Ferrer breaks Ferrero's winning streak on clay

This has been, one hell of a great month for Juan Carlos Ferrero, in terms of tennis. The Spanish player who just recently turned 30, claimed the Brasil Open, Copa Telmex, (defeating Ferrer) and then reached the finals in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, losing narrowly to Ferrer, in 3 sets.

In total, Ferrero, was on a 14 match winning streak, before losing to Ferrer in the finals. He attributes his recent success, to having improved his fitness, which is critical for doing well, on clay.

Now, I realize that most of these tournaments are relatively small and the results he managed to achieve in them, might not translate to the bigger, masters series events, but still, he's headed right back to the top 10 if he keeps this up.

His ranking improved to 14 in the world, which is the highest that it's been in nearly 6 years. The only down side, is that he did injure his knee a bit, in the finals against Ferrer. As a result, he's pulled out of the Davis Cup match, scheduled for next week and will be replaced by Nicolas Almagro. I'm not quite sure how serious this injury is but I hope to see him back next month for the BNP Paribas Open.

It's also, possible, that he could make a serious run at the French Open later this year. Assuming, that he's able to keep his injuries down to a minimum.

Del Potro, out for at least a month with wrist injury

Today, I want to talk about injuries. They're very common at any level of competitive sports, although they seem to be getting more prevalent. Especially, amongst the top players in mens tennis. Just in the last 7 months, 6 of the top 10, have been affected by some kind of an injury. Why is that? Is it because of the lack of time off between tournaments? The over-scheduling of their season's? inadequate technique? Luck? Is it all of these things or none of them?

Despite being one of the oldest players in the top 10 Roger Federer, has never seemed to struggle with injuries. He's had the occasional spat with his back and came down with mono a couple of years ago but otherwise, he's been completely healthy. His technique and well managed playing schedule has allowed him to keep his injuries to an absolute minimum and even at 28 years old he's one of the fittest players on tour.

Now compare him to someone like Lleyton Hewitt or Joachim Johansson. Both players, started on tour around the same time as Roger but they've had completely different kinds of career because of their injuries. In Lleyton's, case it's been his hip that's slowed him down and for Johansson, it's been his shoulder. I don't see either one of them lasting on tour, much longer, which is a same because injuries aside, they were great players.

Nadal, is yet another player, who is in serious danger of having a shortened career from his injuries. He's no longer the fastest player on tour and he can't go more than a few months without having to take time off to rest his knees.

Juan Martin Del Potro, should be very careful with this injury. This isn't the first time that he's had problems with his wrist. If he does irreparable damage to it, then it could mean the end of his career. I hope he takes all the time off, that he needs to make a full recovery.

Fernando Verdasco beats Pete Sampras in San Joes exhibition match

For all those guys out there, who still think Pete, can make a comeback at Wimbledon, you need to watch this match. Pete, may have been an incredible champion in the 90s and even the early 2000s but he doesn't have the legs anymore, to win ATP level tournaments. Verdasco, pretty much steam rolled him in the first set and held well in the second. This was only an exhibition match but it does demonstrate the division between Sampras and the current generation of tennis players.

Now with that said, I thought Pete, played a pretty nice match. He was serving very well, in fact he outdid Verdasco, in that department. Both players seemed like they were having a good time and that's really all that's important in an exhibition match. I'm glad to see, Pete still enjoys the sport and is willing to get out there and play against the current group of players. In the future, I'd like to see an exhibition match against Pete and Nadal, or maybe Borg against Federer.

Pete's, undoubtedly got some good years left for future exhibition matches but a return to the ATP tour isn't going to happen for him.

Where are the Chinese tennis Players?

You know I'm really surprised to not see more Chinese tennis players amongst the world's best. The Chinese, are a huge forced to be reckoned with in Badminton and Ping Pong, yet when it comes to tennis, they are no where to be found, (Li Na, of course being the exception.) Maybe it's because of their smaller stature or perhaps the Chinese just aren't all that interested in tennis but I still believe it's just a matter of time until that country starts turning out top level tennis players who will break into the top 20, then 10 and maybe one of them will even be able to claim the number one position in the world.

Check out these videos down here and you'll see the unbelievable athleticism of these players





I don't know about you but I can totally see a future Asian player, who will dominate the sport in the same way that Roger Federer is doing right now. Ping Pong and Baminton are much different than tennis but there are some similarities. Fast hands, great agility, and speed are required for both sports and from what I'm seeing in these videos, the top Chinese players are loaded with it.

So what's been holding them back until now?:/

Do you watch doubles?

What's your preference when it comes to tennis? Do you like singles or doubles? Mens or womens? Boys or girls? Wheelchair or mixed wheelchair?

I've always had a strong preference for mens singles. I think the quality is the best in the ATP single game and it's not very often that I'll tune in to watch a WTA or doubles match. I know I'm probably missing out on some great tennis by not watching more from the other divisions but there's just no way I'd give up watching a Federer vs Cilic semi for a Klijsters vs Henin final.

However, even with my preference being towards singles, I've recently started exploring the doubles field a bit more. Earlier today I saw the Rajeev Ram/Eric Butorac vs Bopanna/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and wow, was it awesome. I know this might sound kind of silly but I didn't know the doubles players, could play this well, or that watching doubles could be this entertaining. Bopanna & Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, played a tremendous match to beat Ram and Butorac in straights. There were great shots coming from every direction, one point was particularly memorable. It had Bopanna and Aisam, at net trying their best to put the ball away but Ram and Butorac were retrieving everything, the commentator said it resembled a ping pong point and I agree with him, it was quite good.

After seeing this match, I think I'd like to give doubles a second chance. This match sparked my curiosity and now I'd like to watch some matches with the Bryans or Nestor/Zimonjic, the top two teams in the ATP doubles. Maybe I'll even start blogging a bit about doubles.

Anyway, I'd like to hear from you guys, what kind of tennis do you like to watch? Who are your favorite players and why do you like them?

Roger Federer wins his 16th slam in Australia

Wow, Murray, just got steam rolled by the Fed Express. With the exception of the third set, he never really saw the upside of the match. Fed's, level of play was just insane, every bit as good as the finals last year against Nadal and when he's playing at this level it's nearly impossible to beat him.

With that said though, I did not like the way Andy Murray played against him. He wasn't aggressive and he didn't try to put the pressure on Roger, instead he tried to out-rally him and this is not the way Murray should play Roger. Unlike Nadal, Murray doesn't give him high kicking balls to his backhand. His ground strokes are relatively flat, they don't always penetrate through the court and this is just what Federer enjoys. It didn't seem like Murray, went out there with a game plan and he paid dearly for it. If Murray, does reach another grand slam final, then he absolutely most play more aggressively. He can't afford to be tenative and use his traditional style of defensive tennis. Murray's, got a huge backhand and a great serve but he didn't use them today. Hopefully next time he'll go out there, play with some confidence and make Roger, eat the ball every point. Because that's the only way he's going to win a slam against him.

As for Roger, I think he will win many more grand slams, possibly even into his 30s. He hasn't lost any of his peak ability and I'm starting to think he's got another chance at the calendar year grand slam. It seems surprising me that his best chance for winning the grand slam might be this year rather than in 2006 or 07 when he was younger, didn't have kids, and played much better tennis during the smaller tournaments. Right now he holds 3 of the 4 major titles. Again, the French, is going to be the hard one for him to win and the only way I see him winning it is if Nadal is injured. Roger's played Nadal 4 times at the French and he's never beaten him. There's just no question Rafa Nadal, is better than him on clay and with all these past defeats still luming in his head he's not going to turn that head to head around any time soon. Should Federer, find a way to win the French then he's got an incredibly good shot at the calendar year grand slam, I don't know if he'll be able to do it but I'd love to see it happen.