Whose Streak Ends First?

Madrid Masters at La Caja Magica sets the stage.

On one end, we have World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who is yet to concede defeat on clay
since 2010, winning six titles along the way:

[1-0] Madrid (ongoing)
[5-0] Barcelona (2011)
[5-0] Monte Carlo (2011)
[7-0] Roland Garros (2010)
[5-0] Madrid (2010)
[5-0] Rome (2010)
[5-0] Monte Carlo (2010)

On the other end, we have World No. 2 Novak Djokovic, who is perfect thus far in
2011, winning all five tournaments he entered this year:

[2-0] Madrid (ongoing)
[3-0] Belgrade
[6-0] Miami
[6-0] Indian Wells
[7-0] Australian Open
[5-0] Dubai

Sunday's final between Rafa and Nole would be the ideal decider, but let's wait until
then and see if both men survive the quarters and semis.

Djokovic's Perfect Hardcourt Season: Closing in on No. 1

t all began in December of last year, when Novak Djokovic led Serbia to its first-ever Davis Cup championship by winning his two singles matches. He has not lost since, collecting four titles along the way, including his second major:

Dubai (5-0): Defeated Federer in the final
Australian Open (7-0): Defeated Murray in the final
Indian Wells (6-0): Defeated Nadal in the final
Miami (6-0): Defeated Nadal in the final

With 4,500 points to begin the season, World No. 2 Djokovic leads the race to the ATP World Tour Finals, and has been steadily closing in on World No. 1 Rafael Nadal. Only 3,170 points separate the two players.

Having had a perfect claycourt season last year where he went 22-0, Nadal now has the burden of defending 5,000 points. Djokovic didn't do as well on clay last year, and only has 945 points to defend. If Novak can steal a title or two from Rafa, we could be looking at a new No. 1 player sooner, rather than later.

Djokovic in Miami Masters Final, Now 23-0 in 2011

World No. 2 Novak Djokovic defeated newly installed American No. 1 Mardy Fish in the semifinals of the Miami Masters. He now awaits the winner of the Nadal-Federer semifinal and will be attempting to achieve the Indian Wells-Miami double, last achieved by Roger Federer in 2005 and 2006.

The "super Serb" extends his 2011 winning streak to 23-0. It is the best start to a season since Ivan Lendl was 28-0 in 1986.

Djokovic defeated both Federer (semifinal) and Nadal (final) en route to the Indian Wells title; now he just needs to beat one of them to claim the Miami Masters shield. King of the hardcourts, anyone?

Indian Wells Super Saturday Storylines

Grand Slam Winners Gallery
The men's Final Four consist of Grand Slam champions of the past 5 years. Since 2006, 21 majors have come and gone and no other man has made it into this exclusive club. Federer leads the pack with 10 majors in this period, followed by Nadal with 8. Djokovic has 2 majors while Del Potro has one.

Battle For No. 2
The semifinal match between Federer and Djokovic will determine who gets the No. 2 ranking. Djokovic has gotten the better of current No. 2 Federer in recent matches, and will be trying to maintain a winning streak dating back to last year's Davis Cup finals where he captained Serbia to victory.

Federer-Wawrinka In Doubles Final
The Olympic Gold medal winning duo of Federer and Wawrinka outduelled defending champs Nadal and Lopez last night and will be vying for their first title since the Olympics in Beijing 2008.

Indian Wells Update: Potential "Big 4" Semis

An interesting draw is shaping up at Indian Wells, where a potential "Big 4" semifinals might just happen. We're not talking about the men's singles draw, as we've seen that a few times before already. We're talking about the men's doubles draw! None of the "Big 4" doubles teams are actually seeded, so the odds that they were drawn in different quarters are incredibly low.

The Spanish duo of Nadal-Lopez, the defending Indian Wells doubles champs, have already booked a spot in the semis. It's up to the three other teams to make this fantasy draw a reality. It also helps that the top seeds have already been eliminated from the tournament.

[Top half]
A. Murray-J. Murray vs. A. Dolgopolov-X. Malisse
N. Djokovic-V. Troicki vs. R. Bopanna-A. Qureshi

[Bottom half]
R. Nadal-M. Lopez def. L. Dlouhy-P. Hanley
R. Federer-S. Wawrinka vs. M. Knowles-M. Mertinak

2011 Thus Far...

Is 2011 going to be much like last year wherein the Rafa-Roger duopoly claimed all the Grand Slam titles and occupied the top two ranking spots throughout much of 2010?

Well, it's only been a good two months and the new season is shaping up to be a little "different".

1. Djokovic Undefeated
The biggest surprise to date is Novak Djokovic's undefeated record in 2011, winning his second Grand Slam title in Melbourne and defending his title in Dubai. The world No. 3 defeated Roger Federer en route to the title on both tournaments. If this trend continues, Djokovic will soon be in the top two. In fact, Novak will be No. 2 if he beats Federer at Indian Wells (should they meet in a potential semifinal or final).

2. Soderling Piling Up Trophies
World No. 4 Robin Soderling has three titles to date, winning his latest trophy in Marseille. Barring an injury, he should be a serious threat in any tournament he enters.

3. Del Potro on the Comeback Trail
Juan Martin Del Potro finally won a tournament (in Del Ray Beach) after returning from the long injury layoff. The victory has brought him back into the Top 100, and if he continues his winning ways, he will be back in the Top 20 in no time. A repeat of his 2009 US Open triumph shouldn't be too far-fetched.

What's Coming:

1. Indian Wells-Miami Double
Who do you pick as a favorite to win this pair of Masters tournaments? Djokovic, if his recent form on the hard courts is any indication. But really, anyone from the Top 5 can easily win either shield.

2. Rafa's "Clay Slam" Title Defense
If Rafa is 100% going into the European clay season, he wouldn't have a very hard time defending his title haul from last year, as well as the 5,000 ranking points that go with them. But Djokovic should give him a run for his money.

Revisiting Tennis Fun's 2010 Men's Storylines

And so the end of the 2010 tennis season is upon us. Here is a look back at the storylines posted during the beginning of the season.


1. Roger Federer poised to break Sampras' Weeks at No. 1 Record
It didn't happen in 2010, but Federer got ever so close to doing it, falling short by a mere two weeks of breaking Sampras' record.


2. Roger-Rafa Rivalry Revisited
Just like in 2009, Nadal and Federer split their only two matches in 2010 (Nadal winning in Madrid and Federer winning in London). Unlike 2009 however, the top two players in men's tennis never met in a Grand Slam match. Surprising really, since Nadal won 3 majors this year and Federer won 1.


3. Djokovic Threat Looms
Novak did break up the Rafa-Roger duopoly by spending a few weeks at No.2, but a strong finish to the 2010 season saw Federer charge back up to No.2 and create a comfortable lead in terms of ranking points.


4. More Grandslam Breakthroughs?
There was no Del Potro act in 2010, because Del Potro himself got injured and didn't play most of the year. We did see a first-time Grand Slam finalist in Tomas Berdych (Wimbledon).