Murray Wins London, Ends Year at #1

Andy Murray defeated Novak Djokovic in the year-end final in London and secured the year-end number one ranking.  In this era of advanced equipment and player fitness and training, the style of play that I call “aggressive baselining” has been employed by an increasing number of players.  Murray, Djokovic and Nadal all play this style, which consists of consistent, hard hitting from the baseline, tremendous court coverage, and the use of passing shots that were impossible to make earlier in the open era in order to win points from players who dare to approach the net.  Aggressive baseline shots are not just rally balls, they are penetrating, heavy shots that force short balls from the opponent.  Once a short ball is hit, the aggressive baseliner pounces, hitting either outright winners or using the forehand to pin the opponent back and eventually bludgeon him to death.  This style of play is made possible by modern racquet materials and strings, which give a livelier shot with more spin, but it cannot be practiced effectively unless the player is fit and quick enough to cover a lot of court and maintain his stamina through long points. 

In the London final both Murray and Djokovic both used this style, but Murray was simply better at it.  Djokovic was uncharacteristically inconsistent from the baseline, as has been the case for several months.  He even missed a couple of sitters that any club player could have made.  So Murray, who lately has hit is ground strokes with newfound power and great consistency, and who has used his serve to win free points more frequently than in the past, prevailed in straight sets. 

As we look to next year, the following issues bear watching:

1) Will Djokovic, who has played his best early in the season over the past few years, recover his dominating level of play?

2) Federer will return.  How will he play?

3) Nadal did not make the quarters of a major this year.  What will he do in 2017?

4) Will any of the younger players break through and win a slam?  Top candidates are Raonic and Dominic Thiem.

5) Will Nick Kyrgios and Bernie Tomic learn to behave themselves, and if so, allow their talents to propel them to greater success?

6) Will Isner remain the top ranked American, or will he be supplanted by either Jack Sock or Steve Johnson?  Will of the very young Americans (e.g. Talyor Fritz or Frances Tiafoe) begin to have an impact?

Can’t wait to find out!

Murray Wins in Paris

Andy Murray won the Paris Master, beating John Isner in three sets.  The victory was expected for the new world number one.  However, Isner’s performance had some interesting features to it.  First, he beat Jack sock on the way to the final and resumed his position as the highest ranked American man.  He also was able to crack the top 20, sparing American tennis fans the ignominy of having no male players in the top 20.  In several of his matches here, including the final, Isner came to the net quite often, and displayed a deft touch on short-hopped balls as well as some good volleying.  Given the limitations to his baseline game imposed upon him by his huge body, and, given his terrific serve, the serve-and-volley approach looks like a good one for him.  Another factory that favors this tactic is Isner’s age.  He is now 31 years old, and not quite as well suited as he once was to protracted baseline rallies.  A very good year end performance for John.

London is next up and should be quite interesting.

Murray becomes number one

Andy Murray ascended to the number one ranking in men’s tennis today when he defeated Milos Raonic in a walkover at the Paris masters.   Raonic tore a muscle in the previous round and could not compete.  Murray was also helped by Novak Djokovic, who lost to Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals after having defeated Cilic in 14 straight previous matches. 

Why did Djokovic lose to Cilic?  Well, he simply missed more balls than usual, a result of visible lapses in concentration.  Novak’s mood was also quite a bit low key for someone trying to hold onto the number one ranking – he almost seemed relieved to lose as he warmly congratulated Cilic.  Rumors abound that Djokovic is distracted by issues with his personal life that involve infidelity on his part.  I could not find an absolute confirmation of this hypothesis, but clearly, something is bothering him.

Murray’s play has been better than ever over the past several months.  He’s been amazing since Wimbledon, with his typically phenomenal court coverage buttressed by more power on the forehand and perceptive tactical decision-making.  He really has been the best player in the world for quite some time; it simply took awhile for him to close the huge ranking points gap between Djokovic and the rest of the field.   So gratz to Murray for a well deserved achievement.

Djokovic has always been a bit emotionally labile on the court.  We will have to see where he goes from here.

Cibulkova is Cinderella in Singapore

Dominika Cibulkova completed an improbable run to win the WTA finals title in Singapore.  As the 7^th of 8 to qualify, she lost her first two round robin matches, first to Kerber and then to Madison Keys.  In order to have a chance to play make the semifinals, she had to beat Simona Halep in straight sets.  Simona Halep is no easy out, but she came into her match with Cibulkova suffering from a knee problem.  Cibulkova won that match and made it to the semis.

In the semis Dominika then beat Svetlana Kuznetsova, whose presence in the semis was also somewhat improbable.  She only qualified for the year-end championships by winning a tournament in Moscow the week before.  The semifinal match between Cibulkova and Kuznetsova was the best of the tournament, with Cibulkova winning in 3 sets.  Angelique Kerber had been cruising throughout the tournament, and defeated Aggie Radwanska, the defending champ, decisively in the semis.  It’s never easy to dominate Radwanska, so the stage appeared set for a great end to a great year for Kerber.

However Cibulkova, the human fire plug, would not be denied.  She played fantastic tennis in the final, with very few errors and a lot of winners.  When things are going perfectly for Cibulkova, as they were in this match, she can be hard to beat.  Recall that she made the final of the Australian Open in 2014, where she lost to Li Na.  So this was one of those super days for Dominika, and she took out Kerber in straights to win the biggest title of her career.   Although Kerber was surely disappointed by the loss, she can hardly feel down about the year she had.  She won two majors and gained the world number one ranking.  She is definitely the player of the year on the WTA.

Other finalists with notable years were Karolina Pliskova, who reached her first major final in New York, and Garbine Muguruza, who won her first major in Paris.  Muguruza, despite her breakthrough at the French Open, has some soul searching and work to do in the off-season if she wants to go to the very top.  She is frequently hampered in matches by emotional ups and downs which cause her to play poorly for stretches.  In her round robin match with Pliskova, for example, she served for the match twice but still lost.  In tennis, where big points, rather than the most points, determine match outcomes, poor play at the wrong moments can be devastating.  Muguruza must learn this principle by improving her awareness of key moments in matches and making sure she plays her best when it counts most. 

Tennis Happenings

Del Potro wins in Stockholm

Juan Martin del Potro won his first title in 33 months when he beat Jack Sock in the Stockholm final.  Del Potro’s resurgence continues.  When he first came back he was hitting slice backhands almost exclusively, but he is now coming over the ball more frequently and with more power.  His awesome forehand has never been better, and he is getting a lot of free points on his serve.  Barring a recurrence of his injury problems, he will be a force to reckon with in 2017.

Sock had a great tournament.  He beat rising superstar Alexander Zverev in the semifinal.  That loss was the second third set defeat for Zverev in the past few weeks (the previous loss was to Tsonga).  It’s possible that the 19-year-old does not yet have the level of mental and physical stamina he will need to go to the top of the tour.  There seems little doubt that he will get there, though.  It will be interesting to see if he can crack the top ten next year.

WTA year end championships

The year end championships are under way in Singapore.  Svetlana Kuznetsova squeezed into the final eight by winning the Moscow, then jumped on a plane to Singapore and beat Aggie Radwanska in her first round match.  Her hair was bothering her in the match so she gave herself a haircut in during a changeover!  Muguruza’s enigmatic up-and-down play manifested itself again when she lost to Karolina Pliskova.  Down a set and a break, Garbine came back, won the second set, and served for the match up 5-2 with two breaks in the third set.  Yet she still managed to get herself broken three straight times and lose.  Pliskova played better defensive tennis than I’ve ever her do before, so her work off court is paying off.  Angie Kerber looked like the world number one when she beat the always tough Simona Halep in her second match.  Dominika Cibulkova, the human fire plug, played hard, as usual, but lost her first two matches – one to Kerber and the next to Madison Keys.  The court in Singapore is quite slow, and it’s my opinion that slow courts favor big strong players who don’t move so well but who hit hard.  John Isner on the men’s side is one of those players, as is Pliskova on the women’s side.  Because of the conditions in Singapore, Pliskova bears watching.