AUS OPEN 2011: Day 1 and Day 2 Highlights

Nalbandian celebrates his marathon win over Hewitt

The first two days of the 2011 Australian Open are over and the entire first round has been played.

MEN
All of the favorites on the men's side have made it through to the second round: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Robin Soderling, John Isner. Other highlights of the first round include 2009 US Open winner Juan Martin Del Potro winning in straight sets over  Dudi Sela, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga came back from 2-sets down to win in 5-sets, as did his countryman Gael Monfils. The only important player to lose was Sam Querrey who lost a tough 5-setter to Lukasc Kubot.

The match of the tournament so far was David Nalbandian's 4 hour, 48-minute win 3-6 6-4 6-3 7-6(1) 9-7 thrilling win over 2-time major champion Lleyton Hewitt.

WOMEN
On the women's side Caroline Wozniacki, Kim Clijsters, Samantha Stosur, Venus Williams, Justine Henin, Victoria Azarenka have all advanced to the 2nd round. The first round highlights were Clijsters 6-0 6-0 drubbing of former #1 Dinara Safina and former World #1 Ana Ivanovic finally succumbed 4-6 6-4 10-8 after saving 5 match points against Ekaterina Makarova in probably the most drama-filled match of the day.

Best (Men's) Tennis Matches of 2010

Here are my picks for the "best" (or most memorable) tennis matches by men in 2010. These are basically the matches that had the most impact on me while they were occurring, feature some of the best play, had the most impact on the rest of the tennis world or are matches that I would most likely to watch again in the future. You can see my previous lists: Best Men's Tennis Matches of 2009 and Best Men's Tennis Matches of 2006. (There were no men's lists in 2007 or 2008.) I also have posted the Best Women's Tennis Matches of 2010.

1. J. Isner USA d. N. Mahut FRA, 6-4 3-6 6-7(7) 7-6(3) 70-68, Wimbledon 1st Round, London.

A match for the ages. A tennis match that transcends tennis, and possibly sport itself. Two relatively unheralded players played a match which lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes, by far the longest match ever. The final set itself is a marvel, shattering the record for the longest match--in terms of time (8 hours,11 minutes) and number of games (138) played. The list of records broken is a litany of exceptionalism which is unlikely ever to be matched. When the rest of the tennis of 2010 is long-forgotten Isner-Mahut will still be referred to. What was most remarkable that despite playing so long, there was still brilliant tennis for vast portions of the match. This was truly an example of the cliche where it is sad that in every game there has to be a winner.

2.  R. Nadal ESP d. A. Murray GBR, 7-6(5) 3-6 7-6(6), ATP World Tour Finals semifinal, London.
The penultimate match of the 2010 season was one of the most exciting, well-played matches of the year. Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray had met three times before in 2010, with the Briton leading 2-1. However, this semifinal match at the Year-Ending Championships was being held before a British crowd which was considered to be a disadvantage for Murray. Many people do not like Murray's game, feeling that he plays too defensively given the talent, power and mobility he possesses (Gael Monfils suffers from similar complaints), but in this match Murray confounded his critics by being as aggressive as I have ever seen him play. The match was probably decided in the first set. There, both players  played well, with Murray serving exceedingly well but after his serve failed him in the tiebreaker Nadal was able to tuck the set away on his first and only set point. In the second set, things were pretty even until Nadal went through a very bad patch at 3-all and basically donated the second set to Murray. In the third set Nadal got an early break which he was able to nurse into a 5-3 lead. Murray was able to hold serve and when Nadal served for the match at 5-4 he was broken despite holding a match point. In the inevitable tiebreak Murray continued his aggressive play but was rewarded with errors instead of winners. He can take heart that he at least went down slugging away and if he can apply this mentality to future matchups with his higher ranked rivals the results may be different.

3.  N. Djokovic SRB d. R. Federer SUI, 5-7 6-1 5-7 6-2 7-5, U.S. Open semifinal, New York.

The greatest Grand Slam match played this year was the second men's semifinal at Super Saturday at the U.S. Open in New York. For the fourth year in a row Roger Federer faced Novak Djokovic at the last major of the year, having beaten him the first three times in one final and two semifinals. This time, history seemed prepared to repeat itself when Federer earned double match point at 15-40, 4-5 in the final set. The number of times Federer had lost a grand slam match after holding a match point in his career can be counted on one hand (without using all of the fingers). However, the young Serb was able to be very aggressive on these match points and after getting past that near-death experience was able to use the mental momentum gained to immediately break Federer in the very next service game and serve out the win. The match featured long streaks of very high-quality tennis from both sides, with both players displaying impeccable defense and offense. After winning 5 U.S. Opens in a row, Federer has now lost in the last two to younger challengers. Is this a sign of things to come? Only time will tell.

4.  R. Federer SUI d. A. Murray GBR, 6-3 6-4 7-6(11), Australian Open final, Melbourne.

The highest quality grand slam final of the year featured yet another historic performance by Roger Federer as he was able to beat a player who has a career head-to-head edge against him in straight sets. Murray did not play badly, Federer was simply on fire for exactly the optimal time which allowed him to win each set. The third set in particular Federer should have lost but he was able to finally earn the break back and set up one of the classic tie-breaks of all time--a 24-point thriller that ended with Federer winning the match and his record 16th grand slam singles title.

5.  G. Monfils FRA d. R. Federer SUI, 7-6(7) 6-7(1) 7-6(4), Paris ATP Masters semifinal, Paris. 

Gael Monfils is a 6' 4", 180 pound Frenchman of African descent with size 15 feet who has long been predicted to do great things in tennis. He is one of the most dynamic players on tour and easily one of the fleetest of foot. He often responds well to a supportive crowd and has had some of his best results in front of Parisian crowds. Federer had never lost to Monfils and was probably not worried when he somehow lost the first set in a close tie-break. However, even Federer must have been surprised by the Frenchman's tenacity and will-to-win despite being down 4-1 in the 3rd set. Somehow, Monfils was able to save (count 'em) five match points at 4-5 through tremendous defense (his mighty serve basically deserted him on match points down so Monfils had to win those points the hard way). This was the fourth example of a match in 2010 where Federer had a match point and went on to lose the match (l. Djokovic US Open semifinals, l. Berdych Miami Masters 4th Round, l. Baghdatis Indian Wells 3rd Round, l. Monfils Paris Masters semifinals). Hopefully, Federer's new coach Paul Annacone will try to work on raising the level of his charge's aggression on big points (his often-atrocious break-point conversion rate should be another focus of improvement for the Swiss great) and we look forward to seeing the results in 2011. For Monfils, this was an amazing result which hopefully will spur him on to greater results next year and beyond.

6.  R. Nadal ESP d. N. Djokovic SRB, 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-2, U.S. Open final, New York.
 After the fireworks of the men's semifinal between Federer and Djokovic, this final was something of an afterthought, especially since  for the third year in a row it was played on Monday instead of Sunday due to inclement weather (get a roof already, New York!). The tennis quality was reasonably high but Nadal secured his inevitable date with destiny by achieving the career grand slam at the tender age of 24 years old, just 15 months after his great rival had achieved the same feat in Paris. Nadal and Federer both have claims to be the greatest of all time, with Nadal at 9 majors to Federer's 16 but is 5 years younger (and further along at comparable ages). The GOAT question will not be decided until after both men have retired, but without doubt this match was a seminal moment in tennis history, one to be remembered for a long time as Nadal joined the small select group of career grand slam holders.

7.  R. Federer SUI d. R. Nadal ESP, 6-3 3-6 6-1, ATP World Tour Finals final, London.

 Any match between Federer and Nadal is a marquee event, but this contest, following the best match of the year between top players (Nadal-Murray semifinal) was the culmination of the season in which Nadal won 3 consecutive grand slam tournaments. With Nadal sporting a gaudy 14-7 career head-to-head record against Federer some people thought he would cement his dominance with a win here. They were incorrect, however, because on hard courts the two greats are more evenly matched, with a very slight edge to Federer. The actual tennis was high quality, but the sets were somewhat lopsided in score. Even small lapses can be converted into 6-3 sets and a large lapse results in a 6-1 blowout between these two rivals who know each other's games so well. In the end Federer was better on the day and postponed the discussion of which of the two men will be at the top of the heap in history's final estimation.

8.  R. Soderling SWE d. R. Federer SUI, 3-6 6-3 7-5 6-4, French Open quarterfinal, Paris.
One year after engineering the upset of the decade by handing 4-time defending champion Nadal his sole defeat (ever!) at Roland Garros, the tall, strong Robin Soderling repeated the effort by ending Federer's incredible streak of grand slam semifinals at 23 with a 4-set win over the defending champion. History was repeated again a few days later, when, after reaching the French Open final, Soderling lost in a surprisingly non-competitive fashion. However, this match, like last year's defeat of the defending champion will be long remembered by tennis fans. It should be noted that Federer hasn't forgotten either, and hasn't lost to the Swede since (but Nadal has).

9.  T. Berdych CZE d. R. Federer, 4-6 6-3 6-1 6-4, Wimbledon quarterfinal, London.

A few weeks after losing his hold on the #1 ranking and his famous semifinal streak, Federer had his dominance on grass ripped from his grasp as Tomas Berdych showed that his inaugural win over the Swiss player in Miami was not a fluke but a harbinger. The 6' 5", 200 pound Czech simply played a near-perfect match on Federer's home turf of Wimbledon's Centre Court, dismissing the defending champion in 4 crisp sets. Although Berdych was able to follow up his win with a victory over Novak Djokovic in the semifinal, he was unable to compete effectively against Nadal in the final, succumbing in straight sets to the Spaniard while I watched in the stands. Unsuccessfully defending his title in two consecutive grand slams, failing to reach the semifinals twice in a row must have been a dreadful blow to Federer, but he can seek solace in his quarterfinal streak, which now stands at 26 and counting.

10 F. Verdasco ESP d. D. Ferrer ESP, 5-7 6-7(8) 6-3 6-3 7-6(4), U.S. Open 4th Round, New York.

The only other match on this list besides the Isner-Mahut classic which does not feature a grand slam champion was this all-Spaniard showdown between two of the fittest (and best-looking) players on the men's tour in the 4th round of the 2010 US Open. It also happens to feature one of the most amazing match points in the history of Open tennis. It should be noted that this fifth-set tiebreak occurred after nearly 4 1/2 hours of grinding, extended-rally play, after Verdasco had already been down two(!) breaks in the deciding set and fought back to even the match. What happens on match point deserves no words, just your admiration:





Absolutely amazing!


HONORABLE MENTIONS
R. Soderling SWE d. T. Berdych CZE, 6-3 6-3 3-6 5-7 6-3, French Open semifinal, Paris.

A. Murray GBR d. R. Nadal ESP, 6-3 7-6(2) 3-0 ret., Australian Open quarterfinal, Melbourne.

R. Soderling SWE d. M. Llodra FRA, 6-7(0) 7-5 7-6(6), ATP Paris Masters semifinal, Paris.

A. Murray GBR d. R. Federer SUI, 7-5 7-5, Canadian ATP Masters final, Toronto, Canada.

A. Murray GBR d. R. Federer SUI, 6-3 6-2, Shanghai ATP Masters final, Shanghai, China.

R. Nadal ESP d. T. Berdych CZE, 6-3 7-5 6-4, Wimbledon final, London.
R. Federer SUI d. N. Djokovic SRB, 6-4 3-6 6-1, Swiss Indoors final, Basel, Switzerland.

R. Nadal ESP d. R. Soderling SWE, 6-3 7-5 6-4, French Open final, Paris.

R. Nadal ESP d. A. Murray, 6-4 7-6(6) 6-4, Wimbledon semifinal, London.

Y-H. Lu TPE d. A. Roddick USA, 4-6 7-6(3) 7-6(4) 6-7(5) 9-7, Wimbledon 4th Round, London.

T. Berdych CZE d. R. Federer SUI, 6-4 6-7(3) 7-6(6), Miami ATP Masters 4th Round, Miami.

R. Federer SUI d. N. Djokovic SRB, 6-1 6-4, ATP World Tour Finals semifinal, London.

S. Wawrinka SUI d. A. Murray GBR, 6-7(3) 7-6(4) 6-3 6-3, U.S. Open 3rd Round, New York.
J. Melzer AUT d. N. Djokovic SRB, 6-4 3-6 2-6 6-2 7-6(3), French Open quarterfinal, New York.

J-M. Del Potro ARG d. J. Blake USA, 6-4 6-7(3) 5-7 6-3 10-8, Australian Open 2nd Round, Melbourne.
M. Cilic CRO d. J-M Del Potro ARG, 5-7 6-4 5-7 7-5 6-3, Australian Open 4th Round, Melbourne.
L. Hewitt AUS d. R. Federer SUI, 3-6 7-6(4) 6-4, Gerry Weber Open final, Halle, Germany.
J-W. Tsonga FRA d. N. Djokovic SRB, 7-6(8) 6-7(5) 1-6 6-3 6-1, Australian Open quarterfinal, Melbourne.

ATP Tour Finals: Federer v Djokovic, Nadal v Murray Semifinals

The semifinals of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals are set: Roger Federer will play Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will play Andy Murray. Federer and Nadal are undefeated through the first three round-robin rounds with Nadal only dropping his very first set of the tournament against Andy Roddick, although Djokovic should probably have won the first set in their match. Federer was pretty lucky not to lose the first set against Robin Soderling.

That being said, Nadal has a 8-4 career edge against Murray, a 14-7 lead against Federer and a 15-7 lead against Djokovic. He is, after all, the World's #1 player and the current holder of 3 of the 4 major title, having won 3 in a row in 2010. He has never won this tournament, because he's usually dead tired by this point in the season. He did not play in 2008 and lost all 3 round-robin matches last year. However, it's 2010 and I expect him to at least get to the final, where I suspect he will play Federer in a mouth-watering final. Although Nadal leads the Greatest Of All Time in their overall head-to-head and beat him once this year as well as the last time they met on a hard court (the inexplicable 2009 Australian Open final), their hard court record head-to-head is tied 3-3 with Federer beating Nadal twice in the semifinals of the year-ending championships in 2006 and 2007. However, in Finals one would have to give the edge to Nadal (12-5).

Can Novak and Andy stop another Fedal final? Possibly, since Murray sports a 2-1 lead over Nadal (4-4 career on hard courts) this year, both time winning on hard courts including the last time they played in the semifinals of Toronto (where Murray also beat Federer). His single loss to Nadal came in London earlier this year in the Wimbledon semis. For all intents and purposes that was the equivalent of a Tour final. Murray himself has been lowering expectations about his chances against Nadal (and Federer) in his press conferences this week. However, I think he probably has the best chance of the four of preventing Nadal from winning his first tour championships.

While Nadal faces the person most likely to beat him, Federer plays the person least likely to beat him. (He beat Murray this week in round-robin play but has an overall 5-8 losing record to the Scot.) Djkovic trails Federer 6-12 in their career match-up, including 1-3 for the year. Of course that one win was in the semifinals of the 2010 US Open where Federer held two match points and lost. One does feel if the match is close, Federer will likely lose it. Ever since then, Federer has beaten Novak relatively easily and I expect that will be the case tomorrow.

MadProfessah's predictions: Nadal defeats Murray in 3 sets; Federer defeats Djokovic in 2 sets.

ATP Tour Finals: Federer Gets Revenge On Murray 6-4 6-2

 

World #1 Roger Federer defeated hometown favorite Andy Murray 6-4 6-2 to win his second round-robin match at the Barclay's ATP Tour Finals in London. Federer improved his win-loss career record to the young Scot to 6 wins out of 14 matches played. Murray had beaten Federer the last two times they met this year, both times in Masters finals (in Shanghai and in Toronto). Of course, Federer has beaten Murray in the two major finals they have competed in (2010 Australian Open and 2008 US Open ).

Murray beat Robin Soderling and so in order to make the semifinals of the ATP World Tour finals, Murray will need to beat David Ferrer in straight sets in order to reach the semifinals. Federer will just need to win a set off of Soderling to clinch a semifinal berth if Soderling does not beat Ferrer today.

The other half of the draw has Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Tomas Berdych and Novak Djokovic. Djokovic and Nadal have wins over Berdych and Roddick, respectively so far.

Paris Masters: Federer v. Monfils, Soderling v. Llodra in Semifinals

Gael Monfils

Michael Llodra

It's the indoor hard-court ATP Masters tournament in the Bercy section of Paris and the French players Michael Llodra and Gael Monfils are playing some of their best tennis of the year. Monfils almost always does well before a French crowd, and lost in the finals of this tournament to Novak Djokovic last year in a 3-set thriller. This year he has already saved two match points against World Top 10 stalwart Fernando Verdasco and today beat World #4 Andy Murray 6-2 2-6 6-3 to reach the semifinals and face World #2 Roger Federer who is playing in his first semifinals at the Paris Masters.

In the other half of the draw is the amazing left-handed serve and volleyer Llodra who has been more well-known as a doubles player but who took out defending champion Djokovic in straight sets 7-6 6-2 and today defeated World #11 Nikolay Davydenko 7-5 6-1 to face World #5 Robin Soderling in the semifinals.

Could there be an all-French final on Sunday? Doubtful. I predict a Federer-Soderling final, with Federer winning his first Paris Masters title, and his 18th career Masters title overall.

The year's last ATP Tournament, the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, begin with the Top 8 players on Sunday November 21st in London where Rafael Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, Murray, Soderling, Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer and Andy Roddick have all qualified for the most prestigious and lucrative non-major tournament of the year.

Shanghai: Melzer Upsets Nadal; Federer in Quarters Against Soderling

At the Shanghai Masters tournament World #1 Rafael Nadal was upset by Austrian lefty Jurgen Melzer 6-1 3-6 6-3 in the 3rd Round. Roger Federer beat Andreas Seppi while Robin Soderling defeated David Ferrer; the two winners will face each other in the quarter-finals.

Still in the tournament are Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

US OPEN 2010: Men's Semifinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the men's semifinals at the US Open for 2010. I previously correctly predicted 4 of 4 men's quarterfinals. 

Roger Federer SUI (2) vs. Novak Djokovic SRB (3). For the fourth year in a row, Roger Federer must defeat Novak Djokovic to reach the final of the US Open. Three of their four meetings have been in the semifinals in New York, and it should not be forgotten that the Serb is the last person to beat the Swiss player at this stage in a grand slam, at the 2008 Australian Open. Federer leads their career head-to-head 10-5 (8-4 on hard courts) and should be expected to win again. However, it's unlikely to be easy. Although Djokovic has only ever won set against Federer in New York and lost 12, but almost every set has been very close including 3 tiebreak sets. Djokovic will probably not be affected by a partisan New York crowd rooting for his defeat and a mouth-watering Nadal-Federer final; he beat Roger in the final of his own tournament in his hometown of Basel last year. That win was indoors, and it is very likely that the conditions will become a factor on Saturday. So far, Federr has been the player to take the most advantage of the difficult conditions of anyone in the draw. PREDICTION: Federer in 3 or 4 sets or Djokovic in 5 sets.

Rafael Nadal ESP (1) vs. Stanislas Wawrinka SUI (25) Mikhail Youzhny RUS (12). Nadal has been playing some of his best tennis, ever, in New York, especially his serve which has now improved to the point where the Spaniard is regularly reaching 130 mph. He has now become the player least likely to have their service broken. Nadal did well to dismiss Fernando Verdasco in straight sets in the quarterfinals and has yet to lose a set in the tournament. Youzhny has a lost at least one set ni every round he has played here, except for a straight set first round victory. Surprisingly, Youzhny has quite a good record against Nadal, with 4 wins to 7 losses (4 to 3 on hard courts) and has a notable victory over Nadal at the U.S. Open, having beaten the then-20-year-old Spaniard in 4-sets in the 2006 Quarterfinals. However, neither player is the same player they were four years ago, with both having improved tremendously. Nadal is now the #1 player in the world and riding a 19 grand-slam match winning streak, while Youzhny is just out of the Top 10 at #14 in the world. The Russian played a grueling 5-set match to dispose of Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarters and has demonstrated that he is not intimidated by any opponent. The question does he have the game to prevent the most anticipated match in tennis history? Doubtful.  PREDICTION: Nadal (in 4 sets). 

US OPEN 2010: Men's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the men's quarterfinals at the US Open for 2010.

Roger Federer SUI (2) vs. Robin Soderling SWE (5). The showdown everyone has been waiting for since the draw was released is this repeat from the 2010 French Open quarterfinal where the Big Swede ended Federer's streak of 23 consecutive major semifinals on a cold, wet day in Paris. Soderling has become a legitimate Top 5 player, playing in the last two Roland Garros finals (losing both). Federer's recent disappointments at majors have all come at the hands of tall, muscular, mobile players like Soderling (French Open 2010) Berdych (Wimbledon 2010) and Juan Martin del Potro (US Open 2009). It is supremely possible that this could be another addition to that string. But, I doubt it. Federer has something to prove, and like most great players hates to lose to any player twice in a row. For Federer to win he will need to play better than he did against Jurgen Melzer in the 4th Round, and he has to hope that his felicitous luck continues. PREDICTION: Federer in 4 sets.

Gael Monfils FRA (17) vs. Novak Djokovic SRB (3). The extremely gifted French player has never beaten the Serbian champion, but a lot of their matches have actually been pretty close. The annoying aspect of Monfils' game is that despite being (in Jim Courier's words) "the most gifted athlete tennis has ever produced," the 6'4" 176-pound speedster plays a defensive, counter-punching style of tennis. Monfils did well to dismiss his even more gifted French compatriot Richard Gasquet in straight sets in the fourth round (winning the last 5 games) to reach his first ever US Open quarterfinal. Djokovic has also played well, easily dismissing American Mardy Fish in straight sets.Unless New York City gets very hot and/or Monfils (does and) starts playing the way all his coaches have been begging him to play (lights out, aggressive tennis) Djokovic will be in his fourth consecutive US Open semifinal, where he would most likely face Roger Federer for the third consecutive year.  PREDICTION: Djokovic in 4 sets. 

Andy Murray GBR (4) Sam Querrey USA (20) Stanislas Wawrinka SUI (25) vs. Mikhail Youzhny RUS (12). This is the dark horse spoiler quarter where Andy Murray went out early and loudly to the suddenly sharp other player from Switzerland. Wawrinka did very well to follow-up that big win with a strong-hearted outlasting of American Sam Querrey in 5-sets on a tough, windy day to win in just under 5 hours. Youzhny also dashed American hopes by taking out Marathon Man John Isner in the 3rd round. This will be the quiet quarter because no one expects the winner of this match to be able to win their next match and reach the 2010 US Open final. I agree, but Youzhny would be the player who could pose more questions for his future Spanish opponent. PREDICTION: Wawrinka in 3 sets or Youzhny in 4 or 5 sets.

Francisco Verdasco ESP (8) vs. Rafael Nadal ESP (1). This is a repeat of the now-legendary 2009 Australian Open Men's Semifinal where Nadal beat Verdasco in a 5-hour, 14-minute 5-sets instant classic. It's doubtful that this repeat will be as amazing as that match (very few matches in any year are). I'm sure many people would be satisfied if this match is as exciting as Verdasco's last match, where he came back from 2-sets to love down against David Ferrer and won the 5th set despite being down a service break and then 1-4 in the tie-break--winning the last 6 points of the match! Nadal is playing the best tennis I have ever seen him play, and is clearly the best player in the tournament so far (he still has not dropped serve!) but he hasn't really been tested. He has clearly had the better half of the draw and potentially will be able to reach the final of a major by only facing one Top 10 player. Verdasco has never beaten Nadal in ten attempts, but if he plays like his life depends on it, just maybe he can turn that stat around. After all, before Soderling beat Federer in France, he had lost to the Swiss player 11-times in a row. Is Verdasco how one pronounces Soderling in Spanish? PREDICTION: Nadal in 4 sets.

US OPEN 2010: Federer, Venus, Roddick, Soderling, Jankovic Win 1st Round

Day 1 of the 2010 US Open is over with basically no upsets. Andy Roddick won on his 28th birthday. Also winning easily were Venus Williams and  Roger Federer. Robin Soderling was up two sets and had match points against his 214-th ranked opponent when suddenly the kid refused to miss and Soderling ended up winning in a tough 5-setter.

Day 2 of the US Open has begun with Jelena Jankovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova pulling out 3-set wins and Marco Baghdatis losing a 5-setter against veteran Arnaud Clement.

What most people are talking about is Federer's amazing between the legs trick shot winner, reminiscent of what he did against Novak Djokovic in the men's semifinals last year.

Federer v Djokovic, Nadal v Murray Semifinals in Toronto

Today there's a dream line up of semifinals at the Rogers Cup in Toronto; World #1 Rafael Nadal plays World #4 Andy Murray and Roger Federer plays World #2 Novak Djokovic.

Federer came back from down 2-5 in the third set to even the match and defeat Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych 6-3 5-7 7-6(5) on his very first match point, despite being 2 points away multiple times from his third consecutive loss to the hard-hitting Czech for the year. Murray has to reach the final in order to maintain his #4 ranking over Robin Soderling, who was taken out earlier by a resurgent David Nalbandian.

Federer Hires Sampras' Last Coach Paul Annacone

Roger Federer, current World #3 (now 110 points behind World #2 Novak Djokovic), has hired Paul Annacone to be his new coach, indicating that he is interested in maximizing his effectiveness in the twilight of his record-breaking career. The 15-time major champion has lost in the quarterfinals of the last two Grand Slam tournaments, and those were the two Grand Slams that he won last year. Instead, his arch-nemesis Rafael Nadal, now World #1, won them instead.

Greg Couch at Tennis Fanhouse commented on the move, saying:

Federer is about to turn 29, and while I think his game and his style are starting to look obsolete, I don't agree with some critics who think he has lost something because of his age. A little passion, a little edge, a little speed.

No. He still has everything he had before. But the game is changing, players are trying to figure out how to catch him, and he's just standing there, not fighting back. He has thought his elegant and perfect strokes will still be good enough, no matter that the era is changing around him.

But now, maybe this is Federer's way of saying that he's not ready to fade away.

[...]

Annacone is a good choice. Sampras used to rave about how well he scouted opponents, figured out what was necessary. That means gameplans, not excuses. Federer seemed to think that all that's necessary is for him to just be him.

[...]

Federer is going to have to attack back. And I think he's going to have to commit to the new technology, probably even change his outdated racket. He's using almost exactly the same one Sampras used a couple eras ago.

Federer won't allow Annacone, who's 47, to re-tool entirely. We'll see how far they go. But just agreeing to listen to Annacone, even if just for a test period, is a real start.

It's pretty exciting really: Mr. Perfect wants to get better.

I agree that for Federer fas for myself this is a good sign that the GOAT recognizes that he needs to make a change, especially if he wants to extend his major singles titles lead, or catch the all-time weeks at #1 lead, where he is exactly one week behind Pete Sampras.

WIMBLEDON 2010: Men's Semifinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the men's semifinals at the Wimbledon Championships for 2010.
I previously made predictions for the men's quarterfinals (1 of 4 correct) and the women's quarterfinals (2 of 4 correct).

(I have now arrived in London and I have tickets for the men's final on Sunday.)

Roger Federer SUI (1) Tomas Berdych CZE (12) vs. Novak Djokovic SRB (3). For the first time since 2002(!), Roger Federer will not be playing in the Wimbledon Men's Final. (Of course, this is the year I travelled to Wimbledon after getting lucky to get tickets to the men's final. Did I bring him my favorite player bad luck?) Anyway, After winning 23 consecutive major quarterfinals, the 16-time major champion has now lost the last two he has played in a row, to two somewhat similar opponents, the hard-hitting giants Robin Soderling (in Paris) and Tomas Berdych (in London). Unlike at Roland Garros, where Federer clearly did not play his best and was blasted off the court, at Wimbledon Federer was defeated while still playing about as well as he's played most of the year. (Which is to say, not his best ever, but possibly the best he can do right now.) His failure to defend his two major titles from last year (and the fact he has won only won tournament all year, the 2010 Australian Open) means that the former World #1 will fall to World #3 in the rankings on Monday. This means that Federer will remain stuck one heartbreaking week behind matching Pete Sampras' record of 286 weeks at #1 for the foreseeable future. Will he ever get there? I believe so. And it may just be what keeps the Swiss master in the game until the 2010 London Olympics as he has promised before. Berdych has started a streak of his own; for the second consecutive major the Czech player has made the semifinals. Berdych played an astonishing match against Federer, hitting 51 winners to Federer's 44 and only making 23 unforced errors to Federer's 18 (and 6 of those were double faults by Berdych going for second serves). Although I predicted a different match-up, I am not unduly upset by what transpired today, I do believe the better player on the day won the match. As expected, with the shock defeat of Andy Roddick by Yen-Hsun Lu in the previous round, World #3 Novak Djokovic had an easy time of it to reach his second Wimbledon semifinal. Berdych and Djokovic have only played twice (a curiously low number for active players) with Djokovic having never lost. Can Berdych come back from the greatest victory of his career to date to reach his first major final? The Czech has suffered from mental frailty in the past, but is clearly playing some of his best tennis ever. Djokovic, too, is playing some excellent tennis and definitely has the game to make the most of this rare opportunity to reach his third major final (2007 US Open, 2008 Australian Open) without having to face a higher ranked player. However, he, too, has had some notably poor performances in massively important matches (the 2010 Roland Garros quarterfinal loss to Jurgen Melzer from two sets up comes to mind, as well as injury retirements at Wimbledon.) The real question is whether Berdych is on an unstoppable Juan Martin del Potro run to his first major, or will he come back to earth after beating the Greatest of all time on his best surface? PREDICTION: Djokovic (in 4 sets).

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga FRA (10) Andy Murray GBR (4) vs. Robin Soderling SWE(6) Rafael Nadal ESP (2). The bottom half of the draw is where I bravely (foolishly?) predicted that upsets would happen. The mouth-watering Friday tea-time match-up between World #1 Rafael Nadal and World #1 Andy Murray was predicted at the beginning of the tournament by many. But they both had to go through some excellent players to get there. Murray lost his first set of the tournament in a tiebreak to the excessively talented Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and was two points away at 5-all from losing the second set tie-break when The Frenchman inexplicably let a floating Murray service return sail past him at the net only to watch with horror and disbelief as the ball kissed the back of the line to give Murray set point instead. The rest of the match was not pretty, with Murray dominating to a 6-7(5) 7-6)5) 6-2 6-2 win. I didn't see much of the Soderling-Nadal match (since in London all eyes were geared towards their countryman's match) but from all reports Nadal started very slowly (down 0-5) in the first set but managed to break back early in the second set. Despite serving for the second set (after Soderling was treated for a blister on his left foot) at 5-4 Nadal only barely managed to eke out the third set tiebreak and then rolled past a demoralized Soderling to win 3-6 6-3 7-6(4) 6-1. With Federer out, Nadal has an excellent chance to win the tournament, as he has winning records against all the remaining players in the draw (7-3 versus both Murray and Berdych, 14-7 versus Djokovic--which happens to be the identical record he has against Federer). However, Murray is probably the toughest opponent for Nadal at this stage of the tournament. There's no question that Murray was on his way to demolishing Nadal earlier this year in the 2010 Australian Open quarterfinals when the Spaniard retired down 2 sets and 0-3. The two haven't played since, with Nadal having his best clay court season to date, and Murray his worst. Happily Wimbledon is played on grass. Additionally, the fact that Murray beat Nadal the last time they played and that this is a semifinal, not a final should help the Brit play his best tennis this year, something Murray did not do against an inspired Andy Roddick last year. Nadal has already lost the most amount of sets that he ever has on his way to winning (or defending) a major title. The 2008 Wimbledon champion has been uncharacteristically irritable and complained of pain his knees. On the other hand, Murray has lost the fewest amount of sets of any of the Top 4 players at Wimbledon this year and has been advancing later and later into the draw at Wimbledon every time he has played it. I expect that trend to continue all the way to the final, and possibly the title this year. PREDICTION: Murray in 3 or 4 sets (or Nadal in 5 sets).

WIMBLEDON 2010: Men's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the men's quarterfinals at the Wimbledon Championships for 2010.

(By the time you read this I will be in the air from LAX to London Heathrow on my way to Wimbledon. Depending on the vagaries (and expenses) of internet access, I may or may not have semifinals predictions for the men's and women's draws tomorrow.)

Roger Federer SUI (1) vs. Tomas Berdych CZE (12). The 6-time champion had started off his quest for a record 7th title weakly but in his last two matches his game has looked strong. Berdych is a very talented, huge serving, huge hitting 6'5" Czech player who has already beaten Federer once this year (even though he needed 5 match points to do it). He is a very similar player to Robin Soderling who beat Federer at this same stage of the tournament at the French Open a month ago, although possibly Berdych is not as good a mover as Soderling (which he demonstrated by beating Berdych in Paris). Before beating Federer earlier this year in Miami, Berdych had lost 8 straight times to Federer, including once at the 2006 Wimbledon. The Mighty Fed will find a way to win. PREDICTION: Federer in 4 sets.

Andy Roddick USA (5) Yen-Hsun Lu TPE vs. Novak Djokovic SRB (3). This is Novak Djokovic's dream draw and Andy Roddick's nightmare. Roddick lost to the unseeded player from Taipei despite losing his serve only once, a repeat of what happened in his loss last year in the thrilling final against Federer. This time, however, Roddick was much less aggressive at attacking his opponent's serve and mentally was only able to hold his serve until the 16th game of the 5th set, not the thirtieth game like last year, nowhere near the amazing 138th game that Nicolas Mahut was able to do in his jaw-dropping performance against John Isner. Some wags were flogging Lleyton Hewitt's chances of penetrating deep into the draw, since the Aussie had finally ended his 16-match drought against Federer last week by winning the grass court title in Halle. I was not one of them. Djokovic is the #3 best player in the world, and made sure that Hewitt knew it. By the end of this match, Lu will know it as well. PREDICTION: Djokovic in 3 sets.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga FRA (10) vs. Andy Murray GBR (4). This match should be the highlight of the 2010 Men's Quarterfinals. Tsonga and Murray have only played three times, with Murray leading 2-1. That one loss came at the 2008 Australian Open, where Tsonga made his breakthrough to his first major final, eventually losing to Djokovic. There's no question that Tsonga has the weapons to beat Murray. This match should come down to the intangibles, which for Murray at Wimbledon are always difficult to evaluate. Does the fact that the British crowd will be overwhelmingly in his favor help him over the hump to victory, or will their outsize expectations smother his chances? I think it is no coincidence that the two places that Murray has reached major finals (Melbourne 2010 and New York 2008) were in cities where he does not carry the weight of a nation on his shoulders. Last year, he was curiously flat against Andy Roddick in the Wimbledon semifinals. I had picked him to win that match last year but this time I think if the match gets "complicated" it will be the Frenchman who will come out on top. Murray is the only player in the draw not to drop a set and it's possible (but unlikely) that this will happen again. PREDICTION: Murray in 3 sets or Tsonga in 4 or 5 sets.

Robin Soderling SWE(6) vs. Rafael Nadal ESP (2). This is a repeat of the 2010 Men's Final at Roland Garros where Nadal did not lose a set for the entire tournament. There's no question in my mind that the Spaniard is the greatest clay court player of all time. But this match-up is on grass, and of course, these two have a troubled history at Wimbledon. In 2007 the two played a much-delayed 5-set match over 5 days where Soderling made a fool of himself by mocking Nadal's quirks. He has since apologized. Up until his previous round's 5-set match against David Ferrer, Soderling had not dropped a single set in this tournament, the only top player (besides Murray) to have done so. Another problem for Nadal is that he has been troubled this tournament by two youthful, big servers in Robin Haase of the Netherlands and Philipp Petzschner of Germany. Soderling can not only serve regularly in the 130 mph range but he can back it up with power on both wings. But then again, if Ferrer gave Soderling that much trouble and his game is really a weak imitation of Nadal's then surely Nadal will give Soderling trouble as well. Out of the Top 4, I think Soderling (and Tsonga if he can stay healthy) are the most likely to break through to a major title in the near term. Here is where Sodelring will need to show if he can get through Nadal (and later, possibly Federer) to do it. I think he has a fairly decent chance of succeeding. PREDICTION: Soderling in 3 or 4 sets, Nadal in 5 sets.

WIMBLEDON 2010: Federer Seeded #1

The seedings for 2010 Wimbledon are out. In a small surprise the All-England Lawn Tennis Club chose World #2 Roger Federer as the #1 seed over World #1 Rafael Nadal. Of course, Federer is the defending champion and has won the tournament 6 times (and 16 majors overall), while Nadal has only won it once.

The men's seedings are:

1. Roger Federer (Switzerland)

2. Rafael Nadal (Spain)

3. Novak Djokovic (Serbia)

4. Andy Murray (Britain)

5. Andy Roddick (U.S.)

6. Robin Soderling (Sweden) 7. Nikolay Davydenko (Russia)

8. Fernando Verdasco (Spain)

9. David Ferrer (Spain)

10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France)

11. Marin Cilic (Croatia)

12. Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic)

13. Mikhail Youzhny (Russia)

14. Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain)

15. Lleyton Hewitt (Australia)

16. Jurgen Melzer (Austria)

17. Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia)

18. Sam Querrey (U.S.)

19. Nicolas Almagro (Spain)

20. Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland)

21. Gael Monfils (France)

22. Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic)

23. Feliciano Lopez (Spain)

24. John Isner (U.S.)

25. Ivo Karlovic (Croatia)

26. Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus)

27. Thomaz Bellucci (Brazil)

28. Gilles Simon (France)

29. Ernests Gulbis (Latvia)

30. Albert Montanes (Spain)

31. Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany)

32. Tommy Robredo (Spain)

Federer Loses 2nd Grass Court Match in 7 Years!

Roger Federer lost his 2nd grass court match in 7 years in the final of Halle to Lleyton Hewitt 3-6 7-6(4) 6-4, the first time in 16 consecutive matches the former Australian #1 had not lost to the 16-time major champion. Federer's only other loss on grass had come at the hands of Rafael Nadal in the epic 2008 Wimbledon final, which many observers call the greatest tennis match ever played.

Federer had a 29-match win streak on grass at Halle dating back to 2002, and after losing to Robin Soderling in the French Open quarterfinals this year and failing to defend that title he faces defending his Wimbledon title for the first time with a loss in a grass court warm-up tournament. Federer is going for his record-tying 7th Wimbledon title, this times as World #2, behind Nadal.

As Federer approaches the end of his storied career the shock defeats will become more frequent and the major wins will become less frequent. However, with 16 Grand Slam singles title, 2 more than the previous record, he is playing for the record books, and I expect him to win at least two more, ending his caeer with 18 or 19 after the 2012 London Olympics.

FRENCH OPEN 2010: Nadal Wins 5th FO; Retakes #1

Rafael Nadal won his 7th career major title and 5th French Open crown by defeating Robin Soderling 6-4 6-2 6-4. By doing so, he will reclaim the World #1 ranking, denying his arch-rival Roger Federer his record-tying 286th week at #1.

Nadal did not lose an entire set in the tournament, not even facing a set point with the only tiebreak set was against unheralded Jurgen Melzer in the semifinals. In the championship match he had a mere 16 errors and 28 winners, including 7 aces. Soderling played very well in patches but Nadal's defense was impeccable and jaw-dropping, saving all 8 breakpoints he faced.

Soderling had finally beaten Federer in the quarterfinals and survived a 5-set thriller against Tomas Berdych to reach his second consecutive Roland Garros final.

FRENCH OPEN 2010: Men's Semifinals Preview

I previously made predictions of the four women's quarterfinals and four men's quarterfinals and got 4 of 8 results correct at this year's French Open. The 2010 Roland Garros men's semifinals are now set.

Roger Federer SUI (1) Robin Soderling SWE (5) vs. Tomas Berdych CZE (15). Soderling loves Court Phillippe-Chatrier at Roland Garros. Last year he beat defending champion Rafael Nadal in the fourth round before losing to Roger Federer in the final. This year he beat defending champion Roger Federer in the quarterfinal and seems destined to reach his second consecutive Roland Garros final on the biggest clay court in the world. But there's someone who is even taller and serves bigger in the way of Soderling's dream: Tomas Berdych. Berdych has cut through the men's draw like the 6'5", 200 pound Czech scythe that he is, eliminating Andy Murray and John Isner along the way without dropping a set. Berdych recently had a career milestone when he finally beat Roger Federer for the first time in 9 matches(second time overall) in Miami in March. Soderling beat Federer for the first time of his career on Tuesday. The two have played 8 times overall, with Soderling holding a slim 5-3 lead in their career head-to-head match up. They have split the two matches they played this year, and they have split the two matches they have played on clay. In my mind, either Berdych will continue his rout of the field and win easily in straight sets (a low probability event) or he will start off hot and not be able to sustain his high level against someone like the powerful Swede who can match him toe-to-toe. Also, although this is Berdych's very first major semifinal, it is only Soderling's second, but this is also where Soderling outlasted Fernando Gonzalez in a very thrilling semifinal last year. I believe he will make it to the final for the second year in a row.

MadProfessah's pick: Berdych in 3 sets or Soderling in 4 or 5.

Novak Djokovic SRB (3) Jurgen Melzer AUT (22) vs. Rafael Nadal ESP (2). Although Nadal survived his toughest test of the tournament in countryman Nicolas Almagro by having to play three very tight sets (7-6(2) 7-6(3) 6-4), there is almost no doubt that the Spaniard will reach his 5th Roland Garros final in six years by dismissing the surprising Austrian veteran relatively quickly. Many people (myself included) were salivating at the chance of seeing another showdown between Nadal and Novak Djokovic in an important clay court match which could possibly reprise their now-legendary 2009 Madrid semifinal where Nadal won a 3-set match in 4 hours. However, it is significant that the Serb let slip a double set and a break advantage to lose another Roland Garros semifinal, this time to the relatively unheralded Melzer. Could he possibly have blanched at the thought of having to face Nadal for the third time in four years in the semifinal round? Nadal and Melzer have only met twice before, once on clay, with Nadal winning easily both times and this time will be no different.

MadProfessah's pick: Nadal in 3 sets.