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.