Welcome to my blog! Let's kick start it with a preview of the 2010 season, which in my opinion should be very interesting. To do this in a catchy way I thought it'd be cool to give the star men "players to watch" a headline that describes the questions surrounding their 2010 season.
1. Roger Federer
"Last Man Standing"
-With the fallout surrounding his good friend Tiger Woods, Federer in my opinion, remains one of the last global sports icons standing without any taint or blemish to his career. He has a beautiful wife, two beautiful daughters, millions of dollars in prize money and endorsements, and is still a dominating force on the circuit. Roger, some advice? Don't screw this up! Please. The Sports world needs a good icon that it can trust and who can be both in the spotlight and maintain a healthy life outside of it.
Tennis wise, Federer has an uphill battle as he nears the latter stages of his career. Can he maintain his dominance in a world with so many high quality players in the Top 10? Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray have always been mentioned as the top rivals to Fed, but watch out for Davydenko and Roddick, whose careers seem to be showing a second life, as well as other threats like Soderling and Del Potro. Well, if Federer can repeat the success of last year then it would appear to be a near miracle. Aussie Final, French win, Wimbledon win, U.S. Open final last year. Expect a little bit of a downslide for Fed. But if 2009 is any indication, where almost the exact same scenarios were in place, then perhaps Federer will continue to be one of the most dominant players in sports history, but Fed fans, I wouldn't count on it.
2. Rafa Nadal
"On Your Knees: We're Begging Please"
-2008 was an epic year in tennis, mainly because of the dominance of Rafa Nadal on the circuit. He won the French and Wimbledon, and then in '09 he won the Aussie. All over King Federer. Finally, a rivalry in tennis that was compelling and riveting in every match played. But then at the French last year, Rafa blew a gasket. The knees were dead, he couldn't defend Wimbledon, and the rest of the year held hit and miss moments of spotty play. One question i had: Why in the world would Rafa play the Davis Cup final? Seriously?! The guy is trying to gain confidence back, I know, and he played well, but, it puzzles me why he wouldn't put his entire efforts into defending the Aussie Open and resting those knees. The Men's game needs Rafa back. Just when men's tennis was just getting the ratings it was dreaming of, Rafa's knees gave out. The game needs Rafa at 100% going head to toe with Fed. So Rafa, we're begging. Please save your knees. Go out and win, win, win. dominate the clay circuit, give a good showing at the other majors. We need you and Fed's rivalry. Show us the fighting spirit. And I hope the Davis Cup strategy works, because if it doesn't...
-Novak Djokovic
"This Season: Not a Djoke"
-After winning Aussie '08, the world was waiting for Novak to challenge Nadal and Fed for tennis supremacy, instead the "Djoker" last year left us in the dark, looking listless out there against opponents, brooding, lacking the same intensity that pushed him in '08, that is until the end of the season, when he went on a tear, winning several tournaments and looking like the "Djoker" of old. Can he keep it up in 2010? He better, or otherwise Djokovic could turn into a one slam wonder if he's not careful. He has too much talent to let that happen, I predict he'll put up a stiff challenge.
-Andy Murray
"Time to Be a Big Boy in the Majors"
-It may be part of his personality, but Murray needs to grow up in the majors. He does a fabulous job of motivating himself win it comes to Masters tournaments, winning left and right seemingly every small tournament he's in, beating Fed and Nadal and Djokovic, in all of those tourneys. Then the majors come and everything falls apart. First it was Verdasco at the aussie, then Gonzo at the French, then Roddick at Wimbledon, and finally Cilic at the U.S. Open. All of these opponents outplayed him at the majors, but more shockingly is the way Murray looks despondent and down right mopes and sulks around the court when he can't come up with a winning strategy. I just don't understand his lapses in concentration. I watched him at the Masters Cup playing Federer, and it was a set apiece, and then murray just lost it. He lost focus and Federer took control and won 6-1, but Federer didn't even have to do anything. Murray blasted errors all across the court, and couldn't serve at all. In the first set, I had never seen Murray serve better to win the first set 6-3. The second set was a 4-6, toughly fought set. Murray still had a strong chance in the third, but he just collapsed. Unexplainable. its these lapses that will keep Murray from picking up any majors. And Murray, like djokovic, is much too talented not to be a multiple slam winner. expect a more determined, hungry Murray go out and win a slam.
Nikolay Davydenko
"Don't Panic"
-I can't figure him out. He plays a brilliant Masters Cup, has the best latter half of the season than any other player on circuit, and yet can't seem to win the big one...ever. He may be the most underrated player of all time, and that's because no majors = no big success. I would love to see his tenacity consistently on display against Federer. But I don't see him ever making that breakthrough. He's just too fragile in the big moments when everyone is watching. Davydenko, we're watching, prove to people that you are more than just a stepping stone for the other guys winning majors and pull one out.
Andy Roddick
"Now or Never"
-There's the overwhelming sense that if Roddick is ever going to hoist a big trophy again, that its this year. He gave Federer the scare of his life at Wimbledon, going toe to toe in perhaps Roddick's finest match ever. Yet, he still came out short. I like Roddick, because he handles every disappointment with about as much class and dignity as I have ever seen. And he still goes out believing in himself 100%. And he still gets the wins that help maintain his staying power as a consistent top 10 threat. He has the hunger for another major, he beefed up his fitness and his back-court game, and he looks primed to make a big 2010 statement. But the question is: Is it too late? Have the others passed him by for good. Now's the time for Roddick to prove his doubters wrong. It'll be tough to overcome his recent knee injury, but he's giving it a go.
Juan Martin del Potro, Fernando Verdasco, and Robin Soderling
-del Potro, fresh off his first major win, has got to be feeling confident, especially to pull out a five setter against Federer. He looked fit at the end of '09, posting bigger and better wins and reaching the semis at the Masters Cup. Verdasco posted big wins throughout the year, beating Murray at the Aussie Open, and performing consistently at the other majors. And Soderling, the man who will forever be in history as the "man who deposed King Rafa" made some big statement wins in 2009. But for 2010, the question remains. Can they keep this up? Can they perform bigger and better the next year after. Names like Baghdatis, Shuettler, Gaudio have come and gone, but it takes a true contender to come back and compete the next year. del po, Verdasco, and Soderling need to prove that they are here to stay in the Top 10.
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