Anarchy of Tennis Professionals

Well, that escalated quickly.

I've sensed this quiet disturbance in the men's tennis force earlier this year. There have been patches of the 2014 season that made you question, is this the year the ATP gives us something new? Even though 'something new' came very quickly with Stan Wawrinka bagging the Australian Open title unexpectedly, it was a common exercise to point to Rafael Nadal's untimely back injury as the reason Stan won. Still, there were little sprinklings of evidence signaling the arrival of new blood and the weakening stranglehold the Big Four had on the rest of the tour.

Tele-Kei-nesis

Funnily enough, it starts with Rafa's Australian Open campaign, where he was subtly pushed by Kei Nishikori and Grigor Dimitrov in consecutive rounds. In both of those matches, Rafa couldn't fall back on his B-game to get him through. It made me think that maybe, just maybe, the Next Generation was ready to start making some noise. Maybe the oft-overlooked B-Squad was about to come out of the shadows.

As the season moved forward, the results slowly became more conspicuous. In February, Grigor outlasted Andy in Acapulco when, in the years prior, "Grigor" and "outlast" didn't belong in the same sentence. Milos Raonic turned himself into a ubiquitous presence in the quarterfinals of Masters 1000 tournaments. Kei stunned Roger Federer in Miami and was blitzing Rafa on Madrid clay before coming up lame with a back injury that forced him to retire in the final. Roger lost what looked like sure titles in Monte Carlo and Toronto to Stan and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Even 19 year-old Nick Kyrgios got in on the action with his takedown of Nadal at Wimbledon.

The men's locker room was buzzing about Stan opening doors for them and their increased belief. The impossible was proved to be possible. This U.S. Open is an even bigger feather in the Belief Cap. With just one round to go before the 36th thrilling installment of Fedole, Marin Cilic routined Roger and Kei played the role of Iron Man, having enough willpower to stand the humidity and Novak Djokovic after beating Milos and Stan in two physically, and mentally, draining five-setters. Not since the 2005 Australian Open have we had both Slam finalists come from outside of the Big Four. Either Cilic or Nishikori will become the second first-time Slam winner on the ATP this season. The last year there were multiple first-time winners was 2003.

WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN? In 2003, Agassi won his last Slam in Melbourne before Juan Carlos Ferrero, Roger Federer, and Andy Roddick cleaned up the rest, beginning their own periods at the top of the game. 2003 can definitively be classified as a year of upheaval, harbinger of the Fed Era that we are still trying to wade through. Is 2014 the signal of another instantaneous shuffle at the top?

A large fact refuting this new regime is the current cream of the rankings crop compared to that of 2003. A-Rod, Fed, and JCF were the tour's Top 3 back then, a complete changing of the guard. The Top 3 now are Novak, Rafa, and Roger, and they will likely remain in their positions by season's end. The Big 3 still reign in that department. It also doesn't help that two of those three are holding Slam trophies, with the other having made a final and two additional semis.

So there is something strong in the air this year, but expect the same names to still be very relevant in the big picture of 2015 just with these new names in the mix on Sundays. The ATP is still very much the Big Four's world and they will still stand on the majority of podiums, but, as 2014 has shown, nothing lasts forever. It's about time we start to accept the idea of other champions in this sport. One will be forced upon us tonight. Nishikori in four.

What are your thoughts? Is this the first page of "The End of the Big Four" novel? Or is this a fluke? Leave a comment!

WTA Sidebar: you are ridiculous, Serena Williams. Congratulations on 18. And commiserations to Caroline. So glad to see her back near the top where she belong.

(Image from stevegtennis.com)

Sweet, Sweet Fantasy Baby

As if Wimbledon was not already the most anticipated, and renowned, tournament on the tennis calendar, the All-England Lawn Tennis Club decided to add a component to the event that caters to every fanatic: a fantasy team.

I use the word 'team' very loosely because the players on each team created do not pool all of their respective statistics. Rather, we choose what part of a tennis stat sheet that each player will contribute to our team total, almost like a less gruesome way of pulling apart the arms, reflexes, and brains of a few tennis players to create a racquet-wielding robot of sorts. For example, the "Power" category, one (of five categories) which rewards the player's winners and deducts for unforced errors, on my team is headed by Tomas Berdych, who underperformed in the first round (he has since found a way to make up for it). However, performance is relative. Berdych cost me 300 points out of my 1,000-point budget. Ana Konjuh, on the other hand, only cost me 50 points and really gained me some useful points for the relatively low cost (and yes, she's my new favorite tennis player).

I wish I could provide more on the rules and how exactly the game works on a detailed level, but I'm still playing this thing by ear. The best I can do is give you the blow-by-blow of inward drama that is my Fantasy Wimbledon team. There will be tears when I make some cuts (once I figure out how that works...).

CATEGORIES

SERVE: Kei Nishikori
ANALYSIS: Baaaaad move. The dude cost me 200 points, but has done LITERALLY NOTHING for the team. Definitely first on the chopping block.

POWER: Tomas Berdych
ANALYSIS: Disappointing first round, especially because I paid 300 points (pounds?) for his winners, but I have faith he'll pull through in the later rounds

RETURN: Ana Konjuh
ANALYSIS: Team MVP (relatively speaking)! She's a keeper as long as she keeps winning her return points. And this is the category where you can really dig deep in the recesses of the tour to find a player who will only cost you 50 points because the amount of potential points from Return category is limited anyway, as it is dependent upon a percentage (no more than 100 points, an impossible feat).

NET PLAY: Roger Federer (wildcard)
ANALYSIS: Boooooooo you suck, Roger. I thought you were supposed to be the GOAT? Maybe I should've gotten Stakhovsky for this role. I mean, he's a serve-and-volleyer and he did "kick [your] butt" last year. Plus, I'm sure he won't cost me an arm and a leg. Sell.

MIND: Nick Kyrgios
ANALYSIS: Terrible casting by me, as he rocketed down 20+ aces in his win today and hardly had a single break opportunity. He's gonna be my first team change once I figure out how many switches I have left. I don't want to burn them all after only two days of play. He's cheap though, so no big loss.

All in all, a solid team that has gotten me solidly in the Top 10 of my league. But, as in all fantasy leagues, things can go downhill in an instant...

I will do my best to keep you abreast on our progress, any cuts I've made, and any new rules I learn. Just know I play to win. Competitors beware.

Cleaning Up the Mess in Madrid

Wow, Madrid! That was the crappiest mandatory ever!

Call me an anti-traditionalist American, but clay tournaments are boring. The matches are slow. The rallies are long...and slow. The days are slow...and long. And Madrid 2013 seemed to magnify all of these issues I have with clay and put them to the forefront. Granted, this is all from my own perspective as an observer, but there were many times I was asking for the blue clay back (especially since I was watching on my iPhone at work and I can't afford to stare at the screen too long to locate the ball mid-rally when my bosses tend to swing by often).

ANYWAY, Madrid had quite a few stories, but we'll focus on the ones that were made on court.

The Stan Man Can: the Swiss #2 (but #1 in our hearts...maybe?) has joined his countryman, Roger Federer, in the Top 10 by his recent clay results, including a thorough beatdown of David Ferrer in Portugal, overpowering a red hot Dimitrov, and outlasting Tsonga and Berdych in back-to-back rounds. It's too bad he ran out of gas in today's final. I would've loved to see him give Rafa a bit more trouble, but who can blame him after playing 10 matches in 11 days over two different tournaments? I thought his crushing loss to Djokovic in Melbourne would deflate him, but it seems to have galvanized him. He's a legitimate threat to the Big Four and I look forward to seeing how he fares through the clay swing and in U.S. hard court season.

Baby Boy: speaking of Dimitrov, Madrid 2013 will be remember as the tournament where Grigor showed what he can do and how he can inspire a crowd. He broke through and took down the #1 ranked player in the world in one of the best matches I've seen in my short life. As a Nole fan, it took me a solid 24 hours to realize how great and important that match was to Grigor's growth. He has the complete offensive arsenal. We would all love to see that amount of talent sustained throughout an entire tournament.

Deja Vu: speaking of Dimitrov, his gf can't catch a break against Serena. MaSha lost, yet again, to SW in the Madrid final in straight sets in undramatic fashion. I don't think she'll ever break through against Serena. It's a nightmare matchup for MaSha and SW will never brain cramp against her like she does against other players such as Anabel Medina Garrigues (what was that bagel all about?).

Coming Up Short: speaking of Dimitrov, he and Kei Nishikori scored huge wins against the world #1 and #2 only to bow out in the very next round. Kei's loss was especially disappointing because he lost to No. 113 Pablo Andujar in a very poor display. It takes more than beating one great player to reach the top. These young guns will have to earn there places amongst the best the hard way.

Who does that?

All in all, Madrid made a few waves, but the tournament as a whole...well, sucked. Hopefully the Djokovic and Federer would have the sense to touch a racquet before their first match at Rome later this week. What are your closing thoughts on our first combined clay event of the season, not counting Oeiras? Miss the blue clay like I do? Leave a comment, or unfollow me on Twitter and delete me off BBM. Whichever you prefer.