Tennis News

Murray wins

Andy Murray won in Shanghai, defeating Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets in the final.  That result was hardly surprising, but Bautista-Agut’s victory over Djokovic in the semis certainly was unexpected.  Bautista Agut had a great tournament for sure, but we still have to ask what is going on with Djokovic, who has taken quite a few unexpected losses since the start of the summer.  I watched Djokovic pretty closely in this tournament, and here’s my take on it:

First of all, it doesn’t take much of a diminution in your game to relinquish total dominance of the men’s tour.  There are so many great players, and they all come to play when facing the world number one.  Djokovic is still playing great tennis, he just isn’t beating everyone all the time as he did last year.  Here are his issues I think:

First, his return of serve, historically the strongest part of his game, is not as effective as it usually is.  Novak is failing to get as many serves in play, with his backhand return spraying wide more often than it did a few months ago.  It’s hard to pinpoint why this would happen, but I believe his footwork in setting up for that shot isn’t quite as good as before.  When you hit the ball has hard as a top pro, being off by just a few millimeters at the point of contact with the ball is enough to cause a miss. 

Another issue seems to be the low ball, particularly on the forehand.  When Djokovic gets a forehand above the waist he is clocking it as usual, but he is missing the shot below the waist more frequently.  The misses are long, short and wide as well, which indicates a problem with timing to me.  This problem is most easily detected when he is brought in by short balls.  Again, under circumstances such as this, the little steps needed to position oneself for the shot are a bit less crisp than we’re used to seeing from him. 

There also appear to be psychological issues with Novak right now.  Over the past several months he has been far more irascible on the court, with near disqualifications for racquet or ball abuse on a couple of occasions.  He shattered a racquet in this last semi with Bautista Agut.  He is also exhorting the crowd to support him in a manner which suggests that he doesn’t believe he gets the love he deserves.  Although his fellow Serbs really love him, both Federer and Nadal seem to draw more affection from the global tennis community.  This reality, on top of the fact that Novak has always been a bit brittle emotionally on the court, have combined to distract him a bit. 

Once again, Djokovic fans needn’t panic.  He is still the world number one (though Murray is closing in on him), and his amazing defensive play seems to be as good as ever.  I almost feel that a few months without the number one ranking would help Novak enjoy the game.  The reduction in pressure would allow him to relax, regroup, and remember that tennis is a game that should be played, at least in part, for fun.  Let’s see what develops.

Wozniaki wins

            Caroline Wozniaki won in Hong Kong, defeating Jankovic and then Mladenovic in the final.  Over the past several weeks she has really been showing the world how she made it to number one.  She can still be overpowered on the court, but Caroline’s movement and defensive abilities are among the most enjoyable things to watch on the women’s tour.

            New Singapore qualifiers include Muguruza and Madison Keys.   Serena Williams has withdrawn, citing injury, but this group is shaping up nicely, and the year-end finals should be very entertaining.