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Nadal, Djokovic: back on track in Monte Carlo

April 19, 2018 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

Rafa Nadal won easily in Monte Carlo, crushing Aljaz Bedene 6-1 6-3. He loves clay — he is an addict — and when he walks on the court, he is already locked in. In the last 10 years, he rarely — and I mean rarely — loses. That’s it. He is the best clay court ever, hands down, but he gets hurt a lot, so now, he is vulnerable. However, this week, if he is healthy, he is the favorite. But, there will be some close matches.

Novak Djokovic finally played well, and it has taken a year — or two years — the Serbian has said. He was pretty lost at Indian Wells and Miami. In Monte Carlo, over the last three days, he is faster, comfortable, and powerful.

Will it last? I would think so, but he has to be patient because the 12-time Grand Slam champion isn’t there yet. He beat Borna Coric 7-6(2) 7-5, which was huge, because Coric has been very confident over the past two months. Coric is very steady, and the same goes with Djokovic. They played for two-and-a-quarter hours, but the Serbian reached back and nailed it.

Good for Marin Cilic, who beat Fernando Verdasco 6-3 7-6(4). Verdasco does like clay, but Cilic is up and down. However, one this day, he was calm and, when he had the opportunity, he moved forward. His first serve is massive, and his forehand is gigantic. But to win it at Monte Carlo? I cannot see that.

Way to go by Kei Nishikori, who bested Daniil Medvedev 7-5 6-2. Nishikori really wants to play as much as he can, but he does get hurt a lot, so he has to be careful….

That is a great win by the Frenchman, Richard Gasquet, who blew out Diego D. Schwartzman 6-2 6-1 in the second round. He has an amazing backhand. … Canadian Milos Raonic is still in there despite nagging injuries. Hopefully, his arms are better, and he won’t think about how sore it is. He is a terrific player, but he doesn’t love clay. On grass and the hardcourts, sure, he can go very deep in the summer. But in the spring, he cannot win in the big events. Including Monte Carlo.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Kei Nishikori, Marin Cilic, Matt Cronin, Matthew Cronin, milos raonic, monte carlo, Novak Djokovic, rafa nadal, Rafael Nadal

John Isner vs. Juan Martin del Potro: Coming down to the wire?

March 29, 2018 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

Finally, John Isner is back again. I mean, in the last nine days, he woke up in Miami. Prior to that during the past two and a half months, he was sadly down. He only won two matches, and he lost time and time again. Very early.

But after he played Indian Wells, he talked to his coach, and his friends, and they said, ‘C’mon, you are better than that. Don’t be so nervous and be so depressed on court. When you get start the match, make sure to shake it off, even if you whiff. This is your life. You are 32-years-old now so it is time to believe in yourself, because in another five years, you might retire. So go to it.’”
He did and in the last three days, he played extremely well, knocking out the No. 3 Marin Cilic, and the young rising Hyeon Chung in straight sets.

Isner and Cilic have been around for a very long time. Cilic has played pretty well in 2018, but he has not been terrific. So Isner hit some huge serves, his big forehand, and he was very patient. When he beat Chung fairly easily, he returned pretty decently, which is surprising, because over the past decade, Isner rarely broke. But he did on Wednesday.

So now he will face Juan Martin del Potro. The Argentine won Indian Wells, and when he arrived in Miami, he said he was very tired and he wasn’t sure whether he can last. But he has, overcoming Milos Raonic in three very long set, 7-6 in the third. The Canadian Raonic was right there, but he hesitated, or he just missed it. As Delpo said, I can go for my shots, anytime I want, because I am riding the waves. He sure is.

They will play on Friday with Isner against Del Potro. Last year, they played each other twice, in Canada, with Juan winning 7-5 7-5, and in Paris Bercy, John won 6-4 6-7 6-4.

All of those contests were on hardcourts, and they will do it again in Florida. Obviously, del Potro is favored, as he has won the 2009 US Open, and almost two weeks ago, he won his first ATP 1000 in California. He is simply cracking the ball.

If Isner can crush it when DelPo hits a second serve, he might have a chance to break him. However, if he doesn’t, then he will go down in straights set. But if he does, he can go into the third set and then, who knows? Obviously, Del Potro is favored, as he has won the 2009 US Open, and almost two weeks ago, he won his first ATP 1000 in California. He is simply cracking the ball.

If Isner can crush it when DelPo hits a second serve, he might have a chance to break him. However, if he doesn’t, then the American will go down in straights set. But if he does, he can go into the third set and then, who knows?

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: delpo, John Isner, Juan Martin Del Potro, Matt Cronin, miami open, milos raonic, mqtthew cronin

Teenager Auger-Aliassime ready to rock against Raonic

March 10, 2018 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

INDIAN WELLS–Twenty years ago in Canada, there were a few very good players, but not that many. Now, there are a bunch. The teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime upset the veteran Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 7-6, and now he will go up against Milos Raonic on Sunday. Raonic has reached the final at Wimbledon a couple years ago. Without a doubt, he wants to win a gigantic tournament, but he gets hurt frequently, so the only way to do it and stay healthy this season, because if he doesn’t, he won’t be able to take down the big boys.

Plus, Raonic must know that already Auger-Aliassime is very good, fast and strong. He is young, so it is hard to tell how great he will be over the years, but many folks that he is already darn good.

He can’t wait to play Raonic at Indian Wells.

“I am exciting to see someone I have looked up to growing up. I’ll try do everything I can to return the serve and hang in there. It’s quite exciting. I’m looking forward to it, yeah,” Auger-Aliassime said.

When you are young, there is a lot to learn. Even if you are practicing everyday, you still have to try new shots. And stay with it. Look at Roger Federer, who has won 20 Grand Slams, but it took him 35 years to accept his leaping backhand. The Canadian has a ton of things to practice and learn. But already, he likes a few important swings.

“My strengths are probably my serve, forehand. I’m an aggressive player, but I think the coverage of the court is something I have been working on. And I think it’s paying off now with the big guys, you know, to be able to cover the court, to move well, and then to defend and stay in the points,” Auger-Aliassime said. “That’s something that helps me a lot. As a player, you try and be as complete as you can, so there is a lot of things I want to improve and just that consistency that I want to get over the matches and over the tournaments.”

The women
The two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza is once again struggling, up and down. She was pretty decent in Europe in February, reaching the final on Doha and in the semis in Dubai. But now, she is floundering. In the third set against Sachia Vickery, the American hustled and banged away, while Muguruza overhit and was inpatient. Good for Vickery, but so-so for Muguruza.

As the Spaniard said, there is a lot of depth now and almost anyone can be upset. Perhaps not, but maybe things are changing. Vickery is ranked No. 100, while Muguruza is ranked No. 3.

“We always say that there are so many players that can be dangerous, that can be motivated and have a great day and face an opponent where maybe they don’t have a lot of pressure and play good,” Muguruza said. “Maybe the top player exits early. And we have seen this so many times.”

Muguruza says that before she played with Vickery, she watched her a little bit, but in the match, the American jumped on the ball. Plus, Vickery was very motivated.

“I think she has a great physical skill. I just think that when players with not a lot of experience play against top players, they are very motivated,” Muguruza said. “They elevate always their game. She was getting a little bit more excited, and the key points went her way, and she was getting more into the match and, at the end, she had a lot more confidence.”

More notes
It is very surprising that Aga Radwanska lost early again, losing against Naomi Osaka. Aga is already outside of the top 30 and she could be unseeded at Roland Garros in a few months. Radwanska needs to rest, for a while, until her body is fully heals. …Venus and Serena Williams both won on Saturday. They will face each other on Monday, which should be a fascinating contest. Obviously, Serena hasn’t beaten her many times, but given that the younger sister hasn’t played on court for the past 14 months, she’s a little rusty. Venus has played a fair amount in 2017, and this year, too. So yes, if Venus plays extremely well, she can upset Serena. But to beat her, Venus must serve very big, return with depth, and control her forehand. … How about the unknown Danielle Collins who upset Madison Keys? Collins changed it up a lot, while Keys lost her touch. She needs to step it up — again. … Dominic Thiem overcame Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2 3-6 6-3 and now he will face Pablo Cuevas on hardcourts. Neither of them loves hardcourts, but they can move well on the courts and they can whack it away. Three sets for sure. … That was a quite a win by Fernando Verdasco, who took down Grigor Dimitrov. Verdasco might be a little bit older, but he is focusing, again. Plus, as he said, he still loves playing tennis. 15 years later. That’s a lot. More tomorrow …

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Felix Auger-Aliassime, Fernando Verdasco, gabrine muguruza, indian wells, Matt Cronin, Matthew Cronin, milos raonic, Serena williams, vasek pospisil, Venus Williams

Federer, Raonic, the Americans, Kvitova, Garcia and more…

February 21, 2018 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

Notes on A Draw Sheet, Feb. 20, 2018

Roger Federer keeps going, and going, and going. Last Sunday, he won Rotterdam, crushing Grigor Dimitrov. The 36-year-old Federer is No. 1 again!!! He’s been at the top for a record 303 weeks and counting … and he started 14 years ago after he won Wimbledon for the first time. Last year, he won the Australian Open and Wimbledon. This year, he won the Aussie again. He has won 97 events. Ka-boom.

I cannot imagine that he won’t reach 100 victories, assuming if he stays healthy. He is trying not to play too much this year. He decided not to play in Dubai, but he will return at Indian Wells and very likely Miami. After that, he won’t on clay until very late, if at all. In 2017, he skipped the spring clay-court season, including Roland Garros. Federer says that he isn’t sure whether he will head to Paris again. That is a toss-up — a big toss up — for now …

Milos Raonic has been hurt forever, but when he is feeling good, he can beat the top almost anyone, except for the top 5. He just won his first match this year, beating Taro Daniel in Delray Beach. He has improved a lot over the past two years, especially his backhand. But, he has to figure out why his body breaks down all the time. I am sure the doctors know what he has to do, but the Canadian doesn’t know how he can fix it, and really listen what they are saying. We know this week in Florida …

American John Isner beat Radu Albot, which is good, because in January and early February, he really wasn’t there on court. He just won his first win of the season on Tuesday, except for Davis Cup. That is pretty surprising. Hopefully, he will begin to win more regularly …

Juan Martin del Potro also won, and will face American Frances Tiafoe, a young player who can really run, but needs to be more aggressive …

Ryan Harrison had a taxing week at the inaugural NY Open. He successfully dealt with Donald Young’s accusation that Harrison had made a racial comment. The two feisty and long-time competitors got into a heated argument during their match and the chair umpire had to step between them. But, an ATP investigation did not uncover any missteps by Harrison. In Delray Beach, Harrison lost yesterday against countryman Reilly Opelka 7-6(5), 7-6(6). It may take some time for Harrison to put it all behind him …

What a triumph by the two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who won in Doha, knocking out the No. 3 Garbine Muguruza in the final. She is back in the top 10. She also beat Elina Svitolina and No. 1 Caro Wozniacki 7-5 in the third. Kvitova is so powerful, and now she isn’t giving in. She is on a roll, also winning St. Petersburg and the Fed Cup. Without a doubt, she can win a major again. At RG — yes, she did reach the semis once before — and of course at Wimbledon, and at the US Open. Bu,t she has to be healthy all the time …

Angie Kerber was not happy after she lost against Wozniacki, but still, over the past seven weeks, she has become substantially better. Last year, she couldn’t find her game. Now, she is settled and defending with her blazing speed. Watch her come back into the top 5 during March. She smoked Barbora Strycova 6-2, 6-1 …

Another fine win by Anett Kontaveit, who beat Sam Stosur in three sets. She is pretty young and she is improving week to week. Caroline Garcia continues to display a blossoming game , beating Lucie Safarova. Frenchwoman Garcia realizes that she can move up to the net and put away easy shots. She does it frequently, transferring her doubles talent to singles. If she continues to do so, she will have a chance to win a major this year. Maybe at RG?

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Caroline Garcia, Donald Young, John Isner, Matt Cronin, Matthew Cronin, milos raonic, Petra Kvitova, Roger Federer, ryan harrison

The men’s grade, from AO: Djokovic was way up, Rafa way down

February 5, 2016 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

The 2006 Australian Open

A-plus

Novak Djokovic

The No. 1 came in as a heavy favorite at the AO and with the exception against Gilles Simon in the fourth round, when he needed to push in the fifth set, he absolutely nailed against three fine folks: Kei Nishikori, Roger Federer and Andy Murray. There are no holes. He is relentless, he can smack side-to-side and the minute he can go forward, he puts it away.

He owns 11 Grand Slams now, and given that he has won four out of the last five majors, in 2016, he will be seriously driven to win his first crown at Roland Garros. If he manages that, he will have a legitimate shot to win all four Slams. If he does, he’d be tied with Pete Sampras with 14 Slams. Wow!

Milos Raonic

The Canadian has improved so much in the past month: his backhand, his return, his aggression and his volley. Given that his huge serve and massive forehands, he was very close of reaching the final. He out-punched Stan Wawrinka, he smoked Gael Monfils and in the semis against Andy Murray, he was up two sets to one, but he hurt himself and then he dropped significantly, losing in five sets. Before the year started the 25-year-old said he will win a major this year. I bet he is right.

B-plus

Andy Murray

Even though Murray has lost four times against Djokovic in the Aussie Open finals, still, he fought hard and there were times when he looked pretty close. Still, his serve has improved a little bit and he is very comfortable at the net. He can use tactics to his advantage and he understands what he has to do. However, Djokovic is flat-out better than he is, especially with his forehand and maybe his famous backhand, too. Murray has to realize that.

Roger Federer

The all-time great (well, very close, at least) played beautiful tennis until he faced Djokovic, who destroyed him for the first two sets, battled in the third set, and in the fourth set he couldn’t figure it out. In some ways the 34-year-old has improved in the last couple of years, but otherwise he is declining physical. It happens to every one eventually.

Gilles Simon

When the Frenchman is locked in, he is incredibly consistent and smart, dragging Djokovic into their fifth set. He played terrific, until the end, when he backed off.

Tomas Berdych

The Czech scored two significant wins over Nick Kyrgios and Robert Bautista Agut and he looked very driven, but against Federer, he didn’t know which way to go. If he is ever going to reach a Grand Slam final again, he must find some more strengths and reduced mistakes.

Kei Nishikori

Yes, Nishikori played fairly well until he reached quarters, smacking Jo Tsonga. But, against Djokovic, it was very clear that he has a lot of work to do if he ever is going to wins a major title some day.

Bernard Tomic

The Aussie was very controlled in the first three matches, and he was somewhat close against Murray, but he lost in three sets. He has always played pretty well in Australia, but for the rest of the year? Hmmm. He has to prove it.

David Goffin

The Belgian danced around when he bested the rising Dominic Thiem in four sets. However, Federer tore him apart.

Robert Bautista Agut

Nice to see the veteran Spaniard to reach the fourth round for the first time. Does he actually like the hard courts now?

Jo Tsonga

Jo appears ready to go once again as he was hurt during the fall. He reached the fourth round before Nishikori dusted him, but at least he can reach the top 5 again. However, the clock is ticking.

Gael Monfils

Like Tsonga, he is always hurt, but at least he reached the quarters, beating the Russian Andrey Kuznetov before Raonic hit the heck out of him.

David Ferrer

Good for the Spaniard, who reached the quarter once again, needing three hours before he fell against Murray. He always tries, but maybe the 33-year-old can serve and http://www.cialispharmaciefr24.com/prix-vrai-cialis/ volley once in a while?

B-minus

Stan Wawrinka

Coming in, it was Stan the Man who had a legitimate chance to win the tournament again. However, he was a bit sick and, against Raonic, he was a little off. Next year.

Nick Kyrgios

The 20-year-old won a couple matches and, at times, he was very flashy and skillful when he fell in four sets versus Berdych. Give him more time.

Grigor Dimitrov

Some think that the Bulgarian didn’t play well in Australia, but that is wrong as he almost won Sydney. But, he lost in Brisbane and the AO against Federer, in two fairly tight matches. Good enough for now.

John Isner

Big John scored a huge win over Feliciano Lopez who has always gave him a lot of trouble, but he could not figure out what to do when he faced Ferrer in the fourth round. Ranked No. 11, he has to continue to improve significantly if he is ever going to reach the top 5.

C-plus

Steve Johnson

The USC standout has improved every year and reached the third round, so maybe soon he can reach the second week this season.

Fernando Verdasco

There is no doubt that Verdasco played amazingly well to upset Rafa Nadal in five sets in the first round. However, he lost in the next round, which mean he was unable to go deep at all.

Jack Sock

The rising Sock came through in the first round against the very good 18-year-old Taylor Fritz in five sets, but then he went down against Lukas Rosol in the second round. Yes, he had been sick, but he had a really chance to go deep. Next time?

C-minus

Marin Cilic

The 2014 US Open champion have said that he can reach the top 5 in 2016. He didn’t reach in the second week. I am waiting …

Rafael Nadal

It is impossible to know why he lost in the first round against Verdasco, given since October he had beat everyone with the exception of Djokovic. He wasn’t aggressive enough. He simply cannot do that anymore or he will never win another Slam.

Benoit Paire

The Frenchman had a fine 2015, but then he was totally shocked against the young American Noah Rubin.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Andy Murray, gilles simon, Jack Sock, John Isner, milos raonic, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Fedrer, Stan Wawrinka

The semis, Pick-em: Raonic has a real shot versus Murray

January 29, 2016 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

THE FINAL FOUR, FRIDAY, JAN.29, AUSSIE OPEN

2-ANDY MURRAY VS. 13-MILOS RAONIC

As the Canadian said, this is an entirely new look. They did play last spring in May on Madrid, but Raonic was already hurt and he couldn’t move around as fast as he normally could. When Murray was able to yank him around, the 25-year-old Raonic was unable to smack the balls very hard or deep. He went down in straight sets and then he was gone, undergoing his surgery and even when he returned into the grass, he was flat and unsure of himself.

But during the past three weeks, he has been incredibly confident. Before he even started in Brisbane, Raonic said he could win a major for the first time this year. That was surprising, because he had only reached at a Grand Slam semifinal at 2014 Wimbledon, and while he has won a couple big ATP tournaments, he hadn’t shown that he could consistently knock off the big boys.

But in Brisbane, he took down Roger Federer in the final, crushing his serve, coming into the net, and nailing his forehand.

Here in Melbourne, he did much the same thing, being ultra-aggressive against Stan Wawrinka and not allowing the Swiss to mix it up or disturb him. Raonic was under control.

But now, Raonic has to be a little patient and not go crazy if Murray keeps pushing him backwards. Without a doubt, the Brit has a substantially better backhand and can put it anywhere he wants. Raonic’s forehand is bigger, but that doesn’t mean that Murray can return pretty deep and overcook him. The Canadian must come into the net as often as possible, but he has to fool him rather than telling him where he is going because Murray is extremely smart and he knows that if he can hit the balls low and try to touch his toes, then Raonic will be frustrated when trying to dig out the passing shots.

What we do know is that Murray manages to return deep shots even though his opponents are crushing their first serves and he isn’t effected by it. The 28-year-old Murray loves playing tennis, watching it, paying attention to it and reading it. He has won two Grand Slams (the 2012 US Open and the 2013 Wimbledon) and the 2012 Olympic Gold, and he has reached his 18^th Grand Slam semis, which mean that he is always right there. He has reached the Australian Open six times in the semis, beating Marin Cilic, David Ferrer, Federer and Tomas Berdych. Unfortunately, he has yet to win the final at the Aussie Open, but this is only the semi so mentally, he won’t be afraid at all.

However, it’s time for Raonic to truly realize his potential. Murray will try a million tricks, but in the end, Raonic will out him and win in five dramatic sets.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Andy Murray, Australian Open, Matthew Cronin, milos raonic

Top men still winning, Nishikori to face Tsonga in classic match

January 23, 2016 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

AUSTRALIAN OPEN, JAN. 23, 2016 – In a flash amongst the men, most of the young males were gone. At the WTA, a number of top competitors left quickly, but on Friday, the elder ATP folks look very good, and very intelligent.

The somewhat unbeatable Novak Djokovic dusted Andreas Seppi. 6-1 7-5 7-6(6) and he will face the savvy Gilles Simon who crushed Federico Delbonis 6-3 6-2 6-1. These two have faced off 10 times, with the Frenchman winning the first time they played, in 2008 Marseille, but after that, the Serbian got better and better and gained experience. Simon can be fast, he can be powerful and he can cagey, but is he strong enough to out-him? That is doubtful, given that the No. 1 may not be having a great day, and still, he’s winning just about every single set.

“You try to keep it very simple. When the tough gets going, you try to dig out what’s in you,” Djokovic said.

It looked like Kei Nishikori was hurt again – and really, he gets hurt all the time – but he turned it around. He didn’t think his sore wrist was bothering him and he looked terrific to win it 7-5 2-6 6-3 6-4 over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Now he has to face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga,who beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4 7-6(7) 7-6(4). That will be a huge match, considering that Tsonga overcame Nishikori in five sets in the quarters at the 2015 Roland Garros. The Japanese journos are still talking about it because Kei was right there. He freezed up. Now he has another gigantic chance. If he doesn’t immediately attack, then the Frenchman will climb on top and beat him down. It’s time for the 25-year-old to step up and not hesitate.

In a sense it was too bad that Grigor Dimitrov couldn’t manage to claw into the fifth sildenafil 100 mg set against the great Roger Federer. But it wasn’t to be. Over the past three weeks, Dimitrov has played a little better, but not enough, as the Swiss is much more consistent, his serve is superior and on court he is smarter, too. Federer took it 6-4 3-6 6-1 6-4 and later said that the younger players aren’t patient enough. Dimitrov is 24 years old now so his time is now, but as Federer said, the teenagers have a long way to go.

“Talent takes you only so far. But the rest of it is you have to teach it to yourself and learn it, get it right,” Federer said. “You got to be patient. Can’t expect to win Slams at 16, 17, 18 any more these days, skyrocket through the rankings, unless you’re out of this world.”

Federer will go up against David Goffin, who skipped around and bested Dominic Thiem in four sets. Goffin will have a great time running around and try to mix up his attack, but he isn’t strong enough to topple the creative Federer.

It sure looks like Federer will reach to the semis, assuming he’s shocked by the Belgium, but it’s likely that he will go up against the well-known Tomas Berdych. The tall Czech played very well and he was composed to beat Nick Kyrgios 6-3 6-4 1-6 6-4. The 20-year-old was disappointing because he really thought he was ready to go far at the Slam, but he didn’t. Kyrgios is tall, athletic and he is reasonably intelligent, but he still has to be more on top of the ball. He can belt his first serves, but his second serve can be so-so and his return can be spotty. But if he continues to work Kyrgios will get better and better. Look at the 30-year-old Berdych now: he is not just blasting away, but he will be patient until he can set up the right way and then blast it. That is exactly what the Aussie needs to do.

Berdych didn’t have a terrific 2015, but maybe he is ready to finally win a major. He will face the red-hot Roberto Bautista Agut, who upset Marin Cilic 6-4 7-6(5) 7-5.

On Saturday in the bottom half, all the bigger seeds won, including Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, David Ferrer, John Isner, Milos Raonic and Gael Monfils. Wawrinka will face Raonic, with the Swiss having beaten him all four times they have played. Ferrer has beaten Isner six out of seven times. Clearly, they are both the underdogs, but at this point they need to win right now. Ferrer has been around forever as he is still very good and never backs off. Wawrinka, who has now won two Slams, has been substantially better over the past three years. If either Isner or Raonic don’t change it up, they will lose. If they give them a few tricks, then maybe they can unearth them.

Monfils has been out hurt seemingly forever, but now the Frenchman is back and when he is happy and feeling good. When healthy, he can be phenomenal. He will face the Russian Andrey Kuznetsov, who looked driven and beat Dudi Sela 7-5 3-6 6-1 7-6(4).

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Australian Open, jo tsonga, John Isner, Kei Nishikori, milos raonic, Novak Djokovoc, Roger Federer

Ana Ivanovic: ‘Young girls, they’re fearless.’ To face Madison Keys

January 21, 2016 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

AUSTRALIAN OPEN, DAY 4, JAN. 21, 2016 – Ana Ivanovic has been around a long time now, so long that the 28-year-old is now one of the respected statements.

Since she won her first Grand Slam – her only major title – she has been very good at times, and at other times, very bad. Now, she has reached the third round, which is pretty good, but at this point, the Serbian has to go super deep in order to satisfy herself. Once you win a major, like she did when she won the 2008 Roland Garros title and became No. 1, she wante to stay there. She wanted to win more Grand Slams at the other three. In 2007 and the first half of 2008, she was on fire, reaching the final of the Australian Open, but lost to Maria Sharapova in a hard-fought match.

But she hasn’t been able to find her way to the finals again, largely because she will panic when she is so close to the finish line.

However, Ivanovic continues to battle and changing up her tactics, and the always-happy person hasn’t given up yet.

“I think throughout your whole life, there is areas you always want to learn and improve,” she said. “In tennis, in my game, I still feel there is room for improvement. That’s my challenge every day. I really try to push myself and to try to get better. There was tough moments. I tried to improve, tried to push myself. It is also fun, you know, that’s why we are here.”

Every 10 years, the players change. Even though Serena Williams is dominating now, many of the very good veterans realize that the youngsters aren’t afraid and many of them are more effective. And they can attack early, too. On Thursday, Ivanovic beat the Latvian Anastasija Sevastova 6-3 6-3. It was competitive. Zhang Shuai of China beat Alize Cornet 6-3 6-3; Denisa Allertova of the Czech Republic bested Sabine Lisicki 6-3 2-6 6-4; and Naomi Osaka of Japan beat another youngster Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-4. Who did that and how did they get so good?

“You see it through the years now, so many new players coming up,” Ivanovic said. “Their feel is they have powerful game and they are just dangerous. It’s completely different to when I started. I remember even myself would get to third, fourth round without dropping too many games. So if you had 6-4, 7-5, they were like, ‘What’s going on?’ And now every match it’s a battle, you just have to try and push yourself, because it’s all challenge. They are young girls and they’re fearless.”

Talk about very good young players, Ivanovic will face Madison Keys in the third round. The American reached the semifinals at the Aussie Open last year, and right after that, it looked like Keys would jump into the top 10. But she was spotty for the rest of the year. She played excellent ball to reach the final at Charleston, and reach the quarters at Wimbledon, but after that, she was very inconsistent. She is a huge hitter, but she can become frustrated. Perhaps this season, she will be calmer. Ivanovic will find out on Saturday.

“She’s very dangerous; big game. We played once on clay when she was just coming up and we had tough second-set tiebreak,” Ivanovic said. “She played well last year here; a big serve; a big, powerful forehand actually on both wings. It’s going to be the first shot, and I’m going to have to be composed also in my service games if I do face her. It’s not going to be easy matchup, I think, but it’s all about, trying to find your way.”

NOTES

Victoria Azarenka is playing fantastic, winning Brisbane and then crushing two players at the AO. On Thursday she blew apart Danka Kovinic 6-1 6-2.

The No. 3 Garbine Muguruza played so-so but beat Kirsten Flipkens 6-4 6-2. The pressure is on for the young Spaniard and could struggle against Barbora Strycova. The American Varvara Lepchenko beat Lara Arruabarrena 7-6(7) 6-4 and she does have a real chance to reach the fourth round when she faces Zhang Shuai, even though the Chinese did play very well to upset Simona Halep and Cornet.

THE MEN

Andy Murray hit six beautiful lob winners in the first set over Sam Groth 6-0 6-4 6-1. Groth is tall and he constantly comes into the net, but even though he would try to climb way up in the sky he couldn’t touch him. The American John Isner was pretty consistent and smart to beat Marcel Granollers 6-3 7-6(6) 7-6(2). His backhand really has improved over the past year, but now he will have to face Feliciano Lopez, who overcame Guido Pella 7-6(2) 6-7(4) 7-6(3) 6-7(8) 6-4 in a marathon.

Back in 2012 at the Aussie Open, Lopez beat Isner 6-3 6-7(3) 6-4 6-7(0) 6-1 in the third round. At the 2014 Wimbledon, the Spaniard beat Isner 6-7(8) 7-6(6) 7-6(3) 7-5. The lefty bothers him. But fortunately, Isner defeated Lopez 7-6(5) 6-7(9) 7-6(4) in Queens last year. Maybe he can turn the tables.

Here is another big contest on Saturday, when the Brisbane winner Milos Raonic will go up against the Sydney winner Viktor Troicki. On Thursday, Raonic beat Tommy Robredo 7-6(6) 7-6(5) 7-5, while Troicki beat Tim Smyczek 6-4 7-6(5) 7-6(4). Both are confident, but the Serbian must be a little tired.

Another American, Steve Johnson beat Thomaz Bellucci 6-3 6-2 6-2 and will play David Ferrer. Johnson knows they could be on court for hours and hours.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Ana Ivanovic, Andy Murray, Australia Open, Garbine Muguruza, John Isner, madison keys, milos raonic

Raonic rises, upsets Federet to win Brisbane title: ‘Cherry on top’

January 10, 2016 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

BRISBANE, Jan 10, 2016 – Milos Raonic had been tired about losing against the big boys. Here and there, he had won a few matches, but he had lost to Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer so many times that it would make his head spin.

Last year, the Canadian was in the final in Brisbane against the Swiss and he was neck and neck. They split sets and he had a real chance there. But he couldn’t close. Federer knew that he could yank him around once Milos couldn’t place his bombing serves on the lines, allowing the Swiss to win the title 6-4 in the third.

But, this year in the final against Federer, Raonic out-hit and out-stroked him, winning the title 6-4, 6-4. This time, the normally stoned face Raonic even grinned side to side. Given how important it was to win a significant event against the greatest of all time showed him that maybe he can begin to win the ATP 1000s as well as the Grand Slams. Last season he was hurt for months and he was unable to take down the elite players. Now he is knocking at the door.

“It feels great considering how the last nine months have been. It adds a sort of cherry on top to all that,” Raonic said. “I feel like maybe there was some attention to other things brought in the off-season due to changes and so forth [he has hired his new coach, Carlos Moya], and at the end of the day, want to focus on my tennis and do better. I feel like I’m doing that. I stepped up and was able to show that to myself and everybody else. That’s what I’m most proud of.”

The 25-year-old Raonic was much more solid, much more directive against Federer, who was still recovering from being ill during the week, and the Swiss was a little slow and erratic, especially with his backhand. But Raonic was extremely clean, and he was so, so powerful. He bombed his first serves all day, even reaching 143 mph, while even twisting his second serves at an incredible 130 mph. As always, he crushed his big forehand, but his backhand has improved quite a bit. He rushed the net whenever he could, which is also intelligent. Federer wanted to drag him into long rallies, but he could not for the most part. Any time Raonic had a chance, he would go for it, hoping that he could kiss the lines. Good enough.

Moya has been talking with Raonic everyday. The former No. 1 told the Canadian not to back off Federer for one single second.

“It was, ‘Keep playing the way you’ve been playing this week. Pull your game together, and you can be better than him on the court,’ ” Raonic said.

Federer said that he even though he lost, he was pretty happy. He almost pulled out of the tournament because he had a high fever, and he wasn’t quite there, saying “definitely felt tired in my legs throughout the week, so then you feel that in defense. When you feel it in the most important moments, every time I had a chance to create some better plays, it just wouldn’t be happening. So it wasn’t going naturally. I had to force myself. When you force yourself things become more complicated. Often was also under pressure. How come I was so often under pressure was because of the serve. One leads to another. Yeah, he did well. It was a tough match. The legs were a little bit wobbly throughout the week.”

What Federer did say is that before Raonic became hurt last spring, he was getting better and better. He thinks that Raonic has added to his game and he hasn’t been stuck in the mud.

“I just think his consistent power is something that’s so impressive. The focus he brings to every single serve. I’ve always said it’s amazing that he can do that,” Federer said. “For a big guy he moves well, you know. He’s improved his fitness the last few years. Also tactically I think he’s better now than he’s ever been. He’s made a conscious effort of playing close to the baseline, which before when he was working with the Spanish coaches he was way back.

“It also may be an option, but if you really want to make it to the very, very top, maybe that’s not quite the play. You don’t want to hand over the play every time to the best guys. I think like this it’s more on his racquet and it’s probably not a bad thing. I thought he was playing really good tennis here last year and in also Indian Wells when I played him. [Federer beat him in straight sets in the semis.] I was quite impressed how good he was. Unfortunately he got injured and he had some issue, which then didn’t allow him to play anymore since. So it’s a great start for him. I’m very happy for him.”

Can Raonic win the Australian Open? Perhaps. He did reach the 2014 Wimbledon semifinal. Obviously, the nearly unbeatable Novak Djokovic is the big favorite, but at least today, Raonic is riding high.

“That’s maybe another step away, but I definitely feel I have it within myself to step up with play great tennis for two weeks,” Raonic said.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: brisbane, milos raonic, Roger Federer

Federer to face Raonic on Brisbane final: ‘Lots of different things’

January 9, 2016 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

BRISBANE, Jan 9, 2016 – All the very good young players want a piece against the Big 4-plus 1. On Sunday at Brisbane, Milos Raonic will face Roger Federer in the final.

Raonic beat Bernard Tomic 7-6(5) 7-6(5) in a fine contest, and Federer bested the flashy Dominic Thiem 6-1 6-4

The Canadian Raonic is 25 years old and, at least this week, he has looked a little better than last year when he was hurt from the spring until the end of the season. Now, he is saying that yes, he can win a major this year and yes, he really has improved during his off-season. His first and second serves are huge, his forehand is gigantic and when he can sense his foes, he can move quickly and crack his returns very deep. His backhand is a little more solid now and when he is feeling comfortable, he will charge the net and take it over.

But the reason why he has yet to win a Grand Slam is because he is too stiff, his could use some more variety, he can get stuck behind the baseline, and he can be too predictable.

Head to head, Federer has beaten Raonic nine times and the Canadian has won just once, in 2014 Paris/Bercy. OK, Raonic has been somewhat close, but he can’t push over the hill. Last year in the 2015 Brisbane final, Federer beat Raonic 6-4 6-7(2) 6-4. Raonic was nearly untouchable with his searing serve, but he just couldn’t break him. As Raonic said, it’s hard to figure out the great Swiss, because he can go whatever he wants to.

“He can do a lot of different things. If you play him yesterday and you play him tomorrow, you might have some ideas of what he might do and so forth,” Raonic said. “Just because of the variety, he can come in with a very different approach into the match. At the same time, for me, it’s more about what I need to do. If I can put those things in order, I can give myself an opportunity. That’s for sure.”

Federer has been a little bit sick this week, but now he is feeling better. The 34-year-old is aging, but last year, he won six tournaments and he was extremely efficient. He can chip and charge, he can spin his backhand so low and true, he can crush his forehand both ways, or he can chuck in a coupe soft drop shots.

Eventually, the young, very good players will beat the “old” veteran, but Federer is still ranked No. 3, he reached two majors finals as well as the ATP Finals, and the only guy who took him down in those events was impenetrable No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

Can the No. 14 Raonic topple him? He certainly has the shot, but Federer is the favorite and he seems to be pretty comfortable. Raonic has to seize his opportunity – quickly.

“He’s been looking good,” Federer said about Raonic. “Clearly with a serve like that things are always complicated. When you speak about the match, it’s hard to see the match play out. You always focus more on your own game rather than thinking too far ahead, how you want to play tactically from the baseline once the rally is on. If he’s serving, he’s usually in the driver’s seat. Same thing. I hope it’s going to be the case for me when I’m serving. Last year I played very well, I thought, so we’ll see how it’s going to be this year. I have a little smaller expectation maybe just because of the toughness of the week it’s been. Still, once in the finals, clearly don’t want to lose that one.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: brisbane, milos raonic, Roger Federer