10 things to look for at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics tennis tournament

 

                                           (Credit: Charly Triballeau/Agence France-Presse-Getty Images) 

The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo get underway this weekend with tennis starting on Saturday. This blog always does a preview and recap of every grand slam with the Olympics being treated as the 5th grand slam. As a result, here is my list of 10 things to look for at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics tennis tournament. 

Note: The Tokyo Olympics are still being referred to as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics even though we are now in the year 2021. Also, no ranking points will be awarded to the players. Click here to access the draws and scores. 

#1. Can Novak Djokovic get the golden slam? Novak Djokovic is gunning for a lot this summer: A record 21st grand slam singles title at the US Open and a golden calendar grand slam, which would mean winning all four grand slams in a calendar year plus an Olympic gold medal. The only tennis player to do this is Steffi Graf back in 1988. If Djokovic can win the gold in Tokyo all he'll have left in front of him is the US Open and the golden slam will be his. 

Personally, I like Djokovic's odds to get the gold medal. He's in Tokyo because he wants the gold and I think he's treating this as seriously as a grand slam. With Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer both missing from the field, Djokovic's job is a little bit easier. This one really is all teed for him to win. While I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, I think the bigger question is whether or not Djokovic can complete the golden slam in New York at the US Open later this summer. 

#2. Can Naomi Osaka get back on track? It's been a strange season for Naomi Osaka as she pulled out of the French Open due to anxiety and subsequently skipped Wimbledon as a result. That's raised a lot of questions about her future, but one thing that helps put everyone at ease, at least a little bit, is the fact that she's participating in the Olympics in front of her home fans in Japan. 

If Osaka can win gold in Tokyo, that would be really cool for her and hopefully help her put what happened at the French Open in the rear view mirror. She's a very talented player that still has a lot of untapped potential. Hopefully the Tokyo games will get her out of her weird mental funk. 

#3. Can Stefanos Tsitsipas bounce back from Wimbledon? After reaching the final at Roland Garros, everyone expected Stefanos Tsitsipas to make a deep run at Wimbledon. As I mentioned in my recap of Wimbledon, Tsitsipas has never done well at Wimbledon and that is something that he needs to figure out. Fortunately, he has the Olympics to look forward to. If he could upset Djokovic to get the gold medal or even get a silver or bronze, that could be just what the doctor ordered to get him back on track after a very disappointing outing in London. 

#4. Can Ashleigh Barty build on her Wimbledon title with a gold medal? After winning Wimbledon, Ashleigh Barty comes in as the #1 ranked player on the women's side, eying a possible "Barty Golden Slam" if she wins gold and the next three grand slams. Barty can breathe a sigh of relief after winning Wimbledon, but she would like to keep the good vibes rolling as she heads into the US Open. Winning a gold medal would certainly help her do that and be another feather in her cap as she goes about establishing herself as the #1 player in the world on the women's side. 

#5. Can Kei Nishikori make a run? It's been a while since Kei Nishikori was relevant in a grand slam, but the Tokyo Olympics present a unique opportunity for Nishikori to play well in front of the home fans. If there's a dark horse on the men's side, it's gotta be Nishikori given that until Naomi Osaka came along, he was the most popular tennis player in the land of the rising sun. If he makes a deep run and finds a way to get a medal, that would be really cool. 

#6. Can Aryna Sabalenka build on her run to the semis at Wimbledon? Another player looking to build on two good weeks in London is Aryna Sabalenka, who comes in as the #3 seed on the women's side. She reached the semifinals at Wimbledon and has to like her chances to get a medal in Tokyo. If she can get a medal that would do wonders for her confidence and help her build even more momentum heading into the US Open. 

#7. Can Daniil Medvedev spoil the party? Daniil Medvedev comes in as the #2 seed on the men's side and the biggest threat to end Novak Djokovic's quest for a golden slam. Medvedev plays well on the hard courts, reaching the Australian Open final earlier this year and the US Open semifinals last year. Medvedev has had fun playing the bad guy and would certainly enjoy being the one to get in the way of history. 

#8. Can Jennifer Brady bring home a medal for the United States? If you are an American looking for one player to possibly bring home a medal in tennis, Jennifer Brady is the player you have to put your faith in. She's the highest ranked American on either side, coming in as the #11 seed.  On top of that, she has had some recent success on the hard courts, reaching the semifinals at the US Open last year and the final at the Australian Open earlier this year. While she is a bit of a dark horse, she has to like the opportunity that's in front of her to be the top ranked American in the field. If she can bring home a medal, that could be a huge boost for her heading into the US Open later this summer. 

#9. Can Alexander Zverev make a run for a medal? Alexander Zverev comes in as the #4 seed on the men's side, making him a contender. However, he's still figuring out how to consistently contend at slams as his run to the 2020 US Open final is his only trip to a grand slam final to date. If there's one player on the men's side that could most benefit from getting a medal, just from a mental standpoint, it would be Zverev without a doubt. 

#10. Can Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova get over the hump? Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is still seeking her first career grand slam title after falling just a bit short in the French Open final earlier this year. While an Olympic gold medal isn't the same as a grand slam title, it's the next best thing and a highly distinctive honor in tennis. If she were able to win gold, that would certainly be one of the feel good stories of the games. How far she goes will certainly be one of the key things to look for in this tournament. 

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10 things to take away from the 2021 French Open

                                              (Credit: USA TODAY Sports) 

Before I look ahead to Wimbledon (Round 1 starts Monday), I need to first look back on the two weeks that recently were in Paris at the 2021 French Open. Barbora Krejcikova def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 to win the women's singles title while Novak Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to win the men's singles title. This was Krejcikova's first grand slam singles title while it was Djokovic's 19th grand slam singles title and second French Open title, with the first one coming in 2016. 

#1. Novak Djokovic is making a serious case for GOAT: I personally don't think the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) debate will really even be able to begin until Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer are all done playing. Until then, all three guys have a strong case for being considered the GOAT with Pete Sampras being firmly in 4th place. 

That all said, I think if we're projecting at where things will eventually land, I think it's likely that when it's all said and done, the general consensus will be that Novak Djokovic is the greatest men's tennis player of all-time. He's only one grand slam title away from tying Nadal and Federer, which means if he wins Wimbledon, there will be a three-way tie for most grand slam singles titles on the men's side with 20. The fact that he's kept pace with them and is the youngest of the three I think gives him an edge for GOAT at the moment. Though once again we'll just have to wait and see where things all land once the dust finally settles and their careers are all over. 

One other feather in Djokovic's cap is that he beat Nadal to win this title. Nadal has won 13 French Open titles and is the undisputed King of Clay. To win his second French Open title and 19th grand slam title by getting past Nadal is definitely something that gives Djokovic a definitive boost in the GOAT debate. 

#2. Barbora Krejcikova is a threat in singles: Barbora Krejcikova was previously thought of as a doubles player who played singles on the side. That no longer can be said. Going into this year's French Open, she had won two grand slam doubles titles (2018 French Open and 2018 Wimbledon) and three grand slam mixed doubles titles (2019 Australian Open, 2020 Australian Open, and 2021 Australian Open) but never had much success on the singles side in grand slams. The furthest she's gone at the Australian Open in singles is the 2nd round (2020 and 2021), the furthest she's gone at the US Open is the 3rd round of the Qualifiers, and by qualifying for the 1st round of Wimbledon this year, that's automatically the furthest she's gone at Wimbledon. 

That all said, the one grand slam where she had found some success was the French Open. In 2020, she did reach the 4th round, so there was some reason for optimism coming in, though nobody expected her to be the one lifting the trophy at the end. 

It'll be interesting to see if she'll be able to build on this success at other grand slams in singles, something I'll address in my Wimbledon preview, but for the purposes of this French Open recap, it's suffice to say that she's at least figured out how to contend at the grand slam singles level on clay. 

#3. Stefanos Tsitsipas' time will come: While he wasn't able to close out Novak Djokovic after going up by two sets in the final, Stefanos Tsitsipas still has to feel good about the two weeks he had at the French Open and feel like he's knocking on the door. Djokovic ended up winning by digging a little deeper and using his experience to his advantage, but make no mistake, Tsitsipas is on track to win multiple grand slams and carve out a Hall of Fame career for himself. 

#4. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had a breakthrough: Even though she didn't win it all and lost in the final, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has to feel like she had a major breakthrough at Roland Garros. She had never gotten past the quarterfinals at any grand slam before, but this time she went all the way to the final. If she is able to turn lemons into lemonade and build on this, she could be winning a grand slam title very soon. She's 29 years old, turning 30 in a few days. Her best tennis may very well be in front of her and not behind her. 

#5. Rafael Nadal is mortal: I picked Rafael Nadal to win the French Open for obvious reasons. He's the best all-time at Roland Garros and so long as he remains an elite player, he should be the favorite to win it all. That said, he showed that he is mortal and that he can be beaten at this event. But if you are to beat him, you better bring your A-game and that's exactly what Djokovic did, calling it one of the best if not the best match he's ever played in his life. 

#6. Roland Garros just isn't Serena Williams' event: While she has won the French Open twice (2002 and 2013), it's clear that of all the grand slams, it is Serena Williams' weakest even by far. This year, she went out in the 4th round and she hasn't advanced to the quarterfinals since 2016 in which she reached the final. I think it's safe to say that if she is to tie Margaret Court's mark of 24 grand slam titles, it's not likely to come at Roland Garros. 

#7. Roger Federer's decision better pay off at Wimbledon: Roger Federer made a controversial decision to pull out of his 4th round match against Matteo Berrettini in order to rest up for Wimbledon, which is his top event. It was a controversial decision because (A) the fans wanted to see how far he could go and (B) it's just not a great look to pull out of a grand slam unless you are legitimately injured. One has to wonder if playing one more or two more matches would have really hurt his Wimbledon chances. So, if he wants to make this decision seem more justified, he better go deep at Wimbledon and ideally win it all. 

#8. Naomi Osaka needs to get her mind right: The big story from the first week of the French Open was Naomi Osaka withdrawing after winning her 1st round match due to not wanting to talk with the media. She was fined $15,000 and decided she would withdraw after all the grand slams came out and said they might default her going forward if she doesn't comply with her media duties. Osaka said she didn't want to be a distraction and that this is all about her mental health, etc. 

As far as where things sit right now, Osaka will skip Wimbledon, but she does plan to play in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics later this summer per her agent. It's clear that Osaka needs to get her mind right, recharge mentally, and figure out how to not be so worried about talking to the media. She has a bright career in front of her and hopefully this will just be a small bump in the road for her in the grand scheme of things. 

#9. Daniil Medvedev can win a match at Roland Garros: If you read my preview, you know that Daniil Medvedev had never gotten past the 1st round at Roland Garros coming into this event. So, it was of keen interest to see how far he could go. All things considered, he should be happy with how things went. He reached the quarterfinals, which is far better than the 1st round. Medvedev showed that he can find some success at this event and maybe this will propel him to even bigger things next year. 

#10. Iga Świątek was unable to defend her title: Iga Świątek came in as the defending champion on the women's side, but she was unable to defend her title. She didn't do terrible as she lost in the quarterfinals, but she was unable to recapture the magic from last October. It'll be interesting to see how she does next year and also how she does at the remaining grand slams this year. Wimbledon starting on Monday will give her a chance to show that she can win on surfaces other than clay. 

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