World Tennis Magazine

Unique Tennis Perspectives

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Nadal Still the Favorite to Reign at ATP Finale in London

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You could feel a lot more confident about Rafa Nadal’s chances to win next week’s World Tour Finals if his left shoulder was back in near-pristine condition.

And it might be. Who knows? Certainly, no one in the Nadal camp is going to give anyone a detailed report on his health, though Nadal himself will be tellling reporters this week in London that everything is go and that the tendonitis is under control.

It probably is. He’s given it a good long rest and no doubt been getting therapy for it three times a day. But what is unknown is whether it’s going to flare up again as the tournament drones on.

Rafael Nadal

Still, I like Nadal’s chances to win his eighth title of the year and put a plug on this — once again — too-long men’s tennis season, because he’s got the more advantageous round-robin draw and because he’s the best player in the world.

So I’m going with Nadal vs. Robin Soderling in the final.

It all starts Sunday with Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Tomas Berdych and Andy Roddick in one group and Roger Federer, Soderling, Andy Murray and David Ferrer in the other. They’ll each play each other once with the top two in each group coming out into the semifinals.

Don’t ask me to go through the tiebreaking procedures if we get three players at 2-1 and one at 0-3. You can go to atptennis.com and consume not only that but all the minutiae about this tournament if you care deeply.

What I will do is give you a player-by-player rundown.

* Nadal: 67-9 for the season with seven titles and 4-7 overall in World Tour Finals play. Best finish in this event was semifinals in 2006-07. He’ll be a bit rusty at the opening, but you could advance the argument that Berdych, who is in Nadal’s group, is the weakest player of the eight, and we’ll get to him in a moment. The court is indoor at the O2 Arena in London and the speed is medium fast, which is not a problem for Nadal, who, you may recall, has won two Wimbledons. Nadal will use the round robin phase to work himself into a higher level of playing fitness and rhythm.

* Djokovic: 57-16 for the season with two titles and 5-6 overall in WTF play. He won the event in 2008, but hasn’t done much otherwise at this tournament. A real ribbon road for him this year with strong play followed by less-than-top-10 quality tennis, followed by more strong play. Then, not a good week last week in Paris. He’s going to have a tough time getting out of the round robin because he’s lost his last four to Roddick. That, apparently, is not a good matchup for him.

* Berdych: 44-24 for the season with no titles and playing his first WTF. I’m questioning his mental strength since he reached the final at Wimbledon and looked like one of the flavors of the year. He’s 8-12 since — not nearly dominating as much on his serve.

* Roddick: 48-15 for the season with two titles and 8-8 overall at WTF. Semifinal finish in 2003-04 and 2007. He’s a staple at this tournament, so he’s going to have a high comfort level. A very difficult year because it started with such promise. But injuries and illness and have disjointed his season. Last two tournaments have seen him produce some strong play, but even with that recent history, he needs to step up another notch to get to the semis.

* Federer: 60-13 for the season with four titles and 29-7 in WTF play. Winner in 2003-04, 2006-07. In a slow, but discernible decline from his best days and he’s piling up blown match points in his losses — like four against Gael Monfils in the Paris semis last week. Still a top player, but not THAT top. And he’s in a rough round robin group.

* Soderling: 56-20 for the season with two titles and 2-2 at the WTF. The second half of the season was merely OK with a disappointing performance in a straight set loss to Federer at the U.S. Open quarters, but he caught a beautiful streak of play last week to win Paris, so he carries momentum into this event and he’s definitely a momentum player. Best finish is semis in 2009. When he’s serving like he did last week, also indoors, he becomes the No. 1 darkhorse to win this thing.

* Murray: 44-16 for the season with two titles, 5-2 in WTF play. Made the semis in 2008. I’m done trying to figure him out. He’s frequently capable of anything, from top-of-the-table performances to head-scratching losses. Has a good history at this tournament, though, including a stirring win over Federer here in 2008. Also has a win over Fed in the Shanghai final a few weeks ago.

* Ferrer: 60-21 for the season with two titles, 4-1 at the WTF with a runnerup finish in 2007. It seems as if few take the little Spaniard seriously, until he delivers a big win. And even then, it’s forgotten a week later. He’s not going to be a gimme at this tournament — not like Berdych.

Soderling plays Murray in the kickoff match Sunday, followed by Djokovic vs. Berdych. In the evening session, Federer vs. Ferrer, followed by Nadal vs. Roddick.

Caroline Wozniacki’s ’09 Doha Cramping Overlooked in run to the top

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Conspicuously absent from the wealth of copy written from the recent WTA Championships in Doha was Caroline Wozniacki’s brave performance in fighting off severe cramping to defeat Vera Zvonareva at the same tournament a year ago.

I bring it up now because we’re about to discuss how good Wozniacki can be and whether there is still upside to a 20-year-old No. 1 who looks more and more to me like Martina Hingis with a lot more punch.

I can still see the terrible grimace on Wozniacki’s face when the 2009 cramping occurred. She had just completed a point in the final game of a three-set match when her left leg began to twitch and she collapsed to the court, as if someone had slapped her feet out from under her.

She had to take a point penalty warning because it took so long for her to roll over and get to her feet. But she trooped on and, after Zvonareva choked away the game (Caro was serving at 5-4), Wozniacki was in tears, her mouth just a wide, horrifying gash, her legs so stiff she seemed to be going to the net on stilts for the handshake.

She was 19 then and that match was an early tipoff as to how mentally tough she is, and that is a factor in the judgment of professional tennis players that you must never undervalue.

Fast forward to this year’s WTA Championships, where she reached the final and lost in three sets to Kim Clijsters, though she will finish the year at No. 1 and probably carry that honor into the Australian Open in mid-January.

No reasonable person is going to anoint her the best player in women’s tennis right now, no matter what the rankings say, but that doesn’t mean she can’t ascend to the top of the mountain. She is only 20 and, yes, there is plenty of upside there. Her game already is very mature. It’s rare to see this kind of rally patience and extremely savvy shot selection in one so young. But there is even more she can do.

Where is her game right now? She’s a bit like an earlier Andy Murray, playing to force errors from her opponents rather than run up dozens of winners, and while that’s a great tactic if you’ve got the quickness and patience to grind the long points, it will take you only so far.

When you reach the final four of a big tournament (Grand Slam, Indian Wells, Key Biscayne, WTA Championships), you’ve got to add an element of risk, and already we’re seeing signs of that from Caro.

Typically, a three-set match for her produces something on the order of 15 winners and 13 unforced errors. She was at 31 and 30 in the Clijsters final, playing with more (but selected) aggressiveness without losing her basic long-rally style.

It’s not unlike the game Hingis visited upon women’s tennis in that void in the 1990s between Steffi Graf’s greatest moments and the rise of the Williams sisters. But Hingis never hit her serve, first or second, with as much gusto as does Wozniacki, and Hingis could only dream of having a return of serve as good as Wozniacki’s.

So, where can Caro get better? Of course you can always get better at everything you do on court, but the question is more a matter of what MUST she do better to establish some real dominance in women’s tennis.

* First serve: She averages a bit over 100 mph and gets a very high percentage in (well over 65 percent usually). Pump it up about five mph in order to start collecting free points. Make opponents fear not just her first ground stroke after the serve, but the serve itself.

* Volleying: Average and at times better than average, but never brilliant. When you hit ground strokes with as much accuracy as Wozniacki there’s no reason why you can’t get in behind it and end points earlier. It’s not just a matter of how she contacts the volley. It’s also a matter of the path she takes to net, where she sets up and her ability to read the passing shots. All that can get better. This is not a criticism. How many 20-year-olds are polished volleyers — men or women? But volleying became a major improvement in Hingis’ game as she got older and it can be for Caro as well.

* Picking her spots to play riskier ball: She did a good job against Clijsters in the final and if she continues to become more selectively aggressive she’ll more intuitively know when the time is right to shoot for the killer shot from the baseline.

* Finally, physical strength. She has an excellent frame at 5-foot-10 and she’s got the sturdy lower body that is so conducive to highest quality ground stroking. She can still get stronger and it’s a safe wager that she’ll be doing a lot of gym work this off-season. Maybe more than hitting.

In the Doha final last Sunday, she lost to Clijsters (now 0-2 lifetime vs. Kim) because Clijsters has the ability to hit anyone off the court with her power. There are two other players out there who have the consistency or potential consistency and the physical strength to beat Wozniacki in the same way — Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.

How Wozniacki does against those two players in 2011 will tell us how good she can be. With Williams, who knows when or if they’ll play again (Williams holds a 2-0 head-to-head) because of Serena’s frequent injuries.

As for Sharapova, she’s dropped to No. 17 in the rankings, but I’d like to believe that, despite a lack of progress in the Slams this season, she can still recapture her elite status. Cut Maria some slack. Yes, it’s a year and a half since she came back from shoulder surgery, but she spent a lot of months re-finding her serve, and a lot of her game flows out of her serve.

She’s engaged to be married and that could settle her life down a bit. She trains hard and she’s gifted, but she showed a noticeable lack of staying power in the long rallies in 2010. She’s only going to get that back through increased practices and, when she’s right, she has enough gusto to overpower Wozniacki’s win-by-attrition tactics.

One other factor is Justine Henin, who missed half of this year with injury. She doesn’t bring the power factor of Williams, Clijsters or Sharapova, but if she gets back to her pre-retirement level, she’s the one player out there who can out-grind Wozniacki.

All the more reason why Caro is going to have to produce more risk in the big matches. But she’s so young and, because of her age, she doesn’t have to be the faux No. 1 that some make her out to be.

She’s got all the ability, plus the heart and drive to overcome cramps. There’s no reason why she can’t collect a fistful of Slam titles and be a No. 1 that no one will question.

Assessing the State of American Women’s Tennis

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Another WTA Tour season is close to conclusion. While Serena Williams won two more major titles to keep a strong U.S. presence in the top 10, there isn’t much evidence to suggest that women’s tennis in this country is going to flourish in a post-Williams era.

There were only five U.S. women in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour top 100 when this season began and there are seven today, but when you examine the details it’s not that encouraging.

Young Melanie Oudin has not made progress and, while Vania King is into this week’s WTA Championships with doubles titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, it’s singles we’re interested in primarily.

Serena Williams

Player by player, here’s the rundown:

* Serena Williams: Began the season at No. 1, is now No. 2 after cutting her foot, then pulling a muscle during her training to get back on court, missed the U.S. Open, played only six tournaments in 2010 and was done early for the year. Had a 25-4 record and you could argue she’s the best player in women’s tennis, when she’s able to play. Repeat: When she’s able to play. Won two titles, at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Out in the quarters at the French.

* Venus Williams: Began the season at No. 6, now No. 5. Won two titles — at Dubai against a good but not brilliant draw, and against second and third-level competition at Acapulco. Hasn’t won an important event since the tour championships in 2008. Also hurt and finished for the season early. Was 38-7. Quarters at the Aussie Open, 4th round at the French, quarters at Wimbledon and semis at the U.S. Open. She’s in a slow but discernible slide from the elite in the game.

* Bethanie Mattek-Sands: Began the season at No. 152, is now No. 60 for a +92 improvement. Solid comeback year from hip surgery. Was 38-18 in all matches, which include qualifying and ITF tournaments. Real WTA record, though, is only 16-14. No titles. At the Slams: 2nd round at the Aussie Open and U.S. Open, 1st round at the French and Wimbledon. High marks for courage and competitiveness, but she’s not going to reach top 20. She’s a great personality, but she is not the future of American tennis.

* Oudin: Began the year at No. 53, is now No. 68, a -15 drop. No titles and a 20-23 record. When she reached the quarters at the 2009 U.S. Open, the tennis dilettantes had her skyrocketing to the top 10. She’s very quick, very athletic and very committed, but without a bigger serve, and especially a second serve, she’s just another player out there. At the Slams: 1st round at Australia and the French, 2nd round at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

* Vania King: No singles titles, but what a year in doubles. Unseeded, she and Yaroslava Shvedova, the fake Kazahkstani who was born in Russia, lives in Russia and takes money from Kazakhstan to play for that country, won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. They then got into the four-team WTA Championships when the injured Williams sisters withdrew. King has won $695,129 this year and stands to make a lot more in Doha this week, so good for her. But her singles play isn’t impressing anyone. She began the season at No. 73 and is now No. 84, a -11 drop. Record for the year is 21-23, but only 14-17 in real WTA events. At the Slams: 2nd round at the Aussie Open and U.S. Open, 1st round at the French and Wimbledon. Could her doubles success help her singles game? That’s a coin flip. She’s extremely doubtful to reach top 20.

* Varvara Lepchenko: The naturalized U.S. citizen (born in Uzbekistan) began the season at No. 114 and is now No. 88 (+26 spots). No titles and a lot of minor league play (34-11) has given her a heavy dose of playing time. But she’s only 4-10 in real WTA matches. In the Slams: 1st round at the Aussie Open, 2nd at the French and Wimbledon, didn’t play New York.

* Jill Craybas: Bless her heart, she’s still playing at 36 years old. Began the season at No. 77 and is now No. 100 (-23 spots). No titles and a 12-23 real WTA record, plus a lot of qualifying matches. The U.S. Open (1st round again) was her 44th Slam and 41st Slam in a row. When she retires, she deserves the thanks of the USTA for her support of U.S. tennis over the years.

Three young prospects, but they are still only prospects at this point.

* Coco Vandeweghe: Turns 19 on Dec. 6 and has risen 240 spots since Jan. 1, from No. 354 to No. 114. Showed at Tokyo she can compete at the WTA level, reaching the quarters before losing to Victoria Azarenka. Two ITF titles this year. Was 6-6 in WTA matches, 18-12 overall. Big Southern California kid with a family background of notable athletes. Hits a big ball, but she’s not going to break any 20-meter dash records on court.

* Christina McHale: 18 years old and moved up 103 spots this year from No. 218 to No. 115. Reached the semis at lower-level WTA event in Quebec City, where she lost to Tamira Paszek. She was 8-10 in WTA matches, 24-10 overall. OK, we’ve got a watch on her. No one is celebrating her yet.

* Alison Riske: Blossoming a little later than Vandeweghe and McHale at age 20. Up 104 spots this year from No. 222 to No. 118. Won three ITF titles and that’s important because winning at any level is a confidence builder. Played 55 matches this year, which is very good, winning 36. But only 4-4 at the WTA main draw level. Into Wimbledon and lost first round.

And what about the U.S. juniors?

* Sloane Stephens of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: At 17, she continues to make progress, reaching the semis of the U.S. Open juniors after going out in the quarters at the French and Wimbledon. Fair size physically, but very strong. Getting excellent coaching from Nick Saviano.

* Lauren Davis of Cleveland: She’s also 17 and has won a couple of entry-level pro events, so there’s talent there. Unfortunately, drew the No. 1 seed at the U.S. Open juniors, losing to eventual winner Daria Gavrilova of Russia, who also beat Stephens.

One final note. It’s very unfortunate that the No. 1 doubles player on the WTA Tour, Liezel Huber of the U.S., is unable to play the WTA Championships this week. If she and Cara Black hadn’t had a falling out and split after the Australian Open, they’d both be in Doha working for big money. Huber went through a succession of partners after she and Black cut their ties, but, though Huber is No. 1 in the individual doubles rankings, she and Nadia Petrova, her best partner, finished 11th in the race to the Championships.

Conclusion? The U.S. still has the Williams sisters in the top 10, but with every injury one wonders how much longer they will play. And if they retire, there is nothing on the horizon at this point that would indicate the U.S. has another top-20 in the making.

Federer or Nadal? Re-Analyzing the Greatest of All-Time Debate

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Roger Federer settled into a seat for his post-loss press conference, his monogrammed cap, with the designer F, pulled down hard on his head and the collar of his monogrammed jacket turned up, as if there was a chill breeze blowing against his neck.

Roger Federer

This has been a most difficult year for Federer’s swollen ego with losses at the French Open quarterfinals (Robin Soderling), in the Wimbledon semis (Tomas Berdych) and now in the U.S. Open semis on Saturday (Novak Djokovic), and this downturn in his fortunes has caused even those who have been enraptured by Federer’s performances over the years to wonder if he really is the greatest player ever to wield a racket.
This is the legend Federer wants for himself. The 16 Grand Slam titles, and who knows that there may be more, are important to him, but, in a sense, only as a ticket to being proclaimed tennis’ greatest.

But with every failure to reach a Slam final this year, coupled with the still rising quality of 24-year-old Rafael Nadal’s game, the doubts are creeping in.

“Could you be the best player ever?” one reporter asked Nadal after he had defeated Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets to reach the championship match earlier in the day.

“I am not of the way to be the best of the history, because that is very far,” Nadal countered with great dignity in an evolving English that manages to convey in almost poetic terms his full understanding of the issue that has placed on the table.

A few moments later Nadal was pressed again on the “greatest player ever” issue, a reporter citing his 14-7 career advantage over Federer. “Head to head is not an element for me. Is a part of the statistics, but is not the decisive element,” Nadal insisted. “Even a Grand Slam is important element, but is not all on the tennis, because for me some things, more important things and more difficult things to do than win a Grand Slam.”

There is still one match to go after persistent rains caused USTA officials at about 6:30 to declare the final between Nadal and Djokovic postponed until Monday.

But if Nadal wins this match, as expected, the “greatest ever” question is going to come to a quick boil on the front burner.

It’s a tricky issue, trying to determine who is the greatest anything, in any sport. Too often, the players being compared are from different eras, where the level of competition was not the same, where the equipment was not the same, where pressure of winning that comes with the big money is not the same.

Rod Laver or Federer? Pete Sampras or Federer? Any of those players and Nadal?

Who is to say how many Slams Laver would have won in the 1960s if there was Open Tennis before 1968? Who can say how much tougher it would have been for Federer if the All England Club had not changed the grass at Wimbledon to slow the game and make serve-and-volleyers like Sampras all but disappear?

Certainly a monumental case can be made for Federer with his 16 major titles and so many semifinal-or-better finishes in Slams that one loses count.

What makes the Federer-Nadal argument so intriguing is that they are from the same era and they’ve played each other 21 times, and therein lies the blurry lines for Federer’s claim to “greatest ever.”

To me, when you call someone the greatest player ever, it means, by definition, that there is no one who is better. And one of the beauties of tennis is that it’s one-on-one. Jack Kramer vs. Pancho Gonzalez. Pete Sampras vs. Andre Agassi. The best player is going to win, and that’s a fact that Federer can’t escape.

Nadal has won 14 of their 21 matches and, what’s even more telling in analyzing their one-on-one confrontations, is that the last three times they’ve met in a Grand Slam final – the ultimate test – Nadal has won each time. And each time on a different surface – clay, grass and hardcourt.

You could make a case that Federer was, at one time, the best player ever. But to say that today, at this moment in tennis history, he is the best player in the world is easily refutable.

The greatest difficulty, perhaps, in the debate of “greatest ever” is that the phrase commands no single definition. Does it mean the player with the highest number of Grand Slam singles titles? Does it mean the most titles overall? Does it mean the best player over a standardized number of years? Or is it, on the bottom line, simply a subjective view based on one’s examination of the skills of the players being considered?

Probably it’s a combination of all those things and, notwithstanding Nadal’s very diplomatic downplaying of head-to-head competition, it’s critical because it directly separates two players.

You say you’re the best ever. I say I’m the best ever. Let’s go on court and settle the issue.

If Nadal wins the Open, he will have nine Grand Slam titles, seven fewer than Federer. But Nadal will hae won his ninth major at age 24 years and three months. Federer won his ninth at age 25 years and one month. It doesn’t mean Nadal is going three more majors by the time he’s 25 (June 3). It’s just a benchmark to show you how each is proceeding.

In fact, Nadal’s road to 16 or more majors probably will be more difficult than Federer’s. Roger dominated at a time when his most important opponents (Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray) were very young and still finding the maturity and consistency that takes you from very, very good to very, very elite.

Nadal will have to face a fully matured Murray and Djokovic, plus Federer, plus emerging elite players Soderling, Berdych and Juan Martin Del Potro in his immediate future.

As for the details of the Federer loss to Djokovic on Saturday:

It was surprising on two counts. First, because Djokovic has had a very up and down year, hiring Todd Martin, then dismissing Martin, changing his serve, then changing back to his old serve. For a long time he didn’t resemble a top-10 player and I and many others who know the game could not select him as one of the three players most likely to win this U.S. Open. Yet he arrived in New York emotionally strong and stayed that way throughout the tournament.

Secondly, because he’s never looked this strong emotionally, not even when he won the Australian Open a couple years ago. His focus and aggressiveness down the stretch of the fifth set Saturday finally showed how powerful a figure he can be, when he wants to, in professional tennis.

Federer, meanwhile, had seldom looked this good in some time. The addition of Paul Annacone to his coaching staff influenced him to become more aggressive early in the points. Federer is one of those players who has liked to take complete command of a point, when receiving, at about the fifth or sixth stroke. At this Open, he was more aggressive, riskier if you will, right off service returns.

He hadn’t lost a set in the tournament until Djokovic won the second set 6-1. But when the money was on the table with Djokovic serving at 6-5 in the fifth, Federer went to pieces.

At 15-30, Federer could easily have been up 15-40 with double-break to get into a tiebreak after forcing Djokovic to stretch wide right for a volley that was so short and high that Federer easily reached it.

There was Djokovic dead center of the court, apparently frozen there. Novak’s backhand side was wide open. You could almost have bunted the ball down the line for the point. Incredibly, Federer out-thought himself, apparently thinking Djokovic was going to dash left to cover the down the line. Federer hit the ball instead right at Djokovic, who parried it away for 30-all.

Still, Federer had a break point at 30-40. This time, he had a simple forehand from the center of the baseline – not quite a real inside-out – and he slapped into the net for deuce.

On match point, weary of a long rally in which he could not break down Novak, he decided to take his shot – an inside-out from the left corner. It was wide. It was over.

Maybe Federer thought this was 2007 again, where he preyed on Djokovic’s then-fragile emotional state to win in straight sets. But there would be no mental breakdown this time.

At least not by Djokovic.

NADAL’S WIMBLEDON TITLE PLACES HIM IN “BEST-OF-ALL-TIME” CONVERSATION

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By Charles Bricker

And so at the precise age of 24 years, 1 month and 1 day, Rafa Nadal won his eighth Grand Slam title, exactly 10 months younger than when his elite contemporary, Roger Federer, won his eighth major back in 2006.

Although statistically this 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 triumph was close to even, it was decisive enough to leave no doubt about Nadal being, at this moment in tennis history, the best player in the game and, more importantly, this victory and Federer’s dismissal in the quarterfinals must rekindle that very good debate about who is the greatest player ever.

Is it, as many have been claiming for some time, Federer? Or is it Nadal. Or Pete Sampras. Or Rod Laver.

The purists might like Laver and there are significant reasons to grant this unofficial title to Sampras. But because these two men — Nadal and Federer — are at the forefront of the game right now, the probability is that any discussion about the greatest ever is going to center on them.

There are strong arguments for both men, but the more Nadal wins the more he looks to have an edge — if not now, then very soon in the future — in being pronounced greatest ever.

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal

Heavily in Federer’s favor is a record 16 Grand Slam singles titles, double Nadal’s current collection. But Federer will turn 29 years old on Aug. 8. Nadal is only just 24 and has, as noted, won his eighth major at an earlier age than did Federer.

Also heavily in Federer’s portfolio is that record run of semifinal finishes at Grand Slams. It is, without question, a prodigious effort. But, despite all the titles and five straight Wimbledon championships, there is one telling statistic that tarnishes Federer’s claim to greatest ever.

Many will argue than head-to-head competition is not important in this debate because some players simply match up well. There was a period when Wayne Ferreira defeated Sampras four times in a row, but Pete eventually figured it out and retired with a 7-6 edge. No one, however, would argue that Ferreira was a greater player.

The Nadal-Federer matchup is different. We’re not talking about merely just another top-20 player (Ferreira) who never came close to winning a major. We’re talking about the two pre-eminent players of their time.

If you’re going to be considered the greatest player ever, it means, almost by definition, that you’re better than every other player. Nadal has not only won 14 of the 21 times he’s played Federer, but he has beaten Federer six of the last seven matches, including the last three times they’ve met in a Grand Slam final, and each of those three times on a different surface — clay (French Open), grass (Wimbledon) and hardcourt (Australian Open).

When you put these two men on the same court and have them match skills against each, that’s a litmus test.

This head-to-head edge speaks more to Federer NOT being the greatest ever than it does to Nadal BEING the greatest ever. At least not yet. He’s going to have a career as long as Federer’s and come close or exceed Federer’s major titles.

Is that going to happen?

Nadal got through Wimbledon with only a minor flareup of the tendonitis in his knees — the same problem that destroyed his 2009 season and led to his early loss at the French Open and his inability to play Wimbledon. Until he puts together a couple years without any major knee problems, there is going to be a lingering suspicion about his durability and, of course, his ability to stay on court long enough to approach 16 (or more) Slam wins.

Federer won his first Grand Slam title (2003 Wimbledon) at the age of 21 years, 11 months and 6 days. Nadal won his first (2005 French Open) at 19 years, 0 months and 2 days.

Federer won his eighth major at 24 years, 11 months and 1 day — 10 months later than Nadal.

But since that time, Federer has won eight of the 16 Slams he’s played. Can Nadal equal or exceed that?

It will be more difficult for him than it was for Federer, who increased his titles at a time when the best young talent in men’s tennis was still evolving — Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and, to some extent, Nadal.

All those players, plus now Juan Martin Del Potro and Tomas Berdych, are greatly improved. None has yet reached their peaks, and that’s going to make winning Slams more difficult.

What does it all mean? Who, then, is the greatest? It’s a question that shouldn’t be answered for another couple years. One thing seems certain. Even those who prematurely proclaimed Federer the greatest ever must be reassessing their views after this Wimbledon.

Charles Bricker can be reached at nflwriterr@aol.com

MONDAYS WITH BOB GREENE: THE SONY ERICSSON OPEN 2010 WINNERS

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STARS

Sony Ericsson Open

Men’s singles: Andy Roddick beat Tomas Berdych 7-5 6-4

Women’s singles: Kim Clijsters beat Venus Williams 6-2 6-1

SAYINGS

“The last month has been real good for me. I’ve played well on the big moments. I’ve been able to have a game plan and execute it, regardless of what kind of shots it takes. So it’s all good. It’s all encouraging.” – Andy Roddick, who beat Tomas Berdych to win the Sony Ericsson Open.

“Venus is a great competitor, a great athlete, and one of the best women’s tennis has ever had. I knew I had to come out here and play well.” – Kim Clijsters, who beat Venus Williams to win the Sony Ericsson Open women’s singles.

“I think sometimes you have to be careful with practice, not to practice too long. I may have made a mistake with that a little bit. I know better, but ‘Eager V’ kind of burst through.” – Venus Williams, after losing to Kim Clijsters in the Sony Ericsson Open women’s final.

Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick

“Look, it’s no secret I’ve struggled the last, what is it, five matches I’ve played here in the states. It’s disappointing, I think, my performance overall, if I’ve got to analyze right now after the match but I fought as much as I could with my game having issues at the moment.” – Roger Federer, after losing to Tomas Berdych.

“To beat the number one player in the world, the best player so far is a great feeling. But still, it was not a final. There is another match waiting next day, another really tough opponent.” – Tomas Berdych, after beating Roger Federer.

“I think when we were younger we were quite close. I have a lot of good memories with Kim. And then when you arrive at the top, you want to win. But we never miss the respect to each other. Never, ever, ever. Even if people can talk about it, we never had any problems, Kim and I. Now the relationship is very good. We can feel the respect. We can feel that we’re more mature than in the past.” – Justine Henin, about her relationship with fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters.

“I was feeling like I had glue on my sneakers. I couldn’t jump, honestly. That’s why my serve was going into the net.” – Marion Bartoli, after losing to Venus Williams.

“She looked really amazing. I said to her, ‘It’s not fair you’re dressing up so nicely. I’m going to watch more what you’re wearing than the ball.’ … She had a red dress and some really, really, really high-heel shoes, maybe something like 14 inches.” – Marion Bartoli, talking about Serena Williams.

“Today was just a horrible day. I’ll delete it from my head.” – Svetlana Kuznetsova, after losing to Marion Bartoli.

“My country will never forget this.” – Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, talking about a four-man exhibition doubles match to raise money for his earthquake-strickened homeland.

SONY ERICSSON KING

Looking like the Andy Roddick of old, the American stopped the incredible run of Tomas Berdych 7-5 6-4 to win the Sony Ericsson Open for the second time. In his run to the final, Berdych upset three top-10 players: Roger Federer, Fernando Verdasco and Robin Soderling. Roddick, who knocked off Rafael Nadal on his way to the hard court title, said he was most pleased with how smart he played during the event. “I won in different ways. I changed it up against Rafa and today I was smart with chipping and mixing paces, which kept him guessing,” Roddick said. It was Roddick’s first Sony Ericsson Open title since 2004 and his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown since Cincinnati in 2006. It was Roddick’s second straight ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments final, having reached the title match two weeks ago in Indian Wells, California, USA. “Obviously it’s a big title for me,” Roddick said. “I felt a little bit of pressure to win this one because I had a pretty good opportunity in Indian Wells and didn’t come through there.”

SINGLE PARENT

Among the spectators watching Andy Roddick beat Rafael Nadal was Tiger Woods’ wife, Elin Nordegren, and their son Charlie. She sat under an awning in club seats near the players’ lounge at the Key Biscayne, Florida, facility, while Charlie stood on his mom’s lap. Nordegren was not wearing a wedding ring. Woods has been at the tournament in the past to root for his friend, Roger Federer. Nordegren and her son dined with Federer, his wife Mirka and their twin girls, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva. A witness said Nordegren entered the Key Biscayne tennis center with two bodyguards and that she had also watched a women’s match between Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin.

SCORCHING HOT

If she reaches the final, Kim Clijsters is taking home the big trophy. Since returning to tennis last summer, the 26-year-old Belgian is 3-0 in finals, winning the US Open last year, the Brisbane International in January and the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida, USA, on Sunday. Her latest win was a 6-2 6-1 trouncing of Venus Williams. Clijsters is now tied with Monica Seles for fourth-most hard-court women’s singles titles in the Open Era with 28, trailing only Steffi Graf (37), Lindsay Davenport (34) and Chris Evert (32). Williams had her 15-match winning streak snapped, having won her last two tournaments, at Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Acapulco, Mexico. “I knew I had to come out here and play well,” Clijsters said. “My semifinal against Justine (Henin) was such an exciting match, I just tried to keep going from there and not lose a beat, especially playing against someone like Venus, a great competitor and a great athlete. She’s one of the best players women’s tennis has ever had.”

SHOULDER WOES

A right shoulder strain added to top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova’s woes as she lost to Marion Bartoli at the Sony Ericsson Open. The Russian was leading 3-2 in the opening set before her French opponent ripped through the next 10 games to win the match 6-3 6-0. “When I was serving at 3-5 I felt a pull in my shoulder,” Kuznetsova said. “I still kept serving but it was so painful I almost had stars in my eyes. I probably should’ve pulled out earlier, but it was my choice to play. I’m not going to pull out at 4-0 in the second set. It would look ugly.”

STAYING HOME

Ana Ivanovic will miss Serbia’s Fed Cup World Group playoff tie against Slovakia because of poor form. Ranked number one in the world after she won the French Open in 2008, Ivanovic has plummeted to 58th in the rankings. “I spoke with captain Dejan Vranjes and the president of the (Serbian tennis) federation Slobodan Zivojinovic and together we decided that under these circumstances it’s not the right time for me to be part of the team,” Ivanovic wrote on her official website (www.anaivanovic.com). Despite my non-presence I believe we have a good team led by Jelena (Jankovic) and this is a great opportunity for one of the young upcoming players to play on the biggest stage.” Ivanovic has not won a tournament for 16 months.

SERENA OUT

Will she or won’t she? That is the question about Serena Williams and the Italian Open. The world’s top-ranked woman has not entered the Italian Open, although she reportedly has asked that a wild-card spot be kept open for her. Sidelined with a knee injury since winning the Australian Open in January, Williams in 2002 won Rome, a key clay-court warm-up for the French Open. That year – 2002 – was the only year Serena won Roland Garros. All of the other top 10 players, including sister Venus Williams, are entered in the Italian Open, according to tournament director Sergio Palmieri.

STEPANEK RESTING

Fatigue syndrome has benched Radek Stepanek for about two months. Karel Tejkal, a spokesman for the Czech Republic Davis Cup team, said the 31-year-old Stepanek could miss the French Open, which begins on May 23, and could even be in doubt for the Davis Cup quarterfinals in July in Chile. Since reaching the final of the Brisbane International in January, Stepanek has failed to get beyond the second round in any tournament this year. He currently is ranked 18th in the world.

SUPPORT FOR CHILE

Andy Roddick helped raise money for Chilean earthquake victims by playing two sets of celebrity doubles with Fernando Gonzalez of Chile and veteran Grand Slam tournament champions Jim Courier and Gustavo Kuerten. But leave it to Roddick to come up with the shot of the match. With his back to the net, Roddick flicked the ball through his legs and between his opponents for a winner. The charity event raised USD $125,000.

STADIUM IN WAITING

When the world’s top players show up for this year’s Italian Open, they will have a new 10,500-seat stadium to play in. The Italian Olympic Committee built the USD $38.4 million facility in Rome on the same site as the former stadium at the Foro Italico. The men will begin play in the Rome Masters on April 25, while the women will begin their one-week stay the following week. Tournament director Sergio Palmieri described it as “the premier tennis stadium in the world in terms of visibility for fans.”

SANIA TO WED

Sania Mirza of India reportedly is marrying Pakistani cricket player Shoaib Malik. In a two-page statement released to the media, Malik said Mirza would continue to play for India and he will represent Pakistan. The two will marry in Hyderabad, India, on April 15. “Definitely all my family members will be here for the wedding since both Sania and I have the blessings of everyone concerned,” said Malik, who refused to discuss his alleged earlier marriage with another Hyderabad woman, Ayesha Siddiqui. In Madurai, India, police arrest 20 protestors when they attempted to deface a portrait of Mirza. The protestors were carrying placards stating “Sania is an anti-national” for becoming engaged to the Pakistani athlete.

SINKING LOW

With the image of Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) at an all-time low, politicians have entered the picture. The All-Party Parliamentary Tennis Group spent three weeks gathering evidence and sent a three-page report to Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe. “Given the remarkable level of expenditure, in excess of 60 million pounds (USD $90 million) annually, it should be possible to deliver better outcomes than at present,” the report stated. The report questioned whether money was being spent in the right areas, namely grassroots tennis. Britain currently has one man and one woman in the top 100 in the world. No Brit has won the Wimbledon men’s singles since 1936 when Fred Perry captured his third consecutive title. Virginia Wade in 1977 was the last Brit to win the women’s singles at Wimbledon. The LTA is still reeling from Britain’s humiliating Davis Cup defeat by Lithuania.

SOCIAL MEDIA SITE

Fans can access the tweets by Maria Sharapova, the Williams sisters and other women tennis players. The WTA Tour and Sony Ericsson announced the launch of WTASuperFans.com, a social media site that provides an Internet hub for tour players. The site gathers content generated by players on Twitter and Facebook, including videos and photos. The tour says Sharapova is the most-followed female athlete in the world.

STEPPING UP

Since 1994 there have been 27 girls who have been number one in the world in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior rankings. Only three have reached the number one spot in the pros – Martina Hingis, Jelena Jankovic and Amelie Mauresmo. According to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, three has won Grand Slam tournament singles titles (Hingis, Mauresmo and Svetlana Kuznetsova), while both Cara Black and Anna Kournikova went on to be ranked number one in the world in doubles. Agnieszka and Urszula Radwanska were the only sisters to both achieve junior world number one rankings since records have been kept. Neither Serena nor Venus Williams – both of whom have been ranked number one in the world – played junior tennis.

STRUGGLING

Cliff Richey, who led the United States to the Davis Cup title in 1970, says he has struggled with depression. In a new book, “Acing Depression: A Tennis Champion’s Toughest Match,” Richey describes his struggle with depression, which was not diagnosed until just before his 50th birthday. He has since become an advocate for mental health, speaking at events across the country. Richey wrote the book with his daughter Hilaire Richey Kallendorf, a college professor. He was ranked number one in the United States in 1970, the year he won eight tournaments, including the US Clay Courts.

SPONSOR

Longines, the official timekeeper and partner of the French Open, will offer junior players an opportunity to play at Roland Garros during the French Open. In conjunction with the United States Tennis Association’s (USTA) Eastern Region and Tennis Magazine, Longines will host a tournament this month in New York in which players will be selected on not only their on-court performance but also on their commitment to give back to their community. Each registered athlete had to submit a 300-word essay on philanthropy. The winner of the US girls event will receive an all-expense paid trip to Paris to compete against champions from Poland, China, Hong Kong, Russia, Germany, Singapore and Taiwan. Qualified junior male players will represent the United States, Australia, China, France, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Japan and Mexico. They will be paired by a draw and play mixed doubles matches at Roland Garros.

SAD NEWS

The photographer behind Tennis Girl, one of the world’s biggest-selling posters, is dead. Martin Elliott was 63. Elliot took the picture in 1976 of his then girlfriend, Fiona Butler, dressed in tennis gear, hitching her skirt to reveal a bare bottom. The poster has sold more than two million copies worldwide. Elliott died at his home in Truro, Cornwall, England, following a 10-year battle with cancer.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Sony Ericsson Open

Men: Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes beat Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi 6-2 7-5

Women: Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta beat Nadia Petrova and Samantha Stosur 6-3 4-6 10-7 (match tiebreak)

SITE TO SURF

Casablanca: www.frmt.ma/

Houston: www.mensclaycourt.com/

Marbella: www.andaluciatennis.com/

Ponte Vedra Beach: www.mpsgroupchamps.net/

Johannesburg: www.satennis.co.za

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

$532,000 Grand Prix Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco, clay

$442,500 US Men’s Clay Court Championships, Houston, Texas, USA, clay

$125,000 ATP Challenger, Bogota, Colombia, clay

WTA

$220,000 Andalucia Tennis Experience, Marbella, Spain, clay

$220,000 MPS Group Championships, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA, clay

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

ATP

$3,000,000 Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, Monte Carlo, Monaco, clay

$100,000 Johannesburg ATP Challenger, Johannesburg, South Africa, hard

WTA

$700,000 Family Circle Cup, Charleston, South Carolina, USA, clay

$220,000 Barcelona Ladies Open, Barcelona, Spain, clay

$100,000 Soweto Open, Johannesburg, South Africa, hard

DAVIS CUP

Asia/Oceania Zone Group IV at Amman, Jordan, hard (round robin): Bahrain, Brunei, Iraq, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Qatar, Singapore, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Yemen