There have been some upsets in last week’s tournaments.

Grigor Dimitrov won Brisbane, beating Holger Rune7-6(5), 6-4 in the final. He has come close over the years, but he had not won an event since 2017 at the ATP Finals. However, the Bulgarian can be so consistent, when he is feeling it, and he can also throw in some terrific shots. He is currently ranked No. 13,  so he can look very steady, but then, he can back up and chuck in some wild shots. But the very talkative person can discuss his life, on court, and even off court, he really does how he feels. He cried when he won another title.

“I think there’s a lot of emotions on so many different levels for me,” Dimitrov said. “I think clearly winning a title, it means a lot to me. It’s been a while. I think having that moment is in a way what I’m after.”

Dimitrov actually thinks that at the Australian Open, he can go far, again. In 2017, at Brisbane, he won it when he beat Kei Nishikori in the final. Then in Melbourne, he was flying high, knocking off Richard Gasquet in the quarters, and finally, at night, in the semis, Rafa Nadal beat him in five, fantastic sets.

Next week, in the Grand Slams, Dimitrov will be secure again, but in the past 11 majors, he hasn’t reached into the quarters, so it is time to swell again.

“It humbles me in the same time because I feel like I’ve been playing good tennis, and I also feel there’s a little bit more that I can get better at on a few more things,” he said. “Who knows, if those things go right, what else might be coming my way.”

The No. 5 Andrey Rublev also won, winning Hong Kong,  last week. He really needed that, as at the 2023 ATP Finals, he did not win a match. He looked pretty tired. However, in the fall, the important person looked very clean, when he reached the final in Shanghai, beating Dimitrov in the semis, and then finally, he lost versus Hubert Hurkacz. He was close enough, but week to week, he can be looked depressed, and angry , in the court. Still, the Russian can look classic, at times, so this year, he should reach into the semis at the Slams, for the first time, if he can, as last year, in January, he played against Novak Djokovic, and the Serbian crushed him in just seven games. He has to be much better, ASAP.

The No.3 Coco Gauff kicked off early, winning Auckland, edging  Elina Svitolina  6-7(4) 6-3, 6-3. It was pretty close, but her backhand, her first serve and at the net, she controlled it.

“It was not my best level of play, but sometimes, when you are not at your best and you win, it makes you more satisfied,” Gauff said.

“It gives me a lot of confidence beating Elina. It was cool seeing how I handled the pressure especially after losing the first set. I was proud of the mental fight I showed today.”

She is 19-years-old, and she is growing, gradually, or maybe she will be more quickly. Her forehand is now improved, and while at times it isn’t very deep enough, she seems to unavoidably to do. When they are teenages, they are so excited that she wants to play all the times, and sometimes it will do the same things, wherever you can, and other times, they don’t focus all the time, on the court. She may become  No. 1 eventually, but at the last two tournament, in October and November, she lost against the current top player, Iga Swiatek. The Poland person is still the most complete player week after week. Gauff

has to put together with her strokes, more often.  She has to, as last year at the 2023 Aussie Open, she lost in the fourth round against the huge hitter, Jelena Ostapenko. This time, the American has to be totally inhibited.

How about Elena Rybakina who also won, smashing over  Aryna Sabalenka 6-0, 6-3.  What a blow out. When she is so consistent, and caring, then she can stay in there, but last year, she looked very good, but then, she would explode, and then she made some many errors. The crazy thing is that the Russian reached into the final at the 2023 Aussie Open, and it looked like she could win her second Grand Slam, but   Sabalenka out hit her with her massive  forehand, to win it 6-4 in the third. They did that again, three more times, and they split, it. It will occur time and time again, as both of them will go dish deep at the majors. It is some  terrific matches.

Notes

Rafa Nadal pulled out of the Australian Open as once again, his legs are  beating down. He is 37-years old,  and pretty soon, he will retire.Maybe this year, or next, it is hard to say, but it is ticking, faster…

In Adelaide, Tommy Paul and  Sebastian Korda are playing this week, and in Auckland Ben Shelton is playing. A young Frenchman, Arthur Fils, who is winning a lot. If they have a great week, then at the Slams, they can leap so early…The same goes with the Aussie Alex de Minaur, when it took him a while to be more consistent, and now, finally, he cracks the Top 10 for the first time. The must have been huge.  He is coached by two players who went very deep at the Slams including Sergi Bruguera, and Sebastien Grosjean.

10 Taylor Fritz

He had an odd year,  beating some terrific players, and then, he would lose in the third sets, or even the fifth sets at the Slams. The American did win an ATP 1000 in 2022, when he won Indian Wells, but this year, he only won two at the tournament, in Delray Beach, and Atlanta. That was good, but it wasn’t among the top 20 players. Yes, he can bash his forehand and his backhand, and he can hit it down the line, and also go, crosscourt, yet the excellent players can be more consistent. Three of them beat Fritz on the hardcourts in March and April with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Yes, Fritz can return pretty good, and when he is confident, he can make an attempt to hit it very deep. The think is, though, is he is not terrific at the net, and his backhand could be so-so. At the US Open, the No. 1 Novak Djokovic crushed him, in three quick, sets. He must have been seriously disappointed, and in the fall, he did very little. He is smart, and he reads during the points, but next year, if he wants to go super deep, at the Slams, he has to improve his volley, his second serve, and at the net.

9 Hubert Hurkacz

At what point do you know when eventually, he will return much better, and also at the net, and then, he will have a solid shot to win a Slam? Hmmm. He had a decent year, when he won Marseille, France,  early, and he didn’t do that much until the fall, when the tall man won an ATP 1000 in Shanghai, China, beating Andrey Rublev in the final. Then, he reached the final in Basel, Switzerland, before he lost, but that was pretty solid. He is a powerful person, and he can smash his forehand and his backhand, plus he can be very fit and, versatile. He also can defend it, but he can also  trip it up. He did win the 2021 Miami, so he could be right there to win a Slam, for the first time, but then he has to be more physical, at the net.. If he does it, it is possible that the Polish can do it for the first time. Yes for me, that will be surprising.

8 Holger Rune

He is still pretty young, and he is rising, each year. He is only 20-years- old, so he has to understand exactly what he has to do, when he returns, and mix it up. He is fast, running, and he can move forward, and trust it around. On the clay, the Danish man began to swell right there, in Monte Carlo, upsetting Daniil Medvedev  and Jannik Sinner before he lost against Andrey Rublev. That was a great move. Then he won Munich, Germany,  and then in Rome, he stunned Djokovic in three sets, and in the final,  he lost against Daniil Medvedev. After that, he was much more concordant, and at Wimbledon, when he looked more stable, he reached in the quarters when he finally lost against Alcaraz. Rune’s  forehand was powerful, his backhand was somewhat solid, and he can throw it all around the box. Many players can start to feel very tired, but he will try hard, week after week. At the ATP Finals, and while he lost both matches, he was right there. He did  lose two matches against Djokovic and Sinner, but it was darn, close. Next year, if he continues to attack, earlier, with his backhand, and also to add more different shots, then for sure, he will go into the top five, and maybe, he might win a  f Slam in 2024. He is that good.  

7 Alexander Zverev

Will the German finally win a Grand Slam, next year? He has come close, a few times, but he was unable to hit a monstrous shot, into the corners. Yes, he can sit there, rally to rally, and he can swing hard, or he can just wait until he has a genuine chance to touch it on the lines. Perhaps when he started, he was immature, and he has said some obnoxious things, but now, he is a little bit more mature, so maybe next year, he can be much smarter. This year, almost all the top five guys beat Zverev, with  Djokovic, Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev. Is that enough? The good thing is that he did knock down Sinner and also, Andrey Rublev, but the mediocre is that when he is playing against the top ruler, he doesn’t really like at the net, and with his second serve, too. He should improve it, or he will not win a Slam in 2024. As he said: “I’m not going to change and get the emotions out of my game. It’s important to have emotions in sport. If you don’t have emotions, it’s like you don’t really care. Because if you care about something, you’re always going to be emotional. Doesn’t matter if it’s sports or personal life.”

6 Stefanos Tsitsipas

He started so well in January, reaching into the final at the Aussie Open, as he was hammering the ball, with a lot of spin, especially with his dry one-handed backhand. However,  Djokovic was more steady, especially with his return and his first serve. He was pretty packed, but not enough. On the clay, he was DARN decent, yet he could not break it out, when Alcaraz beat him twice, in Barcelona and Roland Garros. After that, he did a few very good matches, but then he began to struggle. He did have some fine matches, such as in Los Cabos, Mexico, and also, right at the end, he reached the semis in the ATP 1000 Paris, when he beat  Zverev, before he lost against Grigor Dimitrov. Then he retired at the ATP Finals in Italy. He was mentally, hurt. Tsitsipas thinks that if he can remedy with his forehand, more flat, and twist his volley, then he will have another chance to win a Slam. He really wants to do it.

Alcaraz over Zvevev
Now in clay, and in the hardcourts, Carlos Alcaraz has beaten Alexander Zvevev this year, so if the German can find a way to earth him, then the Spaniard could fall down. However, the former two-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz crushed Zvevev in Madrid, and also, at the U.S. Open. He knocked him quickly, in three easy sets. Yes, Alcaraz has risen so fast a year and a half ago, but also, Zverev had won so many terrific matches, but he got injured at the 2022 Roland Garros, right after he beat Alcaraz, on the ground, so he had to stop for months. But now, while he isn’t perfect yet, Zverev is much more patient where he is running. And also, he really needs to play aggressive, and push himself.“[You have] to be at your best,” said Zverev, who is  3-3 with Alcaraz “The times that I have beaten him, I was playing my absolute best tennis. If you are not quite there, if you are a little slow-ish, if you are not hitting the ball as well as you can, you don’t have any chance.”

He has had a pretty good year, but he still is struggling, at times, when he is not hitting his forehand and his backhand harder enough. He might eventually win, yet Alcaraz continues to try to touch on the lines, moving it side to side, and change it up.  In Turin, Alcaraz will will return much better, and edge him 7-5, 7-5.

Medvedev over Rublev
If Daniil Medvedev plays very well, and he can lock it in, early, when he is feeling good, then he will beat him seven times. Yes, the Russians are said to be close friends, but on the court, it will be Mano a Mano. Both of them can hit so darn hard, way back, almost on the fence. They can attack, when it is right there, or they can just settle down.

This year, Medvedev beat him in Dubai and the U.S. Open, comfortably. However, at the ATP Finals in 2022, Rublev  won a classic, grabbing it 7-6(7) in the third set in the first round. He did not win it, but he looked excellent, at times. He can be confusing, week after week, playing very smart, but also, he can back off. He has had a solid fall, in Shanghai, Vienna, and Paris. His return is somewhat better, and he can bend down at the net. However, he will have to be rock solid against Medvedev, who did not play well in the ATP Finals in 2022, but this time, he will secure himself.

 “It’s very tough,” Medvedev said. “You have to play your best from the first match if you want to try to win the whole thing.

I think [Rublev] improved a lot this year. “I think he improves step by step even more. Every match against him is tougher and tougher. I am going to have to fight my best, run a lot, and try to get him.”
 Rublev can make an attempt to smack his forehand and his backhand, down the middle, deep, and trick him. However, Medvedev is more intelligent, so he will win it 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.