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.

Uncertain Certainties

Tears will fall as fast as her ranking

Only hours before Wimbledon 2014 commences! What the heck will happen you ask? Here are five things that are certain to occur:

• Sabine Lisicki will open play on Centre on Day 2, entering the stadium in tears. Marion Bartoli will watch from the stands wearing Louboutins and a smug look on her face. When Sabine catches sight of Marion looking flawless, the memories of last year's final will overwhelm her and she will be carted off the field, going down to Julia Glushko, 1-6, 0-4 RET.
• Rafael Nadal will beat Lukas Rosol in the second round in five sets, avenging his shock loss to the Czech man in 2012. The match will finish beneath a closed Centre Court roof way four hours after curfew, culminating in a 13-11 final set scoreline. Nadal will later pull out of his third round match against Ivo Karlovic, citing over-elation.
• Sorana Cirstea will reassert herself as the Queen of Romania, upending Simona Halep in the third round. She will promptly lose in the following round to Tara Moore after being paid a handsome sum by a group of British journos.
• Agnieszka Radwanska and Victoria Azarenka will produce a dog fight of a match, rife with shrieks, glares, side-eyes, come-ons, and snubs. A tearful Aga will admonish Vika's grunt during her loser's press conference, while Vika deems the confrontation "hilarious" and that she was "laughing out loud" because of it.
• Grigor Dimitrov will face Andy Murray in a highly anticipated quarterfinal. The match will be awkward for the crowd as they will want to root for the next coming of Roger Federer. Grigor will get off to a quick start in the first set, fall back to earth in the second, and lose the third and fourth sets in romp after scanning the crowd and seeing Maria Sharapova eating gummy candies and judging him.

For things that definitely won't happen, here are my abbreviated picks:

Women's semifinals: Halep def. Sharapova; Azarenka def. Wozniacki

Women's final: Azarenka def. Halep

Men's semifinals: Djokovic def. Dimitrov; Federer def. Kyrgios (why not?)

Men's final: Federer def. Djokovic

Here's to hoping Novak proves me wrong. Happy Wimbledon, everyone!

The Grass is Greener (Than Clay)

Now that I have run out of tears to cry over the result of this past French Open (we just want one title, Rafa...), I am ready to discuss Wimbledon, the possibilities, and the major players heading into the All-England Club. Who's in need of championship run, or at least a deep showing?

1. For someone who plays only two ATP 500s per year (and no 250s), Novak Djokovic has been playing the vulture for the better part of the last 18 months. He's currently the defending champion at seven tournaments, none of them being Grand Slams. And for the only of the Big Four to be a virtual lock to make it to the latter stages of every event he enters, he hasn't won a major in his last five attempts. Maybe the stars will align this Wimbledon, but doubt has taken over hope given his current results.
2. Roger Federer made his sixth final and won his second title of the year in Halle, but his peak form from the post-Australian Open hard court swing seems to have waned a bit, not a good sign heading into the place that cemented his legend. Winning a grass court tune-up (and getting a nice draw) should boost his confidence, but we've seen Roger have sniffs at matches/titles yet come up short.
3. With a new, badass coach in his corner, Andy Murray heads into Wimbledon with a renewed purpose. How can one top breaking a 77-year drought? By doing it again, this time with a Amelie Mauresmo in tow. It'll be a tough ask, but quelling the haters is great motivation.
4. Jerzy Janowicz has been in freefall since making the semifinals at SW19 last year. He went through a winless streak that lasted from the middle of February until the beginning of the French Open, including a Davis Cup loss to Borna Coric, a young up-and-comer barely ranked within the Top 300. About half of his ranking points are attributed to his stellar run last year, so a poor showing will cause him to completely plummet, possibly outside the Top 60.
5. For a player widely considered to be unbeatable, Serena Williams has been beaten quite a bit in 2014 (based on her standards, anyway). Especially disconcerting were results at the first two majors this year, particularly in Paris, where she was dusted in barely over an hour by Garbine Muguruza. Serena's getting close to 33 now, so her invincibility of the previous two years may be wearing off, but she needs to relearn how to raise her game for the Slams like she did in Brisbane, Miami, and Rome this year.
6. Agnieszka Radwanska is #5 in the Road To Singapore and has had a decent year, but she doesn't have a title to show for it. She's a player who's game doesn't automatically scream Slam champion, but Aga has had very real opportunities, at Wimbledon last year and at the Oz in January, slip through her fingers to stealthily grab her first major. With the other top players (not counting Maria Sharapova) in a bit of flux, Aga should want to capitalize on the grass that she loves.
7. Sloane Stephens used to enjoy the label of being the youngest player in her section of the rankings. She has since ceded that position to Eugenie Bouchard, a cohort who has zoomed past her this season. The other girls in her age group are also making steady, noticeable gains, but Sloane seems to be stuck in third gear, scraping by with a ranking barely inside the Top 20. Making six straight second weeks in Slams is quite impressive, but that statistic is getting stale, especially since the last three were only fourth round forays. If she can get to the semis (not an easy task), she can reinsert herself as a dangerous player for anyone to face.

Any other players you think could use a deep run? Leave a comment! Should be a fun fortnight.

Oi...

The Australian Open has just begun and I have no idea what will happen. Well, I have an idea, but it will likely mean very little come Day 14. Anyway, I can give you a 41% guarantee that the following WILL happen. Here are my picks for Champion and "Surprise Semifinalist":

• Men's Champion: Novak Djokovic - He's coming in with a head of steam. I understand that an entire offseason has happened and that new coach Boris Becker can throw a small hitch in his game, but Nole has been the king of Melbourne Park for three years running. I can't foresee anyone bringing him down, especially with Nadal's semi-shaky Doha title run (and his ridiculously tough draw) and Andy Murray's limited match play since the U.S. Open.
• Surprise Semifinalist: John Isner - Much like Novak, he's coming in with some momentum ahead of a solid title run in Auckland. He was fortunate enough to be in the quarter anchored by a rusty Murray and an erratic Federer. Big John's big serve should do a ton of damage and he should feel no pressure this year, having missed last year's Oz due to injury.
• Women's Champion: Serena Williams - I'm not gonna bother rationalizing this pick. NEXT.
• Surprise Semifinalist: Andrea Petkovic - She was drawn into the slightly unstable Sharapova quarter and she has a manageable path. She plays No. 32 seed Magdalena Rybarikova in the first round, but Magda is known to crap out in Slams. Petko could get JJ in the third round.

I'll stop myself here before I make myself look dumb. Looking forward to enjoying the Happy Slam and lots of coffee on weekday mornings. Sleep is for the weak. Or for the smart, whichever.

Baby Daddy

"I never got the chance to play him; I'm sad already." -Grigor Dimitrov upon hearing the false news that Roger Federer is retiring.

Like father, like son

TURN THAT FROWN UPSIDE DOWN, GRIGOR.

Guys, it's happening. Papa Fed vs. Baby Fed. Today. In Basel. When I saw the draw for the Swiss Indoors, I nearly wet myself. Could their inaugural encounter have been set up any better?

That being said, it's really tough evaluating this match because each have major points going both for and against them. Dimitrov is coming off his first-ever ATP title in Stockholm (aww) and has played remarkably well in his first two rounds, beating Stepanek and Dolgopolov in easy straights. However, when will exhaustion start to creep in? After winning Stockholm on Sunday, Grigor played his first round on Wednesday evening and will have to play for the third night in a row. Federer, who hadn't played since flaming out in Shanghai, began play on Monday and has had a rest day after each of his tournament matches thus far. There really is no place like home.

Other things going right for Roger: the crowd will have his (increasingly creaky) back 100%. To the extent that the twelfth man phenomenon exists in tennis, Basel might only be second to Wimbledon when it comes to the fans cheering on their guy. You saw how much the crowd got into Fed's match versus Istomin in the previous round when Roger found himself down a set and multiple break points down in the third. Still, how much can hometown support help when you face a guy you've never played before, who's style is foreign to you (when you look outside of the mirror), and when he's on a bit of a win streak? Roger has much to think about, especially since he's not playing his best, although he did well to come back against Istomin.

Who knows how they will come out. I'm sure Roger will be feeling the pressure and will try his darnedest to postpone any torch passing from happening today. Grigor has absolutely nothing to lose when he takes the court against one of his idols and should be able to play quite freely. I believe Federer will tighten up if this becomes a closely contested match, and I think it will be nail-biter. I'm picking Dimitrov in three very tough sets.

So...who ya got? Agree or disagree with my pick? Leave a comment and tell me why I'm dead wrong! This match is going to be glorious.

Slammed Shut

Istanbul and London are right around the corner for the Top 8 women and men, but let's take a moment to look back on four tournaments that supercede the WTA Year-End Championships and the ATP World Tour Finals.

What the heck happened in Melbourne, Paris, SW 19, and New York, you ask? Well, take a seat, grab a drink, and read this recap of the Grand Slams of 2013!

Australian Open

Defending champions pre-tournament with their 2012 trophies.
New photo shoot deemed unnecessary.

What happened: see last year's Australian Open. Actually, that's a slight on Oz 2012, which was a really exciting tournament. This year's Australian was a bit of a yawn. Djokovic won for the third straight year, defeating Andy Murray in four relatively unremarkable sets, and Azarenka defended her 2012 title against Li Na. Sharapova and Serena were cruising through the early stages of the tournament when they were abruptly stopped by Li Na and Sloane Stephens (with help from an injured ankle and back) respectively. There were no real surprise losses on the men's side. As something of an anti-Nadal fan, I definitely missed his presence late in this year's Oz, especially considering how good the final weekend of last year's tournament was with him in it.

What will be remembered: for the women, the big stories of the tournament revolved around Sloane. Her beating Serena was a story that lasted the entire season with many twists and turns throughout. She was also the victim of MTO-gate when Azarenka viciously stole the match from her grasps (lol). We will also remember the rebirth of Stan Wawrinka in that epic match with Djokovic in the 4th round where Stan just ZONED, but Novak dug in and pulled it out in the end. Lastly, although she ended up getting blasted away by Li Na in the semis 2 & 2, Maria Sharapova started the tournament by winning her first TWENTY-EIGHT GAMES. What.

French Open

What happened: exactly what you expected, but you couldn't help, but be impressed by how remarkable the achievements of Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal were. Serena finally won her first Roland Garros title since 2002, the kickstarter of her eponymous "Serena Slam." For someone who had always found the clay a pain, Serena's variety was on display throughout the tournament alongside her ever-present power and she found herself cruising through most of her matches (shoutout to you, Sveta).

This also happened. Who knew protesting same-sex
marriage could make a man look so gay?

Rafa's run was a bit more complicated. He got off to a bit of a slow start in the first three rounds and collided with Djokovic in another 5-set thriller in the semifinals, recovering from a break down in the last set and eeking it out 9-7. While the final versus David Ferrer was the most assured forgone conclusion in tennis history, it was a coronation of Nadal's comeback and his cemented status as the King of Clay with his eighth French Open title (fourth in a row), becoming the winningest player at any single Grand Slam. Sorry, Roger.

What will be remembered: three of the four semifinals will be remembered for many different reasons. The airtight three-setter between Sharapova and Azarenka was one of the best matches of the tournament, Serena's demolition of 2012 finalist Sara Errani in 46 minutes was unreal even for her, and Novak's tragic net violation while up a break in the fifth set against Rafa took the air out of the remainder of his 2013 (until his recent title runs in Beijing and Shanghai).

We will also remember the run of Gael Monfils and the many pictures he inspired, Venus's wonky match with Ula Radwanska, and Andy Murray's boredom. I think we'd all benefit from Andy skipping the French Open from now on. He's probably never going to win the thing and his tweets were such a value add for the for tournament.

I would need a seat if I had blown four match points, too.

Wimbledon

The world pouted with you, Rog :(

What happened: The real question is what DIDN'T happen? Rafa went out to Steve Darcis on the very first day, then EVERYONE AND THEIR MOTHER was eliminated on Black Wednesday including Victoria Azarenka (injury), Ana Ivanovic (suckitude), Caroline Wozniacki (suckitude aided by injury), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (injury aided by suckitude), and Marin Cilic ("injury"). Sharapova joined the fray when she went down (literally; she slipped on the grass several times) on Court 2 to fellow gruntie Michelle Larcher de Brito. However, all of those exits paled in comparison to the ousting of Roger Federer at the hands of Sergiy Stakhovsky, Fed's first loss before the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam since Roland Garros 2004 (if I could ALL CAPS numbers, I would). A truly historic day in tennis. Serena would join the upset club soon after, blowing a third set lead to Boom-Boom Lisicki in the Round of 16 on Manic Monday. Absolute madhouse of a tournament.

Oh yeah, there were winners at this year's Championships! Sir (well, almost) Andrew Barron Murray made it rain and ended a 77-year drought for a British male singles Wimbledon champion by completely outplaying Djokovic in the final. There were cheers, there were blown calls by Mohamed Lahyani, there were Djokovic meltdowns, there were pointed celebrations at the media. The match had everything. I was even inspired to write down a few thoughts on Andy here.

On the women's side, 2007 finalist Marion Bartoli made the most of the messy draw to scrap her first Slam. With the Top 3 out of the way, Marion didn't drop a set (nor played an opponent ranked above her) culminating with the blitzing of Sabine Lisicki in the final. It would be the last match win of her career. What a way to go out!

Maria's DGAF face.

What will be remembered: other than everything, you mean? Aside from the above, we will remember Jerzy Janowicz's breakthrough to the semifinals, the decimation of the bottom half of the men's draw and the complete shitshow that became of the entire women's draw, Juan Martin Del Potro re-arrival for the second time in 2013, Laura Robson's good showing, and Murray leaving the entire country on the edge of their collective seats during his comeback win versus Verdasco. Off the court, this was also the tournament where Serena and MaSha aired out their dirty laundry about each other's love lives. Tennis drama at its finest. It was phenomenal. I'm slightly embarrassed at how much I enjoyed all of it.

U.S. Open

King of ... Cement?

What happened: competing with the Australian Open for most forgettable Slam of the season. Both finals were good theater, but the finalists were all but guaranteed and the winners were pretty much called weeks before main draw matches got underway. Serena and Rafa capped off career-best seasons by downing their primary rivals and contenders for Player of the Year in Azarenka and Djokovic. So many parallels with Serena and Rafa's season. Both win the French Open, go out early at Wimbledon, and come back with a vengeance in the summer hard court swing and add to their tally of major titles and improve their arguments in their respective G.O.A.T. debates.

What will be remembered: two one-handed backhands soared while one fell away. Stan Wawrinka played another 5-setter with Novak Djokovic in the semifinal, once again going down. He wasn't playing as well as he did in Melbourne, but props for ramming through Berdych and Murray, then taking Novak the distance. Richard Gasquet finally made the quarterfinals, then got all greedy and made the SEMIFINALS. He ended up getting killed by Nadal, but good on ya, Reesh. The same can't be said for Roger Federer, who is starting a new kind of streak. He lost in the Round of 16 to Tommy Robredo in straight sets in what was a confusing match. His forehand couldn't find the court and he quickly lost his first match to Tommy Robredo on his eleventh try, denying us our first Fedal encounter at the U.S. Open. Lame.

She was a little excited.

Serena killed her competition through the semis, but her fourth round match against Sloane featured probably the most exciting set of tennis in the tournament pre-finals. The match had an edge to begin with, with all of their off-court drama and whatnot, but what struck me as incredible was how Serena was able to win with her defense. Sloane was crushing her forehand, yet Serena was there for nearly every one of them. Sloane eventually started to go for too much in the second set, which was one-way traffic for our champion.


So what's to come for the rest of the year? Can Serena remain motivated and hungry to finish the year as strongly as she started (she already won Beijing)? Will Rafa win his first World Tour Finals title? Will Djokovic or Vika (or Maria or Andy or, dare I say, Sloane Jelena?) make any dent in the confidence of the top man and woman of their respective tours? We will see what the end of the season has in store, it could mean good things in 2014 for those who make the most of it!

Draw-ful: U.S. Open Men's Draw Preview

Yaaaawwwn.

Compared to the women's draw, the men's draw hardly has anything going on that will interest. Still, we press on and figure out who will lose when to Djokovic, Nadal, and Murray before we get to the juiciness of the later rounds.

Quarter 1

Novak Djokovic arguably has the toughest draw of the Top 4 seeds with Juan Martin Del Potro, one of the opening line favorites, looming on the other side. Even with Djokovic not at his best this summer, you have to assume that he will be fine through the Round of 16. Grigor Dimitrov, his potential third round opponent, may do a little more damage here than at Roland Garros, but Djokovic should be able to get past these mini-threats before a would-be-thrilling quarterfinal against DelPo. Only other interesting potential matchup is a third round clash between Benoit Paire and Fabio Fognini. I'm sure it will be difficult deciding which meltdown is more handsome.

Speaking of our beloved Tower of Tandil, his draw has a couple of players that can be troublesome, including a second round clash with the winner of Hewitt-Baker. Tommy Haas is the next seed in his section which features my favorite first rounder between David Goffin and Alexandr Dolgopolov. That will be an epic mess with beautiful ball striking and puzzling errors and shot selections. Can't wait.

Prediction: Novak Djokovic def. Juan Martin Del Potro

Quarter 2

Andy Murray should have a straightforward path to the quarters strictly because this is not the French Open. The other three seeds in his half (Nicolas Almagro, Andreas Seppi, Juan Monaco) are primarily clay courters and there are no floaters of note lurking. Moving on...

The bottom eighth is where it gets tricky for our defending champ. Tomas Berdych is anchoring the quarter. In my opinion, if New York were not under threat of a tornado during their semifinal clash last year, Andy Murray does not achieve his first major in 2012. Should be a very intriguing quarterfinal matchup, unless Stanislas Wawrinka has something to say about it. He hasn't been playing well as of late though.

Prediction: Tomas Berdych def. Andy Murray

Quarter 3

THIS SECTION OF THE DRAW IS WIDE OPEN. I'M LOOKING AT YOU ERNIE, JERZY, AND MILOS.

Seriously, the top seeds in this quarter are a surprisingly struggling David Ferrer and never-makes-a-quarterfinal Richard Gasquet. This is a BIG opportunity for a high-quality result for Milos Raonic, Jerzy Janowicz, or even Ernests Gulbis. Gulbis should easily make the third round where he faces Ferru. The winner will likely face Jerzy Janowicz in the Round of 16. Male JJ literally has no one in his section (and by "no one" I mean Janko Tipsarevic). Milos also has a very favorable draw to meet up with, and beat up on, Gasquet, who will be standing somewhere in Citi Field to return Milos's serves.

Just please, for the love of God, someone take advantage of this. Please. If Ferrer makes it out of this section, I will cry.

Prediction: Jerzy Janowicz def. Milos Raonic

Quarter 4

The infamous Fedal quarter. But Rafael Nadal has a solid draw. He owns Fernando Verdasco outside of blue clay and just beat John Isner in Cincinnati, so it should set him up to stomp all over Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. The Raging Bull has been en fuego all year outside of London, so I expect nothing less in New York.

Federer, who actually gave Nadal a match in Cincy, will want to start salvaging his year at his second favorite Grand Slam. He really should have no problems through the fourth round, even against Kei Nishikori who beat him in Madrid this year. Hey, who knows? Fed isn't feeling any pressure to beat Rafa anymore, maybe it'll help him settle down.

Prediction: Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer

Semis

Prediction: Novak Djokovic def. Tomas Berdych

Novak should run away against Berdych. His name is name is branded on Tomas's backside right under the words "PROPERTY OF". Expect another adorably sad congratulatory tweet from the Birdman.

Prediction: Rafael Nadal def. Jerzy Janowicz

I expect Jerzy to give Rafa his first real test, but beating Rafa in a best-of-five format is one of the hardest things to do in tennis. Jerzy is still too erratic on serve to really corner Rafa too much.

Final

Prediction: Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic

This will be a coronation on Rafa's season: owning the hard courts over Novak Djokovic. Nole has been struggling mentally in big moments as of late whereas Rafa has been thriving. This should be another epic. Bring the popcorn, and keep a second and third bag on standby. You will probably need to eat during what should be a 48-hour match.

(Note: I will be at Flushing Meadows Friday checking out the last  of qualifying. Come say hi!)

Who Framed Roger Federer?

Seeing Federer at No. 5 in the ATP rankings is weird for all of us. God knows how he must be feeling about his tumble, especially because he was No. 1 this time last year.

Even weirder is his schedule this summer that has him playing Hamburg and Gstaad on CLAY, back-to-back. What? So many questions, so little answers, but Roger revealed one important detail about the remainder of his season and, possibly, his career: he has a new racquet!

One of the big critiques against the G.O.A.T. was the small frame of his racquet leaving him prone to wild errors should he not make precision-perfect contact with the ball. Of course, he was doing a lot of winning with his "subpar" 90-inch frame. But it goes to show that Roger will keep making adjustments and finding ways to stay at the top of the game. I was apprehensive about his summer schedule on Euroclay, but it looks like he wants to get a few matches in with his new magic wand close to home before showing it off in the States for the U.S. Open Series. Panic alert down to yellow, for now. It was a deep orange post Wimblegeddon Wednesday.

What do you guys make of Fed's upgrade? Long overdue? Grasping at straws? He's quickly fallen behind the other guys in the Big 4, so we'll see if this gets him back in the mix with Rafa, Nole, and Andy.

R.I.P. Fed's old racquet. We'll miss your shanks.

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.

The Count of Monte Carlo

This clay season just got real.

I must admit, as a Nole fan, I was already writing off 2013's Euro-clay season as loss. Nadal took home two titles (including a thorough beatdown of his primary whipping boy, David Ferrer) and lost just one match in his comeback tour on South American/Mexican clay, not to mention winning Indian Wells, his first hard court title since 2010. It was pretty much a given that Rafa would sweep through April and May without any sort of hiccup.

Fast forward through a very combative final and we are back in 2011 all over again. Djokovic really took it to Nadal at his "favorite tournament." Yeah, it would be my favorite, too, had I won there EIGHT TIMES IN A ROW.

Anyway, now that the road to Roland Garros is not yet a foregone conclusion, let's try to make sense of what could go down as we get closer to the season's second Grand Slam.

Barcelona: now this is a foregone conclusion. Nadal has won the trophy here the last seven times he's entered. His half of the draw contains a few threatening players like Berdych, Raonic, and Dimitrov, but they are all in Berdych's quarter. However, his confidence may be shaken after his dustup with Nole in Monaco, so maybe, possibly Ferrer has a chance to sneak one in? Yeah, I don't think so either.

Madrid: Fed is defending his title here, but we are back to red this time around. The blue clay of 2012 was much more grass-like than anything else, so I don't think he'll be as lucky this year. Both Nadal and Djokovic have major points to gain here and I'm sure Andy will have worked on his clay court abilities to be a factor. It all depends on how the draw shakes up. Nadal could meet one of the other Big 4 in the quarters.

Rome: the final tune up will be a good one. Nadal ran through Djokovic in the final here last year, but look for Nole to try to exact some revenge here. Much like Madrid, it comes down to where Nadal is placed in the draw.

SO, with all that being said, WHO YA GOT? Can Nole bring back the magic of his 2011 RG tune-ups? Will Roger or Andy make any noise these coming weeks? Most importantly (in my opinion, will Rafa get a protected ranking at Roland Garros? The French Open is closing in on us really quick and I have a rekindled excitement for it! Today, we saw an excellent preview of a potential final round matchup. Or semifinal. Or quarterfinal. Please give Nadal the fourth seed...

Happy Holidays!

Good ol' Saint Novak.

A very merry World Tennis Day to all!

Although I just found out such a day existed last week and only remembered it after roaming around the web this afternoon, 'twas a joyous and exciting 24 hours to be a fan of this beautiful sport.

Kudos to all the players getting involved in those lighthearted matches to spread tennis joy around the world.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the goofing off ends here. March is upon us, which means it is U.S. hard court season! Two combined events, loaded draws, and several thousand points and dollars to be awarded. Who's gonna reap the bulk of those benefits? Let's find out by taking a quick look back at an unusually busy February.

Doha: Serena is back at #1, but Vika had the last laugh in their final round match. Serena holds a big lead in their H-to-H record, but Vika has always played her tough and seems to be making more inroads each successive faceoff. Don't be surprised if Azarenka gets back to the top spot by year's end (Serena has a TON of points to defend this summer).

Dubai: Kvitova got back on track with this Premier title. The draw was trimmed down after the Doha finalists withdrew, but hats off to getting the job done. Now that she's pulled off playing well for two matches in a row, is it no longer wishful thinking that she could do it for consecutive tournaments? We'll see, but we do know she has all the weaponry to dominate.

ATP 500s: Federer is stunned at Rotterdam and Dubai. He can't seem to hold MPs anymore. The door is open for Murray, who was absent for the entire month, to leapfrog him in the rankings. Djokovic wins Dubai, undefeated in 2013. Nole's on a serious roll, 18 straight matches to be exact. Is a repeat of 2011 in store? He seems unstoppable at the moment, especially on hard courts. Nadal blows away David Ferrer in Acapulco. The scoreline may be ho-hum, but Rafa has only just started playing tournaments and is only going to get more comfortable out on court. The only question is will he play Indian Wells and/or Miami? WE STILL DON'T KNOW. It's not like IW begins in two days or anything...

I don't know about you, but I am so excited for Indian Wells and Miami because: a) combined events are easy to follow both men and women, and b) they are both in my country's time zone. Those of you who feverishly followed the Australian Open like I did feel me...

Leave a comment to discuss the happenings of February or to look forward to March. Should be another exciting month!

Jetlagged

I can confidently say that my body clock has reset to Eastern Standard Time (six days later).

What an Australian Open! ...Okay, it was actually a little anticlimactic. Dare I say Oz was disappointing? Here are a couple of things that made the Happy Slam such a downer:

All flower, no power (or accuracy).

The matchups we were all waiting to see were lackluster or didn't even happen. We all marked Maria Sharapova's third-round clash with Venus Williams on our calendar and were hopeful for an intense, albeit noisy, match since Venus looked almost as good as MaSha through her first two opponents...DUD. MaSha crushed Venus, yet celebrated like she won a thrilling three-set final. I was left with my mouth hanging open in shock because it was such a one-way street.

That wasn't the only one. Serena and MaSha were on a collision course to meet in the finals, but back spasms and Li Na put the respective breaks on their near flawless Oz Open runs. Even Nole vs. Andy was a little hard to watch. The one match that actually lived up to it's billing was Andy vs. Rog in the second men's semis. Most of the others were not up to par.

Another bummer was the crazy number of injuries. Serena rolled her ankle before her first set was over and was laboring throughout her shortened second week, Sloane Stephens had three or four straight opponents take medical timeouts, Andy Murray seemed to slow down a step in the third set of the finals because of those unsightly blisters, and the whole Vika shenanigan made injuries the talk of the tournament. Depressing.

Leave a comment if you think there were even lamer things about this year's Australian Open or if you feel like it wasn't that bad of a Grand Slam at all! Here's to hoping the season goes up from here. Congratulations to Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka for defending their titles! Davis Cup is already upon us. Good luck to Jim Courier and the USA squad!

Semis Are Set Sans Serena

Okay, no time because because the the women's semifinals start in a few minutes/seconds, but I must address a few things about what we've seen this past week:

Sloane Stephens defeats a hobbled Serena. I'm thoroughly shocked at the outcome because Serena seemed to have felt better physically in the third set, but so very happy for the teenager. Sloane is here to stay!

Djokovic wins five-set epic against Stan Wawrinka. Once again, Nole had me awake all hours of the night and 'til the wee hours of the morning. A challenge here or there could have altered the complexion of the final moments, but Djokovic prevails.

Sharapova rolling through her opponents. She must have eaten a truckload of these because she is riding the longest sugar-high ever. With Serena out, she has to be the new favorite (Sorry, Vika).

DelPo ousted early. Very disappointing result Down Under. There is a big ol' brick wall in front of him at the majors and he needs to figure out how to scale it. And quick.

Federer schools the cool kids in class. Roger has the most varied offensive arsenal in tennis history and he showed it against two vastly different youngsters. He showed Tomic what finesse was about and he outserved Raonic. The old guy's still got the goods.

Anyway, gotta run! Enjoy the rest of the Australian Open! Sure to be an exciting finish :)

Call Me Crazy: Wild 2013 Predictions

I think Ivan Lendl taught him how
to take trophy photos...

Four (or three depending on you timezone) days 'til Oz! Time to get excited.

But this is the last shot we all get to make outlandish predictions for the season then gloat about how awesomely smart you are come November. Btdubbs, called this after Melbourne last year:

But never mind how great my instincts are at these things, we can predict things that are way more unlikely to happen! So put away those slightly edgy predictions and go all out insane!

I will layout three very thoughtful, reasonably risky predictions that can be pushed close the edge of the Crazy Cliff without completely falling off (because I actually believe in them):

Exhibit A Reasonable: Rafael Nadal will not win this year's French Open
Even with Rafa's knee troubles, this prediction is sure to turn a few heads. Rafa is the undisputed King of Clay and seems to be gearing up his body for the Euro swing. Could still use a little more spice, however...

Exhibit A Crazy: Neither Roger Federer nor Rafael Nadal will win a Grand Slam tournament in 2013
Now THAT'S preposterous. We haven't seen that since...since...God, I don't think I was even born yet! (I was, and it was the year 2002.) But look a little closer. Rafa has never been out of the game for as long a stretch at a time, EVER. On top of that he usually takes a little while to boot up before his game is back to where it was before his extended hiatuses. As for our beloved G.O.A.T., let's face it, he's getting old. Like, real old. I'm not saying he's washed up, but competing regularly against the likes of Novak and Andy will not aide in Roger's bid to stay fresh throughout the season (all of the other members of the Big 4 have a habit of playing in long matches) and he's also prone to going down against big hitters that litter the Top 10 (see 2012 Basel vs. DelPo, 2012 U.S. Open vs. Berdy, and 2011 Wimbledon vs. Jo-Willy). 2013 is shaping up to be quite the tough test for Fed.

Exhibit B Reasonable: Someone outside the Big 4 men will win a Slam
It'll be tough to break the foursome at the top, but this is as good a year as any for one of the many power hitters to barrel his way through that brick wall built by Rog, Rafa, Nole, and Andy over the last 7235691 years. Fed will be 32 this summer, Rafa's knee issues are well documented, and neither Nole nor Andy can make you feel completely helpless a la Federer in his prime or a healthy Nadal. David Ferrer gave the second tier a sliver of hope by winning the Paris Masters last fall. At least it's something to hold on to.

Exhibit B Crazy: One Grand Slam Final will feature two players outside of the Big 4
Bear with me for a second! Most of you will scoff and say I've gone too far, but let's look at the facts. DelPo is a Grand Slam champion and posted great wins vs. Federer and Djokovic in 2012. Berdych has beaten Fed twice in Grand Slam quarterfinals and may have been a 2012 U.S. Open finalist if it weren't for that goshdarn wind/tornado. John Isner is always a threat with his serve, Tsonga should be reinvigorated by a new coach, and Raonic keeps improving. What's stopping from the stars and planets from aligning? Yes, I understand it will take every star, planet, and asteroid in the entire galaxy, but it can happen!

Exhibit C Reasonable: Serena Williams will achieve the calendar year Grand Slam
This is a feat that would be extraordinarily impressive, even for Serena. Most people have her locked to win Down Under and you just know she's extremely motivated for a second Roland Garros title to complete her second "Serena Slam". Still, as you look down the road, it's hard to see anyone challenging her at Wimbledon and she'll be favored at the U.S. Open as well. While potentially an outstanding accomplishment, not exactly putting your neck on the line.

Exhibit C Crazy: Caroline Wozniacki will win the U.S. Open
I saved the craziest prediction of all for last, but before you check me in at the asylum, consider this: The pressure is finally off of Caro. The pundits have stopped talking about how her game isn't major material. No more Slam-less #1 remarks. And now that people have grown weary of her many shenanigans, she can go back to focusing on what made her the year-end #1 WTA player for two consecutive years. In her early days at #1, her game was fine. She was just missing the element of mental toughness. I think that this could be a defining year for Caro if she pulls her focus together. Let's not forget that she gave Serena one of her four losses in 2012! Then again, that may be a bad thing...

I WILL exact my revenge...

How crazy am I? Genius crazy? Stupid crazy? Leave a comment to discuss whether or not I should be institutionalized. But I'm warning you, I will be unbearably high on my horse come season's end.

P.S. can anyone name the four ATP Slam winners of 2002? Major points to those of you who don't have to look it up.

Ugh...

I wake up this morning thinking I would see hundreds of orgasmic tweets from tennis journos covering Vika vs. Serena that would make me feel as if I were watching the match unfold live, but Azarenka was forced to withdraw due to a bad pedicure, not even joking! Apparently she suffered a toe infection that causes her pain, pain that she endured for the early rounds of Brisbane, but it would be too steep of a hill to climb against Mount Serena. Way to blueball us, Vika...

Still, Pavlyuchenkova can hit the hard, so we can hope for something at least slightly competitive in the final.

The ATP Brisbane is still rockin' though! Young gun Grigor Dimitrov has blasted through to the semis in a very impressive tournament run so far. "Baby Federer" is finally showing his potential over a stretch longer than a single match (or rather a single point). He's even rumored to be dating Maria Sharapova! Respect, Grigor.

And when did Nikolay Davydenko decide to make a reappearance?? He whipped #1 seed David Ferrer in the Doha semis and is ready for a finals showdown with Richard Gasquet. Between Davy and Pav, it's been a Russian Revival this week!

What do you think of these developments? Azarenka should be ready to go for Melbourne, but will lack of big time matchplay hurt her? Can Baby Federer show off his repertoire in a major? Is this just a flash-in-the-pan for the machinelike Russian? Leave a comment to discuss. Australian Open draw out in seven days!