****Roger Federer is a true champion in every sense of the word. *******
* Federer joins Swiss Davis Cup team at last minute
* Novak Djokovic is at home in Serbia for the tie but chose not to play. He is busy skiing and getting lost in the woods and trying to bounce snowballs.
****** TODAY’S MEN’S NEWS ******
Davis Cup
It’s always darkest before it’s totally black.
That must be what Serbia is thinking after word came that Roger Federer will be joining Stanislas Wawrinka on Switzerland’s Davis Cup team. And that’s against a Serbian team with no Novak Djokovic. Serbia didn’t have any real hope anyway, but now things really look bad.
The stunning thing is, Federer will be playing #2 singles for Switzerland. Wawrinka will be #1!
We don’t have any other news at this time. If there have been any changes in the teams, they haven’t been listed on the Davis Cup site. We’ll have our Preview tomorrow.
****** TODAY’S FEATURE ******
This Week’s Movers — Men
Each week, Daily Tennis will look at the biggest movers of the week, looking at how they did what they did.
Biggest Upward Mover — Most Places Moved (Top 100)
Leader: Stephane Robert — Moved 41 places, from #119 to #78.
Robert, a Lucky Loser at the Australian Open, made it to the Round of Sixteen.
Runner-Up: Peter Gojowczyk — Moved 36 places, from #135 to #99
Gojowczyk qualified for the Australian Open, but he lost first round. He took the opportunity to play the Heilbronn Challenger, which he won.
Biggest Percentage Mover — Cut Ranking By Highest Percent (Top 100)
Leader: Stanislas Wawrinka — Moved 5 places, 62%, from #8 to #3
Presumably we don’t have to tell you what Wawrinka just did….
Runner-Up: Robert, cut ranking 34%
Biggest Loser — Most Places Lost (Top 100)
Loser: Janko Tipsarevic — Dropped 17 places, from #52 to #69
Tipsarevic last year made the Melbourne fourth round; this year, he was unable to play due to injury.
Biggest Percentage Loser — Worst Percentage Increase in Ranking (Top 100)
Loser: David Ferrer, ranking increased 2 places, 67%, from #3 to #5.
Ferrer lost Australian Open semifinal points, plus Wawrinka added points….
Ranking Notes
We had a fair number of big moves this week, but surprisingly few were the result of doing something big in Australia. Case in point: Juan Martin del Potro. He rose 20%, from #5 to #4, despite not doing anything. In all, six players rose at least 20%: Wawrinka (63%), Robert (34%), Gojowczyk (27%), Florian Mayer (22%, to #29), Teymuraz Gabashvili (20%, to #63), and del Potro (20%).
We had a lot of spectacular downward moves, though: Ferrer, down 67%. Andy Murray, down 50% (to #6). Jeremy Chardy, down 39% (to #43). Roger Federer, down 33% (to #8). And Tipsarevic (down 33%). There is a big of a gap below that; the next biggest fall was Andreas Seppi’s 24% decline (to #31).
Our Personal Picks for “Best Mover of the Week”
These are subjective picks!
Wawrinka. What more could you want? Biggest move, first Slam, career high — and no serious competition for the award.
KEYWORDS: Movers Men Wawrinka
******** THIS WEEK IN TENNIS ********
THIS WEEK ON THE ATP WORLD TOUR:
Davis Cup
NEXT WEEK ON THE ATP WORLD TOUR:
Vina del Mar (250/Clay). Defending Champion: Horacio Zeballos
Montpellier (250/Indoor Hard). Defending Champion: Richard Gasquet
Zagreb (250/Indoor Hard). Defending Champion: Marin Cilic
Topics: 10sballs, David Ferrer, Davis Cup, Florian Mayer, Janko Tipsarevic, Juan Martin Del Potro, Novak Djokovic, Richard Gasquet, Roger Federer, Sports, Stanislas Wawrinka, Tennis, Tennis News