Top Ten Thoughts about Tennis in 2010 - Part I
With the tennis season at an end for both the Association of Tennis Professionals and the Women’s Tennis Association, fans and critics alike are discussing the most important events of one of the most thrilling and surprising years of the decade. This list
talks about the ten most salient thoughts about tennis and the achievements of many of the players within this time. The first instalment of this series enlists the first three of ten points.
1. While Rafael Nadal has had an admirable year, his 2010 run does not come even close to a reasonable comparison with World Number 2 Roger Federer’s campaign in the year 2010. While this takes nothing away from Rafa, who has had a remarkable run indeed;
the player completed his career Grand Slam with the US Open victory, became the seventh man in tennis history to do so, and also became the first player in over 40 years to conquer the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open within the same tennis season. However,
Federer’s 2006 season was by far much more impressive. Although both players won three Grand Slam titles in their respective career years, Federer also managed to make it to the final of another Grand Slam. In addition to this, he won four Masters events and
was a finalist at two others. The only upper-level event in which he played and did not make the finals was Cincinnati. To top it off, he also took away the season-ending championships. Federer was truly unbeatable in 2006, which is proven by the match tally:
Federer won 92 matches and lost 5 in 2006, while Rafa won 71 and lost 10 this year. The advantage clearly goes to Federer.
2. 2010 was also a great year for American male tennis players. While the Americans could not leave their marks on the Majors, Andy Roddick almost took away the Indian Wells-Key Biscayne double. Mardy Fish won two tournaments, and almost defeated World Number
2 Roger Federer at the Cincinnati final. San Francisco’s Sam Querrey two-upped Fish by winning four tournaments, and John Isner fought one of the most legendary matches in tennis history. In addition to this, up and coming player 18 year old Ryan Harrison
was a showstopper for one day at the US Open. Although the Slams were not noteworthy for these players, their other achievements are beyond reproach.
3. One of the basic rules of thumb in tennis is that it is never too late. British Number 1 Andy Murray is only 23 years old, and has already been a member of the top five on the ATP for over a 100 straight weeks. However, some sceptics have already declared
that he will never be able to take away a Grand Slam final. For these pessimists, there is the example of pro Ivan Ljubicic. Putting together the 22 tournaments Ljubicic played, his accumulative points equal 965 – or every tournament except the Indian Wells
event, which he won in a surprise victory and out of which he amassed 1000 ranking points. The point is that any player can make a substantial improvement in two weeks, and Murray is one of the most consistent players on tour. The same goes for players like
Fernando Verdasco and David Nalbandian.
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