Djokovic

Can Rafa Nadal Usurp Roger Federer in 2020?

January 6, 2020 by Randy Walker Leave a Comment

by Bob Stockton

By the end of 2019, Roger Federer had won 20 Grand Slams and Rafa Nadal had won 19. So can the Spaniard catch up and maybe even surpass Federer in 2020? Or will the Swiss player extend his lead?

There have been moments in both player’s careers when it seemed they had passed their peak and could achieve no more, either through injuries or lack of form. But both have bounced back to hit new heights of greatness.

Federer’s dip

Federer went close to five years without winning a Grand Slam between 2012 and 2017 and looked destined to his finish career with a total of 17. But at the age of 35, he beat Nadal to win his sixth Aussie Open title and then added two more Grand Slams over the next 12 months to take his total to 20. Now aged 38, he has no immediate plans to retire and will be keen to fend off Nadal for as long as possible.

Nadal’s revival

Nadal had a three-year spell without a Grand Slam between 2014 and 2017 and went on to win another five, reaching seven finals in total over the next three seasons. It was his best run of form since the period between 2008 and 2010 when he won six Grand Slams in three seasons including three in 2010.

The 33-year-old Spaniard ended 2019 as World No. 1. He first achieved the feat in 2008 as a 22-year-old. At 33, Federer had won 17 majors, so Nadal has the edge in terms of age-to-Grand Slam ratios.

Who will win what in 2020?

Federer is now 38 years of age and has started picking and choosing his tournaments more carefully in an attempt to peak at the Grand Slam events. He already has his eye on the Australian Open but will face stiff competition from Novak Djokovic who has bossed the event over the last decade and will start as favourite in the Aussie Open tennis betting in 2020.

Djokovic in the equation

Despite Federer’s brilliance, it is hard to see him stopping the Serbian this time around. After a blip in 2017, the 32-year-old is back to his best and has won four of the last six Grand Slams available. A win Down Under would put him just two Grand Slams short of Nadal and three short of the Swiss.

Nadal has only won once in Melbourne and twice at Wimbledon so his best chance of overtaking Federer will come in the French Open, where he has 12 titles, and the US Open, where he is the reigning champion having beaten Daniil Medvedev in 2019. Based on current form, he will be favourite to win both and that would put him on 21 slams.

With Djokovic favourite to win in Australia and Wimbledon, we predict the season will end with Nadal on 21 Grand Slams, Federer on 20 and Djokovic on 18. The question then will be whether Djokovic can overtake Federer and catch Nadal. Tennis fans should pinch themselves as it may be some time before we see the likes of these three again.

Thuuz Sports Says Federer-Djokovic Wimbledon Final Among Top Global Sports Events

August 11, 2019 by TennisGrandstand

Palo Alto, CA – Thuuz Sports, the most powerful automated video highlights production platform for worldwide sports, announced their July Top 10 most exciting games, with a very unique 24 hour period in the UK, The Cricket World Cup and Men’s Final at Wimbledon outdistancing some exciting and emotional MLB matchups during the month The full top ten is below.

Using their custom designed algorithms to measure real-time event excitement, Thuuz provides a unique look into what games have gotten fans the most excited and engaged as 2019 rolls along.

The game excitement ratings are measured on a 0 to 100 scale and take into consideration game pace, team parity, play novelty, momentum shifts, social buzz, and historical context. The algorithms behind the excitement ratings are statistically calibrated to insure the appropriate distribution of ratings across the duration of a season or course of a tournament.

Using the Thuuz excitement measurement platform, the top ten most exciting games were:

1. New Zealand 241/8 & 15/1, England 241 & 15/0 (Cricket): 7/14: Some people are dubbing this cricket match the greatest one ever, and rightly so. In front of their home fans, England prevailed over New Zealand in the first ever Super Over in a Cricket World Cup Final. After the match ended with both teams at 241, the Super Over then ended with both teams at 15. The teams were so evenly matched that they even tied in OT. In the end, ENG were declared the winner because they had more boundaries than NZ.

2. Novak Djokovic vs. Roger Federer 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-6(4), 4-6, 13-12(3) (ATP): 7/14: London had quite the day. At the same time the Cricket World Cup was happening, so was the Wimbledon Final between these two classic rivals. It resulted in the first ever 5th set tiebreaker in Wimbledon history after the tournament introduced a tiebreaker at 12-12 in the 5th set at the beginning of the tournament. Federer won more points and games, but Djokovic won when it mattered most, including all 3 tiebreakers to secure his 5th Wimbledon trophy.

3. Yankees 14, Twins 12 (MLB): 7/23: Similar to the first two games on this list, this battle between two of the American League powerhouses was a runaway candidate for the best game of the year. After being down 8-2, the Yankees scored 3 runs in the 5th inning followed by another 5 runs in the top of the 8th to take a 10-9 lead.. The Twins took the lead back in the bottom of the 8th. The Yanks took the lead again in the top of the 9th. Then, in the bottom of the 9th, the Twins tied the game to send it to extra innings. NYY followed with a run in the 10th, and after an Aaron Hicks’ diving catch with the bases loaded, the Yankees secured the win.. In total, the teams combined for 12 runs in the final 3 innings, including 9 for the Yankees.

4. Astros 11, Angels 10 (MLB): 7/7: The game’s best player Mike Trout (LAA) homered twice for the Angels, but they ultimately came up short after WS MVP George Springer hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning. Each team had 6 hitters log multi-hit performances, including 4 of the Astros recording 3+ hits. The game also had a really dark moment when Angels’ catcher J. Lucroy suffered a devastating concussion on a collision at the plate, dampening the mood of an otherwise fantastic baseball game.

5. Twins 7 Athletics 6 (MLB): 7/21: A back-and forth affair, this game saw at least one team score a run in seven innings. Trailing 5-4 entering the 8th inning, the bottom of the A’s lineup did some damage, hitting an RBI double and sac fly giving the A’s bullpen a 6-5 lead. It was not enough, though, as Twins leadoff hitter Max Kepler hit a walkoff single for his 3rd hit and 4th RBI of the night.

6. Cardinals 12, Reds 11 (MLB): 7/19: A wild offensive output saw the Reds take an early 7-0 lead behind a 3-R HR from catcher R. Lavarway. Down by 7, the Cards exploded for a 10-run 6th inning. However, the real story of the inning was that STL scored 7 of those runs with 2 outs in the inning, culminating with a 3-R HR from slugger Jose Martinez. That wasn’t it for the offense, as the Reds scored 4 runs and had Joey Votto up with 2 outs in the 9th, but he grounded out to end the game and the offensive fireworks.

7. Brewers 7, Pirates 6 (MLB): 7/5: Powered by 3 homers, the Brewers took a comfortable 6-1 lead into the bottom of the 9th inning. The Pirates, however, would not go down easy, putting together a spirited rally capped off by a game-tying solo homer by Jung Ho Kang with 2 outs in the 9th. In the top of the 10th, The Brewers responded with a go-ahead single by Lorenzo Cain to make the score 7-6. After blowing the save in the 9th, Junior Guerra shut the door in the 10th to give the Brewers a thrilling 7-6 win.

8. Blue Jays 10 Rays 9 (MLB): 7/27: The Blue Jays faced a daunting 9-3 deficit heading into the bottom of the 8th inning. They put up 2 runs in the 8th inning on solo homers, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crushed a three-run homer in the 9th to cut the Rays’ lead to 1. With the Blue Jays down to their final out, Brandon Drury hit a solo homer to tie the game at 9. In the bottom of the 12th, Teoscar Hernandez broke the tie with a walk-off home run to complete the Blue Jays’ improbable come-from-behind win.

9. Rays 10, Blue Jays 9 (MLB): 7/28: Take the recap from the game above, flip it on its head, and that is pretty much the outcome of the game between the Jays and Rays from the next day. The Jays were down 8-1 after 5 innings, but 3 runs in the 6th, 2 in the 7th, and 3 more in the 8th tied the game up at 9 apiece. An RBI groundout with the bases loaded gave the Rays a 10-9 lead in the 9th that they wouldn’t relinquish to extract some revenge from the previous night’s game.

10. Angels 13, Mariners 0 (MLB): 7/12 On the surface, a 13-0 game is not all that exciting. Dive into it and suddenly the power of sports becomes apparent. In the Angels first home game after suffering the tragic death of pitcher T. Skaggs, two Angels pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter. Some of the crazy stats from that night include… The Angels scored 7 runs in the first and 13 runs overall, and Skaggs’ birthday was on July 13th. In the 1st inning, Mike Trout hit a HR 454 feet. Skaggs number was 45. And yes, every Angels player was wearing his number on their jersey that night. The no-hitter began with Skaggs’ mom throwing a perfect strike in the ceremonial 1st pitch. It was a brilliant and emotional night from start to finish.

ABOUT Thuuz Sports

Leveraging its automation platform, Thuuz Sports enables Personalized Clips, Highlight Reels, and Condensed Games: any duration, any perspective, involving any set of plays, players, fantasy rosters, narratives, and themes. Thuuz Sports also offers a Subjective Sports Metadata Service that enables its customers to deliver sports apps and guides that deliver a true personalized experience to their fans based on leveraging Thuuz Sports excitement ratings, dynamic headlines, and real-time notifications. Thuuz Sports customers reach well over 150 million sports fans worldwide and include some of the biggest names in the industry.

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Tsitsipas Upset of Federer Sets Up Potential Inter-Generational Aussie Open Semifinals

January 20, 2019 by TennisGrandstand

The men’s field at the 2019 Australian Open could turn into a battle of the generations.

After the Stefanos Tsitsipas upset of six-time Australian Open champion Roger Federer in the round of 16 Sunday, the men’s singles draw appears to point towards two intriguing semifinal match-ups of “old guard” versus “new guard” players.

After his upset of Federer, Tsitsipas will next face Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain in the quarterfinals, where he will be favored, despite RBA’s recent tournament win in Doha and suffering through three five-set match wins en route to the quarterfinals. Tsitsipas would then, likely, face world No. 2 Rafael Nadal who, despite injury fears at the end of last year and the start of this year, has rolled into the quarterfinals. Nadal is a heavy favorite to beat another “NextGen” young star, 21-year-old Frances Tiafoe of the USA, who defeated Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round to reach his first career Grand Slam quarterfinal. A semifinal between the 20-year-old Tsitsipas and the 32-year-old Nadal would be a prime box-office engagement.

Almost as intriguing a semifinal match-up would be a potential penultimate round showdown on the top half of the draw between world No. 1 Novak Djokovic against No. 4 Alexander Zverev. Djokovic, 31 and a six-time Australian Open champion, has No. 15 seed Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round and either No. 8 Kei Nishikori or No. 23 Pablo Carreno Busta and appears on a collision course with the 21-year-old Zverev. With new coach Ivan Lendl is his corner, Zverev will seek to reach a major semifinal for the first time. Former Wimbledon finalist and Australian Open semifinalist Milos Raonic awaits in the round of 16 and No. 11 Borna Coric or No. 2 Lucas Pouille in the quarterfinals.

It will be interesting to monitor the tennis betting odds at 888sport and who they view as the favorite in these and other potential match-ups.

Will The Chase For The US Open Men’s Title Be Predictable Once Again?

August 28, 2018 by TennisGrandstand

Starting with Roger Federer’s win at Wimbledon in 2004, only seven different men’s players have won major titles. That’s a span of 14 years and 56 major tournaments. The players are Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Juan Martin del Potro and Marin Cilic.

It’s pretty safe to say than one of those seven will win the 2018 US Open men’s singles title.

The least likely among this group are Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray. Both are coming off of serious injuries and surgeries (hip surgery for Andy Murray and knee surgery for Wawrinka) so the likelihood of them winning are slim.

Marin Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion, who has also reached the Wimbledon and Australian Open finals within the last 14 months, would be the next longest shot along with del Porto. Del Potro is playing his 22nd Grand Slam and Cilic is playing his 15th since winning US Open titles respectively. Either could set an Open Era record for most attempts before winning a second Grand Slam. Del Potro reached the semifinals last year – including a win over Federer in the quarterfinals – and his win in Indian Wells in March – prove that he is a force to be reckoned with on hard courts this year. To boot, he has belief that he can win on the grand stage of New York City after having won the title in 2009 beating Federer in a five-set final for his lone major singles title to date.

Next come the three overwhelming favorites, according to 888sport, – top seed and defending champion Nadal, Wimbledon champion Djokovic and five-time champ Federer.

Nadal is rightly the favorite, buoyed with his title in Toronto heading into New York and yet another amazing clay court season, capped by his incredible 11th French Open title. To boot, the courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center are playing slow, which perfectly plays into Nadal ‘s game. Nadal has lost three matches in 2018 — the same number he lost in 2013 entering the US Open. Nadal is 40-3 this season and was 53-3 at the start of the 2013 US Open, where he won his 13th Grand Slam title. The Spaniard has won six Grand Slam titles as the top seed, including the US Open in 2010 and 2017.

Despite being seeded No. 6, Djokovic is the No. 2 favorite for the title, based on his return to form after two years of injuries and mental fatigue. His title at Wimbledon announced his return to the top of the tennis world and he comes into the US Open hot after beating Roger Federer in the final of Cincinnati to become the first player to complete the modern-sweep of all “Masters Series” titles – to go with his career Grand Slam as well. Djokovic went 6-6 in his first six tournaments of 2018. He is 27-4 in six events since.

Federer is 37 years old and is not only battling these six other major contenders, but a brigade of youngsters, some of which really believe they can defeat the awe-inspiring 20-time major singles champion.

Federer is the all-time leader with 20 Grand Slam men’s singles titles and 310 weeks at No. 1 in the ATP Rankings. The Swiss could extend those records and set several new ones during the 2018 US Open. Federer seeks his sixth US Open title, which would break a three-way tie for most in the Open Era. Federer, 37, bids to become the oldest US Open champion in the Open Era (and oldest US Open finalist since 1974).

Among the outsiders from these seven contenders are three players who have never won a major title. Alexander Zverev reaches the most attention as the No. 4 seed, who has yet to excel on the Grand Slam tournament stage. However, with new super coach Ivan Lendl in his corner, keep a close eye on the German. John Isner, the top American player, is going through his best stretch of tennis, winning his first Masters Series title in Miami, and achieving his career results at the French Open (Round of 16) and Wimbledon (semifinals). Also to look out for Kevin Anderson, who took advantage of the open draw last year blown open by the late withdrawal of Andy Murray to reach the final, losing to Nadal, but also made his own hole in the draw at Wimbledon earlier this summer beating both Federer and Isner in extended fifth-set matches to reach the final, falling to Djokovic.

The Best Live Match Ever

September 27, 2012 by James Crabtree

by James A. Crabtree
I was talking with a fellow tennis fanatic the other day and the conversation shifted to the best live match we had ever seen. The fellow fanatic in question has rather deep pockets and could recount epics played throughout the world and the great corporate seats they had and blah blah blah. Well, enough about them, they were rather annoying.
I am not going to get snobby and say “You had to physically be there.” That is absurd and unfair to those of us with mortal salaries.
And by no means does this epic matchup have to be a final.
You simply have had to watch the match live, been engrossed in it, unable to draw yourself away from the drama that unfolded in front of your eyes..
Andy Roddick versus Roger Federer, 2009 Wimbledon Final

Tough call here because the Federer versus Nadal epics in 2007 and 2008 were pretty special. But the choice goes to this five setter simply because, like many, I started the match cheering for Roger and finished going for Andy. Fed, at the time, was going for his fifteenth slam which would make him the most successful player in history, and Andy has had to bear witness to every slam in Fed’s career. But on this day Andy Roddick really looked like he could it. He was a set up, then 6-2 in the second set tie break, but Federer levelled it. Roddick lost the third but rebounded in the fourth. The thirty game fifth set, well that’s just part of Wimbledon lore. Do I really need to mention that Federer won it?
Stephen Edberg versus Michael Chang, 1989 Roland Garros Final
This was an absolute heartbreaker, especially if you were a diehard Edberg fan. Anyway, the gentleman Swede was attempting to become one of only a handful of true volleyers to pick up the title. In the fifth set he was a break up and looked like he would serve and volley his way into destiny, on clay. Unfortunately for Edberg fans he was up against a seventeen year upstart who had famously underarmed served in the fourth round against Lendl, the world number one. Michael Chang, with destiny on his side, took the title and secured his place as the youngest ever grand slam winner.
Rafael Nadal versus Novak Djokovic, 2012 Australian Open final

This epic final knocks out of the list the 2009 Verdasco/Nadal semi-final. Although still a very recent memory the relentless fight these two players showed proved why they will be remembered as legends in a match that lasted twice as long as Lord of The Rings. Let’s remember both players were coming off emotional wins, Rafa over Roger and Novak over Andy. The final included some of the most gruelling baseline hitting in recent memory, Nadal falling to his knees in jubilation after winning the fourth set and Djokovic’s infamous Hulk inspired shirt rip after his victory. Most of Melbourne awoke after this match with a very painful tennis hangover.

Boris Becker versus Johan Kriek, 1985 Queen’s Club Championships
Little can be said for the quality of the tennis as I simply don’t remember because I was only five years old at the time, but this was my first ever tennis match. I do remember it being very hot, and standing with my parents in line for the bar behind the biggest and most ginger human in the world.

This list did take a lot of deep thought, with so many games to recollect. The 2012 Aussie Open Marco Baghdatis versus Stan Wawrinka racquet smash bonanza was one of the most intriguing matches I’ve ever seen and now rewritten as a Greek tragedy. Brad Gilbert versus David Wheaton at Wimbledon 1990 was a strategical masterpeice. It is easy to recall the Sampras and Agassi bouts, Henman near misses, Davis Cup upsets including Lleyton’s 2003 two set down comeback against Federer. But the battles royale that take precedence within the memory banks cannot be dislodged.

Robbie Koenig: Murray Fulfills Potential I First Saw At Age 16

August 5, 2008 by Robbie Koenig

Andy Murray Sunday – and through the week – played the kind of tennis that showcased the talent that I always knew he had. I played him in a first round doubles match in Nottingham when he was 16 and I was playing some of my best tennis around that time with my partner, Chris Haggard, who had one of the trickiest lefty serves on a grass court you could ever imagine. But this young 16 year old kid that I had never heard of, or seen before, carved us up on serve like I’ve never seen before. He made Chris and myself look like ameteurs for a set, but thank goodness his partner managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory for them, otherwise we would have packed our bags early that week. Naturally from that day on I watched the results of this kid from Scotland.
I watched the meteoric rise to top 10, but the top 5 was the benchmark. This past 12 months frustrated the hell outta me, when he lost a lot of matches he should have one. But he’s finally come of age. He’s finally got that mental strength, to compete with the very best. Wimbledon, Toronto and in Cincinnati proved that! Its about doing it CONSISTENTLY. That’s the key to being the best.
This is a kid who know’s exactly what he wants in all areas of his tennis.
He’s so humble in everything he does, this guy doesn’t understand the word “showboat ” and takes everything in his stride.
This guy is a real athlete in every sense of the word. I think he’s second only to Rafael Nadal in athletic ability on the court. I hope he continues to build on his success. He’ll be a great addition to the ” Quad Squad ” ( Nadal, Fed, Djoko and Murray).
To all the readers, please don’t hesitate to ask me any questions or to comment on things. I will gladly be of assistance.