Aussie Darcy
Bionic Poster
The strange events occurred in the first week of January.
WTA Brisbane premier tournament saw qualifier Samantha Crawford reach the SF. Halep and Sharapova withdrew prior to the tournament. WTA Auckland had top seed and defending champ Venus lose in the first round as well as Ivanovic. A qualifier reached the SF and an unseeded player reached the final. WTA Shenzhen Open had 6 of the 8 seeds fall by the 2nd round, 3 unseeded playrs reached the SF.
ATP Doha had 4th, 5th and 6th seeds (including top 10 player Ferrer) lose in the first round. Unseeded Marchenko reached the SF.
Second week got stranger.
WTA Premier Sydney had a large amount of withdrawals prior and during the tournament. These included big players like Kvitova, Radwanska, Keys, Safarova, Gavrilova, Bencic and Kerber. We had a qualifier reach the final of a premier tournament and an unseeded champion in Kuznetsova.
ATP Auckland had Ferrer lose in the SF to unseeded Sock who retired in the final winning only one game. ATP Sydney had top seed Tomic controversially retire the tournament while second seed Thiem also retired. 2 unseeded players reached the SF.
Third week was the Aus Open which was crazy for the WTA.
WTA, unseeded Konta reached the SF. Qualifier Zhang Shuai who had never won a main draw slam match reached the QF which including knocking out 2nd seed Halep in the first round. 8 of the top 16 seeds failed to reach the fourth round. These were the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 13th and 16th seeds. 12 of the 32 seeds fell in the first round which was a record.
ATP, former champion Nadal lost in the 1st round and former champ Wawrinka lost in the 4th round. 23rd ranked Monfils reached the QF without facing a top 50 player.
5th week wasn't so bad.
ATP Montpellier had a qualifier reach the SF and a further 2 unseeded players reach the SF. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th seeds all fell by the 3rd round.
6th week was bad.
WTA Premier St Petersburg. 3rd seed Wozniacki lost in her first match. Unseeded Kasaktina reached the SF.
ATP500 Rotterdam had 3rd, 4th and 7th seed fall in the first 2 rounds. 3 unseeded players in the SF of a bigger tournament, one was a qualifier. Unseeded champion in Klizan. No top 10 players competed including defending champ Stan and defending finalist Berdych. ATP Buenos Aires saw Nadal lose in a 3rd set tiebreaker for the first time ever on clay. Unseeded Almagro reached the final. 3 top 10 players played in Buenos Aires which was an ATP250 yet none at ATP500? ATP250 Memphis saw wildcard Fritz reach the final despite it being only his 3rd ever ATP main draw tournament. Also the 8th seed was ranked 79th in the world showing a lack of big players at this event.
7th week was a record breaking disaster for the WTA and a shambles for the ATP.
WTA Premier Dubai saw all seeds lose their first match, meaning all QF players were unseeded. Errani won the title without defeating a seeded player or a top 20 player. It was Errani's biggest title to date. Dubai also had a bunch of high profile withdrawals (Serena, Kerber Wozniacki, Safarova, Radwanska, Bacszinsky)
WTA internatonal saw all seeds lose before the semifinals.
ATP500 Rio Open saw no seeded players reach the final. Nadal lost to Cuevas in the SF (weird). 3rd seed Tsonga, 4th seed Isner, 6th seed Sock and 8th seed Bellucci all fell in the first round.
ATP250 Marseille had an unseeded player win the title. Weirdly enough the competition offers less points than an ATP500 yet Berdych and Stan played here and not in Rotterdam where they reached the final the previous year. ATP250 Delray Beach saw no seeded players reach the final. 1st, 2nd and 3rd seed fell in the first round while the 6th and 7th seed fell in the 2nd round.
So 3 ATP tournaments were held in the 7th seed and all 3 winners were unseeded, 2 WTA tournaments were held and both winners were also unseeded.
8th week (current) is looking bad.
WTA Premier 5 Doha has seen the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th seed lose before the QF. Halep lost her first match to a qualifier whilst top seed Kerber lost her first match since winning the Australian Open (this included a breadstick).
ATP500 Acapulco has seen the top 3 seeds lose in the first 2 rounds including top 10 players Nishikori and Ferrer. 6th and 8th seed also fell in the first round. Potentially looks like only 2 seeds will be in the QF. ATP250 Brasil Open saw the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th seeds lose in the first round.
So what is happening on both tours? Are we seeing a decline in tennis? Just a rough patch? Players we thought would have breakthroughs are underperforming (Dimitrov, Kerber, Muguruza, Nishikori, Halep). Are we in a transitional era?
Discuss
WTA Brisbane premier tournament saw qualifier Samantha Crawford reach the SF. Halep and Sharapova withdrew prior to the tournament. WTA Auckland had top seed and defending champ Venus lose in the first round as well as Ivanovic. A qualifier reached the SF and an unseeded player reached the final. WTA Shenzhen Open had 6 of the 8 seeds fall by the 2nd round, 3 unseeded playrs reached the SF.
ATP Doha had 4th, 5th and 6th seeds (including top 10 player Ferrer) lose in the first round. Unseeded Marchenko reached the SF.
Second week got stranger.
WTA Premier Sydney had a large amount of withdrawals prior and during the tournament. These included big players like Kvitova, Radwanska, Keys, Safarova, Gavrilova, Bencic and Kerber. We had a qualifier reach the final of a premier tournament and an unseeded champion in Kuznetsova.
ATP Auckland had Ferrer lose in the SF to unseeded Sock who retired in the final winning only one game. ATP Sydney had top seed Tomic controversially retire the tournament while second seed Thiem also retired. 2 unseeded players reached the SF.
Third week was the Aus Open which was crazy for the WTA.
WTA, unseeded Konta reached the SF. Qualifier Zhang Shuai who had never won a main draw slam match reached the QF which including knocking out 2nd seed Halep in the first round. 8 of the top 16 seeds failed to reach the fourth round. These were the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 13th and 16th seeds. 12 of the 32 seeds fell in the first round which was a record.
ATP, former champion Nadal lost in the 1st round and former champ Wawrinka lost in the 4th round. 23rd ranked Monfils reached the QF without facing a top 50 player.
5th week wasn't so bad.
ATP Montpellier had a qualifier reach the SF and a further 2 unseeded players reach the SF. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th seeds all fell by the 3rd round.
6th week was bad.
WTA Premier St Petersburg. 3rd seed Wozniacki lost in her first match. Unseeded Kasaktina reached the SF.
ATP500 Rotterdam had 3rd, 4th and 7th seed fall in the first 2 rounds. 3 unseeded players in the SF of a bigger tournament, one was a qualifier. Unseeded champion in Klizan. No top 10 players competed including defending champ Stan and defending finalist Berdych. ATP Buenos Aires saw Nadal lose in a 3rd set tiebreaker for the first time ever on clay. Unseeded Almagro reached the final. 3 top 10 players played in Buenos Aires which was an ATP250 yet none at ATP500? ATP250 Memphis saw wildcard Fritz reach the final despite it being only his 3rd ever ATP main draw tournament. Also the 8th seed was ranked 79th in the world showing a lack of big players at this event.
7th week was a record breaking disaster for the WTA and a shambles for the ATP.
WTA Premier Dubai saw all seeds lose their first match, meaning all QF players were unseeded. Errani won the title without defeating a seeded player or a top 20 player. It was Errani's biggest title to date. Dubai also had a bunch of high profile withdrawals (Serena, Kerber Wozniacki, Safarova, Radwanska, Bacszinsky)
WTA internatonal saw all seeds lose before the semifinals.
ATP500 Rio Open saw no seeded players reach the final. Nadal lost to Cuevas in the SF (weird). 3rd seed Tsonga, 4th seed Isner, 6th seed Sock and 8th seed Bellucci all fell in the first round.
ATP250 Marseille had an unseeded player win the title. Weirdly enough the competition offers less points than an ATP500 yet Berdych and Stan played here and not in Rotterdam where they reached the final the previous year. ATP250 Delray Beach saw no seeded players reach the final. 1st, 2nd and 3rd seed fell in the first round while the 6th and 7th seed fell in the 2nd round.
So 3 ATP tournaments were held in the 7th seed and all 3 winners were unseeded, 2 WTA tournaments were held and both winners were also unseeded.
8th week (current) is looking bad.
WTA Premier 5 Doha has seen the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th seed lose before the QF. Halep lost her first match to a qualifier whilst top seed Kerber lost her first match since winning the Australian Open (this included a breadstick).
ATP500 Acapulco has seen the top 3 seeds lose in the first 2 rounds including top 10 players Nishikori and Ferrer. 6th and 8th seed also fell in the first round. Potentially looks like only 2 seeds will be in the QF. ATP250 Brasil Open saw the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th seeds lose in the first round.
So what is happening on both tours? Are we seeing a decline in tennis? Just a rough patch? Players we thought would have breakthroughs are underperforming (Dimitrov, Kerber, Muguruza, Nishikori, Halep). Are we in a transitional era?
Discuss
