Wk.15- Somebody to Love

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

Djokovic wants love. Not just love he gets from his wife and family. He wants to be loved. Roger walks onto a court he gets a standing ovation. Rafa walks onto court and the people rise like Pop Tarts in the toaster on a cold day. But Djokovic? Yes, he has fans. Yes, he is liked in many places, but is he loved? Is he even universally liked? The French crowd, in fact, actively dislike him. But then they don't really like anybody who doesn't speak French. Except maybe Graf and a few select others.

It's not an exact science. There is no real data on this and it doesn't affect rankings. It does, however, affect the players and the commentators frequently mention it. It is a key component of a match. To get the crowd on your side is difficult, especially in slams. The French crowd are a law unto themselves, Wimbledon cheers everyone equally if they aren't British and the Australian and American crowds just cheer and boo constantly. Those early-tournament five set matches at night on Rod Laver are one of the best spectacles in tennis.

Perhaps because of the constant withdrawing, or the obnoxious attitude that sometimes comes through, Djokovic is not as beloved as Federer or Nadal.



Williams wins all the time. She still gets a warm reception everywhere, she still feels the love. So, what then is the problem with Djokovic?
He does not play a very pretty brand of tennis, but then neither does Nadal and Rafa is still respected and adored across the world. He can be quite arrogant, but then Federer also comes across as arrogant, though a different type of arrogance so it mustn't be that.

For some reason, some indiscernible reason, Djokovic is not getting the standing ovations. It was obvious in the Masters in March. It was obvious in Monte Carlo, too. People don't fall in love with Djokovic in the same way they do with Federer or Nadal. He's the world number one and even at the Australian Open, where he is the five time champ, he doesn't get the attention Nadal or Federer does.

It's a mystery as to why certain players don't mesh well with the fans, but for some reason Djokovic just isn't a fan favorite.

But Novak did win Monte Carlo...



=Rankings Watch=
Top 32: Fognini has dropped to 30, with Giraldo and Chardy rising up a couple places each to 31 and 32. Troicki and Sock both rose and sit at 34 and 35, but Rosol fell two places. Rosol at 33 may still be seeded at a slam, of course.

Top 10: Wawrinka dropped down to ten but he and Cilic [at nine] both have 3,495 points. Dimitrov lurks at 11, just 300 points behind. Ferrer is 995 points ahead at eighth while Lopez is just under 900 behind at 12, which makes it a three horse race at present for the top ten.

Top 8: Berdych has leap-frogged Ferru into seventh and is some 500 points ahead now. Raonic sits at 6, just 110 clear of Berdych. Kei has fallen a place to fifth and is only up on Raonic by 210 points. Expect a big shuffle everywhere after the French.

Top 4: This remains unchanged with Novak holding a big lead over Roger, who holds a lead over Murray. Murray is only 600 clear of Nadal and this is the clay season. The top four spots are vital going into the French. If either Murray or Kei goes into the French seeded fifth, expect trouble.



*WEEK 15 CHAMPIONS*
MONTE CARLO MASTERS
S: Novak Djokovic def. Tomas Berdych 7-5/4-6/6-3
D: Bryan/Bryan d. Bolelli/Fognini


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: DJOKOVIC
...Who cares if the crowd isn't with him. He doesn't care. Lendl didn't care and neither did Hingis. They did what they wanted. Having the crowd go against one only affects those without mental fortitude. Djokovic has become the first person to win the first three Masters of the year. He has lost twice, though. He has lost to Federer in Dubai, but who was the other? The answer is below. Djokovic is the world number one right now in every way.

Ramos is a good clay courter and tricky to play as he is a southpaw. Novak was tested but never troubled too much in his 6-1, 6-4 victory. The perfect match to kick off the clay court. Haider-Maurer was up next as Djokovic slowly started to roll. After inflicting a 6-4, 6-0 scoreline on his opponent Djokovic moved through to another Masters quarter. He beat Cilic and Nadal 6-0, 6-3 and 6-3, 6-3 respectively. Both those players won slams last year. One of them has won this event at least seven times. Berdych gave Djokovic something to think about as he put up stern resistance. Novak would not be denied and got by Berdych 6-3 in the third.

It's a rest now for Djokovic. He will not win the French Open but will he take out the other clay Masters? He could well take the first five Masters but ATP BACKSPIN is gonna go out on a limb and say that won't happen.
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RISER: BERDYCH
...Berdie just does his thing. He reaches finals, he makes semifinals at slams, he consistently challenges but he never has to defend all that much so he just stays at seven. Berdman is having a good year and will again be challenging for slam and Masters. Berdych has a very solid game but if it doesn't click, he can panic. He lost to Djokovic 0 and 2 in the China Open final not six months ago. But this week everything clicked. The serve fired and he found his forehand. If he can just not lose his forehand again over the next few weeks, he could take a Masters.
Stakhovsky lost to Berdych 6-4, 7-6[2]. Agut did better in the breaker but still went down 7-6 [7], 6-4. Berdych had been pushed but he had not collapsed. Raonic retired with a foot injury to hand Berdych the match. Berdman took full advantage by easing past Monfils 6-1, 6-4 to set up a cash with the world's best. He even took it to three, but Djokovic is too good right now. He made the semi-final here recently but lost to Wawrinka. It wouldn't be the last time Wawrinka denied him in an important semi-final, either. Berdych has also been to a final here but that was when the courts were...blue.
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SURPRISE: MONFILS
...Aaah, La Monf! We have a room at Backspin dedicated to the most talented players. The common theme is that they never won anything big and most of them are French. All of them are underachievers, too. Monfils has one of the biggest files. So much talent and so much frustration.
The tournament doesn't matter. His upset of Federer was spectacular, his loss to Berdych disappointing and a big letdown. He beat Dimitrov handily in the quarters and lost just four games to the world's eleventh best player. Yet for all that, he should have lost in the first round to qualifier Alex Kuznetsov.

Here you go. It's so you don't have to:



Monfils continues to play the spanner in the works with aplomb. In general, Backspin on both sides has a soft spot for these players. It's been a while since this has been heard and one of the few times it will ever be uttered here. Oh, Gael. Oh, Nadia.
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FRESH FACE: YMER
...Elias has had mentions on Backspin before. He lost badly in the last round of qualifying but he did win a match, He only turned 19 this month. He has done well in the men's Stockholm tournament and Bastad. Here he is. He is the one who isn't Dimitrov. The Swedish looking one.



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DOWN: WAWRINKA
...This kind of performance from the defending champion is unacceptable. Seeded seventh, the outlook was good after the first match. He eased past Monaco -- serious upset potential in that match -- 6-1, 6-4 and looked to have found his form. Then he lost to Dimitrov 6-1, 6-2. Enough said. With few points to defend coming up, Wawrinka has a chance to push back up the charts so to speak. If he makes the quarters at the French he would make a big leap. Combine that with solid performances at the Masters and maybe taking a smaller title along the way, and he would be a top eight see at Wimbledon almost certainly.
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UPSET: MONFILS
...It feels as if Berdych and Monfils just beat Federer all the time. In fact, Federer leads the head to head with Monfils 8-4 though he did win the first five matches. They first met back in 2006, in a final. Federer leads Berdych 13-6. They don't play as often as they used to but Berdych has always been able to trouble Fed. Some players can find the Fed backhand.
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Five things I liked this week...
1 - Nadal and Ferru resumed their clay 'rivalry' this week. It's comforting. It's like the ATP isn't changing so much, after all.
2 - Berdych makes another Masters final. He is sadly 1-3 in those finals and 3-11 in his last 14 finals overall. Still, this is progress. No, really it is.
3 - Kuznetsova is the most successful Russian tennis player ever in the Fed Cup. It makes a nice change for Sveta to be the bride.
4 - The Czechs are dominating the Fed Cup, but can the old empire stop them?
5 - Monfils is finally turning into the player we all knew he could be.


1. Monte Carlo Final – Djokovic d. Berdych 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
...Berdych is also showing encouraging signs here, too. He had an easier draw, yes. Raonic retired but he also beat players of the caliber of Agut and he dismissed Monfils. Nobody expected him to do much in the final but he refused to go away after dropping a tight first set. Then he rebounded from 4-0 down in the third.
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2. Monte Carlo QF – Nadal d. Ferrer 6-4, 5-7, 6-2
...Some things never change. These two will still be duking it out in 2030 on some clay court far far away. How often does Nadal beat Ferrer?



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3. Monte Carlo 3rd – Monfils d. Federer 6-4, 7-6[5]
...Fed escaped in America but not here. Monfils has really figured out how to play Federer. Monfils is showing he is a legitimate contender for the French. Not a dark horse, a contender. The problem for him is putting it all together over the stretch. Monfils outclassed Federer here.
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4. Monte Carlo SF – Djokovic d. Nadal 6-3, 6-3
...Todd and I were chatting in the Clay Court wing of HQ over a cup of coffee about important matters like how excited we are for the new "Star Wars" as this match was going down. I remarked to him that it was sad and nostalgic at the same time to see Nadal lose on the same court he has bludgeoned so many to death before and to lose so convincingly, too. And this match was a sad one for Nadal fans.
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*Barcelona*
=SF=
Nishikori [1] d. [6] Tsonga
Nadal [2] d. [3] Ferrer
=FINAL=
Nadal [2] d. [1] Nishikori

...Weirdly, Nadal will not be the top seed in Barcelona. Then again he will not be the top seed at the French, either. Chances of him winning both of these? Very good.

*Bucharest*
=SF=
Karlovic [3] d. [1] Simon
Monfils [2] d. [4] Rosol
=FINAL=
Monfils [2] d. [3] Karlovic

...A surprisingly decent field here but Monfils is the form player. Karlovic can actually return Simon's serve and that will be key if that semi comes to pass.


Dellacqua lost to Bertens in the Fed Cup 6-2, 6-3 after beating Rus 7-5, 6-3. She was let down by Gajdosova, who lost 6-0, 5-7, 5-7 after winning the first eight games against Rus. Jarmila also lost to Bertens.

In the doubles Dellacqua and Rogowska lost, too. They now fall to WG II. Dellacqua is not playing for a few weeks but remains in the top forty in both disciplines. What will Australia do if the young stars don't come through soon?

ANSWER: Karlovic was the other person who has beaten Djokovic this year, in Novak's first tournament.

Thanks all and visit WTA BACKSPIN please.

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