The Curious Case of the German Tennis Championships

It is May of 2008. The setting is Hamburg, Germany. The players are Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. They are locked in a tough three-setter, with Roland Garros looming just over a week away and the match having serious implications heading into the tournament. The next year, the final takes place in July and is between Paul-Henry Mathieu and Nikolay Davydenko. The number one seed: Gilles Simon. Fast-forward two years, and the champion, is in fact, Simon. He defeated Nicolas Almagro in the final. The number one seed: Gael Monfils. What happened to the tournament? The case of the German Tennis Championships is a very interesting one, and after the jump we'll take a look at what happened and what it says about the ATP.

All Roads Lead to New York: Previewing the ATP Summer

We are less than one week away from the start of the US Open Series, and oddly enough, we are in the middle of the post-Wimbledon clay court swing, and now is a great opportunity to look at what is to come this summer. For the very top players, the summer consists of three events, Cincinnati, Canada, and the United States Open. For the rest of the ATP World Tour participants, however, the summer takes them from the red clay of Europe to the blue hard courts of North America to the Big Apple for the final major of the year. After the jump, we'll look at the US Open Series and a couple other noteworthy events.

Juan Martin del Potro's Long Road Back

Until the 2009 US Open, Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro was just another promising young player on the ATP Tour. That all changed at Flushing Meadows in 2009, where del Potro became the first ever player to defeat both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the same Major Championship en route to the title. With this first Major under his belt, the immediate future seemed extremely bright for del Potro. The rest of 2009 was a bit of a rollercoaster for the Argentinian, with a string of retirements leading to a spot in the final at the ATP World Tour Finals, which he lost to Nikolay Davydenko.

The 2010 year would prove to be the most difficult of del Potro's life. A wrist injury led to a retirement at the AAMI Kooyong Classic, which is a lead up for the Australian Open. He entered the Australian Open with the wrist injury still ailing him, and he bowed out in the fourth round after a tough five-set loss to Marin Cilic. Del Potro then took an entire month off, hoping this rest would help heal his wrist. This did not prove to be the case, as the wrist injury continued to cripple him. After withdrawing from tournament after tournament, del Potro decided it was time to have surgery, which occurred on May 4, 2010. This was when the Argentinian was a top-5 player in the world.

Del Potro made his return to tennis at the 2010 PTT Thailand Open, which was about nine months after he had played his last competitive tennis match. Juan Martin del Potro was hoping that 2011 would be the year that he, finally healthy, would sour back in the top-10 in the world. This plan did not start out as planned, as a second round exit at the Australian Open left him as the 485th-ranked player in the world. A string of stellar performances and the determination to succeed helped the Major Champion climb back into the top-50 in the world. Del Potro's first ever Round of 16 appearance at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships earned him the World Ranking of 19.

While he will be the first to admit that it has not been easy, Juan Martin del Potro is back. Being away from the game you love for nine months is not easy by any stretch of the imagination, especially for someone whose ceiling seemed so endless. Nevertheless, del Potro's determination to return to where he thinks he belongs has been the driving force in his remarkable comeback. Now at almost full-strength, expect the Aregentinian to be a title contender once again at Flushing Meadows.

Looking at the 2011 ATP Season So Far

With the end of Wimbledon comes the end of the first half of the tennis year. The early Australian swing and brief American hard court few weeks being an ancient memory, the European clay court season being a bit fresher and the very brief English grass court "season" just concluding, it's a great time to look back at the 2011 ATP season so far and evaluate the top players, look at who disappointed, and examine a few breakout stars that began to rise this year. After the jump, we'll look at all of these, and later in the week, we'll have a preview of the  upcoming North American hard court season concluding with the US Open and beyond that.

The WTA: What's Next?

Following Petra Kvitova's stunning victory at Wimbledon, the WTA enters the hard-court season with no clear favorite. No. 1 in the world Caroline Wozniacki has yet to break through at a major, Kvitova will be playing the next few tournaments with a target on her back, and the Williams Sisters are unlikely to play in more than one or two hard-court tournaments leading up to the US Open. Even with no clear favorite, the show must go on and the next few months are sure to be filled with a lot of drama. As for one player on the WTA tour to watch on hard courts, it has to be Maria Sharapova. The 2011 Wimbledon finalist has a game that it is very well-suited on hard-courts, and Flushing Meadows always seems to bring out the best in her. I expect Sharapova and Wozniacki to be in the mix in many of the US Open Series events, which span the months of July and August.

As for the 2011 Wimbledon Champion, Petra Kvitova enters the hard-court season with all the confidence in the world, which can not be an inviting sight for the rest of the WTA. The Czech's game translates very well to the hard courts because of the pace she can put on the ball. I would not be surprised to see Kvitova contend at almost every tournament she enters for the rest of the summer. I would also consider her to be one of the early favorites for the 2011 US Open. Even with the assured parody in the WTA, this summer is sure to be filled with great tennis.

Rafa Dethroned! Novak Djokovic Wins His First Wimbledon Championship

Novak Djokovic walked onto Centre Court at Wimbledon today assured that come Monday, he would be number one on the world. He also knew that had he lost to Rafael Nadal, most observers would consider his ranking to not be an indication of the true state of the men's game. Djokovic stepped onto the court today and dethroned the two time Wimbledon champion, doing it with a relentless attack that took Nadal completely out of his game. If it weren't for that magical day in Paris when Roger Federer broke his streak, we would be looking at a potential grand slam and the best season in the history of tennis. Regardless, Djokovic is clearly number one in the world, and this performance was by far the biggest win of his career, defeating a player who had not lost at Wimbledon since 2007. It wasn't the best tennis these two have produced, but in terms of  drama and importance, this match was captivating. After the jump, we'll look at this match set by set.

Number One vs. Number Two: Previewing the Dream Final

With all due respect to the greatest player of all time, Roger Federer, most tennis pundits were looking forward to a final that pitted current world number one Rafael Nadal and future world number one as of two days from now, Novak Djokovic. This is the match many were anticipating at Roland Garros, but as we all know, Roger Federer ruined those plans. Now they will face off in a major final again, and ironically, Djokovic would probably have had a better shot to dethrone Nadal at Roland Garros. Djokovic's movement on the grass is significantly weaker than his movement on clay and hard courts. That is the main thing to look for. If Djokovic is able to track down Nadal's deep shots, then he can defeat him. If not, then it might be a long and grueling match for Djokovic. After the jump, we'll look at the match-up, stroke by stroke