Tennis Acumen

Salute to Mahut & Wimbledon Observations

 

PETE ZIEBRON

Nicolas Mahut fell to John Isner in the 5th set 70-68 in a first round match at Wimbledon today that took 11 hours and 5 minutes to complete over a three day period.

Having to serve from behind for the entire 5th set, Mahut explained that his focus was keen: "I was just thinking about winning the game I was playing, the point I was playing again and again."

Mahut is currently ranked #148 and had to play 3 qualifying matches to gain entry into the main draw.  In his second round of the qualies, Mahut came from one set down and dug deep to defeat  Alex Bogdanovic of Great Britain 24-22 in the decisive third set to advance to the third and final round.  Next, Mahut came back from a two sets to one deficit to defeat Stefan Koubek to gain entry into the main Wimbledon draw.

• Amazingly, Mahut took the court once again later in the day when he paired with Arnaud Clement for his 1st round doubles match.  For the third consecutive day, Mahut was not able to finish his match as play was suspended due to darkness with Mahut and Clement trailing Brits Colin Fleming and Kenneth Skupski 6-7.  John Isner withdrew from doubles competition, as he is scheduled to play the first match on Court 5 tomorrow against Thiemo De Bakker of the Netherlands.

Although Mahut won the 2000 Wimbledon Junior title, defeating Mario Ancic, his best showing as a professional was a 3rd round appearance in 2006, where he lost to eventual champion Roger Federer.

However, in 2007, Mahut enjoyed his best success when he defeated Rafael Nadal in the Queen's Club quarterfinals and lost to Andy Roddick in the Final despite winning the first set.

 

• Roland Garros Champion Francesca Schiavone and Finalist Samantha Stosur were both eliminated in the 1st round at Wimbledon.

 

• #1 seed Roger Federer and #2 seed Rafael Nadal have each played and won a 5 set match through the first 2 rounds.

• 12 Mens 1st round mens went 5 sets.
•  10 2nd round matches went 5 sets.

• The longest mens matches include:
• Isner 70-68 v. Mahut (1st)
• De Bakker 16-14 v. Giraldo (1st)
  
• Davydenko 9-7 v. Anderson (1st)
• Tsonga 10-8 v. Dolgopolov (2nd)
  
• Kohlschreiber 9-7 v. Gabashvili (2nd)
• Chardy 8-6 v. Lacko (2nd)

 

 

Unbreakable: Rafael Nadal Saves All 8 Break Points to Secure 5th Roland Garros Title

PETE ZIEBRON

 

Rafael Nadal reclaimed the #1 ranking and won his 7th Grand Slam title at Roland Garros on Sunday.  (Charles Gabrean Photography)

 

Rafael Nadal saved his very best tennis for the 2010 Roland Garros Final, defeating 5th seeded Robin Soderling 6-4 6-2 6-4 to win his 5th Coupe de Muskateer in Paris on Sunday.  Soderling had several opportunities, 8 to be exact, to break Nadal and either take control of the match in the first set or fight his way back into the match in the second set.  Instead, it was Nadal with the fight, denying Soderling any opportunity to feel comfortable on the terre bateau on Philippe Chatrier Court.

Saving break points in Grand Slam Final victories has become a Nadal staple in the 7 Slams that he has won.  Recently, Nadal's improved serve has been a significant factor in his ability to turn break point opportunities into frustration for his opponents.

Break Point conversion of Nadal opponents in his 7 Grand Slam wins:

 

• '05 RG Puerta     3/14
• '06 RG Federer   3/10
• '07 RG Federer   1/17
• '08 RG Federer   1/4
• '08 W   Federer   1/13
• '09 AO Federer   6/19
• '10 RG Soderling 0/8

Heading into the clay court season, Nadal had not won a tournament in 11 months.  The drought ended in explosive fashion as he swept all 3 Masters 1000 tournaments in Monte Carlo, Rome and Madrid and at Roland Garros, Nadal put a final exclamation point on the 2010 clay court season by winning all 21 sets and did not face a set point in the tournament.

Despite the fact that the grass court season begins tomorrow in London and Halle, Germany, Nadal has his sights set on a US Open title, which would give him a career Grand Slam.  Following the trophy presentation, Nadal shared the following with John McEnroe and an American television audience:

 

• "See you in the US Open because its the one who remains for me and I always have a special motivation for this, so see you then."

Nadal's best showing in New York is a pair of semifinal appearances in the past two seasons where he lost to Juan Martin del Potro last year and Andy Murray in 2008.

Robin Soderling Rocks RG Once Again With Conquest of Federer

PETE ZIEBRON

Robin Soderling in action earlier this year at Indian Wells (Pete Ziebron Images)

 

Robin Soderling once again stormed Philippe Chatrier court to convincingly defeat the #1 seed and defending champion for the second consecutive year.  Last year, Soderling dealt Rafael Nadal his first ever loss at Roland Garros and today he ended Roger Federer's bid for a 24th straight berth in a Grand Slam semifinal 3-6 6-3 7-5 6-4.

• With the match tied at a set apiece and 5-5 in the third set, rain fell once more in Paris and interjected with a 1 hour 15 minute delay.  Soderling was faster to adjust to the heavier conditions following the precipitation and proceeded to break Federer and then serve out the set.  Although Federer raced to a 2-0 lead in the 4th set, he was quickly broken and also failed to hold his serve later at 4-4.  

Although Soderling has started to show the form that he exhibited last year at Roland Garros, his results in 2010 have been mixed.  Two shocking first round exits to begin the 2010 campaign to 100th ranked Robby Ginepri in Chennai and to 113th ranked Marcel Granollers at the Australian Open 

caused Soderling to reconsider his schedule and he promptly requested a Wild Card to enter the 500 level tourney in Rotterdam where he defeated Mikhail Youzhny to win his 5th title.  To date, the Rotterdam crown is Soderling's most significant title in his career.  

Soderling then started to play well and advanced to the semifinals at both spring Masters 1000 tourneys in the US, where he lost to Andy Roddick in Indian Wells and to Tomas Berdych in Miami.

However his results heading into Roland Garros were less than spectacular.  Following a loss in the Barcelona Final to Fernando Verdasco,

Soderling arrived at Roland Garros with a 3 match losing streak:

 

•  Nice  #60 Olivier Rochus     6-2 4-6 4-6
•  Madrid  #35 Nicolas Almagro           4-6 5-7
•  Rome  #26 Stanislaus Wawrinka     3-6 2-6

 

Soderling will play Tomas Berdych on Friday for a place in the 2010 Roland Garros Final.  Regardless of the outcome, Robin Soderling has etched his name into tennis lore for his slayings of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in successive years at Roland Garros.