We'd Better Get Used To It

by Savannah


via TennisTV

I've been dragging Sloane Stephens for a couple of years now right? Her attitude that one victory made her a superstar for life was as annoying as her unwillingness to get down and dirty to win a match. She hired and fired coaches in rapid succession before settling on Kamau Murray as the new person on her team. Murray, based in Chicago, briefly coached Taylor Townsend but is known for his Academy. From what I saw last night whatever Sloane needed to stop playing "do you know who I am" tennis she is now playing focused strategic tennis. No more baffling runs to the net or trying to hit a bomb when a light touch would be more than enough. Watching her play Dominika Cibulkova
last nigt in Acapulco was like seeing a different player. When Domi started pushing her back behind the baseline Sloane didnt'try to blast her way out. Instead she worked her way back in and got shots she could work with. In the end she was just that little bit better than Cibulkova and won an emotional match.

If she wants to stop being another talented US failure she has to build on her win last night. She's ranked around #25 and still gets direct entry into big tournaments like the upcoming Indian Wells. I just hope that she doesn't let last night's win go to her head and set herself back another two years. Murray thought he could get the star he needs with Townsend but the issues there were too deep. He may find his success with Sloane IF he can stop her from making herself a legend in her own mind.

Should We Forget February?

Roberta Vinci Premier Level St Petersburg Champion
Sara Errani Premier Level Dubai Champion
Francesca Schiavone International Level Champion Rio de Janeiro
Carla Suárez Navarro P5 Level Doha Champion
Sloane Stephens International Acapulco Champion

Roberta Vinci believes. After stopping Serena Williams at the US Open she's played with a confidence she didn't display before. Francesca Schiavone is maybe playing her last year, a late bloomer who found herself a Slam champion and who hasn't done much since. Sloane Stephens was discussed above. So let's talk about Carla Suárez Navarro and Sara Errani, starting with their most obvious similarity: they're both small women. Errani is listed at 5'5" (1.64m). CSN is listed at 5'4" (1.62m). We know how reliable these things are in tennis so let's accept the height measurements as fact. That is where the similarity between the two women ends however. CSN has a good game with a decent serve. Errani, well, that she is in the top 10 of the WTA feeds the talk of lack of depth on the women's tour. If you notice there were mostly cheers for CSN winning in Doha. Compare that to the howls of outrage and disgust at Errani's win in Dubai. What does that mean as we plunge headlong into the Post Serena era of the WTA? Are the people bemoaning the upcoming years as weak jumping the gun or are they merely stating the obvious based on what we've seen from the future "stars" of the WTA.

I think that sadly the upcoming years will not be good ones for the WTA. I've said that before but I do like to point out that I was saying it two years ago when rabidly pro WTA fans began calling the weakness "depth". The lack of mental maturity, lack of sound technique and lack of PR savvy (treating your coach as someone beneath your contempt is not a good way to build your reputation among fans, coaches or tennis off court professionals) is glaring. If newer fans wonder why there is so much lingering dislike of Martina Hingis despite her seemingly nice disposition these days check back on some of the things she did and said earlier in her career. How often do you have to say that tennis fans have very long memories and first impressions are lasting. Brattiness and other displays of pique because the world is not conforming to your point of view are not good looks for top players but that seems to be the default position for many of the future "stars" of the sport. Sad.

What's also sad is that there was no way to see any of the WTA tournament unless you were physically in Acapulco until the later stages of the event. That's not a good way to build your brand WTA people.

As for the ATP things are looking a bit shaky too.

First off when your top player retires due to an eye infection after having once retired with a sore throat all of your narratives about a changed man fly out of the window. If said player couldn't see he should've given his opponent the walk over. I watched a replay of the match and it seemed as if he was upset at the crowd lustily cheering his opponent and not him. It was stunning to see how quickly he retired after the end of the first set, almost running off court as if he had somewhere to be. If a woman had done that (Serena Williams) the tennis press would've been up in arms about disrespect for the sport, etc, etc. Instead there was an almost deafening silence from the usual suspects. A leopard can't change it's spots.

The men's tournament at Acapulco, the official warm up for Indian Wells for many, was interesting on many different levels, not all of them positive for the ATP.

Two years ago David Ferrer was making the long journey from South America to Mexico without too many problems. This year the wear and tear showed. Another late bloomer he's not able to get down and dirty consistantly anymore. At times he looked like an old lion prowling the baseline instead of a coiled beast ready to pounce.

The US has its hopes pinned on young Taylor Fritz who aquitted himself well but seems to have lingering physical problems at the tender age of 18. As regular readers know he's my young man to watch this year so I'll cut my comments short for now. My review of what I've seen of him, as well as my young woman to watch Naomi Osaka should be up before the start of Indian Wells.

Australia has two men it hopes will revive it's fortunes - Nicholas Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic. Tennis Australia has spent a lot of money trying to rehab the images of both men. Tomic, threw a hissy fit during the Golden Swing saying, in true entitled brat manner, that he'd rather be in Miami driving his Ferrari. I almost typed Porsche because of Sam Querrey who said almost the exact same thing a few years ago except he said that losing wasn't a big thing since he could go home and drive his mother's Porsche. Is it me or did Querrey, after being dragged on Tennis Channel of all places for being a lazy sumbitch start playing better?

Back to the Australian Golden Children. Kyrgios had a much anticipated rematch with Stan Wawrinka who he'd famously insulted during a match last year. Epic? Great shot making? Kyrgios retired with a back injury. If you remember Wawrinka retire during that previous encounter with, if I recall correctly, a back issue. As for Tomic who had escaped the jungles of South America and it's clay courts and was now playing on hard he found himself in the Final facing press favorite Dominic Thiem.

I've seen Thiem play live. I was sitting on a bench on one of the outer courts at the US Open so I got to watch his game as well as his technique. I'm obviously missing something. I don't see what all the fuss is about. His game is solid, evenly paced and dull as dishwater. There is nothing special about him from what I can see. Favorable draws will go a long way to advance his move up the ranks especially in the weak era that's coming.

Before talking about the Final I have to mention the much anticipated match that came before it in the semi finals: Dominic Thiem vs Grigor Dimitrov. Dimitrov is another player the press loses its collective shit over. First he was crowned "Baby Fed". That got old real fast so now he's just one of the top up and comers. Has been for awhile now. Watching him play Thiem the other night you could see the point where he went off the rails. It's not that he lost interest he lost focus and couldn't get it back. Racquet tosses, emotional displays, none of that helped. Thiem just had to continue to play steadily and he did, winning a match that should've been a firecracker and instead was predictable after Dimitrov lost his way.

For Thiem the final was more of the same. TA has invested a lot of time and money into Bernard Tomic and his fmily. I was watching TennisTV and one of the comms, an Aussie, was trying to flog Tomic's incipient superstardom. I can't tell you how many times he repeated that Tomic got off to a slow start against Alexandr Dolgopolov in the previous round and went on to win. I'm sure it was obvious to him, and to anyone watching, that Tomic didn't give a damn about the match. Thiem would've won in straight sets except that Tomic realized he had to do something to keep TA off his ass so he pulled himself togther enough to win the second set. By the end of the match I'm surprised he wasn't openly yawnig while hitting returns and glancing towards the parking lot to make sure his wheels were there waiting.

The ATP is going in on promoting the generation born in the '90's and is constantly releasing stats about them. The latest is focused on who has won the most titles.

@ATPWorldTour title leaders born in 1990s:

Milos Raonic 8
Dominic Thiem 5
Grigor Dimitrov 4
Bernard Tomic 3
David Goffin 2

None have won a Slam.

The WTA 1990's babies feature a Slam winner in Petra Kvitova who is showing that being thin doesn't mean that you are fit.
The other 90's babies?

Caroline Wozniacki 23 WTA Level Titles
Petra Kvitová 17 WTA Level Titles
Simona Halep 11 WTA Level Titles
Karolina Pliskova 4 WTA Level Titles
Garbine Muguruza (She did reach a GS Final) 2 WTA Level Titles
Belinda Bencic 2 WTA Level Titles
Jelena Ostapenko 7 ITF Level Titles

I know I'm leaving people out. Both Wozniacki and Kvitova were born in 1990 by the way.

I admit it. I've been spoiled. The last few years have been great tennis wise. Civility, feigned or otherwise, became the norm. The generation of cussers, racquet breakers and pary goers was succeeded by players focused on fitness, mental strength and respect for the sport on and off court. Heaven knows what we're getting now. We're going to have to get used to mediocre, overly emotional, brainless tennis on court and frat boys and brats off court. What a big comedown it's going to be.

© Savannah's World All Rights Reserved

The Future Is Now

by Savannah

I'm really just dead. I need some weeks off where I don't think about tennis and can kind of regroup. I've had a long couple of years."

Serena Williams said it all during her post match presser April 1 after losing to Jana Cepelova. I pride myself on having heard of most players in the top 100 but I never heard of Ms Cepelova before last night. Serena did not blame the quick turnaround from Miami to Charleston saying she's done it before and she didn't blame the thigh that was heavily wrapped during a medical time out.

"I'm going to go on a vacation, for sure. I need some time off. I just need to take a deep breath and regroup, and I think it will actually help me for the rest of the clay court season coming up."

It took tennis fans to say what Serena didn't. Serena has carried the WTA tour on her back for the last two years. She's played tournaments large and small bringing the smaller events larger audiences and of course more money. But watch the haters come out of the woodwork to criticize her for not playing Fed Cup for the United States. Nothing Serena does is ever good enough for some.

So where is the WTA going now? CEO Allaster sees the future in Asia and is doing everything in her power to set up new events or move existing ones to that part of the world. The WTA has also picked it's new Queen, Eugenie Bouchard. Forget the fact that the player a lot of fans are watching right now is Simona Halep. Halep speaks little to no English so that will hamper her in becoming well known in the immediate future. The German women, who looked to be ready to storm the top ranks of the sport have fallen off and look to be a collection of head cases.
Players like Dominika Cibulkova, Agnieszka Radwanska, and Angelique Kerber (yes Kerber plays for Germany but is ethnically Polish and lives in Poland) are the players trying to force Serena, and Li Na out of the top positions. Yeah I'm going to pay big bucks to see these women. I'm not saying this to be a bitch I'm saying it because none of them has the "it" factor. Aga's game is an acquired taste. Domi is a ball of action and a fighter and may be the only one who comes close to that "it" factor, that star factor. Kerber's game is the cure for insomnia. It used to be Aga who would send me to never never land but she's actually been improving her aggressiveness. Halep does a lot of things very well and when focused she will find a way to beat you. But she doesn't light up the court.

I haven't forgotten Victoria Azarenka. She's found a life outside of tennis. She's also been injured and came back too soon trying to meet the demands of the tour. I don't look for anything from her until late spring into summer. And don't forget she is not a fan favorite thanks to the shenanigans that she engaged in early in her career. As for Maria Sharapova I get the feeling the jig is almost up with her. She can intimidate some of the up and comers or those who's time has come and gone but no one in the top five is really afraid of her. Her biggest claim to fame right now is a candy and all of her endorsements not her game.

I'm going to skip the US women. I'm tired of talking about them. Their play speaks for itself.

So with the WTA's major talent pool seemingly centered in Eastern Europe right now it's focus is on Asia. After Li Na who is there? Instead of looking for ways to strengthen European tournaments the WTA is getting rid of them. Too bad. If nothing else the WTA may be forced to promote women's tennis instead of a single person. Yeah, I'm not holding my breath either.

The Fed Cup/Davis Cup Crisis

I've always argued that the format for Davis Cup and Fed Cup didn't need changing. Patriots would always turn out and play for their country and all was right with the world. I was wrong. I see that Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic and Nishikori Kei of Japan, both top players for their country, will not play in the tie between the two nations. I don't know any Japanese player who is anywhere near Nishikori's level. Meanwhile the Czechs will rely on Radek Stepanek who is more of a doubles player now. Fed Cup is having similar issues.

What should be done? I have no idea. It seems that both of these competitions are evolving into events featuring the up and coming. The big boys and girls need to be ready for main tour events and may deign to play Davis Cup or Fed Cup when their country makes them an offer they can't refuse. The reason this is somewhat alarming is that players are maturing much later now and their quality of play is much, much lower than Challenger level at times. If fans know they're going to an exalted Challenger instead of an event featuring the best countries have to offer attendance will go down and the stars will feel justified in not playing events that throw off their training schedules not to mention their yearly schedule. Look at what the WTA did after the first round of Fed Cup this year. How do you hold Premier Mandatory events after Fed Cup which every top player is under pressure to play?

The tours are going to have to sit down with the ITF and work something out. Berdych has suggested every two years. That's a nice starting point for discussion.

End Note

My sister is responding very well to treatment. She can follow commands now and is awake large parts of the day. She will be moved to a long term care facility shortly. This is very exciting news. Now if I can get rid of this bug I picked up...

They're Still Trying

by Savannah

I don't think it's a secret that I find much of John McEnroe's commentary lacking to put it mildly. He seems to have no idea what is going on in the modern game and who is playing if they're not from the United States. He also seems to want to turn back the clock on the game, to do away with modern racquets and go back to the days of small, preferably wooden ones. He advocates the return of serve and volley as the primary method of play upgrading it from what it is now, a tactic, a part of a players game not the be all and end all of the game, the only way to play.


photo via Warren Little Getty Images

It turns out that I was right. I came across an article written by Mark McClusky in 2003 entitle "Tennis Swaps Grace for Strength". It's an interesting read.

...McEnroe, along with several other prominent retired players, is challenging the game's international governing body, the International Tennis Federation, to do something to rein in the power provided by today's tennis rackets. As the U.S. Open gets underway this week, McEnroe wonders if rackets haven't become too big a factor in the game.

"I think that the sport has lost something," said McEnroe of the changes wrought by the current rackets. "It's lost some subtlety, some strategy, some of the nuance."

There are surprisingly few rules governing the size, shape and construction of a tennis racket. According to the rules published by the ITF, a racket can't be longer than 29 inches, and the hitting surface of the racket can't be larger than 15.5 inches long and 11.5 inches wide.

Additionally, rules prohibit any device that changes the racket's shape or weight distribution. And no power sources, such as batteries or solar cells, are allowed to be incorporated into the racket.

Obviously, those guidelines allow for a great deal of experimentation. Rackets today allow players to launch the ball at previously unthinkable speeds, approaching 150 mph. They're high-tech weapons made of graphite, Kevlar, titanium and exotic alloys. There's even a racket with a chip built into the handle that allows the racket to stiffen upon impact with the ball.

All of this technology has led to major changes in how the game is played at the top level. Today, almost every player is content to stay at the baseline and pound the ball in long rallies with the opponent, hitting crushing shots with a great deal of topspin. The aggressive serve-and-volley game has almost completely disappeared.

"It's very hard to volley against all this pace and topspin," said Bud Collins, the tennis writer for the Boston Globe and the dean of American tennis journalists. "It's an easier game to play from the baseline because you aren't taking chances. That's what I don't like: No one is taking chances. It's very difficult to serve and volley. You have so many people playing the same way now, and that's the problem."

This Homogeneity means that a match like the 1980 Wimbledon final, which matched the serve-and-volleyer McEnroe with the baseliner Björn Borg, might never take place again. That match is widely considered the greatest ever played.

"I don't think we're going to see anybody like McEnroe or like Pete Sampras," said Collins. "It's going to be very difficult to develop those games."

Ironically, while the rackets might be turning the professional men's game into monotonous slugfests, they have led to a boom in the popularity of the women's game, as players like the Williams sisters and Jennifer Capriati have boosted the power and athleticism of the sport, with the help of high-tech rackets.

"If the power has killed the men's game, it's really helped the women's," said Jon Wertheim, senior tennis writer at Sports Illustrated. "The women are at just the right spot -- no one is just looping the ball back and forth like they used to. The only thing is, in 10 years, the women will get to the same point that the men are now."

Many in the game have been advocating that rackets be more tightly controlled. Earlier this year, several former top players -- including McEnroe, Boris Becker and Martina Navratilova -- sent a letter to the ITF encouraging the governing body to revisit the question of rackets.

In the letter, the players wrote that tennis has become "unbalanced and one-dimensional."

"The reason for this change is clear to see," they wrote. "Over a period of years, modern racket technology has developed powerful, light, wide-bodied rackets that are easier to wield than wooden rackets were and have a much larger effective hitting area.


Photo via Getty Images

"From the spectators' point of view the game has become one-dimensional so that even on fast courts 90 percent of the matches are baseline contests," it said, adding that on slower court surfaces such as clay, matches have become "tedious and even boring."

Current players have been mostly silent regarding the state of the racket. Of course, they're enjoying success with the current equipment. Andy Roddick, who holds the record for the fastest serve on the men's tour at 149 mph, dismissed the concerns of the former players.

"I don't know if the ITF is going to take it too seriously," Roddick told Agence France-Presse in July. "I find it kind of surprising that they would go through the full-out effort and make it something to be talked about."

The ITF last addressed the question of racket size in 1996, when they lowered the maximum allowable length of a racket from 32 inches to the present 29 inches. But Collins thinks they haven't gone far enough to "disarm," as he puts it.


Photo by J Pat Carter AP

"I think we should go to a racket no longer than 27 inches, or no wider than 9 inches," said Collins. "That would take away a lot of the hitting space, and you'd be forced to play a more attractive game. Players would have to be more accurate in their strokes, hit it more in the middle of the racket face. They wouldn't be able to hit the passing shots they hit now. And the serve and volleyer would have a better chance."

No one who is advocating taming rackets in the professional game thinks that recreational players should stop using them. The analogy that both McEnroe and Collins make is to baseball, where aluminum bats are used at every level except the pros, where wood is used.

They envision a system allowing weekend tennis players to continue enjoying the increased power and control allowed by larger rackets, while the pros would use slightly different tools to balance the game. Current players would certainly have an adjustment period, but McEnroe doesn't think it would be too much of a problem.

"I think that the top players, most of them, would still be great players whatever they played with," he said.

(...)

"The idea behind the letter was to simply continue to press them to come up with some guidelines or something so the game wouldn't continue to go in this direction," said McEnroe. "We wanted to show the game the best that it could be."

BERTRAND LANGLOIS/AFP/Getty Images

Fast forward to today. John McEnroe has his own academy and works as a commentator for major tennis tournaments. Martina Navratilova makes her living as a commentator also mostly during majors. And Boris Becker is coaching a player in the Top 3 of the ATP but was formerly a - you got it - commentator. Of the three Becker would seem to be in the right place to try to effect the change his friends advocated. It remains to be seen if he has any influence over whether or not the modern game will revert to the "grace" and "aggressive" play of the past. I'm going to say he won't because modern players are more fit, more athletic, and mentally strong. Looking at the current spate of British, American and Australian players I'd say that those countries embrace of an older style has hindered their ability to compete at the highest level, seeming to excel only at the smaller national tournaments where they play each other. Move them to big international events and they're nothing more than fodder for the best in the world.
The only American players able to compete internationally are surnamed Williams, the same ones featured in the link above.


Source: Buda Mendes/Getty Images South America

When you've done something well and dominated an individual sport you like to think your way will be emulated by future generations. It doesn't always work that way. I grew up with milk delivered to my door. The junk man and his horse drawn wagon showed up once a week. He also sharpened knives. Times have obviously changed and will continue to do just that. The huge heavy consoles that housed televisions, record players and radios have given way to flat screens, video games and Roku or AppleTV. Landlines are almost a thing of the past. I think these people, who are still trying to bring back wooden racquets would do best to apply the creativity they used to defeat their opponents back in the day to help modernize their thinking and their countries approach to tennis. Baseball, the United States somewhat fading national past time, is not the same game it was when Babe Ruth played. Tennis should not be held hostage to a past that can't come back. Babe Ruth is still considered a great of his sport. The tennis players from a prior age will still be considered stars but should recognize the need to stop trying to hold back progress.

The Week In Review

So far anyway.

The Golden Swing is still taking place with WTA International and ATP 250 tournaments taking place in Florianopolis and Sao Paulo Brazil. Acapulco is now a hard court tournament and has been dominated by Spaniards for a few years. As I lamented last week it's now a hard court event. It's also claimed it's first victim. David Ferrer injured himself trying to win the event again. Reports are it's a strained adductor muscle, presumably in his hip. He played one more tournament on the Golden Swing than was indicated on his public schedule and I thought he'd do well to pass up Acapulco. As one tennis head I know said Venus Williams is just now recovering from a similar injury she suffered back in 2010.

The Acapulco Final four is an interesting lot. Alexandr Dolgopolov, Grigor Dimitrov, Andy Murray and Kevin Anderson who is into the semifinals due to Ferrer's injury and withdrawal. The much anticipated match between Dimitrov and Ernests Gulbis was a bust. Gulbis had flown half way around the world to play this tournament and it caught up with him. Dimitrov had no choice but to win.

Oh I almost forgot. There is a women's tournament, International Level, taking place in Acapulco as well. The only way you can watch it is if you find ESPN Deportes stream in your internet travels. TennisTV isn't showing any of it. In fact on Thursday all of the women's matches were on the Grandstand Court while all of the men's semifinals were on Cancha Central. It's a little more balanced Friday with Dominika Cibulkova, Zhang Shuai, Caroline Garcia and Christina McHale joining the men on Cancha Central. Those big gaps you'll see in TV coverage in the United States are when the women are playing.

There is one woman who isn't supposed to be there though and that's Caroline Garcia of France. She beat the new WTA Golden Girl Eugenie Bouchard of Canada 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. If you got a chance to see any of the WTA matches there is a very nice clip provided by the WTA of Bouchard being fawned over by photographers as she poses on a Mexican beach. Someone had better get hold of this young woman and tell her that right now her focus should be on tennis not photo ops and promotional junkets. I know she's trying to do what her tour wants her to but she'd better look at what happened to some of the other WTA Golden Girls. And I'm not referring to their ages.

There's another big tournament, the ATP Dubai M1000. The Final will feature Roger Federer vs Tomas Berdych.

Venus Williams has opted to play Kuala Lumpur instead of Fed Cup. Pearls are being clutched as I type this. She's right though. She wants the points and since she's feeling well wants to keep her hot streak going. Besides it's time that the young ones show the USTA that the money that's been spent on them has been worth it.

Referencing the article I led this post with there are fans now calling for Boris Becker's head after his charges loss to Federer today in Dubai. That didn't take long.

Fernando Verdasco has hired Sweden's Thomas Enqvist as his new coach. His time with the Adidas Team was disastrous in my very humble opinion.

The BNP Paribas Open known to tennis fans as Indian Wells begins on March 6. Let the complaints about the slowness of the courts, the superiority of serve and volley vs baseline focused tennis, grunting and the usual bullshit begin.

Questions and Answers Tennis Style

by Savannah

I rag on the so called tennis media a lot don't I? Some of you may think that I envy them their access to players and shit like that.

No, I rag on them because they're a bunch of spineless idiots who do what agents and yes, the tours want them to do instead of covering stories that the average fan may be interested in.


Aaron Favila AP

Exhibit A is one Kei Nishikori, or more properly Nishikori Kei for, well, cultural reasons. At any rate Mr. Nishikori played the match of his life last night. After a physical melt down in a warm up event he's played well in the blast furnace named Melbourne. If that had been, say, Sam Querrey or any of the nameless faceless Brits not named Andy Murray his post match press conference would've been packed with people asking him how it felt to play so well and lose in straight sets. Instead this is what happened:

Q. What do you take away there the match today?
KEI NISHIKORI: You know, first of all it's really disappointed because had some chances to at least get one set, and I couldn't. I mean, both tiebreaks he was playing much better. He raise his level and he was playing good.

But, yeah, a couple points was amazing points. Yeah, I thought I was playing good. Some important points I couldn't get. You know, the games can change completely.

But, yeah, I think I was playing well to not beat them but have some chances to, you know, at least win one set.

So, you know, I think that was best game I have against Rafa this four or five times.

Q. So there's some satisfaction?
KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah, I think so. Yeah, I think that was the closest game I had against Rafa.

Think I'm kidding? Here's the link

What a shameful way to treat a man who left it all out there.

Let's look at how these steely eyed members of the Fourth Estate treated another player, one named Maria Sharapova. During her match against Dominika Cibulkova she indicated that she needed a medical time out for what was later revealed to be glute strain, literally a pain in the butt. This is how her presser opened:

Q. What was your health issue there at the end of the second set?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I have a bit of a strain the trainer told me in the hip area.

Q. How much was that troubling you?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I mean, those aches and pains are expected when you spend a long time on the court. Just have to play through it.

Q. When things weren't going your way in the second and third set, what were you telling yourself to get back into the contest?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I haven't been playing the best tennis of this tournament, but I found ways to get through to the last two matches.

Tried to do that again today, but she played extremely well.

Q. Is it the same hip issue you had at Wimbledon? Do you think it's the same area?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No.

Do you THINK it's the same area? How many hips does she have? Last I checked like most of us she has two. What the hell kind of soft question is that? And excuse me, non journalist here is asking where the hell was the follow up question? How about which hip was it then?

It goes on.

Q. When did the hip first start giving you trouble?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I don't know a particular moment, but I think it was just because I played a lot. This is only my second tournament back, so it was those types of things that are expected. Just have to find a way to block them out.

(...)

Q. Will you quantify what the hip problem prevented you from doing the last two sets? Was it movement?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I don't think it's rocket science. Just when you play a lot of tennis, you're going to get these types of aches and pains and certain movements that you feel it on.

(...)

Q. Because you played in such hot conditions earlier on in the tournament, do you think that might have taken a slight toll on your body?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I can't use that as an excuse.

Yes it's to her credit that she didn't use the out the questioner gave her but most of the questions were of the same softball variety.

Personally I would've liked to have heard more about Kei, more than what seemed to be one reporter could ask.

The tennis press routinely decides who is worthy and who is not, who we're supposed to like and who we're not.

Pova's presser ended with this question:

Q. Are you going to stick around Melbourne as long as Grigor is in?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: You know what? I hope he stays as long as possible. I'm not sure what my traveling schedule is at the moment.

Ah, love.

And So It Begins

by Savannah

No more exhibitions. No more shots taken from various and sundry posh vacation spots around the globe. The coaching changes have been made and the players are in shape (some of them are but I digress). The first full week of the tennis season found tournaments in Doha, Chennai, Shenzen, Auckland and Brisbane. The first full week of tennis found WTA players dropping like flies retiring with injuries that seem real enough but seem to pop up at odd times during matches.

As I said most of the returning players are fit if not match tough but that will come. Some have made changes in their games. Some, like Gaël Monfils have started the year with a new, more mature look and a seemingly more mature approach to the sport he plays for a living. Others, like Dominika Cibulkova showed up with a bit of left over relaxation around the waist that a dark kit couldn't hide. I think we've seen the best of Domi but have yet to see Gaël play a full year healthy and able to control his talent.

Brisbane had the marquee match of the nascent season though as WTA World #1 Serena Williams faced WTA #3 Maria Sharapova. Sharapova was one of the players who added a new coach over the off season and Sven Groeneveld seemed to have more coaching advice for her than her previous coach did. Not once did he tell her that her opponent was about to cave to her specialness. Instead he gave reasoned advice that Sharapova seemed to listen to.


Chris Hyde/Getty Images AsiaPac

During the first set Serena romped but the second set was a war and showed just what Sharapova has been up to while "rehabbing her shoulder" the last few weeks. She seems more comfortable coming in. She pulled off a decent backhand overhead and yes for a while it seemed she would win the second set against a Serena who had started off in her usual laconic style and now found herself in a steel cage match.

This was a Premier event for the women and as soon as the draw came out the only match anyone cared about was Williams vs Sharapova. Groeneveld is considered something of a genius by some although I haven't seen any player he has worked with scale the heights of world rankings. As Karen said in a comment the world of tennis is one of the most incestuous in the sports world and I would add especially in the United States so when you hear someone like Groeneveld hailed as a genius despite no visible results you get an idea of what she means. He's popular and of Scandinavian descent so of course he's the bestest ever.

But all of that did nothing to get his charge the win. Serena wasn't playing her best and was down at critical points in the second set but in the end she won the match in straight sets. Since Sharapova had already said publicly that her shoulder was fine the only narrative available was the one we all saw: even playing "meh" tennis Serena is better that Maria. And she has been for some time, shoulder or no shoulder.


via AP

I didn't see any of Shenzen but thought that it would be interesting to see who won the Final between Li Na and Peng Shuai. Li won and thus advances the career of the loathsome Carlos Rodriguez.



I didn't watch any of the Hopman Cup exhibition either. I was disappointed to see Sloane Stephens drop out after so many reports of her playing very well. She was scheduled to play this week but withdrew as well. That would've looked weird even for tennis. I'm glad Alizé Cornet did well in Perth.

Stepping in here to say that Madison Keys, only 18, is playing in Hobart and I thought that her match against last years phenom Simona Halep would be a showcase for where she is at present and where she would possibly go in 2014. It did, but not in the way I thought it would.

Halep started 2014 the winner of six titles in 2013 and predicted by many to make the top five if not top three in ranking. I thought that she would continue her surge against Madison but it was Madison who literally romped to a 6-1, 5-0 lead over the hapless Halep who seemed to have wandered onto the court by accident with only a rudimentary tennis ability. Don't believe anything you read about Halep having a surge in the second set. Keys succumbed to the pressure of the moment and handed her opponent four straight games. I'm not a fan of on court coaching but it was obvious she had no way to make it back without some help and the visit from her coach seemed to calm and steady her. She won the second set 6-4 and that was that. As Marion Bartoli said it's much easier being the hunter than the hunted. Her coach, Jay Gooding of the USTA, didn't come flying out of the stands and berate her and for once a player coached by the USTA didn't make his charge play worse after his visit. It's going to be interesting to see how Ms Keys does down under.


REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

To be honest I had no great expectations for Rafael Nadal in Doha. Monfils was playing well on his way to the Final and since Monfils has owned Rafa in Doha I figured He had a very good chance at defeating the ATP #1. But Rafa did what he had to do and won against a player he'd had trouble with at this venue.


Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images AsiaPac

So what the hell is Lleyton Hewitt doing holding the victory trophy at Brisbane? To understand that you have to go back to the semifinal match he played against Kei Nishikori. Both men were fighting not only each other but the oppressive heat. At one point I thought Nishikori was going to pass out if Hewitt didn't before him. Hewitt is from Australia and to see him suffering drove home how bad the heat was. Watching I was glad Nishikori didn't win because he wouldn't have been able to play well the next day. When I rewatched I saw that Hewitt wasn't in any better shape and thought that the man across the net, Roger Federer, would have an easy time against a physically depleted Hewitt.

Federer reached the Final by defeating Jarkko Nieminen, Marinko Matosevic and Jeremy Chardy. Matosevic did push Federer to three sets but that was the most difficult match he had. Hewitt faced Thanasi Kokkinakis, Feliciano Lopez, and Marius Copil before Nishikori, the only one to push him to three sets.

I wasn't even going to watch but I was awake so I figured I'd use the match as white noise. The first set had just ended when I turned it on and I woke up. What? Hewitt took the first set 6-1? So I watched. I won't lie I did doze off but woke up to see Federer on his way to winning the second set 6-4.

I'm sorry I don't know the names of the TennisTV commentators. They have many new people working this year and since I came in late I don't know who the two men were.

I can say that one of them was outraged about Hewitt being called for several foot faults going so far as to show video that attempted to prove that he wasn't committing foot faults. He even questioned why, at a critical junction, one was called going as far to say that in that situation it shouldn't have been called at all. Y'all know where my mind went. So there are times when something like a foot fault shouldn't be called? Really? Those of us who said the exact same thing about a similar call a couple of years ago were vilified. Maybe it was because of who was called and the perception many had of that player charging at this tiny little line judge. Tellingly they didn't show the line judge who kept calling the foot fault. Sigh. Hewitt did argue with the chair that he was not foot faulting but of course that was no big deal.

Then there was the out right rooting for Federer from the comms. Again one was worse than the other but it amazes me how invested some of the comms are in this one player. Instead of calling the match as it was happening all I heard was coaching advice for Federer. It would've helped if they'd talked more about what Hewitt was doing instead of what Federer should've been doing.

But Hewitt, looking remarkably fit after the previous day's match held on and won the third set and the match. Hewitt has beaten Federer before. He won at Halle in 2010, Davis Cup in 2003, and the Shanghai and Paris Masters in 2002 but Federer dominates their head to head.

Most players who didn't play last week are playing this week in Sydney, Auckland and Hobart. Everyone will be in Melbourne where play begins January 13.

The month of living backwards has begun.

As The Ball Bounces August 1 2013

by Savannah

This is a post about nothing in particular. Just stuff going on in the wonderful world of tennis. I mean in a week where Stefan "Redfoo" Gordy and Victoria Azarenka went totally public withe their feelings for each other and Andy Roddick is telling people to stop dragging Caroline Wozniacki and her golfer why not? Was it about two weeks ago that Patrick Mouratoglou was posting fuzzy pics of him with Serena Williams in the background after she won Båstad? As that eminent philosopher Bugs Bunny once said "Ain't love grand?"

Then again the poor guy who married Martina Hingis thinking it was twu wuv found out it may be twu luv but a girl gets bored. I mean she married him so he had to be able to scratch her itch at one point right? Maybe it's just a phase for Ms Hingis. Tennis players don't really have lives during their teen years so what did he expect? I'm sure she loves him in some way shape or form. Girls just wanna have fun.

Speaking of Ms Hingis I have a question. I thought you got inducted into the Hall of Fame when your career was done, when you might play an exho here or there but really main draw like stuff is not in the cards.

I find it odd that she's going to play doubles and might accept a wild card into singles after the US Open.

Anyone notice how many seeded players are being upset this week? Boy those under dogs are having a great summer aren't they? No one thinks for a minute that The Rogers Cup in Canada or the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati have anything to do with these odd losses. Nope. Fans are getting to see just how deep the tours really are.

But wait the fans aren't getting to see how deep the tours are because the cameras are off in US Open Series tournaments until Thursday or Friday. I forget which and I don't care. It would be nice to see some of the lower ranked players getting a chance to shine but I guess fans will just have to wait until the cameras go on. Can't have live streams showing such high quality play can we? Damn fans will get to watch when the TD's and US networks want them to see play. That's the trouble with tennis fans. Bitch. Bitch. Bitch. It's not like players or their camps do that right? What's wrong with seeing just the semifinal and final of a tournament? With any luck one of the players will be an American and all the talk about the decline of US tennis will stop.

In this era of players with public images that have become somewhat boring it's nice when someone who should know better pops off isn't it? It can only help your son's popularity if you go public with your opinion that he's being picked on by the mean guys. Everyone will feel sorry for him and like him better right? I get it. So what's everyone all upset about? a parent popping off about how his grown child is being bullied is a gold mine. Just think about it. It's almost as good as the mother of a player going on about one of her sons peers being delicious.

The US Open released its prize money levels yesterday. If you're still trying to figure out if you can afford to step foot on the grounds of the National Tennis Center here's what your faves will be making:

Winner: $2.6 million (a 37% increase)
Runner-up: $1.3 million (a 37% increase)
Semifinalist: $650,000 (a 37% increase)
Quarterfinalist: $325,000 (a 37% increase)
Round of 16: $165,000 (a 38% increase)
Round of 32: $93,000 (a 43% increase)
Round of 64: $53,000 (a 43% increase)
Round of 128: $32,000 (a 39% increase)

Thanks to the ATP Players Association shaming the Slams into spreading some of the wealth around lower ranked players of both tours will at least get a decent pay day. It's a big deal for players to get their air fare, maybe work with a coach, and get gear to play what for many will be one round of tennis.

A lot of people were surprised that Sloane Stephens, ranked #15 in the world, was relegated to the second court at the Citiopen in Washington DC while Melanie Oudin, ranked #123 and Christina McHale, ranked #70, played on the Stadium/Main Court. Surprisingly it was Oudin who won her first round match.

There is one thing that is still bothering me though. Why is the tennis media so excited about Hingis possibly playing singles again? It didn't work that well for her the last time did it? And with her soul sister Agniezska Radwanska getting taken out by Dominika Cibulkova I don't know why they're so excited.

There Was Tennis Played Last Week...

by Savannah

Despite all the drama surrounding Marin Cilic's undisclosed positive drug test and three month suspension (It should be noted that baseball player Alex Rodriguez was reportedly offered a deal by Major League Baseball to sit out 2013 and 2014 and return in 2015 instead of being banned for life) and Viktor Troicki's attempts to drag everyone into the mess he created there was actual tennis played during the week. The US Open Series got underway with the ATP in Atlanta and the WTA in Stanford while the Europeans played in Gstaad, Umag and Baku (If they weren't busy withdrawing from parts of the US Open Series).


via sportsillustrated.cnn.com


The biggest, and maybe the most exciting win of the day saw Dominika Cibulkova avenge her loss to Agniezska Radwanska earlier this year in Sydney by pulling off a three set win in Stanford. No one expected her to win. Aga, who will make you crazy when she is on, was outplayed and visibly frustrated by the end of the match because Dominika simply would not go away. Not only was the woman some call "Queen Vulture" outplayed she was worn out. Dominika beat her at her own game. Wherever Aga hit the ball Dominika was there. Dominika also did what Jamie Hampton couldn't the day before and stopped herself from rushing her play.It was a long and exciting match. Exciting because Dominika, who as one wag on Twitter said, is about an inch tall, shouldn't have won. But she did.



How do you define dull? Here's my opinion. Put two very tall men who have very little game outside of their serve on a hard court and let them go at it. If you see Kevin Anderson is going to play John Isner during the US Open Series or the US Open set yourself a reminder to tidy up your sock drawer. Or do the laundry. Or take a nice long soak. Or take a walk. I guarantee you whether it's a best of three or best of five there will be at least three tiebreak sets involved. Look at it this way. You can dust, vacuum or cook dinner and come back and see the end of the match. I really don't like serve only tennis. Apparently a lot of people agreed with me on Tennis Twitter today. I didn't like it when I saw Andy Roddick do it against Fabrice Santoro at the US Open a few years back and I didn't like it sitting in my living room watching one of the most boring matches I've ever seen in my life. It was right up there with the infamous Gilles Simon vs Gaël Monfils match that still makes people groan in agony while trying to claw their eyes out. Someone had to win and Isner managed to do so.


via wtatennis.com

Congratulations to Elina Svitolina on winning her first WTA title. It's a shame no one saw her do it. I tend to wake up early and I put on a stream of Baku just to see some of the players I rarely if ever see play.I think I was one of the ten people world wide who did so. It's not even funny to snark about the WTA playing to empty stadiums in Asia anymore. There were literally no more than 50 people in the stadium during the two matches I watched and I'm including the tournament staff. I felt sorry for the players. They come out and do their best but how hard must it be to play in an empty stadium where the only cheers are from your family and staff? It's incomprehensible to me that the WTA is going to stage its YEC in China when the same situation that existed in Baku exists there. Unless they're going to pay for a lot of seat warmers the top women in the world will play before the same number of people that showed up in Baku. Sad.


in.sports.yahoo.com

I guess it's true that 30 is the new 20. It's also true that all good things must come to an end. Tommy Robredo, whom many thought would be out of the game by now due to the severity of the injury that kept him out most of last year, won the tournament in Umag. He defeated Fabio Fognini who had won back to back tournaments in Germany and was trying to win his third straight. Fognini ran right into the wall that he managed to dodge last week after getting a tough win over Gaël Monfils the day before. Robredo has Fognini's number and with nothing left in the tank Fognini saw his streak come to an end. Robredo was tired as well but he had more left than Fabio.


via au.eurosport.com

Mikhail Youzhny won the tournament in Gstaad over Robin Haase of the Netherlands becoming the first Russian to ever win the event. He said the following during his winners speech at Gstaad:

"First and foremost I would like to thank Federer for coming here and for losing in the first round."

It was a joke. Oh. Ha!

Miscellany

Maria Sharapova has pulled out of The Rogers Cup in Toronto because of a hip injury she sustained in Wimbledon. Uh huh.

There are rumors floating around that Rafael Nadal will not play in Cincinnati where he's never done well.

Ryan Harrison showed what a great guy he is during his match against John Isner. Isner wanted a ball back so he could use it for his next serve. Harrison threw the ball into the stands. Stay classy Ryan. You'll never be half the man Andy Roddick still is.

Andy Murray, or whoever runs his Twitter account, said that Baku should become a joint event. I think whoever typed those 140 characters wasn't using joint to mean an ATP/WTA event.

Belief

by Savannah

David Ferrer is one of the best tennis players on the planet. On Monday he will be ranked Number 4 in the world - at the age of 30 (He'll be 31 on April 2). His ranking makes him the top ranked player in his country. But I bet he'd trade all that if he could turn back time and not challenge a shot that he saw as in and played what looked like a winner. It was match point in his battle against Andy Murray. But he did challenge. He'd made up his mind to challenge and he did. Murray's shot was good and that was game, set and match for the Scotsman.



Instead of hoisting the trophy as the first Spaniard to win Miami he made a poignant speech saying to his fans "I'm sorry." Ferrer was blitzed in Acapulco by his countryman Rafael Nadal and played Indian Wells hungover from that loss.

But in Miami he seemed to have put all of that behind him. He defeated fan favorite Tommy Haas to make the Final and with his head to head with Murray close - 6-5 in Murray's favor going into the match - there were a lot of Ferrer fans who thought that David had a chance today.

And all the fight, all the work, came down to one miscalculation.



It looked to me that Ferrer didn't believe that he could win after that error. Not that he gave up but in a championship match belief is half the battle won. Like the women's runner up Ferrer will have some time to get over what happened during his match. I think the mental pain of Ferrer and Maria Sharapova's must be about unbearable. Both came so close only to run into walls. David's was self made. Sharapova ran into a will stronger than hers. And therein lies the difference.



I said that Sloane Stephens needed to watch Serena's match against Dominika Cibulkova. She should also watch the final Serena played. I know he won't but David Ferrer needs a look at the indomitable force that is Serena Williams. Serena had no business winning either of those matches but she believed that she should and that she would. And that makes all the difference. When Serena takes the court she BELIEVES that she will win, she believes that the woman across the net from her cannot beat her.



No one who makes a WTA Premier Mandatory or a M1000 final gets there solely on luck. Sure you can have a soft draw but that will usually get you to the quarters or semi's. Shit gets real in the quarters and semi's and it's win or go home as an also ran. All that came before means squat.



Let's be real here. Murray didn't play that well but he played well enough to win and become the #2 ranked player in the ATP. The Brits are in 7th heaven for sure but lets see what the rankings are after the US Open. There have been whispers that some of the Europeans didn't play their "A" games because of the looming clay court season in Europe and Davis Cup next week.

But in the end none of that matters.

It all comes down to belief. You can have all the confidence, all the belief in yourself in the world but if someone else has more you're not going to win. You can fight as hard as you can for as long as you can until your body gives out on you but if you don't have self belief you will not win. It's as simple as that.

Must See Tennis TV

by Savannah


Everyone has been hating on Miami to the point that the mere mention of the tournament draws a sarcastic remark.

It's easy for those of us sitting on our sofa's or in bed watching men and women play an individual sport for which many of them are not paid well to say this tournament is garbage. But for every player out there there's a story and they deserve more than our dismissive attitude.



Even those at the top of the sport, the names that, when the sport is mentioned, even a casual fan can name, are sometimes mentioned with a shrug. Their greatness is taken for granted and it's only when one of the lowly ones gives one of the greats a run for their money that the hard core fan takes notice.

Serena Williams is known world wide. She is the Queen of her Sport, considered it's top player whether she is at the top of the rankings or not. When she takes the court against one of the players no one but the hard core knows about it's assumed she's going to blow them off the court with her power. Not much thought is given to how she thinks on court, how she strategizes, how she plays the person across the net from her. But all of that was on display in her match against Dominika Cibulkova. For me it was the best women's match of the tournament so far. I've already talked about this match but I'm mentioning it here for a reason I'll get to in a moment.

Tommy Haas will be 35 on April 3. He's been on the tour since 1996. That's a little deceptive though because for much of that time Haas was injured. He made several attempts to come back but it seemed that as soon as he did something else would go wrong. He's been playing rather well for awhile now and has notched some big wins against some big players but it seemed that people sat up and took notice this week because this tournament feels so much like the morning after the party is over.

Haas was the man who had to play Novak Djokovic on a cool windy night in Miami. Fifty degrees in Miami is coat weather from what I saw the other night. When the match was over I think I heard Djokovic asking if anyone got the license plate of the truck that ran him over. Djokovic came in a 14-1 favorite. Some folks made some money I guess. I still don't think Djokovic knows what hit him.

Why a separate post for these specific matches? If you have a friend or a relative who doesn't get why you're into this so called "effete" sport show them these two matches. I guarantee you they'll want to hang with you during Qualifying Week at the US Open, or go with you to whatever the major tournament is in your neck of the woods.

We've still got semi finals and finals to be played. There could be more great tennis coming our way. I just want to make sure everyone finds video of these matches and watches them. Both matches represent tennis at it's best.

This and That

by Savannah

Andy Murray features large in the tennis press these days. Talk has gone from Ivan Lendl being poised to join team Murray to articles about why Murray doesn't need a coach at all.

Simon Reed thinks Murray is too intelligent for a mere mortal to try and coach him.

Andy Murray is one of the most intelligent sportsmen I've ever come across, and he is not far off being a great player. He does not need a coach.

There has been a lot of talk recently about who Murray should have in his corner, but when you are as switched on as he is, it is pretty academic.

The key thing for Murray is to be enjoying his tennis, relishing his work off the court and generally flourishing with the people around him.

There is no need for someone else to be telling him what to do tactically, because he is incredibly astute and he thinks on his feet.

Murray is not one of the many players on Tour who need a coach to be spoon feeding them ahead of each match or motivating them to get on the practice court each day.

The Brit is a very intelligent man, and he does most of his thinking for himself.

Murray works things out very well, and he analyses his opponents and knows when to attack, and when to defend on the most part.

However, he does seem to have a proficiency to endure rather long droughts and that makes people describe him as rudderless without a coach.

As if that isn't, well, interesting, there is this article from ESPN UK written by their staff, that says almost the the same thing.

Andy Murray has changed his approach to his recruitment for a new coach and is no longer on the hunt for a high-profile name.

The British No. 1 has been without a full-time trainer since last summer, and is on the lookout for a new coach after splitting with part-time consultant Alex Corretja last week.

Murray revealed on Wednesday that he will work with Andre Agassi's former trainer Darren Cahill and Sven Groeneveld, who has worked with Ana Ivanovic and Greg Rusedski, in his build-up to the French Open.

He had been linked with former world No. 1 Ivan Lendl, but after spending time at heavyweight David Haye's gym in Florida, Murray has now hinted that he feels a big-name coach may not be the best solution.

Murray feels the dynamic between him and a coach both on and off-court is more important than coaching credentials.

What do I think? I think his mother Judy Murray looms large in the shadows. I think that Mrs. Murray wants desperately for her son to stay part of the conversation but knows that while male coaches dominate women's tennis Jimmy Connors late mother, Gloria, is the only woman who had coaching cred in the ATP.

I also wonder what whammy the Adidas team works on players. And how soon is it before someone calls Darren Cahill on his growing conflict of interest. He's being paid by ESPN to be a commentator and at the same time he's involved in coaching several players on the main tour. Every other pro sport that I'm aware of makes sure their on air personalities are not involved in their sport anymore. From retired coaches to retired jocks on air talent is no longer active in any way with their former sport. Except for tennis. Brad Gilbert works with Kei Nishikori. Cahill works with Ana Ivanovic, Fernando Verdasco and now Andy Murray. I've talked so much about Mary Joe Fernandez I'm sick of writing about it. Patrick McEnroe is head of player development for the USTA. Keep that in mind when you're watching some up and coming American instead of the match between two top ten players. Add to this incestuous brew the seeming inability of the tennis "press" to write critically and you've got a steaming hot mess.

What should Murray do? In the end that is for Murray to decide. If he feels he's strong enough to go without a formal coach so be it. He should come out and say that so that his fans know where he's coming from and not rely on friendly press to explain his thought processes. It's situations like this that make the lack of a true tennis press disheartening to put it mildly.

Speaking of Fernando Verdasco I'm still not sure why his beef with the Barcelona officials had to be aired in El Pais. Sure the paper seems to have an on the ball sport staff and tennis is big in Spain but should Fernando have aired his dirty laundry in the press? I guess his tantrum shows that we as fans have an image of a player, one that is cultivated by the sport and an individual player's publicity arm but that the real man or woman is not put on public display. So far Estoril tournament officials have not said that Verdasco will be playing there. I also wonder if it's wise for Verdasco to hit out at Albert Costa, Spain's Davis Cup captain. Costa has said that Fernando is still welcome to participate at Barcelona.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The European clay court season kicks off next week with the Masters 1000 event at Monte Carlo. Every year I wax poetic about the beauties of this tennis club and I'm doing the same thing this year. You could not ask for a more beautiful setting. It's not glitzy and human being's latest big thing. It's designed to fit in with the natural location and does so beautifully.

It's not only Monte Carlo's beauty that makes me swoon. It's the fact that real tennis, tennis that demands a player be at peak physical and mental condition, will take center stage. For the next few weeks players will have dirty socks and sneakers, red dirt in their nostrils and on their clothing, and put patience, shot creation and thinking on court center stage. Monster serves will not rule and if you don't come to play don't come.

The pendulum will swing back to concrete courts soon enough. For now I get to enjoy the sights and sounds of clay court tennis, the best tennis in the world.

End Note

I said above that the real men and women of tennis are hidden behind layers of security and image making. There are times that the players are shown as real people that don't involve temper tantrums. I'll end with this video of Dominika Cibulkova making her red carpet debut as interviewer. Enjoy.

Tennis Talk - SEOpen

by Savannah

Since the folks who run the BNP Paribas Open and the Sony Ericsson Open don't see fit to turn the cameras on for early round play I don't cover their events until they do.

I'm making a slight exception for the one and only Bernard Tomic of Australia. Everyone blames his father for Bernard's shitty attitude but some of his antics have begun to draw the ire of the American tennis establishment.

One of my Twitter faves, "FootFault_" posted the following:

So, get this; in his last three tournaments (Dallas Challenger, Indian Wells and Miami), Bernard Tomic granted wildcards directly into the main draw of the events. Bearing in mind the fact that he isn’t even from the USA, that’s a pretty bold and generous move from the tournaments, and you would expect Tomic to take advantage of those free passes, right?

Right. But apparently Bernard Tomic doesn’t agree, instead choosing to spit in the faces of all three tournament directors. Last month he pulled out of the Dallas Challenger after falling a set down in his first rounder, citing fatigue for his withdrawal, however it was clear that he just couldn’t give a rat’s ass. In Indian Wells, he scraped past a sub top-500 doubles specialist in three audaciously tight sets before getting dusted aside by Viktor Troicki in straights. And finally he completed the set today, losing in the first round of Miami to Pablo Andujar, a claycourt specialist on a 5 match losing streak with only one win in the main draw of a hardcourt ATP or Challenger event in his 7 years on tour.

2011 should prove an interesting year for him. Talented as he may be, it’s always the attitude and mental side that determines how far a player goes in his career, and I think it’s safe to say that his attitude stinks like a decomposing skunk.

The link is HERE

I've said it before - the sense of entitlement some of these juniors have is startling. Tomic is just getting called on his shit. I've heard similar reports about Coco Vandeweghe and Lauren Davis from the United States and these were from people in the States.

I disagree with my Tweeting buddy though. Australia is part of the Axis. They will blame his youth, his will to win, whatever it takes to make young Bernard appear less of a douche.

I know I'm using strong language and I apologize if it offends anyone but sometimes you have to be blunt. Until someone slows this kid's roll he will continue to spit in the faces of those who are providing his meal tickets.

Miscellany

Apparently people have been trying to get Roger Federer to Tweet. He is not about to and I'm not surprised. He just doesn't strike me as that type of guy. Then again there is that Lindt commercial where two "airline stewardesses" want to strip search him. I'm just saying...

As Craig Hickman reported yesterday Kim Clijsters has already announced that she will not play any Asian events this year citing fear of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant. Some fans are in the process of ripping her a new one. I side with Kim on this, especially since she has a child. When news reports like this appear randomly online one has every right to err on the side of caution.

Along the same lines the Fed Cup tie between Japan and Argentina has been moved to Kobe, Japan and will take place July 16-17.


I like this outfit for Maria Sharapova.

Dominika Cibulkova proves she's "bootylicious"

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga melting hearts and butter all over the world.

Just a couple of hombre's chilling.

US Open 2010 - The Women's Semi Finals

by Savannah

Verz Zvonareva vs Caroline Wozniacki

Vera defeated an obviously overwhelmed Kaia Kanepi 6-3, 7-5 on her way to the semi's. She's played good, steady tennis so far and despite the announcers oft stated wishes there haven't been any meltdowns. Maybe she should've gone all batshit on Cliff Drysdale for saying she's crazy on national television. Some tried to clean up what he said by saying he was really asking her about being emotional but that's not what he said. He's been around too long to misspeak. Like Horton he said what he meant and he meant what he said.

As for Caroline Wozniacki she has pushed her way into the semifinals. There's a huge debate raging about just what a pusher is.
I found this definition posted on a fanboard. taken from Wiki.

In tennis, a pusher is a player who "pushes" back any shot they can chase down, without deliberately hitting a winner. This style of play, likened to a "human backboard", often tires and frustrates more offensive opponents. Pushers tend to have great success at the lower NTRP rating levels. However, they are usually beaten by players with a more aggressive strategy or possess serve-and-volley skills which rob pushers of the time they require to chase down a shot.

The pusher's strategy can sometimes be effective even at the upper levels of the pro game. Brad Gilbert is often referred to as the greatest pusher of all time, reaching the top 10 in 1990.

If you watched Caroline's round of sixteen and quarterfinal matches you saw how effective this tactic can be. The opponent becomes frustrated and hits an error. She manages to make it seem aggressive but in reality she just pisses her opponents off.

Who will win? I don't do predictions. I see this as a toss up. If Vera remains patient. holds on to her emotions and forces Caroline to play this could be a really interesting match.

Venus Williams vs Kim Clijsters

I have never understood why either of the Williams sisters have problems with Kim Clijsters. I really should say I don't get why any one has a problem with her. Kim is just a more aggressive pusher than most. She plays very quickly and takes away her opponents timing. When you don't let her pushing get on your nerves and you disrupt her timing she folds like a house of cards.
Ironically I see Venus in the same position as Bepa in this match. If Venus comes out ready to play and sticks to her game plan and forces Kim to play this will be a competitive match. I also see it as a toss up.

What To Wear

Dominika Cibulkova

Samantha Stosur

The best dressed women on court were those wearing Lacoste. On both Samantha Stosur and Dominika Cibulkova the kit looked fabulous despite their differing physiques. They both looked like they were in New York to play tennis. Congratulations to Lacoste for making tennis kits that look like the wearer is going to play tennis.

The French Open Ladies Champions

by Savannah

I said it the day it happened. The Serena Williams vs Svetlana Kuznetsova semi final match was the Women's French Open Final. Sveta fought herself and her opponent and overcame her nerves to win that third set. I felt then that the winner of that match would hoist the Championship Trophy.

I've also said it before and I can now say it again. A soft draw does not a Champion make. Dinara Safina was given a cakewalk to the Final playing lower ranked players as she sliced through her opponents. Victoria Azarenka would've taken her out if she'd been able to settle down and had a better working knowledge of clay court play. Her semi final match against Dominika Cibulkova was another case of her opponent being overcome by the vapors and not playing her game. In the Final Dinara faced an opponent who was not afraid of her, who had already beaten her once during the clay season, and could actually play clay court tennis. In the end it was all too much for Dinara. With no on court coaching and the camera catching what coaching was going on between coach and player Dinara found herself losing focus on the court and emotionally. She knew what the stakes were and knew that she had to win this one, that she would never get a draw that soft again. In the end Dinara wasn't up to the task.

The better woman won today and I was glad to see it. As the old people say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Sveta has been through her own horror show. Her record in Finals up until today was abysmal and fans could be excused for thinking that Bad Sveta could show up this afternoon. Sveta stayed calm and focused. She refused to be intimidated by the power of her opponent and doing what needed to be done - keeping the ball low while moving Safina around while playing with the patience clay court tennis demands Sveta seemed able to break at will and Safina, flustered, could only stand by and watch the train as it roared past her.

Dinara remains the WTA Number One. I remember during the run up to the French Dinara said that all the sniping came from people jealous of all that she's accomplished at twenty three. Some of us demurred pointing out players who had won Slams by the age of twenty three, something Safina still has not done.

Congratulations to Sveta on her second Grand Slam.

Congratulations are also in order for Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano-Pascual for winning the women's doubles crown.

The French Open - Ladies Day

by Savannah

The predicted all Russian women's final will take place Saturday. Both Dominika Cibulkova and Samantha Stosur were overcome by nerves and let their Russian opponents pull out wins to set up the final pairing many had predicted since the quarter finals. Safina survived horrendous serving and what appeared to be weariness (It was later revealed that Dinara is battling the flu) and Kuznetsova used her experience to outplay a nervous Stosur who had forced a third set.

I actually wish that Stosur had found a way to win. Sveta in a final is usually a disaster. She managed to beat Dinara in the Stuttgart final and then failed to show up the next time they met in a final. Stosur would've had nothing to lose and would've made an interesting opponent for Dinara.

But that's all water under the bridge. Can Sveta beat Dinara? Of course. Will she play the kind of tennis that got her to the Final? I hope so. Sveta at her best can beat anyone.

On Court Coaching

Once again Dinara was looking to her coach after every point just like Justine Henin used to do. Mary Carillo spoke on it during the match again today. It's annoying. I can understand that at a critical juncture you look to your coach for reassurance (and maybe a hand signal or two) but after every point? Isn't part of the coaches job to teach on court strategy? It seems that today's coaches want their charges to be totally reliant on them for their every action on court. Tennis is about one on one combat, mano a mano, mind against mind. It's not supposed to be a video game where the on court players become mere two dimensional extensions of the game players will. I don't think I've ever seen either Williams sister constantly stare into the stands at either of their parents during a match. Their gaze is always inward. They search their memories for times they've been in the same situation or to think what tactic they should use at a particular point in a match. It's why they're so dangerous and beating either one of them is such a goal among their peers. People like me lament the state of women's tennis now. When Venus and Serena exit the stage things are going to be bad for a very long time.

Americans in Paris and Other French Open News

The Bryan Brothers are gone from the Men's Doubles Competition. The team of Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman escorted the twins to the Chunnel winning a three set match. The Bryan twins have played a lot of clay court tennis unlike the other American players male and female.

Junior Sloane Stephens has made it to the girls semi finals. She played Junior Fed Cup in Italy and won the Rome junior title.

Surprisingly the team of Nenad Zimonjic and Daniel Nestor were also shown the exit by the team of Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy in straight sets. Zimonjic and Nestor have dominated men's doubles.

American Vania King is playing Mixed Doubles with Braziian Marcelo Melo against the American team of Bob Bryan and Liezel Huber.

The Women's doubles final will feature the team of Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascaul against Elena Vesnina and Victoria Azarenka.

This and That

Martina Navratilova has spoken out about the howling some of the WTA players make when striking the ball.

"The grunting has reached an unacceptable level. It is cheating, pure and simple. It is time for something to be done."
(...)
"A player is in a difficult position because if they make too much of a fuss, the crowd can turn against them,” she said. “It is the umpires who have to act because if they start enforcing the hindrance rule and give point penalties, it will soon stop. The grunts are louder and lasting well into the opponent's strike zone."

The Times Online reports that the Grand Slam Committee is meeting today in Paris and that the situation will be on the agenda.

(FROM L to R) Chairman of All England Lawn Tennis Club Tim Phillips, French Tennis Federation (FTT) President Jean Gachassin, Unites States Tennis Assosiation (USTA) president Lucy Garvin, President of the International Tennis Federation Ricci Bitti and Australian Open President Geoff Pollard pose on June 4, 2009 at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris following a meeting of the Grand Slam federations.

The article notes the noise made by Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Michelle Larcher de Brito. Maybe it's me but I don't find Serena's grunting on the same level as the other three. And of the other three Michelle Larcher de Brito is by far the worse followed by Victoria Azarenka. Aravane Rezai's complaints about Larcher de Brito were justified in my opinion. My ears were still ringing an hour after her match ended and I'm sure there were calls to the emergency services of Paris by citizens thinking someone was being attacked. Azarenka's noise level is not far behind. Anytime Maria Sharapova gets ranked third in this category you know something is wrong.

Kim Clijsters talked about motherhood, family and the new girls on the block during an interview with the BBC. The interviewer called the up and comers "young machines". Kim's comments about the locker room, getting along and thinking on court are pertinent. Listen and enjoy.