Rogers cup happenings

Dimitrov wins

            Grigor Dimitrov has now won three matches in a row, an achievement for him these days.  His last one was over Ivo Karlovic, who has played exceptional tennis over the past few weeks.  Karlovic has backed up his serve with a great volley game and even some service return winners, and has won a lot of matches over the lately.  Dimitrov has been in a funk, playing aimless tennis, but he seems to have come alive in this tournament after surviving a close one in the first round.  In an earlier post (He’s no Fed, Baby!) I pointed out the reasons I believe Dimitrov is not as successful as he certainly should be.  Let’s see if his run here starts his engines.

            Similar to the surprising success of Karlovic lately is that of Gael Monfils, who actually looks like he’s interested in winning matches.  His attractive dreadlocks are gone, but his focus is better than I’ve ever seen.  Boy can he move around the court!  He beat David Goffin, a very tough customer, yesterday. 

            Milos Raonic is doing what he always does – winning his early round matches and giving himself a chance to go all the way in tournaments.  He has had a very consistent year and is threatening to break down the door that separates the “big four” from the rest of the tour. 

Kucova continues.

            Kristina Kucova defeated Eugenie Bouchard to continue her improbable run at the Rogers Cup.  Kucova, ranked outside the top 100, had already beaten Yanina Wickmayer and Cara Suarez-Navarro.  Bouchard dominated this match until the middle of the second set, when she rather suddenly went off the rails and started missing balls left and right.  As Bouchard acknowledged afterwards, her problem was mental.  Bouchard has progressed well this season after a poor 2015, but clearly she hasn’t completely exorcised her demons. 

            Madison Keys looked quite good in defeating Venus Williams, who was of course provided the injury excuses that the Williams sisters often get from the American press when a match doesn’t go well for them.  Also playing very well is Simona Halep.  A match between Keys and Halep would be fun to watch.  Angie Kerber has been tested but has also prevailed so far.  I believe one of these three will win the tournament.

Back to Blogging

So I’m back now after a computer malfunction.  Luckily, no huge events transpired shortly after Wimbledon.  The big recent one is, of course, Roger Federer.  Federer will sit out the remainder of 2016 because of lingering injury issues, apparently involving his recently surgerized knee.  This must be a huge disappointment for him, as a singles gold in the Olympics was one of his main unfulfilled career goals.  Sad for us as well, since he’s so much fun to watch. 

Where will Roger’s game be in 2017, when he presumably will be playing warmups for the Aussie Open.  His age and long absence may significantly compromise his performance.  We can only wait and see, I guess.

Rogers Cup Underway

            The Rogers cup is underway in Canada.  Only noteworthy events so far are the losses of Alexander Zverev, who may be a bit fatigued after playing in the very hot Citi Open last week, and Nick Kyrgios, who lost to the 17-year-old Wimbledon junior champ Denis Shapalov.  Why Kyrgios lost is not quite as easy to explain.  Maybe Shapalov is a superstar in the making, or maybe Kyrgios left his brains in the hotel.

            There are several interesting matches to be played on the women’s side.  Eugenie Bouchard, who recently lost a close one to Cibulkova in a Wimbledon warmup, will play her again today.  Bouchard has had nerve issues when playing at home in the past, but she came through a close one against Safarova in the first round.  Bouchard is turning things around, I think, so this may be a good match to watch.  Venus Williams, seeded 6 here(!) will play Barbora Strycova, who can be very tough.  That could be a good one as well.   Daria Kasatkina, who I think has a lot of potential, will go up against Sam Stosur and her large biceps.  This one could be fun, and we can’t help but wish for good things for Marjana Lucic-Baroni, who has survived so much pain and trauma in her career.   She will play Angelique Kerber, who is the obvious favorite.  Good luck Marjana!

Who’s the GOAT?

Now that Serena Williams has won her 22^nd major, tying Steffi Graf for the modern day record, talk will resume about who is the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT).  The discussion always involves Serena and Steffi Graf, both of whom have amassed formidable records of achievement.  Below I’ve attached a table of some of the key career stats for both players.  Regardless of how you may view this comparison, there is an important point to make, and that is, the discussion has no point. 

When deciding “who is the greatest” at any sport, you are comparing players who played at different times and against different opposition.  There are also factors that affect career stats but have nothing to do with a player’s greatness, such as injuries, personal decisions about where to play, when to play, and how long to play etc.  So, inescapably, the judgment about who the GOAT is, is subjective.  In this case I would suspect that if you’re German, it’s Steffi, and if you’re an American, it’s Serena.

           However, rather than feeling frustrated over our inability to settle the issue definitively, we should revel in one of the great beauties of sport: That although the task facing every contestant is the same, no two people play exactly the same way.  The way a person plays a sport is as unique as his or her fingerprints.   It is the unique style of every player that so intrigues sports fans, and keeps us coming back to watch more matches.  So I recommend that we sit back, relax, and simply enjoy the watching these great athletes display their individual arrays of incredible skills.

Steffi and Serena Stats:

  

Steffi                                                   Serena

Years played                                         17                                                         21*

Career record                                  900-115 (89%)                                     768-127 (86%)*

Slam wins/finals                                  22/31                                                    22/28*

Slam record                                      282/32 (89%)                                       304/42 (88%)*

Weeks @ #1                                      377 weeks,                                               300*

Consecutive wks @ #1                         186                                                       157 *

Titles                                                     107                                                         71*

Unique achievements:

Graf:    Won calendar slam and golden slam, 1988

Won 3 slams 5 consecutive years

Won 5 slams in a row

Twice held all 4 slam titles

Won all slams at least 4 times

Serena Williams Won 3 slams at least 6 times

Golden slam (not in same year)

Has many records for winning slams over several decades and winning multiple doubles titles

Opposition:

Graf:  Her opposition became a bit less tough when Monica Seles had her career interrupted by stabbing.

Williams:  Her opposition became a bit less tough when Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin retired.

* Indicates ongoing stats.

Wimbledon Men’s Final

Murray over Raonic in straight sets.

            Milos Raonic did not play as well in the final as he did when he beat Roger Federer in the semis.  He did not serve as well, move as well, or hit as consistently off the ground.  Still, he played hard, and played well enough to beat many top pros.

            His play was nowhere near good enough to beat Murray, however, who played the best tennis that I’ve ever seen him play.  His serve was dominating, with his second serve being unusually strong; his defense was its usual amazing self, his passing shots were phenomenal, his movement was crisp, and his tactical decision- making was flawless.  I’ve always thought of Murray as the “soft” member of the big four, but he could have beaten anyone today. 

            One thing that I think would have helped Raonic is if he’d been slightly less aggressive at the start of the match.  A few extended rallies early would have helped him settle in to his first major finals match, and he would have also had a chance to assess Murray’s tendencies off the ground.  I couldn’t help feeling that he didn’t have an effective enough plan for this match.  For example, while is overall plan to approach the net was sound, he repeatedly did so on approach shots, like the slice to the backhand, that Andy ate for lunch. 

            Raonic says he wants to be back, and his successful navigation of a very tough road to this final engenders optimism that he will indeed be in another major final down the road.  He didn’t win this one, but he has plenty to be proud of, and it goes without saying that he will get right back to work on the practice court.  For his part, Murray has established himself as one of the true greats of the modern game.  I can’t think of him as the “soft fourth” of the big four any more   

Wimbledon Women’s Final

Serena wins, straight sets.

            This was a WONDERFUL tennis match, pitting Williams’ consistent power against the marvelous defensive skills and determination of Kerber.   Some of the extended baseline rallies were enthralling to watch, and one could not help but have the utmost respect for both players when it was done.

            The difference was Serena’s serve.  Her serve was working exceptionally well, and on grass, that spells trouble for anyone.  Kerber did great things with the chances she got, but she just didn’t get enough chances.  Williams’ aces and easy points on serve allowed her to do what all players should try to do to win – play short points on your own serve, long points on your opponent’s serve.

            So now that Serena has won slam #22, we’ll hear a lot of chatter about the “greatest of all time”, which realistically can only include the open era.  Serena’s biggest competition in this discussion is Steffi Graf.  A comparative analysis of their respective careers will be posted soon.