Thursday, August 18, 2016

Wk.32- The Return of the Argentine (and Andy wins, too)


Hey, all. Galileo here.



Let’s put the Olympics aside for a minute. The reason for that is that last week we had an event going on simultaneously. Of course, this was a ridiculous decision, but the ATP has had scheduling issues all year long. Putting the Davis Cup with four other events and then having Atlanta on its own.

The Olympics is special, sacred. It goes on its own.

Anyway, who won the Cabo San Lucas tournament? It was actually Ivo Karlovic, making his third final in two months. The two victories in those finals are enough to give Karlovic a new ranking of 20. Bernard Tomic and Sam Querry both crashed and burned, losing to Dusan Lajovic and Santiago Giraldo, respectively. The Australian, in particular, has had a lacklustre year. Feliciano Lopez saw off Reilly Opelka and Julien Benneteau in straight sets, then edged Pablo Carreno Busta in three to make the final. But the Croatian with all the aces was too good. He’d taken out Mischa Zverev, come back to defeat Marcel Granollers 2-6,7-6[3], 6-1 and made the final courtesy of a retirement from Lajovic. In the oldest final in forty years, Karlovic won 7-6[5], 6-2 on a Lopez double fault, of all things.

It was another poor event for the seeds, with only four making the quarters.

Now, the next event is a 1000 level, in Cincinati. Because this BACKSPINNER was so late with the update this will be a quick preview. Gasquet returns here, but will not threaten Murray. Kei will either use his Bronze as a stepping stone or crash. Murray will be fine either way. He'll win the event, but we will get a deep run from a surprise.

Right, on with the Olympics. The thing we’ve waited for years for, and it didn’t let us down.

=RANKINGS WATCH=
Top 32 - Little change. Paire from Simon from Klizan.
Top 10 – Tsonga drops a place to ten but is still only 200 from Thiem. Neither of them is anywhere near Berdman.
Top 8 – No change. Raonic is holding off Nishikori but looking like he could take Rafa’s spot.
Top 4 – No change. Novak, Andy, Roger and Rafa are the top four. And that despite the Olympics.

*WEEK 32 CHAMPIONS*
SUMMER OLYMPICS; RIO, BRAZIL USA (Hard)
MS: Andy Murray/GBR def. Juan Martin del Potro/ARG 7-5/4-6/6-2/7-5
BRONZE: Kei Nishikori/JPN d. Rafael Nadal/ESP
MD: M.Lopez/Nadal (ESP) d. Mergea/Tecau (ROU)
BRONZE: Johnson/Sock (USA) d. Nestor/Pospisil (CAN)
MX: Sock/Mattek-Sands (USA) d. Ram/V.Williams (USA)
BRONZE: Stepanek/Hradecka (CZE) d. Bopanna/Mirza (IND)
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CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO (Hard)
S: Ivo Karlovic d. Feliciano Lopez 7-6(5)/6-2
D: Rasa/Sharan d. Erlich/Skupski



PLAYER OF THE WEEK: JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO, ARG
...The forehand is back, and with a bang, too. None of Djokovic, Nadal or Murray could handle it. The Argentine found form last week that was of his 2009 vintage. His serve and forehand clicked perfectly, he even managed to hit his slice backhands with authority. But it was also the confidence and the movement in his feet that came back, that really allowed him to swing. After getting trapped in an elevator the Argentine came out and beat the Djoker in two breakers [7-2, 7-4] and in the process he set the tennis world on fire. Against Sousa he almost failed to back up the victory, but hung on for a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 victory. He should have had an easy ride against Daniel but struggled to a 6-7[4], 6-1, 6-2 victory. He was extremely impressive in his 6-4, 7-6[4] dismissal of Agut and was suddenly the name of the moment in tennis, if he wasn’t before. This comeback had quickly become the stuff of legend. It was Clijsters-like. The semi match between him and Nadal was characterised by the baying of the crowd and the sheer physicality. Delpo should have won it a lot earlier, but again he held on for a 5-7, 6-4, 7-6[5] victory. The Gold Medal Match is a contender for match of the year. Murray may have won 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, but it was Delpo who captured hearts and minds. He played all the tennis in the four set loss. Can he ride that wave into New York?

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RISER: RAFAEL NADAL, ESP
...Well, he has another Olympic Gold. He took out the men’s dubs with good friend Marc Lopez and also came in fourth place in the men’s singles tournament. So is this Rafa’s parting gift? Is his run here the farewell he deserved? He looks unlikely to win a slam anytime soon and with his age and injuries, will this be the last bow? If so, then it is quite the final hurrah. His forehand whipped and snarled, the backhand was hit with more aggression than it has been in years and Rafa’s combativeness hit new heights. It was the old bull, out to charge once again. It is Rafael Nadal in his purest form. Grizzled and a little bruised, but still intact and able to put beat-downs on players like Delbonis. He won that 6-2, 6-1. He beat Seppi 6-3, 6-3 and never let the Italian get any kind of a foothold. Gilles Simon went down 7-6[5], 6-3 and Rafa had not lost a set until he played Bellucci. In that match we saw the fighting spirit, the never say die attitude. He came back to win in three sets in front of a crowd cheering vociferously for his opponent. And against Del Potro he kept coming back before finally being downed in a breaker. That match was the best three setter of the year. And Kei led 6-2, 5-2 but finally won 6-2, 6-7[1], 6-3. Rafa clawed his way back as he has done so many times. And it was good to see. It was good to see it even if it is the last time.

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FRESH FACE: RAJEEV RAM (w/ V.WILLIAMS), USA ...Honestly, this BACKSPINNER was a huge fan of this combo. They should reprise it at several slams. Experience and experience here combined for a memorable run. Edging Bertens/Rojer in three (saving MP) was memorable and their straight sets victory over Fognini/Vinci was another great victory. And then defeating Bopanna/Mirza 10-3 in the final set breaker in the semi-finals was just one more triumph to add to the list. After beating the fourth seeds they had an excellent shot in the final. But they were edged out by compatriots Mattek-Sands/Sock in the final 6-7[3], 6-1, 1-0 [10-7]. Still, it was a great run by the Americans in Rio. Another medal for Williams, who is now tied with Kitty McKane as the most decorated tennis Olympians of all time.
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VETERAN: ANDY MURRAY, GBR
...The Scot’s last Olympics, and the strange thing is he looked poor. He didn’t look like the world number two. He got very fortunate several times and looked off the pace. It won’t happen for a year or two, but Andy Murray could be in for a big crash one of these days. He could hit a massive dip in form - he has done it before. He looked good at first, dismissing Troicki and Monaco for a combined loss of nine games. Two tricky opponents put to the sword there. But against Fognini he should have lost. Fognini was up 1-6, 6-2, 3-0. He had Murray, but he choked. And Muzza escaped. And then Johnson. Murray won the first set at love but only just scraped home 6-0, 4-6, 7-6[2]. He should have gone down there. He did at least dominate Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-4. And his four set victory in the final was impressive, though Delpo served for the fourth set and blew it. In that match the umpire was bad. He made several poor decisions on the HawkEye and on time violations that definitely helped Murray. By hook and crook, however, Murray scraped home to win another Gold. He impressed nobody, but he is a double Gold medal winner and the first to win back-to-back in singles.
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SURPRISE: THOMAZ BELLUCCI, BRA
...The slayer of seeds here. The young Brazilian lefty has not shown much this year on the whole, but in his home country he found inspiration. Could the Rio Olympics kick-start his second career? He got a first round retirement from Dustin Brown and then edged fellow South American Cuevas 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. After beating the 11th seed he took out eighth seed Goffin 7-6[10], 6-4. He even started well against Rafa, taking the first set 6-2. But he faded to a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 defeat in the quarterfinals. He won’t rise in the rankings, in fact he fell a spot, but he can use this. It was such a positive result for the youngster to have success on one of the biggest stages he’ll ever stand on.

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DOWN: JO-WILFRIED TSONGA, FRA
...Even Simon went on a run before finally being put away by the almighty Rafael Nadal. But with Tsonga, you know immediately if he is going to do a "Tsonga." When he scraped past Jaziri 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 the signs were grim. And so it proved to be as Muller swept him 6-4, 6-3. Tsonga has been disappointing most of the year and it is frequently looking like this year could well be his swan song. We know better than to doubt his powers, but is old Father Time finally beginning to take its toll? It’s been a while since he’s had one of his infamous purple streaks, where he has gone months looking unbeatable. Does he have one last big run in him? He has never progressed beyond the quarters in New York, but has done so everywhere else. Will that change this year?
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UPSET: TARO DANIEL, JPN
...His win over 10th seed Sock was a massive surprise because Sock was the dark horse, he was meant to be the one who did the upsets and not the one who got upset. But in Rio the American went down 6-4, 6-4. It is exactly the reason nobody quite trusts him yet. The Olympics happen once every four years and now he has to live with his poor play until Tokyo. Sock could of course make a big run in the remaining events and does do well on home soil, but this has put a slight damper on what has been a pretty stellar year.

[Ed.Note: at least he came away with Gold and Bronze medals in doubles, though. - tds]

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Notes from the week...
1 - Big props to such a well ran tournament in Rio. The tennis tournament went fairly smoothly and the court held. It went alright.
2 – Just weeks from Serena breaking a Graf record, Kerber could save her compatriot with a winning week her in Cincy.
3 – Another awful interview from John Inverdale. Classy of Murray to correct him. Inverdale is the same pundit who was so rude about Marion Bartoli.
4 – Sad news on the doubles circuit. Mirza and Hingis have decided to split.
5 – Puig is Puerto Rico’s first ever Gold medal. It’s a prime example of what makes the Olympics so special.


1. Olympic Gold Medal Match - Murray d. Delpo 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
...Murray was the better player here, but again he just doesn’t play tennis that ignites crowds. He doesn’t play the exciting points or get people's pulse racing, but he does win. The rallies and the drama were fantastic, second only to the Brazilians and Argentinians having a massive go at each other in the crowd. They were disruptive, rude and had no sense of etiquette and, frankly, it was brilliant.
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2. Rio SF - Del Potro d. Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 7-6[5]
...This was the best three-set match of the year, with Del Potro needing just one point on the Rafa serve in the deciding break to finally close it out. Both forehands worked tremendously well, both serves were better than they had been in years and the fiery nature of the match only added to the drama. It was a great spectacle and one that had to be seen live to be appreciated. To be in that stadium must have been mindblowing.
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3. Rio Bronze Medal Match - Nishikori d. Nadal 6-2, 6-7[1], 6-3
...Nadal’s comeback from 5-2 down in the second was slightly overshadowed by Kei’s 11-minute bathroom break. This was a bitter affair and a sad end to Nadal’s illustrious Olympic career. Kei has been overly liberal with breaks before, but it really seemed to rile Rafa. Otherwise, this was a great match with Kei’s backhand wreaking havoc, in particular. In the end, the Spaniard ran out of steam.
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4. Rio 1st Rd. - Millman d. Berankis 6-0, 6-0
...Imagine going to the Olympics only to get double bageled. And by John Millman, who is hardly Boris Becker. It’s got to sting, this loss for the Lithuanian. The good news is he got an extended holiday, at least.
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Mladenovic and Garcia crashed out in the first round of the Olympics. Kiki did last a tad longer in the singles, but this was a disappointing campaign for her. The tough three-set loss to eventual semi-finalist Keys was 7-5, 6-7[4], 7-6[5], so there is no shame. But we would still have liked to see more. She and Herbert lost in the mixed first round, too. Enough said. She lost in the 2nd Round in Cincinnati to Kerber, and she and Garcia fell in 2nd Round in doubles to King/Niculescu, as well.


Thanks all and visit WTA BACKSPIN please.

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posted by Todd.Spiker @ 4:37 PM 

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