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Can Federer hang on to his roll?
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By MaliVai Washington
Special to ESPN.com
I think the next two months in men's tennis are going to be the most exciting of 2003. Right now you have three guys in Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Juan Carlos Ferrero, who legitimately have a chance at finishing this year as No. 1.
Roger Federer has already played a lot of tennis this year. He needs to be wary of burnout.
Ferrero has publicly said his goal is to finish the year as the No. 1 player in the world. This is Agassi's last, best chance to finish No. 1. Amazingly after such a great career, Agassi has only finished No. 1 in the world once -- in 1999. And Federer is finally realizing his potential, which is just now being to show itself.
The next two months include two Tennis Masters Series events and the U.S. Open. If one of these three players can stay healthy and get on a roll during that time will likely be the player who finishes No. 1.
I'm a little concerned at how much tennis Federer has played so far this year. In 2002, Federer had 58 singles wins. Already this year, he has 53 match wins in 16 tournaments. If he's not careful, he's going to burn himself out through one of the toughest stretches of the year -- the hot summer hard-court season in the States.
One thing that hasn't been tested with Federer is his longevity throughout the full season. Thus far this year, he's stood up to the test, but we still have a good five months to go with the year-end Masters Cup in November.
The tennis we saw from Federer at Wimbledon is the tennis that we could see from him for the next seven or eight years. Don't be surprised if at the end of this decade, Roger Federer has five or six Grand Slam titles to his name. The race for No. 1 this year is going to be awesome.
To get to No. 1 a player has to be able to perform on more than one surface. Certainly if you go down the list of top players, each one has a surface that might be considered his specialty. To finish No. 1 this year, that player will not only have to play well on their specialty surface but also on their second or third favorite surface. That will be the challenge for Ferrero this summer playing on hard courts. That was the challenge for Agassi in Paris and London. And the verdict is still out on what is truly the best surface for Roger Federer because prior to Wimbledon, he had never really proven himself at the majors but he might be that player who is able to prove himself on all surfaces and indeed win all four majors in his career. Stay tuned.
Ones to watch
A player who is trying to make a name for himself on the tour, just won his first title on the tour in Newport, Robby Ginepri. Ginepri is hoping to find himself on the Davis Cup team in the near future.
It's going to be a tough haul for Ginepri to make the Davis Cup team because Andy Roddick and James Blake are two mainstays. With the quality we're seeing from Bob and Mike Bryan in doubles, they might very well be the third and fourth players on the next Davis Cup team.
Unfortunately for Ginepri that could be the case for the next three years and he's going to have to prove himself week in and week out on the tour to replace Blake. Because right now, I don't see anyone replacing Roddick barring injury.
A player most people haven't heard of is Rafael Nadal of Spain, who might be the most talented teen-ager in the world right now. He's 17 years old and many people thought he had a chance to reach the second week of the French Open but because of his injury before Paris while trying to jump over the net, he didn't get to prove himself. I already know that he can play great tennis on clay courts. I can't wait to see this guy on the hard courts of the United States to really see how versatile he is because people are saying he can be a great player on more than just one surface.
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By MaliVai Washington
Special to ESPN.com
I think the next two months in men's tennis are going to be the most exciting of 2003. Right now you have three guys in Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Juan Carlos Ferrero, who legitimately have a chance at finishing this year as No. 1.
Roger Federer has already played a lot of tennis this year. He needs to be wary of burnout.
Ferrero has publicly said his goal is to finish the year as the No. 1 player in the world. This is Agassi's last, best chance to finish No. 1. Amazingly after such a great career, Agassi has only finished No. 1 in the world once -- in 1999. And Federer is finally realizing his potential, which is just now being to show itself.
The next two months include two Tennis Masters Series events and the U.S. Open. If one of these three players can stay healthy and get on a roll during that time will likely be the player who finishes No. 1.
I'm a little concerned at how much tennis Federer has played so far this year. In 2002, Federer had 58 singles wins. Already this year, he has 53 match wins in 16 tournaments. If he's not careful, he's going to burn himself out through one of the toughest stretches of the year -- the hot summer hard-court season in the States.
One thing that hasn't been tested with Federer is his longevity throughout the full season. Thus far this year, he's stood up to the test, but we still have a good five months to go with the year-end Masters Cup in November.
The tennis we saw from Federer at Wimbledon is the tennis that we could see from him for the next seven or eight years. Don't be surprised if at the end of this decade, Roger Federer has five or six Grand Slam titles to his name. The race for No. 1 this year is going to be awesome.
To get to No. 1 a player has to be able to perform on more than one surface. Certainly if you go down the list of top players, each one has a surface that might be considered his specialty. To finish No. 1 this year, that player will not only have to play well on their specialty surface but also on their second or third favorite surface. That will be the challenge for Ferrero this summer playing on hard courts. That was the challenge for Agassi in Paris and London. And the verdict is still out on what is truly the best surface for Roger Federer because prior to Wimbledon, he had never really proven himself at the majors but he might be that player who is able to prove himself on all surfaces and indeed win all four majors in his career. Stay tuned.
Ones to watch
A player who is trying to make a name for himself on the tour, just won his first title on the tour in Newport, Robby Ginepri. Ginepri is hoping to find himself on the Davis Cup team in the near future.
It's going to be a tough haul for Ginepri to make the Davis Cup team because Andy Roddick and James Blake are two mainstays. With the quality we're seeing from Bob and Mike Bryan in doubles, they might very well be the third and fourth players on the next Davis Cup team.
Unfortunately for Ginepri that could be the case for the next three years and he's going to have to prove himself week in and week out on the tour to replace Blake. Because right now, I don't see anyone replacing Roddick barring injury.
A player most people haven't heard of is Rafael Nadal of Spain, who might be the most talented teen-ager in the world right now. He's 17 years old and many people thought he had a chance to reach the second week of the French Open but because of his injury before Paris while trying to jump over the net, he didn't get to prove himself. I already know that he can play great tennis on clay courts. I can't wait to see this guy on the hard courts of the United States to really see how versatile he is because people are saying he can be a great player on more than just one surface.
