FO 2017: NO FAVOURITES?

Is the FO 2017 favourite in the picture?

   French Open or Roland Garros, the second Grand Slam series tournament of the year, is approaching. Yet, it has so far been talked about by tennis people in terms of Sharapova receiving a wildcard into it or not, or in terms of Federer competing or not. With Serena Williams temporary resigning the tennis Olimp to enjoy her maternity leave, and Andy Murray not winning anything significant this year, these No.1 players are not considered to be candidates for winning the trophy. Naturally, all the top ten athletes of both male and female part of the draw have equal chances for success. The truth is that reaching the quarterfinals would already be success for them. Will this Grand Slam reveal the future GOAT of reestablish the reputation of well-known public's pets?

So, who are real candidates for capturing the clay trophy?

This year the betting agencies will have hard times settling the rates for the tennis matches victories. On the one hand, there is great Nadal, still the King of Clay, having made history by winning the 10th Barcelona trophy and the 10th Monte Carlo trophy this year alone! Then there is immortal Federer, suprising everyone with Australian Open, Miami and Indian Wells titles this year, proving that 35 is the new 25 for those who are talented. Still, they both are rather doubtful favourites. Partly because that would have been too obvious and not the way tennis works, partly because they both have done so much this year - put too much effort and got too much satisfaction to "stay hungry" for more, as Federer said. Though, we still have good chances of seeing one of the good old epic Nadal-Federer finals. 
Wawrinca, Del Potro, Raonic, Djokovic, Nishikori, and even Dimitrov are still among those closest to victory candidates  - always very close, sometimes the winners, sometimes lacking the final touch. They all have good chances under certain conditions, provided their part of the draw is not too tough or some NextGen underdog plays as if it's the last match of his life. There is also a solid, highly reputable, mostly Spanish "old school" -Ferrer, Verdasco, Almagro, Ramos-Vinolas, Bautista-Agut, Lopez, all showing stable good results - usually not good enough to win the title.
NextGen guys, in my humble opinion, have more chances to make sensatious news this year. Kyrgios, Thiem, Zverev, Edmund, Khachanov are to show their much anticipated advance this time. The question is - how tough can they stay under the two weeks' ultimate performance pressure?

All the "single" ladies...  

Who's gonna take over Serena's throne?

... also have good chances. As statistics shows, not only top ten female players are subject to success - the first 50 in the rankings can boast about the same chances. Kerber is not likely to retain her top ranking for too long with out-of-play Williams still dominating her. Having put all her strength and persistence into persuing her Grand Slam goal and moving up in the rankings, she's been displaying lack of character or expressiveness recently. She is closely followed by Pliskova, Halep, Cibulkova, Muguruza, Keys, and Konta, who are equally good but not extraordinary to be considered among undoubted favourites. In most cases their game is powerful and fast, but not inventive or unpredictable. Radwanska could have outwitted all of them for her chance, but her game is lacking power and speed instead. Sharapova is expected to contribute to the rivalry tension, but having had too little professional tour practice this year, she's not likely to stay determined and stable all the way down the final. 
As for the female NextGen, it is too vague to define and give the same credit as that of the male one. With Elena Vesnina dominating in Indian Wells Masters, Laura Siegemund winning Stuttgart, and Elina Svitolina capturing the Istanbul title, there is no clear or consistent tendency in female tennis as to who's the next winner. So, there is no end to the speculations as to whether the tennis world will welcome the next "break-through" (like Muguruza last year) or some runner-up from the top will come in possession of the long-desired title.  And who knows how long the triumph will last?   

MARIA ON DEFENSE

 

First round press-conference, Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Stuttgart 2017

Tennis world has been discussing and anticipating Maria Sharapova's return and its attending circumstances. Most top tennis players and analytics expressed their criticism of the wild cards she was given and the WTA's welcoming attitude towards her return. That's why her triumphant first match with Roberta Vinci was a serious trial for Maria wherein she had to prove that her performance was up to the mark without the usage of any banned substances, and her shape was good enough to bring her to the top of the rankings again. 
Having shown pretty good condition for someone out of professional tour for fifteen months, Sharapova won several subsequent matches and made her way well into the semi-finals, where she was unexpectedly defeated by Kristina Mladenovic, though showed persistence and character. This can be considered quite an achievement for someone under the same circumstances as Sharapova, though Maria's part of the draw didn't have any of the potential long-term threats for Maria like Serena Williams, Vika Azarenka, Anna Ivanovic or Angelique Kerber. Even inconvenient Agnieszka Radwanska was dismissed at the very beginning of the tournament. Female tennis, however, is often called unpredictable. Before the ban, while being in her best shape and leading in score, Maria was known for sudden twists in her game. The first after-match press-conference showed that it's not the title that everyone was expecting of her, it's Sharapova's comment of all the opinions on her comeback that everyone was eager to hear.
At the premier press-conference after her match with Vinci, Maria was even more composed and defensive than she was on court. She was evidently expecting all the unpleasant questions about her failing the doping test and her collegues being not supportive. She looked tense and often asked to repeat the questions that had to do with the sensitive topics for her. For example, when asked about the potential unwelcoming reception on the part of the audience, Maria spoke about her return in general. When asked about her collegues disapproving reaction to her wildcards, she spoke about getting a wildcard and her history with the tournament, and said the draw was tough with so many good players competing. To the direct question whether she considered the wildcards to be justified or sending the wrong message to the young generation, Maria said she still had to win matches to get the trophies and it sounded like wildcards weren't such a big deal, or that it was up to the tournament directors, not to her to make that kind of decisions. To many other provocative questions the journalists asked, Maria kept replying that it wasn't her job to have some opinion about the remarks of her fellow-players. Her job was to play tennis which she was doing. She pointed out she had no control over what other people were saying, and didn't agree to share her agent's opinion about the tennis girls who criticised her. She said building or destroying relations with her collegues was pointless as it wasn't going to influence her game. She avoided answering many of the questions directly, insisting that all she was concerned about was playing tennis and concentrating on her game. Every time she was asked a general question unrelated to the doping ban, she looked obviously relieved and answered easily and sincerely. Every time, and those times prevailed, she was asked a doping ban or wildcard return-related question, she had to compose herself and take some effort to return the question much in the same way she would do to return a tennis ball to her opponent on court. 
So, obviously, Sharapova survived both her first match and her first post-return press-conference with dignity, without making any scandalous claims or returning the unpleasant comments. It's only the outcome of the tournament that confirmed the reason of everybody's protest against Sharapova's wildcards. The winner, Laura Siegemund of Germany, got a wildcard as a home player. She was lucky to get it and use it to the full, though had a good chance not to. Instead, some other German player didn't get the wildcard Sharapova was given. Surely, Maria Sharapova looks full of dignity saying her job's only to play tennis and that's it. It's not her, it's the tournament directors who are after Maria offering wildcards. It's her agent who's entitled to his own opinion beyond her control. It's not doping, it's some misunderstanding with the health medication and WTA new directives. It's Maria on her defense - nothing personal, only tennis. 

TENNIS AND STYLE

While the early years of tennis fashion reflected general fashion tendencies of the beginning of the 20th century, and the later count of the Open Era was characterized by tennis outfits being neutrally sporty and comparatively comfortable, in the course of its development clothes style of top tennis stars became a part of their personality and career. 

Lea Pericoli (Wimbledon quarterfinalist in 1965, 1967, 1970)
1961, Wimbledon

Tennis girls always wanted to resemble princesses or, at least, ballerinas, which is no surprising - girls are such girls! Some of the players back in the 60s already understood that if performance was not so outstanding to bring them to the top, at least their looks could make the history.

Rod Laver ( Triple Crown winner),  1962 and Roy Emerson 

These all-white T-shirts and shorts might be little or no different from the present-day classic male Wimbledon garments with the only accent on trousers-like fit of the shorts and their length. Being still classic and gentlemanly in cut, the shorts are starting to get shorter in the 60s.

Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, 1980, Wimbledon

B. Borg and J. McEnroe had a lot to say both in tennis and in fashion. The former having given his name to a successful tennis gear line. But, honestly, these super-cropped shorts make you wonder how they managed to move and not to have some disastrous failures.

Bjorn Borg, 1976
In his famous Fila pinstripe

Andree Agassi in style, early 90s

Who said long hair could be of any problem  to men in tennis? Both B. Borg in 80s and A.Agassi in 90s had little problem with it, which proves  the fact that tennis speeds were somewhat slower at the time.

A. Agassi, 1990

Andre Agassi was not only a top performance athlete but the most extravagant male player of his time. His denim shorts with showing underpants and bright headbands combined with wild hairdos made his every appearance sensatious. His famous refusal to comply with Wimledon "all-whites" rule shows that tennis is not all sport but fashion too. Agassi didn't provoke any revolutionary changes in tennis outfit fashion but made people speak of Nike.

Martina Navratilova, 1970 &1978

Tennis apparel is not only all lycra. There is still some room for sailing club style. Martina Navratilova's pointed collars were never in her way while winning Grand Slam titles. Neither were her teeny tiny shorts. Mini at its best. Martina was long dedicated to wearing marina tennis dresses.

Maria Sharapova, 2008, Wimbledon

Tuxedo style tennis top and tailored shorts - Maria obviously wanted to introduce some office style into tennis. So that you could put a classic jacket on top and conduct a business meeting. The shorts are still the same Rod Laver's best season period.

Anne White in a jumpsuit, Wimbledon 1985

This one-piece literally looks hot. Maybe it was made from special "breathing" lycra, but still must have caused pains in sweating and having a toilet break. Anyway, nobody risked to repeat the look ever since. She made a sensation at the time, but couldn't deal with it herself and, when prompted by the umpire to wear something more suitable the next day, she obeyed and lost her match.

Rafael Nadal, Roland Garros 2005

The short shorts of the 70s were too revealing and Nadal probably wanted to get away from that fashion or simply followed the general capri trend of the early 2000s. Still his capri-look was criticized by the fashion critics and gave him hard times on the clay as the shorts were too long and too white. He also had the same pair in black color, but eventually his shorts started to get shorter.

Roger Federer, Wimbledon 2009

Being a long-time ambassador of such luxurious brands like Rolex and Moet for many years, in 2009 Roger decided to bring some posh style into tennis, choosing the most sophisticated Wimbledon tournament for that. Not surprisingly, conservative Brits were more puzzled than impressed by his multiple-piece suit: a military-style jacket on top of a gold-lame-accented waistcoat and a T-shirt with a golden Nike emblem. Long trousers and a tennis bag with golden sides finished the look.  

Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Wimbledon 2011

Bethanie Mattek-Sands became famous on professional court long before her real achievements in doubles caught up with it. Her non-conventional style and the choice of clothes have always attracted public attention and probably distracted the opponents, though didn't get her career moving in singles. Even with a strict Wimbledon all-white dress code, Bethanie found a way to get get around it. Well, maybe she's an artist, she sees tennis in this way! 

Serena Williams (US Open 2014) & Venus Williams (wearing outfit of her own design, French Open 2010), 

The most famous tennis sisters of all times never come unnoticed. For several years Venus has been making her appearances exclusively in the apparel of her own design, while Serena has a long-term contract with Nike that also ensures her looks are exclusive. During the open championship of France Venus caused a lot of fashion conversation by wearing an underwear-like dress with the shorts of  her skin color, which produced a weird impression when being revealed during the game. Though both sisters have long been demonstrating the tendency of breaking sports fashion limits by dictating their rules, sports brands can only benefit from that. 

Tomas Berdych, 2014

Tomas Berdych in his famous H&M outfit (his team dressed the same),
Australian Open 2015

Tomas Berdych is not only one of the most noticeable Check tennis players, famous for his tennis performance and dating models. He is the only player in the top part of the professional tour who has sponsoring contract with H&M brand. The brand is famous but not in tennis wear, for sure. It looks like the only tennis apparel they designed would be exclusively for Tomas and they are doing their best to make his stand out on court. That confirms the fact that there is always room for new brands at the sports fashion market as long as top players choose to promote them. At AO 2015 Tomas had his whole team dressed in the same striped T-shirt he was wearing, bringing the elements of football into tennis culture.

Nick Kirgios, Australian Open 2016

Famous more for his on-court behavior, not the outfit, Nick Kirgios sometimes draws public attention by his haircuts. While sleeveless T-shirt have been in and out of tennis fashion a couple of times, sports arm sleeves are becoming popular as a special feature of both male and female tennis apparel. Hardly anybody would play tennis wearing long sleeves, but if sleeves don't come together with the T-shirt as one piece - they even become a matter of comfort, helping the arms of the players cool down or get sun protection.

Tennis fashion is developing at a faster pace than that of many other sports, not only changing colors and lengths, but making tennis outfits both eye-catching and comfortable. Tennis players promote the fashion trends with the help of their performance and individuality, leaving hardly anyone even from non-tennis public indifferent. There is more to look forward to.

NEW TENNIS GADGETS

Sony Smart Tennis Sensor

Sony Smart Tennis Sensor

This device fits into the handle of the racket, the sensor system detects and processes a wide range of data, including ball speed, swing speed, shot count, ball impact shot, and shot types. The data is sent to a smartphone via Bluetooth, and can also be stored in the device itself for viewing later if no smartphone is available.

Pump'n'Bounce for Tennis Balls

This device is on its developing stage still, but the idea is of pumping air into tennis balls so as to extend their useful life and restore the bounce of old balls. As tennis balls start or lose their bounce the moment they are removed from their containers losing the air within their rubber core. Pump'n'Bounce consists of a hand-operated pump with a tennis ball canister so as to pressurize the container where the tennis balls are stores. 

Babolat Pop

Babolat Pop and App

This performance tracker collects and stores statistics of the player's performance, including forehands, backhands, smashes, volleys, serves, spin, racqet speed, shots, playtime, activity score, best rally and the rate of shots per minute. Like other sensors, it is connected to a smartphone and any tennis racket. Or,alternatively, The same company is offering Play Connected Tennis Rackets which came with a sensor installed into the handle and the smartphone application that records and monitors performance data. The app is synchronized with the racket via Bluetooth. There is also a community section that allows users chart their progress towards different skill levels and compare with each other.  

In/Out Al Calling System

In/Out personal line calling system

Another device that is not on sale yet is AI calling system for detecting the tennis ball in/out position.This single device is enough to monitor both sides of the court. The AI algorithms will then monitor the play action and keep track of the ball’s movements. There is an additional bonus in the form of statistics analysis. The gadget will track the ball speed, spin and location and broadcast in HD video format with the distance covered by players, depth positions, shot placement with zone percentage, calculated for both players. 

HIGH EXPECTATIONS:tennis stars that shot for the Moon

Starting a professional career in tennis after the age of 20 is considered to be too late. Most tennis stars become famous and achieve their greatest victories before that age. Later on they continue accumulating success and have more time to make a comeback in case of injuries or any other issues. Most frequently, however,  young stars make loud appearances at occasional tournaments and struggle to keep up to the public expectations later on, but fail. Is it because of the pressure the athletes are experiencing or  because of being overestimated? Are their famous victories a pure coincidence of time and draw? Here is the account of top five loud break-throughs of the last couple of years that ended up in a big question mark.

1. Eugenie Bouchard

Eugenie Bouchard (Canada)

She made a sensation in 2014 by her top performance, dedication and, her looks, of course. She instantly acquired an army of fans (Genie's Army) who loyally followed her to all her major appearances. No wonder big names in sports gear production used it the best they could and Bouchard was called "the most marketable athlete of 2015". Though  she did manage to finish that first successful season triumphantly landing among the top eight female athletes at the final annual competition and getting to No. 5 in world tennis rankings, she showed so little nerve that lost practically to everyone of the other seven strongest players in that tournament. Her two subsequent seasons, however, were noticeable by a lot of publicity , some scandal and little success. Having changed four coaches in two years, Genie seems to be desperately seeking to recover her game, losing her army of fans and gaining an army of haters increased. She insists on being as devoted to tennis as ever and explains her millennial Instagram posts by having interests typical of her age. She is only 22 and still has plenty of time and chance to regain her highest position but as seasons pass, chances are she will have to work her way up to the main draw of top events through qualification.

2. Sloane Stephens

Sloane Stephens (USA)

Having shown two near top-ten seasons in 2013 and 2015, Sloane was named "new Serena" and predicted triumphant and outstanding future tennis career. She made a loud rush into Australian Open SF, Wimbledon QF and 4th round of Rolland Garros and US Open in 2013. The year of 2014 marked some of the well-done matches for Stephens, but nothing as noticeable as 2013, 4th round at most. 2015 gave Sloane's fans some hopes for her returning success and was marked by winning a title at Washington D.C. and reaching QF in Miami. Stephens herself was quite confident of her success claiming the halt in her communication with Serena Williams was caused by her victory over Serena in Australian Open 2013 and envy, to some extent. She was ambitious enough to remark (ironically) that she would hung her own poster in her room instead of Serena's. Still all other achievements were far from most-desired Grand Slam's milestones and left Sloane at 30th line of the world rankings. Thereafter, due to different causes: injuries, high public pressure, whatnot-Stephens remained far from reaching Serena even at her initial stage at the same age, ending up with 157th place in the world. 

3. Heather Watson

Heather Watson (UK)

Currently occupying No. 110 in world WTA rankings, this girl is only 25, which means a lot of room to advance in her career. But tennis is a specific career which likes athletes to boast stable results and sustain the current spot or advance further by the age of 25. In 2012 H. Watson made her first top-50 season, won a title in Osaka and became the first Brit in 24 years to have won a WTA title. This glorious pattern was partially repeated in 2015 by winning a title in Hobart and advancing to QF at Hong Kong. These, however, look as some unstable outbursts of previous confidence and appear to be too weak to sustain the career path. She has, in the meantime, won a mixed doubles Wimbledon title in 2016. 2017 has so far been only marked by QF stage in Monterray and 1st or 2d round exit in several other tournaments. While being one of the top tennis players in the UK, Watson herself admits that her results "are all over the place" and it doesn't sound  like breaking the record again, at least in the nearest future.   

4. Bernard Tomic

Bernard Tomic (Australia)

Still young and full of promise, B. Tomic represents Australian tennis in its several dimensions. Just like his compatriot, N. Kirgios, he has been involved in several scandalous stories, the latest of which pertains to his refusal to represent his home country in Davis Cup with no good excuse. he was previously removed from a Davis Cup match in 2015 for making a disrespectful remark about Tennis Australia. Being one of the tops in Australia, Tomic is currently occupying No. 43 line in the ATP rankings and managed to advance as far as R16 in Grand Slams (Wimbledon) in the previous year. Noted for his powerful game and grass court achievements (the youngest player after Boris Becker to become Wimbledon quarter finalist at 19), he boasted his best season in 2015 finishing the year No.18 and winning his last title so far in Bogota. Tomic's early exit from Indian Well 2017 due to his loss to No.112 Bjorn Fratangelo doesn't seem to be unexpected at this point. Bernard is only turning 25 this year, so he may have lots of success ahead. Still, being a promising rising star at 19 and a success-recovering scandalous "not best Australian tennis player anymore" at 25 makes a difference.  

5. Ernests Gulbis

Ernests Gulbis (Latvia)

Edging a victory over Roger Federer always shades a lot of public light on the offender. Gulbis's advance to the SF, along with a powerful win over R. Federer at French Open in 2014, landed the athlete at No. 10 spot in rankings. That's why his continuous fall in the following years down to No. 175 he's occupying at the moment, leaves little hope for a 28-year-old Latvian tennis player. With his personal record of 6-0 in singles ATP finals and 2-0 in doubles and two titles in his best 2014 season, Ernests's career started to decline mainly after his right wrist injury in 2015. He had to withdraw from multiple tournaments since then. He tried to recover his best shape and stop the losing streak by hiring Larri Stefanki (Andy Roddick's former coach) to improve his forehand movement. But, unfortunately, had to withdraw from ATP Montpellier qualifying draw again this year. 

Current top tennis player Andy Murray reached this desired No.1 ranking only at the age of 29 in 2016, almost ten years after he first managed to crack top ten (2007), and almost the same period of time around and close to top five. Does it take so much time to reach the peak of tennis career and an early break through can only delay the result? Or shooting high at young age wears out an athlete too soon? Rafael Nadal was often criticized for his highly effort-consuming performance and predicted quite early retirement. With multiple health issues interfering with his career, he still manages to reach the final stage of Grand Slam tournaments at the age of 30 preserving his spot among the greatest athletes of the last decade. There are multiple similar examples. The conclusion would be rhetoric - "shoot for the Moon, even if you miss - you'll land among the stars", but not for long. To stay among the stars takes not only an outstanding coach, a perfect team and physique - but mostly, a talent, sweat, nerve, and spirit.    

Tennis Best Points of 2017 - Part 1 [HD]

AGE BECOMES HIM: is tennis about physique or experience?

Roger Federer, Miami Open 2017

Upsetting public stereotypes and finally meeting his fans' long-craved expectations, Rodger Federer becomes a triumphant winner of Australian Open 2017 at the age of 35. He then carries on his triumphant pace well into the title at Indian Wells tournament and Miami Open competition, two Masters in a row. Tennis critics say there is no stopping him, others argue-it's his final outburst on the verge of retirement. Maestro Federer is displaying his usual tranquility and self-confidence saying he's got no retirement plans for the nearest future. Is it just Roger or age is not dictating its rules to athletes anymore? 

                                             Some arguments against age limit

• Serena Williams conqueres her 23d Grand Slam title at Australian Open 2017, at the same age of 35. 
• Serena Williams achieves her top ranking position for the seventh time on January 30, 2017, at the age of 35.
• Venus Williams, Serena's sister, returns to top ten in WTA rankings, and goes as far as quarterfinals at Miami Open 2017, becoming the oldest female tennis player to defeat world No. 1.
• Martina Hingis makes her return to doubles after the announced retirement and keeps winning Grand Slam titles in doubles at the age of 36.
• The latest WTA and ATP rankings show at least 8 female players over 30 years of age and 20(!) male players of at least 33 years of age or older in top 100.

                                                               What's the secret?

Serena Williams, Australian Open 2017

Opinions may differ, but the tendency of professional tennis getting more mature is obvious. Former players and coaches agree that 30 becomes the new 20 nowadays. More and more players are finding their best tennis later in their careers. In most cases this is not even due to any major changes like switching to another coach or moving countries. The most reasonable answer to this puzzling question seems to be quite trivial - tennis requires wisdom and nerve, you can't become GOAT at the age of 18. Another reason might be a purely economic one - tennis players are making more and more money, especially by advertising contracts, so they can afford a much better health care and psychologic support from professionals than ever before. The psychic component, often underestimated before, has been much studied and is now recognized as a decisive one. Achieving one or a couple of triumphant moments, getting noticed and spoken about - quite possible at 18 or even younger. Still, securing your place on the top for a number of consecutive years (Roger and Serena have been doing that for more than a decade by now!) in the atmosphere of permanent rivalry, cannot be explained by good physical condition or lucky chance only. Nick Kirgios, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Borna Coric, Karen Khachanov and some others, all of them not older than 21, known as NextGen, are holding ranks in top 100, and making news in tennis. They are so popular that it even makes ATP tour launch a new tournament for players 21 and younger. Their time will come to substitute the famous Djokovic-Nadal-Marray-Federer cohort. Or, maybe, the NextGen will play alongside the mentioned tops for another decade?