Forgive me for posting half-way through a tournament and giving my analysis at such a late date. Yes, ok my analysis may be slightly tainted by what has happened earlier in the tournament but it is still a hard market to predict what is going to happen in tennis.
For any of you cynics out there that rhyme off the names of the top four in the world as being dominant in this tournament, my message for you would be to think again. Rafael Nadal is not as strong on this surface as some may expect, this isn't a rant about the world's number one, but I have some concerns about his hard-court game. He has never reached the final of a Grand Slam hard-court tournament and his ranking points are mostly attained through the clay court season (obviously winning Wimbledon helped as well!)
Nadal was beaten in the Madrid Masters semi-final by relatively unknown (top level anyway) Gilles Simon. Although, Simon had a great tournament he should not be able to beat a player of Nadal's quality.
Novak Djokovic is a player whose form has dropped since winning the Australian Open title. A shock straight sets defeat to the resurgent Marat Safin at Wimbledon arose certain questions about his form. Further defeats to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (twice) and Ivo Karlovic in recent weeks prove that the world number three is struggling with his form. Today, he was beaten again by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and I for one can say I took Tsonga's odds at 7/4.
Federer and Murray seem to be the two favourites for me. Murray obviously is in red-hot form and Federer is....well Roger Federer!
Currently the third round results/matches look like this:
Nadal vs Monfils
Blake beat Kohlschreiber 6-4 6-4
Nalbandian beat Del Potro 6-4 6-0
Murray beat Verdasco 6-3 7-6
Roddick beat Simon 6-3 7-5
Tsonga beat Djokovic 6-4 1-6 6-3
Berdych vs Davydenko
Federer beat Cilic 6-3 6-4
So, with two games left to finish, I fancy Nadal and Berdych to progress. That would mean:
Nadal vs Berdych
Murray vs Nalbandian
Roddick vs Tsonga
Blake vs Federer.
After, my reasonably unsuccessful predictions at Madrid Masters, I am going to attempt to redeem myself!
Nadal will definitely have his work cut out if he is to play Berdych. Berdych is a young and very talented up-and-coming player and capable of playing with anyone on his day. Nadal, I would expect to prevail because I feel he will respond to the added pressure on his shoulders.
Murray - Nalbandian is definitely the best match-up in the quarter finals. The players haven't played since that game at Wimbledon where Murray burst onto the scene and I feel Nalbandian is in good nic. He demolished Del Potro for the second time within the week and looks back to his best. I am going to predict a win for Nalbandian. Why? Even after my last post of building up Murray? I just feel Murray can't continually keep coming up with the goods. Yes, it's brilliant to see he has come such a long way and a defeat won't affect him too much in my opinion.
Tsonga - Roddick will be a match of few breaks I suspect. With both players having big serves and essentially a power game, Tsonga's win over Djokovic should give him confidence and I'm sure the home crowd will be there to cheer him onto another sweet victory.
Federer vs Blake should be a one-sided affair. I haven't seen much of Blake in recent months that suggests he merits his world number 11 ranking. I truly can't see him presenting any problems for Federer.
Semi - final prediction
Nadal vs Nalbandian
Tsonga vs Federer
Thursday, 30 October 2008
Murray
Ok, so in this post I am going to talk about World number four Andy Murray. You may be thinking I am only posting about him because he is British, how wrong you all are!
This 21 year-old is making all the tennis headlines at the minute and he is bidding for a record third successive Masters Series title. He has the all-round game to trouble anyone on any surface (except maybe Nadal on clay!)
Yes, he is unproven on clay, but only due to a series of injuries which has prevented him from playing regularly in the last three clay court seasons. As a junior, Murray claimed it was his best surface and broke onto the world scene by winning the French Open Junior title.
Murray, has publically stated that Nadal is the best clay court player ever and I agree. That is what Murray will have to come up against if he is to be a contender on all surfaces.
Does he have the clay court game? I think so, his return of serve and vastly-improved fitness would be very beneficial on this surface. The long-rallies usually associated with clay-court tennis can only benefit Murray. But, he would have to overcome a mountain in Nadal, given his performances back in May when he won yet another French Open title. I didn't give Federer a chance against Nadal and he was dismissively beaten 6-1 6-3 6-3.
While I may be of the opinion that Murray can never win a French Open title, he can certainly be a contender and he may have to look to the other three slams as his best chance of winning that elusive slam.
This 21 year-old is making all the tennis headlines at the minute and he is bidding for a record third successive Masters Series title. He has the all-round game to trouble anyone on any surface (except maybe Nadal on clay!)
Yes, he is unproven on clay, but only due to a series of injuries which has prevented him from playing regularly in the last three clay court seasons. As a junior, Murray claimed it was his best surface and broke onto the world scene by winning the French Open Junior title.
Murray, has publically stated that Nadal is the best clay court player ever and I agree. That is what Murray will have to come up against if he is to be a contender on all surfaces.
Does he have the clay court game? I think so, his return of serve and vastly-improved fitness would be very beneficial on this surface. The long-rallies usually associated with clay-court tennis can only benefit Murray. But, he would have to overcome a mountain in Nadal, given his performances back in May when he won yet another French Open title. I didn't give Federer a chance against Nadal and he was dismissively beaten 6-1 6-3 6-3.
While I may be of the opinion that Murray can never win a French Open title, he can certainly be a contender and he may have to look to the other three slams as his best chance of winning that elusive slam.
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
Madrid Masters
Ok, so this week is the Madrid Masters. It's a pretty important event and one of the biggest in the "Masters Series." All the big names are participating and it will be harder than ever to pick a winner.
Who will throw the next punch in the "Nadal vs Federer" world's greatest player dispute? Will we see more strong performances from Djokovic and Murray? Or will we see a challenge from one of the many in-form up-and-coming players like, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France or Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina or even semi-forgotten world prodigy Richard Gasquet?
Another in-form up-and-coming player is Thomas Berdych, who recently won at the Japan Open and was part of the trio of highly-tipped players that emerged a few years ago, the other two being the worlds number 3 and 4, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray respectively.
Nadal's part of the draw will prove challenging, A hard-fought three set win over Latvia's Ernests Gulbis has set up a third round tie with Richard Gasquet. Gasquet is capable of matching Nadal on his day and will be another test for his development. Nadal has never been completely convincing on hard-courts despite his obvious brilliance and I certainly feel it will be a close one.
A potential semi-final opponent for Nadal could be Novak Djokovic, who Nadal has had the definite edge over in their recent meetings.
Roger Federer, on the other hand, has a consistently hard draw. Radek Stepanek is his 2nd round opponent and he can certainly be a tricky customer and famously beat Federer earlier in the year on clay. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga could await in the following round and has recently shown form capable of being a top five player. After that, he could play Del Potro who can challenge the very best on this surface at this level. Andy Murray is the most likely semi-final opponent in a re-match of the U.S. Open final and will be looking for revenge. Murray's biggest obstacle could be in the form of Andy Roddick in the quarter-final.
My Quarter Final Predictions:
Nadal vs Kohlschreiber - Nadal to win
Kohlschreiber I would give a fair chance of progressing past 10th seed Wawrinka in Round 2 given his recent form. If he were to progress, he would have Spanish opposition in the form of either 5th seed David Ferrer or Feliciano Lopez. I just feel Nadal will be too strong for Kohlschreiber if he meets him and Nadal's experience should tell.
Djokovic vs Davydenko - Djokovic to win
Djokovic should be too strong for Hanescu in Round 2. He would potentially have a heavy-hitter in Round 3 in either Robin Soderling or Ivo Karlovic. Soderling being the favourite in my eyes for that particular match-up against Karlovic. Davydenko should prevail against Robby Ginepri and and Gilles Simon in Round 2 and 3 respectively. If these match-ups were to occur then Djokovic is the overwhelming favourite to win in my eyes, despite only three places difference in their rankings.
Andy Roddick vs Andy Murray - Murray to win
I'm predicting a "Battle of the Andy's" in the third quarter-final with Murray my tip to prevail. Roddick should expect opposition from Hot Prospect Gael Monfils in Round 3 if Roddick can beat Tommy Robredo of Spain and Monfils can beat Fernando Gonzalez of Chile. Monfils should prove a real test but Roddick is having a bit of a resurgence in his form recently and I'm expecting him to book a quarter-final place. Murray, had a brief appearance against his injured opponent from Italy, Simone Bolleli and will face Marin Cilic in Round 3. Cilic was mightily impressive in demolishing the talented World Number 15 from Spain, Fernando Verdasco and will certainly prove to be no pushover. Murray's game is well suited to Roddick's and has a definite edge over Roddick psychologically and in their previous meetings.
Juan Martin Del Potro vs Roger Federer - Federer to win
Again, I haven't really picked an underdog in this quarter-final line-up but this final quarter of the draw is extremely interesting. Nalbandian and Berdych will clash in Round 2 and that should be mouth-watering. Nalbandian is able to beat the best on his day and is in good nic. Berdych, meanwhile is on a hot run of form and demolished Wimbledon semi-final Rainer Scheuttler in Round 1. That could go either way, but due to Nalbandian's inconsistent nature, my money is pn Berdych. The winner of that could play Del Potro, who as I meantioned earlier is on a hot streak. Berdych, beat Del Potro last week to win the Japan Open, but Del Potro wasn't in his best fitness state. I fancy revenge for Del Potro if they were to play. Federer faces Stepanek and should win to play the extremely talented and exciting Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. That would be a real test for the Fed-Man but Federer is on a run of form, after his exploits at Flushing Meadows.
So your asking, this lad hasn't stuck his neck out and has just gone for the big 4? Well, in my defence the top 4 are a class apart at the moment and although there are many other realistic competitors I can still see the big 4 advancing.
Semi finals - Nadal to beat Djokovic. Due to his dominance in their last 2 meetings, I'm going to say Nadal.
Federer to beat Murray. We saw how potentially far behind Murray was in the U.S. Open final to Federer's standard. Although Murray has come on leaps and bounds, I fancy Federer to win after dogged Murray resistence.
Final - Federer to beat Nadal. I think Federer is gthe king of the hard courts and expect him to dish out revenge if they would be to meet in the final.
Who will throw the next punch in the "Nadal vs Federer" world's greatest player dispute? Will we see more strong performances from Djokovic and Murray? Or will we see a challenge from one of the many in-form up-and-coming players like, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France or Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina or even semi-forgotten world prodigy Richard Gasquet?
Another in-form up-and-coming player is Thomas Berdych, who recently won at the Japan Open and was part of the trio of highly-tipped players that emerged a few years ago, the other two being the worlds number 3 and 4, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray respectively.
Nadal's part of the draw will prove challenging, A hard-fought three set win over Latvia's Ernests Gulbis has set up a third round tie with Richard Gasquet. Gasquet is capable of matching Nadal on his day and will be another test for his development. Nadal has never been completely convincing on hard-courts despite his obvious brilliance and I certainly feel it will be a close one.
A potential semi-final opponent for Nadal could be Novak Djokovic, who Nadal has had the definite edge over in their recent meetings.
Roger Federer, on the other hand, has a consistently hard draw. Radek Stepanek is his 2nd round opponent and he can certainly be a tricky customer and famously beat Federer earlier in the year on clay. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga could await in the following round and has recently shown form capable of being a top five player. After that, he could play Del Potro who can challenge the very best on this surface at this level. Andy Murray is the most likely semi-final opponent in a re-match of the U.S. Open final and will be looking for revenge. Murray's biggest obstacle could be in the form of Andy Roddick in the quarter-final.
My Quarter Final Predictions:
Nadal vs Kohlschreiber - Nadal to win
Kohlschreiber I would give a fair chance of progressing past 10th seed Wawrinka in Round 2 given his recent form. If he were to progress, he would have Spanish opposition in the form of either 5th seed David Ferrer or Feliciano Lopez. I just feel Nadal will be too strong for Kohlschreiber if he meets him and Nadal's experience should tell.
Djokovic vs Davydenko - Djokovic to win
Djokovic should be too strong for Hanescu in Round 2. He would potentially have a heavy-hitter in Round 3 in either Robin Soderling or Ivo Karlovic. Soderling being the favourite in my eyes for that particular match-up against Karlovic. Davydenko should prevail against Robby Ginepri and and Gilles Simon in Round 2 and 3 respectively. If these match-ups were to occur then Djokovic is the overwhelming favourite to win in my eyes, despite only three places difference in their rankings.
Andy Roddick vs Andy Murray - Murray to win
I'm predicting a "Battle of the Andy's" in the third quarter-final with Murray my tip to prevail. Roddick should expect opposition from Hot Prospect Gael Monfils in Round 3 if Roddick can beat Tommy Robredo of Spain and Monfils can beat Fernando Gonzalez of Chile. Monfils should prove a real test but Roddick is having a bit of a resurgence in his form recently and I'm expecting him to book a quarter-final place. Murray, had a brief appearance against his injured opponent from Italy, Simone Bolleli and will face Marin Cilic in Round 3. Cilic was mightily impressive in demolishing the talented World Number 15 from Spain, Fernando Verdasco and will certainly prove to be no pushover. Murray's game is well suited to Roddick's and has a definite edge over Roddick psychologically and in their previous meetings.
Juan Martin Del Potro vs Roger Federer - Federer to win
Again, I haven't really picked an underdog in this quarter-final line-up but this final quarter of the draw is extremely interesting. Nalbandian and Berdych will clash in Round 2 and that should be mouth-watering. Nalbandian is able to beat the best on his day and is in good nic. Berdych, meanwhile is on a hot run of form and demolished Wimbledon semi-final Rainer Scheuttler in Round 1. That could go either way, but due to Nalbandian's inconsistent nature, my money is pn Berdych. The winner of that could play Del Potro, who as I meantioned earlier is on a hot streak. Berdych, beat Del Potro last week to win the Japan Open, but Del Potro wasn't in his best fitness state. I fancy revenge for Del Potro if they were to play. Federer faces Stepanek and should win to play the extremely talented and exciting Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. That would be a real test for the Fed-Man but Federer is on a run of form, after his exploits at Flushing Meadows.
So your asking, this lad hasn't stuck his neck out and has just gone for the big 4? Well, in my defence the top 4 are a class apart at the moment and although there are many other realistic competitors I can still see the big 4 advancing.
Semi finals - Nadal to beat Djokovic. Due to his dominance in their last 2 meetings, I'm going to say Nadal.
Federer to beat Murray. We saw how potentially far behind Murray was in the U.S. Open final to Federer's standard. Although Murray has come on leaps and bounds, I fancy Federer to win after dogged Murray resistence.
Final - Federer to beat Nadal. I think Federer is gthe king of the hard courts and expect him to dish out revenge if they would be to meet in the final.
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
Greetings from Coffin Corner
Hello! My name is Calum Leitch, I am a 19 year old student from Belfast studying Sports Journalism at Central Lancashire University in Preston.
I have created this blog because it's part of my assignment, but also because I have a genuine interest in tennis. I am an avid sports fan and see this as the best method of voicing my opinions (however bad!) to a global audience.
I have decided to name this blog Coffin Corner. Despite its' gloomy implications it has a great deal of relevance to tennis. Coffin Corner is the area on the court where the sideline and baseline intersect and only the best find it on a regular basis, hopefully this philosophy will have the same effect on this blog!
I have created this blog because it's part of my assignment, but also because I have a genuine interest in tennis. I am an avid sports fan and see this as the best method of voicing my opinions (however bad!) to a global audience.
I have decided to name this blog Coffin Corner. Despite its' gloomy implications it has a great deal of relevance to tennis. Coffin Corner is the area on the court where the sideline and baseline intersect and only the best find it on a regular basis, hopefully this philosophy will have the same effect on this blog!
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