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Miami courts too slow – Rusedski

By Greg Rusedski

All the talk at the Miami Masters Series was again about the top four and if Roger Federer would be able to continue his amazing run. Miami is a tough event to win immediately after Indian Wells due to its slower conditions, heavy humidity and at times; strong winds.

Federer was trying to win Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back for the third time in his career. Federer has been on an amazing run since losing in the semi-finals of the US Open. He has won 6 of his last 8 events and has amassed the most points of any player since mid-September of last year. Unfortunately for Roger, he lost to Andy Roddick in the third round when he ran out of gas with Roddick playing well. This will hurt Roger because he owns Roddick and had beaten him in 24 out of 26 matches up until this match.

Nadal looked great all week to get to the semi-finals but had to pull out against Murray with a re-occurring knee problem before the match started. This was such a shame because he was playing so well. Everyone in the tennis business has always had question marks over whether Nadal could hold together physically because of the way he plays and moves; it is not efficient and is extremely physical. I hope this is more of a precaution for Rafa than a serious injury.

Murray on the other hand has had everything go his way with a default in the third round against the dangerous Canadian Milo Raonic and then in the semi-finals against Rafa Nadal to be back in the Miami finals.

Novak Djokovic played great all week and beat surprise semi-finalist Juan Monaco to meet Andy Murray in the finals. Andy vs. Novak is always an interesting proposition. They grew up playing junior tennis together so they know one another inside and out, this always adds an extra dimension. Novak didn’t play his best nor did Andy, but Novak showed why he is world number one by winning 6-1 7-6. Novak does everything a little better than Andy and looks like he is going to continue to dominate men’s tennis. The match lasted over two hours for two sets because the balls and courts were too slow.

Federer makes it 19

By Greg Rusedski

The Indian Wells masters series is always a difficult event for the players. They have to get used to playing in the desert air as the ball travels a little quicker and further than you expect. Thus they have to move quicker, tighten their racquet strings, or put more top spin on the ball to bring it into court. That is why the top players like to arrive as early as possible.

Roger Federer came into the event in great form having won Rotterdam and Dubai. Rafael Nadal on the other hand hadn’t played a match in 40 days and it would be interesting to see if he was rusty. Novak Djokovic had been playing well all year, even though he lost in the semi-finals in Dubai to Andy Murray. Djokovic looks very confident, he is not as concerned about winning every event as he was last year. He is comfortable being world number 1 and looks more focused on winning majors. This year expect him to balance out his schedule more and play a little less tennis.

Murray went out again for the third straight year in his first match. He lost to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, the world number 23. Garcia-Lopez played great and Murray couldn’t do much about it. Murray thought he did not move as well as he would have liked but that is also in part adjusting to the conditions. I expect Murray to have a good run next week in Miami. Lendl is back in the camp to make sure Murray is going to be back on top form.

Nadal and Federer both looked sublime all week and set up a rematch of the Australian Open semi-finals, which Nadal won. Federer dominated Nadal 6-3 6-4. The conditions in Dubai and Indian Wells are perfect for Federer with the ball flying through the air that much quicker. I still believe that Rafa has the advantage against Federer in five set matches, even with Federer playing so well since that loss at the Australian Open.

Best Australian Open semis and final – Rusedski

By Greg Rusedski

Again, in the men’s draw it turned out to be all about the top four in the world. In the semi-finals it was Roger Federer versus Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic versus Andy Murray. Could Federer finally beat Nadal in a major again? The last time he beat Nadal at a major was 2007 in the Wimbledon final. Nadal leads Federer in their Grand Slam matches 7 wins to 2 losses.

Federer started like a house on fire to win the first set, but Nadal wasn’t worried. He knew he could not lose to Federer in a major because he knew that physically he would wear him down. When that happens Federer loses his concentration ever so fractionally and that is when Rafa pounces and turns the match in his favor. The strategy against Federer is simple for Nadal. Nadal’s left handed high heavy topspin forehand moves Federer all over the court and breaks down Federer’s backhand side. Physically, Federer cannot keep up with Nadal in a three out of five set match anymore. Federer has to beat Nadal in three sets, which is nearly impossible. Also on his serve Rafa can start the point on his terms because Federer cannot really attack his serve with the one-handed backhand.

Rafa won in 4 tight sets and this really hurt Roger because he felt that he was playing well enough to win and that Rafa had to have been a bit tired after his epic four hour win against Berdych in the previous round.

At the moment I do not think Roger will win another major because Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray are all five years younger and stronger which makes a huge difference physically in major play. I hope I am wrong because he is such a great champion.

Technology, Lendl and expectations at the Australian Open

By Greg Rusedski

The big Australian hope for the woman’s title Sam Stosur, the U.S. Open champion, went out in the first round which wasn’t a huge surprise. She said in all her press conferences before the event about how she wasn’t dealing with the pressure and home expectations. In my experience, even if a player is feeling that way they shouldn’t bring it up at a press conference as it could potentially give the opponent an extra belief. Sam will learn from this and hopefully get stronger for it.

On the men’s side, Australia’s big hope Bernard Tomic played well and is the real deal. He loves playing with the Australian pressure and expectation. Unfortunately for Tomic in the fourth round he came up against the great Roger Federer. It was another entertaining match from Tomic but Federer was just too good. Tomic is an exciting player to watch because of the variety in his game. He can hit any shot and mixes the pace of the ball all the time. He is a great thinker on the court and is a natural born winner. At only 19 years of age he should be in the top 10 very soon if he keeps working.

Federer has been sublime all week and there are no more worries about the back problem he suffered in Doha. His quarter-final match against Juan Martin Del Potro will be a repeat of the 2009 U.S. Open. It has all the makings for a classic match.

Former world number 1 Lleyton Hewitt, now world number 181, turned back the clock in the first week by making the second week at the Australian Open. His fighting spirit is as strong as ever, but after five surgeries in four years it will be nearly impossible for him to get back to the top. He should enjoy this magical moment at home. He set up a fourth round meeting with Novak Djokovic on Monday. Unfortunately for Hewitt, Djokovic had too much game and won reasonably comfortably. Djokovic has played great in the first week and is still my pick to win the title.

Watch out for Federer in 2012

By Greg Rusedski

There was a lot going on in the press at The ATP World Tour Finals before the event started. The press asked Roger Federer who was the favorite for the event. The press had implied that Andy Murray was the favorite because of the three tournaments he had won in Asia. Federer answered this question by saying that neither he nor Novak Djokovic had played in Asia so how could he be the favorite? Federer came into this event having won the last two tournaments of the year, this event on five different occasions and also as the defending champion. This set up the tournament in a great way because the only way to settle this discussion would be on the court.

The two groups were Group A; Djokovic, Murray, David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych and Group B; Federer, Rafael Nadal, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mardy Fish. Group B was the more interesting and stronger group.

Federer cruised through his group and won all three matches. Nadal looked in great shape but unfortunately had stomach problems and had to run off court at 2-0 up on Fish in the third set of his first round match to have a washroom break. He ended up winning the match, but looked drained after the match and did not recover to win another match in his group. Fish was a debutant at only 29 and did not win a match, but played well. On the other hand, Tsonga played great and beat Nadal and Fish to qualify for the semi-finals with Federer.

Murray limped out of the event after his match against Ferrer. He was up a break in both sets, but throughout the match you could see him pulling at his groin. He received treatment after the first set and was moving much better, but still decided that he could not continue with his groin strain. This allowed the alternate Janko Tipsarevic into the tournament which meant there would be two Serbian men in the end of season championships for the first time.

Rusedski makes his picks for the US Open

The men’s side of this year’s US Open is going to be very interesting.

Will Novak Djokovic’s shoulder hold up and can he win his third major of the year? Will Roger Federer win another major with one of the toughest sections of the draw? Can Rafael Nadal get his form back to defend the title? Will Andy Murray win his first major? And finally, who are the dark horses?

Djokovic’s first two rounds look comfortable, then his route gets interesting with a possible match up against Nikolay Davydenko in the third, Richard Gasquet in the fourth and Tomas Berdych in the quarters before he most likely meets Federer in the semi-finals, if Federer gets there! Berdych could be the danger man in the section if his shoulder recovers from Cincinnati.

Federer’s opening match should be comfortable, but from the second round onwards it will get tough. He will most likely play the big serving Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, then the dangerous Marin Cilic in the third, Victor Troicki in the fourth, and in the quarterfinals either Mardy Fish or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for a place in the semi-finals against Djokovic. Tsonga or Fish are definitely capable of upsetting Federer at the quarters-final stage.

Murray’s section looks very good. His first test will be Feliciano Lopez in the third, but I believe he will come through in four sets. Then he will likely play Stanislas Wawrinka in the fourth round who knocked him out last year. He won’t falter this year because of the experience and help of Darren Cahill and Sven Groenveld. He is having his best results in majors with their help. In the quarter-finals he could play Gilles Simon or Juan Martin Del Potro. Expect Murray to be in the semi-finals, with a great chance to get to the finals this year.

Nadal’s first two rounds look pretty comfortable, but he needs to get his confidence back, maintain depth of ground shots and serve better. Nadal is one of the greatest players who has shown in the past that he’s able to get his form back during an all-important major. From the third round it gets interesting. He will most likely play Ivan Ljubicic, then Jurgen Melzer or Mikhail Youzny in the fourth round, with David Ferrer in the quarter-finals. I’d say that Nadal will get to the semi-finals just because of his sheer desire.

Rusedski looks to Cincinnati for US Open form

The Cincinnati Masters became a very important event before the US Open because a lot of the big names lost early in Montreal and needed to get match play before the Open started.

How would Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray perform? Could Novak Djokovic continue his amazing run of only one match lost all season, having just won Montreal a week earlier?

From an American point of view, Mardy Fish was having the best results of his career having won in Atlanta and made the finals of LA and Montreal. It is always important for tennis and the tennis industry, to have an American doing well in his own country. Andy Roddick, the stalwart of U.S. tennis for the last decade had been struggling so it was important Fish played well.

Nadal and Federer both got to the quarter-finals were they both lost. Nadal lost to Mardy Fish who he had never lost to before. Nadal is struggling with his game. At the moment he needs to start serving better like he did last year when he won the US Open. He also needs better depth on his ground shots and to get back that confidence which he has lost slightly, if he is going to defend his title.

“This year’s French Open the best in years” – Rusedski

This year’s French Open was the best in years. Part of the reason was the new, quicker tennis balls which allowed players to play more aggressively. The women’s event was wide open. There were about 8 possible winners on the women’s side, while on the men’s side it was all about Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Everybody thought they would be in the finals, but don’t write off Roger Federer just yet.

From a British perspective it was all about Andy Murray and he had a dream draw to the semi-finals. He didn’t make it easy by hurting his ankle in the 3rd round but came through to the semi-finals against Nadal.

From the beginning Nadal struggled with his first match going to 5 sets against the big serving American John Isner. It was his first ever 5 set match at the French Open. Despite struggling the first week he was winning, which is the sign of a great champion. He talked openly about not playing well enough to win the title with his form from the first week, but said by the quarter finals onward he could be back to his best (which he was).

Federer on the other hand was in sublime form from round one and was on a crash course to meet Djokovic in the semi-finals. Djokovic was continuing his unreal winning streak and was playing great to set up that match. Unfortunately he got a walkover to the semi-finals which meant he had 5 days off before playing Federer. Also he could not tie John McEnroe’s record of 42 wins to start a season because of the walkover he was still on 41 wins. I believe the walkover hurt his momentum and gave Federer a real chance to end his superhuman run. In the end Federer ended the streak and continued to look like the dominant force he once was. Also Djokovic missed out on being the new world number 1, because if he made the finals he would have reached his dream.

Rusedski reflects on Federer’s form and the Australian Open

I always enjoy the Australian Open because the matches never fail to be interesting and we never quite know the form of the players due to the few preparation tournaments. Going into the event there was a big question mark over how Rafael Nadal was feeling after having a virus in the first week of the year in Doha. Could he make history and hold all four slams at the same time? The only men to do so in the history of tennis are Don Budge and Rod Laver.

The best five men going into the tournament were all playing really well. Roger Federer was going in to the tournament having won Doha. New world number 4, Robin Soderling won Brisbane, while Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray both went undefeated at the Hopman Cup.

Murray’s form was majestic in the first week and he won his opening three matches easily. Djokovic was looking great as well and only dropped one set. He was very impressive as a result of the major improvement in his serve and forehand over the off season. Winning the Davis Cup for Serbia in December gave him that extra belief. Federer struggled against Gilles Simon in the 2nd round but won in five sets, to beat a man he had never beaten before. He then started to hit sensational form going into the 2nd week. He was actually my pick for the tournament. Nadal had an easy draw and easily got through the 1st week, but he wasn’t playing all that well. The virus had taken a lot out of him and he lost 2.5kg.

The 2nd week of a Grand Slam is when the real tournament begins. Murray would have his first test against world number 11 Jurgen Melzer and he played sensationally well, winning the match easily. Melzer’s coach Joachim Nystrom said he has never seen anybody play as well as Murray and that is a huge compliment from a former top 10 player himself. Federer, Nadal and Djokovic all cruised through, but world number 4 Robin Soderling, having reached his first 4th round at the Australian Open lost to the Ukrainian Dolgopolov, who is an awkward player, but one he should really have beaten.

The quarter-final line up was Nadal v David Ferrer, Murray v Alexandr Dolgopolov, Djokovic v Tomas Berdych and Federer v Stanislas Wawrinka. The first major upset was about to happen. Nadal lost to Ferrer but injured himself in the 2nd game of the match yet refused to give up and lost in three straight sets. It was an unbelievably brave effort from Nadal and he made no excuses for his loss; what a true champion.

Rusedski reflects on Cincinnati results

The Cincinnati Masters Series was the last big event before the US Open begins. It is closer to conditions in New York than those in Toronto, but slightly hotter than New York. The ball traveled even faster through the air because of the climate.

Andy Roddick was back in action after having complained about being lethargic in Washington. Having withdrawn from the Toronto tournament, Roddick was out of the Top 10. However, if he got to the semi-finals or better he would make his way back in the top 10. It is the first time since the rankings have started that an American has not been in the Top 10. There were quite a few interesting stories this week: Could Roger Federer defend his title? Would Nadal’s form improve from Toronto? Could Murray keep the aggressive play up and continue the role? Would there be any big shocks?

The first big match of the week was Roddick vs world No. 5 Robin Soderling – it was a great match and Roddick was back to his best – winning 7-6 in the third. He has worked hard over his career, but since getting together with Larry Stefanki, he’s really improved his game. Roddick has added a slice backhand for variety and started mixing serves and volleys and is now willing to come forward more. He has also gone back to the fighting weight he was when he was world No. 1. If you don’t keep improving, you only go one way in men’s tennis and that is backwards. At the start of the week Roddick was 25-1 to win the US Open, but after beating Soderling in the third round and then going on to easily defeat Novak Djokovic, his odds will be going down dramatically.

Federer on the other hand has had a relatively easy week. He had a bye in the opening round, followed by a retirement in the first set and then a walk over in the third round to play Nikolay Davydenko in the quarter finals. This was his first test of the week and he passed with flying colors. He won in straight sets and was starting to look like the old Roger Federer. It set up a semi final match with Marcos Baghdatis. Baghdatis caused the biggest upset of the week, beating world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the quarters.

Nadal has struggled all week and at the moment does not look like a threat to win the US Open. We can never count him out but I think it will be another semi-final this year for Rafa at the US Open, depending on his draw. He is struggling with the speed of the courts. Baghdatis though is starting to have a revival and has had a good hard court summer getting to the finals of Washington and now the semis of Cincinnati. He will be a dangerous player and no one will want to play him at the US Open.

Murray’s week was a little disappointing after Toronto.  He had a tough draw with Gulbis and Fish in his section.  On top of that, he was bound to be a bit tired from the previous week. He ended up losing to Fish in the quarters 7-6 in the third. It wasn’t the fact that he lost which was disappointing; it was the way he played all week. He went back to playing tentative and counter-punching rather than being aggressive like he was in Toronto against Nalbandian and Nadal where he played his best tennis. Against attacking players and hot conditions, if you give them time to dictate and dominate, you will make life more difficult for yourself and you will most likely end up second best.