Novak Djokovic

Can Novak Djokovic Win The “Golden Grand Slam” In 2020?

February 13, 2020 by Randy Walker Leave a Comment

by Bob Stockton

@BobStockton10

Following a magnificent eighth career triumph at the Australian Open, the love affair Novak Djokovic has with the blue courts in Melbourne continues. No player in either the amateur or open eras has enjoyed more success in this traditional first Grand Slam tournament of the calendar year, which bodes well for what could be a spectacular 2020 for the Serbian tennis star.

With his victory against Dominic Thiem at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, the 32-year-old has now won 17 Grand Slam titles during his illustrious career. Spanish tennis icon Rafael Nadal is just two ahead with 19 career Grand Slam titles, while Swiss sensation Roger Federer remains the all-time leader and three ahead with 20 Grand Slams. Remarkably, none of them have won the Calendar Grand Slam of all four major tournaments in one year.

During what has been a golden age of talent in the modern tennis era over the last couple of decades, all three of these spectacular players have come very close. Federer won three of the four major tournaments in 2004, 2006 and 2007, Nadal scored his trio of majors in 2010, while Djokovic has achieved a triple of majors twice, in 2011 and 2015.

Given there have been three such phenomenally talented players on the elite tennis scene at the same time, winning the Calendar Grand Slam is incredibly difficult. Especially considering that one of this trio of superstars has denied another the opportunity on a number of occasions. It’s also why Don Budge in 1938, then Rod Laver twice in 1962 and 1969, remain the only players to have won all four major tournaments in one year.

That said, despite the fact that Nadal is outright -110 favorite for the upcoming French Open, having dominated the tournament in Paris with 12 triumphs in the last 15 editions, Djokovic will still fancy his chances at +300 odds as he seeks to produce a monumental year of tennis. If he can triumph at Roland-Garros in May, Djokovic will then be looking ahead to continued success at Wimbledon in June, followed by the US Open in August.

However, there’s one elusive accolade that no men’s tennis player has ever achieved, which only legendary German player Steffi Graf managed to achieve in the women’s game. This was the remarkable feat of winning all four Grand Slam titles, plus an Olympic Gold medal at the 1988 Summer Games in South Korea. This established what came to be known as an unprecedented Calendar Golden Slam.

Of the trio of current greats in the men’s game right now, with Federer in his twilight and Nadal having struggled with injuries over the last few years, Djokovic is the youngest and arguably most likely male player who could yet achieve the Golden Slam. Having made such a fine start to this year and with the Tokyo Olympics this year, the Serbian will no doubt be hoping he’s the one who can accomplish the Calendar Golden Slam dream in men’s tennis.

Novak Djokovic as seen on the new TennisONE mobile app

What are the Grand Slam Records and Who Holds Them?

July 22, 2019 by TennisGrandstand

By Bob Stockton

Every year the world’s finest tennis players gather at Melbourne Park, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows to fight for fame and fortune at the Grand Slams. Each one is ferociously competitive and securing victory represents the pinnacle of many players’ careers. Winning the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon or the US Open is the Holy Grail for young players, and securing multiple Slams puts them on a path to superstardom.

Who has the most Grand Slam wins?

Australia’s Margaret Court is the all-time record holder with 24 Grand Slams, although many of those triumphs came before the Open era began. Serena Williams has 23 to her name and she could move level with Court if she prevails at Flushing Meadows this year. She is sure to be a popular pick in the US Open betting, as she is the favourite, she will benefit from strong home support and she has a great record there. Roger Federer is the most decorated male player of all time, with 20 Grand Slams. However, Rafa Nadal is just two behind him and Novak Djokovic now trails by just four after beating the Swiss in a five-set epic at Wimbledon in June. Djokovic is now 32 years old, but still going strong, and he might even trouble Court’s record at this rate.

Has anyone completed the calendar Grand Slam?

American Don Budge won all four Grand Slams in a single year back in 1938. He was not given many opportunities to repeat the feat, as the French Open, Wimbledon and the Australian Open were cancelled during World War II. Maureen Connolly-Brinker surged to a golden Grand Slam in 1953 by winning all four trophies. Rod Laver completed the calendar Grand Slam in 1962, aged 24. The Australian was banned from competing in Slams for much of his career due to his decision to play professional tennis, but he captured another calendar Slam in 1969 after the Open era began. Court then pulled off the feat in 1970. Since changes in 1978 that saw three fundamentally different Grand Slam surfaces introduced, only Steffi Graf in 1988 has secured a calendar Grand Slam. It came when she was just 19 and she ended up with 22 Slams, while she is the only singles player to win at least four trophies at each one.

Who is the youngest Grand Slam winner?

Swiss starlet Martina Hingis was just 16 years and 177 days old when she beat Mary Pierce in the 1997 Australian Open final. That saw her break Monica Seles’ record by 12 days, while Tracy Austin is the only other 16-year-old in history to win a Grand Slam. The youngest male Slam winner was Michael Chang at 17 years and 110 days, when he beat Stefan Edberg in the 1989 French Open final. Boris Becker, another champion at 17, recently lambasted the young male players for failing to challenge golden oldies Federer, Djokovic and Rafa Nadal.

Who is the oldest Grand Slam winner?

Ken Rosewall was 37 years and 67 days old when he won the Australian Open final in 1972. It saw him lock horns with compatriot Mal Anderson and he won it 7-6, 6-3, 7-5. Federer went agonisingly close to breaking that record when he played Djokovic in the 2019 Wimbledon final. The Swiss was 37 years and 10 months old and he had two championship points against his rival, but he could not convert them and he ultimately slumped to a heart-breaking defeat. Williams is still reaching Grand Slam finals at the age of 37 and she also has a good chance of breaking Rosewall’s long-standing record.

What is the longest Grand Slam final?

Djokovic and Nadal played out the longest final in Grand Slam history at the Australian Open in 2012. Nadal won the first set 7-5, but Djokvic took the second and third sets. The fourth went to a tiebreaker, which Nadal won, but then Djokovic ground him down and won the decider 7-5. The match went on for 5 hours and 53 minutes, eclipsing the previous record set by Mats Wilander and Ivan Lendl at the 1988 US Open final. Djokovic was involved in another epic when he played Federer at Wimbledon in the 2019 decider. He won 7-6, 1-6, 7-6, 4-6, 13-12 after the final set went to a tiebreaker after both men won 12 games. New rules for 2019 prevented a fifth set going past 12-12, meaning the final ended just before the five-hour mark, but it could well have broken the record had they been left to slug it out without a tiebreaker.

Who has won the most consecutive Grand Slams?

Budge won Wimbledon and the US Open in 1937 before going on to complete the calendar Grand Slam in 1938. He did not compete at the 1939 Australian Open, meaning his winning streak ended at six, but it could well have been extended if he had been able to make the trip Down Under. Court matched this feat when she won the US Open in 1969, pulled off the calendar Slam the following year and won the 1971 Australian Open. She lost in the third round at the French Open that year, bringing her run to an end at six too. Graf managed to win five on the bounce, while Williams won four, but nobody has managed to match Budge and Court.

Who is the most successful player at a single Grand Slam?

Clay court king Nadal looms large over Roland-Garros and he has won the French Open 12 times. That is an astonishing record and no other player can come close to matching the Spaniard’s dominance within a single Grand Slam. He boasts an astonishing 93-2 record at the French Open, leaving him with a win percentage of 98%. He first won it in 2005 and secured four titles on the bounce by 2008. His fourth round defeat to Robin Soderling in 2009 stunned the world, but he resumed his dominance by rattling off five straight triumphs between 2010 and 2014. An injury-plagued couple of years followed, and he lost in the 2015 quarter-finals and he had to retire from the 2016 tournament, but he then returned to form and fitness and won three in a row from 2016 to 2019.

Has anyone ever won a Grand Slam without losing a set?

Winning a Grand Slam without dropping a single set en route to glory has to be the ultimate statement of dominance within professional tennis. It has happened an astonishing 90 times in the women’s game. Williams has managed to achieve this brilliant feat on six different occasions, which is a record in the Open era, while her sister Venus also managed it twice. Graf secured five Slams without losing a set, as did Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. Men play five set matches at Grand Slams, so it is harder for a male player to win one without dropping a single set. Yet it has happened 17 times, with Nadal and Bjorn Borg each pulling it off in three separate tournaments. Nadal won the French Open in 2008, 2010 and 2017 without losing a set, while Bjorg was utterly invincible at Wimbledon in 1976 and Roland-Garros in 1978 and 1980.

Novak Djokovic Wins Historic Wimbledon Final Against Roger Federer In First-Ever Final-Set Tiebreaker

July 14, 2019 by TennisGrandstand

Novak Djokovic won Wimbledon for a fifth time in historic fashion beating Roger Federer 7-6 (7-6), 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 13-12 (7-3) in a match that featured the first fifth-set tiebreaker in Wimbledon singles history. The final was the longest men’s final in Wimbledon history at 4 hours and 57 minutes. The win was the 16th major title for Djokovic, closing the gap between he and Federer, the all-time leading major winner at 20 and Rafael Nadal at 18.

Djokovic saved two match points with Federer serving for the match at 8-7, 40-15 but was not able to finish off the Serbian. Djokovic becomes the first man to save a match point in a Wimbledon final since Bob Falkenburg in saved three match points in the 1948 singles final against John Bromwich.

“I’ll try to forget,” joked Federer, who is less than a month shy of his 38th birthday and would have been the oldest man to win a Grand Slam title in the professional era.

This year marked the first year that Wimbledon implemented a tie-breaker in the fifth-set at 12-12, in response to Kevin Anderson and John Isner going to 26-24 in the men’s singles semifinals, causing havoc in the tournament schedule and causing for Anderson, the semifinal winner over Isner, to not be able to be fresh enough to play at his best in the final against Djokovic in the 2018 final. The Federer vs. Djokovic match was the first singles match this year to go into the 12-12 final-set tiebreaker, but a doubles match early in the event was decided by the final-set tiebreaker.

To read about other great tennis matches in history, order “The Greatest Tennis Matches of All Time” book here by Steve Flink: https://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Tennis-Matches-All-Time/dp/0942257936/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=greatest+tennis+matches+of+all+time&qid=1563128508&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Zverev Has to Live Up to Potential

June 25, 2019 by TennisGrandstand

Alexander Zverev proved his talent in London at the end of 2018, defeating Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic to win the ATP Finals. The German now faces the challenge of replicating his form a few miles down the road in SW19 to make his Grand Slam breakthrough at Wimbledon.

Zverev has produced quality results in isolation, although he has not managed to progress further than the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam in his 16 attempts. The 22-year-old has reached the last eight in his last two appearances at the French Open. However, his best performance at Wimbledon was his fourth-round berth achieved in 2017.

It would take a significant improvement for Zverev to challenge for the crown at the All England Club, although he is backed behind the big three of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer as the next best option in the Wimbledon winner odds at 18/1. The German does have the star potential, but whether he can put it all together with a surge to the latter stages of the competition is another matter given the quality of the top three players.

He was extremely underwhelming last season, failing to emerge beyond the first week of Wimbledon. Zverev’s form on the ATP Tour earned him the fourth seed for the competition, and he brushed aside James Duckworth with ease in the first round. However, American Taylor Fritz took him all the way to five sets, forcing the German to battle back to win the final two to advance to the third round. His exploits against Fritz took their toll in his next outing, resulting in a five-set defeat at the hands of Ernests Gulbis, losing the final two sets 6-3 6-0.

It was the same story at the US Open, failing to progress beyond the third round after being beaten by his compatriot Philipp Kohlschreiber. Zverev put that disappointment behind him to end the year on a high note in the ATP Tour Finals. In his group, the German was defeated by Djokovic, but overcame John Isner and Marin Cilic to book his place in the semi-finals. Zverev put forward arguably the best performance of his career to beat Federer before topping that display by winning in straights sets in his revenge match against Djokovic.

The results proved that the German is more than capable of beating the elite players, although he could not carry that forward into the Australian Open. Milos Raonic saw him off with ease in the first Grand Slam of 2019 in the fourth round. He improved his performance at the French Open, earning a quarter-final berth for the second year on the bounce. The presence of Djokovic ended his charge, dumping him out in straight sets.

Zverev has impressed in short stints, but has not managed to make a strong impression over two weeks of a major competition. He has bogged down in the early rounds, which has resulted in fatigue and his eventual premature exit. The 22-year-old has to become more clinical in the early rounds of Grand Slams to prepare himself for the challenge of the big three in the latter stages. Zverev has the quality, but needs to deliver on his potential.

Wobbly Nadal, Resurgent Djokovic, Stranger Federer Ready For Intriguing Italian Championships

May 12, 2019 by TennisGrandstand

The Internazionali BNL d’Italia, or the Italian Championships in Rome, is the fifth ATP Masters 1000 event of the year and the last big test before the start of the French Open, the second major championship of the year. This year’s tournament is full of intrigue that will provide for many dramatic moments.

Perhaps the biggest surprise and question mark leading into the event is the form of Rafael Nadal. The “King of Clay” and eight-time tournament winner is in the worst clay-court slump of his career, winning only nine matches on his favorite dirt surface so for this season and had not even reached a final in his three previous clay-court events. He lost to Fabio Fognini handily in the semifinals of Monte Carlo, in straight sets again in the semifinals of the Barcelona Open and to Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Is this spurt of mediocre play an indication that the soon-to-be 33-year-old Nadal is finally starting to wear down and perhaps may be closer to retirement than we think or will the Mallorcan channel his frustration and anger at poor results by his lofty standards that will he win for a ninth time in Rome and again later in Paris for a 12th time?
Last year, Nadal also wobbled into Rome, following a quarterfinal loss to Thiem in Madrid, but recovered to win his eighth title in Rome, beating defending champion Alexander Zverev in the final.

This will be his 15th consecutive appearance in Rome and he comes in with a 56-6 career record (8-2 in finals). He has advanced to the quarterfinals or better in 13 of his previous 14 visits to the Italian capital. Nadal will attempt to become the first player on the ATP Tour this year to defend a title from last season.

The Rome field features 17 of the top 20 players including former champions Nadal, an eight-time winner, Novak Djokovic, a four-time champion, and 2017 winner Alexander Zverev. These three account for 13 of the past 14 titles. Djokovic, fresh off his important win in Madrid, is aiming to hoist the Rome trophy for the first time since 2015, after losses in the final in 2016 (to Andy Murray) and 2017 (to Zverev), and a semifinal loss to Nadal last year. Last Monday started the 250th week the Serb was at No. 1 in the ATP Rankings.

The most intriguing entry in the Rome field this year is Roger Federer, who is making his first appearance at the event since 2016. It is one of the very few events in his career that he has not won. His last showing in Rome was a third-round loss to Dominic Thiem on May 12, 2016. That loss to Thiem was the Swiss star’s last clay-court match at any event until he played in Madrid this past week, where he reached the quarterfinals before falling to Thiem once again.

After his win on Monte Carlo, top Italian Fognini is on the verge of cracking the top 10 and is a legitimate contender for his home nation’s title. Fognini, however, is only 10-11 lifetime in Rome, with last year’s quarterfinal as his best result. The last Italian in the ATP Rankings Top 10 was Corrado Barrazzutti on January 22 1979 and Fognini would have to likely better his quarterfinal result to jump into the top 10. The last home country player to win the most prestigious title in Italy was Adriano Panatta in 1976.

Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece comes into Rome as the ATP Tour match wins leader, earning his 27th win of the season with his semifinal victory over Nadal at Madrid. Tsitsipas was ranked No. 43 at Rome in 2018, and had to qualify for last year’s main draw. His win in Portugal on the clay earlier this season and his final-round effort in Madrid make him a tennis betting contender for the title in Rome and later this year in Paris.

Nadal vs. Djokovic – Arguably The Greatest Rivalry In Tennis History

April 14, 2019 by TennisGrandstand

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have, arguably, the greatest rivalry in the history of tennis.

No two men have faced each other more in pro tennis than these two tennis titans.

Their meeting in the final of the 2019 Australian Open was their 53rd career professional match, with Djokovic holding the slight lead 28-25 in the head-to-head. These two legends have played in Grand Slam quarterfinals, semifinals and finals, at ATP Masters 1000 Series events, ATP 500 level events, the Olympics and in Davis Cup. Look at their complete head-to-head analysis, it’s amazing.

In Grand Slam events, the biggest stage in the tennis betting world, Nadal holds the head-to-head edge nine wins against six losses to Djokovic. Nadal won six of these Grand Slam confrontations on the clay at the French Open, although Djokovic did hand Nadal one of his two career Roland Garros losses in the quarterfinals of the event in 2015. Their first career meeting came at the 2006 French Open in the quarterfinals, Nadal winning by a 6-4, 6-4, retire scoreline as Djokovic was forced to quit with a back injury.

On hard courts at Grand Slams, Djokovic’s decisive 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 win in the 2019 Australian Open final gave him a 3-2 head-to-head advantage. Nadal won his two Grand Slam hard court matches with Djokovic at the US Open – in the 2013 final by a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 margin and also in the 2010 final by a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 margin. Djokovic won the 2011 U.S. Open final over Nadal 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4 and also in the epic 2013 Australian Open final by a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 in what tennis historian and “Greatest Tennis Matches of All Time” book author Steve Flink named the No. 7 match in the history of the sport.

Indian Wells Kicks Off 30th Year of ATP Masters 1000 Tennis

March 10, 2019 by TennisGrandstand

The 2019 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California ushers in the 30th year of the ATP Tour branding these elite events as “Masters 1000” events. Remember when they were called “The Super Nine?”
Indian Wells is one of seven of these such events that have been part of this elite status since the start of the modern-day ATP Tour in 1990, along with Miami, Monte Carlo, Rome, Canada, Cincinnati and Paris.

Both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are vying for a record-breaking sixth Indian Wells title and Djokovic will also be looking to equal Rafael Nadal’s record of 33 ATP Masters 1000 titles. Nadal also seeks a sixth trophy overall in the desert, but he has only won three singles at Indian Wells to go with two doubles titles.

Last March in Indian Wells, Novak Djokovic lost his opener to 109th-ranked qualifier Taro Daniel of Japan. Djokovic returns in 2019 as the world No. 1 and champion of the last three major tournaments and two of the last three ATP Masters 1000 events. Djokovic has not played since winning his seventh Australian Open title on January 27.

Federer held three championship points to make it six titles in Indian Wells before losing to Juan Martin del Potro in 2018. Federer enters the event on a hot streak after winning the 100th title of his career in Dubai on March 2 defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final. Federer has defeated 50 different opponents for his 100 titles — 25 of whom are now retired. A fascinating stat regarding Federer and his chief rival Nadal – this marks the first time these two are playing at the same ATP Tour event (non Grand Slam event) for the first time since the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals. Federer is on a five-match win streak against Nadal, including a 6-2, 6-3 victory at 2017 Indian Wells. The two rivals could meet in the semi-finals on 16 March.

Chris Kermode ATP Exit Is The Latest Chaotic Move In Men’s Pro Tennis

March 10, 2019 by TennisGrandstand

by Rajagopalan Rohinee

At this point, men’s tennis seems to be a cacophony of chaos. To add to it, the hard-pressing matters are not only being played out both prominently but look to be raging just as intensely within the sport’s inner recesses. The problem is, however, that neither there is a way to pinpoint the origins of this problem nor there is an effective solution in sight.

The ousting of Chris Kermode as Association of Tennis Professionals’ Chief Executive Officer therefore has several connotations as it has various implications. But the one question it raises, first and foremost, is why now when the sport is said to be ostentatiously flourishing? In that respect, the whole “he said-he said-they said” turn of events that is being played out in the aftermath of the ATP Board Meeting in Indian Wells does not enumerate much beyond the offering of reasons as to why things happened the way they did.

So what purpose does the currently ongoing clamouring – of trying to pin the blame on Novak Djokovic and other members of the Player Council and/or on the Player Representatives – serve? For, despite the earnestness of everyone involved – both first-hand and as onlookers into the matter – there are no answers available even as pertinent scepticisms – read, vis-à-vis Justin Gimelstob’s controversial presence in the decision-making – have abounded.

The one aspect that needs to be peered into and pored over deeply, but which has been quieted down, is where does men’s tennis go from here? At the same time, the stakeholders – be it players or those responsible for its managerial side – need to introspect on what can only be considered as a failing of the sport despite its much-bandied-about successes. In isolation, this is bad news. But it worsens when juxtaposed with the mess the International Tennis Federation has inflicted upon itself.

The open rebellion dotting the ITF’s periphery by several national tennis boards, its members and (deprived) players following its Transition Tour muddle should have cautioned the ATP in a timely manner. Yet, even as the ITF finds it difficult to justify its recent actions, which have seen an unequal bartering of the Davis Cup to a soccer player, the returns from which – when filtered to its core – are non-existent to the tournament’s growth and continuity, the ATP did as it felt right.

But in trying to do what was right, the ATP came across as short-sighted, imposing restrictions on the entirety of the men’s game.

Beyond 2019, following the end of Kermode’s term, men’s tennis will have to start over from scratch. The Briton’s business acumen – giving men’s tennis widespread marketability and in turn, leading to enhanced profitability – would be a thing of the past. In the sport’s annals, it would not be a pause but a definite stopping point.
Then, whoever takes over from Kermode, will not only have the onus of living up to the standards set by his predecessor (while attempting to better it) but will also need to live up to the expectations of these stakeholders of the domain who had insisted on making the change, in the first place. Just as along those of whom – including Djokovic – who spoke about administrative changes being necessary will also be at the receiving end of scrutiny, with enquiries flowing about whether the so-called alterations netted positive results.

Djokovic is well-within his rights now to decline commenting on what his personal choice was in the voting to truncate Kermode’s role. But at that unspecified point in the future – if it does come to pass – if the changes were not to work, him and the others who were a part of the present-day decision-making would need to justify themselves as to whether their good intentions came through for the lowest-ranked player as much as for those in the top-tier. It may also be the questions that popped up in the Chris Kermode’s non-continuing-as-the-CEO melee are answered, one way or another.

Australian Open Proves There Is Still A Ways To Go For The “Changing Of The Guard”

January 27, 2019 by TennisGrandstand

by Rajagopalan Rohinee

As the 2019 Australian Open concludes, one of the biggest upsets of the tournament was that of Roger Federer. The two-time defending champion’s fourth-round defeat to Stefanos Tsitsipas set the ball rolling anew about changing of the guard and how Federer’s – and his other peers’ – time had come to an end.

Yet, as it turned out in the days after Federer’s upset, the old guard remained as they were – with Novak Djokovic defeating Rafael Nadal for the men’s title – even as the youngsters kept dropping off, one-by-one as the draw narrowed further. Until eventually, the two others who reached the penultimate stage of the tournament – Stefanos Tsitsipas and Lucas Pouille – got quite a lesson as to how they were expected to play at that point.

The concept of changing of the guard, too, has taken a lunging step backwards at this point. To that end, it is following the usual chain of events that usually transpire in an event. Each time that one among Federer, Nadal and Djokovic loses – and a Next Gen player wins – in a tournament, or a tournament; the narrative repeats itself. But, the moment any of them wins an event, the younger players get relegated to the backburner even as the legendary status of these players is cemented further. As such, suffice to say, the idea that there is a change of guard happening in the upper echelons of the game will soon reappear as the season progresses from beyond the Australian swing. And, at this point, it has honestly begun to get slightly tiresome.

All this, however, is not to say that the youngsters are not making their way through. But that there is an attempt to conflate expectations and reality, without considering the time factor needed to merge the two into a single entity. For example: in the last few years, Alexander Zverev has been a steady presence in the top ATP rankings with a slew of titles backing his credentials. Yet, his results in the majors have been disappointing – although not for want of trying.

Much as Zverev himself ponders about the dichotomy of his results otherwise in the ATP events and at the majors, for the numerous others who have directed their scrutiny at him, the takeaway ought to be that not keep harping on it and rather, let him figure it out for himself with his team. The same case can be made for Hyeon Chung – who after a surprisingly great run at the 2018 Australian Open has been laid low with injuries and inconsistent performances – and more recently, for Stefanos Tsitsipas.

In case of the Greek, the highs after his win over Federer – and Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarter-final – came cascading down in his lopsided 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 semi-final loss to Nadal. In a curious admission about the result, Tsitsipas observed in the post-match press conference, “I don’t know, I feel very strange. I feel happy with my performance in this tournament, but at the same time I feel disappointed. I feel like I could do a bit better today. I don’t know. That’s how I felt. But it’s a very, very weird feeling. Almost felt like just couldn’t play better. I don’t know.”

The rest of his press conference followed along the same lines with Tsitsipas outlining Nadal’s game-plan during the match and his inability to deal with the tactics employed. As far as analysis went, it was needed. But considering that Tsitsipas had faced Nadal twice before – as recently as in 2018 – and had lost both matches to him, he needed to have a strategy worked out to cover all his problematic areas against the Spaniard. Most importantly, as befitting the ranks of a player ushering in a new era, he needed to adjust his strategy right there, on the court, when the ones he had been employing were not working effectively against Nadal.

At the moment, this is the biggest differentiator between these multiple-time champions and the new players. The older players’ acumen in manipulating their tactics to put their opponents on the back-foot, then, is not something that can be gained in a match or two. It takes years to put together and even then, it is not perfect at all times.
But, in case of losses, it is the experience-wrought capability to reset their games that has made them so dominant, year-on-year and season-after-season. Even for Federer, despite his loss which has not been his first, and which will not be his last either.

Alexander Zverev Shocks Novak Djokovic To Win ATP Finals In London

November 18, 2018 by TennisGrandstand

Alexander Zverev became the youngest champion ever at the year-end ATP Finals in a decade with his comprehensive upset of world No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 in the final.

The title marked the biggest career win for the 21-year-old German, who began working with tennis legend Ivan Lendl in late August.

Zverev became the youngest player to win at the ATP’s season finale since Djokovic in 2008. He was the first German to win the title since Boris Becker in 1995.

“This is the biggest title of my career so far. This trophy means a lot, everything, to all the players. I mean, you only have so many chances of winning it. You play against the best players only,” Zverev said. “How I played today, how I won it, for me it’s just amazing.”

One year ago, Zverev made his debut at elite eight-player event in London, falling short of reaching the semifinals. The 10-time ATP tournament title champion beat six-time champion Roger Federer in straight sets on Saturday in the semifinals. It’s the first time a player has beaten both Djokovic and Federer at the same Nitto ATP Finals. Zverev’s the first player to beat the Top 2 seeds in the semifinals and final of the event since Andre Agassi in 1990.

“It’s quite astonishing, winning this title, beating two such players back-to-back, Roger and Novak, in semi-finals and final,” Zverev said. “It means so much. I’m incredibly happy and incredibly proud of this moment right now.”