French Open

Mens Tournament

The biggest news of the tournament came in the form of world number 1, Rafael Nadal, whose unbeaten run at this Grand Slam Tournament coming to an end at 31 matches with an upset defeat to Robin Soderling in the fourth round.

Although there have been a number of speculations about the reasons for Nadal's loss, including the fact that Nadal may have been injured, in my view, Soderling was exploiting Nadal's weakness with his gameplan. Soderling's gameplan was similar to Novak Djokovic's gameplan in Madrid - to take the ball early and out shotmake Nadal. This worked at the French Open for Soderling as Nadal was hitting a bunch of short balls which gave Soderling an opportunity to step into the baseline and he went for his shots. This was evident due to the 61 winners and 59 unforced errors by Soderling. What is shocking about this result is the fact that the two men met a few weeks before in Rome on clay with Nadal taking that match 6-1 6-0.

Such a loss would have a great effect on the confidence of Nadal, and it will be interesting to see how he is able to come around this defeat.

Other top players did not have much success at the red clay in Paris either. Fourth seeded Novak Djokovic was ousted in straight sets in the third round by Philipp Kohlschreiber, while number three seeded Andy Murray lost to a firey Fernado Gonzalez in their quarter-final encounter.

As a result, Roger Federer became the sixth man in history to win all four Grand Slam singles titles when he produced an exceptional performance to defeat Swede Robin Soderling 6-1, 7-6(1), 6-4 in the final. Victory for Federer also saw him tie Pete Sampras’ all-time record of 14 major singles titles.

Federer's path to victory was not without hiccups, as he had to come back from two sets down to beat Tommy Haas 6-7(4) 5-7 6-4 6-0 6-2 in the 4th round, and Haas was actually 5 points away from winning that match.

Federer is now in a prime position to also regain his Wimbledon title and his win at the French will provide him with the confidence he has been lacking in the past year. What a difference a few months makes.

Women's Tournament

The two in-form player on clay, world number 1 Dinara Safina and No.7-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, met in the final of the French.

Since ascending to the world No. 1 ranking on April 20, Safina compiled a win-loss record of 20-1, with her only loss to Kuznetsova in the Stuttgart final. Since then, she went on a roll, winning 16 straight matches - the longest winning streak on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour this year, and including a revenge win over Kuznetsova in the final of Rome.

Kuznetsova has been impressive throughout the tournament, beating a trio of fellow seeds - Agnieszka Radwanska, Serena Williams and Samantha Stosor in 3 sets, each time dropping the middle set before coming back to win the third.

In the final, a No.7-seeded Kuznetsova was just sharper than No.1 seed Safina, who hit seven double faults and lost her serve six times. Safina seem to be too nervous, and cracked under the pressure of playing in another Grand Slam final. Kuznetsova was, in contrast, cool, calm and collected, and after a tight first set and tight start to the second set, she burned through four games in a row to complete a 64 62 title victory.

The issue for us to consider is whether Safina has the mental ability to win a major in the future.

Another point to note is the resurgence of Stosor, who made it all the way to the semi-finals and the emergence of up-and-coming player, Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia who also made it to the semi-finals.

Madrid Matters

Men's Tournament

ATP World Tour No. 2 Roger Federer ended his title drought in style with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over rival and reigning ATP World Tour Champion Rafael Nadal in the final of the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open. This ends Nadal's 33 match clay-court winning streak.

This win should give Federer the much needed confidence to regain his supremacy in tennis, but his win is marred by the fact that Nadal seem tired and possibly injured in the final, courtesy of his epic semi-final match when he saved three match points in a dramatic final-set tie-break to beat Novak Djokovic of Serbia 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(9) in four hours and three minutes. Djokovic's attacking style in the semi-final match may possibly be a successful formula against the clay-court king Nadal in the future.

Women's Tournament

Dinara Safina continued to prove herself as the best player in the world, winning her second straight Premier-level Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title at the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open with a 62 64 victory over the Top 10's newest member, Caroline Wozniacki.

Veterans, Patty Schnyder and Amélie Mauresmo, both unseeded, also made lots of noise in Madrid, coming into their own and winning through to the semifinals.

Monte Carlo Memories

Result

World Number 1 Rafael Nadal captured his fifth straight Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters title with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 victory over third seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia to extend his winning streak to 27 matches at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court tournament and become the first player to win an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament for five consecutive years.

Analysis

Rafael Nadal - The best player in the world by far, especially on clay. His ability to finish a tight match against Djokovic in the finals, and to come back in all his matches in the tournament from an early break, shows how tough he is in the mental department.

Roger Federer - A wildcard into the tournament due to a late entry, a newly-married Federer lost his QF match against his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka. It is worrying to see the once invincible Federer not able to win more points on his return of serve, and his lack of confidence is once again shown in his unforced forehand errors. These are the type of matches Federer must win to have any chance of regaining his dominance.

Novak Djokovic - A recent return to form from the Serb, reaching his first final in this event, and losing the match on a few key points, when he rushed the ball or went for too much.


Andy Murray - A good effort from the Scot, in reaching his first clay semi final, losing to eventual champion, Nadal.

Ivan Ljubicic - A wild card into the tournament, the former world number 3 regained some of his old form, by defeating current world number 5, Juan Martin del Porto, in the second round, before losing to Nadal in the QF.

Miami analysis

Men's tournament

Result

World number 4 Scot, Andy Murray, defeated world number 3 Serb, Novak Djokovic, 6-2, 7-5, to win his third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament and became the first British champion at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

Analysis

Here are some observations and analysis from the tournament.

Andy Murray

There should be no doubt in anyone's mind that he is currently the best player in the world (behind Nadal). The Scot is the first player this season to win three ATP World Tour titles. He also captured the Doha title (defeating Federer and Roddick on route) and the Rotterdam title, when he defeated World No. 1 Rafael Nadal. Two weeks ago he finished runner-up to Nadal in the final of ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells. The only disappointment this year is a fourth-round exit at the Australian Open where, as a pre-tournament favorite, he was defeated by Fernando Verdasco in five sets.

In the Miami final, Murray showed off his great repertoire of shots as well as great footwork in retreiving shots from all corners of the court. He was able to successful fight off a change in strategy by the Serb (who proceeded to rush to the net more often to keep points shorter) and came back from 1-4 down (as well as two set points down) in the second set to claim the title.

Rafael Nadal

He was clearly not playing at his best, but still, he only lost to a top 5 player (Del Potro) in a third set tie-breaker. This shows how tough mentally he is.

Roger Federer

With Nadal bowing out in the QFs, and with no tournament victories this season, it was a chance for Federer to reestablish himself by winning this major tournament. Instead, he lost in the SF against Djokovic, making plenty of unforced errors with his forehand, and letting out his steam by breaking a racquet in a process. He has only won one single match in his last 11 matches against Nadal, Djokovic and Murray, his sole win being over Djokovic when Djokovic retired half way through that match due to dizziness. Hard to see him reexerting his greatness again with these kinds of results.

Novak Djokovic

It was evident that he found it difficult to handle the heat, and this is an area that he must improve if he is to stay at the top. However, he showed his resilience by changing his game half way through the final by attacking the net to try to catch Murray off guard, with some success.

Juan Martin Del Potro

The QF win over Nadal is the Argentine's most significant win to date, and to be able to come from behind in the final set against one of the toughest player on tour is extremelyt impressive.

Women's tournament

Result

World number 1 Serena Williams, battling injury and erratic groundstrokes, was upset 6-3, 6-1 by 19-year-old Victoria Azarenka in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open.

Analysis

My observations and analysis of the women's tournament relate to one player only - the winner of the tournament, Azarenka.

Victoria Azarenka

As predicted in my previous blog entry, this is a girl you should be keeping your eye on now. Her rise to the top has been quick, and with solid groundstrokes, and courageous play, this significant victory may signal a changing of the guard in the women's game.

Indian Wells wrapup

Men's tournament

Result

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal disposed of Andy Murray 6-1, 6-2 despite the windy conditions, to recapture the BNP Paribas Open title, being the first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tennis tournament of the 2009 season, at Indian Wells.

Analysis

Here are some of observations and analysis on some players from the tournament.

Rafael Nadal - There should be no doubt in anyone's mind that Nadal is the best player on the tour at the moment. Not only was he able to handle the windy conditions in the final, he actually worked out a way to use the wind to his advantage against a determined Murray. His win over Nabandian, whom he has never beaten before, in the fourth round, and saving five match points in the match, showed his determination, will-power and self-belief, qualities that will make him a threat in any tournaments he enters.

Roger Federer - Apart from Nadal being his nemesis, let's now add Murray to the list. Andy Murray has beaten the great Federer four times in a roll since losing to Federer in the US Open final of last year. Federer's untimely unforced errors actually cost him the semi-final match, and such errors may stem from his mental fear of opponents like Nadal and Murray. The advent of his new baby does not really help his cause to regaining his dominance (see my earlier blog).

Novak Djokovic - Defending champion losing to Andy Roddick in the QFs. It is amazing to witness his fall from popularity over the past year, from being the joker and imitating other tennis players to the delight of fans, to a player who is now perceived by fans as lacking in sporsmanship and this is evident by his comments after his QF match:
“Overall it was a very bad day. There's not much to say. He played very solid. I mean, he didn't do anything special. It was all me making incredible amount of unforced errors. I just didn't have any momentum on the court. No feel for the ball, no movement. Just no solutions.”

Andy Murray - If he continues to play the way he has been in the past few months, he will no doubt rise to No. 2 in the world behind Nadal before the US Open this year.

Andy Roddick - A steady resurgence after losing the pounds during the off season. Have reached at least the SF of all 5 tournaments he played this year.

Women's event

Results

Russia's Vera Zvonareva defeated Ana Invanoic 7-6(5) 6-2 to win the BNP Paribas Open. She also won the doubles tournament.

Analysis

Here are some of observations and analysis from the tournament.

Williams sisters - Despite the WTA's tough talks of making four premier tournaments compulsory for Top 10 players, the Williams sisters continual snub of this mandatory event did not attract a suspension from the WTA. Instead, their penalty is to participate in some promotional activities down the road. You just wonder whether WTA is too scared to actually suspend top players for missing their premier events.

Top 6 players - Apart from the Williams sisters, none of the world's other top 6 female players (Safina, Jankovic, Dementieva and Zvonareva) have won a single grand slam title between them.

Victoria Azarenka - Although losing to Zvonareva in the SF, she has already having won two titles this year, making her one of the players to keep an eye out for in 2009.