Roger Cup Defeats: A boon for Federer, Nadal and Murray?


This Article was first published on 10sballs.com as : 
http://www.10sballs.com/2011/08/13/roger-cup-defeats-a-boon-for-federer-nadal-and-murray/
Written by: ApekshaHA on 13th August 2011


What an eventful week it has been so far: The top 3 out of the top 4 crumbled to their opponents in the early rounds of Rogers Cup. Pretty disheartening for their fans! Already we can see people talking about the end of era for Federer & Nadal and how Murray does not deserve to be in Top 4. So I thought that lets look at the history once again and study the trend!

And guess what? It turns out that losing in Rogers Cup might turn out to be a boon for these players.  In the past 20 years, 70 % of the time a player who has won Rogers Cup has not been able to win US Open. It’s not that surprising? Is it? Because top players take a break after Wimbledon before starting their crusade for US Open. So it’s pretty natural that they are a bit rusted and have a hangover of their past performances in French Open/Wimbledon.

Here is a table for the top 4 and their performances in Rogers Cup in past 6 years:









Rogers Cup
Djokovic
Nadal
Federer
Murray
US Open Winner
2005
NA
Winner
NA
NA
Federer
2006
NA
3rd Round
Winner
SF
Federer
2007
Winner
SF
Finalist
2nd Round
Federer
2008
QF
Winner
2nd Round
SF
Federer
2009
QF
QF
QF
Winner
Juan Martin Del Potro
2010
SF
SF
Finalist
Winner
Rafael Nadal


Federer is the only anomaly (2006) in which he won both Rogers Cup and US Open. Although Djokovic will remain to be the top favorite to win US Open irrespective of results in Rogers Cup, my point here is that all is not lost for Federer, Nadal and Murray.

Andy Murray: It might be good for Murray to lose out in first round as he said last year - by the end of US Open, he ran out of energy and had no fuel left; probably the reason why he practiced so hard In Miami in 100 F temperatures.

Rafael Nadal: Losing early and getting to know your weakness is better than losing in US Open (Grand Slam). It’s clear now to everyone and Nadal himself that he needs to win the battle of minds if he has to win US Open. And it’s better that Nadal now knows that he has a serious problem at hand and can tackle it before the Grand Slam. He still has 2 weeks; if he would have lost in US Open, he would have had to wait for another year.

Roger Federer: A lot has been already said about the champion and he himself knows that he will have to pull his socks quickly otherwise time will run out! He lost the match but let’s face it, he had his chances to win like Nadal did. We were discussing this the other day and my friend told me:
‘Life’s battle doesn’t always go to stronger or faster men; but sooner or later the man who wins is the one who thinks he can’. So for him the mantra of success would be to think he can and continue his journey. Doesn't matter what others say, it's he who has to decide what he wants to do and achieve!








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Also:Will Roger Federer Bounce Back And The Myth of Age 30?




Will Roger Federer Bounce Back And The Myth of Age 30?

This Article was first published on 10sballs.com as : 
Written by: ApekshaHA on 10th August 2011

A friend of mine, who was getting married, told me an interesting fact recently:  for bachelors, marriage can be looked at in two ways, The end of journey or start of a new journey. As Federer enters the 30’s club, it’s the same case for him. For people, it might seem as end of an era when he lost in Wimbledon Quarter Finals; but for me, it’s the start of a new journey for him. Why? Read on to know the reason.


Life is a sinusoidal curve with ups and downs, highs and lows ready to take us into new paths in life. Historically, there was a time when people thought that  Bjorn Borg would go down in the history as the greatest ever. Then Pete Sampras emerged and dominated tennis during 1990′s. When he retired, many regarded him as the greatest. But he was surpassed by Federer in 8 years’ time. He not only surpassed Sampras in Grand Slam titles but is also considered by many as the one who changed the face of tennis with his charming personality. Just when Federer was thought of as invincible, Nadal came knocking on the door with a claim to the throne; and when Nadal was starting to establish his credibility on all type of courts, though too early to say, we might have another claim on the throne in future-Novak Djokovic. Who Knows?

The point here is that no one is invincible in his life. If there is a high in your life, you will also experience the opposite in your career. And that’s the fact of life. So the biggest question is will Federer be back in his career?

Yes. Every good player has a high and which is invariably followed by a low as he advances in his career. The difference between good and great is the ability to bounce back from this dirt. It’s not the age that matters, what matters is the person’s sheer will and determination to continue to move forward. Here are a few examples from history:



1) Rod Laver won 4 Grand Slams after the age of 30.

2) Pete Sampras (seeded 17th at that time) surprised everyone when he won his 14th Grand Slam at the age of 31.

3) Not to mention Ken Rosewall, arguably amongst the five greatest players of all time, won his last Grand Slam title at the age of 37 and after two years reached the Wimbledon Finals.

4) And there are so many others – Jimmy Connors who won US open at the age of 31, Andre Agassi who won Australian Open at the age of 32 etc.

If you look at the greats of the game, they had competition from the likes of John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, Jim Courier etc. during their time, but they managed to overcome all the odds successfully.

The simple rationale is – If you think you can, you will.

“I’ve won so much that you feel like if you put yourself in the right position and you do all the right things you’ll definitely get a shot of winning big tournaments.”
“My planning has always been long term. I’m looking forward to how much more I can achieve from this point on.” – Federer.

Here is a champion who has won more Grand Slams than anyone in history. He still believes in himself and knows that he can go that extra mile. For some, it might be the end of his journey but as I see it, it’s the start of a new chapter in his life. A chapter that he wants to write down in the history book as a successful one.   He has broken so many records; I won’t be surprised if he goes on to achieve the milestone of winning multiple Grand Slams after the age of 30.

So many greats of the tennis world have done it before, so can Federer!

For me there is no reason at all for Federer fans to panic or think that his era is over. The champion that he is, he will be back soon.


Also: Roger Federer & His Secret of Success?

Roger Federer- The Last Link To The 90's? 

Juan Martin Del Potro - Fall and Rise Of The Fighter? 



 

If you have any questions- You can mail me at apekshaha@gmail.com

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The Top 4 (Djokovic/Nadal/Federer/Murray), Del Potro And The Story Of Hard Court Statistics So Far: Part II


In the first part, we had looked at the overall 2011 game statistics for the top 4. So I thought, why not now look at the hard court statistics of the major contenders of US open and try to see where they stand before the start of Rogers Cup and American Hard Court Season?

And it turns out we have some interesting stats lined up for us:
2011
Career
Overall
Total Matches Played
Matches Won
% Win
Total Matches Played
Matches Won
%Win
Djokovic
49
48
98%
478
372
78%
Nadal
59
51
86%
632
523
83%
Federer
48
39
81%
965
782
81%
Murray
38
29
76%
399
296
74%
Del Potro
46
36
78%
259
177
68%
Hard Court
Djokovic
24
24
100%
285
225
79%
Nadal
23
19
83%
321
246
77%
Federer
27
23
85%
568
469
83%
Murray
12
8
67%
263
201
76%
Del Potro
28
21
75%
171
116
68%


Key Takeaways:

1) Novak Djokovic: He has improved dramatically this year in his game. His win % has shooted from 78 to 98 (48-1 record) which goes on to show why he is deservedly World No. 1.On Hard Court, he has won 24/24 matches this year! He seems to be the strongest contender for the US Open this year. Any doubts?

2) Rafael Nadal: If we look at his overall career win % and hard court win %, one can deduce easily that hard court is not his favorite surface ( 83% as compared to a low 77%). No wonder he has won US Open once in his career. But the good part is he has won 83% of his matches this year on hard court so there are signs of improvement. He needs to get over the mental barrier of playing against Djokovic and start believing in himself more.

3) Roger Federer: Roger Federer has been pretty much consistent in his overall and hard court performance. He is a better player on hard court as compared to Nadal with 83 % wins career wise and 85% this year. Plus the fact that he is the only player to beat Djokovic this year will further boost his confidence to go and win his first GS of the year.

4) Andy Murray and Del Potro: Here comes the most interesting part: Del Potro has been playing better than Andy Murray this year on Hard Court. Del Potro was 2009 US champion and the stats also clearly show  (75% against 67% of Murray) that he will be a bigger threat to the TOP 3 than Andy Murray in US Open. Not a good sign for Murray!(Plus he is down from 76% to 67 % wins in 2011)

People say that stats are not indicative of future performances, but I disagree as one can see where he/she stands and how much work they need to do in order to beat the best. Djokovic being a perfect example of how he has consistently improved in the last one year and his record also suggest the same!

(It’s a highly debatable topic and would love to know your viewpoint on this! So please leave your comments.)


If you have any questions- You can mail me at apekshaha@gmail.com
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Also:The Top 4 (Djokovic/Nadal/Federer/Murray) In Tennis And The Story Of Statistics So Far
Also: Steffi Graf,Serena Williams-A Lesson To Learn From The Champions!

Steffi Graf,Serena Williams-A Lesson To Learn From The Champions!


As I sit and go back down the memory lane, I remember 1998, when Steffi Graf did not play due to her knee injury.Media at that time had written her off as Martina Hingis was the new kid and champ in the town.People and Media in 1995 (after the unfortunate incident of the cynical fan stabbing Seles), had just shrugged off at Seles comeback. And fast forward to 2011, Serena Williams also had to go through the same when people hinted that her era was over after her defeat in Wimbledon.


It's a natural tendency of human beings to hail the current champions and just announce to the world the end of the old. It's very easy to criticize and find out faults in one's game especially after an injury layoff. Most of the players are not able to make a successful comeback but few does!

What we forget is that people who do succeed in their comeback have already shown their supreme dominance to the world once before. They have already proved to the world that they are one of the greatest if not the greatest of all. So in nutshell, they know the formula of success. So it wouldn't be impossible for players to return to the game as a champion.

What separates these champions from others is: 
  1. Strong determination to achieve their goals.

  2. Belief in themselves to achieve the impossible.

  3. For them, everything is possible. They have done it once, so why cant they do it twice?


I for once never had doubts when Steffi was playing 1999 FO that she will not win  nor do I have any doubt in my mind that Serena will not make a strong comeback. Infact in a year's time, she will be back to her strong old self. Stanford did prove that! Well its just the beginning  for her. Already the people who had said she was done are announcing her to be US open favorite.

What I want readers to take from this article is that even in your life, no matter what people tell you or  if  you think(since you just faced the biggest hurdle of your life), you can't rise, Take a deep breath, close your eyes and remember these great players. If they have been able to achieve the impossible, SO CAN YOU. Steffi tried, Serena is trying right now and if only you can have that faith in yourself, your name can be the next in the list along with the greats! 



If you have any questions- You can mail me at apekshaha@gmail.com
Follow ApekshaHA on Twitter for Latest Updates: http://twitter.com/#!/ApekshaHA
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