No
vak Djokovic is now 38-0 this season after thumping Thiemo De Bakker 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 in his first round match at Roland Garros. He was last beaten 40 matches ago in late 2011 by Roger Federer at the world tour finals.
Djokovic turned up to play today. He didn’t need a few games to get going he was focused and sharp from the beginning of the match – an ominous sign for the rest of the field. There were no signs of fatigue and only one minor blip in his concentration. Read more
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Gael Monfils is a showman. He is also almost always battling some sort of injury. Some of his injuries are just random or are just the results of the load the body goes through to play tennis. His other injuries are the result of him throwing himself, sometime unnecessarily, around the court and frequently coming close to doing the splits.
Monfils seems to treat hard courts like they are clay courts and slide around the court constantly. In his Kooyong Classic final against Lleyton Hewitt we saw him hopping around like he always does when his knees get sore. A few times during his match against Thiemo De Bakker he seemed to pull up quickly but the bizarre match seemed to be more another example of Monfils going hot and cold.
The Frenchman started well, racing to a 5-1 lead in the first set before completely losing his way, and subsequently the first set tie break. Monfil remained unable to re-find anything in the second, finding himself at 1-4 before much time had past.
To his credit, De Bakker, who certainly has a bright future ahead of him, played some great tennis and pushed the lack luster Monfils around the court – even if he did use a crazy number of drop shots to do it.
De Bakker lead 5-2 in the third after an epic seventh game that had nine deuces and easily exceeded 13 minutes that was sealed with an ace. Monfils replied by holding serve to love and slowly but steadily the pressure tightness crept into De Bakker’s game allowing him to be broken after a few poorly timed errors and another love service hold from Gael.
It was impressive to see Monfils fight because sometimes he does sometimes he doesn’t – it depends on which Gael shows up for duty. Before the end of the third set, Monfils had had over 20 break point chances, converting very few. Another confusing statistic was the shear number of drop shots played by De Bakker despite the fact he only won maybe three of them.
In the fifth set a deflated De Bakker was broken and quickly fell behind 1-4. It quickly became clear that De Bakker was struggling with an injury. Monfils won 6-7, 2-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 and will face Portugal’s Frederico Gil.
After the match De Bakker confirmed that he felt pain in his groin during the third set. “I was exactly two sets up. At 4 1 in the third, when I went for a ball, came a little bit in my groin, like a traction. So from that moment I had problems to play rallies and to serve.
I was a little bit lucky at 4 2 already. Like the long game, I just went for it. Came a little bit lucky. And when he broke me back, I knew it was pretty much going to be tough.”
Interestingly Monfils felt he could get into De Bakker’s head and get it to ‘snap’.
Q. Were you surprised he tanked the fourth set?
GAEL MONFILS: Maybe I was surprised it turned like earlier in the fourth like that. Because the first two game, he won it, but he was like in the edge. And then I saw he was tanking. Yeah, maybe if I break him early, yeah, he would tank and then be ready in the fifth. I was kind of surprised.
But I know Thiemo a bit. I know sometime he snap in the head. So this is like a strong belief. We know like he can snap. It’s a weakness for him. So you play with that.
You know, before the match, my coach, Rog, told me, Sometimes Thiemo is not a big believer. When I saw that, you get it (snapping fingers). So you tank, be ready in the fifth, because I will. Maybe this is play for me today.
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Fernando Verdasco’s bid to qualify for the year end Masters in London has suffered another blow with his third consecutive first round defeat. In Shaghai he was defeated by Thiemo de Bakker 7-6, 7-5. De Bakker is having his break through year and was elated to claim the Spaniards scalp, his second win over a top ten player this season.
It took de Bakker just under two hours to defeat the Spanish number two on the same day that Verdasco’s best friend Feliciano Lopez fell in straight sets to Jo Wilfried Tsonga.
June has seen an incredible month of tennis from Nadal reclaiming Roland Garros, the emergence of Thiemo De Bakker and Alexandr Dolgopolov but who could look past the players who created history: Nicolas Mahut and John Isner.
The two deserve to share the title after playing for over 11 hours over three days and going to 70-68 in the fifth set. The statistics for the match were incredible and there is simply no way to look passed them as the players of the month.
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- Exhausted John Isner had nothing left to offer after his 11 hour first round match against Nicolas Mahut. Today he attempted to back up the performance when he took on Thiemo De Bakker, one of the break through players of 2010, but came up short and with a sore neck. Isner was treated for neck pain during the match and didn’t stay on court long, he lost 6-0, 6-3, 6-2. Isner looked like he was struggling to walk.
- Isner’s fellow warrior, Nicolas Mahut, has been offered a free Club Med holiday by the company to recharge his batteries. Impressively Mahut played doubles after the conclusion of his epic match with Isner yesterday. Apparently Mahut was crying uncontrollably and shaking in the locker room after losing to Isner. He deserves a holiday.
- Maria Kirilenko’s some times dodgy serve, played up again a bit today as she struggled to control the power of Kim Clijsters. Clijsters is hoping to claim her second Grand Slam since her return to the tour almost a year ago, and her first ever Wimbledon title. She beat Kirilenko 6-3, 6-3.
- Novak Djokovic who is currently on court against Albert Montanes has been seen shaking his arm and wearing Kinesio tape on his neck… watch this space.
- Venus Williams has a new book coming out on Tuesday called “Come to Win”…. Hasn’t it been a while since she has won? (Acapulco?)
- After being shafted to Court 2, instead of Centre Court in front of the Queen as she had hoped, Serena Williams came out swinging, destroying opponent Anna Chakvetadze 6-0, 6-1. Serena did get to meet the Queen after practicing her curtsy. “My curtsy didn’t go the way I wanted. I didn’t get the right wrist action, and then I got nervous. It was amazing to meet the Queen. And to meet her at Wimbledon, it was really an unbelievable moment… I have mixed feelings about playing on court two. I don’t think I should be out there. But when I was leaving, I stayed for a while, and I signed tons of autographs. A lot of these people can’t get into the Centre Court so that was a good thing.”
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John Isner and Nicolas Mahut tried to battle to the death for a second round spot today as play continued on their first round match which was the longest match ever in terms of duration and games played in a fifth set. The match had been halted on Tuesday after Isner won the fourth set tiebreak due to poor light and the match will continue on Thursday. The two played for exactly 10 hours before play was ceased, unable to decide a winner after an epic fifth set that saw the men stuck at 59-59.
The interesting thing is the match is stuck at 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 59-59 and because it’s only a first round, whoever wins will have to play Thiemo De Bakker on the same day. The fifth set alone was over 7 hours.
The match was the longest Wimbledon, and the world, has ever seen and it’s about to get longer.
Interestingly here are some ‘longest’ stats to show you how epic the Isner V Mahut match was:
Needless to say both players, who’s skills of recovery are not widely coveted (particularly Isner), will be sore and weary tomorrow and will likely struggle to make it deep into the tournament after the energy sapping, fantastic, history making match when they resume play.
Full article http://www.thebigtip.com.au/tennis/79-news/645-history-made-at-wimbledon
Posted in John Isner, Match Report, Nicolas Mahut, The Big Tip, Thiemo De Bakker, Wimbledon
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Lleyton Hewitt has suffered a possible set back in his Wimbledon homes, with yet another injury issue, although this time not with his hips or knees. Hewitt reportedly felt felt a twinge in his neck during the second set of his match against Thiemo De Bakker. He managed to continue to play to book a place in the quarterfinals where he will face Andreas Beck.
“I felt a bit of stiffness in my neck when I went back for a smash and I didn’t want it to get worse, but I was able to keep going, which was good. I served very well and cleanly – I have not put a foot wrong so far. If I can take care of my serve, then I feel I am as good a returner as anyone. I think I can do some damage if I get the right draw.”
Posted in Andreas Beck, Halle, Lleyton Hewitt, Thiemo De Bakker
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Robin Soderling was in fine form today, defeating Thiemo De Bakker in their Barcelona semi final match up 6-1, 6-4. Soderling quickly raced to a 2-0 lead against the underdog who had taken out Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Juan Carlos Ferrero on his path the the semi’s. De Bakker managed to push Soderling to deuce in the next game but was unable to get past the flat forehand of the Swede. De Bakker did manage to get his name on the board in the fourth game after working hard to hold serve.
In the fifth game De Bakker had one break point opportunity, but ultimately Robin was too strong and Thiemo was commiting too many unforced errors, and after just over 30 minutes Soderling took the first set 6-1.
The momentum stayed with the Swede as he broke in the opening game, held his own serve and then was gifted a second break when De Bakker threw in his second double fault on break point. While the outcome was inevitable De Bakker kept fighting managing to hold serve and then break Robin to minimize the deficit to 2-4 after a slight dip in concentration from the Swede. He then followed it up with a service game to love, making the scoreline 4-3 in favour of Soderling after scoring 3 consecutive games. Soderling made no mistake on the next game, taking a 5-3 lead and forcing De Bakker to serve to stay in the match which he duly did, having settled into the match.
Soderling found himself at match point after firing down his third ace, and after an hour and 16 minutes Soderling had his place in the finals.
Soderling will now face home crowd favourite Fernando Verdasco in the finals who made an incredible comeback in his match against Ferrer from a set and a break down. The two have played on five occassions with Soderling leading 4-1. Their last three matches were also won by the Swede, the most recent being in Canada in 2008. However, since the Davis Cup finals at the end of 2008 Verdasco has started to fullfil his potential.
It will be an interesting match between the world number 8 and 9 and the tournaments top two seeds. While Verdasco has started to discover his own ability he still doesn’t have a great record against top 10 players. As much as I want Verdasco to win I think it might be Soderling in 3 set – but I’m happy to be wrong, Verdasco is the better mover on clay.
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Fernando Verdasco has booked a spot in the Barcelona finals for the first time after defeating compatriot David Ferrer 6-7, 7-5, 6-1. Ferrer has made semi final appearances every year over the last 4 years and was a finalist in 2008 and 2009 where he was defeated by Rafael Nadal.
Ferrer was looking good early on to make a play for his first title in Barcelona after making his way back from an early break in the first set. He was playing aggressive tennis and found himself 5-4 ahead, forcing Verdasco to serve to stay in the set. Fernando’s 4th ace helped him hold to level at 5-5, with the Spanish number 2 eventually forcing a tie break.
Ferrer quickly got the mini break and a 4-2 lead in the tie break as the boys battled it out, with Ferrer maintaining his aggressive level of play. Another mini break gave Ferrer the set after an hour and six minutes of play.
The second set was a battle just like the first. Ferrer maintained the momentum and took an early 3-2 lead and looked to be in a convincing position for a 3rd consecutive final and a shot at the title. Fernando wasn’t willing to give up so easily, fighting back to break and then hold for a 5-4 lead. At 6-5 Ferrer was serving to force a tie break and battled to hold with multiple deuce-advantage plays and Verdasco losing 4 set points before he finally converted his 5th set point and took the second set 7-5 with just over 2 hours on the clock.
It seemed that a frustrated Ferrer then lost his way as Verdasco continued to blast his serve and forehand around the court. After just over 15 minutes Ferrer found himself looking at defeat and desperately fighting to prevent a bagel in the third set. He eventually managed to hold but Verdasco took advantage of serving first in the 3rd set and of Ferrer’s drop in form to take the third and decisive set 6-1.
It is the second consecutive final for Verdasco. He was runner up in Monte Carlo last week. He will play the winner of Thiemo De Bakker and Robin Soderling.
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Thiemo De Bakker has proved himself to be a good clay court player in Barcelona after booking his place to reach the semi-finals of the 500 point tournament by defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in 2 hours and 6 minutes. His victory means that he will now face Robin Soderling in the semi’s after Soderling comprehensively defeated Eduardo Schwank.
The victory is the first for De Bakker over a top ten player who had previously played a tight match against Tsonga in Davis Cup in 2009. “It feels great to get my first win over a top-10 player, it’s a big step forward for me. I had a tough match with Jo in Davis Cup last year, so it feels great to come through this time.” The win comes a day after De Bakker surprises Juan Carlos Ferrero.
De Bakker is a former junior world number 1.
