2012 is for all of the Big Four

Neutral Omes:

2011 has been the year of Novak Djokovic - and with the results of recent months lest we forget. Of course it wasn’t long ago that we’d crowned Rafael Nadal king of 2010. With the great era of tennis we currently find ourselves in - the likes of the best of the best all competing in such rich form at the same time - monopolies may come as a shock, as it’s often points here and there that determine results. But because with so little, in terms of skill and will to separate the best, confidence has become the most coveted and necessary weapon; and confidence is the fuel for monopoly. 

We are lucky to have a top four that is literally - in the literal sense of the word - a top four. They may shift amongst each other but it will be a huge ask for any outsider to penetrate that inner circle with audacity. Still it must be said that the remaining top ten is indeed worth boasting about and hardly comes as a surprise. But as long as Novak, Rafa, Roger and Andy are willing, it will be difficult to imagine a no.5 or higher next to any of their names.

It’s been Novak’s year, but it’s also been Rafa’s clay season, Andy’s Asian swing and Roger’s end of year. Even with the dominance of Novak this year, the rest of the big four never failed to remind everyone that they were still in the picture. I think 2012 will be a leveller. All have proven they have what it takes to take it. Novak’s gotten himself out of Rafa and Roger’s shadow, Rafa has shown everyone that in amidst of adversity, he still owns the clay, Andy has shown more of the kind of play that everyone wants him to adopt (remember 6-0 in the final set of Tokyo against Rafa?) and Roger has once again proven he’s not a decrepit old man descending into mediocrity. 

So as we hit the reset button and look ahead to the new season once again, we need be aware that there is plenty to prove for the big four. Each knows what can happen when one man’s confidence is allowed to overflow and all will be looking to stem that flow should it begin. Competitiveness in 2012 may just reach unprecedented levels; and with the Olympics being a welcome addition to the year, should certainly make for nail-biting 12 months.

(Pic: Getty)

Andy Murray Tennis: The Most Hilarious Video of Life

Fanatic Omes:

*DEAD*

(Vid: Tomfoolery Central on YouTube)

Andy brings the LOLZ

Fanatic Omes:

Andy plays that game where you pick your favourite answer out of two related categories. Sounds bland simple enough but it quickly turns into one of the most intentionally/unintentionally hilarious interviews ever with our dear boy. Observe:

(Vid: kikirikimiki2 on YouTube)

Andy Believes

Thumbs up indeed.

Neutral Omes: 

One thing I’ve always admired about Andy Murray is the belief he has in himself. Don’t let the grimaces and growls, shoe-lace attacks and sole-smacks on the court fool you – he doesn’t genuinely believe he’s rubbish. That habitual self-deprecation ensues because for every unforced (or indeed forced error) he makes, Andy strongly believes he could have, and definitely should have done better, idiot!

And that’s why he’s one of those guys that relishes a challenge. Whether it’s zapping Novak Djokovic’s winning streak - few players would have been as audacious as he was in taking it to red hot Novak (who was on match no. 37 in the streak at that time) the way he did in the semifinals of Rome (we won’t speak of the losing-despite-being-two-points-away-from-victory malarkey); or boosting the number on his side of a losing head to head battle against Rafa Nadal, bagel and all, to capture the 2011 Tokyo title. Andy Murray isn’t scared of playing anyone. This attitude is why after any loss the first thing you hear Andy say is how fast he’ll be back in the gym - as if to say “there’s always a way, I’m up for the next one”. When he takes to the court, he’s one of those few players that always believes he will win - whether he does is a different matter - but the self assurance is there.

So then how can a guy who believes in himself as much as you claim struggle with aggressive play so much? I hear you say. Well kind fellow, lack of belief in your ability to pull out a win against any player on any given day is different from the lack of belief you have in a certain playing style that’s not necessarily your go-to one - Andy doesn’t suffer from the former. And sometimes, when you face the best defenders in the game, your just not allowed to be aggressive. While in these cases it may be more difficult to win playing defense, for Andy it’s never ever far fetched.

Andy Murray may believe in himself, but I'm not sure he believes that statue is himself.

Much like Federer, Andy has what I would call a ‘decent reserve of natural confidence’ which stems from this deep rooted self-belief, and is different from the sort of confidence that grows and shrinks with form. Other guys like Rafa, believe it or not, need to keep reminding themselves they’re the best with match-play - without which self-doubt can easily creep in. I’m not saying Andy is immune from self-doubt (or indeed that Rafa lacks self-belief), neither am I ignoring the fact that Andy does tune out sometimes and never fails to post those resident questionable losses. But they never make him feel like he’s only as good as the matches he wins, and even when the big loss of 2010 in Melbourne Park saw him lose it for a while, I still maintain it never affected the underlying belief he had in himself.   

It’s interesting, not to mention very revealing that the main reason Andy is happy with his new no. 3 ranking (surpassing Roger Federer for the first time) following a flawless Asian swing, is literally because that’s the best he can do this year due to Rafa and Novak’s stellar results. In his post finals interview with Sky Sports at Shanghai, he stated that he was always aiming for the no. 1 spot at the beginning of the year: 

“[The no.3] is not something that I aimed for at the start of the year – you want to try and finish no. 1 if you can - and after US Open that just wasn’t possible, so I just re-assessed my goals and wanted to try and finish the year no. 3.”

So he’ll take the no.3 but he’s hungry for better. Yes every top player aims for that no. 1 spot, but it just seems Andy genuinely can’t imagine it won’t happen for him. He’s king of the post-Slam season so far, and if he takes this form to 2012 there’s no reason why, much like Novak did this year, he won’t perform the way he believed he could all along. 

(Pics: Getty)

Day Three at the Rog

Fanatic Omes:

Well Murray did certainly momentarily forget how to play tennis, didn't he? (I’m calling him “Murray” 'cause I’m mad). He did say he wanted to pace himself before the US Open but I think, I THINK, he’s going to want to re-think that strategy. (Maybe inhale a two-foot baguette?) I guess the only solace we can take is that for the last two years he’d worked really hard for the Toronto and Cincy and then lost out at the USO so...ohhhhh, I don’t know.
Seriously though I’m sure he’ll be fine - we’ll just “Butterfly Effect” that shiz along with the 2011 Wimbledon final. 

And speaking of Rafa Nadal, he begins his campaign today. Nerviose.

Other things I want to say:

Kim has sustained yet another injury. I can't...

Canadian wildcard, Pospisil, or Popsicle as I'm sure we'll all be calling him (ranked 155), upset Chela in his first round match. He is adorbz. He will now go on to play... Federer. Pahahahaha.

OOP for ladies

OOP for men

Ladies' match of the day: Serena Williams vs Julia Goerges; 3rd on centre

Men's match of the day: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs Bernard Tomic;1st on BN Court

(Pic: AP)

Happy is needed.

Fanatic Omes:

It's been an awful couple of days for many. We need happy times. Thus:

Captured by NadalNews, recommended by Andy Murray.

Readme

Fanatic Omes:

Are you suffering from lack of major tennis or tennis on TV? Do you not have £3.99 a month for a Eurosport player subscription to keep an eye on Bastad and Stuttgart? Have you repeatedly refreshed tennis.com seven or more times? Is everyone on your twitter asleep?

If so, you're in luck! Here is a list of articles (and a couple of vids) for you which you've probably read already.

• Love Rafa articles in Spanish. They're just so much more revealing. 
• Fed being lovely.
• Candid Andy. (Candied Andy hehe.)
• Ahahahahahahaahaha.
• AAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWW BABOO.
• Happy Dancing Spaniards, enough said. (Courtesy of Nadal News).
• Ferru is a class act, even with his emphatic Davis Cup win he says this.
• Oh Isner. At least he won the darn thing.

(Pic: sueeves.com)

The Davis Cup Effect

Neutral Omes:

This year is Novak Djokovic’s year; there’s no question about that. Naturally with the emergence of a tennis monster like himself, there will be a plethora of theories surrounding who or what was responsible for its creation. Was it the cutting out of gluten? Marian Vajda stepping up? The fruits of labour finally paying off? Of course in however big or small a way these things all played their parts, but the monster himself attested that it was mostly due to his part in Serbia’s Davis Cup win last year. There’s no doubt that a small nation like Serbia, who’s been recovering from a tumultuous past, loves and needs their heroes (c.f. Novak Djokovic’s Serbian welcome after Wimbledon). And in the tennis world – they’ve found themselves with heroes-a-plenty. The Davis Cup is big for Serbia and therefore big for Djokovic. The win helped him to let go of his fear, which evidently was the only thing holding him back from being at the top of men’s tennis.

My theory is that Novak Djokovic paved the way for other top (but not quite at the top at the moment) players who are looking for inspiration in their careers. Andy Roddick, Andy Murray and Roger Federer all hadn’t competed for their countries since 2009. Call me a conspiracy theorist (if there is such a thing) but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they’re all playing now (post Djokovic 2.0).

And how has their quest for stimulation paid off? Well it definitely sparked something in Andy Murray who was in floods of happy tears after an emotional winning weekend in his hometown. Roger Federer has to be pleased that he’s lead Switzerland back into the World Group – his absence proves costly. That said we’ll keep an eye on their American seasons. Let’s hope for Andy Roddick that there are no adverse effects.

(Pic: be0grad.com)

Along Came Nadal.

Neutral Omes: 

(Pic: AP Photo)

On the 1^st of July 2011 Andy Murray prepared to take on Rafael Nadal - 10 time Grand Slam champion; a record 19 Masters 1000 titles; Wimbledon defending champion and firm candidate of the ‘greatest of all time’ discussion. The Scotsman had had by far his best season to date, making a final and two semi-finals out of the Grand Slams that'd gone by. 

Ok he was outplayed in Australia, but that happened to be the scene of Novak Djokovic’s winning expedition; and yes he suffered a lull after the loss, but that was only to be expected. The fact that he was able to produce enviable clay court results – clay being a surface that he has wrestled with in the past; and transition onto the grass with a trophy in his pocket, was enough evidence to show that his game had indeed enjoyed some non-trivial growth. And it’s not only his physical game that matured, but his attitude and mental strength. The shouts and complaints became more and more channelled into self-encouragement.

Taking all that into consideration there did seem to be a cloud of increased optimism surrounding the British number one going into the match; seizing a semi-final win from the defending champion seemed...well, doable. And what’s more, having now made his third semi-final at Wimbledon, he could add experience to his list of strengths.

And all that game, mentality, optimism and experience – he succeeded in transporting into the first set and three games. Quite emphatically.

But then along came Nadal.

(Pic: Reuters)

Somewhat assisted by an inexplicable slump in Murray’s form, the defending champion rose to play that brutal, exhausting, relentless game that he inevitably brings to the big stage. Andy became another one of Nadal’s mignons. Once the Spaniard became alert to the tiny crevice of opportunity that presented itself, he pried it open with a few forehands and produced the gob-smacking type of tennis that we’re now accustomed to seeing him do on grass.

From then on, he kindly reminded us why he’d been in four previous finals; why he’d kissed the trophy twice; and why the only man to deny him his gold in the other half of those finals was a man who for the majority of his career literally couldn’t lose at SW19.

Nadal will now face the only other player who has matched and indeed surpassed his level this season. Both have the uncanny ability to produce magnificence on a court. Novak Djokovic has already achieved one half of his childhood dream by becoming the new no. 1. 

The other awaits him; but so does Nadal.

Round One at Wimbledon

Neutral Omes:

Nadal and Murray both fought off slow starts – Murray from a set down – to seal some emphatic victories, and keeping their semi-final hopes alive. The world no. 1 was very appreciative of opening proceedings at the All England Club – something he couldn’t do so as the defending champion in 2009 as he had to pull out of the tournament after suffering from tendonitis in his infamous knees. Nadal d. Russel 64 62 62; Murray d. Gimeno-Traver 46 63 60 60

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer both fought off early opposition and then sailed through their opening matches. Both are more than looking the part to reach the latter stages of the tournament. Djokovic d. Chardy 64 61 61; Federer d. Kukushkin 76 64 62

Venus Williams cruised into the second round defeating Akgul Amanmuradova 63 61. It was a tougher and more emotional journey to the second round for sister Serena as she fought to win her first Slam match in three sets against a tough, hard-hitting Arvanne Rezai 36 63 61. The 4 time Wimbledon champion, overcome with emotion due to the tumultuous battle she’s had with illness and injury, broke down, much to her surprise with tears of joy; showing the world just how appreciative she is to be alive and to be competing again.

Other favourite Sharapova looked in commanding form, winning her match against Chakvetadze 62 61.

Gentleman’s thriller: Fernando Verdasco engaged in a 5 set battle with in-form Radek Stepanek, in the first competitive gentleman’s tussle. The Spaniard took it 97 in the fifth.

Gentlemen’s shock: Former world no. 3 Nicolay Davydenko losing in straight sets to spunky Aussie Bernard Tomic.

Ladies thriller: Francesa Schiavone and Jelena Dokic engaged in a very competitive match from start to finish, with a point here and there determining a victory for the Italian French Open winner.

Ladies shock: World no. 10 Sam Stosur going down to Melinda Czink, the lowest ranked player (262) in the championships.

Click on "Read more" for my fanatic musings.

Wimbledon 2011 Preview

Neutral Omes:

The tennis world seems to be in a slight state of confusion as to which of the men, or should I should say, gentlemen will lift the golden marvel that is the Wimbledon trophy – the 125^th edition. But who can blame them? Don’t get me wrong, the conversation isn’t whether outsiders, i.e. anyone outside the top four, will have a shot it; no this confusion is restricted to the likes of the Spaniard, the Swiss, the Serb and the Scot. Observe:

Novak Djokovic must be holding some record for the amount times people have referred to him as “unbelievable” or “incredible” thanks to his unbelievable and incredible streak. Surely a 41-match winning streak would be more than enough to go by for Djokovic to be considered a possible winner at the All England Club. But just in case we needed a reminder that he will from here on in be one of the world’s best, he kindly treated us to a frightful demolishing of Simon at an Exhibiton match in the Boodles, Stoke Park. However, you say, he’s just had a shot at number one and his first Slam outside of the Australian open against someone he’d beaten three times prior. But the occasion got to him, and he’s made no secret of the fact that a win at Wimbledon is a life-long dream of his. A final here would be the mother of all occasions.

Rafael Nadal is a man who benefits a lot from confidence. And red hot from winning his record-equalling sixth Roland Garros title, his confidence must be higher than sky high. You only have to look at his 2010 season to see what a big win on his favourite surface does for him. And as he's showed us, once again moving straight on from victory to practice at Queen’s - he’s more than willing. On the flipside his French Open ride had more turbulence than we’re used to seeing and he did reveal that schedule demands were starting to get to him. Lest we forget Wimbledon and Roland Garros overlap in June – how’s that for demanding?

Roger Federer silenced his critics – and let’s face it, a still, small part of all of us – when he ended Djokovic’s freak-streak to make yet another Grand Slam final. What’s more is that during those finals he showed some masterful signs (including a version 2.0 backhand) that would indeed work very well on the grass.  Nevertheless the Maestro is getting older, no matter how much his impeccable movement hides this fact. And he hasn’t held a Slam for a "Federer-while". That could definitely play a part.

Andy Murray seems to be a more relaxed, more focussed version of himself. It was this new attitude that allowed him a second win in Queen’s. And this combination of positivity and confidence gives him the best chance he’s ever had at Wimbledon; bearing in mind that he is an ever-present semi-finalist. But, for as long as he remains British, his shoulders will remain laden with British pressure. And contending with all of it could be just difficult as winning the darned thing.

So with their pros and cons in equal measure, it seems that the top four are all as favoured as each other. We wait with bated breath and sweaty palms.

Some have argued that the men’s draw won’t start to heat up till the semi-finals, but may I kindly remind them of the (my) pick of contenders: Tsonga – King of Queen’s, Kohlschriber – winner of Halle, and Baghdatis who’s showing some good form. It’s also worth keeping an eye on Roddick who always comes alive at this tournament (and by the way hasn’t retired yet!). And for the young guns: Milos Raonic who you’ll no doubt have heard about now. Otherwise...

Click "Read more" for my neutral take on the ladies.

Andaaaaaaaay

Neutral Omes:

Andy Murray has made history becoming the only Brit to win two Queen’s trophies since 1920-somethin’-a-rather. The world no. 4 battled from a set down, fighting off a Tsonga that looked to have all the answers (even diving for a good few of them,) right until the second set tie-break. The Scot will be a serious threat for Wimbledon now. And I’m not saying this because of his game – his game has always been there. But today we were treated to a much calmer, level-headed Murray who shook off mistakes and seemed to always be looking forward. Coming in from the French Open with an injury yet to fully heal, he’s done very well mentally to get to this point. No, not even the ankle could stop him looking forward. And now with the confidence of the Queen’s trophy, he’ll no doubt be looking forward to Wimbledon.

Fanatic Omes:

Oh no, Andy is blatantly going to be in Rafa’s side of the draw. It’s difficult ‘cause I don’t want Andy to lose, but I want Rafito to win. It’s hard work splitting your loyalty. I did say Andy could have next year’s Wimbly so, yeah we’ll just stick to that. Well done Andy, but kindly step aside darling.

(Pic: Omes Tennis) 
 

Rain, rain, don't go away...

Fanatic Omes: 

So it turns out that:

Rain = Boredom = Twitter

Our players had a twit-tastic day that would have made Roland Garros shiver with regret* having discovered the players’ readiness for karaoke.

I don’t think I could do justice to what went down, so I’ll let them tweet for themselves:

Nole:

Muzz:

Serena:

Gosh how we love our guys and gals.

In other depressingasIamatworkandcan’bbelievethepriceofthetickets news, Queens’s finals tickets cost a tenner. That’s £10 for you non-UK folk. Go on type that into Google and see how much it is in your currency. 

The online tickets sold out in an hour but the good people at Queen’s reserved 1000 more to be sold at the door. I understand that people had been queuing since 2.00am. (Uh guys, you know it’s a best of three right?)

So the final should begin in about half an hour. There’s no rain in sight, but as discussed earlier that may actually be a bummer.

*RG opted not to do players karaoke this year. Booo.

 (Pics: blueyed-cutzie.blogspot.com, artblog.hk, wildmind.org)

Readme

Fanatic Omes:

• Rafa has Rog’s back over his pullout. I’m with Raf/Rog on this one. But what do I know, I’m not organising an entire tournament, and I can’t imagine what it’s like as a tournament director to have this sort of spanner in the works and I feel sorry for them over there, but surely you’d have to have foresight about these things. And thus not pin your hopes on one player. What if Rog was actually injured? He has to look after himself. I think we forget what these athletes put themselves through day in day out. Especially the champions; poor lads and lassies.

• The Muzzard you don’t know but love. I’m increasingly becoming more and more of a Muzz fanatic and I kinda like it. I love how he is off court, and who am I kidding, on court as well. Murray matches just wouldn’t be the same without the self deprecation, grimacing, and yelling.  It’s not like he’s taken more of the Rafa space in my heart, it’s more like my heart has increased a few inches and Muzzle has parked in there.
 

• I'm sure you've all read this. Sigh. I wish we could live in a world full of rainbows and smiles.

• Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the world...

(Pic: thejamesbondbooks.com) 

So like, I went to Queens...

Fanatic Omes:

Queuing for long enough to make life-long friends and being treated like vermin at the entrance because for some reason, for about 2 and a half hours only residents to the area were allowed into the site aside,...I had a lovely time.

We arriv-ed at the tournament site, where they were kind enough to dangle the scores of the Rafa/Stepanek in front of our eyes whilst we were being held in the queue. 

With Rafa serving for the match I prayed that he would be a dear and take it to three. So you can imagine the joy when Rafa felt my cosmic synergy and kindly oblidged; so after hustlin’ we got to watch the last set. (I missed Rafa’s fall though.)

 

I also got to watch James Ward! ‘Twas was a lovely jubbly atmosphere despite the lack of people. And now the former no. 208 has only just gone and made it to the quarters. Vamos James!

 

Then came the crux of the evening: Rafa’s doubles play was halted due to poor light. And being a freak, I had the foresight to run to one of the court one exits to watch him come out. And then he did! Just can say: why can’t more guys look like Rafa? : (

Then it was home time. :’ (

So I’ll leave you with the inner monologue in my head for the five seconds I saw Rafs up close:

“Oh Rafa’s leaving the court, OMG OMG, let’s run to go see him up close!

Poor Rafa! I can’t imagine being mobbed like all the time. Not to mention people shoving camera phones in your face. I feel so bad. Swarms of people are just following him.

Proceeds to chase Rafa towards the locker room.

I miss Rafa. “

More photos after the jump break. 

Ward-ing off Opposition

Neutral Omes:

The story of Queens so far has been world no. 216 and Britain’s no. 2 James Ward’s victory over world no. 14 and 4^th seeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka. The Brit closed out the victory in straight sets - 76 63, after winning a convincing tiebreak 73 and using the momentum to break early in the 2^nd set. Ward is currently being mentored by Argentinean mixed martial arts cage fighter, Diego Visotzky, who according to (a slightly frightened) Ward, enjoys putting his mentee in headlocks. The Brit now faces defending champion Sam Querrey and will certainly need all the fight he can muster.

Fanatic Omes:

Congrats to James Ward but doesn’t he want to go to the gym? I think all the Brit baby boys should take a page from Andy Murray’s book. Andy is a brick.

In other news, how cute is this photo?

"Hi guys. I'm cute"

 (Pics: Getty)

 

The Semi-Final of Dreams

Neutral Omes:

Roland Garros this year has looked the most competitive it has been for the last five years or so. Only fitting then that the best competitors – the best four in the world, have pulled through. With doubt being raised over the resident King of Clay’s dominance this year, the other rivals are surely feelinng that the crown is more within their reach than it ever has been; and are therefore looking to grab the bull (aka Nadal) by the horns.

Don’t take my word for it. Just ask them:

 “I can definitely win.” - Murray

Andy Murray has shown grit and determination all tournament even in the face of injury; fighting time and time again from break points down to close out matches, and now has made his first ever Roland Garros semi-final. He hasn’t come all this way just to be satisfied with getting to this point, and has the self-belief to pass the ultimate test in Nadal and go even further.

"For me, the plan is trying to get a step further and into the final of the French Open.” - Federer

Roger Federer has looked in impervious form all through this tournament and remains the only semi-finalist not to have dropped a set. He’s looking to get his revenge on Novak Djokovic who he has lost to three times this year, but the 16 time Grand Slam champion no doubt relishes the challenge.

“I’m ready...and eager to get more wins.” - Djokovic

What more can be said about 2011’s champion, Novak Djokovic? Winning against Federer would not only give the Serb his much coveted world no. 1 ranking, but would see him equal John McEnroe’s 42-match undefeated streak from the start of a season. And insistent that his recent four-day break hasn’t interrupted his rhythm, he most certainly has the confidence and form to do so.

“Today I was ready to beat the no. 5 in the world...we will see what’s going on [in the] next round.” - Nadal

Nadal has regained his confidence after an emphatic dismissal of Soderling his quarter-final match. The Spaniard was much happier with the form and attitude, but remains ever modest, understanding the difficult road that lies between him and victory. There is no doubt however that he will give it his absolute all in order to re-assert his authority on clay; and for any opponent that is a scary proposition.

Click "Read more" to view my silly, but unashamed thoughts.