Thus far it's been an interesting 2008...

TheTruth · May 9, 2008

As we all enjoyed last year's tennis which culminated at the TMS Cup, we had no idea the landscape would change so very quickly. For years the main rivalry was Rafa and Rog with both men racking up titles and ranking points. Greedy, the both of them, they left very few crumbs for the other pros...

Fast forward to 2008, and both of these titans went months into the new season without a tournament win, something none of us could have forecasted. The first grand slam of the year is history and neither one of the two most loved players are spending their days dusting it, rather an ingenue, who warned us that he meant business has entered the fray.

What are some of the shocking surprises so far? Here's mine:

1. Fed and Nadal going into April before getting their first wins!

2. Fish, Roddick, and now Stepanek defeating Federer.

3. Nadal going out on clay in a first round where he was defending champion.

4. Safina playing cool, calm, and collected tennis to defeat Serena Williams.

5. Henin not being talked about as a factor.

6. Maria winning in Oz. I truly thought she was done for now.

That's all I can think of for now, but so far I'm really enjoying seeing a return to competition!

Aabye · May 9, 2008

The title of this post says it all...and that's the truth.

Might add the Bryan brothers loss of dominance.

ruski07 · May 9, 2008

i agree its definately been an interesting year so far, its good to see abit for variety in who's winning and going deep in tournaments, i luv seeing rog dominate but i also like seeing upsets

bluescreen · May 9, 2008

this has really been a year of variety.

i think 2008 officially marks the entrance of the next generation of players. djokovic has certainly been one of the most dominating figures on tour this year and we've had several different tournament winners this year.

i think rome really sums up the year in one tournament. nadal and federer falling short, djokovic coming up, and roddick making a come back (who can forget his outrageous run in dubai).

superman1 · May 9, 2008

bluescreen said:
roddick making a come back (who can forget his outrageous run in dubai).

Good one to add. No one would have predicted Roddick would beat the top 3 players this year. He had been labeled as the guy who couldn't beat anyone in the top 10.

MajinX · May 9, 2008

superman1 said:
Good one to add. No one would have predicted Roddick would beat the top 3 players this year. He had been labeled as the guy who couldn't beat anyone in the top 10.

thats not a very good label for him, hes doing quite well right now against the top ten, except when having to play ferrer, ( and federer but everyones bad against him most of the time)

TheTruth · May 9, 2008

That Roddick one beating the top three was another one I had forgotten, but it also sparked another coal to add to the fire.

Tsonga's amazing run to the AO final!

And how can we forget the mouthwatering prospects of who will win the grand slams this year, and the delicious reality that we don't know!

HyperHorse · May 10, 2008

The waves rise and fall, the wind blows... the wind..

Blahblahblahblahblah.
Yes it's the end of the world as we know it.
Kids, dominating any world sport such as tennis isn't easy work.
Many questions have yet to be answered...
Has Federer reached his last French Open final?
Will Nadal win the French Open again?
Will Roddick win another Grand Slam?
Will an unknown player come out of nowhere to win a Grand Slam?
Will Federer still dominate @ Wimbledon?
Will the ******** Federer Vs Nadal debate ever end?
Seems like the only inevitable truth is death, taxes, the non stop consumption of petroleum products and global warming.

Batoussai · May 10, 2008

TheTruth said:
5. Henin not being talked about as a factor.

That's my biggest frustration. It's like she's not playing anymore...

Hello guys, she's still n°1 in the world and everybody's acting like Sharapova this, and Williams that...

Edit: Oh, and also find Roddick's level pretty amazing. The guy is actually playing good. Even on clay!

zagor · May 10, 2008

I agree that it has been a very interesting year so far,although to be honest I wish Federer had much better results as he is my favourite player afterall.I'm glad that Djokovic is becoming such a great player as he is my fellow countryman and I doubt our country will ever have such an amazing player in men's tennis again.I never was that much patriotic but I would be lying if I said that I'm not glad because of his sucess(I'm not some blind nationalist mind you,I can see some of his faults and wrong things he has done).

I would like to add to your list that I'm very glad that Ancic(who along with Davydenko is my favourite player on tour after Federer) has recovered and is playing some very good tennis this year even though he did have some bad luck with the draws.Also I'm happy that Kolja won the biggest title of his career in Miami beating Roddick in the semis who was coming off a big win against Roger and a great player like Nadal in the final(where Kolja displayed some amazing,awe-inspiring tennis).I think a lot of people after Miami saw the undeniable talent this IMO very underrated player possesses.

Would like to add Wawrinka getting into the top 10 for the first time in his career as a great news as well.

iamke55 · May 10, 2008

How about Rome being a complete farce of a tournament? Djokovic pretty much strolls to a number 2 ranking, everyone retires, and Nadal doesn't retire despite injury.

Zaragoza · May 10, 2008

iamke55 said:
and Nadal doesn't retire despite injury.

Exactly and that´s why point no.3 is not a big deal.
Nadal is more or less the same player, he even made his best start of the year on hardcourts despite of not winning any titles.
Federer getting worse and Djokovic getting better are the news of the year so far.

Aabye · May 10, 2008

Zaragoza said:
Exactly and that´s why point no.3 is not a big deal.
Nadal is more or less the same player, he even made his best start of the year on hardcourts despite of not winning any titles.
Federer getting worse and Djokovic getting better are the news of the year so far.

It is if you based your racket bracket on Nadal winning.

autumn_leaf · May 10, 2008

Aabye said:
It is if you based your racket bracket on Nadal winning.

i know i did

but nadal really needed a break with all the tournies he's playing. the season by far too long and these players need a rest. going at the rate the top 10 is going they're all gonna have a shorter career due to injury.

Nadal_Monfils · May 10, 2008

At least Nadal will have a lot of points to gain at Rome next year.

TheTruth · May 10, 2008

zagor said:
I agree that it has been a very interesting year so far,although to be honest I wish Federer had much better results as he is my favourite player afterall.I'm glad that Djokovic is becoming such a great player as he is my fellow countryman and I doubt our country will ever have such an amazing player in men's tennis again.I never was that much patriotic but I would be lying if I said that I'm not glad because of his sucess(I'm not some blind nationalist mind you,I can see some of his faults and wrong things he has done).

I would like to add to your list that I'm very glad that Ancic(who along with Davydenko is my favourite player on tour after Federer) has recovered and is playing some very good tennis this year even though he did have some bad luck with the draws.Also I'm happy that Kolja won the biggest title of his career in Miami beating Roddick in the semis who was coming off a big win against Roger and a great player like Nadal in the final(where Kolja displayed some amazing,awe-inspiring tennis).I think a lot of people after Miami saw the undeniable talent this IMO very underrated player possesses.

Would like to add Wawrinka getting into the top 10 for the first time in his career as a great news as well.

It's always interesting to see who a fan's favorites are. I like watching Davy's game too. Wish he had a little more belief? attitude? It's almost like Davy doesn't realize how good he is!

TheTruth · May 10, 2008

Nadal_Monfils said:
At least Nadal will have a lot of points to gain at Rome next year.

That's looking at the bright side. Everything happens for a reason. Nadal will be fine!

Leublu tennis · May 10, 2008

autumn_leaf said:
i know i did

but nadal really needed a break with all the tournies he's playing. the season by far too long and these players need a rest. going at the rate the top 10 is going they're all gonna have a shorter career due to injury.

The interesting thing is that you can check how others picked and Nadal was picked by something like 99% when he lost. The guys who are in the lead picked Warwinka along with something like .02% of others. I know that for Hamburg I will work on different progress for the likes of Federer and Nadal, contrary to my real feelings.

Thus far it's been an interesting 2008...

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