Wk.24- The Return of Fed (and Andy, too)

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

The reason I'm doing this on a Wednesday is because of the fact the Wimbledon seeds have been announced today and I wanted to talk quickly about the shake up before previewing and reviewing. But there hasn't really been a shake up. I would have thought that certain names would be shifted around and they would look different from the rankings but they don't. It's one of the things I look forward to about Wimbledon and it's disappointing it isn't happening this year.

Murray has won at least one title very season for seven years, and Djokovic seven consecutive years. Nadal nine years, but Federer has won a title every year for thirteen years. Only Lendl has a bigger streak whilst Connors also has thirteen. Lendl won a title for fourteen years, which is incredible. Fed is now joint third with all-time titles won. He equaled Mcenroe's 77, but Lendl has 94 and Connors 109. Nadal is ninth on that list with 57, but he has only won 15 titles off the clay.

I am going to ask five question before Wimbledon and then I will answer them afterwards:

1) Is Murray a one slam wonder like Ana Ivanovic, or will there be more to come?
2) Can Nadal win a major title off his belevoed red dirt now or in the future?
3) On a scale of Marianne Faithful to Mel Gibson, how washed up is Federer, if at all?
4) Is Djokovic really the world's best player currently?
5) Is there hope for a French slam winner in the future/will Gasquet ever reach another slam quarterfinal again?

Wimbledon should answer some of those questions and give me enough information to make an educated guess on the others, too.



*WEEK 24 CHAMPIONS*
LONDON, ENGLAND
S: Andy Murray d. Marin Cilic 5-7/7-5/6-3
D: Bryan/Bryan d. Peya/Soares
HALLE, GERMANY
S: Roger Federer d. Mikhail Youzhny 6-7/6-3/6-4
D: S.Gonzalez/Lipsky d. Bracciali/Erlich


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Roger Federer, SUI
...A gap of 11 months separated his first and second titles, but the gap between Halle and Cincy was his second longest title drought. The man who once won 24 consecutive finals -think about that astonishing fact for a second- is still ranked three in the world and despite looking a little rusty remains one of the favourites for Wimbledon. Federer is and probably will be for a long time the greatest ever. He achieved dominance for a longer period than Nadal did and he did it across four different surfaces, too. There seems to be a lot of talk about the GOAT discussion and the millions of Nadal fans are once more pushing his claim to greatness but the facts don't quite match up. Nadal has just 12 hardcourt titles which, when compared to the other greats, is not many. He is the best clay court player ever, of that there is no doubt -Evert is up there, too, but comparing the Men's and Women’s games is tricky- but the one thing which puts Fed ahead is the six finals at the US Open, eight finals at Wimbledon, five finals at the French and five finals at the Aussie. Nadal is two at the Aussie, two at the US, eight at the French and five at Wimbledon. That is the fact that impresses me the most about Fed. I won't go on but I don't think Nadal's knees will hold for long enough to enable Nadal to hunt down Federer and become the Goat. Anyway, Fed beat three Germans back to back to get to the final before beating a Russian. He beat Stebe 3 and 3, gave Zverev a double bagel and then came back to beat Haas in three. He then beat Youzhny in three in the final despite a slow start. I wonder if Zverev is in some way related to Natasha Zverev who took part in the most famous of double bagels?
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RISER: Andy Murray, GBR
...The top seeds won their respective events but both lost two sets. Murray edged Mahut in two tight sets, thrashed Matosevic, edged Becker then beat Tsonga in three before facing off with Cilic in the final. Cilic capitulated as was expected and Murray took it 5-7,7-5,6-3 to the delight of the home crowd. It is a fantastic way to bounce back from pulling out of the French that he found so disappointing. He won't win Wimbledon because there are three guys in the draw better on grass than him and a handful more that could beat him. He should make the semifinals unless he gets injured, draws Nadal in the quarters or has a bad day at the office against a Wawrinka, Querrey or Gasquet.
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SURPRISE: Mikhail Youzhny, RUS
...The Russian number one beat Traver, fourth seeded Nishikori, sixth seeded Kohl and then thrashed second seeded Gasquet to make the final. He even managed to take a set off Fed before going down. Now ranked so low, this might be a last hurrah for Youzhny or it might be a wake up call, a revival for his career. I hope it is the latter as he plays such a nice game and when he doesn't he apologises to the crowd.
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VETERAN: Xavier Malisse, BEL
...Turning 33 next month, Malisse is one of the big what if's in tennis along with Nalbandian and Canas. He had so much talent and coming through the rankings 11 years ago he showed a lot of promise, but certain things have gone wrong and he is now down at 60. He has three titles and a semi at Wimbledon, grass being his best surface, which is respectable but he had so much talent that it almost feels like a wasted career in some ways.
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COMEBACK: Lleyton Hewitt, AUS
...The last title he won was at Halle and the last final was last year at Newport and both were on grass. He is actually 7-1 in grass finals and it is the surface where he typically does the best, that and hard. Watching him make the semifinals was like watching the old Hewitt. I hope he wins one more title before he hangs up his racket bag.
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NEW FACE: Mirza Bašić, BIH
...I think he might be the Bosnian number one. Anyway, he upset seventh seed Janowicz at Halle and it looks like the kid can play some serious ball. I will monitor him and, well, watch this space.
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DOWN: Milos Raonic, CAN
...I thought this award had Tipsarevic's -or Monaco's- name permanently engraved on it, but neither of them are playing so I'll pick Raonic. Losing 6-4, 6-2 to Monfils on grass is not good especially with a serve as big as his. He could seriously crash out at Wimbledon.
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1. Halle QF - Federer d. Zverev
...6-0/6-0. This one needs no explanation. Being on the end of a double bagel is nasty. Just ask Natasha Zvereva.
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2. Queens QF - Hewitt d. Delpo
...6-2/2-6/6-2. I watched this match on TV and Hewitt played very well, although it was against a rusty Delpo. The rallies were long, the play inventive and Hewitt seemed on top of his game. With a decent draw, don't rule out a run at Wimbledon to the third or fourth round.
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3. Hale Rd.1 - Youzhny d. Nishikori
...6-1/6-7/6-3. Despite losing a tight second set, Youzhny stayed mentally tough and took the third set to cause a minor upset.
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*Eastbourne, United Kingdom*
=SF=
Lopez d. [8] Fognini
Seppi [7] d. Tomic
=FINAL=
Lopez d. [7] Seppi

...Tomic does love the grass and I think Lopez is due a title run.

*'s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands*
=SF=
Malisse d. Mahut
Wawrinka [2] d. Garcia-Lopez
=FINAL=
Wawrinka [2] d. Malisse

...The week before slams throw up unlikely winners.

Gasquet turned 27 this week, by the way, folks. All for now and visit WTABACKSPIN.

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