Tennis News

“It’s about keeping up the traditions – grass courts and white tennis clothing, we could sell all the tickets online but doing that would take away a lot of the charm. People are determined to watch Lleyton Hewitt playing on the first Tuesday and they queue to get in.” – The words of All England Lawn Tennis Club chairman Philip Brook in a recent Telegraph article.

The Queue is almost mythical these days and seen as part of the Wimbledon experience but in 2015 there is no reason for it to still exist unless you want to remain stuck in the past, as clearly Wimbledon do. Queuing for tickets to sporting, music or any other events is an outdated process and should be only used if there are unsold tickets.

One of the many defences for the queue is that it allows ANYONE to have a chance of getting the 500 tickets available on each of the three main show courts but in reality you still have a major advantage if you are based in London, young, healthy and not a parent. The excellent @ViewFromTheQ (a must follow if you decide to brave The Queue) shows just how inconvenient queuing would be for anyone who isn’t in any of these categories. Monday’s queue hit 400 by 8am Sunday, over 1000 by 6pm and around 1400 by 10:30pm. Overnight camping for the elderly, disabled or with children is not going to be an enjoyable or comfortable thing for most in these categories.

It’s argued that the mark-up on tickets were they sold online would be bigger but given the extra expenses associated with needing to spend a day and a half in a field – be it camping equipment, prior hotels – there would appear to be very little difference overall.

If you do decide to brave the queue – well you best prepare to be sleep deprived or uncomfortably hot for most of the time. Temperatures are predicted in the high 30s throughout this week which is probably great once you are slightly covered by one of the courts but waiting around far less so. My one experience (and my last, until I have tickets in my hand way before the tournament is due to begin) was far from pleasant due to lack of sleep and hayfever and this was only for a ground pass!

Having to queue for a ground pass still sees you needing to turn up 2-3 hours before at the latest and possibly early on busy days. Is there any other event in the world where you need to queue up that long just to get in? Imagine if you could just purchase your tickets online like any other event you wish to attend – it would be far more pleasant. It’s just a shame that you can’t get that charming feeling of standing in a field all night or morning from ordering online through your laptop or PC.

It’s hard to see change coming any time soon though. After all, this is a tournament that got very upset when a seven time champion dared to show a bit of orange on the soles of his shoes. The only real valid argument for The Queue staying in this day and age is tradition – often the last defence for keeping things that are clearly outdated.

For the final time in his professional career, former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt will step out onto the lush grass courts of the All England Tennis Club to begin his campaign at the Grand Slam event. The Australian former No. 1 will begin his quest against Jarkko Nieminen, who is certainly not an opponent to take lightly. Hewitt leads the head-to-head series 5-0 yet has not met Jarkko since 2012. This will also be their first ever meeting on grass.

Currently on a five-match losing streak, Lleyton Hewitt has played selective tournaments this season. Following his loss at the Australian Open, he suffered opening round losses in Miami, Houston and then at the Topshelf Open. Most recently, Hewitt played a solid match against South Africa’s Kevin Anderson, and while he was a few points away from a straight sets victory, Anderson rallied back to deny Hewitt entry into the second round of his final Aegon Championships.

Now, Hewitt will set his sights on his Finnish first round opponent and a potential showdown against Novak Djokovic in the second round.

“Obviously Novak’s waiting in the second round. Assuming he was to get through, I’d love nothing more than to go out and have a crack at him,” Hewitt said. “But I’m certainly not looking past Nieminen. He’s a tough competitor, really tough competitor. He always gives 100 per cent. It’s going to be a tough match and, even though I’ve had the edge on him in head-to-head matches, we’ve had some battles in the past and I’m sure Monday will be no different.”

Following a second round exit from the French Open, Jarkko Nieminen opened up his grass courts with a first round exit in ‘S-Hertogenbosch and Halle. He will now look to upset Hewitt and close out the final chapter in the Australian’s Wimbledon tale.

This marks the sixth time that Hewitt and Nieminen will meet on the professional tour and the first time ever on grass. Hewitt leads the head-to-head series 5-0 and will look to maintain that undefeated streak en route to the second round of the prestigious event.

After taking some time off to spend a short few weeks with his growing family, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic is set officially begin his grass court season at SW19, where he will contest a match-up against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber for the eighth time on the professional tour. The Serb leads the Head to Head with 6-1, with five straight victories in their most recent outings.

The last time Djokovic stepped on court to take part in a professional match was at the final of the 2015 French Open, where he lost to Stan Wawrinka in four sets to deny himself a career Grand Slam. Since then, he has refrained from competing in any ATP World Tour events but did find time to get some practice at The Boodies exhibition event at Stoke Park.

“I needed a little bit of time to regroup, to recharge my batteries, stay with the family, the little one and come here to London preparing for the biggest event in the world in our sport,” the 28-year-old said this week at the Boodles exhibition event.

Unlike his upcoming opponent, Kohlschreiber is coming off a couple of weeks on grass already, as he performed at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, where he lost to Gael Monfils in the quarter-final stage of the tournament and later in Halle, where he lost to eight-time champion Roger Federer in the opening round. He came quite close to winning the match and picking up his first ever win against the 17-time Grand Slam champion.

This marks the eighth time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Djokovic leading the series 6-1. Djokovic is 5-0 on hard court matches and 2-1 on clay against t the German, so this is going to be their first ever grass court meeting. Given that Djokovic is one of the overwhelming favourites of the tournament, this should be a straightforward match for the Serb, even though Kohlscheriber is a dangerous threat when in form.

World No. 1 Serena Williams is still riding high from her second Grand Slam title of the season at the French Open, and 20th overall. With rumblings of her being able to complete the calendar Slam this season, all eyes will be on Williams as she steps out on the grass courts for the first time this season to take on Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan, whom she has never faced previously on the professional tour.

Situated in the same half of the draw as Maria Sharapova and her sister Venus Williams, Serena will attempt to win her third Grand Slam title of the season when she begins her fortnight at SW19. She overcame illness last month en route to the French Open title and was yet to step out on court for a match time on grass. However, she is completely aware that she is on the hunt for a calendar slam, something that has not been achieved in the Open Era.

“Personally, uhm, it doesn’t make it feel any different, which I think is a good thing ’cause I don’t feel any pressure to win all four. I’ve been saying that, but I really don’t feel that pressure. Maybe if I would happen to win here, then maybe I might start feeling it after that. Ultimately, I’m taking it one day at a time and I’m not thinking that far.”

Williams will come up against world No. 113 Margarita Gasparyan, who will be a remarkably large underdog against Williams as she attempts to usurp the dominant champion.

This marks the first time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, with Williams holding the undoubted advantage with the oddsmakers. While it is all too possible that Williams struggles a bit during the match, it would be utterly shocking to see her suffer a defeat this early in the tournament.

Maria Sharapova, once a 17-year-old underdog who conquered the All England Tennis Club to everyone’s surprise, will return to the Championships once again to attempt to relive that childhood glory 11 years ago. The Russian superstar will begin her campaign against Great Britain’s Johanna Konta, whom she has never faced previously on the professional tour.

The world No. 4 has not stepped out on court for a professional match since her fourth round loss o Lucie Safarova at the French Open last month. While she hoped to get some match time under her belt ahead of the fortnight on grass, it was an not possible due to her tight schedule.

“I was hoping I could play a warm up tournament leading up to this. But due to the circumstances, the way I was feeling, actually I had to go back home and do some tests, run through all that. It took a little while for me to really refresh and recover and, yeah, give myself just a chance to feel good again and get back to work.

“I planned on going to Florida. But then I needed to do a few things back in California for my health. Then just came here as soon as I got the green light to start the training. It’s been a really good 10 days. To finally have that energy, I think that’s quite important as an athlete. But, yeah, despite not playing an event, I’ve played a few practice matches, played a practice match in Eastbourne. It’s been going well so far.”

Sharapova will come up against Johanna Konta, who reached the quarter-final stage of Eastbourne last week. Now she will begin her campaign at the Championships with a contest on Centre Court against the 2004 champion.

This is set to be the first time that Sharapova and Konta meet on the professional tour and should be an easygoing match for the vastly more experienced Russian. However, an upset here would sent the English crowd into a frenzy, as it would undoubtedly be a huge upset so early in the tournament.

Japanese No. 1 Kei Nishikori is set to begin his campaign at the All England Club and where he will be faced with the task of beating Italy’s Simone Bolelli, whom he has faced once previously on the professional tour. Their sole meeting took place at last year’s Wimbledon Championships, even though their last one took place in the third round of that event. It will be interesting to see if this year’s contest is as competitive as the previous one, as Nishikori leads the head-to-head series 1-0 after fending off a legitimate five-set threat from Bolelli.

Following a quarter-final showing in Paris at the French Open, all looked well for Nishikori as he played in Halle to prepare himself for the grass court Slam.

“I don’t feel any pressure from Japan, you know, because I live in the United States,” he told a news conference at the All England Club on Saturday. “In the match, I just try to focus what I have to do. I try not to think too much about outside things. I mean, I feel pressure sometimes, but I think I’m handling really well.”

Nishikori will come up against Simone Bolelli, who has had ample preparation on grass ahead of the Championships. Bolelli reached the first round of the Aegon Championships following two qualifying matches and then had an even better week thereafter when he reached the quarter-final round in Nottingham, where he lost to Marcos Baghdatis.

This marks the second time these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour and could make for an interesting contest if Bolelli can once again find the magic he possessed during their last meeting. Even if he does come in form, Nishikori is a ruthless competitor who had proven to be worthy of his ranking in the upper echelon of the men’s game. The truth is that the Japanese star’s injury could also play a factor in their latest encounter, which does not bode well for his chances of a deep run at this year’s event, even if he gets past the durable Bolelli.

In an remarkable storyline twist ahead of the 2015 Wimbledon Championships, Rafael Nadal, a former two-time champion at the event, will be forced to contest the main draw this season seeded No. 10 – his lowest ever at the grass court Grand Slam event.

Nadal’s position in the tournament means that he will begin to face tough competition in the fourth round and a potential top seed in the quarter-final stage of the tournament.

Djokovic leads the 2015 seeding at the tournament for the men’s single draw and is followed by seven-time champion Roger Federer, 2013 winner Andy Murray, French Open champion Stan Wawrinka, and Kei Nishikori. Rounding out the top 10 are Tomas Berdych, Milos Raonic, David Ferrer, Marin Cilic and Nadal.

Until 2002, the All England Club had its own seeding committee and used its discretion to seed players outside the rankings. Since then, it has used a ”surface-based system” in agreement with the ATP that reflects grass-court results, and doesn’t veer much from the rankings.

GENTLEMEN’S SINGLES

1 DJOKOVIC, Novak (SRB)
2 FEDERER, Roger (SUI)
3 MURRAY, Andy (GBR)
4 WAWRINKA, Stan (SUI)
5 NISHIKORI, Kei (JPN)
6 BERDYCH, Tomas (CZE)
7 RAONIC, Milos (CAN)
8 FERRER, David (ESP)
9 CILIC, Marin (CRO)
10 NADAL, Rafael (ESP)
11 DIMITROV, Grigor (BUL)
12 SIMON, Gilles (FRA)
13 TSONGA, Jo-Wilfried (FRA)
14 ANDERSON, Kevin (RSA)
15 LOPEZ, Feliciano (ESP)
16 GOFFIN, David (BEL)
17 ISNER, John (USA)
18 MONFILS, Gael (FRA)
19 ROBREDO, Tommy (ESP)
20 BAUTISTA AGUT, Roberto (ESP)
21 GASQUET, Richard (FRA)
22 TROICKI, Viktor (SRB)
23 KARLOVIC, Ivo (CRO)
24 MAYER, Leonardo (ARG)
25 SEPPI, Andreas (ITA)
26 KYRGIOS, Nick (AUS)
27 TOMIC, Bernard (AUS)
28 CUEVAS, Pablo (URU)
29 GARCIA-LOPEZ, Guillermo (ESP)
30 FOGNINI, Fabio (ITA)
31 SOCK, Jack (USA)
32 THIEM, Dominic (AUT)

LADIES’ SINGLES

1 WILLIAMS, Serena (USA)
2 KVITOVA, Petra (CZE)
3 HALEP, Simona (ROU)
4 SHARAPOVA, Maria (RUS)
5 WOZNIACKI, Caroline (DEN)
6 SAFAROVA, Lucie (CZE)
7 IVANOVIC, Ana (SRB)
8 MAKAROVA, Ekaterina (RUS)
9 SUAREZ NAVARRO, Carla (ESP)
10 KERBER, Angelique (GER)
11 PLISKOVA, Karolina (CZE)
12 BOUCHARD, Eugenie (CAN)
13 RADWANSKA, Agnieszka (POL)
14 PETKOVIC, Andrea (GER)
15 BACSINSZKY, Timea (SUI)
16 WILLIAMS, Venus (USA)
17 SVITOLINA, Elina (UKR)
18 LISICKI, Sabine (GER)
19 ERRANI, Sara (ITA)
20 MUGURUZA, Garbine (ESP)
21 KEYS, Madison (USA)
22 STOSUR, Samantha (AUS)
23 AZARENKA, Victoria (BLR)
24 PENNETTA, Flavia (ITA)
25 CORNET, Alize (FRA)
26 KUZNETSOVA, Svetlana (RUS)
27 STRYCOVA, Barbora (CZE)
28 JANKOVIC, Jelena (SRB)
29 BEGU, Irina-Camelia (ROU)
30 BENCIC, Belinda (SUI)
31 GIORGI, Camila (ITA)
32 GARCIA, Caroline (FRA)

Come shower or come sun, it’s one of the signs that the English summer is here — but Wimbledon would not be Wimbledon without strawberries, cream, all whites and the UNIQUE SEEDING SYSTEM.

Wimbledon starts in just a few days and all eyes were on the player seedings for this year’s event. The grass court major always works on a different pattern as compared to the other majors/grand slam events where the ATP rankings are directly incorporated to seed the players. The event takes into account the fact that grass as a surface is distinctive as compared with clay and hard courts and aims at making the major as unbiased as possible when it comes to draw.

The seedings for this year’s Championships are as follows:

Men:                                                                Women:

1 DJOKOVIC, Novak (SRB)                        1 WILLIAMS, Serena (USA)
2 FEDERER, Roger (SUI)                           2 KVITOVA, Petra (CZE)
3 MURRAY, Andy (GBR)                            3 HALEP, Simona (ROU)
4 WAWRINKA, Stan (SUI)                         4 SHARAPOVA, Maria (RUS)
5 NISHIKORI, Kei (JPN)                            5 WOZNIACKI, Caroline (DEN)
6 BERDYCH, Tomas (CZE)                        6 SAFAROVA, Lucie (CZE)
7 RAONIC, Milos (CAN)                              7 IVANOVIC, Ana (SRB)
8 FERRER, David (ESP)                             8 MAKAROVA, Ekaterina (RUS)
9 CILIC, Marin (CRO)                                 9 SUAREZ NAVARRO, Carla (ESP)
10 NADAL, Rafael (ESP)                            10 KERBER, Angelique (GER)
11 DIMITROV, Grigor (BUL)                     11 PLISKOVA, Karolina (CZE)
12 SIMON, Gilles (FRA)                              12 BOUCHARD, Eugenie (CAN)
13 TSONGA, Jo-Wilfried (FRA)                 13 RADWANSKA, Agnieszka (POL)
14 ANDERSON, Kevin (RSA)                     14 PETKOVIC, Andrea (GER)
15 LOPEZ, Feliciano (ESP)                          15 BACSINSZKY, Timea (SUI)
16 GOFFIN, David (BEL)                             16 WILLIAMS, Venus (USA)
17 ISNER, John (USA)                                  17 SVITOLINA, Elina (UKR)
18 MONFILS, Gael (FRA)                            18 LISICKI, Sabine (GER)
19 ROBREDO, Tommy (ESP)                      19 ERRANI, Sara (ITA)
20 BAUTISTA AGUT, Roberto (ESP)        20 MUGURUZA, Garbine (ESP)
21 GASQUET, Richard (FRA)                      21 KEYS, Madison (USA)
22 TROICKI, Viktor (SRB)                           22 STOSUR, Samantha (AUS)
23 KARLOVIC, Ivo (CRO)                            23 AZARENKA, Victoria (BLR)
24 MAYER, Leonardo (ARG)                       24 PENNETTA, Flavia (ITA)
25 SEPPI, Andreas (ITA)                               25 CORNET, Alize (FRA)
26 KYRGIOS, Nick (AUS)                             26 KUZNETSOVA, Svetlana (RUS)
27 TOMIC, Bernard (AUS)                           27 STRYCOVA, Barbora (CZE)
28 CUEVAS, Pablo (URU)                            28 JANKOVIC, Jelena (SRB)
29 GARCIA-LOPEZ, Guillermo (ESP)       29 BEGU, Irina-Camelia (ROU)
30 FOGNINI, Fabio (ITA)                            30 BENCIC, Belinda (SUI)
31 SOCK, Jack (USA)                                     31 GIORGI, Camila (ITA)
32 THIEM, Dominic (AUT)                          32 GARCIA, Caroline (FRA)

The ATP rankings dictate the entry into the 3rd major of the year and used as a yardstick for qualifying as usual but the 32 seeds are decided by a proper mathematical formula created for Wimbledon. This unique has created some noteworthy changes for the top seeds in the recent years.

The 2015 Wimbledon seeding formula is as follows:

Total Points = ATP points accumulated by a player in calendar year (till 22nd June’15) + 100 % of Grass court points accumulated by a player in 2014 + 75% of Grass court points in the grass court event where a player has achieved his best result in 2013.

For an outsider, the seeding system put forward by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) does look complex. Predicting the seeds’ is more like the English weather, you really do not know what to expect. These predictions resemble hit-and-miss swings, with more misses than hits. When analysing at how the method could impact the draw, the best thing is to keep an eye out for a player to move up or down the seed groupings as the groups come in fours, 1 to 4, 5 to 8 and so on.

Season after season, there are always major questions asked about the player seedings that ends up raising the critics’ eyebrows resulting in major conflicts. The upshot of this formula was that it was seen as a slap in the face to many clay court specialists who were seeded much lower than their world rankings. As a result, many refused to play at Wimbledon and we were briefly denied seeing some of the best players in the world on our shores. Most significantly, Gustavo Kuerten had become world No.1 at the end of 2000 (and had won Roland in 1997, 2000 and 2001) but he was unhappy that he would be seeded significantly lower than his world ranking and so refused to play at Wimbledon in 2001 and 2002.

Last season, it was Wawrinka would was the biggest victim of the exclusive seeding system as Murray and Federer who were both ranked below him as per the official rankings leapfrogged the Swiss into the prized top 4 positions. In 2013, there was a huge uproar over Nadal’s seeding as he was seeded 5th with Ferrer seeded above him. This had annoyed the Spaniard’s fans and let everyone bemused and infuriated. He had made a strong comeback that season after being out for 7 months. The formula put forward the All England Club makes you realise that the seedings are more or less justified.

This year all eyes were on 2008 and 2010 champion Rafael Nadal seedings. The Spaniard is currently ranked 10th (first time since 2005) after failing to defend his title in Paris (lost to Djokovic in QF). Some expected last year’s Semi-Finalist Grigor Dimitrov to leapfrog Rafa in the seedings (he gained 720 points from making the SF last year + 250 points for winning Queens Club). He was a candidate overtake Nadal for the 10th seed although Rafa was always going to stay between 9 and 12 grouping. Exciting times are ahead as the whole tennis world is awaiting the draw to come out on Friday. Perhaps A NIGHTMARISH DRAW for the Mallorcan Matador awaits.

Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz is a fascinating case. Down at 47th in the ATP Rankings, he can count 75% of his 720 points from his 2013 SF finish. That is a 540 point boost which could have launched him into being seeded for the 2015 championships. However, taking into account his recent poor form, he has been dropped out of the top 32 seeding.

Nick Kyrgios shocked World No.1 Rafa last year in the 4R before bowing out in the QF. The brash Aussie is currently ranked 29th but is seeded at 26.

One major drawback of the seeding system is that only the men are seeded based on the above formula whereas the women are seeded based on the WTA rankings. This is a huge disadvantage for the women as their grass court record and performances at Wimbledon are not taken into account. This biased rule creates quite an imbalance and leaves plenty of room for debates and controversy.

The seeding system of the AELTC can therefore be termed far more transparent for the men as compared to the women. At this point the sport of tennis is making a huge attempt towards ensuring utmost commonality and parity for both its male and female contenders (equal prize money at majors), this ambiguous factor of the All England Club needs to be re-evaluated in the better interests of the sport.

All eyes will be on the DRAW this Friday!!

STATS METER:

•  A simplified form of seeding was introduced in 1924 when up to four representatives of a nation were drawn in the four different quarters of the draw.
•  In 1927 full seeding was carried out and competitors were selected according to ability, irrespective of nationality.
•  Seeding has been based on computer rankings since 1975.
•  Since 1927 only two unseeded players have won the Gentlemen’s Singles – Boris Becker in 1985 and Goran Ivanisevic in 2001 (In 1985 there were only 16 seeds and Becker was ranked 20th; Ivanišević was ranked 125th when he won as a Wild Card entrant). In 1996, the title was won by Richard Krajicek, who was originally unseeded (ranked 17th, and only 16 players were seeded) but was promoted to a seeded position (still with the number 17) when Thomas Muster withdrew before the tournament.
•  No unseeded player has won the Ladies’ Singles. No unseeded player has captured the Ladies’ Singles title; the lowest seeded female champion was Venus Williams, who won in 2007 as the 23rd seed; Williams was returning from an injury that had prevented her playing in previous tournaments, giving her a lower ranking than she would normally have had.
•  Eleven unseeded players have reached the final of the Gentlemen’s Singles and four unseeded players have reached the final of the Ladies’ Singles. Mark Philippoussis was the last unseeded men’s finalist (2003; lost to Federer); Billie-Jean Moffitt was the last unseeded ladies’ finalist (1963; lost to Margaret Court-Smith).
•  Today there are 32 seeds in Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ singles.