Tennis wonderings

All of these are looking at the open era only. Anything that happened before 1968 happened in a totally different world.

Greatest men's player without a grand slam title? (sources: Forbes... SI... SteveTennis...  TheTennisSpace... bleacherreport)

• Andy Murray - highest ranking #2...Olympic gold medal...4 grand slam finals...6 other grand slam semi-finals...23 career titles...363 career match wins...
• Marcelo Rios - ranking #1...1 grand slam final...0 other semi-finals...18 career titles...391 wins...
• Nikolay Davydenko - ranking #3...0 finals...4 semi-finals...21 titles...429 wins...
• Tim Henman - ranking #4...0 finals...6 semi-finals...11 titles...496 wins...
• Miloslav Mečíř - ranking #4...2 finals...2 other semi-finals...11 titles...262 wins...
• David Nalbandian - ranking #3...1 final...4 other semi-finals...11 titles...372 wins...
• Tom Okker - ranking #3...1 final...4 other semi-finals...31 titles...2 grand-slam doubles titles...520 wins...
• Thomas Enqvist - ranking #4...1 final...0 other semi-finals...19 titles...448 wins...
• Todd Martin - ranking #4...2 finals...4 other semi-finals...8 titles...411 wins...
• Guillermo Coria - ranking #3...1 final...1 other semi-final...9 titles...216 wins...
• Henir Leconte - ranking #5...1 final...3 other semi-finals...9 titles...377 wins...
• Mark Philippoussis - ranking #8...2 finals...0 other semi-finals...11 titles...313 wins...
• Magnus Norman - ranking #2...1 final...1 other semi-final...12 titles...244 wins...

• That's everybody mentioned in the above five pages. Rios got to #1; nobody else did. Murray, however, wins finals, semi-finals, titles (other thank Okker's 31 but in a very different era with far fewer tournaments). On match wins, Murray looks to climb the list quickly over the next couple of years. Clearly, if Murray retires without having won a grand slam title, he will go down as the greatest men's player without one. Once Federer's retired, I'm just fine with Murray picking up  few of his own.

Comparing Andys...

• Andy Murray - highest ranking #2...Olympic gold medal...4 grand slam finals...6 other grand slam semi-finals...23 career titles...8 Masters Series titles...363 career match wins...been in ATP top 5 since Sept 2008 (200+ weeks)...#2 for 3 weeks (August 2009) (source)...14-1 Davis Cup singles record...2-5 Davis Cup doubles...
• Andy Roddick - highest ranking #1...1 grand slam title (US 2003)...4 other finals...5 other semi-finals...32 career titles...5 Masters Series titles...607 career match wins...#1 for 13 weeks (late 2003 - Feb 2004)...1 year-end #1 (2003)... 52 weeks at #2...70 weeks at #3...30 weeks at #4...43 weeks at #5 (source)...208 total weeks in top 5...33-12 in Davis Cup...1 Davis Cup title...

• Roddick's highest point - the US Open 2003 and subsequent time at #1 - was higher than Murray's has been yet, but Murray's about equal in all the other ways (same non-winning finals, one extra semi-final) other than career longevity. Murray is 25 years old; Roddick is 30 (as of last week). Five years ago (at the same age as Murray is now), Roddick was rolling along, having been seeded 6th, 3rd, 3rd, and 5th at the Grand Slams that year (he would never be seeded higher than 5th again, and then only once). He finished the year ranked #6 in the world and wouldn't get any higher again, finishing 6th in 2008, as well. If - for a few more years - Murray stays near the top of the world players as he is now, he'll pick up enough titles and wins to easily surpass Roddick, especially as Federer and Nadal fade into the distance (Federer via age and Nadal via physical breakdowns). If, on the other hand, Murray begins the decline that Roddick started at about this point in his career, things could end up a little closer.

Greatest player with 'only' one grand slam title

• Pat Cash - highest ranking #4...1 grand slam title (Wimbledon 1987)...2 other finals...2 other semi-finals...7 career titles...242 career match wins...
• Michael Chang - highest ranking #2...1 grand slam title (1987 Roland Garros)...3 other finals...4 other semi-finals...34 titles...662 match wins
• Alberto Costa - highest ranking #6...1 grand slam title (2002 Roland Garros)...0 other finals...1 other semi-final...12 titles...383 match wins
• Juan Martin del Potro - highest ranking #4...1 grand slam title (2009 US)...0 other finals...1 other semi-final...11 titles...234 match wins
• Mark Edmondson - highest ranking #15 ...1 grand slam title (1976 Australian)...0 other finals...2 other semi-finals...6 titles...251 match wins
• Juan Carlos Ferrero - highest ranking #1 (8 weeks)...1 grand slam title (2003 Roland Garros)...2 other finals...3 other semi-finals...16 titles...475 match wins
• Gaston Gaudio - highest ranking #5...1 grand slam title (2004 Roland Garros)...0 other finals...0 other semi-finals...8 titles...270 match wins...
• Andres Gimeno - highest ranking #9...1 grand slam title (1972 Roland Garros)...1 other final...1 other semi-final...5 titles...159 wins...(career straddled pre-open era, though)...
• Andres Gomez - highest ranking #4...1 grand slam title (1990 Roland Garros)...0 other finals...0 other semi-finals...21 titles...523 match wins...
• Goran Ivanisevic - highest ranking #2...1 grand slam title (2001 Wimbledon)...3 other finals (all Wimbledon)...3 other semi-finals (2 Wimbledon)...22 titles...599 match wins...Olympic bronze medal...
• Thomas Johansson - highest ranking #7...1 grand slam title (2001 Australian)...0 other finals...1 other semi-final...9 titles...357 match wins...
• Peter Korda - highest ranking #2...1 grand slam title (1998 Australian)...1 other final...0 other semi-finals...10 titles...458 match wins...
• Richard Krajicek - highest ranking #4...1 grand slam title (1996 Wimbledon)...0 other finals...3 other semi-finals...17 titles...411 match wins
• Carlos Moya - highest ranking #1 (2 weeks)...1 grand slam title (1998 Roland Garros)...1 other final...1 other semi-final...20 titles...573 match wins
• Thomas Muster - highest ranking #1 (6 weeks)...1 grand slam title (1995 Roland Garros)...0 other finals...3 other semi-finals...44 titles...622 match wins...0-4 match record at Wimbledon...
• Manuel Orantes - highest ranking #2...1 grand slam title (1975 US Open)...1 other final...2 other semi-finals...33 titles...647 match wins...
• Yannick Noah - highest ranking #3...1 grand slam title (1983 Roland Garros)...0 other finals...1 other semi-final...23 titles...476 match wins...
• Andy Roddick - highest ranking #1 (13 weeks)...1 grand slam title (US 2003)...4 other finals...5 other semi-finals...32 career titles...5 Masters Series titles...607 career match wins...
• Michael Stich - highest ranking #2...1 grand slam title (1991 Wimbledon)...2 other finals...3 other semi-finals...18 titles...385 match wins...Olympic gold medal (doubles)...
• Brian Teacher - highest ranking #7...1 grand slam (1980 Australian)...0 other finals...0 other semi-finals...8 titles...335 match wins...

• There are some real flukes there (Edmondson & Gimeno most prominently, even Gaudio & Gomez who never even made another grand slam semi-final). 
• I'd also kind of forgotten about the world of clay court specialists. We're totally spoiled today with a group of players who are fairly well equally successful on nearly every surface. Federer & Nadal have the career set of grand slams, and Djokovic and Murray are nearly as successful on every surface available. Thomas Muster, on the other hand, seemed to be terrified of the grass of Wimbledon, playing the tournament only four times ever and never winning a match there.
• The only players in the discussion for the greatest one-slam winner are Michael Chang, Andy Roddick, Goran Ivanisevic, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Pat Cash, and Michael Stitch. They're the only ones with multiple finals in addition to their one title. I'm eliminating Stich and Cash because of their low totals of total finals & career match wins. Then it's Ferrero who is lower than the other three (Roddick, Ivanisevic, and Chang) in every measure. Chang's the next out as he didn't really threaten to win his other finals, winning only one set in his three non-winning finals. Ivanisevic, on the other hand, twice took his non-winning finals to a fifth set, but almost all of his success came at Wimbledon as his only non-grass semifinal was at the US Open.
• I guess it turns out that Roddick is the greatest one-slam champion of the open era. Who knew?

Current dominant era as compared to other eras in the Open Era...

• 2004-current - Djokovic, Federer, Nadal - 447 (and counting) weeks sharing #1 ranking...won 32 of 35 grand slam titles (29 of last 30)...in 5 of the last 8 years, a single player of the three has won 3 of 4 grand slam titles...in 5 of last 6 years, they have won all 4 between the three of them...in 2011 these three took 10 of a possible 12 semi-final slots in the grand slams (Murray took four more)...three have taken 47 of 70 possible final sports at grand slam tourneys (13/18 Wimbledon, 13/18 Roland Garros, 10/18 Australian, 11/16 US) and 
• 1974-1983 - Borg, Connors, McEnroe - 448 weeks sharing #1...won 24 of 40 grand slam titles...in only 1 of those years did they sweep all 4 titles...in 5 of 10 years they won 3 of 4...
• 1981-1988 - Connors, McEnroe, Lendl - 371 weeks sharing #1...won 14 of 28 grand slam titles (but Wilander won 7 in that span, too, only taking over #1 after his seventh)...1 of 8 years did they win three of four titles...never swept all 4...Connors was never #1 after 1983, never won a grand slam after 1983...
• 1981-1990 - Connors, McEnroe, Lendl, Wilander - 471 weeks sharing #1...23 of 40 grand slam titles (22 of 30 in best streak)...swept all 4 titles 1 in 10 years...won 3 of 4 in 4 of 10 years...

• No, in the Open Era, we have never seen this run of dominance among three players, especially because all three are still viable competitors for the #1 ranking (when Nadal is healthy, anyway).

Most dominant one-player runs in the open era

• Roger Federer - 2004-2008 - #1 for 237 consecutive weeks...won 12 of 20 grand slams (11 of 16 in 2004-2007)...18 consecutive grand slam semi-finals (2004-2008...streak continued to 2010)...10 consecutive grand slam finals (2005-2007)...381-39 match record 2004-2008 (90.7% wins)...315-24 match record 2004-2007 (92.9% wins)...#1 year-end 2004-2007, #2 in 2008
• Pete Sampras - 1993-1998 - #1 for 262 weeks (102 longest consecutive)...won 10 of 24 grand slams (9 of 17 in 1993-1997)...3 straight grand slam titles (1993-1994)...3 straight grand slam finals (same 3)...3 straight grand slam semi-finals (same 3)...

• There is one other player who should be mentioned here, but she's a girl.

• Steffi Graf - 1987-1990 - #1 for 186 consecutive weeks (into 1991)...won 9 of 15 grand slams (8 of 9 in 1988-1990)...won Olympic gold medal...13 consecutive grand slam finals...15 consecutive grand slam semi-finals...305-12 match record (96.2% wins)...#1 year-end 1987-1990...
• Steffi Graf - 1993-1996 - #1 187 non-consecutive weeks (into 1997)...won 10 of 16 grand slam titles...5 straight grand slam finals...5 straight grand slam semi-finals (same)...3 WTA year-end championships...#1 year-end 1993-1996...235-18 match record (92.9% wins)

Greatest men's tennis year ever...

• Only one true grand slam (all four titles) in a calendar year in the open era (Rod Laver in 1969). There's no way to compare that to the ones I'm about to look at because tennis statistics are effectively absent from that era.

• Jimmy Connors, 1974 - Australian, Wimbledon, US titles...did not play Roland Garros (banned because of participation in Team Tennis)...won 12 other titles (two in Grand Prix Championship Series - highest non-slam level at the time)...93-4 (96%) or 99-4 (96%) match record...did not play Davis Cup or tour final (later ATP final)...
• John McEnroe, 1984 - Wimbledon, US Open titles...F Roland Garros, did not play Australian...won WCT & Grand Prix year-end championships...won 9 other titles (Toronto, Stockholm, Philly, Forest Hills, Richmond, Madrid, Brussles, Queen's Club, San Francisco)...82-3 (96%) match record...
• Mats Wilander, 1988 - Australian, Roland Garros, US titles...QF at Wimbledon...RR ATP finals...won 6/14 ATP tournaments entered (6 finals)...53-11 (83%) match record...
• Roger Federer, 2004 - Australian, Wimbledon, US titles...3R at Roland Garros...3 Masters titles...QF Davis Cup...2R Olympic singles...W ATP final...74-6 (93%)...
• Roger Federer, 2006 - Australian, Wimbledon, US titles...F at Roland Garros...4 Masters titles...1st Rd Davis Cup...W ATP final...92-5 (95%) match record
• Roger Federer, 2007 - Australian, Wimbledon, US titles...F at Roland Garros...2 Masters titles...1st Rd Davis Cup...W ATP final...68-9 (88%) match record...
• Rafael Nadal, 2010 - Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US titles...QF at Australian...3 Masters titles...did not play Davis Cup...F ATP final...71-10 (88%) match record
• Novac Djokovic, 2011 - Australian, Wimbledon, US titles...SF at Roland Garros...5 Masters titles, SF Davis Cup...Round Robin ATP final...70-6 (92%) match record

• Federer 2006 was his best, and Connors's 1974 was pretty stunning. They're very different eras with Connors playing almost as a barnstormer taking any tournament and all and all comers. Federer hasn't ever played as many matches in a year as Connors did that year. I'll go with a split vote between the two. If pressed, I might take Federer because Connors didn't play Davis Cup, the French, or the tour finals that year - all because of his own choices (playing Team Tennis). Those are negatives in my book. They're points taken away because we - admittedly in retrospect - value those things and don't really value Team Tennis (even though it still exists sort of)

Goodnight, Andy

Andy Roddick just announced his retirement effective at the end of the US Open.

Only forty-seven men have won a grand slam title in the open era (since 1968).

Andy Roddick is one of the twenty of them who have won 'only' one title in that era.

Roger Federer is 343 days older than Andy Roddick and won his first grand slam title two months before Andy Roddick won his first and only.

Andy Roddick was unlucky to have had his career overlap with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. (By the time Djokovic became a major player, Andy Roddick no longer was.)

Roddick won his grand slam - the 2003 US Open - the year after Pete Sampras won his last - the 2002 US Open.

All twenty men who won 'only' one grand slam title in the open era:

• Pat Cash
• Michael Chang
• Alberto Costa
• Juan Martin del Potro
• Mark Edmondson
• Juan Carlos Ferrero
• Gaston Gaudio
• Andres Gimeno
• Andres Gomez
• Goran Ivanisevic
• Thomas Johansson
• Peter Korda
• Richard Krajicek
• Carlos Moya
• Thomas Muster
• Manuel Orantes
• Yannick Noah
• Andy Roddick
• Michael Stich
• Brian Teacher

I certainly won't say that I will miss Andy Roddick. He is far from my favorite player, and his petulance last summer in Cincinnati just about ruined my taste for him entirely. He played with his heart on his sleeve, letting us see his frustration as well as his successes and joys on the court at all times, and there were times that meant we got to see his negatives as well as his positives.

Today I'll think back to Roddick's three Wimbledon finals against Roger Federer (2004, 2005, 2009), particularly the spectacular 16-14 fifth set in 2009. He also lost to Federer in the 2006 US Open final. Thus went the career of the greatest post-Agassi/Sampras American men's tennis player we've seen so far.

Here's to hoping that Roddick can make a miraculous charge to the middle of the second week. He'll have a tough road with del Potro in the round of 16 then Djokovic in the quarters, but it would be nice to see Roddick's formerly booming serve unleashed for at least one last weekend at Flushing Meadows.

Men, interrupted

Nadal leads two sets to one over Novak Djokovic in the Roland Garros final after today's final rain delay/darkness postponment.

Tomorrow the final resumes but on NBC Sports Channel - not the broadcast network.

Looks like I'll be watching flat on my back on the intertubes.

Check the great photo of Nadal from the Roland Garros Facebook page...

Morning activities

I threw my back out yesterday spreading mulch in the garden, and I'm looking at a day or two flat on my back recuperating. Happy summer, moron. Lose some weight, get in shape.

Luckily, there's Nadal-Djokovic in the Roland Garros final this morning. Their last grand slam match - the Aussie Open final - went nearly six hours (and, yes, somebody uploaded the whole thing to YouTube), and this is a far slower surface.

The smart money is firmly on Nadal to win his open-era record seventh Roland Garros title, but I'm pulling for Djokovic to complete the career Grand Slam and be the first man to hold all four titles since Rod Laver in 1969.

Pain is just weakness leaving the body

Happy Roland Garros, everybody...

Update: After Saturday, the top eight men's seeds are all in the round of 16 meaning we could have a perfect quarterfinals. Fingers are crossed.

Love-love

Time for my favorite Grand Slam tourney, Roland Garros.

Lots of historical possibilities here - Djokovic going for four in a row and completion of the career Grand Slam (something only eight have ever done - only four in the Open era)...Nadal going for a record seventh Roland Garros title...Federer trying to add to his already historic (16) Grand Slam total.

Can't wait...

Enjoy some of the posters from the tourney...thanks to uristilman's flick feed

La Caja Mágica

This past week's Madrid Open - did I mention that m'man Roger won the title and moved back up to number two - was held in the Magic Box, something I'd never seen or heard of before a week ago but that looks pretty frickin' cool and kinda makes me want to get myself to Madrid to check out the building and the tourney.

See, those big flaps up topside are roof sections that can retract to let the sunshine in over the three stadium courts.



Apparently not everybody loves the stadium - finding it cold, but I love the idea that tourney owner, Ion Tiriac, is making a major push to be the 'fifth major'...

...and that he took a big leap to dye the clay blue and make a huge news splash - even if he racked off a number of the top players. Give the man credit for trying something different...

...and for having an absolutely rockin' 'stache...

Man, I want to see a major clay court tennis tournament.




I'm thinking that the Madrid-Rome-French Open swing would be phenomenally fun.

Moving on up...

Suck it, Nadal...

Anybody have any idea what the record is for most consecutive weeks in the top three of the world rankings?

I know Fed is one week behind Sampras for most weeks at #1, and he will become the record holder for most weeks in the top two when this week's rankings come out, but I'm curious about top three. It looks like Fed has a while to go to catch longest time in the top ten, though. (Fed broke into the top ten after winning the Hamburg Masters, May 2002, so it's been almost exactly ten years now.)

Thoughts on Serena Williams

If you missed it, Serena Williams got into another issue at the US Open today.

Down a set, serving in the first game of the second, Serena gets down 15-30 after a couple of good shots from Sam Stosur. On the next point, Serena hits a great forehand down the line toward Stosur's backhand. Against most players, it would've been a clean winner, but Stosur is able to get a racket on the ball, knocking it away toward the stands.

The problem came when Serena yelled 'Come on!' before Stosur got to the ball.

When I saw the point live, I thought it was at least poor form and probably against the rules for Serena to yell before the shot was, indeed, an actual winner. I don't think Williams had any intent to distract Stosur or to cause an intentional hindrance. She just was trying to get herself going after losing a surprising first set 6-2 and being in danger of going down an early second set break.

But Serena yelled - not grunted, not exhaled, not whatever - while the ball was still in play.

The chair umpire awarded the point to Stosur, and Serena wasn't pleased. She voices her displeasure at the umpire and has the crowd on her side.

John McEnroe says Serena shouldn't have been penalized the point, that the point should have been a let (a replay). I have a problem with that solution because it would have been a let due to intentional behavior from one of the players (Serena Williams). It's one thing when a player does something accidentally leading to a let (a ball drops out of a pocket, a hat falls off, whatever), but when the player intentionally causes something that would otherwise lead to the let, the player loses that point. McEnroe likens this to a player on the free throw lane talking to the shooter, an offensive lineman yelling at the quarterback while he's passing.

McEnroe is wrong.

Here's the exact wording of rule #26 - on Hindrance - from the International Tennis Federation (page 12 here): (emphasis added by me)

If a player is hindered in playing the point by a deliberate act of the opponent(s), the player shall win the point.

However, the point shall be replayed if a player is hindered in playing the point by either an unintentional act of the opponent(s), or something outside the player’s own control (not including a permanent fixture).

In those sports, there is little if any expectation for quiet during the play. Whether we like it or not, the expectation is tennis is that there will be quiet during the play and that players will not speak to each other during the course of the match - between points, perhaps, but not during the points. Chair umps ask the crowd to be quiet, remind people not to blurt out during points, and hold play until their expectation is met.

When the crowd cheered in support of Serena, they had the right to, but they were cheering against a chair umpire who made the correct call. For a brief moment Serena Williams had the sympathy of the crowd, and then she went further and further wrong. Serena won the first point of the next game, walked toward the chair ump, and screamed at the chair umpire.

Rare is the champion athlete who can succeed when their head isn't in the game. Rare is the athlete who can use anger and frustration and channel it into anything productive. Serena isn't that athlete.

Williams continued to yell at the umpire for the next couple of games, throughout the change overs. From her seat beside the umpire's chair, Serena told the umpire to not even look at her, the she was allowed to speak because 'we're in America...If you're ever walking down the hallway with me, you better (walk/look) the other way."

Serena is the greatest tennis player of this generation, having won thirteen grand slam titles (the sixth most of all time - behind Evert and Navratilova, both with eighteen,) easily outpacing her sister with seven - the next most of any active player. She is, however, an ungraceful champion, one whose record will be blemished with her actions at the US Open two years ago that, admittedly, make today's outbursts look very minor.

For whatever reason - foot injury, tiredness after playing yesterday, lack of match fitness after a medically tough year - Serena was not playing her best match today, and instead of fighting through this, Serena let her frustrations build up until they got the better of her and she showed the poorer side of her personality.

In the end the tempest didn't really matter, providing only a momentary distraction from Sam Stosur's first grand slam tournament title. Stosur played well today and earned her victory. Serena Williams is, thankfully, being graceful in her post-match interviews, but she didn't comport herself well today, and we're the poorer for that.

Update: When I'd initially written this, I included that Serena was given a point penalty for verbal abuse of the umpire. I wrote this because I'd read it online in looking up the exact words Serena spoke to the chair ump. One person on Twitter reported the point penalty, but I didn't remember seeing that when I watched the match, so I avoided it. Looks like there wasn't a point penalty but that the USTA does consider Serena to have verbally abused the chair ump and released a statement to that effect after the match. Remember, folks, that Serena is technically still on probation for her incident two years ago in the US Open final.

Andy Roddick - crybaby

I got really lucky this past Monday night and got to see some pro tennis in Mason, OH - like twenty minutes from home. Sadly the Federer-del Potro match was on Tuesday night, but still, seeing Ana Ivanovic take apart Alexa Glatch and the Andy Roddick take on Phillip Kohlschreiber, isn't a bad evening - especially since I wasn't paying for anything.

Nice, tight first set with Roddick winning in a 7-5 tie-breaker. Good stuff.

Second set went toward another tiebreaker with Roddick serving at 6-5, but Roddick got broken to send things to a third set. That's where things started to go off the rails for Andrew. In frustration after the break of serve, Roddick shattered his racket on the court and then beat it once more when he sat down for the changeover. Apparently that was worth a warning from the chair - even though it wasn't publicly announced in the stadium.

Down 0-1 and serving again, Roddick double faulted away the point to go down 30-40 and hit Kohlschreiber's return into the upper row or two of the stands. This second code violation earned Roddick a point penalty and gave Kohlschreiber the break of serve.

From there things got worse for Roddick as he firmly thrust his head further up his tuches and spent every changeover from there forward (and there weren't many) arguing with the chair umpire and just pushing his head further up his backside. Roddick's final set performance was pathetic as he very quickly stopped moving toward balls just out of reach and showed no effort until he was down 0-5 and rallied to hold serve once in the set before bowing out 6-1 in the final set.

Pathetic and embarrassing.

And then Roddick, in his press conference, talked about how tennis needs some personalities if it wants to become popular again. He's wrong there. If tennis is to be popular in America again, it's going to take somebody stepping up to their potential unlike what Roddick has done throughout his career.

It's time for Roddick to exit the stage and let the next generation of American players lead. Hopefully he can do so with more grace than he showed Monday night.

Happy 30th, Rogeh

Happy 30th birthday to Roger Federer.

Take a minute to read some about Roger's birthday...

• ATP Players Wish Roger Federer a Happy Birthday
• Celebrating More Than Fed's Birthday
• The Unparalleled Standard Roger Set
• What's In Store for Old Man Federer

Goll Dangit!

Looks like Wimbledon coverage is about to be leaving NBC for ESPN.

At some point, I'm going to have to make the jump to real cable to keep watching sports. As the brief article points out, the College Bowl Series is on ESPN. The Final Four is going to be on TBS in a couple of years.

And I don't really give a crap about the Olympics.

The new #1!

There's little doubt right now. Novak Djokovic is the new #1 in the world.

The new #1?

After winning today in the Wimbledon semifinal, Novak Djokovic is guaranteed to take over the #1 ranking on Monday.

Now it's just down to who he gets to meet in the Wimbledon final: Murray or Nadal. Match starting now on NBC.

PS - Just noticed that this is post #2475. Another nice little milestone (2500) coming up in just less than a month then.

Take 2?

Isner draws Mahut in the first round of Wimbledon.

If that doesn't mean anything to you, do a little reading about their last match.

Thirty-nine and counting

Note three things...

one, Djokivic wins again...37-0 and counting to start 2011 (the record is 42-0 by McEnroe in 1984)...undefeated in his last 39 matches (the record is 46 in a row by Guillermo Vilas in 1977)

two, listen to how silent the commentators are during the points. That's nothing like American tennis commentators. I have the Wimbledon video of the great Nadal-Federer final 2008, and there are full two- and three-minute stretches without a word being said. It's refreshing, actually.

three, if Djokovic is to continue his run, he'll have to do it at Roland Garros which starts in a week. Catching McEnroe would only mean getting to the fourth round (the round of 16). Catching Vilas would mean winning Roland Garros.

I'm so geeked.

Update: The king is dead. Long live the king.

I'd been wondering just how close Djokovic was to taking over the top spot in the rankings at this point.

Turns out that it could happen by next Sunday if he wins the Italian Open and Nadal doesn't make the semis.

That would be a big deal as Nadal and Federer have owned the top spot since February 2, 2004 - 280 weeks, longer than any other pair of players.

The king is dead. Long live the king.

Yup, Djokovic's historic start to 2011 continues with a 7-5, 6-4 beating of Rafa Nadal in the final of the Madrid Open. Djokovic is 33-0 to start the year, and is 3-0 against both Nadal and Federer.

If this isn't a coronation, it's entirely possible that Roland Garros could be.

Johnny Mac won 42 matches in a row to start 1984. That's the current record.

Villas and Lendl won 46 and 44 in a row (not to start a year). Those're still above Djokovic.

But it looks like there's a new king for now in the men's game.

Long live the king.

Done...

A few weeks back, I challenged anybody to try to beat a little online flash tennis game without losing a point and said that I hadn't been able to do that.

That's no longer the case.

And now I'm done with that game.

Frustratingly imperfect

Here's today's challenge: win the tennis tournament without losing a point.

Not a single point in the four matches.

I can consistently win the tournament with any of the players, but I can't seem to make it through all four matches cleanly. I keep trying at Graf and Navratilova - Graf because her forehand is just awesome, Navratilova because she has the wheels to get to just about anything hit her way.

My personal best is getting through the first three matches cleanly then losing two points in the final match.

There is, of course, absolutely no way to prove that you've done it, so I'll just have to take your word for it if you make it, but let's keep it above board here, folks.