Both the ATP and WTA tours have already moved on from their respective tournaments in Madrid and headed to Rome, the last stop for many before Roland Garros begins in just under two weeks time. Before Rome really gets underway, I thought I’d take a look back at what the Madrid Open means for the ATP and WTA tours. Here are some of my thoughts.
1) Kei Nishikori seems to be really making a move this year
Nishikori’s been floating around between 10 and 20 in the rankings for a little while now, and it was beginning to seem as though that’s where he would stay. This year, however, he’s really made his move, reaching at least the semifinals in four of his seven tournaments so far – including titles in Memphis and Barcelona – propelling himself into the top 10. The only thing that has seemed to hold him back so far this year is injury – he’s already conceded three matches by retiring or giving a walkover. Indeed, with the form he’s in at the moment, he could go higher than his current ranking of nine – his win-loss record in completed matches is a hugely impressive 26-3. I’m intrigued to see whether he plays Rafael Nadal again on the clay – he had a close match with him in Melbourne in January, and was a set and a break up in their Madrid final before succumbing to injury. He currently lies sixth in the ATP Race to London – a deep run at a major or two should all but see him qualify for the World Tour Finals in November – he’d be the first non-Russian Asian player to do so.
2) If Serena Williams goes out, expect Maria Sharapova to win on clay
Serena still undoubtably has the better of Sharapova – it’s now 10 years since the Russian won one of their matches, and she’s only won three sets during that time – but Sharapova rules the rest of the tour on clay. Incredibly, it’s now three years since anyone but Serena beat her on the surface – that’s a 47-match winning streak against all others. Even new star Simona Halep, who’d won all seven of her previous finals, couldn’t stop her in Madrid, despite roaring out to a 6-1 lead. It always strikes me as odd that a player can be so dominant against all but one opponent, but with Serena having injury problems, Sharapova’s a very good bet to win her second French Open title next month
3) Murray needs to get out of his slump, fast
Ok, so we’re used to seeing him do poorly on clay, but not this poorly. An encouraging if up-and-down loss to an injured Nicolas Almagro was followed by a disappointing straight-sets loss to qualifier Santiago Giraldo. Giraldo is a natural clay-courter, but it was a poor match from Murray, who looks as far away from his best form as he has since winning Wimbledon. He’s renowned for struggling on clay, but he’s a former Roland Garros semifinalist who can test the best on the surface when he’s playing well. He’s commented that he’s struggling for direction without a coach – he needs to either hire a new coach, or find a way of motivating himself, as quickly as possible, or he won’t keep his top-8 ranking and the seeding that comes with it. With his early loss in Madrid, over half of his ranking points now come from Wimbledon. If he doesn’t rediscover his form, he could well be out of the top-10 by the end of the grass-court season
4) Madrid continues to attract criticism as a tournament
Madrid’s come in for criticism over the years, with the quality (and indeed colour) of the courts being questioned by players. This year was no different, as there was irritation in some circles about the decision to schedule even the most exciting and intriguing WTA matches in the morning, when there are fewer spectators and the large American audiences haven’t woken up yet. Halep against Petra Kvitova, for example, deserves to be given a prime-time slot, but it was shunted to 11:30 in favour of Nadal against Roberto Bautista Agut. It would seem fairer to both players and spectators if the morning matches were shared between the WTA and ATP. Having said that, the tournament has made improvements – the courts came in for praise from some this year, with John Isner particularly impressed.
5) The big names leaving doesn’t necessarily lead to a bad tournament
You’ve got to pity the tournament director, who had both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer withdraw between the tournament draw and the start of play. On the WTA side, Victoria Azarenka withdrew with a foot injury, and Serena withdrew before her quarterfinal with Kvitova – that’s four of the tournament’s biggest names gone through injury. It can’t have been reassuring to see Stanislas Wawrinka and Andy Murray both lose early, either. However, I don’t feel that this led to a dull or unexciting tournament – in fact quite the opposite. On the WTA side, Halep came close to upsetting Sharapova for her biggest title yet in a thrilling women’s final, and in a surprising ATP final, Nishikori shocked everyone by getting to a set and a break lead against the King of Clay, Nadal, before he too was forced to retire. For me, the absence of top players from a tournament is as exciting as when they’re all present, as it gives some lesser-known players or rising stars the chance to show what they can do – I’m willing to bet no-one predicted Roberto Bautista Agut to reach the semifinals. In any case, Djokovic and Federer both return this week in Rome, but it was good to have an opportunity for some lower-ranked players to shine last week in Madrid.
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