I write articles about the state of Tennis today and an in depth look at past and present players. I am also interested in the technical and tactical aspects of Tennis.
The French Open is over for another year. A familiar winner was crowned in Rafael Nadal and now all eyes turn to Wimbledon. This year, Russian and Belarusian players are banned from Wimbledon, with the ITF, ATP and WTA removing ranking points
from the event as a result. This puts Wimbledon in new territory,
leaving players to play for prize money and prestige, but not the
all-important ranking points. But, unsurprisingly, the field will still
be very strong. Here’s a look at some of the leading contenders.
It’s that time of year again. Spring is here, COVID restrictions are
loosening, and the 2022 French Open is almost upon us! A perfect time to
take a look at the contenders.
The tennis season is over and 2022 is around the corner. The WTA Tour
was, as usual, full of flux and drama this year. Here’s a look back at
five of the most surprising and shocking moments of the season:
There were some fantastic matches during the 2021 US Open. One of the stars of the tournament was Leylah Fernandez,
who wowed crowds with her crafty game and competitive spirit. Every
match Fernandez was involved in had drama, including the final.
The quarterfinal match against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina caught my eye.
However, not for reasons I imagined. Fernandez’s running crosscourt
forehand in particular left me thinking, the shot reminds me of another
player. Then it dawned, Leylah Fernandez’s crosscourt forehand reminded me of Pete Sampras’ crosscourt forehand!
It has been a strange week for Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open.
In three rounds of tennis, Tsitsipas played two five-set blockbusters
lasting over four hours each, sandwiched by a four setter. The way those
matches played out and ultimate defeat to Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz leaves Tsitsipas at an undoubted crossroads.
This was a momentous weekend in the history of women’s tennis.
19 year old Canadian Leylah Fernandez played 18 year old Brit Emma Raducanu for the US Open championship match. Raducanu is the first qualifier to win a major title in the history of the sport, without dropping a set. Meanwhile Fernandez defeated defending champion Naomi Osaka, 2016 champion Angelique Kerber, 2019 semifinalist Elina Svitolina and world number 2 Irina Sabalenka en route to the final. It was a high quality match and inspires me to take a look at the last teenage final in the US Open championships.
That final in 1999 between Serena Williams and Martina Hingis took place in vastly different circumstances. This was an era where it was almost normal for teenagers to win major titles and dominate the sport. In fact, 18 year old Hingis had been number 1 in the world since 1997! with five major titles under her belt. 17 year old Serena Williams was seen as the next big player coming through. Father Richard Williams proclaimed years before Serena would be a better player than older sister Venus. Which I am sure would have grated with Venus who was more established in 1999.
Coming into the US Open, number 1 seed Hingis won the Australian Open and reached the final of the French Open. Number 7 seed Serena Williams played a great final in Indian Wells against Steffi Graf earlier that year, their second meeting in 1999. In the semifinals Hingis took out Venus Williams in three sets, whilst Serena beat defending champion Lindsay Davenport, also in three. As you can see, the top players made the latter stages.
Hingis went into the final as favourite, although Serena was a very dangerous opponent. I distinctly recall the headline in a broadsheet newspaper here in Britain on finals weekend. It read “Hingis set for a double dose of the Williams Sisters”. A crude headline indeed but indicative of the pre political correctness era that was the 1990s.
The match started off with Serena holding serve relatively comfortably. From the first service game, it was clear the Serena serve would be a significant factor. Hingis got broken immediately, her serve tame in comparison to Serena’s. Serena returned Hingis’ serve with relative ease and ran to a quick 4-1 lead having saved two break points of her own.
However, Hingis was world number 1 for a reason, she was not going away and broke back to get to 4-3 and get back on serve. Unfortunately for Hingis, her serve was just too attackable, and Serena broke again to take a 5-3 lead. This allowed Serena to take the set 6-3 set but not without a bit of drama along the way, coming from 15-40 down to get the job done.
As the second set commenced, Hingis was determined to raise her level. Serena was playing a slightly riskier game, going for her shots but making unforced errors as a result. This was the new brand of tennis, where winners outweighed unforced errors was the strategy to adopt.
The jeopardy then rose suddenly, as Serena broke for a 3-2 lead in the second set. Hingis broke back immediately for 3-3 but was not enough as Serena broke again and then held for a 5-3 lead. Hingis held her serve, leaving Serena to serve for the championship and the biggest title of her career. Interestingly, the moment got to Serena and she was unable to serve out. Inexperience played its part despite Serena already having one of the best serves on the WTA tour.
Hingis gratefully received the gift and raised her level again, trying to get the backhand down the line as often as possible to stretch Serena. While this was happening, Serena’s tennis was getting more and more ragged, all of a sudden looking more like a 17 year old rookie than grand slam contender. Hingis got herself to 6-5 guaranteeing a tiebreak. Serena joined eventually, after a very long game involving a number of deuces and set points for Hingis. The Player Boxes were also decidedly tense; Hingis’ mother Melanie Molitor took off her hat she had been wearing earlier. Whilst Oracene Price and Richard Williams didn’t know where to look.
In the tiebreak, Serena reasserted herself to rip into Hingis’ tame second serves. It reminds of Eurosport commentator Frew McMillan when he said the player with the better serve usually wins the tiebreak. That proved to be the case, Hingis’ serve was too attackable and Serena obliged. Despite some high quality rallies, Hingis was on the backfoot, and eventually lost an entertaining tiebreak 7 points to 4.
The victory celebrations were wonderful, as if Serena knew the significance of her achievement in the moment. And this final had profound implications. Serena was the first black female player to win the US Open since Althea Gibson won the championships in the late 1950s. In years to come, Serena would also claim the open era grand slam record from Steffi Graf. Moreover, Serena and Venus would inspire a new generation of black and minority players to challenge for major honours. Including 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens and Japanese star Naomi Osaka.
Martina Hingis’ fortunes would go in a different direction. Hingis never won another major title and would initially retire in 2003 with a foot problem. Hingis attempted to sue Sergio Tacchini for the footwear she claimed was giving her problems but her pride was hurt more than her feet. Her game was no longer able to challenge Serena, Venus Williams, Davenport, Capriati and upcoming players like Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters. The top players of the 2000s era needed a good serve to compete, not just a smart game. Hingis didn’t work on her serve growing up and suffered when she should have been coming into her prime.
Official statistics of the final are hard to come by. However, the US Open YouTube channel have made the match available for people to enjoy.
Daniil Medvedev
is a player on the rise, a member of the “next gen”, Daniil won his biggest
tournament to date at the season ending World Tour finals in London, defeating
Dominic Thiem in an entertaining three set match.
Daniil showed
resilience in coming from a set down to win convincingly, taking advantage of
Thiem’s mental and physical tiredness in the third set.Daniil also got revenge on Thiem, who
defeated him in straight sets in the US Open semi-final earlier this
autumn.Daniil also became the first
player to defeat the top 3 seeds to win an event on the ATP tour and should be
congratulated for that achievement.Daniil
has an unorthodox and intriguing game style which is definitely worth looking
at in some depth.
Daniil’s Serve
Daniil is the
latest in a long line of very tall professional tennis players. Since the start
of the 1990s, players 6 ft 4 plus (1 metre 95) include Todd Martin, Michael
Stich, Mark Rosset, Alexander Popp, Mark Philippoussis, Richard Krajicek, Marat
Safin, Goran Ivanisevic, Magnus Larsson, Ivo Karlovic, Max Myrni, Greg Rusedski,
Juan Martin Del Potro, Milos Raonic, Sam Querrey and John Isner. These guys have one thing in common, they
serve hard and serve very well!Daniil
comes into this category. Other players from this generation who are very tall
and serve big include Alexander Zverev, Nick Kyrgios and Taylor Fritz.
Being that tall
gives advantages over shorter players when it comes to placing the ball in the
corners and Daniil is able to take advantage of this.Daniil is a throwback, he has a fairly simple
service motion with not much knee bend, however is able to produce a top speed
of upwards of 220kph (135 mph) and regularly produce first serves between 170
kph to 210 kph (110 to 130mph) consistently.
Daniil
initially places his racquet at a perpendicular angle, giving the impression he
will serve with a backhand grip; however, I get the impression he uses a continental
grip. Daniil also brings the racquet down first in his service motion as he
tosses the ball up, which is a classic way of serving and not typical of the
more modern players who open up their bodies more, use more knee bend and have
the racquet up as they toss the ball. Daniil uses a motion which is a relaxed and
technically should not break down under pressure.That includes Daniil’s second serve delivery
which he can use as a weapon to get cheap points or with a lot of spin to set
up his next shot.Daniil tends to win
about 74% of his first serves throughout the year, and 52% of his second
serves. In my opinion, 74% is fine although Daniil can look to raise that to above 75% to
become a champion at grand slam level. 52% of points won on Daniil's second serve is not bad, but
again, he should be looking at 55 to 60%.How Daniil achieves this will be a task he needs to discuss with his
coach; working out strategy and shot selection after certain serve patterns.
The serve I
like most by Daniil is the slice serve on the ad court to the forehand. In my
opinion, this is an underused serve in the modern game, and the returner is
simply not challenged as much as he should be. Daniil is able to serve the ball
away from the returner’s forehand on the ad court at pace (192kph plus). Currently,
too many players angle the ball into the returner’s forehand, making them look
good.The technique of using slice to
move the ball away from the forehand is a throwback serve, a serve that
elevated Pete Sampras and Serena Williams to a different level, it is nice to
see Medvedev use this method as opposed to standing further from the centre
line and being forced to use sidespin as a result. Technically, definitely a
throwback.
Daniil’s Return
of Serve
Daniill has one
of the best return of serves on the ATP tour at this moment in time. On average
Daniil converts 40% of break points which is incredibly high and very
impressive. If Daniil can raise his first serve points won up to 80% that
would propel him to number 1 in the world.Daniil uses quite a few different strategies throughout the course of
his matches, making him a little unpredictable. Daniil treats tennis like a
game of chess, making moves on his opponents when they least expect it,
including taking the ball early and approaching the net, or standing as far
back as possible near the backboard.That is a very modern method and Daniil can be vulnerable to the player
who can serve into the corners and take the net away. Ironically, Daniil used
that tactic in the world tour final against Thiem with serve volley plays as
Thiem was often standing near the backboard to return serve.
Daniil’s two
hand backhand is reliable, and like Todd Martin back in the 1990s, can use his
height at 6 ft 6 to really lean on the ball and punish it, it is difficult to
hit consistent kick serves on a guy as tall as Daniil, the body serve would be
more effective. Daniil uses an extreme grip on the forehand so should have more
trouble there, it is often a trade off that players who use the extreme western
forehand grip will have more issues there on the return.
Even though
Daniil has great stats on the return of serve, we have yet to really see him on
grass and clay on a consistent basis. Like so many modern players, Daniil’s
game is built for hardcourts where the bounce is even and it is always possible
to look good. As of now Daniil’s stats on clay do not look too clever and the
natural surfaces require more out of you. Daniil has a thinking man’s game so I
don’t see why he can’t win titles on clay as long as he works on it. Grass will
be interesting because of his forehand grip but let’s see how his career
develops.
Daniil’s Forehand
This is the
shot which I find interesting in Daniil’s game. Daniil is not the first top
level player to use an extreme forehand grip. My mind goes back to Alberto
Berasategui who reached the 1994 French Open final. Amelie Mauresmo came
through in the late 1990s and despite her extreme western forehand, became one
of the great grass court players of her generation.
Therefore,
having an extreme western grip doesn’t condemn you to obscurity, but it does
make life more difficult!However,
clearly this is the path Daniil has chosen at a young age and he has to stick
with it for his career.During the world
tour finals in London, commentator and ex British number 1 Tim Henman
consistently said that Daniil hits the forehand “flat” and much lower over the
net than most of his contemporaries. This is true, although personally I don’t
like to use the word “flat” but it is fair to say Daniil hits on average with
less loop on the forehand side. Which is slightly surprising because players
associated with an extreme western forehand grip tend to hit with more spin and
higher net clearance, again showing what an unorthodox player Daniil is. In Daniil’s
case, the phrase “flattening it out” to hit winners doesn’t apply to him
because he takes that approach at all times and is trying to hit as many
winners as possible, I would not call Daniil’s forehand a typical rallying shot,
he generates tremendous pace and likes to use the inside out forehand to force
his opponent back and close the net, a tactic I love to see which has been completely
underused in men’s tennis over the last twenty years, primarily because a lot
of male players have become risk averse and play too safe, prepared to hit 30
shot rallies instead of forcing the initiative. Daniil does not take that
approach which in many ways makes him a throwback type of player.
Daniil does not
have the nicest looking forehand we have ever seen and you worry that technique
could cause an injury somewhere down the line but it works for him. It will be
more difficult to return serves with that grip on grass as the ball skids more,
though grass bounces higher than in the past it is still a natural surface,
does not bounce evenly like hardcourts and requires more adjustments. Clay
requires more topspin so consistent low net clearance will definitely be an
issue, especially when it comes to defending your position behind the
baseline.This might explain why we have
yet to hear Daniil explode on clay or grass, all of his nine titles have come
on hardcourts so far.
We can see Daniil’s forehand here.
Daniil’s
backhand
If Daniil’s
forehand takes getting used to from a visual standpoint, Daniil’s backhand is a
very nice-looking shot and also very effective.
Daniil has what
I would call a classic two hand backhand. Due to his height, he tends to hit
with the closed stance as opposed to the semi open stance many players adopt,
especially when forced out wide. In Daniil’s case, he steps into the shot a lot
more, hence the closed stance, planting the right foot forward and turning his
shoulder into the shot. American commentators like Leif Shiras call that
approach “leaning on the ball”, meaning Daniil can really use that to hurt his
opponent. The key is to step into the shot for that to be effective. Also, at 6
ft 6, the high ball shouldn’t trouble Daniil as much as it might do other players
with either a one hander or two hander, many two handers also struggle with the
ball up high.
As with Daniil’s
forehand, his backhands are hit quite low over the net. Again, this is a little
surprising and quite a risky play but it is Daniil’s game so he has to make the
best of it. Keeping the ball low can rush the opponent, however it can be risky
and lead to more errors. From what I can see so far in Daniil’s career, despite
the low net clearance, Daniil’s backhand in the rally is a safe shot, which is
quite impressive.
Due to the fact
Daniil’s game is so hardcourt centric, we have yet to really see him
consistently on the natural surfaces to make a long-term assessment on his
backhand. On indoor hardcourt at the World Tour final against Thiem, Medvedev
used the slice backhand a lot, playing Thiem at his own game. Thiem was using the
slice backhand to stay in the point, as opposed to using it to get a good
position at the net, therefore Thiem’s strategy was not really effective. If
you are going to hit lots of slices, you need to do something with it.Daniil was happy to trade slices to avoid
having to hit up. This demonstrates again that Daniil is prepared to play any
strategy that helps him to win a tennis match and not do the same thing over
and over again, like so many modern tennis players who lack variety.
Daniil’s
volleys
In many ways, this
might be the most impressive aspect of Daniil’s game at last week’s World Tour
Finals.It was impressive, however not
for the reasons one would think. I will elaborate.
As far as I can
see, like so many players, Daniil does not have the best technique on the volley,
it is perhaps above average but by no means top notch in terms of technical
aspects.However, that is immaterial if
it gets the job done and what is most impressive is how often Daniil is willing
to go to net throughout the course of his matches.
A player that I
can think of from past decades would be Jimmy Connors. Connors was a specialist
baseliner who along with Bjorn Borg and Chris Evert helped to change the game
in the 1970s.Even though Connors was a baseliner,
he went to net more in the course of his matches than many specialist serve
volleyers. Daniil is very similar. In the World Tour final against Thiem, in
three sets Daniil went to net 37 times and won 28 points, which is an excellent
conversion rate. In contrast Thiem went to net 21 times and won 14 points. That
indicates Daniil was the one trying to dictate play. The usual convention is the
one hander will have more options in terms of the slice backhand and backhand
volley but Thiem stands too far back to make that possible on a consistent basis.
Daniil on return of serve would take the ball early and come to net to finish
points, good old-fashioned hustle play which is nice to see.
Daniil can
improve his volleys further by making sure his arm is always out in front and
takes the ball early with slice, he is getting there. Daniil also hit some
impressive low volleys for such a tall player which shows he is flexible and
has good movement.
Daniil’s
Movement
Daniil has
excellent movement for a player 1 metre 98 (6 ft 6) tall. Daniil is lean and
doesn’t carry any excess weight which helps his movement. It is true to say in
the past, very tall tennis players didn’t move around the court as well but
that trend may be shifting slightly with Daniil who is good at coming forward.
Daniil has to be careful about getting backed up too far behind the baseline
which will not help his overall mission to win hundreds of tennis matches
throughout his career. The only other players who were 6 ft 5 plus and moved extremely
well along the baseline were Marat Safin and Richard Kraijeck. Krajicek was a
serve volley specialist but moved very well in the baseline rallies. Del Potro
is a great player but doesn’t move quite as well as Daniil. Daniil has the
advantage on other tall players Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz.
Daniil has the
opportunity in the next two to three years to make a name for himself and win a
major title and fulfil the promise of the “next gen” crop There will be a
scramble to see which player age 25 and under will be the first to do it. Daniil
has as good a chance as any and has an interesting game, doing things on the
court other players don’t or can’t. Daniil’s task is to turn elevate himself
from an all court player specialising on hardcourts, to an all surface player,
that’s where he can become a household name.
