Re-visiting Jon Wertheim's 2009 Tennis Predictions

I've been reading CNNSI's tennis column, Inside Tennis by Jon Wertheim, since I first had regular access to the Internet. Nowadays, I get my weekly/bi-weekly expert tennis "fix" by reading his column. In the past 11 years, I probably wrote him a question 12 times. The only question I sent that got published was a question on Martina Hingis' meltdown after losing the 1999 French Open final. That was a long time ago. When I started this blog last month, one of the thoughts I had was to check Jon Wertheim's 2009 tennis predictions that he published before the season started. How good was he at playing tennis' Nostradamus? Below are 10 of his 12 questions, and his answers back then.

1. This ATP player will finish 2009 at No. 1:
a) Roger Federer
b) Rafael Nadal
c) Novak Djokovic
d) Andy Murray
e) other

Wertheim's Prediction: Roger Federer
Actual Answer: Roger Federer
Score: 1 / 1

Earlier this year, I would have voted for Nadal to end this year as #1. But then again, that's why I'm a tennis fan and Wertheim is an expert.

2. This WTA player will finish the year at No. 1:
a) Maria Sharapova
b) Jelena Jankovic
c) Ana Ivanovic
d) Serena or Venus Williams

Wertheim's Prediction: Jelena Jankovic
Actual Answer: Serena Williams
Score: 1 / 2

Then again, I would never have voted against the Williams sisters. I would have put them as separate options too. Looks like Wertheim underestimated Safina and overestimated the Serbians.

3. Roger Federer will:
a) Take advantage of a Nadal's injury-induced absence and finally win the French Open.
b) Exorcise last year's demons and win Wimbledon again.
c) Announce that he is taking a tennis sabbatical to intern at Vogue.
d) Fail to win a single Major.

Wertheim's Prediction: B
Actual Answer: B
Score: 2 / 3

So far so good. The first option was really great. Nadal's injury did have something to do with Federer eventually winning his first French Open title. And he was a no-show at Wimbledon.

4. Maria Sharapova will:
a) Undergo surgery on her mysterious shoulder injury.
b) Return from a six-month absence to reclaim the No. 1 ranking.
c) Use her NBC connections to land a job on the "Tracy Jordan Show."
d) Win matches when healthy but endure another bittersweet season.

Wertheim's Prediction: D
Actual Answer: D
Score: 3 / 4

Nice prediction. Sharapova did fare badly at Wimbledon and the US Open, but she went beyond expectations by reaching the French Open quarterfinals. She even got to finish in the top 16 by bagging the title in Tokyo during the fall.

5. Andy Roddick will:
a) Benefit from new coach Larry Stefanki and remain in the top ten.
b) Win the second Major of his career.
c) Try to appear to have considered opinions while his wife-to-be registers for gravy boats and napkin rings.
d) Lose his fitness after one too many late night runs to BLT Steak.

Wertheim's Prediction: A
Actual Answer: A
Score: 4 / 5

This is a rather safe prediction. I'm sure Wertheim couldn't have imagined Roddick reaching the Wimbledon finals.

6. You will know how to pronounce this name by year's end:
a) Caroline Wozniacki
b) Anastasia Sergeyevna Pavlyuchenkova
c) Sergei Stakhovsky
d) Eduardo Schwank
e) all of the above

Wertheim's Prediction: A
Actual Answer: A
Score: 5 / 6

Wertheim outdid himself on this one. Wozniacki won 3 titles in 2009, reached her first major final at the US Open, and finished in the top 5 after just 4 years in the tour.

7. This unpleasant issue will continue to rear its head:
a) doping
b) match fixing
c) relentless player injuries
d) relentless petty politics

Wertheim's Prediction: C & D
Actual Answer: A & C
Score: 5.5 / 7

I'll give him a half point on this one. He didn't see the Agassi bombshell and the Belgians suspension coming. Then again, who would have?

8. This WTA player will win her first Major:
a) Jelena Jankovic
b) Dinara Safina
c) Elena Dementieva
d) None of the above

Wertheim's Prediction: A
Actual Answer: D
Score: 5.5 / 8

Hmm, I'm starting to think that he has some HD (hidden desire) on Jelena. Hyuk-hyuk! At least, he gave some credit to Safina.

9. This country will win the Davis Cup:
a) Switzerland
b) U.S.
c) France
d) Spain

Wertheim's Prediction: C
Actual Answer: D
Score: 5.5 / 9

I wonder what made him go against the Nadal-Verdasco-Ferrer-Gonzalez team. Spain, after all, was the most successful Davis Cup team in the past 9 years before the season.

10. This player will announce her return to the circuit:
a) Justine Henin
b) Kim Clijsters
c) Mary Pierce
d) Jennifer Capriati

Wertheim's Prediction: C
Actual Answer: A & B
Score: 5.5 / 10

He missed Yayuk Basuki and Kimiko Date amongst the options. But, kudos to him for putting the Belgians in there, even if he didn't pick one of them.

CONCLUSION: 55% is not that bad. Kudos to him for putting 100% of the correct answers amongst the options. This is definitely better than his Grand Slam predictions, hyuk! In fairness though, I always look forward to his seed report before the start of each Grand Slam. Here's hoping he publishes a similar report before the start of the 2010 season.