Del Potro, Stosur, Rybarikova, Granollers Capture Titles

Hearty Congrats to Del Potro !! It seems that he is finally realizing his true potential. He just showed at Wimbledon as to how he is a big match player and now winning this title will surely give him the momentum at US Open where he has won already. It will really not be a surprise if Del Potro manages to win the Us Open title.

August 5th, 2013 at 2:13 am

Congrats to Delpo and all his fans here.

Michael, well said. My only concern is he needs to be wise with his schedules if he wants to win GS. He is really potential and kind of all court player. Any more thought?

August 5th, 2013 at 2:54 am

Delpo has been my fav player since he won Washington in 2009. I couldn’t believe how well he played against Roddick in the final of this very tournament. Seeing him in person in Armstrong at the Open a month later was unlike any player I’d ever seen or since. I really suggest trying to see him the 1st week of the Open if you can b/c they mostly put him on Armstrong. I’m glad he started his hard court season with a title, though Isner played well in that 1st set.

I think he has a real shot this year at the Open. He’s clearly more motivated and confident then I’ve seen him since he came back from injury. He has learned form his losses and the Wimbledon semi and Indian Wells has helped him believe he can beat the top four. He nearly beat Federer in the French semi in 2009 and then went on to beat him in the final at Flushing. Maybe the same pattern will happen w/ a close loss in a Wimbledon semi, but triumph at the US Open. He’s a nice guy who doesn’t seek the limelight, has a sense of humor (watch his interviews), and he just wants to play his best tennis.

August 5th, 2013 at 3:14 am

Congratulations Delpo! Well deserved win. While Novak and Andy are the clear favorites in the US Open series, I believe Delpo and Rafa will be the dangerous players. These two will be highly motivated as one didn’t play all of the HCs season last year due to injury and the other has kinda underperformed for a former US Open champ. Agree with Michael that Delpo must be confident that if he plays his best he can beat the big four. He beat Murray and Djokovic and nearly ran away with the title at Indian Wells and it took Nadal to play one of his best HC finals to defeat him. And then again at Wimbledon on his least preferred surface, he took on a on song world no.1 Djokovic and nearly won their epic 5 sets match. He is definitely gonna fight for the US Open title. And if he somehow wins it, tennis will be richer for it. All the best, Delpo! Vamos!

August 5th, 2013 at 5:40 am

I have no doubt that some more HC GS or HC titles, will even out Rafas already impressive resume,i have to say i have never cared about the surface,if you are good enough to win the title,you will win it regardless of the surface or the court speed,he won the title in 2010 and made the final the following year,so hes hardly a slouch when it comes to the USO,although i would say it favours Andy,Nole and Delpo before Rafa,due to the form they have shown lately,Delpos just won a title so he will be extra motivated,Andy will be on a high after Wimbledon,Novak is still the number 1 ranked player,so he will be itching to reassert his authority over the rest,i would have Rafa and Roger as the two dark horses JMO.

August 5th, 2013 at 5:57 am

Metan,

Thanks. As you rightly said, he has to plan his schedule well if he is to remain as a potent force as he is a highly injury prone player. Other than that, I cannot seriously see any major faultlines in his game. His phenomenal forehand is to be seen to be believed where the ball just get a whack from the racquet and loses its cover. That booming first serve is another major weapon in the arsenal of Del Potro and what I like about that is the easy way he serves without putting much effort by deploying a high toss of the ball. It is just pleasing to watch that service motion. His double handed backhand too has no major holes but it is not ferocious just like his forehand. What he basically lacks is his weakness to drop shots by opponents where he seems to be not too much stretching himself to pick up those which land near the net. Roger normally exploits Del Potro’s weakness on this front. His giant size figure is certainly not an impediment and I do not think he can much improve on that. But all things considered, he is a great player and should definitely fit into the top 5 atleast. I see a bright future for him with a caveat that he remains injury free.

August 5th, 2013 at 6:50 am

James,

Never count out Del Potro in the series of US Open tournaments. He is one of the favourites with the way he has gained confidence after that wimbledon semi final with Novak. That was Grass court which is Del Potro’s weakest surface. He is totally a different animal on hard courts and will be hard to beat. After this win at Washington Classic, he will surely have that extra momentum going forward. I see him as one of the favourites to win the US Open apart from Novak, Andy and Rafa. The winner of the title must be out of these four, necessarily in that order I would say.

August 5th, 2013 at 6:54 am

Alison,

I quite agree with you. Rafa can definitely win the US Open once again. Why not ? When it was possible in 2010, it is quite possible today. But it will all boil down to the kind of form he is in and that will be revealed at Montreal. His performance there will definitely give a clue about his chances at the Us Open.

August 5th, 2013 at 6:56 am

Michael thankyou yeah,i dont see why not to be honest?and as Kimberly said the irony is that Rafa hasnt struggled in earlier rounds at the USO the way he has on the GC at Wimbledon strangely enough,time will tell though i suppose.

August 5th, 2013 at 7:29 am

I have a feeling Delpo is gonna make a breakthrough,just a hunch,i dont know why?

August 5th, 2013 at 7:31 am

Nice post fro Emily,i hope she sticks around,nice to here of some fans posting outside the top 4 players,i like Volleys posts too Tsonga fan i believe?

August 5th, 2013 at 7:33 am

Michael,

Thank you for your comments above and those beautiful thoughts about Delpo. Did you watch him playing against Haas??. It was cool especially after raining. He chased after Haas from 1-4 till surpassed him till the end of match.

I just want to figure out more why are the tall tennis players highly injury prone???

August 5th, 2013 at 9:05 am

Emily,

I am glad that you are Delpo fans. Congratulation to you for his winning @ Washington. Wish him enough rest and good luck for Montecarlo. Stick around please.

August 5th, 2013 at 9:08 am

Surprising result from Stosur, beating Azarenka for the first time. The Aussie is one of those frustrating players who has a good attacking game and ought to give real competition even to Serena. Sam’s limitations are mental, and those are hard to overcome. In some ways she reminds me of another powerful player who rather underachieved – Amelie Mauresmo.

I believe Delpo is likely to meet Andy in Montreal. Of course I want Andy to win, and my guess is he will, but if not I too will back the big man.

BTW, isn’t it nice and simple now Roddick is retired? I can just write “Andy” without having to specify further!

August 5th, 2013 at 9:32 am

I read so much tosh all over the internet about how Djoker and Murray are the in-form players. Yes they both made the Wimbledon final and Rafa went out in the first round, but Djoko has also failed to win 6 of 9 tournaments he’s played this year and Murray has failed to win 5 out of 9 tournaments he’s played. They were both beaten at IW by Delpo who Rafa beat in the final.

So by what standards are Novak and Murray judged to be so much better than Rafa?

August 5th, 2013 at 9:57 am

Rafaeli,

All we want is our man will bite the throphy, but let time tell us please . Ev

August 5th, 2013 at 10:07 am

Rafaeli,

All we want is our man will bite the throphy, but let time tell us please, cozin believe every player who are in the draw wants the title , money, and pointspoints. They all will do their best.

Vamos King!

August 5th, 2013 at 10:10 am

Sorry for double post and typos.

August 5th, 2013 at 10:12 am

@rafaeli, on paper, Novak and Andy are the HC kings. They have been the best players on cement in the last couple of years or so. While Rafa did win at Indian Wells, he did not take part in the summer HC season last year and the year before that he lost the US Open final to Novak. So on paper, the defending Rogers cup champion and 2012 US Open finalist Novak Djokovic and the reigning US Open champion Andy Murray are the rightful favorites for the US Open series. However, matches are not played and won on paper, and anyone writing off Rafa will be in for a surprise. Because in reality, Rafa (and Delpo too) is very much capable of beating anyone on the outdoors harcourts. It is up to Rafa to prove his critics wrong once again. I’m hopeful he will.

August 5th, 2013 at 10:20 am

@metan,

I don’t know if Rafa will win the Rogers cup or not but a friend of mine in Montreal who saw him practice with Murray said that Rafa looked the better player in the practice. He said Rafa was moving as well as when he last saw him at Flushing meadows in 2010. That’s good news for us Rafa fans, no?

August 5th, 2013 at 10:33 am

I think we should be careful how we bandie about the ‘King’ word. Rafa as King of Clay thoroughly deserves it, but Andy and Murray are nowhere as dominant on h/c as Rafa is on clay so I would not go as far as calling them Kings of H/C.

Last year, Andy lost in R16 in Canada, Ciny and Paris; he also lost in the Qtrs at IW this year. Djoko lost his 1st match in Paris last year and lost in R16 in Miami and the SF at IW. Hardly undiluted supremacy.

August 5th, 2013 at 10:36 am

http://espn.go.com/blog/peter-bodo/post/_/id/402/all-eyes-on-the-return-of-the-big-four

“But the big story to my mind in Montreal is Rafael Nadal. He has called a moratorium on discussing his aching knees, but that doesn’t mean we can’t keep droning on and on about it. It may seem surprising to some, but right now Nadal still leads the field in the race for the year-end No. 1 ranking. That’s mainly because he’s so utterly dominant on European clay.

And though Djokovic and Murray have laid claim to the hard-court kingdom in recent years, Nadal is no slouch on the surface. He has won two Grand Slams on outdoor hard (the Australian and U.S. Open) and six hard-court Masters titles, including four in North America and two in Canada. Montreal could be a telling indicator for the US Open, which begins less than a month from now. ”

Touché, monsieur Bodo, touché……..

August 5th, 2013 at 10:45 am

rafaeli, US Open champion Andy Murray and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic have the best records on the surface in the last 12 months or so. So why shouldn’t they be the favorites??
I don’t see any problem with that at all. And as a Rafa fan, I’m not too bothered with who’s the favorite and who isn’t. Rafa or for that matter any player don’t need to be the favorite to need win a tournament. Rafa wasn’t the no.1 favorite at Indian Wells yet he won. I believe the guy is capable of winning more HC tournaments and don’t really care if he’s the favorite or not. What matters more is his form going into a tournament.

August 5th, 2013 at 10:51 am

@James,
Your post at 10:33am so cool.❤❤

@Rafaeli,point taken. Thanks.

August 5th, 2013 at 10:51 am

@Emily: great to see a fan who’s number 1 is a class act like Delpo. Nice to see you posting here: it be great to have more fans other players here aside from the bi 4 names.

August 5th, 2013 at 10:53 am

@Colin: LOL true re Andy. Another privilege to enjoy.

August 5th, 2013 at 10:55 am

thanks @metan :)

hungry Rafa with no knee injury in Canada. He’s gonna bite some HC trophies now, no?;)

August 5th, 2013 at 10:58 am

A big congrats to Delpo for his win! He’s a fantastic player but moreso a true class act. Always been fond of him as I think virtually all are to be honest. I hope he has a great HC summer and I genuinely think he is only 1 big win away from being there with nole, muzza and rafa as a automatic contender for all events entered. He’s got too good a game, big match game, mental strength, talent to be not considered the real deal. He’s a GS winner, only 24 and look what he did at Wimby. It would possibly be the best thing for the game to see Delpo win the USO this year. Then we could have a mighty top 4: nole, muzza, rafa, delpo. That would be a treat!

August 5th, 2013 at 10:59 am

Of course Murray and Djoko won the USO and the AO, but let’s not forget that Rafa couldn’t be expected to win tournaments whilst he was in Mallorca nursing a sore knee.

Rafa’s dominance on clay didn’t stop people making Djokovic favourite or joint-fav (whatever!) for clay titles in the last couple of years. I say again, the ‘K’ word should be used sparingly.

August 5th, 2013 at 11:04 am

people even rate Delpo higher than Rafa on h/c and Delpo hasn’t got a single h/c M1000 to his name. Rafa’s got about 5.

August 5th, 2013 at 11:10 am

Even a Delpo thread gets pwned by the Rafafanatics
*sigh*

August 5th, 2013 at 11:19 am

rafaeli,

Andy and Novak are the joint favs in the US Open series right now, but things can change easily if Rafa takes them down and/or win in Canada. Rafa will be looking to remind his doubters why he’s one of the greatests of all time. Rafa has taken down other future hall of famers on their most dominant surface, and I have no doubt he will do it again and win more HC tournaments, including the biggest ones.

August 5th, 2013 at 11:20 am

I like Delpo too but Rafa is clearly the better player on any surface.
Delpo’s a powerful player but IMO Novak, Andy and Rafa have him beat in one area, movement. I’ve seen Delpo many times come close to beating Rafa or Novak only to lose because he couldn’t retrieve the ball as well as them and lose some points like that.

August 5th, 2013 at 11:28 am

@metan – One of the reasons the tall boys are so injury-prone, especially before 25, is that they literally haven’t finished growing yet. There are spaces between their bones that haven’t fully “closed” to the average space for the human body, and so everything else attached to said bones — muscles, ligaments — is then that much more vulnerable.

@skeezer – Goodness, it’s too early in the day for you to be so grouchy and negative already. Sit down. Have some kava.

*smh*

August 5th, 2013 at 11:51 am

skeezer, how is your back?

August 5th, 2013 at 5:40 pm

Thanks for all the nice comments about my post. I agree w/ James that Delpo can always work on his movement, but he’s really developed his backhand slice, which is a big reason he made the final at Indian Wells.
I’m really interested to see what happens in the next two weeks, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Delpo finally gets a Masters 1000. Won’t be easy though

August 5th, 2013 at 7:15 pm

Emily, if Andrei Pavel can win a Masters 1000, Im pretty sure Del Potro can win at least 5 like Kuerten, Roddick and some other very good players.

August 5th, 2013 at 7:36 pm

Metan,

Unfortunately due to my busy commitments, I couldn’t watch that engrossing match between Del Potro and Haas. As regards why all the Tall players are injury prone, well it may be because they do not move well on Courts although they have a good court coverage due to their abnormal height. Moreover, all the tall players struggle with the drop shots and they are not able to bend as they would like. That puts a tremendous strain on their back. And I also seem to agree as to what M says about the growth process in tall individuals which risks them with injury. All said and done, being tall in Tennis has its advantages as well as disadvantages. But, Tall Players fits more into basket ball or Volley ball than Tennis.

August 6th, 2013 at 1:04 am

I think the main reason for injuries to players like Delpo is nothing more complicated than WEIGHT.
The sudden explosive changes of direction required by tennis put the stress of all that weight on joints – hips, knees and ankles. Delpo is very heavy for a tennis player. Rafa is not all that tall but he’s bulky. Lindsey Davenport was a big woman and suffered with ankle trouble.

Muscles and stamina can be strengthened by various legal or illegal methods, but you can’t strengthen your joints.

M, I don’t think there are “spaces” between the bones. There are growth plates on the ends of the bones which close when growth finishes, usually about age 21. For there to be “spaces” the skeleton would have to have a preset size, surely, and nature doesn’t work that way. Growth finishes when it finishes, not when it’s reached a predestined level. Otherwise, every adult would be the same size!

August 6th, 2013 at 4:20 am

proper height of modern tennis player is between 185 cm and 190 cm

August 7th, 2013 at 4:55 pm