General tennis news 2013-2014

[Moxie]

RE: General tennis news

^ Yeah, I do regular check ups on him. Thing is he's been trying for ages now but can play 10 mins on, 10 mins off still at best. I still hold out hope though especially seeing how good Stepanek is still at 35. He almost took Djokovic to a 5th set!

It sounds like it's actually better than that now:

http://www.si.com/tennis/2014/06/04/french-open-robin-soderling

With the time off, he'll probably get a few extra years. Even he mentions being inspired by Haas in the above article. I can't imagine there wouldn't be tournaments willing to give him a WC when he comes back, which will help the ranking, if he can get back to playing good tennis. I hope he can. (And I do mean that, Front. No one deserves the rotten shake he got.)

 

[Front242]

RE: General tennis news

Cheers Moxie. Yeah, I know a lot of Nadal fans wouldn't even mind seeing him back, though the reverse is true too. Clearly most people wouldn't expect much from him anyway if/when he does come back. But if he does come back he'll likely only do so when he feels able to be properly competitive so who knows, if he does make it back he might come back to a high level given time, and he has time still as he says with guys like Haas playing so well. Unfortunate to cite Haas now given his predicament...

But the way I see it now, Nadal is still obviously extremely good but yet losing more often than he used to, Federer is truly in his twilight years, Djokovic is consistently reaching the latter stages of tournaments but yet looks vulnerable out of nowhere in matches (some bizarre lapses again earlier against Simon), Murray isn't quite back to where he was, Ferrer is declining, Tsonga's career is in a major downward spiral (though he's done a lot better in Wimbledon so far than I thought and won easily today and hopefully will be fresh for the next round), Berdych is never gonna be a world class player at this stage and that leaves a major void that he must clearly see. We do have some promising younger players but certainly all beatable if he got back playing at a high level. Fingers crossed. He was good for the game and able to challenge them all while they were very much playing some of their best tennis. Seeing the level he displayed in back to back French Opens was highly impressive, defeating both our favourite players in emphatic fashion.

 

[huntingyou]

RE: General tennis news

Cheers Moxie. Yeah, I know a lot of Nadal fans wouldn't even mind seeing him back, though the reverse is true too. Cle

But the way I see it now, Nadal is still obviously extremely good but yet losing more often than he used to, Seeing the level he displayed in back to back French Opens was highly impressive, defeating both our favourite players in emphatic fashion.

:laydownlaughing:lolz::lolz:

 

[Front242]

RE: General tennis news

Glad you're so easily amused.

 

[huntingyou]

RE: General tennis news

Glad you're so easily amused.

and you are so easily consumed by one sportman you have never met

 

[Front242]

RE: General tennis news

Glad you're so easily amused.

and you are so easily consumed by one sportman you have never met

Did you see I wrote a narrative about a void in the top of the rankings starting with the current world number 1 or are you not able to comprehend why I wrote about not only Nadal but most of the top players?!

 

[Moxie]

RE: General tennis news

Cheers Moxie. Yeah, I know a lot of Nadal fans wouldn't even mind seeing him back, though the reverse is true too. Clearly most people wouldn't expect much from him anyway if/when he does come back. But if he does come back he'll likely only do so when he feels able to be properly competitive so who knows, if he does make it back he might come back to a high level given time, and he has time still as he says with guys like Haas playing so well. Unfortunate to cite Haas now given his predicament...

But the way I see it now, Nadal is still obviously extremely good but yet losing more often than he used to, Federer is truly in his twilight years, Djokovic is consistently reaching the latter stages of tournaments but yet looks vulnerable out of nowhere in matches (some bizarre lapses again earlier against Simon), Murray isn't quite back to where he was, Ferrer is declining, Tsonga's career is in a major downward spiral (though he's done a lot better in Wimbledon so far than I thought and won easily today and hopefully will be fresh for the next round), Berdych is never gonna be a world class player at this stage and that leaves a major void that he must clearly see. We do have some promising younger players but certainly all beatable if he got back playing at a high level. Fingers crossed. He was good for the game and able to challenge them all while they were very much playing some of their best tennis. Seeing the level he displayed in back to back French Opens was highly impressive, defeating both our favourite players in emphatic fashion.

Honestly, I can't imagine a Nadal fan holding a grudge at this point and not wanting to see Soderling come back. He's not really a threat to Rafa, specifically. But he had a big game, and if he can find it again, he may put himself in an interesting place in the conversation. As you say, the Big Four aren't invulnerable anymore, and most of the Young Guns haven't found their footing yet. It could be an interesting time to slip back into the conversation, if he can get his game back together. And no, Haas isn't the best comparison at the moment, and your citing of Stepanek probably better. We'll have to see how it goes, but I wish him the best for enjoying his tennis and bringing his game back to the table.

The thing I especially admire about Soderling is that he wasn't a one-upset wonder…he let the big upset of Nadal springboard him to real heights, and then he took down Roger, too. And both times, he made the final at RG, unlike so many that kill a giant, only to go down the next day. Soderling's the real deal, and at the end of the day, a loss to a guy like that is easier to take, because he backed it up. Know what I mean?

 

[Front242]

RE: General tennis news

Yup. He couldn't have backed it up better. He pushed Murray back to number #5 at the time when he got to number #4. That's how legitimate a threat he was to the top players. He also destroyed Berdych and Ferrer in Bastad 2011. He beat Berdych 6-1 6-0 there! And Berdych is no slouch on clay!

 

[Moxie]

RE: General tennis news

Yup. He couldn't have backed it up better. He pushed Murray back to number #5 at the time when he got to number #4. That's how legitimate a threat he was to the top players. He also destroyed Berdych and Ferrer in Bastad 2011. He beat Berdych 6-1 6-0 there! And Berdych is no slouch on clay!

If you think of it, we lost good years from two guys that could have been the best 4-6 players in Soderling and Del Potro. Either, and certainly both, might have pushed Ferrer and Berdych farther down in the rankings. Berdych is steadier, arguably, and Soderling more volatile, but I think the Swede had more game, when on. More flash. I know you don't like Ferrer, but I find Berdych dull as dishwater.

 

[Front242]

RE: General tennis news

I actually find Berdych pretty dull too though the match against Cilic had some great shots from both and that court was way faster than centre court. Agree about Del Potro. Unfortunate but he'll be back in a few months at least.

 

[Moxie]

RE: General tennis news

I actually find Berdych pretty dull too though the match against Cilic had some great shots from both and that court was way faster than centre court. Agree about Del Potro. Unfortunate but he'll be back in a few months at least.

Berdych-Cilic worked because they're at a pretty even level, but neither fascinates. Del Potro will be back in a few months, but the question again will be how long does it take him to regain his best level? And has he missed his window?

 

[Front242]

RE: General tennis news

Sincerely hope he hasn't. We need more guys able to consistently challenge the top players. Wrist injuries are very bad though for tennis players. Davydenko hasn't been the same since 2009/2010 since his wrist injury and actually poor Laura Robson has been very unfortunate needing wrist surgery at such a young age. Wish her well too.

 

[Moxie]

RE: General tennis news

Sincerely hope he hasn't. We need more guys able to consistently challenge the top players. Wrist injuries are very bad though for tennis players. Davydenko hasn't been the same since 2009/2010 since his wrist injury and actually poor Laura Robson has been very unfortunate needing wrist surgery at such a young age. Wish her well too.

I really hope he hasn't, too. At least this time it was the left, and also he knows better what he should do, based on past experience. Plus, he knows he can come back from it, since he has before, so that should give confidence. And I'm especially hoping the best for Robson, as well.

 

[TennisFanatic7]

RE: General tennis news

If Del Potro comes back and is fully fit without lasting problems from surgery he can definitely have his time again. I also agree that I could take or leave Ferrer and Berdych in the top 10, I'd certainly swap them out in favour of having Del Potro, Dimitrov, Raonic and Nishikori slotting in amongst Stan and the Big Four.

 

[brokenshoelace]

RE: General tennis news

I probably don't care whether Soderling comes back or not simply because he's not going to make an impact. If he would magically find the form that saw him become a top 10/top 5 player before his sickness, then by all means, the game could use him.

 

[Front242]

RE: General tennis news

I'm sure many said the same about Kim Clijsters and yet she won the US Open in 2009, 2010 and the AO in 2011 having made a comeback after 2 years absence and having a kid. Not too bad when you think about it. And naturally I'm being sarcastic. She had just one before that and retired with 4 in 2012. If he comes back he won't just come back to dwindle in limbo where he's a nobody and he'll be up against aging top players. Assuming his health returns to 100% and he regains his fitness he'd be a challenge to any of them imo as they're all declining.

 

[Backhand_DTL]

RE: General tennis news

Clijsters certainly exceeded the expectations most had when she announced to come back, but this is a flawed comparison, mostly because Clijsters was basically taking those two years off delibarately, so she wasn't nearly as limited in preparing herself for the return as Soderling seems to be because of his health situation. Further she was a better player on the women's side, than Soderling ever was on the men's side and kind of benefitted from a weak situation at the top of the game when she came back. In terms of consistent level of play in my opinion she didn't reach the level she had before her first retirement, where she mostly had to compete with both Williams sisters, Henin, Mauresmo, and at times also Davenport and Capriati at or close to their best. Also she was 26 in 2009 while Soderling would be at least 30 when he makes a comeback, so the circumstances would be very different and even at full health it is hard to imagine Soderling reaching the level of play and fitness he had between the World Team Cup 2009 and Bastad 2011.

 

[Front242]

RE: General tennis news

Clijsters certainly exceeded the expectations most had when she announced to come back, but this is a flawed comparison, mostly because Clijsters was basically taking those two years off delibarately, so she wasn't nearly as limited in preparing herself for the return as Soderling seems to be because of his health situation. Further she was a better player on the women's side, than Soderling ever was on the men's side and kind of benefitted from a weak situation at the top of the game when she came back. In terms of consistent level of play in my opinion she didn't reach the level she had before her first retirement, where she mostly had to compete with both Williams sisters, Henin, Mauresmo, and at times also Davenport and Capriati at or close to their best. Also she was 26 in 2009 while Soderling would be at least 30 when he makes a comeback, so the circumstances would be very different and even at full health it is hard to imagine Soderling reaching the level of play and fitness he had between the World Team Cup 2009 and Bastad 2011.

Well getting back to full fitness will sure as hell be tough but my point really is that the top guys fitness is declining and so are their games. So it's not quite the huge mountain it would've been hypothetically if he had to come back during all their primes.

 

[Backhand_DTL]

RE: General tennis news

Yes, it's certainly possible that the best level Soderling showed in his carreer could be enough to win a major at the moment or in the near future, but I think it's quite unlikely that he reaches that level again. I would consider him retiring without ever playing on the ATP-tour again much more probable than him getting back to the top of the game, should he return.

 

[Front242]

RE: General tennis news

^ Sadly same here. Depends how his gradual attempts to return to fitness go. So far not very well.