Archives for December 2021

TennisReporters.net 2021 year-end review: top 30-26, the men

Reilly Opelka


30. Marin Cilic
At the 2014 US Open, the Croat won the tournament hitting so hard with his big first serve. He was steady and he was controlled. He hit No. 3 but that was three years ago. This year, he looked pretty decent at times. He won St. Petersburg and Stuttgart, which terrific, but at the Grand Slams, or the ATP 1000’s, he did not go far. He is aging and, at 33, will he find a second wind.

29. Karen Khachanov
The Russian is also pretty tall, and three years ago, he became No. 8, as he has a gigantic serve and he can blast the ball. In 2019, he went deep at Roland Garros, Montreal and Beijing. He was riding high. This year he did have a couple good tournaments at the Olympics and Tokyo. He can bash it on the lines, and also, he can be intelligent. The 25-year-old works a lot, on and off the court, and probably plays too often. Maybe he can add more spin and his improve his return.

28. Grigor Dimitrov

The Bulgarian continues to do so many things, playing with a lot of variety. However, he can be frustrated when he is hitting the ball too short. He does like to mix it up, and he can also attack when he sees the chance. At this point, if he wants to come back into the top 10, he is going to have to shorten the points, and go for it, win or lose. If he doesn’t, then he won’t be able to go super deep at the Slams.

27. Lorenzo Sonego
The 26-year-old Italian had a pretty good year, upsetting two excellent players Dominic Thiem and Andrey Rublev in Rome and reaching the semis. He won Cagliari, as he seems to really like on the clay. On the hardcourts, he was mediocre at best. He has yet to go into the top 20, and he is close. But, if he really wants to improve, then he should change a few things, like with his serves, and his backhand. Just swing harder.

26. Reilly Opelka
The tall American had a very good year. He improved his foot speed, his first serve and forehand, which are huge. Mentally, on various tournaments, he finally saw that to win more matches, he had to decide and stick to his tactics. Plus, he ws hitting deeper into the court. That is why he finally broke into the top 30. Yes, towards the end, he wore down, but if he improves his return and works on attacking the net during the off season, then he has a chance to go into the top 15 in 2022. Even further? Sure, why not.

TennisReporters.net 2021 year-end review: top 30-26, women

30. Tamara Zidansek
The Slovenian finally rose, and the 23-year-old came of nowhere, reaching the semis at Roland Garros. Clearly, she likes clay. She started at the beginning of the year ranked No. 93. She is showing more emotion, which has been a key to her rise. While she does have to improve almost everything on court, at least she is hanging in there.

29: Danielle Collins
The American played some fantastic matches, winning Palermo and also San Jose. But this veteran plays all the time, almost every week. Physically, she is pretty strong, but she can also get tired mentally. Next year, she can make more progress if she limits her schedule. Then, when she gets on the court, she will be refreshed.

28: Jelena Ostapenko
She can be on fire, and other times, she makes so many errors. Even though she won the ‘18 Roland Garros, this pattern has been going for years. Her forehand and backhand can be bold and deep, but in order of going back into the top 5, she has to improve her serve and at the net. Perhaps, maybe something new will change her habits.

27: Victoria Azarenka
The two-time former Grand Slam champion can lock it in,and blast the ball. The veteran can take down almost anyone. Unfortunately, year after year, she still gets hurt a lot. In 2021, the big hitter retired on the court six times. That is a lot. At least in the fall, she reached the final at Indian Wells, and while she lost to Paula Badosa, Vika was flashy again. In 2022 she shouldn’t retire that many times.

26: Daria Kasatkina
The Russian had a decent year, winning Petersburg. She grabbed a few terrific matches, like upsetting Iga Swiatek in Eastbourne. She can be consistent, but she still needs to be more patient, and more upbeat. Still, she has to figure out how to defeat the top echelon of players.

While WTA supports Peng Shuai, lack of info still unsettling

Peng Shuai

Everyday, many people will think, ‘Where is Peng Shuai?’ The Chinese player has possibly retired this year, and she went home…we think.

But three weeks ago, she disappeared, in the public view. Peng accused former high-level Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault. The Chinese governments has said a few things, that she is around, but she does not want to talk, yet. Unfortunately, that is pretty weak.

Peng played for years, in the singles and the doubles, and connected with many in the tennis world. After her match was done, she would come into the press riin and talk with some good expressions.

On court, in the singles, she was good here and there. In doubles, she was darn good, and she became No. 1.and also won Roland Garros and Wimbledon with Hsieh Su-wei.

As many people wrote, or texted, including the players, the coaches, the broadcasters, and the journalists, just how did Peng disappear and why?
 
In the boldest move so far, WTA CEO Steve Simon suspended all tournaments in China, including Hong Kong, in 2022. There has been universal support for his initiative and courage and we agree with putting pressure on China.

No. 1 Novak Djokovic, supported the WTA move to halt Chinese tournaments, calling it a “very bold and very courageous.” Former No. 1, Serena Williams, decided to tweet, saying, “This must be investigated and must not stay silent.”

No. 2 Daniil Medvedev just said that maybe he might not go to China. “If there was a tournament in China next week, nobody would be comfortable,” he said. “What we all want is to see that Peng is fine, which we do not know 100 percent.”

In 2005, in July and Augustin California, Peng was on a roll. She upset three excellent players including Elena Dementieva, Dinara Safina and Kim Clijsters.

The Belgian was started. “She has a great future ahead of her,” Clijsters said. “She’s the best player I’ve played in a long time; everything together, the groundstrokes and the movement. I think she can definitely become top three. She’s one of the hardest hitters I’ve played. She hits incredibly clean, especially from her backhand side.”

Peng was a cheery sort who’s always smiling. Then, she was the first Chinese player who had shown real top-flight potential. Peng was ready to dance way up high.

“A Grand Slam title is every player’s dream but I really just want to try my best,” she said. “I told myself if I got chances to believe in myself.”

She did then, but in the singles, she was up and down for a long time. In 2011, she topped out with a career high of No. 14. Three years later at the US Open she reached the semis beating Agnieszka Radwanska, Roberta Vinci, Lucie Safarova and Belinda Bencic. Then she cramped and had to retire against Caroline Wozniacki.

Those were some great days. Maybe the 35-year old will eventually come out and talk again in December. The world awaits more information to come out and not hindered by the Chinese government.

Davis Cup: Some with fans, some not

Novak Djokovic

At the Davis Cup, in Europe, there are a number of players who want to the event and are fully engaged. Lots of fans attended in some arenas, and there are other cities with no heads at all. That can be messy.

Hopefully, in 2022, crowds will return as things get back to normal

No. 1 Novak Djokovic is playing because he really believes that Serbia can grab the cup for the first time. In the singles, for the most part, he can beat just about everyone, but this year, he did lose a few amazing matches, like when he lost to Daniil Medvedev in the U.S. Open final. The Russian is playing also, so maybe they can meet again. It is super close, going backhand to backhand, cross-court, or down the line. On the forehand, Djokovic can mix it up, but Medvedev can slap it very hard. Next time, they meet, and as Medvedev said, he will throw in a few different hits. Perhaps Djokovic will do it, too, coming into the net more often.

Andrey Rublev is also playing for Russia. They have a strong one-two punch as he teams up with Medvedev and they think if they play well, then they can hoist the trophy.

NOTES
England lost to Germany. The Brits thought they could go deeper. One of their players, Cameron Norrie, had a fine year. He certainly wants to move into the top 10 next year. He has improved a lot…
 
A few years ago, we though that Nick Kyrgios will go deep at the Grand Slams. While he has won some terrific matches, he has never gone into the semis in the majors. He gets hurt a lot, so now, the chance of reaching a major final would be surprising. At least one of the other Australian John Millman had a solid year.

The American men lost early at the Davis Cup, which was odd, given that they have three good singles players and a decent doubles team. At least Frances Tiafoe won a tough match, but both Reilly Opelka and John Isner went down, twice, in the singles. Maybe next year they can re-adjust.