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.

The Mystery Of ATP Rankings.

The ATP rankings were out yesterday after the Wimbledon, and a lot has changed after a Wicked Wimbledon for Roger Federer. With World No.1, Novak Djokovic staying afloat atop with 12310 points, an increase of 480 points.

The Mystery of rankings is such that, a player has to Defend his points he gained on over a 12 month period.
Novak lost in Semis last year to Federer, and he was a Finalist this year, eventually improving his previous appearance. This leads to gaining of points.Whereas, Roger Federer beared the brunt of ranking system, with his loss in 2nd round of The Championships, losing a whooping 1955 points. Federer was at No.3 with 7740 points well ahead of Rafael Nadal's 6895 points before Wimbledon. So, even though Rafael Nadal lost in the First round of Championships, he did not loose much as he had lost in 2nd Round a year before.
All in all, Rafael lost just 35 points from his total tally.

Roger has dropped to No. 5 in rankings for the first time in 10 years, Is this an Indication of what has to come in near future???.. I feel, he has to win a Slam to maintain the talks around the world of The Big Four.
The silent gainer in the midst of all this, has been the Spaniard David Ferrer, having reached Roland Garros Finals and a Quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon, has risen to Career high ranking of World No.3.
It would be very interesting to see how Roger and Rafael fare in coming ATP tournaments to come. As from here on Rafael Nadal would gain points irrespective of the rounds he reaches at the tournaments. Nadal being out after Wimbledon last year, he had lost all points last year and hence he has nothing to loose from here onwards.

Roger Federer's next stop would be at Bet-at-home Open, Hamburg, Germany starting July 15, whereas Andt Murray , Nadal and Djokovic would make a comeback at Roger's Cup, Montreal, starting August 05.
Let's see how the next few tournaments turn out to the Top players.

Fred Perry's Ghost Finally Vanishes Away...Andy Murray Wimbledon Champion..

My heart pounding a bit more faster than it normally does, the adrenaline just could not get the hold of me and my mind constantly battling with my heart. These were the few of abnormalities happening during that last game of The Championships, which I thoroughly wanted to go the other way ( being an ardent Djokovic Fan).
Finally, after giving away 3 Championship points, Andy Murray won The Championships on the 4th one, a truly deserving and hard fought performance by the Dunblane native. The Brits couldn't have been much more happier and relived, as they had their very own Champion, at their home.
It was Fred Perry in 1936, who was last Brit to have won The Championships. Many generations have come and gone by and the English crowd were waiting for their own Champion. There were the likes of Greg Rusedski , Tim Henman and many more to name, who tried very hard in their own way to win hearts of the British People but Never could win the Title for them. A Nation had awaken once again to witness its Hero to be crowned The Champion.Going by the BBC, the Semi finals between Murray and Janowicz has about 13.2 million viewers and the numbers for Sunday finals could be very well above 16.9 million, it had in last years final.
Andy Murray had last year quoted that " I'm Getting Closer ", with tear full eyes, when he lost the finals to Roger Federer. This year, he has proved that he is a true Champion in all sense.

Novak Djokovic would be disappointed but satisfied with his overall show over the fortnight. He came into the semifinals without loosing a set and gave us an Unbelievable match against Juan martin Delpotro. It is said to be the best match of this year's Championships. Novak flattered at the very crucial moment of the tournament, as did Sabine Lisciki in Saturday's final.
Breaking into Novak's game, his best weapon throughout the championship, his Serve , ditched him at the very penultimate time. Unforced errors count was way high for Novak Djokovic's 40 to Andy's 21.
This was one of the real jinx in Novak's match against Juan martin Delpotro too.
Novak gave a glimpse of his mental strength in this match too, when he saved 4 Championship points but could not convert the break points in that game. It was a straight sets win for Andy Murray, but a match of high class tennis, torturing rallies , and that too in 40 degree Celsius heat.
Looking back, at the match, Novak could have played much better than he displayed and Andy was at his Exceptional best at the very right moment. hope we get to see many more gruelling and thrilling matches in the rest of year to come...

Quotes:

Novak Djokovic, After his loss to Andy Murray

"Congratulations to Andy you absolutely deserved it, you played incredibly"

Andy Murray about Ivan Lendl.

"This one is for Ivan as well, I know he did everything to try to win this one when he was playing. He's fantastic, he's been patient and I thank him.'

Few very interesting status put up by my friends:

Henman hill to be re-christened -  Tushar Dand.

It at you are not a Tennis fan in this era, you are surely missing something in your life.- Pramod Sahu

Wimbledon: Men's Final Preview

The day was clear and the sun bright enough for a perfect Wimbledon Semifinals. Novak Djokovic won the match but it was Juan Martin Delpotro who won the hearts of The Centre Court crowd and even of his Opponent Djokovic.
It was a Match worthy of a semifinals, which highly lived up to its expectations. The Respect shown by both the players for each other has been immensely appreciated by the audience around the world. In the Other semis, Andy Murray won over the Polish Poker, Jerzy Janowicz in 4 sets, dropping the first in tie break.

Its Sunday today and We have two of the best players in the world fighting for the Title. These two locked horns in the Australian Open Final this year, with Novak winning in  4 sets, 6–7^(2–7), 7–6^(7–3), 6–3, 6–2.
Novak Djokovic and Andy have been tested many times in such situations, but it will be interesting to see who holds his nerves better than the other.

It will be second Wimbledon Finals for both of them, with Novak having won it in 2011 , while Andy was the Finalist last year. The Burden of becoming the first man after Fred Perry to win The Championship, is such that Andy has himself said of Nerves getting over him. But Andy has all that it needs to win The Championships, he has been tested in Quarters against Fernando, being 2 sets down and winning the match and will also have the Centre Court crowd behind him.

The Sun, UK has put up an article saying that the Tickets for this year's Finals, have recorded its highest rate of £83,785 for 2 tickets, which is 322 times their face value. Can u just believe it???

This is enough to show, what this means to the Brits. Such high Expectations and highly anticipated mach of this year's Wimbledon. Novak on other side, Quietly and Silently reached he semis until the Newspapers in UK spoke about his Semifinal Heroics. Novak is much more composed and calm before a turbulent Match. He would have to not only face Andy Murray but the whole of Britain in his mind. He would love to be called a Slayer of their Hero, for conquering his 7th Grand Slam title and a Second Wimbledon.

UNFORCED ERRORS

Speaking of Other Statistics, Novak Djokovic committed 48 unforced errors in his semis against Delpotro while Andy Murray committed only 15 unforced errors. it is here which would make a difference between the two. If at all Novak would go all out to finish the points faster as he did in the Second set of his semis, probably he would find himself committing unforced errors, but along with this comes the winners too. It would very important to see, who would break the ice first and take a lead. Either of them would find some resistance and would have to consolidate the break to have an upper hand in the match. When it comes to Mental Stability, it very important for both to win big points, which I feel Novak has a slight edge over Andy here. But giving Andy's Motivational win over Verdasco, Novak would have to use all that he has in his armour to win over Andy.

SERVE

Speaking Of Serves, both have a very decent Ist serves In percentage, 69% for Nole and 70% for Andy. The Average speed for both of them is between 120-130 mph for 1st serves and 95-115 for 2nd serves. The Percentage of Ist serves won is also commanding in both cases as 83% for Novak and 76% for Andy.

But the real problem comes at 2nd Serves won percentages where Andy is placed fairly higher than Djokovic, Andy has won 71% of his 2nd serve points, where Djokovic has only 39% of his 2nd serve points won. This would bother Djokovic, if at all he has to gain momentum over Andy, he would have to make his best 2nd serves.

BREAK POINT CONVERSION

Also the conversion of break points for Djokovic is 2 out of 10, whereas for Andy it is 4 out of 10. This clearly shows that Andy would not think twice to pounce as an when he gets the Opportunity to break Djokovic.

NET PLAY

Coming to the Most Important play in Tennis, the Net Play. Djokovic has soft hands at nets as compared to Andy, Djokovic would often come towards the net and has found success 75% of times whereas Andy only 60% of time.

Giving a Brief summary, Andy Murray would find resistance in form of the Djokovic double handed backhand and also in terms of Net points. But he would surely not give up easily for the title he has been waiting since long. Andy Murray would be the Happiest man on earth, should he win The Championships, else it would be very difficult for him to come to terms with the loss. Hope for an Epic encounter between the two of greatest fighters and their wills on Court this day.

Njoy...

Wimbledon: Men's Semi Final Preview

It was a Whacky Wednesday for the Spaniards as both  David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco bowed out of the Championships in the Quarters. In the first of Semis, we have

Novak Djokovic vs Juan Martin Delpotro

Djokovic lost to Delpotro here at SW19 last year in Olympics in straight sets for the Bronze medal match. This year the two have locked horns twice, with each sharing One match each. Coming into Semis, Novak has not lost a Set in The Championships so far and so does Del potro. Both are in great form and would be thriller of a match. Novak Djokovic has the lethal weapons of his serve and his ability to return from every nook and corner of the court would be an added advantage to the serb. Agility and Flexibility are the qualities that no one could reach near to Djokovic. His test in the Semis would be the Delpotro Forehand.
Juan Martin's Strength would be his Forehand, which booms like a rocket. He hits the Forehand Off court with such great power and force that it could convert into a winner. This is where Djokovic would be tested in his defence. Having Injured his left knee in the Quarters, Delpotro would find it difficult to cop with Djokovic backhand and it would infact be his test of placing a berth in his maiden Wimbledon Finals.
It Would be the Delpotro Forehand Vs Novak Djokovic Backhand, to watch out for.

Andy Murray Vs Jerzy Janowicz.

The Pole has proved that why he should be considered a threat even to the likes of top players by consitently  showing his presence till later stages of ATP tournaments. I still remember Paris Masters' 2012 , where Jerzy Beat Andy murray enroute to his first ATP 1000 Masters Finals. On the other hand , we have Andy Murray, the lone British hope for First ever British Wimbledon Champion in Open Era. Andy Murray has upon him the burden of Entire nation, but coming off from a 2 set deficit in his quarters against Fernando Verdasco, Andy is truly inspired for the Tiltle. He kept his nerves and made a dramatic comeback to win the match.
Jerzy Janowicz is Tall and serves really very big and upto 140 mph. The serve is his biggest strength and heavy ground strokes would make Andy run hard for the Match.
Considering the fact that, Janowicz has beaten many top 10 players this year including Tsonga and Almagro, he would atleast win one set in his semis against Andy Murray. Andy has got the right temperment, skills to fend off Jerzy's Groundstrokes.
It would be a interesting match and Often Underdogs perform at big stages, so keeping Fingers crossed for Andy Murray.

Djokovic would be very motivated to reach the Finals and reaffirm his stature, whereas Juan Martin Delpotro would be a Major hindrance and would himself go all out against Novak to prove that he was Not a One Slam Player.
Andy has to win this to keep a Million hopes alive for the Champion , they waited for years, but the Polish Boy would make life difficult for Murray, considering that he himself is the First Polish Player to reach Semis at Wimbledon and would be highly pumped up for winning the Match.
Njoy.....

Wimbledon: Preview Of the Men's Draw.

The Championship's Men's Singles Main draw was announced yesterday and here I come with all the predictions and fortunes for the Top players.

In the Top Half of the Draw, we have World no.1 and Top seed, Novak Djokovic and the No.4 seed, David Ferrer representing the two quarters.

Novak Djokovic has by far and large got an easy draw as compared to his rivals of the Big Four. He would face the German Florian Mayer in the First Round at SW19. Novak's probable 3rd round clash could be against R.Harrison or J.Chardy of France. His First Difficult test would come in the 4th round, against the veteran Tommy Haas or the resurgent Giles Simon. Considering Nole would clear this , in the Quarters he could face the person who defeated him in 2010 Wimbledon Semifinals, The ever charismatic and big server, Tomas Berdych. If at all Novak goes past Berdych, then the last man standing between him and a finals berth would be David Ferrer.

David, who would himself face some tough matches en route to the semifinals. David Ferrer would start his campaign against Argentine Martin Alund, with a apparent 4th round battle with the new kid Canadian Milos Raonic, and a Quarterfinal prediction with the Giant killing Argentine and the lone Grand slam champion other than the Big Four Juan Martin Delpotro or Grigor Dimitrov as rightly called 'Baby Federer',who in fact could face a tough 4th round clash against Japanese Kei Nishikori or Italian Andreas Seppi.


The Bottom Half of the draw is more challenging and exciting as we have No. 2 seed, Andy Murray,
No. 3 seed, Roger Federer, and the recent French open Champion, No.5 seed, Rafael Nadal.

The Defending Champion, Roger Federer could face a heavy weight clash in Quarterfinals against Rafael Nadal. It would very interesting to watch these two battle it out at Quarterfinal stage, where both are meeting for the first time ever in a Grand Slam. Federer could face a player who had made Rafa his prey at Wimbledon last year, Lukas Rosol, in 3rd round and if at all Federer makes Lukas his prey this year, he could face another Spaniard Nicholas Almagro or again a new kid Polish Jerzy Janowicz in the 4th round.

Whereas , Rafa seeded no.5 this year, has a potential 3rd round match against the upcoming Frenchman, Benoit Paire. Rafa could face another Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka or Giant server John Isner in the 4th round.
Considering the likes of Federer, Nadal, this could be the best Quarter of the draw as there is a mix of heavy weights and also some new kids who could prove hindrance in the path of Roger and Rafa.




In the last quarter of the draw, we have last year's Finalist and the No.2 seed Andy Murray, the lone british hope since Fred perry. Andy Murray's Speech last year at Centre Court could the be the best ever I have come across in years. It moved me emotionally just as it moved an entire nation, awaiting for its hero at Wimbledon since 1936. Andy's 3rd round opponent could be veteran Spaniard Tommy Robredo, who became the first player to have won 3 consecutive grand slam matches from being 2 sets down at RG 2013.
Murray's potential 4th round match could be against Serbian Janko Tipsarevic, and in the Quarters, he could face another predator of the Big Four at Slams, Jo Wilfred Tsonga.
Interestingly ,Tsonga has a the toughest draw on paper ahead of him, as he could face challenge in the form of the highly motivated Latvian Ernests Gulbis as early as in 2nd round. Eventually, he could face 4 time semifinalist Xavier Mallise or Fernando Verdasco or may be even No. 31 seed Julien Benneteau in 3rd round. Tsonga's woes doesn't stop here, as in the 4th round he has to face opponents like Marin Cilic who would rather have a difficult task in beating Marcos Baghdatis in 1st round.

All in all, The Championship's this year are going to be very unpredictable and enthralling to watch.
There is a lot at stake for the Top Four. Novak would try sustain his ranking and his dominance over the others by winning the title for the second time. Andy Murray has all that is needed to became the only British person to win Wimbledon in Open era, and thus fulfilling a Nation's Dream. Roger Federer would fight his heart out to Defend his title only to affirm why he is called The King of Grass. And last but not the least, Rafael Nadal is very anxious to make his mark again after winning the French Open, to capture more ATP points and add one more Grand slam trophy in his cabinet.

Wimbledon: A Dream for British Players in The Open Era

Fred Perry, the Last British to Win Wimbledon .

Its the birth place of Tennis, and considered to be very close to heart of almost all the tennis professionals and its fans.The last British man to win at Wimbledon was Fred Perry in 1936. In Open era, many players came and went by without even making their presence felt at The Championships. There were a handful of names I found out that would be considered for at least having reached the 4th round of Wimbledon in open era.

Mark Cox

1. Mark Cox.
This Brit made a name for himself, for having beaten the then No.1 seed Rod laver at 1971 Australian Open and No.2 seed Ken Roswell at 1972 US open. But has never made it big at Grand slams.

Greg Rusedski

 2. Greg Rusedski.
Often considered to be the lone competitor of Tim henman for Brit no.1 Player in the 90's, Greg Rusedski has had his share of popularity during that period. His greatest achievements being able to reach the Wimbledon last 8 stage and a Finalist at US open in 1997. He also won the Grand slam cup ( Now ATP world tour Finals) in 1999. He attained ATP ranking as high as No.4 in the world.

Tim Henman

3. Tim Henman
The Only other British player to get close to the title at Wimbledon, is Tim Henman. Such is the ill fate of tim henman, that he has reached the Wimbledon Semi  finals 4 times , but never made it to the finals. Often considered as the Tiger Tim, he did give a glimpse of why he should be considered as a British Idol as there was no other British player so elegant on grass over the years then in the 90's. Interestingly, it was in 2001 that Tim had reached the Semifinals of Wimbledon en route defeating Roger federer in quarterfinals in 4 sets, but losing to the eventual Champion Goran Ivanisevic.

4.Andy Murray
The Only Brit player to have won a Grand slam in Open era, doesn't that sound a bit unusual. Yes, but its the fact. Andy Murray won over the hearts of his people with his very emotional speech at Wimbledon last year.

Andy Murray, winning the US open, 2012

"I'm getting closer", is what he said with his tearful eyes. His determination was strong and he had transformed from a choker to a fighter. A realisation of his grit and power was very evident at Olympics just a month after the Wimbledon. He won the Gold medal at Olympics becoming the only British player since 1908 to do so. He backed that up with the US open title defeating the defending Champion, Novak Djokovic. Andy Murray is highly regarded as one of the greatest British players of all time, taking into account the presence he has shown at Majors. Being very consistent throughout his career, Andy Murray achieved his dream of winning a Grand Slam in his 5th final appearance. Hope to see this Gritty Brit fulfils the dream of a Nation.

The Championships, this year is the most anticipated event ever. With both the last year's Titlist and Finalist winning the run up tournaments at Halle, Germany ( Federer beating M. Youzhny ) and Queen's Club ( Andy Murray beating Marin Cilic ).
Hope for a great Wimbledon.

New Kids On Block to Watch Out for at The Championships...

Its The Championships, the Most Prestigious Event in Tennis, having being done and dusted by Clay courts of Paris, we are now heading Northwards to the home of Royalty and The Mother of all Slams, The Wimbledon.

There have been few players on the tour who have age on their side along with the ability to pose threat to Top 4 for becoming top contenders for Slams in future.

1. Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgaria, 22

ATP Ranking : 28

Famously known as 'The Baby Federer' , this Bulgarian lad has the skill and a lethal backhand to destroy opponents game plan. It was at Madrid Masters this year, where he won the biggest match of his career against World No. 1, Novak Djokovic beating the Serb in gruelling 3 sets. This Junior Wimledon and US open Champion, has made his presence felt on the Tour by winning against players in top 20. Grigror Dimitrov improved his Slam showing at this year Roland Garros by reaching 3rd round, eventually losing to Novak Djokovic. He has lost to Lleyton Hewitt at Queen's Club, a run up tournament to Wimbledon but he is player to go long considering his age being only 22.

2. Jerzy Janowicz , Poland ,22
ATP Ranking : 22
Ripping Off his T-shirt after winning over J. Tsonga at Rome Masters made him overnight headlines of sports column all over the world. Often considered as a battler who would go all out to survive, this polish made the most of his name last year at BNP Paribas Masters, Paris becoming the first player since 2000, to reach finals of ATP 1000 Masters on debut.
On way to finals, he defeated 5 top 20 players like Andy Murray, Janko Tipsarevic , Giles Simon , Marin Cilic. His unpredictable game with the backing of huge serve make him one of the players to have shown their strength at the big stage.

3. Benoit Paire, France , 24

ATP Ranking : 25

This Frenchman, has got the nerves of handling the pressure required against top players. He started off well this season reaching semis at Chennai and also reaching Semis at ATP 1000 masters at Rome defeating Juan Martin Delpotro, alas loosing to Federer in semis. His swift backhand and heavy ground strokes makes him stand out among the notable players at present.He reached the 3rd round of RG2013, and broke into top 30 on the Tour. Benoit Paire has the right attitude and aptitude to reach to the Top 10 in future.

4.Milos Raonic, Canada , 22

ATP Ranking : 13

One of the big servers of the game in present day tennis, this guy from Canada is fighter in all sense when it comes to playing long matches. Milos reached the 4th round of Australian Open 2011, at the very first appearance in main draw at Grand slam. In 2011 , he was awarded the ATP Newcomer of the Year and after that it has been very usual to see his presence at Slams reaching 3rd sometimes 4th rounds at Slam events. The Day wouldn't be long when we see this Canadian giving the Big Four a challenge to their crowns.


5.Ernests Gulbis, Latvia , 24
ATP Ranking : 40
Impatient and ill tempered, this lativan considers Marat Saffin as his idol. His strong serve along with the ability to hit drop shots with accuracy, makes us believe that this guy is here to stay. At Indian Wells this year, Gulbis won through the qualifying rounds reaching the 4th round en route beating Janko Tipsarevic, Andreas Seppi only to loose to Nadal in 3 sets.Having climbed the ATP rankings and breaking into top 50, it would be interesting to see whether Gulbis banks on his strengths to go all way into the Top 20.

Its All About Endurance...

My Grey cells were constantly active by the very thought of How on earth could one have such great strength and stamina with reference to the Semi Finals between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros 2013.These two have been put to test time and again when playing against each other. It was Australian Open 2012 where both had exhausted to such an extent that they couldn't even stand during the Ceremony.

It needs perseverance and great strength along with the ability to tolerate pain and grief when it comes to playing Grand Slams.The Serve and Volley game of tennis in the 1980's and 90's has been of mere existence today where we see players playing from Baseline and Long Rallies.

In 1969 Wimbledon,  it was Pancho Gonzales and Charlie Pasarell who played a match lasting 5 hours and 12 minutes with the score of 22–24, 1–6, 16–14, 6–3, 11–9.  It was after this match that the rule to implement tiebreak gained momentum. Hence, In 1971 Wimbledon Introduced Tie break in all sets except the Final with games equalling 8 each. The rules changed with time and now it is at 6 games each, we have a tiebreak.
Still in those days, while the tiebreak was not introduced in Davis cup, the 1982 quarterfinal between John McEnroe ( US ) and Mats Wilander ( Sweden ) was considered to be longest in open era at 6 hours and 22 minutes and in the end the scoreline was 9-7, 6-2, 15-17, 3-6, 8-6. John McEnroe was again put to similar challenge in 1987 davis cup match against Boris Becker with the German winning this time 4–6, 15–13, 8–10, 6–2, 6–2.

John McEnroe after the match stated that
"I gave it all I had, and it was a hell of a tennis match, I wish the results were different, but it's nice to be a part of a match like that."

Tie break in all sets except the deciding set, made matches to finish off faster and still with the application of tie break, the Longest Match till date is of John Isner vs Nicolas Mahut at The Championships 2010. The final set score was 70-68, which itself speaks about how much the players would have stretched themselves to.
The Longest Grand Slam Finals was Between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal at Australian Open 2012 which is considered today by many greats as One of the Greatest Matches Ever for just not the time it took but the quality of tennis was exceptional and way beyond our imagination. Even in our wildest of dreams,could we think of anyone as passionate and committed towards the game as Nadal and Djokovic were in that match ?. It was Preternatural and an extraordinary match. The Semi finals of French Open 2013, gave us a glimpse of this Finals but Djokovic was not upto the mark considering the number of Unforced errors he committed. It was 75 against 44 of Nadal.
It is to be strongly believed now that whenever Rafa and Nole would lock horns in future, it would be an epic to watch out for. The Spanish Bull prevailed over the Gritty Djoker in this semis but would love to see many more encounters like these.

Its the fortitude and courage along with endurance, stamina, resilience and mental ability to overcome an opponent as great as Nadal and Djokovic. While speaking about endurance, i would love to speak here about players specially from a background of Clay courts like Del potro , David Ferrer , Fernando Verdasco. Even they have been put to test by Nadal and Djokovic. It was Australian Open 2009 Semifinals, where Verdasco lost to Nadal in epic 5 setter. A match highly rated among tennis fans.
You might be thinking, why am I not considering the Great Roger Federer here, it is only because of a simple reason that Roger has not been put to such devastating challenge except once when Nadal won over him at Rome Masters in 2006 in a match that lasted 5 hours 5 minutes. The 5 set record of Federer is just 56% in comparison to Nadal's 75%.
If you might consider Age as a factor for Roger then I would like to cite examples of Tommy Robredo who at French Open 2013 became the Only player in Open Era to have won 3 consecutive matches in a Grand Slam being 2 sets down in each. Also Tommy Haas needs a citation with due respect as he overcame John Isner in an epic at French Open this year. For that matter I would also consider David Ferrer to be highly fit even at 31 as he had reached the Finals of French open last year without even loosing a Set.
Even at the age above 30, these guys are playing phenomenal tennis and is a very good sign for the Game and fans.
Hope to see more matches like the ones mentioned and more players coming and challenging the Top 4.

Signing Off for the being and looking ahead to a Great 2014 Season.

Nadal Vs Djokovic Semi Finals Preview

It was Cloudy , and a perfect Finals of Roland Garros 2012 , Novak Djokovic trailing 2 sets to 1 and a Break up in the 4th, when the Rain Gods had mercy on Nadal to Extend the Final on 'Monday'.

The Outcome as we all know was Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic in 4 sets. The Score line was 6-4,6-3,2-6,7-5.

The Win was so special for Nadal as He had broken Bjorn Borg's Record by Winning 7 French Open Titles.

This year in 2013 , we are Once again at the Same Venue and Same two People but It is Semi Finals this time and a Loss to Djokovic here, would mean that Nadal would loose Just his Second Match at Roland Garros, whereas a Win for Nadal would make our belief stronger that No player has ever existed other than him to be the Greatest for Clay Courts.

It is a Finals like Semi Finals and each one would wish to pass this litmus to emerge victorious.But the Test would not be an Icing on the Cake for both, as they would fight for one moment that each would wish to cherish for the rest of their life.

Novak Djokovic Would battle it hard and with great Valor to become just the 5th person after Rod laver, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to Win a Carrer Grand Slam.

It is going to be a Battle of Strength, Courage , Determination and Mental Fitness between the two to Secure their place in the Finals of RG 2013.

Coming through a gap of almost 8 months, Nadal is in his prime form, having reached finals of all 8 ATP tournaments he has played in and winning 6 out of them. Both the loss this year came on Clay courts, one against Zeballos and against Novak Djokovic in Monte Carlo Masters.

Novak has had a roller coaster ride in clay court tournaments this year, with his loss in 3rd Round of Madrid against Dimitrov and QF loss to Tommas Berdych in Rome Masters.

Both Nadal and Djokovic have had their share of good draw at Roland Garros this year.

Djokovic came through a to Semi Finals with a loss of Just One set against P. Kohlschreiber in 4th round.

He Overcame a Motivated 'Baby Federer', Grigor Dimitrov in 3rd round to whom Djoker lost in Madrid.

Whereas Nadal had lost the first set in both Ist and IInd round matches. He faced stiff competition from Daniel Brands in Ist round,else was sublime in reaching the Semis.

A Brief Analysis of Head to Head between the two.

Going by the stats, these two have come across the Net against each other 34 times and Nadal leads with 19-15 record.

At Clay courts , it is Nadal who has sheer dominance of 11-3 matches. The 3 matches Win for Djokovic were at Rome and Madrid in 2011 and Latest one at Monte Carlo in 2013. All the matches were won in straight sets by Novak. Whereas at Hard Courts, it is a different story altogether, where Novak leads Nadal with 11-5.

The Best Match between the two was at Australian Open 2012 , where Novak prevailed in a thrilling final of Five sets which lasted 5 hours 53 minutes, the Longest Grand Slam Final ever.

Tennis Legends consider this Rivalry between the Two as One of the greatest Rivalry with age on their side, it is going to take a few more years to have a final say on this.

Lets Wait and Watch for One of the Most Awaited matches of the Year...

Hope the Best Player Wins.

 Quotes Before the Semis:

"It's the semi-finals and doesn't matter if it's against Novak or against another player, because the player who wins is not going to be the champion of Roland Garros. It's just a semi-final," Nadal Said.

Djokovic Told , "We are in good form. This is it, you know. This is the biggest matchup of our Roland Garros 2013 campaign for both me and him," he said. "I need to be very disciplined and focused in order to get emotionally, physically, and mentally ready for that match."

 

Andy Murray is Back to Business....

2012 was a Great year for the Brit No. 1 in his career. Andy Murray might have been just a Finalist at Wimbledon but that gave him the momentum that he could achieve his dream of winning a Grand slam. He was trembling, crying and feeling like having disapproved the English people but from within he was determined, he was becoming stronger and matured enough for having the courage and grace to accept the defeat. It was the Best ever post match speech i have ever heard and had tears roll down my eyes when Murray said, " I'm going to try this and it's not going to be easy."

Barely just a month later, we saw Andy Murray becoming the First Brit Gold Medallist in Tennis in over 100 years. This was more special because the Venue for Olympics was Wimbledon. The Dream had turned into a reality for the Scot.

It was a great match and Murray described the win as "It's number one for me - it's the biggest win of my life."

Then came the Hard courts and Murray was highly motivated and eager for more success. At the US open Final, Murray was up against the Most Decorated player of 2011, Novak Djokovic and it was nothing less than a high intensity and a battle of grit and strength for the two.

Andy had before been in Four Grand Slam Finals and had just won a Single set in those four finals.

The Statistic's proved to be wrong and Andy was leading two sets to love in the finals against Novak.

The Olympic Gold had a scintillating effect on Murray and that was coming to the fore as Andy played with great zeal and enthusiasm. But Novak was not ready to give away his title so easily and gave Andy the fight for his Slam.

Novak won the next two sets, equalling the match at 2 sets a piece. The fifth and final set went in the name of the First Brit after Fred Perry to Win a Grand Slam Championship since 1936.

Andy remains the Only Grand Slam Champion from Britain in the New Era ( Since 1967 ).

Finally Andy had won a Grand Slam and silenced all his critics.

2013 has started and Andy is back to business at the first 250 ATP tour he played at Brisbane International. Andy successfully defended his title at Brisbane International by 7-6 (7/0) 6-4 victory over Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.

The Slam of Asia Pacific is round the corner and it just can't get more exciting than this.

Stay tuned for More from here.