We're up to 24 Masters Series wins, 6 titles in 8 finals this year, 41st clay court title, 56 career titles and now a 20-10 advantage over Federer, but who's counting?
Golden Bagel Race 2013
Rafael Nadal -6
David Ferrer - 5
Novak Djokovic - 5
Juan Monaco - 5
Jarkko Nieminen - 4
Masters Title Leaders
Rafael Nadal - 24 Roger Federer - 21
Andre Agassi - 17
Novak Djokovic - 14
Pete Sampras - 11
Andy Murray - 9
Thomas Muster - 8
Michael Chang - 7
Gael Monfils beat Frenchman Michael Llodra 7-5, 7-6(5) to win the BNP Paribas Primrose Bordeaux title. Having not played a Challenger event since 2008, this confidence booster put him at 5-0 lifetime in Challenger Tour finals. All in good time for the French Open.
Up 10 spots to 109
Other winners last week included: Dudi Sela and Teymuraz Gabashvili (2nd title this year)
This year, the Dusseldorf event avoids fan confusion by switching to a normal singles event. I can’t say I’m disappointed. As much as I like team events, the World Team Cup never drew the big players and the format was weak. Former World No. 3 Rainer Schuettler has played an active role in continuing the tournament in Düsseldorf. “We want to keep the tournament at this wonderful venue at all costs,” he said.
Let’s break it down:
ATP Level: 250
Surface: Outdoor Clay Defending Champion: None
Nasty Floater: Dimitry Tursunov – Gets fellow Russian Davydenko first round and could pull off the upset.
Veteran Watch: Jarkko Nieminen – The Flying Finn shows no sign of slowing down and could face Tommy Haas in the 3rd round.
Youngbloods: Grigor ‘Baby Fed’ Dimitrov – He can be put into the category of ‘player to avoid’ now with recent form.
Slumping: Janko Tipsarevic – The Serb has enjoyed success in Dusseldorf in, winning a pair of World Team Championships titles for Serbia in 2009 and 2012. A good omen perhaps?
On Fire: Tommy ‘The Hitman’ Haas - “I want to give it my best shot, I want to rock Düsseldorf and win the tournament.” Says it all.
My pick: Phillip Kohlschreiber – P.K loves to play in his home country and with his recent form looks favorite. He’ll potentially need to negotiate fellow German Haas in semi-final.
Did You Know? This tournament has changed from a team event to an ATP 250 singles event from 2013.
Open de Nice Côte d’Azur
What a place to play tennis! Tomas Berdych pulls after his exerts in Rome, so veteran Albert Montanes can experience the high life as ‘number 1′ seed. No Almagro either, so a good opportunity for some of the other players to get some silverware this week. French players always excel on home turf (or clay) and I don’t see that changing here. Gilles Simon is playing well, while Edouard Roger Vasselin and Gael ‘Force’ Monfils take wildcards and wildcards they are.
Let’s break it down:
ATP Level: 250
Surface: Outdoor Clay Defending Champion: Nicolas Almagro – Two time defending champion takes a week off somewhere.
Nasty Floater: Pablo ‘Honey’ Andujar – Came back to form in Madrid and could cause trouble at the bottom of the draw.
Veteran Watch: Lleyton ‘Rusty’ Hewitt – Gets a wildcard and isn’t too shabby on clay.
Youngbloods: Ricardas Berankis – The quietest of the new breed so far, he’s looking to breakthrough this season with some big wins. Gets Istomin 1st round.
Slumping: Quisner – John Isner and Sam Querry are no dirt devils, so you have to hope they enjoy spending time in France at least.
On Fire: Marcel Granollers – More like hot coals, but he’s found his clay feet of late and should make the semi-finals at least.
My pick: Gilles Simon – Whipped by Federer in Rome, but still playing well and one of the favorites in his home country.
Did You Know? Nice is one of five ATP World Tour events held in France, along with Marseille, Metz, Montpellier and Paris.
Thanks for reading and check back next week for more tips
The current top 10 have remained fairly fixed for the last few years and the top 4 have had a stranglehold on the men’s game in general. Of course, no player remains the same age and in a few years the top 10 will look very different. The younger generation have struggled a little to make an impression on the top players but the breakthroughs are slowly happening.
What’s interesting is that the traditional tennis powers like France, Spain, Russia and the US are still producing quality players in high numbers, they are not producing the next superstars right now. This could change but Eastern Europe, Canada, Australasia and Japan boast the next elite and truly promotes tennis as world game.
Here’s my pick of the next generation to take over as the 10 best players in the world.
1. Milos Raonic (Canada)
The Missile has been the most dangerous so far of the young bloods with this Sampras-esque bombs and crushing forehand all coming from a 6’5″ frame. Hard courts are his base camp and with 4 titles already, he will be a Grand Slam winner at least at the US Open.
Titles so far: 4
Vs. Top 10: 9-17
2. Bernard Tomic (Australia)
Bernie’s rise through the ranks has been a well-documented roller coaster. Perhaps not enough has been said about his tennis, which is deceptively powerful and comes with the kind of variety of shot making that only Murray and Federer possess.
Titles so far: 1
Vs. Top 10: 2-15
3. Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria)
Touted as the most talented of the new generation, Grigor is starting to make good on that estimation with a big win over Djokovic in Madrid (2013) and stringing the wins together. It’s an impossible task to live up to his hero Federer, but there is no question he will be competing for Grand Slams.
Titles so far: 0
Vs. Top 10: 2-19
4. Kei Nishikori (Japan)
Japan’s most successful player is not intimidated by anyone, evidenced by his his 8 wins over top 10 players. He’s solid as a rock from the baseline and what he lacks in one lethal shot, makes up for in overall shot making. Kei already has wins over Federer and Djokovic.
Titles so far: 3
Vs. Top 10: 8-19
5. Jerzy Janowicz (Poland)
The tall Pole tore through the Paris Masters event in 2012, which served notice to the tennis world. He’s temperamental but if he can keep his head on straight, looks to be a player no-one wants to play. On indoor surfaces, expect him to win some big titles.
Titles so far: 0
Vs. Top 10: 2-4
6. Ricardas Berankis (Lithuania)
Short and punchy, Berankis is more under the radar than the others. He’s yet to make a major break-through, but it’s only time. He has the kind of game that doesn’t break down and will serve him well in Grand Slams. Lithuania never had it so good.
Titles so far: 0
Vs. Top 10: 0-0
7. Ryan Harrison (USA)
Representing the serve and volleyers, Harrison’s pro start has ebbed and flowed. He is prone to frustration, so he will need a good coach in his corner to help him with the mental side of the game. He could be a factor on the grass if he can keep his cool.
Titles so far: 0
Vs. Top 10: 0-17
8. Ernests Gulbis (Latvia)
The next Marat Safin? Has all the talent in the world and the attitude to boot. He’s not afraid of any player and can play lights-out tennis when motivated, which has been his problem. He doesn’t play for the money, so titles will be what he cares about.
Titles so far: 3
Vs. Top 10: 9-34
9. Jack Sock (USA)
A hustle and bustle player, so far yet to make a big impact, but we’ve seen enough of him to know he has a bright future. His ‘heavy’ game with lots of spin and variety is the kind that will pay the bills on most surfaces. The closest thing to the next Andy Roddick.
Titles so far: 0
Vs. Top 10: 0-0
10. Andrey Kuznetsov (Russia)
Not many promising Russians on the horizon, but Kuznetsov looks to be the best bet with a rangy style reminiscent of Marin Cilic. He’s found it tough now in the top 100 but is making progress. His favorite surfaces are clay and grass refreshingly.
Slovenia’s Aljaz Bedene got his season back on track last week as he won the Rome Challenger with victory over Filippo Volandri in the final. The 23 year old started the year well and has a 7-10 record on the main tour. Did you know his idols growing up were Fernando Gonzalez and David Nalbandian?
Moves up 5 places to world number 81
Other winners last week included: Teymuraz Gabashvili, Alex Bogomolov Jr and Rajeev Ram
The Rome Masters Series event arrives hot on the heels of the Madrid Masters and provides an opportunity for a clay double, as Djokovic did in 2011.
The courts in Rome are slower than Madrid and the crowd is right on top of the players, like a coliseum. Italians in the draw will get plenty of home support and there will at least be one Italian in the 2nd round as Andreas Seppi squares off against Fabio Fognini in round 1 with the winner a daunting encounter with Nadal in round 2. Italian wildcards go to veteran Potito Starace, Paolo Lorenzi, Filippo Volandri and Matteo Viola.
Masters series draws are never easy, but the hardest quarter falls to Djokovic with the red hot Wawrinka and Berdych in there. No real obstacles in Nadal’s path, while Murray needs to prove he can be a factor on clay. Federer is suspect now, but will get some match practice in at least.
To Rome With Love
Let’s break it down:
ATP Level: 1000
Surface: Outdoor Clay
Defending Champion: Rafael Nadal – The Bull had reached the final in all six of his events played this year, winning four titles. He is chasing his 40th clay-court trophy.
Floater: Juan ‘Pico’ Monaco – In a quarter where there is little to separate them and could come through.
Veteran Watch: Tommy ‘The Hitman’ Haas – Could get Federer in the 3rd round and could quite possibly be the favorite.
Youngblood: Grigor ‘Baby-Fed’ Dimitrov – We’ve seen in his win over Djokovic, that the 21 yr old Bulgar has arrived. Nestled in the draw like a land-mine.
Slumping: Marin Cilic – Not a dirt-baller by any means, but he needs to at least live up to his seeding.
On Fire: Stan ‘The Man’ Wawrinka – A confidence boosting title in Portugal set the stage for a run in Madrid. That backhand is smoking.
Notable Wildcards: Filippo Volandri – A class act on clay and still enough of a threat for Gilles Simon to take seriously.
My pick: Rafael Nadal – Gotta do it. He’s grooving, and his closest rival on the dirt Djokovic, is not.
Did You Know? Rome is one of the few ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles that Roger Federer hasn’t won.
Watch: Rome Uncovered
Thanks for reading and check back next week for more!
Ever get bored of playing at the local club, public tennis courts or against a wall? Well, feast your eyes on these unique, amazing, odd and (possibly fake) tennis courts!
American Denis Kudla won the Tallahassee Challenger, beating Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in the final. With that, he rises a career-high World No. 116. Kudla is part of a new generation of promising American players so watch out for his name during the US hardcourt season, as he’s sure to receive some wild cards from the USTA.
Denis Kudla: Up to a career high 116
Other winners last week included:
Vasek Pospisil, Potito Starace, Jiri Vesely and Adrian Ungur.
For a second week running Roger hits breaking point but with much more to be proud of. He falls to 10-20 against Rafa, but was aggressive in his game plan.
Title Leaders 2013
Rafael Nadal - 6
Novak Djokovic - 3
Richard Gasquet - 2
David Ferrer - 2
Andy Murray - 2
Challenger Wins 2012
Aljaz Bedene - 4
Martin Klizan - 4
Andrey Kuznetsov - 4
Yen-Hsun Lu - 4
Evgeny Donskoy - 4
Guido Pella - 4
Go Soeda - 3
Daniel Gimeno Traver - 3
Jerzy Janowicz - 3
Igor Sijsling - 3
Victor Hanescu - 3
What a place to play tennis! Tomas Berdych pulls after his exerts in Rome, so veteran Albert Montanes can experience the high life as ‘number 1′ seed. No Almagro either, so a good opportunity for some of the other players to get some silverware this week. French players always excel on home turf (or clay) and I don’t see that changing here. Gilles Simon is playing well, while Edouard Roger Vasselin and Gael ‘Force’ Monfils take wildcards and wildcards they are.
Internazionali BNL d’Italia
