TENNIS TUESDAY: Djokovic-Becker Split; Pliskova, Kvitova Swap Coaches; Murray Gets Greatest-Ever Kudos

DJOKOVIC AND BECKER "MUTUALLY" END COACHING PARTNERSHIP
It is the off season for tennis and that usually means the eventual announcement of lots of coaching changes. The biggest one so far occurred last week when 12-time major champion Novak Djokovic announced he would no longer be working with 10-time major champion Boris Becker, almost exactly 3 years after he had announced the two great champions would begin working together. When they started, Djokovic was a 6-time major champion, so the coaching pairing has been incredibly successful (6 major titles and 14 Masters series titles).

MURRAY NAMED GREATEST BRITISH SPORTSPERSON OF ALL TIME
In a poll of Telegraph Sport, current World #1 and 2-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has come out on top as Great Britain's greatest sports hero.

KAROLINA PLISKOVA AND PETRA KVITOVA SWAP COACHES
Speaking of end-of-season coaching changes, a curious one happened in the Czech Republic. Both Petra Kvitova (World #11) and Karolina Pliskova (World #6) announced coaching changes. Effectively, they swapped coaches: Jiri Vanek who coached Pliskova for a very long time, will now coach Kvitova in 2017, and Kvitova's longterm coach (who coached her to Wimbledon titles in 2011 and 2014) David Kotyza will coach Pliskova in 2017. This is probably good news for both players, and Czech tennis.

SERENA WILLIAMS AND ROGER FEDERER SKIP IPTL AFTER MONEY WOES SURFACE
In the off season the last two years a series of team exhibition matches have been organized throughout Asia featuring huge stars like Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Angie Kerber, Martina Hingis, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal etc. It is called the IPTL, the International Premier Tennis League, and is the brainchild of former doubles icon Mahesh Bhupathi.
However this year the star power has been significantly diminished when Federer and Serena pulled out, citing "uncertainties" surrounding the finances of the event.

Novak Djokovic Will Soon Have The Highest Win-Loss Percentage Of All Time In Tennis

Novak Djokovic is poised to reach another milestone, just days after he notched his 700th ATP win. He is currently tied with Bjorn Borg with the highest win-loss percentage of all time (82.74%). Borg finished his career with 609 wins and 127 losses (due to retiring early) but Djokovic is currently at 700W-146L, his coach Boris Becker coyly pointed out on Instagram today. (Becker himself is #10 on the all0-time list with a 713W-127L record which is 76.91%).

Novak is currently tied with Borg in another important metric (11 career major titles won) but since the current World #1 is 12-0 for 2016 he is almost certainly going to exceed Borg in both win-loss percentage and total majors won very soon.

If Djokovic does make significant progress toward's Federer's total of 17 majors then the discussion of Greatest of al time will most definitely have to include the Serbian.

2015 WIMBLEDON: Djokovic Defeats Federer For 9th Major; 3rd Wimbledon

For the second year in a row, I incorrectly predicted the result of the Wimbledon men's final. Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer 7-6(1) 6-7(10) 6-4 6-3 to win his 9th major title and 3rd Wimbledon title. He is now 9-8 in major finals and has pulled even 20-20 in his head-to-head with the Swiss Great by winning Federer-Djokovic XL. He now leads the greatest Grass court player of all time 2-1 on grass!

The match was a nailbiter with Federer playing slightly better in the first set but failing to hold on to na early break and Djokovic saving breakpoints with well-placed serves and then playing a near flawless first tiebreak to steal the first set. The second set was even better with excellent tennis from both players. Djokovic had an amazing seven set points (6 in the tiebreak) but Federer served and volleyed on important point (including his second set point) and grabbed the second. By this pointit was clear that Federer was not going to have an equally transcendent day on serve that he had had against Murray, especially when he got broken despite being up 40-15 in the third game of the third set. Djokovic had sniffs at a second break but was denied. Regardless, he was able to nurse his lead to a 6-4 win of the third set. In the fourth set Djokovic was again able to break early and consolidate the break before a rain delay. After the rain delay it was Djokovic, not Federer who seemed to be playing with more energy and the excitement of the match cooled substantially as the likelihood of a repeat of last year's dramatic run by Federer to force a 5th set seemed unlikely. Djokovic confirmed this by starting to return even better and forced breakpoints that were championship points, winning the second one.

Djokovic is now 8th on the all-time majors won list, pulling ahead of Ivan Lendl, Andre Agassi and Jimmy Connors (who have 8 each) but yet still behind greats like Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver (who have 11) and Rafael Nadal and Pete  Sampras (14 each), and of course Federer at 17.

2014 US OPEN: Men's Semifinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the men's semifinals at the US Open for 2014. Last year I correctly predicted  4 of 4 women's quarterfinals, 2 of 2 women's semifinals, 2 of 2 men's semifinals and 2 of 4 men's quarterfinals. This year I have correctly predicted 2 of 2 women's semifinals, 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals at the U.S. Open.

Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] vs Stan Wawrinka (SUI) [3] Kei Nishikori (JPN) [10]. Djokovic handily won the quarterfinal clash between U.S. Open champions when he beat Andy Murray in four sets, demonstrating again why he has been in the final in New York for the last four consecutive years. Nishikori has had to win not one but two epic 5-set battles in a row to reach his first major semifinal over two Top 5 seeds (Milos Raonic and  Stan Wawrinka). The fact that he has to face World #1 Novak Djokovic who has shown again and again that he is willing to do whatever it takes (i.e. stay on court for nearly 6 hours) to win a major title is unfortunate. It's somewhat interesting that both of these players have "celebrity" coaches, with Djokovic working with 6-time major champion Boris Becker and Nishikori working with French Open champion Michael Chang. It's hard to believe that Nishikori will have the resources to hang with Djokovic for much more than 3 or possibly 4 sets. However if you look at their head-to-head record the two have only played each other twice (in 2010 and 2011) and each won once. The two were supposed to have played in the semifinals of Miami this year after Nishikori had a breakthrough win over Roger Federer but Nishikori's body betrayed him and he had to default. I doubt Nishikori will default such an important, historic match, but I seriously doubt it will be much of a  match. Mad Professah's pick: Djokovic.

Marin Cilic (CRO) [14] vs Roger Federer (SUI) [2].  Despite the fact that these two players have met five times with one player winning every time does not mean this match will be a blowout for that player. Federer recognizes this fact in his commentary on this match because Cilic is playing tennis at a quantum leap higher than he did before his questionable suspension from last year. He finally earned a win against Gilles Simon in the 4th round (after 4 consecutive losses on hard courts) and he sprinted past Tomas Berdych in a straight sets quarterfinal win despite a 3-5 head-to-head deficit. So, Cilic (and his celebrity coach Goran Ivanisevic) will take the winless record as a challenge. The two played a few weeks ago in Toronto and Federer barely prevailed after blowing more than a fistful of match points in the second set. If Federer is not sharp from the first ball in, he will not be getting opportunities to mount an amazing comeback victory like the one he pulled out against Gael Monfils in the quarterfinals. That five set win after losing the first two sets  in the quarterfinals demonstrates the burning desire that Federer has to reach another (his 26th!) major final. Federer thinks that Cilic's game is reminiscent of Monfils' (big serve, tall guy with long reach and powerful forehand) but the better comparison might be Juan Martin del Potro (very tall guy with huge serves, and a great mover with devastating power on both wings). The truth is that Cilic is probably somewhere in between Monfils and del Potro, but Federer probably has the tools to deal with whatever the Croat brings to the court today. Mad Professah's pick: Federer.

2014 WIMBLEDON: Djokovic Outlasts Federer To Win 7th Major

Much to my surprise, Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer 6-7(7) 6-4 7-6(2) 5-7 6-4 to win the 2014 Wimbledon championship and his 7th major championship in his 14th major final. By winning their 35th meeting, Djokovic has now won 17 (and lost 18) of their matches and is 6-all in majors and 1-all in major finals. Djokovic will become World #1 since he improved on his result of losing the Wimbledon final to Andy Murray last year. Federer will rise to World #3.

The match was just shy of four hours long, with many, many changes of momentum throughout. Djokovic got the first set point in the tiebreaker but ended up losing it and the first set. However he earned breakpoints early in the second set and eventually broke and nursed his lead to grab the second set and even the match at 1-set all. The third set was very tight with Federer delivering an incredible serving performance (13 aces) but errors on his usually deadly forehand win cost him the third set tiebreak. In the fourth set Djokovic earned an early break again and nursed his lead to 5-2 when it looked like the match would soon be over. But Federer held serve in the 8th game and when Djokovic served for the match he got down doublebreak point and Federer broke hi for the first time in the match well into its third hour. However, the twists and turns were not done yet. Serving 4-5, Djokovic earned a breakpoint which was championship point and Federer hit a serve very close to the line that was called out. The challenge showed that Federer's serve was shown to be in and ruled an ace. Match point saved. The 7-time Wimbledon champion used this momentum to break Djokovic in the next game and served out the 4th set to force a 5th set in the Wimbledon final for the fourth time since 2007 (all of which featured Federer). In the fifth set, Djokovic served first and saved a break point in the 5th game and finally earned double breakpoint in the 10th game which was also championship point and this time Federer cracked with a backhand error to lose the game, set and match.

Overall it was probably the best match of the year, with Federer hitting 29 aces (5 double faults) and 29 unforced errors overall to his opponent's 27. Djokovic hit 68 winners (only 13 aces) while Federer hit 75 winners (including aces) which indicates Djokovic's better play from the back of the court.

Interestingly, this is the second Wimbledon title for Djokovic and the last time he won it, so did Petra Kvitova, who also won her second Wimbledon title this weekend.

2014 WIMBLEDON: Men's Final Preview

Roger Federer (SUI) [4] vs. Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1]

The players in the men's final of the 2014 Wimbledon championships are set. For the 35th time, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will meet in a professional tennis match. Federer leads their rivalry 18-16 and won the one only major final the two contested (2007 US Open) as well as their one grass court meeting (2012 Wimbledon semifinals). Last year I correctly predicted Andy Murray would beat Djokovic in the men's final. This year I correctly predicted Petra Kvitova would win the women's title over Genie Bouchard. On the men's side I correctly predicted 2 of 2 men's quarterfinals and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals. Here are my reviews of this year's men's semifinals and my preview of the men's final.

WHAT HAPPENED: Men's Semifinals Review

Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] d. Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) [11] 6-4 3-6 7-6(2) 7-6(7). This was one of the best matches on the men's side of the draw. The 23-year-old Bulgarian was playing in his first major semifinal while Djokovic has reached the semifinals of every major except one of the last 16 played. The #1 seed has reached 5 consecutive Wimbledon semifinals in the last five years. This match looked like it was going to be routine when Djokovic was a set and 3-1 up. However, after Dimitrov was able to escape out of a tricky service game he was able to break back in the very next game and finally earned a lead by holding serve and breaking again. The third and fourth sets were decided by tiebreaks but there were very different tiebreaks. In the 3rd set tiebreak the result was never in doubt while in the 4th set tiebreak, Dimitrov had multiple set points but the 2011 Wimbledon champion was able to close out the match and reach his 14th major final.

Roger Federer (SUI) [4] d. Milos Raonic (CAN) [8] 6-4 6-4 6-4. This should have been a tricky match for Federer to win because the Canadian youngster has one of the biggest serves in the men's game and thus one would expect plenty of tiebreakers, which one would often expect to go to the bigger server (c.f. John Isner). But as I said in my semifinals preview, Federer is quite experienced in blocking back huge serves, and because he had been serving so well in the tournament (broken just once, in the first set against Stan Wawrinka) he knew that all he had to do was take advantage of any opportunities he had on the Raonic serve and he would have a good day. Federer ended up having 7 breakpoints and converting on 3 of them. He had only one breakpoint against his own serve and saved it. That basically was the match in a nutshell. If rallies went longer than 4 or 5 strokes then Federer was completely in control of the point. If Raonic missed a first serve then you felt he was automatically in trouble, and because his return game is not strong Federer was able to hold his serve at love repeatedly. Federer is now 9-0 in Wimbledon semifinals.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN: Men's Final Preview
Roger Federer (SUI) [4] vs. Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1]. This is Federer-Djokovic XXXV, the thirty-fifth meeting between the 17-time major champion from Switzerland and the 5-time major champion from Serbia. Of the big four Federer's match-up with Djokovic has always been the most in The Maestro's favor. Obviously, his match-up with Nadal is disastrous and his match-up with Murray is very close (currently 10-11 in the Scot's favor). The fact that Nick Kyrgios eliminated Nadal and that Dimitrov eliminated Murray is great news for Federer's chances. 

Although I think many people think that Djokovic is going to win this match, I agree with Nick Bolleteri that Federer has an excellent chance at the "upset." In fact I don't even think it is that much of an upset if Federer wins another grass court title. The number of times he has lost on grass in his career is miniscule. He has only ever lost once in a Wimbledon final once, in 2008's "Greatest Match Ever Played." Federer has already beaten Djokovic twice this year (Dubai and Monte Carlo, both places where the Serb was the defending champion). He also beat Djokovic on grass in 2012 in the Wimbledon semifinals when Djokovic was playing some of his best tennis, having just reached the 2012 Roland Garros final just weeks before. Federer has won 99% of his service games in the tournament to date, and even though he has not had to face  a great returner like Djokovic, I still feel like he is delivering enough variety and power with his new racquet that this will make this aspect of his game even stronger. The area where Djokovic has improved is in his serve. He currently has 73 aces to Federer's 69 (but he has also lost 3 more sets than Federer) so far. With both players serving well I suspect this match will resemble a 1990s-2000s era grass court match of the Sampras era, which would suit Federer perfectly. If it becomes a match with long drawn out points, then that is advantage Djokovic. If it rains and the roof is closed, that is advantage Federer.
I definitely expect it to be a close match, not a mismatch like this year's women's final.

To me the best thing about this match is that I will be happy with whomever wins. If Djokovic wins, he will improve to 7-7 in major finals, surpassing the career major total of his coach, Boris Becker, and reclaiming the World #1 ranking from Nadal, most likely cementing the top ranking for the year. If Federer wins, he will win his record 18th major, improving to 18-7 in major finals, increase his lead to 19-16 over Djokovic, rise to World #3 in the rankings and break his tie with Pete Sampras for the most Wimbledon titles (7) won in the modern era. He will also become the oldest player (at age 32) to win Wimbledon, and (presumably?) the first married father of four to do so. By the time next year's Wimbledon comes around Djokovic will also be a husband and a father and statistics have shown this decreases your likelihood of winning major titles. That being said, I am still confident that even though I expect it to be close (probably 4 sets) Federer will prevail.

MadProfessah's pick: Federer.

Andy Murray Names Amélie Mauresmo as His New Coach

Well this is a surprise! Defending Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has named former Wimbledon champion Amélie Mauresmo as his new coach, the first time in recent memory a top men's player is being coached by a former top women's player.

After spending his youth being coached by his mother, Andy Murray is turning to another woman to help him defend his Wimbledon title. 

Murray hired former top-ranked player Amelie Mauresmo as his coach on Sunday, saying the appointment is initially for the grass-court season. 

"I'm excited by the possibilities of the new partnership and Amelie is someone I have always looked up to and admired," Murray said in a statement. "She's faced adversity plenty of times in her career, but was an amazing player and won major titles, including Wimbledon."

Any excuse to see Mauresmo around major tournaments is a good one for me. I do think the practice of hiring former major champions on the men's tour (Boris Becker is coaching Novak Djokovic, Stefan Edberg is coaching Roger Federer, Michael Chang is coaching Kei Nishikori and Ivan Lendl was Murray's previous coach) is getting a bit silly and it is not clear what (if any) benefits it brings to the player.