#jp johnson

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Sigrid Loves Tennis // i-D Magazine

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The arena for the 2014 Sony Tennis Open.

As far as sheer stardom, there hasn’t been a match quite like the most recent Sony Tennis Open in quite a while.  As ESPN notes, some of the biggest names in the sport were out in full force.  While the level of competition was certainly high, the noteworthiness of the event was the fact that the sport’s stars were all in the same place at the same time.  This can be rare due to early exits, injuries, and scheduling conflicts, but a perfect storm allowed for a high quality event without the nagging suspicion that a major player was missing.

On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray were all present.  Widely considered the four best players in the world, they provided a great slate of matches.  Djokovic took out Tommy Robredo, with the other three taking care of business as expected.

Since it is March Madness, it wouldn’t be right to continue this post without talking about the biggest upset of the day.  Currently ranked #4 in the world, David Ferrer was bested by relative newcomer #20 Kei Nishikori.  The Japanese native took the match 7-6 (7), 2-6, 7-6 (9).  Nishikori also bested Grigor Dimitrov in the third round and as a reward will be facing off against Roger Federer.  This may prove a tall order for the young Nishikori as Federer is coming off a convincing shellacking of Richard Gasquet.

Maria Sharapova has been the talk of the women’s game so this year.  The ESPN piece notes interestingly that she has never missed a final once she reaches the quarterfinals.  Also interesting to note, she’s never won that title either.  For those counting at home, that means Sharapova has lost five Sony Tennis Opens in a row.  Some might say she’s due while others will wonder what it is about the event that causes her to fall short.  In any case, the tennis world will be watching to see if she can break the streak.

The only element able to upstage tennis brightest stars was weather.  Petra Kvitova was keeping pace with the favored Sharapova when heavy rain and wind rolled in forcing the match to be suspended.  Once play resumed it was as if Sharapova was facing a different opponent.  Kvitova lost seven straight.

via JP Johnson http://ift.tt/1gCH1Gn

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Federer appears to be on track for 2014 recovery.

There were some tennis pundits who were whispering about a potential retirement for the legendary Swiss star after a injury and defeat riddled 2013 season.  It would appear that in this nascent 2014 season, Federer is laying the foundations to putting this questions to rest for another year.

Ranked #5 in the world, Federer already has convincing wins over Theimo de Bakker and Richard Gasquet in the Miami Masters.  This adds to his 2014 resume, which also includes reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open.  Federer cited his deep run as a sign that his form and winning mentality are coming together for what could be a renaissance of a 2014.

While some critics still see Federer’s star as a fading one, he strongly believes the hiccup of 2013 was due almost entirely to his injury and not to his age or lack of desire to continue to hone his game.  Much has also been made of the new racket that Federer has favored so far this season.  It’s possible that the new piece of equipment has helped him get his game back on track, but it’s more likely that he wanted to leave his old racket behind along with the rest of the 2013 season.

Whether or not Federer can still take down the Djokovics, Nadals, and Murrays of the world remains to be seen.  What is clear is that Federer won’t be calling it quits any time soon.

Check out the full story with some great quotes from Federer on Radiosport.

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The ITF will weigh in on whether or not in-racquet sensors will prove beneficial.

Two major players in the world of high performance tennis racquets have or are planning to introduce new technology that could help players track their performance through the racquet itself.  The Babolat Play Pure Drive (already on the market) and the Sony Smart Tennis Sensor offer the ability to track a plethora of aspects of your tennis game.

Players who are willing to give these gadgets a try will have to opportunity to track not only the amount of forehands and backhands during a session, but also the speed, pitch, and even accuracy of your every shot.  The data can be stored and shared with bluetooth connected devices like smartphones, tablets, and laptops, allowing players both at the professional and amateur level to analyze their gameplay in a way that was once only possible with the help of an official scorekeeper.

The implications for amateur players is immense.  One of the problems many players run into is not knowing exactly what aspect of your game is wrong.  The sensor may not help with footwork, but it could certainly help determine if it’s your accuracy or your velocity that needs work for example.

The potential uses at the pro level could improve not only training methods for the athletes themselves, but also the fan experience.  Television analysts would be able to tap into real time data about what type of shots a particular player if favoring in a given match.  Players would also be able to adjust their game mid-match based on the data.

So when will it be incorporated?  The International Tennis Federation is currently reviewing the technology to see if they feel it will help the sport.  This development runs parallel to the problems that many other professional sports are having balancing the spirit of the game with the technology’s ability to determine exactly what occurred on a given play.

Many feel that baseball’s introduction of expanded instant replay saps some of that spirit, but the measure was eventually approved.  It’s up to the ITF to decide if smart racquets are worth the cost in tradition.

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