French Open 2013: Raonic Versus Anderson - Preview

     Milos Raonic will meet Kevin Anderson in the third round of Roland Garros 2013 on Friday, the 31^st May. It would be their second career meeting with Raonic taking the honours in the SAP Open, San Jose, California last year. Both prevailed in four sets over their opponents in the second round on 29^th May. Raonic put out the local lad Michael Llodra which could as well have been tricky if nerves had crumbled. It shows that Raonic is playing with determination to do well in the tournament.

    Anderson and Raonic have similar style of play. Both are good in serving aces being exceptionally tall, with Raonic having a slight advantage. Both hit hard forehands with Raonic being a bit more consistent. Anderson hits flatter ground strokes whereas Raonic hits top spin with low net clearance. Anderson errors come by hitting out whereas Raonic sometimes buries the ball in the net, especially when the ball is short and low. Unforced and forced errors might be a bit higher from Anderson end. Clay is not the natural surface for either of them.

     Raonic is favoured to move on if both play their natural game. If Anderson displays aggression with greater control, he can cause an upset.

French Open 2013: Federer Versus Devvarman - Preview

Roger Federer meets Somdev Devvarman for the second time in the second round of the French Open 2013 on Wednesday, the 29^th May. Federer easily defeated Devvarman in straight sets 6-3 6-3 when they met in Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2011. Devvarman has since suffered injuries and his game has deteriorated to the point that he has to enter tournaments through qualification.

Devvarman at his best is a poor man’s Gilles Simon. He is utterly defensive in his approach to the extent that some critics have labeled him as a pusher. Everything about his game is defensive, minimizing unforced errors, retrieving ball one time more, putting serve in the box without bothering too much about aces and playing percentage game to the limit of becoming predictable. He succeeds against those who tend to self destruct themselves through uncontrolled aggression. He does not like to come to the forecourt for a put away.

Federer has had little trouble with those who play defensive game. David Ferrer and Lleyton Hewitt are the examples of this type of game. He is able to open up the court against such opposition and finish the point either from the baseline or from the net. His troubles come from those who either have well controlled aggression or super defensive play with ability to convert defence into offence. Devvarman does not fit into that category.

Federer may not lose even if the happenings take the shape of “bolt from blue” or a sensational occurrence. Devvarman can win if a miracle were to take place on that day without the stars foretelling such event.

Internazionali BNL d'Italia 2013 Finals: Nadal Versus Federer - Preview

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will clash for the title at Internazionali BNL d'Italia 2013 on Sunday, the 19^th May, 2013. It will be their 30^th meeting. Nadal leads the rivalry 19-10. Federer has had an impressive tournament so far not losing even a set to any of his opponents. Nadal was mostly seen in his grinding mode, running and retrieving balls from all corners except in the first set of semi-final clash against Tomas Berdych. The result of the match will have bearing to the significance of the clash in the eyes of the contestants.

Rafael Nadal has little to prove against his illustrious rival. His desire would be to get the fourth ranking at Roland Garros. If Andy Murray withdraws, as was the indication when he retired in his very first match citing back injury, Nadal becomes the fourth seed. However, Nadal’s team has worked hard to explain to the unbelieving that he is not the favourite for the title at the French Open. This effort has come to naught with Nadal reaching all the finals on return from injury. Whether this match could be another opportunity to renew their own broadcast depends on how much give and take they can trade in this transaction. In all probability, Nadal is unlikely to be seen in the same mode as he was in the first set against Berdych.

As regards Federer, he has little to prove to the world. Even his lopsided head-to-head results with Nadal fail to motivate him since he will have to live with it. His achievements with the rest of the field are too good to worry for any criticism. However, in his subconscious mind, he must have thought over the strategy to counter the forehand-to-backhand disadvantage against a top spinning left hander that has taken the single fisted backhand further towards oblivion. The slice does not work as effectively since Nadal has little difficulty in scooping up with a top spin forehand. It does work against majority including Novak Djokovic. Federer takes such tournaments as preparation to the Grand Slam majors and is unlikely to injure himself going the whole hog for the sake of proving nothing to the tennis world. One will not see him playing above 100%.

The match could turn out to be a match between a subdued Nadal and an efficient Federer where the outcome either way will not convince the audience to change their views. If Federer wins, it would be called an upset without fortifying him as the main contender for the title at the Roland Garros. However, Nadal goes into the finals with the weight of an overwhelming head-to-head advantage in his favour.

Internazionali BNL d'Italia 2013: Djokovic Versus Berdych - Preview

Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych clash in the quarter-finals of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia 2013 on Friday, the 17^th May. Djokovic has had eleven straight victories over Berdych and looks in good form to make it dirty dozen. He steamrolled Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets in the third round.

In their clashes, it is the match up that comes into play. Berdych has similar style but Djokovic is the master of that style. Berdych has sometimes troubled Roger Federer with his aggressive play, but Djokovic has the uncanny style to use opponent’s aggression against the opponent himself. He can change direction of a powerful shot with consummate ease and let the opponent have a taste of his own medicine. He matches Berdych in serve and is superior in almost all other aspects of the game. Berdych’s strength against others is good serve and relentless aggression on the ground strokes especially from the forehand side. Djokovic chases all the balls and makes opponent go for the extra angle which eventually takes the shots beyond the lines.

If Berdych has to win this match, he not only has to play exceptionally well but also hope that Djokovic coughs up numerous unforced errors. On a normal day, that is unlikely to happen.

Internazionali BNL d'Italia Rome 2013: Gasquet Versus Dimitrov - Preview

Grigor Dimitrov and Richard Gasquet clash in the second round of Internazionali BNL d'Italia Rome, Italy on Tuesday, the 14^th May. They have met three times in their career and Dimitrov is yet to open his account. Their only meeting on clay was at Roland Garros  last year which was won in four sets by Gasquet. Dimitrov has performed well against Rafael Nadal at Monte Carlo where he took a set in his three-set defeat and against Novak Djokovic at Madrid last week when he stunned the world number one in three sets. However, he failed to consolidate his upset victory and lost in the very next round to Stanislas Wawrinka.

Gasquet takes more risks and plays better in a three set format than in the five set format. He plays an aggressive game and thrives on success in the initial stages of the match. Players who tend to expose backhand weakness of the opponent have sometimes suffered against Gasquet who can play aggressive cross court from the backhand side, sometimes more potent than the one from the forehand side. He does not give up his aggression and goes in for shorter rallies. It is only when he has to play a defensive game that his innovations disappear and he looks an ordinary player making a lot of unforced errors.

Dimitrov has more variety in his game. His backhand slice down the line is top class. He tends to fare better against higher ranked opponents; and Gasquet is the ninth seed here. His fitness level in the third hour of a match has however remained suspect. He has suffered cramps on a few occasions, the latest being the match against Djokovic last week.  

Both the players have similar style of play. In the normal circumstances, the experience of Gasquet should prevail. However, if Dimitrov plays exceptionally well on the day, he can cause an upset.