Andy Murray Leads Tennis' Winners and Losers at Shanghai and Hong Kong
Andy Murray is a man on a mission. He needed to win the Shanghai Masters for a chance at Novak Djokovic’s No. 1 ranking by the year-end tournament at London. He’s right on course, with Paris the next big stop to see if he can fulfill his dream.
Meanwhile, Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Angelique Kerber all faltered for what has been a long and grinding time in 2016. Success has its price for even the very best superstars. Our commentaries take a closer look.
There were other important stories in our last look at the biggest “Winners and Losers” for the Asian swing. Who are Dominika Cibulkova and Roberto Bautista Agut? Who else is on the rise, and who gets our infamous "Burnt Bagel" award?
Loser: Nick Kyrgios
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It’s too bad that half the time sports fans and media can’t talk tennis when it comes to Nick Kyrgios. Last week, he was the toast of Tokyo, winning the level-500 tournament and getting to a career-high No. 14 in the rankings.
This week he tanked his second-round match against journeyman Mischa Zverev with no effort or movement on several points, leading to a $16,500 ATP fine.
Reactions blew up all over the media, ranging from Christopher Clarey’s view in the New York Times that tennis was too easy on him or Ed McGrogan’s opinion in Tennis.com that Kyrgios is only 21 and fans should take him as he is.
OK, so while it’s true Kyrgios is one of the most talented players in the world, he is also a dumpster fire. He’s must-see TV for a sport that is seeking to hitch its wagon to new stars for the post-Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal era.
And that’s the big problem. Kyrgios gives tennis an image problem. He can act like an imbecile and destroy his own chances to be a superstar. That’s his right, and few fans will be sorry if he wastes his talent and never develops into a major winner.
But he fails to learn from his ugly actions, and like his crass comments toward Stan Wawrinka at the 2015 Rogers Cup, Kyrgios is not a good role model for tennis. He doesn’t understand his own opportunity, that people watch him, hope for him and expect he will give his best.
If he can’t get his act together, it might be best for everyone that he drops down the rankings and goes off to play pick-up hoops somewhere in Australia. Then tennis can hope that Alexander Zverev and others will better represent their sport.
Kyrgios deserves to chew on our Burnt Bagel Award. Make that a double.
Winner: Dominika Cibulkova
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Dominika Cibulkova earned one of the great accomplishments this week with her must-win title at Linz. No, it isn’t exactly a headline story about major titles, No. 1 rankings or superstars Serena Williams or Angelique Kerber. Instead, it’s a career highlight for the tenacious Slovak who will get a chance to showcase her skills in the WTA’s year-end finale at Singapore.
Cibulkova has great timing in achieving her new career-best No. 8 ranking. She will join Kerber, Serena, Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwanska, Karolina Pliskova, Garbine Muguruza and Madison Keys for the playoff of the world's elite women’s tennis stars.
The Asian tour was the key to launching her into this group. She picked up valuable points in getting to the final at Wuhan, but then she seemed to lose her opportunity for Singapore when she lost to Alize Cornet at last week’s first match in Beijing. She had to come all the way back with the Linz title, and she needed help with Svetlana Kuznetsova to not win Tianjin.
Cibulkova’s entrance to Singapore is great for tennis fans. She plays with a lot of feisty passion with her 5'3" frame unleashing on every groundstroke. The “Pocket Rocket” is a great model for those who wonder if shorter players can still play top-level tennis.
Loser: Rafael Nadal
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Rafael Nadal’s disastrous play the last two weeks in China had him contemplating if he should sit out the remainder of 2016.
In truth, it’s going to take a perfect storm for the Spanish legend to have a 2017 renaissance.
It’s not for a lack of effort but rather from too much effort. The years have taken its toll on his body, and he is struggling to find confidence to hit all-out with his forehand since returning in August from a left-wrist injury.
Is it best that Nadal does forego Paris’ Masters 1000 tournament and London’s ATP World Tour Finals? Certainly the fans will miss him, but it’s getting to the point he is more of a symbolic champion, a reminder of the past when he was the King of Clay and perhaps the toughest competitor in tennis history.
Nadal’s time will be over when he says it is, but for now tennis loses because its two most recognizable legends (including Roger Federer) are down for the count. It’s no longer a given that we will see more than intermittent performances from them.
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Winner: Roberto Bautista Agut
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Roberto Bautista Agut is hardly the kind of contender who can win a major, but the Spaniard is a good ball- striker on hard courts. His big victory was a 6-4, 6-4 semifinal stunner over world No. 1 Novak Djokovic—a match that had the Serb reeling with frustration.
He lost to Andy Murray, but Bautista Agut can now call himself a Masters 1000 finalist. He will also move up to No. 13 in the ATP rankings—a new career high at age 28.
There are a few under-the-radar things to praise about Bautista Agut. He's as good on hard courts as clay. He has a winning record against Dominic Thiem (3-0), David Goffin (2-0) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (3-2). He’s also defeated Tomas Berdych twice and knocked out Juan Martin del Potro in five sets of scorching conditions at the 2014 Australian Open.
Will he continue on to the top 10? It’s a big mountain to climb, but continued consistency and a huge run or two could make it happen.
Loser: Novak Djokovic
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Earlier this week, Djokovic talked about shedding his "must-win mindset," telling the Hindustan Times, "I try to be in this moment and take things slowly, and, you know, I’m not rushing anywhere. I’m not in a need, you know, to achieve anything."
But Djokovic is the best player in the world, a legend with a competitive drive that cannot be turned off, something Bleacher Report noted: "Why Novak Djokovic's New Mindset on Winning Won't Last Long."
He was understandably rusty at Shanghai after resting from competition since his physically ailing U.S. Open final. He struggled by Zverev in the quarterfinals before losing to a more tenacious Roberto Bautista Agut in the semifinals. Djokovic lost his cool and smashed his racket, ripped his shirt and argued with the chair umpire.
So that didn’t take long. He’s clearly not in the right frame of mind, which is not an easy thing for the player who dominated tennis like no other player in the Open era just four months ago. It’s a new kind of pressure. He’s not in the zone right now, and there’s a lot of work to do to regain that timing and edge that made him nearly unbeatable.
It’s no time to panic. After all, Djokovic can still clinch the year-end No. 1 ranking with a title at Paris or at least outlasting Andy Murray there or at the World Tour Finals in London. He’s in the driver’s seat, even if his car is in the pit right now, hoping to cruise back onto the highway and roar past the field.
The bottom line is that he cares immensely about winning major titles and being the No. 1 player. Actions speak louder than words.
Winner: Caroline Wozniacki
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It’s another small step for Caroline Wozniacki on the road back to being a top-10 player. In late summer and after battling injuries, she was lost in obscurity, ranked as low as No. 74. Since, she’s been a U.S. Open semifinalist and now champion at Tokyo and Hong Kong.
Those last two titles give her 25 for her career. From 2008-12, Wozniacki won 20 titles and held the No. 1 ranking for 67 weeks. From 2013-16, she has only five titles, but with two in the past month, it’s a big reason she is up to No. 17. It’s also the first time since 2012 that Wozniacki has won multiple titles in the same year.
Does that mean she’s back? Hardly. She’s 26 years old, but it feels like she’s been on tour for 15 years. Unlike Karolina Pliskova who is only getting started at age 24, Wozniacki has had a lot of downs to go with her successes, and it’s unlikely she will turn her defensive gifts into a more dominating offensive attack.
Let’s see if Wozniacki can turn back some of the bigger stars and challenge for her first career major in Melbourne. She's got a long way to go even though recent play has been more like the younger and more successful Wozniacki.
Loser: Angelique Kerber
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Angelique Kerber’s ride as the No. 1 player has been bumpy out in the Far East. She lost for the third consecutive time in the middle of the week, this time falling to Daria Gavrilova in straight sets.
"It's a long season, and we've been playing for 10 months," Kerber told the media as outlined in Eurosport. "I think I need a few days off because I am tired. I was not serving at my best, I made a lot of double-faults, which is not normal for my game."
Kerber will get her sixth week at No. 1 next Sunday, and then the year-end tournament in Singapore could decide if she holds off Serena Williams for another couple of months. (Williams has been idle since the U.S. Open, and it’s not clear if she will be at her best for Singapore.)
Except Kerber has been limping along, and perhaps the bandaging on her right thigh is symbolic of the price she has paid to run down countless shots.
Or maybe the pressure is mounting. Being the chased is often not as motivating as being the hungry contender. Kerber wants to win, but she’s the target and she’s going to get everyone’s best punches.
Winner: Andy Murray
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Another title for Andy Murray while most of the rest of the ATP tour is banged up, tired and looking to hibernate until January. Even Djokovic would rather have more time off, but Murray’s coming like a freight train around the bend for the finish line to the No. 1 ranking.
Murray’s the Shanghai Masters champion for the third time, and he has 13 Masters 1000 titles, good for No. 5 on the all-time list, though to be fair to anyone who played before the 21st century, it was not planned and emphasized the way it is now. Shanghai, for example, did not exist as a Masters 1000 venue for Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and other legendary champions.
Some of Murray’s current success is timing. While Djokovic has declined with injuries and other issues since June, Murray has been rejuvenated under coach Ivan Lendl. Really, the only opportunity Murray blew was his five-set loss to Kei Nishikori at the U.S. Open quarterfinals; otherwise, he might have won the title and already claimed No. 1.
It’s also fair to say Murray was able to cruise through an easy draw at Shanghai the past week. They were all borderline top-20 players: Steve Johnson, Lucas Pouille, David Goffin, Gilles Simon and Roberto Bautista Agut. He did not have to clash against the strongest players, although many of them simply are not playing well.
There’s also little margin for error if Murray wants No. 1 in early November, but he controls his own destiny. If he wins Paris and the World Tour Finals, he can displace Djokovic at the top. If not, he will need to win the 2017 Australian Open to pull off his quest.
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