Wk.32- Galileo Is Back... and so is Jo

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

Tsonga and boxing great Ali [or Cassius Clay, if you will] have had comparisons made between them many a time. Hey, both have big knock-out blows and they are both built like tanks. They have both got serious offensive capabilities and they have both contributed a lot to their sport. Tsonga, however, is always punching above his weight.

Tsonga had never won anything before 2008. He had never been to a final. He was unrecognized. Simon was not a force yet, though the name was known. Grosjean was long gone and Santoro was hardly a consistent presence. Chardy was young and not mature enough to hold the heavy French mantle all by his lonesome. Gasquet was the big star. Great things had been expected of him and he had long been the great French hope. Unfortunately, Gasquet has been cursed with being Gasquet. And so the French were looking for someone with passion and fire to represent them. And it happened just as they wanted it.

Tsonga shouted to the whole world HERE I AM. He shouted it like this:



Then, later that year, he won Bangkok, beating Djokovic in the final. He won his first Masters title in Paris, defeating Nalbandian. The French had their hero.



Successes have followed -- semifinals at Wimbledon, beating Federer in lots of key matches, though the one at Wimbledon will likely remain the most celebrated. He has also been to number five in the world and gave the French their last home grand slam semifinalist since Pierce. I think it may well be Leconte on the men’s side. Tsonga is a man of the people, of the French people. And Canada is a very French place…

But enough of my talking; Stuff happened this week...


*WEEK 32 CHAMPIONS*
TORONTO, ONTARIO CAN
S: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Roger Federer 7-5/7-6(3)
D: Peya/Soares d. Dodig/Melo


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: BAGHDATIS, CYP
...I am going to be mentioning Tsonga a lot, so instead I decided to talk about everyone’s favorite Cypriot. I have been a bit hard on him recently, but he just won a challenger in Aptos, USA. Kukushkin was the top seed and it was a talented field. Baghdatis tore the place apart. First, Bagman beat Dome 6-1, 6-3 and then turned on Collairini. Baghdatis dropped just two games. Baghdatis is great at this level, but no higher. He dismissed Bemelmans after that 6-3, 6-4. He had arrived safely at the business end of the tournament. He easily got through Soeda 6-4, 6-3 and then prepared to take on top seed Kukushkin. Kukushkin had only dropped on set and had beaten Rhyne Williams very comfortably in the semifinal. It was to be Baghdatis’ day, though, as he won through.
=============================
RISER: FEDERER, SUI
...If Federer wins the US Open, I think I may have to nominate him for Player of the Year. It is August, so it is time to start to think about that kind of thing. Federer has had a very good year. He has started to hit that backhand well. Make no mistake, however, he had a softish draw and he did struggle at times. I talk about Federer way too much on here. Federer dismissed Polansky [as he should] 6-2, 6-0. He struggled mightily against Marin before finally breaking down the young Croat's game. He then beat Ferrer in a tight three setter he was always really in control of. Federer and Lopez had a really good match in their semifinal but despite all of Lopez’ tricks, Federer came through. He looked older and tired in his final match but it would not have made much difference. Tsonga was on fire and blew him away.
=============================
SURPRISE: LOPEZ, ESP
...One never seems to be able to see Lopez coming. Lopez seems to be rather like the Spanish Inquisition. Lopez has had an excellent year thus far. He won a grass event, has been to the Madrid Masters quarterfinal and now this. Lopez has actually got a good chance of making a deep run at the Open. He will be seeded and he is red hot. If he gets a lucky seed draw [Nadal, Wawrinka] he could do very well. This tournament he opened against eleventh seed Agut. He should not have won that match but did so without losing a set. Next he ousted Smyczek in his home nation before facing Berdie in the third round. Lopez lost his first set against the Berd but came back to win it whilst playing some scintillating tennis. Next the tricky Spaniard outsmarted and out-thought Raonic. Raonic struggled with the aggression and lefty spin of Lopez. Lopez is best on grass but he can play on any surface. He served and volleyed a lot during his time in Canada. Lopez has won doubles titles before and he knows he has the net skills at his fingertips. In fact, Lopez may have one of the simplest games in the top 100, after Simon’s, of course.
=============================
FRESH FACE: DIMITROV, BUL
...I wanted to give congratulations to the young Bulgarian for making his first semifinal at this level on hard-courts. He endured three long difficult three setters against quality opponents before falling to Tsonga. He seemed to run out of steam but it was still an excellent week. The personal bests just keep falling for the youngster. Special mention: Kokkinakis qualifying for his first ever Masters and also into top 200. The young Aussie benefited from the retirement of Matosevic after losing the first set in the breaker 9-7.
=============================
VETERAN: MICHAEL RUSSELL, USA
...It’s not often I get to talk about Americans here. Todd’s luckier in that regard, as the WTA has a number of talented American ladies. The Williams sisters had a good week and Shelby Rogers bageled the world number seven in her backyard. Throw in the fact that they have serious up and coming talent like Keys, who seems to have a cannon instead of an arm and Taylor Townsend, who looks like Zina Garrison and plays like thunder. Russell blitzed Bester of Canada love and one, but was pushed to the brink by Martin of France in the qualifying. Once in the main draw, however, he made as much out of the opportunity as he could. He beat Mahut 6-3, 6-3 but lost o Ferrer in three sets. The 36-year old Michigan man has made the fourth round of a slam but it’s his best appearance. He qualified there and beat Malisse in four and then led Kuerten by two sets to love. He fell in five to the eventual champion. Russell may retire soon but he has been in the top 200 for a long time. He is a stalwart of American tennis and he would make a great coach. The USTA could do so much worse. Russell may not have big weapons or even a particularly strong defensive game, but he does have a lot of spirit and he is mentally tough. And that’s just fine. He has lived the life of a journeyman, and lived it well. He embodies the journeyman spirit.
=============================
DOWN: DJOKOVIC, SRB
...Not often Djokovic lands here. I guess we’re getting some unusual occurrences this week. Djokovic has had a very good year and is almost certain to finish as world number one. He is also going for the final piece of the Master’s puzzle this week. Of course, if he doesn’t win the French Open he can’t be considered among the "greatest ever" discussion, but if he were to win every Masters and the French he would need to be in the conversation. The signs were there. Often times Djokovic will struggle in the earlier rounds before going out. He barely got past Monfils 6-2, 6-7, 7-6. The athlete wielding a tennis racket is always dangerous and really tested Djokovic. Tsonga is a different challenge altogether. The Frenchman blew Djokovic away 6-2, 6-2. That’s not even close. Djokovic, the world’s best returner, could not handle the serve of Tsonga. Remarkable, really.
=============================
UPSET: TSONGA, FRA
....He deserves this award for all of it, but mainly for beating Murray, Djokovic and Federer in one tournament. I shall shamelessly use Wikipedia here: Only four players have previously managed to win a tournament where three of the Big Four have competed:

Marat Safin (2005 Australian Open)
Sam Querrey (2010 Queen's Club Championships)
Robin Soderling (2010 Paris Masters)
Stanislas Wawrinka (2014 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters)

I don’t think any of those players had to beat three of the big four. That is why Tsongas’s victory is particularly surprising and impressive.
=============================


1. CANADA - TSONGA d. EVERYONE
... I could pick any of the Frenchman’s matches. He has been so impressive all week, losing just one set. He has come back from 3-0 down against Andy Murray and made the second best returner ever look completely average. He has dismissed two talented Frenchman and beaten the future without blinking. He has beaten the past, present, future and goat without so much as breaking a sweat. And he did it all from nowhere. So, pick a match, any match…
=============================
2. CANADA 3rd Rd. - ANDERSON d. WAWRINKA
...7-6/7-5. .Wawrinka has had an alright season since ‘Straya. He has had some weeks where he has played like a world beater. Then for the rest of the season he has been consistent, but consistently average. Anderson is a deceptively tricky player with some big wins under his belt. Wawrinka has not yet mastered the art of winning whilst playing badly. Anderson was able to simply hold serve and wait for his chances. And they came, he took them and Wawrinka went.
=============================
3. CANADA 3rd Rd. - LOPEZ d. BERDYCH 3-6/6-3/6-4
CANADA 4th Rd. - LOPEZ d. RAONIC 6-4/6-7/6-3
...Lopez is very pretty. Sorry, Lopez’ game is very pretty. He plays an attractive style of tennis and he is very easy on the eye. As in when watching him he is very fluid and graceful. His serve-volley is a thing of beauty and that backhand is also nice to watch. Swashbuckling Lopez came through against Berdych, helped by his tricky serve, big forehand and those silky, silky hands. Lopez’s different style threw off not just Berdych, but Raonic, too. When you play someone of a certain style you may have a mismatch against them or you may struggle. Perhaps Lopez’s creativity was hard to handle for the young Canadian. I remember Mauresmo [with her unique style] blowing away a young qualifier in Wimbledon close to ten years ago now, in 2006. 6-0, 6-0 she won and it was because the young European qualifier had no idea what to do. Mauresmo was the world number one then. Wow, has it really been more than eight years since she won it? Anyway Lopez’s style is unique and so that may be one of the reasons for his great run to a third Masters semifinal here, seeing off two top tenners along the way.
=============================
4. CANADA 3rd Rd. - FEDERER d. CILIC
...7-6/6-7/6-4. Federer blew match points in the second set of this very tight encounter. Cilic will be dangerous at the US Open. He led Murray 6-2, 5-1 before choking dramatically. Had he simply held serve Murray would probably not have won the US Open. Federer showed his mental toughness in coming back from losing the momentum to take the match.
=============================




*CINCINNATI*
=SF=
Tsonga [12] d. [3] Wawrinka
Federer [2] d. [5] Raonic
=FINAL=
Federer [2] d. [12] Tsonga

...Djokovic does not do well here as compared to other Masters. He should, but he does not. It also favors big servers here -- Fish, Roddick, Isner and now Tsonga. On form we should have a rematch. At one of Federer’s best tournaments, he should claim the win.

Thanx all and visit WTABACKSPIN please.

Read more!