Stan Wawrinka – Page 3 – TennisReporters.net

Murray: ’It’s about finding a way to get the win.’ to battle Wawrinka

June 8, 2017 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

At ROLAND GARROS, DAY 12 — Andy Murray has won three Grand Slams, twice at Wimbledon and once at the US Open. He has won a ton of titles, at the ATP 1000s, the 500s and then 250s.

He reached the final at Roland Garros last year, and he tried very hard, but Novak Djokovic was much more consistent and his forehand was harder and deeper.

However, at least Murray was enthusiastic, knocking off Stan Wawrinka in four sets in the semis. Now they will clash again, on Friday, in Paris.

Both have played extremely well in the past 11 days. Wawrinka has been locked in, but Murray has been a little off. However, the 30-year-old Scot exactly knows when it’s time to run, and change it up, and hit it as hard as you can.

Over the years, Murray has changed his movement and strokes. His forehand has improved greatly, his first serve is tremendous and he almost never gets tired, going left and right, hour after hour.

These two have played each other 17 times, with Murray ahead 10-7. Their head-to-head shows they have had on-and-off streaks, with Murray taking the last two meetings in 2016 while Wawrinka gad three in a row from 2013-15. They are both veterans, so the nerves aren’t an issue, but it is possible to get angry, or very happy. One way or another, it will be extremely close.

“I don’t know how Stan is going to play on Friday. I don’t know how I’m going to play,” Murray said. “Last year, I feel like I played some really good tennis and managed to win the match, but you have no idea. You don’t know what the conditions will be. Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to win the match. It’s not always about how well that you play or, the level that you play at. It’s about finding a way to get the win, and that’s what I will try to do. In an ideal world you play great tennis, and play a really good match. That unfortunately can’t be the case always. Don’t know how either of us are going to play, but with the right attitude, right game plan, right tactics, you can still win matches.”

Nadal/Thiem faceoff in semis
Will Rafa Nadal cruise against Dominic Thiem? Nadal is playing as well as he can now, blitzing the opponents. However, Thiem did beat him in Rome, but the Spaniard was pretty tired after winning Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid.

No excuses, however. It’s all about Nadal’s massive forehand, and Thiem’s impressive one-handed backhand. Plus, the serves matter a lot, as do their ability to come to the net and put it away some volies. It should be a blast — we hope.

Halep sneaks past Pliskova
Karolina Pliskova was as aggressive as she could be, but Simona Halep was so consistent, so fast, totally locked in, winning 6-4 3-6 6-3 to reach the final. Pliskova was close, but she made a few too many errors at the end, which really caused her.

Now Halep has a legitimate shot to become No. 1, if she manages to take down 20-year-old Jelena Ostapenko, who just moved from a teen to a 20-year-old today. The Latvian is so aggressive, off both sides, forehand, backhand and her big serve. In beating Timea Bacsinszky 7-6(4) 3-6 6-3 she hit 50 winners. Totally on the ball. Ostapenko, still a relative newcomer, has never reached the final at a Grand Slam, and maybe she will be super nervous. If she can focus, she definitely has an opportunity. She believes that someday, she will become No. 1. It will take time, but she’s pretty close all ready.

Halep has been No. 2 before, but she has not been able to snag No. 1, which she can if she takes the title. Over the past two months, she has refocused and has found a way to smack the ball deeper, and make her serve game smarter.

The two haven’t played before. Halep said that she hasn’t seen Ostapenko much, so she will have to look at tape. She will attempt to grind her, but if she cannot, then she must push her very early.

“My first Grand Slam and No. 1 in the world. It’s a big challenge. I think I have the game. I have the mentality to win, but it’s gonna be tough,” Halep said. “I expect her to give everything she has, to hit all the balls, to play with confidence. But I’m confident, as well. It’s a big thing. If it’s
gonna happen, it’s gonna happen, two things in the same time.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Andy Murray, jelena ostapenko, Karolina Pliskova, Matt Cronin, roland garros, Simona Halep, Stan Wawrinka, Timea Bacsinszky

Djokovic folds, rising Thiem to face Nadal

June 7, 2017 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

At ROLAND GARROS, DAY 11 — Without a doubt, Dominic Thiem played incredibly well to stun Novak Djokovic 7-6(5) 6-3 6-0 in the quarters. The most amazing thing was two and half weeks ago, the Serb blew him out 6-1 6-0 in Rome. Last year in the semis in Paris, Djokovic easily beat Thiem in three sets.

It’s one thing to lose, but why the heck did Djokovic look so awful in the third set? Over the past four years, the former No. 1 has been so consistent, so smart, so on the ball — all the time. But not anymore, as his head is spinning around. In the third set, he didn’t want to play anymore. He was done.

Can the 12-time Grand Slam champion recover soon? I doubt it. But, by the end of the year, Djokovic have calmed down. It’s very hard to say. That is exactly what he is thinking.

“In the last couple of tournaments, I have had some great matches. It’s unfortunate to finish Roland Garros the way I have done today,” Djokovic said. “I obviously always expect a lot from myself, but it’s a fact that I’m not playing close to my best, and I know that. I’m trying, as everyone else, to work on the game, and work on things. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t. It’s a whole new situation that I’m facing, especially in the last seven, eight months, not winning any tournaments, which hasn’t happened in many years. All the top players have been through that. So, I guess you’ve got to go through it, try to learn your lessons and figure out the way, how to get out of it stronger. It’s a big challenge, but I’m up for it.”

Instead of facing Rafa Nadal in the semis, it will be Thiem going against the Spaniard. Nadal got through when Pablo Carreno Busta retired in the second set. Nadal has sailed through the tournament with very little time spent on court.

Nadal and Thiem have played a bunch of times, with Nadal blasting him in Barcelona, and then Thiem out-lasting him in Rome. It should be fairly close, but the 14-time champion Nadal is the favorite for sure. Nadal will try to crush Thiem’s one-handed backhand by applying his heavy spin. If he does, Nadal will waltz into the final.

We saw a fine win by Stan Wawrinka, who destroyed Marin Cilic 6-3 6-3 6-1. The Swiss is so good right now that he has a legitimate chance to reach the final, if he manages to upend Andy Murray.

Last year in the semis, Murray out-though Wawrinka 6-4 6-2 4-6 6-2. This time, Wawrinka has to be patient, and wait for his opportunities.

New women’s No. 1 could be crowned

What a comeback by Simona Halep, who was down 6-3, 5-1 to Elina Svitolina before she recovered, and Svitolina became super nervous. Halep won 3-6 7-6(6) 6-0. The Romanian stood tall, while Svitolina cracked under pressure.

On Thursday, there will be a gigantic match with Halep facing Karolina Pliskova. If Pliskova prevails and moves on to the final, she will become No. 1. If Halep wins the semifinal, then the Romanian needs to win the tournament to become No. 1. If neither of those things happen, Angelique Kerber stays on top.

Imagine that. Maybe a new No. 1.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Andy Murray, Elina Svitolina, Kristina pliskova, Matthew Cronin, Novak Djokovic, Plus:dominic thiem, roland garros, Simona Halep, Stan Wawrinka

Stan Wawrinka working to win another major

June 5, 2017 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

At ROLAND GARROS, DAY 9 — There were a couple great contests on Monday, with Stan Wawrinka out-hitting the Frenchman Gael Monfils, 7-5 7-6(7) 6-2. Earlier, Elina Svitolina out-lasted Petra Martic 4-6 6-3 7-5.

Wawrinka has won the tournament here in Paris, but Svitolina has yet to come close. Without a doubt, the Swiss is playing extremely well once again. His backhand is scary and his forehand is very heavy. Wawrinka really wants to grab it again, but now, he is pushing back against the top players. He will face against Marin Cilic in the quarters, then maybe against Andy Murray in the semis, and very likely, Rafa Nadal in the final.

The Swiss knows how to play, but his body is pretty sore. We would think that he will yank Cilic from side to side, but if he has to play for a solid three hours. On Thursday, his toes will be cranky. Then he will find out whether he can last the distance.

Svitolina hasn’t gone deep at the majors before, but she has improved a ton. Now,she will have to face Simona Halep, who trashed Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1 6-1. Halep is a serious favorite.

No. 3 Karolina Pliskova overcame Veronica Cepede Royg 2-6 6-3 6-4. This is the first time that Pliskova has reached the quarters at RG. Finally, she’s showing some ability onclay.

Spaniard Caroline Garcia took out Alize Cornet 6-2 6-4. Garcia played extremely next up is Pliskova. Toss-up for sure.

Murray is playing better and better and against Karen Khachanov, he was explosive, with his backhand and forehand. He will be the favorite against Kei Nishikori, who sprinted past Fernando Verdasco 0-6 6-4 6-4 6-0. It looks like Murray and Nishikori will go to five sets, with some fun, long rallies. Murray believes he can grab it. Nishikori thinks that, too. Murray rarely gets nervous, but Nishikori does. If the Japanese wants to win hisfirst major, he is must step in and go for it. That is the only chance he has.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Andy Murray, Kristina pliskova, Matthew Cronin, roland garros, Stan Wawrinka

Wawrinka: ‘I know exactly what I have to do to win a Grand Slam’

June 2, 2017 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

At ROLAND GARROS, DAY 5 – In 2015, Stan Wawrinka won Roland Garros, stunning the world. He knocked out Roger Federer, Jo Tsonga and Novak Djokovic to snare the title.

This year, he has been A-OK. Not great, but so-so. However, last week, he finally felt much better, winning Geneva in his home country.

Now the three-time Grand Slam champion is ready to rock ’n’ roll. Today, he beat Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4 7-6 7-5. On Saturday, he will have to go up against Fabio Fognini, who has played fantastic ball recently.

But it doesn’t really matter because once Wawrinka gets hot, he locks in and he will go for it right on the lines. His deep forehand, heavy one-handed backhand, his tricky first serve is way up there.

Can he win Roland Garros one more time? He has a chance this week, but now, he will face some very difficult opponents: Fognini in the third round, maybe Gael Monfils in the fourth round, maybe Marin Cilic in the quarters, maybe Andy Murray in the semis, and then in the final, perhaps Rafa Nadal or Djokovic.

That is very rough, but doable.

“I don’t want people to talk about me. What matters to
me is to make a deep run in this tournament,” Wawrinka said. “If I can reach the final, people will talk about me. So, I just
want to move forward to notch up victories. Whether I’m part of the favorites it doesn’t matter at all.

“I know exactly what I have to do in order to win a Grand Slam. I have already won three Grand Slam titles, so I just want to remain focused on what I do.”

Good wins (sort-of)
Kevin Anderson took down Nick Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 6-1 6-2. That’s fine stuff by the veteran Anderson, but how in creation is Kyrgios’ so flat?

Guess who Anderson will play on Saturday? The Brit Kyle Edmund, who out-hit Renzo Olivo 7-5 6-3 6-1. Who expected that in the third round? Their first serves are gigantic, both of them.

Feliciano Lopez out-lasted David Ferrer 7-5 3-6 7-5 4-6 6-4. The tall Spaniard is getting older, but wiser. Now he has to play against Cilic. It’s all about rushing to the the net. That’s what Lopez does, he comes at the net all the time.

Juan Martin del Potro beat Nicolas Almagro, who retired after reinjuring his knee. He was seriously hurt, he laid on the ground and wept. Too bad. A sad day.
Delpo will have to go up against Andy Murray. The Scot is favored, but the Argentine has won a major before so it should be very close.

The American John Isner beat Paolo Lorenzi and he seems to be enthusiastic, playing mmuch better recently as compared to a disappointing first four months.

The Women: more good wins (sort of)
Aga Radwanska took a long time to beat Alison Van Uytvanck 6-7(3) 6-2 6-3. The Pole has never won a major, but she came close at Wimbledon, and she went deep at the Aussie Open and the US Open. But at Roland Garros, she has given up, because she cannot seem to overpower the other good players. Her backhand is wonderful, and she has so much variety, but she can get down on herself. Radwanska has been ranked in the top 5 forever, but she has yet to climb up the mountain and raise the trophy.

It’s hard to see Radwanska winning RG, but if she manages to reach the second week, then maybe. Here’s what Aga says:

“To be honest, if you’re talking about the Grand Slam, if I make thatkind of decision, it would have to be so bad and Iwouldn’t even walk normally. Of course clay, it’s never been my favorite surface. I’m not expecting, miracles here, but I will try my best. I’m playing really what I can do this yearon the clay, this is also Grand Slam. So it’s asimportant as Wimbledon or Australian Open. That’swhy I really want to play here, and do my best.”

Radwanska has to play against the Frenchwomen Alize Cornet, who beat Barbora Strycova. I expect the match will be on the main court on Saturday. Once again, it should be super close.

A fine win by Elena Vesnina, who beat Varvara Lepchenko in three sets. She will play against Carla Suarez Navarro, another close match.

We haven’t seen the No.17 Anastasija Sevastova much, but apparently she is rising. She crushed Genie Bouchard 6-3 6-0.

Two top competitors won, Karolina Pliskova and Simona Halep. If they stay healthy in the next week, they could face each other in the semis. Or they can lose on Saturday. Unpredictable.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Aga Radwanska, Matthew Cronin, roland garros, Stan Wawrinka

Nadal vs Federer again, in Aussie Open final

January 27, 2017 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

Roger Federer is in the Australian Open final.

Yes, for many, many years, he stood tall, winning 17 Grand Slams, beginning 2003, when he won Wimbledon.

Nearly 14 years later, he is still there, having a great time.Either way, he will face his good friend, Rafa Nadal, who overcame Grigor Dimitrov in nearly five hours.

In 2009, they played each other in a final, when the Spaniard took him in five classic sets.
Will it be another amazing match?

That’s possible, but as Nadal said, things have changed. That are older and wiser.
said Nadal, who has won 14 Slams.

In July last year, both men were hurt. Federer stopped playing the rest of the year. Nadal stopped in the fall.

Now Federer is pretty healthy and raring to go.

Nadal will recover on Sunday night as he will have 43 hours to rest before he will walk on court.
Federer beat two top 6 guys, Kei Nishikori and Stan Wawrinka, in five sets. Apparently, his legs are strong.

“You can only do so much treatment to feel decent. What I’ve just come to realize is when you don’t feel well, you have too many problems going on, you just won’t beat top-10 players,” Federer said. “
At some point you reach a limit, and you just can’t go beyond that. You can play them tight. You might win one of them. You just can’t win back-to-back. Just not feeling free enough, in your mind, in your body.

“That’s where both, I guess, Rafa [Nadal] and myself said, ‘Okay, enough of this already. Let’s get back to 100%, enjoy tennis again, enjoy the practice. Not just practice, treatment, practice, treatment, match, treatment. All the time all you’re doing is fighting the fire.’

“From that standpoint, the six months definitely gave me something in return. I didn’t go into a direction where I felt like I had to reorganize my life or reorganize my tennis in any way. I just wanted to get healthy again. … I am super happy I was able to win another five-setter in a Grand Slam. I don’t know how many times I won two five-setters in a Grand Slam. Maybe never before. So this is big.”

Late at night on Friday/Saturday, Nadal was tired, very tired. Those two have played many times, but things have changed, or that’s what Nadal says.

“I think this match is completely different than what happened before,” Nadal said. “Is special. We have not been there in that situation for a while, so that makes the match different. I really don’t think about what happened in the past. I think the player who play better is going to be the winner.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Australian Open, Grigor Dimitrov, Kei Nishikori, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, wimbledon

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

‘He is able to play with no mistakes ‘ Djokovic beat Nadal in semis

November 21, 2015 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

ATP World Tour Finals – When Novak Djokovic is smoking his first serve, twisting around, hitting the lines, aiming wherever he wanted to do go, to be able to beat him these days, he is nearly untouchable.

On Saturday, Djokovic out-hit him and bested Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-3 to reach the final. Once the rallies began, the Spaniard was in there, but he couldn’t shake him. Not only was he unable to read his serve – try 0/0 on break points – but also he couldn’t knock him back for the most part.

Very few people are willing to go toe-to-toe against Nadal’s ferocious forehand, but Djokovic was just fine there. The righty moves quickly forward with his two-handed backhand and made sure that the lefty Nadal’s heavy forehand doesn’t go way up past his shoulder. Djokovic reads the ball coming up fast and he hits it before it goes into the sky. Without a doubt, it is impossible to be on top of every single shot against the 14-time Grand Slam Nadal, but he was more than good enough, and in reality, he was better on every turn.

How about Djokovic when he was cracking his first serve: try 25/28 points won on his first serves. The Serbian nailed nine forehand winners, and the Spaniard hit four forehand winners. Djokovic wailed nine backhands, while Nadal’s weaker backhand only had one winner.

Djokovic hit three incredible rolling lobs after Nadal was right on the top of the net and couldn’t jump high enough. In the last game, Djokovic could sense that he should jump on him now. He attacked immediately, going down the line with a backhand and then a forehand. It was over, the fourth time that Djokovic has beaten him this year, at the ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo, Roland Garros, Beijing and now the ATP World Tour Finals. The Serbian has won all nine sets.

Now, head to head, they are tied up 23-23. It’s the first time that the 28- year-old Djokovic and the 30-year old Nadal are tied. Nadal beat him back in 2006 at Roland Garros. It took a very long time to catch up.

“Obviously after 46 matches and 10 years of professional tennis, I managed to tie my head-to-head score with Nadal,” Djokovic said. “It took a lot of time. I think I was a few levels under him at the beginning of my career when I started playing professional tennis. Nadal was alongside Federer dominating the tour. I just couldn’t really do much against him. But because we played so many times I had a chance to really shorten the gap, and now even the score.”

Nadal has been better at the end of this year. He was hurt during the second half in 2014, and he returned in 2015, but he wasn’t 100 percent. But gradually, he became slightly more confident. He was unable to win any of the majors or the ATP 1000s, but he did beat Stan Wawrinka, Andy Murray and David Ferrer at the ATP World Tour Finals. Pretty close, but no cigar. In fact against Djokovic, he is a long way off.

“Hitting amazing. Well, the return always amazing,” Nadal said of Djokovic. “This year he serving great, I think. And then he is able to play with no mistakes and changing directions so easy, playing so, so long. He’s doing everything good. He was better than me and he deserved to do what he did during the whole season. He played just fantastic. When somebody’s doing like this, just the only thing I can do is congratulate him.”

Nadal will go home in Mallorca. It’s a long time that he was able to play from January to November. At the very least, he can practice every day and when he arrives at Australia Open, maybe he will be closer against Djokovic.

“My body is healthy, is strong. I feel good physically,” Nadal said. “I am able to practice a lot. I am able to compete great in long matches, too.
Today I am not worried about my body. I was much more worried when I started this season than how I am today. I played the full season with not many problems. I finished the season healthy, with good health.

That’s so important for me to keep practicing, have confidence in my body, my movements, and another important thing: if you want to improve your game, you need to practice.”

Djokovic to meet Roger Federer

While Stan Wawrinka almost knocked off Roger Federer in the semifinals here last year, he wasn’t to be, losing 7-6(6) in the third. This time, he started quickly, but then Federer was on top of him, smacking his forehand, chipping him around, and attacking his second serves. He grabbed it 7-5 6-3.

Wawrinka is now done for the season, too, winning Roland Garros for the fist time. He was incredibly good on clay in Paris, but the 30-year-old still have work to do against the Big 4 boys. When he goes up against Federer, Wawrinka is up and down, he is not secured at the net, and he can get sullen.

This year, even though he was unable to win a Grand Slam this season, Federer appears to get better and better at the net cords. Against Wawrinka, he went 24/32 at the net points in two sets – pretty darn good.

He will have to do much the same against Djokovic. Yes, Federer did upend him early this week in the round Robin, but the final is another story. The Serbian wants to win badly as he will end this season nearly perfect. But the same goes with Federer, who has won six titles at the ATP Final and who loves indoors. It’s a pick-em, really.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: ATP Final, Noak Djokovic, rafa nadal, Roger Fedrer, Stan Wawrinka

ATP Finals: Wawrinka out-hits Murray, to reach semi vs. Federer

November 20, 2015 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

FROM THE ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS IN LONDON — When Stan Wawrinka starts well enough, he is in it. Even though he was a bit shaky at the end, he overcame Andy Murray 7-6(4) 6-4 to reach the semis against Roger Federer. The 30-year-old Swiss was more aggressive and his one-handed backhands were authoritative. Both players went toe-to-toe with their spinning forehands. In the end, Wawrinka’s first serve was heavier.

Murray was fairly enthusiastic, but he was angry with himself, not able to hit his groundies deep so he could come into the net. He was down 2-5 and two breaks in the second set, but he kept trying while Wawrinka almost disappeared for a few minutes. Murray had a huge chance, he had two break points at 4-5, and he couldn’t go further, so he destroyed his racket. Shortly after, his ball went wide and Wawrinka had moved on, quite happily.

The Scot finished with 22 winners and 30 unforced errors, while Wawrinka finished with 27 winners and 29 unforced. Good enough.

For the No. 2 Murray, he has way too many errors and that cost him, dearly.

“I’m not trying to take anything away from Stan. He serves big. At certain points in the match, he was hitting the ball very hard off both sides, playing sort of high-risk tennis, making a lot of winners,” Murray said.
“There was a period in the middle of the second set where he played extremely well, a lot of passing shots, hitting clean winners onto the line. There’s not much I can do about that obviously.

“Sometimes when you’re playing against the best players in the world, they can play great tennis. Just from my side on the important moments right now, I’m a bit disappointed with how I played them. If he had hit clean winners or played great points at 4-2 in the tiebreak, you come in and you say he was too good at that moment. But in the tiebreak, I made bad mistakes at the wrong time.”

Last year at the ATP Finals, Wawrinka and Federer met each other in the semifinals and put together an amazing match, with Federer winning 4-6 7-5 7-6(6). The two were so tired Saturday that Federer decided not to play at the final, largely because they wanted to play in the Davis Cup next week (which they won).

This time, they will go all out again. Wawrinka blasted him at Roland Garros in the quarters, while Federer took him in the semis at the US Open. Federer is favored, but slightly.

“He’s playing really well. It’s tough to play indoor, especially World Tour Final, he is always fit, always ready,” Wawrinka said. “Last year was an opportunity to beat him, didn’t took them.
Let’s see, I had a tough match now, two hours’ match with a lot of pressure. I also feel quite tired. I’m going to be focused on that, try to rest, try to recover and be ready for hopefully a good match.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Andy Murray, ATP Final, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka

Murray falls to Nadal, wants to win first ATP World Tour Final

November 19, 2015 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

FROM THE ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS IN LONDON – Andy Murray was not furious on Wednesday, but he wasn’t thrilled either. Rafael Nadal tore him apart, winning 6-4, 6-1. The Spaniard is getting better and better, while Murray dropped down, at least on that day, when his forehand was spotty, he didn’t serve particularly well and he wasn’t able to control the baseline.

In once sense, it doesn’t really matter, not when you can still win the ATP World Tour Finals title. Now, Murray is 1-1, having beaten David Ferrer and then losing against Nadal, who is now by the way, 16-6 head to head vs. the Scot. Stan Wawrinka is also 1-1, having also lost against Nadal, but he beat Ferrer in straight sets. On Friday night, Murray will face Wawrinka, and the winner will reach the semi and go up against Roger Federer, who went undefeated by over-coming Kei Nishikori 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in a terrific contest.

For about 20 minutes, Wawrinka was way off against Ferrer, banging his racket. Soon, he picked up, found the lines, dominated with his phenomenal one-handed backhand and then he took him down quickly, 7-5, 6-2. The fast Swiss is now ready to out-stroke the irritated Murray.

For the past couple of months, Murray was considering not playing at the ATP Finals, because next week, he will go to the Davis Cup final on clay in Belgium, and he wants to make sure that he is 100 percent and not be hurt or exhausted. But now, he is locked in the 02 London Arena and he wants to show the locals and the other players that he can actually win this event, to beat the best. He was asked whether he wasn’t that upset after Nadal pounded with his ferocious forehand. Murray knew that he still has an opportunity to reach the semis, so he didn’t feel down in the dumps, but he was a little angry.

“I think the way the format is, almost every game is important,” Murray said. “Rather than thinking like, ‘Oh, well, I can just lose this set, it’s fine.’ Maybe in the last round if you need to win one set to qualify, it’s a bit different. But every year when I’ve played matches, pretty much where I needed one set to get through—I played Tsonga [in the ATP Finals in 2012] and won that match in two sets. I played Roger in Shanghai a few years ago where I already qualified [for the ATP Finals] and played near a three-hour match with him. I’ve never looked at any of the matches like that. You certainly don’t want to lose to one of the guys that you’re competing against in the biggest events for the biggest titles in the sport quickly in the second set.”

Murray is currently ranked No. 2, which is very good, but he has not been spectacular all year, which is why he did not win a major, but he did grab two ATP Masters Series events, at Madrid and Montreal.

The 28-year-old has 37 titles, which is pretty darn good, having won two Grand Slams (the US Open and Wimbledon), the 2012 Olympics and a slew of ATP 1000s, but he has yet to reach the final at the ATP World Tour Finals. At home in the UK when he is up against the so-called Big 4-plus 1 (Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, himself and Wawrinka), the competition about as good as it gets.

Perhaps Andy Murray has been saying that the Davis Cup Final is more important, because Great Britain has not won since 1936, when Fred Perry lead their charge. Perry was the last British winner at Wimbledon and a couple of years ago, Murray raised the trophy on SW19, breaking the drought. He was heroic.

Next week, when he and the boys head to Belgium, they will be super intense and ready to go. However, this week is substantially important. If he can take out Wawrinka – who won Roland Garros this year – the 17-time major winner Federer, and either No. 1 Djokovic or the 14-time Slam champ Nadal, that would be one of his best titles ever. With all due respect, beating the No. 16 David Goffin, No. 85 Steve Darcis and No. 105 Ruben Bemelmans of the Belgium won’t count for as much as a title here.

Whomever wins the Davis Cup tie, it will turn just a few heads (especially in the UK). But 10 years from now, when everyone is discussing what occurred and who pulled off the biggest matches of 2015, if Murray upended the Big 4-plus 1, that will be when Andy had risen once again.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Andy Murray, ATP Final, Matt Cronin, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka

Kyrgios gets angry — again. Wins but obnoxious against Wawrinka

August 13, 2015 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

In Montreal, August 12

Late at night against Stan Wawrinka in Montreal, Nick Kyrgios grew angry in the first set, screamed at a linesperson, and after he lost the tiebreak, he screaming, he threw his rackets, yelling and saying “This is f—ing bullshit!” It was, by him, all night long.

But he continued to be play fairly well. He still irritable and during the second set he said to Wawrinka, “[Thanasi] Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend, sorry to tell you that, mate.”

That was ridiculously obnoxious.

However, he went on to win the match, as Wawrinka retired down 6-7 6-3 4-0 with a back injury.

After the match was over, Kyrgios was asked why he said that about Wawrinka. “He was getting a bit lippy with me,” he told the broadcaster Sportsnet’s Arash Madani. “Kind of in the heat of the moment. I don’t know. I just said it.”

And then, Wawrinka coach, Magnus Norman, went after Kyrgios: “That was really, really low Nick Kyrgios.” Norman tweeted. “Hope for u that u have people around that will teach u a thing or 2 about life tonight. Very bad.”

After a couple of hours, Wawrinka went online, and he was furious.

“Disappointing to see a fellow athlete and colleague be so disrespectful in a way I could never even imagine. What was said I wouldn’t say to my worst enemy. To stop so low is not only unacceptable but also beyond belief…here is no need for this kind of behaviour on or off the court and I hope the governing body of this sport does not stand… for this and stands up for the integrity of this sport that we have worked so hard to build.”

Kyrgios should not have said that to Wawrinka on court, but really, so many people have disagreements about their boyfriends and girlfriends, and they will argue – it’s just off the court, not on the court.

Now, clearly he is a very good friend with Kokkinakis, so something happened with Wawrinka that upset him. Exactly why and to which girlfriend, we do not no, officially that is.

However, Nick’s mother, Nill, knows something differently, tweeting: ‘A sledge for a sledge…do your research before piping up like sheep!”

Now, the 20-year-old Kyrgios just simply cannot stop yelling and talking, but he is already a terrific player and if he can stay healthy and continue to improve, he could crack the top 10 by next year – or faster. However, he has to be much more mature or the fans are going to rip him on court every single day.

Without a doubt, his new ‘coach’ Lleyton Hewitt will talk to Kyrgios and explain to him that he cannot embarrass the top players during matches. Hewitt knows that, given that Lleyton could swear on court regularly when he was young. Kyrgios will listen, and maybe he will try, but when he is playing against the very good players, his mind has become extremely intense and all he could think about is winning his way – anyway, anytime, anywhere, against anyone.

Wawrinka confronted Kyrgios in the locker room but nothing occurred – yet. Both men have a fair amount of friends and both have a lot to say. Even if they both disagree the one thing that everyone knows is that Kyrgios has to be more respectful on court. If he doesn’t, he will have to a hard time finding the fans who cheer for him when the match is going on very long and very difficult and he won’t know where to turn. Right there, an angry man could be losing, rather than winning.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Nick Kyrgios, Stan Wawrinka, Thanasi Kokkinakis