Now Djokovic has tied Nadal with 22, and unless some of the newer players step up, it looks like he will pass him in Grand Slam totals, maybe by 4 more. It is interesting that the women’s major total that seemed impossible to surpass, even though Serena tried, maybe soon be reached and passed. Of course Shingo Kunieda, the wheelchair tennis player who just retired earlier this month with 28 major singles titles probably can rest easy.
I am not predicting anything though, as you never know what will happen. Tennis has such long season that there is no telling what or who might derail the expected trajectory.
I think it is incredibly likely Novak will end his career with the most slams. There will still be debate over who is the greatest of all time, but it will always be Federer, Nadal, Djokovic in those top three slots with no wiggle room.
It’s fun to debate, but I think all three of those players basically share “best of all time” status. I like Roger the most and I really like Nadal as well. I’m not a huge Novak fan, but he is obviously amazing.
The Indian Wells tournament has begun. Seeded players have byes in the first round. Weather looks like it’ll be perfect for tennis, in the low 80Fs with no rain.
I’ll be headed out there to watch some matches in person. In the early rounds, even seeded players are in the side courts. It’s a great to watch pros up close.
We had a nice long weekend at Indian Wells and saw many great matches. Most exciting moment: Felix Auger-Aliassime cut himself in the chin with his racket. Took a ten-minute medical timeout to stop the bleeding. Ouch!
Today is the tournament’s “super Tuesday”. It’s the round of 16 and all remaining players have a match today. There’s two American women left, Jessica Pegula (3) and Coco Gauff (6). Amazingly, there’s five Czech women still in the tournament, although one definitely goes home today because two play each other. The number one seed and defending champion, Iga Świątek from Poland, has got to be the favorite to win.
Three American men remain, Taylor Fritz (4), Frances Tiafoe (14), and Tommy Paul (17). Interesting advances: there’s two unseeded Chileans still in. I’m hoping Taylor Fritz can successfully the championship, but it’s likely he’ll meeting number-one seed Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) in at the semi-final.
Today are the women’s semifinals: Maria Sakkari (7, Greece) vs Aryna Sabalenka (2), and then Iga Świątek (1, Poland) vs Elena Rybakina (10, Kazakhstan). Tomorrow are the men’s semifinals: Daniil Medvedev (5) vs Frances Tiafoe (14, USA), and then Carlos Alcaraz (1, Spain) vs Jannik Sinner (11, Italy). Finals are on Saturday and Sunday.
Women’s final was exciting and close. First set was decided by a long tiebreaker, 13-11. Elena Rybakina won in straight sets over Aryna Sabalenka. Rybakina moves up from rank 10 to rank 7. She is under-ranked due to Wimbledon not being worth ranking points last year.
Men’s final was short and boring. Carlos Alcaraz efficiently defeated Daniil Medvedev, who barely avoided getting bageled in the second set. Alcaraz is on course to be the new dominant force in men’s tennis. His playstyle is all movement and skill shots. He is friendly to fans and shows great sportsmanship. He knocks off Djokovic from number 1 rank with this championship, but will go down if he fails to win the Miami Open.
Controversy at the Madrid Open. Short summary: at the conclusion of the Women’s Doubles Final, the tournament refused to allow any of the women to speak. Probably because there had been earlier criticism of the tournament by players and the press.
According to a BBC Sport article I read earlier, he’s already announced that 2024 will be his last season, and it seems he plans to try and spend most of this year getting healthy enough he can do a proper send-off at his favourite tournaments - which will obviously include Roland Garros, and I assume Wimbledon too.
I had not heard he already had retirement plans. It certainly will open up Roland Garros in a way it has not been for about 20 years! Which is quite something. Of course it could become dominated by another Spaniard, Alcaraz, since he is young enough to achieve longevity.
It looks like Djokovic, Tsitsipas and Alcaraz for 2023. Yeah I kinda like Alcaraz, but I’m rooting for the old guys this year. Looking forward to the Alcaraz - Djokovic match at the French Open. I just wish it could be the final.
Anyone else notice that they have singles nets set up for almost all the singles matches? Typically tournaments have doubles nets with singles sticks to get the right profile.
I forget which match: a player managed to return the ball beside the net, instead of over it. Won the point, because the opponent wasn’t expecting it. Of course that shot is much easier with a singles net rather than a doubles net.