Podsumowanie sezonu 2018

[Żilu]

[Żilu]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yct6kWwijEo&t=19s[/youtube]

[arti]

[arti]

[arti]

[Barty]

Photographers’ Faves: Best Pics Of 2018

Spoiler:

Clive Brunskill, Julian Finney and Matthew Stockman make their picks
Tennis photographers shoot tens of thousands of player images each year. Whittling that library down to just a handful of favourite photos is perhaps the hardest job of all.

But we tasked three of the best shooters in the sport - Getty Images' trio Clive Brunskill, Julian Finney and Matthew Stockman - to do just that. Below is the back story to each photographer's favourite image of the year and at bottom is a link to a gallery of more of their favourites from a memorable 2018 season.

Enjoy!

Clive Brunskill
Rafael Nadal’s dominance on clay and at Roland Garros is historic. And here, I was able to photograph him just after the championship-winning point in June. But what I love about this frame is that it also tells the story of Nadal’s opponent, Dominic Thiem, who is walking towards the net after being defeated.

Nadal is such a unique player to shoot because he plays with so much aggression and doesn’t shy away from displaying his emotions. On this day he breezed to victory in straight sets and at 32 years of age, no one expects him to slow down any time soon.


Julian Finney
Many experts say that German player Alexander Zverev is “next up” on the ATP World Tour, and here, I was able to photograph him in some magical afternoon light at the 2018 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

A few things have to happen for this image to be created: the sun has to be out in the late afternoon, it must be at a point in the sky so that it creates shadows on the court, and I have to find the perfect vantage point on top of a building looking down at Centre Court.

Fortunately, many photographers typically leave for the day by the late afternoon and everything came together for me to capture this unique angle.


Matthew Stockman
At this point, I have photographed Roger Federer thousands of times at tournaments across the world. Now, I love looking for new and creative angles that visualise his elegance as a player.

He always makes the impossible look easy, and here, I was able to capture him placing a forehand volley at the BNP Paribas Open in March.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/best-of ... tty-images

[arti]

Best of 2018: First-Time Winners Part 1

Spoiler:

Daniil Medvedev - Sydney [First-Time Winner Spotlight]
In the youngest ATP World Tour final since Rafael Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic at the 2007 BNP Paribas Open, Daniil Medvedev overcame home favourite and first-time tour-level finalist Alex de Minaur 1-6, 6-4, 7-5 at the Sydney International.

"It's amazing," Medvedev said. "I'm really happy. To make it through the qualies, there were so many circumstances. I wanted to go to Auckland, because my girlfriend had a visa to New Zealand, and not even one guy withdrew from Auckland... now I won here. So [it's] just amazing."

One year on from appearing in his first final in Chennai (l. to Bautista Agut), Medvedev needed two hours and 13 minutes to capture his maiden tour-level trophy. It proved to be the catalyst for a stellar 2018 season, with the Russian also lifting titles in Winston-Salem and Tokyo.



Mirza Basic - Sofia [First-Time Winner Spotlight]
In a meeting of first-time tour-level finalists, Mirza Basic overcame Marius Copil 7-6(6), 6-7(4), 6-4 to lift his maiden ATP World Tour singles crown at the Diema Xtra Sofia Open.

"It’s a dream come true," said Basic. "I made the breakthrough to the Top 100 [of the ATP Rankings] and I won my first ATP [World Tour] title, so I’m very happy. Winning the first [title] from the first [final] is a very good thing."

The 26-year-old became just the second player from Bosnia and Herzegovina to win a tour-level title, following compatriot Damir Dzumhur, who earned his maiden crown at the 2017 St. Petersburg Open. Basic, en route to the trophy, scored his first Top 20 win, upsetting Stan Wawrinka in the semi-finals.

Basic

Roberto Carballes Baena - Quito [First-Time Winner Spotlight]
Entering the tournament seeking his first tour-level match win in almost a year, Roberto Carballes Baena could not have written a more dramatic script to lift his first ATP World Tour trophy at the Ecuador Open.

The Spanish qualifier won six matches in seven days, upsetting fourth seed Paolo Lorenzi and eighth seed Nicolas Jarry en route to the final, before overcoming second-seeded countryman Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 28 minutes to finish off the dream run.

"Many feelings come to my mind and many years of training to achieve this," said Carballes Baena. "I thank my family, my parents in particular. They have been with me since I was little and have been behind me for a long time. We will celebrate this in Spain."

Carballes Baena

Frances Tiafoe - Delray Beach [First-Time Winner Spotlight]
After defeating Juan Martin del Potro, Hyeon Chung and Denis Shapovalov en route to the final, wild card Frances Tiafoe coasted to his first ATP World Tour title in Delray Beach. The Maryland native beat Peter Gojowczyk of Germany 6-1, 6-4 to become the youngest American to win an ATP World Tour title since 19-year-old Andy Roddick at 2002 Houston.

Before his appearance at the New York Open the previous week, Tiafoe had won nine tour-level matches (9-31) and had never reached a tour-level quarter-final. But after reaching the last eight in New York (l. to Anderson) and triumphing in Delray Beach, Tiafoe almost doubled his tour-level win count (16) in two weeks.

“It's unbelievable. It's obviously a dream to win your first title," said Tiafoe. "Now I have got that off my back, so that feels pretty good so early in my career. It's an amazing feeling and I just hope I can get many more as I go along.”



Marco Cecchinato - Budapest [First-Time Winner Spotlight]
After losing in the final round of qualifying in straight sets, Marco Cecchinato was handed a lifeline at the Gazprom Hungarian Open, gaining entry to the main draw as a lucky loser.

Seven days later, the World No. 92, who had never reached a tour-level semi-final before his arrival in Budapest, defeated fellow first-time tour-level finalist John Millman 7-5, 6-4 to claim his maiden trophy.

"I lost Sunday and now I won the tournament. It's amazing for me," Cecchinato said. "Maybe it's a dream."

The victory proved to be the start of a special run for the Italian, who stunned Novak Djokovic en route to the Roland Garros semi-finals and picked up his second title at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag in July.



Taro Daniel - Istanbul [First-Time Winner Spotlight]
In another meeting of first-time tour-level finalists, Taro Daniel capped a memorable week in Istanbul with a 7-6(4), 6-4 win over Malek Jaziri at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open.

Prior to his arrival in Istanbul, the Japanese had never advanced to an ATP World Tour semi-final. He had owned a 6-15 record at all levels since October 2017. In his quarter-final against Rogerio Dutra Silva, Daniel came within one point of trailing 5-0 in the deciding set, but recovered well and then later found his best tennis against Jaziri in the two-hour, 22-minute championship match.

"Obviously really happy. I think today was a great match, a lot of long rallies from the beginning until the end," said Daniel. "I'm obviously pretty surprised that I suddenly won an ATP [World Tour title]. But I guess things like this happen."

Daniel

Marton Fucsovics - Geneva [First-Time Winner Spotlight]
Marton Fucsovics made Hungarian history in front of a packed crowd at the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open, ousting Peter Gojowczyk 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and eight minutes to become the first Hungarian to claim a tour-level crown since 1982.

Following in the footsteps of countryman Balazs Taroczy, who lifted the last of his 13 titles in Hilversum, Fuscovics also assured himself of a place inside the Top 50 in the ATP Rankings for the first time. Fucsovics rose to No. 45 after his title run, becoming the first player from his country to break into the Top 50 since former World No. 12 Taroczy.

"I really love Switzerland," Fucsovics exclaimed. "Last year, I played my first ATP quarter-final in Basel and now I won my first title here, so it's really special for me. We've been working a long time for this. The last two years were very hard for me in my life, but hopefully I will have a very long career after this."

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/first-t ... art-1-2018

[Damian]

Best Of 2018: ATP Heritage Review

Spoiler:

ATPWorldTour.com marked a number of milestones and historic anniversaries throughout 2018

Celebrating 50 Years Of Open Tennis
Fifty years ago, tennis was a non-commercial enterprise with amateur players receiving tournament expenses, often better than the living wage, and were still able to compete in the world’s leading tennis tournaments. Across the great divide, ever since the first pro tour in 1926, were a small band of former amateurs turned contract pros, who had been banished from the public spotlight and criss-crossed the globe in search of a pay cheque.

Over the course of one eventful decade, starting in the late 1950s, a handful of leading powerbrokers began to effect a change in the way the sport was promoted, for a free, shared market that led to the modern professional game of superstar athletes. On Monday, 22 April 1968, that all changed. Read Exclusive Feature

A Shared Dream: 50 Years Of Tennis In Washington, D.C.
The Citi Open celebrated its 50th edition this year with one of the best fields in the history of the ATP World Tour 500 tournament. While the muggy heat of Washington, D.C., which tests out every players’ physical conditioning, endures, back in 1969, in the infancy of Open tennis, when doors were — in some cases, reluctantly opened to amateur, contract and professional players — a small group of dedicated individuals took tennis out of the traditional country clubs to a racially integrated district of the city. The original tournament team was small in number and facilities at Rock Creek Park were far from world-class, as they are today. Read & Watch Exclusive Tribute

Rankings

45 Years Of The ATP Rankings
The ATP Rankings were born on 23 August 1973. After quickly earning legitimacy and credibility, the Rankings have become an indispensable part of tennis accepted universally by players, tournaments and fans. Read Exclusive Feature

30 Years Of The Tour Born In A Parking Lot
Few tennis media conferences have resonated like 'The Parking Lot Press Conference', held 30 years ago on 30 August 1988, a seminal moment in ATP history. Read Exclusive Feature

Djokovic Completes Career Golden Masters & Match Wins Milestones

It took more than five years, but victory never tasted so sweet for Novak Djokovic. The Serbian etched his name in the history books on 19 August, clinching his first Western & Southern Open title. Five years after securing his eighth different ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown in Monte-Carlo, Djokovic completed the full set in Cincinnati, capturing the Career Golden Masters with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Roger Federer. Read & Watch Tribute

Djokovic also played the 1,000th tour-level match of his career on 13 October when he beat Alexander Zverev for a place in the Rolex Shanghai Masters final.

Federer & Mike Bryan Return To No. 1
By overtaking Nadal on 19 February at 36 years old, Federer became the oldest player to capture the No. 1 ATP Ranking since the Rankings were created in 1973. It had been five years and 106 days since the Swiss had previously held top spot, a record for longest time between stints atop tennis' mountain.

At 40 years and 78 days old, Mike Bryan also became the oldest player to top the ATP Doubles Rankings on 16 July. While the American already owned the record for the most weeks atop those standings, Bryan has not let go of the spot since, and he has now spent 475 weeks as World No. 1.

More Milestones
Rafael Nadal (900), Djokovic (800) and Richard Gasquet and Fernando Verdasco (both 500) recorded match wins milestones in 2018, while 45-year-old Leander Paes notches 750 doubles victories.

John Isner struck his historic 10,000th ace in the fourth game of the deciding set in his quarter-final in Houston against compatriot Steve Johnson. The American became just the fourth player to join the elite group, which includes Ivo Karlovic, Roger Federer and Goran Ivanisevic.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/best-of ... age-review

[Damian]

Top Five #NextGenATP Moments From 2018

Spoiler:

ATP Tour Season In Review: Five Best #NextGenATP Moments In 2018
Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPTour.com looks at the top five #NextGenATP moments from 2018.

5. Denis Shapovalov makes the Mutua Madrid Open semi-finals
By May, Canada's top #NextGenATP star Denis Shapovalov was, without a doubt, a known commodity. In 2017, he became the youngest ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-finalist at the Coupe Rogers in Montreal, made the fourth round of the US Open and qualified for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals.

And in 2018, his historic efforts didn't slow down. In Madrid, Shapovalov, who had zero ATP World Tour clay-court wins before the tournament, beat countryman Milos Raonic and Brit Kyle Edmund, who had reached the Australian Open semi-finals months earlier.

Shapovalov, in reaching his second Masters 1000 semi-final, became the youngest semi-finalist in Mutua Madrid Open history. The 19-year-old left-hander finished 2018 by cutting his year-end ranking nearly in half, from No. 51 to No. 27.

Watch Hot Shot: Shapovalov Rips Backhand Winner Past Raonic In Madrid


4. Frances Tiafoe wins maiden tour-level title at the Delray Beach Open
Frances Tiafoe grew up idolising Juan Martin del Potro. The Argentine was the first player to sign a ball for Tiafoe when he was a boy attending the Citi Open in Washington, D.C.

But at the Delray Beach Open in February, Tiafoe blocked all of that aside and upset the second seed en route to the best week of his career. Tiafoe beat Aussie Matthew Ebden, Del Potro, 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals champion Hyeon Chung, Shapovalov and Germany's Peter Gojowczyk to win his maiden ATP World Tour title.

And to think, the American almost didn't even have a spot at the ATP World Tour 250-level event. Tiafoe forgot to sign up by the entry deadline, but the tournament gave him a wild card, and both parties were pleased they did. Tiafoe went onto make his debut at the Next Gen ATP Finals and finish at a personal year-end best No. 39 in the ATP Rankings.

Watch Highlights: Tiafoe Wins First Title In Delray Beach


3. Stefanos Tsitsipas wins the Next Gen ATP Finals on debut
At the start of the year, neither player was in the Top 90 of the ATP Rankings, hardly making them favourites to reach the title match of the Next Gen ATP Finals, where eight of the world's best 21-and-under players finish their seasons in Milan. But Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece and Aussie Alex de Minaur were two of the most improved players on tour in 2018, and they showed their elevated games all week at the Fiera Milano.

Read More: Tsitsipas Named Most Improved Player Of The Year

Tsitsipas and De Minaur both reached the final bidding for a perfect 5-0 week. But Tsitsipas, behind some of his best serving all season, overpowered the 19-year-old Aussie in the highly-pressurised environment 2-4, 4-1, 4-3(3), 4-3(3). Tsitsipas won 72 per cent of his service points (54/72), and outhit the scrappy De Minaur, who saved seven of eight break points.

On match point, Tsitsipas fell to the ground, his hands shielding his eyes. It was almost as if the 20-year-old couldn't believe the transformation he'd undergone in the past 12 months. At the 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals, Tsitsipas, then No. 87, was an alternate in the eight-man field. But this year, he was the champion.

Watch Highlights: Tsitsipas Beats De Minaur For Milan Title


2. Alex de Minaur starts strong Down Under
You could not have blamed tennis fans, even those living in Australia, for thinking it might be a couple years before Alex de Minaur made his march to the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings. In January, the 18-year-old was ranked No. 208, and, although he won his first tour-level matches in Australia in 2017, he had experienced little success away from his home continent.

But mentor and former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt kept telling De Minaur to believe in himself, that he had the game to compete with the best. De Minaur made Hewitt look like a smart man during all of 2018, and it started with his win over former World No. 3 Milos Raonic at the Brisbane International in January.

De Minaur had been 0-2 against Top 40 opponents, but he routed Raonic 6-4, 6-4 in front of thousands of proud Aussies for back-to-back tour-level wins (d. No. 44 Steve Johnson in first round).

De Minaur would go onto make the Brisbane International semi-finals and the Sydney International final (l. to Medvedev). By the end of 2018, he'd make the biggest jump in the Top 50, finishing the 2018 season at No. 31 and as the top-ranked Aussie. The Sydney native was also voted by his peers as the ATP Newcomer of the Year in the 2018 ATP World Tour Awards Presented By Moët & Chandon.

Watch Feature: Hewitt Belief In De Minaur Paying Off


1. Stefanos Tsitsipas makes history in Toronto
Greece's #NextGenATP star Stefanos Tsitsipas had enjoyed big wins before the Rogers Cup in August, including when he made the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell final in April. But never before had the right-hander turned in such a week like he did at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Canada.

His best week started by beating No. 8 Dominic Thiem and was followed by his three-set win against Novak Djokovic, who was fresh off his fourth Wimbledon – and 13th Grand Slam – title. Yet the Serbian was broken in the second game of the final set and never recovered, as Tsitsipas moved into his first Masters 1000 quarter-final.

Watch Highlights: Tsitsipas Surprises Djokovic With Dropper


The firsts would only keep coming. Next, Tsitsipas avenged his straight-sets loss to Alexander Zverev at the Citi Open only a week earlier by saving two match points and hitting 28 winners – 18 from his forehand – in their quarter-final. Zverev served for the match at 6-3, 5-3, but Tsitsipas broke and erased both match points in the tie-break and advanced 3-6, 7-6(11), 6-4.

In the semi-finals, Tsitsipas came back from a set down once more, beating Wimbledon finalist Kevin Anderson 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(7) before falling to No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the final. Tsitsipas would finish the season No. 15 in the ATP Rankings and with the Nitto ATP Finals in mind as a 2019 goal.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/five-be ... ments-2018

[Lleyton]

[Lucas]

The Numbers Game: 2018 ATP Challenger Tour

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/best-of ... he-numbers

[Damian]

[Barty]

ATP Tennis - All Tournament Champions of 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8AZWQc-DLI&t=3s

[DUN I LOVE]

Super nagranie, pozwala ekspresowo przejść się przed 2018 rok.

[Lleyton]

Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and Top 20 Predictions For 2019

Spoiler:

1. Novak Djokovic
With his fifth year-end No. 1 finish in 2018, Djokovic showed everyone he's back. The Serbian also added four more Big Titles to his ledger by winning Wimbledon, Western & Southern Open, US Open and Rolex Shanghai Masters. Who will stop the Serbian from accumulating more Grand Slam and ATP Masters 1000 titles?

Chances of finishing in the..

Top 5: 98%
Top 10: 99%

Djokovic

2. Rafael Nadal
Despite playing only 13 events – four less than even Roger Federer – Nadal still finished No. 2 in the ATP Rankings, backed by – alert: you've heard this before – his record-setting clay-court season, which featured four of his five titles, including his 11th Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and Roland Garros titles.

If Nadal can, yet again, produce a historic European clay-court swing in 2019, expect him to earn another Top 3 finish.

Chances of finishing in the...

Top 5: 97%
Top 10: 99%

Rafa

3. Roger Federer
If Federer employs the same plan of skipping the clay swing for the third year in a row, his year-end ATP Ranking will be heavily influenced by his showings at hard-court events before April: Australian Open, BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the Miami Open presented by Itau. Sweep all three, like he did in 2017, and perhaps Federer will battle for No. 1 again. But come up empty and Federer could have to fight to stay inside the Top 5.

Chances of finishing in the...

Top 5: 95%
Top 10: 99%

4. Alexander Zverev
Zverev, with the biggest title of his career in the books from the Nitto ATP Finals, will face pressure out of the proverbial gates at the Australian Open, where many will expect him to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final. But the 21-year-old showed in 2018 that extra expectations don't bother him. If the German can make a Grand Slam semi-final or two, in 12 months, we could see a “No. 3” or “No. 2” next to his name.

Chances of finishing in the...

Top 5: 96%
Top 10: 99%

Zverev

5. Juan Martin del Potro
Del Potro has finished inside the Top 5 of the year-end ATP Rankings three times (2018, 5; 2013, 5; 2009, 5), but never in back-to-back years. His wrist held up during his busy 2018, but in another sign of Del Potro's record-setting awful luck, at the Rolex Shanghai Masters in October, the Argentine fractured his right patella and had to miss the remainder of the year, including a return trip to the Nitto ATP Finals. A healthy Del Potro in 2019 could challenge for his first back-to-back Top 5 finish.

Chances of finishing in the...

Top 5: 65%
Top 10: 80%

6. Kevin Anderson
Few players, if any, will work harder than Anderson to repeat a career-best season. In 2018, the South African won two of his five titles (New York, Vienna) and made the semi-finals (l. to Djokovic) on debut at the Nitto ATP Finals. The 32-year-old's previous best year-end finish was No. 12 in 2015.

Chances of finishing in the...

Top 5: 50%
Top 10: 75%

7. Marin Cilic
If you're going to be stuck somewhere, No. 6 and No. 7 are OK places to land in the ATP Rankings. Cilic has resided in the middle of the Top 10 for the past three years: 2016, No. 6; 2017, No. 6; and 2018, No. 7. Last season, for the 11th straight year, he won a tour-level title. But if Cilic can add to his Grand Slam title haul (1; 2014 US Open), he might crack the upper echelon of the elite.

Chances of finishing in the...

Top 5: 45%
Top 10: 80%

Read More: Djokovic's Surprisingly Successful Second-Serve Strategy

8. Dominic Thiem
We know this about Thiem: If he can make another deep run at Roland Garros and keep winning titles on clay in 2019 – a near guarantee – he'll likely earn himself another place in the year-end Top 10. But how Thiem fares on hard courts throughout the season – he's never reached a Masters 1000 hard-court final – might determine if he climbs further.

Chances of finishing in the...

Top 5: 45%
Top 10: 75%

9. Kei Nishikori
From starting his season on the ATP Challenger Tour in January to ending it with his fourth appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals in November, Kei Nishikori surely surpassed expectations during his comeback year from right wrist surgery. More good news: With zero ATP Rankings points to defend Down Under in January, he'll have a big opportunity to immediately scale the ATP Rankings in 2019. He twice has finished in the year-end Top 5 (2016, 5; 2014, 5).

Chances of finishing in the...

Top 5: 33%
Top 10: 75%

Nishikori

10. John Isner
The 33-year-old Isner had a career year in 2018 – on and off the court. He and his new bride, Madison McKinley, celebrated the birth of their first child, Hunter Grace; Isner won his maiden Masters 1000 title in Miami; and the 6'10” right-hander debuted at the Nitto ATP Finals before finishing the season in the year-end Top 10 for the first time.

Some might balk at the idea that Isner, who will turn 34 in April, could back up his career year. But before you do that, take a look at the ages of his Top 10 peers.

Chances of finishing in the...

Top 5: 10%
Top 10: 45%

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/djokovi ... s-for-2019

[Federasta20]

Bardzo mieszany ten sezon pod wieloma względami:

* Federer - zaczął piorunująco, bez straty seta docierając do finału AO, gdzie zmęczył Cilicia i zgarnął 20. tytuł. Podbił to triumfem w Rotterdamie, demolując rekord najstarszego #1 w historii. Indian Wells przyniosło kolejne zwycięstwa, odwracając spotkanie z Coriciem zaliczył najlepszy start do sezonu. Potem jednak przyszedł kryzys, gdyż tylko w taki sposób można opisać kolejne porażki z dużo niżej sklasyfikowanymi rywalami i chwilami bolesną grę. Koniec roku przyniósł relatywną poprawę formę, jednak zaliczył bolesną porażkę w jednym z najlepszych spotkań jakie zagrał - z Nole w SF Paryża.

* sympatie i antypatie - z jednej strony mamy oszałamiający triumf RF, okrągły szlem oraz powrót na #1. Po drodze trafiały się też kolejne kurniki i finisz na trzecim miejscu, które bym wziął w ciemno przed sezonem, a już na pewno 2-3 lata temu. Jednak styl gry bywał bolesny, chwilami nawet bardzo, zwłaszcza w środkowym etapie sezonu. Robienie tak dużych wyników taką grą też stawia w dużym znaku zapytania poziom obecnego ATP, wychwalany przez niektórych ekspertów. Rafa znowu powstrzymany przed zbliżeniem się na dwa do Feda, tym razem przez Djoko i znowu po fenomenalnym starciu. Z jednej strony szkoda mi było Novaka na początku, ale długo to nie trwało jak zaczął dominować... Dobrze, że Chaczanow i Zworek trochę go wyprostowali. Świetny rok Del Potro z awansem na #3, pierwszym Mastersem i finałem US Open, ale i tutaj jest "ale" gdyż bardziej w pamięci zostały bolesne porażki z Rafole czy przegrane finały, a największa zdobycz punktowa dzięki kontuzji rywala. No i Nadal zdominował mączkę

* starzy vs. młodzi - pierwsze trzy miejsca okupuje ta sama trójka co 11 lat temu, tyle że w odwrotnej kolejności, a to wszystko grając dużo mniej niż reszta. Wygrali też wszystkie WS. Średnia wiekowa top 10 standardowo rośnie. Nie miej wystarczy zjechać na drugą dziesiątkę i obraz wygląda zupełnie inaczej. Tu z kolei widać ogromną ilość zawodników, która weszła do niej przebojem w młodym wieku. Run Tsitsipasa w Toronto, wygrana Karena w Paryżu, no i wreszcie przebudzenie Zvereva na koniec, pokonując Feda i Djoko po WTF. A przecież trudno ominąć Coricia, Chunga, Medvedeva czy Edmunda. Wygląda to tak, że elita lat 80 zbudowała kosmiczne umocnienia, ale powoli słabną, a młodzi głodni szykują się do szturmu ze wszystkich stron. Czy to nastąpi w 2019 roku?

Życzyłbym sobie więcej dramatycznych spotkań w WS, poza Wimbledonem było z tym kiepsko. Licząc od QF, w AO jedyna 5-setówka to mordy Feda z Ciliciem, w RG nie było ani jednej, a w US Open było słabo poza starciem Rafy z Thiemem. Za to zmagania wimbledońskie będziemy wspominać latami i oby więcej takiej dramaturgii. Niestety włodarze tenisa mają tutaj odmienne zdanie. Kiedy Fast4 best-of-3 w WS skróconych do tygodnia i 3 obiektów?

Zaskoczenie na plus: Djokovic, Anderson, Chaczanow, Edmund
Zaskoczenie na minus: Dimitrov, Goffin, Kyrgios, Rublev
Odkrycie roku: Tsitsipas, Cecchinato, de Minaur
Najlepsze mecze WS: Djokovic-Nadal, Nadal-Del Potro, Nadal-Thiem, Cecchinato-Djokovic
Najbardziej rozczarowujące mecze WS: Thiem-Zverev, Del Potro-Nadal (US), Djokovic-Del Potro
Największe niespodzianki: Millman-Federer, Cecchinato-Djokovic, Pella-Cilic, Kohlschreiber-Zverev (mimo wszystko)
Najlepszy WS: Wimbledon lata świetlne przed resztą
Najgorszy WS: Australian Open (za poziom niegodny finałowych faz WS i szpital w czołówce)
Najlepszy nie-WS: mam dylemat między Toronto a Paryżem, ale dam Paryż za przełomowego zwycięzcę (w 3R dramatyczne starcie z Isnerem) i bardzo dobry mecz Federera z Djokoviciem w semi.
Najgorszy nie-WS: Szanghaj

[Żilu]

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[Żilu]

[Żilu]