Preparing for the US Open

Twelve days before the beginning of the season’s fourth and final Grand Slam tourney, the tennis world was shocked by Rafael Nadal’s decision not to play.

The former ATP number one and current number three has watched his season decline since winning at Rolland Garros in June. Consistently, it became clear that Rafael was not in proper form, and fans and players alike began to wonder what his US Open fate would be. (Read more @ “This Just In: Rafa May be Out.”)

The question has been answered. Many believe we will not see Rafa again until the Australian Open in 2013. He told Sports Illustrated, “I will compete when my knee says I am ready to compete. I don’t want to go on court with bad feeling because then it is terrible.”

Now, no one can say for sure that Rafael, (had he been in good condition) would have even made it past the first round. Upsets happen. You just never know. Still, it is more likely to assume that he would have made it pretty far when you look at his track record. Perhaps he would have faced Federer in the finals, or his rival Djokovic. Would anyone be particularly surprised? The top three players are a bit of a trio, rotating around, constantly winding up across the net from one another.

No one can be expected to fill the triad right away, but the question on everyone’s mind has become: If Rafa did “free up a spot,” so to speak, then who will fill it? Let’s look through my top-three most likely candidates.

Andy Murray:

The Brit doesn’t have a single Slam title under his belt, and yet he was able to come out victorious in showdowns with both Djokovic AND Federer at the Olympics this month, taking it all and walking away with gold on his home turf. The ATP number four has a great chance of making the finals. Throughout his career, he has defeated Federer in nine matches, and Djokovic in six. Who’s to say he couldn’t finally succeed at a Grand Slam?

Juan Martin del Porto:

The 23 year old Argentinian has been commanding a lot of attention lately. At the 2012 Olympics, he defeated Novak Djokovic in the battle for bronze. At the beginning of 2010 he got as high as number four in the ranking, now number nine – nothing to sneeze at. In 2009, he defeated Rafael at the US Open to make it to the finals with Federer, where he ultimately walked away with the trophy. It was his first and only Slam title, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t take it all this month.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga:

The 27 year old Frenchman is number six in the world but hasn’t yet had his moment to really shine. Like Andy Murray, he has never received a Grand Slam title, but was a quarter-finalist in the 2012 French Open and 2011 US Open, and a semi-finalist at Wimbledon 2012. He’s done well in the past on the hard courts at the Australian Open, (finalist ’08, quarter-finalist ’09, semi-finalist ’10). He’s known for the same “electric” style of play attributed to Nadal, with a powerful serve and impressive agility for his 6’2″ frame. He is without a doubt the underdog, but is certainly a player to watch this month.

It truly is anyone’s guess when it comes to the US Open and who would ever take Nadal’s place. Rafael is a player unlike any other and his ferocity and entertaining play will doubtlessly be missed. Regardless of the tourney’s outcome sans Nadal, our fingers should be crossed for him to return in 2013. The great Roger Federer, 31, has his seasons numbered at this point in his career. It would be incredbily sad to see a young, potential “greatest” such as Rafa out for good so soon, especially when we may not be seeing Roger Federer for too much longer.

Either way, the show must go on. Take you picks and tune in August 27th to see it all begin.

image courtesy of bloomberg.com

The 2o12 Olympics at Wimbledon were filled with performances both contrary and in line with how the pros have been playing throughout the year. A quick rundown:

Men’s Singles Gold (Best out of five): Brit, Andy Murray, (Gold) beats Swiss, Roger Federer, (Silver) 6-2, 6-1, 6-4

Men’s Singles Bronze (Best out of three): Argentinian, Juan Martin Del Porto, (Bronze) beats Serbian, Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-4

Women’s Singles Gold (Best out of three): American, Serena Williams (Gold) beats Russian, Maria Sharapova (Silver) 6-0, 6,1

Women’s Singles Bronze (Best out of three): Belarusian, Victoria Azarenka beat Russian, Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-4

After a disastrous start to the Grand Slam season, the world watched as Serena Williams took it all at Wimbledon in July, as chronicled earlier in this blog. (July Archives: “It’s Anyone’s Guess for Serena Williams”) Therefore, it really was no surprise to see her win on Centre Court again just weeks later – but the sheer domination of Maria Sharapova, (only winning one game against Williams) surpassed many who expected a close match. Sports Illustrated noted that it was “the most lopsided women’s finals in Olympic history.”

The medal secured Williams the “Career Golden Slam,” meaning she has now won every Grand Slam tournament, (though not in one season) in addition to gold in an Olympic Game. (Only achieved once previously by a female, Steffi Graff in 1988.) Williams also received gold in doubles with sister, Venus.

It was a sad day for Roger Federer, however, who would have also secured the “Golden Slam” for the first time had he defeated Andy Murray in the Single’s Gold match. History showed that he could have, as he has won over Murray in three Grand Slam finals, including last month at Wimbledon – the same grass where Federer has stood seven times victorious. (Read more: “You Have to Look Beneath the Surface, or Do You?”) BleacherReport called it a fluke, but a potential rematch in Queens at the end of the month will be a better teller. That rematch seems all the more likely since news broke that Rafael Nadal backed out of a recent Toronto tourney due to a knee injury.

But, no one should be so quick to count out Novak Djokovic, (“Novak ‘the Djoker’ Djokovic – Not Your Average ATP Second in the World” – August Archives). He has had an incredibly impressive two years He even skipped out of the Closing Ceremonies last night to travel to Toronto (where Nadal dropped out), and won his 31st tourney title.

The Olympics gave fans a lot to look forward to at the US Open – but we just have to sit back on our couches and stare at a television to see it. You can be sure, however, that the players’ celebration was short. They now have to train vigorously for the hard courts coming in a couple weeks, prepare for the effect of travel, new opponents, and a new venue.

Wishing them luck.

www.telegraph.co.uk

Novak Djokovic grew up in Serbia with three goals: To become the number one ATP player in the world, to win Wimbledon, and to eat a chunk of the grass immediately afterwards.

He accomplished all three of those dreams last year, on July 1st 2011 when he defeated Rafael Nadal to win it all in London.

In regards to his now-famous Wimbledon victory-snack, Djokovic said to Jay Leno, “Listen – in my dreams the grass tasted much sweeter, [but] there, it had this flavor of the sweat – my sweat, the opponents sweat – so it didn’t really feel great, but it came naturally.”

Leno’s subsequent hearty laugh was typical of the soundtrack to Djokovic’s current life as a member of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, five-time Grand Slam title winner, and twenty-five year old class clown.

Novak “Djoker,” as he’s been nicknamed by the media, is a unique personality in the tennis world. We’ve seen pros get draped in endorsements, branch out into fashion, even star in music videos with their boyfriends, but we’ve never seen such a comedian.

Djokovic has famously impersonated other pros, on and off the court, such as Rafael Nadal, (who wasn’t particularly in on the joke) and Maria Sharapova, (Do yourself a favor and click this link).

In the spotlight, Novak is attractive, well-spoken, and funny – but we’re not just dealing with a great personality here. We’re talking about a man who was the youngest player to ever reach the semifinals in all four Grand Slams, (accomplished in 2008) the 6th player to ever win three Grand Slam titles in one calendar year, (2011) and the only Serbian to ever win a Major singles title.

Where did this kid come from, and what was his road to the top?

In 1991, four-year old Novak Djokovic was just a young Serbian kid hanging around the local tennis courts, absorbing everything he could from the sidelines, and idolizing Pete Sampras. Serbian coach, Jelena Gencic noticed the boy and invited him to hit around one day. Djokovic’s fate was sealed.

Djokovic said to 60 Minutes’ Bob Simon, “I was saying I want to be number one of the world, and I was seven, eight years old. Most people were laughing at me, because, you know, it seems I have a one percent chance to do that.”

Gencic ranked the percentage a little higher. She believed in Djokovic fiercely, and convinced his parents to allow him to split his time between Serbia and Germany at 13, where he was trained by Nikola Pilic at the Niki Pilis Tennis Academy.

That year he reached the finals of the Junior Davis Cup for players under 14 and won silver in the World Junior Championship’s team competition. By 17, he was ranked in the ATP, (albeit 606) and by 18, he was playing in all four Grand Slams.

At 19, impressive performances in the French Open and Wimbledon got him into the top 20, making him the youngest top 20 player of all time. Later that year, he defeated Federer, Nadal and Andy Roddick in the American tour, winning the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Motreal. Suddenly Djokovic was number three in the world.

His first Grand Slam title came the next year at the 2008 Australian Open. He’d win it again in 2011, along with Wimbledon, (elevating him to ATP number one) and the US Open. He opened the 2012 season by winning the Australian Open for the third time. At this point, he had defeated Rafael Nadal in the finals of three consecutive Grand Slam titles, but Nadal finally conquered Djokovic this May at Rolland Garros.

Djokovic was also defeated in July at Wimbledon in the finals by Roger Federer, pushing him to number two in the world. Nothing to scoff at.

Novak is currently back in Wimbledon playing in the Olympic Games. On August 3rd he was defeated by Brit Andy Murray, taking him out of the running for Gold, but will play for his second Bronze on August 5th against Argentinian Juan Martin Del Porto.

Through the ups and downs, Novak Djokovic remains upbeat, optimistic, and light-hearted. He utilizes social media to keep close contact with his fans. He wrote on his Facebook page August 2nd, “I really like coming here and sharing my thoughts with you. I know you are always around to hear me out and give your feedback and that really means a lot to me.”

Not to forget his roots, he follows every post with a Serbian translation.

The world will be watching DjokerNole, (as you can find him on twitter) closely this month at the US Open.

Regardless of whether the five-time Grand Slam pro and second in the world walks away on top, you can be sure he’ll at least give you something to smile at.