By Yeshayahu Ginsburg

The tennis world has been abuzz the past few days after Guy Forget’s comments that the French Open could potentially give Rafael Nadal a higher seed than his current spot in the ATP rankings. The Slams technically do have leeway in their seedings, but they have always stuck to the ATP rankings. Wimbledon is the only holdout, as it uses a separate formula that gives bonus points for accomplishments on grass. Indeed, before 2001 Wimbledon used to do their seedings by committee, but abandoned that because the players were so against it.

Whether or not the French Open could do this, though, and there really is no rule stopping them, is the entirely separate discussion of whether or not they should. And the answer to this, invariably, is that giving Nadal a boost in seeding would be a terrible mistake.

It is not because Rafa does not deserve the top (or 2nd) seed. Rafa has proven that he is the man to beat on clay and in Paris in particular. There is no question about that. However, being the best player at the event should have nothing to do with the seedings.

The French Open, in the current era, always does its seeding based on the rankings. Sometimes that is to the advantage of better players; sometimes it isn’t. That’s the way things go. Back when Pete Sampras, who only reached one French Open semifinal, was World #1, being the #1 seed did not mean much. Indeed, Nadal has only been the top seed at Roland Garros once. There was never talk of bumping him up to #1 and Federer back to #2. Last year, Djokovic was the #1 seed and Nadal was second. No one cared.

And that is what brings us to the real reason that this would be a terrible decision by the French Open: not only is it completely arbitrary, but it is blatant favoritism towards a certain player. It is not even about protecting the other top seeds from meeting Rafa a round early. It is about the fact that the tournament would be giving unfair special treatment to one player. That player may be the best to ever grace the clay courts of Roland Garros. But that fact is irrelevant. The fact is, as an unbiased institution, no tournament can treat any player any different than the rest.

When Juan Martin Del Potro had to take close to a year off of tennis not long after winning the 2009 US Open, no one complained how unfair it was that his ranking dropped. It was a talking point, certainly. People were interested in where he could wind up in draws because he would be a massively dangerous floater. But no one dreamed of granting him a top 10 seed at the 2011 Australian Open. When Robin Soderling finally makes his return to tennis, will the French Open bump him up to a top 5 seed? After all, he was a top 5 player before being forced to leave the game for 2 years (and counting) with a protracted bout of mono.

We have to think what would motivate a tournament to change the seeding like this. And when we think about it, we reach a conclusion that is chilling to us as sports fans. The tournament doesn’t want their marquee players and matchups to happen too early. That’s fine. Everyone has rooting interests, especially those who stand to gain more money and exposure from some results than others. But when the tournament itself arbitrarily changes its rules to support one player or group of players, it has now fiddled with the fair competition aspect of the sport.

Let’s face it and call a spade a spade. If the French Open would bump up Rafa’s seed, it would be a gross show of favoritism. How would a player feel even competing in a tournament against a player who has already been granted a massive favor by the tournament organizers themselves?

Most of all, though, how is this fair to David Ferrer? Ferrer is the most humble player on tour and would never say he deserves more than what he has, but what about him? He has earned his #4 ranking by winning matches and going deep into tournaments. And the French Open would be telling him that he’s not as important. For a tournament to be fair it has to treat everyone equally.

The French Open would be firing a massive shot against the entire ATP season and every player not named Rafael Nadal that they don’t matter as much. That’s fine for the fans to think. That’s fine for the TV networks to use. That is not in the least bit fine for the tournament itself to say. The tournament itself has to remain impartial. And favoring Nadal over Ferrer—and everyone else—is being just about as partial as you can get.

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Juan Martin Del Potro is in with a fighting chance of winning the second slam of his career this year at Wimbledon.

Juan Martin Del Potro shot to prominence in a big way in 2009, winning his first slam title at the US Open and recording huge victories against Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Fedex had been in his prime, and few had expected Delpo to leave the court victorious in the final when he forced a fifth set against the Swiss legend. The Argentine played some outstanding tennis against Federer, yet his final-winning performance was eclipsed by a 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 battering of Nadal in the semis, in which he gave Rafa a beating that hasn’t since been bettered.

Fast forward to 2013, and Del Potro still sits behind Roger and Rafa in the pecking order and is still eager to get his hands on a second slam title. A wrist injury forced him into surgery in 2010 and he wasn’t able to build upon his Flushing Meadows heroics. So is there reason to believe, now that he’s been injury-free for a while, that Del Potro can re-establish himself as a genuine contender for the four biggest titles in the game?

A look at his rivals makes it clear that Del Potro will need to do something special. Novak Djokovic is a machine at the moment, a fact that is proven by his comfortable lead atop the ATP rankings. Then there’s Nadal, who returned to form immediately following his knee injury and won the Indian Wells title. Andy Murray now looks like a menacing force, holding the US Open title and sitting in second in the rankings. And of course, the evergreen Federer continues to keep himself in the frame for the slams.

But for the first time in a while Delpo looks like he could be in the mix. At Indian Wells he beat both Djokovic and Murray before falling to Nadal in a close final. The Argentine backed this up with a dismal loss against Tobias Kamke at the Sony Open, but the message is clear – Del Potro can beat anybody at his best. That marks out from anybody outside of the top four.

Wimbledon 2013 could be huge for Del Potro. The grass courts will suit his big serve, and with serve and volley in decline on the slowing surface, Delpo won’t look out of place when he starts firing bombs from the back of the court as he likes to. Maybe the ‘big four’ will finally lose their stranglehold on the slams at Wimbledon.

Written by Ian Horne from Wimbledon-Live.com.

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@tom_tk_kelly

In all honesty the Miami Masters of 2013 should not have been a great success for tennis. With the legends that are Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal not competing and the best player in the world Novak Djokovic crashing out in the fourth round; Andy Murray’s victory would appear to be no more than a formality. However this was far from another example of the dictator like grasp that the so called ‘Big Four’ have on the ATP Tour.

The excitement and brilliance of the spectacle that gripped Miami was enough to divert eyes away from the ever-nearing start of the French Open and even away from the remarkable undefeated run of the NBA’s Miami Heat.

Under the baking American sun, one witnessed an underdog story without the happiest of endings as Tommy Haas’ remarkable run of breath-taking tennis fell just short to the little Spanish terrier David Ferrer in the semi-finals. We witnessed moments of brilliance at regular occurrence, not least from the racquet of mercurial Frenchman Richard Gasquet and his continental rival Haas who both left crowds aghast on their way to the last four.

Few would have predicted a final four of Murray, Ferrer, Gasquet and Haas, yet no one was to be left disappointed. Unfortunately for Haas, the iron will of David Ferrer was too much for the German underdog who eventually succumbed 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 after some brilliant ball striking from the baseline in the first set.

For Gasquet, Miami was arguably a perfect illustration of a career that promises so much, but has yet to deliver. After dealing with the considerable threat of Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals, the Frenchman outplayed Murray in the opening set of their semi-finals. It was only Murray’s belligerence that took Gasquet into a tie-break in which the very best of Gasquet’s talents were showcased with pick-ups that almost beggared belief. However within seconds of claiming the first set, the dark side of Gasquet was to re-emerge. Microphones around the court picked up Gasquet requesting that a ball boy ensure the racquet with which he had just won the set would be ready for the deciding third set. In the past, Gasquet’s mentality has been questioned but almost expecting to lose a second set after a successful first borders on the ridiculous. Unsurprisingly Gasquet’s game unravelled quickly and his relatively weak forehand was picked upon ruthlessly by the ultimate competitor that Andy Murray is becoming.

Onto a sun-backed Sunday final and Murray versus Ferrer once again served up a cracker of a spectacle. One would be hard pushed to find a Ferrer performance that matched the opening few games as the Spaniard roared into a 4-0 lead; Murray was not even playing badly. It was a performance from Ferrer which might have battered a previous version of Andy Murray into shock, frustration and ultimately anger. However the Lendl-inspired Scot is now a big game player. Although it would be a crass exaggeration to say the shouting matches with his corner are long gone, there seems to be a sense of self control about the Murray of 2013. Murray’s Djokovic-esque mannerisms on court during the final; the clutching and stretching of back and leg muscles and the forlorn looks after long points may not be the most subtle of psychological games to utilise on an opponent, but they are a step forward. Undoubtedly they are superior to the bursts of rage that were once so common during Murray’s low points. Such rages only used to spur opponents on to greater heights; Murray is now learning how to beat players mentally, and not just physically.

The evidence of such development was as clear as day in the final set, Ferrer had played some miraculous tennis and had worked a match point in the final game but this did not matter. As soon as the tie-break was called, there was an unnerving inevitability that Murray was not going to lose the match, and so it proved.

It is this new side of Murray that means, even as we head onto the red clay of Roland Garros, he must be considered a favourite to lift what would be his second Grand Slam championship. With his victory in Miami, the new world number two has given himself the opportunity of avoiding Nadal, Federer and Djokovic before the final if the draw goes his way. Add this to working alongside a clay-court master in Ivan Lendl and you will find it difficult to bet against Murray making it a remarkable fourth Grand Slam final in a row. Roll on the clay, roll on Roland Garros.

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Healthy: Del Potro is on the up.

By Daniel McAleer    follow me: @dannymacattack

Maybe there was some divine intervention from fellow Argentine, Pope Francis in California but whatever it was, Del Potro produced some of his swashbuckling best tennis in a number of years. Okay, sure he lost to Nadal at The Indian Wells finals, (no shame in that) but some might say that having been a set and a break up to Rafa, maybe the Argie ran out of gas. After all, the Argentinian number one took the difficult route to the final, clocking up significant mileage in the quarter and semi finals. The leggy South American had to defeat what most people would consider the best two players in the world in Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic to set up a showdown with the Comeback King, Rafa Nadal.

Federer dethroned: Del Potro shocks the world.

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The evening exuded the ultimate VIP experience, as the red carpet was donned with an impressive attendance of A-list tennis stars including: Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki, Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, Agnieszka Radwanskaand Andreas Seppi, to name a few.

A well-heeled crowd of tennis fans and local socialites mingled and danced to the tunes of DJ Calvin Harris and Whack Duck, while the world’s top tennis contenders took a break from the courts to enjoy palette-pleasing infused cocktails served by a bevy of Bombay Sapphire models — including the Sapphire ACE Collins, the Mansour Smash and the Sapphire EAST G&T Re-Imagined.

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The Sony Open is always one of the biggest tournaments of the year, and perhaps rightfully lays a claim to being the fifth slam. This year the action will feature the majority of the best players in the ATP and WTA and you can catch all the action live starting later this week.

The ATP line-up is headlined by Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and the in-form Juan Martin Del Potro. Nole appears to be the man to beat following yet another sublime start to the season. In almost any other era the Serb’s dominance would probably be unrivalled but Murray has grown in confidence since winning his first Grand Slam title in New York last summer. And Del Potro has shown in Indian Wells that at his best, he’s capable of beating the pair of them. The big Argentine has finally rediscovered the kind of form which saw him win the 2009 US Open and it can’t be long before he wins his first Masters title.

The Miami Masters field alsos include Tomas Berdych, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and David Ferrer. Berdych has been especially impressive over the past month, reaching finals in Marseille and Dubai and it took eventual champion Rafael Nadal to stop him in the Indian Wells semis.

The WTA main draw at the Sony Open contains Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Agnieszka Radwanska and Victoria Azarenka. Williams is a five-time Miami champ but after her brilliant display in the Indian Wells title, Sharapova is arguably the favourite. Vika is currently at a level where she can beat Serena, but a recent ankle injury for the Belarusian has cast doubts over her fitness.

There is a selection of other players to look out for when the live action begins later this week. Maria Kirilenko is making a strong push towards the top ten, and her recent withdrawal from all doubles competitions indicates that she really means business. Hard court specialists such as Petra Kvitova, Angelique Kerber, and Mona Barthel could go a long way here as well.

By Steve Webb from Miami-Masters-Live.com

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Relief: The King is back.

By Daniel McAleer

He’s back, Ladies and Gentlemen. That fist pump we have all grown accustomed to witnessing over the years was back in full effect at the BNP Paribas Masters on a scorching Sunday evening at Indian Wells.

Rafael Nadal quashed any of the doubts that many people had about whether he could return to the heights of men’s tennis, sending his own message to the media who had irritated him with questions about his knee in press conference after press conference.

The resurgent Juan Martin Del Potro was his victim in the final, the Argentinian made him work for it on this occasion however. Having lead Nadal by a set and a break, Del Potro was looking in imperious form. Nadal however had not read the script as he clawed his way back having trailed by a set and 1-3 in the second to claim an 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over the deflated South-American. A jubilant Nadal sank to his knees in euphoric fashion, the Californian crowd could see how much this victory meant to him as he ran over to his camp to celebrate.

“I’m very, very happy and very emotional,” Nadal told the crowd after his triumphant return to the hard-courts, “A lot of things happened the last seven months, to be back here and to have this very heavy trophy with me is amazing, no? It’s impossible to have a better comeback, no? Happy for everything.” “Beating three top-10′s, three very important players, to win a title like this is just something unbelievable for me,” added Nadal, who dispatched Federer and Berdych en route to the final.

Perhaps it is a little early to say that Nadal can challenge for the big ones so soon into his comeback, but early form indicates that the Spaniard is closing in on the type of form that has seen him collect 11 majors in his tender 26 years.

All of this might never have been of course, all of the talk in the weeks building up to the Indian Wells tournament was about whether Nadal would be competing at all. The 2007 and 2009 champion admitted after his victorious campaign at the Mexico Open that he might be forced to rest his troublesome knee, despite enjoying a fine comeback having won back to back tournaments in Sao Paolo and Acapulco.

The home crowd breathed a sigh of relief however when Nadal confirmed that he would compete, and no doubt the world number five will wake up Monday morning, glad to have thrown caution to the wind.

Did he compete for the fans? Did he compete for himself? Or did he compete just so he could silence the media who had irked the Mallorcan? Who cares, Rafa is back. The big four are back.

After this victory the hugely popular Spaniard climbed up to number four, Djokovic, Federer and Murray no doubt can feel his breath on their backs.

This was Nadal’s 53rd ATP singles victory in what is already a bulging resume and his first hard-court win since Tokyo 2010. This victory made yet more history for Nadal, as he eclipsed Federer’s record of having won 21  Masters 1000 trophies, moving out on his own to 22 wins, throwing his name into the conversation of who is the Greatest tennis player of all time.

Next up for Nadal is the clay court season, the Islander’s bread and butter. On this form few would bet against him claiming his eighth title at Roland Garros. Can Rafa reclaim the world number one spot? Who knows. One thing is for sure, tennis fans have a lot to look forward to. Another thing is also for sure, Djokovic, Murray and Federer will all be on the practice courts an hour earlier tomorrow.

The post Watch out, Rafa’s Back!!! appeared first on Tennis Bloggers.

Fans are set to enjoy another ten days of topflight tennis at the Sony Open in Miami. There are many contenders for the women’s title, but three women in particular have something to prove at the “fifth Slam.”

Serena Williams

The American legend is back at the top of the world rankings and returning to a tournament she has won five times. Having dominated the second half of 2012, the younger Williams sister secured the top spot with a run to the final in Doha last month. Yet Serena, who is famously hard on herself, is unlikely to be happy with her 2013 season so far. Aside from a win in Brisbane at the beginning of the year, she hasn’t won a title. Her quarter-final loss to Sloane Stephens at the Australian Open may have had a lot to do with Serena’s ankle injury, but she was within points of closing out that match, and failure to do so was a bitter disappointment.

Furthermore, her defeat to Victoria Azarenka in Doha has led to speculation that she may finally have a serious rival, and Serena likes to be the undisputed Queen Bee. Victory in Miami would bolster her number one ranking, freeze any discussion of legitimate challengers and bring her yet another major title.

Victoria Azarenka

The Australian Open champion is not perhaps in dire need of a strong tournament result, as she remains unbeaten in 2013 heading into Miami. But the Belarusian’s pullout at last week’s BNP Paribas Open was her third tournament withdrawal of they year, and 20th since the beginning of 2010. While no one is doubting the severity of her current ankle injury, some are starting to question her durability.

Moreover, following the infamous medical time-out against Stephens in Melbourne, Azarenka needs to be wary of continuing to disappoint the fans eager to see her play. If the world number two enters the Sony Open Tennis, she should be prepared to play until her last match, win or lose. And if she is in the draw, a potential clash with Serena will be the hottest ticket in town.

Agnieszka Radwanska

The 24-year-old Pole was unstoppable at the beginning of 2013, winning titles in Sydney and Auckland. Since then, her results have been consistent but unspectacular: she reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and in Dubai, and the semi-finals in Doha. However, she suffered her first letdown of the year in Indian Wells last week, narrowly losing a two and a half hour slugfest to Maria Kirilenko.

Radwanska has secured a firm footing in the world’s top four by regularly beating the players ranked below her, and she needs to keep doing that in order to maintain her elite ranking. That is especially important in Miami next week, as she was the champion at the 2012 Sony Open Tennis and has a lot of points to defend. If she can produce a standout performance, as she did when outfoxing Maria Sharapova in last year’s final, she will once again be talked up as a future Grand Slam champion.

Steven writes for Miami-Masters-Live.com. For all your, news, views and live streams.

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Rafael Nadal in press at the BNP Paribas Open

By Jack Johnson

The tennis community watched on, perhaps rather nervously, as Rafael Nadal came through his first competitive hard court match for over a year seemingly unscathed.

Yes, he did play Juan Martin Del Potro in an exhibition match last week, losing in two tight sets, but his second round match at Indian Wells was the one that everyone was waiting for.

After a low key but impressive return to competitive tennis on clay where he has was a finalist in Chile (lost to Horacio Zeballos) before claiming victories over David Nalbandian in Sao Paolo and David Ferrer in Acapulco, you could be forgiven for being a little worried ahead of Nadal’s return to the less forgiving hard courts.

As impressive as his dismantling of Ferrer was at Acapulco, movement on clay is a lot different to that on a hard court.

Turning on a clay court is less harsh and the virus that put Nadal out of the Australian Open in January may have been a blessing in disguise as a best of five set match on that surface would not have been the best way to return to the sport.

Playing three tournaments on clay enabled Nadal’s troublesome left knee to have a less harsh introduction to life back on the ATP World Tour but at some stage the Spaniard would have to test himself.

Against Ryan Harrison at Indian Wells he, rather expectedly started slow and he admitted after the match that his movement wasn’t great, but a 7-6, 6-2 win over the American is not to be sniffed at.

Expectations at Indian Wells should be quite low for Nadal.

For the first time since Wimbledon last year, the four best players in the world are playing in the same tournament and if Nadal meets Novak Djokovic, who has not lost a match in 2013 so far, on this surface, then there is the strong possibility that we would witness a very one-sided encounter.

For Nadal, Indian Wells, and Miami for that matter, is surely just a test.

It is a test for his left knee, for his physical fitness and for how he feels on such an unforgiving surface.

Andreas Seppi, Stanislas Wawrinka and Roger Federer are the daunting prospects that await Nadal if he were to progress any further but they are surely challenges that he would take head on.

Whatever happens over the next month, we should keep everything crossed that Nadal is still in good shape to contend for his ninth successive Monte Carlo title in April.

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While it seems inconceivable that the likes of Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal can go on forever, particularly the latter two, lets take a look at some of the next generation of players who could become the flag-bearers for men’s tennis when the unimaginable does eventually become a reality.

Kei Nishikori:

The darling of Japanese tennis has seen his popularity at home skyrocket since turning professional. He is the highest ranking Japanese player in the nations history, having reached number 15 in 2012.

He is currently ranked 21, but expect that to rise in 2013.

The Japanese is noted for his speed around the court aswell as his endurance in long matches.

Nishikori has so far won twice on the ATP tour, with both of these victories coming on the hard courts, in Tokyo and Delray Beach, he was also runner up on three occasions.

Some of Nishikori’s most notable wins have come over the likes of world number one Djokovic, Tsonga, Berdych and Ferrer.

Expect 2013 to be a defining year for the Japanese idol.

Ernests Gulbis:

The inclusion of the Latvian powerhouse might shock some people. And maybe rightly so. The current world number 132 has often flattered to deceive in his time on the tour. A frustrating talent, he can race into commanding leads playing unstoppable tennis, and then all of a sudden collapse and end up losing. Which has happened to him on several occasions.

He boasts victories over Federer, Djokovic, Berdych and Del Potro, so he has shown he is more than capable of beating top players.

The Latvian has won two singles titles, in Delray beach (2010) and  Los Angeles (2011). He also hold two victories in the doubles, the first in coming in Houston (2008) with Rainer Schuettler and then the second in Indianapolis (2009) with Dmitry Tursunov.

Lets call him a Wild Card on this list, but if he can produce the form he is capable of then he is no doubt a top ten player.

Watch this space.

Martin Klizan:

Winner of the 2012 ATP newcomer of the year award, the Slovak southpaw made the headlines at the 2012 US Open, where he upset the fifth sees Jo Wilfried Tsonga with relative ease in a four set encounter.

Klizan has one tour victory under his belt, winning the St Petersburg title in 2012. He also won the Junior French Open title in 2006 on his favourite surface.

In his young career to date the world number 31 has some notable victims, with Tsonga and Chardy being the most high profile.

Watch out for “Klizko” this year.

Alexandr Dolgopolov:

The unorthodox Ukrainian was destined to be a sportsman it would seem. His father was also a professional tennis player and his mother a gymnast. Growing up on the professional tour definitely gave Dolgopolov all the preparation he needed to be a pro himself, especially when you have hitting partners like Andre Agassi and Boris Becker on the other side of the net.

The world number 43 is known for his unusual playing style. He boasts a quick, fluid serve, with little or no pause, his second serve is also very good. He has an ability like few others to return the ball at last second with quick swipes, a weapon which catches opponents off guard. His aggressive style makes him popular amongs fans and his matches are generally entertaining ones.

He holds two career singles titles, winning at Umag Croatia (2011) and Washington in (2012). He also has one victory in the doubles with partner Xavier Malisse at Indian Wells (2011).

Dolgopolov suffers from a condition called Gilbert’s Syndrome, which is a liver problem that can cause a lot of fatigue. He has to take medication and adhere to very strict diet in order to give himself the best chance of playing regularly. Lets all hope he can manage this condition to continue to provide us with some more enthralling tennis matches.

Jerzy Janowicz:

The post The Next Generation. appeared first on Tennis Bloggers.