Five Matches That Defined Your Favourite Player's 2012 Season
Okay, so the 2012 season is well and truly behind us, and most of the focus is now on the enticing 2013 season. However, I'd like to have a more specific reflection of a variety of players and how they performed in 2012.
So this is a simple exercise. All you have to do is to choose five matches that defined your favourite player's season. You can do this for multiple players, if you wish. Leave a summary with each match as to why you chose it, but only if you feel like it, and your explanations can be non-existent or they can be as long as you like.
So imagine that in fifty years' time. Someone is looking back at a certain player's 2012 season. Which five matches would best represent what this player went through.
I'll do an example.
David Goffin
Chronological Order
1) Miami Masters 1000 R64: David Goffin l. Nicolas Almagro 4-6, 2-6
Harsh lessons were learnt that day, which would ultimately go on to help him achieve a great deal later on. Almagro played a supremely dominant baseline game, and gave Goffin no room to express himself. A very astute performance from the Spaniard. He did exactly what he had to do to snuff out any chances that the youngster had. Things would soon afterwards*turn out very good for Goffin, however.
2) Le Gosier CH F: David Goffin def. Mischa Zverev 6-2, 6-2
Certainly a minor win, if you look at his season as a whole, but this was a brilliant performance, and in my view, the catalyst to go on and achieve great things during the season. Not much more needs to be said.
3) Roland Garros R16: David Goffin l. Roger Federer 7-5, 5-7, 2-6, 4-6
One of the most memorable moments of the season. The little boy playing his idol. This was a beautiful match for about ninety minutes. Both were playing some delightful stuff, but I think everyone, including Goffin, knew that Federer had some gears to find. Goffin lost momentum and faded pretty badly in the end. Still a great match from him, and a wonderful tournament.
4) Wimbledon R128: David Goffin def. Bernard Tomic 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
As a fan, I've never felt so nervous watching a match as I did with this one. I really wanted Goffin to win, and for about forty-five minutes, things were going horribly wrong. However, he showed great maturity to steady the ship and take the next three sets rather comfortably, with one break in each. Tomic was in the middle of a rotten spell, but many believed a return to the grass-courts of Wimbledon would spark a revival in him. Goffin disagreed with them.
5) Valencia R16: David Goffin def. John Isner 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-4
This was topsy-turvy, to say the least. Despite not being televised, one could easily sense the tension and drama in this one. The reason I select it, is that Isner had the momentum. He had brought it back to one-set all, and he even had a break in the final set. Goffin must have been very assured, to not panic when in such a situation against arguably the best server in world tennis is a testament to his mentality that belies his age. He's already showing great signs of learning and displaying the experience, but one feels he still has much to learn.
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It would be nice if people tried to do different players. While it would be nice to debate the best matches of the big four, that wasn't the main purpose that i had in mind when I thought of this activity.
Okay, so the 2012 season is well and truly behind us, and most of the focus is now on the enticing 2013 season. However, I'd like to have a more specific reflection of a variety of players and how they performed in 2012.
So this is a simple exercise. All you have to do is to choose five matches that defined your favourite player's season. You can do this for multiple players, if you wish. Leave a summary with each match as to why you chose it, but only if you feel like it, and your explanations can be non-existent or they can be as long as you like.
So imagine that in fifty years' time. Someone is looking back at a certain player's 2012 season. Which five matches would best represent what this player went through.
I'll do an example.
David Goffin
Chronological Order
1) Miami Masters 1000 R64: David Goffin l. Nicolas Almagro 4-6, 2-6
Harsh lessons were learnt that day, which would ultimately go on to help him achieve a great deal later on. Almagro played a supremely dominant baseline game, and gave Goffin no room to express himself. A very astute performance from the Spaniard. He did exactly what he had to do to snuff out any chances that the youngster had. Things would soon afterwards*turn out very good for Goffin, however.
2) Le Gosier CH F: David Goffin def. Mischa Zverev 6-2, 6-2
Certainly a minor win, if you look at his season as a whole, but this was a brilliant performance, and in my view, the catalyst to go on and achieve great things during the season. Not much more needs to be said.
3) Roland Garros R16: David Goffin l. Roger Federer 7-5, 5-7, 2-6, 4-6
One of the most memorable moments of the season. The little boy playing his idol. This was a beautiful match for about ninety minutes. Both were playing some delightful stuff, but I think everyone, including Goffin, knew that Federer had some gears to find. Goffin lost momentum and faded pretty badly in the end. Still a great match from him, and a wonderful tournament.
4) Wimbledon R128: David Goffin def. Bernard Tomic 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
As a fan, I've never felt so nervous watching a match as I did with this one. I really wanted Goffin to win, and for about forty-five minutes, things were going horribly wrong. However, he showed great maturity to steady the ship and take the next three sets rather comfortably, with one break in each. Tomic was in the middle of a rotten spell, but many believed a return to the grass-courts of Wimbledon would spark a revival in him. Goffin disagreed with them.
5) Valencia R16: David Goffin def. John Isner 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-4
This was topsy-turvy, to say the least. Despite not being televised, one could easily sense the tension and drama in this one. The reason I select it, is that Isner had the momentum. He had brought it back to one-set all, and he even had a break in the final set. Goffin must have been very assured, to not panic when in such a situation against arguably the best server in world tennis is a testament to his mentality that belies his age. He's already showing great signs of learning and displaying the experience, but one feels he still has much to learn.
-----
It would be nice if people tried to do different players. While it would be nice to debate the best matches of the big four, that wasn't the main purpose that i had in mind when I thought of this activity.