Djokovic was really the only player given a realistic chance of troubling the Spaniard at this favorite slam, and he gave Nadal a tight match over four sets. But in the end, even his gutsy display couldn't stop the unstoppable. With now 14 grand slam titles, Nadal has caught up with the great Pete Sampras.
In other developments, Ernests Gulbis burst on the scene, making it to his first grand slam semifinal. The flashy Latvian beat Dai-Yokozuna Roger Federer and ex-Ozeki (=Champion) Tomas Berdych on the way, and gets promoted to Komusubi (=Junior Champion II) for the first time in his career. Quarterfinalist Berdych moves up one step to Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I), as this result came on the back of a seminfinal participation at the Australian Open.
Among the Ozeki, Andy Murray and David Ferrer held rank with semi-/quarterfinal participations, respectively, both falling to, well, Nadal. By contrast, newly baked Ozeki and Australian Open champion Stanislas Warwinka crashed out spectacularly in the first round and goes kadoban right away - meaning he has to reach the quarterfinals at Wimbledon to defend rank.
Overall, there is just one Sekiwake (Berdych) and one Komusubi (Gulbis) in the mens' game at this juncture. Compare this to two Sekiwake and five Komusubi in the ladies' game. The top dogs at Yokozuna and Ozeki don't leave too many other players a chance.
Going into Wimbledon 2014, the mens' sanyaku ranks are as follows:
| Career rank 1/ | East | Current Rank | West | Career rank 1/ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Sanyaku (Senior Champion Ranks) | ||||
| Dai-Y | Rafael Nadal | Y1 | Novak Djokovic | Y |
| Dai-Y | Roger Federer | Y2 | - | - |
| O | Andy Murray | O1 | David Ferrer | O |
| O | Stanislas Wawrinka* | O2 | - | - |
| Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks) | ||||
| O | Tomas Berdych | S | - | -
|
| K | Ernests Gulbis | K | - | - |
1/ Highest sanyaku rank achieved in a player's career
*kadoban
*kadoban
No comments:
Post a Comment