Krish872007
Talk Tennis Guru
I'd like to begin by recapping all the Slams of 2014, with particular emphasis on certain non-elite players who hit a "purple patch", or "got hot", for 2 weeks.
Note: this ignores the rest of the season.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN:
http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20140126&t=2&i=832774887&w=976&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBREA0P143B00
Stan Wawrinka had been threatening in 2013. Djokovic escaped him 12-10 in the 5th set in Australia (on his way to a 3-peat in Melbourne Park) and was again pushed to 5 at Flushing Meadows in the semifinal stages.
Stan really did get hot in the first Slam of 2014 though. He out-dueled the 3-time defending champ in the quarters (AGAIN in 5 sets) after breezing through the early rounds). He battled into his first Major Final at the expense of Tomas Berdych, and then blasted past top-ranked Rafael Nadal (the 2009 champion) in 4 sets, with an array of exquisite winners to claim victory.
He promptly lost in R1 of the French Open to Garcia Lopez, then made quarter-final appearances at Wimbledon and the US Open. As a GS Champion, he might want to move into a more consistent mode for 2015, rather than a simple "hot or not?" one - but easier said than done
FRENCH OPEN:
When previewing the men's RG semi-finals, I didn't really expect to see Ernests Gulbis's name there to be quite honest. But it was. He was impressive in holding his nerve against 2009 champion Roger Federer over 5 sets in Round 4, then trounced Berdych in the quarters. Unfortunately, the streak didn't last and he succumbed in 4 sets to eventual runner-up Novak Djokovic.
Not a Wawrinka-esque title run, but a nice little "purple patch" nonetheless, especially since he FAILED to advance past the 2nd Round in any of the other Majors.
WIMBLEDON:
Grigor Dimitrov, long hyped as the player to watch, had made a respectable QF at the Australian Open but disappointed at RG and the US Open. He did, however, have a nice little run to the Semi-Finals of Wimbledon, the "traditional" starting place. Routine victories in early rounds barring a 5-setter with Alexandr Dolgopolov allowed him to reach the quarter finals with plenty left in the tank. The highlight of his slam year would have to be the straight set rout of defending champion Andy Murray. He, too, was thwarted by Djokovic in the semifinals - the super Serb would go on to claim the title.
Come on, Grigor, we need more than just one good run!
Also: don't miss young Canadian Milos Raonic serving up a storm to blow past Ebden, Sock, Kubot and Nishikori in early rounds, before disposing of Nadal-slayer Nick Kyrgios in 4 sets to reach the Semis as well! Pretty remarkable achievement for him, but not as remarkable as the way in which he completely unraveled against the 7-time winner Roger Federer.
With "only" QF and 4R appearances at RG and the US respectively, no doubt he'll want to remember that Wimby semi.
US OPEN:
The most interesting one. We had 2 new finalists, but I would only classify 1 of them as really getting "hot".
Marin Cilic got off to an inauspicious start. Baghdatis retired half-way through their R1 clash. R2 was routine. R3 was a heavy encounter with Kevin Anderson, but he made it through in 4 sets. He somehow pulled through a 5-setter against frenchman Gilles Simon in R4. Then, a switch flicked - we see him blowing through Tomas Berdych, Roger Federer and Nishikori, all in 3 easy sets and it's done. The US Open Title is his.
Not bad, no?
But Marin - AO R2? RG R3? We want to see more of that "hot stuff".
So now, we look ahead to 2015. Back to business.
If anyone is so inclined to say, who do we think will get "hot" over a fortnight which coincides with one of these 4 Slam Events? We're not talking about someone who's been making steady progress like Kei Nishikori, we're talking about someone who's got the game to go 2/3 levels higher than they've ever gone before (or than they normally expect to go) on the biggest stage, and seemingly does so out of nowhere.
Note: this ignores the rest of the season.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN:
http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20140126&t=2&i=832774887&w=976&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBREA0P143B00
Stan Wawrinka had been threatening in 2013. Djokovic escaped him 12-10 in the 5th set in Australia (on his way to a 3-peat in Melbourne Park) and was again pushed to 5 at Flushing Meadows in the semifinal stages.
Stan really did get hot in the first Slam of 2014 though. He out-dueled the 3-time defending champ in the quarters (AGAIN in 5 sets) after breezing through the early rounds). He battled into his first Major Final at the expense of Tomas Berdych, and then blasted past top-ranked Rafael Nadal (the 2009 champion) in 4 sets, with an array of exquisite winners to claim victory.
He promptly lost in R1 of the French Open to Garcia Lopez, then made quarter-final appearances at Wimbledon and the US Open. As a GS Champion, he might want to move into a more consistent mode for 2015, rather than a simple "hot or not?" one - but easier said than done
FRENCH OPEN:
When previewing the men's RG semi-finals, I didn't really expect to see Ernests Gulbis's name there to be quite honest. But it was. He was impressive in holding his nerve against 2009 champion Roger Federer over 5 sets in Round 4, then trounced Berdych in the quarters. Unfortunately, the streak didn't last and he succumbed in 4 sets to eventual runner-up Novak Djokovic.
Not a Wawrinka-esque title run, but a nice little "purple patch" nonetheless, especially since he FAILED to advance past the 2nd Round in any of the other Majors.
WIMBLEDON:
Grigor Dimitrov, long hyped as the player to watch, had made a respectable QF at the Australian Open but disappointed at RG and the US Open. He did, however, have a nice little run to the Semi-Finals of Wimbledon, the "traditional" starting place. Routine victories in early rounds barring a 5-setter with Alexandr Dolgopolov allowed him to reach the quarter finals with plenty left in the tank. The highlight of his slam year would have to be the straight set rout of defending champion Andy Murray. He, too, was thwarted by Djokovic in the semifinals - the super Serb would go on to claim the title.
Come on, Grigor, we need more than just one good run!
Also: don't miss young Canadian Milos Raonic serving up a storm to blow past Ebden, Sock, Kubot and Nishikori in early rounds, before disposing of Nadal-slayer Nick Kyrgios in 4 sets to reach the Semis as well! Pretty remarkable achievement for him, but not as remarkable as the way in which he completely unraveled against the 7-time winner Roger Federer.
With "only" QF and 4R appearances at RG and the US respectively, no doubt he'll want to remember that Wimby semi.
US OPEN:
The most interesting one. We had 2 new finalists, but I would only classify 1 of them as really getting "hot".
Marin Cilic got off to an inauspicious start. Baghdatis retired half-way through their R1 clash. R2 was routine. R3 was a heavy encounter with Kevin Anderson, but he made it through in 4 sets. He somehow pulled through a 5-setter against frenchman Gilles Simon in R4. Then, a switch flicked - we see him blowing through Tomas Berdych, Roger Federer and Nishikori, all in 3 easy sets and it's done. The US Open Title is his.
Not bad, no?
But Marin - AO R2? RG R3? We want to see more of that "hot stuff".
So now, we look ahead to 2015. Back to business.
If anyone is so inclined to say, who do we think will get "hot" over a fortnight which coincides with one of these 4 Slam Events? We're not talking about someone who's been making steady progress like Kei Nishikori, we're talking about someone who's got the game to go 2/3 levels higher than they've ever gone before (or than they normally expect to go) on the biggest stage, and seemingly does so out of nowhere.
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