Nadal & Berdych Dominate: But it's All About Andy

Tomas Berdych came to play.  It took the 12th ranked Czech just 2 hours and 28 minutes to dismantle Novak Djokovic in straight sets. And to me, this was the least surprising of the two matches. Immediately following the Berdych-Djokovic match, Andy Murray got his clock cleaned by Rafael Nadal in what was the biggest match of Murray's career.

So why did it surprise me so much that Nadal took it to Murray? He's the higher seed, the much more accomplished player and has fared much better at Wimbledon over the last couple years, including his championship win over Federer just two years ago. But it was the way it all unraveled.

Murray had a set point on his serve in the second set tie break that, if he had won, would have altered the match completely. Instead of dictating the point, Murray waited for Nadal to make a mistake. This is the most under appreciated part of Nadal's game - he doesn't make mistakes when it matters. Murray had to impose the pressure on to him, but instead Nadal got to net. Once he took that point, the set was over.

In the third set, Murray broke quickly - maybe even too soon. Of course you should take a break whenever you can, but breaking in the first game of the set gave Nadal way too much time to recover. At 4-3 with Murray serving, you could feel Nadal was going to make his move. Instead of cracking a few first serves, Murray lobbed up a few 80 mph seconds. Nadal ate these up and broke. From there, it happened so quickly. Nadal secured the break, then sat back and let the pressure get to young Andy.

Like I said before, this was the most important match of Murray's life. He needed to beat Nadal or lose a heartbreaker in 4 or 5 sets. Instead, he got trounced. He showed little confidence and let Nadal dictate nearly everything. Despite having no strong allegiance to either player, I was kind of rooting for Murray. Wimbledon is his stage and he needed the victory more. I expected more from Murray...

Men's Semis: It's Gonna Get Ugly

Federer is out but the next three top players are in. So who will make it to the finals?

Berdych vs. Djokovic:
Besides an initial scare, Djokovic has had a pretty easy run into the semis. He will be fresh and ready to go. Berdych has had to battle his way past some tough opponents and may be a little tired after an emotional win over Federer. If Berdych plays like he did against Federer, he will win this match but I'm expecting Novak to come out firing and take it to Berdych early on. Good solid match of two heavy hitters, I say Djokovic wins in 4 sets.

Nadal vs. Murray:
The biggest match of the year. Nadal looks to regain his dominant form at Wimbledon and Murray looks to be the first British champion in a billion years. A lot of pressure on young Andy in this match, he'll have to get off to a quick start or else he's cooked. The first set is bound to be close, but Nadal's mental toughness will help him pull it off. Murray will get a break early on, but falter and from there on, it's all Nadal.

A One Woman Tour

Serena Williams was the only higher seed to win in the women's quarterfinals, beating Na Li handily 7-5, 6-3. Kim Clijsters couldn't pull off a tough 3 set match with former top 5 player Vera Zvonareva and Venus Williams just got utterly schlacked by the 82nd player in the world, Tsevetana Pironkova of Bulgaria.

So I have to say, thank the tennis gods for Serena Williams. Without her consistently dominant play, the women's tour would be in complete shambles. Women's tennis would have taken a huge blow if the Wimbledon semis consisted of Na Li, Vera Zvonareva, Tsevetana Pironkova and Petra Kvitova. You know who would have cared about those matches... absolutely nobody. 

Thank you Serena Williams for being the only top player who consistently shows up for the grand slams. Seeds 2-20, who didn't make the semis (most of which did not make the quarters), should be sending you flowers as you are single-handedly keeping women's tennis exciting and relevant.

Americans Falter

The last two Americans fell today and did so in crappy fashion.

Roddick only lost serve once but was defeated in a grueling 5 set match. For 4 1/2 hours, he looked uncomfortable as though he had the flu. He seemed to be sweating uncontrollably and never quite got into the match. Sure, you can give credit to his opponent Yen-Hsun Lu for grinding this one out, but I'm not going to. Roddick simply lost this match. Besides his serve, nothing worked. Maybe his lack of play the past few months caught up to him, or perhaps he was actually sick/injured. Whatever it was, it was uncomfortable to watch. 

More disappointing was Sam Querrey's loss to Andy Murray in straight sets. Yes, Murray is 4th in the world and yes, he was supposed to win, but did I expect Sam Querrey to beat him... yes. Murray has been in a downward spiral since the Australian Open and Wimbledon imposes an enormous amount of pressure on the Scotsman. If there was ever a time for Querrey to break out and beat a star, this was it. And that's just what he needs to do, he needs to beat a superstar when it counts. So far, he hasn't even come close. After winning at Queen's, I consider this to be a big disappointment. Querrey blew a big opportunity to prove he can/wants to win. 

Besides John Isner's incredible match, it's safe to say that the Americans will be forgotten when talking about Wimbledon 2010.

Americans in London

The clay court season is over, bring on the grass! And the Americans rejoice.

This year the USA has a slew of talented, strong and tall players that have a legitimate shot of making it to and through the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.

Roddick: Last year's runner up, typically plays well on grass. Hasn't played well (or much at all) recently but look for his huge serve and forehand to help him cruise into the second week.

Sam Querrey: Just won Queen's, which is usually an indication of good things to come at Wimbledon. Like Roddick, has big serve and forehand and now... he has a little confidence.

John Isner: He's 6-10 and hits a huge serve. This alone will get him into the 4th round. Pretty good at net and has a solid ground game. He could be the sleeper in this tournament.

Mardy Fish: Fish beat Andy Murray at Queen's and got to the finals. He's another American with big strokes and the ability to serve up a lot of aces. If he's playing well, he will be an incredibly tough early round opponent for one of the top seeds.

So, it's time to unleash the Americans on London. The French Open is very much over and the USA is ready to impose a good ol fashioned tennis beatdown on the rest of the tour.

Querrey, Hewitt Surprise on Grass

Earlier today, Sam Querrey finished off a solid week of tennis by beating fellow American Mardy Fish in straights at the Aegeon Championship in London. In Germany, Fed fell to Lleyton Hewitt at the Halle Open. As the champions of the two Wimbledon tune ups, could we be looking at a Sam Querrey - Lleyton Hewitt Wimbledon final?

The answer is no. It was a good week of tennis for both Hewitt and Querrey, there's no denying that. Sam seems to have found his form on grass and shaken the incredibly negative vibes he had at the French Open and Lleyton playing well means another tough early round opponent for someone at Wimbledon. But, they will not duplicate these efforts.

Hewitt is getting older and a two week tournament, best of 5 sets will not be kind to him. He has always been a fighter, but a younger, quicker player with a huge serve will eventually be too much for him. As for Sam Querrey, it's important to note that he beat nobody of importance in this tournament. Let's run down his opponents: Robby Ginepri, Marcel Grannolers, Xavier Malisse, Rainer Schuettler and Mardy Fish. Not exactly Murray, Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.

Here's the good news. While neither of them will win, they could do some serious damage at Wimbledon. No top player is stepping up and the doors are wide open for anyone to make it to the semi-finals. With their wins, their confidence levels will be as high as anyone else and could definitely help them beat a struggling Murray or Djokovic.

So here's a convoluted congratulations to Sam and Lleyton. These victories could help you beat some good players at Wimbledon, but as for winning... not this year.

Nadal is back

Two weeks goes by so quickly. The French Open is over and we'll have to wait another year until we see the intense red courts at Roland Garros. For Nadal, this stinks. For others, it's the best time of the year. Here are 5 things I learned from this year's French Open:

1) Rafael Nadal is the best clay court player ever - He didn't drop a set in two weeks... for the second time in his career. Soderling never had a chance and neither did anyone else. Nadal doesn't make mistakes on clay and does an amazing job of making the other player feel the pressure and crumble.

2) Soderling is the third best player in the world -  Soderling is gaining confidence and realizing he can beat anyone when he's on. He reached his 2nd French open final and I'd actually say his game is better suited for the grass and hard court season. He has a huge serve and hits a heavy, deep ball. He's the guy nobody wants to play right now.

3) No American champ for a long time - The Americans just don't get the clay nor do they really care. Sam Querrey and John Isner were talked up to do some damage but one couldn't get past his first match and the other got blown off the court in the third round. There's no reason to think that they will go from getting crushed to winning this tournament ever. Kudos to Random Robby Ginepri, but it's not a good sign when your country's 5th best player makes it the farthest.

4) No French champ for a long time - Gasquet is a mess, Tsonga can't get fit and Monfils can't win the big matches. All these players are inconsistent. France deserves a better effort.

5) The French Open leads to disappointment - Out of any tournament, the French Open leads to the most disappointing and random results. Ernests Gulbis was playing so well and he gets hammered in the first round. Murray needs to make a dent and he gets his clock cleaned by Berdych. Jurgen Melzer makes it to the semi finals. The French Open is a great test of mental toughness and very often players fail... and fail badly. Besides Federer and Nadal, the top players continue to under perform at the French Open.

With all that being said, it was a great two weeks. The French Open world is right again and Nadal is King. BUT... look for Fed to make a statement at Wimbledon and potentially win back his #1 ranking.

Majors or Masters - What's best for Tennis?

Yesterday, Rafa beat Federer in the final of the Madrid Masters. During the press conference, Federer basically said that the French open is really the only thing that matters. Nadal politely disagreed with Fed, saying the masters tournaments are equally as important.

And I got to agree with Nadal. Federer's right when it comes to the media and public perception. The majority of tennis fans, particularly casual ones, don't know or care about masters tournaments. It's the four grand slams and that's it. Win one of those and people will recognize.

But as a hardcore tennis fan, Nadal has to be right. Four grand slam tournaments can't be the only ones that matter, or else what's the point of playing the rest of them. If tennis wants to engage more people, the other tournaments have to mean something, especially the masters. Nadal lives this mantra. Every time he plays, he has to win. With Federer, sometimes (in non grand slam tournaments) you're not quite sure how badly he wants it and these comments don't help.

Note to Roger - do not follow Pete's footsteps. At the end of his career, Pete basically only tried at three tournaments (australian, wimbledon and us open).  As an older player trying to maximize what he has left, I get it. But as an ambassador for the game, it doesn't help tennis.

Rafa's right. All in, all the time. It's the best thing for tennis.

On to Madrid: Who Needs it Most?

One more big clay tourney before the French Open means one more opportunity for the top players in the world to tweak their clay court game. But who needs to play well at Madrid the most?

Nadal: He has been on his game this clay court season, winning the last two masters tournaments in Monte Carlo and Rome. But... he needs to assert his dominance one more time before the French starts. Before the clay season, he was injured and getting beat on a regular basis. A victory here would be a great way to remind everyone that he doesn't lose on clay.

Federer: He has had a terrible clay season and hasn't beaten anyone of substance. He can usually turn it on when it counts but with clay, he needs some momentum. He has to show that he's physically and mentally up for the grind that he'll experience at the French Open. At the very least, he needs a semi-final appearance to boost his confidence.

Djokovic: For the entire 2010 season, he's been a mess. Yes, he's #2 in the world, but he hasn't really contended for any of the big tournaments so far. And then this last week, he retired at his own tournament. Djokovic is an emotional player. If he fails to win some matches this week, his confidence will be in the dumper.

Murray: Looked good early on this year and then he fell apart. He hasn't really figured out clay yet, but has the game to be effective on it. Like Djokovic, his success weighs heavily on where he is mentally. With a bunch of early losses so far this clay court season, he needs a few matches under his belt  to give him any sign that he can compete with the dirt ballers at the French.

Fernando Verdasco: He has looked sharp so far on clay. With a few of the other top players not as confident as they usually are, he has a great chance of asserting some dominance. If he could win Madrid, it might give him the boost he needs to truly compete in a major. A little confidence and this might be his shot at winning a grand slam.

Isner & Querrey: These guys are awesome for American tennis. They are so young and thirsty to win that they don't even know yet that Americans aren't supposed to win on clay. They have great momentum, coming off of a finals showdown in Serbia. If they could get to the 4th round of Madrid, it would give them so much experience/confidence, that they could do some serious damage at the French Open. Look for these guys to shake up the next two tournaments and potentially surprise everyone.

So who needs it most? I vote Federer. He has the best shot at competing with Nadal but needs a serious boost of confidence. Look for him to play well at this tourney as this could be a good indicator of how he plays at the French Open.

Djokovic Did What?

Novak Djokovic reached an all time low today as he retired at his family's own event in Serbia. Losing to some Serbian Schlub, he pulled out, citing allergies. Djokovic has a reputation for "allergy attacks" when he's losing. This makes the 8th time he has retired in his career. You know how many times Federer has retired... zero. If he keeps this up, Novak is likely to lose his #2 seed at the French Open which would be great for tennis so Nadal can take it over and we could potentially have another Fed-Nadal French Open Final.

Other news: John Isner and Sam Querrey both are in the semis of the Serbian open, which is on clay. I give them a lot of credit for trying hard to win on clay. Isner, especially, is not the typical clay player at 6'10" but he's young and he wants to win. Who knows, we could see a little run by the Americans at the French Open.

Wake Up Richard Gasquet

Richard Gasquet was schlacked today by Tomas Berdych at the Monte-Carlos Masters, 6-2, 6-0. Let's first give Tomas credit as he's been on a tear lately. This guy has been underachieving for years but now seems to get it and is clicking on all cylinders.

Okay, back to Richard. Once dubbed "Le Roi" (the king) at this very tournament for beating Federer (2005) when he was nearly unbeatable, Gasquet isn't a shadow of his former himself. If you're not familiar with the back story on him, he was one of the youngest competitive tennis players in ATP history and consistently was in the top 10 for a while. Last May, he was caught with traces of cocaine in his system and was suspended from the tour. Turned out, he got it from a girl he was kissing and was able to come back and play after three months. THREE MONTHS, that's it, not that long to be away from the game.

Since then, he's been a mess. He's gone from top 10 to 75th in the world. Not bad you say? Well he's had almost 9 months to regain any kind of form. It's not like he just came back, he's been playing the entire year and a good chunk of last year. There hasn't been a lot of coverage on his struggle but I'm calling him out. He needs to get his head in the game or he might disappear forever.

So, here's my message to him: Richard, you were good, you were only gone for three months. No more drifting through these tournaments, you need to show that you still care and can play. You were the best player in France, now you're the 11th. Don't be the guy who peaked at the age of 16.

Monte-Carlo Masters Round Up

The mosquito is moving on. He may be 30, but he's been awesome so far this year and clay is (was) his specialty. Expect Juan Carlos Ferrero to put up a fight in this tournament and most likely play Rafa in the Round of 16.

Richard Gasquet underachieved again, but managed to hold off some qualifier in three sets. If he continues to play his lackadaisical style, he will get hammered by Tomas Berdych. 

David Nalbandian manhandled Andreas Beck in straight sets. He has to continue to play well if he wants to have any shot at  Mikhail Youzhny in the next round. 

 

And Monte-Carlo Begins!

We're heading to Monte-Carlo, but not with a full deck of cards. 5 of the top 10 players are missing from this year's tournament, most notably our good friend Roger and the recently hot Andy Roddick. Djokovic and Nadal are the 1 and 2 seeds respectively.

Taking a quick look at the draw, the first round match ups look to be a bit of a snooze. Nalbandian could play possum and win his first round but is most likely to run out of steam shortly thereafter. Gasquet is another weird one to watch. He seems to be taking his sweet time regaining his once dominant form, so he could win a match or two but will most likely crap out as well. Albert Montanes vs. Baghdatis could be a fun first rounder, I have Montanes taking it and then running through the next couple of rounds.

In the end, I have Nadal taking what's rightfully his. Yes, he hasn't won a Tourney for a while now, but this is clay, and he's been playing better lately. There's no better time of the year for him to start stepping it up. Vamanos Rafa...