Chyba jednak nowa dekada zacznie się za kilkanaście dni

Nie bardzo. Tak samo jak nowy wiek zaczął się w 2001r., a nie w 2000. To samo z tysiącleciem - zaczęło się w 2001r.

Nadal i Wozniacki mistrzami świata ITF za rok 2010



Międzynarodowa Federacja Tenisowa (ITF) ogłosiła we wtorek, że Hiszpan Rafael Nadal i Dunka Caroline Wozniacki otrzymują tytuły mistrzów świata za rok 2010.

Nadal został uhonorowany w ten sposób już po raz drugi, a Wozniacki jest pierwszą Dunką, która zdobyła ten tytuł. Oboje są liderami rankingów.

Duńska tenisistka polskiego pochodzenia została mistrzynią świata, mimo że nigdy nie wygrała turnieju wielkoszlemowego. Hiszpan triumfował w tym roku w trzech (z czterech).

- Być umieszczonym na liście mistrzów świata ITF to coś, z czego jestem bardzo dumna. Mam za sobą wspaniały rok i trenuję nadal bardzo intensywnie, by być lepszą tenisistką w 2011 roku - powiedziała Wozniacki.

24-letni Nadal miał niezwykle udany sezon. Wygrał turniej Roland Garros po raz piąty w karierze, Wimbledon po raz drugi i gdy we wrześniu zwyciężył w US Open, został najmłodszym tenisistą w historii, który sięgnął po wszystkie tytuły wielkoszlemowe. Po tym sukcesie awansował na pierwsze miejsce w rankingu ATP, detronizując dotychczasowego lidera listy, Szwajcara Rogera Federera.

Bracia Bob i Mike Bryanowie (USA) zostali ogłoszeni przez ITF mistrzami świata w grze podwójnej po raz siódmy, co jest swego rodzaju rekordem. Gisela Dulko (Argentyna) i Flavia Pennetta (Włochy) zostały uznane, po raz pierwszy, za mistrzynie świata w deblu kobiet.

Mistrzowie Letnich Igrzysk Olimpijskich Młodzieży, Juan Sebastian Gomez (Kolumbia) i Daria Gawriłowa (Rosja) zostali mistrzami świata ITF juniorów za rok 2010.

Esther Vergeer (Holandia) i Shingo Kunieda (Japonia) zostali ogłoszeni przez ITF mistrzami świata w tenisie na wózkach. Vergeer została mistrzynią ITF po raz jedenasty z rzędu, a Japończyk czwarty raz z kolei.

Mistrzowie świata ITF otrzymają oficjalnie swe dyplomy na dorocznym Obiedzie Mistrzów, 31 maja 2011 r. w Paryżu podczas turnieju Rolanda Garrosa.

http://www.sportowefakty.pl/tenis/2010/ … -rok-2010/

Jacuszyn napisał:

Załóżmy że jest rok zerowy n.e.

założenie błędne Jacuszyn.

Dun nie tylko ATP. Rok temu było sporo takich podsumowań i rankingów. Mimo że było dementowane, iż jest to koniec dekady to takiej lawiny nic nie było w stanie powstrzymać. Żyjemy po prostu w czasach ciągłych rankingów i plebiscytów. Najlepiej to widać w muzyce. Co tydzień pojawiają się nowe wybory zespołów, utworów czy albumów wszechczasów, dekady czy stulecia. Co nie zmienia faktu że jeżeli za dekadę przyjmujemy 10 lat to dekada kończy się z końcem 2010 roku. Kalendarza oszukać się nie da:). A co do tych lat to się zgadzam tylko że określenie lata 30 nie jest synonimem dekady.

Tennistalk's Matches of the Year: Part 1



The Tennistalk panel has spoken and it is time to reveal our Top 10 matches of the year, bit by bit. We open with a pair of Australian Open thrillers and a showdown between Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick.

10. Mikhail Youzhny d. Richard Gasquet 6-7(9), 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4), 6-4 - Australian Open first round

Talk about heartbreak for Gasquet. One year after losing a two-set lead to Fernando Gonzalez at the Australian Open, the Frenchman again suffered a brutal loss Down Under from two sets up. Both times Gasquet had little to do with his squandered advantage; his opponents simply produced remarkable tennis. This time it was Youzhny, who was a tiebreaker away from succumbing in straight sets and one point away (twice) from going down in four.

Instead, the Russian played a flawless tiebreaker in the third and saved two match points at 5-6 in the fourth, both with hard-to-believe, high-risk winners. Although the quality was not as high in the fifth, the drama reached its zenith. With both players cramping, Youzhny went up a break, went down a break, and then went back up a break (in the final game of the match) in a roller-coaster set. They played for four hours and 53 minutes and combined for 172 winners, 91 for Youzhny and 81 for Gasquet.

9. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga d. Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-7(6), 9-7 - Australian Open fourth round

While the 2010 Australian Open did not produce the previous year's Nadal-Verdasco/Nadal-Federer masterpieces, Tsonga and Almagro (somewhat unlikely candidates) played arguably the match of the tournament in a fourth-round thriller. Tsonga won the first two sets with overpowering tennis, but Almagro earned his first break of the afternoon at 5-4 in the third to extend the proceedings and he came through an electric fourth-set tiebreaker to force a fifth.

Even though the Spaniard played "just unbelievable" (according to his opponent), Tsonga had just enough to hold him off. Both players fought off break points in the final set with incredible shot-making and Almagro successfully served to stay in the match three times. At 8-7, however, Tsonga kept up the pressure and finished off his win in appropriate fashion with two straight scorching winners. The Frenchman went on to upset Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.

8. Andy Roddick d. Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 - Miami semifinals

Roddick's aggressive game disappeared for most of the season following this match, but it was on full display against Nadal in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open. The American dropped the opening set by getting broken early in the match and he failed to break throughout his opponent's first eight service games.

But that's when Roddick realized he needed to go for broke, and it paid off with a break at 4-3 in the second. In the third, Roddick was in a zone that he had rarely reached since the mid-2000s. Nadal--until the final game of the match--played solid tennis in his own right, but he could not contend with the eventual champion's huge serves (15 aces) and surprisingly flat forehand groundstrokes. Roddick finished with 37 winners to Nadal's 25.

http://www.tennistalk.com/en/news/20101 … %3A_Part_1

No i to samo co w przeszłości, tylko że po polsku.

Pięć najlepszych pojedynków AD 2010



Ostatni rok obfitował w wiele kapitalnych spotkań. Na oficjalnej stronie ATP przedstawiono ranking pięciu najlepszych pojedynków. Na pewno wszystkie z nich dobrze pamiętacie, ale nie zaszkodzi odświeżyć sobie wspomnienia. Zapraszamy!

1. Rafael Nadal - Andy Murray, 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(6), Barclays ATP World Tour Finals w Londynie - półfinał

- Dzisiaj zrozumiałem, dlaczego gram w tenisa - powiedział Murray o tym niewiarygodnym thrillerze.

Nadal walczył o wejście do finału i ukoronowanie wielkiego sezonu, a Murray chciał zrobić wszystko, aby udanie zakończyć niezbyt szczęśliwy rok. Po trzech godzinach i 11 minutach, przy 17,5 tysiącach fanów w hali O2, Hiszpan wygrał. Szkot był jednak bliski wygranej w tie-breaku trzeciej partii, gdy prowadził 4:1.

- To był fantastyczny mecz. Jestem szczęśliwy, ze pokonałem tak wielkiego mistrza jak Andy - mówił Rafa.

2. Novak Djoković - Roger Federer, 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5, US Open - półfinał

Djoković pozbawił tą wygraną siódmego finału z rzędu dla Szwajcara. Wcześniej Serb trzy razy z rzędu przegrywał z Rogerem na kortach Flushing Meadows. W 2007 roku uległ mu w finale.


- Wiedziałem, że muszę być opanowany i nie stracić koncentracji, ponieważ to właśnie przez to przegrywałem w poprzednich sezonach. On wtedy wykorzystywał moją nerwowość - tłumaczył Djoko.

Serb w decydującym secie pokazał, że ma nerwy ze stali. Przegrywał 4:5 i 15:40. Obronił dwie piłii meczowe! Później wygrał m.in. wymianę po 22 uderzeniach. Pojedynek zakończył się po trzech godzinach i 44 minutach.

3. John Isner - Nicolas Mahut, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(7), 7-6(3), 70-68, Wimbledon, 1. runda

To było spotkanie, które pokazało jak długo można wytrzymać na korcie. Isner i Mahut grali łącznie przez 11 godzin i pięć minut. Mecz toczył się przez trzy dni. Ostatecznie Isner wygrał pojedynek po zagraniu backhandem. To było jego 246. wygrywające uderzenie w tym meczu.

Piąty set trwał osiem godzin i 11 minut. To było o 98 minut dłużej niż cały poprzedni najdłuższy spektakl tenisowy. Po zakończeniu walki obaj zawodnicy słaniali się na nogach, a z ich rąk leciała krew.

- Ten koleś to absolutny wojownik - powiedział Isner. - Nie chciał przegrać.

Łącznie obaj gracze wywalczyli 980 punktów. Obaj pobili także rekordy asów serwisowych. Pierwszy miał 113, a Mahut 103. W nagrodę obaj spotkali się z brytyjską królową Elżbietą 2.

4. Robin Soderling - Michael Llodra, 6-7(0), 7-5, 7-6(6), BNP Paribas Masters - półfinał


Llodra miał kapitalny weekend w hali Bercy. Wcześniej pokonał Djokovicia i Nikolaja Dawidienkę. Francuz zatrzymał się jednak na półfinale.

Było to spotkanie zawodników prezentujących dość archaiczny styl gry. W trzeciej partii Llodra odrobił starty od stanu 1:4. 30-letni francuski tenisista wybronił trzy piłki meczowe. Ostatecznie jednak przegrał po dwóch godzinach i 49 minutach.

- To był wielki mecz. Może nie specjalnie ładny, ale ja jestem zwycięzcą - powiedział Soderling, który później pokonał w finale Gaela Monfilsa.

5. Gael Monfils - Roger Federer, 7-6(7), 6-7(1), 7-6(4), BNP Paribas Masters - półfinał

Ten sam turniej, co w przypadku numeru „4”. Fani w Paryżu zobaczyli jeszcze jeden kapitalny mecz. Po tym jak rozczarowali się przegraną Llodry, mogli świętować sukces rodaka Monfilsa. Gael awansował do finału drugi rok z rzędu.

Monfils obronił pięć piłek meczowych w 12. gemie trzeciego seta. Wcześniej przegrywał już 1:4. Francuz pokonał Szwajcara po raz pierwszy w karierze po pięciu porażkach.

- Jestem szczęśliwy, że go pokonałem. On jest kimś, kogo bardzo szanuję. Będę to pamiętał na całe moje życie.

Federer natomiast przegrał wtedy po raz czwarty w 2010 roku, gdy miał piłki meczowe. Wcześniej tak stało się w spotkaniach: z Djoko na US Open, z Marcosem Baghdatisem w Indian Wells i z Tomasem Berdychem w Miami.

http://www.eurosport.pl/tenis/5-najleps … tory.shtml

Best of 2010: Stormy Monday



Maybe you had to be there. When I talked to people later who had watched the U.S. Open men's final on TV, they sounded disappointed. “It was never in doubt”; “Djokovic never had a chance”; “The rain ruined it”: ‘I couldn’t find it on any channel.”

It didn’t feel any of those ways inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. Novak Djokovic was indeed fighting an uphill battle all the way, but that only made him very loose, and made his opponent, Rafael Nadal, who was facing what would almost certainly be the best chance he would ever have to complete a career Grand Slam, very tight. Tennis players talk about being lonely in front of all those people, but it can’t get any lonelier than trying to finish a match you simply have to win in front of thousands of people who will be stunned if you don't. Nadal was on my side of the court when he got to 5-1. You could see change in him that game; he became visibly nervous, and stayed that way until it was over.

But what made this a memorable match for me—No. 4 for the year—was the shot-making exhibition these two put on. With the various rain delays, as well as the Monday start, the tension that usually accompanies a U.S. Open had dissipated by the third set. There was a sort of wild and stormy feel inside the stadium as these guys threw haymakers back and forth at each other.

Above are one person’s selection of the 12 best points—how closely do you have to watch a match to put something like that together? Seeing them again makes me think you didn’t really have to be there at all. They're just as good on TV.

***

The first point ends with a nice Djokovic drop shot. You know it’s especially nice, since even Nadal can’t get close to it. Djokovic has a very good backhand drop, but he uses it as a bail-out shot too often, from too far back in the court. Here he gets the shot selection right, hitting it from inside the baseline when he already has the advantage in the point.

***

I know these are highlights, but did Djokovic play better in this match than he did against Federer? You can see he’s tired, but that also frees him to go for shots he normally wouldn’t attempt. He makes a lot of them. Deep down, though, he doesn't believe it's going to work out in the end, and that's what dooms him.

In his matches with Nadal, Djokovic has the opposite problem that he does when he plays Federer. Where he has to fight off the early Federer attack, Djokovic typically starts strong against Nadal. He has a chance to control points and hit his shots, and his down the line backhand is a real weapon when Nadal’s crosscourt forehands land short. The catch: He has to keep hitting that down the line backhand, along with everything else, perfectly, game after game, set after set. On most occasions, he can’t.

***

Nadal is gaining on Bjorn Borg as the greatest clay-courter ever, but he may already be ahead of him in the passing shot department. What Nadal does like no one else is shorten his backswing so that he does little more than snap through the shot. He can still get pace doing this, but his specialities are accuracy and redirecting the ball with almost no preparation. He takes one Djokovic volley and snaps it down the line with a forehand; he takes another and blocks it crosscourt at a sharp angle with his backhand. No one can match him as a passing-shot improviser.

***

Does the Sky Sports play-by-play guy seriously mean to say that he thinks that two of these points are the best ever played? I mean, they’re good, but . . .

***

Two of these 12 best points came in the final game, when, like I said, Nadal was more visibly nervous than he had been all day. Nevertheless, he wins them. I’ve noted before that Federer is a master at showing nerves for a second and then playing through them. Nadal, who rarely blows a big match, does it too. Grace under pressure, the one true mark of a champion.

***

Djokovic is caught smiling after a few of these points, even when he’s lost them. On one other, he uses his racquet to clap for his opponent. The previous year, he had a similar attitude in his semifinal with Federer. This is obviously not ideal from a competitive standpoint—notice that he didn’t do any of that stuff in the Davis Cup final. But maybe Djokovic is just being realistic when he plays Nadal and Federer. Maybe we can forgive him for doing what we do when we watch them play, for being one more fan.

http://tennisworld.typepad.com/thewrap/ … onday.html

My ATP matches of the year





1. Roger Federer v Novak Djokovic

5-7 6-1 5-7 6-2 7-5

US Open semi-final

To my mind Roger Federer has been involved in all the great matches of the last few years, and this, for me, is the pick of them.

This match is better even than the two Wimbledon finals that everyone talks about against Rafael Nadal - and the semi-final against Marat Safin at the Australian Open was great too.

This one was probably one of the top five matches I've seen in my life.

It had everything you could ask for: Djokovic suddenly emerging again as a great player after a period of really struggling.

Federer kept coming back at Djokovic and you kept thinking: "This has got to be it, Djokovic is going to fold." But he didn't. For Djokovic to be better on the day than Federer, who was playing very well, was outstanding.

These were two players who hadn't shown much up until that stage and it was comfortably my match of the year. In fact it was the best tennis I've seen in a long time.

2. Marin Cilic v Andy Roddick

7-6(4) 6-3 3-6 2-6 6-3

Australian Open quarter-final

I though Marin Cilic was the big story at the Australian Open.

Andy Murray was obviously one too, but Cilic had such a difficult path: firstly playing Juan Martin Del Potro for about four hours then having to face Andy Roddick.

He was two sets up against Roddick, but the American came back and all of a sudden it looked as if it had to be Roddick's match.

Cilic is still a little green and I thought he might get blown away in the fifth set the way the momentum had changed in Roddick's favour. But for Cilic to come back... I thought that was absolutely sensational.

And by the time he played Murray, to be honest he was pretty much spent. It was a good match and Murray played very well but Cilic was tired, no doubt about it.

I am very surprised he hasn't kicked on in the rest of the year as I thought he would. I saw him possibly top five and certainly top 10 by the end of the year, but that hasn't happened - and I don't really know why.

He was amazing in Melbourne; it was a classic situation of a boy becoming a man before our eyes.

It's amazing how often it happens in tennis that somebody is two sets down, comes back to two sets all and you think that's it, the momentum is so strongly in favour of the other guy - but it switches. He seemed to get a second wind, even though he was clearly tired after the Del Potro match. And Roddick was playing very well.

3. John Isner v Nicolas Mahut

6-4 3-6 6-7(7) 7-6(3) 70-68

Wimbledon first round

I was looking at this match the other day actually and some people have written some pretty nasty things about it.

For two of the three days that this match was going on I went down to the court myself and admittedly, while you did have a sense of history being made, for the tennis purist there was nothing much to get excited about.

The guys played tennis for over 11 hours and they didn't buckle. The world was watching by the time they came out. They gave what they could which they should be congratulated for. It's helped tennis get the coverage that it never really has before - and that's a fantastic achievement.

But, as a tennis match, it wasn't actually that great!

-Simon Reed

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/tennis/si … icle/5313/

Tennistalk's Matches of the Year: Part 3



Tennistalk's Top 10 matches of 2010 continue with Nos. 5-7. A pair of U.S. Open five-setters involving four of the current Top 10 players in the world is featured.

4. Fernando Verdasco d. David Ferrer 5-7, 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(4) - U.S. Open fourth round

In an otherwise relatively straightforward U.S. Open, two matches stood out. None was more wild than an all-Spanish fourth-round epic between Verdasco and Ferrer that featured incredible baseline battles, tantalizing momentum shifts, and a trio of Verdasco comebacks. Verdasco battled back from two sets down to force a fifth, recovered from 4-2 behind in the final set, and stormed past Ferrer from a 4-1 deficit in the decisive 'breaker.

As if the first four hours and 22 minutes of play were not good enough, the Louis Armstrong faithful will not soon forget match point. Ferrer had his opponent on the ropes throughout a grueling rally. Verdasco stayed alive with a forehand squash-shot to which Ferrer responded with a perfectly angled drop-volley. Verdasco not only tracked it down from all the way across the court, but he also flicked it up the line for a forehand winner, almost crashing into the umpire's chair before collapsing in triumph. In his on-court interview, Verdasco called it the greatest match of his life. Perhaps he momentarily forgot about his 2009 Australian Open semifinal against Rafael Nadal, but this very well could be No. 2.

3. Novak Djokovic d. Roger Federer 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 - U.S. Open semifinals

While the tennis had its ups and downs, this was every bit as good as anticipated, and then some. That a U.S. Open final showdown with world No. 1 Nadal was on the line made this one all the more amazing. Djokovic and Federer took turns seizing the momentum, with the second-ranked Swiss pulling out tight first and third sets while the third-ranked Serb dominated sets two and four. When Djokovic served out the fourth at 5-2, the stage was set for a dramatic fifth...one that lived up to expectations in every way except maybe not culminating in a tiebreaker.

Federer earned two match points with his opponent serving at 4-5, 15-40, and it was not his fault that he failed to convert. Djokovic saved both shockingly aggressive forehands and went on to hold for 5-5. From there the underdog was not to be denied, and he took the next two games--saving another break point at 6-5--to pull off the shocker. "It was just a big pleasure playing in this kind of match," Djokovic said afterward. "It's one of those matches you'll always remember in your career."

http://www.tennistalk.com/en/news/20101 … %3A_Part_3

Nadal collects year-end awards, others lag behind

Rafael Nadal has swept a host of year-end awards for his dominating season but other players have fared poorly in annual accolades.

Nadal has been voted the Spanish athlete of the year in a poll by El Pais and the Spanish athlete of the decade by Marca. In addition to recognition from Spanish newspapers, Nadal was also named L'Equipe Champion of Champions in France and won the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year in Britain. He was voted European Sportsman of the Year in a poll of 25 news agencies in Europe, beating out F1 champion Sebastian Vettel.

Roger Federer, meanwhile, came in third place for Swiss sportsman of the year, behind gold medal-winning ski jumper Simon Ammann and alpine wrestler Kilian Wenger. Federer was, however, voted the international athlete of the decade in Marca's poll.

Despite leading Serbia to Davis Cup victory, Novak Djokovic was not voted the Balkan athlete of the year, coming in behind Bulgarian wrestler Stanka Zlateva, who won gold in the world and European women's 72 kg championships.

http://www.tennis.com/articles/template … &zoneid=25