It’s a season for, well, anything in Tennis
By: Christopher Clarey
Nick Kyrgios’ withdrawal because of illness before his quarterfinal with Roger Federer on Friday was a major letdown, no doubt. But it was perfectly in tune with the tennis season to date: When you least expect it, expect it.
Who would have guessed that neither No 1 Andy Murray nor No 2 Novak Djokovic would make it past the 4th round of 2017’s first two big tournaments, the Australian Open and the BNP Paribas Open?
Who would have envisaged the 35-yearold Federer winning his first major title in nearly five years after a six-month injury layoff? Or Mirjana Lucic-Baroni — age 34 and ranked 79th — reaching the semi-finals in Melbourne? Or 28th-seeded Kristina Mladenovic and 14th-seeded Elena Vesnina squaring off in the semi-finals of the women’s tournament in Indian Wells? Or 17th-seeded Jack Sock and the No 21 seed Pablo Carreño Busta both reaching their first Masters 1000 semi-finals in the same blast-furnace heat?
Federer’s much-anticipated quarterfinal with Kyrgios, which would have been their second meeting after Kyrgios beat him on clay in Madrid in 2015, would have been a major clash of styles and generations. But Kyrgios, who upset Djokovic in the fourth round last Wednesday, withdrew Friday. “At this stage we think it’s food poisoning, and I’m praying it’s nothing more,” he said in a message posted to his Twitter account. “After a restless night of being sick, I have nothing left and to play a great champion like Roger, I need to be at my best to have a chance. I don’t take this decision lightly. These are the matches we train for, but I’m in no fit state to take the court.”
Kyrgios’s past, in which he has sometimes failed to give his best effort, means that the tennis public has the right to a certain degree of scepticism. But ATP rules state that a medical evaluation must be done in case of a withdrawal, and the ATP’s senior director of public relations, Martin Dagahs, said that Kyrgios had complied and that Kyrgios and a physician signed off confirming he had an illness.
The Federer-Kyrgios match was scheduled for noon here, and the crowd had to settle for an on-court interview with Federer and an exhibition set.
“I don’t think he himself quite knows exactly how ill he is and what he’s got going on, so he wants to be safe right now,” Federer said. “I understand that, but it’s tough for the player and for the fans and tough for the opponent. I mean, I’m the last guy complaining, because I’m moving on, but overall it’s a tricky situation.” It has been that sort of stars-aligned season for Federer even if he did lose early in Dubai after winning the Australian Open, blowing a lead and three match points against Evgeny Donskoy, the 116th-ranked qualifier from Russia.
“The trend of tennis now is a guy playing well at any ranking can give any guy trouble,” said Sock, who is 0-3 against Federer after Saturday’s semi-final loss. Donskoy lost in the next round to Lucas Pouille, just as Pospisil lost in the next round here after upsetting Murray. One bombshell result does not necessarily lead to another.
Nor are any women dominating in the way Serena Williams did as recently as 2015. Angelique Kerber, last year’s surprise No 1 who is about to reclaim the top spot, is struggling. Williams, 35, won the Australian Open (her 23rd Grand Slam singles title) in January without dropping a set, but she has yet to play another match, citing knee problems as she withdrew from Indian Wells and Miami.
The uncertainty in the women’s and men’s games is an undeniable opportunity for young talents, players like the 23-yearold French polyglot Mladenovic — whose run here ended Friday night with a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Vesnina — or Sock and the 25-year-old Carreño Busta, the rare Spaniard of his age at this level.
Busta lost to Stan Wawrinka in the semifinal on Saturday but will still make his debut in the top 20 of the rankings today. Sock is already in the top 20 and is a strong, deceptively quick athlete with quite a trump card in his forehand. As he moves forward, great expectations are not out of order — but it is best to remember that it has been a rough season for expectations.
Nick Kyrgios’ withdrawal because of illness before his quarterfinal with Roger Federer on Friday was a major letdown, no doubt. But it was perfectly in tune with the tennis season to date: When you least expect it, expect it.
Who would have guessed that neither No 1 Andy Murray nor No 2 Novak Djokovic would make it past the 4th round of 2017’s first two big tournaments, the Australian Open and the BNP Paribas Open?
Who would have envisaged the 35-yearold Federer winning his first major title in nearly five years after a six-month injury layoff? Or Mirjana Lucic-Baroni — age 34 and ranked 79th — reaching the semi-finals in Melbourne? Or 28th-seeded Kristina Mladenovic and 14th-seeded Elena Vesnina squaring off in the semi-finals of the women’s tournament in Indian Wells? Or 17th-seeded Jack Sock and the No 21 seed Pablo Carreño Busta both reaching their first Masters 1000 semi-finals in the same blast-furnace heat?
Federer’s much-anticipated quarterfinal with Kyrgios, which would have been their second meeting after Kyrgios beat him on clay in Madrid in 2015, would have been a major clash of styles and generations. But Kyrgios, who upset Djokovic in the fourth round last Wednesday, withdrew Friday. “At this stage we think it’s food poisoning, and I’m praying it’s nothing more,” he said in a message posted to his Twitter account. “After a restless night of being sick, I have nothing left and to play a great champion like Roger, I need to be at my best to have a chance. I don’t take this decision lightly. These are the matches we train for, but I’m in no fit state to take the court.”
Kyrgios’s past, in which he has sometimes failed to give his best effort, means that the tennis public has the right to a certain degree of scepticism. But ATP rules state that a medical evaluation must be done in case of a withdrawal, and the ATP’s senior director of public relations, Martin Dagahs, said that Kyrgios had complied and that Kyrgios and a physician signed off confirming he had an illness.
The Federer-Kyrgios match was scheduled for noon here, and the crowd had to settle for an on-court interview with Federer and an exhibition set.
“I don’t think he himself quite knows exactly how ill he is and what he’s got going on, so he wants to be safe right now,” Federer said. “I understand that, but it’s tough for the player and for the fans and tough for the opponent. I mean, I’m the last guy complaining, because I’m moving on, but overall it’s a tricky situation.” It has been that sort of stars-aligned season for Federer even if he did lose early in Dubai after winning the Australian Open, blowing a lead and three match points against Evgeny Donskoy, the 116th-ranked qualifier from Russia.
“The trend of tennis now is a guy playing well at any ranking can give any guy trouble,” said Sock, who is 0-3 against Federer after Saturday’s semi-final loss. Donskoy lost in the next round to Lucas Pouille, just as Pospisil lost in the next round here after upsetting Murray. One bombshell result does not necessarily lead to another.
Nor are any women dominating in the way Serena Williams did as recently as 2015. Angelique Kerber, last year’s surprise No 1 who is about to reclaim the top spot, is struggling. Williams, 35, won the Australian Open (her 23rd Grand Slam singles title) in January without dropping a set, but she has yet to play another match, citing knee problems as she withdrew from Indian Wells and Miami.
The uncertainty in the women’s and men’s games is an undeniable opportunity for young talents, players like the 23-yearold French polyglot Mladenovic — whose run here ended Friday night with a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Vesnina — or Sock and the 25-year-old Carreño Busta, the rare Spaniard of his age at this level.
Busta lost to Stan Wawrinka in the semifinal on Saturday but will still make his debut in the top 20 of the rankings today. Sock is already in the top 20 and is a strong, deceptively quick athlete with quite a trump card in his forehand. As he moves forward, great expectations are not out of order — but it is best to remember that it has been a rough season for expectations.
