By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday April 5, 2022
By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday April 4, 2022
Tennis’ version of March Madness has come to a close and there is a whole different feeling regarding the ATP and WTA Tours after its conclusion. With a new No.1 on the women’s side in Iga Swiatek and a rising force quickly moving up the rankings on the men’s side in Carlos Alcaraz, we’re set up brilliantly for the clay season – and a cracking 2022 campaign.
Before we completely turn our attention to the clay – hang on for one more moment Charleston, Marrakech and Houston! – let’s look back at ten key storylines that moved the needle across Indian Wells and Miami.
10. Sakkari takes a baby step, and a big one at that
It may have been the biggest win of her career. Maria Sakkari’s 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 triumph over defending BNP Paribas Open champion Paula Badosa in the semifinals at Indian Wells meant the world to the Greek, and even though she couldn’t derail red-hot Iga Swiatek in the final in the California desert, she’ll benefit from her breakthrough experience in the months and years to come.
“As I said on court, it was a week that will have a special place in my heart,” Sakkari said after the final “I know it sounds kind of weird because I did not win the tournament, but I felt like I improved as a player this week. I'm just going to take that with me and move forward.”
The Greek took another step in her progression towards the ultimate goal, and she believes there will be plenty of time to take the next step.
Sakkari and her coach Tom Hill are on the same page about that.
“He said that since we started working, I take baby steps,” Sakkari said. “Looks like that. Probably it's going to take me a little bit of time until, you know, I make that next step. But I think I'm on the right track, for sure.”
9. Francisco Cerundolo with a giant breakthrough
How's does semifinals sound for a Masters 1000 debut? Extraordinary is right! Francisco Cerundolo – he of the booming forehand – came through several top-level opponents (Reilly Opelka, Gael Monfils, Frances Tiafoe and Jannik Sinner) to become the first player to reach the semifinals on his Masters 1000 debut since Jerzy Janowicz in Paris in 2012.
It appears that Argentina, with 23-and-younger talents Cerundolo and his younger brother Juan Manuel, as well as Sebastian Baez, is suddenly in really good shape for the future.
8. Kecmanovic coming of age?
Quarterfinals at Indian Wells, where he was edged by eventual champion Taylor Fritz in three sets, then a quarterfinal at Miami, after defeating Fritz and pushing Carlos Alcaraz to a third-set tiebreak in what was perhaps the best match of the tournament. Things are clearly looking up for Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic.
The 22-year-old is 17-7 on the season and he finds himself back at his career-high ranking of 38. Watch out for this physical presence on the clay.
7. Medvedev to the sidelines
Not only did Daniil Medvedev miss out on a chance to return to No.1 in the ATP rankings (loss to Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals at Miami) last week, he also had surgery for an inguinal hernia and is going to miss the next 1-2 months. Not much is expected of Medvedev perenially on the clay, but 2022 would have provided the Russian with a good chance to grow on the surface and pave the way to better results on the red stuff in the years to come.
Last year Medvedev made big strides at Roland-Garros, where he reached the last eight.
At the moment, it isn’t quite clear if he’ll be healthy in time to make the main draw.
6. Naomi Osaka is back in the mix
Great news for Naomi Osaka, great news for tennis! The four-time major champion spent time with a therapist after her discouraging experience at Indian Wells, where a heckler threw her off her game and left many wondering how she’d recover.
We got our answer quickly in Miami. A determined Osaka reached her first final since the 2021 Australian Open, and even though she couldn’t match the level of Iga Swiatek in the final, she was encouraged by her performance and says she’s more than eager to conquer the clay this season.
For her efforts, Osaka rises 42 spots in the rankings, from 77 to 35, and she told reporters she believes she can reach the Top-10 by the end of the season.
5. American men making significant strides
The American men had a brilliant Sunshine Double, placing seven players in the third round at both events, and producing the first American-born Indian Wells champion since 2001, when Taylor Fritz stormed to the title.
Fritz takes the lead, guiding a corps of young talents – of the 12 American men in the Top-10 today, eight are aged 24 or younger. Jenson Brooksby continues to show he’s a legit talent – the 21-year-old Sacramento native reached the round of 16 at both events, and notched wins over Karen Khachanov, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Roberto Bautista Agut.
Tommy Paul, who defeated Alexander Zverev for his biggest career win at Indian Wells, also continues to blossom.
It’s a deep, talented group of American men at the moment, and the future seems brighter than it has in a decade, mahybe even longer.
4. Kyrgios: complicated but coming back to form
Nick Kyrgios played a big role at Indian Wells and Miami, in singles and doubles, and while he was in the middle of a few controversial moments (when is he not?) he also produced some truly brilliant tennis, big wins and positive vibes. Kyrgios has worked hard to become a better version of himself over the years, and while not everybody believes he has worked hard enough, it’s hard to argue that he isn't one of the most entertaining athletes that the sport has to offer when his game is clicking.
He was firing on all cylinders at Indian Wells and Miami, locking down quality Top-10 wins over Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev and nearly pulling a dramatic upset over Rafael Nadal at Indian Wells.
There were lowlights as well, with a dangerous racquet smash that nearly hit a ball kid after his loss to Nadal at Indian Wells, and several controversial code violations that got him in hot water at Miami with umpire Carlos Bernardes. There were also $60,000 in fines across both events.
Did the punishment fit the crimes? Depends who you ask. Were you not entertained? We certainly were.
3. Ruud hits the mark for Norway
A rock-solid run for Casper Ruud in Miami shows just how far the 23-year-old has come on the hard courts over the last two seasons. Though he fell to Carlos Alcaraz in the final, Ruud has completely transformed his level of efficacy on the surface. He was 16-27 on hard courts entering 2021. Since, he has gone 36-14 on the surface.
He became the first Norwegian to reach a Masters 1000 final and climbs to a career-high ranking of No.7 in this week’s ATP rankings.
2. Carlos is coming up
Breathtaking, spine-tingling, next-level, game-changing. Keep going with the superlatives when you describe the game and character of rising 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, but recognize that you are liable to run out of them at some point.
After reaching the semifinals at Indian Wells, where he nearly took out grand master Rafael Nadal in an epic, generational battle, Alcaraz took his talents to Miami and ran roughshod over the men’s singles draw. The Spaniard becomes the youngest player to ever win the men’s singles title in Miami – eclipsing Novak Djokovic – and comes in as the third youngest Masters 1000 title winner.
He was a whirling dervish of passion, tennis IQ, jaw-dropping physicality, nuance, tactics and poise under pressure as he navigated his way to the title, setting the table for the multiple debates: which surface will be his best (clay or hard), how quickly will he crack the Top-5, and is he going to win a Slam while he is still a teenager?
We can’t wait to find out.
1. Iga does the double
The biggest, brightest story of them all across the Sunshine double was Iga Swiatek. The Pole ran her winning streak to 11 victories by storming to the Indian Wells title, surviving from a set down in three consecutive matches before hitting her stride and notching impressive wins over Simona Halep and Maria Sakkari to become the first Polish champion at Indian Wells.
Two weeks later, there she was at the podium again, the winning streak stretched to 17. Even more confident and comfortable in her skin, after a dominating fortnight that saw her drop just 26 games, Swiatek became the youngest woman to ever lock down the sunshine double - and the fourth woman to achieve the feat in history.
With Ash Barty’s sudden retirement providing a regretful backdrop to the Miami Open, Swiatek provided a near perfect performance that pointed to a future – both for herself and for the WTA Tour – that promises to be extremely bright.
Watching Swiatek you almost have to wear shades. Her game is so complete right now, and its latest addition, a layer of well-timed aggression, has made her virtually unplayable to most.
Her singular statement across these two weeks comes as a message to those who struggle to make sense of a future without the Williams sisters on the WTA Tour, and now without Barty, who was in the process of becoming a dominant No.1 when she suddenly retired two weeks ago.
Everything’s gonna be fine.
Ditto Alcaraz’s statement on the men’s side. Tennis fans don’t need to worry about their beloved sport. But the competition, on the other hand, should be very concerned about these two rocketing talents.