There is life after Wimbledon
July 9th 2009 12:24
THE big guns are still on ice after Wimbledon, but the tennis circuit rolls on this week.
The men are competing on grass in Newport in the United States, while the women have descended on claycourt events in Sweden and Hungary.
We’re not talking about the cream of the crop here, but there are some interesting players in contention at Newport.
The tournament is wide open after American top seed Mardy Fish withdrew to replace Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick in his country’s Davis Cup clash in Croatia.
Fish’s absence leaves veteran Frenchman Fabrice Santoro as the highest-ranked player left in the draw, but expect the likes of Americans Sam Querrey, Jesse Levine and Taylor Dent, German Philipp Petzschner and Canadian Frank Dancevic to provide stiff opposition.
Levine and Petzschner meet in round two after both enjoyed tough first-round victories and the winner of that match-up appears likely to reach the final.
The Swedish Open has reached the quarter-final stage, with the top two seeds, Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki and Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova, still alive.
The event is world No.9 Wozniacki’s to lose, but don’t rule out in-form Argentine Gisela Dulko, who plays Cibulkova in her quarter-final.
But Dulko would have to defy history to reach the semi-finals, considering she has lost all three of her clashes with Cibulkova.
Italian third seed Flavia Pennetta is also an outside chance.
The Grand Prix tournament in Budapest is there for the taking after a raft of upsets.
Top seed Patty Schnyder is still in contention, but her results can vary depending on how she wakes up in the morning.
Israeli star Shahar Peer – the former world No.15 – knocked out number-two seed Alize Cornet, from France, in the second round and now faces sixth-seeded Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko.
Other remaining seeds include hometown hero Agnes Szavay and hard-hitting Russian Alisa Kleybanova.
The men are competing on grass in Newport in the United States, while the women have descended on claycourt events in Sweden and Hungary.
We’re not talking about the cream of the crop here, but there are some interesting players in contention at Newport.
The tournament is wide open after American top seed Mardy Fish withdrew to replace Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick in his country’s Davis Cup clash in Croatia.
Fish’s absence leaves veteran Frenchman Fabrice Santoro as the highest-ranked player left in the draw, but expect the likes of Americans Sam Querrey, Jesse Levine and Taylor Dent, German Philipp Petzschner and Canadian Frank Dancevic to provide stiff opposition.
Levine and Petzschner meet in round two after both enjoyed tough first-round victories and the winner of that match-up appears likely to reach the final.
The Swedish Open has reached the quarter-final stage, with the top two seeds, Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki and Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova, still alive.
The event is world No.9 Wozniacki’s to lose, but don’t rule out in-form Argentine Gisela Dulko, who plays Cibulkova in her quarter-final.
But Dulko would have to defy history to reach the semi-finals, considering she has lost all three of her clashes with Cibulkova.
Italian third seed Flavia Pennetta is also an outside chance.
The Grand Prix tournament in Budapest is there for the taking after a raft of upsets.
Top seed Patty Schnyder is still in contention, but her results can vary depending on how she wakes up in the morning.
Israeli star Shahar Peer – the former world No.15 – knocked out number-two seed Alize Cornet, from France, in the second round and now faces sixth-seeded Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko.
Other remaining seeds include hometown hero Agnes Szavay and hard-hitting Russian Alisa Kleybanova.
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Comment by Fremen
Tennis
The Grudging Geek
Progressively Worse
I just saw two really good matches today in the Davis Cup, and I'm totally writing an article about that.
I think after the Slams, the Davis Cup is the 5th (techincally 2nd) most important Tennis event. After that, the Olympics and then the Masters Series. I lost Davis Cup and high level team play in general.
Comment by Marc (Sports Righting)
It used to be a massive event, but many of the modern top players treat it indifferently and that effects its credibility.
I did catch the last set of the Marin Cilic-Mardy Fish epic and the right man won that match just judging on what I saw. But both players have some sort of claim to a match when it goes to a fifth set.
If all the best players embrace the Davis Cup again then - and only then - the competition can truly be regarded as the most important outside of the grand slams.
Comment by Fremen
Tennis
The Grudging Geek
Progressively Worse
I don't think it's Masters Cup Tournaments.
Davis Cup has the most appeal to people that don't watch Tennis, and I think that makes it more important to watch.
Plus, a lot of high level tennis goes on in there. I think if they gave it some points that translated to ATP rankings, we'd see everyone playing.
Comment by Marc (Sports Righting)
Sports Righting
I was almost going to write in my previous comment on this that few people outside the country really care who wins a Masters Series tournament. But they are the most important tournaments outside the grand slams for most players. They attract similar fields and both genders compete at the same time and at the same venue.
The Olympics is a joke for tennis. I rate that 'event' below your garden-variety tournaments. There is the added appeal of players representing their country, but, again, they often don't really care about it. That's why you see so many upsets at the Olympics.
The Davis Cup does have that added lustre that is lacking in a Masters Series event. There is no doubt about that. And many players, like Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick, regard Davis Cup extremely highly. But Roger Federer's and Mark Philippoussis' approach to Davis Cup sums up the majority of players. The Scud is obviously retired from the main tour now, but would pick and choose when he would play at his peak - similar, in a way, to Federer.
You only have to look at the Argentina-Czech Republic tie to see my point. Top-ranked Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro played, but was paired with world No.61 Juan Monaco in the singles. There are four Argentinians ranked higher than Monaco in the latest rankings (granted, David Nalbandian hasn't competed since May). And there are probably much better examples than that. I just picked Argentina from the weekend's round.
The grand slams are so far ahead of the rest that it's not funny. But, for quality of play, the Masters Series tournaments are the next best thing.
Comment by Fremen
Tennis
The Grudging Geek
Progressively Worse
If we're going to mention Argentina (which I'm sure isn't the best example of your point), Juan Monaco might not be ranked high, but I think that he's a great pick for the Argentinian team. If you watched his clay court match against Fernando Gonzalez (which I watched at 3AM one night, wide awake for the whole thing), you probably know what I mean when I say that he's moving up. The only other Argentinian they could've put on there was Acasuso, and I don't think the difference is that great.
I agree that Masters Series are more important to players, especially since they are like half a slam point-wise, which is not trivial at all. I just wish there could be some other compensation for the Davis Cup because in the past, it's been such a great tournament, and now, if it weren't for individual efforts, like the Bryan Bros, or Andy Roddick, who play every year, and support Davis Cup a lot.
I agree on the Olympics. I think they should make it worth a lot more points since it comes so much less often than any other tournament, and while Olympic tennis doesn't have great history, the Olympics themselves are full of history.
Comment by Marc (Sports Righting)
Sports Righting
We both wish Davis Cup commanded more respect among the modern players, but realise that's not set to change anytime soon.
I don't think changing the number of points on offer will change players' perspective on the Olympics. For most athletes, the Olympics is the pinnacle. For tennis players, the grand slams are the pinnacle. That won't change.
As for Juan Monaco, I agree. I actually rate him quite highly and he's obivously been a top-20 player as recently as last year. I admitted at the time that it was a stretch, but I was working with a small sample and obviously with countries that have progressed deep into the event. Those countries are more likely to have players who care about the Davis Cup.