Hi all...welcome to my third installment of "Tiebreak's '08."
This blog is going to be fun, and I hope I get a lot of comments from you guys.
In sports, sometimes you just don't have it anymore. I'll try and pick out a few guys that, in my opinion, are done. I use the word "done' loosely...for some of the names I mention, it doesn't mean they should hang up the towel for good and quit, it just means their career, as we know it(top 10, Slam winner, or a threat) is done.
Lets get started...
My first player I'd like to declare done is Tommy Robredo. The feisty, fit Spaniard always found himself around the top 15 for the past few years...except this one. Tommy finished at #21 in the world this year, as yes this is an excellent ranking...BUT I think the days of Tommy being in the 4Th round at Slams or being a threat to big players are over. Robredo relies heavily on his fitness and now at the age of 26 will start to break down. I'd give him another year or two in the top 25 until he starts to drop like a stone, but gone are the days of thinking he has a chance to sniff a Slam semi.
Carlos Moya is done. The beefy "big bro" of Rafa has battled shoulder injury for the past few years, and although still being able to play some pretty high quality tennis (mostly on clay) this former world No. 1 is done. He has dropped to the 40s in the rankings and seems like the kind of guy that doesn't want to just "show up" to Slams. Lets not forget Carlos is also in his early 30s...which means his career clock is starting to get down to the end...I look for this fan favorite to call it quits very soon, probably in the next year and a half.
The magician is very close to done. Fabrice Santoro, a fan favorite for his two handed ground strokes and wizardry on the court. Sadly, Fabrice can't quite cut it anymore on a weekly basis. He has hinted at retirement and spoke about it often, which means it's not far off. The game will certainly miss his one-of-a-kind game.
Ivan Ljubicic is done. It seems like a lot longer than '06 that the big serving Croatian was number 3 in the world...A LOT LONGER. Now standing at number 44 in the world, Ivan has fell into the group of players that doesn't make it onto TV coverage for a second the entire year. I'm not quite sure what happened to him, but he is just not a factor anymore. He can lose to anyone on a given day, and every player knows it. His struggles seem to be getting worse, and at right around 30, his days may be numbered.
Lleyton Hewitt hired a new coach to try and become a contender again, and after some mixed results got injured, ending his season early. The thing is, even is Hewitt comes back 100%, mostly likely, he's still done. His flat counter punching style is simply outdated. Hewitt was the prototype for a grinder about 6 years ago, now grinders are bigger, stronger, and younger.(Rafa) I love the guy, and hope he makes his way at least into the top 20 again...but any higher and I think it's pushing it.
Nicolas Massu is done. The former Gold Medalist looks more and more like that will be his one and only career bench mark (although if you can only have one...I guess it's not a bad one to have.) Massu plummeted into the challenger ranks, before making a last minute push to break into the 70s or so. The truth is that Massu is done. He'll never be back at the top of the game, and although I could see him pushing top 50 (40 maybe), I don't give him very much longer.
Tommy Haas is done. Haas is one of the most resilient players in the game. The problem is he is also one of the most injury prone. Coming back from an injury is a draining process that takes patience, hard work, and drive. Tommy has come back from so many, we can only wonder how many more can he go through. He is now in the 80s...I doubt he can make another comeback into the top 15...but I guess there is still a slim chance.
Last but now least...Spadea is done. The American rapper is now approaching his mid 30s. I don't know how much longer he is going to be out there grinding for wins...his love of the game still seems strong, but I give him another year and a half tops. He is in the 70s which means he can still get straight into a lot of events. Once he drops out of the 90-100 range...that might be the end of Vince.
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6 comments:
I have a couple of others to add to your list........Safin is also done, I am tired of hearing about his big game, where are the big wins? Blake is another player, who is pushing thirty, that I think will struggle to stay in the top twenty. For a guy that went to Harvard, his tennis IQ is zero, trying to hit every shot at 200 miles an hour. Other players have figured him out. Last but not least is Dmitri Tursunov, he was a rising star less than two years ago, top twenty I think, now he seems more interested in writing his blog. He's not even great at that, yours is more interesting.
Hewitt's passion for the game was always great to watch, he just never had enough game. Your list of who's done is sad but true. Each one had their time to shine.
Hey, Tiebreak don't count out Hewitt. He may come back fitter than eve, and try to make a run to the semi's in one of this years slams.
Spadea is not one of the nicest players on tour, no one will be sorry to see him gone.
Good choices, interesting to see what happens.
The game has changed so much the last few years. It must be very hard for some of the older guys to stay in the game and even harder to come back from injuries. Who has had the most injuries on tour?
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