Tuesday 23 June 2015 15:51, UK
Wimbledon is fast approaching and the grass-court season is now in full swing after a host of big-name stars competed at Queen’s Club and Halle.
The No 1 seeds – Andy Murray and Roger Federer - won both events but there was plenty of excitement and intrigue along the way.
It was another tough week for Rafael Nadal who suffered a first round exit at Queen’s, while at Halle both Kei Nishikori and Gael Monfils were forced to withdraw due to injury during matches with Andreas Seppi.
Novak Djokovic opted to have a week off. So assuming he was watching, what will he have learnt?
Murray back to his best
The British No 1 may have had to play the best part of two matches on Sunday but such was the level he was playing at, he wrapped up his fourth Queen’s Club title in a combined time of just two hours over the two matches.
"It's been a great week for me and hopefully I can continue that form through to Wimbledon," Murray said.
"Obviously you want to go to Wimbledon with matches under your belt on grass. Now I need to make sure I use the next seven days as best as possible.”
Indeed, so impressive was the Scot throughout the week, and in particular against Kevin Anderson in the final, many believe he is in better shape than he was when he won Wimbledon in 2013 – and the man himself agrees.
"I'm playing better than then, I feel, but you know it's extremely difficult to win these events," he added.
"Everyone's improving all the time. You're playing against some of the greatest who've ever played the game so you need to keep working hard to get better.”
Murray will now be aiming to convert his fine form into another grand slam title.
Fed on form but still vulnerable
Federer emerged triumphant at Halle for an incredible eighth time in his career with a straight sets win over Seppi on Sunday but despite his undoubted class shining through, the air of invincibility that once surrounded him looks to be a thing of the past.
The 33-year-old needed to save two set points in the opening set against Seppi, before dominating the tie-break, and only broke the Italian once in the final game of the match.
That came after he needed two breakers to see off Ivo Karlovic in the semi-final and was dealt a major scare in his opening match with Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Again Federer need two tie-breaks to win the match and having lost the second set 6-3, he needed to recover from 5-3 down in the decider.
Of course, it must also be pointed out that despite his wobbles, Federer still produced some exquisite tennis at times and that the 17-time grand slam champion was able to win despite not being at his best shows that he is still a force to be reckoned with.
Big servers make their mark
While it was two of the world’s top three players who took the titles, there were a number of upsets as the likes of Karlovic and Anderson used their serving prowess to power past some of the top seeds.
Karlovic hammered down a record 45 aces in his victory over Tomas Berdych and tallied over 100 during his run to the semi-finals at Halle, a feat matched by Anderson on his way to the Queen’s final.
It all bodes well for the big-servers heading into Wimbledon with Anderson admitting that the surface favours the big hitters.
As well as Anderson and Karlovic, Gilles Muller also put in a good showing as he beat defending champion Grigor Dimitrov to reach the Queen’s quarter-finals where he won the first set before falling to Murray.
Super scheduling
It might seem like a minor change but the extension of the grass-court season by an extra week and upgrading Queen’s and Halle to ATP 500 events looks to have had a big impact.
With more time between the French Open and Wimbledon as well as more ranking points on offer, the number of big names making appearances at the Aegon Championships and the Gerry Weber Open shot up this year, making for a better and more exciting spectacle for the fans.
It also appears to even things up slightly for players who favour the grass over clay or hard courts, both of which enjoy far longer seasons and as such carry a significantly greater proportion of the ranking points.
Even if players opt not to compete on grass before Wimbledon, as the World No 1 has done again this year, the extra week allows more time for them to recover and should mean they are able to give their all and produce their best tennis in both majors without fearing burnout.
Star names struggling
With just a week until Wimbledon there will be a number of players high up in the world rankings feeling slightly concerned.
For some injuries threaten to leave them short of full fitness if it doesn’t rule them out completely while others will be desperately hoping that the form which has deserted them returns – and quickly.
On the injury front, world No 5 Nishikori could be a doubt for the year’s third grand slam after a calf problem forced him to withdraw from his semi-final at Halle. That came a round after Monfils injured his right adductor to put his Wimbledon participation in jeopardy too.
Meanwhile, as he continues to recover from injury, Nadal is battling for consistency. He won in Stuttgart but lost to Alexandr Dolgopolov in the first round at Queen’s. He is not alone is struggling for form and both Dimitrov and Milos Raonic, semi-finalists at the All England club last year, would probably take being inconsistent right now given their recent woes.
Then there is Stan Wawrinka, the Swiss put in a masterful display to beat Djokovic and win the French Open early in June but looks a shadow of that player when he plays on grass. Now a double grand slam winner, the pressure will be on him to rectify that at Wimbledon.
