Monte Carlo Sprinkles Magic On Men’s Tennis
Locker Room
April 15, 2016
The Monte Carlo Masters has put the unpredictability back into men’s tennis. The most popular players in the world are back with a bang. Now we just can’t wait for Wimbledon!
We love the brilliant Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon Debenture Holders too. But his shock defeat in Monaco has shaken things up in a healthy way, giving hope to the other greats of the game.
‘No one is unbeatable,’ the charming Djokovic reminded us after losing to world number 55 Jiri Vesely earlier in the week. The superb Serb had shown such greatness of late that we had begun to wonder!
Now other much-loved players will sense that they might yet be able to turn the tables on Djokovic as well, if they catch him below his very best this summer. They had seemed to be running scared.
Roger Federer has returned from a minor operation to show that he is still a serious contender at the big events. And that was just what all true tennis fans wanted to see.
The Fed will be pleased with his comeback tournament, even though Jo-Wilfried Tsonga reminded him just how tough a quarter-final can be, as the Frenchman prevailed over three sets on Friday.
Rafa Nadal had already humbled French Open champion Stan Wawrinka with surprising ease, showing that he too is back with a bang just in time for the European summer.
The 6-1, 6-4 victory for the popular Spaniard saw a troubled Wawrinka breaking his racquet with frustration. Some thought we might have seen the last of Nadal’s power – they were wrong.
With Andy Murray, we just don’t know what we’re going to get these days, and that’s kind of exciting too. He needed three hours to beat Benoit Paire earlier in the week, then just 66 minutes to thrash Milos Raonic 6-2, 6-0 in Monte Carlo and set up his semi-final showdown with Nadal.
The Big Four had almost threatened to become the Big One – Djokovic – and three also-rans. Not any more. It’s the Big Four again – and more!
Monte Carlo has shown us that we don’t always know what’s going to happen in men’s tennis after all. It’s a great feeling, isn’t it? The timing is sweet, too, with Roland Garros just around the corner, and then of course the biggest Slam of them all – Wimbledon.
WIMBLEDON TICKETS
Want to buy tickets for Wimbledon 2016 ? Just click here and see how close we can get you to your tennis heroes on the showcourts.