I said in the last post I'll be relaxing on tennis posting but the Sony Ericsson Open is just too big a tournament for me not to post about. The open truly deserves its title as one of the most important events on the tennis calendar and to be very honest it's probably the most interesting tennis that has happened in the past months.
On to the men's side...
Rafael Nadal's recent feats has made him one of the most dominant players of late, I think most of us are questioning whether he could dominate all courts where most players have failed e.g. Roger Federer on clay. I personally hate him all the more because of it! (I sense some hate mail) Yeah I have to agree that he's the best player and does many spectacular things but a degree of variety is needed in any competition - nobody wants to see a one horse race! That's why I was so happy when Nadal was beaten by Juan Martin Del Potro - yes the Juan that seemed to be slowly sliding back into nothingness. I feared from the very start that Rafael would make it a double victory as I honestly couldn't see Andy Murray defeating him before the finals but luckily Del Potro was there to do us the deed.
So that left Andy Murray with a wide opening to the finals, I'm not saying Del Potro is an easy opponent but we have to agree that Murray would be way more pleased with Del Potro than Nadal especially when Murray was coming into the semis with two total thrashings against Victor Troicki (6-1,6-0) and Fernando Verdasco (6-1,6-2). Therefore I think Del Potro is the hero of this tournament as if it weren't for him I fear that we would have seen Nadal's hands on the trophy rather than Murray's - you could debate on who deserves it more but I for one did not want to see Nadal doing a double (BNP Paribas then Sony Ericsson).
As the ATP has basically been a tussle between Nadal and Murray with appearances by Djokovic and Federer (and to a lesser extent Roddick and Tsonga) I find it difficult to post about many other players, yes there have been the unusual/rare gems like Radek Stepanek but they will eventually fade into the stratosphere and lend off to other players who aim to break the current elite. I guess the 3rd section would have to be highlighted by Tsonga Vs. Djokovic. Though the final scoreline was only 6-3,6-4 the win was so satisfying that if I typed it up I may have to put parental guidance on this blog! I was so worried about Djokovic losing to his nemesis "Tsonga" again that I'd probably take up voodoo or something extreme like that in order to make Djokovic win, but at last he showed that he could beat Tsonga!
Besides the usual tussle between Roddick and Federer there was also the Monfils Vs. Safin match. I would have loved to watch that match as I would be cheering my heart out for Safin.
Of course the tussle between Roddick and Federer ended with a Federer win but I find it absolutely possible that in the next year or so we may find Roddick the successor at least once. The Djokovic/Federer semifinal was bound to be interesting, though it may not be a great match all the build up to it was enough to keep me interested. It kind of felt like the fallen king (I'm actually referring to Djokovic here!) playing the golden oldie. Djokovic has just not been up to scratch lately and that's the reason why he's not closer to capturing 2nd than dropping to 4th as Federer is by no means the 2nd best player at the moment and I do believe this time next year we would find Federer struggling at 4th. All this can be soldified when Federer lost to Djokovic - in my honest opinion I don't think Federer will be able to beat the other Top 4 players any more (maybe once or twice against Murray or Djokovic but that's the max). I believe the news of the baby is enough to give Federer a nice platform for him to retire from tennis and save some grace before he falls to the bottom 20.
So the final was upon us and we were seeing the old rivals Murray/Djokovic. I remember when the two were near the Top 10 and the British public were so excited about Murray but so envious of the fact that Djokovic was obviously better than him at that point. Djokovic definitely had the better start but Murray has managed to climb back and restart the old rivalry, though Murray is in by far better form I believe Djokovic will be able to resuscitate his prowess and eventually rival Nadal for the top.
Basically this is how I see it...
Nadal Vs. Murray - Nadal's game is just what Murray can't tackle, there will be a few occasions where Murray is victorious but Nadal will inevitably leave the tour with a much better win-loss ratio against Murray.
Nadal Vs. Djokovic - In some ways I really feel sorry for Djokovic as he had a great year when Nadal and Federer were still the dominant duo on tour, Djokovic fought hard to break into there rivalry but he just wasn't there at the right time - whilst Andy Murray has captured that time perfectly. Nadal will still hold a dominant win-loss ratio againt Novak but I believe Novak will have a better record against Nadal than Murray has by the end of their careers.
Murray Vs. Djokovic - In two years time I'm sure we'll have forgotten about Federer and placed our focus on the Murray/Djokovic rivalry (as I think Nadal will still be quite dominant - unless some unexpected injury occurs). I think Djokovic will always be at least one match ahead of Murray in their win-loss record but I believe this rivalry will be the one everybody would focus on in the future - the first time the main focus isn't on the No.1 I think.
Well after that long babble we are onto the WTA tour...
I think one reason why I've lost some interest in tennis is because on the ATP their is too much dominance whilst at Sony Ericsson it's similar but with too much unpredictability. The heydays for me were definitely when Justine Henin was still around (especially the last season of her career), she was dominant but there were always three or four players nagging at her heal whilst that's not the case with Serena - of course you may say that Victoria Azarenka beat Serena so she's not that dominant, but who is capable of winning every tournament they enter! Placing in the final is enough to show her dominance on this tour.
Whilst now that I've spelt out the final I should work backwards. Serena definitely felt the heat from the Chinese, playing China's best three - Shuai Peng, Jie Zheng and finally Na Li, all of which I'd expect were not as easy as Serena hoped for. Whilst Venus Williams didn't have an easy journey herself, of course she avoided Jelena Jankovic but I believe in Jelena's current form Venus would have thrashed her. It left Iveta Benesova - one of my fantasy tennis players! Through to the quarters YEAH!
Of course Svetlana also featured in the Top 4 - I forgive you if you have totally forgotten! Everyone was like - oh my god is Svetlana back! But Victoria Azarenka had to break Kuzzies bubble! Double YEAH! But this tournament just showed me how Russia is totally mad! Even without their most in form players reaching the quarters (namely Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva and Vera Zvonareva) they still manage to get one of their players in the semis!
Well anyway that's it! I think I over analysed whilst I was typing and oh my god it's already so late! I really should have done some revision for my exams - but oh well I'll just have to fail them and go further into depression! Happy Easter!
On to the men's side...
Rafael Nadal's recent feats has made him one of the most dominant players of late, I think most of us are questioning whether he could dominate all courts where most players have failed e.g. Roger Federer on clay. I personally hate him all the more because of it! (I sense some hate mail) Yeah I have to agree that he's the best player and does many spectacular things but a degree of variety is needed in any competition - nobody wants to see a one horse race! That's why I was so happy when Nadal was beaten by Juan Martin Del Potro - yes the Juan that seemed to be slowly sliding back into nothingness. I feared from the very start that Rafael would make it a double victory as I honestly couldn't see Andy Murray defeating him before the finals but luckily Del Potro was there to do us the deed.
So that left Andy Murray with a wide opening to the finals, I'm not saying Del Potro is an easy opponent but we have to agree that Murray would be way more pleased with Del Potro than Nadal especially when Murray was coming into the semis with two total thrashings against Victor Troicki (6-1,6-0) and Fernando Verdasco (6-1,6-2). Therefore I think Del Potro is the hero of this tournament as if it weren't for him I fear that we would have seen Nadal's hands on the trophy rather than Murray's - you could debate on who deserves it more but I for one did not want to see Nadal doing a double (BNP Paribas then Sony Ericsson).
As the ATP has basically been a tussle between Nadal and Murray with appearances by Djokovic and Federer (and to a lesser extent Roddick and Tsonga) I find it difficult to post about many other players, yes there have been the unusual/rare gems like Radek Stepanek but they will eventually fade into the stratosphere and lend off to other players who aim to break the current elite. I guess the 3rd section would have to be highlighted by Tsonga Vs. Djokovic. Though the final scoreline was only 6-3,6-4 the win was so satisfying that if I typed it up I may have to put parental guidance on this blog! I was so worried about Djokovic losing to his nemesis "Tsonga" again that I'd probably take up voodoo or something extreme like that in order to make Djokovic win, but at last he showed that he could beat Tsonga!
Besides the usual tussle between Roddick and Federer there was also the Monfils Vs. Safin match. I would have loved to watch that match as I would be cheering my heart out for Safin.
Of course the tussle between Roddick and Federer ended with a Federer win but I find it absolutely possible that in the next year or so we may find Roddick the successor at least once. The Djokovic/Federer semifinal was bound to be interesting, though it may not be a great match all the build up to it was enough to keep me interested. It kind of felt like the fallen king (I'm actually referring to Djokovic here!) playing the golden oldie. Djokovic has just not been up to scratch lately and that's the reason why he's not closer to capturing 2nd than dropping to 4th as Federer is by no means the 2nd best player at the moment and I do believe this time next year we would find Federer struggling at 4th. All this can be soldified when Federer lost to Djokovic - in my honest opinion I don't think Federer will be able to beat the other Top 4 players any more (maybe once or twice against Murray or Djokovic but that's the max). I believe the news of the baby is enough to give Federer a nice platform for him to retire from tennis and save some grace before he falls to the bottom 20.
So the final was upon us and we were seeing the old rivals Murray/Djokovic. I remember when the two were near the Top 10 and the British public were so excited about Murray but so envious of the fact that Djokovic was obviously better than him at that point. Djokovic definitely had the better start but Murray has managed to climb back and restart the old rivalry, though Murray is in by far better form I believe Djokovic will be able to resuscitate his prowess and eventually rival Nadal for the top.
Basically this is how I see it...
Nadal Vs. Murray - Nadal's game is just what Murray can't tackle, there will be a few occasions where Murray is victorious but Nadal will inevitably leave the tour with a much better win-loss ratio against Murray.
Nadal Vs. Djokovic - In some ways I really feel sorry for Djokovic as he had a great year when Nadal and Federer were still the dominant duo on tour, Djokovic fought hard to break into there rivalry but he just wasn't there at the right time - whilst Andy Murray has captured that time perfectly. Nadal will still hold a dominant win-loss ratio againt Novak but I believe Novak will have a better record against Nadal than Murray has by the end of their careers.
Murray Vs. Djokovic - In two years time I'm sure we'll have forgotten about Federer and placed our focus on the Murray/Djokovic rivalry (as I think Nadal will still be quite dominant - unless some unexpected injury occurs). I think Djokovic will always be at least one match ahead of Murray in their win-loss record but I believe this rivalry will be the one everybody would focus on in the future - the first time the main focus isn't on the No.1 I think.
Well after that long babble we are onto the WTA tour...
I think one reason why I've lost some interest in tennis is because on the ATP their is too much dominance whilst at Sony Ericsson it's similar but with too much unpredictability. The heydays for me were definitely when Justine Henin was still around (especially the last season of her career), she was dominant but there were always three or four players nagging at her heal whilst that's not the case with Serena - of course you may say that Victoria Azarenka beat Serena so she's not that dominant, but who is capable of winning every tournament they enter! Placing in the final is enough to show her dominance on this tour.
Whilst now that I've spelt out the final I should work backwards. Serena definitely felt the heat from the Chinese, playing China's best three - Shuai Peng, Jie Zheng and finally Na Li, all of which I'd expect were not as easy as Serena hoped for. Whilst Venus Williams didn't have an easy journey herself, of course she avoided Jelena Jankovic but I believe in Jelena's current form Venus would have thrashed her. It left Iveta Benesova - one of my fantasy tennis players! Through to the quarters YEAH!
Of course Svetlana also featured in the Top 4 - I forgive you if you have totally forgotten! Everyone was like - oh my god is Svetlana back! But Victoria Azarenka had to break Kuzzies bubble! Double YEAH! But this tournament just showed me how Russia is totally mad! Even without their most in form players reaching the quarters (namely Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva and Vera Zvonareva) they still manage to get one of their players in the semis!
Well anyway that's it! I think I over analysed whilst I was typing and oh my god it's already so late! I really should have done some revision for my exams - but oh well I'll just have to fail them and go further into depression! Happy Easter!
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