Monday, June 20, 2016

Wk.24- For Whom Does the Bell Toll?


[Ed.note: Galileo is back... albeit a little jet-lagged. - tds]

Hey, all. Galileo here.

The ATP is in flux. Nadal and Federer have collapsed akin to the way the Bulls and Celtics did in the NBA after their dynasties ended. Federer is still around but he is a paper tiger. He can still make a run at Wimbledon, but Murray and Djokovic look set to make it three finals in a row between those two. The previous two were forgettable four-setters. There has been more quality in some of the Federer/Nadal three setters than in either of the previous slam finals. Hamburg comes to mind, as does that Dubai match Rafa won. They were memorable.

But now that era is at its end. We all sort of expected the Fed to come back and look good, but he looks tired. He is not cruising on grass. Nobody has ever wanted an Olympic Gold quite as much as Federer does right now. And he is hanging on. It may not even be about Wimbledon, for once.





The losses to the up-and-comers are worrying. Those rising stars are the players Federer never loses to. But someone else did manage to defeat a young star. Florian Mayer was too good [this time] for his younger compatriot. Shall we find out more?



=RANKINGS WATCH=
Top 32 - Querrey drops out of the top 32 but sits at 33. Karlovic and Dolgopov fall but stay in the top 32. Zverev has risen ten places to 28 in the world.
Top 10 – Little change. Gasquet is at ten, followed by Goffin and Tsonga. Cilic is in 13th and amazingly Ferru is down in 14th. Who can remember the last time he was ranked that low?
Top 8 – Raonic rises two places to 7th, leaving Thiem and Berdych to sit at 8th and 9th. Kei in 5th is safe. Thiem and Raonic both have 3,175 points.
Top 4 – No change. Djokovic, Murray, Federer and Nadal.

*WEEK 24 CHAMPIONS*
LONDON, ENGLAND
S: Andy Murray def. Milos Raonic 6-7(5)/6-4/6-3
D: Herbert/Mahut d. Guccione/Sa
HALLE, GERMANY
S: Florian Mayer def. Alexander Zverev 6-2/5-7/6-3
D: Klaasen/Ram d. Kubot/Peya


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: FLORIAN MAYER
...Forget Murray. He is very dull indeed. He does nothing like Mayer does. He is shiny, and slicey. The German will hit any shot he wants, whenever he wants. He is awful to play, awful to have to deal with and on grass he becomes even more slippery. He edged comeback kid Brian Baker 7-5,7-6[3]. The two both had a protected ranking. The former world number 18 got a lucky break when Nishikori handed him a walkover and he was going to capitalise. He was too good for Seppi in the quarters, winning 7-6[3], 6-3. Next he dismissed Thiem 6-3, 6-4. Once the German gets going he becomes very difficult to stop. He defeated Zverev in the final 6-2, 5-7, 6-3. He rose 112 places to 80 in the world after he won. Sure, it may have taken two hours and five match points but sometimes you have to earn your cake before you can eat it. This is his first 500 and grass title all rolled into one. The two time Wimbledon quarterfinalist is poised to make another run this.
=============================
RISER: ANDY MURRAY



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FRESH FACE: MILOS RAONIC


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VETERAN: DAVID FERRER
...This is a tragic tale, a story of a Spanish stallion on its final legs, enjoying its final days in the sun. Ferrer does not belong at fourteen in the world yet he has fallen that low for a number of reasons. He has done poorly on clay and lost form, and he is really getting on. One of the best players to never win a slam, Ferrer’s consistency in everything he does is admirable. Though grass was never his bag he nonetheless has a good record on the stuff. But his loss last week to Seppi is not the first. And it won’t be the last. Perhaps, like a lot of other players he is clinging on until the summer. Sadly for Ferrer the summer season is now upon us.
.=============================
DOWN: TOMAS BERDYCH
...Berdych collapsed, losing 7-6[3], 7-6[4] to Bagman. It is a poor loss and the Czech needs a big result somewhere. Constantly making quarters of big events and picking up a title or two is not what we have come to expect of the Czech. Of course, Baghdatis really can play on this surface, but that is no justification. Berdman is going to have a job on his hands trying to make it happen at Wimbledon but he can do it. He has done it before.
=============================
UPSET: ALEXANDER ZVEREV
...Yes, we have already talked at length about this, but just think about it. There is something very passing-of-the-baton like going on here. Will Zverev continue to take over from Federer or will we see the Fed resurgent? Here is Federer with stubble [!!] looking resigned to being lobbed. Zverev really had the Swiss on the run in this match. But if they meet again can he repeat it?
=============================

Notes from the week...
1 - It is nice to see serve and volley tennis, though it is on life support off the grass.
2 – The Sharapova suspension just keeps on going. Will she go to the Olympics?
3 – We are finally starting to see the younger generation coming through. Now Hyung of South Korea needs to make it into the top forty.
4 – Thiem has won a tournament and a semi recently. Can he match his seeding in London? His last three finals have been against Germans.
5 – Once again the women’s rankings are going to be all shook up in a few weeks.
6 – Strange the timing of Eastbourne. Why not switch it and Mallorca? It would have better attendance that way.


1. Queens R2 - Muller d. Isner 3-6, 7-6[16] 7-6[7]
...43 aces were rained down by Isner but he still lost the match. Combined the pair hit 69 aces in a match where Isner saw ten match points come and ten go. Isner missed a chance on his serve at 13-12. In a match like this it’s the smaller mistakes that can really cost a guy. Can Isner get it together in time for Wimbledon?
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2. Halle SF - Zverev d. Federer 7-6[4], 5-7 6-3
...This is it. This is his big win. So few players have defeated Federer on this surface. Zverev is doing something Sampras never managed to do, doing something Murray has never been able to do outside of that Olympics final. And he did it so calmly in the end. This guy will be in the top fifteen come next year.
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3. Halle Final - Mayer d. Zverev 6-2, 5-7, 6-3
...In the final experience was the winner. The extra-nous and ‘been there’ helped Flo to, well, flow. His unusual strokes reaped a fine reward on Sunday as he won his second title. Unbelievably it was his first on grass.
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4. Queens R2 - Raonic d. Vesely 7-5, 7-6[3]
...The Canuck was at his best here, escaping the upset attempt of Vesely. This could be quite the rivalry one day. Vesely fired thirteen aces but never broke the Canadian. The Czech’s inside-out backhand did a lot of damage but Raonic held firm, winning on a big forehand passing shot that skidded down the line.
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*NOTTINGHAM*
=SF=
Anderson [1] d. [7] Seppi
Muller [8] d. [5] Querrey
=FINAL=
Anderson [1] d. Muller [8]

...Another funky tournament like Nice from a couple weeks back. But this is grass and that makes predictions very difficult. Anderson has shown signs of his pre-injury form and as the top seed he should continue his comeback. Muller is on form and that serve will see him through to the final.

Mladenovic fell to 33 in the singles rankings while Garcia rose to 32. Despite Kiki's final run last week, Garcia’s victory has propelled her above her compatriot. Strangely the pair did not play doubles in Mallorca. Mladenovic fell to Lisicki in two sets 6-4, 6-4 but that loss is not totally unexpected. The German could be gearing up for another run. Mladenovic just won her first match in Eastbourne, defeating Wickmayer in two. She will play 4th seed Bacsinszky next. And after that you will see them at Wimbledon, of course.


Thanks all and visit WTA BACKSPIN please.

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posted by Todd.Spiker @ 9:48 PM 

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