Last year (2011) was, without even a thought, the year of Djokovic.
But this year there are other tennis players who are looking for a breakout.
(Disclaimer: I know Nole won the Australian Open 3 years before last year. I have to)
Amazing how is path to greatness is sort of like his coach, Ivan Lendl. Take a look:
1981: Finalist @ French Open, 0/1
1982: Finalist @ US Open 0/2
1983: Finalist @ Australian Open & @ US Open 0/3, 0/4
1984 WINNER @ French Open, Finalist @ US Open 1/5, 1/6
1985 Finalist @ French Open, WINNER @ US Open 1/7, 2/8
You get the idea, eh? Lendl had his problem with Grand Slam finals, even after he got not one, but two Grand Slams under his belt. Look again, notice you don't see Wimbledon there? 0 for 2 in finals. In all, he lost 11 Grand Slam Finals.
But he also won 8.
I'm not sure if Murray can be Lendl, but I do know he will win a Slam.
Although, winning a slam might not be his plan (Yup, got that quote from Star Wars: A New Hope). This year, he has the Olympics, right there in London. He's got to have that circled.
He reminds me of a young Goran Ivanisevic or even Marat Safin between times when his head was on straight.
Two years ago he reached the semifinals of the French Open, then knocked off Federer and Djokovic at Wimbledon to make the finals. A loss to Federer little over a month later brought him down to earth, and Thomas went out in the first round as the US Open.
The best he has done since is two Australian Open quarterfinals.
It seems like all or nothing with Berdych. When he's on, he's tough to beat and tough to break. But too many times his game just falls apart and he's just another player, much like Goran and Marat.
He came out of nowhere back in the 2008 Australian Open. Unseeded he beat Rafael Nadal, then in the final faced someone else looking for his first slam, Djokovic. Tsonga took the first set, then proceded to lose a tough four setter.
Since then, he's reached the final four again down under, two years ago (and two years after getting to the final), plus the Wimbledon semifinals last year, beating Federer on the way before again falling in four to Nole. Federer then beat him in straight sets in US Open quarterfinals. Roger and him hooked up in a gem of a match at the Barclays Finals to cap off the year, with the Fed man taking it in a tough three setter.
Tsonga is 3-7 against Nadal, 5-4 against Djokovic (plus one win by walkover), 3-8 against Federer (plus a walkover win earlier this year on his way to a title in Doha). Also is should be noted he's just 1-5 against Murray. Still, he's been making life tough in his matches recently Federer.
Tsonga, because of his appearance similar to Mohammad Ali, is a fighter in more ways than one. Not just in looks.
Maybe is his fate not to win Slams, but always fight his way to the semifinals and finals. The new Todd Martin?
I swear, this guy is taller than 6 ft 6 inn.
And he moves well.
Granted, he's gotta start doing better at Wimbledon, but that US Open win of 2009, which does seem like a long time ago, doesn't seem like a fluke. It just seems like a matter of time before he wins again.
After his injury in 2010, he is slowing getting back to where he once was.
Problem is, Federer seems to have his number again.
In fact, Delpi, as I call him, beat Federer later in 2009 at the Barclay's.
He has lost all five matches they have played since. In fact, he has yet to win a set off him since 2009.
Yet it is important to remember, that at one point in his career, he beat Federer twice in a row, Nadal, three times in a row. Yeah, he was at one point a giant killer. Kinda maybe like Adriano Panatta, who always gave Borg a tough time on clay.
References
Infosys, FedEx, Peugeot, and LeSports. "Official Site of Men's Professional Tennis | ATP World Tour | Tennis." ATP World Tour. Emirates. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. <http://www.atpworldtour.com/>
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. <https://en.wikipedia.org/>
But this year there are other tennis players who are looking for a breakout.
(Disclaimer: I know Nole won the Australian Open 3 years before last year. I have to)
Andy Murray
Amazing how is path to greatness is sort of like his coach, Ivan Lendl. Take a look:
1981: Finalist @ French Open, 0/1
1982: Finalist @ US Open 0/2
1983: Finalist @ Australian Open & @ US Open 0/3, 0/4
1984 WINNER @ French Open, Finalist @ US Open 1/5, 1/6
1985 Finalist @ French Open, WINNER @ US Open 1/7, 2/8
You get the idea, eh? Lendl had his problem with Grand Slam finals, even after he got not one, but two Grand Slams under his belt. Look again, notice you don't see Wimbledon there? 0 for 2 in finals. In all, he lost 11 Grand Slam Finals.
But he also won 8.
I'm not sure if Murray can be Lendl, but I do know he will win a Slam.
Although, winning a slam might not be his plan (Yup, got that quote from Star Wars: A New Hope). This year, he has the Olympics, right there in London. He's got to have that circled.
Thomas Berdych
He reminds me of a young Goran Ivanisevic or even Marat Safin between times when his head was on straight.
Two years ago he reached the semifinals of the French Open, then knocked off Federer and Djokovic at Wimbledon to make the finals. A loss to Federer little over a month later brought him down to earth, and Thomas went out in the first round as the US Open.
The best he has done since is two Australian Open quarterfinals.
It seems like all or nothing with Berdych. When he's on, he's tough to beat and tough to break. But too many times his game just falls apart and he's just another player, much like Goran and Marat.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
He came out of nowhere back in the 2008 Australian Open. Unseeded he beat Rafael Nadal, then in the final faced someone else looking for his first slam, Djokovic. Tsonga took the first set, then proceded to lose a tough four setter.
Since then, he's reached the final four again down under, two years ago (and two years after getting to the final), plus the Wimbledon semifinals last year, beating Federer on the way before again falling in four to Nole. Federer then beat him in straight sets in US Open quarterfinals. Roger and him hooked up in a gem of a match at the Barclays Finals to cap off the year, with the Fed man taking it in a tough three setter.
Tsonga is 3-7 against Nadal, 5-4 against Djokovic (plus one win by walkover), 3-8 against Federer (plus a walkover win earlier this year on his way to a title in Doha). Also is should be noted he's just 1-5 against Murray. Still, he's been making life tough in his matches recently Federer.
Tsonga, because of his appearance similar to Mohammad Ali, is a fighter in more ways than one. Not just in looks.
Maybe is his fate not to win Slams, but always fight his way to the semifinals and finals. The new Todd Martin?
Juan Martin Del Potro
I swear, this guy is taller than 6 ft 6 inn.
And he moves well.
Granted, he's gotta start doing better at Wimbledon, but that US Open win of 2009, which does seem like a long time ago, doesn't seem like a fluke. It just seems like a matter of time before he wins again.
After his injury in 2010, he is slowing getting back to where he once was.
Problem is, Federer seems to have his number again.
In fact, Delpi, as I call him, beat Federer later in 2009 at the Barclay's.
He has lost all five matches they have played since. In fact, he has yet to win a set off him since 2009.
Yet it is important to remember, that at one point in his career, he beat Federer twice in a row, Nadal, three times in a row. Yeah, he was at one point a giant killer. Kinda maybe like Adriano Panatta, who always gave Borg a tough time on clay.
References
Infosys, FedEx, Peugeot, and LeSports. "Official Site of Men's Professional Tennis | ATP World Tour | Tennis." ATP World Tour. Emirates. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. <http://www.atpworldtour.com/>
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. <https://en.wikipedia.org/>
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