Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep Dominate Winners and Losers at 2016 Madrid Open
Novak Djokovic picked up his second career title at Madrid to nobody's surprise, and Simona Halep may have found her confidence for the upcoming French Open. They were the top stars in the first of three huge tournaments from now through early June.
Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal's momentum was halted, and Andy Murray looked like a clay-court contender at Roland Garros. Other men's stars, specifically Swiss, had a week to forget.
In the WTA, top contenders continued to flounder. How much of a concern is this with the French Open almost ready for lift off?
All of this and more in our "Winners and Losers" column deep in the heart of the clay-court season.
Loser: WTA Top Stars
1 of 8
Who is going to step up in the prime stages of the WTA clay-court season? If Madrid is the crystal ball, the French Open will be like throwing darts at a scorecard.
- World No. 1 Serena Williams withdrew because of illness. She will tune up at Rome, but she has only logged three tournaments since her fall at the 2015 U.S. Open. Clay is her least dominant surface, so there are more questions than answers right now.
- Angelique Kerber might get a pass in losing her Madrid opener after winning Stuttgart, but the Australian Open champion may be a coin toss to crack the French quarterfinals.
- How about Agnieszka Radwanska? It’s baffling that she lost in the first round, although opponent Dominika Cibulkova is talented enough to make a run at titles as she did in getting to the Madrid final. Radwanska seems just as likely to be No. 10 as No. 2.
- Victoria Azarenka was bidding to become the new favorite on clay after dominating U.S. hard courts in March, but she pulled out with a back tweak. She is still a shaky proposition on the red earth.
The biggest problem for the WTA is that Madrid’s opening rounds merely punctuated what has been the pattern for 2016. Top stars are either injured, fatigued or unable to play. It’s a merry-go-round of results from week to week with tennis observers wondering who will get on and who will jump off.
The wheel will continue to spin at Rome, and then the big-top performers pack their bags for Paris.
Winner: Simona Halep
2 of 8
Out of nowhere, forgotten star Simona Halep stormed through Madrid with the best tennis she has played in a long time.
The 24-year-old took advantage of another star-depleted lineup, capping off her title match over resurgent Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 6-4. She was at her best, using her scrambling footwork to produce exquisite angles with her shotmaking.
Halep, ranked No. 7 before the week had been going nowhere. The Romanian had peaked as the 2014 French Open finalist and held the No. 2 ranking for most of 2015, but she had been like newsprint left too long in the sun.
She would play good tennis from time to time but was mostly stuck in a curious tennis malaise, while other stars like Garbine Muguruza, Angelique Kerber, Agnieszka Radwanska and Victoria Azarenka grabbed more wins and acclaim.
Lost and then found. Maybe Halep is ready to challenge for the French Open title, that is if she can play elite tennis against clay-court specialists and stronger players like Azarenka and Serena Williams.
Loser: Roger Federer's Injuries
3 of 8
Roger Federer’s latest withdrawal with a back injury, brings up reminders of 2013 when the Swiss Maestro staggered through his most frustrating year.
There’s another curious wrinkle to Federer’s inactivity. It coincides with a mini-burst of good play from Rafael Nadal.
For a few years now, while one struggles, the other rises. They are ships passing in the night since the 2011 French Open, the last time the two legends met in a major final.
- When Nadal suddenly came off the 2012 French Open title with a Wimbledon slip, Federer went on to win that title.
- Federer went down with a back injury at Indian Wells 2013, right when Nadal surged for his last great year. It would be Federer’s worst year since he became a great champion.
- Nadal’s 2014 decline once again was consummated at Wimbledon, right when Federer nearly took that title and began a year and a half of excellence, second only to Novak Djokovic.
- Federer’s excellent 2015 season was going on, while Nadal suffered his worst season since bounding into ATP relevance in 2005.
- Nadal is currently healthy with a chance at a run for the French Open title while Federer’s ambitions to peak for Wimbledon, the Olympics and the U.S. Open is suspect.
Can we get these two longtime rivals one more major final clash? Probably not.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Loser: Stan Wawrinka
4 of 8
Successive "loser" slides featuring Swiss stars—but don't expect this to be a trend.
At least Stan Wawrinka is right where he wants to be after losing his only Madrid match in back-to-back tiebreakers to familiar foe Nick Kyrgios.
Just like 2015, the barrel-chested warrior has struggled through the clay-court season, which means that he is ready to ambush everyone for the French Open title.
Regarded as one of the few proven contenders with success in defeating Novak Djokovic in big matches, Wawrinka has nevertheless struggled in lesser matches, making it more difficult that he even gets another shot at a major final.
If not the French Open, then his career starts winding down with fewer opportunities on slower surfaces, and the 31-year-old would most likely place his next-greatest hopes on an Australian summer.
French Open or bust.
Winner: Andy Murray
5 of 8
There’s really nothing else Andy Murray can do other than lock Novak Djokovic inside of a dungeon and throw the key in a Scottish loch.
Murray handled Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and dueled world No. 1 Djokovic over two hours and down to the wire in the third set.
Yet it’s the same old story. Great, but not enough to defeat his “older brother” rival. (Murray is actually one week older than Djokovic, but their tennis clashes are clearly a reversal of who is the stronger.) That might be as much of the Scot’s legacy as his decade of success, which is unfortunate.
The 28-year-old deserves acclaim for the way he fights, despite losing 11 of his past 12 matches to the Serb. He grinds, hustles, tries for smart, calculated pressure shots and keeps coming back whenever he’s down. If he could quit falling behind early and start from the lead, he might be able to break through next time.
Despite the good, Murray’s week still lost 400 ATP points because he could not defend his title. He slips behind sidelined Roger Federer and into the No. 3 ranking.
Loser: Bernard Tomic
6 of 8
Bernard Tomic tanking matches is nothing new, but at least his sideshow moments continue to fascinate. So do his comments.
Upon facing matchpoint against Fabio Fognini in his only match at Madrid, Tomic turned his racket around for the Italian’s serve, a clear surrender to fighting on and competing to the end.
After the match, Tomic shrugged it off while pointing to his bank account and implying that his antics only serve to bring in more attention and revenue.
Per the Gold Coast Bulletin (h/t Sky Sports), Tomic said: “I don't care about that match point—would you care if you were 23 and worth over 10 million dollars?”
If anything, Tomic might be the worst payout of $10 million in sports history.
Even fictional television hero Steve Austin was built on a $6 million budget (Although to be fair if we adjust for inflation, that figure in 1974 is roughly $29 million in 2016.) Austin went on to perform several superhuman feats of strength and daring as a U.S. spy, and as far as we know he never quit on an assignment.
It was also symbolically fitting that Tomic lost his opener in Rome just as Madrid was finishing. The Australian withdrew through illness after 10 minutes. That's right, one minute for each of his career millions.
Next time we will toss Tomic a burnt bagel if he needs another zero in his account.
Winner: Novak Djokovic
7 of 8
So much for April. Novak Djokovic showed that losing his only clay-court match in Monte Carlo did nothing to interrupt his ambitions in May. He hammered his way to his first Madrid title since 2011, defeating Andy Murray in three tight sets.
The most important message in winning his record-breaking 29th Masters 1000 title is the ATP knows that King Novak is clearly ahead of the rest.
When the Serb walks into the locker room, down decorated corridors and onto the stage in front of boisterous spectators, it already feels like he is up a break.
It’s the perfect scenario for Djokovic to set up his French Open conquest. He has Madrid in his hip pocket and can still relax if he bows out early at Rome. Or he steamrolls Rome, axes Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals and has everyone looking up at a tiny window of opportunity.
It’s good to be king.
Loser: Rafael Nadal
8 of 8
Rafael Nadal lost his momentum with a semifinal loss to Andy Murray, and it might have sealed off any realistic chance to overtake Stan Wawrinka for the French Open No. 4 seed.
The Spaniard dropped 240 points by failing to get back to the Madrid final, and he trails the Swiss by 705 points. Basically, he would have to win Rome and hope that Wawrinka does not make the final.
What this means is that Nadal could again face Novak Djokovic as soon as the French Open quarterfinals, like the way the Rome draw is set up for this week. It’s a little harder to get through one extra top-10 opponent if things go as expected.
Nadal also lost a chance to test himself against Djokovic in the Madrid final. It leaves his Monte Carlo and Barcelona success, and French Open projection a little harder to extrapolate given that he still must prove he can defeat the world No. 1.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
