LONDON: If anybody paid close attention to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Monday, they would have known that the one-sided dominance in men’s tennis has been disrupted.
The Frenchman was providing a brief preview of the upcoming Wimbledon Championships. In it, he mentioned a variety of contenders for the title, but most prominent was his prediction that the draw will be ‘really open, exciting and a really good Wimbledon.’
Highlighting Tsonga’s claim was a shocks galore Tuesday at the Aegon Championships in London. In perfect order the third, second and first seeds went tumbling out of the tournament. Milos Raonic, who is seeking a resurgence in form, was edged out by comeback kid Thanassi Kokkinakis. Stan Wawrinka’s rocky relationship with the grass resulted in his loss to recent Stuttgart finalist Feliciano Lopez. Finally, Andy Murray was far from his best against lucky loser Jordan Thompson.
It was a PR disaster for the media team at the tournament, but one that surprised few.
“When you play Feli on grass, you know that it’s gonna be a tough match anyway.” Second Wawrinka reflected after his early exit.
Within recent months there has been a growing consensus that the gap between the best and the rest is gradually narrowing. It is hard to highlight when there are spectacular achievements in grand slams by the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Wawrinka is a player that thrives on the biggest stage of the tour. Shown by his run to the French Open final. In the lower level tournaments and on the grass it is sometimes a different matter.
“I have the feeling that I’m improving, and I’m sure I can get some good results this year or in the next few years. That’s my goal, for sure.” The Swiss player said after his second consecutive first round exit at Queen’s.
Murray continues to struggle with the balancing his form with the expectation of living up to his world No.1 status. Against Thompson, he was flustered and lacked both confidence and commitment in his shot-making. Similar to the French Open, he will enter a grand slam with a sense of unpredictability surrounding him.
“Everything was a lot better in practice. Today’s match was not good, but I was much better in practice.” The world No.1 swiftly pointed out when challenged about his Wimbledon chances.
If the rankings was changed to consider only the points won over the past 52 weeks, the landscape would be different for the losing trio at Queen’s. Wawrinka would fall slightly to fourth, Murray to seventh and Raonic to 16th. A prime example of how the statistics can sometimes be misleading.
The savior of the day in terms of the seeds was Marin Cilic. Sometimes the tennis world underestimates his ability on the tour, forgetting his unexpected run to the US Open title. Against the fast-serving John Isner he was unfazed, winning an incredible 100% of his first service points (30/30). He continues to build on his successful clay-court season, positioning him as a strong contender for the title. This is based on his form and not seeding.
Rankings are important, but they are sometimes proven irrelevant in the world of tennis. Raonic, Wawrinka and Murray will agree with this.
Queen’s seeds: How their ranking compares to their place in the ATP Race to London
1) Andy Murray – World No.1, ATP Race No.4
2) Stan Wawrinka – World No.3, ATP Race No.4
3) Milos Raonic – World No.6, ATP Race No.16
4) Maric Cilic – World No.7, ATP Race No.14
5) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – World No.10, ATP Race No.10
6) Grigor Dimitrov – World No.11, ATP Race No.11
7) Tomas Berdych – World No.14, ATP Race No.20
8) Nick Kyrgios – World No.20, ATP Race No.21
