| Tennis getting very interesting | ||||
|
 Men’s
Tour: ‘Rafa’ Nadal has been patient
and humble about his No 2 position
for over three years, embracing
Roger Federer’s greatness as much as
anyone and very clear about
acknowledging his No 2 status. What
is admirable and a sign of his own
greatness is during this whole
period never did he shy away from
beating Roger given the opportunity
and importantly he never hid from
solving problems in his game,
continually evolving as a player to
the point of becoming almost
certainly the next No 1.
That he will keep improving is without doubt and his ambitions are evolving to the real possibility that he too could win all four Slams in a year and move on to challenge the all-time record. If one thing is certain it is that it will be done methodically and without fanfare.
Men’s tennis is in a great position because five questions are still to be answered:
This week in Cincinnati will begin to reveal clues to the answers with both Federer and Djokovic under pressure to respond, to Montreal and Murray needing another good showing to underline his growing challenge. Nadal knows he is on the verge so he is the guy to beat.
The Women’s Tour needs a leader to emerge. It is only evident now since her retirement what a foil Justine Henin was for Sharapova and the Williams sisters. She was consistently there in the later rounds to test the Williams sisters when they were up for the fight and actually playing tennis. And the other face of tennis to the Sharapova razzmatazz. I thought Sharapova would step into the gap, but after a stunning Aussie Open has been unable to lead the game. Ivanovic may do it and Serena or Venus could, but I don’t believe they will ever play enough tournaments to become No 1 again.
So the game waits for two or three players to be consistent enough to form a rivalry. I could not hazard a guess at the favourite for either the Olympics or US Open. The winner will be …..?; Serena, Venus, Ana, Jelena, Maria, Svetlana or perhaps a new star will emerge. It is interesting because it is so wide open, yet the sport also needs an element of reliability from its box office stars, brand names that support the brand of tennis, players that the public can identify with over and over again.
The MCTA has had fantastic success through Henri Kontinen of late who won French Open doubles, made Wimbledon and European Championship U18 finals, won a deciding Davis Cup match and is currently in the second round of a pro $30,000 tournament. He is now 6 in the world as a junior and his rise has been incredibly fast.
Andy Murray continues to thrive physically under the guidance of Jez Green. Ilija Vucic missed Wimbledon with a groin injury but is back playing, making the fourth round of the Europeans, whilst Anna Fitzpatrick is currently experiencing a tough time in Challengers, although added another doubles final to her year. Tennis is not a steady upward curve and sustaining enthusiasm during difficult periods is a key to success. Anna is working hard and at some stage this will pay dividends
All the best,
David |
