The future of men's tennis is really tall.
Juan Martin Del Potro, 6'6", broke through at the U.S. Open and pocketed his first Slam, and Marin Cilic, 6'6", served notice at this year's Aussie Open that he's going to be a tough out for a long time to come. This past Sunday in Memphis, best friends John Isner and Sam Querrey played in the tallest final in the history of the ATP, with Querrey the victor, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3. Out of the four giants, Isner is the elder at 24, Querrey is 22, and both Del Potro and Cilic are a mere 21 years of age. It used to be that bigger guys didn't move as well and smaller players could offset the deficit in power with a decisive edge in speed. But that's not so much the case with this new crop of racketed skyscrapers. Their movement is surprisingly fluid and yet they retain the force that comes with great size. That combination is a game changer. One that The Maestro, Rafa, The Djoker, Roddick, Murray, et. al., will have to contend with this year and many years to come. And so will the rest of the world.
Last week, Patrick McEnroe chose Isner and Querrey to represent the U.S. in Davis Cup, replacing Andy Roddick and James Blake. Thus, it's become quite clear that for men's tennis, and American tennis, things are definitely looking up.
No comments:
Post a Comment