Players in Realignment mode
Andy Murray will be looking to pick up from where he left last year at Rome. Murray was done in by fatigue following a remarkable streak on clay that saw him win nine matches in a span of ten days. He pulled out of the Rome Masters last year after he won his first match. Titles at Munich and Madrid, a Semi Final berth at Roland Garros and a maiden Davis Cup in 2015 have made Murray a force to reckon with on clay.
Readiness: In 2016 Murray has coped well on clay so far. He has made changes to his game from one tournament to the next. He also crafted distinct strategies for different players by closely watching their videos and deciphering their patterns of play. After losing a hard fought match to Nadal at Monte Carlo, Murray made all the necessary changes to his game.
He served big and essayed deep ground strokes to render Nadal’s sledgehammer forehand ineffective. And the result was a straight set win over the Spaniard at Madrid.
Though Murray eventually fell to Djokovic in the Madrid Final, he pushed the Serb and made him work for the title. The one area where Murray fell short and will be looking to improve in Rome is the break point conversion. This stat stood at an abysmal 20% (2 out of 10) in the Madrid Final. The Serb rarely gives his opponents opportunities of this magnitude.
At Rome, Murray will not meet Djokovic or Nadal or Federer till the Final. If Murray can make the best of the favorable draw handed to him, he has a great chance of winning his first Rome Masters.
Rafael Nadal seemed to have found his Champion self on clay after back to back title hauls at Monte Carlo and Barcelona. He rekindled ‘the La Decima dream’ and Federer concurred. The Swiss Maestro averred that though Djokovic is favorite to win at Roland Garros this year, Nadal is Nadal.
Readiness: The Spaniard has discovered his confidence and competitive spirit but still needs some adjustments to remolding his former invincible self on clay. Dropping a set against Juao Sousa and losing to Murray in straight sets at Madrid dented his campaign. Nadal converted just 15% of the break point opportunities he had against the Scot. Is Nadal holding back at key moments or did Murray just bludgeon himself out of trouble? The Scot served 8 aces against Nadal.
Nadal has to deal with Milos Raonic or Nick Kyrgios, the next-gen players, in the Quarter Final. He will most probably meet Djokovic in the Semi Final. The wounds of a straight set defeat to the Serb at Roland Garros last year are still fresh. The Spaniard has to produce something extra special to stop the Serb.
Santina – Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis - were synonymous with ‘unstoppable’ in 2015. The dream partnership took off at the Indian Wells last year, where they won their first title on debut and never looked back. Champions at Wimbledon, the US Open and the 2016 Australian Open, this stunning duo achieved a winning streak of 41 matches. The triumph at St. Petersburg was their last title together.
Now the French duo of Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia has stolen the thunder. These ‘Powerpuff girls’ have defeated Santina in two consecutive finals at Stuttgart and Madrid.
Readiness: Santina’s Achilles heel has been their serve. Both Mirza and Hingis have never been known for big serving during their Singles careers. While Hingis has always relied on strategic placement of her serves, Mirza over time has improved in that department being in the company of the Swiss legend. Their serves were repeatedly broken by Mladenovic – Garcia at Madrid. Though the Indo Swiss pair did mount a comeback in the Second Set, the hard hitting French duo played clutch tennis in important moments. Despite making a great start in the Stuttgart Finale, Santina could not carry through that momentum in the Second Set. They eventually lost in the 10 point tie-break to the same French team.
The old tricks of the trade no longer work well. It was good enough for the last year but the French duo now pose a new challenge. Santina could regain some of their lost edge by reworking their magic. Hingis, with the wealth of experience and her incredible tennis quotient, should be able to pave a new path for their partnership to reach a new high.
The prospect of these players resurrecting and realigning their games at Rome is very exciting.
It could be a battery of firsts with Murray, Azarenka and Santina winning their first ever title in Rome. Or the old horses like Williams and Federer could throw the much awaited surprise and holler, “We are not done yet!”.
Either way the average tennis fan stands to gain.
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