Andy Murray Leads Winners and Losers Before Wimbledon 2016
With Wimbledon 2016 moving from the one-deck circle, grass-court tournaments in Germany, London and Birmingham, England, were tune-ups for some of the stars and opportunities for young players hoping to move up the ladder.
Roger Federer has needed the work, but will it be enough to be sharp for Wimbledon?
Did Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev take advantage of their opportunities to win Halle?
Which young player in the WTA could be the best rivalry match for French Open champion Garbine Muguruza?
All of this and more in our final edition of winners and losers before Wimbledon.
Losers: Top Seeds in the WTA
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The merry-go-round of nagging injuries and early exits for top 10 stars continues for the WTA in 2016. If you are a paying customer, get your tickets for the first round if you want to see the favorites because more than likely they will be gone too soon.
At Birmingham, No. 1 seed Agnieszka Radwanska was overpowered by Coco Vandeweghe, not overly surprising considering that this is grass and the latter is a dangerous power player.
Petra Kvitova and Johanna Konta survived one match, but they were ousted in the next.
Angelique Kerber got to the quarterfinals, but the No. 2 seed was stopped by Carla Suarez Navarro who has been playing better tennis than the Australian Open champion. Kerber’s Grand Slam success feels like a distant memory.
The injury bug bit Simona Halep (left Achilles) and she withdrew from the tournament while Belinda Bencic (right thigh) retired in the second set.
Hopefully all of the stars are healthy and ready for Wimbledon, but the trend for early upsets will likely continue into the opening week at the biggest tournament of the year.
Winner: Madison Keys
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Looking for a big-time future rivalry in the WTA? With all of the talk recently centered on 22-year-old Muguruza’s French Open title, 21-year-old American Madison Keys roared into the top 10 with a title at Birmingham.
OK, so Birmingham is not Paris, but the common thread is two young powerful ball strikers who could bring the next evolution of championship tennis. Not that anyone is dismissing veterans Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Radwanska and the rest. Even Halep.
Keys, not Halep, is the more likely player to compete for majors if she improves with her tactical control and continues to grow into a champion.
Birmingham could be just the beginning. Wimbledon is the perfect stage that suits Keys’ big serve and athletic talent. Keep an eye on the upcoming draw as the American’s confidence keeps rising.
Loser: Kei Nishikori
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Injuries are always lurking in the background for slight Japanese star Kei Nishikori but often enough in the foreground as a major tournament looms into view. This past week, he took a medical timeout against Lucas Pouille and pulled out of the Halle tournament in Germany a round later with a rib injury, according to ESPN.
Nishikori has played for years against bigger, stronger and more physical players. He’s developed more toughness, but durability has not been easy. He plays a grinding style of attack tennis that depends on his legs and sense of anticipation.
No doubt Nishikori needs to be fully healthy to battle through the early rounds at Wimbledon and perhaps overcome monster servers such as Milos Raonic and Nick Kyrgios, players who frequently cross paths with him.
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Winner: Alexander Zverev
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It’s a long road ahead if indeed Zverev earns his moniker as Alexander the Great. The teenage wunderkind defeated Federer in the semifinals at Halle, a monumental achievement considering that the Swiss maestro has eight trophies from one of the two biggest grass-court tournaments in the world outside Wimbledon.
But Zverev got another lesson on just how competitive it is to win titles on the ATP tour. He was perceived as the solid favorite before losing to 32-year-old German veteran Florian Mayer.
Zverev’s talent was on display with his serve, powerful strokes and athletic smoothness. He has lanky quickness and growing patience, but there’s no doubt that the pressure of winning a final against a veteran with nothing to lose is no easy task.
A breakthrough week that fell just a little short.
Loser: Dominic Thiem
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We’ve lauded Thiem’s grass-court charge from winning Stuttgart to arriving in the semifinals at Halle. He’s shown that he is a Wimbledon contender or at the very least a dangerous competitor who could beat anyone on the right day.
But Thiem also lost a great opportunity to close out Halle, one of the best grass-court titles in the world. He had received a walkover to the semifinals and a day of rest instead of facing Philipp Kohlschreiber, but he couldn’t defeat Mayer, ranked No. 192 in the world.
Had he won, Thiem would not have faced Federer but rather 19-year-old Zverev whom he has defeated three times on clay in recent weeks. To be sure, it would have been another youthful challenge, but even Thiem’s evolution is vulnerable on Wimbledon’s bigger stage.
Winner: Florian Mayer
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Give it up for Mayer. With almost all of the attention on Federer, Thiem, Zverev and native Kohlschreiber, the opportunistic Mayer played above his No. 192 ranking to defeat Thiem and Zverev for his weekend close to the title.
Winning a level-500 title is a big deal and the best title of Mayer’s career. The 32-year-old has battled back from injuries, but he was tough on grass in the all-German final with Zverev.
Maybe Mayer picks up momentum for a resurgence where he used to be a borderline top-20 player. This might also be his career highlight from here on, and you could feel the emotion of how much this meant to him with his comments via ATP World Tour:
"I would say it’s the biggest win in my career to win a 500 event here in Germany on grass. If you see the list of champions in the past here and now my name is on the list, I cannot believe it.
[...]
With one tournament everything changes now for my [Emirates ATP Ranking] and to plan for bigger tournaments in the future.
"
As for Federer, Thiem and Zverev, well, there will be plenty more opportunities in the future.
Loser: Roger Federer
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Nobody expected Federer to be in the kind of form he was heading into Wimbledon 2015. A year later, the Swiss maestro has battled through injuries and has tried to find his best form for the grass-court tournaments. That he lost to Thiem and Zverev in consecutive weeks at Stuttgart and Halle shows he is not exactly clicking.
Federer thinks he’s getting closer but identified his objectives needed to peak, according to his postmatch comments in ATP World Tour:
"The only thing missing is a better baseline game. I guess that comes through movement and through just playing enough again. I feel the serve has come back around now, the returns have gotten better also throughout the match today.
I think if the movement gets better and then the baseline game improves a little bit, I’ll be better on the big points, on the return and also in less trouble on my own service games. But I’m okay and I’m pleased on how I played, how I’m feeling and now we’ve got enough time before Wimbledon to get ready for that.
"
Federer has always been a glass-half-full kind of contender, but for all of his pedigree and drive, he simply might not have the physical readiness needed to compete and win seven best-of-five matches against other top players.
We will look more at his chances later this week.
Winner: Andy Murray vs. Milos Raonic
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In what could be a Wimbledon preview for a late round in the second week, Andy Murray vs. Milos Raonic did not disappoint. In the end, the more experienced champion won his fifth title at Queen’s Club in London, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3, and the result could help both players.
Murray was able to come back against the biggest server in the world. Down a set and a break, he stayed cool during the pressure points of the second and third sets, finding his way through patience in reading the Raonic serve.
Raonic only needed to serve out the second set leading 3-0 but learned how hard it was to close out a great return champion. This is the kind of situation he could face at Wimbledon if he is to match or surpass his 2014 Wimbledon semifinal appearance.
Of note, Raonic went to net 42 times, no doubt part of the design from new coach John McEnroe, one of the most legendary players of all time on grass who won with serve-and-volley aggressiveness.
Unfortunately, Raonic does not have McEnroe’s feet or hands, and he converted on only 22/42 attempts at net. He does need to play this way and perhaps volumes of this attack will help him improve. He’s going to need it.
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