Monday, August 08, 2016

Wk.31- Kyrgios with the Last Laugh, and Del Potro Defeats Djokovic (Again)


Hey, all. Galileo here.

John Isner's spell is broken. He no longer reigns in Atlanta. Nick Kyrgios rises to his highest ever ranking of 16 and behaves himself. Well, as much as he ever behaves anyway. But nobody notices.

And that was because Juan Martin Del Potro was busy getting stuck in elevators and into Novak Djokovic.



For forty minutes Del Potro languished in the athletes' village elevator before help arrived in the form of the Argentinian handball team. They heard him crying for help, the Argentine having no cell phone reception, of course, and forced the doors open to rescue him in dramatic fashion. And then he had to begin the defense of his Bronze medal with an opening round clash against the world number one Novak Djokovic, the same player defeated for that medal in London four years ago.

But Delpo handed Nole his second Olympic loss in a row in two and a half hours. He cracked over forty winners as his forehand came back from the dead. Djokovic had no idea what to do or how to react. It was an inspired 7-6[4], 7-6[2] victory from a South American playing on "home" soil.




But Nole losing is just the latest in a series of shocks. Venus, Radwanska, the Williamses and the top-seeded French pair in the men's doubles have all waved goodbye to us. It is a mass seeds exodus that nobody saw coming. For the first time in a while we have stability at the top of all our disciplines. Strange then to see the seeds crumble at the rarest and hardest event to win.

The Olympic times for certain events, like the swimming for this BACKSPINNER, have been really tricky, but the tennis has been at a decent hour for all. Well, unless you live in Australia. In fact, these games have been fun, festive and atmospheric. The upsets are just part of the unique happenings here in Rio.

Well, let's get started then on this one off focus on Atlanta. Next week the Olympics will be the big focus, but for now we have to turn our eyes to Georgia. We should have Georgia on our mind.

=RANKINGS WATCH=
Top 32 - Little change. Dimitrov stays at 34. Simon, Paire and Ramos-Vinolos round out the rankings from 30-32.
Top 10 – Little change. Tsonga still leads Thiem, with the Frenchman ahead by 130 points. Monfils, Ferrer and Goffin sit just behind them.
Top 8 – Kei has fallen behind Raonic, as they swap. Kei moves clear of Raonic, but Nadal still holds firm.
Top 4 – Novak, Andy, Roger and Wawrinka are the top four. There is still a massive gap between 1 and 2 and 3 and 4.

*WEEK 31 CHAMPIONS*
ATLANTA, GEORGIA USA (Hard)
S: Nick Kyrgios def. John Isner 7-6(3)/7-6(4)
D: Molteni/Zeballos d. Brumstroem/Siljestroem


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: NICK KYRGIOS
...Well, shall we start with this?



Yep, Kyrgios won and won well. He got an NBA tour, his mum turned up and so did his friend. He had a superb week chilling out off the court and resisted the temptation to have a fight in a hot-tub, unlike Tomic. He also matched that performance with a solid one on the court. Kyrgios works hard and plays hard, but he sure gets results. And with this one he puts two fingers up at Kitty Chiller. She should have taken him to Rio. With this capabilities and attitude he could have gone far. But a toxic atmosphere cost the Aussies four years ago. In four years time, Nick could be the top seed. This week he showed us yet again he has guts. The phrase of the year this year has been 'avoiding the upset'. Kyrgios opened with a 7-6[4], 6-3 victory over Donaldson and then saw off Verdasco in three to reach the semi-finals. But there he would face an on fire underdog with nothing to lose. He still managed to dispatch Nishioka in three, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. In the final, Isner was clearly off, perhaps with a virus or similar, which gave Kyrgios the perfect opportunity. And it would be one he would fail to miss. It took him two missed breakers and a thousand missed opportunities, but he scraped through to win his second title. In 41 matches he has hit 537 aces. He is 6th on the year on the aces count. Isner and Karlovic are top of the pile there.
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RISER: JOHN ISNER
...Sticking with aces. In 34 matches Isner has 845 aces. Karlovic is down on 694. With every passing match Isner gets closer to nailing down the title of ace king for the year. The heat did in Isner in Atlanta, with the humidity giving the 90 [in American currency] degree weather added punch and bite. He looked woozy and slow throughout the match and Kyrgios, from a very hot country, had no trouble in putting away the lacklustre American. In breakers this year he is 24-23. This has always been the big problem for Isner; his lack of weaponry apart from the serve. A big serve will only get one so far these days, sadly. Here in Atlanta it was good enough to see him through to his sixth final. But he is now 3-3 in those. Isner said during Wimbledon he thinks of his delivery as better than Roddick's. He may be correct, though Andy thinks differently. It was another solid week on U.S. soil for Isner. He eased past Mannarino in his first match 6-4, 6-0 and saw off Fritz 7-5, 6-4. He had another semi-final down in Atlanta. But then the trouble started. Opelka seriously pushed him, though Isner did win the last set 6-2. Despite being overpowered in the final, Isner is buidling up steam. He has to have a positive result in New York this year. He is too good not to.
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FRESH FACE: REILLY OPELKA
...At 6'11" he towers over Isner, who is a paltry 6”10. He and Frtiz, along with Tiafoe, are carrying American hopes for the new generation. On both sides things look bright, but it is this trio where the power lies, quite literally. Opelka won Wimbledon last year and the tennis world has held its breath while waiting for him to arrive. Unlike Fritz he has not rocketed up the rankings. But this week we got a taste of what he can do. He dismissed compatriot and qualifier Eubanks 7-6[9], 7-6[5]. Then he edged past Kevin Anderson 7-5 in the third. He had caught fire and kept going, blazing past Young 6-4, 6-4. Despite the loss to Isner, he has proved that he really is the next big thing in American tennis. Well, one of them at any rate. He leaped from 556 to 395 in a week. It will not be the only massive leap he makes during his career. Wanna get to know him a bit?


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VETERAN: JULIEN BENNETEAU
...That's it. The win over J-P Smith of Australia was encouraging, but losing 1 and 3 to Verdasco is probably it. His protected ranking shield expires soon and once that happens he will have little help to come back. He has had knee injuries, is over 32 and just made the Wimbledon men's doubles final. Could he be about to stick the singles and focus fully on the doubles? If he did so he could have a lot of success. Benny has had a good run, despite going 0-14 in finals, and he could have a very successful second career on the doubles circuit. He is a Bronze medal winner and has made finals at multiple slams, too. Whichever way you look at it he has to make a tough decision soon. If he crashes out in New York could that be the straw that breaks the camels back?
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SURPRISE: HORACIO ZEBALLOS
...A great victory over Garcia-Lopez 6-3, 6-7[5], 6-4 was backed up with a straight sets victories over Kamke. For Zeballos, the only non-slam winner to beat Nadal in a clay final, this is what his career has sadly been reduced to. A few quarter-final runs here and there. A few decent results every now and then. A classic case of what could have been. Can he come back to what he was or will this be it for him? Still, this could be a good start if he wants it to be.
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DOWN: ALEXANDR DOLGOPOLOV
...It gets old so quickly. Seeded fourth Dolgopolov collapsed again. Nishioka cruised past him. I interrupt briefly to inform you Williams won against Cornet, but smashed a racket. Up 3-2 with a break she just went off on a big tantrum after trying to execute an overly ambitious serve. Strange signs from the world's best player there. Anyway, Dolgopolov went down quietly again. He needs to find some kind of rhythm before the next slam. And Flushing Meadows is rapidly approaching us. It's not just the players he's losing to, it's how. He is too good, too talented, to lose a third and deciding set 6-1. Over two and a half years removed from his last final and languishing around 40, when will things change?
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UPSET: YOSHIHITO NISHIOKA
...For the defeat of the fourth seed and the run he made after that. The Japanese man has been in the shadows of Nishikori for a long time. Results like this help with the shade. It also helps that the Olympics has done funny things to the schedule and strength of current fields in the ATP. But take nothing away from the Japanese man. He did well to get past Evans in the first round. He escaped 6-2, 6-7[2], 7-6[4].
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Notes from the week...
1 - Kokkinakis returned in Rio and though he lost in two breakers it was still impressive.
2 – The Williams sisters have had a shocker. Venus crashed out and then the Williams sisters failed to get a set in the doubles.
3 – Just two of our top seeds remain now.
4 – This BACKSPINNER disagrees on principle with holding another event during the Olympics. But in Los Cabos, Lopez, the top seed, will see off fourth seed Querrey in the first semi. In the other, Tomic, seeded two, will edge out Karlovic and then make it two Aussie winners in a row.
5 – Cold showers for Stosur, amid problems for other tennis athletes. Sure there have been problems, but the atmosphere in Rio is still electric.
6 - Happy Birthday to Roger Federer. The goat has turned 35.


1. Atlanta SF - Isner d. Opelka 6-7[5], 6-4, 6-2
...He may be thirteen years the senior of the rising junior, but that didn't mean anything on the day. Isner was given everything he could handle and more. He broke three times in the tight contest and proved his day is not yet done. Born just one state over (in North Carolina), Georgia is a special place for Isner. On another day at another tournament Opelka may have had him.
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2. Atlanta R2 - Opelka d. Anderson 6-7[5], 6-3, 7-5
...Well, this could be the match. Perhaps not remembered in the history annals, but in Opelka's career this may be the win that kick-started it. He rises 200 places and sees off a top thirty player. Anderson served for it at 5-4, but even with his serve he could not close it out. From there the American took control. With Tiafoe winning his maiden title on the challenger circuit, things are looking bright for American tennis in the future.
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3. Atlanta QF - Kyrgios d. Verdasco 6-4, 6-7 [3], 6-3
...From one firebrand to another. Kyrgios leads the head-to-head 2-0. With Kyrgios at 16 and his opponent down at 46, these two are trending in different directions. Kyrgios, with that big serve and tough attitude, is this future generation's version of Verdasco, but with less to recommend him off the court.
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4. Atlanta QF - Isner d. Fritz 7-5, 6-4.
...Fritz's time is not yet. He showed up here and was seeded eighth. It may be the first time he is seeded at any event and he achieved his seeding, too. But Isner had too much for the star of the future this time. His wins put him at 56, his highest ever ranking. He can get into any tournament he wants with that ranking.
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Seeded 2nd in Rio, Garcia and Mladenovic crashed out 6-0, 0-6, 6-4 to Doi/Hozumi. That's an appalling loss for a pair with a legitimate shot at Gold. In the singles she dismissed Krunic in the first round, but lost in the 2nd Round 7-5/6-7(4)/7-6(5) (in 3:14) to 7th seed Keys after serving for both first and second sets, and leading 5-3 in the deciding tie-breaker. Garcia lost to Johanna Konta in the 2nd Round, as well.


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posted by Todd.Spiker @ 10:50 PM 

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