The Random Tennis News Thread

[The Special Juan]

First topic message reminder :

There's not really a thread up for random tennis news that perhaps doesn't require it's own topic.

First of all, it's sad to hear of the death of Brad Drewett, Chief Executive of the ATP. I don't know if anyone's mentioned that and I've missed it.

Secondly, here's an interesting bit of tennis gossip about Evert and Connors: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/05/04/tennis-connors-evert-idUKL3N0DL05G20130504

[summerblues]

Pretty rough on Andy. He makes the SF yet he will be losing points on Nishi, Rao and possibly also Berdych. Plus he has a tough draw next week.

[LuvSports!]

SB why don't they just say that in the race then? I am just curious as I don't know enough about it.

[LuvSports!]

Scratch that. Found the atp rule book.
(Section IV: World Championship B.1.b).

[YvonneT]

I think Cilic and Nishikori are pretty much safe

Cilic is in no matter what. As a slam winner he is in as long as he is in top 20 (which he obviously will be)

Neither Wawrinka nor Cilic announced as qualified by the ATP, I presume because there are some farfetched scenarios where they could both finish outside the top 8 and therefore even though both would be in the top 20, only the higher ranked one would qualify. So as soon as one qualifies, then they both do. Still effectively means 3 places left with Nishikori pretty well placed for one of them.

[summerblues]

What's astounding about the rankings is that Djokovic has 8150 points and has only played 13 tournaments.

I think he is only playing his 12th tournament of the year now.  But even so, I do not see what is astounding about his points.  If anything, it is weaker than what #1s have been doing lately.  The tournaments that he did play were mostly the big tournaments, if he had added another few smaller tournaments that would have maybe given him another 800-1000 points.  That would still probably be weaker than where the #1 player has usually been this time of the year.

[CaledonianCraig]

For me it is not the be all and end all if Andy reaches London. At present (considering how disastrous this year has been by his career standards) I am more keen to see the competitive edge, the consistency and wins against top players to boost confidence and edge back into top eight by the end of the year. He needs a good base to build on for next year.

At least in the last couple of weeks we have seen the competitiveness back in his game and his consistency has improved and he has managed wins against the likes of recent form player and top tenner Cilic. He is still nowhere near the level he was but he has improved in recent weeks and hopefully he can keep pushing on and end the year in a good frame of heart and mind for next year.

[summerblues]

I think Cilic and Nishikori are pretty much safe

Cilic is in no matter what. As a slam winner he is in as long as he is in top 20 (which he obviously will be)

Neither Wawrinka nor Cilic announced as qualified by the ATP, I presume because there are some farfetched scenarios where they could both finish outside the top 8 and therefore even though both would be in the top 20, only the  higher ranked one would qualify. So as soon as one qualifies, then they both do. Still effectively means 3 places left with Nishikori pretty well placed for one of them.

I imagine yes, it may be the way you say it.

[summerblues]

For me it is not the be all and end all if Andy reaches London.

Well, obviously it is not so critical in the bigger scheme of things.  Still, pretty bad if - having played full year - he might fail to qualify.

Also, he is not the youngest anymore, so having effectively wasted this year is a pity.  He does not have that many top years left ahead of him - maybe 1 or 2 at most.

[The Special Juan]

What's astounding about the rankings is that Djokovic has 8150 points and has only played 13 tournaments.

I think he is only playing his 12th tournament of the year now.  But even so, I do not see what is astounding about his points.  If anything, it is weaker than what #1s have been doing lately.  The tournaments that he did play were mostly the big tournaments, if he had added another few smaller tournaments that would have maybe given him another 800-1000 points.  That would still probably be weaker than where the #1 player has usually been this time of the year.

I made a mistake, I was looking at the Race "rankings", not the official rankings. He's 3500 ahead of Nadal on the official rankings but only 1000 on the Race.

[Born Slippy]

For me it is not the be all and end all if Andy reaches London. At present (considering how disastrous this year has been by his career standards) I am more keen to see the competitive edge, the consistency and wins against top players to boost confidence and edge back into top eight by the end of the year. He needs a good base to build on for next year.

At least in the last couple of weeks we have seen the competitiveness back in his game and his consistency has improved and he has managed wins against the likes of recent form player and top tenner Cilic. He is still nowhere near the level he was but he has improved in recent weeks and hopefully he can keep pushing on and end the year in a good frame of heart and mind for next year.

Completely agree with this. If the surgery has hit him hard for a year but lets him then play at top level for another 3-4 years after, then its no hardship to miss WTF. He still isn't at a level to deal with Novak but so long as he is starting to deal competently with the second tier he is in good shape for 2015.

[lydian]

Goffin did beat Zverev easily...63 62...then won his semifinal match today to move into yet another final where he'll likely play fellow Belgian Steve Darcis who is making a comeback from injury.

So the stats keep rolling in, Goffin has now won 38/40 matches (with streaks of 25, and currently 11 & counting in there) since Wimbledon and moves up to another career high #27 ranking.

What has propelled Goffin to new heights? Well his serve has become a true weapon for a start. If you look at his ATP (not Challenger) matches, he's hit aces on more than 1 in 9 service points in 8/14 matches on hard courts this summer. Before this summer he did that in just 3/50 ATP matches on HC. That's a remarkable transformation, and also a remarkable feat for a player who is 5’11.”

This is partly down to his new coach who is working in his strength, fitness and jumping higher into the serve...that's when he can get time to work with Goffin who at the moment just keeps on winning. It is really good to see such a talented player turn his career around like this...and I hope he continues to surprise the nay-sayers.

Anyway...I watched Nadal vs Klizan and it was pretty woeful in places with loads of UEs plus his FH was nowhere near full strength. He let slip 3-2 break up leads in sets 2 and 3 which tells me he's not match tough yet. He can only improve but hats off to Klizan for taking advantage. Clearly he had a big bump to ground vs Berdy though.

[YvonneT]

Surprised to see Goffin still in Challengers actually, but presume this will be his last at this level. Should be seeded for the AO next year - still sceptical how well he can in BO5 against bigger, stronger guys, but the talent is certainly there.

[YvonneT]

For me it is not the be all and end all if Andy reaches London.

Well, obviously it is not so critical in the bigger scheme of things.  Still, pretty bad if - having played full year - he might fail to qualify.

It's not great - especially when avoiding just one or two of the blown leads would have probably seen him there. Even on the commercial front, I've seen that he's negotiating his next (and most likely last) apparel contract so he won't want to be stagnating outside the top 8. However, maybe it's a comfort that he's already surpassed the number of points needed the qualify most years (Stan had 3330 in 8th last year) - on the other hand, this means the younger group are finally breaking through the old guard defences and are surely going to having even more success next year.

[LuvSports!]

He is not travelling to Asia. I think he is preparing for the indoor European season now. Vienna, Basel, Bercy.

[lydian]

Absolutely LS, just Vienna and Basel though. Remember his schedule was planned a few months ago...Yvonne don't forget it's only 3 months since he was ranked outside top 100 and Challengers were all he could enter. I hope he will be seeded for AO and cause some damage. There is no reason why this guy can't be the new Davydenko, and he wasn't known for his strength. But don't underestimate the fitness sweat this guy is putting in. However, Bo5 format is now his true test. I think he'll cause some waves on tour next year whatever happens, his confidence is on a different planet now vs 6 mtgs ago, he feels he belongs amongst the elite now whereas he didn't before...the guy is still 23 don't forget, plenty of time to further improve.

[CaledonianCraig]

For me it is not the be all and end all if Andy reaches London.

Well, obviously it is not so critical in the bigger scheme of things.  Still, pretty bad if - having played full year - he might fail to qualify.

But lets remember although he has played a full year I'd say it is his worst year since he matured in terms of lots missing from his game for lengthy spells so if anything it is a surprise he is still even in contention to qualify.

[summerblues]

Also, Goffin's challenger is played in Belgium, so he may want to show up more than he would at other random challengers.

[lydian]

Yep Mons is where Goffin trains at the Belgian Tennis Federation so it's effectively his home event plus his Belgian colleague Oliver Rochus retired from tour there this week...so maybe some influence on him competing. You won't see him doing Challengers next year...however, he'll try to bulk up and build stamina over what remains of the closed season before he plays Chennai/Sydney/AO.

[LuvSports!]

Nishi wins in 3!

[CaledonianCraig]

Nishi wins in 3!

Good stuff. I like Nishi's game - very good all-rounder whereas Raonic is really mostly all about his serve.

[LuvSports!]

Good to see James Ward beat Troicki to qualify for the first round in Shanghai! Very good 6-4 6-1 win.

[CaledonianCraig]

Good to see James Ward beat Troicki to qualify for the first round in Shanghai! Very good 6-4 6-1 win.

If he can muster a decent run in Shanghai and have good runs elsewhere for the remainder of the season he will be getting pretty close to breaking into the top 100.

[LuvSports!]

He will win the tournament now. Top 30 beckons.

[The Special Juan]

Wardy draws Kev Anderson. Could be both better and worse.

[The Special Juan]

This will have gone under the radar but a very young American Stefan Kozlov (16-18, can't remember) is in the final of a Challenger v Querrey today. He beat Smyczek in the SF to record his first top 100 win.

[The Special Juan]

This will have gone under the radar but a very young American Stefan Kozlov (16-18, can't remember) is in the final of a Challenger v Querrey today.  He beat Smyczek in the SF to record his first top 100 win.

He's 16, I just looked it up.

[LuvSports!]

16-year-old Stefan Kozlov battles to the win of his life in Sacramento

Tennis - The current junior world number 4 came from a set down to shock Tim Smyczek by winning 3-6 6-3 7-6(7-1).

[lydian]

Yeah great news for Ward, beating Troicki who is no mug.
He has a chance vs Anderson, but needs to return well.

Good intel TSJ...seems to be a few 16-18 yr olds coming through inc. Zverev, Coric, Kokkanakis. Who will break from the pack...

LS, win or lose Goffin is up to #26...it's an insane journey this past 3 months. I wonder if playing fellow Belgian Darcis today will add an extra layer of pressure for him...wouldn't be surprised if he lost today given Darcis is no mug and in good form too.

[LuvSports!]

Is he deffo not playing Bercy Lydian?

[slashermcguirk]

A real master class in returning serve from djokovic on this match. Every return within a foot of the baseline, how does he do it so consistently off powerful serves!!

[HM Murdock]

Classic Novak.

6-0, 5-0 up and gets broken serving for the match!

[The Special Juan]

Jeezus, looks like Murray did well to win 7 games. Djokovic chucking away the chance for a double bagel is perhaps more surprising than the result.

[LuvSports!]

Goffin! I've typed that a lot recently
Wins again in straight sets

[The Special Juan]

3 & 3 over The Shark... That's probably something off his "to do list" - win his home tournament.

[djlovesyou]

James Ward qualified for Shanghai beating Troicki 4 and 1.

Plays Kevin Anderson in the first round. Knocking on the door of top 100 and pushing for a DA into Australia.

[slashermcguirk]

Djokovic was awesome today, hitting the ball so clean and stunning returns. Berdych must be wondering what happened, scary level of tennis

[CaledonianCraig]

Berdych really annoys. Here he was getting thrashed and facing a double bagel and he broke serve and spent the sit-down giggling away when he should have been fuming with his play.

[The Special Juan]

Nishikori is now top 5 I think. Good going for a player I never thought had it in him.

[lydian]

Goffin...yay! Le Machine rolls on, that's 39/41 victories.

Welcome to the new world no. 26...can he become the highest ever ranked Belgian? (Malisse...#19, 2002)

[It Must Be Love]

OK if Goffin breaks into the top 5 and proves me wrong I'll have to call Lydian- Saint Lydian- from now on.

[summerblues]

Goffin...yay! Le Machine rolls on, that's 39/41 victories.

Welcome to the new world no. 26...can he become the highest ever ranked Belgian? (Malisse...#19, 2002)

Presumably he will get there.  I would love for him to become a standard top 10 inhabitant (something like maybe Berdych is now), he would be a nice addition.

39/41 does not really count though - challenger W/L cannot be commingled with main tour stats - it is a different ballgame.

[lydian]

That's fair comment SB but even at Tour level he's 19-2 since Wimbledon. Not bad going considering his record before. At Challengers its a clean sweep of 20/20.
Hey, I'm not expecting trophies at slam level for the guy (but then who has won trophies outside the Big 4). However, it's been a refreshing storyline to see a young guy overcome adversity to achieve success. This does speak to the mettle in him and I don't see why he can't break the top 15 at least. He has the talent.

Speaking of that "story" this was Goffin just 12 months ago...ranked below 100, no confidence and just out of surgery for a broken wrist. I hope the ATP and media do a story/feature on him because his reinvigoration has been stunning.

[The Special Juan]

Whoa, Wardy takes the first set 6-3 against Anderson (he was a break down too).

[The Special Juan]

Ah.... Not to be for Wardy today but at least he gave it a go and took a set off a very good player.

[slashermcguirk]

Does anybody else find it strange that Djokovic and Murray have a similar style of the game (obvious when you see them play each other) and yet Djokovic has a 15-2 record vs Berdych and yet Murray has a losing record against Berdych.

I wonder what it is that Murray struggles with him so much, being a great returner too you would think that Murray would also be able to neutralise Berdych's power game. Anybody have any thoughts on it? I just find the match ups very interesting in tennis and often hard to explain. What is it that Murray struggles with when it comes to Berdych?

[temporary21]

Thats a lot to do with the mind. Berdych feels confident against Murray because hes got a few wins on him, whereas he gets pummelled against Novak a lot, and as such feel more beaten before hes even started. Murrays forehand is also probably a big reason he doesn't neutralise Berdy as much

[slashermcguirk]

Fair point temporary21, must be a mental thing. My own feeling is that Berdych is very dangerous when given time on the ball. perhaps murray doesnt hit the ball conistently as deep as Djokovic and that crucial bit of extra time allows Berdych to line up his shots and crush them. Must be small fractions but the only reason i can think of. The Murray return is so strong so it does suprise me he doesnt get the upper hand as much in the rallies.

[HM Murdock]

Does anybody else find it strange that Djokovic and Murray have a similar style of the game (obvious when you see them play each other) and yet Djokovic has a 15-2 record vs Berdych and yet Murray has a losing record against Berdych.

Part of it is that they've only played 10 times and Berdy won all three of their clay matches.

But I think temp21 is right too, it's largely Tomas's mind. Yesterday he just got blown away but I've seen a number of performances where he could and should have won sets but blew it at the big moment. Players do get in each others' head and Novak is definitely in Tomas's. Andy though, has never led the H2H against Berdych, so I think Tomas always believes he can win against him.

[YvonneT]

Berdych seems much more comfortable on clay. Take away clay and you get 4-3 on hard to Murray with most of them fairly close.

Much of Berdych's problems with Djokovic and Nadal seem mental.

EDIT: Or just as HM Murdoch said while I was typing!

[Born Slippy]

Cilic out already in Shanghai. Good job he has that slam champion passage to the WTF as he could easily finish 9th the way things are going!

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