Underdog moments on 2013 - Jack Socks Win over Garcia Lopez top the list

To change the topics from Murray and Djokovic I thought lets discuss the other facets of Tennis, the Underdogs, while everybody have their favorite players the fans get equally delighted if an underdog rise to an occasion to beat the player's top rival, like in the case of Haas beating Djoko , I forgot the tournament [I guess its Miami ] but remember the result that much fun it gave me.

Lemme go through the lists in my memory without any ranking order

1] 3 wins of Robredo in FO , specifically the one against Almagro
2]Gulbis win over Berdych [sorry to say Berdych is the only player I really hated to watch in the current ATP tour, be his style of play or his court behavior or anything related to his tennis talks].
3]Dimitrov win over Djokovic
4]Haas win over Djokovic
5]Jack Socks win over Garcia Lopez
6]Del Potro wins over Murray and Djokovic in Indian Wells [Sadly he couldn't do the triple with win over Rafa in the finals]
7]Darcis win over Rafa in Wimbledon 1st round
8]Sergy win over Federer in Wimbledon 2nd round

Jack Sock Win over an established clay court veteran and seeded player on FO was so remarkable and tops my list, Sock who is touted as the next Jim Courier borught his stunning Serve , returns and forehand to create a furore in the first round and headlined all of FO site for the first 3 days, sadly he couldn't continue his success any further as he went down to another veteran and former no.2 player in Tommy Haas.

Closely missed ones
1]Del Potro failing to cross the line against Djoko in Wim 2013 semi's
2]Verdasco failing to Murray after 2 set lead in the quarters
3]Stan the Man losing the match like 12-10 in the final set against Djoko
4]Del Potro failing to win the title against Rafa in Indian Wells finals after leadin by a set and break at 3-0 in the 2nd set.
5]Almagro failing to win against Ferrer after having 2 sets and a break up at 5-4 in the 3rd, squandered like million attempts to serve out the match in every set.
6]Gulbis's inspired play yet fell short to Rafa in Rome
7]Ferrer's two close attempts to Fetch a win over Rafa after winning the 1st set.

So the one that gave me most fun was the Robredo win over Almagro from 2 sets down, it also earned me a huge money as well as crucial points in the PG, on the other hand Jack Socks inspired st.set win over a seeded player Garcia Lopez in clay was fantastic for a youngster. On the disappointments Del Po's and Stan failing to convert a win out of a great performance was huge disappointment.

Del Potro marches on faces Cyborg World No.1 in the semis of WImbledon 2013

Juan Martin del Potro will play World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in his first Grand Slam semi-final since 2009 after defeating David Ferrer 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(5) in a terrific display of shot-making on Wednesday in the quarter-finals of The Championships at Wimbledon.

"Many things came to my mind after the match point," said del Potro. "It's my first semi-final here, another semi-final in a Grand Slam after a couple of years. I think I'm in the fight again with the top guys. That is my challenge for the future. And to be one of the four players left in this tournament, it means a lot for the future and for myself.


"I think I played my best tennis of the tournament. I'm so, so happy to be in the semi-finals. I played my best tennis. I hit really well my forehand and serve. At the end I played my best forehand ever in Wimbledon. I'm lucky the ball was in. It was a big performance from me. I'm so, so happy with my level at this moment. I beat one of the best players this season."

The Argentine is bidding to reach his second Grand Slam final, having defeated Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer back-to-back to win the 2009 US Open crown. He has a 3-8 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against the Serb, but those wins include victory in the bronze medal match on grass at the London 2012 Olympics and in March this year in the Indian Wells semi-finals, which was their last meeting.

"I will need to be 100 per cent or 110 per cent against him. He's the No. 1. He's a former champion here," said del Potro. "It's going to be a more difficult match for me like today. But if I'm okay, if I do everything good to be ready for my next match, I will be excited to play against him. I remember the match during the Olympics last year on the same surface. But this time the pressure is different. I will try to be ready and do my best."

"Of course del Potro has the chance to be in the final," said Ferrer. "He won one Grand Slam. He's a young player. I think he has everything to win another Grand Slam. He can do it."

Del Potro & Gonzalez out of Indian Wells

Del Potro's injury woes continue as he cites his old gammy right wrist as his reason for pulling out. Gonzalez has pulled out for a noble cause as he aims to stay in Chile to help out those affected in the Chilean earthquake.

Rafael Nadal has also announced today that he will be playing in Indian Wells after he spent the last few weeks practising.

Del Potro's pullout from this tournament means that victory for Nikolay Davydenko, who has no points to defend at all, will send DelPo to 6th in the Rankings. Gonzalez will almost certainly fall back to 12th as Tsonga has 45 points to defend and Gonzalez will drop 90, though Verdasco has 180 points to defend from reaching the quarters last year. Theoretically Youznhy could overtake him as well with a run to the final, but 13th is as low as Gonzalez could go.

Juan Martin Del Potro is a good clay court player

Time and again People completely forget one major thing, Juan Martin Del Potro is from Argentina, which breeds clay-courters, Even-though Del Potro prefers Hard courts due to his style of play, he is well used to clay courts more than Hardcourts,

Rafa without doubt is the favorite but to say he will 99 out of 100 times is really silly, he has lost to Soderling last FO, what's soderling - Nadal percentage now in FO ?

For your notice, Del Potro Rafa encounter in RG was a close affair in the first set at 7-5, that Del Potro was not even half good as the current version is.

So its not myth that Del Potro is good at clay as he is quite used to clay from his childhood days.

Del Boy will struggle on grass and Wimbledon without a doubt is much harder slam to achieve than RG , this is down to the simple fact of his movement in grass, do you see how many guys slip in grass, last year Wimbledon was just a prime example.

TO think Murray is bad on grass is absurd again, its just Roddick's game and experience proved crucial on winning last year's Semi against Murray, that doesn't make Murray a bad grass court player eventhough I won't name him as exceptional grass court player.

Nole in grass is mystery, he could end up like Safin or he might even conquer it many times,we have to wait and see.

Del Potro to dominate the slams in 2010?

Let's excuse his form post US Open. I think that's understandable. He achieved his immediate goal - to win a slam. I think he was bound to drop off a bit after that.

Into the New Year, refreshed, I think Potty can show again the form which briefly allowed him to dominate every player on the Tour.

He has the power. He has the technique. I think he has a fantastic all court game. Unlike every other player, I don't see a weakness. But I surely do see some scary weapons - in particular that serve (which will only get better) and the forehand. His physique, which might have been slighlty suspect, seems to be rapidly improving. And his mental strength, which again some might have questioned, was surely shown to be up there with the best of them at the US Open.

He will come into the 2010 season brimming with confidence and a game to threaten them all. I can see him winning 2 slams this year. Could be any of them, although Wimbledon may be out of reach.

Year of the Potty?
credit -Sealpuppy - bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A61067919
WWE Smackdown ECW and Superstars result this week

Can Del Potro Be No.1 as early as FO 2010?

Looking at his current Ranking points at 5,985 he could add another 1300 if he wins the title today, that means 7285 RP by the end of this year. He earned 360 Ranking Points for reaching QF on AO this year, so if he takes effort to win AO 2010 ,he could end up something around 8925, which will still be short of Fed's 9350 [even if Fed lose by 1st round].

So yea DP cant become No.1 by the end of AO, but can he achieve that feat by the end of FO? where Fed is defending 2000 Pts compared to Del Potro's 720.

Interesting things ahead, nobody spoke about him till the USO win that he could be the no.1 by the year 2010, but now there you go its well within reach of DP.

But saying all that DP have to win today's match first and then AO, which is no easy task, but I guess and hope DP will do it.

Tennis World Tour Finals live stream Davydenko vs. Del Potro

Argentine Juan Martin del Potro fought back from a 2-4 deficit in the third set to edge Robin Soderling 6-7(1), 6-3, 7-6(3) and reach the final of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Saturday evening at The O2.

The 21-year-old del Potro, who failed to advance past the round-robin stage on his debut at the season finale in Shanghai last year, is the first Argentine to reach the title match since David Nalbandian lifted the trophy in 2005 – recovering from a two-set deficit to edge Roger Federer.


"It was a very, very tough match," said del Potro. "It was so close. We played unbelievable points.  We served well. The difference was just a couple of points in the tie-break in the third set."

“I think it's pretty obvious losing 7-6 in the third [set] in the semi-finals here, it's pretty disappointing,” said Soderling. “It was a very tough match. Maybe I could have played a little bit better in the important moments and taken advantage of my chances. But overall, not much I could do. I don't think I did anything wrong at the end of the match; he just played a little bit better than me.”


In the final, del Potro will face Russian Nikolay Davydenko, who earlier overturned a 0-12 record against Federer to reach the final for the second year in a row. Davydenko takes a 2-1 career lead into the clash, winning the pair’s most recent encounter in straight sets in the round-robin stage at last year’s season climax.

Del Potro: Future Number One. But how soon?

With his recent win over Fed proving that his US Open Final victory over the same opponent was no fluke, Del Potro has put the writing on the wall. This guy is headed to the top. With a bullet.
He's like some kind of hybrid creation. A Karlovic like serve with powerful groundies like Gonzalez and courtspeed to rival Nadal at his best. This is a rare combination and seems impossible to stop. Even for the master Federer who seems to get brutalized by the power of Del Potro's game. Watching them play you almost feel sorry for Federer who seems like a helpless bystander in the wake of Del Potro's huge game. The Argentine's only recent losses before the ATP finals had been to lowly opponents which hinted at a possible dip in motivation.


Mentally he is superior to anyone in the top ten with the possible exception of Nadal. (Who could forget the way he came from a double break down in the 3rd set to down Nadal earlier in the year?)
A fit and firing Del Potro which we are now seeing at last at the Masters Finals could be a bit like Pamela: more than a handful for any man.

Yes, the writing's on the wall: you are looking at the next world number one. The only question is how soon?

Del Potro sets three-year plan to conquer grass

The new US Open Champion Juan Martin Del Potro has shown his determination to succeed on grass by committing to play at the AEGON Championships at the Queen’s Club in London for the next three years.

Del Potro, who stands 6’7” tall, will attempt to follow in the footsteps of John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker, Pete Sampras, Lleyton Hewitt and Rafael Nadal, who have all completed the grass-court double - winning titles at The Queen’s Club and at Wimbledon in the same year.

"I am very happy that I will play at the AEGON Championships at the Queen's Club,” said Del Potro.

“I am determined to do well on grass in my career and this is the perfect opportunity for me to improve my game on the surface. The AEGON Championships is a big tournament, and many players have done well at Queen's in the past and then gone on to win at Wimbledon.  I hope that this can happen for me also."

Tournament Director Chris Kermode was delighted to have secured Del Potro’s commitment to the tournament until 2012.

He said: “This is fantastic news for the AEGON Championships and British tennis fans. Juan Martin is one of the best and most exciting young tennis players in the world. He creates a buzz just by walking out on the court and he has an explosive game to match.”

Best Grand Slam Final of 2009

This year has been a superb year for grand slam finals in the men´s singles.

The four finals were.
Oz: Nadal beat Federer 3-2.
FO: Federer beat Soderling 3-0.
Wimbledon: Federer beat Roddick 3-2.
USO: Del Potro beat Federer 3-2.

In terms of excitement of the actual match, FO wasn´t up there, but in terms of the history being made (Federer winning all four slams and equalling Sampras´s record) it was in a class of its own.
I would suggest we vote for the ´best´ primarily on match quality and excitement, while also taking into account the sense of occassion and atmosphere, however really it´s up to you.

So the idea is you just choose one as your favourite and I´ll come along later on when the voting dies down and add them up.

Let voting commence.
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I find it hard to understand how come AO finals was better than US Open, in AO both players didnt play to their potential and in contrast DP came from no where with amazing play on 4th set and win the 5th hands down to win the title.

The 4th set of USO was the best set of any finals, it had the shots which no other finals had [some amazing groundstrokes from DP, yet Fed found some way to break DP to take it to tie breaker], before the 4th set tiebreaker Fed was 1 point short of match point at 0-30 in DP's server, yet DP played like a GOAT and won the Game , then set and then Match.

USO - 5 Stars
Wimby -3 stars
AO - 2 stars
FO -1 star

FO wasnt bad, but Sod was just no match to Fed, if Sod would have beaten Fed from that no where position it could be up top with USO.

Last but not least people talk about Nadal's epic semi against Nando in AO, but the gap btw semis and finals was 48 hours and not less than 24 hours in case of USO, so for DP to beat Nadal and Federer in less than 48 hours was breath taking and the best performance of the year.

You cant beat The GOAT and GOAT killer in 2 successive days of a GS,if somebody does that he deserves the moment of the year.

2010 slam winners: sentimental & realistic

Looking ahead to next year who would be the sentimental choice to win each slam and who would be the 'realistic' choice? Bearing in mind that now Fed has beaten Sampras and won French Open he's less of a 'sentimental choice' than before (though still may be for some!).

Australian Open: Men - sentimental choice - a 1st time slam winner, lets go for Andy Murray - otherwise, a talented older player like Nalbandian (who'll be back by then) or Gonzalez. Realistic choice - Nadal has a good chance of defending. Del Potro probably as a narrow favourite, Djokovic, Federer and Murray all in with a shout.
Women: Dementieva as sentimental choice, with her game she ought to have won a slam by now, especially on hardcourts. Realistic choice - Serena, Sharapova, Kuznetsova or one of the Belgian 'de-retired' players

French Open - Sentimental choice men - now Roger's won it, lets go for a Frenchman. Out of the French, Monfils looks the best equipped to win the home slam. He loves performing in front of a partisan home crowd, he'd be a massive hero if he pulled it off. Realistic choice - A two horse race between Del Potro and Nadal.
Women, sentimental choice - Safina, I think she's at her best on clay and it would be good to see her conquer her slam demons. Sharapova, to complete her set of slams, and also possibly Serena as she's a bit of a clay underdog.
Realistic choice - Henin, if fit.

Wimbledon - Sentimental choice, for me, not Murray, but Roddick, who's in danger of going down in history as best grasscourt player never to have won Wimbledon. The crowd would be on his side having seen his valient efforts in this year's final. I'm not even particularly a Roddick fan but he'd be a worthy Wimbledon champion. Haas would be one for the purists. Realistic choice - Federer, possibly Nadal if fit. And Roddick is a pretty realistic choice too.
Women - sentimental choice - Henin, so she's won all 4 slams. Clijsters would be another sentimental choice, and out of the new players, Wozniacki would be popular. Realistic choice - Venus, Serena or (if fit) Sharapova. Henin does have a decent shout though.

US Open - sentimental choice, Nadal. Fed would be the first to congratulate him on what would be a great achievement of winning all slams. Realistic choice - Del Potro, Federer or Murray. Djokovic a possibility too - he has been v consistent at US Open.
Women - sentimental choice, Venus, she's not won a slam away from Wimbledon for a while. Otherwise, Dementieva if she's still slamless. Realistic choice - Serena, Henin, Sharapova (if fit), possibly Azarenka.

Davis Cup - Switzerland would be a sentimental choice, give Fed a Davis Cup victory. Argentina came agonisingly close last year and it'd be nice to see them win - they have a potentially tricky opening tie in Sweden though. Realistically, its difficult to see past Spain or Russia. Argentina may have an outside chance though.

Del Potro Bashed Bashed and Bashed

Till the week before USO started, most die hard fans of the respective heros kept bashing DP from all corners claiming the following things

1]He cannot beat a Top 4 player
2]He is too tall to win a slam
3]He cant wear sleeve less, he looks Ugly [as if only one player is allowed to wear sleeve less]
4]Del Potro is a chocker
5]Del Potro is a Federer worshiper
6]Del Potro is a Mug
7]Talentless clown
8]Just a ball basher
9]Doesnt have a weapon

Strangely after his USO win they have change their thoughts, and started to jump to DP bandwagon, while its good to have a bigger bandwagon, its pity that players are appreciated only when then win and not when the lose after a hard fought loss.

If you ask me DP played better on FO against Fed, only to tire out in the end to lose to the champion, but still some claimed him as a chocker. The same player till the fortnight before finals was branded as a chocker, isint that ridiculous?

To be frank a true tennis fan would have spot the talent on DP a long time back atleast by the start of this year.

Winning is not everything its the only thing. so respect the players rather than bashing them or calling them as chockers, a critic is fine but bashing not.

Last but not least I wont be surprised if Soderling is hailed as a hero next year by the same guys who called him chockerling till now.

Del Potro dismisses Nadal threat

In an astonishing interview, Del Potro dismissed the threat of Rafael Nadal - not even bothering to mention the Mallorcan when questioned about the challenges ahead.

"I'm starting out but my new dream is to be number one," said the Argentine. "Roger is still a cut above the rest and Andy Murray is having a great year. I'm trying to close the gap."

Yet more evidence that the Argentine has cracked Nadal’s game and feels he no longer even deserves consideration.

Thanks to Cilic

In all fairness I have to say thanks to Cilic for bringing Murray down in the USO [I am not a Murray basher], then why I am happy? simple answer if Murray would have made QF, DP then would have had to beat the world no.2,3,1 in a row to win the title, and I am not sure it ever happened in tennis history where a seeded player beat top3 in a row to win the title.

Not only Murray being Boogey Man to DP's game, it would have taken hell lot out of DP mentally as well as physically to win Murray ,Rafa and Federer in a row.

But those who didnt see Cilic vs. DP' QF match missed some superb tennis from cilic's racket. In the first 1 1/2 set Cilic made DP look like a mere ball boy, and I for once worried whether DP will get past him, thanks to Cilic again for doubting himself in the mid of 2nd set once DP's groundstrokes came into play.

Cilic certainly looked a better talent out of two in the first set with plenty of variety and matching groundstrokes, but he was no comparison to DP' mental strength and had to bow, so its time Cilic ,for you to work on this aspect, and who knows we might have two 6'6 towers at the top2 slot in the future.

ArGaintine Firey Form

Several Del Potro fans including me having been saying this all summer "Please do not count Del Boy out", but yet his bashers were so rude to him before Rafa match and called him a chocker and some of them even thought its an easy ride for Rafa, but guess what this guy has in him to beat any player when on song, and two matches in a row was just plain evidence of his potential.

Inspite of being Del Potro fan, I myself never expected him to win the title after the 3rd set, I for once thought Roger will pull it off with his experience, but the Gentle Giant never gave up and guess what started to hit Mad Angle Winners from all parts of court.

It Indeed made Fed panic of what to do, since he would have been well aware of what happend to Rafa on the previous match who is one of the best baseliner, these kinda indecisions on what to do than thinking what he did on 1st two sets costed the match,ofcourse not to forget the Fiery passing bullet ground strokes from the Gaint.

I started to feel sorry for Federer because nobody can handle those groundstrokes and DP's movement on 4th set was shocking good.

The Key moment came When Roger lost his cool when one of his Ace was turned down on 2nd set when DP complained that he was not ready, and that made Roger a bit angry and the downfall started which otherwise could have been a straight set win for Roger. Roger then made two double faults and Potty struck a wonderfull forehand down the line passing shot the get the break back, from there on Potty was a different monster.



To conclude this win just shows how difficult it is to win a slam and Roger deserve all his accolades for the 15 titles he have, but today is the birth of new Superstar who is fearless to say the least in handling big players on big matches.

Can Del Potro be an all time Great Tennis player?

I know it's too early to make such a statement but i found this article written by rob York and i want to hear the opinion of knowledgeable tennis fans, please not childish opinions.

"DELPO certainly appears to be an evolutionary leap in the sport; at three inches taller than Boris Becker and Pancho Gonzales, he’s the tallest major champion the sport has ever seen. Also, in a game rife with Big Forehands, his may be without peer on a day like Monday.

However, he lacks the complete game that we have seen among the GOAT candidates from Federer to Sampras to Laver. Those guys had careers that spanned decades and won majors in the double-digits because they were world-class in all areas, be it the groundstrokes, the serves, the movement, and the volleys. This gave them more options and gave their games a timeless quality

Del Potro isn’t phenomenal in all these departments; it’s just that the weapons he brought to the table in this event were bigger than what had been seen before him. Players who represent evolutionary leaps, hitting and/or serving harder and/or better than those who came before them can have highly distinguished careers: Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, and Andre Agassi are all good examples.

Those who lack dedication (like Marat Safin) or who see the game evolve past them (like Andy Roddick or Jim Courier) achieve less. The quality of del Potro’s career victories from here on really depends on how bad he wants it, and whether or not there’s another evolutionary leap while he’s active.

The second factor is unknowable; regarding the first, his career progression seems a lot closer to Connors than to Safin."

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Del Potro have tools to crack Rafa Code

I heard an interesting commentary during Cincy masters on how effective Rafa's serve is to right handers on most surfaces.

Rafa's Lefty spin with wide angle generates enormous bounce and angle that troubles right handers to a great extreme, yes he doesn't have a service that could produce ace after ace but its one of the most consistent first serve as well second serve in the circuit.

DP is tall enough to handle those high bounces Rafa could generate with his serve, this gives an edge for DP to handle Rafa's serve compared to the other top 5 players in ATP rankings.

In return DP's serve is good enough to keep on him on track even though not big enough like other tall guys lik Karlovic , Isner or Querry.

So DP is up on this issue

Then comes the rally

This will be an interesting contest, long rallies against Big Groundstrokes, so it could boil down to consistency from DP and form of Rafa to decide the winner.

Where Rafa could pound the Gentle giant is by Dropping short [Dropping short with Drop shot]time and again like Murray does.

One thing is clear if DP improves his consistency and beats one of the top3 in a slam he will take the confidence from it to become a bigger force in coming years.

I hope DP exhibits his fullest of talent come US open Semi against Rafa.

Go Del Potro Go