Tournaments to end of season 2022

After the Federer final farewell, we move on to the rest of the season.

The race is on to be year-end number one in the men's, while Swiatek is far away at the top among the women. Djoko will be keen to get some matches in and is playing this week in Tel Aviv.

Some might argue Alcaraz has done the easy bit by reaching number one. The hard part is staying there. But whatever happens, his is a remarkable achievement, even if the no-points Wimbledon and the absences of Djoko have made it easier for the young Spaniard.

Thiem looked on course for a good win v Cilic after winning a first-set tiebreak, but Marin took the last two sets.

Dimi, who has a very bad habit of going out early to a player he should have beaten, was at it again yesterday, going down in straight sets to Ivashka.

The drums are still being heard by Fernando, with the now lowly-ranked Verdasco knocking out Basilashvili in Sofia.

Cam Norrie has reached the quarters of the Korea Open. He is hoping to play a silly amount of tournaments in a few weeks to force his way into the season ending ATP finals.

Norrie had to pull out ill before his match with Brooksby today. Could be a blessing for Cam who has played a lot this year and now has a bit of a rest before a busy end of season.

Nishioka, who had beaten Evans in the first round, was at it again today - ousting top seed Ruud in three sets

Djokovic wins his 89th ATP title beating Cilic in straight sets in the final. Regardless of Novak being the favourite in that match, thats still a very good win as Cilic has had a very good year reaching the Semi finals of the French open and taking Alcaraz to 5 sets in the US open quarter final. Any tournament win is good for confidence particularly as that was the first tournament Djokovic has played since winning Wimbledon. Hopefully he can string a few good tournaments together to finish out the year after having had to miss the vast majority of the year. I am also glad to see Cilic back playing really well, he has been such a consistent performer over so many years. He still has the fire power to beat anybody on his day.

Slasher: The H-to-H between Djoko and Cilic is now 18-2. So were almost heading into Fed-Roddick and Fed-Ferrer territory.

You have to think that the likes of Cilic would, in normal times, have been good enough to win a few Slams rather than the solitary 2014 New York crown.

SirFred, Yes I was aware of that lobsided H2H. I am really surprised about it to be honest when you consider the quality of Cilic over the years, this is a guy that not only has won a grand slam but has also reached the final of the Australian Open and Wimbledon. He also reached the Semi finals of the French Open (twice I think). He is a brilliant player and the type of player that can take the racket out of anyones hand with the power he hits with and a great serve that delivers so many aces.

Funnily enough there are a number of other players what would be considered consistent top 10 players over the years that Djokovic handed a crazy amount of defeats to. His H2H against:

Monfils 18-0
Berdych 25-3
Nishikori 18-2
Del Potro 16-4
Gasquet 13-1
Raonic 12-0

It shows how much of tennis about match ups. You take a player like Nishikori, he is not a particularly big hitter but has great ground strokes, he has played a heavy hitter like Kyrgios 4 times and beat Kyrgios every single time. Berdych has plenty of wins vs Murray and Federer including at grand slams and yet he managed to win just 3 times in 28 matches vs Djokovic. Its what makes styles and match ups so interesting, the stat about Federer being unbeaten against Ferrer is crazy when you consider how super solid Ferrer was and he had a reputation for being so tough to beat because he was like a wall and he never threw in the towel. Yet Federer handled him with ease.

You even look at Dan Evans, while he is nowhere near the top level players, he lost against Nishioka last week and he has now played that Japanese player 6 times and lost every single match to him.

Its what makes Tennis such an interesting sport, its all about styles and match ups.

Ruud, in Tokyo, and Alcaraz, in Astana, both crashed out today. Ruud, unsurprisingly, said he was very tired.

Alcaraz, too, has had a long season and now, of course, everyone wants to beat him. His conqueror was Goffin who, having squandered two MPs in his final qualifying match, was playing as an LL.

Dan Evans beat Albot in three sets in Tokyo, while Kyrgios, as his court case began in Australia, won in straight sets.

slashermcguirk wrote:SirFred, Yes I was aware of that lobsided H2H. I am really surprised about it to be honest when you consider the quality of Cilic over the years, this is a guy that not only has won a grand slam but has also reached the final of the Australian Open and Wimbledon. He also reached the Semi finals of the French Open (twice I think). He is a brilliant player and the type of player that can take the racket out of anyones hand with the power he hits with and a great serve that delivers so many aces.

Funnily enough there are a number of other players what would be considered consistent top 10 players over the years that Djokovic handed a crazy amount of defeats to. His H2H against:

Monfils    18-0
Berdych   25-3
Nishikori  18-2
Del Potro  16-4
Gasquet   13-1
Raonic     12-0

It shows how much of tennis about match ups. You take a player like Nishikori, he is not a  particularly big hitter but has great ground strokes, he has played a heavy hitter like Kyrgios 4 times and beat Kyrgios every single time. Berdych has plenty of wins vs Murray and Federer including at grand slams and yet he managed to win just 3 times in 28 matches vs Djokovic. Its what makes styles and match ups so interesting, the stat about Federer being unbeaten against Ferrer is crazy when you consider how super solid Ferrer was and he had a reputation for being so tough to beat because he was like a wall and he never threw in the towel. Yet Federer handled him with ease.

You even look at Dan Evans, while he is nowhere near the top level players, he lost against Nishioka last week and he has now played that Japanese player 6 times and lost every single match to him.

Its what makes Tennis such an interesting sport, its all about styles and match ups.

Excellent post. Obviously Federer has a list of players who he dominated in a similar manner - Ferrer and Roddick being the most famous pair. A quick look shows that Gasquet should just throw in the towel against the top guys - 18-0 H2H with Rafa and 19-2 v Federer, so overall 49-3 against the big 3.

One other thing, as well as match ups is confidence and self belief - I'm sure many players go out on court against the superstars with the mindset that even if they play at their best they can't win barring injury.

dummy-half, I agree so much of it also has to be mindset. Gasquet clearly has a massive mental block against the Big 3. I definitely think that was the case with Roddick too when he played Federer. When you have so much scar tissue against a particular player, it has to wreak havoc with your mindset going into the match. Some of the best players find a way to counteract this and find solutions to the problem. Murray comes to mind a bit for me on this one, I seem to recall the first 5 -10 times that he played Berdych including in slam meetings he lost to him and he seemed to be a tricky match up for Murray. However over time Murray seemed to adapt his approach and eventually swung the momentum his way and finished with a positive record. Again I think so much of this is what you say, self belief to beat certain players. The best players will find a way to adapt their game.

Henman had Federer's number in their early exchanges although Rog certainly turned the tables after that, including an absolute spanking one year at Wimbledon.

Any relief Dan Evans had about not having to face his recent nemesis, Nishioka, in Tokyo was offset by an agonising loss (including having two MPs) against Kecmanovic.

The Serbian was today demolished by in-form Tiafoe love and 4. It could well be a Kyrgios-Tiafoe final, although Nick has to get past Fritz in today's quarter.

Despite Alcaraz's early exit, the Astana field looks strong, with seeds 2,3,4 and 5 still alive. Djoko and Medvedev will meet in the semis if they win their quarters today. Rublev is already thru to the last four.

The big boys all made it thru to the last four in Astrana, making it a particularly strong semi line-up for a 500-pointer.

Tiafoe is already thru to the final in Tokyo despite a mid-match blip which saw him lose (tank?) the middle set 6-0 . He'll meet either Shapo or Fritz in the final. As I write Fritz leads 4-1 in the first set.

In a battle of Wimbledon champs Rybakina beat Kvitova in Ostrava. This year's SW19 winner has not had it easy since her July triumph but, by all accounts, served particularly well. The presence of number one Swiatek looms large, though.

Tsitsipas takes out Rublev and Djokovic takes out Medvedev. Apparently Medvedev threw in the towel after losing 2nd set tie break. That wont have gone down well with the crowd, Djokovic had the momentum anyway heading into final set

Djoko said he was surprised that Medvedev had jacked it in, although he noticed he may have been moving a little slower in the tiebreak.

I'm taking Novak to complete the job against Tsitsipas in today's final.

America has enjoyed its best year for some time and the US will take the Tokyo crown , with Tiafoe squaring up to Fritz today.

Worth noting, too, just how well two young American WCs did in the qualifying first round overnight in San Diego. Ashlyn Krueger, 18, beat 31st ranked Sasnovich, while Robin Montgomery, also 18, smashed Zhang, ranked 27, in straight sets.

Meanwhile in Ostrava, Swiatek's stellar year continued with a tight, three-set semi win over Alexandrova. In the final she'll meet 2021 RG champ Krejcikova who overcame Wimbledon titleist Rybakina.

It's tricky trying to avoid GS champs in the women's draws these days - there are just too many of them! For instance, Swiatek has a bye in the first round of San Diego this next week but in the second round will meet either Rybakina or....two-times Slam winner Muguruza. (You wonder whether Swiatek will turn up after some long matches this week).

Fritz bt Tiafoe in two tiebreak sets and Djoko has just demolished Tsitsipas in straight sets.

From the stats the Greek didn't create a single BP and, indeed, must have won precious few points on the Novak serve.

Title number 90 for Djoko who will surely emulate Connors and Federer in reaching a century of tournament wins.

Katie Swan won a minor tourney today in Trnava in Slovakia. It was only a CH60 but the title should see Swan climb to a career high.

Women's action, after RG 2021 champ Krejcikova edged Swiatek in the Ostrava final on Sunday, has switched to San Diego where the draw is full of GS winners.

One of them - Sofia Kenin - is already out, beaten by a fellow-American Coco Wandeweghe who has also tumbled down the rankings.

But another GS champ - Andreescu - had a very good win over in-form Samsonova. A'scu is making her way back after injury and illness saw her ranking drop.

In Gijon (which, if pronounced correctly, sounds like the noise a donkey makes) Andy Murray has taken a WC but has a tough opener today against D-Fokina.

Murray was 2-4, 30-40 down in the first set today but managed to get it back on serve and then break at 5-6 to take the first set.

After that, Murray rather ran away with it, with only a slight hiccup at the end, ending up a 7-5, 6-2 winner. According to the stats I've seen Andy only committed six UEs.

He will, at least on paper, have an easier second-round match. before, probably, facing R BA in the quarters.

So much for the "easier" match for Murray in Gijon. He needed three sets and 2hrs 48mins to beat Argentinian Pedro Cachin.

Murray had five BPs in the first set but couldn't take any of them, with Cachin winning 6-2. Andy broke in the 12th game of the second set to level the match.

But it was far from plain sailing from there, with the Scot twice having to break back to keep it on serve before taking the tiebreak and the match.

I thought Andy M might be able to go deep in this Gijon tourney but he went out last night to Korda in three sets.

Korda will now play Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech who saved nine (NINE) MPs to edge Carreno Busta 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(16) in a 3hr match.

Meanwhile in San Diego, Swiatek demolished Gauff love and three to give the Pole her 20th bagel of the season.

There were tourney titles for Swiatek, Rublev and FAA among others at the weekend.

Today, Jack Draper had a very impressive straight sets win (1 and 2) over rising US star Jenson Brooksby in Antwerp. The Brit has had a stand-out season.

Draper later took a set off Hurkacq who later lost to a resurgent Thiem.

But Thiem was just pipped in the semis by Korda who today plays FAA in the final.

Norrie went out to Rune in Stockholm with Rune now playing Tsitsipas in today's final.

Jack Draper has replaced an injured Kyrgios in the draw in Basel next week but in the first round plays.....Alcaraz.

Murray, too, has a tough opener, against Korda.

Titles today for FAA, Italy's Musetti and 19-yr-old Rune.

To think we had a number of years from around 2008 onwards when not a single teenager even reached a final, let alone win one.

We now have had, in recent years, a good many teenage titleists and, of course, we now have a teenaged number one.

A word on Heather Watson, now at 145th in the world and having to play in a lowly-ranked tourney in Glasgow. She did reach the final and was a set and 5-1 up against a Briton who's never been higher than 199.

Watson, who frequently snatches defeat from the jaws of victory, managed to lose in the end. Words fail me...

Jack Draper put up a tremendous fight before going down to Alcaraz 7-5 in the final set in the opening round in Basel. The Briton has had a terrific year.

Three places (four if Rafa doesn't play) remain in the final eight who will compete at the WTF in Turin. Medvedev, Rublev and FAA are the best-placed but with 1,000pts available in Paris the race is still wide open.

Korda must have pulled out in Basel as I see Murray is playing, instead, Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin.

The winner will probably face Bautista Agut in round two. Meanwhile in Vienna Norrie faces Cachin who gave Murray a very tough match a couple of weeks ago.

Evans has a tricky opener, too, against German LL Otte who has soared up the rankings in recent months.

Well, what I thought would be an easier match for Murray with Korda dropping out proved anything but.

Dunblane's finest found himself down in the final set before breaking back and eventually coming through 6-7, 6-3, 6-4.

Apparently this is Murray's first appearance in Basel since.....2005.

Evans beat Otte in straight sets in Vienna.

Thiem delighted his home crowd in Vienna with a come-from-behind win over Tommy Paul.

Down 4-6 in the final set tiebreak, Dom won the last four points to take the match. It's good to see him playing regularly again. And that backhand.....

Medvedev comes from a set down to win Vienna 500 and only his second title of 2022.
The Russian beating Shapovalov 4-6 6-3 6-2 - 15th career title for the former world #1.

Yet another title today for FAA who beat Rune in Basel. A trophy, too, for Medvedev who came from behind to beat Shapovalov in Vienna.

Paris begins tomorrow. This is Gilles Simon's last tourney and he faces....Andy Murray. Rafa is back for this and you have to assume that he will play in the WTF later.

Rafa could end the year at number one. I think Alcaraz is, understandably, feeling weary and now, of course, everyone wants to beat him..

If the young Spaniard does lose his number one position he could well regain it in the early part of next year as Rafa can't possibly gain any points from Melbourne or the RG.

It’s really great to see FAA now a serial winner on tour. Amazing talent, but IIRC he was like 0-8 in finals before winning his first. The floodgates have opened.

Anyone think that Murray might announce his retirement at the end of this season?

He's recently said a few things about the commitment required to be on the tour regularly, and obviously he is getting quite long in the tooth and isn't competing at the level he was before the hip issue - he's proven he could come back and at least be somewhat competitive, but does he really need and want to slog his way around the tour for losing 3rd round / quarter finals on a regular basis?

Also, I think Federer retiring marks such an end of an era that Andy following suit almost makes emotional sense.

Last night's defeat by Simon was a disappointing end to the year for Murray.

But in a recent interview he said he planned to carry on as long as he thought he was improving. And 2022 has, at least, seen him chalk up a reasonable number of wins, including some big scalps.

Clearly, he won't have been pleased with the too-many early exits from tourneys. It will probably come down to his saying: "Am I still enjoying it? Do I still get a thrill competing in front of big crowds?

They reckon you know when your time is up in sport. Andy hasn't reached that point yet, IMHO.

The results from Paris have meant that FAA and Rublev complete the eight-man line-up for the WTF (great acronym!) in Turin.

Rafa was beaten last night by Tommy Paul. He still intends to go to Turin. Gilles Simon seems to be very successfully raging against the dying of the light after a three-hour win yesterday which scuppered Taylor Fritz's Turin chances.

Cam Norrie also lost a long match against French qualifier Moutet, while Draper lost to Tiafoe and Evans was beaten by Tsitsipas.

De Minaur spent 2hrs 45mins knocking out Medvedev for his first top-five win. Rune is also through.

Fairly impressive last-eight line-up in Paris, with Alcaraz set to clinch the year-end number one position should he take the title.

Yesterday saw Gilles Simon finally bow out of the sport after losing to FAA, but not before he had given home fans a final flourish of his fighting spirit by beating Murray and Fritz.

Although not a great stylist, Simon showed just how high you can get with sheer hard work and determination. He wrung every last drop of talent from his body to compete at the very top with guys with far more flair. Few could match the Frenchman for dedication.

In the women's end-of-year affair in Fort Worth, it looks like Swiatek - who hardly needs the points - will emerge with yet another trophy.

An Alcaraz withdrawal plus Djoko edging Tsitsipas means it's a Djoko-Rune final in Paris.

Alcaraz has had to pull out of the WTF in Turin so it's possible, but unlikely, that he could be pipped for the year-end number one. Still been an exceptional year for the teenager.

Swiatek served up her umpteenth bagel to Gauff last night in the women's year-end thingy.

Holger Rune sensationally comes from a set down to dethrone the master Novak Djokovic at Bercy.
The 19 year old winning 3-6 6-3 7-5

Rune beats Djoko, and after Novak took the first set. I reckon there have been very few tournaments in which Djoko has been beaten after winning the opening set.

Terrific win by the young, and temperamental, Scandinavian who now goes into the top 10.

For one reason or another (Djoko and Rafa have been away for long periods) the youngsters have really kicked on this season. The average age of the top 10 must be the lowest for ages, with only Djoko and Rafa aged 27 or above.

Interesting stat following on from SFPs comment about Djokovic losing a final from a set up.
This is the first time he’s ever lost a Masters 1000 final after winning the first set. Crazy.

Just found out some more stats re the Paris final. Rune came from 0-40 down to win the opening game of the second set and was also 3-1 down in the final set.

He has described the heart-stopping final game, in which Djoko had six BPs, as his most stressful.

Another stat - Rune beat FIVE top 10 players to take the title. Can't have happened very often.*

LATER- * Apparently, this was the first time it had happened.

Swiatek was finally beaten by Sabalenka in the semis of the year-end thingy.

It ends an incredible year for the Pole which saw her win eight titles, go to number one and pretty much wipe the floor with everyone, dishing out bagels and breadsticks all over the place.

Effectively handed the numero uno position by Barty's sudden retirement, Iga has totally embraced the top-ranking slot.
(contrast, say, Osaka, who couldn't cope with the pressure).

She could be set for a long reign at the top, having - at least for this season - brought some consistency to a women's game which had proved utterly unpredictable for a long time.

Caroline Garcia wins the biggest title of her career landing the WTA tour finals title. The Frenchwoman saw off Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 6-4.
Garcia back up to a career high world number 4, and landing a major is the only missing piece in her CV now.

Remember a time when Garcia, at the start of her career, was being talked about as a future number one.

She did get quite high in the rankings at one point, but then slipped a way down before this year's resurgence.

sirfredperry wrote:Rune beats Djoko, and after Novak took the first set. I reckon there have been very few tournaments in which Djoko has been beaten after winning the opening set.

Terrific win by the young, and temperamental, Scandinavian who now goes into the the top 10.

For one reason or another (Djoko and Rafa have been away for long periods) the youngsters have really kicked on this season. The average age of the top 10 must be the lowest for ages, with only Djoko and Rafa aged 27 or above.

I know a few have been affected by injury (Thiem for one), but does tend to point to the relative weakness of the generation that followed the big 3 (i.e the players in their late 20s and early 30s now), and also the effects that having been beaten by them so regularly has had on their confidence.

A word on the GB efforts in the B-J King Cup. Against the odds, and needing a 3-0 clean sweep against Spain, the GB team have made the semis for the first time in 41 years.

They now play Australia. Among yesterday's stars was the much-maligned (by me) Heather Watson who demolished her opponent 0 and 2, before Dart beat highly-ranked Badosa.

In other news Jack Draper has reached the semis in the Young Generation thingy. No ranking points involved and some weird scoring that I don't fully understand, but no doubt a good pay day.

sirfredperry wrote:A word on the GB efforts in the B-J King Cup. Against the odds, and needing a 3-0 clean sweep against Spain, the GB team have made the semis for the first time in 41 years.

They now play Australia. Among yesterday's stars was the much-maligned (by me) Heather Watson who demolished her opponent 0 and 2, before Dart beat highly-ranked Badosa.

In other news Jack Draper has reached the semis in the Young Generation thingy. No ranking points involved and some weird scoring that I don't fully understand, but no doubt a good pay day.

The Next Gen thing is an odd tournament, although in its short existence does seem to give a good indicator of who will progress:
past winners are Chung Hyeon, Tsitsipas, Sinner and Alcaraz, with Rublev, De Minaur (twice) and Korda as runners up.

Draper's had a blinking good year - ranked 265 at the start of the year and now 41, and having gone from Challengers to being in the main draw for MS and GS events.

Australia edged the BJ King Cup semi v GB but not before Dart had pulled off another impressive win.

The men's WTF starts today, with Nadal and Tsitsipas both in with a chance of getting to number one, although the Greek has to win all his matches to do so.

Now a daddy, Rafa says he's not too bothered about getting to the top again. But, of course, he'll still give his all.

Rafa lost in straight sets to Fritz while Ruud beat a (worn-out?) FAA in the opening matches.

This means that Rafa will have to reach the final to take over number one, while Tsitsipas has to win all his matches. Likely, then, that Alcaraz will end the year as numero uno.

I assume that, other than the players in the ATP finals, this is now the end of year ranking. GB with 4 players in the top 50 (Murray now at 50th, Draper 43rd, Evans 27 and Norrie 14). Wonder when that last happened?

I was wondering when we last even had 3? A quick bit of checking shows that it didn't quite happen at the end of 2005 or end 2006 - Murray didn't break into the top 50 until February 2006, and Rusedski fell down the rankings in mid 2006 (so 3 top 50 players in the rankings for a short period, but not at year end). End of 1977 we had Cox, Mottram and Lloyd in the top 40 seems to be the best I can find

Norrie has surprised me with his consistency this year. He is not, nor will ever be, a great player and is perhaps still a little over-ranked.

But he has worked extremely hard to make absolutely the most of himself and hats off to him for that.

Evans has had a few dips in form this year but has done well to stay inside the top 30. Murray has had his moments but will be disappointed not have had a deep run at a big tourney which would have propelled him further up the rankings.

The GB revelation has been Draper who, hopefully, can look forward to a good career.

As for today, Rublev has come thru a very tight opener with Medvedev, winning on his 5th MP in the final set tiebreak of their WTF opener.

sirfredperry wrote:Norrie has surprised me with his consistency this year. He is not, nor will ever be, a great player and is perhaps still a little over-ranked.

But he has worked extremely hard to make absolutely the most of himself and hats off to him for that.

Evans has had a few dips in form this year but has done well to stay inside the top 30. Murray has had his moments but will be disappointed not have had a deep run at a big tourney which would have propelled him further up the rankings.

The GB revelation has been Draper who, hopefully, can look forward to a good career.

As for today, Rublev has come thru a very tight opener with Medvedev, winning on his 5th MP in the final set tiebreak of their WTF opener.

Not sure you can say Norrie is over-ranked - if the Wimbledon points had counted, he'd have been top 10, following his career high last year off the unexpected IW triumph. Being solid and consistent, without the game to regularly challenge the absolute elite, gave David Ferrer a very good career in and around the top 10 for a number of years, and I think Norrie has some parallels with that - it'd pretty rare that he beats himself, and that's enough to be up near the top of the rankings.

Dan Evans is just a very good tennis player lacking the physical tools to be amongst the very best - always fun to watch him play because his style is different from most (to make the most of the gifts he has and to minimise those he doesn't). A few years ago, if you'd told me he'd be in or around the top 32 for about 3 seasons I'd have been wondering what you were smoking.

D-Half
Certainly think the Ferrer-Norrie parallels are apt. The Spaniard, too, wrung every ounce of ability out of himself to keep alongside those with far bigger games.

Evans as a teenager was once spoken of as the next big thing in British tennis. It was not really until he'd had his ban that he got his head together and started to show his worth.

In Turin, any faint hope that Tsitsipas had of making number one has gone with his defeat by Djoko, who to my mind, will win the whole thing.

News this am that Djoko WILL be allowed to play the AO in January. It's quite conceivable that he will be the man to take over at the top.