Tennis Thread 2012

[Elmer]

I know there are a few Tennis fans in here so I thought I'd resurrect this thread as we're getting into the key summer part of the season now. I will list the winners on the ATP and WTA tours so far below and the rankings before the French open too.

[Elmer]

ATP Winners 2012

02 Jan Qatar ExxonMobil Open $ 1,110,250 Jo Wilfried Tsonga

02 Jan Chennai Open $ 398,000 Milos Raonic

09 Jan Heineken Open $ 398,750 David Ferrer

09 Jan Apia International $ 484,750 Jarkko Nieminen

16 Jan Australian Open $ 11,806,000 Novak Djokovic

30 Jan VTR Open $ 398,750 Juan Monaco

31 Jan PBZ Zagreb Indoors $ 398,000 Mikhail Youzhny

13 Feb SAP Open $ 531,000 Milos Raonic

13 Feb ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament $ 1,207,000 Roger Federer

13 Feb Brazil Open $ 475,500 Nicolas Almagro

20 Feb Regions Morgan Keegan Championship $ 1,155,500 Jurgen Melzer

20 Feb Copa Claro $ 484,000 David Ferrer

20 Feb Open 13 $ 512,000 Juan Martin Del Potro

27 Feb Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships $ 1,700,000 Roger Federer

27 Feb Abierto Mexicano Telcel $ 1,155,500 David Ferrer

27 Feb Delray Beach International Tennis Championships $ 442,000 Kevin Anderson

08 Mar BNP Paribas Open $ 4,694,000 Roger Federer

21 Mar Sony Ericsson Open $ 3,973,000 Novak Djokovic

09 Apr Grand Prix Hassan II € 398,000 Pablo Andujar

09 Apr US Men's Clay Court Championship $ 442,000 Juan Monaco

15 Apr Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters € 2,427,000 Rafael Nadal

23 Apr Barcelona Open Sabadell € 1,627,000 Rafael Nadal

30 Apr Estoril Open € 398,000 Juan Martin Del Potro

30 Apr Serbia Open € 366,000 Andreas Seppi

30 Apr BMW Open € 398,000 Philipp Kohlschreiber

06 May Mutua Madrid Open € 3,090,000 Roger Federer

20 May Power Horse World Team Cup € 800,000 Team Germany

[Elmer]

Top 50 ATP 28/05/2012

1 Djokovic, Novak (SRB) 11,800 0 19
2 Nadal, Rafael (ESP) 10,060 0 20
3 Federer, Roger (SUI) 9,790 0 19
4 Murray, Andy (GBR) 7,500 0 20
5 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried (FRA) 4,965 0 25
6 Ferrer, David (ESP) 4,640 0 22
7 Berdych, Tomas (CZE) 4,515 0 23
8 Tipsarevic, Janko (SRB) 3,110 0 29
9 Del Potro, Juan Martin (ARG) 2,910 0 23
10 Fish, Mardy (USA) 2,625 0 22
11 Isner, John (USA) 2,620 0 25
12 Simon, Gilles (FRA) 2,615 0 28
13 Almagro, Nicolas (ESP) 2,255 1 29
14 Monfils, Gael (FRA) 2,165 -1 23
15 Monaco, Juan (ARG) 1,945 0 23
16 Verdasco, Fernando (ESP) 1,765 0 25
17 Lopez, Feliciano (ESP) 1,725 0 28
18 Nishikori, Kei (JPN) 1,690 0 23
19 Dolgopolov, Alexandr (UKR) 1,665 0 28
20 Gasquet, Richard (FRA) 1,600 0 21
21 Wawrinka, Stanislas (SUI) 1,505 0 24
22 Raonic, Milos (CAN) 1,460 0 22
23 Granollers, Marcel (ESP) 1,385 0 25
24 Cilic, Marin (CRO) 1,380 0 23
25 Seppi, Andreas (ITA) 1,355 0 33
26 Kohlschreiber, Philipp (GER) 1,345 1 28
27 Stepanek, Radek (CZE) 1,340 -1 28
28 Troicki, Viktor (SRB) 1,325 3 26
29 Tomic, Bernard (AUS) 1,240 -1 24
30 Roddick, Andy (USA) 1,225 -1 22
31 Youzhny, Mikhail (RUS) 1,210 -1 26
32 Benneteau, Julien (FRA) 1,190 0 26
33 Melzer, Jurgen (AUT) 1,182 0 25
34 Anderson, Kevin (RSA) 1,170 0 28
35 Mayer, Florian (GER) 1,150 0 26
36 Andujar, Pablo (ESP) 1,115 0 32
37 Berlocq, Carlos (ARG) 1,085 0 32
38 Ramos, Albert (ESP) 1,030 0 33
39 Haase, Robin (NED) 1,010 0 27
40 Nalbandian, David (ARG) 1,005 0 22
41 Ferrero, Juan Carlos (ESP) 990 3 23
42 Baghdatis, Marcos (CYP) 990 -1 27
43 Istomin, Denis (UZB) 972 -1 33
44 Chela, Juan Ignacio (ARG) 970 -1 25
45 Fognini, Fabio (ITA) 965 0 29
46 Bogomolov Jr., Alex (RUS) 926 0 34
47 Davydenko, Nikolay (RUS) 920 6 27
48 Nieminen, Jarkko (FIN) 897 -1 29
49 Kubot, Lukasz (POL) 876 -1 25
50 Giraldo, Santiago (COL) 868 -1 27

[Elmer]

WTA Winners 2012

01 Jan Brisbane International $655,000 Kaia Kanepi

02 Jan ASB Classic International $220,000 Jie Zheng

08 Jan Apia International Sydney $637,000 Victoria Azarenka

08 Jan Moorilla Hobart International $220,000 Mona Barthel

16 Jan Australian Open $9,264,098 Victoria Azarenka

06 Feb Open GDF SUEZ $618,000 Angelique Kerber

06 Feb PTT Pattaya Open $220,000 Daniela Hantuchova

13 Feb Qatar Ladies Open 2012 $721,000 Victoria Azarenka

19 Feb Memphis Cup $220,000 Sofia Arvidsson

20 Feb Dubai Tennis Championships $2,050,000 Agnieszka Radwanska

20 Feb Monterrey Open $220,000 Timea Babos

27 Feb Abierto Mexicano Telcel $220,000 Sara Errani

27 Feb Malaysia Open 2011 $220,000 Hsieh Su-Wei

07 Mar BNP Paribas Open $4,500,000 Victoria Azarenka

20 Mar Sony Ericsson Open $4,500,000 Agnieszka Radwanska

02 Apr Family Circle Cup $721,000 Serena Williams

09 Apr Barcelona Ladies Open $220,000 Sara Errani

23 Apr Porsche Tennis Grand Prix $721,000 Maria Sharapova

23 Apr Grand Prix de SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem $220,000 Kiki Bertens

30 Apr Estoril Open $220,000 Kaia Kanepi

05 May Mutua Madrid Open $4,500,000 Serena Williams

14 May Internazionali BNL d Italia $2,050,000

21 May Internationaux de Strasbourg $220,000 Andrea Petkovic

21 May Brussels Ladies Open $618,000 Caroline Wozniacki

[Elmer]

WTA Rankings 28/05/12

1 Victoria Azarenka 9,020
2 Maria Sharapova 8,390
3 Agnieszka Radwanska 7,350
4 Petra Kvitova 6,275
5 Serena Williams 5,695
6 Samantha Stosur 5,440
7 Na Li 4,965
8 Marion Bartoli 4,870
9 Caroline Wozniacki 4,586
10 Angelique Kerber 3,560
11 Vera Zvonareva 3,440
12 Francesca Schiavone 3,160
13 Sabine Lisicki 3,012
14 Ana Ivanovic 2,975
15 Andrea Petkovic 2,921
16 Dominika Cibulkova 2,685
17 Maria Kirilenko 2,475
18 Daniela Hantuchova 2,355
19 Roberta Vinci 2,320
20 Flavia Pennetta 2,315
21 Jelena Jankovic 2,260
22 Lucie Safarova 2,215
23 Kaia Kanepi 2,179
24 Sara Errani 2,050
25 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 2,021
26 Petra Cetkovska 1,955
27 Julia Goerges 1,945
28 Svetlana Kuznetsova 1,931
29 Nadia Petrova 1,850
30 Shuai Peng 1,800
31 Anabel Medina Garrigues 1,775
32 Mona Barthel 1,762
33 Monica Niculescu 1,745
34 Jie Zheng 1,730
35 Yanina Wickmayer 1,665
36 Christina McHale 1,611
37 Simona Halep 1,495
38 Ekaterina Makarova 1,447
39 Polona Hercog 1,415
40 Ksenia Pervak 1,409
41 Tsvetana Pironkova 1,401
42 Marina Erakovic 1,392
43 Sorana Cirstea 1,366
44 Klara Zakopalova 1,355
45 Chanelle Scheepers 1,350
46 Carla Suarez Navarro 1,342
47 Kim Clijsters 1,311
48 Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 1,233
49 Galina Voskoboeva 1,209
50 Petra Martic 1,201

[Elmer]

We're getting towards the end of the second major of the year, the French Open.

In the mens draw Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are playing in the first semi-final after both getting through 5 set epics. In the bottom half of the draw Andy Murray is playing David Ferrer and Rafa Nadal is playing Nicolas Almagro for a place in the other semi-final. Rafa is looking sublime and is my favourite to retain his title.

In the womens draw there have been quite a few shocks this week. The tournament is wide open for someone to win who is not normally an expected winner. In the top half Sam Stosur is playing Sara Errani for a place in the final. In the bottom half it's Yaroslava Shvedova v Petra Kvitova and Kaia Kanepi v Maria Sharapova for a place in the other semi. My pick is Sharapova as long as she doesn't choke like she did last year.

[rubcale]

On clay, I can't really see AndyM beating Ferrer. Hard to see anyone except Nadal winning the title especially since Djokovich and Federer have both had several long and tough matches.

The women's game is a complete train wreck at the minute. Even though some of the players left are among the top seeds and others are hardly heard of any one of them could win it.

[Elmer]

I too, think Ferrer will beat Murray on clay. The clay seems quite slow at the moment which suits the Spanish down to the ground.

Errani has won more WTA tournaments than anyone else this year as she's a doubles player too, so she's obviously coming into some great form.

[Elmer]

Todays ladys semi-final line ups are

Sara Errani v Sam Stosur
Petra Kvitova v Maria Sharapova

[borneoman]

rooting for Errani today!!!

Murray was a train wreck yesterday Songa really had bad luck the other day, he should have totally defeated Djokovik... same with Del Potro... if he wasn't injured Federer would be a goner!! Nadal to win!!

[Robin]

Keep waiting for Milos Raonic to step up a level and really make an impact at a major tournement. He beat Andy Murray earlier in the season, which was his first victory over a top 10 player, and I think this was quickly followed up! Outside the top 3, I think he is the only current player that could be a future no.1

[Elmer]

I think Bernard Tomic of Australia is the other one in the Top 100 that will challenge for number one. I agree with the Raonic sentiment though. At the moment though they're light years away from the top 3 but not so far from top 10.

[Elmer]

Sara Errani and Maria Sharapova will play Saturdays final. Sharapova is now certain to be number one when the rankings change next week.

[Tom]

Jun 6, 2012 13:09:14 GMT 1 Elmer said:

I too, think Ferrer will beat Murray on clay. The clay seems quite slow at the moment which suits the Spanish down to the ground.

Errani has won more WTA tournaments than anyone else this year as she's a doubles player too, so she's obviously coming into some great form.

I think the weather conditions, damp and not particularly warm plays a big part in the clay. I don't think it's a coincidence that Nadal is looking so strong. I thought Stosur would at least get to the final being a former RG finalist. Actually hoped she would go on to win it, would have been nice for Bally to have gone out to the eventual champion.

Btw, thought/hoped this thread would be resurrected before Wimbledon. Now that British interest ended in the juniors yesterday i'm now done with the tournament, just in time for the Euros This is my least favorite Slam anyway, although i seem to have taken more interest this year than i have for a while. Then to take an interest in the grasscourt season, which started this week with the first of 2 consecutive tournaments in Nottingham, a 75k challenger followed by a 50k challenger (need to catch up this week's event..)

Looking at the juniors, Kyle Edmund looks a future star, its not easy to predict how our players do when they progress into the seniors, but on clay looking at his results this week he has the potential to be Top 32 imo, and he looks a really strong hardcourt player as well. Liam Broady on the other hand isn't going to amount to much, not on this surface anyway. Grass definitely looks to be his best surface, just like his sister Naomi then, someone who as always is one Brit to look out for on the grass, when she's "on" anyway.

Finally, during the French Open saw the long-awaited official confirmation of Johanna Konta's nationality switch from Australia to GB, something i've been waiting for about a year! At that point, in July, she was in the 300s in the rankings IIRC, now she's inside the Top 200 (missed French Open qualies through injury), which means she's eligible for a Wimbledon wildcard. If she does receive one, which imo she should as don't think there's a player who would miss out as a result that would deserve one, it will be interesting to see the reaction it would get...Though not amongst British fans who have been behind her for a long time now.

[Elmer]

Many thanks for your valuable input Tom. It's superb and great to read in this Tennis thread.

I quite like the French Open. In fact I least like Wimbledon as you get two week a year tennis fans coming out and having an opinion about Murray etc and having no clue what they're talking about. Saying that I'll be watching avidly as I'm a big Tennis fan.

Anyway today sees the two men's semi finals. First up and playing now is David Ferrer v Rafa Nadal then the big match between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

[Tom]

Thanks Elmer

Wimbledon is actually one of my favourite sporting events, along with the Olympics, probably because they're the two events i've had an interest in and watched for the longest.

[Mart!n]

Can't wait for Wimbledon, its the only tennis tournament I watch, let's hope its rain free... ha ha

[Elmer]

In yesterdays semi's Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer 3-0. Federer was as poor as I've seen him in a long time.

Rafa Nadal beat David Ferrer for the loss of only 5 games. If the weather stays as cool then no one will stop Rafa on Sunday. If it warms up and the clay gets faster that will be more of a leveller for this particular match !

[borneoman]

Don't think Djokovic is at his best this RG... didn't like him against Tsonga and yesterday he wasn't that good either...

[Paddy]

I'd like to see some variety in players getting through to latter stages of tournaments. It is always the same players which makes it a tad boring.