Is anybody else getting just a tad curious about which players will qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London at the O2 Arena in November? Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have already qualified. Roger Federer and Andy Murray will surely follow soon to keep the Big 4 of the past few years in tact. While Soderling has been Top 5 for quite some time, his place in London is less secure than David Ferrer as you will see in the unofficial rankings below. It really is just a matter of time before the Spanish bulldog makes the quietest return to the Top 5 ever.
Let’s assume everybody listed above qualifies for the Tour Finals as they have in multiple years prior, but who will grab those last two spots? You may be surprised to see where things are shaking out at this moment since if there were an official Champions Race, it would vary greatly from the 52-Week Entry List rankings. Let’s sneak a peek at the Race as of 8/8/11 straight from my unofficial Excel spreadsheet:
Race
Entry
Player Name
YTD Pts
2011 W-L
1
1
Novak Djokovic
9765
48-1
2
2
Rafael Nadal
7640
51-8
3
3
Roger Federer
4180
39-9
4
4
Andy Murray
3720
29-9
5
6
David Ferrer
3250
39-11
6
5
Robin Soderling
2135
38-9
7
10
Nicolas Almagro
1750
41-15
8
19
Juan Martin Del Potro
1665
36-10
9T
9
Tomas Berdych
1630
34-15
9T
16
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
1630
28-14
11
8
Mardy Fish
1560
29-15
12
11
Gilles Simon
1510
30-17
13
13
Richard Gasquet
1400
27-13
14
15
Victor Troicki
1370
32-16
15T
7
Gael Monfils
1340
25-10
15T
21
Alexandr Dolgopolov
1340
26-18
Similar to Messieur Monfils whose Race position of 15 is far lower than his 52-Week ranking of 7, both 12th ranked Andy Roddick and 14th ranked Mikhail Youzhny are lagging in the Race as they have so many ranking points from 2010 to defend. Conversely, Juan Martin and Jo Willy have a much better chance to qualify than their 52-week rankings indicate.
Who do you think will grab those last two spots. Will both Del Potro and Simon return to the Tour Finals just like they climbed up the rankings to the Top 8 back in 2008? Can Nicolas Almagro or Mardy Fish qualify for the first time? There is still plenty of tennis to be played in 2011, so it is quite possible someone outside this list will make the cut. Who are your dark horses?
Quick Hit: Does anybody else find it ironic that former Top 50 singles player Daniele Bracciali who is probably best known for being suspended by the ATP for gambling just won his second doubles title of the year in Kitzbuhel? Oh, did I forget to mention the tournament happens to be called the Bet At Home Open? Maybe Wayne Odesnik’s first title after his suspension will be at the HGH Classic.
Forgive the old picture from Kooyong last year, but the biggest news to me this morning was that Novak Djokovic drew Juan Martin Del Potro in the 3rd Round of Roland Garros. Considering Del Potro has to play the always dangerous Ivo Karlovic in the 1st round, this juicy Delpo-Djoko clash is far from a sure thing but we sure are looking forward to this potential 1st week encounter.
Meanwhile, John Isner unseeded in a Slam for the first time in quite a while came up unlucky playing Rafael Nadal in his first match. Other opening matches include Federer v Lopez, Querrey v Kohlschreiber, Monaco v Verdasco, Gasquet v Stepanek, and Ferrer v Nieminen. The projected quarterfinal match-ups based on seedings are Nadal-Soderling, Murray-Melzer, Federer-Ferrer, and Djokovic-Berdych. Take a look at the draw and let us know what upsets you think are brewing.
Let’s talk about the women’s draw next time, but for now here are pics of the ATP players that have already arrived to practice on the terre batue.
Gilles Simon appears to be on track to get back to the Top 10, and the clay court season is his chance to make a big jump up the rankings. Since he was injured this time last year, the 24th-ranked Frenchman has absolutely no points to defend over the next twon months. Gillou started his clay season in Monte Carlo today with his 200th career while crusing to a 63 62 dismissal of Thomaz Bellucci, the young Brazilian ranked 31st and dangerous on clay. Simon is seeded 16th since many of the top players skipped Monte Carlo due to injury, fatigue, and/or being American. Gilles Simon next faces Spanish clay court specialist Albert Montanes who although unseeded is actually ranked higher than Gilles. The 23rd-ranked Montanes passed Simon in the rankings after his SF appearance in Casablanca last week, but the shift in the rankings happened after the Monte Carlo seeds were set.
Confused? No worries, let’s get to the point of this post which was simply to share pics and video of our favorite Frenchie. Let’s start with an interview of Simon after his win over Bellucci today:
Even if you don’t parlez vous francais, you may enjoy the Canal Sport coverage of Gilles Simon training with Rafael Nadal. I guess Rafa would be the right player to have a hit with if you want to get ready for the clay season. And now the “I like clay” vignette from Tennis Channel is running through my head, but I digress…
Here are a few fun pics of Gilles too! It’s so good to have both him and Del Potro back where they belong, and I think we will be seeing both of them in the Top 10 again by the end of the summer.
Congratulations Papa Gilles on your 200th career win. We hope that you have many more wins ahead of you, and that your son Timothy will have the chance to watch you play on the big stage…and win!
I originally titled this post “Andy Roddick Tops Nick Jonas” because while I watched Andy escape defeat from Robin Haase, I kept thinking how much the Dutchman looks like Nick Jonas. And perhaps I was hoping for the story to get picked up by Perez Hilton or TMZ. Before we get to all of the tennis look-a-likes, I have to give Roddick credit for pulling out that win when Haase was outplaying him for the first two sets. Andy hung in there to get to a second set tie-break, and then Robin choked it away with a final score of 26 76(2) 62 62.
Without further adieu, here are your tennis dopplegangers….
Robin Haase
Nick Jonas
Melanie Oudin
looks and talks like Reese Witherspoon
Carla Suarez Navarro
Heather Matarazzo from Welcome to the Dollhouse
Agnieszka Radwanska
...it's Julia Stiles. Aggie gives better reaction shots though.
Gilles Simon
Team Edward
Or Team Commodus?
Ryan Harrison
Ben McKenize from Southland and The OC
or fellow player Andrey Golubev
Roger Federer
Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend
You might have to watch Vampire Weekend’s “Giving Up the Gun” video to better see the resemblance. You will also get to see a Jonas Brother playing tennis, so it all comes full circle.
Who do you think your favorite tennis player looks like? Please don’t forget to subscribe and forward to your friends. Enjoy your weekend, everybody! The middle weekends of Grand Slams are the best, no? Which match are you most looking forward to see?
So instead of editing the most recent entry to more accurately quote Roger Federer kvelling over Gilles Simon after their epic match, I thought I would just share the video. I cannot recall Roger gushing over an opponent like that and trust me, I am an expert about gushing over Gilles Simon. Federer was just so relieved to escape this match with a win, and Gilles must sense his 2011 season will go much better than last year. Last week in Sydney where he won his 8th title, Gilles stated that while his confidence had been building from winning matches, he would not get a real sense of his level of play until he was tested by the top guys. Despite the loss, I think he passed the test with flying colors.
¡Très magnifique, Messieur Simon! (Now I ask you, what other tennis website can you get both Yiddish and French?)
For the past two days I have been looking forward to watching this match, and even though my pick Gilles Simon lost I am so happy that I set my alarm clock for 5AM. And even happier that the charming Gilles Simon is once again playing the type of tennis that got him to #6 in the world in 2008, a year that saw him beat Roger twice as well as Rafa and Nole by the way. With his win last week in Sydney, Gilles pretty much shored up a seeding for the other Grand Slams this year and won’t have to face the likes of Roger Federer in the second round. The Frenchman put out quite the effort after losing the first two sets, and you have to respect his fight especially on a day when we saw Janko Tipsarevic literally give up against Fernando Verdasco.
King Roger Victorious
I can talk forever about this match and Gilles Simon, but I think Roger summed it up best: “Gilles is a great mover and returner and hung in there and believed. Before the 5th I was stressing out and loving every moment of it. I’ve never beaten him before and was lucky to get out of this one. Hopefully we don’t have to play each other again.” Despite the quotation marks, I am paraphrasing since my DVR isn’t working. And if it was working, I still would have woken before sunrise to watch this match live.
For those unfamiliar with Gilles Simon, you will surely hear more from him this year. But in the meantime, let’s revisit some of his funnier moments:
It is so good to have both Gilles Simon and Juan Martin Del Potro back and healthy. Welcome back, Gillou.
I just needed a little comedy (ok, very little) as I watch Federer just bully Gilles Simon around the court to win the first set. It may be time for Gilles to break out the Uber Forehand circa 2008…
And just in case you were thinking the two wins Gilles had over Roger in 2008 were a fluke, Simon went on to beat Rafael Nadal in the semis of Madrid that year as well. Win or lose today against Roger, it is good to see Gillou moving like he did in 2008 before the knee problems. Allez!
After watching Mardy Fish come back from 2 sets down against Victor Hanescu, it was almost 2AM when I saw that Gilles Simon just started playing his first round match versus Yen-Hsun Lu. Oh crap, poor Gillou got down an early break too. Should I stay awake and watch the shaky live feed? No way, I know my boy Gilles will wrap this up.
Gilles Simon defeated Yen-Hsun Lu 67(3) 62 64 62
Well, I did watch for a few minutes just to check out his form and although Gilles did not convert the break points in the game I watched, my confidence in Simon only grew stronger. Not only has he been playing some great ball as of late, but the fact that he beat Lu 60 63 last week in Syndey also made the decision to get some sleep a lot easier. The Frenchy has the tendency to win matches when he loses the 1st set. I would not call him a slow starter per se, but he does a great job adapting his game to match the style and quality of play from his opponent. The next opponent however is King Roger himself, and I will be wide awake for that one. Although Gilles has beaten Roger in both of their two meetings, I feel far from confident yet I look forward to watching the match no matter the outcome. And not on a shaky feed as I assume it will be on ESPN2, somewhere that I hardly ever get to watch Gilles play. The only thing that I am not looking forward to is hearing Brad Gilbert refer to Gilles as “Simon Says”. Can someone please tell Brad it’s pronounced See-Moan? Merci.
How about the Mardy Fish comeback win that got me all tuckered out? Despite the valiant effort, he sure did look sluggish and of course we hope his blood tests come back positive. Um, I mean negative. But with positive news because he will need to run all day against Tommy Robredo next. Mardy has complained about low energy but does not know the reason behind his recent lethargy. I wonder if his body is in a bit of delayed shock from having lost so much weight so quickly. Even though he felt weak, you could see his improved fitness kick in toward the end of the match when he remained calm and did not resort to ending each point quickly like he did when he was heavier. 17th-ranked Fish’s goal of cracking the Top 10 is quite close when you realize he has few ranking points to defend during the first half of the year. The same can be said for Gilles actually.
What are the players doing two days before the start of a Grand Slam? Most will try to find time to practice on the courts of Melbourne, but a handful of the hottest players spent their Saturday competing for titles and trophies. Let’s take a quick tour around New Zealand and Australia to see how the finalists fared:
Just like the Sydney final that Li Na won over Kim Clijsters yesterday, the final in Hobart also featured two married women. Mrs. Groth won her second WTA title while Mrs. Sands will need to wait for that elusive first after her third failed attempt. Not only did they both have a good week in Hobart, but last week Bethanie helped USA to win Hopman Cup and Jarmila had a big win over Sam Stosur before she bowed out to Andrea Petkovic in the quarterfinals of Brisbane. Raising the trophy in Hobart may be Jarka’s best moment in 2011, however my favorite is the zinger she said to the hubby when she called for on-court coaching during her losing effort against Petkovic. When fellow player Sam Groth told her she should pay attention and take advantage of the cold weather conditions, she responded by saying “Don’t talk to me like I’m a frigging tourist!” She did not say frigging, of course.
The weather was far worse this week in Hobart actually as rain delayed play throughout the week, but luckily they got some sunshine today to finish the final on time. The final was played in very windy conditions, and this time Mrs. Groth was able to stay cool under pressure. Both Bethanie and Jarmila should be fully prepared for Melbourne in two days, and they will need to get off to a great start. Groth will play 21st seed Yanina Wickmayer in the first round. Mattek-Sands does get a qualifier in the first round with a possible 2nd round clash with former #1 Svetlana Kuznetzova.
Auckland – David Ferrer (ESP) d. David Nalbandian (ARG) 63 62
27th ranked David Nalbandian had not dropped a set until today and looked to be in better form than the 7th ranked David Ferrer this week, but the Spanish workhorse dismissed Nalbandian quite easily. Ferrer once again showed off his return game by breaking the Argentine’s serve three times and remained steady on serve as he fought off all 3 break points that he faced. Both Davids may have had Melbourne already on their mind as they both have tough 1st round opponents. Ferrer will face the tricky Finn Jarkko Nieminen while Nalbandian has the much anticipated battle with Lleyton Hewitt.
Kooyong – Hewitt (AUS) d. Monfils (FRA) 75 63
Speaking of Lleyton, the Aussie was playing the Kooyong exhibition for the first time ever and came away with the win. Although this was a weaker than usual field with the top guys deciding to rest up, Hewitt still needed to defeat Mikhail Youzhny, Nikolay Davydenko, and Gael Monfils to secure the title. Unfortunately, Gael played gingerly in the second set when he seemed to tweak his lower back but remains hopeful for Melbourne. His first round opponent will be rising Dutch star Tiemo DeBakker, and we all know who Lleyton will play. On a lighter and more random note, take a look at how Youzhny decided to battle Hewitt and his home court advantage.
Sydney – Gilles Simon (FRA) d. Viktor Troicki (SRB) 75 76(4)
Despite a slow start, Gilles went in to the Sydney final feeling optimistic about his chances today. Not only did Le Poussin roar through the draw without dropping a set, but he also never lost a set to his opponent in their 4 previous meetings. Cue to cutaway footage of French people scratching their heads as to why Davis Cup Captain Guy Forget subbed Michael Llodra in the deciding match of the Davis Cup Final against Troicki, but I digress. I tend to do that a lot, huh? Oh crap, I’m already doing it again.
Back to Gilles! The Frenchman is once again confident in his physical fitness, and this is of supreme importance as his footwork is his biggest 2nd biggest weapon. His best weapon has to be his superior tennis brain, which surely can explain his two previous wins over harder-hitting but softer-thinking Ernests Gulbis and Viktor Troicki. One only needs to look at his now 8-2 record in finals to know that the frail-looking Frenchman is mentally tough. Gilles certainly handled the big points better than his opponent today. Viktor did get a bit of bad luck at 4-2 in the deciding tie-break when he was called for a foot fault on his second serve. Simon made sure to give special thanks to that lineswoman during the trophy presentation actually.
Who will these two play first at the Australian Open? Troicki will play Dmitry Tursunov, and Simon gets Yen-Hsun Lu of Taipei. Gilles has a 2-0 record against Lu including a 63 60 over him this week. He will also have a 2-0 record against his likely 2nd round opponent Roger Federer. Allez!
Melbourne – Quallies and Special Events
As long as I’m Allez-ing around, I may as well report on TCW favorite Nicolas Mahut who defeated Frederik Nielsen to qualify for the main draw. Mahut was one of 7 men to get through quallies on Saturday after a week of many rain delays, while the remaining matches will be played Sunday. Congrats to the other six men who have already qualified: Denis Gremlmayr (GER), Vincent Millot (FRA), Gilles Muller (LUX), Simon Stadler (GER), Ryan Sweeting (USA), and Grega Zemlja (SLO).
Saturday was also Kids Day at the Australian Open with a day filled with events geared toward the Aussie youngsters. Sunday will also be a special day on the grounds as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will headline “Rally for Relief” in an effort to raise money for victims of the Australia floods. Other players expected to attend include Novak Djokovic, Pat Rafter, Sam Stosur, Lleyton Hewitt, and Kim Clijsters. For American fans, don’t forget that Sunday in Australia is really Saturday night here. Tennis Channel will be broadcasting the event tonight at 10PM ET. Does it make me a bad person that I will be tuning in mostly to see if old lovebirds Kim and Lleyton will play nice with each other? OK, but what if I promise to donate to the relief efforts?
The Australian Open draw has been released, and there will be a plethora of marquis 1st Round matches to behold. Let’s take a look…
(3) Kim Clijsters vs Dinara Safina
The popcorn match of the 1st Round for the Ladies is a battle of former #1′s Kim Clijsters and Dinara Safina. Kim is the tournament favorite according to oddsmakers (and me), but Dinara is a tough 1st round match no matter how you slice it. Yes, I do know that Dinara is ranked 65th and lost both of her matches in 2011, but she clearly has the skills needed to beat Kim as she has has done two times before. Clijsters just lost the Sydney final 76(3) 63 due to some sloppy play after jumping out to a 5-Love lead over Li Na, so Kim will quickly need to find her form once again. Very quickly.
(1) Caroline Wozniacki vs Gisela Dulko
This match will feature a clash between the #1 ranked singles player and the #1 ranked doubles player. Ranked 48th in singles, Gisela Dulko has become known for causing early round upsets at the Grand Slams. Last year, Dulko had wins over Ana Ivanovic at the Australian and Victoria Azarenka at both the French and U.S. Open. In 2009, she beat Maria Sharapova on the grass courts of Wimbledon. Caroline had a shaky start to the 2011 season with a 60 61 loss to Zvonareva in a Hong Kong exo and then proceeded to lose 1st round in Sydney to Dominika Cibulkova. And that’s exactly who Caroline could play in the 3rd round.
(12) Agnieszka Radwanska vs Kimiko Date-Krumm
The 40 year-old Japanese woman has been proving that age is only a number during her improbable comeback, and she has a real chance to cause an upset over yet another Top 20 player. In 2010 alone, Kimiko had wins over 7 Top 20 players including Maria Sharapova, Li Na, and Sam Stosur. Date-Krumm may even be considered the favorite in this match since Radwanska is coming back from injury and has not played any of the warm-up tourneys. This will be an interesting battle to watch because both women like to stand inside the baseline and take the ball early.
(27) David Nalbandian vs Lleyton Hewitt
This is the match that has tennis fans buzzing, especially back in Australia. Both of these players are ranked lower than their current level of play, and this match is an unlucky draw for both. They are two of the in-form players right now with Hewitt set to play Gael Monfils in the Kooyong final and Nalbandian taking on David Ferrer in the Auckland final. Lleyton notched wins over Mikhail Youzhny and Nikolay Davydenko this week, and David has not lost a set on his road to the final. They also have quite the history with Hewitt owning a 3-2 head-to-head record but Nalbandian has won the last two. Hewitt won their only two Grand Slam meetings including the 2002 Wimbledon final and the epic 2005 Australian Open quarter final that he won 10-8 in the 5th. This is a juicy match made even juicier if you believe the rumors that these two players genuinely dislike each other.
So where did the other so-called Dangerous Floaters land? Juan Martin Del Potro will meet Dudi Sela in the first round and could face Marcos Baghdatis in the 2nd. Ivo Karlovic pulled countryman Ivan Dodig and will most likely meet Novak Djokovic in the following round.
Gilles Simon will play 35th ranked Yen Hsun-Lu in the first round followed by an inevitable 2nd Round clash with Roger Federer. The Frenchman is on a roll this week with a 76(1) 60 win over Ernests Gulbis in the semis. Gilles only lost 3 points in the second set, but that speaks more to Ernie self-destructing after he got broken at love while trying to serve out the first. I should probably remind you that Gilles is undefeated against Roger in their two meetings, and I will never forget his 2008 Shanghai Masters Cup press conference after that second win.
JOURNALIST: You beat Roger Federer once. People might call it an accident or surprise. Now it’s the second time. What would you call it? GILLES SIMON: A second accident (laughter).
While we are talking about French men, here is an update on TCW favorite Nicolas Mahut. Nico barely got through his second round match in quallies over Guillermo Olaso of Spain by a score of 67(6) 75 63. Nico needs to win just one more match against Frederik Nielsen of Denmark before he can become a Dangerous Floater in the main draw. Allez, Nico!
Is anybody else getting just a tad curious about which players will qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London at the O2 Arena in November? Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have already qualified. Roger Federer and Andy Murray will surely follow soon to keep the Big 4 of the past few years in tact. While Soderling has been Top 5 for quite some time, his place in London is less secure than David Ferrer as you will see in the unofficial rankings below. It really is just a matter of time before the Spanish bulldog makes the quietest return to the Top 5 ever.
Quick Hit: Does anybody else find it ironic that former Top 50 singles player Daniele Bracciali who is probably best known for being suspended by the ATP for gambling just won his second doubles title of the year in Kitzbuhel? Oh, did I forget to mention the tournament happens to be called the Bet At Home Open? Maybe Wayne Odesnik’s first title after his suspension will be at the HGH Classic.
