End of Season Review
There is literally next to nothing going on tennis news-wise, so I thought I would take the opportunity to bore you with some of my thoughts on the year that was in tennis. In all seriousness, I guarantee you will enjoy this post; and I don’t mean the kind of guarantee Anthony Smith provided when he told the world the Steelers would beat the Patriots this past weekend. No no, unlike him I promise to deliver. And word of warning, I also guarantee this could end up being somewhat longwinded. Sorry, read it in two parts if you have to.
- 2007 was not exactly a banner year for tennis – between the gambling and drug related news there was certainly plenty of negativity directed towards our beloved sport this year. I’ve shared my thoughts on all this before, and I’d rather have this post be more positive, so I’ll say one last thing about this stuff. I think there needs to be a gag order placed upon everyone involved, with the exception of officials. All this assumptions being made by people like John McEnroe, who last week said he is fearful the mafia is connected with the gambling issues, is not helping anything. Obviously I’m overdoing it a bit with a gag order, since I’m a pretty big believer in freedom of speech, but it’s just to drive home the point. Seriously, when such a respected and well known personality like McEnroe says that, what good is it actually doing? All it accomplishes is turning more people off with regards to tennis, and possibly putting a bulls-eye on Mac’s back. Let the officials handle it and see what they are able to come up with through their investigations, then comment if you like.
-Ok, I was in negative town, took a sharp right and now I’m back to positive things that happened this year. The Federer-Nadal rivalry was taken to new heights this year. Although Nadal won Roland Garros yet again, and Federer was able to defeat Nadal at Wimbledon for his 5th straight victory in London, things were not exactly a replica of 2006. First of all, before those two tournaments Federer was able to defeat Nadal on clay in Hamburg, something he had not done before. On the other hand, Nadal came as close as anyone to beating Federer at Wimbledon – where Federer had a relatively pedestrian time of beating Nadal in 2006, he was definitely pushed to the edge in 2008. Here’s to hoping 2008 will be even better between the two of them.
- Unfortunately for fans of the Federer-Nadal rivalry, the young Novak Djokovic could throw a major wrench into any plans the top two players have of playing in multiple finals again this year. 2007 was certainly a coming out party for the Serbian jokester. He won two Masters Series events, made the final of another, the final of the US Open, and the semis of Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Although about 1300 ranking points separate Djokovic from Nadal, do not be surprised if he closes that gap with a big start to 2008.
- While the Williams sisters provided some memorable moments this year (Serena winning Australia, Venus winning at Wimbledon), I think the biggest stories from the WTA circuit this year were Henin’s second half domination, and the rise of the Serbs. Besides losing, in surprising fashion to Bartoli in the Semis of Wimbledon, Justine Henin dominated the Women’s game starting at the French Open. She won ten total events this year, including two Grand Slams (French and US Opens), and became the first woman ever to reach the $5 million mark in yearly prize money.
The two Serbians, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic, both vaulted into the top 5 this year. But for me, it’s not that they are now in the top 5, it’s the way they did it. They both have such strong, positive personalities, and bring a ton of energy onto the court. Jankovic is incredibly humble and just appears to be having fun all the time. Ivanovic is refreshing because she is the first tennis beauty queen who seems to have put tennis ahead of anything else. Hopefully they will manage to stay on top in years to come.
- Despite not winning any Grand Slams, it was a banner year for males from the United States. Positive steps from young guns like Sam Querrey and Donald Young, along with surprises like John Isner, really helped fans believe that the future is not quite as bleak as once thought. Couple that with solid, certainly not spectular years, from Blake and Roddick, and 2008 for Americans could be very encouraging. On top of all that, of course, was the Davis Cup victory brought home by Blake, Roddick and the Bryan brothers. With those four guys together, there is no reason to think they can’t repeat as champions in 2008, unless of course they have to play a good team on clay.
Did I miss anything? Feel free to register and share your thoughts. Until next time, here are some links.
Some thoughts from Bodo.
Gimelstob gives a rundown of this month’s charity events.
Make some last minute plans to travel to the Australian Open, as it has its strongest field ever.
Team USA hopes to build on its Davis Cup momentum created in 2007.
This youtube video doesn’t quite do it for me like the famous one of David Ortiz’ game winning homer in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS, but it comes pretty close.
For all our readers that are into fashion, Nifer did some deep digging to come up with this story relating to Federer.