A Few More in the Mix

It feels like every year, around this time, I start getting a little nervous.

However Rafael Nadal has done during the clay court season -- whether like in 2005 and 2008 and 2013 he won basically every event on dirt he played, or like in 2015 or even last year, he won barely any -- you start to wonder about his chances to take home the big prize at Roland Garros.

And while he often seems to pull things together when they count the most, each year a couple pretenders start cropping up that might just be able to throw a wrench into his plans.

🏆🇮🇹
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🏆🇪🇸@AlexZverev wins his fourth ATP Masters 1000 title 👏 #MMOPENpic.twitter.com/6zabemSOls

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 9, 2021

The most obvious one this week was Alexander Zverev, who captured his second title in Madrid and his fourth Masters championship with a three set win over Matteo Berrettini on Sunday. And while my acknowledgement of his win comes begrudgingly, you have to admit his performance on court was pretty impressive. After taking out Monte Carlo giant-killer Daniel Evans, he stunned Nadal in straight sets, his third straight win over the world #2, and went on to beat two-time French runner-up Dominic Thiem in the semis, avenging that OHSOCLOSE loss to him in last year's U.S. Open final. While he's had a couple early losses on clay before this week, his performance in Spain might have done a lot to erase the memory of those upsets.

But he wasn't the only one to stick out. Runner-up Berrettini has really been showing me he's deserving of his top ten ranking over the last few weeks, first claiming the title in Belgrade and this week taking out tough opponents like Fabio Fognini and Cristian Garin. In the first Masters final of his career, he took the first set from Zverev and kept things tight in the back half too. While I can't say I was expecting him to come out the winner, I was encouraged by the fight he showed and feel there might be a few more top-ten wins coming up soon in the future for him.

And you have to respect the showing we saw from Dominic Thiem, who we haven't seen in action since mid-March and who'd been playing a much quieter season than his breakout last year. After losing early at the Australian Open and then battling through various injuries, there was certainly a big question mark over his head for Madrid. But he performed admirably, taking out a talented Alex de Minaur and even a surprisingly strong John Isner, who'd stunned Andrey Rublev in the third round. While Thiem did lose in straight to Zverev in the semis, it was good to see he seemed to have found his footing again. And, of course, we know that, had this been a best of five match, there's no telling what could have happened.

Maybe the player who made the biggest case for himself this week was young Casper Ruud, who barreled onto the scene early last year and hasn't let up since. While the 22-year-old hasn't added to his trophy case this year, he has scored wins over Fabio Fognini, Pablo Carreño Busta and Diego Schwartzman. And in Madrid, he added to that list, stunning Monte Carol champ Stefanos Tsitipas in straight sets on his way to the semis. Though he lost to Berrettini there, he did earn himself a career-high ranking at #16 in the world. And the way he's playing, there's no reason to believe he isn't going even higher.

So do any of these guys have a real shot at dethroning the king once we get to Paris? Well, we know Nadal is not going to give up his crown easily, whatever happens in the weeks leading up to Roland Garros. But one day soon there is bound to be a changing of the guards, and it sure looks like there are plenty of players more than ready to take up the reins.

An Experiment Worth Watching

Tomorrow the Mutua Madrid Open kicks off its innovative Virtual Pro tournament -- a stab at not only giving tennis players and fans something to watch during the global shutdown, but also helping support those who may be under more pressure these days than the biggest stars. It's a truly noble effort, one I hope other events will be able to replicate as this pandemic drags on.

But I've already talked at length on the competition's virtues. So instead, today I'm going back to the good old days when we could actually size up the field.

¿Quién será el campeón? 😏

¡Ya sabemos cómo será el cuadro! 🤜🤛#PlayAtHome 🎮 | #MMOPEN Virtual Pro

— #MMOPEN (@MutuaMadridOpen) April 24, 2020

To be fair, "sizing up the field" in an event like this requires some bold assumptions that may not have any basis in reality. Like with the year-end championships, the Virtual Pro is structured in groups of round robins, where the top two finishers will make the quarterfinals and then will play a traditional bracket-style elimination after that. But with the players battling on screen rather than on court, any advantage that comes with seedings and brute strength is all but eliminated when they pick up a game controller.

Still that allows for a motley group to participate. Caroline Wozniacki and David Ferrer are both retired, Bianca Andreescu was still recovering from a knee injury that's kept her out of play since October, and I'd never even heard of Fiona Ferro before this event. There's no reason these guys couldn't "upset" Rafael Nadal or Karolina Pliskova. And maybe I'm just stereotyping the generation, but I imagine that Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas are probably pretty good at video games.

So having said all that, and without consequence, I'll go ahead and pick who I think will make the quarters in each group.

The men: Denis Shapovalov, Gael Monfils, Dominic Thiem, David Ferrer, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Kei Nishikori, Alexander Zverev, and Karen Khachanov.

The women: Fiona Ferro, Carla Suarez Navarro, Elina Svitolina, Victoria Azarenka, Bianca Andreescu, Caroline Wozniacki, Donna Vekick, and Genie Bouchard.

But of course, in the end, it doesn't really matter who comes out on top. It's just good to know that all these guys are playing for a good cause, and hopefully we'll all come out better off on the other side of this.

And if you want to watch all the action, you can do so on Facebook in English or Spanish starting tomorrow morning.

Keeping Tennis Alive...#TogetherApart

Well here we are in mid-April and no closer to the end of seeing the coronavirus's impact on daily life around the world. And as we've discussed plenty over the last few weeks, tennis is far from immune from the effects -- and those extend far beyond the obvious cancellations of some of the biggest events in sports for at least three more months, likely much longer.

But the tennis community is doing its part to help its members during these very uncertain times. After all, the sport is not just about the professionals lucky enough to sit atop the ATP and WTA or those winning those events. There are hundreds of thousands of athletes -- from those who plod away on tour with double and triple digit rankings, who foot their own bills to fly to and enter tournaments with only a chance at earning a couple thousand dollars a week, to those who run local clubs and coach casual players, to those who hope one day to be the Next Big Thing -- who are, like so many others, indefinitely out of work.

Today the USTA, the body which runs the U.S. Open, said it would commit over $50 million to help support the industry, offering grants to facilities, instructors and other organizations so they can get back up and running when restrictions are finally lifted.

"The foundation of our sport begins with these stakeholders, and we need to ensure they can weather the storm and remain viable as the storm recedes. This is all about relief, recovery and rebuild for our industry." - USTA CEO Mike Dowse.

On the relief side, the Mutua Madrid Open last week announced a pretty ingenious way to help those pros who are struggling without any opportunity to earn prize money. As we've noted before, just because tennis is your full-time job, doesn't mean you're living the high life.

So the Tier 1 clay court event, run by the wonderful Feliciano Lopez, which was supposed to be contested the first week of May, is now holding a virtual (yes -- that means video games!) tournament at the end of April, where winners will vie for a €350,000 (about $380,000) purse that can be donated to players in need. Among the top-notch stars putting down their tennis rackets in exchange for game controllers are Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Victoria Azarenka, and defending Madrid champ Kiki Bertens. And they're already training up!

Started my preparation for the @mutuamadridopen virtual pro charity event. Be prepared @andymurray @KikiMladenovic @rafaelnadal @AngeliqueKerber @geniebouchard I’ll be ready! Just won my first tournament 😎🎾 pic.twitter.com/o4jNAdIa0B

— Kiki Bertens (@kikibertens) April 15, 2020

As for the return of actual play -- well we're all still waiting on that. In its announcement today, the USTA said it currently still plans to hold the U.S. Open at the end of summer, but a final decision won't likely come for a few months. There's some talk of staging the event without fans, an idea being floated by some other sports organizations. And to some extent, without real person-to-person contact, tennis, like golf, is probably better suited to that option than, say, football or the NBA, but officials say there's still a risk on court and organizers didn't yet seem ready to pull the trigger on green-lighting empty stadiums.

Whatever they decide though, it's imperative that we have a sport to come back to at some point over the next few months. Initiatives like the USTA grants and Madrid's virtual tournament are just a start in providing the support that's needed, and hopefully we'll see more programs over the next few months. And when we get through all of this, here's hoping the sport comes out better for it.

The Best of 2020 -- The Winners

Okay, we've come to the end of my list highlighting some of the outstanding performances we saw on the tennis courts before play was cut short just about a month ago. We've seen some breakthroughs, some trailblazers, and some new faces, and today I pay tribute to a couple players -- one veteran and one rising star -- who have really taken the game by storm this year.

But before I reveal the winners, here are some headlines that have crossed since my last post.

• Former USTA president Katrina Adams revealed she tested positive for COVID-19
• The Rogers Cup officially put off its men's and women's events until next year
• We got a first look at some of the players who'll take part in the Mutua Madrid Open's groundbreaking virtual tournament
• The ATP and WTA teamed up to launch Tennis United, hosted by Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Vasek Pospisil
• Roger Federer ignited a wall-tennis frenzy with his #TennisAtHome challenge

The Men: Gael Monfils

Age: 33
Current Ranking: #9
Title(s): Rotterdam, Montpellier (just this year!)

The showy Frenchman is no stranger to the spotlight and has been one of the real workhorses of our game for over a decade -- he first broke into the top ten in 2009! And while he's had some ups and downs, even falling into the triple digits for some time back in 2013, he's really seemed to find new life in recent months. After a fourth round exit at the Australian Open, he stormed his way to the title in Montpellier, kept his momentum going for another in Rotterdam where he didn't drop a set, and even pushed Novak Djokovic in the Dubai semifinals before his win streak finally ended at twelve.

Believe it or not, this is the first time he's ever won more than two titles in a season, and while it's looking increasingly likely that he snuck those in just under the gun, his somewhat uncharacteristic consistency could well be something he carries with him when play gets back underway. Call it what you will -- a renewed inspiration for the game, a little extra push from his equally talented girlfriend -- but it sure seems like the best of Monfils may still be to come.

The Women: Elena Rybakina

Age: 20
Current Ranking: #17
Title(s): Hobart

I've extolled the outstanding performance we've seen from the young Kazakh before, but it bears repeating. After starting the year ranked outside the top 30, she was on court week after week (after week) this season to slice that number to bits. She kicked off 2020 making two finals in a row, earning a title in Hobart, and after Melbourne -- really the only event where she hasn't gone deep -- she made the finals in St. Petersburg and Dubai too, scoring wins over Karolina Pliskova and Sofia Kenin along the way. She finally ran out of steam in Doha, pulling out before her third round against Ashleigh Barty, but given her jam-packed schedule that's really no surprise.

To that point, I had been worried she was in danger of burning out, but hopefully this forced hiatus will give her the opportunity to regroup, recharge, and come back on court in a few months swinging big. And when she does, I don't think it'll be long before she starts shaving a couple more spots off her ranking.

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Thanks for hanging out with me for by "Best of 2020" list! And while you're at it, check out who else made the cut here!

And while this list may be over, #TennisAtHome isn't! Here's today's moment:

A challenge to all tennis players and fans... The 💯 volley challenge. There was no bickering during the filming of the video 🙄, although I think the last volley was aimed at my head... I can't be the only one that wants to see Rog and Mirka hitting a few balls together...🎾 pic.twitter.com/c0lMnNuSSQ

— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) April 9, 2020