tennis gut

2016 Roland Garros Men Predictions As we head into the clay major of 2016 it looks like there are four main contenders for the title, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, and Kei Nishikori.  And there are also some potential spoilers making noise:  Dominic Thiem, Nick Kyrgios, David Goffin, and Milos Raonic.  Nor should the defending champion be forgotten, Stan Wawrinka. Djokovic is the #1 seed, but Roland Garros is the monkey on his back.  Like Lendl at Wimbledon, Borg at the US Open, or Sampras, McEnroe, or Federer at Garros (once upon a time), it is the tournament he can’t win despite three trips to the final.  Federer killed the monkey when he was 27; Lendl, Borg, McEnroe, and Sampras never did. Increasingly, there is talk of Djokovic in the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) conversations:  his four year-end number one finishes, his stellar 2015 (and 2011), his current dominance, and the increasing slam tally – now at 11.  But if he...

Roland Garros Women 2016 Predictions It is hard to tell if Serena really is the greatest female athlete the sport has ever seen, or if she just looks good because she’s in such a weak era.  She has not won the last two slams and has claimed only one title (last week in Rome) since August.  Yet she is still far and away #1 in the rankings.  Looking at the number of WTA points her challengers have in the top 5, the obvious conclusion would seem to be that she is in a weak era.  The points are low compared to other years. Although she nearly won the grand slam last year, falling two matches short with her loss in the US Open semifinals, she is not ruling the sport with the imperiousness of a Graf, Navratilova, or Evert.  The tale of the last four years has been one of occasional periods of brilliance for her, and long periods of less decisive results. Her major challengers should be other multi-slam winners.  But her sister Venus (7 slams) has ...