By Chris Oddo | Monday, June 16, 2014
Roger was regal, Grigor was slip-sliding away, and Ana was breaking through. It's all in this week's Heroes and Zeros.
Photo Source: Gerry Weber Open
The beginning of the grass court season—or interlude as our own Erik Gudris calls it—produced plenty of excitement, lots of drama, some shock, and many, many smiles. There were Dimitrov’s tire tracks in Queen’s, Federer’s Seventh crown in Halle (lujah), and Ana Ivanovic’s maiden grass title in Birmingham. We’ll get to ‘em all—and then some—in this week’s heroes and zeros.
More: Federer's 7th Halle Title | Ivanovic Wins First Grass Title | Dimitrov Slides Past Lopez for Queen's Title
Without any further ado…
Hero: Roger Federer
It’s grass court season, so why not lead with the king of grass, the man who notched his seventh Halle title on Sunday to improve his career record on the short, stubby, green stuff to a whopping 125-18.
The maestro’s performance was solid, particularly in the semifinals where he ended a two-match losing streak against Kei Nishikori with a steely straight-sets triumph. What was perhaps most impressive about Federer’s title run was the way he played the big points and the tiebreakers. He seemed calm and determined on his beloved grass, and whenever he needed a boost from his serve it was there. All in all it was the perfect confidence-building tune-up for the maestro. He’ll enter Wimbledon with the belief that he is better-suited for winning a Slam on grass than any other surface, and that showed this week in Halle.
Plus, he got a low five from a bear, so there’s that…
Zero: Andy Murray
Not a good start to the Mauresmo era, as Andy Murray had his title defense toppled by Radek Stepanek, 7-6(10), 6-2 in the round of 16 at Queen’s Club. This was supposed to be the time that Andy really hit the ground running in 2014, but instead he’ll have to go into Wimbledon with an under performance at Queen’s and a new, relatively unfamiliar coaching set-up to wrap his brain around. Sounds challenging, but Murray certainly is capable of overcoming all of it…
Hero: Grigor Dimitrov
There is so much to love about Grigor Dimitrov’s first career grass court title. Forget about the chance that Feliciano Lopez was one stiff forehand away from pulling the upset in the final (Dimitrov saved a match point, but Lopez did all the work in netting a second-serve return), and instead remember the absolute magnetism and allure of Dimitrov. What a captivating performer the Bulgarian is! What an electric shotmaker!
He seems made for success on grass and yet Dimitrov has yet to get beyond the second round of Wimbledon in four previous appearances. One would think that will have to change in 2014. He exhibits all the skills necessary for grass success: the serve is mighty, the aggressive forehand is daunting, the volleying touch is pristine, and oh my god the MOVEMENT!!!
Hero: Dustin Brown and Rafael Nadal
Because of this point!!!
Beyond that point, all credit to Brown for playing some fantastic, smash-mouth grass-court tennis against Nadal, and for nearly getting by Philipp Kohlschreiber in the quarterfinals. Brown’s brand of tennis is wildly entertaining, and the more the masses get to see of them, the more popular he becomes. He’s a rare and somewhat stratospheric talent. Definitely raw and high-risk, but when he finds his range, he plays some of the most entertaining, visually pleasing tennis on the tour today.
Put another way: Nobody wants to miss his first-round match at Wimbledon, and no top player wants to see his name across from theirs in the draw.
Zero: Sloane Stephens
We love Sloane and find her radiant, talented and headed for bigger things. But seriously, until she reaches her first tour-level final, we just have to keep hitting her with zeros. She was bounced form the Birmingham draw by Shuai Zhang in the quarterfinals. Zhang is an excellent player in good form, but the 6-3, 6-1 scoreline is just not good enough from Sloane.
Hero: Ana Ivanovic
Ana’s year just keeps getting better. The former No. 1 won her first career title on grass, and her third of the season. How’s this for a stat? The only WTA players with three titles this season are Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic, and Ivanovic has notched wins over both Williams and Sharapova. The Serb comes in at No. 11 in the world this week, just one shy of her long awaited return to the top ten. Can she crack the code at Wimbledon? All signs point to a big, resounding yes.
Now some studs and duds from the week that was:
Stud: Alejandro Falla
The 30-year-old Colombian reached his first career final on grass, and second overall. He also played Roger pretty tough in the final, falling in two tiebreakers. Can you say Wimbledon dark horse?
Dud: Rafael Nadal
Many are saying that it was silly of Rafael Nadal to even show up to Halle with the fatigue from the long, grueling clay-court season still in his legs. We say he did the right thing, honoring his obligation and trying to get some feel for the grass game ahead of Wimbledon. Unfortunately for Nadal, the way he was blown off the court by Dustin Brown can’t be good for his confidence. And, there are these ominous grass stats that Nadal has amassed since 2011:
Stud: Casey Dellacqua
The Aussie reached the semifinals at Birmingham, taking out second-seeded Sam Stosur en route, and reaches a career-high ranking of No. 36 in the world for her efforts.
Stud: Feliciano Lopez
The Spaniard came within a whisker of being the oldest player to win the Queen's Club title since 1978. And he produced brilliant, aesthetically pleasing grass court tennis all week long, which enabled him to upset Tomas Berdych and reach the final.
Notes and Quotes and Odds and Sods
Maria Sharapova got lots of attention while backing her boyfriend Grigor Dimitrov in London. And, yes, her wind-blown locks were looking lovely…
Grigor won the match, Stan lost the racquet…
Credit to all who got involved with #RallyForBally, as over 50,000 British Pounds have been raised, and credit to Andy Murray for that face.
It truly is astonishing what Grigor Dimitrov can do with those crazy legs of his.
Suddenly the partnerships makes sense. Boris knows grass…
Awwwwwwwww…
Rest assured, you are not the only one, Rajeev:
Looks like Serena has the chills, too (because it’s cold!). And no, that hot pink top won’t keep you warm in rainy, cold London.