Simon & Tsonga

First ball is struck on TV today at 1 p.m. ET. The matches are delayed, so I have been avoiding all sports websites this morning (as you all should be.)

I'll quickly preview Tsonga and Simon, and then post later with the results from day one.

First Tsonga: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has emerged as one of the great personalities of tennis. He burst on to the main stage this year after putting together a dream run to the Aussie Open finals.
The good thing about his chances in Shanghai are that
1- He won the Paris Masters to propel himself to a Shanghai berth...which means he has HUGE momentum.
2- The tournament is indoors, and with his huge serve and forehand, the courts will probably suit his game nicely.
Tsonga is in the Gold Group, and if he catches fire, we all might see him make some memorable moments.

Now Simon:

Gilles Simon is obviously a favorite of mine, considering I have mentioned him quite a bit in my blog. What I love about him is that if you watch him practice, (like I have at the US Open) he doesn't look like anything special. His skinny frame doesn't look like it can overpower anyone, he's not particularly tall, and his strokes look...well solid.
Simon doesn't have a huge stroke, or too much of a flashy game. He wins with patience, Tennis IQ, and great movement.
I am very interested to see how he will do in the RED GROUP, which, on paper, he seems to be very out of place.
Simon is gritty, and a tough competitor, so I look for him to be at least close in every match he plays.


That's the end of my previews...it's up to the players to decide now.
Enjoy the tennis today, and I'll see you later with results from day one.

Davydenko Preview

Everyone knows that Nikolay Davydenko may be one of the least popular top 5 players of all time.

If you're a top 5 player in the ATP...

You know it's bad when it takes a betting scandal for you to become a household name.

You also knows it's bad when you can't get a clothing line anyone heard of.

You also know it's bad if you can't half fill up a stadium.

And you really know it's bad if your never talked about before any Grand Slam.

This is the case for Davydenko. Before his betting scandal (I can't tell the story again, or even think about it because I have heard it forty times.) he was hardly even known. He keeps to himself, and lets his racket do all of his talking. He is a steady and gritty competitor who is very unpredictable (game and attitude.) Sometimes he looks like you need to drive a stake through his heart to beat him, and other times it looks like he couldn't care less at the end of matches. Even with his scandal, he's been lingering around the top 5 for quite a while now. Let's face it, no one thinks he's ever going to break into the top 2, and no one really thinks he's going to ever win a Slam. He is sort of in a tennis limbo, and the catch? Davydenko wouldn't change a thing. He loves to be ignored, and likes to play with sort of a "no one cares" chip on his shoulder. It would be easy for him to jump into the spotlight by saying some outrageous comments or acting nuts on the court, but he chooses not to.

Nikolay is in the ever wide-open GOLD GROUP, which has been mentioned for the past few days by me.

Earlier on in my posts, I predicted Davydenko would make the semi's of the Master's Cup, and I think the group he is in gives him a solid chance. He can sure beat Tsonga and Del Potro, and Novak isn't a bad match-up for him. I'll stick with my prediction, and hope he wants to show everyone he belongs in the Master's Cup. He's never really made much noise in the year-end tournament, maybe this is his year? The guy is starting to get old, and we can only imagine the mental energy he has spent this year with his scandal. I'd personally love to see him make a dent in the tournament...just to remind us all that HE IS, in fact, in the top 5.

Play starts tomorrow(or middle of the night/morning/afternoon depending on your channel, time zone, and country.) I still need to preview Simon and Tsonga, so I'll do that tomorrow, along with results and a brand new poll. See you soon.

POLL RESULTS

Hey everyone, just posting to show the results of the last poll. ---->

As you can see, in a bit of a surprising result, Del Potro beat out Murray 46% to 38%.  Tsonga and Simon each pulled in a dull 7%.  

Most of you think Del Potro has made the biggest improvement this year.  It's hard to argue with his stats this year, and he has made an incredible jump in the rankings,a ll the way to number 8.  Murray has been dominant this year, but it seems you felt his rise from the top 10 to the top 4 was slightly less drastic than Del Potro's rise from nowhere to to 10.  

Also, ATPTennis.com has finally posted the TV Schedule for the Master's Cup...

Check it out HERE.

See you later for my preview of Davydenko.

Novak Preview...plus TV Update.

Thank you to one of my readers for commenting me about where to find Shanghai on TV.  After I posted last night, I check the Tennis Channel site and found that it is showing on that, pretty much every match.  This is disappointing considering I only have the TC at my house...(and am at college).  How could ESPN2 not be showing it?  I also found out from doing some reading that Fox Sports Net might show the final.  That is good news, except for the fact that Fox Sports Net could possibly have the worst coverage of tennis I could ever 

imagine...oh well at least I'll be able to see it.  For those of you as sad as me, check into Masters Series TV online, I've never tried it, but have heard good things.  

Now for the NOVAK PREVIEW.

I have to admit; I haven't said many good things about Novak in my blog so far. I'm not totally sure why I'm not a big fan...but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with his attitude. 

I have never felt that he is genuine.  There is no doubt he is an amazing personality for the game (think US Open impressions), so you'd think players would love him...right?

Personally, I've never really heard of a player liking him (most countrymen are included.)  Novak has had known feuds with Fed and Nadal...along with a public feud with Roddick (leading to him being booed out of Arthur Ashe Stadium).

Novak had been calling for injury timeouts, and numerous aches and pains after, and during his match with Tommy Robredo. 

Not only did Robredo question Novak's sincerity after the match, but Roddick joked (as only he can) about Novak having leg pain, arm pain, a hurt back, SARS, and even the Bird Flu.  Novak got all bent out of shape about it, and after beating A-Rod, accused the crowd and Roddick of not believing him.  This is what got the boos going. 

I also spoke to an ATP Tour stringer a while ago who said that out of all the players he worked with, Novak seemed to be the most ungrateful, and had the biggest ego. 

My message to Novak is if you can't take it don't give it.

Now that my tangent is over, back to his tennis.  There is no doubt that he is an incredible player and talent.  After winning the Aussie Open, he seemed ready to overtake Rafa as #2.  After being within one win of passing Rafa twice, (and losing both), he seemed to slip a bit.  He comes into Shanghai with an 0-3 lifetime record at the Master's Cup after his tired performance last year. 

His game is sure good enough, but physically he seemed to get beat up at the end of the year.  He hasn't been doing all that well recently, which might be a blessing for him, giving him more rest than usual.  He is also in the wide open Gold Group (with Del Potro, Tsonga,and Davydenko.) 

If Novak finds his Aussie form, he'll waltz into the semis.  If he doesn't, he could very well lose all three matches again. 

The one thing you always have to give Novak is that he believes in himself and is very mentally tough.  Something tells me his 0-3 showing last year got circled on his calendar for last this year.

 

SEE YOU TOMORROW WITH DAVYDENKO'S PREVIEW.

Housekeeping

Just a quick note to all of you.  Since I have been getting more comments recently...I want to answer all of you guys personally, but can't always write them as a blog.  If you comment me a question, I'll do my best to answer you back as another comment from now on...so check the comment forums.   

Take Care.

Del Potro...Plus Tennis Vocab...

I wanted to open up today's blog to first say thanks for all of the comments that have been coming in. They are greatly appreciated, and help me to try and make a better blog, so keep it going. Also, feel free to let me know of any new sections you want me to start, or anything you want me to write about.
Next order of business is that as the Master's Cup is upon us...I haven't seen ANYTHING on where to watch it on TV. I spent 20 minutes today on tvguide.com looking for when it is on...according to the tv guide this morning, I didn't find it once on either ESPN or ESPN2, which were the channels it was on last year. I haven't check the Tennis Channel yet, but I am pretty sure it's not on that. ATPTennis.com also has nothing about where to find it on TV, and neither does the Master's Cup site itself. Maybe I overlooked it (but I don't think so)...so if anyone knows where to find it on TV, comment me and I'll post it. If not, we'll just write it off to another awful marketing job of tennis. Put it this way, I can't go get a cup of coffee without seeing something about when and who is playing in the NFL on Sunday...the top 8 tennis player's of the world are playing a year end event, and you would barely know.

Now for my PREVIEW OF DEL POTRO.

Juan Martin Del Potro stormed onto the scene of tennis this year. I remember for the past couple of years, I have heard of how much potential he had, with his tall frame(6 foot 6), huge serve, and monster forehand...everyone knew if he put it together, he'd be trouble. Well he did...and he's trouble.
Del Potro had an unreal season going 45-13 and winning 4 titles. It would be hard to argue that anyone had a better season than him besides Rog, Rafa, Murray, and Novak.
Del Potro was placed in the round robin group with Novak, Tsonga, and Davydenko...which is a dream group for Del Potro. Novak had an awful first try at Shanghai last year, Tsonga is always a bit hot and cold, and Davydenko, well, is Davydenko.
Del Potro is technically second to last according to the rankings at number 8 (Simon is 9, but got in because of Rafa), but I think most people would place him as the favorite (with Novak) to get to the semis from this group.
The question is whether Juan can hold his nerves on a huge stage, and for the first time in the Master's Cup. He seems like a pretty "cool under pressure" kind of guy, and I look for him to play well.

THIS IS THE INTRODUCTION TO MY NEWEST WEEKLY, OR MONTHLY(DEPENDING ON MY MOOD) section of the blog WHICH IS CALLED TENNIS VOCAB.
Tennis vocab will pick one word from the tennis world and define it(to the best of my ability). This is another section that comments will be very helpful. If there is ever a word I use in the blog, or that you heard, in the tennis world...comment me and ask me to define it.

Grinder: Noun or Verb(to grind):
-one who is willing to fight for every point, usually winning with consistency.
_a version of a pusher, that goes for winners when necessary, and hits with pace.
_Verb: to grind: the act of fighting for every point.


See you soon.

Roddick Preview

Andy Roddick has, once again, had a forgettable season.  The catch is that Roddick is so tough, that even with an "off" season, he still makes it to Shanghai.  He has struggled all year with matches, and injuries...yet has grinded his way to a spot in the top 8.  

How does he do it?  It always seems like he doesn't really do anything that BIG, yet is still always in the top of the rankings.  Well...some of Roddick's tricks are, defending titles, winning some small tournaments, and trying to always beat the players that he should be beating.  

For the first time, age is finally starting to come into the picture for Roddick, he's not getting any younger at 26, and had some injury troubles, really, for the first time in his career this year.  I think we all wondered when he would get some kind of a twinge somewhere from serving 140 in his trademark jerky motion a billion times a match.  Luckily his work ethic is almost unmatched on the tour, and he is just as fit as anyone.  He will continue to be a factor for a while if he keeps up his hard work.  

So now Shanghai comes along...I expect, if Roddick gets in a favorable group(you'll see later on in this post that he didn't), to play really well.  I think he sees that his opportunities are getting more and more precious, and as always, if he serves well, he can beat anyone.  I'd love to see him make a run, and get to the semis...you have to feel for the guy more than you feel for anyone.  Watching him choke away a chance at a 5Th set against Djokovic  at the US Open this year, was hard to watch...and I hope he can avenge that loss.  

An underrated key to Roddick's game is his backhand, if he is feeling it, he becomes very dangerous, and can hit some nice down the line shots, and bully his opponents around.  If he he tentative on the backhand, he slices too much, and good players step in and push him around the baseline.  

NOW FOR THE 2008 SHANGHAI ROUND ROBIN GROUPS.

FIRST HERE IS THE LINK TO THE MAIN SITE...

RED GROUP: 

FED

MURRAY

RODDICK

SIMON

ABSOLUTELY LOADED.

GOLD GROUP:

NOVAK

DEL POTRO

TSONGA

DAVYDENKO

The Red Group, as you can see is loaded.  Fed is going to have his hands full to get to the semis. 

The Gold Group is a bit more wide-open. I could realistically see any of those four guys makes it to the semis.  

See you soon.

Tip of the Week #2, and Fed preview.

Let me get this out of the way first...Unfortunately, Rafa's MRI on his knee revealed tendinitis.  This puts him in doubt for the Davis Cup Final.  Rafa is lucky it's not something more serious, but tendinitis will still keep him on the sideline for a bit.  Get better, Rafa, and don't rush back for the Davis Cup.  

ROGER FEDERER: Now for my quick preview of Fed at Shanghai.  Well quite simply, Fed is back.  Whoever wrote him off that he would never win another Slam before the Open, was proved wrong, as he dominated the Open.  OK, so it wasn't his most dominant Slam, he did go 5 with Andreev, but for the 

most part there was no doubt that he was going to win.  He certainly isn't the Fed of old (not yet) but he is still the man to beat.  

With Rafa out of the Cup, it certainly rises Fed's chances.  He did pull out of Paris with a hurt back...but I think he will be fine come Sunday.  The biggest threat I see to him at the moment is Murray.  

I expect Fed to be a lock for the semis (at the very least) and to continue his quest to prove that not only is he back, but he never went anywhere in the first place.  

Now for...TIP OF THE WEEK #2

PLAYING IN THE 

WIND.  

So all of you die hard players out there that don't let the incoming fall/winter chill stop you from hitting outside, this should help you play in the brutal wind.  Right around this time of year the wind picks up, and continues to be bad in the March/April months.  Especially in college tennis, where the championship season is from Jan-April, wind is a huge factor.  There are few things that can drive a player crazier than a windy day, all of sudden you can't toss, your forehand stinks, and it seems like it's only windy on your side of the court.  Whether your a recreational player, or an ATP pro...the wind is awful.

Here are my tips to play well in the wind during a match or practice.  

1-Imprint in your mind that it is the same conditions for both players.

This might be the toughest step...but if you keep reassuring this, it will stick.  Don't think it's unfair that your playing in these conditions, it's for both players.

2- Realize which way the wind is blowing.

This is a fairly easy step, you should know after one changeover which side the wind is blowing towards.  This means making the necessary adjustments...you might have to rip the ball flat on one side to get it past the service line, or hit heavy spin on one side to keep the ball in play.  Make note of this.

3- Calm down, make the game simple.

Stay Calm...maybe don't try and go for drop shots or lobs, and other skill shots that need you to be very precise.  Play smart and high percentage tennis, work on getting the ball in, don't aim for the lines.  

4- Whatever you do, don't let it seem like the wind is bothering you, even if it is.

This step is key...don't let your opponent know the wind bothers you.  Make him think that he is the only one bothered by these conditions.  If you hit a shot and the wind takes it out by a foot, turn around and go to the next point.  

5- Get ALMOST EVERY first serve in.

Crucial.  The worst case scenario to be in while playing in the wind is to have to hit a second serve under pressure with your toss bobbing around everywhere.  Lets face it, unless you have a 140 mph bomb, your serve is going to be worse in the wind, much worse.  Therefore, get a lot of first serves in, try and serve at least 75%.

We all play in the wind, and all hate it.  If you listen to these tips, you can actually use the wind to your advantage, and have your opponent throwing a tantrum in no time.  

Rafa Out Of Masters Cup

Poor Rafa.

Well the first player I am going to preview for Shanghai happens to be someone who just pulled out...

The King of Clay(and grass and the rankings) has withdrawn from the Masters Cup because of fatigue and just being too beat up after a long season.  What I hope is that it's not something seriously wrong with his knee(which he had to withdraw last week from) and he is trying to downplay it.  

It's a shame...and the tournament won't even be close to the same without him.  

Hopefully Rafa gets healthy for next season...but it does bring up two important questions. 

Rafa is one of the most vocal guys out there that say the season is too long in tennis, which promotes too much bodily abuse.  A few years (I think two) ago, something like 4 out of the original 8 to qualify for the Masters Cup had to withdraw because of injury.  Tennis is so physically demanding on the body, maybe a few more withdraws like this, and there might be a schedule change.

The second issue brought up is about Nadal's style of play.  What makes him so intriguing and so good is his never say die attitude.  His relentless running on the court in marathon matches.  This is also his weakness.  For a young guy, Rafa has had a lot of injury troubles.  A possible career ending foot injury was his most serious, followed by him having to now wrap his knees in every single match he plays.  A lot of basketball players wear ankle wraps for every game, or sleeves to warm up there arms, but Rafa wraps his knees (heavily) every SINGLE time he steps on court.  For such a young guy, that is alarming.  I don't know if it's his training or style, but he should try and find some way to keep up his marathon fitness, with being a little bit easier on his body.

The Bright Side:

So what's the bright side of all of this?  Well, Gilles Simon gets his first appearance at Shanghai, and he certainly deserves it.  Good Luck Gilles and Get well soon Rafa.

See you tomorrow when I preview Roger Federer.

Tsonga to Shanghai

The Stakes Were HighWell, everything was on the line on Sunday.  A Masters Shield, a ranking spot, a title, prize money, pride, and a trip to the most prestigious tournament in the world.  

The contender:  David Nalbandian: a brute that is having a memorable end to his season, catching fire at the right time.

The contender: J.W. Tsonga: An Ali look-a-like who came out of nowhere to get to the Aussie Final, then struggled greatly with injuries, trying to pick up some slack for the years end.

After an epic match over 2 hours, Tsonga beat the red hot Nalbandian 6-3,4-6,6-4.

Tsonga books his first ever trip to Shanghai, and along with making some people happy that's it's not Nalbandian, he should be an interesting wild card in whatever group he is placed in.  

As for Nalbandian?  Let this be a lesson to him that if he has the game to play like he did for the last 2 months, all the time, he'll be back in the top 5 in no time.  

Before I forget, a quick reminder to everyone to VOTE (please).  No, I'm not talking about the presidential election (although I encourage you to do whatever floats your boat)...I'm talking about the poll on the site...so far there are only two votes, so not much of anything being proved by the results.  

So your Shanghai 8..

FED

NADAL

NOVAK

MURRAY

DAVYDENKO

RODDICK

DEL POTRO

TSONGA

Tennis gets  chance to catch it's breath until Nov. 9, when the Master's Cup starts.  

Stay tuned tomorrow for Tip of the Week.  and Starting tomorrow (since there is nothing else going on) I'll preview each player who is going to Shanghai one day at a time.  

take care