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This week is Munich (featuring Murray) and Istanbul (featuring Federer) on the men's side and Prague along with Marrakech on the women's side as we gear up for Madrid (which Djoker might or might not be playing in).
Not sure this is such a wise move, he missed it last year due to injury but still fell short at RG.
Most other commentators may think it is a good idea to rest, and that Madrid's conditions are least comparable to Paris, but he still needs to keep playing imo.
You want to take on a guy who has the most extreme level of dominance at one event, ever seen in any sport -ie in the form of Nadal at RG, you don't want to let him play himself back in and get his confidence back.
Not sure this is such a wise move, he missed it last year due to injury but still fell short at RG.
Most other commentators may think it is a good idea to rest, and that Madrid's conditions are least comparable to Paris, but he still needs to keep playing imo.
Isn't there another clay court event between Madrid and RG?
Isn't there another clay court event between Madrid and RG?
There's a two week break in between the two tournaments. One week is taken by Rome, which is a major tournament, and the other week has smaller tournaments, Nice and Geneva on the men's side and Nurnberger and Strasbourg on the women's side.
Not sure this is such a wise move, he missed it last year due to injury but still fell short at RG.
Most other commentators may think it is a good idea to rest, and that Madrid's conditions are least comparable to Paris, but he still needs to keep playing imo.
You want to take on a guy who has the most extreme level of dominance at one event, ever seen in any sport -ie in the form of Nadal at RG, you don't want to let him play himself back in and get his confidence back.
Djokovic has played and won Madrid before and not won the French Open, so I don't see his decision to skip Madrid as helping or hurting him.
Djokovic has played and won Madrid before and not won the French Open, so I don't see his decision to skip Madrid as helping or hurting him.
I think the fans were nasty to him there or something a couple years ago, but don't totally know. I think he is still pissed and that's the reason for his withdrawal.
I think the fans were nasty to him there or something a couple years ago, but don't totally know. I think he is still pissed and that's the reason for his withdrawal.
The crowd is very parochial, similar to Davis Cup and like a football/ soccer atmosphere.
Obviously they are very pro-Spanish, but also jeer and cheer against anyone they don't like - which is what happened to Djoker in 2013.
Most professional players are not interested in the crowd, and I don't think that was a major factor in Djoker withdrawing. It was more a strategic move to avoid too much play before RG, and as I have said before, I am not totally convinced it is a good idea.
The crowd is very parochial, similar to Davis Cup and like a football/ soccer atmosphere.
Obviously they are very pro-Spanish, but also jeer and cheer against anyone they don't like - which is what happened to Djoker in 2013.
Most professional players are not interested in the crowd, and I don't think that was a major factor in Djoker withdrawing. It was more a strategic move to avoid too much play before RG, and as I have said before, I am not totally convinced it is a good idea.
I can agree with that. It's crucial to keep the momentum going through the clay court season.
I like to keep an eye on the young, ascending players (essentially the teenagers, though I'll include some 20 year olds) on the ATP Tour. Things have been busy in recent weeks with a few of them, and pretty much all of them have posted some notable clay court results the last few weeks. Here's an update, with players listed in order of current ranking (ranking as of 4/27/15):
*Nick Kyrgios (Australia), age 20 (DOB: 4/27/95), ranking 46 - Kyrgios has been relatively quiet this year up until this week, playing in only four tournaments and only making noise at the Australian Open (quarterfinals). However, at this week's ATP 250 Estoril Open in Portugal, he has celebrated moving into his 20s by advancing to the final, the first time he's gotten past the quarters in a Grand Slam or ATP Tour event. (He'll play Richard Gasquet in the final.) Kyrgios' ranking will move back up to about 35 if he loses and 32 (which would be a career high) if he wins in the final. It is not out of the realm of possibility he could be a seeded player at the French Open if things break right.
*Borna Coric (Croatia), age 18 (DOB: 11/14/96), ranking 55 - Coric continues to impress, winning at least one match in every tournament he's entered (all ATP Tour events) except one since advancing to the semifinals at Dubai (ATP 500) in late February. Like Kyrgios, he played the Estoril Open (ATP 250) this week, making a solid run to the quarterfinals. Comfortably qualified for the French Open, he'll move up to about 52 in the world (a career high) on May 4th.
*Hyeon Chung (South Korea), age 18 (DOB: 5/19/96), ranking 88 - Chung has had an excellent start to 2015, improving by roughly 80 spots in the rankings since the beginning of the year. Though he did not play this week (and will play a Challenger event next week rather than Madrid), he's already won two Challenger events (including the recent Savannah event on clay), appeared in three Challenger finals, and done no worse than the semifinals of his five Challenger events so far this year. He also got through qualifying and advanced to the round of 16 in Houston (ATP 250) and won a main draw match at the Miami Masters. Chung should be ranked high enough to make the main draw directly at Roland Garros.
*Thanasi Kokkinakis (Australia), age 19 (DOB: 4/10/96), ranking 103 - Kokkinakis has been quiet over the last month taking a mini-break from tournament action, but like Chung has made a solid rise in the rankings since the beginning of the year, rising about 50 spots in the rankings. The highlight of Kokkinakis' season so far was his run to the round of 16 at the Indian Wells Masters, but he's also won at least one match in either qualifying or the main draw at every tournament he's played in (all ATP Tour events) except one this year, plus a Davis Cup match. He's actually advanced through qualifying to make the main draw at four tournaments (ATP 250 events in Memphis, Delray Beach, and this week's clay court event in Istanbul, and the ATP 500 event in Acapulco), and he also won a main draw match at the Australian Open. Kokkinakis should move up to the doorstep of the top 100 (roughly 102) on May 4th and may have a chance to make the main draw directly at the French Open.
*Alexander Zverev (Germany), age 18 (DOB: 4/20/97), ranking 119 - Zverev has experienced a slower climb in the rankings so far in 2015 compared to some of his contemporaries, but he continues to post solid results. He advanced through qualifying to the main draw in the ATP events in Marseille (ATP 250) and Miami (ATP 1000), winning a main draw match in Miami. He also advanced to the quarters of the Irving Challenger tournament, annually one of the top challenger events every season. (It is played during the second, full week of Indian Wells, so many top players who lose early at Indian Wells will play Irving.) This week Zverev won a main draw match at Munich (ATP 250), and he should move up to about 113 in the world (a career high) in the May 4th rankings.
*Jared Donaldson (United States), age 18 (DOB 10/9/96), ranking 168 - Donaldson has had a solid 2015 so far, moving up about 90 spots in the rankings. The clear highlight during the first four months of 2015 was his win at the Maui Challenger in late January/early February. Donaldson won his first ATP Tour main draw match in Memphis in February, and over the last three weeks has posted quarterfinal, quarterfinal, and semifinal runs at clay court challengers in Sarasota, Savannah, and Tallahassee. With his strong showing in the Tallahassee Challenger, he should move up to about 159 in the world (a career high) in the May 4th rankings.
*Andrey Rublev (Russia), age 17 (DOB 10/20/97), ranking 292 - Rublev has shot up through the rankings so far this year, improving nearly 150 spots since the beginning of January. He has won at least one match in either qualifying or the main draw of every tournament he's entered (2 challengers, 4 ATP Tour events), including advancing through qualifying to the main draw in Barcelona (ATP 500) and winning main draw matches in Delray Beach (ATP 250), Miami (ATP 1000), Barcelona, and this week in Istanbul (ATP 250). Rublev will move up to about 270 in the world (a career high) in the May 4th rankings.
*Francis Tiafoe (United States), age 17 (DOB 1/20/98), ranking 381 - Tiafoe has enjoyed a meteoric rise through the rankings so far in 2015, improving about 750 spots since the beginning of the year. He started the year by playing five ITF Futures events, winning one tournament, advancing to the finals in two others, and reaching at least the quarterfinals in all five tournaments. More recently (and more impressively), he's played clay court Challenger events in Sarasota, Savannah, and Tallahassee, advancing to the quarters, semis, and finals respectively in those three tournaments. Tiafoe will improve to about 300 in the world (a career high) in the May 4th rankings. His recent performance at the clay court challengers earned him a wild card spot into the main draw at Roland Garros.
*Stefan Kozlov (United States), age 17 (DOB 2/1/98), ranking 431 - like Alexander Zverev, Kozlov has had more modest success in 2015, moving up only about 35 spots in the rankings. However, the two-time junior Grand Slam finalist has still been winning matches on the ITF Futures and ATP Challenger circuits, in addition to making his ATP Tour main draw debuts at Memphis and Delray Beach. Kozlov's best showing so far this season is a quarterfinal appearance at the Maui Challenger in late January/early February.
I'm personally looking forward to seeing and hearing more about these guys and other young, ascending players (and that includes the good, young female players too, such as CiCi Bellis) and can't wait to see these guys play both one another and some of the top ranked players in the world in hopefully the not-too-distant future. That's particularly true of Kyrgios and Coric, both of whom have a little cockiness in their personalities. (I really can't wait to see those two guys play one another.) Not all of these players are future top 10 players, but it is likely many of them will be and at least one or two of them could eventually ascend to #1 in the world or become a future Grand Slam champion. It will be interesting to see them write their stories in tennis.
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