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)

Fed says the darndest things.

Fanatic Omes:

It's really worth having a read of Rog's 3rd round presser. He funny.

(Pic: Getty)
 

Readme

Fanatic Omes:

Hello friends. Sorry I  haven't been blogging much lately - I spent last week in the middle of the Mediterranean sea. They should really put some telecom masts in there.

Now, read.

• Mardy Fish's Open opportunity.
• Pete Bodo talks about dubious retirements (*cough Tsonga* *cough Nole*) and their effects on the sport. And it's reeeaaallly hard to argue with him.
• Chris Chase's Serena seeding sentiments before and after he found out her seeding. Let's just say he wasn't thrilled, as I'm sure plently of people won't be.
• Holy Swiss! Fed has actually apporached Hingis about the Olympics. Come on guys stop tennis flirting and just pair up already.
• Going to the US Open? Well that means I don't like you :P. But anyway here are tips to make your stay that much more US Openy.
• Lovely jubbly article on Masha. (Gist: she's still here. Ahem.)
• A picture of Rafa's burns. Egadz. Hope he feels better soon!
• Great article on Caro's state right now and what she can do to silence her 100000000000+ critics and win a major.

(Pic: ffk8mediacenter.wikispaces.com)

How to Beat Novak Djokovic

Neutral Omes:

To reiterate that Novak Djokovic has had one of the most fantastic seasons in the history of men’s tennis is as useful as declaring the sun shines. So I’m not going to go there. I will go however to the fact that he’s managed to continue on this unprecedented run whilst making Rafa and Roger look like less than stellar players who haven’t won 26 Slams and 36 Masters titles combined. I mean these guys have done it before – they know how to win Slams; and they know how to win Djokovic (c.f. their combined winning record of 30 to Novak’s 21). But not anymore it seems. Ok Roger has been the first and only player to beat him in 2011 in that four-setter at Roland Garros, but it wasn’t like Novak was completely outgunned. It was a thriller of a match and the pressure from so much victory played a part in his defeat. Meanwhile Rafa has made no secret about the fact that his game simply isn’t troubling Novak.

But what’s interesting is that Rafa, Roger and Andy Murray all declared earlier this year that Novak has always had it in him; yes he is a lot more focused and yes maybe a lack of gluten helped him to get around the court that much quicker (come on, did you think I was going to write a piece about Novak Djokovic and not mention gluten?), but he’s always been one of the best defenders in the game. No, Rafa, Roger and Andy were adamant that he’d always played that way, with the notable difference being his insurmountable confidence.

And that confidence is so high that he gets visibly irate when a would-be winner against any other player isn’t blasted back into a corner of the court twice as fast and two millimetres inside the baseline. And therein lays the secret. A fine tennis tactic employed by many is to attack a player’s strong side to expose their weaker one. And since we can safely say Novak has not one weak shot in his game at the moment, the only way, aside from hoping he has a bad day at the office would be to shake that unparalleled confidence I was talking about earlier. And then shake it some more. Novak’s strength is his confidence – attack that and you expose a weaker Djokovic.

We saw Mardy Fish almost succeed in doing this in the Montreal Masters final. As soon as Mardy made Novak doubt himself, the errors crept up and the shouts became louder, and all of a sudden the second set was the American’s. But what Mardy failed to do was capitalise on that situation and Novak was allowed to get back to autopilot when Mardy was broken in the final set. And that’s what’s so important. If he gives you an inch you have to take several thousand miles. You must play him into submission. If you break him once, you try your darndest to break him again; breathe even for a second and let him back into the match and you’re toast. That’s not to take away Novak’s fighting spirit, which is obviously right up there with the best of them, hence the 1 loss this year; but since that confidence that he’s playing with is what’s responsible for elevating himself above the rest, you’ve got to go for it. I mean, really destroy it. In a strange way it’s not only his strength, it’s also his weakness.

And that’s how to beat Novak Djokovic. Good luck trying. 

(Pic: Reuters)

More Happy.

(Vid:creditsuisse)

A Portrait of Roger

Fanatic Omes:

So artist Jean-Pierre Blanchard painted a portrait of Rog from scratch, in under four minutes. I don't know where all this need to create extravagant art pieces of Roger's face came from, but it's pretty impressive.

Anyway this went down a the presentation of the SVC Entrepreneur Award in Zurich and the portrait was auctioned off for charity. Here it is:

Highlights:

1. The Nike tick.

2. The general dementedness of Jean-Pierre.

(Vid: creditsuisse)

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)

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.

Razor Sharp Rog

Fanatic Omes:

This is awesome but also demonstrates that people sure do have time on their hands. It's cool though. Statement-y and all.

(Vid: Gillette)

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.

Darling Roger

(Pic: Fanpop)

Fanatic Omes:

I love this from Your Volleys Suck. Shows that Roger is NOT a douche, despite the notorious collection of one-liners from some of his pressers rolling through the inter-web. It also kindly shows us an actual douche for reference. Which was also really helpful. Reading through the post is actually really touching. Or maybe I'm just really emotional (my womb has been active as I've just baked some cookies). Gotta love King Fed.

Vamos Roger! 

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) 

The Grass is Greener

Fanatic Omes:

It’s grass o’ clock! Which means tennis comes to London where I live. Which also means I get depressed that I can’t pack up and move into the tournament sites; – so tantalisingly close yet so far.

Anyway so here’s the 411 so far:

Rafa, looking all bicep-y, practices at Queens

Fed pulls out of Halle
Nole, Gasquet and Fish pull out of Queens
Roddick goes for the ankle-sock look....ok

Nalbandian and Roddick do doubles at Queens

Muzz was also there

Serena returns to the tour at Eastbourne (well rest of WTA, it’s been fun)

Would it be ridiculous to buy a grounds ticket and wonder around a tennis tournament by yourself?...No? Ok.

 

Roger and Rafa together again.

(Pic: AP)

Neutral Omes:

16 time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer showed us that he wasn't done yet by becoming the first man to beat the insatiable Novak Djokovic in 2011 and secure a place in yet another Slam final - something that we became quite accustomed to not seeing, (much to our surprise) in 2010. He will now try to achieve what only one man has done before - taking out long time rival - the reigning King of Clay, Rafael Nadal, in Roland Garros. His record against the Spaniard in the tournament - 0 and 3, certainly shows up the Swiss meastro as the underdog, but don't count him out just yet - after all he'd been 0 and 3 to Novak Djokovic all year. And look what happened.

Fanatic Omes:

Peeing my pants. (Vamos Rafito).
 

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.