Court presence is still important in pro tennis, even in this outbreak of new young guns.
Take the “Big Three” where first names are almost proper. Novak, Rafa and Roger certainly make their presence felt on the court.
Yes, Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer have played the Grand Slams like they owned them most of their careers. Together they have piled up a total of 59 Grand Slam singles titles during their careers.
They have divided Grand Slam titles almost equally for much of the last two decades, with Federer and Nadal taking home the jewel 20 times each. And when this Wimbledon ends, the odds are that these three greats of the game will have 20 Grand Slam titles each.
IS THIS THE YEAR FOR A CHANGE?
When one of these greats walks out on the court, their opponent must take a deep breath and tell himself that he doesn’t have anything to lose. So, opponents normally go all out with aggression from the start until reality sits in that they are probably going to lose.
Many of the young stars, not including Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and a few others, appear to feel like they are just out there to improve their bank account. They are not ready to win the Grand Slam event, or ready to make it to the final or probably not even make the semifinals.
This time might be different at Wimbledon because Canadian Denis Shapovalov and Italian Matteo Berrettini appear to have good chances of joining Djokovic and Medvedev in the semifinals. Yes, that means Medvedev would have to finish off his suspended round of 16 match against Hubert Hurkacz of Poland with a win and then upend Federer in the quarterfinals.
HAS MEDVEDEV PAID HIS DUES?
Medvedev is for real. He has been in enough big matches in finals at the 2019 U.S. Open against Nadal and this year’s Australian Open against Djokovic to be ready to challenge for the top prize itself. You might say, these two old-timers have kept the mercurial Russian from owning a pair of Grand Slam titles already.
There also was the loss by Medvedev to eventual champion Dominic Thiem in the semifinals of the 2020 U.S. Open.
Oh, yes, where is Thiem? He is sitting out Wimbledon with an injured right wrist. Of course, Thiem didn’t win a Grand Slam title until his fourth final.
So, Medvedev has paid his dues in the Grand Slams, too.
That’s why I would pick Medvedev, if he finishes off Hurkacz, to end Federer’s run for a record 21st Grand Slam singles title in the semifinals. But that doesn’t mean I would pick Medvedev to defeat Djokovic in the final. Novak appears to still be just too good as he goes after his eighth title in the last 12 Grand Slam championships.
WILL SHAPOVALOV GET A SHOT AT NOVAK?
Medvedev has looked mostly great for the last two years, but when he got on the court with Djokovic in this year’s Australian Open final he was in complete awe of the Serbian Wonder. That was a real example of court presence by Novak.
But also you have to wonder if Medvedev has fully overcome his collapse against Djokovic in Melbourne.
To stop Djokovic, it might take a superior performance by explosive young Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the semifinals. Of course, lefty Shapovalov has to take care of hard-hitting Russian veteran Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals to get a probable shot at Djokovic.
If the 22-year-old Shapovalov keeps playing the way he has performed in this Wimbledon, Khachanov shouldn’t pose any problems. Shapovalov has never before come close to his current consistency off both sides and his serve. He is playing with awesome power that makes his quickness and athleticism even more difficult to neutralize.
COURT PRESENCE STILL IMPORTANT
Court presence when blended with amazing talent such as Djokovic and Federer have is difficult to beat.
You could even apply that theory to Monday’s round of 16 women’s match pitting world’s No. 1 Ashleigh Barty and reigning French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova. Even with a Grand Slam title and a 15-match winning streak for confidence, Krejcikova was no match for the athletic Barty.
Yes, Barty already owns a bit of court presence and awesome tennis ability. If Barty plays to anywhere near her ability, she will be holding another Grand Slam championship award on Saturday.
YOUNG GUNS FALTER TOO EARLY
When you mention the “young guns” of men’s tennis now, you can drop Andrey Rublev from the list. After surprisingly outplaying Nadal on red clay in the quarterfinals at the Monte Carlo Masters back in April, Rublev all of a sudden looked like maybe a better candidate to win a Grand Slam than even Medvedev.
Rublev has appeared to be almost unbeatable at times in the past. But not anymore.
He opened the French Open with a first-round loss in five sets, and Monday he lost another five-setter to Hungarian Marton Fucsovics after being up two sets to one in the round of 16. Those are the kind of matches Rublev has to win to gain confidence and court presence.
Fucsovics is a talented player, but not quite as good as Rublev made him look late in the match.
Rublev really hasn’t changed. He just has minimal court presence and confidence. He hasn’t reached his peak and may never unless he starts believing in his game.
ZVEREV DOESN’T KNOW WHEN TO HIT A SECOND SERVE
Alexander Zverev has to learn when to hit a true second serve before he will make a true mark on the men’s tour. A player can’t hit 20 double faults in a match and expect to win.
The 24-year-old German can be an awesome player, once he figures out when to and when not to hit first serves.
Zverev dropped the first two sets against Felix Auger-Aliassime, but settled down a bit to win the next two sets in a five-set loss. Double faults again got Zverev into more trouble than he could handle late in the fifth set.
Tsitsipas also is treading lightly after suffering a first-round loss for the third time in his four trips to Wimbledon. Grass just doesn’t appear to be his thing. Mark that off his list as one of the “young guns” until he proves differently. He’s only 22 years old, so he has time.
Remember, the aggressive Greek won the first two sets off Djokovic in this year’s Australian Open final, only to fall apart the last three sets. It wouldn’t be unthinkable for Tsitsipas to bounce back and win the U.S. Open.
See James Beck’s Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier columns at postandcourier.com (search on James Beck column). James Beck can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com
