheat on Federer’s behalf.
This is terrible for tennis.
Unfairness is what will drive people away from tennis, not players taking 2 minutes to get ready to play. And an irresponsible media focused only on its narratives. #AusOpen2018
This is the biggest sign of cheating and corruption along with favouritism a grand slam has ever shown. This wasn’t implemented during first week when hotter !
Advice from whom? AO has gone against their stated policies & have bestowed a grand slam title on a player on an indoor court when your tournament is supposed to be an outdoor tournament. This is a serious deviation that warrants @ITF_Tennis investigation https://t.co/aM7xH26Q4v
Good morning! Up at 7am on a Sunday morning. Is it true that they closed the roof and put air conditioning on? For an evening match? After refusing to close it when it felt like 60C? That Roger practiced indoors, while Marin outdoors? RIP Tennis
Dateline Melbourne, Australia, in sunny mid-January of 2017.
The world of sport is abuzz with excitement over tennis’ first Grand Slam of the year. Tweedy veteran writers, chatty ex-players, and disheveled bloggers, blessed with a surfeit of subject matter in the waning years of tennis’ richest era, feverishly weave narratives from the week’s trendy storylines.
Can Serena Williams reassert herself at the top of her sport at the age of 35?
Will Novak Djokovic rediscover his unbeatable 2015 form, or will his 2016 wobbles continue into the new season?
Can the sport’s rising, hot-headed youngsters dethrone any of the grizzled veteran champions?
Can Rafael Nadal produce in 2017 another miraculous return from injury as he did in 2006, 2010, and 2013?
What about Roger Federer and Venus Williams, both great champions over 35 — can either of them put together a strong run in Australia?
Starved of live tennis during the month of December and of Grand Slam action since September’s U.S. Open, the sport’s global fan base (whose semi-official slogan during the Australian Open is, “Sleep is for the weak,”) is as eager as the commentary corps for drama and action. To satisfy fans with immediate, complete event coverage, many broadcasters deliver live streams of most or all competition courts throughout the two-week event.
The principal U.S. broadcaster is ESPN, a sports programming leviathan that began presenting the Australian Open in 1984 and now covers three of the season’s four tennis Majors. ESPN supplies U.S. fans with streams from Australia of all 254 singles matches and many doubles matches, employing an army of on-air staff — some former players, some professional “talking heads” — who work either individually or in pairs to provide live play-by-play coverage.
Many of ESPN’s live-stream voices offer commentary both more analytical and more useful to the viewer than that of the big-name stars on ESPN’s flagship channels. From this “B team,” one might hear:
“Although Joe clearly walked out today with a game plan to attack Steve’s backhand, he has changed tactics and is now hitting short to the forehand to draw Steve into net against his will and either pass him outright or hit a two-shot pass.”
By contrast, the less prepared and more ego-driven of ESPN’s stars might deliver rhetorical gems such as:
“This is painful to watch.”
(Coasting on his reputation, John McEnroe rarely seems to do in-depth homework and devotes much of his commentary to reminiscence about players he faced in the 1970s. Chris Evert’s statements are at times so vapid that she has inspired a widely used, colorful hashtag. Pam Shriver talks mid-match about her children. When Mary Carillo doesn’t especially like the players in front of her, she tends to chatter about anything but the match; late in the 2014 French Open men’s final, she infamously digressed onto the subject of 1980s-era boxing.)
Prominent in ESPN’s live-stream broadcasting stable is Doug Adler, a 58-year-old former tennis pro who played during his college years the University of Southern California. A veteran of commentary since 2004 and an ESPN employee since 2008, Adler is so adept at spontaneous play-by-play narration that he frequently covers matches without a partner.
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The Fatal Moment
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It is Day 3 of the Australian Open, Wednesday, the 18th of January (and Tuesday evening, the 17th, in the U.S.) First up in the main stadium, Rod Laver Arena, is 36-year-old American Venus Williams, the 13 seed and winner of seven Grand Slam singles titles, 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, and two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, to accompany an Olympic gold medal in singles, an Olympic silver medal in mixed doubles, and a staggering three Olympic golds in women’s doubles. Her opponent is Switzerland’s Stefanie Voegele, nine years younger, six inches shorter, and roughly 100 ranking spots below Williams. One of the team of two ESPN live-stream commentators is Doug Adler.
Not surprisingly, the match is a rout. Voegele is unable to counter Williams’ superior power, variety, movement, and court coverage.
Early in the second set, as Voegele struggles to hold her first service game, Adler says this:
“She misses the first serve, and Venus is all over her…You’ll see Venus move in and put the [guerrilla?/gorilla?] effect on, charging…”
What exactly does Adler say? Please listen for yourself to the following 21-second video clip.
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Update: The video above was pulled from YouTube on the day after I published this article. Below is a new video. Adler’s words begin at the 40-second mark.
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The Controversy
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Adler claims he said, “You’ll see Venus move in and put the guerrilla effect on,” adding that his use of “guerrilla” referred to a successful “Guerrilla Tennis” ad campaign undertaken by Nike in the 1990s.
The 1995 Andre Agassi Nike Guerrilla Tennis ad:
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“Guerrilla” is indeed an appropriate descriptor for Venus Williams’ charge as she pounces on her opponent’s second serve. Tennis writers and commentators frequently invoke the term “guerrilla” to characterize sneaky attacks. Had neither player been of African ancestry, Adler’s apt comment would have passed unnoticed.
This particular match, however, made Adler famous.
@ESPNTennis Your commentator just said Venus Williams "is like a gorilla charging" I can't believe I just heard that.
Within minutes, social media were flooded with rage from indignant fans under the impression Adler had said “gorilla.”
New York Times reporter Ben Rothenberg, whose deliberately provocative and bratty online snark has earned him the nickname “Trollenberg,” decided to fan the flames. Rather than ask Adler to clarify his intent, Rothenberg tweeted outrage to his 51,600 followers.
This is some appalling stuff. Horrifying that the Williams sisters remain subjected to it still in 2017. #AusOpenhttps://t.co/LJgieHgyuh
Rothenberg went so far as to dismiss out of hand the possibility that Adler had said, “guerrilla.”
Why “doubtful,” Mr. Rothenberg? Do you read minds?
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The Aftermath
ESPN suspended Adler immediately after the Williams/Voegele match, demanded that he apologize the next day on every live stream (which he did, citing an unfortunate choice of words), forbade him to comment upon any more matches in Australia, and sent him home in disgrace.
Within days, Adler was fired by ESPN.
On February 14, Adler filed suit against ESPN for wrongful termination, stating that his reputation is “damaged forever.” In the words of Adler’s attorney, David Ring, “It was not only political correctness gone overboard, but also a cowardly move that ruined a good man’s career.”
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Justice?
Since it is nearly impossible to discern from the recording whether the word uttered by Adler is “gorilla” or “guerrilla,” it would be fairest and most reasonable to assess Adler’s past record as a broadcaster before branding him a racist.
Had Adler ever exhibited any signs of racism? In his 13 years of full-time tennis broadcasting, had he ever referred in a less than respectful manner to Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Donald Young, Sloane Stephens, Taylor Townsend, Gaël Monfils, Dustin Brown, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Frances Tiafoe, or any other player of African ancestry?
I believe the answer to those questions is No.
Adler’s friends and colleagues, including African American radio host Larry Elder, attest to his character (although among Adler’s friends only Elder has had the courage to speak publically about the recent travesty).
There is every reason to believe Adler’s statement that the word he used was indeed “guerrilla.”
In effect, what happened here?
While providing commentary for a Grand Slam tennis match, Doug Adler used a completely appropriate word to describe a player’s sneak attack.
Some viewers misunderstood the word as a racial slur.
A social media mob called for Adler’s firing on the basis of that misunderstanding.
ESPN caved to the mob’s demands.
Should ESPN require that its on-air staff treat athletes and coaches with respect? If they want to attract viewers, yes.
Is ESPN entitled to fire broadcasters who behave inappropriately on the air? Certainly.
But was ESPN within its rights to fire a broadcaster, and effectively brand him a racist and thus torpedo his future career prospects, merely in response to the clamoring of an hysterical mob?
I say no.
The Courts will decide.
As a knowledgeable aficionado of the sport myself, I admit that I occasionally find Doug Adler’s assessments of and prognostications about specific tennis players wrong-headed. While not always in agreement with his opinions, I cannot remain silent as he is railroaded out of his chosen profession at the instigation of a PC mob.
So here’s what I think:
Doug Adler is entitled to the benefit of the doubt from the world of sport.
Ben Rothenberg owes Adler a public apology.
ESPN owes Adler financial restitution and reinstatement as a tennis commentator.
World #8 Tomas Berdych on the velvety Roland Garros clay.
After six weeks and ten tournaments in nine countries, the men’s European clay court season arrives at its apogee and ultimate proving ground this coming week at the French Open. Action begins tomorrow, May 22, with 16 singles matches at Roland Garros in Paris.
A few quick thoughts about what we have learned from the men’s clay court warm-up events —
Who’s Out
Roger Federer, suffering from a combination of knee and back injuries that kept him out of the Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid and led to early losses in Monte Carlo and Rome, withdrew from the French Open in advance of the tournament draw. Federer, whose game is much better suited to grass than to clay, hopes to resume competition in time for the pre-Wimbledon grass court tournaments.
Juan Martin del Potro, on the comeback trail from a series of four wrist surgeries, decided to forgo Roland Garros and move immediately to the grass, where he hopes his booming serve will pay dividends.
The charismatic and highly talented Frenchman Gael Monfils — ever a crowd favorite, and one of the most upbeat and good-natured players on the tour — was forced to withdraw from Roland Garros after being hospitalized this week with a viral illness.
Who Has Proven Himself to be a Dangerous Contender
Twenty-two-year-old Austrian Dominic Thiem won the title today in Nice and reached the final in Munich, where he lost a very tight contest to German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber. Earlier, in Monte Carlo, he mounted a very stiff challenge to eventual champion Rafael Nadal.
Currently ranked 15 in the world and rising quickly, Thiem will surely win the French Open someday. Five of his six titles to date, and two of his three in 2016, have come on clay. His well-rounded game is precise, aggressive, and great fun to watch.
He will arrive in Paris brimming over with confidence from his win in Nice although perhaps somewhat tired. He is a dangerous opponent for anyone.
Japan’s Kei Nishikori, currently ranked #6 in the world, delivered several strong performances this year on the European clay. He reached the final in Barcelona, where he lost a close match to Rafael Nadal. At the Masters 1000 events in both Madrid and Rome, he played barnburner semifinal matches with World #1 Novak Djokovic, losing in two sets in Madrid and in three sets in Rome.
Over the course of his career, Nishikori has beaten every player now seeded ahead of him at Roland Garros (Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, and Nadal). His speed, footwork, and shotmaking, and his ability to rob opponents of time by “taking the ball early,” make him formidable on clay. Fortuitously blessed with a good draw, Nishikori could easily reach the quarterfinals, where he might encounter Andy Murray.
If he keeps his health and fitness, Nishikori could well find himself hoisting the Coupe des Mousquetaires on June 5.
Defending French Open champion Stan Wawrinka will arrive in Paris as he did last year, having bolstered his confidence with a victory at his home tournament in Geneva.
Owner of a powerful forehand, a strong serve, and a one-handed backhand that is both lethal and sublime, Wawrinka can beat anyone on the right day. Although inconsistent and unpredictable, “Stan the Man,” as his sponsors call him, proved last year in Paris that he is capable of winning the title.
The Favorites?
The 2016 men’s singles competition at Roland Garros is the most open in years, with three players having emerged from the Masters 1000-level events as favorites (and perhaps even as co-favorites): Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Rafael Nadal.
Nadal won the title in Monte Carlo without ever facing Djokovic.
Djokovic won the title in Madrid without ever facing Nadal.
Murray lost to Nadal in the semifinals of Monte Carlo and beat him in the semifinals of Madrid.
Murray lost to Djokovic in the final at Madrid and beat him in the final at Rome.
Djokovic and Nadal faced each other once, in the quarterfinals of Rome, where Djokovic won 7-5 7-6. Nadal said afterward that he was happy with his performace, that both sets had been “on his racquet,” and that he had been, “very, very, very close” to winning.
Only Nadal of the three favorites won two titles in the lead-up to Roland Garros: in Monte Carlo and in Barcelona (a competitive 500-level tournament where neither Murray nor Djokovic was in the field).
The tournament whose conditions (i.e., altitude, clay quality, weather) are most similar to Roland Garros is Monte Carlo. Nadal won that title, beating Murray in the semifinal. Djokovic lost in his first match.
Madrid, featuring high altitude and hard-packed clay, is the least like Roland Garros. Djokovic won that title, beating Murray in the final. Murray had beaten Nadal in the semifinal.
Rome, like Paris, is at sea level. There, Murray beat Djokovic in a hard-fought, testy, and rainy final.
Can one divine French Open outcomes from this data?
First, a few words about the tournament draw.
Nadal’s Roland Garros draw is freakishly difficult. His first opponent, the 6’4″ cannon-serving Australian Sam Groth, demands intense concentration from his opponent and offers no rally rhythm. The last time Nadal opened a French Open campaign against a “serve-bot” (2011, against 6’10” John Isner), Nadal got down two sets to one and needed five sets to eke out a victory.
In the third round, Nadal could face the flamboyantly talented and dangerously unpredictable Fabio Fognini, who beat Nadal three times in 2015. The fourth round could bring a meeting with Dominic Thiem (see above).
In the quarterfinal, Nadal could face France’s Jo Wilfried Tsonga, who has the physical skills to beat anyone on the tour, and who will have the enthusiastic support of the home crowd. In the semifinal, Nadal could face Djokovic.
Over his first five rounds, Djokovic faces a relative cakewalk. None of Djokovic’s early-round opponents has any recent history of success against him.
Murray will have a tricky first match against the wily 37-year-old Czech Radek Stepanek, whose variety and unpredictability can be maddeningly difficult to face. En route to the quarterfinals, Murray could encounter two tricky serve-bots, John Isner and the 6’11” Ivo Karlovic, though neither is likely to threaten Murray’s exemplary return game and defense.
Murray could face formidable challenges in the quarterfinals against Nishikori and in the semifinals against Wawrinka.
Murray will not face either Djokovic or Nadal until the final.
What does their Rome match and other recent history say about a Djokovic/Nadal semifinal?
Djokovic owns a 26-23 career head-to-head record against Nadal and has won their last seven meetings, three of which have been on clay. Advantage, Djokovic? Not necessarily.
From mid-2011 until mid-2012, Djokovic also won seven straight matches against Nadal. By the end of his seventh loss (the 2012 Australian Open final), Nadal had figured out how to counter Djokovic’s new tactics. When the two next met, at the 2012 French Open final, Nadal won.
Some commentators have suggested that Nadal’s loss to Djokovic in Rome earlier this month would put him at a mental disadvantage in Paris. I am not so sure.
Nadal’s competitive psychology is such that he takes every opponent seriously and approaches every match with the idea that he “needs to play [his] best tennis in order to have chances to win.” (That phrase has appeared in his press conference transcripts innumerable times over the years.)
Had a few points gone differently in their match in Rome, and had Nadal prevailed over Djokovic, he likely would have thought, “OK, I won, but it was close. I still need to play my best to have chances to win.” Djokovic, meanwhile, would have arrived at the following Nadal match full of vinegar and determination to avenge his recent loss.
Having lost in Rome, but having kept the match very close, Nadal will probably approach his next meeting with Djokovic with optimism (in addition to his usual intention to play his best).
The contest between Nadal and Djokovic in Rome proved that Nadal is ready to compete toe-to-toe with Djokovic. Both players know that now. This cannot be a comfortable feeling for Djokovic.
What about Andy Murray?
Murray has long been one of the sport’s greatest defenders – he can chase down and return shots all day – but aggressive play does not come naturally to him. He has a decent first serve, but his second serve has traditionally been his most attackable weakness. Mentally, he has not always exhibited the fortitude and consistency necessary to win against the best players.
In 2016, Murray has improved both his first serve and his second serve and implemented successful plans of attack against both of his major rivals. During the Rome final against Djokovic, he managed to be the mentally and emotionally stronger combatant under very difficult and rainy conditions.
If Murray reaches a final against either Djokovic or Nadal, he can take some confidence from the fact that his most recent meeting with each on the clay courts this year was a win.
Murray has never in the past been considered a contender at Roland Garros, but as Stan Wawrinka demonstrated in 2015 (after losing in the first round of the 2014 French Open), history is irrelevant.
The anomalously high altitude clay tennis tournament in Madrid came to a close on Sunday as Novak Djokovic defeated Andy Murray 6-2 3-6 6-3 to win the title, garnering his record 29th Masters 1000 crown.
The first set was all Djokovic as the Serbian World #1 delivered nearly flawless tennis and demonstrated that at his best he can send a tennis ball from any stretched position to any location on the court. In the second set, Murray dug in for a fight. Raising his aggressive intensity, and taking advantage of a dip in his opponent’s form, Murray broke serve early and held on to win the set.
The final set was nervy and tight, with each player alternating between brilliance and sloppiness and momentum shifting repeatedly. Djokovic broke serve first but relinquished his advantage a few games later. By forcing Murray into a defensive mindset, Djokovic broke for a second time but nearly broke himself back as he served for the match. The 5-3 game was riddled with Djokovic errors. Murray had at least four chances to break. I lost count of the number of deuces and wasted match points before Djokovic was finally able to put the match away.
The result of the final set was at least as much about Murray’s suffering a mental block as it was about Djokovic’s exhibiting superior prowess on the court. Especially in light of the fact that Madrid’s high-altitude courts are faster than the courts in Paris, Djokovic’s tight three-set win is no guarantor of his eventual victory at the French Open.
Four quick lessons from the 2016 Mutua Madrid Masters:
Watch out for Juan Martin del Potro.
Juan Martin del Potro, the 6’6″, 27-year-old gentle giant from Tandil, Argentina (affectionately known as the Tower of Tandil), has suffered some of the worst injury luck of any player on the tour. Only months after overpowering Roger Federer in a five-set slugfest to win the 2009 US Open, del Potro suffered a wrist injury that required surgery and forced him to miss most of the 2010 season. He returned to the tour in 2011, played well enough to win the Olympic bronze medal in 2012, and finished 2013 in the Top 5. His hopes for additional Grand Slam titles were dashed in early 2014, when he suffered an injury to his other wrist that also required surgery. Twice in 2014 and 2015 he rehabbed and resumed training only to discover additional wrist problems. In all, del Potro’s four wrist surgeries have forced him to miss three years of what might otherwise have been his prime.
The Argentine, who is beloved by many fans for his sweet temper, rejoined his tour colleagues in February and played his first clay match since 2013 in Munich last month.
This week in Madrid, del Potro signaled that he could pose a dangerous threat at the French Open. In a highly anticipated first-round match against rising star Dominic Thiem, del Potro pounded serves, blasted groundstrokes, wrested control of rallies, and overpowered one of year’s most successful clay courters convincingly. Afterward, Del Potro shed tears of joy and relief.
The rest of the tour would be wise to take note.
Del Potro is unlikely to win the French Open. His match fitness is not yet sufficient to carry him through seven rounds of best-of-five-set matches later this month in Paris. However, he could play the role of spoiler. Del Potro will not be seeded in Roland Garros, so he will be a “dangerous floater” in the draw. He could meet anyone in the tournament’s first two rounds, when the top players are most vulnerable. Based upon del Potro’s performance against Thiem, an early meeting between del Potro and a tournament favorite could alter the event’s course significantly.
Andy Murray is in excellent form.
Britain’s Andy Murray, a two-time Grand Slam champion and Olympic gold medalist, never much enjoyed playing on clay. Having grown up on indoor hard courts in his native Scotland, and having stepped onto a clay court for the first time at age 15, Murray found movement on clay courts alien and uncomfortable and historically enjoyed his weakest results at clay events.
All this changed in 2015. Murray won his first clay title at an April 250 event in Munich and followed that win with a victory at the Masters 1000 event in Madrid.
At the 2016 Madrid tournament, Murray again looked sharp. With a beefed-up first serve and a much-improved second serve (traditionally his great weakness), Murray complemented his devastating defense and return game with impressive management of his own service. He defeated Rafael Nadal in a cold, damp semifinal through dogged and aggressive play. Although ultimately unable to overcome Novak Djokovic’s mental edge in the final, Murray played one of his strongest matches against Djokovic in years.
Murray has already reversed one important result in this clay court season by turning a defeat to Nadal in Monte Carlo into a win in Madrid. His close loss to Djokovic this week could conceivably lead to a win in Paris.
Murray must be considered a contender, even if a long shot, for this year’s French Open, especially if he is able to advance through the draw without ever having to face Djokovic.
Novak Djokovic is a favorite, but not necessarily The Favorite, for the French Open.
Novak Djokovic played much better in Madrid than he had played in Monte Carlo three weeks earlier. Having had time to acclimate himself to clay and to rest from his grueling and victorious tear through the early-season hard court events, Djokovic demonstrated much-improved movement and ball-striking.
At times, he exhibited his robotically perfect best, returning every ball with power, precision, and devastating accuracy, dragging his opponents around the court, creating impossible angles, and dominating proceedings absolutely. At other times, he displayed a mental vulnerability that has become increasingly commonplace for him in 2016. He broke his own serve with a series of errors as he tried to serve out his semifinal match against Kei Nishikori. He nearly repeated the feat in the final by gift-wrapping several break chances for Murray in the final game.
If Djokovic plays at his best in the crucial moments of his matches at Roland Garros, he will be nearly unbeatable. However, if he allows his level to drop, as he did against Murray and at moments against Nishikori, he could be vulnerable to an upset.
Weather is a crucial factor on clay.
Clay demands greater adaptability from tennis players than any other surface, because clay is the only surface on which play continues in the rain. Grass courts are dangerously slippery in the rain. Hard courts become ponds, and even in a drizzle a hard court’s painted lines become treacherous. By contrast, clay courts can absorb water, allowing play to continue though a light shower.
When rain begins, though, clay tennis evolves in a matter of minutes into what is effectively a new sport. Cooler temperatures and falling rain conspire to slow the ball’s transit through the air. The balls grow heavy as they pick up water and wet clay. The heavier balls refuse to take spin, reducing the effectiveness of top-spin shots and necessitating changes of strategy. Players are required to hit harder while simultaneously recalibrating their shots for the new conditions.
In Madrid, the contrast between rainy clay and dry clay conditions was on display during the quarterfinal between Rafael Nadal and Joao Sousa, which was effectively two different matches.
During the first set, the sun shone through cloud cover. Nadal controlled the rallies with his vicious top-spin, and Sousa generated a series of wild errors as he desperately tried to match his opponent’s power. In less than 26 minutes, Nadal won the set 6-0.
Rain started during the second set. The balls became heavy. Nadal’s top-spin lost much of its bite. Sousa’s flat bullet shots started landing in rather than out. After playing to a draw for eight games, Sousa broke Nadal’s serve in the ninth game and took the set 6-4.
By the third set, the stadium’s roof had been closed for three games. Although the rain no longer fell inside, the air was still cold, and the court and balls were still sodden. Nadal continued to struggle for advantage until the balls were changed (according to the standard schedule) in the eighth game. With, at long last, dry felt to deal with, Nadal was able to use his spin and power to advantage and break Sousa’s serve. Nadal went on to win the set 6-3.
Whether the weather be wet or dry in Roland Garros this year will play a crucial role in determining the French Open champion.
This week the tour moves on to a Masters 1000 event in Rome, where the rainy weather is predicted to begin on Wednesday.
In April, professional tennis players change their shoes.
Gone are the standard smooth “tennies” designed for comfort on hard courts. In their place are textured soles optimized for traction on loose, red powder.
A whirlwind of travel that carries players through the summer heat of Australia, South America, and the tropics and sets them down in March on the hard courts of North America, delivers them in April to the European “red dirt.” There they contest a series of clay court tournaments that culminates in the French Open.
Over the next six weeks, in eight different countries, players will be tested in what many fans believe to be the purest form of tennis — where the surface gives no advantage to raw power, where players must be proficient at every aspect of the game (serve, return, groundstrokes, volleys, and defense), and where players face the greatest physical and mental demands of the year.
What is the “clay”?
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The “clay” in a modern clay court is typically crushed brick layered upon a gravel base to improve drainage. The court’s top layer is a fine red powder.
Much as an ice rink is smoothed periodically by a Zamboni, a clay court is swept to rid the surface of footprints, skid marks, gouges, and ball marks. Usually, a clay court is swept after every set and sprayed with water as needed to prevent the top surface dust from blowing.
What makes clay court tennis special?
The key characteristics of a clay court, from a player’s perspective:
It is slippery.
Movement on a clay court is night-and-day different from movement on the hard courts on which professionals spend most of the year. Stopping, starting, and changing direction are all made more difficult by the court’s dusty top layer. Balance becomes especially critical.
The slipperiness affects tactics (for example, it’s especially profitable on clay to aim a shot behind a moving opponent) and profoundly affects a player’s timing. The most adept claycourters learn to slide into their shots.
The ball’s bounce is high.
Clay rewards players who put heavy topspin (i.e., forward spin) onto a ball by giving topspin shots a high bounce. (By contrast, on grass courts and many indoor hard courts, top-spinning balls tend to say low.)
The high bounce can throw off an opponent’s timing and/or place the ball above an his optimal “strike zone,” in either case making it difficult for an opponent to hit the ball with power and accuracy.
The ball always leaves a mark on the court surface.
At clay tournaments, players cannot ask for computerized “Hawkeye” challenges, because every shot leaves a mark. Instead, players can summon umpires out of their chairs to check ball marks.
Or, in rare cases, compel a cameraman to photograph a mark.
The surface is “slow.”
As the ball strikes the court surface, the clay holds it briefly during the bounce, giving an opponent an extra fraction of a second to reach the ball. (By contrast, grass courts and many hard courts are “fast.”)
(from news.bbc.co.uk)
Consequently, it is much more difficult on clay than on a hard court for a player to hit a winning shot past his opponent. Rallies are long, and matches are both physically and mentally arduous on clay.
Clay rewards players who have good defensive skills (i.e., the ability to run down opponents’ shots and keep a ball in play). Some of the tour’s most proficient claycourters, including Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and David Ferrer, excel at forcing their opponents to “hit one extra shot” and eventually miss.
Defense alone, though, is not sufficient to guarantee wins. Those who succeed on clay know when and how to hit an aggressive shot that either takes control of a rally or wins a point outright.
Clay rewards decision-making, shot-selection, problem-solving, patience, and the vanishing art of point construction — the chess match wherein each player tries to think several shots ahead and outmaneuver his opponent to make space on the court for a winning shot.
Executed well, clay court tennis offers both breathtaking athleticism and fascinating drama.
The Spring European Clay Court Season
The marquee event of the clay court season is the French Open, the calendar year’s second Grand Slam tournament, held at Roland Garros in Paris. To ensure that players reach Roland Garros in optimal clay court form, the tennis tour devotes six weeks to warm-up tournaments in Europe.
Week 1: Monte Carlo
Leading off the series is the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters tournament. First played in 1897, this “Masters 1000” event (one tier below the Grand Slams) offers fans and players alike the most beautiful setting of the season.
The 2016 event, which begins on April 10, boasts the strongest field in years, with seven of the world’s top eight players and a bumper crop of highly talented youngsters playing. There are no easy matches. Nearly every player faces a tough slate of potential opponents.
The defending champion is World #1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, who has won the event twice in the last three years.
Rafael Nadal won eight consecutive titles in Monte Carlo, from 2005 through 2012. His record might never be equaled.
Update:Rafael Nadal def. Gael Monfils 7-5 5-7 6-0 to win the title in Monte Carlo.
During the week of April 18, some lower ranked players who did not qualify for the Monte Carlo tournament will begin their French Open preparations at a smaller “250” event Bucharest. Most of the top players will either sit the week out or travel to a medium-sized “500” event in Barcelona.
Because Barcelona’s Open BancSabadell serves as the Spanish national championship, nearly every healthy Spanish player is in the field. Thirty-four-year-old Spaniard David Ferrer has said that winning the Barcelona title would mean as much to him as winning a Grand Slam.
Fourteen of the last 20 Barcelona champions have been Spanish, including eleven straight from 2003 to 2013 (and Rafael Nadal eight times between 2005 and 2013), but the player to hoist the tournament’s enormous trophy in the last two years has been the scrappy Japanese baseliner Kei Nishikori.
Update:Rafael Nadal def. Kei Nishikori 6-4 7-5 to win his ninth title in Barcelona.
Fernando Verdasco def. Lucas Pouille 6-3 6-2 to win the title in Bucharest.
Week 3: Istanbul, Munich, and Estoril
In the week of April 25, mid-level and lower ranked players will hone their clay court skills at three small 250-level tournaments in Istanbul, Munich, and Estoril, while most of the Top-20 players take a breather before back-to-back Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome.
Update:
Philipp Kohlschreiber won a barn-burner of a final over Dominic Thiem, 7-6(7) 4-6 7-6(4), to take the title in Munich.
Diego Sebastian Schwartzman upset Grigor Dimitrov 6-7(5) 7-6(4) 6-0 in Istanbul to win the first title of his career.
Nicolas Almagro outlasted his countryman Pablo Carreno Busta 6-7(6) 7-6(5) 6-3 to take the title in Estoril.
Week 4: Madrid
Since the early 2000s, the lead-up to the French Open has included three Masters 1000 tournaments. Two of those three are the events in Monte Carlo and Rome. Until 2008, the third Masters 1000 on clay was held in Hamburg. Because of Hamburg’s inclement weather (and, most likely, some behind-the-scenes politics), the third clay Masters 1000 was moved to Madrid in 2009.
The Madrid tournament poses a unique challenge during the pre-Roland Garros swing: high altitude. The ball travels faster through the air in Madrid than at the sea-level events, and Madrid’s relatively dry air makes the court both faster and more slippery.
As a joint men’s and women’s event with limited court space, the Madrid tournament is known for its long days. Often matches start after 11 p.m.
Nearly every year of the Madrid clay event’s young life has brought intense drama.
In the inaugural event in 2009, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic played a four-hour-and-three-minute semifinal, which is the longest best-of-three-set match in the Open Era of men’s tennis. Nadal won the match but had nothing left for the next day’s final. The psychological blow of losing that marathon may have contributed to Djokovic’s loss in the third round of that year’s French Open. The physical wear-and-tear surely contributed to the knee problems that led to Nadal’s fourth-round loss at the French and his subsequent two-month absence from the tour.
In 2011, Djokovic surprised Nadal and angered the home crowd by carrying out some decidedly in-your-face celebrations after beating Nadal in the final, including (by some accounts) a swim in a nearby canal and noisy dancing with his team on top of a parked car.
In 2012, the tournament replace the red clay with blue clay. Although the blue clay showed up better on television, it might have been catastrophic for the players, because it was extremely slippery. Players who typically remain centered over their feet, such as Roger Federer and David Ferrer, were relatively unaffected. For Nadal and Djokovic, who tend to hit more off-balance defensive shots, the conditions were potentially lethal. After 2012, the tournament switched back to red clay.
In 2013, a crowd still angry at Djokovic for his behavior in 2011 gave him a hard time during his loss to Grigor Dimitrov. Djokovic, who has never had patience with hostile crowds, and who often behaves as though every crowd owes him affection, screamed at his hecklers in Serbian, “You can lick my ____, and I can ____ your mothers!”
Djokovic has not played in Madrid since 2013. This year he will return. It will be interesting to see how he gets along with the assertive and opinionated Madrid fans.
The event’s defending champion is Andy Murray. Nadal has won the Madrid event on clay three times.
Update: Novak Djokovic def. Andy Murray 6-2 3-6 6-3 to win the title in Madrid.
The week after Madrid takes the players back to sea level at the Intenationali BNL d’Italia in Rome, first played in 1930. The tournament grounds feature a steeply raked stadium surrounded by statues in a classical style, located atop the site of the swimming venue of the 1960 summer Olympics.
Djokovic comes into this year’s Rome event as the two-time defending champion, having won the title four times in the last six years. Nadal holds the record for Rome titles with seven.
Update: Andy Murray def. Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-3 in the Rome final to win his third clay title and his second at the Masters 1000 level.
Week 6: Nice and Geneva
The last week before the French Open will find most of the top-ranked players in Paris practicing at Roland Garros, speaking to the media, and appearing at sponsor events. Meanwhile, 250-level events in Nice and Geneva offer final tune-up opportunities for late-arriving journeymen players as well as a few hometown stars.
Update:
Stan Wawrinka def. Marin Cilic 6-4 7-6(11) to win his second consecutive Geneva title and his third title of 2016.
Like Wawrinka, Dominic Thiem defended his 2015 title and earned his third trophy of 2016 by defeating fellow rising star Alexander Zverev 6-4 3-6 6-0 in Nice.
Weeks 7 and 8: The French Open, Roland Garros, Paris
On 22 May, 128 men will begin the quest for the year’s second Grand Slam singles title at the French Open at Roland Garros. Fifteen days later, one man will hoist aloft the tournament’s storied trophy, the Coupe des Mousquetaires.
Because Roland Garros is the only Slam site with no lighting for night matches, and since clay matches tend to be long, the French Open is the only Slam whose first match is held on a Sunday.
Every Grand Slam tournament offers compelling drama from the start. It is fascinating to watch players ranked 70 or 80 in the world, with no hope of winning the title, battle tooth-and-nail for the right to advance to the next round. Every day of the first week promises valor, heart, and sportsmanship.
One of my favorite tales of Roland Garros valor took place in 2013 and starred thirty-one-year-old Spaniard Tommy Robredo. Known as a tenacious fighter, and expert like many of his countrymen in the art of tennis on clay, Robredo outdid himself by coming back from two-sets-to-none deficits to win five-set matches in three consecutive rounds, a feat unmatched in the previous 86 years. After his third comeback, Robredo collapsed the court in tears as the stadium crowd chanted his name.
More drama, of the “never-a-dull-moment” variety, erupted later in the same event, when flare-wielding political protestors crashed the men’s final between Nadal and Ferrer, spooking both contestants.
In addition to the French crowd’s perennial hope for a homegrown champion, the intrigue at Roland Garros 2016 — whose field is more open than it has been in years — features a cast of terrific clay court players all of whom have fascinating storylines.
The Contenders
It is highly probable that the man left holding the Coupe de Mousquetaires this year will be one of a short list of “usual suspects.”
Twenty-nine-year-old Spaniard Rafael Nadal is the greatest clay court player in the history of tennis.
He leads all men in the Open Era with a staggering 91.6 match winning percentage on clay.
He is in second place in the Open Era with 47 titles on clay.
He won a record 81 consecutive matches on clay from 2006 to 2008.
He won in excess of 50 consecutive semifinal matches on clay from 2008 to 2015.
Several attributes of Nadal’s highly individualistic style are especially well suited to the red dirt.
The unmatched topspin he applies to his shots, especially to his forehand with the distinctive “lariat” follow-through.
Excellent, precise footwork.
A deep understanding of the game and of point construction.
Formidable problem-solving skills.
Great competitive intensity that wears down many opponents as Nadal plays every point as though it were his last.
Nadal has won eight Monte Carlos, eight Barcelonas, three Madrid titles on clay (and one when the tournament was played on an indoor hard court), seven Romes, and nine French Opens.
That’s nine titles at the most physically and mentally demanding Major tournament.
No one else has ever won as many as eight titles at a single Slam.
Nadal is no slouch on surfaces other than clay. He owns four titles, including two Wimbledons, on grass (which, fast and low-bouncing, is essentially the opposite of clay). On hardcourts, he has sixteen titles, include two US Opens and one Australian Open.
Nadal’s career has been a series of injury outages followed by comebacks.
In 2005, six months after winning his first French Open, Nadal broke a bone in his left foot (later found to have been congenitally deformed) and was reduced to hitting balls while seated in a desk chair.
In 2006, he returned to the tour, won his second French Open, and reached his first of five consecutive Wimbledon finals.
In 2007 and 2008, the arch supports he was required to wear to protect his vulnerable foot started to wreak havoc on his knees. In 2009, knee pain forced to stop competing for two months and miss Wimbledon.
In 2010, in a spectacular run that started in Monte Carlo, Nadal won seven titles, including the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open, in the process becoming the first and only male player in the history of the sport to win three Slams on three different surfaces in the same year.
In 2012, severe knee tendonitis forced Nadal off of the tour again, causing him to miss the second half of the season, including the London Olympics.
In 2013, Nadal returned from a seven-month absence to win ten titles, including the French Open and the US Open, and finished the year at #1 – this in spite of his having missed the Australian Open entirely.
In 2014, Nadal suffered three apparently random physical failures: the first, a back injury that befell him in the middle of the Australian Open final in February; the second, a freak wrist injury in August that forced him to miss the US summer hard courts and the US Open; the third, in October — four days after he had returned to competition — acute appendicitis.
In 2015, Nadal experienced what he describes as a “mental injury.” For the first half of the year, he suffered crippling anxiety on court. He was unable to control his breathing or his emotions. He was, as he recently described it, “competing against himself.” During that stretch, Nadal delivered several truly baffling performances — including at Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, Roland Garros, and later Wimbledon — in which he seemed unable to make decisions and could not hit accurate shots to save his life.
Through what he describes as “daily hard work,” Nadal was able to gradually rid himself of the anxiety. He told the press in October that those bad feelings had gone away.
Because he is what some coaches call a “confidence player,” Nadal faces a maddening chicken-and-egg problem during his every comeback:
To win matches, he needs the confidence to go for big shots on important points.
To have confidence, he needs to win matches.
Last month, in Indian Wells in the desert of southern California, Nadal seemed at long last to have turned the corner. He had four good wins over difficult opponents and then played his best match against Djokovic in nearly two years.
Nadal said in a recent interview that, unlike last year, he now enjoys practices and matches, and he feels ready to compete with anyone.
In 2016, Nadal is fit, healthy, and happy as he returns to his favorite surface and to events where he has enjoyed great success in the past.
(Memo to his would-be opponents: watch out.)
The Reigning King of the Tour – Novak Djokovic
One year Nadal’s junior, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic won his first Grand Slam title (in Australia) in 2009. After floating in the Top 4 for four years, Djokovic came into his own in 2011, winning the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open, and finishing the year at #1 for the first time.
Beginning in 2012, Djokovic opened each year by telling the press in January of his desire (or intention) to win the year’s French Open, and thereby complete his Career Grand Slam (which Federer had achieved in 2009 at age 27 and Nadal in 2010 at age 24).
In 2012, Djokovic reached the Roland Garros final and lost to Nadal.
In 2013, Djokovic lost to Nadal in a semifinal — a virtuosic five-set masterpiece that has been called the greatest match ever played on clay.
In 2014, Djokovic again reached the final at Roland Garros and again lost to Nadal.
Last year, with Nadal floundering, promised to be Djokovic’s golden opportunity. Reversing his Roland Garros script, Djokovic dispatched his usual nemesis by trouncing him efficiently in a quarterfinal.
On the morning of the final, only the Swiss Stan Wawrinka stood between Djokovic and his Career Grand Slam. After Djokovic won the first set, he seemed well on the way to achieving his much-talked-about dream.
Then Wawrinka delivered the three best sets of tennis he has played in his life, a breathtaking display of power and precision. Pounding the ball off of both wings, Wawrinka kept Djokovic on the run. Wawrinka controlled most of the rallies with bludgeoned groundstrokes and hit winner after blistering winner.
When it was over, and Djokovic stood on the podium once again holding the runner-up plate, he received a lengthy standing ovation from a crowd sympathetic to his plight.
During the balance of 2015, Djokovic lost only two matches, both of them finals.
Djokovic enters the 2016 European clay court season having won all of his completed matches this year (his only loss was a retirement), but he has shown some uncharacteristic vulnerability.
At the Australian Open, Frenchman Gilles Simon employed persistent defense to drive Djokovic to distraction, force Djokovic to five sets, and draw more than 90 unforced errors from the Serb’s racquet.
In Indian Wells, Djokovic lost a set to World #165 Bjorn Fratangelo and later against Nadal commited a striking number of errors with his best shot, the return of serve.
In Miami, Austrian Dominic Thiem was able to create a passel of break point opportunities against Djokovic but could not cash them in. In the next round, Belgian David Goffin broke Djokovic several times but was unable to maintain any advantage.
It is possible that Djokovic will “run the table” on the European clay. He might this year finally win the French Open.
Or he might lose a few points at important moments and find himself on the unfamiliar losing end of a match.
Djokovic will be the oddsmakers’ favorite at every event he plays from now through Roland Garros, but he is not a shoo-in.
Federer
When 34-year-old tennis superstar Roger Federer published his 2016 tournament schedule, his European clay court season was rather thin. Focusing on tournaments more likely to enhance his legacy (specifically, Wimbledon and the Rio Olympics), Federer had opted to minimize his work on clay.
Then in early February, Federer’s plans were upended by a turn of events new in his experience: an injury that required surgery. Having been forced to sit out for two months, Federer decided recently to refocus on the clay events, beginning with Monte Carlo. This renders the tournaments both more interesting for fans and more lucrative for tournament sponsors.
Although he might have lost with age a bit of speed and consistency, Federer is still the most graceful player ever to pick up a tennis racquet. With his lethal serve and time-robbing aggression, Federer can still consistently beat 80 to 85 percent of the players on the tour.
Federer’s playing style is best suited to faster, low-bouncing surfaces (to wit, grass and indoor hard courts at sea level). Winning a clay tournament at the Masters 1000 or Grand Slam level is a tough task for him. That said, if breaks were to fall the right way, anything could happen.
Federer, like Nadal, has shown repeatedly that one is unwise ever to write him off.
The Reigning French Open Champion – Stan Wawrinka
Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka owns two Grand Slam titles: the 2014 Australian Open and the 2015 French Open. Physically strong, and blessed with a one-handed backhand as lethal as it is beautiful to watch, Wawrinka at his best can beat anyone on the tour.
Wawrinka is also wildly inconsistent. In 2014, the year of his first Grand Slam and also his first Masters 1000 title (in Monte Carlo), Wawrinka lost nine times in a tournament’s first round, including a straight-sets loss in the first round of Roland Garros.
In the following year, Wawrinka played brilliantly at Roland Garros, beat both Federer and Djokovic, and won the title.
It can be difficult to predict on any given day which Wawrinka will show up on court. Realistically, he could lose early in two or three events on the European clay. With equal probability, he might win three or four of the titles.
Any Wawrinka match is worth watching for the quality of his tennis and for the likelihood of on-court drama.
The Intrepid Fighter – David Ferrer
Thirty-four-year-old Spaniard David Ferrer is known and respected on the tennis tour for his dogged determination and indefatigability.
Although at 5’9″ Ferrer might be too small to win a Grand Slam during this Golden Age of men’s tennis, experts and commentators agree that in a different era Ferrer would have won at least one Slam and probably a French Open.
With 26 titles, Ferrer is the most highly decorated male player in the Open Era never to have won a Slam. Like many of his countrymen, Ferrer excels on clay, having won 12 of his titles on the red dirt. Ferrer has reached the semifinals on clay in Madrid, the final in Barcelona, the final in Monte Carlo, and the final in Rome. In 2013, he reached the final at Roland Garros, where he lost to Nadal.
Although Ferrer might have slowed down somewhat with age, his disciplined point construction, tenacious defense, and outstanding return of serve can still carry him to victory over most players on clay, especially in a best-of-five-set format.
Ferrer may appear to be an outlier among these Contenders, since he has not yet won a title on the European clay, but I believe he belongs on this short list because in his trophy cabinet at home he has hardware from Roland Garros.
Only five active male players have contested a French Open final.
Nadal (2005 – 08, 2010 – 14)
Federer (2006 – 09, 2011)
Djokovic (2012, 2014, 2015)
Wawrinka (2015)
Ferrer (2013)
The Second Tier
Among the remaining 123 men who will contest the singles competition in Paris, at least 15 have the potential to cause upsets within the draw. Some worthy of especial note:
Dominic Thiem
Twenty-two-year-old Austrian Dominic Thiem is almost certainly a future French Open champion. As highly disciplined as he is talented, Thiem possesses a well-rounded game as well as a gorgeous one-handed backhand.
Thiem has won two titles so far this year, including on clay in Buenos Aires, where he beat Nadal in the semifinal. Although Thiem may not be ready to win seven best-of-five-set matches at Roland Garros, he might well be capable of taking a Masters 1000 title in the coming weeks.
Kei Nishikori
With a playing style sometimes described as “Djokovic without the celebrations,” Japan’s Kei Nishikori has established himself solidly among the game’s Top 10. Nishikori’s easy power and precise ball striking can carry him past any player. In recent years, he has notched wins over Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic.
Two of Nishikori’s eleven titles have come on clay, both in Barcelona. If he stays healthy, which is always the biggest question with Nishikori, he could be a threat at any of the European clay events.
Gilles Simon
Like David Ferrer, Frenchman Gilles Simon has turned an unprepossessing physical presence into an asset. Although not endowed with great power, Simon brings to court some of the cleanest and most tenacious defensive skill on the tour. An absolute nightmare of a match-up in a best-of-five format, Simon could give the home fans reason to cheer into the second week at Roland Garros.
Roberto Bautista Agut
With two titles already this year, 27-year-old Roberto Bautista Agut is the most successful Spanish player through the first quarter of 2016. In his short career on tour, he has won four titles, including one each on clay and grass.
Bautista Agut’s clean, well-rounded game is probably not strong enough to carry him to the trophy stand at any of the spring’s clay events, but he could serve as a spoiler.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
As a player, 30-year-old Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is a bit of an enigma.
Sometimes he channels his prodigious talent and athletic ability into an aggressive, powerful game that defeats all comers. He has beaten Federer twice in Grand Slams, including once at the French Open.
At other times — such as his 2013 dismantling by Ferrer one round after his victory over Federer at Roland Garros — Tsonga looks disoriented and defeated well before the end of the first set.
A subject of Roland Garros scrutiny and pressure every year as a top French prospect, Tsonga truly has a game that would enable him to win.
Whether he hoists any trophies this spring, or pulls off any important upsets, or bows his head in defeat, will depend upon which Tsonga shows up to play.
So who will win?
I don’t make predictions. 🙂
Update: Novak Djokovic def. Andy Murray 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-4 to win his first French Open title and complete his career Grand Slam.
Whether measured by participation numbers, by prize money, or by global reach, tennis is the world’s largest professional sport for women. Most of the world’s best known (and wealthiest) female athletes are tennis players.
Beginning tomorrow, 128 players representing 33 countries will gather in Flushing Meadows, New York, to contest the women’s singles competition at the final Grand Slam of 2015, the U.S. Open. This year’s tournament promises to showcase great athleticism, fierce competition, and quite possibly some history-making.
Here are nine reasons to watch:
1. Serena Williams
No player has more impressively dominated women’s tennis over the past 15 years than 34-year-old American Serena Williams. With her powerful and unreadable serve, aggressive groundstrokes, great court coverage, and reliable shot selection, Serena has won 21 Grand Slams and has notched up 255 weeks as world #1. She owns more titles, counting singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, than any other active player, male or female. She has twice completed a “surface slam” – Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces (clay, grass, and hard court) within the same calendar year. She is the only player of either gender to have won singles titles at three different Grand Slams at least six times each.
Serena comes into this year’s U.S. Open with a chance to make history. At Wimbledon in early July of this year, she completed her second “Serena Slam,” amassing four straight Grand Slam titles over a twelve month period. At the 2015 U.S. Open, Serena has a chance to become only the second woman in tennis’ modern era, and only the fifth woman of all time, complete the rare Calendar-Year Grand Slam.
Serena’s draw in New York looks brutal. To win, she might have to beat three former Slam champions (including her sister Venus) and a former Slam finalist who has beaten her before. Especially in light of the stress she clearly experienced at the summer warm-up events in Toronto and Cincinnati, no one can take Serena’s success in New York this year for granted.
That said, in 2015 more than in any other year, Serena has demonstrated tenacity and determination. Quite often, she has gotten into trouble by losing a first set, and every time save one that she has put herself in that predicament she has found a way to claw back and win.
Tips
Serena’s early matches might be relatively straightforward, but she will face tough fights every beginning in the third round. Every match thereafter promises athleticism, virtuosity, and drama.
2. Grand Slam Winners Lurking in the Draw
The U.S. Open women’s draw features eight players in addition to Serena Williams who have won Grand Slam titles. Any of them could contend for the title if the draw were to break her way.
Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) Australian Open 2012, Australian Open 2013.
Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) French Open 2008.
Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) U.S. Open 2004, French Open 2009.
Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) Wimbledon 2011, Wimbledon 2014.
Francesca Schiavone (Italy) French Open 2010.
Maria Sharapova (Russia) Wimbledon 2004, U.S. Open 2006, Australian Open 2008, French Open 2012, French Open 2014.
Sam Stosur (Australia) U.S. Open 2011.
Venus Williams (United States) Wimbledon 2000, U.S. Open 2000, Wimbledon 2001, U.S. Open 2001, Wimbledon 2005, Wimbledon 2007, Wimbledon 2008.
Tips
Try to see Schiavone or Kuznetsova in the first couple of rounds. Among the eight players listed here, Schiavone and Kuznetsova face a relatively high risk of early elimination. Matches featuring any of these players in the second week should be corkers!
3. Power Hitters
A tall tennis player is usually a powerful player who can rely upon blazing serves and sharply hit, deep shots to move her opponents around and control the progression of a point. Height and wingspan certainly helped propel Azarenka (6’0″), Sharpova (6’2″), Kvitova (6’0″), Ivanovic (6’0″), and Venus Williams (6’1″) to their Grand Slam titles.
Among the younger players rising in the rankings are several who can be classified as power players. Two who have had the greatest impact at the Grand Slams are:
Garbiñe Muguruza of Spain (6’0″), who chalked up a big win over Serena Williams at the 2014 French Open.
Jelena Jankovic of Serbia (5’10”), who reached the U.S. Open final in 2008.
Eugenie Bouchard of Canada (5’10”), who reached the Wimbledon final in 2014.
Tips
Choose a power player’s match to enjoy a display of strength and harnessed aggression. (To see Bouchard, you may want to find her first- or second-round match. Her 2015 season has been a series of disastrous early losses.)
4. Defenders
Tennis’ smaller players, who usually cannot call upon the strength and leverage required to compete with their taller opponents in the arena of power, often become expert in defense – getting every ball back into play until an opponent either sends a shot out or leaves a ball short and vulnerable to attack.
Excellent defense requires speed, fitness, patience, anticipation, adaptability, and good decision-making. Among the sport’s best defenders are:
Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark (5’10”), a former world #1 who competed in the U.S. Open finals in 2009 and 2014.
Sara Errani of Italy (5’5″), who has reached a Grand Slam singles final (at the 2012 French Open) and won five Grand Slam titles in doubles.
Dominika Cibulková of Slovakia (5’3″), finalist in the 2014 Australian Open.
Tips
Defenders’ matches tend to be longer than the power players’ matches, because they almost inevitably involve longer rallies. Stylistically, a defender’s matches can be gripping and engaging due to a higher concentration of relatively complex points.
5. Shot-makers
Some of most entertaining matches at every Slam are produced by the special breed of player who are shot-makers – those who compensate for a lack of power with creativity, guile, unpredictability, and pinpoint accuracy.
Among the most accomplished of these racquet virtuosi are:
Simona Halep of Romania (5’6″), who reached the French Open final in 2014.
Agnieszka “Aga” Radwańska of Poland (5’8″), nicknamed “Ninja” for her craftiness, who competed in the 2012 Wimbledon final.
Tips
Both Halep and Radwanska have wins over Serena Williams. They are highly accomplished players who can be great fun to watch.
6. Meltdowns and Outbursts
As is the case on the men’s side of the sport, women’s tennis matches can at times be seasoned with outbursts, arguments, and/or loss of emotional control. On both the men’s side and the women’s, there are a few players who are more likely than others to inject drama into their matches.
Alize Cornet of France is renowned for showing her feelings on the court.
Camille Giorgi of Italy brings to every match sharp hitting and a matching emotional intensity, which occasionally boils over into histrionics.
Tips
Cornet, Giorgi, and Jankovic are all top-flight players who should win at least their first few rounds in New York. It’s not impossible that you will witness some heavy drama if you watch one of their matches.
7. Yells and Shrieks
A discussion of the U.S. Open women’s draw would be incomplete without a few words about the politically touchy subject of grunts and screaming on the court. Female players draw frequent criticism for their high-pitched grunts, shrieks, and screams that grate on the ears of many fans. The scolded players respond, at times indignantly, by pointing that that the tennis men grunt too.
It is true that many male players grunt. Two in particular, Argentina’s Carlos Berlocq and Spain’s Marcel Granollers, are often cited by fans as especially hard on the ears, at times drawing comparisons to wounded ruminant mammals.
Nadal produces a nasal grunt that is at times more of a moan. David Ferrer emits a guttural growl after every shot which is as regular as clockwork. Andy Murray does much the same. Novak Djokovic produces a distinctive heh-ENHHH, especially when he is tired. Even Roger Federer grunts occasionally on second serves and defensive backhands.
Murray, Ferrer, and Spain’s Fernando Verdasco each produce at certain moments an “Argh!” sound that roughly translates to, “Damn! I don’t want to have run for that drop shot.”
The female players are correct when they point out that the men also make noise on the court, but, for better or for worse, the higher-pitched sounds produced by the women are more offensive to many fans.
With every shot, Sharapova produces a shriek that is loud at the beginning of a match and deafening if she reaches a tight third set. Azarenka emits a descending operatic glissando that has been aptly called “a ghost going down a waterslide.” Kuznetsova generates a deafening nasal whine that makes it sound as though she is in terrible pain.
Serena Williams’ screams vary throughout a match and seem to correlate with emotional ups and downs. Errani and Muguruza produce predictable “AHH!” sounds, while Schiavone specializes in, “Ah-HEE!”
Tip
The MUTE button can be your friend.
8. Youngsters
Nearly every Slam delivers the excitement of a break-out performance by a rising star. In 2013, American 17-year-old Victoria Duval electrified a night crowd by upsetting defending champion Stosur. In 2014, it was 15-year-old Cici Bellis who brought down the house by upsetting Cibulkova.
Three young players who have a chance to make headlines at the 2015 U.S. Open:
Aleksandra Krunić, 22, of Serbia, who thrilled a night crowd in 2014 with a near-upset of Azarenka.
Elina Svitolina, 20, of Ukraine, who has risen steadily up the rankings and currently sits at 15.
Belinda Bencic, 18, of Switzerland, who scored an impressive win over Serena Williams in Toronto in early August of this year.
Tip
A match featuring any of these three players, and especially a Bencic match, is worth going out of one’s way to see.
9. Americans
There are 22 American players in the women’s draw. Four are seeded in the top 32. Three are qualifiers. Seven are wildcards.
Two Americans play each other in the first round.
The U.S. Roster
Madison Brengle
Louise Chirico
Samantha Crawford
Lauren Davis
Irina Falconi
Nicole Gibbs
Sofia Kenin
Madison Keys (seeded 19)
Vania King
Varvara Lepchenko
Jamie Loeb
Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Christina McHale
Jessica Pegula
Alison Riske
Shelby Rogers
Sloane Stephens (seeded 29)
Anna Tatishvili
Coco Vandeweghe
Sachia Vickery
Serena Williams (seeded 1)
Venus Williams (seeded 23)
Predictions
Without reference to probable winners and losers, here are few prognostications:
Serena Williams will drop the first set of at least one of her matches in New York.
Serena Williams will win her first match that requires a third set.
Eugenie Bouchard will be thrilled if she reaches the third round.
Madison Keys will play her first night match at the U.S. Open when she faces Aga Radwanska in the third round.
The women’s quarterfinals, semifinals, and final will all be excellent matches.
Men’s professional tennis is enjoying a Golden Age. Two of the sport’s stars, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, are vying for the title of “Greatest of All Time.” Close on their heels is Novak Djokovic, who currently dominates the tour and who will easily finish his career among the sport’s ten best. Further enhancing the quality of tennis week by week is an unprecedented number of seasoned veterans in the Top 100, players who because of advances in sports medicine and training techniques are able to maintain their fitness well into their 30s and benefit on court from hard-earned emotional maturity.
The year’s fourth and final Grand Slam tournament, the U.S. Open – in which 128 men compete in best-of-five-set matches scheduled over two weeks – will see farewell performances from two of the sport’s sentimental favorites, scrapping efforts from up-and-coming stars, legacy-burnishing performances from all-time greats, and numerous gut-wrenching fights in which both combatants give their all.
Tennis is rarely more fun or more fascinating than during a Grand Slam. Here are eleven reasons to watch in the days to come:
1. The Big Four! (Or are they the Fab Five?)
Four players – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray – have won 31 of the last 35 (and 37 of the last 43) Grand Slam tournaments, of which there are four per year, and 82 of the last 97 next-tier Masters 1000 tournaments, of which there are nine every year. The quartet’s wholesale dominance of the sport earned them the moniker “The Big Four.” Even as various members of the group have suffered injuries and illnesses or have otherwise slumped in recent years, a Big Four player (or two) has nearly always reached the finals of the important tournaments.
This summer, tennis writers decided to expand the Big Four into the Fab Five with the addition of 30-year-old Swiss player Stan Wawrinka, who has won as many Grand Slam titles as Andy Murray (two), and who soundly trounced Novak Djokovic in the final of this year’s French Open.
Why watch?
A match involving a Fab Five player promises jaw-dropping virtuosity, heart-stopping fight, and more than a little drama. If you have a chance to see one of these men play, I recommend that you take it.
Roger Federer
The thirty-four-year-old Swiss Federer is the all-time leader in Grand Slam titles, with 17, and is tied with Djokovic for second place in Masters 1000 titles with 24. He has earned a Career Grand Slam by winning titles at all four of Grand Slam tournaments (the Australian Open on hard court, the French Open on clay, Wimbledon on grass, and the U.S. Open on hard court). Federer leads his head-to-head record with Djokovic 23-22, leads Murray 14-11, and leads Wawrinka 16-3.
Although Federer has not won a Grand Slam title since Wimbledon of 2012, he reached the Wimbledon final in both 2014 and 2015. Best on grass and indoor hard courts, Federer is always dangerous on hard courts, where he can use his inimitable grace and unmatched variety to optimal offensive advantage.
In the lead-up to this year’s U.S. Open, Federer skipped the Masters 1000 tournament in Montreal in the first week of August and then won the Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati in the following week. His fans, who include several prominent tennis commentators, are picking him to win this year’s U.S. Open title. This he might be able to do, although his ability to prevail in seven best-of-five-set matches over a two week span has been called into question in recent years, especially in light of the competition offered by his rivals in the final rounds.
Rafael Nadal
Twenty-nine-year old Spaniard Rafael Nadal is currently tied with Pete Sampras for second place in Grand Slam titles with 14, this in spite of his having missed seven of the 49 Grand Slam tournaments for which he has been eligible during his career. His 33 percent Slam win rate (14 of 42) is higher than Federer’s (17 of 65) but lower than Bjorn Borg’s (11 of 27).
Nadal owns the most Masters 1000 titles of all time (27). He is the only male player to have won at least one Grand Slam per year every year for 10 consecutive years. He completed the Career Grand Slam at the tender age of 24 and owns an Olympic gold medal. He is also the only male player in tennis history to win titles at Grand Slam tournaments on three different surfaces (hard court, clay, and grass) in the same year (2010).
Nadal has winning head-to-head records against each of the other players in the Fab Five: 23-10 against Federer (including 9-5 on hard courts), 23-21 against Djokovic, 15-6 against Murray, and 12-2 against Wawrinka.
For Nadal, 2015 has been a year in the wilderness. A mid-2014 wrist injury followed by appendicitis meant that Nadal played only five matches in the second half of 2014, during three of which he was ill with appendicitis. Although Nadal has made an art of returning from injuries repeatedly throughout his career, his most recent comeback has been rocky. For the first time, Nadal has suffered failures in one of his greatest strengths: his mental toughness. He has lacked confidence in his shots and decision-making and has lost several matches that in past years he would have won.
By practicing hard and with a positive attitude, Nadal has gradually reconstructed his game much as one might assemble a jigsaw puzzle: better and fuller over time but always with notable gaps. At the Cincinnati Masters 1000, he played two excellent matches but managed to lose his second match to an opponent who was playing the best tennis of his life. In New York this week, Nadal says he feels close to recovering his highest level.
If Nadal were to reach the U.S. Open final, he might in seven matches face five or six players who have defeated him in the last 12 months. His draw will be a test of his tennis and of his character.
He could vanquish his demons and announce to the rest of the tour that he has recovered his top form. Or he might fall at the first hurdle and return home to Mallorca and continue rebuilding. In 2015, Nadal’s path is difficult to predict.
Novak Djokovic
Twenty-eight-year-old Serb Novak Djokovic has dominated the tour in 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015. Whereas Nadal started winning at least one Slam title per year at the age of 19, Djokovic did not win his second Slam title until age 23, at the Australian Open of 2011. Since that time, though, Djokovic has been on fire, winning eight Slam titles and reaching six additional Slam finals in the last five years. During that same period, he has won 19 of his 24 Masters 1000 titles.
Djokovic owns winning head-to-head records over Murray (19-9) and Wawrinka (18-4).
Djokovic has an uncanny ability to reach every ball – at times with this body stretched or contorted to the extreme – and hit winning shots from anywhere on the court to anywhere in the court. Djokovic gets to sharply-angled shots that would beat nearly anyone else on the tour and returns them so aggressively as to make a response from his opponent nearly impossible. He is one of the most adept at return of serve, sending many players’ hardest serves back to the baseline at a server’s feet. When Djokovic’s game is accurate and consistent, he is virtually unbeatable.
In 2015, Djokovic’s win-loss record is 56-5. He has won two Grand Slams and four Masters 1000s, and he has reached the final in every tournament he has played except one.
And yet…
At the two tournaments whose titles he most wanted to win – the French Open and the Cincinnati Open, neither of whose trophies he has yet to hold – Djokovic lost in the final, to Stan Wawrinka and Roger Federer, respectively.
If Djokovic has a weakness, it is that his head can fail him on the largest stages. He is only 9-8 in Grand Slam finals (compared to 17-9 for Federer and 14-6 for Nadal). In his head-to-head history with Nadal, although Djokovic leads 17-13 in best-of-three-set matches at smaller tournaments, Nadal leads 9-4 at Grand Slams and 10-4 overall in the best-of-five-set format.
Based upon his 2015 record, Djokovic has to be the favorite to win the U.S. Open title, but based upon his career-long record at the Slams, he is not a sure bet.
Andy Murray
One week older than Djokovic, Andy Murray owns two Grand Slam titles, the 2012 U.S. Open and 2013 Wimbledon. The twenty-eight-year-old Scot won the 2012 Olympic gold medal at Wimbledon. Murray also owns 10 Masters 1000 titles and has a winning record (8-6) against Wawrinka.
Murray is one of the greatest defenders tennis has ever seen. He gets to nearly every ball and returns almost everything into play. His befuddles and frustrates his opponents with constant changes of angle and spin. Very few players have the aggressive power to hit past or through him.
Murray’s strength has also proven to be a weakness; throughout his career, he has tended to rely too heavily on his fitness and defensive genius rather than on playing aggressively when indicated, with the effect of limiting his success against the top players. To win his Slam titles, Murray played more aggressively than is his natural wont.
Murray arrives at the 2015 U.S. Open in excellent form, having won the warm-up Masters 1000 event in Montreal over Djokovic. Based on the draw released this week, to win in New York, Murray would probably have to beat Wawrinka, and then Federer, and then either Djokovic or Nadal. Fit, enjoying his tennis, and fully recovered from late-2013 back surgery, Murray is ready this year for the challenge.
Stan Wawrinka
Thirty-year-old Swiss Stan Wawrinka is a late bloomer who can be extremely dangerous. Armed with a powerful forehand and a lethal, blistering one-handed backhand that he can direct either crosscourt or up the line, Wawrinka on a good day can beat anyone.
Wawrinka won his first Grand Slam title (of two) at the 2014 Australian Open, where he beat Nadal in the final. After Wawrinka had dominated the first set, Nadal suffered a crippling back injury early in the second set. He could barely move for the remainder of the match. (Even hampered by his back, Nadal still managed to win the third set, as Wawrinka played terribly because of nerves.) It’s possible that Wawrinka would have won that match even if Nadal had not been injured, but unfortunately for Wawrinka (and Nadal), we can never know.
Wawrinka’s second Grand Slam title came at the 2015 French Open, as a result of a truly brilliant aggressive performance against the pre-tournament favorite (and near-unanimous commentator pick) Djokovic. (Two rounds earlier, Wawrinka had similarly dispatched Federer.)
Warinka won his lone Masters 1000 title in April of 2014, after winning his first Grand Slam.
To win in New York, Wawrinka might have to beat Murray, Federer, and then either Djokovic or Nadal. This is formidable challenge, but Wawrinka’s powerful game and virtuosic backhand make it possible.
2. “Dark Horse” Contenders
A few players find themselves on commentators’ lists of “dark horse” candidates with outside shots at the title whenever a Grand Slam rolls around. These are players who consistently finish the year near the top of the rankings and who have reached Grand Slam finals before (and, in the case of the three players listed here, have wins over Roger Federer).
Perennial “dark horses” include:
29-year-old Czech Tomas Berdych, a 6’5″ power hitter who reached the Wimbledon final in 2010 and won a Masters 1000 title in 2005.
30-year-old Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a big-serving shotmaker who reached the 2008 Australian Open final and owns two Masters 1000 titles.
Another player likely to be considered a “dark horse” this year is the defending champion, 26-year-old, 6’6″ Croat Marin Cilic. Cilic played consistent, powerful tennis throughout last year’s tournament, blasting Roger Federer off the court in the semifinal and then showing remarkable poise in winning the final in straight sets over Kei Nishikori.
Cilic’s 2015 has been inconsistent and relatively weak, hampered early in the year by injury. Although he is unlikely to repeat as champion (he would probably have to beat Djokovic or Nadal, and then Murray or Federer), Cilic himself has shown that at a major tournament anything is possible.
Why watch?
These three men are excellent, consistent players. Especially in the early rounds, they can be counted on to entertain.
3. Understudies Waiting in the Wings
Mindful that the 28- to 34-year-old Big Four will retire within the next five to eight years, tennis broadcasters have made a deliberate and carefully engineered effort to cultivate fanbases for players of the next generation. Three players in the 24- to 25-year-old range have emerged as the strongest threats to the Big Four.
25-year-old Japanese Kei Nishikori, the 2014 U.S. Open finalist, has two wins over Federer, two wins over Djokovic, one win over Murray, and one win over Nadal. Playing in a style very similar to that of Djokovic, Nishikori dominates opponents by hitting the ball early on the rise and redirecting it with his very effective backhand.
Nishikori’s weakness is physical fragility. Several times during his career, he has chalked up big wins over top players only to find himself injured on the following day. Nishikori sat out the Cincinnati tournament with a leg injury. Whether that injury will hamper him in New York remains to be seen.
Twenty-four-year-old, 6’5″ Canadian Milos Raonic has three wins over Murray, one win over Federer, and one win over Nadal. Armed with a huge serve, improving rally skills, and a strong work ethic, Raonic plays as though he is determined to rise to the top (by any means necessary).
Raonic has not yet recovered fully from foot surgery that kept him out of this year’s French Open. With his nearly unbreakable serve, he can be dangerous, but he might not be in good enough form to win this year in New York.
Twenty-four-year-old Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov has one win over Djokovic and two over Murray. Blessed with grace and great talent, Dimitrov can hit such a variety of shots that he has drawn comparisons to Federer.
Dimitrov finished 2014 ranked 11 but has fallen to 17 in a 2015 campaign that has included some catastrophic losses. Dimitrov has the talent and physical fitness necessary to win the U.S. Open. Based upon his recent performance, though, he might not yet be mentally ready for the challenge.
Why watch?
Each of these three players is likely a future Slam winner. Nishikori in full flight displays breathtaking dominance. Raonic has one of the best serves on the tour. Dimitrov regularly provides some of the most sublime gee-whiz moments of a tournament.
4. Favorites Taking a Final Bow
This year, two accomplished tour veterans will play the U.S. Open for the last time.
Thirty-four-year-old Australian Lleyton Hewitt, winner of the 2001 U.S. Open and 2002 Wimbledon, will retire in January, after the 2016 Australian Open. Known throughout his career as a scrappy fighter, Hewitt can be counted on to give an opponent everything he can handle and more.
Thirty-three-year-old American Mardy Fish will retire at this U.S. Open. Always a tough fighter with a strong backhand, Fish raised his game to a new level in 2010 and 2011 by taking off extra weight. In early 2012, six months after reaching his career-high ranking of 7, Fish began to experience cardiac symptoms that required an ablation procedure and that led to crippling bouts of anxiety, effectively ending his career.
This summer – recovered, confident, and accompanied by his wife and infant son – Fish has played a farewell tour on the U.S. hard courts. Speaking openly about his ordeal in an effort to help others who suffer with anxiety, Fish is enjoying his final professional matches as he prepares to retire on his own terms.
Why watch?
Hewitt’s and Fish’s final matches will surely be hard-fought. Their curtain calls will be followed by moving tributes to well-loved and widely-respected veterans.
5. Young Guns: The Ten Teens
The U.S. Open men’s draw will feature 10 teenagers. The last time there were as many teens – 1990 – none of these young men had been born.
Why watch?
These are possible stars of the future, some of whom might fill face each other in Grand Slam finals five to ten years from now. Remember their names:
In recent years, tennis has seen a growing number of players over 30 in the top 100 and in the top 50, including several players who are playing their best tennis now at ages that only a decade ago would have seemed impossible.
Thirty-six-year old Croat Ivo Karlovic, or “Dr. Ivo,” as he is know affectionately on the tour, uses his 6’11” frame to generate unreachable serves that seem to come out of a tree. Playing some of the best tennis of his career, Karlovic recently hit his 10,000th ace.
Carrying himself with confidence and calm consequent to his relatively advance years, thirty-three-year-old Spanish lefty Feliciano Lopez has reached his career-high ranking of 12 in 2015. Now ranked 18th, Lopez arrives in New York in strong form.
Thirty-two-year-old Luxembourger Gilles Muller is another relatively tall (6’4″) player, and another lefty, to play his best tennis well after the age of 30. He reached his career-high ranking of 34 this past spring.
Why watch?
All three of these players excel at the highly entertaining and increasingly rare serve-and-volley style. Their matches can be a treat to watch, and, since they usually involve few rallies, they can be relatively short.
7. Advantage: Height
Height presents a trade-off in tennis. On the plus side, height gives a player a bigger serve, a wider reach at the net, and more powerful groundstrokes. On the down side, tall players find it more difficult to move around the court.
Players at the top of the rankings, with a few exceptions, are typically at useful intermediate heights of 6’1″ and 6’4″. However, in recent years, advances in equipment and training have enabled a growing number of very tall players to succeed on the tour.
Among the giants are the aforementioned Milos Raonic, Ivo Karlovic, Marin Cilic, and Tomas Berdych. Others include South African Kevin Anderson (6’8″), Americans Sam Querrey (6’6″) and John Isner (6’10”), and Czechs Jiri Vesely (6’6″) and Lukas Rosol (6’5″).
Why watch?
Whether the growing ranks of the tall is good or bad for tennis is debatable, since taller players tend to play a relatively boring style of tennis derisively termed “servebot.”
That said, the athleticism and power of the taller players can be breathtaking.
8. The Beauty of the One-hander
Once upon a time, a typical tennis player used one hand to hit his backhand. More recently, players have found that they need two hands on the backhand in order to cope with their opponents’ power and spin. Thus, one-handers are becoming an endangered species.
Why watch?
One-handed backhands can be sublimely beautiful and shockingly effective.
If you have a chance to see one of these practitioners of the beautiful one-hander, grab it.
Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria)
Richard Gasquet (France)
Mikhail Youzhny (Russia)
Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany)
Tommy Robredo (Spain)
Roger Federer (Switzerland)
Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland)
9. Never say die: Fighters to the End
The best-of-five-set format of the Grand Slams brings out the ultimate in an admirable breed of players who prevail over their opponents by outlasting them — by sustaining high-level tennis over many hours, fighting until the last point, and never giving up. One exemplar of this fighting style is Nadal, who is said to play every point in a match as though it were his last.
Others include:
33-year-old Spaniard Tommy Robredo, who holds the distinction of having come back from two-sets-to-none deficits to win in five sets at all four of the Grand Slam tournaments, and who very dramatically clawed his way back from two-sets-to-none deficits to win three consecutive matches at the 2013 French Open.
30-year-old Frenchman Gilles Simon, who makes up for his relative lack of power with great defensive skills, determination, and guile.
33-year-old Spaniard David Ferrer – probably the greatest maximizer of his talent on the tour. Standing only 5’9″ on his very tallest days, Ferrer has made up for his lack of altitude and wingspan by working hard to cultivate consistency and great foot speed and by making the most of his strengths and minimizing the impact of his weaknesses. Ferrer has a wickedly accurate forehand and a reliable backhand. One of his greatest strengths is a talent for reading an opponent’s serve, throwing himself at the ball, and returning nearly any serve into play.
Ferrer has won one Masters 1000 title and reached a Grand Slam final at the French Open in 2013. With 24 career titles, Ferrer is only two titles shy of being the most accomplished male tennis player never to have won a Slam.
Why watch?
Commentators, and especially those who are not former players, sometimes dismiss the fighting style because it might lack flash or pizzazz.
In my opinion, the fighters’ matches can be the most riveting. Every such contest is a great display of heart.
10. Broken to Love: Tantrums and other Misbehavior
Like all sports, tennis has its bad boys. I won’t give them much ink here, but it is not difficult to find tantrums, racquet smashes, verbal attacks on referees, line judges, and ballkids, and other appalling behavior via searches on Novak Djokovic, Jerzy Janowicz, Ernests Gulbis, Fabio Fognini, Ryan Harrison, or Nick Kyrgios.
Why watch?
Gulbis and Fognini can be perversely entertaining (especially Gulbis, shown above, who tends to be good-natured in his racquet smashes). A Janowicz or Harrison tantrum can be a spectacle. Kyrgios, who faces Murray in the first round in New York, may not last long in the tournament, which might be just as well.
11. The Home Team
There are sixteen American men in the draw. Most are young. It might be difficult for any to reach the fourth round of seven, but the home crowds – especially the home crowd behind the last U.S. man standing – can create magical moments.
Whom to watch?
Steve Johnson, Sam Querrey, Denis Kudla, Tim Symczek, Donald Young, Jared Donaldson, Frances Tiafoe, Ryan Harrison, John Isner, Tommy Paul, Mardy Fish, Ryan Shane, Jack Sock, Rajeev Ram, Austin Krajicek, and Bjorn Fratangelo.
Predictions
Preceding every Grand Slam is a suffocating flurry of predictions. It seems that every tennis journalist in the world goes on record with guesses as to who will win, who will lose early, and who will surprise the field. These predictions are then reported in the tennis media with a breathlessness more appropriate to actual results, as though those slated to win ought to be anointed champion on the spot.
I don’t understand the impulse to make predictions and pronouncements, and I don’t like the effect such predictions have on tennis commentary. Play-by-play announcers, either consciously or not, inevitably shade their commentary to support their own biases, since nobody wants to be wrong.
Thus, my five predictions relate not to winners and losers but rather to other aspects of the game.
Tomas Berdych’s on-court attire will be loud and garish, but he will still make it look good.
Roger Federer will have the crowd solidly behind him at every match, even if he plays an American, unless both he and Nadal somehow manage to both reach the final, in which case the crowd support will be closer to 50-50.
Novak Djokovic will not get as much crowd support at any of his matches as he wants or as his fans believe he deserves.
John Isner and Ivo Karlovic, with their powerful serves and relatively weak return games, will average more tiebreaks in their matches than Djokovic, Federer, Murray, Wawrinka, and Nadal combined.
During the first week of New York heat, players will fight tooth-and-nail for five sweltering sets, as a matter of honor, merely for the right to play in the second or third round.
That is why the Grand Slams are so much fun to watch!
(With 6’8″ Jerzy Janowicz after the 2012 Paris-Bercy final.)
(With John Isner in Madrid.)
(Meme created by @bellezavitale)
(With Feliciano Lopez.)
(“The Armada” in Valencia.)
(Posted by David Ferrer.)
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