Exactly four years ago today, Rafa Nadal assumed the World No. 2 ranking. Since then, Nadal and World No. 1 Roger Federer have occupied the top two spots in men's tennis, exchanging places for 46 weeks when Nadal was No. 1.
At Wimbledon, Andy Murray came within two victories away from breaking this duopoly, while Novak Djokovic came even closer earlier this year, needing just one more win at Sydney to clinch the No. 2 spot.
Murray and Djokovic will have more chances in the coming months, but Federer and Nadal are poised to keep the status quo at least until the end of the year.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
"Big 4" Ranking Points Update
Since Wimbledon, we have not seen any of the "Big 4" in action, but the ranking points did change this week for #3 Andy Murray. His 0-pointer from last year's Indy tournament has been replaced by 250 points he earned by winning Queens.
Looking ahead to the North American hard court season, #2 Rafa Nadal has announced that he is back in practice and will aim to defend his Rogers Cup title in Montreal. Roger Federer just became a father (of twin girls) and has not announced whether he will skip Montreal, which starts in two weeks. Murray and #4 Novak Djokovic have Montreal as their next tournament as well.
Here is the updated ranking points breakdown:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=ttV7Vopq2h8aHG93VJpHLoQ&output=html
Looking ahead to the North American hard court season, #2 Rafa Nadal has announced that he is back in practice and will aim to defend his Rogers Cup title in Montreal. Roger Federer just became a father (of twin girls) and has not announced whether he will skip Montreal, which starts in two weeks. Murray and #4 Novak Djokovic have Montreal as their next tournament as well.
Here is the updated ranking points breakdown:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=ttV7Vopq2h8aHG93VJpHLoQ&output=html
Monday, July 20, 2009
North American Hard Court Season Underway
Today marks the start of the Olympus US Open Series, a string of tournaments leading up to and including the final Grand Slam of the year. This includes a couple of ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events: The Rogers Cup in Montreal and the Cincinnati Masters.
$1M in bonus prize money will be awarded to the first place finisher of the US Open Series if said player also wins the US Open.
Here is the complete schedule of tournaments:
$1M in bonus prize money will be awarded to the first place finisher of the US Open Series if said player also wins the US Open.
Here is the complete schedule of tournaments:
Monday, July 13, 2009
Of Lucky Losers And The Davis Cup Quarters
Top-seed American Mardy Fish withdrew from Newport last week to answer to Davis Cup duties for the United States, who had a quarterfinal tie against Croatia. Fast forward to today, and 32-time Davis Cup winner Team USA was eliminated by Croatia 3-2, as Fish lost his singles rubber while James Blake lost both his singles rubbers.
All is not lost for the US, however, as one lucky loser in American Rajeev Ram, a 25-year old pro then ranked 181st in the world, replaced Fish in the Newport draw. To the uninitiated, a lucky loser is a player who lost in the final qualifying round of a tournament, only to be entered into the tournament's main draw because of a late withdrawal. How lucky Ram turned out to be, as he beat fellow American Sam Querrey in the finals at Newport to win his first ATP World Tour singles title. The victory earned Rajeev 250 ranking points and allowed him to move up 73 spots to a career-high 108th in the world.
As for the rest of the Davis Cup World Group 2009 quarterfinal results, Israel shocked Russia 4-1, The Czech Republic bested Argentina 3-2, and Spain beat Germany 3-2. Israel will battle holders Spain while The Czech Republic squares off against Croatia in the semifinals scheduled in September.
All is not lost for the US, however, as one lucky loser in American Rajeev Ram, a 25-year old pro then ranked 181st in the world, replaced Fish in the Newport draw. To the uninitiated, a lucky loser is a player who lost in the final qualifying round of a tournament, only to be entered into the tournament's main draw because of a late withdrawal. How lucky Ram turned out to be, as he beat fellow American Sam Querrey in the finals at Newport to win his first ATP World Tour singles title. The victory earned Rajeev 250 ranking points and allowed him to move up 73 spots to a career-high 108th in the world.
As for the rest of the Davis Cup World Group 2009 quarterfinal results, Israel shocked Russia 4-1, The Czech Republic bested Argentina 3-2, and Spain beat Germany 3-2. Israel will battle holders Spain while The Czech Republic squares off against Croatia in the semifinals scheduled in September.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Federer Eyes Year-End No. 1
After reclaiming the No. 1 ranking with back-to-back Grand Slam titles at the French Open and Wimbledon, Roger Federer aims to finish the season at the top. You can't blame him - after all, Pete Sampras still owns a couple of records Roger might want to break: the most number of weeks at No. 1, and the most number of ATP World Tour Championships (a.k.a. Year-end No. 1)
Sampras spent a record 286 weeks at No. 1; Federer, currently fourth on the all-time list, is at 238 this week. It is safe to assume that he will keep his No. 1 ranking in the next four weeks. By then, he only needs 45 more weeks to break Pete's record. To put it in perspective, Rafael Nadal spent 46 weeks from the time he assumed the top ranking in August 18, 2008 until the time he slipped back to No. 2 this week.
Sampras was ATP World Tour Champion for a record 6 straight years; Federer will earn his 5th if he ends this year at No. 1, tying Jimmy Connors for second all-time. Can he do it? Rafael Nadal (and the rest of the "Big 4") will surely put up a fight. This should make for an exciting finish!
Here is the updated ranking points breakdown for the "Big 4":
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tPoi00asXtiDAw75YOaAl2A&output=html
Sampras spent a record 286 weeks at No. 1; Federer, currently fourth on the all-time list, is at 238 this week. It is safe to assume that he will keep his No. 1 ranking in the next four weeks. By then, he only needs 45 more weeks to break Pete's record. To put it in perspective, Rafael Nadal spent 46 weeks from the time he assumed the top ranking in August 18, 2008 until the time he slipped back to No. 2 this week.
Sampras was ATP World Tour Champion for a record 6 straight years; Federer will earn his 5th if he ends this year at No. 1, tying Jimmy Connors for second all-time. Can he do it? Rafael Nadal (and the rest of the "Big 4") will surely put up a fight. This should make for an exciting finish!
Here is the updated ranking points breakdown for the "Big 4":
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tPoi00asXtiDAw75YOaAl2A&output=html
Monday, July 6, 2009
Congratulations, Roger!
Records are like pie crusts; they are meant to be broken.
Aussie Roy Emerson's then-record 12 Grand Slam singles titles stood for 33 years until it was broken by Pete Sampras at Wimbledon 2000 for his 13th major. Sampras brought his tally up to 14 when he won his last Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2002.
Along came Roger Federer, who won his 15th major at Wimbledon 2009 and broke Pete's record which only lasted a mere 7 years. Federer also became the third man in almost 30 years to win the French Open-Wimbledon double, following Rafael Nadal's feat in 2008, and Bjorn Borg in '80. This helped Federer to regain the No. 1 ranking which he relinquished to Nadal last year.
How many more Grand Slam titles will Roger win before he hangs up his racket? And how long will his record stand? Now that he has 15 under his belt, 19 looks to be a good number to target. Why 19? It's the number of majors Federer's good friend Tiger Woods needs to achieve in order to break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 Grand Slam titles in professional golf. At the moment, Woods has 14. After outpacing Roger the last few years, it's his turn to keep up with his buddy!
Aussie Roy Emerson's then-record 12 Grand Slam singles titles stood for 33 years until it was broken by Pete Sampras at Wimbledon 2000 for his 13th major. Sampras brought his tally up to 14 when he won his last Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2002.
Along came Roger Federer, who won his 15th major at Wimbledon 2009 and broke Pete's record which only lasted a mere 7 years. Federer also became the third man in almost 30 years to win the French Open-Wimbledon double, following Rafael Nadal's feat in 2008, and Bjorn Borg in '80. This helped Federer to regain the No. 1 ranking which he relinquished to Nadal last year.
How many more Grand Slam titles will Roger win before he hangs up his racket? And how long will his record stand? Now that he has 15 under his belt, 19 looks to be a good number to target. Why 19? It's the number of majors Federer's good friend Tiger Woods needs to achieve in order to break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 Grand Slam titles in professional golf. At the moment, Woods has 14. After outpacing Roger the last few years, it's his turn to keep up with his buddy!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Federer Extends Grand Slam Semis Streak To 21
Five-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer extended his record Grand Slam semifinals streak to 21 after beating Ivo Karlovic in the quarterfinals at the All England Club. Federer is now only two wins away from simultaneously regaining the No. 1 ranking he lost to idle Rafael Nadal on Aug. 18, 2008 and more importantly, collecting his 15th major. First up for Federer is a semifinal match against German Tommy Haas. The other semifinal pits Britain's hope Andy Murray against American Andy Roddick.
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