After an early Wimbledon exit, times seemed bleak for Fabio Fognini. It seemed like he could never get over the hump. Yes, he could challenge a great player, such as taking a set off of Novak Djokovic at the 2012 Olympics, but he could never really make a run at the top. Well, if the past couple of tournaments are any indication, things are about to change.
Fabio Fognini had a tough time at the first three majors of this year. At the French Open, he only won two matches, while at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, he couldn't even win a match. So, coming into the post-Wimbledon tournaments, there was little to suggest that Fognini would finally turn his potential into results, but he did just that.
At both the Mercedes Open, and the German Tennis Championships he went on unexpected runs to win the tournament. And it's not as if he played a bunch of nobodies to get there. He beat great players such as Tommy Haas and Nicolas Almagro. He, in the final of the German Tennis Championships, took out a hot Federico Delbonis who stunned Roger Federer in an earlier round.
So, what does this mean about Fognini's chances at the upcoming US Open? I believe Fognini will be a real contender. He seems to have finally found his swing, and I don't believe his crazy antics will affect his chances of winning.
I believe Fabio Fognini will go on to the second week at the US Open.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Should we be Worried About Roger Federer?
As you might have figured out over the past weeks, Roger Federer is not where he once was. The Roger Federer of old would have never lost to Sergiy Stakhovsky, let alone at his favorite major championship. As a fan, that was a real shock to see. But, another Federer opponent, this time in Hamburg, had another surprise in store.
At the Semifinals of the German Tennis Championships at Hamburg, unknown Federico Delbonis upset Federer, beating him in straight sets. Federer seemed like a shoe-in to win this tournament, so to see him not even get a set off Delbonis was quite disturbing. So, should we be worried about one of the all-time greats?
No, at least not yet. At Wimbledon, like Rafael Nadal against Lukas Rosol last year, Roger just caught Stakhovsky playing the best tennis match of his life, while he was only at his "B" game. Watching Stakhovsky in the next round playing Jurgen Melzer, it was very clear that his spectacular match against Federer was a fluke. Now, you might be thinking that, in his olden days, Federer would overcome this. However, we must remember that on grass, a hot player whipping his serve in and crushing the ball around the court is nearly impossible to beat. It was clear last year with Rosol and this year with Stakhovsky.
I am also willing to brush off his loss to Delbonis at the German Tennis Championships, as well. This is due to the fact that he, finally, decided to switch to a racket with a bigger head. As anyone who plays tennis knows, we do have to give Roger some time to adjust to the new racket before harshly judging him. We must also remember that Roger is not a world-beater on clay, which is his weakest surface.
So no, we should not be worried about Roger Federer. If he plays poorly at the US Open, however, it will be time to sound the alarm.
At the Semifinals of the German Tennis Championships at Hamburg, unknown Federico Delbonis upset Federer, beating him in straight sets. Federer seemed like a shoe-in to win this tournament, so to see him not even get a set off Delbonis was quite disturbing. So, should we be worried about one of the all-time greats?
No, at least not yet. At Wimbledon, like Rafael Nadal against Lukas Rosol last year, Roger just caught Stakhovsky playing the best tennis match of his life, while he was only at his "B" game. Watching Stakhovsky in the next round playing Jurgen Melzer, it was very clear that his spectacular match against Federer was a fluke. Now, you might be thinking that, in his olden days, Federer would overcome this. However, we must remember that on grass, a hot player whipping his serve in and crushing the ball around the court is nearly impossible to beat. It was clear last year with Rosol and this year with Stakhovsky.
I am also willing to brush off his loss to Delbonis at the German Tennis Championships, as well. This is due to the fact that he, finally, decided to switch to a racket with a bigger head. As anyone who plays tennis knows, we do have to give Roger some time to adjust to the new racket before harshly judging him. We must also remember that Roger is not a world-beater on clay, which is his weakest surface.
So no, we should not be worried about Roger Federer. If he plays poorly at the US Open, however, it will be time to sound the alarm.
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