Bridging the clay-court gap for Novak

In my latest piece for Tennis Canada, I look at Novak Djokovic’s chances at the French Open, which begins next week. Will this finally be the year when Djokovic takes the title and completes his grand slam resume? The full article can be found below at my personal blog on Tennis Canada’s official site.

Link: BRIDGING THE CLAY-COURT GAP FOR NOVAK.

Tennis Elbow: Back for the first time

Welcome to Tennis Elbow, a new column that will look back on the week that was in the world of tennis. This week, Charles Blouin-Gascon recaps the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

Whatever the 2013 season is for Rafael Nadal, don’t call it a comeback because it is so clearly reminiscent of how he first broke through—but more on this shortly.

The latest for the 26-year-old came this past week in Rome for the 2013 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, also known as the Rome Masters 1000. On his way to the title, Nadal won all but two of the sets that he played, and in the final dismantled Roger Federer by the score of 6-1, 6-3.

This proves that though time moves on, some things never change.

For example, Federer still really can’t beat Nadal, especially not on clay. Also, Nadal remains the greatest clay court player on the ATP World Tour—and it’s not really even close. By now the narrative is well known. After a seven-month layoff to nurse a knee injury following a second-round loss at Wimbledon, the Spaniard has now come back and proven to be fully healthy in 2013. He has mostly picked and carefully selected his events, which really means that he’s decided to focus on clay court events with only the 2013 BNP Paribas Open played on hard courts.

And the formula has worked for him—he’s reached the final of every event that he signed up for, winning six. His record is 36-2, with one of the losses a fluke against unknown Horacio Zeballos way back in February.

These days, the only man capable of giving fits to Nadal on clay is Novak Djokovic. The Serb did as much in Monaco, but couldn’t live up to his side of the bargain and lost in the quarterfinals against Tomas Berdych. (My money is on the fact that Djokovic has understood that the only event that really means anything for him now is the French Open, still the only prize left for him to add to his mantle. He’ll take losses in a Masters 1000 event if it means he can preserve energy and reach his peak for Roland Garros.)

Berdych was chopped liver for Nadal, much like David Ferrer before him, Ernests Gulbis before him and Fabio Fognini before him—and much like King Roger would be in the final.

Skepticism? Please. Nadal has won just about every match that he has played this year and, regardless of the surface, that means something.

I think he’s made sure that most of his matches have come on his favourite surface for the simple reason that he probably wants to put everything that he has in his Roland Garros defense. The way that I see it, it’s like him and his uncle Toni have told each other that if he can dominate the clay court season as he always does and win the French Open in 2013, then no matter what else follows would be a bonus.

This season, Nadal has proven to be back like the first time. His 2005 season is the one where he established himself atop, or near the top of, the ATP rankings and it remains his most prolific season still with 11 titles. Among those titles were Acapulco, Madrid, Barcelona, and Rome.

He has six far so far this year, with the four mentioned just above among the haul. The French croissant (i.e. Roland Garros) is just ahead. That would give him a seventh title for 2013—and it would make his season a successful one.

Beyond that, then he’s just playing with house money. As he knows from his partnership with Poker Stars, it’s not a bad situation to be in.

Follow Charles Blouin-Gascon on Twitter @CeeeBG

Nadal reaches semifinals in Rome; Djokovic defeated by Berdych

Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy

Quarterfinal results:

(6) Tomas Berdych defeats (1) Novak Djokovic 2-6, 7-5, 6-4; (5) Rafael Nadal defeats (4) David Ferrer 6-4, 4-6, 6-2; Benoit Paire defeats Marcel Granollers 6-1, 6-0.

Djokovic, Nadal march on to quarterfinals in Rome; Del Potro loses

Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy

Third-round results:

(1) Novak Djokovic defeats Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-1, 6-4; (5) Rafael Nadal defeats Ernests Gulbis 1-6, 7-5, 6-4; (6) Tomas Berdych defeats Kevin Anderson 7-5, 6-2; Benoit Paire defeats (7) Juan Martin Del Potro 6-4, 7-6(3); (4) David Ferrer defeats Philipp Kohlschreiber W/O.

Djokovic, Federer reach third-round at Rome Masters; Almagro, Haas crash out

Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy

First-round:

(9) Richard Gasquet defeats Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-4; Gilles Simon defeats Filippo Volandri 6-3 2-6, 6-4; Mikhail Youzhny defeats (13) Tommy Haas 6-4, 6-3; (15) Stanislas Wawrinka defeats Carlos Berlocq 5-7, 6-3, 6-3; Fernando Verdasco defeats Horacio Zeballos 6-3, 3-6, 6-3; Julien Benneteau defeats (12) Nicolas Almagro 7-6(2), 6-4; Viktor Troicki defeats Lukas Rosol 3-6, 6-1, 6-4; Jeremy Chardy defeats Feliciano Lopez 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(4).

Second-round results:

(1) Novak Djokovic defeats Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-3; Kevin Anderson defeats (11) Marin Cilic 6-3, 7-6(7); (2) Roger Federer defeats Potito Starace 6-1, 6-2; (7) Juan Martin del Potro defeats Andrey Kuznetsov 6-3, 6-2.

Tennis Elbow: The incomparable Serena

Welcome to Tennis Elbow, a new column that will look back on the week that was in the world of tennis. This week, Charles Blouin-Gascon recaps the Mutua Madrid Open on the women’s side.

Just like she did a year ago, Serena Williams took home the Mutua Madrid Open title in 2013. She did so in convincing fashion, dominating Maria Sharapova by the score of 6-1, 6-4.

(Don’t expect a lengthy post-match recap, because I don’t enjoy these much. And in full disclosure, I did not watch the match. In Canada, the men’s final was televised but the women’s wasn’t, because…yep, I have not a clue. I won’t use today’s column to further explain how ridiculous I find that women’s tennis is seemingly always playing second fiddle to men’s tennis. For now, let’s just say that I need that Tennis TV subscription as soon as possible.)

But back to Serena… She captured Madrid, because she dominated Sharapova—and she dominated the Russian, because that’s all she ever does. The win now brings their head-to-head record to 13-2 in favour of the American, and the two wins that Sharapova recorded came all the way back in 2004 when she first broke through.

A win would have given the 26-year-old Russian the No. 1 ranking but instead, it remains Serena’s to lose. It’s further proof that despite that she will turn 32 later this season, the younger of the two Williams sisters shows no sign of slowing down, especially not after having enjoyed perhaps her finest season yet in 2012. Simply put, Serena Williams is to the WTA Tour as Roger Federer is to the ATP World Tour. When she retires, she’ll be remembered as her generation’s best player, if not more.

But of course, she hasn’t retired yet.

The 2013 Mutua Madrid Open title was the 50^th of Serena’s career as well as her seventh on clay. Somehow, both those totals seem a little low and don’t quite give an indication to just how dominant she has been. For example, among the nine players with more career titles are Monica Seles (53), Virginia Wade (55) and Lindsay Davenport (55). All three are great players, obviously, but are they better than Serena?

Truthfully, if not for her older sister Venus and her 44 career titles including seven Grand Slam tournaments, perhaps Serena’s numbers would be higher. That said, there’s something to be said for a player whose 15 of 50 career titles came at the Grand Slam events—it’s that she performs best on the biggest of stages.

Serena never competed much on the junior circuit beyond a short stint until grade 9, and she never breathed and lived strictly tennis either. Rather, it seems like her father always allowed her and her sister to be girls as they were growing up, and Serena has been showing everyone that a tennis player can thrive while also having other interests beyond the sport.

This is no eulogy, though. There’s less ahead than there is behind her, at least for playing days, but Serena is still just as good as ever. She showed as much in Madrid in the final against Sharapova.

Last season, amid all the hoopla about Madrid’s blue clay, Serena was perhaps the only one to stand up to Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal when they complained about the playing conditions. “Just play on,” she had told them.

Blue clay, red clay…it makes no difference. She would know, with a title on each surface in each of the previous two years.

Follow Charles Blouin-Gascon on Twitter @CeeeBG

Podcast: Previewing the 2013 Rome Masters

In this week’s show, Nima Naderi and Parsa Samii are back in action with a preview of the Rome Masters from Italy.

With a lot to cover this week, we begin with a review of the Madrid Masters, which was won by Rafa Nadal. Can Nadal keep up his winning ways in Rome? Does Djokovic have the confidence to get back in the winner’s circle? How will Murray and Federer fair after poor performances in Madrid? We also discuss Wawrinka’s new found form, Raonic’s split from Galo Blanco and Dimitrov’s flashy game.

As always, you can alternatively listen to the #1 tennis PodCast via iTunes and never miss another episode. It is very easy and completely free.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Dimitrov upsets Djokovic at Madrid Masters in three hour epic

Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain

Bulgarian youngster Grigor Dimitrov caused the upset of the Madrid Masters thus far on Tuesday, upsetting top seed Novak Djokovic 7-6(6), 6-7(8), 6-3 in second-round action. Needing three hours and six minutes to advance, Dimitrov used his crafty backhand and forehand up-the-line to offset the top ranked player in the world. Reaching the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters last month, Dimitrov improved to 16-9 on the season and has now defeated three top 10 players in his career. Djokovic, who was attempting to better his quarterfinal finish from last year, will now set his sights on the Roma Masters in Italy. Dimitrov will next face Stanislas Wawrinka or Santiago Giraldo.

Tennis Elbow: Blue no more

Welcome to Tennis Elbow, a new column that will look back on the week that was in the world of tennis. This week, Charles Blouin-Gascon wonders what has changed in a year at the Mutua Madrid Open.

Let’s start this column in much the same way Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray led a minute of silence this past weekend in Madrid in the memory of ATP executive chairman and president Brad Drewet, who passed away on May 3 at the age of 54.

…And now, let’s talk tennis.

Let’s talk tennis, and let’s say that everything that used to be blue isn’t blue no more.

In 2013, that’s the lesson. A year ago, the Mutua Madrid Open got underway amid controversy with its playing surface—blue clay that was supposed to be more appealing to the eyes. Whether it actually was more aesthetically pleasing is probably moot, but that’s the logic that was used in 2012 by the tournament directors, among whom Romanian and former ATP pro Ion Tiriac.

It’s pretty much the same logic that led to hardcourts becoming purple and abandoning the green and red colours once upon a time.

Only in the case of the Madrid Masters 1000 event, the experiment lasted all of one year. Right away, some of the bigger names on the ATP World Tour had voiced their displeasure—and by some, I mean Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Indeed, the two top players of the time weren’t too keen on that blue clay, and each suffered through a difficult week—Nadal losing 6-2, 6-2 to Fernando Verdasco in the third round, and Djokovic to his countryman Janko Tipsarevic in two sets as well.

A year later, it seems like it was all just a lot of fuss for naught. While the ATP had explained, then, that, “It is a good thing that our tournaments are trying to be innovative,” it did also mention that the decision of whether or not to make the blue clay a fixture would be reached with player feedback.

In the end, the blue clay was undone, because it wasn’t up to par with the other surfaces. “There were clearly issues with the quality of the courts in Madrid,” Drewett had said that at the June 2012 meeting of the ATP board of directors. “Regardless of colour, we must first ensure that courts are safe and fair for players.”

See? That the blue clay was blue had nothing to do with it.

In 2013 then, Madrid is back to the traditional red clay. The tournament is back to its regular programming, and Rafael Nadal is probably back to his own central role. He’s proven, this year, to be healthy and as good as he was before the 2012 knee injury that sidelined him for so long. After a rough loss in his home away from home in Monaco, the Spaniard probably wants to get back to his winning ways as soon as he possibly can—and it starts in Madrid.

Every year, the Mutua Madrid Open is one of the last stops before the grand prize of the clay court season that is the French Open. Perhaps more importantly, because he did so poorly in 2012 at the event, this Madrid Masters is one of the only events where the 26-year-old can gain points…before Wimbledon! He’s currently ranked No. 5, and is likely to stay there for some time.

There will be no blue clay this season in Madrid. It’s back to usual, and here’s to hoping Nadal and Djokovic can rekindle their rivalry.

Follow Charles Blouin-Gascon on Twitter @CeeeBG

QUARTERED! ATP Mutua Madrid Open Men’s Prediction

An ATP Masters 1000 event is somewhat of an oddity when it comes to professional tennis events for two reasons.

First, the “1000s” are mandatory events for the game’s top players. There is a lot at stake, both in terms of money and ranking points, so most of the top players make sure that they arrive at the tournament mentally and physically ready to perform. Those who stay home are either injured, or experienced enough to merit a special exemption by virtue of their age and playing records (ex: Roger Federer skipping Monte Carlo earlier this spring). When you show up to the locker room at a Masters 1000, everyone around you can play serious ball, and has enough game to beat anybody in the world on a given day. The same cannot be said for any other types of tournaments on the calendar, not even Grand Slam events.

Second, even though the 1000s are played with a draw of 64 players, 8 of those spots are actually first-round byes reserved for the top 8 seeds. The free money and ranking points are surely welcomed, but at the same time, coming into the tournament cold and playing against potentially a top-20 player in the second round is a tough proposition for anyone – Djokovic, Federer, Murray and Nadal included. Upsets will occur early and often, so be on the lookout for that.

Because of these two characteristics, getting a good draw at a Masters 1000 event could mean the difference between losing in the second round and getting to the semi-finals. Let’s see what the players are up against starting this Sunday in Madrid:

QUARTER 1

(1)    Djokovic

(15) Wawrinka

(12) Raonic

(7) Tsonga

Overview:

In Indian Wells less than two months ago, Grigor Dimitrov was serving for the first set at 5-4 against the world #1 when he hit no less than three double-faults in a row to give the momentum back to Novak Djokovic. Dimitrov then more or less fell apart, and lost the match 6-7 1-6. If all goes to plan, he’ll get a rematch against the Serb in round 2. Look for him to get a set this time, but no more.

Speaking of tricky second-round matches, Alexandr Dolgopolov will get a chance to square off against Tsonga. Anything can happen when Dolgo takes to the court, but Tsonga should be too solid for the mercurial Ukrainian.

Favored to move on: Djokovic

Floaters: David Goffin, Martin Klizan

*****

QUARTER 2

(3) Murray

(16) Simon

(9) Tipsarevic

(6) Berdych

Overview:

Examples of top players getting brutal first-round draws at a Masters 1000: both Simon and Tipsarevic will be in tough despite being seeded, as they are playing Julien Benneteau and Juan Monaco respectively. Expect one or both of them to be sent packing by the underdogs.

Berdych has a first round bye and could be in danger as well. He will face either Jerzy Janowicz or Sam Querrey in the sound round. Janowicz especially has the type of game which can give a top player trouble. He will also have the benefit of coming into the match with some court time under his belt, were he to get past the American and book a showdown with the sixth-seeded Czech.

Favored to move on: Murray

Floaters: Jerzy Janowicz, Tomaz Bellucci

*****

QUARTER 3

(5) Nadal

(11) Almagro

(13) Haas

(4) Ferrer

Overview:

This section of the draw is absolutely stacked with Spanish clay-court talent. Nadal, Ferrer and Almagro are the usual suspects, but don’t forget about wildcard recipient Tommy Robredo, who is back at the top echelon of the pro game after a few years in no-man’s land. He could make it as far as the third round for a date with the ironman David Ferrer.

Nadal gets a really kind-looking draw here. His second round match, against either Benoit Paire or a qualifier, should be a cakewalk. Then he is slated to meet Almagro and Ferrer in succession. He has never lost against Ferrer on clay, and has never lost to Almagro, period.

Favored to move on: Nadal

Floaters: Tommy Robredo, Fabio Fognini

*****

QUARTER 4

(8) Gasquet

(10) Cilic

(14) Nishikori

(2) Federer

Overview:

Federer is the defending champion, but the tournament is no longer played on the quicker blue clay, and the Swiss has not played a competitive match since losing heavily to Nadal in Indian Wells. He’ll have his work cut out for him, though the high altitude in Madrid should still give him game a bit more punch. He’ll play either Tomic or Stepanek in round two. Neither will be easy to deal with, but Tomic is definitely the more dangerous foe here.

The guy to watch out for is John Isner. As usual, everyone at a Masters 1000 CAN play great tennis, but mostly the one who’ll move on is whoever’s playing better tennis on a given day. Not so with Isner, because against him you’re never really playing tennis. As with Federer, the altitude will help the American get some more aces and unreturned serves. If he can string together some good returns, look for him to sneak into the semis.

Favored to move on: Isner

Floaters: Bernard Tomic, Feliciano Lopez

*****

Jack is a Montreal-based marketing professional and business lecturer. In addition to writing for Tennis Connected and traveling the world to cover the pro game, he also write about business for IndecentXposure.com. Check out his work for IX here.

Twitter: @KSplayersClub

Instagram: SoireeCulturelle

Next Page »