Sunshine Double Vision

  It is curious that the ATP tried to award Novak Djokovic his 100th title this past weekend. I don't think the Olympics count on Chris Evert's or Jimmy Connors' list of tournament wins. Besides, when Novak played Mathew Edben in Paris, he questioned how Edben even got into the draw. Let's use his own logic to keep him at 98, thank you very much.

 The real headline for the Sunshine Double are the two young champions, Jack Draper and Jakub Mensik. Who needs Sinner ? Did you see that Fritz / Berrettini match ? How about Arthur Fils ? And new faces keep forcing their way into the conversation, see Jacob Fearnley. But Draper and Mensik have arrived.

 Have you kept up with Maric Cilic and Borna Coric ? Cilic is back from the 700s, and Borna has won three challengers to sneak back into the top 100. Look for both of these veterans to make their presence known at the next few Grand Slams. Both Wawrinka and Gasquet have wild cards at the Tiriac Open, so we have plenty of old guys still hanging around the corral. 

 And let's not forget about the United States Clay Court Championship this week in Houston ! It's the strangest surface on tour, but they call that clay in Houston. You would think that America would have a nice green clay season for the pros, and more professional clay events period. But we don't. 

 Cheers to Denis Kudla, who represented the East Coast on tour for a very long time. Kudla was a tough out for everyone and reached a career high close to 50 in the world. He was a fighter and a grinder, which if you have noticed, is how all Americans outside of McEnroe are taught to play. Excellent career, Denis, good luck coaching. 

Greg Gunther

Consolidated Break

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