Will the ATP Balance of Power Ever Shift?

Totally agree with him. This is not good for tennis now or in the future. In the future when the legends are gone, all of the title holders will have the asterisk that they are good, yes, but could never beat the legends even when in their 30s.

No doubt the tennis world will suffer when Roger, first of, retires. He is larger than every sport in the world and creates mob scenes everywhere.

Then Nadal and Djokovic also are legends. Two of these guys will probably be in the Aussie final next year two given what we have seen from Thiem, Zverev and the rest of the pretenders.

When all of these guys are gone, someone else will win Slams but tennis fans know they will be devalued having lived through this era of greatness.

Well – that was over pretty quick – Djoko in SS. Let the hosannahs begin 🙂

Having dynasties in spirts whether it’s the Golden State Warriors, The New York Yankees or Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are always great for a particular sport. I guarantee you more people would’ve watched Serena play Sharapova in finals than Osaka and Kvitova.

Kriek’s being a little simple minded here. Of course the reason why new players have broken through on the women’s side is because you only had one dominant player in the past two decades and she’s 37 now. Only Osaka has broken through and it’s debatable whether she’s better than Tstsipsas or Zverev at the same ages or she’s just facing lesser high-level players now on the WTA. Look at Sabalenka she looked pretty pedestrian in the first slam of the year and she’s been touted as a possible slam winner.

Djokovic and Nadal and maybe still Federer have extended their prime ages and they’re looking like they’re going to hold onto the top for maybe a couple of more years. That’s great for men’s tennis.

Serena and Sharapova in 2019 would havw the attraction of a freak show. When did Maria last win a match worth talking about ?

Players around 30+ on the women’s side are starting to fade. My guess is there’ll be a bit of a hiatus and then the younger generation will start to dominate. That’s how things usually happen.

Which matches are big draws is pretty much a a lottery. You can’t predict who’s going to play who. And I imagine Naomi is going to be a biggish draw from now on. And Serena will become less of a draw as time goes by because that’s the way of the world.

Wozniacki was never really a contender for the title this year.

The stands were pretty full for the women’s final.

Scoop, I had a hard enough time figuring out who I wanted to win this final, much less having any idea of which player Fed favoured. In the end I went with Rafa, partly because I enjoy watching him more. I can appreciate Novak’s tremendous skill, especially when he plays at this level, but have never warmed to him. And I suppose there was a bit of not wanting Rafa to get closer to Fed’s Slam total.

But we need to be careful about deciding that Novak will win everything in sight. We’ve been down that road before. There is no guarantee that Novak will continue at this level for years to come. Age and possible injuries will play a role.

And Dan, although it is true that casual fans would be drawn to a Serena vs Maria match because of their reputations, they probably would have experienced a disappointing, one-sided match. Maria hasn’t been a real factor since her drug suspension, and the occasional good win doesn’t change that, she needs a few wins in a row. Her popularity is based on what she did in the past, and I think she will either retire or start to fade from view.

I am excited to see the young up-and-coming players on both the men’s and the women’s sides. The youngsters can’t beat the all-time greats in slams, but they are still providing us with entertaining tennis in other matches. And Naomi is a superstar at age 21. With her terrific tennis and her appealing personality, not to mention her mixed heritage, she will bring many new fans to tennis.

Yes, I think Naomi has an appealing personality. She is shy, but she is refreshingly honest, and she has a good sense of humour, is very quick on the uptake. She can even criticize a reporter’s question at a presser with charm and a smile, but she gets her point across.

After the USO she did a lot of TV interviews that helped introduce her to many new fans. The AO title won’t have the same impact in the States, but when she wins another USO, the media attention will be huge.

Dan….I’m not sure you can make judgements about someone’s personality based on their press conferences and tv chats. ‘Strange’, ‘on the spectrum’ – are you implying she’s autistic ? I can’t see any obvious signs of that myself and if I did I don’t think I’d mention it.

Maybe we’re so used to automatons in the press room that someone new who expresses herself a little differently is hard to take in. And yes, as Hartt says, Naomi is shy.

She’s also the product of two cultures – how do we know how much that’s influenced the way she thinks and speaks ?

Hart is right Scoop. Djokovic’s health is front and center with his Gumby moves. His is a race against time.

Dan I think Naomi has a refreshing personality as a result of her Japanese-Haitian heritage. Her kohai-sempai relationship with elders is very endearing. The media loves her although I think in time they will tear her apart when she starts to dominate and makes women’s tennis “boring.”

She is still getting used to the attention and fame so she is not as good as a Serena in terms of handling it.

Let’s hope Americans like Collins, Anisimova and Stephens can really challenge her. I believe the Haleps and Svitolinas will have trouble keeping up.

There is nothing wrong with being shy, although it is probably more difficult for a shy person to handle being in the public eye than an extrovert like Federer. But Naomi comes across as a truly nice person, and she has said that she doesn’t want to try to change her personality. Although at the same time she can be quite self critical. Her self-deprecating sense of humour is very charming.

Interesting, Fed drops to No. 6 in the world. Zverer matches his career high at No. 3, Del Potro moves to No. 4 and Anderson matches his career high at No. 5.

Your top Americans are Isner at No. 9, Tiafoe at No. 30, Steve Johnson (?) at No. 34 and Fritz at No. 40. Career highs for Tiafoe and Fritz. 11 Americans in the top 100.

Nick Kyrgios falls to No. 67 and Sandgren drops 34 spots to No. 75.

WTA ranking changes at the top: Osaka takes No 1, Kvitova 2, Simona 3 and on the way down, Bertens 9 and on the way up, Sabalenka enters at 10 and Serena seems poised to get back to the top 10.
Kerber falls to 6 and will continue to fall unless she gets decent spring results. I posted lower down about Angie and her love for photoshoots – not worth repeating except to say that overall she seems very confused.

My prediction – Angie will play the Olympics in 2022 and then retire, in common with several other players, male and female.

Kvitova in St Petersburg. Perhaps she could have skipped that one. Sharapova, Sabalenka also there.

Went back and studied Nole’s split-slides on youtube. Their titles like insane freak flexibility contradict his adherence to form there. In every slide he keeps the exact same angles with hips and knees. Ankles are another story but maybe that’s somehow manageable. Iron man’s gumby wheels shielded with long haul tolerance calculation?

Naomi seems to have a good perspective on the fame that comes with being a top player. She may not be keen on it, but understands that it is part of the deal.

“It’s always been pretty simple,” Osaka said. “My goal was of course to be the best tennis player that I can be. I don’t think everyone else can follow my path, everyone has their own paths. That’s what makes life interesting. The fame stuff is something that’s not my favorite part. I think that comes with all of this and I feel like if you do well of course that will always come.

“But for me I’ve always been a tennis player, and that is always going to be the thing that is the biggest in my heart.” (WTA site)

I’m trying to get press credentials for New York Open in a couple of weeks. Last year they rejected me. Nice event with deMinaur there this year playing doubles w none other than Lleyton Hewitt. My son is playing Eastern tournament the same weekend NYOpen starts in the Hamptons so plan on being out there.

Also trying to get press credentials for Indian Wells as my son will be playing junior Easter Bowl in the 12’s that starts right after Indie Wells.

Scoop – I’m not sure what it is you’re referring to. I haven’t made any comments linking Osaka and Kerber. They are two completely separate and different people. I accept both of them. Why wouldn’t I ?