Novak vanquishes all that he encounters. Such a well rounded role model that the only scoop that was even laughable is his continued quest to dominate the donkey cheese market. Federer did not get another slam but made pundits look silly on speculation that Father Time caught up with him. Apex Tennis will look at a Top Ten player whose time to get into form better be now. Also someone evokes the name of Michael Chang and puts forth a great read. All of this and more while we wait for Australia.
Enigma of the Top Ten
Stan is creeping closer to that title defense for his win at the Aussie Open. His season was the equivalent of a dust jacket from a New York Times bestseller novel. It captivated us with potential, some of his best work in clips, and a backing that promised more. When we purchased the story, readers found the contents to be lacking compared to the cover. This was 2015. A Grand Slam and a Davis cup performance of the ages for Sweden. It was bookended. The result contained odd lapses and lackluster tennis. With Murray and Nadal starting to erode, Stan could have jumped up but instead languished in the second tier of the Top 10.
Rolling Stone and Michael Chang
A rush to produce articles in the off season of tennis comes with a variety of fluff pieces. However, Rolling Stone came up with a thought provoking piece on the Tennis Hall of Fame. Instead of just focusing on the politics of the sport, they used a lowering of the bar and the problems it can create in any sport’s Hall. Michael Chang was not a world beater nor was he ever #1. He got one slam and little else. He got in and thus there is the problem. The piece brings up that another era player, Kafelnikov used to beat Chang like a drum. He has two slams and an Olympic medal yet has virtually no shot of being let in. Why? Part of it was the feared connection to gangsters or gambling. Never mind that nothing concrete was unearthed, the rumors were enough to make a candidate like him to never get in. It goes on to conclude that with Chang lowering the bar that tennis now has a hard time rationalizing the exclusion of other fringe candidates no matter what the alleged taint. Makes you think of baseball, Rose, gambling, and all those steroids.
Bodies are healing and hopefully spirits are on the mend. We wish Nadal a speedy recovery from the breakdowns his body seems to be having. We hope for a truce so that Lendl could get Murry back on the path. Few could wish ill of a stoic hero like Stan. Finally, we at apextennisbetting.com hope they bottle whatever Federer has been drinking. We should all have the chance to regain the prowess of our youth like he did in 2014. Good fortune for us in 2015 and please hurry up Aussie Open.
