Wk.21- The Lost Week is Found

Hey, all. Galileo here.

We're going to have a lightning run through the past week, a half-pint really, and see what happened on the continent.

Tennis is in an interesting place right now. Of the top four players, in only one of them does anyone have any kind of faith. The best player in the world right now played Pete Sampras before he won his last major.

And Margaret Court has stepped in it again. A product of her time and of devoutness, while her comments are not welcome in our sport, she is not evil. She has said unfortunate things. She has attacked Casey Dellacqua and many others. She has caused upset. This BACKSPINNER, for one, supports the boycott, like Sam Stosur, but whether Todd feels the same is up to him. [Ed.Note: hmmm, I support the notion, but whether it can be pulled off within the bounds of a slam schedule might be tricky. It would have to take a unified effort before the event with the players themselves, and possibly cooperation with Tennis Australia regarding the schedule, too. And we've seen over the past year how well players and organizations support each other in the sport... not all that well most of the time. The 2018 AO is a long way off, and I wouldn't be surprised if, by then, some sort of protest might take on a more subtle form, much like Laura Robson's rainbow headband when she played on MCA in 2012. - tds]

We condemn her actions. And we're moving on.

The one problem with the Sunday start at Roland Garros is that it is hard to focus on the week before. It is kind of left behind. We had some great action and a title defense. But it feels so long ago because a new and exciting slam has started. We had tournaments in France and Switzerland. Yes it is usually folly to play the week before a slam, but if you can get momentum, get some match wins under your belt, suddenly it seems smart. Stan Wawrinka decided to defend the title he won last year in his home country.

Before we do talk about the exciting developments in Switzerland, here is a little gem from Paris:

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This @M_Granollers around-the-net shot was definitely worthy of a Djokovic high five. #RG17 pic.twitter.com/ZJV3zu2Iha

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 29, 2017

Let's read on and find out more about Geneva amongst other things...



*WEEK 21 CHAMPIONS*
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (Red Clay)
S: Stan Wawrinka def. Mischa Zverev 4-6/6-3/6-3
D: Rojer/Tecau d. Cabal/Farah
LYON, FRANCE (Red Clay)
S: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Tomas Berdych 7-6(2)/7-5
D: Molteni/Shamasdin d. Daniell/Demoliner


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: JO-WILFRIED TSONGA, FRA
...In the inaugural Lyon tournament, the top seeded Frenchman has triumphed. Yes, this tournament has replaced the one in Nice. Jo-W opened his campaign against wily veteran Carlos Berlocq. Never an easy customer to deal with, the Argentine made life difficult early on. Jo's level rose throughout the match, eventually winning going away 6-7[2], 6-2, 6-3. He blew up talented Russian Karen Khachanov next, winning that one 6-0, 6-4. Nikoloz Basilashvili couldn't live with Tsonga for three sets, and went down 2-6, 6-3, 1-6. But he bounced back in fine style this week and ousted Gilles Simon in the first round of the French Open. Tsonga, helped by 14 aces, rolled through to the next round. In his first ever clay court final, he was fantastic. He manhandled Tomas Berdych in a 7-6[5], 7-5 win. Tsonga has won two of their three meetings this year, though the Czech leads the head-to-head 8-5. It was a third win from three finals this year for the joyous native. Serving at 4-5 and 15-40, it looked like the Frenchie was in trouble. But he won four points in a row and slowly took control of the set. A 4-0 lead in the breaker proved unassailable. In the second set, it was serve that ruled the roost. Finally, in the 12th game, Berdie's serve faltered. He double-faulted on match point to hand the match away. Can you believe it? What a wimpy whisper to go out on.

So, two extraordinary stats: 42 of 46 service games held from Tsonga and, at age 32, a maiden final and victory in a final played on the dirt. Can he carry that momentum into a slam where he has made the semis before?
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RISER: STAN WAWRINKA, SUI
...Wawrinka is the ATP's biggest quandary. He is unplayable at his very best but he can never seem to get there. Every year he makes two slam semi-finals, wins three titles and has a handful of shocking losses. It always feels like he has had a bum year, but what he has actually done is build a Hall-of-Fame worthy career. Nikolay Davydenko. David Nalbandian. Juan Martin Del Potro. Lleyton Hewitt. Andy Roddick. Ivan Ljubicic. All these players failed to consistently break open the top four. Only one of them ever won a slam during the height of the quad-opoly's empire. They were all top four mainstays and they all had victories along the way. But the manner in which Wawrinka has been able to dispatch them at slams and other big events is mind-blowing. He is 3-0 in slam finals. Three different arenas. He has never lost more than a set in a final. His four set come from behind victory against Djokovic two years ago in Roland Garros is one of the most extraordinary matches of the century so far. He was a huge underdog. Djokovic was going for the grand slam. And the Swiss took him apart, shot by shot, point by point, game by game. And Djokovic played well. He played a good match. It is important to remind our selves of what he can do, seeing as we are on the cusp of a slam. In true Wawrinka style, it did not all go to plan the week before. Defending his title in Geneva, he won his first match via retirement, Rogerio Dutra Silva pulling out down 5-2. He came back to beat Querrey 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in the quarters. He beat Andrey Kuznetsov 6-3, 7-6[4] to make his second final of the year. In the finals he got the better of qualifier Zverev 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. He is now 12-2 in his last 14 tour finals. …..
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FRESH FACE: JOAO DOMINIGUES, POR
...I get it. You're thinking, "Who?" Well, the whole point of this award is to bring to your attention those who you might not otherwise notice. At last week's Venice challenger he won one of the bigest titles of his career. With the win he has risen to 176 in the world, a career high. He is 23 and has absolutely bizarre strokes. No, really. He nearly beat Kevin Anderson earlier in the year.


Look at the backhand in particular. Whether or not being that unorthodox will actually help is yet to be seen. But he is an interesting prospect and could be very effective on clay. During his run in Venice he beat Matteo Viola and fellow up-and-comer Blake Mott.
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VETERAN: KEVIN ANDERSON, RSA
...One of the ATP's more low-key comebacks, the South African has carved out a very solid career. The former world number ten made another quarterfinal in Geneva this past week. He beat Lorenzi in the first round 7-5, 7-6[1]. He recovered from losing a lengthy tiebreaker to beat Jared Donaldson in the next round, 6-3, 6-7[7], 6-2. He even had three match points against second seed Nishikori, but lost 6-2, 4-6, 6-7[7]. It was another encouraging week for the now world number 56. His most successful slams have been the two in the back-half of the year, so he is rounding into form at the right time.
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SURPRISE: NIKOLOZ BASILASHVILI, GEO
...A great run from Nikoloz here. He beat Borna Coric 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. He knocked off Seppi 6-4, 6-4. He brushed aside qualifier Nicolas Kicker 6-3, 6-1. His run was finally ended by Tsonga, but a quarterfinal run, especially against opposition of that calibre, is impressive nonetheless.
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DOWN: MILOS RAONIC, CAN
...A quarterfinal result as the top seed is always a little disappointing. Why was Raonic, with his history of injuries, playing at all? The French Open was beckoning. He had some good results under his belt already. He was looking alright and had a great seed. It was pointless. Poor decision, poor result. If he loses in Paris he can only blame himself.
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UPSET: MISCHA ZVEREV, GER
...It is harder to tell which of the ATP's German brothers has inspired the other more. Certainly Alex's rise to the top has helped his older brother. His slow ascension to the pinnacle of the tennis world is a great story that should be admired by all. And it is clearly being taken to heart by journeyman Mischa Zverev. His quarterfinal run has shown us the art of volleying is not dead, not yet. After qualifying, where he was the top seed, he beat Haase 5-7, 7-6[6], 6-3 in the first round. Having been a point away from losing he beat 4th seeded John Isner 6-4, 6-7[5], 6-3. Then he beat Stevie Johnson 6-4, 7-5. He was rolling and his momentum was enough to take him past 2nd seed Nishikori 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. It's an astonishing result to make the final when you play four of the top five seeds at an event.
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Big news from the world of Daria Gavrilova. She entered the singles in Strasbourg as the 7th seed. She defeated Louisa Chirico 6-2, 6-3 in the opening round. She edged past Elizaveta Kulichkova 6-3, 6-7[4], 6-4. In the quarterfinals she struggled past Ash Barty, winning 6-4, 6-7[3], 7-6[5]. In the semi, she was spectacular and gave Caroline Garcia a memorable beat down. Everything fell for her on that day. Her drop shots were accurate, her movement good and the ground game strong. With her run to the final she rose back to her highest ever ranking of 24. She even took the first set against compatriot Sam Stosur in the final. But Sam came back at her, coming through 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to hold onto her top Aussie singles ranking for a 451st and 452nd week (Dasha would have overtaken her with a win). She had momentum going into Roland Garros...

But it didn't matter as she crashed out in the first round to Elise Mertens 7-6[4], 1-6, 6-4. She had a great opportunity to make a run, but that has all gone up in smoke.

She and A-Pavs open against fourth seeded Mirza/Shvedova in doubles. If they win that it will be a monumental upset. So stay tuned.

She is not scheduled to appear in any grass court tournaments the week after Roland Garros, though that may change.


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