McIntyre Tennis

Southpaw Slice Aussie Open Recap

Here’s my Southpaw Slice recap of the Australian Open with Ben Lewis that saw Novak Djokovic continue his brilliant run capturing the past three Grand Slams and Naomi Osaka who at the age of 21 now has two majors back-to-back.

Also a look on the Tennis Canada front at how Milos and Genie did as well as a big week for Canadians Bianca Andreescu and Brayden Schnur in California.

https://m.soundcloud.com/southpawslice/southpaw-slice-2019-australian-open-recapnewport-beach

 

Southpaw Slice Season Preview

By Mike McIntyre

Happy to share our first Southpaw Slice episode of 2019. Ben Lewis (@BenLewisSN590) and I take a look at Bianca Andreescu's big week in Auckland where she made her first WTA Final, discuss early season wins from Kevin Anderson, Roberto Bautista-Agut and Kei Nishikori on the men's side and Aryna Sabalenka and Julia Goerges on the women's. We also look into the Hopman Cup victory from Switzerland and offer a preview of the Canadian's in Aussie Open qualifying too.

 

 

 

2018 Season Southpaw Slice Season Review

As the 2018 tennis season is now officially complete, here is my recap along with co-host Ben Lewis on the Southpaw Slice podcast.

We talk about the incredible seasons by Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal on the men's side as well as the Grand Slam breakthroughs from World No. 1 Simona Halep, veteran Caroline Wozniacki and rising start Naomi Osaka.

As always, we give plenty of attention to the Tennis Canada crew and assess all of their players seasons. Spoiler alert - we give out one A+ grade and that goes to Rebecca Marino and her inspiring return to the sport.

We would also like to thank the long list of guests and guest hosts that joined us throughout the year. From athletes to their spouses, media personalities and more - we truly had an all-star group to help us along the way. So a big thumbs-up to the following:

Max Gao, Damien Cox, Caroline Cameron, Kelsey Anderson, Filip Peliwo, Chris Oddo, Kaithlyn McGrath, Mary Pierce, Jonathan Pinfield, Tom Tebbutt and Ed McGrogan.

We'll be back strong in 2019 to bring you weekly updates in the world of professional tennis with an even stronger crew of guests. We hope you'll join us!

Southpaw Slice Wimbledon Recap

By Mike McIntyre

Two weeks of stirring grass court Grand Slam tennis at Wimbledon has just come to a close and both Angelique Kerber and Novak Djokovic are back to being Grand Slam champions for the first time since 2016.

Kerber defeated the greatest player of all-time in the finals in Serena Williams, but it was perhaps the throng of young talent she beat along the way that was most impressive. After beating 2010 Wimbledon finalist Vera Zvonareva in the opening round she took care of youngsters Claire Liu, Naomi Osaka, Belinda Bencic, Daria Kasatkina and Jelena Ostapenko to show them that 30 is indeed the new 20.

Novak Djokovic meanwhile finally overcame both mental and physical obstacles to deliver his best two weeks of tennis since prior to his elbow surgery last summer. Too good to simply stay away from Grand Slam success, the Serb won his 13th major title and 4th at the All England Club. His semifinal win over Rafael Nadal was one of the best matches in recent memory and elevated his edge in their rivalry to 27-25 in his favour. He beat an understandably tiring Kevin Anderson in the finals 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(3) and has now re-established himself as a key threat as we begin the summer hardcourt swing. 

Check out our Southpaw Slice recap of the Wimbledon fortnight for an in-depth analysis of the fantastic tennis we have just experienced. 

Five Men’s Players to follow Down Under

By: Ben Lewis
Sportscaster, Sportsnet 590 the Fan, Co-host of the Southpaw Slice tennis podcast

Photo with permission: Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

As the first tennis Grand Slam season has dawned upon us, there are a handful of compelling story-lines to peak our interest.

At age 31, Rafael Nadal arrives in Melbourne as the oldest world number 1 in the history of the tour. 36 year-old Roger Federer enters as the Australian Open defending champion, and perennial early tournament favourite, and Novak Djokovic is back following a six month layoff to his most prestigious event (6 time Aussie Open champ).

Despite an absence of Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori, the men's field is bustling with many contenders and dangerous players capable of deep runs in the tournament.

Here are five players to follow closely:

Nick Kyrgios
Ranking: 17
Country: Australia
Career titles: 4
Best Grand Slam Result: 2015 Australian Open QF, 2014 Wimbledon QF

Kyrgios is a 22 year-old, mercurial, volatile personality who can be an absolute superstar when tennis is peaking his interest. While the Australian has had lukewarm receptions from home crowds in the past, he entered the 2018 season looking exceptionally motivated, winning a hard-court title in Brisbane.

He’s in the top half of the draw, and could face a potential rematch with Grigor Dimitrov, a player he knocked-off in 3 sets just over a week ago.

Kyrgios has all the physical tools on a tennis court to become a Grand Slam champion, the bigger question is if he has the mental resilience to sustain high-level play for two weeks.

Juan Martin del Potro
Ranking: 10
Country: Argentina
Career titles: 20
Best Grand Slam Result: 2009 US Open Champion

The gentle giant from Argentina coped with a string of injury plagued years, with a pair of wrist surgeries, but after completing a mostly healthy 2017, DelPo looks poised to take things one step further.

DelPo was the only player last season to win a match over Roger Federer at a Grand Slam event, beating him in a U.S. Open quarterfinal. Once again, he’s lurking in Federer’s quarter, along with other dangerous players like David Goffin, Milos Raonic and Tomas Berdych.

Possessing one of the world’s most powerful forehands, if del Potro is striking early, he could quickly bust open a draw, and make a deep run.

Kevin Anderson
Ranking: 11
Country: South Africa
Career titles: 3
Best GS result: 2017 US Open Finalist

The South African may not get bonus points for style and flair on the court, but K-Ando is simply all business when it comes to winning tennis matches. His penchant for work ethic paid off handsomely in 2017, where he reached his first ever Grand Slam final at Flushing Meadows.

Anderson opened 2018 equally strong, winning an exhibition in Abu Dhabi at the Mubadala Classic, and reaching the finals of the Tate Open in India.

With his experience and confidence continuing to build, and his booming serve, expect Anderson to be one of the toughest outs, and a potential quarterfinalist.

Alexander Zverev
Ranking: 4
Country: Germany
Career titles: 6
Best GS result: 4th Round Wimbledon, 2017

Forget calling him one of the best young players on tour, Sascha Zverev is simply one of the world’s best, hands down. The tall, wiry German earn 5 ATP titles in 2017 including two Masters 1000s in Rome and Montreal, and he enters Australia as the fourth-ranked player.

The only thing missing from Zverev’s gaudy resume is a run at a Grand Slam, and some of that last season was bad fortune. He went toe-to-toe with Rafael Nadal in a third round, five-set loss at the Aussie last year, and he also fell to Milos Raonic in a fourth round tilt that went the distance at Wimbledon.

If the stars align (which I think they will), Novak Djokovic and Sascha Zverev could meet in the round of 16. It will be a matchup of perhaps the best two-handed backhands in tennis today, with the youngster having an opportunity to dethrone a legend at his best event.

David Goffin
Ranking: 7
Country: Belgium
Career titles: 4
Best GS result: 2017 Australian Open QF, 2016 French Open QF

David Goffin has been one of the tour’s most under the radar talents for the past couple of seasons. At 5'11, 150 pounds, his slight frame may not look intimidating on the court, but the Belgian possesses plenty of weapons to beat any of the world's best. His quick strike groundstrokes can plant opponents on their back foot easily, while his lateral movement is off the charts.

Goffin scored the best win of his career at the London ATP Finals in November, a three-set upset victory over Federer, before falling to Grigor Dimitrov for the title.

After a solid break, he should be fit, confident and poised to carry that memory to Australia. A potential rematch with Federer could be looming in the quarterfinals.


FIRST ROUND MATCHES TO WATCH

Alex de Minaur vs. Tomas Berdych

A native of Australia, 18 year-old Alex de Minaur is on a spectacular, Shapovalov-like run to open his 2018 campaign.

He opened the season with an upset victory over Milos Raonic and carried that to a semifinal appearance in Brisbane. The following week he made his first ATP final in Sydney. Come Monday his ranking will have jumped 81 spots to 127.

He gets a stern test against veteran Tomas Berdych, who opened his season with a win at the Tie Break Tens exhibition.

Prediction:
Berdych in 4 sets

David Ferrer vs. Andrey Rublev

It's a classic teacher vs. pupil matchup. A former world number three, 35 year-old David Ferrer still has the desire and work ethic to drive him to match wins, and he’s coming off a semifinal appearance in Auckland.

Andrey Rublev is a next-Gen Russian star who made a quarterfinal run at the U.S. Open last season.

Prediction:
Ferrer in 5 sets

Mischa Zverev vs. Hyeon Chung

Often over-shadowed by his younger brother, Mischa Zverev quietly had an excellent 2017 season, going old-school with his serve and volley approach. He had a stunning upset victory over Andy Murray at the tournament last season.

Hyeon Chung is another exceptional young talent, he finished 2017 with a title at the Next-Gen Finals and will look to dictate rallies from the baseline.

Prediction:
Zverev in 5 sets