Time to Say Farewell to two Great Champions

Yokozuna (=Gand Champion) Kim Clijsters and long-standing Ozeki (=Champion) Andy Roddick played their last tournament at the 2012 U.S. Open. 

Kim Clijsters really had two careers. In her first, she burst on the scene as a teenager in 1999 and from 2001 was a strong and solid Ozeki, crowned by a U.S. Open title in 2006. Clijsters was slightly overshadowed by the greater successes of her Belgian compatriot Yokozuna Justine Henin. Clijsters retired for the first time in 2007, at the age of only 23 years. The second career started almost 3 years and a baby later. Clijsters returned with a bang, winning the 2009 U.S. Open in her first comeback grand slam tournament. In 2011 she obtained Yokozuna rank - unusualy late in a player's career - by winning back-to-back the U.S. and the Australian Open. While Clijsters' tennis lacked both the big weapons of the Williams sisters and the variability of Henin, she compensated for this with an athletic, sharp, agressive allround game free of any significant weaknesses.   

 

Andy Roddick's career took off rapidly in the early 2000s, culminating in a grand slam title - and an Ozeki promotion - at the 2003 U.S. Open. Subsequently Roddick established himself as one of the most consistent Ozeki of the entire open era, entering 14 tournaments at Champion-rank. Only the legend Ozeki Guillermo Vilas (20 tournaments) and Arthur Ashe (15) surpass him in this department. Roddick's way to further grand slam titles - and a possible Yokozuna promotion - was blocked (largely) by a certain Roger Federer; although in a memorable 2009 Wimbledon final, Roddick had the Swiss master close to defeat - supported by his trademark, powerful, near-impenetratable serve that goes down as one of the greatest shots in the history of tennis.

Sanyaku Ranks after the US Open 2012

  Wth all Grand Slam tournaments of the season played, here are the sanyaku ranks that players will take into 2013:

• In the mens' game, US Open finalist Novak Djokovic and Dai-Yokozuna  Roger Federer swap the two top Yokozuna (Grand Champion) ranks, followed by injured Dai-Yokzouna Rafael Nadal. Tournament victor Andy Murray remains the only Ozeki (=Champion). If he wins the Australian Open also, he'll join Djokovic, Federer and Nadal at the highest rank.
   
• David Ferrer established himself as the sole Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) with another solid performance. A semifinal win over Djokovic and Ferrer woud have cleared the "great hurdle" to Ozeki (this is what "Ozeki" literally means). The former Ozeki Juan Martin del Potro and Tomas Berdych had both strong tournaments and rejoin the sanyaku ranks as Komusubi (=Junior Champion II). They share the rank with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who got demoted from Sekiwake folowing a surprise 2nd round exit.
   
• In the ladies' game, Dai-Yokozuna Serena Williams triumphed once again - the 15th Grand Slam singles title of her career - and is now the sole active Yokozuna, following the retirement of Kim Clijsters. Maria Sharapova and  defending champion Samantha Stosur both confirmed Ozeki status with semi-/quarterfinal particiaptions (both falling to Azarenka), while Petra Kvitova  went kadoban - she has to reach the quarterfinals at the Australian Open to avoid demotion.
   
• Sara Errani regained Sekiwake status, while Agnieszka Radwanska and Angelique Kerber get demoted one rank to Komusubi, following 4th-round exits.

Altogether, the sanyaku-ranks post-US Open look as follows:

Men

Career rank 1/	East	Current Rank	West	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Y	Novak Djokovic	Y1	Roger Federer	Dai-Y
Dai-Y	Rafael Nadal	Y2	-	-
O	Andy Murray	O	-	-
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
S	David Ferrer	S	-	-
S	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	K1	Tomas Berdych	O
O	Juan Martin Del Potro	K2	-	-

 

Women

Career rank 1/	East	Current Rank	West	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Dai-Y	Serena Williams	Y	-	-
O	Viktoria Azarenka	O1	Maria Sharapova	O
O	Samantha Stosur	O2	Petra Kvitova*	O
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
S	Sara Errani	S	-	-
S	Angelique Kerber	K	Agnieszka Radwanska	S

1/ Highest sanyaku rank achieved in a player's career

* kadoban

Venus Williams is an 'inactive' Yokozuna

Sanyaku Ranks after Wimbledon

Even though the finals of Wimbledon 2012 remain to be played, the post-Wimbledon Sanyaku (=Championship) ranks are already decided.

• The game's grands  Roger Federer and Serena Williams are the only Yokozuna (=Grand Champions) in the finals and will regain the Yokozuna 1 East spot at the top of the banzuke (= player ranking).

• In the men's game, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will be promoted to Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) from Komusubi (=Junior Champion II), for the third time in his career. He joins David Ferrer at that rank. Ex-Ozeki (=Champion) Juan Martin Del Potro, who was a Komusubi after the French Open, drops out of the Sanyaku ranks.

• In the ladies' game, semi-finalist Angelique Kerber and finalist Agnieszka Radwanska earn first-time Sekiwake promotions, Kerber from Komusubi and Radwanska from the maegashira (=non-champion) ranks (and independent of whether Radwanska wins or loses the final). Sara Errani drops one rank to Komusubi, ex-Sekiwake Caroline Wozniacki drops out of the sanyaku ranks. Ozeki Maria Sharapova and Samantha Stosur, who went out early, go kadoban (i.e., they need to reach the quarterfinal at the U.S. Open to defend Ozeki rank).

Altogether, the sanyaku-ranks post-Wimbledon look as follows:

Men

Career rank 1/	East	Current Rank	West	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Dai-Y	Roger Federer	Y1	Novak Djokovic	Y
Dai-Y	Rafael Nadal	Y2	-	-
O	Andy Murray	O	-	-
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
S	David Ferrer	S	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	S
-	-	K	-	-

Women

Career rank 1/	East	Current Rank	West	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks)
Dai-Y	Serena Williams	Y	Kim Clijsters	Y
O	Viktoria Azarenka	O1	Petra Kvitova	O
O	Maria Sharapova*	O2	Samantha Stosur*	O
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
S	Angelique Kerber	S	Agnieszka Radwanska	S
S	Sara Errani	K	-	-

1/ Highest sanyaku rank achieved in a player's career

* kadoban

Venus Williams is an 'inactive' Yokozuna

Updated July 6, 2012

Updates are on the Way

I have fallen a little behind as regards keeping this blog up-to-date, but following Wimbledon I'll post summary updates of what has happened thus far this year. The main promotions have been in the ladies' game, with Petra Kvitova, Viktoria Azarenka, and Samantha Stosur all making it to Ozeki (=Champion) following their results at the  Australian (Kvitova, Azarenka) and French (Stosur) Open. They are the female Ozeki ## 31-33  of the open era, and join French Open champion Maria Sharapova at that rank.

Sharapova is only one grand slam title away from a Yokozuna (=Great Grand Champion) promotion - a rank that is currently held only by Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters. Clijsters is in the final stages of her farewell tour, but Dai-Yokozuna (great Grand Champion) Serena continues to dominate on her day, as she shows here at Wimbledon, overcoming Kvitova and Azarenka in succession. Venus Williams is considered an inactive Yokozuna, due to an extended period without Yokozuna-worthy results.

Angelique Kerber and Agnieszka Radwanska have secured first-time Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) promotions at Wimbledon. French Open finalist Sara Errani will fall back from Sekiwake to Komusubi (=Junior Champion II).

In the mens' game, David Ferrer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are back to Sekiwake, following a sequence of strong tournaments. Tsonga could even make it to Ozeki if he wins Wimbledon. However, overall the mens' game continues to be rules by the Yokozuna Roger Federer (Dai), Rafael Nadal (Dai) and Novak Djokovic, and long-standing Ozeki Andy Murray.

P.S. all sanyaku rank lists are updated.

Kvitova a New Female Ozeki, another "Big 4" Male Semifinal

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21-year old Czech Petra Kvitova became the 31st female Ozeki (=Champion) of the open era yesterday, by beating Italian rank-and-filer Sara Errani in a tense but not close quarterfinal, 6-4, 6-4. Whenever Kvitova found the range of her penetrating ground strokes and did not rush herself, she was in control of the match. Kvitova will play veteran Ozeki Maria Sharapova in the semifinals, who blasted a brave but even more overmatched Ekaterina Makarova off the court, 6-2, 6-3. The semifinal will be a repeat of last year's Wimbledon final. At the time Kvitova controlled a Maria Sharapova who struggled with her serve, but if Sharapova serves as she did in this quarterfinal, and displays the same selection of hard, variable, attacking groundstrokes, she should be able to give Kvitova a hard time.

The ladies' game has been in transition for several years now, without a clear indication to where the game would transition. The current Yokozuna (=Grand Champions) - Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, and Venus Williams (if she returns) - all broke through in the late 1990s. On average, one out of three Ozeki advances eventually to Yokozuna. However, since Clijster's Ozeki promotion in 2003, nine more female players have made it to the second highest rank - Myskina, Sharapova, Dementieva, Kuznetsova, Mauresmo, Ivanovic, Safina, Zvonareva, Li - without advancing to Yokozuna later. And some starlets even rose to #1 of the WTA rankings who made it no further than Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I - Jankovic, Wozniacki). It's time for a new generation Yokozuna, and the strong and smart Kvitova appears to have the game that puts a Yokozuna career within reach. Note that Sharapova could of course still make it to Yokozuna herself - she needs "just" two more Grand Slam titles.

More generally, with Serena Williams hampered by injury, the semifinal line-up - Kim Clijsters (Yokozuna), Maria Sharapova (Ozeki), Petra Kvitova (Ozeki-to-be), and Victoria Azarenka (Sekiwake-to-be and possible Ozeki if she wins the tournament) - is one of the strongest of recent years, and should guarantee more fine tennis in the days to come.

In the mens' tournament, Yokozuna Novak Djokovic and Ozeki Andy Murray had little difficulties with their quarterfinal opponents David Ferrer (ex-Sekiwake and ATP #5) and Kei Nishikori, seeting up another all "Big 4" semifinal. Since Wimbledon 2010, the Big 4 have booked 24 out of 28 Grand Slam semifinal spots. As a result, the Ozumo-type ranking gets even more one-sided - after the Aussie Open there won't even be a male Sekiwake any longer, the only Sanyaku ranked players other than the Big 4 will be Tomas Berdych (ex-Ozeki) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (currently still Sekiwake) at Komusubi (=Junior Champion II).

The Dai-Yokozuna and playing legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will set the semifinals off tonight. It should be good.

A Yokozuna Performance by Kim Clijsters on her (Probably) Last Trip Down Under

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Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) Kim Clijsters outmuscled and outplayed world #1 Caroline Wozniacki yesterday in a quarterfinal match played under stifling heat, leaving no doubt who qualifies as a real top player in ladies' tennis. Wozniacki's trademark ball-machine type defensive performance was just not enough against the fast, determined, varied game of Clijsters - and whenever Wozniacki tried to take the initiative herself it backfired. Only toward the end of the second set did Wozniakci have a part of the match, when Clisjters seemed both a tad nervous faced with repeated chances to close out the match and affected by the punishing heat conditions, otherwise it was all Clisjters.

Wozniacki will get re-promoted to Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) after this tournament, and I believe this captures more accurately where she stands at this stage of her career than her ATP ranking. More generally, this match once again illustrated the transitional stage at which the ladies' game is. When the seasonsed Yokozuna-warhorses Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters are fit, they seem to be able to dominate the younger generation of players almost at will. Also note that Clijsters was just a solid Ozeki (=Champion) during the first portion of her career until 2007, in a field that sported, besides the Williams sisters, the likes of Justine Henin, Lindsay Davenport, and a prime Maria Sharapova. Returning 2 1/2 years and a baby later, Clijsters is now a strong (albeit often injured) Yokozuna in what looks a decimated field.

Maybe things will change with a new bunch of players such as Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka. Azarenka overcame ex-Komusubi (=Junior Champion II) Agnieszka Radwanska in a three-setter quarterfinal yesterday and makes it to Sekiwake for the first time in her career. And Wimbledon champion Kvitova has a chance to even secure an Ozeki promotion if she wins her quarterfinal against Italian outsider Sara Errani.

In the mens' tournament, my prediction that ex-Ozeki Juan Martin del Potro could give Dai-Yokozuna Roger Federer a tough time did not exactly come true, as a relaxed and confident Federer cruised through in three sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. Komusubi and ex-Ozeki Tomas Berdych gave Federer's fellow Dai-Yokozuna Rafael Nadal a little more to think and sweat about, but in the end Nadal controlled the splendid but volatile Czech at the decisive moments of the game, winnning in four sets. Let's see whether David Ferrer (ex-Sekiwake) or Kei Nishikori have a chance to prevent another all-"Big 4" semifinal against Yokozuna Novak Djokovic/Ozeki Andy Murray, respectively.

Australian Open 2012 After One Week

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The Australian Open 2012 are down to the last 8 - and while there are few surprises on the men's side, the ladies' tournament looks wide open and may well produce a new Ozeki - or two.

In the men's tournament, the Yokozuna (=Grand Champions) Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer have been crusing through the early rounds, as has been Ozeki (=Champion) Andy Murray. The "Big 4", who secured 14 out of 16 semifinal sports in 2011, have so far lost a total of 2 sets - Andy Murray in the first round against young American Ryan Harrison, and Djokovic in the 4th against an inspired ex-Ozeki and local favorite Lleyton Hewitt. The main upset thus far has been the 4th round loss of Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to up-and-coming Japanese Kei Nishikori. Tsonga will be demoted to Komusubi (=Junior Champion II) as a result. Komusubi (and ex-Ozeki) Tomas Berdych defended his rank by beating Nicolas Almagro in a testy 4th round match.

With the quarterfinals coming up, who stands the best chnace of breaking into the phalanx of the "Big 4"? I rank first ex-Ozeki Juan Martin de Potro (picture), who's been looking better with every round and will meet Federer in the quarterfinals - the very Federer he beat in the 2009 U.S. Open final, before a wrist injury forced del Potro into a long pause from the tour. Berdych may also have some chance against Nadal, especially as there are question marks about the latter's knee. Nishikori and David Ferrer (ex-Sekiwake) are outsiders against Murray and Djokovic, respecitvely.

None of the quarterfinalists outside the Big 4 is on an Ozeki run, unless del Potro wins his second Grand Slam title.

The ladies' tournament could not be more different. Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) Serena Wiliams exited early, hampered arguably by a foot injury. The other Yokozuna, Kim Clijsters, barely survived her 4th round match in a repeat of last year's final against Sekiwake (and ex-Ozeki) Na Li (Li drops to Komusubi as a result). Clijsters injure her ankle in the match, it is not clear yet whether she can play her quarterfinal. Maria Sharapova defended Ozeki rank with a hard fought 4th-round victory over ex-Komusubi Sabine Lisicki.

The field appears wide open, with no less than three ladies having a chance of becoming the 31st female Ozeki of the open era: Wimbledon champion, Komusubi and ex-Sekiwake Petra Kvitova if she reaches the semifinals (in her way is unheralded Italian Sara Errani), world #1 and Sekiwake Caroline Wozniacki if the reaches the final, and Komusubi Victoria Azarenka if she wins the tournament. All three have looked very strong in the early rounds.