Curtain Closes on 2010

The ATP season came to a spectacular end in London last week. After years of testing and searching it seems the World Tour Finals have found a home. The O2 arena is a fantastic setting for what was a championship to remember.

The fans and directors got the semi final line up they'd dreamed of: Djokovic v Federer and Murray v Nadal. The latter of these turned out to be one of the best tennis matches of the year in terms of excitement, ups and downs and general quality of the tennis. Murray seemed to be steaming towards the final when his big serve was helping him to a 4-1 lead in the deciding tie break but Nadal is no ordinary opponent. The Spaniard, once again, pulled a remarkable come back off to take the breaker 8-6. This mans mental strength knows no limits, it is quite simply a pleasure to see a player with his heart and determination play.

The second semi final was more of a let down. Federer had been destroying opponent after opponent during the week but Djokovic is never an easy rival. Yet the Serb, possibly with one eye on next weeks Davis Cup, didn't turn up and Federer continued his devastating form to set up the dream finale.

With Nadal's long semi final, there was only one favourite for the final and when Federer took the first set 6-3, alot of people were rushing to the bookies to put their money on a straight sets victory. But we already know by now who Rafael Nadal is. With the pride of a world number one, he snatched the second set by an identical score. The last set though proved to be a bridge too far. Federer's game wasn't dropping and Rafa's stamina levels were. Roger breased to a 6-1 victory and ensured himself a fifth World Tour Championship.

Congratulations also to Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic who won their segund World Tour Title in a row by defeating Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi in the final

Adiós Charly

No suelo escribir en español en este blog pero, como le pasó a Rafa, para hablar de Carlos Moyá sólo podía hacerlo en este idioma.

No sé por dónde empezar hablando de este genio, quiero asegurarme que el artículo esté al nivel que se merece. Para un chico de mi generación, que ha crecido en los años noventa, Moyá es el primer capitán de la Armada Española. Somos conscientes de los logros de Bruguera y Berasategui pero no los vivimos con nitidez. Mi primer recuerdo de un tenista español haciendo algo notorio en el circuito es la final de Moyá en Australia en el 97. Dejando de camino en la cuneta a nombres históricos como Becker y Chang (todo esto a los 20 años). Sólo el gran Pete Sampras sería un obstáculo demasiado duro en la final.

Un año después llegaría el triunfo en Roland Garros, venciendo a su gran amigo Alex Corretja en la final, quien se vengaría en la final de la Copa Masters a finales de año.

Lo que ha dejado huella de Charly, a parte de uno de las mejores derechas de los últimos años, ha sido su personalidad. Encuentra una persona que hable mal de Moyá, que no diga que es buena persona y me llamas. Como aficionado de tenis sientes afinidad a los buenos jugadores pero se tiene una conexión más especial con aquellos que te transmiten algo más como personas. Con Moyá las derrotas duras, aquellas en las que tiraba una ventaja de un set y un break dolían...y mucho. De hecho te quedabas unos días fastidiado. Lo mismo pasaba al revés, cuando ganaba un partido importante o un torneo, era como si ganaba un amigo o un familiar. Esto queda demostrado en la Copa Davis de 2004. Ganaba España, pero la felicidad era porque Moyá ganaba el punto definitivo.

En fin, a lo más jóvenes que no pudieron disfrutar los buenos años de Moyá, que vean vídeos del mallorquín porque es un ejemplo. El fruto lo tenemos en Nadal. Demos gracias a que su padrino fue Charly, no sólo porque ha aprendido de un gran jugador, sino porque ha asimilado un comportamiento ejemplar. Una manera de comportarse en la victoria y la derrota.

Gracias Charly por lo que has significado para tenis español.

Datos de su carrera:

Partidos Ganados: 575

Partidos Perdidos: 319

Mejor Ranking: 1

Títulos: 20

Ganancias: $13,443,970

All Eyes On London

So another "regular" season of the ATP comes to an end. Not as an exciting run in as other years given that the top 8 players were basically unmoveable in their spots but an entertaining week in Paris as ever.

Paris is also a good barometer to establish who's going to be hot in London and who's not. Before we start measuring the finalists' chances, a mention must go to Gael Monfils who turned it on once more infront of his local Parisian crowd. That's two finals in succesion in the French capital, and heavy scalps en route such as Verdasco, Murray and Federer.

As for London, the first name that springs to mind is Soderling. Very solid performance in Paris and the perfect game to suit these fast indoor courts. A very serious contender for the Finals title.

Federer seems to be in the best shape of the "big four" but that defeat against Monfils left serious question marks about his game at the latter stages of a tournament.

Nadal is a question mark, no one knows what sort of game he'll be bringing to London. Even a 50% Rafa can cause damage as proved at the '09 US Open. He'll be hungry to take the last piece of silver ware on offer for him in the world of tennis.

Djokovic seems to have lost a bit of gas as the season has come to an end. The opposite to other years where the Serb would dominate season ending tournaments. Perhaps his mind is set on the Davis Cup.

Murray is another case of a player suffering from a long season of tennis. His defeats to Monaco in Valencia and Monfils in Paris prove he is vulnerable right now. It was a gruelling week for the Scot in Paris being taken to three sets against Nalbandian, Cilic and Monfils. He will need the British support to lift him in London.

Berdych is another player on the down. His end to the season has been very disappointing with a 4-8 record since Toronto where he reached the quarters. Right game for London but based on form, I'm backing Berdych for the wooden spoon.

Ferrer will be seen as the weak link in London. He has probably been seen as this in pretty much every major event but what the Spaniard lacks in finesse he more than makes up for in heart. After all this is his second appearance at the year end finals and last time (2007) he made the final beating Nadal, Djokovic, Gasquet and Roddick on the way.

Roddick finally makes an apperance in London. The American has spoken about how much he wanted to be there this year after an injury forced him to withdraw last year. He is a dark horse in the competition, nothing to lose, no points to defend and a big serve to go with a quick court.

ATP Review prediction: Impossible to predict a World Tour Finals event.