• Chris Wilkinson

Race for the line

Chris Wilkinson October 12, 2010

It has been quite quiet since Rafael Nadal's US Open victory in New York, but it's starting to pick up again.

We may be heading into the end of the season now but there is still plenty to play for. We've got the Masters event in Shanghai this week and then there is Paris, and of course they are all looking forward to the ATP finals in London. There are still five places up for grabs at the O2 and there will be a race for the line to qualify.

Novak Djokovic has finally got a win under his belt which means he has qualified for London, and unless something disastrous happens Andy Murray should be there. Robin Soderling and Tomas Berdych are also expected to qualify, David Ferrer has had a good year but Fernando Verdasco is struggling a bit so will need to raise his game if he is to secure a place.

The re-emergence of Djokovic in the last couple of months has been interesting. Before the US Open I thought his game stood still and he wasn't where he needed to be. But he proved me wrong and he went on to win in Beijing last week. He has got his motivation back and he is playing more aggressively than before which makes a big difference.

Nadal won another title in Tokyo but had to work hard for it. He saved match points and was pushed all of the way by Viktor Troicki in the semi-finals. In Bangkok the week before he lost to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez which was a surprise. It's hard for him because he has achieved pretty much everything he could have hoped for this season - three grand slams and he is now world No. 1. Obviously he would like to do well in London but it is going to be tough as the season goes on - all those matches will start to take their toll.

Djokovic and Murray on the other hand are likely to have something left in reserve and it will be a good chance for them to do well and finish the season on a high. Murray in particular needs a strong finish to the season and he needs to be beating lesser opponents. He lost to Ljubicic in straight sets and he shouldn't be losing those kinds of matches. If he wants to be a serious contender at grand slams he needs to find a way of beating that kind of player. I think he has taken a step backwards this season - he was in a better position this time last year.

He has said he will look at appointing a new coach at the end of the season and it will be interesting to see who he might go for, and whether he decides to make any wholesale changes next season.

Delpo's dilemma
One player it's going to be really hard for is Juan Martin del Potro - he has been out for such a long time, and he cannot expect to just turn it on again. It is going to take him a few months to try to rebuild his game and regain the confidence he had at the end of last season, and he will always have niggling doubts in the back of his mind over his fitness. Also, the fact he hits it so flat means he has to time his shots to perfection and when you have been out of action for eight months it is likely to be slightly off. It is going to take him a few months to rebuild the strength in his wrist. I wouldn't have thought he would have expected to be winning tournaments straight away.

He is not going to be seeded for events which means he is likely to come up against the better players in the earlier stages, and if he keeps losing matches his confidence is going to take a battering - it is a vicious circle. To get back to where he wants to be it might be good for him to drop down a level and get matches under his belt and build up his confidence.

A fresh face
On the WTA Tour we have a new world No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki - I think it's great for the women's game. I am pleased she is breaking up the Williams sisters' dominance and it's good to have a change of face at No. 1. Like Dinara Safina a couple of years ago, she hasn't won a grand slam, but she has won more points than any other player this year and she deserves to be at the top of the rankings. She is playing well and I think that it is just a case of getting that first grand slam, and then she will have the confidence and more will come along.

The Australian Open will be really important for her and it will be a great chance to have another crack at winning a slam. Vera Zvonareva has made the last two grand slam finals and lost - if a player like that can do it then it must give Wozniacki a lot of confidence. Seeing Francesca Schiavone win the French Open just goes to show how wide open the women's game is at the moment and there is every chance for her to do well, and I believe it will only be a matter of time. She needs to maintain the momentum she has got at the moment and if she can do that her confidence will be sky high in January.

Chris Wilkinson is a former British No. 1

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