Wk.16- No Clean Socks in Sight

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

If you're unsure of the clean socks comment, then check out these two players.



They are of course Chris Evert and Guillermo Vilas. These two were the greatest clay court players of their generations. And look at their socks.

QUESTION: Evert famously won 125 matches in a row, but which grand slam champion snapped her streak? The answer is below.



Backspin is going to use so much ink, virtual ink, discussing the fall of the Rafa empire. But then so are many other people. It's the biggest thing to happen on the ATP tour since Sampras and Agassi handed over the reigns of power to Federer in 2005. Well, Federer took it out of their hands. Nadal withdrew in 2010 and the last two years he has lost to Almagro and Fognini. This isn't a hard court. This isn't Australia or even the U.S.. This is Barcelona. It's his surface in his back yard. Rafa is in a slump and is still the world number four.

He and Federer will surely retire at the Olympics next year. It makes sense not just because of the occasion but for health reasons, too. Physically these guys just can't keep doing it. Santoro and Haas are probably some of the last guys to be able to play into their thirties and forties. The way they play isn't as taxing as the way Djokovic or Rafa play, either.

This decade, Djokovic, Ferrer and Federer have taken seven 500 level tournaments. Nadal has taken six. In fifth is Nishikori with five, level with Del Potro. If he defends Tokyo and finds another one he will also have seven. By the end of the decade Nishikori should be ahead. And it's even more impressive that he has won his five at three different events. He is excelling everywhere these days.

Vesely has risen to his highest ranking ever despite having a singles record of 22-23. He has been junior number one and also made the third round of Wimbledon last year. He dispatched Mannarino 6-3, 6-2 in the final of Auckland this year to take his first title. Now he has his first clay title and that is one more than Murray.

The French Open is mere weeks away. If you're not excited then I have the cure for what ails you...



=Rankings Watch=
Top 32 - GGL rose 14 places to 31 and that will be a relief to many. Players like the Spaniard should be seeded at slams. Vesely rose 11 to 35 with Troicki, Monaco and Chardy hanging around, too.

Top 10 - Wawrinka and Cilic have swapped around in the rankings with the Swiss 90 points ahead. Cilic still leads number 11 Dimitrov by 420. Ferrer at 8 has a lead of a thousand.

Top 8 - No change here. Nishikori is challenging for the top four but if he usurps Rafa, then Roland Garros will be a mess.

Top 4 - This remains unchanged with Novak holding a big lead over Roger, who holds a lead over Murray. Far from tracking down Murray, Nadal now has to try and hold off Kei for a top four seed.



*WEEK 16 CHAMPIONS*
BARCELONA, SPAIN
S: Kei Nishikori d. Pablo Andujar 6-4/6-4
D: Draganja/Kontinen d. J.Murray/Peers
BUCHAREST, ROMANIA
S: Guillermo Garcia-Lopez d. Jiri Vesely 7-6(5)/7-6(11)
D: Copil/Ungur d. Monroe/Sitak


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: NISHIKORI
...Sometimes performances are so businesslike they have to be admired. Nishikori was the top seed and he took charge of this event like nothing else. The Japanese star fulfilled his seeding and took yet another 500 level title. And it was simple, in fact it was...



Nishikori beat a Mr. Bye in the opening round. Then he dispatched Gabashvili 6-3, 6-4 without too much difficulty. 15th seed Giraldo barely tested Kei as the Asian number one took out the match 6-2, 6-1. Bautista-Agut put up stern resistance at first but Nishikori got past him 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. Klizan could only muster three games as he was defeated 6-1, 6-2 in the semi-finals. Then in the final Nishikori was the perfect professional. Andujar never got into the match and Nishikori took it 6-4, 6-4. Just like that. Nishikori takes a break now, but Rome and Madrid are coming up. He should have had Madrid last year but was defeated due to lack of match fitness. This year he is at least twice as fit. The result should be different. He has a lot of points to defend, though. Fail to defend those and he is in trouble.
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RISER: GARCIA-LOPEZ
...GGL had been in a slump, but no longer. Long ago the tennis gods decided that in certain events the top four seeds got a bye. In certain other events other seeds got a bye too. The gods decided that in smaller events the fifth seeds should be hung out to dry. And so it came to pass. GGL received no bye despite being so highly seeded. Giustino had beaten two seeds in qualifying just to make it to the big party. And he got the same amount of games against the Spaniard. He was simply overmatched. Baghdatis put up firmer resistance but GGL put him away in straight sets. Rosol was the higher seed but lost out 6-4, 7-6[7] to the Spaniard. Surely Monfils would prove too much? When La Monf took the first set in a breaker 7-2, he looked set for the win. Yet again the Spaniard had the answer and came through 6-7, 6-4, 6-2. He needed two epic breakers to beat Vesely in the final and the second one went all the way to 13-11 in what was an enthralling contest. Compatriot Carballes Baena is the 1st round opponent of the Spanish one-hander in Estoril. They play tomorrow. GGL will certainly be a dangerous player in that tournament. He can most definitely cause some trouble there. The race is now on to grab a seed, any seed in the French Open. Failure to do so will come with a heavy cost.
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SURPRISE: ANDUJAR
...He had no right to get to the final. That's quite a hackneyed phrase, but it is applicable here. Andujar had a hard draw though it was softened by the loss of Rafa, obviously. As anybody will tell you, you can only play whoever is in front of you at that time. If someone loses to someone they shouldn’t, it isn't your fault. Andujar beat fellow unseeded Spaniard Ramos 4 and 1. Either one of them could have made the run. Andujar followed it up with a topsy-turvy 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 decision over Mayer. He had his first scalp of the tournament and it was against the 11th seed. 5th Lopez barely troubled Andujar and the Spaniard triumphed 6-3, 6-4 to make the quarterfinals. He dismissed Rafa's conqueror to advance to the semi. He didn't show any signs of nerves and won 7-6[8], 6-3. Nishikori pulled out a superb performance to end Andujar's own superb performance but this was a confidence booster. Andujar opens against Souza tomorrow. If he continues to shine on the clay, he will soon return to the top 30. Pablo is one of the hottest Spaniards form-wise right now. Will it continue?
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FRESH FACE: HYEON CHUNG
...Chung was a promising junior and he is climbing up the ATP ladder the sensible route. He is ascending towards relevancy by playing in the lower leagues. Hyeon has just won his third challenger and second of the year. He won the clay court Savannah challenger fairly comfortably in the end. After surviving Garanganga, a Zimbabwean tennis player, 6-7[8], 6-3, 6-1 the Korean came alive and blitzed through the rest of the field. He never lost more than six games in a match after the 1st round.
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DOWN: NADAL
...Nadal was poor. He couldn’t even take a set. Fognini lost to Angujar 6-3, 6-1 the very next round. Nadal should have cruised to the title. If he doesn't improve soon I will really struggle when it comes to the French Open picks.
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UPSET: FOGNINI
...First he did it to Rafa in South America and now in Spain. Fognini is dogging the footsteps of the Spaniards. Fognini has no fear of anyone. He can attack Rafa from the backhand and he has creativity. These days creativity is such a useful weapon. The Stuttgart final suffered because of it. Hitting drop shots is not creativity. It is part of that but creativity is angles and net play, for instance. Fognini plays like he isn't afraid. It's refreshing.
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Five things I liked this week...
1 - The hug between Vesely and GGL.
2 - Kyrgios is back despite the loss to Ymer.
3 - Nishikori has finished developing. He has achieved great things and the way he dealt with Andujar was scarily professional.
4 - Wozniacki is finally getting it together on clay. She couldn’t do it when she was number one but now there's no pressure on her. Perhaps that helps.
5 - Nadal is gracious in defeat as always. He is a fantastic role model.


1. Bucharest SF– Garcia-Lopez d. Monfils 6-7[2], 6-4, 6-2
...Sometimes GGL just pulls out performances from nowhere. It is really astonishing. Monfils played well but GGL ground him down and then out. GGL is one of those Spaniards that never has clean socks. He upset Stan at the French last year and he will do well there again.
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2. Barcelona Q– Nishikori d. Andujar 6-4, 6-4
...It was an impressive display, a professional display. Nishikori put Andujar away and it was watchable. The Kerber/Woz final on the other side was great quality but it wasn’t watchable in the same way that Nadal/Djokovic matches aren't watchable despite the quality.
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3. Monte Carlo 3rd– Barcelona Fognini d. Nadal 6-4, 7-6[6]
...Backspin is still in shock. Nadal is in decline. The question now is will this French Open be the last he wins? He will definitely still win it. The question of whether he can best Federer's total of grand slams has been put to bed. Nobody will ever catch that record, not these days
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4. Bucharest F– Garcia-Lopez d. Vesely 7-6[5], 7-6[11]
...This match will be one of the best straight setters on the ATP tour this year. Vesely saved so many match points, including one where it clipped the net. GGL had to actually win this match, there was no way Vesely was going to go away. Great match and a hug at the end. That really is the spirit of tennis.
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*Munich*
=SF=
Murray [1] d. [3] Agut
Kohlschreiber [5] d. [2] Monfils
=FINAL=
Kohlschreiber[5] d. [1] Murray

...This is Murray's first clay event of the season. Not once has he even been to a clay final. He is not top 15 in the world on clay. He just isn't. He looks good in this field and he should do well but Kohl has been to three finals here and won two. And don't forget Philipp was born in Augsburg.



*Istanbul*
=SF=
Federer [1] d. [4] Giraldo
Dimitrov [2] d. [7] Youzhny
=FINAL=
Federer [1] d. [2] Dimitrov

...Well lookie here. Fed committed earlier in the year and he is here. This tournament is or should be a forgone conclusion. There are some surprisingly strong draws this week.

*Estoril*
=SF=
Robredo [3] d. [1] Lopez
Anderson [2] d. [5] Gasquet
=FINAL=
Robredo [3] d. [5] Gasquet

...There's nobody here Gasquet need fear. If he can get hot he will be dangerous. But Anderson should be too strong for the Frenchman. It's really a toss up between those two Spaniards, but the winner will have Anderson on clay.


Dellacqua is not playing this week and time is running out to be seeded for the French. She lies at 44 and a decent performance in the swing is needed to push her into the seeding positions. Casey won the mixed at the French with Scott Lipsky way back in 2011. Can she repeat?

ANSWER: Tracy Austin beat Evert 6-4, 2-6, 7-6[4] in 1979 at the Italian Open. Tracy ended up winning the head to head 9-7.

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