The Finals Nobody had Ever Thought of....

Just a fortnight back nobody would have ever thought of such an Unpredictable Finals. Anticipations were already in favor of an Federer Djokovic Finals , with Nadal withdrawing from the US Open due to injury. But destiny had something other in store for our Top 2 seeds. Both Federer and Djokovic faltered against two very determined players.

Such is the domination of the Top 3 in this past decade that finally, after almost 38 Grand Slams we have Neither Federer , Nadal or Djokovic. It was Australian Open 2005 , where Marat Safin had defeated Hewitt in the finals.
The absence of Federer or Djokovic from the finals has been very shocking among the tennis fans all over whereas it also gives a reason to believe that its time for the next Generation to take over from its peers. It would be very interesting to see whom among Kei and Marin would have the edge and the ability to handle the hullabaloo of the First Grand slam finals. Both the players have had their share of difficulties in reaching the finals and its just sheer determination and the mental toughness that has had been a part of their wins.

Kei had to fend off Milos Raonic in the 4th round in a tough 5-setter and avenged his loss at Wimbledon this year. Next up was the reigning Australian open Champion Stanislas Wawrinka. All had been in the view of a Wawrinka- Djokovic Semifinals , but Kei Nishikori went against all odds to announce his arrival on the big stage. This was considered a litmus test  for Kei as it was a very demanding match in terms of physical ability and as nobody would have expected Nishikori won it again in 5 sets. The next was an uphill task of coming over the world no.1 , Djokovic. No body had ever thought of Nishikori to be in the finals. Nishikori has given us ample of reasons to believe that he has it in him to be alongside the top of Men's Tennis. He is resilient , determined and focused on performing at the later stages of the Grand Slams.





On the Other side the net would be the one time world top 10 player and big serving Marin Cilic. The Croat has been through very rough times the past year facing a 4 month ban for suspected drug enhancement in October last year. Cilic has been consistent enough in overcoming difficult opponents. Be it the big serving Kevin Anderson or Tomas Berdych , a commendable opponent. Marin Cilic has had completed ease in defeating Tomas Berdych and Roger Federer in straight sets.
It took just over an hour to defeat Roger Federer in the semis. He has been very strong with his serves and is completely aware of the opportunity
 here in the finals.

Off Late , it has been a battle of Coaches alongside the players. There is Edberg ( Federer's Coach ) , Boris Becker ( Djokovic's Coach ) and again here today we have Micheal Chang ( Kei Nishikori's Coach ) along with one of the great servers of all time Goran Ivanisevic ( Marin Cilic's Coach ).
It would be very exciting to watch a new Champion in making. Both the players are determined to win their Debut grand Slam. Nishikori's strength is his physical ability and mental toughness to come back from behind to beat his opponent. His Solid ground strokes with perfect placements makes his opponents play that very extra bit to return it back. Cilic, on other hand has a Strong service game and would really love to bank on his serves. Its a matter of who among both would thrive on the opportunity of breaking other's serve. With Micheal Chang on his side , Nishikori would give cent percent in creating History of becoming the First Male Asian Grand Slam champion. The Pairing of the Croats Ivanisevic and Cilic , would try to create what Ivanisevic himself could not achieve, of winning the US Open.

Guys , Come Tuesday morning and we would have a New Champion.
Match starts , 0230 hrs IST ( 09/09/2014 )......
So Guys, who all up tonight for witnessing History in Making.

The Slam of Asia Pacific : Australian Open 2014 Predictions..

Any transformation leads to new aims and ambitions and it was so rightly proved as Andy Murray won the Wimbledon last year creating history to become the only English man to win The Championships in the Open era. The 2013 ATP Tour would be remembered as a year truly filled with emotions and surprises. It was history being created at every Slam.

To start off the season in a fabulous manner, Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open for the 3rd consecutive time becoming the only man in The Open era to do so. Next in line was Nadal, who proved critics wrong for writing him off after a 7 month injury setback, by winning the French Open 2013 for the eighth time followed by Andy Murray who had a chance to prove the world, why he was not to be considered a One Slam Player. It was one of the Most decorated performance of the year, defeating Novak Djokovic in the Finals in straight sets. The year was filled with upsets too as both Nadal and Federer bowed out of Wimbledon at very early stages.The season ended as it started, when Novak Djokovic regained his lost form to win the ATP World Tour Title, in fact defending it.
New Year brings along with it new challenges and expectations. Novak Djokovic is going to get ready for the first slam of the year with his new collaboration with Boris Becker, beside him it would be interesting to watch any change in Federer's game with the help of Stefan Edberg, considered as one of the best serve and volley players of all time.
This brings us to yet another Season of scintillating tennis and many more surprises.The 2014 ATP season has started off very well as Rafael Nadal won his first title of the season at Doha, whereas Roger Federer reached the finals of Brisbane International.
I would like to make few Predictions for the Slam of Asia Pacific, regarded as The Happy Slam.

1. The Resurgent Rafa :

Rafa's 2013 season has been regarded by many as the best ever comeback by any player in the Open Era, not only just because he overcame a 7 month injury lapse but also regained the No.1 ranking inspite of an early Wimbledon loss. Rafa produced a 75-7 , win loss record with a total of 10 titles in the season. Coming into 2014 , it would not be wrong to predict Rafa as the winner of the first Slam of the year as he is completely charged, confident winning the first title at Doha this year and critically most important, he needs to prove himself at Australian Open , a Slam where he had the opportunity of winning only once and which slowly and steadily is being labeled as Novak's Den.

2. The Courageous Novak :

The rivalry between Novak and Rafa reached new heights at the semifinals of French Open last year. It would be seen by many as the best match of 2013. Djokovic won the Australian Open for the third straight year and in the process became the only man to do it in the open era. He finished the year on high by winning 4 consecutive titles at Beijing , Shanghai , Paris and London. Having added Boris Becker in his team, it would be very fascinating to look out for results at the Australian Open. Novak would be vying to make history at Australian Open this time if he wins the title thereby becoming the only man to win 5 Australian Open in the Open era. In short, stakes are very high on Novak winning Australian Open this year, because he has given us enough reasons to show case his strength ,ability and mental fitness to take on the rest.

3. The Rejuvenated Federer :

Federer could be considered as a surprise package in contention for the title. Getting Stefan Edberg on board for this season, Roger has given us a hope of getting the orthodox serve and volley back into the main stream which is rightly said blissful to watch. Federer, already considered to be one of the all time great would be upbeat and optimistic in reaching the latter stages of the Australian Open, taking into account the magnitude of other players coming up. Roger's 2013 season might go down as his worst performance ever with a 45-17 win loss record. Starting off 2014 with a final appearance at Brisbane International, Roger would put all of us in a nostalgic mode once again by claiming the title for the fifth time and giving us a glimpse of hope for Wimbledon.

Andy Murray , coming off a 4 month break from the tour has been a bit sluggish after a 2nd round exit at Doha this year and it would take time for the World no.3 to get back into his rhythm for the Australian Open, but could spring a surprise by striking at the right moment.David Ferrer having reached the finals of a Slam for the first time at the Roland Garros last year could well possess a threat in contest for the title. There are others who also have the talent and guts to take on top players. Juan Martin Delpotro is one of them, who would be regarded as the dark horse in the race for the title. Stan Wawrinka proved to be nemesis for Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open 4th round last year and also at the US Open. Wawrinka reached the semis of the ATP world tour on his debut and has also retained the Chennai Open title this year, considering all this he could be jolted in the journey towards the title for the Top players.
The main draw will be released tomorrow on the 10th of January, this would make it more clear about who would be the dark horse of the race for the Championship

Being an ardent Novak Djokovic fan, I would bet on him for the title this year at Australian Open, with due respect to Rafa and Roger , it could well be a thrilling ,exhilarating and hopefully phenomenal Slam to remember.

Djokovic's Unforced Errors..Reason of Concern

Strategies, Determination, Game plan, Hard work and the most important Self belief is what is required for a sportsperson to conquer the furious attacks from his opponent. Novak Djokovic has lacked his usual charm this year and was pushed into the corner by Nadal in all encounters that he faced the Spaniard.
When I watch the highlights of this year's US open final, Nole seemed lost, confused, unmotivated and also overconfident at times in sealing the opportunities for break points. The loopholes in his game have generated enough doubts about the Serb's ability to face the adversity from Nadal in recent times.The need of the hour for Djokovic could well be to figure out how substantial are the Unforced errors count that he has committed during this year's slams.

It could well be evident from the US Open final that, somewhere deep in his mind, his self belief has been shaken and needs to rejuvenate himself to face the prospect of Nadal gaining momentum on hard courts, which could well be said to be Djoker's forte.So far the year has been a roller coaster ride for Novak, after having won Australian Open, the Serb has Just won 2 tournaments out of 11 he has played ( Dubai, Monte Carlo). Novak Djokovic needs to boost up and display at least a glimpse of his 2011 form.

I have made a brief analysis of Novak's Unforced Errors count in Grand slam tournaments this year.

It can be seen from the graph, that there is sharp increase in Unforced errors count as the Grand Slam tournament heads into the 2nd week ( 4th Round and later ). Despite his Unforced errors of 61 in Australian Open final as against just 46 from Murray, Novak managed to win the Slam, but the trend continued at Other slams too.
At the French Open, Nadal terminated Djokovic's run in the semis, a 5 set thriller but the same story had repeated of committing a whooping 75 Unforced errors from Novak's Racket as against 44 from Nadal's Weapon.At The Championships, it was 40 of Djoker's to just 21 of Murray's and finally at US Open, Novak fired 53 Unforced errors to a mere 20 from Nadal.

It is quite clear from the above statistics that Djokovic has had a lot of Unforced errors committed after the 4th round and so. It might be a fair indication of Djokovic's game plan for the Top players he faces in these latter rounds of slams.We can just make an impression out this that Djoker's plan may be completing the points faster and being aggressive, in doing so he overplays a shot, which unfortunately turns out to be an error. A Cumulative analysis in the form of Pareto Chart can be viewed more easier and give us a more clear picture of Djokovic's faults..

About 72% of Unforced errors  ( on cumulative basis ) are being contributed at the 4th, QF, SF and Final stages of a Grand Slam. If at all Djokovic concentrates on reducing his Unforced errors count, it would be an added advantage for the Serb to counter his opponents.

A more focused, more composed and more determined Djokovic, is what we expect to see for the rest of the season and it would be very challenging for Djokovic to defend his points as Nadal has nothing to loose and would just go on add to his tally to end the Year as World no.1.
The Next tournament both Nadal and Djokovic play is the China Open, which begins September 31. Djokovic is the defending Champion there and it could be the result here, which could finally seal the fate of Nadal being ranked no.1

Invincible Rafa..

Its simply unrealistic and unbelievable to watch the onslaught and battle between the two very best Tennis players right now. Rafa having been out for nearly 7 months of  action, has returned as more hungrier,inspired and willing to let himself through sheer pain and hard work to achieve new heights this year. Having already won 10 titles, 05 of which are ATP 1000 Masters which equals Djokovic's record of 2011 and highest so far.

Rafael Nadal seems so flawless and extremely poised in doing what he is known to be the best. Coming into US open as the hot favourite to win the tournament, Rafa proved every bit of it right. He was calm, composed and focused, unlike Djokovic in winning the finals.

Nadal Outclassed Djokovic in each and every aspect of the game. He had won 95 off 99 service games at the US open, out of which he had lost just one service game before the finals. This is enough to indicate the magnitude of his high quality service games.

The Main indicator as previously predicted was the Unforced errors from Djoker's weapon that helped Nadal in some way or the other, not taking away credit from Nadal's superb display of high quality consistent ground strokes. The degree of top spin that Nadal generates on his Forehand, has even the best of players fault with the best of their strokes. Djokovic tried to put Nadal on back foot with his shoulder height serve, significantly known as the kick serve, but Rafa was rock solid in returning whatever was being thrown at him. This was clearly visible with Nadal winning 45% of return points, a number he had not been able to get against Djokovic ever before.

The match was clearly dominated by Nadal for the Ist set as he produced scintillating forehand, backhand slices and enormous top spin to break into Djokovic's game. Nadal had committed just 02 Unforced errors compared to 11 of  Djokovic in the Ist set.

The turning point of the match could well be considered the 9th game of 3rd set, where Djokovic was 0-40 up on Nadal's serve, this was the best ever comeback in a game i have ever witnessed, as Nadal bounced back with a bang and won that game and went to break Djokoivc in 10th game to win the 3rd set.
The 4th set a mere formality as Nadal overpowered Djokovic to Win the 13th Grand slam, just one short of Pete Sampras's  14.

The Debate for the Greatest Of All Time, would just sizzle up once again as Federer's slump in form and growing age could hamper his chances of winning another slam. Nadal at present is Class apart from the rest, his confidence oozes out in every stroke he plays and his utter determination to prove himself gives us a measure of how difficult it would be for Novak and Others to resist the Challenge from Rafa.
The Injuries are ephemeral with time and Rafa has given us enough reasons to believe that he can overcome them with great courage and motivation. For the moment Rafa seems Invincible and it would be very Interesting to watch out for the rest of the season as He would most likely end the year as No.1, to be regarded as the best comebacks ever.

Tennis has become an integral part of my life and being an avid Djoker fan, Djokovic's loss did hurt somewhere but Rafael is the man  to beat at this moment and if he continues to dominate the ATP tour with the same zeal and enthusiasm, he could probably be the best contender for the World Tour Finals as well at London.

US Open Finals Preview...

Here we are once again at the helm of destiny. Novak djokovic and Rafael Nadal will face each other for the 37th time in their career and 5th time in slam finals.
Nadal leads their head to head with 21-15, with the very recent one being at Montreal semis,where in Nadal won in 3 sets. On the other hand , Djokovic leads with 3-1 in slam finals, wherein the last one was at 2012 Australian open , considered by many as the best match in the open era next to Wimbledon 2008 finals.
This match was the catalyst for Nadal to overcome his instincts of having being beaten by Djokovic for 7 consecutive matches.It was a match that lasted for 05 hours and 53 minutes and the longest Slam Finals in History. Having witnessed Djokovic's dominance on Hard courts in 2011 and 2012, this year we have witnessed what Rafa is capable of on Hard courts. Rafa has 21 match winning streak this year on Hard courts and is just unstoppable against any of the players.Here is a brief statistics of the various parameters, which could  prove very essential in determining the winner of the Finals.

No. Of Games played.
Novak had not dropped a set up until the Quarterfinals at this year's US open. Same as the case with Nadal, who has been very relentless in thrashing his opponents. Novak faced a tough test in defeating Stanislas Wawrinka, wherein he had to play for more than 4 hours and 49  games in all to reach the finals. Whereas Nadal has dropped just 1 set in his 4th round clash against Phillip Kohlschreiber.In that match he played 39 matches, whereas it was all the way straight sets victory in all other matches.


Unforced Errors:

This is can be a Major deciding factor which could make or break Djokovic in the finals. In the Quarters and Semis itself Djokovic committed a total of 45 and 46 unforced errors respectively. You would be astonished to see the stats that Nadal on other hand had committed just 15 and 24 unforced errors in his Quarters and semis respectively. In the whole tournament Nadal had just 130 to 167 of Djokovic's errors.
This speaks a lot about the Game Nadal is going to play against Djokovic. A High count of unforced errors not only gives the opponent an added advantage but proves a lot about the consistency of ones game.
If Nadal is able to keep the momentum running with this less number of Unforced errors, there is no stopping the Spaniard in winning the title.

1st serve points Won:
Having a higher Ist serve points won, is an indication of ones strength in defending his service game. Nadal has had an average 80% of his 1st serve points won,while Djokovic has had won comparatively 75%.
Also Novak's going in for accuracy rather than speed on his 1st serves as the average 1st serve speed 104 MPH compared to 110 MPH Nadal's. Both have made an impact with their dominance over their opponents.

In a short summary, the finals is going to be of aggressive play and who would draw first blood in breaking the other.With Nadal's ongoing slaughter, Djokovic seems to be a tad less confident against an opponent who Djoker has beaten consecutively 7 times. Djokovic would need to up his ante and probably play a game that would make us remember his 2011 form. It would be very interesting to watch as it could be a match, that could put Djokovic to next pedestal, to be even considered as one of the best players in the history of Tennis. For Nadal, it would just only confirm his dominance in the most challenging era of Tennis. Nadal seems the probable favourite for the trophy, but we all know the mental and physical strength that Djokovic possess. If at all Djokovic plays on an aggressive note, sans a very less number of unforced errors, he could well pose a threat for Nadal.
The Match starts at 0200 hrs IST, 10/09/2013. So Guys, Enjoy a scintillating final among the two best players of the world and may the best player win.

Is the Decadence of the King Inevitable...???

Roger Federer, considered to be the King of Tennis, has been on the wrong side of destiny for the past few months. The fall in form may be due to his growing age or a susceptible back injury, but is still a question for his survival in this season. Interestingly, Federer has lost to Tommy Robredo, who in fact is 31 years of age.
Robredo, became the first man to have won 3 consecutive grand slam matches in being 2 sets down at the French Open this year. The Spaniard is in good form and had challenged Federer at a surface which isn't Robredo's Favourite.

The very much anticipated Rafa Roger Quarterfinals, once again could not be a reality. You would call it destiny or may be a lack of confidence creeping in Federer's game.But you cannot rule out the fact that Federer has the ability to bounce back and scarp off all the doubts and criticism to rest.
Federer lost to Robredo in straight sets in the 4th round, 7-6 (3) ,6-3,6-4. The culprit for Federer's loss could be his Unforced Errors which accounted to a total of 43 and also he was able to convert just 2 out of 16 break points that he had. In the end, it was Robredo who had the last laugh and a dream win against Federer.

Robredo could not beat Federer in 10 of their previous meetings as had a 0-10 record coming into this match. Federer failed just at the wrong moment as it could be his last chance, if supposedly considered his age as a factor of hindrance, to reach the later stages of a Grand Slam. Roger was seeded 7th at this year's open, a seed which Federer has not been ranked in a time of Decade. This could only just add to the belief that its time up for the King to hang his shoes.

Federer's loss in 4th round, adds up to his woes of loosing more points than gaining as He had reached the quarters last year. Federer's slide in the rankings would mean a lot to the equation between the Djokovic, Nadal, Murray and Federer. This could possibly mean that Federer could meet the Top 3 at stages earlier than the Quarters at Grand Slams/ ATP Masters.

All in all, the question which keeps on haunting me after every loss of Federer at Grand slam in recent times is that Is the Decadence of the King Inevitable ??? 

And Every time I hope that let this not be true for at least one more Grand Slam.

Quote of the Day:

"I kind of feel like I beat myself, without taking any credit away from Tommy," said Federer.

US Open..The American Slam.

We have had a very tortuous Wimbledon this year, with many upsets and Many young and motivated players making their presence felt.

Now, from the Lush green lawns of Wimbledon, we move on to the Hard courts of Flushing meadows at New York, Its the American Slam and the last of the season.The excitement and expectations just keeps on growing by each passing day of the slam.Its the first time in a decade that Roger Federer has been seeded outside the Top 5 at a slam. The very much anticipated Quarterfinal clash between Rafa and Roger at Wimbledon which Unfortunately did not turn into reality, could possibly be a Mega blockbuster at US open this year. Defending Champion Andy Murray and No. 1 Seed Novak Djokovic are drawn in the top half, with a possible Semifinal match between the two.

The Draw at this year has been much easier for the top 4 seeds.The Top seed and World no.1, Novak Djokovic would face Berankis in the opening round.Novak's second round opponent could be the giant killer Lucas Rosol.He could face a litmus test of facing Grigor Dmitrov in 3rd round, who has defeated Nole once this year. Fabio Fognini, the man in form could be a 4th round opponent, who would in fact have a test in facing Benoit Paire, in the 3rd round.
A repeat of Wimbledon Semis could be on cards, as Juan Martin Delpotro could be a roadblock for Djokovic enroute his finals. Delpotro is gonna have a tough time facing Hewitt in 2nd round and the Veteran Tommy Haas in the 4th.
Considering the Hard court dominance of Djokovic and Delpotro, it would be very exciting to watch who would have the last laugh in this Quarter of the Draw.

Defending Champion and the current Wimbledon champion, Andy Murray would be tested for this would be his first slam as a defending champion. Andy Murray faces Micheal Llodra of france as his 1st round opposition and could possibly meet Nicolas Almagro in 4th round. In this quarter of the draw, Tomas Berdych would be a potential challenge for Andy Murray in the quarters. Tomas Berdych could infact find it fairly easy to sail through to the quarters, as he would probably face Wawrinka in the 4th round and in the 3rd round, his apparent opponent could Sergi Stakhovsky, the man who made Federer down on his feet at his own Kingdom ( Wimbledon ).
On a short note, it could well be predicted that Andy Murray would face a tough challenge in Tomas Berdych for a semifinal berth.

The Bottom top quarter, is seen as the most unpredictable draw of this year's US open. In this quarter, No. 4 seed David Ferrer would have to battle out the upcoming youngster Latvian Ernests Gulbis in the 3rd round, if at all Ferrer passes this test, he could go on to meet this year's Wimbledon semifinalist Jerzy Janowicz in the 4th round, who could inturn face a stiff resistance from Tipsarevic in the 3rd round. Milos Raonic, the new kid who entered in the Top 10 for the first time, has only Richard Gasquet as a threat enroute his Quarters. Having cleared this, it would Raonic Vs Ferrer in this Quarters. It would be very difficult to predict this quarter as we have the likes of Gulbis, Janowicz, Gasquet and Tipsarevic to give Ferrer a huge hindrance to make it to the semis.

The Last Quarter of the draw, has the most anticipated match of this year's US open. Roger Federer Vs Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals. Roger Federer has a relative easy draw in reaching the 4th round of US open, he would face Zemlja in the first round. The only hitch , he would face would come in the 4th round in Kei Nishikori. On the other hand, Rafael Nadal, would face Ryan Harrison in the first round and also could possibly meet fellow Spaniard Verdasco in the 3rd round. Getting past Verdasco would be a major task for Nadal and having done so would go on to meet either John Isner in the 4th round who would give Rafa a stiff competition for a Quarters berth.
All in all, we could seriously predict the Roger Rafa Quarter on cards, considering no major upset is caused.


The Stage has been set for next Fortnight of Sleepless Nights, Thrilling Finishes, Extraordinary Points and Relentless Determination. Its the American soil that is gonna witness a level of Tennis which is at the highest level of excellence.
So Njoy the US open and may the best player win.