I know many experts are claiming that Nadal will have trouble winning a non-clay slam after his showing at the Australian open. I would actually fancy his chances against Djokovic more than Tsonga as Nadal is far more experienced. But people forget how good Nadal is on grass. First, grass is so easy on Nadal’s banged up body, and he can move around the court with less pain and less risk of injury. In addition, he has shown in the past that he is truly the second best player on grass as he almost beat Roger Federer in that amazing final. Finally, as good as Djokovic is on grass, Nadal is much better and his game is actually suited for today’s slower grass courts. So don’t be surprised if Nadal won this year’s or next year’s Wimbledon.

I have seen many players who rely heavily on their serves to win points and matches (e.g. Roddick, Karlovic). If we took serving out of the sport, in your opinion who would be the No. 1?

Djokovic is surely the new king of Australia, but what’s up with him and his past tense comments about Roger Federer, the No. 1 player in the world. Comments such as “he was so dominant” or “he is still planning to be the best player in the world” raise more than a few eyebrows. I don’t know if this is a language problem or if this guy is even more arrogant than Mr. Federer himself. Whatever it is, Novak needs to avoid getting into other people’s faces like that. Roger still is the best player in the world, and Nadal still is the second best player in the world. They are not planning to be. They already are greats!

Is Roger Federer done? That’s the question many tennis fans are asking themselves today. This year was supposed to be the golden year for Roger Federer. This was supposed to be the year that he rose to the occasion and won the French Open and the Olympics. Now, he has lost in straight to Djokovic in the semis of the Australian Open, and he has no chance of pulling off this feat. Not only that, Roger Federer’s No. 1 status is now under severe questioning.

Roger Federer is now the holder of only 2 slams, with Djokovic and Nadal holding the other two. With Federer proving susceptible to the young guns, I wouldn’t be surprised if he falls at Wimbledon, though the U.S. open sounds more likely as Djokovic almost had him there last year. So technically, we can see the end of Federer’s reign by the end of the U.S. open if Nadal or Djokovic win that slam. Of course, Nadal is probably not going to lose the French Open, so Federer is likely to escape this year with 2, 1, or even zero slams! Read the rest of this entry »

If you didn’t think he was done a year ago, now it’s almost official. In his return to action, Coria was edged out in the first round of Vina Del Mar in 3 sets to an unknown player. Coria had a glorious chance to win a grand slam a few years back until he choked a 2 set to love lead to Gaudio, another serial choker. I almost feel bad for Coria as he was perhaps the second best clay courter after Nadal in 2004-2005 period before he got injured. Coria pushed Nadal in a bunch of matches and had a titanic 5 set encounter with him. But how the mighty has fallen. Coria is no longer a factor, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he retired by the end of the year. I hope I am wrong and he is back to his best by the French Open, but it seems to be a long shot at this point.

Djokovic beat the crowd and odds stacked against him to come from a set down to beat Tsonga in 4 sets. Tsonga had many chances throughout the match, but he showed his inexperience by some wild shot selections and easy missed shots. Congratulations for both of these youngsters though. Tsonga will be in top 20 for the first time, and Djokovic will solidify his position as the No. 3 in the world. But more importantly, Djokovic takes a lead over Federer and Nadal in the ATP race.

This is the first year that the race for the No. 1 is hard to predict. Federer needs to win Wimbledon and maybe the U.S. Open to protect his No. 1 status. As we all saw, two slams and a final only gave Roger a small lead over Nadal. Now with one of those slams gone, Roger has to step it up in smaller tournaments, and he needs to do well at the French open. But it is certainly possible to see Djokovic and Federer swap places by the end of the year.

What’s your prediction? When Roger Federer will lose his No. 1 status after all these weeks. Discuss it here.

Finally we are here. The final of the first Grand Slam of the year. The surprising part? Federer is not in the final this time around. A certain Djoker took him out in straight sets in the semis. Nadal isn’t in the final either, but that is not really a surprise as Nadal has always underperformed on hard courts. Instead we have a Muhammad Ali lookalike that plays as Ali boxed once. So let’s break down the fight:

Forehand: Both of these guys have great forehands, but Tsonga’s forehand is more explosive. So I would give him the end on the forehand side.

Backhand: Both of these guys have solid backhands, but Djokovic’s backhand is more of a weapon and is a reliable shot for him. I would give the edge to Djokovic here.

Serve: I would call this even. Both of these guys can serve big, and both can hit the lines.

Movement: Tsonga and Djokovic are both great athletes, but the movement advantage should go to Djokovic. That’s not to say that Tsonga doesn’t move great, but Djokovic relies more on it to beat his opponents (you can’t beat Federer with sub par movement, just ask Roddick).

Intangibles: I would call this even. Djokovic is coming from a really strong finish against Federer, and he has beaten some tough shots such as Hewitt and Ferrer in straight sets as well. Tsonga has beaten Murray, Nadal, and Gasquet. But he has the support of the crowd too! So it would be even in my mind.

Experience: Djokovic is the more experienced one, and if the history is a good indicator (at least in Ivanovic’s case) Serbs get better by experiencing finals before. I know that Wilander called Djokovic’s experience as a negative and positive. After all, Novak choked big time against Roger in the U.S. Open final, but this time he will be better and ready to take his first Grand Slam. But Tsonga has no experience in comparison to Novak. So who’s to say that he will actually feel pressure. He has nothing to lose and everything to gain. I would give the edge to Novak, but I don’t think this will be the determining factor on the outcome of this match.

Question Marks: Novak is susceptible to choking. He has done it before, and he will do it again, but will it be tonight. Tsonga on the other hand hasn’t been around much to experience a major choke. But what worries me about Tsonga is his 0-6 set against Murray. At this level, such a set could kill you. He did bounce back to win that match, but who knows what would’ve happened had Murray won that 4th set. Fitness is also a big issue for both of these guys, but Tsonga not playing a 5 setter in his career before can only hurt him. I don’t expect this match to go to 5 sets, but if it does, Djokovic should be the slight favorite there.

Prediction: I am really torn on this. I love Tsonga and how he handles himself on and off the court. Djokovic is simply rude and overconfident, somewhat cocky. At the same time, Djokovic seems to be destined for this title. In fact, he should have won his first Grand Slam last year against Federer. If I could control the outcome of the match, I would give it to Tsonga as he is my favorite, but everything points to Djokovic winning his first Grand Slam tonight. After all, it would be unthinkable for him to call all this way and beat Federer in straight sets to lose to Tsonga. So unfortunately, Djokovic will win in 4 or maybe even 3 tight sets. But I really hope I am wrong!

I don’t know about you, but I am personally still shocked with Roger Federer’s straight set defeat to Novak Djokovic. I had a bad feeling about this match from the start, but I thought to myself:

• Federer has not lost to anyone in a grand slam for four years (except Nadal)
• Federer has not lost a set to Djokovic in grand slams.
• Federer has not let the tournament slip away this close to the title
• Djokovic tends to choke in big matches.

Well, all of that is out of the window now. But why did Federer lose:

• Lack of preparation: no matter how good you are, you can’t beat fellow top players without having match practice before a big tournament such as the Australian open.
• illness: this is a lame excuse, and by no means was the main reason behind Federer’s defeat. However, Roger Federer did consider withdrawing from the AO. So it wasn’t nothing either. The illness might have contributed to Federer’s slowness today.
• Lack of concentration: I remember Federer mentioned once that he creates so many break points that converting 3 out of 15 or 20 was no big factor. However, the difference between Federer today and the dominant Roger is that the new Federer wastes too many break points. He is simply being too conservative and expects people to miss. That used to happen a while ago, but Djokovics, Murrays, and Nadals of this world don’t miss on important points any more. Federer needs to get his ship right or he will be in for more heartbreak.
• Stubbornness: Federer has not hired a coach even though now it seems he desparately needs it. Federer is a great player and a great coach too. But sometimes, just sometimes, immortals need some guidance, some new perspective I’d say. Federer needs to be more aggressive and needs to work on his game. He has improved his serve a lot, but he has to work more on it as he ages. In addition, Federer needs to be much more aggressive, and coach Federer doesn’t seem to believe so. So someone like Cahill or even Gilbert could help Federer break Sampras’ record as soon as possible (believe me it’s not going to get any easier.)

I know a few Nolo fans are claiming that he is now the best player in the world. But I wouldn’t go that far. He is a very good player. Very consistent player, but he doesn’t do many things great. He does a lot of things above average, and his forhand and movement are great, but Nadal and Federer still have the advantage over him in other departments. They seem to be more humble too (as hard as it seems in case of Mr. Roger) as they don’t pick up fights with the fans or insult other players. Before crowning Djokovic as the next King, he needs to do one simple thing. Win AO 2008. If he doesn’t, he may get the reputation as the king of losers.

Federer is out! You heard it right. He was done and gone after a straight set defeat by Novak Djokovic 7–5, 6–3, 7–6. There was a buzz in the building on night and Novak didn’t disappoint by coming back in the first set and then dominating the rest of the match. Is the King’s era over?

6–2, 6–3, 6–2! That’s how badly Nadal lost today. He was utterly dominated by Tsonga, and now Tsonga has a chance to win the first Grand Slam of the year, and he can if he plays like he did tonight! Let’s all hope he doesn’t throw it away like Baghdatis and Gonzalez did other years.