23/07/2008
David Withdrew from Cincinnati and Set his Sights on the Games
Nalbandian´s recovery program to overcome his physical discomforts is proving successfully, but so as not to stop with his treatment, he decided not to participate in the Cincinnati Masters Series and travel directly to Beijing for the Olympic Games. It is known that he is seduced by the idea of claiming a medal for the country and prefers to keep all his energies for his appointment in China. It is clear that he will get there with little competence and will directly know in the Tennis Centre of the Olympic Park in which level he is. Since the best of the world will be there, the task won’t be easy: “Nobody is going to give anything away. It is a really important tournament and the great players won’t play there just as in any other tournament”, he stated. Neither will David, by the way.
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Thursday, July 24, 2008
no Cincy after all
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3 comments:
This may not be the worst news, as David should only return when he is 100% healthy. Also, I was reading a thread at http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=211192 on why so many people compare David with Djokovic and quite a few interesting points we're raised. One observation that was dead on states:
"Good, grinder-style groundies with a lethal, classic two-fisted BH, but relying on his strokes more than his spin, grace, variety, or fitness. Fed and Nadal are absolutely nothing like Nalbandian. Djokovic...well, sort of is, at least."
The next observation points out:
"Djokovic and Nalbandian do have somewhat similar playing styles. Djoko's serve is a bit better and Nalbandian's volleys are better, and Djokovic has some mental abilities."
-Fed and Nadal are both "routine" players who get better the more often they play. They tend to get better and better even when they should be exhausted. I always thought to myself that if the U.S. Open was directly after the French Open instead of Wimbledon, Nadal would win it and then not do so well at Wimbledon if it was later in the year. If a "routine" player gets away from their routine for too long, they become rusty and not very sharp.
-Djokovic and Nalby are both "mental" and "emotional" players, and too much routine tends to burn them out. They actually thrive when they come back "cold" from a long time off as they have fresh perspectives, are not stuck in any ruts (routine gone wrong), can be creative and the freshness is needed for them to be emotionally inspired.
When have Djokovic and Nalby played their best and when do they play their worst? Both of them tend to play their best when they get a long time off and come back fresh. Remember how bad Djokovic was at the end of the year in 2007 when he was burnt out? He lost early in both year end Masters (to David and Santoro) and was at the bottom of the Round Robin Masters Cup. Noone counted on him to do anything at the Australian Open, and he just came in and was steamrolling top-notch players in straight sets (like Ferrer, Hewitt, Fed, etc.). He lost his form during the long Clay Court season through Wimbledon and stated he was "mentally tired" to the press, which was an unpopular thing for him to say. But he is who he is and he burns out if he doesn't get time away. In 2007, after getting a long break after his injuries at Wimbledon, he came out inspired at the Rogers Cup and beat Roddick, Nadal and Federer in consecutive matches. He was immediately "hot" after a break from Tennis. I am betting this will be a trend for Nole that will continue.
Now think about David taking time off and out of nowhere becoming the hottest player on tour for the indoor events in Paris and Madrid last year. Again, he got time off to recover from burn-out. Federer remarked with some bewilderment, "where he has been all year?" Fed comes back from time off rusty (see Dubai and Rogers Cup this year), while David and Nole come back inspired. It's a different personality type issue.
My point after all this is that I think David going in "cold" to the Olympics instead of "warming up" first in Cincy is a smart move for the kind of person and player that he is. His history has proven that he doesn't come back "rusty", but usually comes back "inspired" from time off the same way Nole does. He may very well surprise everyone in Beijing, because this kind of schedule is favorable to him, although it isn't to most. Wouldn't that be fantastic? I am betting Novak wins the Rogers Cup again, but may have lost some steam by the time the Olympics start since he will have played consecutive Masters tourneys in Toronto and Cincy. This is just my personal observation, but I think David may surprise quite a few people in Beijing.
Wow, sean, thanks for those insights and analysis. Although I hope David will do well at the Olympics, it will be very competitive among players his age for whom this will likely be the last chance. Both Nadal and Djokovic know they will have a second chance at their peak in 4 years time. Not so for Federer and some of those top 10 players. Even Marat Safin might have enough fire to get himself a medal. So I would just temper my hope with a sense of just how tough it will be out there.
True, there are similarities between David's and Nole's style of playing. And it's also true that both of them obviously need some time off, now and then.
But it David's case, a lot of those pauses have been brought about by injuries. Tendonitis in his knee. And those ongoing problems with his back and/or stomach. Still, I do think that it's also a mental thing. He'd neither be able, nor willing to play a schedule like Davydenko, even if he was completely fit.
As for Nole, he basically always seems a little fragile. And if he plays too many matches, he'll simply not be able to keep it up, physically. So he needs time to recharge his batteries every now and then.
Something Federer hasn't had to worry about too much these past 4 years, as he has always made sure not to play too many matches. He has always kept a very smart schedule, sticking to the Slams, the Masters events and only very few of the smaller tournaments (plus skipping Davis Cup in order to have more time off). But with Rafa now breathing down his neck, it'll be interesting to see if he feels the need to play more.
I still think it's a little risky for David to go Beijing without having played a match on a hard court since Miami. For the simple reason that the Olympics mean so very much to him. And for fear of what an early loss might do to his state of mind. I just think that the stakes are pretty high. He has set them that way. And I just cannot help but feel that it'll be very difficult for him to achieve his goal without any match practice.
Though I'd be very, very happy to be proven wrong... ;)
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