Wk.39- Older Faces Make for Newer Looks

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

Tina did it and so did Elvis. The mighty Red Sox did it in the most famous of AL Championship Series back in 2004. The Colts did from forty points down in last year's NFL, and Grover Cleveland did it, too. The Belgian women did it in tennis just five years ago. Goolagong-Cawley, possibly the most graceful tennis player ever, also did it. Oh Evonne, the Sunshine Supergirl. Yes, I am talking about the good old fashioned comeback. We are gong to encounter some older faces this week, faces we have not seen for a while.

What inspires a comeback? Love for the game, perhaps, or maybe lack of funds, or that one thing missing from your resume. Isn't that right Justine? Comebacks are not always successful, but when they are they make for a great storyline. Cilic came back successfully, following in the footsteps of Nalbandian and Agassi. There may be no big comeback this week on the ATP, but watch out for some names that have been big. It is hard to bounce back from that breakout performance in this sport. It is hard to maintain that level after one has "made it," so to speak. Nishikori has rebounded from the disappointment and has reacted well to the pressure, as well. He has proven just how ready he is to take on the big leagues.

We have arrived in Asia. Let's go.



*WEEK 39 CHAMPIONS*
SHENZHEN, CHINA
S: Andy Murray d. Tommy Robredo 5-7/7-6(9)/6-1
D: Rojer/Tecau d. Groth/Guccione
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
S: Kei Nishikori d. Julien Benneteau
D: Matkowski/Paes d. J.Murray/Peers


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: NISHIKORI, JPN
...No, not Murray. Nishikori had a far better week and he showed he is made of the right material. He showed that he can just get up and move on from that huge disappointment. It is so difficult to respond in tennis. He managed to keep the form and remain mentally strong. It is a great performance from him. A remarkable one. Nishikori was top seed, something he does not experience often. One feels that he will experience this a lot more as the days and weeks go by. It is hard to know how far he will ascend but being top-seeded at tournaments, especially smaller ones, is going to start to become the norm for him. He opened by dismissing Ram 6-2, 6-3 before showing Matosevic very little mercy in a 6-3, 6-0 drubbing. When a player of that caliber catches fire every other player is in trouble. But sometimes there is a match-up or an aspect of a player's game which can throw off any player of any level. Nishikori needed to go three sets to finally get past the Finnish number one. He had to overcome the stiff challenge of Jarko. And he did so, getting through comfortably in the end despite losing that second set. He had defeated the sneaky lefty and he now had the title in his sights. And he was too tough for Benny in the final, winning 7-6, 6-4. Beating Benneteau in a final is not noteworthy, but making a slam final and then doing this in your next tournament is very impressive.
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RISER: MURRAY, GBR
...Slumping is expected in tennis. My Sveta has been in a slump for five years. I'm used to it now. Nadal has had slumps before, though never for long as has Federer. Tennis players get ten years to make an impact, perhaps a little more. So slumping for anything longer than six months means losing a serious chunk out of one's playing career. All Murray ever wanted was to win Wimbledon. Never mind those three Australian Open finals he lost, or that U.S. Open. The one he wanted was Wimbledon. Well, that and the number one ranking. He won't reach number one now but he has won the one he wanted. He wanted to end that British weight so bad and the relief he felt must have been enormous. And then he won it. Much like Novotna, the relief must have been blissful. After so many years of heartbreak and pain the one they wanted so bad was finally, finally theirs. Novotna wanted it so badly she famously tried to steal the trophy off of Hingis.



But it seemed Murray lacked drive and focus after that big win. He had no direction. He had achieved what he wanted. That loss of direction, coupled with injury, effectively derailed him for fourteen months. No finals since that big win, though he has had a decent slam year this year. But he may just have found his path again. Is it too late to push for the WTF? He opened against Devvarman and wasn't troubled in the 6-3, 6-3 decision. Next he was too strong for Lacko, getting through 6-3, 7-5. He was looking good, but a test was waiting. Monaco had upset Gasquet to make the semi-finals and he had nothing to lose. Murray was outclassed in the first but proved his credentials with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory. And he took the tournament with another come from behind victory in a match he deserved to lose.
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SURPRISE: BENNETEAU, FRA
...Three straight finals Benny has lost here in Malaysia. The locals must be getting pretty sick of him by now. He is also now 0-10 in finals. It takes some serious effort to do that. I'm a little disappointed in you.
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FRESH FACE: KUBLER, AUS
...The promising junior just won his first challenger and he has snuck up in the rankings to just outside the 150 mark. He has made the semi-finals of Wimbledon before. I watched him lose to Liam Broady, in fact, so I am certain he made the semi-final. He has just won his first challenger and he has won it in Sibiu. Coming in unseeded, he defeated second seeded Montanes in straight sets and then moved through effortlessly to the semi-finals. There he mounted a serious comeback to unseat seventh seed Starace. He won 2-6, 7-6, 6-0, though the dirtballer battled all the way. Romanian Albot was playing with a home crowd but he was no match for Kubler. The Aussie is starting to make a career. He should finish the year ranked within 130, a serious achievement.
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VETERAN: MONACO, ARG
...A former top ten player who is now down on his luck and looking to get back to the top is what we have here. Now that sounds like the premise for an excellent movie. Christian Bale is Juan Monaco and he rises back to the top, finally winning a 500 before retirement. Sadly, reality must interject here. Monaco suffered injuries and loss of form. He suffered it to an alarming extent, as well. Monaco is no longer the player he was but he is still a player who can wreak havoc, who can play the role of bracket breaker perfectly. This week he beat Pospisil and Gasquet, eliminating two big players before they could achieve their respective seedings. Does one more shining moment of glory -- a Goolagong 1980 Wimbledon title type victory perhaps -- lie in the future of Juan Monaco?
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DOWN: FERRER, ESP
...Ferrer is on the downward slope of his career now; there were hints in that direction before but they are now big pointers. A loss to Troicki, only just back from suspension, too, is unacceptable. Ferrer no longer looks like a top five player and that is definitely a cause for concern for the Spaniard. Ferrer needs to get back to doing what he does well. He needs to find some form before it is too late. But can he?
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UPSET: TROICKI, SRB
...This was a week of returning faces. Troicki is back from his ban and he announced it in style. He smothered Ferrer and never let him get in the match. The Serbian cruised through 6-3, 6-4 and never let Ferrer get into the match. It was an impressive return to form from the Serbian, but can he keep it up?
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1. SHENZHEN FINAL - MURRAY d. ROBREDO
...5-7/7-6/6-1 Matches can turn on dimes, but this match turned on a dollar. Despite being outplayed for two sets, Murray nicked the second breaker 11-9 and was never troubled from there. Murray scraped through and took his first title since Wimbledon last year in his first final since Wimbledon. He proved to have too much grit for the plucky Spaniard.
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2. K.LUMPUR SF - NISHIKORI d. NIEMINEN
...6-3/4-6/6--2. A contrast in styles is usually interesting. Watching Lopez play Simon is a classic example of two polar opposites doing battle. Here the funky game of Nieminen came up against Nishikori's relentless offence. Despite taking the second set, Nieminen was never able to fully disrupt the Asian number one's game.
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3. K.LUMPUR Rd.2 – GULBIS d. PETZSCHNER
... 6-3/6-7/6-1. Does that name appear familiar? It should. Hhe was up two sets to one on Nadal at Wimbledon in 2010 but he could not cling on. He has even made two grass court finals not to mention had a short-lived, but none the less excellent, doubles partnership with Melzer where he went 2-0 in slam finals and even a hard court title, as well. The former world number 35 temporarily had Gulbis on the ropes before the Latvian showed his class and took it in three.
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*BEIJING*
=SF=
Djokovic [1] d. [4] Cilic
Berdych [3] d. [2] Nadal
=FINAL=
Djokovic[1] d. [3] Berdych

...Nadal opens with Gasquet and that is nasty. I have no idea of how well Rafa is playing.

*TOKYO*
=SF=
Wawrinka [1] d. [4] Nishikori
Raonic [3] d. [6] Bautista-Agut
=FINAL=
Wawrinka [1] d. [3] Raonic

...Nishikori finally runs out of steam but, hey, I did say he would do badly at the U.S. Open due to running out of steam.


Thanx all and visit WTA BACKSPIN please.

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