Rogers Cup

Zverev, Svitolina dominate.

In an extraordinary display of power tennis, Sasha Zverev dominated Roger Federer in the Rogers Cup final.  It’s not often that Federer is treated this way on a hard court (Djokovic has done it on occasion).  By the middle of the second set, Federer actually looked resigned to defeat.  What more can one say about the play of Zverev, the youngest player to win two masters 1000 events in one year since 2007.  He is serving very well, hitting all ground strokes with amazing power, and moving very well for one his size.  His net play can still improve, but he doesn’t often need to play the net – he just destroys opponents from the base line.  Barring injury, this man is headed for the very top of the ladder.  Zverev is likely to be seeded in the top 4 at the US open, with Djokovic, Murray, and Wawrinka not playing.

Similarly, Elina Svitolina dominated Caroline Wozniaki, who beat world #1 Karolina Pliskova on her way to the final.  Svitolina played error free tennis and kept the ball very deep.  Wozniaki did all she could, but it wasn’t nearly enough.  As many pundits have pointed out, the women’s tour is wide open right now.  That should make the US Open very interesting to watch.

Montreal happenings

Huge upset.  Denis Shapovalov, an 18–year–old Canadian lefty ranked 130 in the world took out Rafa Nadal in a third set tiebreaker, thus denying Nadal the opportunity to become number 1 in the world this week.  This match was remarkable for the fact that Nadal actually played well, and that Shapovalov held his nerve at the end.

Shapovalov’s game is one of aggression.  He has a very good serve, made better by being a lefty, a very powerful forehand and a one handed backhand that looks weak when produced but that keeps him in points.  He is also very accurate with his shots for one so new to the top echelons of the game, and he is a talented court tactician. 

Though Nadal was blasting his forehand and serving well, this surface did not take his spin as well as a clay surface, and Shapovalov was able to handle the power.  Nadal seemed slightly thrown off by the fact that Shapovalov received more fan support than he (a Canadian in a Canadian tournament, but still!), and the fact that Shapovalov did not crack under the pressure of a final set tiebreaker against one of the greatest to ever play the game. 

Shapovalov came into the match after just having defeated Juan Martin del Potro, so it looks as if he will be a force on the tour.  Time will tell.

Other notable events.  Nick Kyrgios lost for the first time to the resolute and determined Sasha Zverev.  Kyrgios made a number of “showoff” shots in losing.  The weakest part of Kyrgios’ game is still his brain. 

Replays to watch:

A terrific point:  Nishikori serving to Gael Monfils at 6-3 in the third set tiebreaker.

A terrific game:  Sasha Zverev serving to Richard Gasquet at 5-6 in the third set.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

There was some very good play last week in the Citi Open and Bank of the West classic, as well as some bad and ugly play.

The good: At the Citi Open, Sasha Zverev powered his way to victory, beating Ken Anderson in the final.  Zverev was awesome throughout the tournament, with big serving and penetrating ground strokes that he appeared to be hitting as safe shots, but which backed his opponents off the court.  Zverev played within himself but still dominated.  This guy is the real deal and in my opinion will be in the world’s top 5 before year’s end.  He is 20 years old.

Also good was the final of the Bank of the West tournament in California.  Here Madison Keys defeated Coco Vandeweigh in two close sets.  Both players hit the ball beautifully and served well on big points.  A terrific match.  Will Keys use this post-injury success as a springboard to the top 5?  She as the tools, and Lindsay Davenport is back coaching her.  We’ll see.

The bad:  Some bad play was shown by Christina McHale in the Citi Open, where she outplayed Eugenie Bouchard for 2 sets but collapsed in the third and got steamrolled.  McHale is a better player than she showed in this match.  She needs to work on maintaining her concentration.

The ugly: Some ugly play was shown by Bouchard, who beat McHale in 3 sets and then fell to Andrea Petkovic, ranked 110 in the world, in a 0-6 third set.  Her play has been worse than bad - it has been ugly.  Although she did beat McHale, Christina has had a tough year, with a losing record even when her qualifying matches are included in the stats.  Bouchard sprayed her inside out backhand as much as 10 feet wide of the court on multiple occasions, and also frequently hit her forehand long.  What’s going on with this player, now ranked in the 70’s, who once made the final of Wimbledon?

In my opinion she has problems both technically and psychologically.  On the technical side, she appears to be late setting up for her shots, both with racquet preparation and footwork.  As a result, she is hitting the backhand late and spraying it wide, and on the forehand she is reaching for the ball at the last second, which often results in shots going long.  On the psychological side, she has shown vulnerability in the past, and now it appears that she’d rather not be a tennis player.  She issued a scorching criticism of Maria Sharapova, who, like her, burst on the scene as a youngster.  However Sharapova followed up her early success with multiple slam victories.  Perhaps Bouchard called her a “cheater” out of professional jealousy.  It’s worth remembering that all of Sharapova’s slams wins were achieved while she was in full compliance with substance abuse regulations.  Bouchard also refused to shake the hands of her opponents during the last Fed Cup encounter between Canada and Romania, stating that she didn’t want to be friendly to someone against whom she was about to compete.  These behaviors lead me to believe that she’s a very unhappy player.  She should take a page from Roger Federer’s book.  Enjoy the game!

Federer wins… again

Roger Federer took out Marin Cilic in a straight set, somewhat anticlimactic final to win his 8^th Wimbledon, his second major title of the year, and his 19^th career major title.   This was something of a “deer in the headlights” match for Cilic. 

This match was decided in the first set, when Federer broke first and served it out.  In second set, with Federer already up 3-0, Cilic called for the trainer and doctor for treatment during the changeover.  They did not minister to him in any way, but Cilic broke down in tears and draped a towel over his head.  Cilic may have had some physical problem (he fell on a point at 2-2 in the first set), but the issue seemed more emotional, as Cilic seemed to realize, and, unfortunately for the fans, accept the fact that he could not beat Federer.  More tears were shed by Federer after the win, as he realized what he had accomplished.

At this point it’s worth considering whether Federer might be one of the greatest athletes of all time in any sport.  No, he is not as big and strong as Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown or Wilt Chamberlain; no, he never won the Olympic decathlon or broke the world record in the 100 meter dash; no, he never bench pressed more than 500 pounds.  However, in all sports, it is a combination of physical ability and mental stability that leads to success.  When Federer plays, the message he sends is “I love tennis”.  His mental approach to a sport with no active coaching permitted and the obstacles posed by the court and a thinking adversary is one of realism, calm, and indeed, joy at simply playing.  These attributes lead not only to unparalleled success, but to a demonstration of the beauty of sport that few athletes have ever provided.   When he won, Roger thanked his team, the tournament administrators and the fans.  But it is they who should be thanking him for providing the spectacle of legendary greatness in real time. 

Muguruza wins

Garbine Muguruza won the Wimbledon championship today, beating Venus Williams, 7-5, 6-0.  This was an old fashioned slugfest in the first set, with the players trading mainly powerful forehands.  Muguruza got a late break and served out the first set, which really could have gone either way.

            After that Venus pretty much collapsed.   She began spraying shots from both sides and moving relatively sluggishly around the court.  Her problem seemed more mental than physical, as she seemed to have counted on the first set to springboard her to victory.  However, although she lost, Venus had a very impressive tournament, and played what I believe to be some of the best tennis of her career.

            An important feature of Muguruza’s game in this match and throughout the tournament was that she embraced the principle once articulated by Lindsay Davenport: “If you can’t hit a winner, don’t make an error.”  When out of position, Muguruza put balls deep in the court with high net clearance and waited for more opportune times to hit out.  This approach is lacking in many young female players with great ground games (Ostapenko, Keys, Osaka, Giorgi etc.).  These players seem quite often to go for broke on every ball, and they hit so well, the approach often works (witness Ostapenko’s French Open win).  But a certain amount of discipline and tactics can greatly strengthen a player’s game, as Muguruza showed in this tournament.  It’s interesting to contrast this win with her victory over Serena Williams in the French Open last year.  In that match Muguruza blasted every ball and got away with it.  This year at Wimbledon she played a powerful but much more secure game.  She also served well, which has not always been true of late.

            If Garbine continues playing this way, harnessing her awesome power and playing some tactical tennis, she will win many more majors.