Sony Ericsson Open: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Does Not Fulfill Promise - Dolgopolov Does

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga failed to deliver at Miami going down 7-6, 4-6, 5-7 to Alexandr Dolgopolov in the third round of Sony Ericsson Open at Miami. It was a clash between two players labelled as future of tennis, Tsonga so a few years ago when he reached finals of the Australian Open 2008 and Dolgopolov, at present. It was a clash between different styles of play, both equally exciting in their own way. The one that succeeded need not be called the better style though the victor was the better player on the day.

Dolgopolov has a raw style, something that does not strictly conform to the widely prevalent percentage play. This is one of the reasons for the surprises he has thrown on tennis players as well as fans. Tsonga plays a different game too. It is so refreshing to find someone who was not afraid to rush to the net now and then, confident enough to make a volley. Perhaps his weight and big build comes in the way of making quick adjustments, or he would have been an unstoppable player in the mould of Roger Federer, but with a different playing style.

Dolgopolov exhibited a great foot work. He changes his body weight very quickly while preparing to meet the incoming ball. This is in sharp contrast to big built players like Tsonga, who take time to change the physical momentum that their body carries. Tsonga can be caught on the wrong foot more often than Dolgopolov. Forced error was induced from his racquet by an unorthodox shot from Dolgopolov. Tsonga moved fast on court, but not with short steps. He could be a better runner than a quick dancer. Playing tennis requires quick steps of dancer as well as the athletic speed of a sprinter. Dolgopolov fared better in this combination, but he did not have Tsonga’s power in the shot. He reminds of Gilles Simon in this regard.

A very  casual game while serving for the set cost Dolgopolov the first set. Lapses in the later games, particularly committing unforced errors on return of serves on break points cost Tsonga the second set.

Tsonga has attack in his mind all the time. He has ability to stay in the rally and be patient about constructing a point, but he went on to attack at the earliest half opportunity. He faltered after six - seven shots in the rally. He missed two simple overheads since he could not get into position at the spur of the moment on account of his big build. He has a build similar to Marat Safin and a game better than him, but he has been less successful. Injuries have put him in the cold for most of the time.

On this day, the talks of Dolgopolov being a future prospect will gather momentum but the talks of Tsonga being a future Grand Slam champion will die down further.

Djokovic Defeats Nadal At Indian Wells - World Order Changeth

Novak Djokovic is the new star. He has usurped Rafael Nadal’s superiority in the ground strokes which was evident in his victory over Nadal in the finals of the Indian Wells BNP Paribas Open tournament on Sunday. It was a tough three setter with Djokovic prevailing 4-6 6-3 6-2. He joined band of the select who have defeated both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the same tournament twice. Djokovic is undefeated in 2011 with 18 match victories. He has already overtaken Roger Federer as number two in the ATP rankings.

It was a day when the two contestants met playing good tennis through out the tournament. Both play from the baseline and it was expected that each point would go through many shots from the baseline in the rally. It did happen that way with Djokovic coming out on top more often than not. Slowly but surely, the aggression of Djokovic started inducing unforced errors from the racquet of Nadal. Djokovic was able to sustain his aggression for a longer time in a rally without committing any unforced error or giving a short ball in the hitting zone. Even a great defender like Nadal was often blitzkrieged by the ferocity of the shots and their precision.

In the first set, Djokovic played ball on both the flanks of the opponent and lost. He immediately changed his game plan and went for the back hand of Nadal most of the time. Nadal can hit the ball with good pace from the back hand but this day his limitation in the versatility or the lack of it in the back hand stood exposed. So far, most of the players used to go to the forehand corner of Nadal at an acute angle to extract a winner, but now they can know that it is also the back hand that is equally vulnerable if one is able to stay in a rally for more than 6-7 shots. It was Andy Murray who exposed the back hand weakness on return of serve of Nadal at the 2010 Australian Open, but on this day, Djokovic has given sight into another  aspect of  the back hand weakness. Nadal’s first serve deserted him in the second and the third sets. It is very difficult for a player to win serving at 25%. All talk about the refurbished serve of Nadal vanished in thin air. Nadal could not find any weakness in Djokovic’s back hand and there appears to be none these days since he plays with equal aggression from both the flanks. It would not be long when people start talking about Djokovic’s down the line back hand being one of the best in the game today.

The body language and the face expression of Rafael Nadal at 1-4 in the final set showed that he had resigned to his fate and thereafter he just went through his last rites acknowledging the superiority of  the opponent. As for Djokovic, it is nice to see that he has overcome his stamina and health problems and it would not be long when they start speaking about his court coverage and speed in the same vein as they do about Rafael Nadal. This may have to pass a five setter test though.

All eyes are now on Miami which starts on March, the twenty third.

Novak Djokovic Overtakes Roger Federer In The ATP Rankings

Roger Federer lost to Novak Djokovic for the third time in succession in the semi-finals of the Indian Wells hard court tournament. The score line was 3-6 6-3 2-6. He has also lost the number two position to Djokovic. It appears to herald a new era in contemporary tennis. 

Federer’s serve did not have the sting and it is not the first time that it has been like that. The times when he would extract himself out of trouble by serving aces appear to be over. The serve does not go to the lines too which means one of the potent weapons in his game does not fire consistently. He sent his first and the only ace in the seventeenth game of the match. Going round the backhand and taking the ball on forehand backfired many a time since Djokovic had the ability to reach the ball and flick it into the open court. His patience wears thin in rallies now a days and a large number of unforced errors are the result of that. He wants to end the points quickly and has become more mechanical. Djokovic is not easy to be brushed aside within a few shots in a rally. Inability to convert double break points or win from double game point was a rare spectacle in Federer’s game in the past. Infact he could save a triple break point many a time. Federer is now finding Djokovic invincible just as he did Nadal since a few years ago.

Djokovic appears to have speed, a potent back hand and a terrific return of serve. He is at the top of his physical prowess. There appears to be no ball on the court that he can not reach. This is what has been the hall mark of Rafael Nadal too when he would retrieve each and every ball forcing the opponent to play one more ball and commit unforced error. When the opponent is returning your best shot, you tend to go more and more to the lines and commit unforced errors. Djokovic hits deep and with power not allowing opponent to step into the court to create angles. Acute angles are bread and butter of Federer’s game. Previously he would serve with precision and step into the court to take the ball early and despatch the return for a winner at an acute angle. Djokovic returns did not allow that luxury for Federer. Federer has predominantly one side to hit winners these days, i.e., the forehand. More and more opponents are targeting his back hand to win points.

Djokovic has become insurmountable wall for Federer now. Whether Djokovic has got into Federer’s psyche or not, it is too early to say, but there are indications that Djokovic is a feared opponent to Federer and to all others. Federer plays the same game he has always played. The depreciation in his game has coincided with the upswing in the game of Djokovic. Both Nadal and Djokovic have improved their service in recent times. Djokovic has improved his stamina and speed on the court which has been in evidence especially during the last six months. We have a different world o

Rafael Nadal Avenges Old Defeat With New Hard Court Game

Nadal has progressed to the finals at the Indian Wells defeating Juan Martin Del Potro 6-4 6-4 in the semi-finals. But it was not easy.

Nadal’s serve was being read by Del Potro so well that he was able to hit winners on the return straightway, mostly to the forehand corner. Nadal served better from the Ad court, often resorting to the wide service which fared better. Whenever Nadal was able to move him wide, De Potro had difficulty in remaining in the rally for long. But the top spin of Nadal was not making much impact on Del Potro. He was hitting searing ground strokes irrespective of the spin. But whenever, the ball was short, he had no different swing and the momentum was taking the ball away from the court. Del Potro was reading the ground strokes better than others. He was rarely out of step. Nadal's tendency to hit on the back hand as the stock shot and his serve on the T from the deuce court were rather predictable for Del Potro. Nadal’s top spin was sometimes coming in the hitting zone of De Potro whereas the shorter balls were forcing him to make adjustments in swing and pace.

The fifth game in the second set proved to be the important one. A great passing shot down the line from back hand enabled Nadal to break the serve on the third shot. Nadal's return was very short and Del Potro nailed the ball in the extreme corner but Nadal from the tram lines put the passing shot down the tram line for a winner.

Nadal was excelling in hitting winners, which is his new hard court game. Unforced errors galore from Nadal’s racquet at the beginning of the first set to concede break and go down 1-4. Once he controlled his unforced errors, the match became very competitive. The quality of tennis was very high with both players playing to their strengths.

Del Potro as usual was hitting through the ball. Since he hits the ball flatter, his balls generally go deep in the court. Rafael Nadal, on the other hand, places so much top spin that sometimes the  ball falls short within the service box, giving opportunity for the opponent to go for acute angles. At 6’6”. Del Potro can take such short ball at its top and hit a bullet in a corner. This tactics worked for a while but once Nadal got into survival mode, his defence became more and more formidable. Del Potro often found that he had to hit two winners in a single rally. The tide turned at 4-1.Del Potro did not win any more in the first set. The second set too ended with the same score.

It was an important match for Rafael Nadal. The lop sided loss at U.S Open 2009 was in the minds of all as they thronged the court in the morning at the Indian Wells. The magnitude of that loss was perhaps the second biggest after his shock defeat to Robin Soderling at the French Open that year. In his 6-4, 6-4 win, the quality of tennis was much higher than in any of the matches played so far, including the nail biter against Ivo Karlovic. But the match also showed that Juan Martin Del Potro is truly back from injury.

Indian Wells Produces Quarter - Final Drama, But The Same Spectacle At The Top

Rafael Nadal had to work hard against Ivo Karlovic at Indian Wells in the quarter finals. He prevailed 9-7 in the final set tie breaker. Karlovic sent 23 aces in the three sets played. His height took away the advantage of top spin from Nadal’s forehand. Nadal did not look his confident self. The match could have gone either way.  

Big serves coming from tall people have to be blocked. It requires short swing and good anticipation. Roger Federer does not allow serves to go past his racquet easily. He anticipates the direction in which the serve would be going and transfers the weight of his body as the serve starts from the racquet of his opponent. Big servers like Andy Roddick have not been able to make much impression on Roger Federer. Since he blocks the serve on the backhand with a slice, the ball floats deeper in the court than in a top spin return.

Rafael Nadal faces Juan Martin Del Potro in the semi-finals. Like Karlovic, Del Potro too is coming back from injury. He has started playing better and by the time U.S Open comes, he would have attained his old form. A victory over top four will give him the momentum he requires to ignite the imagination of his fans. He appears to have potential for a certain number four in the world, ahead of Robin Soderling and Andy Murray. It remains to be seen whether he will realise his potential.

It is the same old story otherwise. The top three are likely to be there in the semi-finals. Novak Djokovic has almost irrevocably stretched top two of the last few years into top three. He has become an equal to the top two and his fans are proclaiming him to be the second best player in the world any time this year. But Roger Federer has got over such situation quite a few times in the past. He is still a force to reckon with, be it Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic.  

Andy Murray, on the other hand, appears to have been devastated by his loss in the finals of the Australian Open. He has generally performed well in the American hard court season in the last few years. He appears to be low on confidence. 2011 was supposed to be the year when he would take appointed place in the Grand Slam champions. This did not happen at the Australian Open, but it can still happen this year. He should not take a journey into wilderness, stung by the Australian Open loss.