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Happy 6-Love Saturday!
Hope your week has been great so far – and if it wasn’t great, at least we hope it was better than Djokovic’s.
Here are 2 cheeky comebacks, 1 argument for college tennis, 1 quote from players, 1 video from us, and 1 question for you:
2 Cheeky Comebacks
I. Andy Murray – We all know Sir Andy’s comeback to the tennis elite has not been a smooth one, but it looks like we might be finally witnessing some of that grit we loved to witness. Murray’s 2021 was not very glorious (15-14 record), but he kept grinding. In several instances, it felt like he very close to having a break through – and yet we never really saw it happen. This week, he reached his first ATP final since 2019, defeating some good players like Basilashvili and Opelka. Yes, we know these guys aren’t very consistent, but the wins could give Sir Andy the confidence he so desperately needs. Or maybe he’ll just be really tired for the Aussie Open. We’ll see.
II. Thanasi Kokkinakis – Speaking of comebacks, for a guy who struggled in Challengers in 2021, Kokkinakis has had quite a start to his year. After reaching the semis in Adelaide last week, the Aussie beat Benoit Paire, and Cilic and Isner by 7×6 in the 3rd to reach the finals. These types of wins can do wonders for a player’s confidence. Provided him and Rafa win their first rounds in the Aussie (Rafa has a tough one against Giron), they should have a very exciting match to watch. Grab your popcorns.
1 More Argument for College Tennis
I always thought Cam Norrie would make it, but I didn’t really think he would make it this far and this quickly. In 2021, the former college tennis stud reached the #12 position in the ATP rankings, which showed how strong college tennis really is. We also saw players like Marcos Giron and Mackenzie McDonald climbing the rankings and solififying their position in the top 100.
In 2022, we’re already seeing 2 more former college tennis players succeeding: Maxime Cressy and Arthur Rinderknech. Cressy had a spetacular week last week, even pushing Rafa Nadal in the finals. Just to recap: Cressy played at the #5 spot during his Junior year at UCLA. Rinderknech had solid performances at the ATP Cup, and this week he reached his first ever ATP final.
Unless you’re top 100 in the world at the age of 18, college tennis is the way to go. We stand by that.
1 Quote from Players
Bernard Tomic speaking about his dad: “He’s whacked balls at me, racquets and stuff. I mean, the guy is a crazy man, for sure. But he made me who I am today. It was discipline at 100 per cent.”
Well, that explains a lot. I’ve seen some pretty bad parenting in tennis, and I know how it can ruin a player’s love for the sport. Tomic’s career so far has been one of the greatest waste of potential I have ever seen in tennis. It’s hard to tell how much of it is his own fault and how much is his dad’s, but at least it makes it easier for fans to understand why he acts the way he does.
Tomic came out a few weeks ago saying that he’s going to try for good now – he doesn’t want to have any regrets. Well, in his first match back, he threw a tantrum and was diagnosed with COVID right after. Rough start, but it would be nice to see him to finish his career strong.
1 Video from Us
We went through the ATP rankings and selected 1 players you should keep an eye on during the 2022 season – you can check out our top 10 here.
1 Question for You
- Now that the draws are out, who are you betting on to win the Aussie Open?
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Until next week,
Gui & Karue
Former junior, college, pro tennis players, and co-founders of My Tennis HQ