Murray Becomes World Number and Wins Paris Masters

(Saturday) Congrats to Murray who became number one today for the first time! Surely deserved after a very consistent year although he’d probably wanted to at least win his match over Raonic to get it done. I must say it feels strange that Murray got the number one ranking after Djokovic’s strong...

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Djokovic and Murray Both Make Quarterfinals in Paris

Hi, folks. I had a quick opening to do a post during my exams. Since my last post, Djokovic and Murray won both their matches to make quarterfinals in Paris. That means Murray has not gained any more ground on Djokovic in the rankings since he won Vienna. Both players had one straight-set win and one...

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How To Keep Round Robin Matches Interesting, Part Two

Earlier this week, I published a deep dive into the possible outcomes of four-player round robin groups and offered an ideal schedule that would minimize the likelihood of dead rubbers on the final day. I’ve since heard from a few readers who pointed out two things: You might do better if you determined the schedule for day two after getting the results of the first two matches. Major tournaments such...

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Battle for Year End Number One Tightens as Paris Masters Comes Around

Greetings. I’m still writing exams but Murray won Vienna last week as expected while Cilic won Basel, defeating Tsonga and Nishikori in the finals respectively. Murray also had a walkover in the semis against Ferrer which is good fortune for him as his freshness will be a big question this week in...

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How To Keep Round Robin Matches Interesting

Round robins–such as the formats used by the ATP and WTA Tour Finals–have a lot going for them. Fans are guaranteed at least three matches for every player, and competitors can recover from one (or even two) bad outings. Best of all, when compared to a knockout-style draw, it’s twice as much tennis. On the other hand, round robins have one major drawback: They can result in meaningless matches. It’s...

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The Pointlessness of Playing the Lets

Some people always want tennis matches to be shorter. Among the many recurring proposals to accomplish that, one that has been implemented in some places is eliminating service lets. In other words, serves are treated the same way as any other shot: If the serve clips the net and lands in the box, it’s in play. “No-let” rules have been adopted by World Team Tennis and American university tennis. In...

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Djokovic Continues to Struggle as the Tennis Season Winds Down

Hi, folks. Sorry for the lack of posts recently. I have been writing exams so it’s been a bit crazy around here. I did, however, follow Shanghai which Murray won and where Djokovic lost 6-4, 6-4 in the semis to Bautista Agut. Murray also won Beijing where Djokovic withdrew due to injury. That means...

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