Andy Murray had an answer for every question Novak Djokovic asked today in the ATP World Tour Finals. Murray showed no hint of fatigue despite the long three hour plus battle yesterday with Raonic and thoroughly dominated Djokovic 63 64.
Murray seemed to know what was coming from across the net and was always ready for the correct counter. Djokovic was the one making the costly and surprisingly unnecessary mistakes undoubtedly provoked by Andy’s unwavering confidence and consistency and I would say slight physical strength advantage. The duel looked like a heavyweight against a light heavyweight.
A frustrated Djokovic – unable to change tactics or change the rhythm of the match – went down the early break in the second but refused to quit. Andy continued the pattern of baseline superiority and getting free points off errors and good serving. And when Djokovic rallied at the end saving two match points in the final game Andy dug down and finished in on the third. Djokovic’s final error was another uncharacteristic miss from the back court.
The early season losses to Querrey and Del Potro and to Wawrinka at US Open showed us that Djokovic is no longer impregnable as he appeared last year and the first part of 2016. It is Andy Murray now who actually appears to be a bigger stronger and heavier version of what Djokovic used to be.
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« Previous 1 2 3 Next »catherine bell · November 22, 2016 at 12:46 pm
Andrew –
Borg never yelled.
Dan Markowitz · November 22, 2016 at 1:55 pm
Scoop,
You’re an unusually friendly guy with most tennis media. I have to give you credit. You even know photographers and people who work at the sites like Lisa Franson at Delray and Miami. I talk to a lot of people too when I go out to events and I’ve only run across Evans mostly at Delray and I know as most people get older, they become less outgoing (I don’t know about kind, but that seems to be the case too because their own woes often overwhelm their sensibility) but Evans has never struck me as a particularly friendly or nice guy. He clearly has an air about him that bespeaks, “I’m Richard Evans, the legend, and you shouldn’t get too close.”
Look, in tennis writing, the only people I’ve held in that regard are Bud Collins and maybe Frank Deford or Bodo, to a lesser degree. So when I saw Evans giving Joshua Rey, a friend of mine and who used to be a poster here at Tennis-Prose.com for moving an interview with like Jeremy Chardy from the press room to the player’s lounge, I thought, “Cool your horses, Evans. Relax. It’s a small tournament and it’s not like you missed an interview with Delpo or someone really big.”
Andrew Miller · November 22, 2016 at 2:25 pm
Catherine, Raonic really beats himself up after big lossed. He is one huge tea kettle that will implode until he starts letting off steam, minor adjustments major victories.
Scoop honestly i think.RHarrison made Raonic cramp. He pulled a run Raonic run strategy on the guy and basically ran him so hard that Raonic probably didnt want to go on. It is RHarrys best ever win. Unfortunately is was so draining he had zero left for Baghdatis, who then had zero in the tank left for his fourth rounder. The emotional wins drain players.
catherine bell · November 22, 2016 at 3:42 pm
Dan –
I did say I wouldn’t comment on Richard Evans but you mention people getting older and changing and I have to say in this case Richard has always been like that,very grand and with little reason that I could ever see.
It’s been my experience that truly superior and talented people are often generous and basically kind and can deal with all sorts without snubbing them or assuming grandeur.
Andrew Miller · November 22, 2016 at 4:21 pm
Another prediction: Argentina wins Davis Cup with Del Potro heroics.
And calling some BS: NO WAY that Djokovic lost motivation without Federer and Nadal in the mix as Boris Becker said. Becker almosts seems to be hoping that the loss to Murray, in the world tour finals and the #1 ranking, sparks Djokovic.
I doubt it. I think Djokovic is in a confidence slump and that he’ll need something like a Davis Cup win to get over this, which isn’t happening.
Hartt · November 22, 2016 at 4:36 pm
Poor Milos. He has been showing more emotion on court, even yelling on occasion, so it looks like he is gradually opening up. He will never be like Hewitt, he can’t change his basic personality and I don’t think he should.
As far as how he reacts after a match, what strikes me is how analytical he is in the press conference, and I’ve read a LOT of those transcripts as well as seeing videos of them. He talks about what he did poorly but he also talks about what he did well.
What I find frustrating about his play is he is too conservative at times. This is where being less constrained would help, allowing him to go for it in big points. He is aware of this; often after a loss he will say he should have been more aggressive.
Andrew Miller · November 22, 2016 at 5:35 pm
Hartt, don’t take it from me, take it from Milos. From his own essay on the Player’s Tribune, August 29, 2016, 2 days before he loses to Ryan Harrison at the US Open.
“I have to bring mental intensity from the first day of the draw. When I watched a replay of the semifinal match against Federer, I felt like I was putting every ounce of energy into it, and that showed in my play. But I could see a big difference in my on-court intensity between the final and the semifinal — it was absent in big moments against Murray. I kept those emotions bottled up, and I never let them out. That’s the biggest regret I have from what otherwise was a huge moment in my career.”
But I think Raonic missed it, because the first sentances of his own essay come from what McEnroe said to motivate Raonic to beat Goffin at Wimbledon.
“Show me you have balls!â€
John McEnroe screamed that at me in the little locker room behind No. 2 Court at Wimbledon.
I had never heard anybody doubt my intensity before. ”
Raonic’s essay is entitled “Sending a Message”, 8/29/16
Andrew Miller · November 22, 2016 at 5:39 pm
In other words, McEnroe inspired Raonic to be a beast versus Goffin. Raonic and McEnroe part ways before US Open. And then Raonic loses to Harrison – by over-looking him (was clear in Raonic’s essay that he was so focused on winning a slam and competing with the big four than the match in front of him – it was clear in Raonic’s press conference from the same day after his first round win).
No matter what I think Raonic ran into the Ryan Harrison momentum – whatever the case, Raonic was going down that day – whether in 3, 4, or 5 sets, or sent to the sidelines due to a forced retirement. It was Harrison’s day to smash every player on the other side of the net.
Just that McEnroe identified something that would’ve helped Raonic, that Raonic then forgot, and that he probably can use in the future. He needs the lloyd carroll in his head doubting him and pushing him to show something out there.
Hartt · November 22, 2016 at 6:28 pm
Yes, I have read that essay. I don’t think we are fundamentally disagreeing, just expressing it in different ways. I think that Milos needs to be more aggressive, especially on big points, less constrained. I hope he can mangage that in the coming season.
Hartt · November 22, 2016 at 6:34 pm
What could be very interesting is the DC tie in Feb. where Canada plays Great Britain in Ottawa. Andy said he is planning to play; so has Milos. Davis Cup is where Milos often shows a lot more passion on the court. And we all know how Andy acts. So could be a lot of fun.
And of course the court will be the fastest possible within the rules. 🙂
Scoop Malinowski · November 22, 2016 at 8:55 pm
You’re right Dan I do like everyone in the media in tennis or 99% at least – I feel like tennis attracts similar people with something in common and all people who really love the sport and understand it and pursue it exceptionally all have a common bond – Evans is a likable guy but I see what you mean his nose is somewhat high – Suppose I was lucky to connect with him years ago and we had the Gene Scott Tennis Week as a common bond – I think he appreciated that my tennis knowledge was not ordinary and we have kept good contact through the years – That’s too bad about Josh Rey who is a great young guy and does not deserve such harsh treatment – Dan do you remember Josh’s name he used to post comments at Tennis Week site?
Scoop Malinowski · November 22, 2016 at 8:56 pm
Andrew you could be right but I see at least 90% of cramps as fakery –
Scoop Malinowski · November 22, 2016 at 8:59 pm
Andrew: Djokovic is definitely down in the confidence tank -He has not fully recovered his A plus game since losing to Querrey Delpo and Wawrinka (and now Andy) – We don’t know if he will ever regain his full throttle A plus game – Even if he does it might not be enough to handle the New Andy –
Scoop Malinowski · November 22, 2016 at 9:02 pm
Hartt: I think he can crank up the emotional intensity – Right now I’d estimate Raonic is at half-Hewitt compared to a few years ago when Robot Raonic was at zero-Hewitt – he’s definitely changed and he can continue to grow comfortable with unleashing his emotional intensity – I consider Raonic 2016 to be like a sleeping bear who is awakening himself and he has not fully awakened – will he fully awaken in 2017?
Dan Markowitz · November 23, 2016 at 2:25 am
Remember Chase Buchanan? Former Buckeye and last year some people thought he might finally break through top 100. Well, at 25 he’s having trouble getting into Challenger Main Draws. Man, it’s tough out there. There’s a player from Westchester County, #1 player at Elon College, Cameron Silverman, who played at local clubs here. He made it deep into a Futures draw recently in Costa Rica and won a grand total of $310. Man, it’s tough out there.
catherine bell · November 23, 2016 at 3:17 am
Among all this intensity stuff and the need for more screaming and yelling etc (and I agree with Hartt, if it’s not in Milos’ nature he shouldn’t try to change that) is the simple fact that holding back on shots is more often than not a technical thing.
If you’re not confident in a shot you’ll tend to become tentative, particularly at a big point.
And Scoop, cramps might well be psychosomatic, which is different from fakery. I’ve seen footballers (soccer) cramping enough times and you can usually tell the difference.
Scoop Malinowski · November 23, 2016 at 8:13 am
Chase Buchanan has dropped off the radar and did not even get into the Columbus Challenger this week -I haven’t seen his name all year – he might have retired – His Facebook page shows no tennis related activities – Last time I saw Chase was two years ago practicing at Delray with Rajeev Ram and not doing very well vs the big ex Illini –
Scoop Malinowski · November 23, 2016 at 8:16 am
Catherine: Raonic is doing a good job with the yelling and showing emotion so there’s no reason why he can’t continue to explore this dimension to his on court persona – Cramps are fascinating to see happen on the court – it’s just incredible how they appear to bother a player only between points or immediately after a lost point but they never seem to happen DURING the actual point 😉
BoDu · November 23, 2016 at 8:46 am
Good article in Newsweek why Djokovic, not Murray, is true number one in 2016
Andy Murray is the world’s tennis number one for 2016, and nobody is arguing. His main rival, Novak Djokovic, said after their deciding match at the World Tour Finals in London: “Andy is definitely number one in the world.”
In terms of rankings, yes, that’s true. But dig a little deeper and the picture looks a little more complicated than that. Rankings are a reflection of the past 12 months. Are commentators and players alike forgetting the first six months of 2016?
In essence, the year is split in two: the first half dominated by Djokovic, the second half by Murray.
In terms of the big events, it goes like this:
TOURNAMENT/WINNER
Australian Open: Djokovic
Indian Wells: Djokovic
Miami: Djokovic
Monte-Carlo: Nadal
Madrid: Djokovic
Rome: Murray
French Open: Djokovic
Wimbledon: Murray
Canada: Djokovic
Olympics:* Murray
Cincinnati: Cilic
US Open: Wawrinka
Shanghai: Murray
Paris: Murray
World Tour Finals: Murray
Yet in only two of these big events did Murray beat Djokovic—the last one, of course, and the Rome final in May. Djokovic beat Murray in the two grand slam finals of Australia and France, and in the final of Madrid. Head to head in 2016, it’s 3-2 to Djokovic (the players didn’t meet in any other event).
In fact, the full head-to-head rivalry is not even close. Djokovic has won 24 times to Murray’s 11, including 16 of the last 20. In Murray’s rise to the top spot in his dominant second half of 2016, he has met Djokovic just the once—in the very last match.
Tennis is often compared with boxing these days: we talk of heavyweight matches, as several commentators did about the recent match in London. But in boxing, while it is often said that you are only as good as your last fight, tennis is supposed to take a longer view—a full year.
Are the rankings a true reflection of the last 12 months? Yes and no. They are certainly a reflection of momentum at the moment—Murray is on a 24 game winning streak that takes in the World Tour Finals, two Masters events and a couple of other tournaments as well. Djokovic, by contrast, has not won a tournament since Canada in July.
So we are in a conundrum. In terms of the majors and finals by which history judges players, Djokovic has certainly had the better 2016: two slams to Murray’s one; four Masters events to Murray’s three. And the superior head-to-head, as mentioned earlier. Murray did win the Olympics, which is clearly a huge prize, but awards no ranking points to players. So how is Murray number one?
When you break down the world ranking of both players into component parts, Murray is up by 905 points, leading by 12,685 to 11,780. How is he nearly 1,000 points ahead?
Djokovic has 1,030 points more than Murray in grand slams and Masters events. However, Murray has the edge in the recent World Tour Finals in London, getting 500 points more than Djokovic. He then outscored Djokovic by a whopping 1,435 points in the lesser events–Vienna, Beijing and Queens. That makes up for his shortfall in the bigger events and gives him the lead.
Does this make a mockery of the rankings? Arguably yes, but not just because Murray has had statistically inferior year to Djokovic in terms of the big events.
Murray has also won many of his matches against lower-ranked opponents. The Elo ratings compiled by Tennis Abstract’s Jeff Sackmann show that Djokovic is still statistically the better player. Elo ratings were devised by the Hungarian Arpad Elo for chess as a way of measuring relative player strength, but can be applied to other sports. The point is that you get credit for who you play, not tournament results.
This is backed up when you look at the rankings of the opponents beaten. Leaving aside the Olympics, (when Murray beat a resurgent Juan Martin Del Potro who had a ranking of 141), in 2016 the average ranking of those players beaten by Murray in a final was 12.5. For Djokovic, it was 5.2. It’s a similar story in semi-finals, too: Murray’s vanquished opponents were ranked 14.6; Djokovic’s were 8.7.
This doesn’t necessarily mean Murray is the lesser player, it just highlights how the ranking system doesn’t factor in the strength of opponents, and Murray beat some weaker players in the latter stages of tournaments.
Of course, there’s another measure that shows who has had the better year: prize money. Murray won $13.3 million to Djokovic’s $12.6 million. In tennis, some things matter more. Would Murray swap his 2016 for Djokovic’s? Right now, he would probably say no. But looking back in a few years time, the answer might be different.
http://europe.newsweek.com/andy-murray-novak-djokovic-tennis-world-rankings-atp-tour-finals-sport-523776?rm=eu
catherine bell · November 23, 2016 at 8:46 am
Scoop –
Maybe a physiological reason for the perceived delay in cramping but I’m not qualified to comment.
In football you see guys clutching their legs with ‘cramp’ 5 minutes after the action has moved to the other end of the field 🙂
catherine bell · November 23, 2016 at 8:49 am
I saw that Newsweek article, but honestly, does it really matter ?
If it’s that close ?
Hartt · November 23, 2016 at 10:02 am
One thing the rankings system does is reward players for consistency, for finishing well even in tournaments that the players don’t win. I think this is a fair way of determining the No. 1 player. So although Djokovic got more ranking points in the big tournaments, Murray was not far behind him. And the WTF should award a lot of points; when Novak was winning that tourney for several years in a row we acknowledged winning it was a huge accomplishment. So it is still is when Andy wins it.
catherine bell · November 23, 2016 at 10:11 am
I suppose I’m primarily interested in character, in styles and background and not very much in the micro analysis of rankings etc. which draw a bit of a blank in my mind.
So I tend to skip over all that stuff but then tennis is a broad church – can and does encompass many points of view 🙂
Hartt · November 23, 2016 at 12:32 pm
The draws for early tourneys next season are out. Doha has Andy, Novak, Berdy, Goffin and Tsonga. That sounds very interesting!
Milos will have to fight hard to repeat as Brisbane champ. Players there include Stan, Kei, Rafa and Thiem.
Chennai does not have as strong a field – Cilic is the highest ranked player there, with Stan not returning to the tourney he has won 4 times.
And Fed is playing Hopman Cup with Bencic (who said she watched Fed and Hingis play it when she was a youngster. Oh Fed, you ARE getting old!)
Hartt · November 23, 2016 at 12:36 pm
The ATP announced that, for the first time since its rankings began, the top 10 players are all from different countries: Great Britain, Serbia, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Croatia, France, Austria, Spain, and Czech Republic.
catherine bell · November 23, 2016 at 12:53 pm
Maybe I’m wrong but sometimes I feel I’m the only person here interested in the WTA prospects 🙂
Of course Murray and the WTF have been occupying everyone up to now, but the women’s season is starting again too of course.
Good lineup in Sydney, Brisbane and Serena supposedly in Auckland.
Hartt · November 23, 2016 at 2:08 pm
I’m interested in the WTA, although I rarely get to see their matches. I looked for information on the upcoming tourneys on the WTA site but if it is there could not find it. Finally did track down the info elsewhere. Brisbane looks strong with Kerber, Cibulkova, Muguruza, and Pliskova. What is especially interesting about Aukland is that both Venus and Serena are scheduled to play it. Have not seen the lineup for Sydney yet.
Hartt · November 23, 2016 at 2:14 pm
So Sydney could be the battle of the “Ks” – defending champ Kuznetzova, 2015 champion Kvitova and No. 1 Kerber. Should be a fun tourney.
catherine bell · November 23, 2016 at 3:02 pm
Harrt –
My apologies – yes you do comment 🙂
And I agree with you that information is often not out there re tournaments so I’m not sure what the WTA is doing to publicise the game sometimes.
Big question is clearly about Serena and I also think Simona will be chasing Kerber. She really wants to beat her so I hope they manage to meet. Angie could help Simona lift her game I think just by example and they have an odd connection through Kerber’s contact with Steffi and Cahill’s past coaching of Andre.
I don’t watch live matches myself but I find through reading decent reports and seeing clips and using past experience I can get a good idea of what’s going on.
Hartt · November 23, 2016 at 3:46 pm
I try to watch highlights of WTA matches and also read about them, but would love to be able to see more live tourneys.
Anyway, after some Davis Cup this weekend it looks like several weeks with no tennis. Guess I will be watching old videos for a while!
catherine bell · November 23, 2016 at 6:15 pm
I read somewhere the IPTL is having 3 teams this year – so some tennis.
Not sure if this is true however.
Hartt · November 23, 2016 at 8:12 pm
Yes, saw that as well. Interesting there is so little news about it. And have not seen any players announcing they are participating. Hope they do have it – enjoyed it the last couple years.
Andrew Miller · November 24, 2016 at 8:41 am
Catherine – Serena is always the wildcard. Some years she fades, some years she dominates and we never know what’s coming.Given Serena was the finalist in 3/4 slams this year though lost the Australian and French in the finals, and Pliskova up-ended her in the USOpen semifinals, I think she’s still the key to 2017.
I like Serena winning one slam – maybe the Australian. She has a way of working herself into slam champion form unlike any player in history. If she’s ready to go then I think she could pull out all the stops for another historic slam. She should also be happy her sister is playing well, which should give her motivation to at least out-duel her older sister, which usually means committed performances.
But I think there’s a lot to say about the other women in the field.
And that the story of the year is Kerber. Easy – Serena gets the historic win, but two slams beats one. Just does.
Kerber seems like today’s ultra-competitor, taking a page out of Justine Henin’s “I have every right to be the slam champ” book. It’s refreshing to have seen Kerber come from nowhere to reach her potential and even surpass it with two slams.
Pliskova’s Fed Cup performance is remarkable and I think she’s the odds-on favorite to win a firat slam in 2017 and possibly go all in and find herself on top of the field. As much as Kvitova is always threatening to return to form, I think Pliskova has a more-level head out there. Sorry Kvitova.
Let’s take a second here to praise the Czech Republic’s tennis program for women. They may be pound for pound the world’s powerhouse of the WTA tour with Pliskova, Kvitova, Safarova – tall(or tallish) women with power and good form as well as a knack for knowing where to put the ball. Not as creative say as the French, nor as gutsy as the Italians punching above their weight. But can we dispute they are the bar today as a tennis nation on the wta tour?
So the simple predictions for me:
Serena Williams wins another slam. It’s emotional. And she may not recover from it, we’ll see!
Kerber stays tough and makes most of the slam finals.
Pliskova breaks through and wins a slam.
Muguruza does nada. I like her but her performance down the stretch this year post French open has been miserable.
Simona Halep? REALLY?
If Simona hires Navratilova or Henin or someone like that to join Cahill she wins a slam. Or some great Romanian like Nadia Comaneci.
Andrew Miller · November 24, 2016 at 8:42 am
For the record: NO. I don’t think Sharapova will find slam-winning form this year. Maybe she has one more in her – I doubt this also. All depends on the draw for her, dangerous territory.
Andrew Miller · November 24, 2016 at 8:44 am
“Keys wins US Open”! NO. I don’t see another US player coming up any time soon. As much as I like Keys and how she in theory can match Pliskova shot for shot, I’m not seeing it.
Like her a lot. But there’s some kind of erratic part of her game that does her in.
Scoop Malinowski · November 24, 2016 at 8:47 am
That Newsweek article is a lot of work but the fact is Djokovic said Andy is the best player in the world – end of discussion –
Scoop Malinowski · November 24, 2016 at 8:48 am
Catherine: Do you remember Chang’s French Open win and his usage of fake cramping? How about young Roddick vs old Chang also at French Open and Roddick’s use of fake cramping? Good memories of theatrical cramping 🙂
Scoop Malinowski · November 24, 2016 at 8:50 am
Another year with no American in the top ten -ouch – But I predict the drought ends next year –
Scoop Malinowski · November 24, 2016 at 8:51 am
Hartt: Have you ever seen marcelo rios on You Tube? Check out his agassi matches especially the first one in 98 when he clinched no 1 –
Scoop Malinowski · November 24, 2016 at 8:52 am
IPTL obviously invested a lot o $ in promo and player appearance fees last year and perhaps the public didn’t buy as well as projected – The quality of tennis was excellent though –
Scoop Malinowski · November 24, 2016 at 9:08 am
2017 season for WTA is about as unpredictable as watching a Stanley Kubrick movie for the first time – Absolutely anything can happen this year and there sure are a lot of different things that can happen 🙂 I see big years for Pliskova and Keys and possibly very subpar years for Sharapova and Serena and Venus – Watch out for Cici Bellis!
catherine bell · November 24, 2016 at 9:51 am
Lots of comment on WTA 🙂
My comments will be brief and at the risk of repeating myself (see previous threads)
Serena – unknown factor until she steps on court in Auckland and/or Melbourne. Big question is how her body can hold up in her 36th year.
Kerber – cool blonde Angie has worked hard for No 1 (bit of overplaying at the end of this season) and I’m impressed at how she’s turned herself into more of an all-court player – maybe Steffi had some input there. She will want more Slams but the others know her better now.
Simona should emulate Kerber – 25 isn’t too late to change your game, in the sense of adding to it. Simona wants wins over Angie – if she works hard they can come. Build herself up, get aggressive around the net. Apply psychological pressure.
Nadia C BTW is somewhere in the Halep camp – but what gymnastics can contribute to tennis I’m not sure – apart from concentration.
(maybe Steffi can sneak some tips to Simona via Andre to Cahill 🙂 )
Radwanska will stay where she is since her desire for a ‘feminine’ shape obviously outranks her desire for top titles.
After top four or five I agree it’s anyone’s – pull names out of a hat.
Can’t see Sharapova doing much.
Scoop – Indian economy is in trouble as I noted in reply to Hartt so not surprised IPTL has contracted.
Cramp – yes, it’s been done often before but I suspect might be harder to get away with now.
Andrew Miller · November 24, 2016 at 10:26 am
KUDOS TO HARRISON RYAN BREAKS TOP 100! And to Isner as top US player. to Sock for being a reliable #2. Johnson falls to #4 on the depth charts. This ranking list below will change next year, because guys like Novikov and Krajicek were showing promise last year and have really slipped down the depth charts. I like Sock to be top US player and Isner should have a comeback to the top 15. Everything else is a crapshoot.
19. Isner
23. Sock
31. Querrey
33. Johnson
77. Fritz
89. Young, D.
92. Harrison, R.
106. Donaldson, J.
109. Tiafoe, F.
113. Fratangelo, B.
128. Ram, R.
130. Kudla, D.
138. Smyczek, T.
140. Escobedo, E.
145. Kozlov, S.
170. Novikov, D.
197. Mmoh, M.
200. Rubin, N.
203. Sarkissian, A
204. Opelka, R
220. Krueger, M.
226. Bangoura, S.
228. Sandgren, T.
248. Baker, B.
251. Krajicek
282. Paul, Tommy
289. Nguyen, D.
313. Mihdawy, Adam El
323. McDonald, McKenzie
364. Sarmiento, Raymond
366. Meister, Ni
390. Jenkins, Jarmere
393. Quigley, E
394. Kuznetsov, A
400. King, Evan
catherine bell · November 24, 2016 at 12:54 pm
Oh and by the way there is a short clip on another site showing 15 year old Kerber explaining how she wants to win the Aus Open one day.
Took her 13 years but she did it 🙂
Hartt · November 24, 2016 at 1:39 pm
Scoop, I will definitely check out the Rios vs. Agassi matches. If anyone has any other suggestions would be happy to hear them!
And I agree, Bellis is someone to watch for next season.
As far as the WTA next season, it makes my head spin to even think about it. But will be brave and offer 2 thoughts. I think Kvitova may win Wimbledon again. It will be 3 years since her last title there and I think she is due for another magical run. After a tough season with illness, etc., she came to life this fall, winning 2 titles. And with Kvitova, anything is possible, from terrible to great play at any given time. Am somewhat concerned that she does not have a coach right now; at least none is listed on her website.
And I agree that Pliskova could have an excellent season, perhaps even winning a Slam. She has not been the model of consistency either, but perhaps she is coming into her own.
catherine bell · November 24, 2016 at 2:01 pm
Hartt –
Kvitova seems to play better without a coach : )
But if Serena’s fit for W’don I’d give it to her again.
At the AEC nothing succeeds like success.
Scoop Malinowski · November 24, 2016 at 2:06 pm
Hartt: Any Rios highlight compilations are good viewing. There’s quite a few actually. Rios has a hardcore fanbase. And Rios gave his fans a lot of video magic to remember and enjoy.
Andrew Miller · November 24, 2016 at 2:48 pm
We’ve seen players need a good two weeks to win a big slam plus luck. Kerber happens to be exception as she has been deadly consistent as in multiple slam winner. But on wta seems like inspired runs are more possible than atp due to the big four even if Federer and Nadal are down for the count. We have now seen Pennetta Kerber and Muguruza win slams in the last five tournaments and Kerber pulled off the unthinkable two in one year.
Kerber is actually my player of the year for 2016. It would have been Djokovic and it’s not, it is Kerber, Top performers to me were Kerber, Djokovic, Murray, WilliamsSerena in that order.
Hartt · November 24, 2016 at 3:10 pm
I did not even try to predict how Serena will do because so much depends on whether she is injured or not. If she can escape injuries then yes, she has to be a favourite for Wimbledon. I guess I am too worried about possible injuries to be super optimistic.
Hartt · November 24, 2016 at 3:37 pm
Catherine, there is finally some solid info on the IPTL. Their website, iptlworld.com says where the final will be held and gives the lineups of the teams. No top 4 ATP players are in it this year, but there are still some very good current players as well as “old” stars, including a couple of characters.
The Indian Aces team includes Feli Lopez, Sania Mirza and Mark Philippousis. The Japanese Warriors team has Kei Nishikori (naturally), Marat Safin and Jelena Jankovic. The Singapore Slammers team features Serena (!), plus Carlos Moya and Nick Kyrgios. The UAE Royals team includes Tomas Berdych, Goran Ivanisevic, and (to keep me happy) Daniel Nestor.