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Just Getting Their Feet Wet

Written by Brian Vornberg
Friday, 25 January 2008
The Australian Open has grown from relative obscurity in recent years into one of the most exciting, well known tournaments on the tennis calendar. The first of four grand slam tournaments for the year, the Australian Open is the true kickoff to the tennis season. Each and every year, tennis players from around the world use this tournament as a way to assert themselves onto the world tennis scene. It never fails to assume that one or two players who are relative unknowns will use Melbourne as a platform on which to raise themselves and announce their presence to the world of tennis. This year, as with most, there were plenty of players making a name for themselves and these are the three that I believe will rocket to tennis stardom (or at least semi-stardom) through the rest of this tennis season and beyond. As usual, they come from all over the globe and are all fiery competitors. {mosimage}1. Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) - Kohlschreiber showed the world that he is a man on a mission this season. In the last couple of years, Kohlschreiber has had a case of the mediocrity blues, but no longer will this be the case. He made it to the fourth round of the Aussie this year and eventually lost to Jarkko Nieminen, but had, by far, the most impressive match of the tournament against American Andy Roddick. Roddick usually plays pretty well down under, but Kohlschreiber battled him all night long, each of them taking punishing blows from the other via forehand and backhand winners. What might have been the most impressive stat for Kohlschreiber was his 32 aces in the match. Roddick compiled 42 of them, but for Kohlschreiber who stands at a mere 5'10", this was unexpected. His all around game was brilliant on this calm night as he put together a record-setting showcase for the fans firing an incredible 104 winners in the match as compared to only 33 unforced errors! For all you tennis fans who understand just how important a +/- rating in a tennis match is, this is a mind-boggling statistic. +71 for the match! It’s almost unfathomable to hit over 100 winners in a match in itself. So for any German descendent out there who’s waiting to finally get on board the fan train of the next great German tennis player, this may just be the one to watch. His all-around game and absolutely brilliant one-handed backhand is like watching someone create the most beautiful painting you’ve ever seen, one swing at a time. {mosimage} 2. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) - This pick became all too apparent as I was watching his dismantling of Rafael Nadal today. And yes, this is the same Rafael Nadal who has held the #2 spot in the men’s game for some 130ish consecutive weeks now. The score line in the match read 6-2, 6-3, 6-2. Tsonga was hitting winners from angles that even the most knowledgable tennis fan wouldn’t have guessed. A year or two ago, Tsonga was simply pounding groundstrokes from the back of the baseline with no apparent intention on placing them anywhere in particular. This year Tsonga has said that he walked into the locker room in Melbourne and actually feels like he belongs. It’s definitely showing in his game. The Frenchman has a game that is remarkably similar to that of another young talent, Novak Djokovic. A big serve that he can place wherever he wants, pummeling groundies that he can also place wherever he wants, and most notably from the match against Nadal, undeniable feel at the net. Tsonga’s unbreakable composure, relaxed demeanor, and confident attitude that he has shown all Australian Open long is a great sign for French tennis....a bad sign for anyone that’s playing him. {mosimage} 3. Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia) - Tipsarevic is just one of many young Serbian players making a name for themselves these days in the sport of tennis. While he doesn’t come with all of the hype that Jankovic, Ivanovic, Cilic, or Djokovic does, Tipsarevic could finally establish himself into the mix with the type of play that he showed in this year’s Aussie Open against the majestic world #1 Roger Federer. Mostly known for his tattoos and modeling rather than his tennis, Janko is out to prove that he belongs in the conversation when talking about great tennis players too. In his third round match against the world #1, Tipsarevic showed poise and a glimpse of the tennis players of old, serving and volleying all match long, forcing Federer to come up with breathtaking shots just to win points. The key to Tipsarevic’s play was that not only was his serve consistent all night long, but it was also huge all night long. Taking body blows to Federer and forcing him to pass him at the net. Tipsarevic also showed great body control and touch at the net which he used to wear Federer down and tire him out. In the end, the world’s #1 player got the best of the young Serbian, however, it was the furthest that Federer has ever been pushed so early on in a major tournament and Tipsarevic ended an epic five-setter with a +5 winner/unforced errors ratio still in hand. If he can manage to remain consistent and keep his belief in his game at a high level, Tipsarevic should be involved in the young Serbian conversation all year long. Set as favorite Bookmark Email This Trackback(0) TrackBack URI for this entry Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment Name Email Website Title Comment smaller \| bigger Subscribe via email (Registered users only) I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.
Last Updated ( Friday, 25 January 2008 )