Sports Then and Now

Wimbledon may well be in its primary stages and understandably, all participants’ attentions will be firmly set on the All England Club but the fourth and final major of the year will be next on the agenda. The US Open is set for its 139^th edition in August, as Flushing Meadows gets set to host the prestigious event whereby the world’s best players will all compete for a place in US Open folklore.

The favorites for the men’s singles title contain some familiar names as well as a few surprise picks, but their Wimbledon performances will hold plenty of bearing on how their odds shape up nearer the time. Ahead of the start of the tournament on 26^th August, we’ll take a closer look at the favorites.

Novak Djokovic 6/4

It’s no surprise to see Novak Djokovic sit top in the US Open men’s winner odds, as the hard-hitting Serbian embarks on his fourth win at Flushing Meadows. Djokovic is the current champion and will be the main man to beat once more. If Djokovic is at his best, it’ll take a monumental effort to stop him.

Rafael Nadal 9/2

The undisputed “King of Clay” will also be looking for his fourth US Open crown, and Rafael Nadal’s price of 9/2 suggests he’ll be there or thereabouts again. Still fresh from his 12^th French Open success, Nadal will need to avoid any potential banana skins in the earlier rounds and if he does get to the latter stages, he’ll be very hard to beat.

It was a long road back for Novak Djokovic to claim the 2018 Wimbledon title.

In the sports world it is interesting how two years can feel like a lifetime. It was only two years ago that Novak Djokovic had entered Wimbledon as the first men’s player in nearly 50 years to hold all four tennis major titles at the same, yet, much has transpired in the tennis world from that moment until Djokovic finally hoisted another major trophy with a three set win over Kevin Anderson at the 2018 Wimbledon.

Initially, the stunning third round loss by Djokovic to Sam Querry at the 2016 Wimbledon looked like just a blimp on the radar. Djokovic solidified his place as the number one player in the world by reaching the finals at the U.S. Open, though he lost in four sets to Stan Wawrinka.

What no one could have predicted at the time was that not only would Djokovic not win another major for nearly two years, but after making the finals in 19 of the previous 25 majors would not get past the quarterfinals in six straight majors and would fall out of the top 20 in the world rankings.

After losing in the second round of the 2017 Australian Open and quarterfinals of both the French Open and Wimbledon, Djokovic missed the 2017 U.S. Open due to an elbow injury. He reached the fourth round of the 2018 Australian Open, but after the tournament underwent elbow surgery.

It was a good sign that he was able to return for the 2018 French Open, but a four set loss to unranked Marco Cecchinato gave new question as to whether Djokovic would ever return to his previous form.

When Djokovic held all four major titles entering the 2016 Wimbledon not only had he done something previously done only by Rod Laver in the open era, but he was beginning to make a case for himself as the greatest player of his era, perhaps even ahead of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

However, over the past two years not only did Djokovic struggle, but Nadal and Federer both had a resurgence.

After combining for only one major title between 2014 and 2016 (Nadal winning 2014 French Open), Nadal and Federer split the four majors in 2017 (Federer won Australian and Wimbledon and Nadal claimed French and U.S. Open). They then began 2018 with Federer repeating at the Australian Open for his 20^th Grand Slam and Nadal winning the French Open for his 17^th.

Though Djokovic’s win at the 2018 Wimbledon breaks that streak and gives him 13 major titles, the 31-year-old now has much more work to do if he hopes to significantly narrow the gap between his titles and those of his two rivals. Read the rest of this entry →

It was considered as one of the most thrilling Grand Slam championships in 2017 where the two heavy weights went head to head. The odds favored Rafael Nadal to win since he had better ranking and was active unlike Roger Federer. However, tables would turn at the AUS Open 2017 final championship where Federer came on top to win his 18^th Grand Slam title of his career. In the wake of this, Nadal had a chance to redeem himself as the then number 2 tennis player in the world. There was the Wimbledon, French Open, and the US Open tournaments which would help him bounce back in his winning ways.

The victory at the US Open

The stage is all set for next year as he joins Andy Murray for the 2018 ATP world tour. It is no doubt that the odds have changed with the recent ranking for the top three. Roger Federer has gone from position 17 to position 2 this year only. With the top 3 best ranked men’s single tennis players gracing next year’s ATP world tour, Nadal can open up a wave of more Grand Slam titles by winning the AUS Open of 2018. Get the latest AUS Open news and learn the how important this tournament is to both the fans and players. Find out things such as the prize money for the winners and runners up plus winners of the previous tournament. Read the rest of this entry →

A month shy of his 36th birthday, Roger Federer has claimed his eighth Wimbledon singles title.

In case there was any question entering this year, with his performance winning both the Australian Open and now Wimbledon in 2017, Roger Federer has clearly cemented his place as the greatest champion in men’s tennis history.

Memories in sports can be very short. While seven years may seem like just a blip in time for most of us, in sports it can be an eternity.

Even though it has just been seven years since the end of the dominant run that saw Federer win 16 of 25 major titles and reach the finals in six other, the fact that others (most especially Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic) had overtaken him at the top of the tennis rankings made his run sometimes feel like ancient history.

So when injuries knocked Federer out of the top 10 for the first time since October 2002, most were beginning to talk about how long it would be before he retired.

Certainly, few were expecting him to return to the top of the game and build on his record number of major championships with his first grand slam titles since last winning Wimbledon in 2012.

However, when Federer returned for the 2017 Australian Open he looked like someone who had been drinking from the Fountain of Youth. Read the rest of this entry →

Roger Federer is looking to add to his career earnings and to post his 19th Grand Slam title during Wimbledon 2017.

It’s no secret that tennis players earn a considerable amount during their careers. Wimbledon 2017 has just begun and the total prize money this year has risen to a staggering £31.6 million. Although players compete for the championship title, and the single’s prize fund of £2.2 million, every player that competes receives money- even if they don’t win. Some players have reached the $100 million mark in their career earnings.

Novak Djokovic

The Serbian player has been listed as the highest earning tennis player for the past few years. His total career earnings from prizes come in at $109,320,581 to date. His income is owed to his extremely successful career, which has seen him win a total of 775 matches. His worth could be set to increase if he is successful at this year’s Wimbledon championships, where he will compete against some of the world’s best players. Djokovic is sponsored by leading companies such as Adidas, Uniqlo and Head.

Rodger Federer

Federer has been sponsored by luxury brands such as Nike, Rolex and Mercedes-Benz for several years. The 35 year old, who plays tennis for Switzerland, has only recently been overtaken by Djokovic as the highest earner. His career prize money totals $104,002,250 and he has won a huge 1,099 matches since he began playing professionally in 1998. In 2016, he was the oldest player to make a Grand Slam final although he hasn’t shown any indication that he plans to retire soon. Read the rest of this entry →

Tennis is full of shocking moments and memorable matches. With a full calendar of Open events and major tournaments this year, we can expect to see more madness before 2017 is over. Here is a look at some of my favorite moments in tennis history.

I like a good marathon match. Nothing beats the excitement of a tied game in which one competitor needs to win by two match points. With players so evenly matched, this format can lead to some interesting and time consuming tie-breakers.

Take the 2009 Wimbledon Grand Slam Final, in which Roger Federer played Andy Roddick for a whopping 4 hours and 17 minutes, then the longest men’s singles grand slam final in history. Federer eventually went on to win his 16^th grand slam title, but it was by no means easy.

If you thought it couldn’t get any more tiring than that, then just look at the Australian Open match between Hewitt and Baghdatis in 2008. The pair played from midnight until the following morning.

In the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, a match between Isner and Mahut took a total of 11 hours and 5 minutes to play over the course of three days. The match is considered the longest in history. Legendary! Frenchman Nicolas Mahut finally went on to win the match, but how the pair survived such an intense game is beyond me.

Tennis has had some fine marathon moments and epic showdowns, but it has also suffered from bad publicity at times due to the sporadic behaviors of professionals throwing tantrums. Read the rest of this entry →