From the final tennis major of the year to the upcoming Rugby World Cup, the best in the business in a diverse variety of sports will be vying to assert themselves cement their place at the top all over the globe in the near. This indeed makes it an exciting time to be a sports fan.
Djokovic odds on favourite: Djokovic’s injury enforced withdrawal at Cincinnati, generated fretfulness of a burn out. Having lost a meager 3 games in the first couple rounds Djokovic seems to have his tank full. By the time the readers get hold of this piece Djokovic would have played his 3rd round match against Davydenko and should come out with a straight sets victory.
Either Dolgopolov or the giant Karlovic would await the World Number 1 in the fourth round, and should not provide much resistance. Monfils’ incredible defeat at the hands of Ferrero has further eased out No-Djo’s quarter, although an intriguing clash with the incredibly talented yet unpredictable Tomas Berdych potentially looms.
Federer finds himself in Djokovic’s half, and has been playing decent tennis in the first week himself. However the Swiss has a considerably stern pass through the labyrinth, with a testing match-up against Cilic in the 3rd round. Should Fed-Ex negotiate that tie successfully he will face either Juan Monaco or Tommy Haas, which shouldn’t be quite as wearisome. However a potential quarter final with either Fish or Tsonga could undo Federer.
Nadal is still suffering from his demolition acts at the hands of Djokovic. The Spaniard has the grit to rebound and augment his repertoire to overcome the Serbian challenge, but one can’t expect that to happen in the middle of the season. Although at his stuttering best, Murray is the only serious challenger to Djokovic. If he can fortify his nerves, we could be in for an epic Djokovic-Murray finale.
Wozniacki’s golden chance: This is the ideal opportunity for Caroline Wozniacki to end her Grand Slam prognostication and throw the monkey off her back. Serena Williams is not yet back to her best and top seeds are falling like nine pins in the women’s draw. Kuznetsova in the fourth round and Petkovic in the quarters are serious obstacles – she can’t expect a cake walk en route to her maiden major title. Much has been made of the Grand Slam infertility of the World Number 1. She can cement her place at the top with a Grand Slam triumph to match the maiden major triumph of her current romantic interest. Speaking of whom…
McIlroy, leading the
European surge: The European Masters marks the beginning of the points race for next year’s Ryder Cup. McIlroy, the U.S Open Champion, has made a strong comeback at the event, after damaging his wrist in the final major at the Atlanta Athletic Club. McIlroy shot a staggering six-under-par 65 in the first round in Switzerland and followed it up with a decent 69 in the second round to have a share of the lead at the start of play on Saturday.
McIlroy saw a dip in form after his maiden major triumph, but looks to be back to his best, as he sets himself up for a Swiss usurpation. Easily the most exciting talent in modern day golf, McIlroy would undoubtedly lead the European brigade next year as he looks to bolster his credentials as a golfing power.
Vettel can seal the deal: Reigning World Champion, Sebastian Vettel’s triumph in last week’s Belgian Grand Prix looks to have given him an unassailable lead. However any inkling of doubt that remains can be put to rest next week with a win in Italy. Vettel’s ability to deliver in crunch situations made him the youngest ever F1 Champion last year and the young German has shown enough mettle this year to extinguish any qualms of an end of season meltdown.
Vettel owed his team’s expertise in tyre management, for his stunning win at Spa. The Red Bull camp was undoubtedly apprehensive about the condition of their tyres after they seemed completely worn out after qualification. The Red Bull duo of Vettel and Webber started off the race with the same tyres but pitted for fresh rubber early on in the race. It was a gamble alright, but one that eventually paid its fair share of dividends with the team pulling off one of their best ever one-two finishes.
Vettel has fond memories of Monza – the track of his first Grand Prix triumph back in 2008. The incredibly long straights at Monza make it the fastest track of the year, but it has also been cited as one of the most challenging. Cars with pace on the straights do well here traditionally but only if they manage to complement the speed with down force for cornering. The two Red Bull drivers would once again be the favorites in Italy, with Webber looking to claw back an intimidating 92 point lead.
With seven races still to go, and 175 points still up for grabs, mathematically it is still all to play for. But a Vettel conquest in Italy would resoundingly throw the cat amongst the pigeons!
All Blacks favourites on home turf: New Zealand last hosted the Rugby World Cup in 1987, incidentally the last time they lifted the trophy. Just like the Cricket equivalent, hosts seem to have a supernatural voodoo hindering their success. Nevertheless the All Blacks would be looking forward to bouncing back from their recent Tri-Nations defeat to Australia, and would look to sustain their impressive run at home, which has seen them being unbeaten at home for two years. The Kiwis do have a tendency to hanker after perfection in play, which often becomes their downfall, most notably against France in 2007. Nonetheless New Zealand is definitely the team to beat.
Next in line are neighbours and arch-rivals Australia who are brimming with confidence after their impressive Tri-Nation triumph. Ireland can be a potential banana-skin in their pool, but the Wallabies should ease into the quarters, which should see them face-off with either Wales or South Africa in a mouth-watering clash. If the Aussies can hold up their scrum throughout the tournament, they should fancy their chances.
Defending champions South Africa can never be discounted, especially since two of New Zealand’s three home defeats since 2007 have been at the hands of the Springboks. Even though the South African graph has seen a lucid dip since 2009, the old war-horses of the 2007 triumph are very much there to provide the ‘been there, done that’ factor.
England are the only Northern Hemisphere side to lift the Webb Ellis trophy, and are current Six Nations Champions as well. However the unpredictability surrounding the side means that they could just as easily win the whole thing as they could fail to qualify from a group which has Argentina and Scotland. England don’t have the aura of being world beaters at the moment, but this is precisely when they can be exceedingly menacing. It is hard to see another winner, even though Argentina and France might disagree. However, with hordes backing the All Blacks, expect New Zealand to translate their ranking into results and rubber stamp their authority on the biggest stage of them all.
