Angelique Kerber's Australian Open Triumph

The Australian Open has a habit of throwing up surprising results and brilliant stories for fans of tennis and sport in general.

In 2014 Stan Warwinka beat Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinal and Rafael Nadal in the final to win the Australian Open in dramatic fashion.  This weekend Angelique Kerber pulled off a similar feat, defeating Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinal and Serena Williams in the final.  Like Wawrinka, Kerber found something deep inside herself, an inspiration to come up with an aggressive game plan to go for her shots and overcome players who had been dominating her in the head to head rivalry.  We were treated to a riveting final and at the end of it there was not a dry eye in the house, a very emotional victory, even Serena Williams felt emotional for Angelique! 

So, how was Angelique able to transition to grand slam champion?  Let us have a look at her progression over the last few seasons which brought her to this special moment.

It has been quite a roller coaster ride for Angelique and her fans.  After making a surprise run to the US Open semifinal in 2011, Angelique made a dramatic rise in the rankings from exactly 100 to top 10 in the space of twelve months.  I was at the Paris indoor event in 2012 when Angelique won her first ever WTA title beating Marion Bartoli in a topsy-turvy three set final.  Angelique followed that up by beating Caroline Wozniacki in Denmark to win another title two months after her first.  Everything was looking good but then hit her first real bump in Eastbourne when she lost the final after serving for the match in the 3rd set against Tamira Paszek. However, that didn’t deter her as she made a great run to the Wimbledon semifinal, beating Sabine Lisicki in a dramatic quarterfinal before losing to Agnieszka Radwanska rather easily in the semifinal.

In the 2012 Cincinnati final against Li Na, Angelique started like a house on fire, taking the first set 6:1 but eventually ran out of steam and lost in three sets.  At the US Open, Kerber defeated Venus Williams in the 2nd round but fell to Sara Errani two rounds later. Angelique qualified for the end of year championships in Istanbul and then spent much of 2013 coming to terms with her status as a top 10 player.  Angelique did win one title in 2013 towards the end of the season in Linz defeating Ana Ivanovic in an entertaining final which sealed her qualification for the season ending championships in Istanbul for the second time. 

2014 proved to be a poor year for Angelique; her performances in the majors were starting to dip dramatically. In Australia she lost to Flavia Pennetta in the fourth round and also had early losses at the French and US Open.  In Wimbledon she beat Sharapova in three sets in the fourth round but then lost to Eugenie Bouchard quite easily in the quarterfinal.  By this stage the reasons why Angelique was struggling were quite clear for everyone to see. 

When Angelique broke out in 2011, her retrieving skills and speed around the court were hailed as plus points.  However, she also possessed the ability to hit down the lines and stretch her opponents with good enterprising play.  However, by 2014 Angelique had become too reliant on defence and not developed her offensive play or serve, which had become a liability particularly in finals.  In fact, during this period Angelique played a handful of important finals including Doha and Eastbourne but lost all of them, which in turn was draining her confidence.  After another disappointing early round loss at the 2015 Australian Open, Angelique decided to dispense with coach Benjamin Ebrahimzadeh and re-hired Torben Beltz who she had worked with when she made the semifinals of US Open and Wimbledon from 2011 to 2012. 

This appointment paid immediate dividends as Angelique started to rebuild her confidence and won her first title in over a year by beating Madison Keys in a close final in Charleston, and then another even closer final against Wozniacki in Stuttgart in May 2015.  Despite early losses at the French Open and Wimbledon, Torben Beltz was definitely trying to get Angelique to play a more enterprising game and to improve her serve which had become a liability against the best returners in the game.  Her finals record continued in the summer with three set victories against Karolina Pliskova in Birmingham on grass and in Stanford during the US Open series. Angelique played a great match against Victoria Azarenka in the 3rd round of the US Open but lost.  However, she did play well during the autumn tournaments in Asia and qualified for the season ending championships in Singapore for the fourth year in succession.

A career in sport is all about progression, and although the results at the majors were not to her liking, turning her losing record in WTA finals to a winning one gave Angelique  something tangible to work on in the off season. The best players in the world combine defence and offence to make a winning combination, the key to that is the serve.  Angelique’s racquet head speed was slow, she was not generating enough pace and the serve was not accurate in the corners, her second serve was landing in the middle of the box asking to be put away.  The ability was there to hit down the lines but she was not taking advantage of this ability by attacking the net to put her opponents under pressure. Torben Beltz knew the potential.

Angelique started 2016 well, getting to the final of Brisbane before losing to Azarenka in straight sets.  And in the 1st round of the Australian Open, Angelique was match point down against Misaki Doi of Japan in the 2nd set tiebreak and came through that.  However, the match which really turned things around was the quarterfinal against Azarenka whom she had never beaten in six attempts; what was satisfying is the way she did it.  In 1997 when Pat Rafter won the US Open, then Australian Davis cup captain John Newcombe said that Rafter had found something deep down within himself which he didn’t know he had, the same could be said of Angelique.  What was so different this time was when the score got close, Angelique pulled out an ace on the line on the deuce court on at least three occasions! 

That is a perfect example of finding something deep inside herself, a bit of magic when needed which the best players can produce.  And when Azarenka had three sets points in a row in the 2nd set, Angelique hit clean offensive winners, they were not Azarenka mistakes.  Winning the match in that fashion gave Angelique the belief that she should play that kind of tennis more often, she hit 31 winners and made 16 unforced errors which is hardly the statistics of a player perceived as a counterpuncher.  Her semifinal win over Johanna Konta was a formality once she got over early nerves against an opponent in her first major semifinal.  In the final, Angelique played the best match of her entire career to date, seizing the moment against Serena Williams, who also played a good match, not at her best but her form was good enough to beat most of the other players on that particular night. Meanwhile Angelique made 25 winners and only 13 unforced errors in three tight sets, very impressive. It was a well deserved victory and now Angelique can bask in the glory of being grand slam champion.

I think Angelique has it within her to win another grand slam tournament before her career comes to a close.  Like Stan Wawrinka and Li Na, Angelique may need a bit of time to adjust to her new status as champion and we might not see her best results again for the next few months but she certainly has the desire to improve further and win more big tournaments in years to come.

It is great to see when a player realises their potential.

Davis Cup Champions…where do we go from here? By John Cavill

First we had the answer to the annually asked question of ‘When will we have a British Wimbledon Champion?’ in July 2013 and now we have an answer to British success in the Davis Cup! British tennis is buzzing with a positive vibe felt by many across the country and the hope that this success will propel us out of the shadows we’ve been in for many years.

What Team GB achieved in the Davis Cup was something quite remarkable after only being in the Europe/Africa Zone Group 2 in 2010 with a play-off match against Turkey which decided whether they would be demoted to the bottom level of the competition. At this time, reaching the final like they did in 1978 or even going one step further like they did in 1936 where they won would have seemed a million miles away. A lot has changed since 1936 and other countries have overtaken Britain in the sporting arena, but it takes one or two exceptionally great players to change a nation’s fortune.

What the LTA did back in 2010 when they appointed Leon Smith as the Davis Cup captain was a very smart move. By appointing Leon, Britain were able to write the tennis fairy-tale where Andy gets to play for his coach from his ‘junior days’ and share the journey with his brother. Many know that Leon worked with Andy Murray when he was 11 years old and again worked with him when he returned from the Sanchez-Casal academy in Barcelona, but that relationship between the two was the key to our success. There is no denying that if Andy wasn’t playing for GB then we would still be knocking around the lower groups of Davis Cup tennis, but Andy couldn’t have done this on his own without his brother. The nation must be very grateful that the Murray brothers represent GB and that their dedication, hardship, work rate, determination and belief has ultimately paid off so that we can celebrate the pride of being British. The demands of being a top tennis player are incredible and playing in the Davis Cup isn’t always a great reward for the players with increased matches adding to their already hectic schedules, the increased risk of injury and the lack of financial reward. Playing for your country is a privilege and an honour, which is certainly something Andy Murray prioritises. With the negatives that surround participating in this competition, they are further expanded for a top player if they are having to travel to places to compete in the world’s 3^rd division of tennis! If Britain had any chance of being a success in the competition they needed Andy Murray as with all top nations you need top 20 players in your team. At this point it is worth saying that Jamie Murray, a top doubles player in his own right, was another essential part of the puzzle as without him, those vital doubles wins would not have been possible, especially on a few occasion when he needed to carry his brother in matches.

Over the years Andy’s dedication to compete when he could, even with injury scares in certain ties, is phenomenal. Now that Andy can join Federer, Djokovic and Nadal as a Davis Cup Champion further cements his status as one of the top players in the tennis history books during what arguably is the toughest era for a male tennis player.

I’ve talked a lot about Andy Murray and his undeniable influence in the Davis Cup team but what about the others who have also contributed to our nation’s success? During this campaign I’d like to highlight James Wards outstanding performance against the US with the world number 111 beating John Isner who was ranked 20 with a tremendous fight back from a two-set disadvantage to win 6-7, 5-7. 6-3, 7-6, 15-13 in almost exactly five hours. Another notable match was in the final when Leon played his cards right with an in-form Kyle Edmond, who is ranked 100 in the world, making his debut to the competition against the world number 15, David Goffin. The competition could have been over by Saturday as Kyle took a 2 sets to 0 lead in the first match. That exposure for the young 20 year old will hopefully give him hope and belief to go on to do better but I believe that with these players rubbing shoulders with the likes of Andy Murray they are inspired and believe they can win.

What does this victory mean for British tennis? Andy Murray told the BBC on Thursday 26^th November, the day before the finals started: “This might attract new fans who can see the team and how pumped up everyone gets in a different format and different atmosphere.”

“It’s a great opportunity to promote the sport in the UK and, hopefully, if we can get the win at the weekend that would be huge for tennis.”

“But it’s not our job to capitalise on the success of the team, that’s the job of the governing body and that’s what they’ve got to do.”

Controversially David Lloyd, former GB Men’s Davis Cup Captain, criticised the top British players for not growing the game in Britain by stating: “The British players in recent years who have been good — Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski, Andy — they don’t put enough back.”

“I mean putting your heart and soul into it, a passion that is bigger than the person and even bigger than the game. “

“It’s about getting a kid who wants to play for Manchester United to want to play tennis instead. Andy is in such an incredible position with power to do that but he doesn’t.”

“I don’t think Andy does justice in presenting himself. I don’t think he goes out of his way to present the game.”

Personally I don’t think it is the sole responsibility of Andy Murray or any of the others to develop British tennis, as this is the role of the LTA, clubs and coaches in this country.

Murray dismissed the criticism as “background noise” by adding “It’s like, you know it’s there but you’re not really listening.”

“My job here is to try to win the tie, give my best effort — like me and, I believe, all of the team have done the last five years.”

“We may not get the outcome we want but it won’t be through lack of trying or lack of care.”

“It means a lot to everyone to be in this position. Five years ago we were way, way behind in this competition — I think it was the lowest position we’d ever been in, so five years later to be playing and competing in the final is a great opportunity.”

Everyone in Britain has to take responsibility for the state of our tennis. Blaming, pointing fingers or making excuses is what we have done for many years and like with the change of success for the Davis Cup team, we need to change our attitude now for a better future. If everyone looked at what they do and how they could do it better with the tenacity to keep improving over a sustained amount of period then we will be better. Even before the final we heard the pessimists saying that Federer, Djokovic and Nadal didn’t play in the competition so it’s a shallow win…or… we only have 1 player and without Murray we are nothing. I understand where they are coming from but the other players could have played if they wanted to and most Davis Cup teams are centred around one world class player. We should be using this success to inspire our top juniors to see what British success looks and feels like and continue to grow the game with the belief that future success is dependent on the efforts we put in now.

 John Cavill runs Tennis Works, a tennis developmental and resource company.  For more information check out http://www.tennisworks.net/

WTA Young Players To Watch - 2016

Madison Keys

The 2015 season was a remarkable one. Serena Williams at the age of 34 was within two matches of a calendar grand slam; and with Flavia Pennetta winning the US Open, all grand slam tournaments were won by players age 33 years or older, which has to be a record for the open era.

The implications are significant, as in the mens game, the upcoming players have been completely shut out of an opportunity to win the biggest tournaments.  However, we have to think that younger players will come through soon.  It is worth taking a look at some of the young players under the age of 25 who could be contenders at the major tournaments in 2016. 

Garbiñe Muguruza age 22; End of Year Rank 3

Garbiñe is definitely one of the players identified to be a future champion and maybe a future number 1 player.  Garbiñe is not the typical Spanish player, at 6 ft. tall and powerfully built, Garbiñe has a game that is tailor made for hardcourts with the big serve and powerful groundstrokes.  Garbiñe won one tournament this year in Beijing and reached the final in Wuhan where she had to retire hurt against Venus Williams. Garbiñe also made it to the final of Wimbledon and gave Serena Williams a run for her money before losing in straight sets. In fact, Garbiñe game reminds me of a female version of a young Marat Safin from the early 2000s.

This comparison is apt because during the course of the recent WTA championships in Singapore, Garbiñe looked unbeatable against players who were unable to deal with her power and pace winning all of her round robin matches including against Petra Kvitova. Angelique Kerber looked thoroughly fed up after her defeat to Garbiñe in the round robin, having already lost to her in the round of 32 at both the French Open and Wimbledon plus the quarterfinal of Wuhan.   However, in the semifinal Garbiñe suffered a very surprising loss to Agnieszka Radwanska in three sets despite winning the first set on a tiebreak.  I would have made Garbiñe odds on to win the tournament but it wasn’t to be.  And this is where the comparison with Safin comes in, Safin would look unbeatable when he was on his game and displayed power and pace which many opponents couldn’t deal with.  However, Safin was very inconsistent and couldn’t sustain a high level for long periods of time.  So far Garbiñe displays similar traits.

In 2016 Garbiñe should be a contender at all of the grand slam tournaments, her run at Wimbledon proved to herself she can play on grass.  Garbiñe also has to win more tournaments on the WTA tour, which in turn will give her more confidence at the grand slam events.  As with so many of the modern players, Garbiñe likes to transition to net and play aggressive, really going after short balls.  Alas, as with so many modern players, when she gets up to net her volleys and decision making is not very good at this stage, I have seen her hit swing volleys out when conventional volleys would have worked fine.  With the grip players’ use and the powerful Babolat racquet, players like Garbiñe don’t switch to the best grip in time to make the swing volley count. Assuming Garbiñe continues to improve her game and movement, she has a great opportunity to win a grand slam tournament in 2016 if everything falls into place.

Karolina Pliskova – Age 23; End of Year Rank 11

Karolina Pliskova has had her best season to date in her young career.  Karolina finished the season on an absolute high, helping the Czech Republic to beat Russia to defend their Federation cup title.  Not only that, but Karolina played a significant role, first helping the Czechs to level the tie when they were 2:1 down with a win against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and then teaming up with Barbara Strykova to win the decisive doubles match against Elena Vesnina and Pavlyuchenkova.  No doubt Karolina’s confidence will be sky high after this experience.

Before the week of the Fed cup, Karolina made it through to the final of the season ending WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai China, which is the level below the WTA Championships in Singapore.  Karolina lost a very tight match 5:7 6:7 to Venus Williams but played very well.  All in all, in 2015 Karolina made it to the final of six tournaments; winning in Prague on outdoor clay; whilst reaching the finals of Zhuhai which we mentioned, Sydney, Dubai, Birmingham and Stanford.  Karolina also made the semifinals in Antwerp and Tiajin.  Karolina didn’t do as well at the majors, her best result was Round of 32 at the Australian Open where she lost to Ekaterina Makarova, so improvement required there.

Karolina is another archetypal modern player at 1metre 87, (6 ft. 1) with a big game.  I watched Karolina play many matches throughout this year and there is no question she is a talented player who has a big future if she continues to improve.  My concern has been that too often Karolina’s game can be quite hit and miss, great shots mixed in with often unnecessary bad errors and wild shot making, not very consistent.  Also, at 6ft 1, Karolina is not one of the best movers and is a little slow to react when having to come forward or stretched wide.  Karolina does have one of the best serves on the tour which you would expect at her height, capable of hitting many aces and unreturnables. 

What impressed me most about Karolina in her last two events was her ability to play aggressive but at a much more consistent level; she played a really good final against Venus in Zhunhai and was absolutely splendid in the Fed cup final ties.  If Karolina builds on this Fed cup success and improves her temperment and movement around the court, she definitely has the game to be a future champion.  Next year may be too soon because it is a huge jump from making the last 32 of major tournaments to potentially winning one, but she is on the right track.

Madison Keys – Age 20; End of Year Rank 18

Last year I saw Madison Keys win her first title in the final of Eastbourne beating Angelique Kerber in three sets; it was a great match which Keys won 7:5 in the third.  Madison followed that up by starting 2015 very well, reaching the Australian Open semifinal beating Petra Kvitova and Venus Williams along the way, before losing to Serena Williams in a tight match. Madison also made it to the final of Charleston where she lost to Angelique Kerber in three sets, Kerber getting her back for the Eastbourne loss.  Since April I haven’t heard much from Madison Keys in any of the bigger tournaments.

Madison had decent results at the majors, making the 3rd round of the French Open and the quarterfinal of Wimbledon where she lost to Agnieszka Radwanska.  In the US Open Madison lost to Serena Williams in the 4th round.  At the season ending tournament in Zhunhai, Madison lost to Venus but beat Saisai Zheng; however, Madison didn’t win any titles in 2015 so she will want to rectify that in 2016.  The good news is that Madison is currently coached by American great Lindsay Davenport.  As long as they continue to work together for the foreseeable future, I see Madison really challenging for major titles soon.  Outside of Serena Williams, Madison has potentially the best serve in the womens tour, her first serve can be delivered upwards of 120mph on the line, and her 2nd serve has quite a kick.

As with Garbine and Karolina, Madison is capable of making some wild errors, which is very much the modern way of playing in the womens game, I often wonder if it is due to lighter modern racquets and polyester strings.  I think Lindsay should help in that department as initially Lindsay had trouble been a consistent player herself when she was a teenager, but managed to lose weight, improve her movement and improve her consistency.  From that point of view, Lindsay should be able to teach Madison some tactical plays and how to use her serve to good effect, and improve her movement.  The key is whether Madison is willing to learn from such a great player as Lindsay Davenport and really work hard on her movement and tactical play.  If Madison is a quick learner, she has the game to win a major title in 2016.  I hope this happens because when you see a player with such raw talent, you want to see them show it to everyone by winning major tournaments.

Simona Halep Age 24; End of Year Rank 2

It is fair to say Simona is an established player as opposed to an up and coming but makes the cut for me as she is under 25 years old and still attempting to become a major champion.

In 2015 Simona’s best result came at Indian Wells where she won the event against Jelena Jankovic in one of the most topsy turvy matches I have seen in a long time.  What amazed me the most was the Presentation ceremony, Simona is so little she barely made it above the lectern to deliver her victory speech.  At 1metre 70 (5ft. 6) Simona is one of the shorter players on the tour so it is a credit to her to be one of the best players in the world.  All in all, Simona won three titles including Shenzhen and Dubai but all of her titles came before the spring and she really struggled to make an impact for the rest of the year, only making the final of Cincinnati.  In the majors Simona’s best result was reaching the semifinal of the US Open where she lost fairly easily to Flavia Pennetta.  At the WTA championships in Singapore, Simona lost two of her three round robin matches so not the best way to finish the season. 

With such a high ranking, Simona has to be a contender at all of the major championships in 2016.  A friend of mine believes what is holding her back is her nerves, Simona gets very nervous in the big matches, as evidenced in the Indian Wells final back in March, which she won but in dubious fashion in the end.  However, I think Simona’s challenges run much deeper.  I don’t think Simona can win a major championship until she realises she has to stop running side to side all day and start improving her transition game and come forward to finish points at the net.  Simona is one of the best at hitting down the lines but seems never prepared to take advantage of stretching her opponent by coming to net.  It gives the impression Simona doesn’t like to take any risks of being passed, but also it means she has to do even more running and therefore not conserving energy, right now Simona is not playing as efficiently as she could.  Simona says Justine Henin was her idol; Simona really needs to study Justine’s game and look at how often Justine was prepared to use her athleticism around the net as well as having great defence.  If Simona can improve this vital aspect of her game, she has the talent to win more than one major title.

Other players to look out for in 2016

Belinda Bencic Age 18; End of Year Rank 14

At age 18 Belinda Bencic is the youngest player in the top 20.  In June she won her first title at Eastbourne defeating Agnieszka Radwanska in three sets and won the Canadian Open final in the summer beating Serena Williams along the way.  She may be a dark horse at the major tournaments in 2016.

Sloane Stephens Age 22; End of Year Rank 30

A talented player who won her first WTA title in 2015 in Washington DC beating Pavlyuchenkova.  Sloane is going through one of those phases where she is off the radar somewhat but she is too talented not to come back into the reckoning at some point.

Eugenie Bouchard Age 21; End of Year Rank 49

It is fair to say that since Bouchard took a heavy beating in the 2014 Wimbledon final, her career has taken a nosedive.  Perhaps things came too quickly for her, but she also got a rude awakening in the final, I don’t follow the bookmakers but the media seemed to make her favourite (more to the point that the media just wanted her to win than any reason based on sound analysis).  Kvitova showed her what it takes to win at the highest level.  Now that Bouchard has had those unfortunate incidents during Fed cup ties and hitting her head in the US Open locker room, it could be some time before she gets back into the top 10 but she has the talent to do it.